Becoming a Disciple

Two days later.

At a restaurant in the Inner City.

Yang Feng, Lin Qing, Yu Qiuyu, and the other constables of the Corpse Collection Team gathered in a private room. Apart from a few who had to remain on duty, everyone was there.

"Today, I have something important to announce. From this day on, Lin Qing is my disciple!"

Yang Feng made the announcement before the meal, sending an uproar through the room.

Seizing the moment, Lin Qing presented a jar of fine wine with both hands. It was called Monkey Wine and was reserved for the ceremony of becoming a disciple.

"Master, please accept three bows from your disciple!"

Lin Qing bowed to Yang Feng three times with solemn respect.

Yang Feng took the jar and poured a bowl for himself and one for Lin Qing. Then the two faced each other and raised their bowls high.

"Let this wine bear witness before heaven and earth. As master and disciple, we must treat each other with sincerity and never betray one another!"

"Cheers!"

They tipped back their heads and drained their bowls in one go.

"Wonderful!"

Cheers rose all around. Everyone looked at Lin Qing with envy.

Yang Feng was a man of upright character and formidable strength, and Commissioner Cheng valued him highly. Who wouldn't want him as a master? They had simply never had the chance. Lin Qing had only just joined, yet he already had such a powerful backer. His future held boundless promise.

"Brother Lin, a toast to you!"

"Brother Lin, if you ever run into trouble, just say the word. I, Gao Yan, will do everything I can to help."

"That's right! We're all brothers here. Don't stand on ceremony!"

After the ceremony, Lin Qing could clearly feel the change in the room. The atmosphere had grown livelier, and many people who had been indifferent before were suddenly warm toward him.

Lin Qing was no aloof, proud man. When someone greeted him, he responded warmly.

Before long, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill. The guests departed, leaving only Lin Qing and Yang Feng, both a little tipsy, in the private room.

"Commissioner Cheng will test your Saber Art in a few days. Don't forget about it," Yang Feng instructed.

"This disciple will keep it firmly in mind, Master. I won't forget," Lin Qing replied respectfully.

"Are you confident?" Yang Feng asked. "It won't be easy."

"I have some confidence." Lin Qing nodded.

"Good. Your talent truly is remarkable. The Reexamination in half a year will assess two things: your cultivation level and your Yin Bone. Yours is Low-Grade Yin Bone, so you must do your best to learn more martial arts and master more kinds of force. Only then can you cover the disadvantage it brings," Yang Feng advised.

"I understand," Lin Qing said.

"All right. If you need anything from now on, just ask me."

"Master, I'd like to borrow some silver," Lin Qing said. He had two banknotes worth a hundred taels each, but out of caution, he had never dared take them to a bank to exchange them for silver.

"How much?"

"Thirty taels," Lin Qing answered.

"Very well. You come from a poor family, and you can't succeed in martial arts without silver. I'll bring it to you when I get back," Yang Feng said gently.

"Thank you, Master." Lin Qing bowed.

Night fell.

Lin Qing returned from the restaurant to his small courtyard at the Artisans' Office.

Inside the room.

Shen Lian lay facedown on a cushioned couch, her back bare. Her skin was smooth and clear. She looked less like a woman nearing thirty than a young maiden.

Lin Qing remained composed as he held a Silver Needle and inserted it into key points on her back.

The red blotches on Shen Lian's body had disappeared, but curing her completely would take more than that. She had to keep taking her medicine, with acupuncture to support the treatment.

Before long, thirty-nine Silver Needles stood in Shen Lian's back.

Lin Qing rose and went to a wooden basin nearby. He scooped up clean water and quickly washed his hands, then slowly dried them with a white towel.

Shen Lian studied Chen Jin with interest and teased him with a smile. "I'm this attractive, yet you don't react at all?"

Lin Qing smiled helplessly. "Lady Shen, please don't tease me. If I, Lin Qing, couldn't muster this much self-control, I might as well give up martial arts, roll up my bedding, and go home."

"Tsk, tsk. No wonder Yang Feng took you as his disciple. You're both blocks of wood." Shen Lian smiled. "Will you take the Reexamination next year?"

"Of course I'll give it a try." As Lin Qing spoke, he grabbed a handful of roasted soybeans from the table and sat in the chair beside Shen Lian's couch.

"With your talent, staying in this little county would be a waste. You need to give it your all and try to pass next year's Reexamination." Shen Lian reached out and grabbed a handful of roasted soybeans too.

"Is it difficult?"

"Difficult as climbing to the heavens! Those who enter the Prefectural City Soul-Calming Office are geniuses who appear once in a century across the counties. Even if they aren't one in a hundred thousand, they have to be one in a thousand." Shen Lian chewed the soybeans with a crisp crunch.

"It's that hard to get in? What are the benefits like?" Lin Qing asked thoughtfully.

"First-rate, naturally. The county Soul-Calming Office can't compare. I've heard that in Prefectural City, you get all the medicinal pills you need and access to all kinds of advanced martial arts. If you want to make something of yourself, it's your only path." Shen Lian smiled.

Lin Qing nodded and stepped over to Shen Lian. "It's about time. I should remove the needles."

"If you become a constable of the Prefectural City Soul-Calming Office, even the heads of the county's great families will have to show you respect. Evil Spirits run rampant these days, and the Soul-Calming Office's standing has risen with the tide. It towers over every other court department. You could say its people answer to one person and stand above millions. In short, pass the Reexamination and you'll be a fish leaping through the dragon gate, ascending to the heavens in a single step." Shen Lian gave a long sigh. "My talent just isn't good enough. Otherwise, I'd have gone to Prefectural City long ago instead of staying in this little place, working myself to the bone."

Lin Qing felt his heart burn as he listened. Beyond those obvious benefits, joining the Prefectural City Soul-Calming Office would also give him access to the corpses of more powerful Martial Artists, allowing him to grow stronger faster.

"Whatever happens, I have to give next year's Reexamination everything I've got," Lin Qing murmured.

"That's more like it. Young people ought to have ambition. Train hard. I'm counting on you. If you're short of anything, just ask. When you make it big, don't turn into an ungrateful wolf with white eyes," Shen Lian said.

Lin Qing reached out and removed the final Silver Needle. "Lady Shen, that's all."

Shen Lian sat up and got dressed, smiling. "You're quite good with those needles."

Lin Qing nodded. "My lady, did you mean what you said just now?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Shen Lian replied irritably.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I need silver."

"How much?"

"Two hundred taels. I'll pay you back in banknotes later," Lin Qing said.

"You brat, that's a lion opening its jaws! I don't have two hundred. One hundred at most." Shen Lian rolled her eyes.

"One hundred it is."

A moment later, Lin Qing left Shen Lian's room carrying that sizable sum.

I've borrowed 130 taels in all. I can pay them back with banknotes later, so I won't have to risk going to a bank to exchange them myself.

With these 130 taels of silver, the Rebirth Record should be able to advance. Delight flickered in Lin Qing's eyes.

As he copied more and more talents, the first-tier Rebirth Record was no longer enough. Even the second tier was barely sufficient.

Lost in thought, Lin Qing returned to his room. He set the silver on the table, picked up one piece, and willed the information to appear before him.

Silver and gold detected. They can be absorbed to raise the Rebirth Record's tier. Absorb them?

Absorb.

In an instant, the silver in his palm vanished. On the panel, the Rebirth Record's tier began to climb rapidly.

"Brother Han, has that old hag Yin Muhua left our Jiangyin County? We haven't heard much from her in a while."

Across from the Soul-Calming Office, in a private room on the third floor of a restaurant, Jiang Baihe took a sip of rice wine and spoke with a smile.