Chapter 11: Zhang Hu

"Weasel?" Wang Lin was startled. The first person he thought of was the young man in yellow robes who had mocked him earlier, feeling that he fit the description, but he wasn't sure if the other party was referring to him.

"Ah? You didn't see him? He's the guy in charge of arranging tasks for the Named Disciples. He's also a Named Disciple, but he's already qualified to Cultivate immortal techniques. He wears yellow robes and just looks like a bad person, like a wolf cub. We all call him that privately." Zhang Hu took a sip of water and explained through gritted teeth.

Wang Lin took a bite of sweet potato and said, "I know who you're talking about. I saw him today. He told me that starting tomorrow, I have to fill ten large vats of water every day, or I won't get any food."

Zhang Hu was dumbfounded. He stared at Wang Lin for a long time before suddenly asking, "Buddy, did you have a grudge against him before?"

Wang Lin shook his head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Hu looked at Wang Lin with a pitiful gaze and asked, "Wang Lin, do you think the large vats for water are like the ones we use at home, this big?" As he spoke, he gestured with his hands.

Wang Lin had a bad premonition and nodded.

Zhang Hu gave a bitter smile and said, "You must have offended the Weasel. The large vats he's talking about are about the size of this room. Ten whole vats of water… Wang Lin, I don't want these sweet potatoes anymore, you keep them. I reckon it'll be good if you can eat once every four or five days. You're new here, and the few places in the mountains that produce wild fruits are all occupied by others; only the old-timers can pick some. I'll just eat my wild fruits tomorrow." After speaking, he placed the remaining sweet potatoes on the table, sighed, and lay back down on his bed to sleep.

A trace of sinister anger flared in Wang Lin's heart. He gritted his teeth, thinking of his parents' expectant gazes, and forcibly suppressed his anger, lying on the bed with a belly full of frustration until he fell asleep.

The next day, before dawn, he got out of bed. Zhang Hu was still snoring. Wang Lin changed into his gray robes and quickly walked towards the storage area. Just as he arrived, the sun gradually appeared from the east. The young man in yellow robes pushed open his door, squinted at Wang Lin, and said in a strange, mocking tone, "You're quite punctual. Go in and get the water buckets. Exit through the East Gate; there's a spring in the mountains. Go there to fetch water."

After speaking, he ignored Wang Lin, sat cross-legged on the ground, and slowly exhaled and inhaled towards the sunrise. Wisps of faint white Qi emanated from his nostrils, rolling like two white Dragons.

Wang Lin's eyes showed envy. He walked into the room and looked around, finally seeing the ten enormous water vats behind a door. With a bitter smile, he picked up two water buckets and walked towards the East Gate.

He walked a long distance before finally arriving at the spring he mentioned. The scenery here was quite beautiful, and the sound of rushing water was like heavenly music, soothing to the heart.

Wang Lin had no time to appreciate the beautiful scenery. He filled the water buckets and quickly carried them up the mountain.

It wasn't until dusk that he managed to fill one vat. If he hadn't had sweet potatoes to fill his stomach at noon, he wouldn't have had the strength to continue the rest of the work. Even so, his legs and arms were now sore and numb, and any exertion caused unbearable pain.

He pondered for a moment, then carried half a bucket of water to an uninhabited spot. After cautiously observing his surroundings and confirming no one was present, he took out the stone bead from his bosom, placed it in the water bucket, and swirled it around. After a while, he retrieved the bead and put it away. He scooped out the water from the bucket and drank it. Immediately, a warm sensation spread through his belly, and the soreness in his muscles slowly dissipated.

Although the effect was not as good as dew, Wang Lin was extremely excited. He touched the spot on his chest where the stone bead was kept and once again decided that he must never let anyone know about this treasure!

After drinking all the half-bucket of water, his muscles were no longer sore, and he felt refreshed. He immediately resumed his water-fetching work.

That day, he filled one and a half vats. After drinking another half-bucket of spring water soaked with the mysterious bead, to avoid suspicion, he feigned an exhausted expression and returned to his dwelling.

Not long after, Zhang Hu returned, his face still bearing that overly tired expression. The two exchanged a few words. Zhang Hu hesitated for a long time, then stammered and asked for two sweet potatoes. After eating them, he collapsed onto his bed and snored loudly.

Time quickly passed, and in the blink of an eye, Wang Lin had been at the Heng Yue School for a month.

Wang Lin now knew that Zhang Hu's job was to chop firewood. He had to chop enough wood every day to eat. He had been chopping firewood ever since he became a Named Disciple of the Heng Yue School, and it had been three years. Three years ago, he often only ate once every three or four days, relying on drinking water to fill his stomach. Now, he had shortened the time, able to eat once every two days.

According to him, Named Disciples had to perform miscellaneous tasks for ten years and ensure they never missed a single meal, three times a day. Only by meeting both these requirements could they be taught some basic immortal techniques.

Inner Sect Disciples were different from them; they had their own Masters, didn't need to do any miscellaneous tasks, and had their own private rooms. Their main job was to Cultivate.

Besides that, there was another type of person, somewhere between Inner Sect Disciples and Named Disciples, like Wang Hao, who became someone's child attendant. In truth, a so-called child attendant was, to put it plainly, a servant.

This type of person also didn't need to do miscellaneous tasks and could even Cultivate some low-level immortal techniques. They only needed to complete the tasks assigned by their Masters. However, these people often had very ordinary Aptitude and would not achieve much in their lifetime, destined to be servants for life.

Wang Lin also learned roughly about Aptitude from Zhang Hu. Simply put, Aptitude was the Spiritual Root, and everyone's body possessed some, more or less. However, the key was the quantity. If one had abundant Spiritual Root, a certain immortal technique might be mastered in a year, whereas someone lacking Spiritual Root might need ten, or even a hundred years.

Human life is limited, and those with mediocre Aptitude often don't have much development in their lifetime, which is why immortal Cultivation Schools prioritize Spiritual Root when recruiting Disciples.

This past month, Wang Lin drank a lot of spring water soaked with the mysterious bead every day while fetching water. His body became increasingly robust, as if he had inexhaustible strength. From taking six days to fill ten vats of water at the start, he could now do it in just three days.

However, to avoid suspicion, he woke up every day before the sun came out, leisurely carrying water buckets along the mountain path. This way, in the eyes of others, even though they were surprised he could complete the work in three days, they mostly attributed it to his working from dawn till dusk.