Where is Lin Chan?

Back in the hut, Lin Chan ate another roast pheasant and a roast rabbit, finally full.

Besides that, there were some other catches, which Lin Chan strung up and lowered into the well to save for tomorrow, or to give some to Town Chief Xu's house as thanks.

Over the next two days, Lin Chan tidied the house daily, practiced martial arts, and spent the rest of his time wandering the town, looking for what made this place different from others.

As for meat, he had Little Li and Little White hunt outside.

Feed a cat for a thousand days, use it for one.

Lin Chan had raised these two goofballs for six or seven years, and now it was their turn to repay him—he accepted the spoils without a second thought.

The town had a thousand households scattered along both sides of a small stream.

Every morning, women could be seen washing clothes by the stream, and beyond the shallows, old folks led martial arts practice.

From what Lin Chan observed, many in the town were quite remarkable—like Shopkeeper Qian of the Yuxi Town pharmacy, who knew a great deal about herbs.

Every so often, Shopkeeper Qian would send an apprentice out with a batch of herbs, supposedly into the mountains for the immortals of Shu Mountain.

Lin Chan reasonably suspected that Shopkeeper Qian also knew some methods of cultivation and alchemy, so he wanted to learn a trick or two from him. These past two days, he'd been hanging around Qian's shop.

"Uncle Qian! When the herbs reach the foot of the mountain, do those Shu Mountain immortals come down to get them?"

After two days together, Lin Chan had gotten quite chummy with Shopkeeper Qian, calling him uncle directly.

"Why would the immortals come down themselves? They have the White Crane carry them up."

Shopkeeper Qian said with a smile.

"Really?"

Lin Chan was very curious.

"In a few days, you can deliver a shipment for me and see for yourself, won't you?"

Shopkeeper Qian chuckled.

"Uncle Qian! What's Poria cocos look like? Can you show me?"

As he chatted, Lin Chan pointed to a herb in the medicine cabinet behind.

"Poria cocos, commonly found at pine roots. Sweet, bland, and neutral in nature, it enters the heart, lung, spleen, and kidney meridians. It strengthens the spleen, boosts qi, calms the mind, and promotes urination to dispel dampness—it's the most common auxiliary herb in alchemy."

Since the shop had no customers and he was bored, Shopkeeper Qian opened the cabinet to show Lin Chan—inside were white cube-like things—then closed it.

Just like that, Lin Chan had learned another herb.

He'd already picked up many herbs this way and felt quite satisfied.

"Uncle Qian! Did you used to live up on the mountain?"

Lin Chan asked.

From their usual conversations, he'd sensed that many in the town were extraordinary, harder to read than secular innate masters.

"You're right, I did stay on the mountain. I worked as a menial for twenty years, realized I had no hope in cultivation, so I came down and started this herb business in Yuxi Town."

Since it wasn't a secret, and he liked Lin Chan, Shopkeeper Qian told him outright.

"Uncle Qian, with all your knowledge, you were just a menial?"

Lin Chan was a bit shocked. He'd thought it was some secret and never dared to ask, but Shopkeeper Qian just spilled it all.

"Not really a menial—there are no menials on the mountain. We were called Registered Disciples in name, but the work was the same, so it's a joke. Still, even a menial has a chance to enter the inner sect and make it big. I just had weak talent and lacked drive, so I had to come down, marry, and have kids."

Shopkeeper Qian fell into memory—out of the dozens in their courtyard back then, one or two had made it into the inner sect.

Hearing this, Lin Chan felt a bit unsettled.

If his own talent turned out lacking in the future, he'd only be a menial disciple—what then?

Luckily, he steadied himself quickly.

Every extra year he lived, he gained another talent—there was no way he'd be lost in the crowd.

"Uncle Qian! How does one become a Registered Disciple?"

Lin Chan pressed on.

"Every time the mountain opens to recruit disciples, Shu Mountain's seven main peaks each take only a few into the inner sect—odds of one in a hundred, one in a thousand. After that, each peak picks dozens or hundreds from the rejects, registers them under that peak, and lets them cultivate on the mountain, but they have to do heavy chores every day."

Shopkeeper Qian held nothing back.

"Then you must know cultivation methods too, Uncle Qian!"

Lin Chan seized on the key point.

"Dharma is not lightly passed, the Way is not cheaply sold, the master does not come to your door, the healer does not knock uninvited! Stop! Stop!"

Shopkeeper Qian's face turned stern.

"Sorry, Uncle Qian! I was out of line!"

Lin Chan quickly apologized, knowing his move was improper, but the allure of cultivation techniques was too strong.

"Xiao Lin, it's not that I'm deliberately hiding it from you—it's Shu Mountain's rule. What you learn on the mountain, you can't casually teach mortals after coming down."

Shopkeeper Qian said regretfully.

"Then you can't teach it to your son?"

Hearing the word "casual," Lin Chan realized it wasn't that it couldn't be taught—just that there were conditions. So he probed further.

"Of course I can! Ah! It's not that it's completely off-limits, but if I teach it, I'll bear the responsibility. If you later use your power for evil and get caught by a Shu Mountain disciple, I'll be implicated too," Shopkeeper Qian explained.

Shopkeeper Qian could take that risk for his own son, but not for Lin Chan.

"I see!"

Lin Chan nodded.

Afterward, Lin Chan asked other Registered Disciples who had come down from the mountain in town, and they all said it couldn't be taught lightly.

Disheartened, he returned home, pondering how to earn their approval and get a cultivation method from them, when the Town Chief arrived at the small courtyard with two young men.

"It's you!"

Lin Chan and the leading young man said in unison.

This was the same person Lin Chan had met before entering the mountain—the one who wanted to buy Little White.

"Xiao Lin, so you two know each other. That makes things easier. They'll be staying with you for now. You've been in town a while, so you can fill them in on how things work here," the old Town Chief said, dumping the pair on Lin Chan and then taking off.

"Grandpa Town Chief!"

Lin Chan was baffled.

"You've got this, Xiao Lin."

The old Town Chief was in a hurry to get back to his tea and chess, waving goodbye as he left.

"Sigh!"

Lin Chan sighed and had no choice but to deal with the two youths.

"So you're here seeking immortality at Shu Mountain too," the Robed Young Master said, glancing at Lin Chan casually.

By now, the five experts who had been guarding him were gone. Only he and a bookboy had made it to Yuxi Town, and their clothes were torn and worn.

"Yes. I didn't expect we'd be on the same path. I'm Lin Chan. A pleasure to meet you both!"

Since the Town Chief had handed them over to him, Lin Chan had to do his best to look after them.

The young master glanced at his bookboy, and the refined lad stepped forward immediately, saying, "This is my master, Zhou Sheng. I'm his bookboy, Wang Yunxuan."

"Brother Zhou! Brother Wang!"

Lin Chan cupped his hands in greeting.

After the formalities, Zhou Sheng said, "Lin Chan, when did you arrive in Yuxi Village? Do you know which way Shu Mountain is? Why linger here? Can't we just head up the mountain and become disciples now?"

"That's the rule of Shu Mountain. The mountain gate hasn't opened yet. Even if we went now, it wouldn't end well, and we might not even find the gate," Lin Chan replied.

After that, Zhou Sheng asked more questions, and Lin Chan answered what he could.

But Lin Chan could tell Zhou Sheng was dead set on reaching the Shu Mountain Sword Sect.

Sure enough, after just one day of rest, Zhou Sheng and Wang Yunxuan set off into the mountains the next day.

Then, a few days later, they returned, disheveled and defeated.

The fog on Shu Mountain was too thick. It blocked their path, leaving them circling in place until they had no choice but to turn back.

After that, the three of them shared the small courtyard, each in their own room, living peacefully without bothering each other for a few days.

Just as Lin Chan was getting used to this routine, two young men in white robes with blue trim and swords at their waists showed up.

"Where's Lin Chan?" the two asked.