44: Chapter 44 General Affairs Hall

Deacon Liu was somewhat surprised; he glanced at him and then slapped a wooden plaque onto the table.

"The West Courtyard Sundries Warehouse is short of someone to handle inventory registration."

"The work isn't heavy, just tedious."

"From the Hour of the Rabbit to the Hour of the Rooster every day, you will be responsible for counting the damaged sundries sent from each peak for repair, classifying and registering them, and placing them in storage. You are responsible for cleaning the warehouse, wiping the shelves, and mopping the floors."

"If any hall has an emergency at night, you must be there as well."

"The monthly stipend follows the rules: for a Named Disciple, it's five Low-Grade Spirit Stones and three qi gathering pills per month."

Deacon Liu raised an eyebrow.

"Will you do it?"

The several Disciples nearby exchanged gloating looks.

The West Courtyard Sundries Warehouse was one of the most grueling assignments in the General Affairs Hall.

The location was remote and the work was messy.

Many of the damaged sundries discarded from the peaks were stained with Yao Beast blood, residue from Restrictions, or even unknown filth; counting and registering them was by no means an easy task.

Moreover, that warehouse hadn't been properly maintained for years; dust had accumulated an inch thick, and cobwebs hung everywhere.

It was said that bedbugs and rats had even made nests there.

"I'll do it."

Li Changsheng took the wooden plaque.

"Alright, go there today. Ding San, take him to show him the place."

Deacon Liu waved his hand and lowered his head to continue flipping through his ledgers, not sparing him another glance.

The one called Ding San was a tall, thin man at Qi Refining Level 2, also a Named Disciple.

He led Li Changsheng out of the main courtyard of the General Affairs Hall and along a gravel path deeper into the mountain valley.

On the way, he couldn't help but look back at Li Changsheng with a complicated gaze.

"Brother, did you really... offend someone?"

Ding San lowered his voice.

"No."

Li Changsheng said.

"Then why were you banished here?"

Ding San clearly didn't believe him.

"Our General Affairs Hall is already looked down upon."

"But the sundries warehouse job is usually reserved as punishment for Disciples who have committed an offense but haven't done enough to be expelled from the Sect."

"For a newcomer like you..."

He paused and didn't continue.

But the meaning was already obvious.

You just arrived and haven't made any mistakes.

To be assigned to this dump, what else could it be except someone finding you an eyesore?

Li Changsheng didn't explain, nor did he complain.

He just looked at the increasingly desolate mountain path ahead and the dilapidated warehouse hidden among tangled trees and wild grass, its door hanging crookedly.

"We're here."

Ding San stood at the warehouse entrance, looking at him with some sympathy.

"Brother, this is it. Good luck."

After he left, Li Changsheng pushed open the creaking wooden door.

Dust billowed toward him, swirling like mist in the slanted sunlight.

The light inside the warehouse was dim; he could barely make out wooden racks stacked to the rafters and mountains of various sundries on the shelves and in corners.

Damaged fragments of Magical Artifacts, talisman brushes with exhausted spiritual energy, broken Flying Swords, rusted Formation Plates, and even several large crates emitting strange odors, their contents unknown.

Spiderwebs hung from the beams, brushing against his face.

Li Changsheng stood for a moment, placed his simple luggage in the only relatively clean corner, rolled up his sleeves, and began to work.

The days passed like this.

At the start of the Hour of the Rabbit, before dawn, he would get up.

Li Changsheng would first Cultivate for an hour using the Small Heavenly Cycle Qi Induction Mantra, absorbing the thin Spiritual Qi of early morning.

At the Hour of the Dragon, he would begin his day's labor.

Counting, registering, classifying, and storing.

There were many types of sundries, and most carried various residual auras.

He needed to use his Qi to sense them slightly to identify and categorize them, which was extremely mentally draining.

After finishing work at the Hour of the Rooster, his whole body would be sore and his spirit exhausted.

After a simple meal of dry rations and a quick wash, it would already be near the Hour of the Pig.

The sleeping quarters for General Affairs Hall Disciples were crude communal bunks.

His roommates snored like thunder, and the air was thick with the smell of foot odor and sweat.

He could only wait until everyone was fast asleep to go out alone to a leeward bluestone outside the warehouse to continue his Cultivation by the faint moonlight.

The Qingyuan Formula issued by the Sect was the most basic introductory Cultivation Technique of the Qinglan Sword Sect.

It was balanced and peaceful, excelling in safety but failing in speed.

Ordinary Disciples could basically reach the introductory stage within three months, with most taking about a month.

And even for the worst Utility Disciple, half a year was the limit.

It seemed the Sect was being quite considerate by allowing him up to half a year to reach the introductory stage.

Li Changsheng's Triple-element miscellaneous spirit roots had very low affinity for Spiritual Qi to begin with, and combined with the thin Spiritual Qi here, his Cultivation progress was at a snail's pace.

Logically, he had already sensed the Spiritual Qi, but he still hadn't reached the introductory stage of the Qingyuan Formula.

The introductory Bottleneck was like cast bronze or iron; no matter how he persisted every day, it remained completely unmoved.

As time went on, gossip naturally began to spread.

"Hey, that guy from Qinghe Town is meditating at the warehouse entrance again today."

"He's been practicing for over a month, right? Looking at his aura, he still hasn't reached the introductory stage of the Qingyuan Formula."

"With that kind of Aptitude, how did he enter the Sect in the first place?"

"I heard the Sword-Wielding Elder personally tested him?"

"The test showed his sword Dao talent was no good, and since no other halls would take him, he could only come to our General Affairs Hall."

"Tsk, a waste entering the Sect is purely a waste of food."

These words went from initial whispers to later being said right to his face without any reservation.

Li Changsheng turned a deaf ear, still waking up early and sleeping late every day, working in silence and Cultivating in silence.

To some, his silence seemed like a guilty conscience; to others, it seemed like cowardice.

Then one day.

He was inside the warehouse, standing on his tiptoes to place a heavy, damaged Pill Furnace onto the highest wooden shelf.

Suddenly, the half-closed warehouse door was kicked open.

"Where is everyone?"

"Are all the people in the General Affairs Hall dead?"

"This broken furnace has been sitting at the door for three days and no one's collected it!"

Li Changsheng turned around and saw three young men in green robes standing at the door.

Light silver cloud patterns were embroidered on their collars and cuffs—the mark of an official Outer Sect Disciple.

The leader was quite handsome, but his eyes carried a long-standing haughtiness; he was at Qi Refining Level 7.

He held a palm-sized, crack-covered bronze tripod in his hand and was scanning the warehouse with a face full of impatience.

"Senior Brother, sundries entering the warehouse must be registered first..."

Li Changsheng put down the Pill Furnace and walked forward.

"Register, register, what's there to register!"

The Disciple directly shoved the small tripod into Li Changsheng's arms.

The tripod was still stained with some uncleaned charred black filth, and a pungent odor rushed into his nose.

"This was sent from Wanqi Peak for repair; it should have been collected three days ago. How does your General Affairs Hall do things?"

Li Changsheng looked down at the small tripod, then looked up and said calmly.

"The items for repair from Wanqi Peak were all collected and stored yesterday."

"This tripod is marked as 'to be scrapped,' not for repair. It should be handled by the Scrap Warehouse."

"The Scrap Warehouse is in the East Courtyard. Senior Brother has come to the wrong door."

"You..."

The Disciple hadn't expected a Named Disciple from the General Affairs Hall to dare talk back; his face immediately darkened.

The two behind him exchanged a glance, and one of them said sarcastically.

"Oh, isn't this that 'Genius' from Qinghe Town?"

"I heard even the Sword-Wielding Elder personally tested him. In the end... tsk tsk, how did he end up managing a warehouse here?"

"Senior Brother Zhao, he is someone who was 'noticed' by Elder Yun Yin after all; we can't afford to offend him."

The other person 'advised' insincerely, his tone full of mockery.

The official Disciple surnamed Zhao let out a cold laugh, looking Li Changsheng up and down.

The aura of Qi Refining Level 1 was not worth mentioning in his eyes.

He suddenly reached out and snatched the small tripod back from Li Changsheng's hands.

Turning the tripod upside down, he dumped all the residual charred black ashes onto the registration counter that Li Changsheng had just wiped clean.

"Sorry, my hand slipped."

He gave a fake smile.

"Since you're not the one at the wrong door, then handle this tripod yourself," Li Changsheng said indifferently.

"Remember, the duty of the General Affairs Hall is to 'serve the Sect's Disciples,' not to talk back to us."

He turned around, walked to the door, and then stopped.

He looked back at Li Changsheng and tilted his chin up, his tone contemptuous.

"A waste should have the self-awareness of a waste."

"Save your strength and stop Cultivating; it's a waste of time anyway."

The three of them swaggered away, their laughter echoing all the way.