At the mention of a dead body, the boy's curiosity stirred.
Lin Shisan put down the peaches and hurried out with quick little steps to see the commotion.
Following the crowd, he passed the Herb Hall and the Medicine Sage Hall.
Only then did he reach the river nearest the Pill Hall.
People already packed the banks, a dark, dense mass of spectators everywhere he looked.
"I was fetching water from the river just now. How did someone die in such a short time?"
"I heard he offended an outer sect disciple and got thrown straight down from up there."
"Look at his livid face. Isn't there a palm print on his chest, too?"
"Ah, human lives are cheaper than grass. It's the same everywhere. What can we do? We're the lowliest servants."
Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Lin Shisan felt his heart tighten.
So it really is the same everywhere.
For people at the bottom, even basic survival isn't guaranteed.
His interest faded, and he stopped trying to push closer to the spectacle. In a daze, he headed to the Pill Room.
Before long, the other servant disciples arrived one after another.
They exchanged a few greetings and questions, then brought up the death by the river.
A little later, Chen Yang, the steward of the Pill Room, arrived as well.
First, he carefully inspected everything, inside and out.
Only after making sure no one was slacking off did he walk over to them in satisfaction and clap his hands.
"Everyone, stop what you're doing. I have an announcement."
"In four days, Steward Zhao from the outer sect will come to the Pill Room to refine pills. This is the list of wood he needs."
"I believe in fairness and transparency. You'll draw lots to decide your assignments. Whatever wood you draw, that's what you'll chop."
"Yes, Boss Chen."
Lin Shisan answered along with everyone else.
The six of them then drew their lots in turn.
"I got silver flower."
"I got cypress wood."
"I got purple yew wood."
"I got centipede pine."
"Damn, I got thunderwood."
The other five servant disciples unfolded their slips, their expressions varying.
Some rejoiced, while others fretted.
The backs of the slips listed the wood they were to chop.
They also specified the dimensions, grain, growth rings, and other requirements.
Seeing that Lin Shisan had yet to unfold his slip, all five crowded around him.
Surrounded by them, Lin Shisan's little heart began pounding wildly.
Like a rabbit battering against his chest.
"Black maple bamboo."
Before Lin Shisan could speak, his fellow disciples all read it aloud.
Their faces immediately relaxed.
Especially the one who had drawn thunderclap bamboo.
Glee at another's misfortune shone deep in his eyes. Finally, someone had worse luck than him.
"You dark little fellow, you really are lucky. Your future is simply boundless."
"Such a wonderful lot on your very first try. You're in for some fun, heh heh heh..."
"Take your senior brother's advice. Find plenty to eat and bring a few thick clothes. It gets a bit cold on the mountain at night. That scrawny body of yours won't stand it."
They teased him, each throwing in a few words.
Even the servant disciple who had drawn thunderwood, whose face had looked as mournful as if his grandmother had died, was now beaming.
Compared to Lin Shisan, he was practically a child of fortune favored by the Heavenly Dao.
Though Lin Shisan had no idea what black maple bamboo was, their teasing gave him a rough understanding.
It was definitely the hardest of the six to chop.
Seeing Lin Shisan's muddled expression, Chen Yang said, "Black maple bamboo is also called iron tree. It's as hard as pig iron, so it certainly isn't easy to chop."
"But since you drew it, that means it's your allotted fortune and fate."
"Shisan, listen to your senior brothers. Go back and pack some food, water, and clothes, then build a shelter beside the Black Maple Grove and stay there. Your cultivation may be mediocre, but at least you have enough time. If you don't shirk and work sixteen to eighteen hours a day, you should be able to finish."
"Yes, Boss Chen. I'll complete the assignment to the required quality and quantity. I promise I won't hold everyone back."
Lin Shisan was obedient, without a single word of complaint.
For the sake of his path of cultivation, this was nothing.
More importantly, what good would complaining do?
Chen Yang had already called it his allotted fortune and fate. He could only accept it.
"All right. These storage rings are specifically for this assignment. Don't think of stealing them and running away. They can be tracked."
"But let me lay down the unpleasant rules first: if anyone passes off inferior wood as good, you'll go back up the mountain and chop it again. Is that clear?"
"Yes."
Taking the storage rings Chen Yang handed out, the servants went their separate ways.
Lin Shisan first went to the dining hall and packed four days' worth of food.
It was really just thin porridge, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables, plus a few shriveled apples and peaches.
Then he returned to his quarters and packed his bedding and clothes.
Finally, he put his father's memorial tablet and the black cauldron into the storage ring as well.
Following the route Chen Yang had given him, Lin Shisan crossed mountains and ridges, walking for a full four hours before finally reaching his destination.
Looking at the black maple bamboo before him, each stalk so thick that an adult would have to wrap both arms around it, Lin Shisan fell into gloomy silence.
No wonder those five senior brothers had been so relieved not to draw black maple bamboo.
So this stuff isn't just a little hard to chop.
What wonderful luck. Now I'm really in for some fun.
Lin Shisan took the Crescent Chopping Axe he had collected from the Servant Hall out of his storage ring.
Gripping the handle tightly with both hands, he swung at a stalk of black maple bamboo with all his strength.
He got straight to work.
Sparks flew in every direction. The impact jolted his hands with a tearing pain, nearly splitting the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers.
Lin Shisan kept chopping like that for a full two hours.
He was panting heavily, drenched in sweat as though someone had poured water over him.
But when he looked at the black maple bamboo, more than half the fire in his heart instantly wilted away.
In two hours, he had only cut a thumb's depth into it.
With a stalk thick enough to fill an adult's embrace, he would be chopping until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.
"This really is going to kill me."
He dared not stop.
He chopped for another full two hours.
At last, his strength gave out, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The relentless, grueling work had drained every last bit of his strength.
Clutching his growling stomach, Lin Shisan took the thin porridge, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables out of the Locator Ring.
He wolfed them down.
"The Locator Rings the sect gives out really are extraordinary. Half a day has passed, and the food is still warm."
As he ate his steamed buns with pickled vegetables, Lin Shisan offered himself a little consolation.
Still a bit hungry after the meal, he casually took out the peach he had offered to his father from the Little Black Cauldron.
After a short rest, Lin Shisan
picked up the Crescent Chopping Axe again and continued chopping the same stalk of black maple bamboo.
Strangely enough, though, he seemed to have more strength.
Lin Shisan kept chopping for nearly half a day.
Oddly, he worked longer this time than before, yet he wasn't as tired.
Even his stomach wasn't growling as much.
He felt brimming with energy, as though he had swallowed a Mighty Bull Demon Pill.
Could it be the food?
No wonder everyone wants to join the Tai Chi Hall. Even its thin porridge, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables are special, filled with spiritual power.
But that doesn't make sense.
We're servant disciples. It's already good enough that they feed us. Why would they give us food containing spiritual energy?
Could it be...
Lin Shisan hurriedly took the Little Black Cauldron out of his storage ring and retrieved the other peach still inside.
Its skin was smooth, its red color luminous.
It was even brighter, sweeter, and more fragrant than the one he had eaten earlier.
To test his guess, Lin Shisan ate the second peach as well.
Moments after swallowing it, he noticed something unusual happening in his body.
His dantian, in particular, was steaming hot, with currents of warmth darting and crashing about inside.
"Could my cultivation be..."
At that thought, Lin Shisan hurriedly sat down cross-legged.
Sure enough.
His cultivation, which had stagnated for five whole years, was actually showing signs of loosening.
"Could this Little Black Cauldron be some peerless immortal artifact? My great opportunity?"
After letting his imagination run wild, he went back to chopping.
Only when the moonlight had faded away did he lie down to sleep.
Just like the night before, he slept soundly until dawn.
Lin Shisan meditated as usual, though he was a little more impatient this time.
He carefully examined his dantian, only to be disappointed. His cultivation hadn't changed as he had imagined.
Then he took out the Little Black Cauldron, wanting to see what had happened to the rotten apples and peaches he had placed inside the Furnace Cauldron yesterday.
Just then, an unfriendly female voice called out, "You, dark little fellow. Come over here."
Before you continue