Scripture of Days Past

Over the past month, Chu Qiguang had gained a good understanding of how things operated on the mountain, and he had identified the procurement assignments as a great opportunity that would give him an excuse to leave the mountain.

Thus, he applied to Yang Ling for the role. He hadn’t really been expecting anything to come of it, but to his surprise, Yang Ling was very quick to approve his request.

However, in order to keep the role in the long term, he decided to put in some effort to earn Yang Ling’s trust.

To that end, he compiled a detailed account book of everything that had been procured. However, when he tried to hand it to Yang Ling for inspection, the latter merely waved him away dismissively.

In Yang Ling’s eyes, Chu Qiguang was nothing more than a clueless fifteen-year-old, while the servants were all veterans at exploiting loopholes in procurement assignments, so they would surely have Chu Qiguang wrapped around their little finger.

I can’t leave this task to Chu Qiguang all the time. Yang Ling thought. Otherwise, the quality of the procured cultivation resources is going to decline, and the other instructors and lecturers will eventually notice.

However, after Chu Qiguang continued to insist, Yang Ling finally decided to casually look through the account book.

The moment he did, he was appalled.

”Those bastards embezzled that much money?”

However, as he continued reading, he couldn’t help but feel impressed.

Not only had Chu Qiguang ensured that the servants coughed up all the money they had embezzled, but he also hadn’t returned the funds to the imperial court or used to purchase more cultivation resources.

Instead, he had found ways to put the money into the coffers of the other instructors and lecturers. He had also recorded everything in exceptional detail, even including a ranking of the servants based on their competence and the quality of the cultivation resources they acquired.

This is impressive stuff!

Yang Ling was very satisfied with Chu Qiguang’s work. He handed the account book back to him and praised, ”Well done! Would you be willing to handle these procurement assignments on a long-term basis from now on?”

Naturally, Chu Qiguang had no objections. Yang Ling nodded and said, ”I like your enthusiasm, but before I can finalize this, Li Jian needs to be informed. He’s responsible for overseeing all the pills and medicinal ingredients on the mountain. I’ll write you a note, and you can take it to him.”

***

Chu Qiguang heaved an inward sigh of relief after leaving Yang Ling’s move.

Now I have an excuse to make frequent trips down the mountain.

He looked down at the slip of paper in his hand and wondered, Li Jian always seems to be picked on by his peers. I wonder why that is.

Thanks to the waist badge Yang Ling had given him, Chu Qiguang was able to move through the villa without any problems. He soon arrived at Li Jian’s residence, which was a small courtyard in a rather secluded part of the villa.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Chu Qiguang noticed that the flowerbed inside had been removed and the entire courtyard had been transformed into a plot of farmland with all kinds of plants inside, including wheat.

Chu Qiguang knocked on the door, but no one answered. However, he could clearly see someone inside through the window, so he knocked several more times. Even then, there was still no response.

Thankfully, the door hadn’t been shut properly, and his knocking caused it to open slightly. Chu Qiguang peered inside and discovered Li Jian talking to a potted plant with a manic look on his face.

”Instructor Li?”

Only when he heard Chu Qiguang’s voice did Li Jian snap out of it. A surprised look appeared on his face as he asked, ”Chu Qiguang? What’re you doing here?”

Chu Qiguang was a little unsettled by Li Jian’s crazed display, but he chose not to ask any questions. Instead, he explained the purpose of his visit.

After reading Yang Ling’s note, Li Jian nodded and said, ”Alright, I’ll leave the procurement assignments to you from now on. I’m rather busy at the moment, so if there’s nothing else you need, you’re free to leave.”

Chu Qiguang was practically kicked out the door by Li Jian. When he turned back to look through the window again, he saw that Li Jian had already resumed talking to the potted plant.

What a strange guy...

***

After securing the procurement role, Chu Qiguang returned to his room.

He had been given a private room after securing a place in the advanced school, but he had been so busy the past few days that he still hadn’t found the time to move all of his belongings.

When he entered the shared room, he saw that Jiang Longyu’s side was already empty. Clearly, he had already moved out.

However, Zhang Haizhu was still laying on the communal bed, reading a book, even though he had also managed to secure a spot in the advanced school.

Li Chu was seated at the desk, reviewing some notes, when Huang Xiangyu stood up and announced, ”I’m going to grab a bite to eat at the cafeteria. Anyone want to come?”

”Grab some food for me,” Li Chu said without even looking up from his notes.

”Me too,” Zhang Haizhu added, too lazy to get out of bed.

”What do you two want?” Huang Xiangyu asked in an exasperated manner.

”I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Zhang Haizhu replied.

Only then did Huang Xiangyu notice Chu Qiguang standing in the doorway. He immediately smiled and said, ”I was just about to go to the cafeteria. Want to come with me, Brother Chu?”

As it turned out, after Jiang Longyu and Li He moved out, Zhang Haizhu had invited Huang Xiangyu and Li Chu to move in instead. He had even told the instructors that he wanted to continue sharing this room with his two friends rather than move into a private room.

”You can grab some food for Brother Chu too,” Zhang Haizhu said. ”Are you here to move your stuff, Brother Chu? If you ask me, you should just stay here with us. Living alone gets lonely, why not stay here with your friends instead? Now that Jiang Longyu’s gone, this room’s much more comfortable. Li Chu, Huang Xiangyu, stay up talking about martial arts every night, and whenever we feel like it, we can have a sparring match.”

”It’s a tempting offer, but I still prefer having a room to myself,” Chu Qiguang replied with a smile.

There was no way he was staying. He had far too many secrets. To him, a private room was more of a necessity than a luxury.

Even so, he wanted to remain on good terms with Zhang Haizhu, Li Chu, and Huang Xiangyu as they could all be useful to him in the future. Hence, he planned to visit them from time to time to strengthen their friendship.

As Chu Qiguang began packing his belongings, he noticed that someone had clearly been using his toothbrush.

”Have you been using my toothbrush again, Zhang Haizhu?” Chu Qiguang snapped.

As a former bandit, Zhang Haizhu didn’t have anything of his own, and he always liked to ”borrow” other people’s belongings without asking.

”Only once,” Zhang Haizhu replied with a sheepish smile.

Chu Qiguang rolled his eyes in exasperation, then threw the toothbrush at Zhang Haizhu and snapped, ”You can have it!”

Over the next few days, Chu Qiguang settled back into his usual routine. He attended lessons during the day, then read in the archive building at night before going to the secluded courtyard to cultivate martial arts until morning.

Before long, the agreed-upon date with the gatekeeper arrived.

Finally, I can start reading the books on the second floor.