Retainers, Disciples

Hundred Beasts Garden.

After Qin Jiu slaughtered three spirit beasts in succession,

he stopped.

His brows remained tightly furrowed.

Most of the talents these three spirit beasts possessed were of blue-white grade. There were still eleven spirit beasts left in the garden, and he had no intention of killing more. Three beasts were already too many to serve the Divine Fist Sect guests today.

If he kept killing them without finding a talent he could imprint,

it would be far too wasteful.

"Take this Thorn Rat and the Phoenix Tail Snake to make medicinal dishes. Prepare the other one and put it in the ice cellar for now."

He gave Xu Zheng his instructions.

Then he went to a nearby courtyard to train.

Before long,

Wang Yue appeared in Hundred Beasts Garden as well.

Watching the crisscrossing flashes of blades in the courtyard, he looked both shocked and relieved. He murmured, "Looks like Young Master has seen blood. And in such a short time, he's already broken through to Three Refinements. Truly, Heaven favors the Qin Family. The heavens have eyes."

"Uncle Wang, what brings you here?"

Qin Jiu sensed him, lowered his long blade, and looked toward the entrance.

His brows knitted slightly. "Didn't I tell you to rest and recover?"

"This old servant has nearly recovered."

Wang Yue came to his senses and smiled as he shook his head. "I don't know whether the pills are that effective or this old servant is simply lucky. My body was injured by true qi before, but now not only have those injuries healed, even the hidden injuries left by the Tyrant Blade's backlash have completely disappeared."

"Though this old servant doesn't have long to live,"

"my strength has already returned to its peak. So I thought I'd come see if there's anything I can do to lighten your burden, Young Master."

Hearing this,

Qin Jiu couldn't help shaking his head.

He then told Wang Yue of the Qin Family's plans after leaving the county seat. Though the County Magistrate had been ambushed, his life or death remained unknown; they couldn't say for certain that he was dead. The fact that the masters of Canghai Martial Arts Hall and Four Seasons Pharmacy had yet to return to the county seat made that clear.

He wanted to hear what Wang Yue thought.

"Cross the pass?"

Wang Yue was taken aback. After a moment's thought, he said, "That does sound like a good idea."

"But demons are running rampant outside the city. If we leave the county seat, the risks along the way will surely be great. The County Magistrate took us with him before, hoping to eliminate those great demons, but you know what happened afterward..."

"Those demons are still alive, and we don't know where they're lying low now."

"As for those people from the Divine Fist Sect you mentioned..."

"Forgive this old servant for speaking frankly. Even if an Internal Strengthening Deacon comes from a great sect, he's still only at the Internal Strengthening stage. There's more than one great demon outside the city—the one that wiped out the Zhao Family wasn't the only one."

"I've thought about that too."

Qin Jiu nodded. "That's why I invited the Divine Fist Sect disciples today. Since they managed to reach the county seat unharmed, they must have ways to avoid the demons. It can't hurt to sound them out."

"Would you like this old servant to go over?"

"No."

Qin Jiu shook his head, then added, "A few days ago, I had people search the city for Ice Crystals. You can help keep an eye on that. If you'd rather not, you can go to Old Madam. Demons have been appearing more and more in the inner city lately, and I'm worried about her safety."

Before long,

noon arrived.

An opera troupe had set up a stage in the front courtyard of Qin Mansion. A table in the reception hall was laden with food and wine, their fragrance filling the whole room.

"Guests of the Divine Fist Sect have arrived!"

Suddenly,

a loud voice rang out, full of vigor.

Qin Jiu hurried out of the hall to greet them at the entrance of Qin Mansion.

But as soon as he stepped outside, he froze.

There were only two figures standing before the mansion gates.

"Senior Brothers, why hasn't Deacon Baili come?"

"Deacon Baili is training."

Ruan Chen said irritably, "What, are you saying the two of us aren't welcome?"

"Senior Brother Ruan, what are you saying?"

"It's an honor to have you both here. You've brought glory to Qin Mansion. Please, come in!"

Qin Jiu gestured for them to enter.

Though their arrival was unexpected,

as long as someone from the Divine Fist Sect had come, there was still room to negotiate about joining the sect.

He led the two men into the hall.

On the stage outside, the performers weren't actors but several boldly dressed dancers, who were now dancing gracefully.

The two men hadn't even taken their seats,

yet their faces were already alight with excitement.

"Junior Brother Qin, where did you hire this troupe? Not bad."

"Oh?"

Qin Jiu first invited them to sit.

Then, with a faint smile, he turned to Qin Xuanzhou, who stood behind him. "Have them come inside and dance. They're so far away, it's tiring just to watch."

How could he fail to see what the two men were thinking?

He immediately gave the order.

Ruan Chen and Song Wenruo were both delighted.

"Senior Brothers, this wine was brewed with precious herbs. And this is first-grade spirit beast meat raised with a secret method at my estate. Please, have a taste and see if it suits you."

"Junior Brother Qin, you're too kind."

Ruan Chen came to his senses and waved his hand. "Even in the Divine Fist Sect, spirit beasts aren't something we get to eat at every meal."

"Let's discuss the important matters first."

His expression turned serious. "You invited the two of us here today, presumably about what you brought up yesterday. Since you've shown such sincerity, I won't beat around the bush."

"First, the Divine Fist Sect is about to enter the pass. If you join the sect, you'll have to go with us."

"Second, our sect has quotas for recruiting retainers."

"Retainers?"

Qin Jiu looked surprised.

Seeing this, Ruan Chen nodded. "When the sect chooses disciples, retainers get priority. So unless someone has exceptional talent, those who join the Divine Fist Sect as disciples are selected from among the retainers. You can think of retainers as something like servant disciples."

"Originally, the sect had no intention of recruiting retainers in Songshan."

"We came because Deacon Baili proposed it to the sect. So there aren't many spots available this time. As for why Deacon Baili insisted on coming here, what we told you yesterday was part of the reason."

"To be honest,"

"anyone in this city who can help Deacon Baili break through could join the sect directly."

"So you should understand what I mean, right?"

Hearing this, Qin Jiu's heart sank.

He knew that Baili Ce had likely come to Songshan County to build up wealth and exchange it for sect contributions, so he could break through to a level above Internal Strengthening. But becoming a mere retainer fell far short of his expectations.

More importantly...

"Senior Brother Ruan, may I ask whether, after becoming a retainer, I can bring other people with me when you return to the sect?"

"Other people?"

Ruan Chen's eyes flickered. He exchanged a glance with Song Wenruo.

"Junior Brother Qin, you mean bringing an entire family along with the sect, like Han Mansion, right?"

"You may have misunderstood."

He shook his head. "You should know that Han Mansion can leave with us only because I'm an inner disciple of the Divine Fist Sect, and as it happens, I admire Qingyue, so I made her that promise."

"But as a retainer..."

"I can only say it'll be difficult..."

"Unless you can become a core disciple of the Divine Fist Sect."