New and Old Handover

Nineteen Peaks, also known as Nineteenth Servant Peak, had a main peak rising two thousand three hundred zhang. The two hundred li of land spreading out from the main peak all fell under Nineteen Peaks' jurisdiction.

Within those two hundred li lay a lake spanning more than twenty li. Centered around the lake, resource sites were densely scattered—mines, fish ponds, forests, medicine gardens, and dozens more.

Following the signs along the way, Yang Chen rode one of the thousand-li horses raised by Nineteen Peaks, crossed forty li, and arrived at the spirit fields crisscrossed by small rivers.

Before him stretched a sea of golden spirit fields. Rice ears swayed in the wind, and their unique fragrance rushed straight to his nose.

Plots of spirit fields stood across the earth in orderly square grids, each area marked by a conspicuous signboard.

Riding onward, Yang Chen finally arrived outside a wooden house east of Spirit Field No. 8.

Smoke curled lazily from the roof. He tied the horse's reins to a small roadside tree, then walked to the wooden house and knocked gently.

Creak!

The wooden door opened, and a disciple with a face full of stubble poked his head out. "You're the new disciple here to take over the task, right?"

Yang Chen's gaze paused briefly on the man's face. He cupped his hands and said, "Yang Chen greets Senior Brother."

"Don't be so formal. Starting today, I'm no longer your senior brother. My surname is Luo; call me whatever you like. Come in and sit first. I'm cooking."

The disciple surnamed Luo turned and headed toward the stove. Watching his back, Yang Chen's eyes shifted slightly. He could vaguely sense a trace of utter resignation about the man.

Combined with what the other party had just said, it left him with several more doubts.

With those doubts in mind, he entered the wooden house and sat down. The house was small, less than twenty square meters. A bed stood to the left of the entrance, a simple stove to the right, and a table with a wine jug sat in the middle. Judging from the water stains on the table, Senior Brother Luo clearly drank often.

"Senior Brother Luo, do you usually live here?"

"Not at first. Later, I got too lazy to run back and forth."

Senior Brother Luo stir-fried without even turning his head. Before Yang Chen could ask more, he continued, "Sit for a while. My field frogs will be ready soon. We'll have a drink, then hand over the task."

The words on Yang Chen's lips were stopped short. He could only wait patiently.

About seven or eight minutes later, Senior Brother Luo brought the dish to the table. It was a plate of field frogs with excellent appearance, golden in color and richly seasoned. Its aroma made saliva well up uncontrollably in one's mouth.

Senior Brother Luo sat down carelessly, fetched two cups, and poured Yang Chen a drink.

"Have some. We can drink and talk."

"Alright!"

Yang Chen went along with it, raising his cup. "I toast Senior Brother."

A flicker of amusement appeared in Senior Brother Luo's eyes. He clinked cups with him, then drained the wine in one gulp.

Seeing this, Yang Chen frowned and took a large swallow as well. Before long, a faint flush of wine colored his face.

"You don't need to deliberately curry favor with me." Senior Brother Luo spoke bluntly, picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks and chewing it. "Once the handover is done, I'll leave the mountain. From then on, I will no longer be a disciple of the Sun Moon Sword Sect."

Yang Chen followed his lead. "Senior Brother will return home in glory and surely accomplish great things."

"Accomplish great things?" Senior Brother Luo suddenly laughed, his laughter brimming with self-mockery. "Once I leave this place, my martial path will end here."

"Why does Senior Brother say that?"

"You've only just entered the sect, so you don't understand what an opportunity it is to join the Sun Moon Sword Sect. The cultivation methods, the environment, the resources—none of it can be matched by the outside world."

"Forget it. Some things cannot be truly understood by those who have not lived them. There's no use saying more to you."

Senior Brother Luo filled his own cup again. "Come, drink."

Yang Chen raised his cup and drank with him.

After several cups of wine, Senior Brother Luo finally said, "Spirit Field No. 8 covers one hundred mu. Your task from now on is to inspect it twice a day and observe the growth of the Spirit Rice. It's an easy task. Every mu of field is covered by an array, so ordinary insects and birds cannot approach. You can use your spare time for cultivation."

"In addition, at one quarter past the hour of the Rabbit and three quarters past the hour of the Monkey each day, you must activate the array for one quarter of an hour to maintain the balance of spiritual energy within the spirit fields."

"Lastly, the Spirit Rice ripens twice a year. There is still over a month until this batch matures. Once it does, senior brothers or senior sisters from the Outer Sect will come down to arrange the harvesting. When the time comes, just follow their instructions."

"That is everything involved in the spirit field inspection task."

Yang Chen was naturally satisfied upon hearing this. "Thank you, Senior Brother Luo, for your generous guidance. This junior brother offers you another toast."

The two traded cups, and the atmosphere remained fairly relaxed. Under Yang Chen's indirect probing, Senior Brother Luo revealed much information.

His real name was Luo Wang. He came from a poor background, from Chi Prefecture in Feng Country.

By a stroke of fate, he passed the Sun Moon Sword Sect's preliminary selection and became a servant of Nineteen Peaks. When he had first entered the sect, he had known nothing at all. His cultivation path had been full of stumbles and setbacks, and only after suffering greatly did he finally get on the right track.

When he had first broken through to the Qi Martial Realm, he had been full of high spirits. But reality gave him a crushing blow.

During a conflict with someone, he had struck out in anger, only to be defeated by a single palm strike and severely injured. To ensure his task could still be completed, he had no choice but to promise up his monthly spirit crystals with both hands and have other disciples complete it for him.

Only then did he realize that he was merely a frog at the bottom of a well. While he had been complacent over breaking through to the Qi Martial First Level, others had already reached the Qi Martial Seventh Level.

He came to a sudden realization, but it was already too late.

From his initial ignorance to his later struggles of youthful pride, he had fallen far, far behind others. Even though he had later risen in desperate pursuit, the gap would not bend to personal will.

More than three years later, he had only barely entered the Blood Martial Realm, while some of the outstanding talents from his own cohort had soared into the heavens and advanced into the Outer Sect.

As he spoke of this, Luo Wang was filled with regret. His impoverished background had led him down countless winding roads. Otherwise, how could he have entered the sect for five years and still remained at the Blood Martial Fourth Level?

Yang Chen deeply agreed. The gap in information was the greatest chasm in this world.

In the lands of great clans and aristocratic families, one could see certain truths of this world clearly simply through what one heard and saw every day. The information accumulated from such daily exposure was something the poor had to smash their heads bloody against the wall to understand.

"This is the array token for Spirit Field No. 8. With it, you may freely activate the array. Remember to keep it on your person at all times. You must never lose it."

Luo Wang handed Yang Chen a perfectly square object and gave him this solemn warning.

"Alright!"

Yang Chen tucked the token into his robes. He knew a little about arrays. An array was a method of linking heaven and earth, capable of turning decay into wonder and wielding immense power.

Seeing Yang Chen accept the token with a calm expression, a trace of jealousy flashed through Luo Wang's heart.

In truth, he had long known that Yang Chen came from no ordinary background. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to obtain this task. Luo Wang had entered the sect five years ago and endured many hardships; he had long understood all the twists and turns behind such matters.

When he had first entered the sect, he had been assigned the most grueling task of mining. At the time, he had envied those disciples stationed at the medicine gardens and lamented his own misfortune.

Only later did he understand that the luck he saw was merely the inevitable result of transactions involving power and money.

As long as the spirit crystals were in place, the overseer could assign you an easy task. Otherwise, you would get something filthy, bitter, and exhausting.

Yang Chen had kept him company over drinks and helped ease his boredom, so Luo Wang held some goodwill toward him. Yet the gap between their backgrounds made the fire of jealousy blaze in his heart.

If he had been born into a good family, how could his martial path have been so full of hardship?

But no matter how jealous he was, the matter had already been settled. He had no power to change it.

"Senior Brother Luo, the rivers and lakes are vast and the road is long. If fate permits, we will meet again!"

Yang Chen stood at the roadside and waved him off, watching Luo Wang vanish at the end of the road.