Drawing Circles, New Year, Witch Sect

"Agreed." Lu Chen nodded.

"Straightforward!"

The smile on Jin Ming's face grew even wider. He immediately pulled the prepared employment contract from his robes and, as if performing a magic trick, produced a small box of ink paste.

"Then let's finalize the contract now. That way, I can head back early to make arrangements and get some proper attire prepared for Brother Lu."

He unfolded the contract and spread it across the edge of the well, pointing his finger at the blank space at the bottom.

"Brother Lu, just sign your name here and press your thumbprint, and we're all set."

Lu Chen didn't rush to sign or seal it; instead, he picked up the contract and read it over carefully.

Jin Ming's smile remained, but he sneered inwardly:

A South City bumpkin, how many words could he possibly know? The traps hidden in this contract, with clauses nested within clauses and joints locked within joints—is this something you could ever hope to decipher? Even if I let you look, what could you possibly see?

Jin Ming was certain that Lu Chen would, at most, glance at the monthly wage at the beginning and call it a day.

Lu Chen scanned the paper, his gaze turning cold bit by bit.

This was no employment contract; it was clearly a deed of indenture.

Between the lines, every word was a calculation. Even a cursory glance revealed several glaring issues.

First, a ten-year term that could not be altered.

Second, a monthly salary of ten taels, fixed forever with no possibility of an increase.

Even if Lu Chen were to break through to the External Strength realm tomorrow and become a person of note, the pay would remain ten taels.

In the outside world, an External Strength martial artist could command a position with a starting salary of fifty taels, but here, written in black and white, it was ten taels—not a single copper more.

Third, an exorbitant penalty fee; if the employee breached the contract halfway, they would owe ten thousand taels in damages.

Fourth, strict limitations: no taking outside work, no teaching martial arts privately, and everything required the master's approval.

Jin Ming's scheme was obvious.

He wanted to trap a future External Strength martial artist for a mere ten taels of silver.

Lu Chen sneered internally, but his face remained impassive. He didn't write his name, instead drawing a circle in the signature space.

Jin Ming looked at it, stunned: "Brother Lu, what is the meaning of this?"

Lu Chen scratched the back of his head and grinned, projecting a sense of simple-minded, commoner honesty:

"Brother Jin, to tell you the truth, I'm not very good at writing my name. I never had any proper schooling growing up, so I only know how to draw a circle. The meaning is clear enough, right?"

Jin Ming's mouth twitched. He cursed the idiot in his heart, but could only wave his hand dismissively.

"Fine, fine, a circle it is. Just hurry up and press your thumbprint, and we'll consider this settled."

"The thumbprint is easy enough." As Lu Chen said this, he folded the contract in a few quick motions, tucked it into his robes, and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

Jin Ming was startled and hurried to block his path: "Hey? Brother Lu, where are you going?"

Lu Chen looked at him as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "To find my martial arts mistress, of course. She told me earlier that I'm too honest and was afraid I'd be swindled. Signing is one thing, but for a thumbprint, she has to look it over first. Once she nods, I'll press it immediately!"

Jin Ming's face turned pale, and he hurriedly grabbed Lu Chen's sleeve: "This—this won't do! This is a matter between us brothers, why bother the mistress..."

"That won't do." Lu Chen pulled his arm back, his expression still that same earnest look. "The mistress said if I don't do as she says, she won't let me practice in the hall anymore. Brother Jin, you wouldn't want me to get scolded by her, would you?"

Jin Ming was choked into silence.

How could he dare let the mistress know about his scheme against Lu Chen?

Jin Ming chuckled dryly: "H-how could that be? Brother Lu, of course I trust you. It's just..."

"Just what, Brother Jin!" Lu Chen laughed even more brightly, appearing for all the world like a simple, guileless man.

"Brother Jin, we're good brothers! You're the person in this world who thinks the most of me and treats me the best. Could I ever cheat you? That's impossible!"

He pointed at the round ink circle on the contract, vowing solemnly:

"Look, I've already drawn the circle, how could this be fake? When Lu Chen gives his word, it's as solid as a nail! I accept this job! Just put your heart at ease, it's all settled!"

Lu Chen's gaze was open and his words were sincere.

He heaped praise upon Jin Ming, calling him a great brother and a man of integrity.

No matter how many schemes Jin Ming had, he had no way to push further at this moment.

What else could he say? Should he force Lu Chen to press his thumbprint right now and make himself look like he had something to hide?

Jin Ming said with a bitter face:

"Trust, of course I trust you. I can certainly trust Brother Lu's character."

"That's the spirit!" Lu Chen laughed heartily. "Then Brother Jin, you go back and prepare. Once I report this to the mistress, I'll start work immediately!"

As Jin Ming walked out of the courtyard, the discomfort in his heart felt like he had swallowed a fly; it was nauseating.

But after walking only a few steps, that sense of superiority bubbled up again.

Who was he, Jin Ming? The third young master of the Daxing Rice Shop! When it came to social standing, connections, education, and ability, how could Lu Chen compare to him in any way?

A boy who crawled out of the alleys of South City—what had he ever seen of the world? Aside from having hard fists, what else could he possibly offer?

He was confident that, relying on his own personal charisma, he would sooner or later bring Lu Chen to heel.

Thinking of this, the stifled feeling in his heart dissipated by more than half; the days ahead were long, and there would always be ways to slowly manipulate him.

He brushed off his lapels, hummed a little tune, and sauntered away.

Lu Chen watched coldly as Jin Ming walked into the distance.

What a self-righteous fool.

The New Year was approaching, and the streets were filled with stalls selling incense and candles, velvet flowers, clothing and hats, offerings, deity statues, New Year pictures, snacks, pastries, potted flowers, fine wine, couplets, firecrackers, lanterns, and various sizes of "Fortune" characters.

Today was the first day of the month.

His master's wife entrusted Lu Chen with a task: to go to the Witch Sect academy outside the county town and bring her two daughters back to the county to celebrate the New Year.

Liu Qi went along with him, as did a maidservant; before they set off, the master's wife specifically instructed them to rent a top-tier carriage from the livery stable.

Last year, Liu Qi had also gone to pick them up, only to return saying that the young ladies felt the hired carriage was shabby and had lost face in front of their classmates at the academy, leaving them very displeased.

The master's wife felt pained upon hearing this, so this year she gave the order to hire a high-quality one directly.

Lu Chen and the others drove this carriage out of the city.

On the road, Xiao Gao, the maidservant who had come from another province, asked curiously what the Witch Sect was, as she had never heard of it.

She had been sold from the south to the north and was hearing about the Witch Sect for the first time.

Liu Qi explained that the Witch Sect was the mainstream religion of the north, and its doctrine was that all things have spirits. It was said that the shamans within the sect possessed the ability to tame exotic beasts.

Great Liang had no government-run academies; princes, nobles, and wealthy families all established their own private schools.

Beyond that, there were only private academies or schools run by religious organizations.

Private academies had exorbitant tuition fees that ordinary families could not afford.

Those run by religious organizations were much cheaper, but they had a rule: they only accepted the children of believers.

Wen'an County was remote and lacked private academies, having only the "Nature Academy" established by the Witch Sect.

In order for her two daughters to receive an education, the master's wife had them join the Witch Sect, which was how they gained entry into the Nature Academy.

Lu Chen had seen people from the Witch Sect before.

A while back, they had even come to Sheep Dung Alley to proselytize, wearing gray cloth jackets and tied with colorful ropes, standing at the alley entrance to urge people to believe in the sect and worship nature, while incidentally peddling a type of sachet that could repel wild beasts.

These sachets actually contained something real and were not purely a scam; they could scare off ordinary jackals, wolves, and wild dogs.

However, if one were to encounter the true exotic species and monsters outside the city, these little tricks would not be enough.

At this moment, hanging from the shaft of their carriage was an artemisia-green sachet, and throughout their journey, they had not encountered any harassment from wild beasts.