Hardship in the Mountains

"The three of you will rest here from now on. Put down your luggage first, and I will take you to be initiated."

As he spoke, Lu Qing led them to a small courtyard, flipped the doorplate of one of the rooms, and revealed the room number "Jiaxu."

Inside, it was very simple: against the east wall stood a communal bed with three sets of bedding and private lockers.

On the west side were three desks and a bookshelf; it seemed they would be eating and living together from now on.

After Lu Qing arranged their accommodations, he took the three of them to the Stewardship Office to register their names, then went together to report to the Kitchen Office.

They made their introductions first, with work assignments to be settled tomorrow.

Afterward, they went to the Treasury Office to collect two sets of coarse hemp Taoist robes and other necessary supplies, by which time the red sun was already slanting to the west.

Having eaten dinner in the canteen, the three of them were unfamiliar with the place and dared not wander, so they returned directly to their dormitory.

The three of them had arrived at a fortuitous time; each room housed three people, and when it was their turn, there were no empty spots left, so they were arranged together.

Most of the people living in the surrounding area were those who had entered the dungeon together; there were fewer people from the dungeon who had come to learn immortality.

However, at this moment, the number of gifted individuals who had found their way to Mount Lao, including the three of them, was only about twenty.

At that time, besides Daoist Ling Guan and the thirty-six acolytes from the Special Affairs Department, more than seventy people, including Tian Yong and Zhang Zhe, had entered the dungeon.

There were dozens of people, including Ling Qing, who were clustered closely around the great formation.

Not to mention everyone arriving, the number was not even as high as the people from the Special Affairs Department.

It seemed that the hurdle of ascending Mount Lao was indeed not easy to pass, and it was unknown how many would eventually make it.

Back in the courtyard, the earlier arrivals had gathered in the pavilion to welcome the three, which served as a way to build rapport.

After all, if things went as expected, they might share the bond of being fellow disciples in the future.

During the idle chatter, Ling Qing and the others asked those who had arrived earlier; let alone being taught immortal arts, they hadn't even been included in chanting scriptures or practicing martial arts.

Every day, aside from fetching water and chopping wood, they did nothing but wash clothes and farm; it was all menial labor.

"It would have been better not to come to this Mount Lao; I suffered so much on the way here.

If I had known, I would have gone to learn swordsmanship from that person."

One of them, a wealthy youth named Liu Yun, complained.

He had mentioned before that his family in the modern world held assets worth tens of billions, making him quite well-off.

But he had gone to great lengths to enter this dungeon, pulling many strings to secure a second-tier spot.

Near his initial landing point, there was a famous sword immortal.

At the time, he had hesitated about whether to skip Mount Lao and just apprentice under that person instead.

However, that village was not far from Mount Lao, and after a moment of hesitation, he chose to come here.

After all, while the person was called a famous sword immortal, who knew if it was true or false, or how much skill they actually had?

In the end, it was not as reliable as Mount Lao.

He had experienced some strange and bizarre things along the way.

He himself didn't have many means, just some martial arts, and he had obtained a crude magical artifact and some talismans.

It could be said that he had survived by the skin of his teeth to get here.

When he entered, he knew he would have to do some menial labor to temper his will, but he hadn't expected it to be just labor with nothing being taught.

"Sigh, who's to say otherwise."

The twenty or so people gathered in the courtyard to chat, and some echoed his sentiments.

"Alright, stop complaining. Since ancient times, hasn't learning a craft always started with fetching water and chopping wood? Especially when seeking immortality.

As long as one's heart is sincere, the master will naturally teach you."

One of the older ones, named Li Li, comforted everyone.

He, his nephew Li Qing, and Ling Qing were all holders of the peripheral third-tier spots.

They were a pair of uncle and nephew with good fortune; both were chosen by the dungeon, landed not far from each other, and subsequently arrived at Mount Lao as a matter of course.

They were among the first batch of all the people there.

"You say it lightly, but we don't know when the dungeon will end. If it all comes to nothing in the end, what was the point of us spending so much effort to get in?

Are we supposed to learn how to wait on people?"

Liu Yun retorted, his words filled with constant complaints.

Those who had gained some confidence after hearing Li Li's words began to feel uneasy as well.

Indeed, although this Time Fragment was called a dungeon, it wasn't a real dungeon.

Not only were there no specific tasks, but they didn't even know when they would leave.

Those who had experienced the hardships of the mountain felt that life on the mountain couldn't even compare to the comfort of modern life, and even the world outside the mountain was far better than this.

None of them lacked money; they had all exchanged for some silver when they came in, so living in luxury would have been easy.

Toiling away on this mountain without any sense of direction was not a solution.

"If you don't want to stay, then head down the mountain yourself. No one is stopping you, so why are you here grumbling?"

A young man who looked somewhat similar to Li Li retorted directly at Liu Yun.

Ling Qing knew that this was Li Li's nephew, Li Qing.

"Whether I go down the mountain or not is none of your business. Is it your place to butt in?" Liu Yun snapped back, instantly infuriated.

"It's none of my business, but then you..."

"Li Qing, that's enough." Before Li Qing and Liu Yun could start a full-blown argument, Li Li called out to stop them.

"Uncle, it was him who..." Li Qing retorted, clearly unwilling to let it go.

"That's enough, say no more."

"Hmph!" Seeing the look on Li Li's face, Li Qing shot a fierce glare at Liu Yun, then turned his head away and fell silent.

After stopping Li Qing, Li Li immediately turned to Liu Yun and said, "Brother Liu Yun, my apologies. The kid doesn't know any better; please don't take it to heart."

However, he made no move to have Li Qing apologize as well.

Ling Qing watched the uncle and nephew with some surprise; Li Qing was around twenty, right at that age of youthful impetuosity.

He looked like someone with a fiery temper.

Yet Li Li was only in his early thirties, not much older than Li Qing, and it was unexpected that he would be so obedient to him.

It seemed that either he had been accustomed to listening since childhood, or Li Li truly possessed some ability that had earned Li Qing's respect.

However, after this farce, no one was in the mood to continue chatting, so they dispersed unhappily and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Ling Qing and Zhang Zhe rose to begin their morning lessons indoors.

This was a habit they had formed during their last dungeon run, and Zhu Guang had previously learned these Eight Divine Incantations.

But since his teacher hadn't been very good and he hadn't placed much importance on the incantations himself, he had never managed to master them.

This morning, he joined them for two reasons: first, he didn't want to be left out and appear unsociable; second, seeing that the two of them had truly obtained the authentic teachings, he had become interested.

At this moment, he was holding the manuscript borrowed from Ling Qing, studying it and occasionally asking the two for guidance.

After finishing their morning lessons and practicing their martial arts and spells, the three of them went out to join the others at the canteen.

After breakfast, the three of them went together to the miscellaneous courtyard to report to the Chief Steward of the Kitchen.

"You three are the newcomers from yesterday, right?"

This Chief Steward of the Kitchen was also surnamed Zhang, just like Zhang Zhe. He was slightly plump and wore a constant smile, as if he hadn't a care in the world.

He was the deacon responsible for all matters concerning the kitchen, including but not limited to kitchen chores, carrying water and firewood, chopping wood, tending the vegetable garden, and so on.

Anything related to the meals for everyone in the temple fell under his jurisdiction.