The Fastest Interview in History

"Please, have a seat." Yue Wen invited the young woman in and showed her to the old sofa. Then he asked, "May I ask your name?"

"My name is Zhao Xing'er." Once seated, the young woman smoothed her hair and answered with easy confidence.

"Congratulations, you passed the interview. You can start work tomorrow. When we get a job, you'll do a trial shift, and after that you'll be hired full-time. How does that sound?" Yue Wen rattled off.

"I... Huh?" Zhao Xing'er seemed to have prepared something to say, but she froze after getting one word out.

Wait.

That was it? She passed?

Was the only requirement to say your own name?

The bar for getting into kindergarten had been a little higher than this. Back then, they'd even asked her to give her parents' names!

For a moment, she began to wonder whether this was some kind of criminal hideout, where after a month on the job they'd take her on a team-building trip somewhere in the southeast, then have her rope in friends and family after two months...

Of course, Yue Wen wasn't lowering his standards just because she was pretty. The standards had been this low from the start.

There was nowhere left to lower them.

He wasn't looking to hire some fearsome fighter. She was only an assistant to fill out the headcount. If they got a job, he would be the one to deal with the evil spirits anyway.

He wouldn't even like it if she wanted to help kill evil spirits.

So all he needed was for her to be a cultivator.

The young woman's eyes held a glimmer, and she looked full of vitality. It was obvious she had some cultivation, and that was enough.

"Um..." Success had come so suddenly that Zhao Xing'er had to collect her thoughts before asking, "Don't you need to ask me anything else?"

"Haha, sure. Then I'll ask one more question." Yue Wen said, "Ms. Zhao, are you satisfied with our firm?"

"Me?" Zhao Xing'er thought it over, then said, "The firm's modest exterior feels very down-to-earth, and the interior is a mess, but an orderly one. You can tell it's a lively startup team. I'm very satisfied."

Yue Wen nodded at once. "A pleasure doing business with you."

He hadn't prepared any interview process at all. There was no need to spend too much effort on this assistant. As long as he had someone on staff and could get the firm's business license, that was enough.

Looking at Yue Wen's smile, Zhao Xing'er even found herself having a strange thought.

Were things moving too fast between us?

Had they really jumped straight to this point?

The fastest interview in history was over. Even after she left the firm, she still looked a little dazed. She walked down the street before taking out her phone and messaging someone on the other end.

"I got the job! The process was a little strange... but it went pretty smoothly. I deliberately picked a little firm that's completely unknown, shabby, messier inside than a doghouse, and looks like it's operating without a license. It definitely won't attract any attention."

After a while, the other person replied: "That's great! Now you'll be able to get established in Jiang City."

Zhao Xing'er added, "The firm's a dump, but the boss is really handsome."

"Hehe, even better," the other person replied.

Zhao Xing'er asked, "The identity and documents you arranged for me are all in order, right?"

The other person replied confidently, "Just focus on work and school. If there's even the slightest problem, may ten muscle-bound guys grab me and lock me up for three days and three nights!"

Zhao Xing'er: "Are you making a wish or something?"

"You should be careful, too. Don't beat another coworker half to death," the other person said, changing the subject.

Zhao Xing'er looked troubled and quietly replied, "I'll try."

Having found an assistant at last, Yue Wen rode his little electric scooter to the cemetery in East City toward dusk.

But this time, Old Huang wasn't the only one there to greet him.

Old Huang came over with a beaming smile, followed by a young man with a stern expression.

The young man wore a white martial arts uniform. He was around six feet tall and lean, with long side-swept bangs covering his right eye. His eyes were small and his skin was clear. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he had a cool, cocky air about him.

"Yue," Old Huang called out. "Sorry for making you come all the way here again. I haven't had the chance to let you know, but you won't need to deal with the evil spirits tonight. The higher-ups have brought in someone new."

"They brought someone else?" Yue Wen frowned slightly at the young man, then asked, "Why?"

"It's not that they're unhappy with you. You said last night that a monster was around, so I reported it to the department above us right away. They were worried you wouldn't be able to handle it, so they specifically invited a disciple from the Immortal Gate to take charge," Old Huang explained.

A disciple of the Immortal Gate?

Yue Wen gave the young man another look. No wonder he was so aloof.

Even the smallest, weakest Immortal Gate had resources and connections ordinary rogue cultivators couldn't compare with.

For cultivators who had to make do with piecemeal cultivation methods and couldn't scrape together a single intact magical artifact, Immortal Gate disciples cultivated faster and more safely. At the same realm, their combat strength also overwhelmingly surpassed theirs. There was simply no comparison.

Of course, Yue Wen wasn't a traditional rogue cultivator.

He only looked like one.

"This is just a public cemetery. Why spend so much on it?" Yue Wen asked curiously. "An Immortal Gate disciple must cost a pretty penny, right?"

Old Huang chuckled. "It certainly wasn't cheap. The higher-ups agreed to bring him in because they care so much about our cemetery in East City. It definitely has nothing to do with my son being the security supervisor for the eastern suburbs."

"I see." Yue Wen nodded, then patted the seat of his little electric scooter. "Have a seat while we talk, sir. Don't tire yourself out."

"Aw, I'm fine." Old Huang waved him off. "Besides, you don't have to give the money back. It's like getting a day off. Sounds good, right?"

Not good at all.

Do you think I came for the money? I came for the Lantern Monster!

Otherwise, why would I be getting paid so little?

After thinking it over, he said, "No."

"Hm?" Old Huang and the young man both looked at him.

Yue Wen's face was solemn. "As the saying goes, if you take someone's money, you have to solve their problems. Since I accepted payment to clear out the Lantern Monster, I'll personally make sure this entire cemetery is cleared. Old Huang, that's my principle. I hope you understand."

"Well..." Old Huang fell silent for a moment at his words, then scratched his sparse hair and sighed. "Ah, Yue, there aren't many young people as principled as you these days."

He could've taken the money and walked away, but he insisted on doing the work he'd been paid for.

In two words: honor and loyalty!

The young man looked at Yue Wen with a measure of admiration, then stepped forward and introduced himself. "I'm Qi Dian of Linjiang Gate. You may be a rogue cultivator, but your principles are worthy of respect. I'll stay here tonight to back you up. If any troublesome evil spirits appear, I'll step in."

In the eyes of Immortal Gate disciples, most rogue cultivators were weak, but sly and unscrupulous.

Having no backing also meant having nothing to lose.

Their elders often warned them to be especially cautious around rogue cultivators when traveling. Outside the cities, in particular, they were even more dangerous than evil spirits.

That was why Qi Dian had been so cold toward Yue Wen at first.

But after hearing what Yue Wen had said, Qi Dian realized he seemed like a decent person. His opinion changed, and he was willing to speak to him.

"Thank you." Yue Wen nodded. "My cultivation is only at the late stage of the Unity Realm. With Fellow Daoist Qi here to take charge, I'll feel more at ease."

Linjiang Gate was a local sect in Jiang City. It wasn't much in the wider cultivation world, but it counted as a major sect around here.

After all, Tianbei Prefecture had long been known as a "cultivation wasteland."

Aside from people from the Supervision Bureau, Yue Wen had never met a cultivator with this kind of formal training before, so he naturally held Qi Dian in high regard.

But the moment he finished speaking, Qi Dian's gaze visibly wavered.

Old Huang was pleased to see them getting along and chuckled. "That's good. It'll be more fun for you two young men to work together. Xiao Qi comes from an Immortal Gate, so he can handle things if trouble comes up. Xiao Qi, what realm are you at now?"

What realm am I at?

I'm at the middle stage of the Unity Realm. Among my peers at Linjiang Gate, I'm already one of the best.

This rogue cultivator looks about my age, but he's already at the late stage of the Unity Realm? With enough resources, wouldn't he have a good chance of breaking through to the Gang Realm?

And they hired someone like him for a thousand yuan?

Qi Dian was astonished, but kept quiet.

Though he was one minor stage below Yue Wen, he was confident his combat strength far surpassed the other man's. But for an Immortal Gate disciple of roughly the same age to have a lower cultivation level than a rogue cultivator was embarrassing.

While he stood there at a loss for words, Old Huang pressed him again. "Eh? Xiao Qi, why aren't you saying anything? Hehe, do Immortal Gate disciples have to keep their cultivation secret?"

Questions, questions, questions.

The old man really couldn't read the room.

Qi Dian gritted his teeth in silence. After holding it in for a long while, he finally said, "I'm ordering takeout. Do you guys want fried chicken?"