"The three of you will be staying here from now on. Set down your luggage first, and I'll show you around."
As they spoke, Lu Qing had already led everyone to a small courtyard. He flipped over the plaque on one of the doors, revealing the room number "Jiaxu."
The room was very plainly furnished. Along the east wall was a shared sleeping platform with three sets of bedding and personal lockers.
On the west side were three desks and a bookshelf. It looked like they would be sharing meals and lodging from now on.
After assigning each of the three a place to stay, Lu Qing took them to the Stewardship Office to be entered into the register, then brought them together to report to the Kitchen Office.
They would first introduce themselves and be assigned work the following day.
Afterward, they collected two sets of coarse hemp Taoist robes and all the necessary supplies from the Treasury Office. By then, the sun was already sinking in the west.
After dinner in the dining hall, the three of them, unfamiliar with the place, didn't dare wander around. They went straight back to the dormitory.
The three had arrived at just the right time. Each room housed three people, and by the time it was their turn, all the earlier spots had been filled, so the three of them were assigned together.
Most of the people living nearby had entered the instance with them, though there were fewer people from the instance who had come to study immortality.
At this point, however, there were only a little over twenty talented people who had come to Mount Lao, counting the three of them.
At the time, apart from Daoist Ling Guan and the thirty-six youths from the Special Affairs Department, over seventy people, including Tian Yong and Zhang Zhe, had entered the instance.
Dozens of people, including Ling Qing, had also been right beside the formation.
Even if not everyone had made it here, their numbers were still lower than those of the Special Affairs Department.
It seemed that getting up Mount Lao really wasn't easy. Who knew how many would make it in the end?
Back at the courtyard, the talented newcomers who had arrived earlier had prepared a little gathering in the pavilion to welcome the three of them. It was also a chance to get to know each other.
After all, if nothing unexpected happened, they might one day share the bond of having studied under the same master.
While chatting, Ling Qing and the others asked those who had arrived earlier. Not only had they not been taught any immortal arts, they hadn't even been given a chance to recite scriptures or practice martial arts.
Every day, aside from hauling water and chopping firewood, they washed clothes and worked the fields. All they did was menial labor.
"I'd have been better off never coming to Mount Lao. I went through so much hardship along the way.
"If I'd known, I would've gone with that guy and learned swordsmanship."
One of the wealthy young men, named Liu Yun, grumbled.
He'd mentioned earlier that his family had assets worth tens of billions in the modern world, making them quite wealthy.
But getting into this instance had still taken a great deal of effort. His family had called in plenty of favors before securing him a second-tier spot.
There had been a famous sword immortal near his initial arrival point.
At the time, he'd hesitated over whether to skip Mount Lao and go straight to that man to become his disciple.
But the village wasn't far from Mount Lao, and after a moment's hesitation, he'd still chosen to come here.
After all, the man was said to be a famous sword immortal, but who knew if that was true or how capable he really was?
Mount Lao seemed a much safer bet.
He'd also encountered some bizarre events along the way.
He didn't have many tricks up his sleeve, just a few martial arts skills, a crude magical artifact, and some talismans.
He'd barely made it here alive.
When he'd arrived, he'd known he would first have to do some menial work to temper his resolve. But he hadn't expected that all they'd do was make him work without teaching him a thing.
"Yeah, no kidding."
Over twenty people had gathered in the courtyard to chat, and some of them chimed in.
"Come on, stop complaining. Haven't people always started out by hauling water and chopping firewood when they went to study under a master? And that's even more true when you're seeking immortality.
"As long as you're sincere, the master will teach you in time."
One of the older men, named Li Li, tried to reassure them.
Like his nephew Li Qing and Ling Qing, he had received a third-tier spot on the outskirts.
They were quite the uncle-and-nephew pair of the fortunate. Both had been chosen by the instance, and their arrival points had been close to each other. After that, they'd naturally made their way to Mount Lao.
They were among the first to arrive.
"Easy for you to say. We don't even know when the instance will end. What if all this comes to nothing in the end? What was the point of going to so much trouble to get in?
"Are we here to learn how to serve people?"
Liu Yun retorted, complaining the whole time.
Those who had taken heart from Li Li's words began to feel uneasy too.
That was right. Though this Time Fragment was called an instance, it wasn't a real instance.
There were no specific tasks, and they didn't even know when they would leave.
Those who had experienced the hardship of life in the mountains felt that it was nowhere near as good as their comfortable lives in the modern world. It was even worse than life outside the mountains.
None of them were short of money. They'd all exchanged some for silver before coming in, enough to live in luxury if they wanted.
Grinding away in the mountains without any idea how long it would last wasn't going to work.
"If you don't want to stay, go down the mountain yourself. No one's stopping you. Why are you grumbling here?"
A young man who looked somewhat like Li Li snapped at Liu Yun.
Ling Qing knew this was Li Li's nephew, Li Qing.
"What does it have to do with you whether I go down the mountain? Who are you to butt in?" Liu Yun said angrily.
"It has nothing to do with me, so you—"
"Li Qing, that's enough." Before Li Qing and Liu Yun could start arguing, Li Li stopped him.
"Uncle, he—" Li Qing protested, unwilling to let it go.
"Enough. Don't say another word."
"Hmph!" Seeing Li Li's expression, Li Qing glared fiercely at Liu Yun, then turned away and fell silent.
After stopping Li Qing, Li Li immediately turned to Liu Yun and said, "Sorry about that, Brother Liu Yun. He's young and doesn't know any better. Don't take it to heart."
But he didn't ask Li Qing to apologize.
Ling Qing looked at the uncle and nephew with some surprise. Li Qing was around twenty, at the age when tempers ran hot.
He also looked like a hotheaded sort.
Li Li was only a little over thirty, not much older than Li Qing, yet Li Qing listened to him so readily.
Perhaps Li Qing had been obedient since childhood, or perhaps Li Li really had some ability that earned his nephew's respect.
But after that little scene, no one felt like chatting anymore. They parted on bad terms and went to bed.
Early the next morning, Ling Qing and Zhang Zhe got up and began their morning practice indoors.
They'd picked up the habit during the previous instance, while Zhu Guang had already studied the Eight Divine Incantations.
But his teacher hadn't been very good, and he hadn't thought much of the incantations, so he'd never really gotten the hang of them.
This morning, first, he didn't want to be left out and seem unsociable.
Second, seeing that the two of them had truly received the teachings had piqued his interest, so he joined them for morning practice.
At that moment, he was studying a manuscript he'd borrowed from Ling Qing, occasionally asking the two of them for guidance.
After morning practice, they each worked through their martial arts and spells. Then the three of them went out and joined everyone at the dining hall.
After breakfast, the three went together to the service courtyard to report to the Chief Steward of the Kitchen.
"You three are the new arrivals from yesterday, right?"
The Chief Steward of the Kitchen was also surnamed Zhang, like Zhang Zhe. He was a little plump and wore a constant smile, as if he never had a care in the world.
He was the steward in charge of everything in the kitchen, including but not limited to helping in the back kitchen, hauling water and firewood, chopping wood, tending the fire, watering vegetables, and working the fields.
Anything to do with meals for the people in the Taoist Temple fell under his jurisdiction.
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