The First Immortal in History to Seek Part-Time Work

For ordinary people, a month might not mean much, but for a Nascent Soul Stage expert, if he were to focus on studying, one month would absolutely be equivalent to several years for an ordinary person. And so, Zhang Hupan's English was now very fluent. Because Zhang Hupan found the English spoken in New York, USA, more pleasing to his ear, he had persisted in imitating and learning New York English. Now, he could speak fluent and authentic New York English. If everyone didn't know for a fact that Zhang Hupan truly came from Shiyan City, Wudang Mountain, they would truly suspect he was a student who had returned from studying abroad in America.

Hangzhou is located in the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta, at the western end of Hangzhou Bay, downstream of the Qiantang River, and at the southern end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It is an important central city in the Yangtze River Delta and a transportation hub in southeastern China. Hangzhou has a subtropical monsoon climate with distinct seasons, mild and humid, with abundant sunshine and rainfall. West Lake, located in the center of Hangzhou, is a scenic resort with a long history and world renown, dotted with historical sites, with beautiful mountains and waters, and pleasant scenery. It is 3.3 kilometers long from north to south and 2.8 kilometers wide from east to west. The original water surface area was 5.66 square kilometers, and including the islands in the lake, it is 6.3 square kilometers. The circumference of the lake shore is 15 kilometers. The average depth of the water is about 2.27 meters, with the deepest point being over 5 meters and the shallowest point less than 1 meter.

West Lake is full of scenic spots. Historically, in addition to the "Ten Scenes of Qiantang" and "Eighteen Scenes of West Lake," the most famous are the "Ten Scenes of West Lake" named in the Southern Song Dynasty and the "New Ten Scenes of West Lake" selected in 1985. Within the 60 square kilometer garden scenic area centered on West Lake, there are over 40 major scenic spots and more than 30 key historical and cultural sites. In summary, the scenery of West Lake is mainly characterized by "One Lake, Two Peaks, Three Springs, Four Temples, Five Mountains, Six Gardens, Seven Caves, Eight Tombs, Nine Streams, Ten Scenes." In 1982, West Lake was designated as a national scenic spot, and in 1985, it was selected as one of the "Top Ten Scenic Spots in China."

West Lake is a poem, a natural painting, and a beautiful and moving story. Whether it's the people who have lived here for many years or the travelers passing through, all are captivated by this unparalleled beauty. In the spring, the orioles fly and the grass grows. The Su and Bai causeways are lined with peach and willow trees. On both sides, the water ripples and pleasure boats dot the surface, while in the distance, the mountains are shrouded in mist, with green hues. Walking on the causeway at this time, you will be amazed by the scenery before you, even to the point of being entranced and wondering if you have entered a paradise.

Since Zhang Hupan started attending school, he had visited West Lake several times with Hu Zhiming and the others, and he had also come alone several times. After all, this was where Zhang Sanfeng had adopted him. Every time he came to West Lake, Zhang Hupan always felt an unspeakable melancholy. Although he was nearly a hundred years old, considered an Immortal by worldly standards, the fact that his origins remained unknown always filled him with immense regret and inexplicable sadness.

Today was Saturday, and Zhang Hupan was walking alone on Nanshan Road. Although the weather was clear, the autumn wind blowing against him still carried a hint of chill. With Zhang Hupan's cultivation, he was long immune to the cold and heat, but to avoid appearing conspicuous, he was wearing a very casual tracksuit. Of course, the Zhang Hupan of today was no longer the naive fool he was when he first emerged. Those rustic clothes had long been given to beggars by the roadside at the repeated urging of Hu Zhiming and the others. Everyone has a love for beauty, and Zhang Hupan was no exception. Moreover, he had English classes twice a week, facing two women universally recognized as campus beauties, one of whom was an outsider. And because of Zhang Hupan's excellent English skills, the Scottish beauty was now particularly fond of him, while Zhao Liya still stubbornly clung to him. Under these circumstances, if Zhang Hupan didn't pay attention to his image, he would be glared to death by all the male students, as they felt Zhang Hupan was a disgrace to men! Therefore, partly due to his own vanity and partly due to the pressure from his classmates, Zhang Hupan had no choice but to wear clothes considered top brands by most students, like Nike and Adidas.

West Lake in autumn was undoubtedly beautiful and intoxicating. The gentle autumn breeze blew, creating rippling waves on the water and carrying the refreshing scent of osmanthus. Nanshan Road was also a very beautiful and tranquil scenic route along West Lake, with tall Wutong trees and dense foliage that made the air feel particularly fresh and cool when walking beneath them. However, Zhang Hupan was not here to enjoy the tranquility and freshness of Nanshan Road; he was here to look for a part-time job. Ten thousand yuan had been spent on train tickets, clothes, tuition, books, a portable music player, updating his wardrobe, and of course, as the esteemed leader, he hadn't fallen behind in treating others, so after all these expenses, he was left with just over a thousand yuan. Although Zhang Hupan's cultivation had long surpassed the need for food and drink, if you wanted to live a normal life in this modern world, you had to spend money. Thus, Zhang Hupan, a man considered an Immortal by worldly standards, was forced to look for a part-time job. Of course, Zhang Hupan could have asked his disciples for money, but on one hand, he felt it would be beneath his dignity, and on the other hand, and more importantly, Zhang Hupan believed that experiencing life differently from ordinary people could enrich his life experience and improve his state of mind. Otherwise, if Zhang Hupan directly sold elixirs, he would surely become an incredibly wealthy merchant.

He chose to look for a job around Nanshan Road for two reasons. Firstly, he heard there were quite a few cafes and bars there that operated late into the night and offered higher incomes. Secondly, it was far from school, so he wouldn't run into acquaintances easily. Moreover, places like bars were complex microcosms of society. Zhang Hupan believed that integrating into this life and observing the lives of all sorts of people there would have a twice-as-effective effect on his worldly cultivation.

Perhaps because it was autumn, the air was crisp and clear in the evening, and many people enjoyed going out to bars during this season, so many bars had "Help Wanted" signs posted outside. Around the middle section of Nanshan Road, Zhang Hupan spotted a bar that looked very much like it had an American West vibe, named "Western Paradise." However, whether they would hire him was still unknown.

Western Paradise was a detached, two-story villa-style building with a pointed roof, covering an area of nearly two hundred square meters. The entire exterior wall was a background of aged, brown tree trunks from primeval forests, giving it a rugged and weathered appearance from afar. The small door was made of raw wood, and the decorator had intentionally used tree trunks to decorate the facade, making it feel like a roadside bar in a remote forest.

Zhang Hupan pressed the doorbell. "Please come in," a lazy female voice replied from inside. The door wasn't locked, and upon hearing the voice, Zhang Hupan pushed it open and entered. As the door opened, Zhang Hupan quickly took in his surroundings. The interior decoration of the bar was very consistent with its exterior style. The tables were all made of wood and coated with the characteristic brown color of primeval forest timber. The lighting in the entire bar was somewhat dim, perhaps considering this, the owner had turned on some additional lights. To the left, facing the door, was the performance stage. To the right, against the wall, was the bar counter. A woman with mature charm was lazily sitting on a high stool behind the bar, calculating and checking a stack of bills under the light. Zhang Hupan guessed that this beautiful, mature woman was likely the owner of the bar. Just as he was about to approach her, he felt someone tugging at his pant leg from behind. Zhang Hupan turned around and saw a little girl, about four or five years old, wearing a princess dress, with pigtails and a pair of bright, big eyes. Seeing Zhang Hupan turn, the little girl looked at him with a shy yet curious gaze and asked in a childish voice, "Big brother, are you here to see my mommy? Mommy is busy. I went to play with her just now, and she said she's busy and doesn't have time! Would you play with me for a bit first, and then go when Mommy is free, okay?"

Liu Zhenxi was the female owner of this bar. Five years ago, she studied abroad in New York, USA, where she met a handsome and dashing son of a wealthy overseas Chinese family. They quickly fell in love. Unfortunately, Liu Zhenxi did not expect this wealthy young man to be an extremely flirtatious and dissolute prodigal. In a fit of anger, she returned to her hometown in Hangzhou, two months pregnant. She then opened a uniquely themed bar on Nanshan Road. Because the bar's decoration and layout exuded a strong American Western small-town atmosphere, and it promoted a healthy drinking culture, the bar offered a distinct experience in terms of cultural taste and guiding healthy consumption. As a result, it was deeply welcomed by customers, who flocked to it, making it a well-known bar on Nanshan Road.

The little girl pulling Zhang Hupan's pant leg was named Liu Feifei, Liu Zhenxi's daughter. Having grown up in a single-parent family, and with Liu Zhenxi being very busy running the bar alone, her time to care for her daughter was very limited. This resulted in Liu Feifei having an introverted personality and being reluctant to talk to strangers, let alone tug at a stranger's pant leg. Liu Zhenxi felt very guilty about her daughter's withdrawn symptoms, but it was indeed difficult for a single woman to support herself and her daughter, and Liu Zhenxi truly didn't have much extra time to pay more attention to her daughter. Today, her daughter's behavior greatly surprised Liu Zhenxi, and she couldn't help but pay attention to the boy not far away, observing him carefully from a distance while chiding gently, "Feifei, don't be naughty. Let big brother come over. Big brother has something to discuss with Mommy!"

If one analyzed it carefully, Liu Feifei's behavior was not strange at all. Children have very pure hearts. Their minds are very pure, and they often judge things instinctively, without much thought. Their keen intuition tells them who is a good person and who is a bad person, just like a dog can clearly distinguish which stranger is well-intentioned towards its owner and which is not.

Zhang Hupan had grown up in the Xuanwu Immortal Realm since childhood, completely untainted by worldly desires, with a heart as pure as an infant's. He had also cultivated the Heavenly Dao, which was a gift of nature, comprehending the profound mysteries of heaven and earth, and was deeply connected to them. He naturally exuded an approachable aura. Furthermore, although he had sealed his magical powers, he had lived in a land of spiritual energy for a long time, and it was unavoidable that he had acquired a certain ethereal, natural, and unpretentious temperament. This was also one of the reasons why Zhao Liya inexplicably didn't resist sitting at the same table as Zhang Hupan. Otherwise, given Zhang Hupan's appearance, even if his schemes were as brilliant as Hu Zhiming claimed, Zhao Liya, a proud daughter of heaven, would not have sat next to Zhang Hupan every day for a month.

For the pure Liu Feifei, this stranger, this big brother, was clearly a very good person, someone who wouldn't harm her in the slightest, and he had a kind of approachable aura about him. Only a little girl like her could have such a strong feeling. Liu Feifei, who had been lonely for a long time, suddenly found such a big brother and, unable to resist, mustered the courage to tug at Zhang Hupan's pant leg, hoping he would play with her. However, upon hearing her mother's words, Liu Feifei looked at her mother with some disappointment and then looked at Zhang Hupan with eyes full of strong hope, saying, "Big brother, will you play with me after you finish talking with Mommy?" (To be continued)