Chapter 33
Shan Heyuan: "Does 'managing the Spirit Plant in the two gardens' mean planting them?"
"Not entirely. You have to plant, manage, and rescue. You'll see later," Tong Liangji said with a smile. "I'll take you to the Spirit Plant Garden first, then to the Planting Institute's library and the Sword Reverence Academy's library. You can enter with your identity jade token."
Shan Heyuan's eyes lit up. "Can I read all the books inside?"
Tong Liangji: "As a teaching assistant, you can read all the books in the Planting Institute's library, and most of the books in the Sword Reverence Academy's library. Later, once you receive the contribution points from the academy, you'll be able to read them all, as long as you have enough."
That's a really good job.
Shan Heyuan's eyes sparkled, and his face showed excitement.
Seeing this, Tong Liangji couldn't help but smile.
Tong Liangji showed Shan Heyuan around the Planting Institute and introduced him to most of the teachers.
After the tour, Tong Liangji took him to the deacon building to complete his onboarding process.
With that, he was completely settled in the Sword Reverence Academy.
In the evening, Tong Liangji took it upon himself to invite him and the other teachers and teaching assistants from the Sword Reverence Academy to a restaurant for dinner, hoping that everyone would get to know each other soon.
Shan Heyuan deeply appreciated the senior's good intentions and went with him, staying until nightfall before the event ended.
After the meeting, everyone went their separate ways.
Shan Heyuan walked onto the street and awkwardly approached the summon beast symbol, intending to summon another spirit cat to carry him home.
Unexpectedly, when the summoning talisman was activated, a happy little yellow dog came running over.
Seeing the bewildered look in Shan Heyuan's eyes, the little yellow dog barked and said, "Fellow Daoist, you've only recently arrived in Sword Reverence City, haven't you? We and the cats govern separate cities; this is the West City, under the jurisdiction of our Spirit Dog Clan."
Shan Heyuan glanced at the dog in surprise, then looked at the summoning symbol. Sure enough, it no longer depicted a big cat, but a big dog.
That's amazing.
After giving the address and payment, Shan Heyuan chatted with the puppy. "How did you come up with the idea of dividing the city into separate jurisdictions?"
The little yellow dog puffed out its chest. "It happened thousands of years ago. Back when the Azure Cloud Dao Ancestor founded Sword Reverence City, he saw us cats and dogs wandering the streets, so he gave us territory and jobs so we could support ourselves."
Shan Heyuan had heard Sword Reverence Sect the deeds of Qingyun Azure Cloud Dao Ancestor of Fengjian Sect, but this was the first time he had heard of this matter. "Azure Cloud Dao Ancestor is truly a divine being."
Little yellow dog. "Of course! Sit tight, sir, I'm about to run, woof!"
Shan Heyuan reached out and grabbed the dog's collar, then smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
The little yellow dog then took happy steps and ran quickly and steadily down the street, carrying Shan Heyuan through one street after another.
In the night wind, Shan Heyuan, dressed in a blue robe, was being led by a dog as they ran, his robes and hair billowing backward in the wind.
At this moment, his clothes were not fancy, and his mount was not cool, but his young and handsome face was full of enthusiasm and hope, and his eyes were full of bright light.
This marked the beginning of the best period of his life.
Chapter 33
"Huff, huff—" Shan Heyuan's heavy breathing echoed in the small room, echoing the howling cold wind outside.
He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, clutching the blanket.
The light from the Spirit Artifact streetlights in the alley shone through, becoming dim and faint by the time it reached his window.
He sat on the bed, and if someone looked in from the outside, they could only see his silhouette and not his specific expression.
He reached up and touched his forehead.
His forehead was covered in damp sweat.
In that short time, he had almost forgotten what he had just dreamt about.
I vaguely remember him squatting in the middle of the stone path, petting a cat with his left hand and a dog with his right, muttering to himself that the kittens and puppies shouldn't wander around on the road and should find something to do, otherwise if there were too many of them, they would be bothered by the cultivators.
The kitten and puppy were very affectionate towards the young man, constantly rubbing against his legs.
Now that he's awake, the image isn't very clear, but he still remembers the warm, furry touch of his skin.
How strange, why would I dream of such a scene?
Could it be because I rode cats and dogs these past two days, and now I'm dreaming about them all night?
Furthermore, it is clearly just
Warm
Why was he covered in cold sweat in his dream?
Shan Heyuan buried his face in his hands, breathing softly.
My heart was still pounding in my chest, one beat after another, and it hurt a little.
He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Knock knock"--
The knocking came from outside, sounding particularly clear in the quiet night.
Shen Duheng's voice rang out from outside the door. "Are you alright?"
Shan Heyuan's voice was hoarse. "Brother Shen, why are you up? It's nothing, I had a nightmare. I'll rest for a bit, I'll be fine in a bit."
Upon hearing his reply, Shen Duheng pushed open the door and walked in. "What did you dream about? Are you still not used to being in Sword Reverence City?"
Shan Heyuan: "I don't know, I think I dreamed about cats and dogs, and they felt really real."
By this point, Shan Heyuan was no longer afraid. Hugging the blanket, she said to Shen Duheng, "Maybe it's because I was meddling in other people's business in my dream and got chased by cats and dogs?"
Otherwise, why would he be afraid even when he dreams of these adorable creatures?
Shen Duheng stared at him intently for a moment. "That's possible. I'll go get you a glass of water."
Shan Heyuan was about to say there was no need to rush, Shen Duheng had already turned and left.
He had just had a nightmare and was feeling exhausted. He had no energy to stop Shen Duheng, so he could only lean against the headboard in a daze.
A moment later, Shen Duheng brought in a bowl of water and brought it to his lips.
Shan Heyuan took a sip from Shen Duheng's hand, only to realize it was sweet soup. "Ugh, where did this sweet soup come from? I don't want to drink it, and I don't want to brush my teeth again."
Shen Duheng: "I've already taken the first sip, what's the harm in taking a few more? Just finish it."
Shan Heyuan frowned, thought about it and agreed that it made sense. He reached out to take the bowl and drank the sweet soup in one gulp.
Shen Duheng didn't let go. "Just drink it like that, be careful not to spill it on the bed."
Shan Heyuan had no choice but to hold the bowl with him and gulp down the sweet soup.
Sweets do have a comforting power. After drinking it, Shan Heyuan felt a warm feeling in her stomach, and her mind relaxed involuntarily.
Shen Duheng, holding the bowl, said, "Go to sleep, it'll be dawn soon."
Shan Heyuan yawned. "Brother Shen, you should go to sleep too."
Perhaps because he drank a bowl of sweet soup in the middle of the night, Shan Heyuan slept soundly for the rest of the night and woke up feeling refreshed the next day.
He got up very early, and when he opened the door, the stars outside had not yet disappeared from the gray-blue sky.
Having to go to work today, Shan Heyuan didn't dare linger at home. After quickly finishing his cultivation, he rode his flying sword towards the Sword Reverence Academy.
Both Sword Reverence City and Sword Reverence Academy have flight paths within their boundaries, while the areas outside these paths are no-fly zones.
The Jade Slip containing his identity information contained relevant reminders, and there were also passersby flying within the airspace.
Following the rules, Shan Heyuan flew leisurely on his flying sword, trying his best not to bump into passersby or be bumped into by them.
Fortunately, he left early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the road. Even though he wasn't very good at sword control, he arrived safely at the Sword Reverence Academy's Planting Institute.
The Planting Institute had a large office where the teachers would rest.
Shan Heyuan separately sought out the supervisors of Class C (Lanzi) and Class D (Lanzi) – Mr. Jiang Zhi and Mr. Li Jian – to learn about the situation of the two classes.
They had all drunk together before, and when the supervisors from both classes saw him asking, they quickly gave him the relevant information.
When classes started, the teachers of both classes took him to meet the students.
Shan Heyuan had already started working, and although the teaching assistant position was a bit unfamiliar to him, it wasn't enough to make him nervous.
He couldn't feel nervous looking at the young faces of his disciples below.
The teaching assistant's main job is not teaching, but managing the Spirit Plant.