The next day, at two in the afternoon.
Jiang Lan arrived at the Four Seas Teahouse on time.
Gu Changqing was sitting in the same seat as before.
Jiang Lan walked straight up to him, set his backpack on the table, and opened it, revealing the Spirit Vein Ore inside.
Gu Changqing glanced at it, picked up a piece, and hefted it in his hand.
"Good quality."
He slipped that Origin Stone into his own pocket, then zipped Jiang Lan's backpack back up.
Seeing this, Jiang Lan froze for a moment.
"This is..."
"The task was to bring back one Origin Stone," Gu Changqing said evenly. "The rest is yours. It has nothing to do with the Guardian Manor."
A surge of delighted surprise rose in Jiang Lan's heart.
Well, well. He really does stick to his principles.
Still, this was a good thing for him.
Gu Changqing had no idea what those four Origin Stones meant to him, but Jiang Lan knew perfectly well.
Setting the backpack beside him, Jiang Lan asked:
"So, did I pass my assessment?"
"You passed."
As Gu Changqing spoke, he took a token from his jacket's inner pocket and placed it on the table.
It was a palm-sized black token made from an unidentifiable material. It felt cold to the touch, and the character for "guard" was engraved on it.
"This is your Identity Token. Keep it safe."
Jiang Lan nodded and slipped the token into his pocket.
"From today onward, you belong to the Guardian Manor." Gu Changqing poured himself a cup of tea. "There are a few things I need to tell you."
Jiang Lan sat a little straighter, waiting for him to continue.
"First, after joining the Guardian Manor, you'll receive an allocation of resources-Spirit Vein Ore, distributed at the beginning