"You're Lin Shisan?"
The Tai Chi Hall.
The Azure Cloud Lineage.
Grand Elder Qin Xun scrutinized the dark-faced boy before him, who was little more than skin and bones, with a gaunt face.
"Yes, Grand Elder. I am Lin Shisan."
The dark-faced boy knelt on the ground.
He sincerely kowtowed, his forehead striking the floor with a thud.
He replied rather timidly.
Seeing how courteous Lin Shisan was, Qin Xun stroked his few sparse whiskers and nodded in satisfaction.
"Your father earned merit by presenting a demon core. You could have been accepted as an outer disciple, but your aptitude is simply too poor. You have a spiritual root, yet no Dao Seed."
"If you're willing, you may become a servant disciple in the servants' courtyard. If not, you may take twenty spirit stones and leave."
"I'm willing. Thank you for taking me in, Grand Elder."
Lin Shisan remained kneeling on the ground.
He kowtowed three more times in succession.
"Very well. Chen Yang, I'll leave Lin Shisan in your care. Explain the sect's rules to him while you're at it."
"Yes, Grand Elder."
The speaker was a lean man.
"I'll take my leave."
Lin Shisan rose to his feet.
He bowed deeply in gratitude, then followed the lean man, Chen Yang.
"My name is Chen Yang, and I oversee the servants at the Pill Hall. You can call me Overseer Chen, or Boss Chen."
"Greetings, Boss Chen."
Lin Shisan stopped walking.
He bowed respectfully.
"You're a polite little dark-faced lad, but that alone isn't enough. Listen carefully to the rules of our Tai Chi Hall."
"First, keep your hands clean. You must never steal anything from the sect. If you're caught, you'll be killed on the spot."
"Second, keep your lips sealed as tightly as a stoppered bottle. Whatever you see or hear, you must never spread it around."
"Last, you must be diligent. Chopping wood, fetching water, and cleaning every day are all your duties, and you must do them well."
"If you fail to finish a task through your own fault and the sect demands an explanation, that's your problem. At best, you'll be reprimanded and punished; at worst, you'll be expelled from the Tai Chi Hall. If you happen to meet an immortal master in a foul mood, he might simply take your little life."
"When you work, you need not only sharp eyes, but care and attention."
"Don't seek merit; just avoid fault. You mustn't make even the slightest mistake."
"Dark-faced lad, have you remembered everything I said?"
"I've remembered it all, Boss Chen."
"If I ever do anything improperly or fall short, please give me your guidance, Boss Chen."
Lin Shisan was exceptionally deferential.
He etched every word Chen Yang said deep into his heart.
"Good, as long as you remember."
"But you needn't be overly cautious or worried. Our Pill Hall servants have much easier work than the others."
"People don't refine pills every day. When someone does, they'll usually give advance notice. Before then, you only need to prepare everything and wait patiently. When no one is refining pills, just clean the place. Once you've finished your work, your time is your own."
"I understand."
Joy stirred in Lin Shisan's heart.
With spare time, he could cultivate.
It seemed the Grand Elder had treated him quite well after all.
Even his assignment as a Pill Hall servant had been specially arranged by the Grand Elder.
Otherwise, how could such a good job have fallen to a dark-faced newcomer like him?
"Here's something you won't like hearing: without your father's gift of that core, you wouldn't even qualify to be a servant."
"So treasure this chance your father bought with his life. Do you understand?"
"Thank you for your advice, Boss Chen. I'll keep it firmly in my heart and do everything I can to fulfill my duties."
Lin Shisan thanked him again.
Chen Yang lectured him all along the way.
Like an obedient schoolboy, Lin Shisan seemed to be nothing but a pair of ears listening to the lecture.
From time to time, he nodded in agreement.
His compliance softened even Chen Yang's tone considerably.
"This is where you'll live. There are servants' clothes ready for you inside."
"Rest well today. Whether you understood what I told you or not, remember every word."
"Report to the Servant Hall after breakfast tomorrow. Pick up your tools, then go to the Pill Hall and clean out the dust and waste residue. Dump it in the rubbish area behind the mountain. After that, fill the water vat outside the pill-refining chamber. In three days, Steward Zhao from the inner sect will come to refine pills. If you've got all that, I'll be going."
"Sorry for the trouble, Boss Chen. I understand. Let me see you out."
Lin Shisan respectfully escorted Chen Yang to the door.
Only after Chen Yang had disappeared completely from sight did Lin Shisan straighten his back.
The surroundings were pleasant.
He had a place all to himself.
It even came with a small courtyard.
A narrow, winding path led straight to the door.
Exotic flowers and unusual plants grew on either side.
Now and then, a few bees and butterflies flew past.
It gave the place an airy stillness, like a winding path leading into secluded depths.
The room was simple, too.
A hard plank bed.
A square table.
And a washbasin with several chips in its enamel.
Two sets of blue-green servants' clothes lay neatly folded on the bed.
Lin Shisan took off his shoulder bag.
Then he gently took a rectangular piece of purple sandalwood from it and carefully placed it on the table.
It was his father's spirit tablet.
The name Lin Qinghan was carved on it in neat, forceful strokes.
He had spent most of his savings to have a renowned local artisan spirit master carve the inscription personally.
At the sight of the memorial tablet, grief flickered in Lin Shisan's eyes.
With his sleeve, he carefully brushed away the dust on the wooden tablet, wiping it from top to bottom.
After setting it upright, he took two peaches from his bag.
They looked rather unappealing, with several bruises and scrapes.
But they were the only offerings Lin Shisan could provide at present.
He had no dishes or earthenware vessels, so he could only set the offerings directly before the wooden tablet for now.
After arranging the peaches, Lin Shisan knelt before his father's tablet and kowtowed three times.
"Father, thanks to the merit you earned by presenting that core, I've been allowed to stay in the Tai Chi Hall's Azure Cloud Lineage."
"Although I'm only a servant for now, it's a good beginning. At the very least, I'm one step closer to the path of cultivation."
Sixteen years earlier, his mother had died giving birth to him.
His father, Lin Qinghan, had been both father and mother to him, cleaning up his filth and raising him through years of hardship.
Lin Qinghan had always hoped that Lin Shisan could follow him onto the path of cultivation.
But just as Chen Yang had said, Lin Shisan had a false spiritual root.
He had a spiritual root, but no corresponding Dao Seed.
He did not even qualify to be a servant.
Thus, despite spending his entire fortune and calling on every connection over the years, Lin Qinghan had still failed to get Chen Yang into the Tai Chi Hall.
This time, while carrying out a sect mission, Lin Qinghan had unexpectedly encountered a third-tier demon beast.
He had wanted to fight for one more chance for Lin Shisan, hoping to exchange the merit of offering a demon core for his son's admission.
Under the Tai Chi Hall's rules, descendants of those who made major contributions to the sect could enjoy the privilege of direct admission.
Lin Shisan was already sixteen that year, the maximum age at which the Tai Chi Hall accepted disciples.
It was his final chance.
But just as Lin Qinghan was about to extract the third-grade demon core, another beast from the same den-a female-ambushed him from behind.
He returned home gravely wounded and breathed his last less than three days later.
Before he died, he made a point of placing the third-grade demon core in Lin Shisan's hands.
After the Tai Chi Hall received the third-grade demon core, the outer sect's Grand Elder granted Lin Shisan that audience in the Azure Cloud Lineage.
Walking the immortal path, cultivating truth, and living forever without aging-so many people in this world yearned for these things even in their dreams.
Under his father's influence, Lin Shisan, like so many others, had dreamed of cultivating to immortality since childhood.
But while his dreams were full-fleshed, reality was all skin and bones.
With his false spiritual root, he was nothing but useless timber, and his beautiful dream had become an extravagant hope.
Had Lin Qinghan not staked his life to obtain that third-tier demon core, Lin Shisan might never have had anything to do with cultivation for the rest of his life.
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