Guarding the Waste Pill Room

The flying sword sped through the air and, in no time at all, arrived above the seventh peak.

Buildings dotted the mountain, ancient structures rising one after another with a grand, majestic air. Yet as far as the eye could see, there were only a few scattered figures, making the place seem somewhat desolate.

The flying sword landed in a plaza. The moment it touched down, Lu Mingshi turned to Han Yu and said,

"Han Yu, come with me later. From today onward, you are my personal disciple! I will personally teach you the path of cultivation."

Hearing this, even Han Yu, proud as he was, immediately showed delight and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Peak Master!"

"Hm? Peak Master?" Lu Mingshi's brow twitched.

With a thud, Han Yu dropped to his knees and hastily corrected himself. "Thank you, Master!"

"Good! When we reach the main hall, I will hold a formal apprenticeship ceremony for you."

Only then did Lu Mingshi nod in satisfaction and turn to look at the others.

At that moment, aside from Su Shi'er, the other three children all wore envious expressions.

To become the Peak Master's disciple directly was an honor as great as the heavens! Unfortunately, they did not possess Han Yu's talent and could only look on in envy.

After settling Han Yu's matter, Lu Mingshi turned to Xiao Yue. "Yue'er, arrange the rest of them. Tomorrow, have them study reading, writing, and sect rules with the instructors first. In three months, arrange for them to learn the methods of cultivation from the teaching elders."

"Mm! I'll arrange lodging for them first!"

Xiao Yue smiled and nodded. After speaking, her gaze fell on Su Shi'er and the others. Just as she was about to speak, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded out.

"Peak Master, something terrible has happened! Junior Brother Chen Xi was bitten by a demonic beast!"

Two disciples wearing Yun Ge Sect disciple robes came running over, carrying an injured disciple on a stretcher.

The disciple on the stretcher was only sixteen or seventeen years old. He was severely injured and unconscious, covered in blood.

"A demonic beast? The sect is protected by formations everywhere. Where would a demonic beast come from?" Lu Mingshi frowned as his gaze fell upon the stretcher.

The leading disciple hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Peak Master, the Waste Pill Room is in a remote location, and wild beasts often appear there. Among them are no shortage of Low-Tier Demonic Beasts."

"Hmph, and you call yourselves cultivators! You cannot even deal with a mere wild beast. All these years of cultivation have gone straight into a dog's belly?"

Lu Mingshi's expression darkened, and he let out a cold snort. As he spoke, his gaze landed on the injured disciple. He took out a pale azure talisman.

True Yuan surged within him, and the talisman transformed into a streak of azure light that enveloped the youth on the stretcher.

A moment later, the azure light faded, and the youth's wounds stopped bleeding. However, he had lost an arm and a leg, making him look especially miserable.

"Enough. I have used an Azure Spirit Talisman to stabilize his injuries. But he has lost his limbs and will find cultivation difficult from now on. Choose a day and send him down the mountain."

The two disciples carrying the stretcher nodded frantically. Yet rather than leaving, they carefully asked, "Peak Master, does the Waste Pill Room still need someone to guard it?"

"Hmph. Though waste pills are useless, keeping count of them concerns the sect's consumption of medicinal ingredients. Do you think it is necessary?" Lu Mingshi snorted coldly, displeased.

Within the Yun Ge Sect, all kinds of medicinal pills consumed in cultivation by the disciples were refined by the Peak Masters of each peak or specialized alchemists.

The sect provided the required medicinal ingredients. Based on the number of finished pills and waste pills produced, the use of those ingredients could be tallied, preventing anyone from embezzling them.

The Waste Pill Room stood in a remote location, nearly at the outer perimeter of the Yun Ge Sect. Ordinarily, managing such trivial, chicken-feather-and-garlic-skin matters had nothing to do with Luofu Peak.

But the problem was that among the Yun Ge Seven Peaks, Luofu Peak was the weakest. Naturally, such matters fell upon Luofu Peak.

Hearing Lu Mingshi say this, the two disciples carrying the stretcher could not help shuddering. They hurriedly said, "Peak Master, then who should we send? Our peak is rather short-handed right now!"

"Hm? No one left? Then no matter. This time, I brought several boys back from down the mountain!" Lu Mingshi froze for a moment, muttering to himself as his gaze swept over and landed on Zhu Hanwei.

Feeling Lu Mingshi's gaze upon him, Zhu Hanwei's legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

He had heard every word the two disciples said. The Waste Pill Room—just hearing the name told him it was no good place. The man on the stretcher was a living, breathing example.

How could he possibly be willing to go?

At the thought, Zhu Hanwei's little face turned pale with fright. Before Lu Mingshi could speak, he hurriedly pulled a palm-sized wooden box from his robes.

"Peak Master, my father also had something he wanted me to give you!"

"Hm?" Lu Mingshi was taken aback. When he accepted the wooden box and looked inside, his eyes immediately narrowed into slits.

Inside the wooden box was another small piece of Hundred Year Cold Jade. This piece had clearly originally been one whole with the piece he had accepted in Huilong Town.

Without changing expression, Lu Mingshi put away the wooden box and examined Zhu Hanwei. "Enough. Why are you pulling such a long face at your age? You have no Spiritual Root anyway, so cultivation would only be a waste. How about this? My pill chamber still lacks a pill boy. From now on, you will serve as my pill boy!"

"Thank you, Peak Master!" Hearing that he would not have to go to the Waste Pill Room and would instead serve as the Peak Master's pill boy, Zhu Hanwei nodded like a chicken pecking rice, his heart blooming with joy.

Lu Mingshi ignored him and continued sweeping his gaze around until it fell on Su Shi'er.

"Fine, you then! Starting today, you will guard the Waste Pill Room!"

Su Shi'er's thin body trembled, and his face instantly turned snow-white.

Zhu Hanwei could recognize the danger of the Waste Pill Room, and Su Shi'er was no exception.

But looking at Lu Mingshi, he did not know how to refuse. Zhu Hanwei had money and could offer gifts, but he could afford to give nothing.

At the side, Xiao Yue swept her gaze over Su Shi'er and the others, then turned to Lu Mingshi and could not help saying,

"Grandfather, they are still young, and they have only just joined the sect. No matter who you send to the Waste Pill Room, if they truly encounter wild beasts or even Low-Tier Demonic Beasts, would that not be sending them to their deaths?"

Lu Mingshi kept a stern face, but this time he would not yield. "Sending them to their deaths? Yue'er, it is not that I want to criticize you. What do you take cultivation for? Children playing house?"

"This boy's talent is already abysmal beyond measure. If he cannot even overcome this small danger, then what is the point of cultivating? Just send him down the mountain directly."

Lu Mingshi held no hopes for Su Shi'er at all. With the worst possible Mixed Spiritual Roots, no matter how he looked at it, letting him cultivate was a waste of resources.

There was no one available on the peak now, so having Su Shi'er guard the Waste Pill Room was undoubtedly the best decision.

As for danger, he did not consider it much at all. Wild beasts and demonic beasts were entirely low-probability occurrences. Was Chen Xi not also a disciple with little aptitude? He had stayed at the Waste Pill Room for years before encountering danger.

Xiao Yue's face darkened, and she looked at Lu Mingshi, wanting to persuade him further.

Before she could speak, Su Shi'er suddenly said, "Senior Sister Xiao Yue, thank you! But the Peak Master is right. My talent is poor to begin with. If I cannot overcome even this little difficulty, then how can I cultivate properly in the future?"

Su Shi'er could sense Lu Mingshi's determination. He knew full well that he had no choice now.

If he stayed, he would at least still have a chance to cultivate.

But if he left, trying to enter the world of cultivators again would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

Xiao Yue could not bear it and still wanted to say something. "But..."

Lu Mingshi nodded instead. "Good. It is rare to see such courage. You two, take him to guard the Waste Pill Room."

As he spoke, Lu Mingshi turned to the two men carrying the stretcher.

"All right! Junior Brother, come with us!" The two nodded, looking at Su Shi'er with sympathy.

The Peak Master was truly sending this boy to his death!

Junior Brother Chen Xi had at least cultivated for several years, but this boy before them was only twelve!

Even if he went, in three or five days, if he did not die, he would be scared witless!

It was not just them. Zhu Hanwei and the others also held no hopes for Su Shi'er. In their eyes, what Su Shi'er was doing was far too foolish. Cultivation was one thing, but if he lost his life, then what the hell was the point of cultivating?

Beside Lu Mingshi, Han Yu looked at Su Shi'er's frail back, hesitating to speak. Forget it. With talent like his, once he encounters danger, he will naturally know to give up.

Su Shi'er left with the two disciples. One carried the injured Chen Xi away on his back, while the other led Su Shi'er toward the Waste Pill Room.

Perhaps thinking Su Shi'er would not remain in the sect for long, the disciple guiding him had no intention of speaking throughout the journey.

Su Shi'er hunched his neck and wisely did not try to make conversation either.

The two descended Luofu Peak and walked for another two hours before reaching a small mountain peak at the sect's edge.

Before them stood a simple wood-and-stone building. It had its own courtyard and was divided into several rooms, including living quarters and a storeroom specifically for waste pills.

"This is the Waste Pill Room. The storeroom is for keeping waste pills. At the end of every month, each peak sends its waste pills here. Your task is to record the quantity of waste pills sent by each peak, then hand the records to the steward responsible for counting them at the beginning of the month."

"This book teaches you how to identify waste pills from different medicinal pills. Can you read? It does not matter if you cannot; there are illustrations inside."

The disciple responsible for arranging Su Shi'er's duties led him around the various rooms of the Waste Pill Room, tossed him an illustrated guide to identifying waste pills, and then hurried away.