152: Go to Zhenfeng for part-time work

The next day, Qingfeng and Mingyue came again.

They pulled Su Ming into the house, “Quick, continue telling the story of ‘The Civet Cat for the Crown Prince’!”

Once inside, Mingyue secretly tugged on Su Ming’s sleeve.

She took out a small paper packet from her sleeve and quickly slipped it into Su Ming’s hand.

“Here.” She lowered her voice, her small face close to his, with a hint of mystery.

Su Ming opened it to find several curled tea leaves, emitting an elegant fragrance.

“What is this?”

“Clear Heart Tea!” Mingyue whispered, “I got it from a Senior Brother at Danding Peak! It can calm the mind. If you get tired from studying Formations at night, you can brew a cup to drink.”

She blinked, with a hint of small pride.

“My Senior Brother and I are very familiar with the Senior Brothers and Sisters of Danding Peak!”

Su Ming held the packet of still-warm tea leaves, a warmth flowing through his heart.

When Qingfeng left, his small face held a rare seriousness.

“Hey, Su Ming, I heard that Formation Peak is severely short of people recently.”

“Several of the odd-job Disciples responsible for repairing basic Formation patterns have been doing a terrible job, making Senior Brother Chen, who inspects them, furious. He even went to the External Affairs Hall to complain again.”

Qingfeng tilted his head, looking at Su Ming with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

“How’s your Dust Evasion Formation coming along?”

“If Elder Ma asks you to go, will you go?”

These words, like a bolt of lightning, exploded in Su Ming’s mind!

He instantly understood that Elder Ma’s arrangement was probably imminent!

His heart skipped a beat.

On his face, however, he appropriately displayed a suitable mix of apprehension and longing.

“This Disciple’s humble skills dare not aspire to such a thing.”

He bowed, his posture extremely humble.

“But... but if the Sect commands it, this Disciple will naturally do his best!”

This answer both showed that he dared not hope for it and hinted at his willingness to follow arrangements.

Qingfeng pouted, seemingly bored by this watertight answer.

“Alright, I was just asking.”

He said no more, then got up and pulled Mingyue away to bid farewell.

Su Ming saw Qingfeng out of the courtyard gate, and the humble smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a grave expression.

He immediately returned to his room and closed the door.

“Master!”

“I heard it.” Lin Yu’s voice was equally serious.

“It seems that on Elder Ma’s chessboard, your piece is about to move.” Lin Yu’s spiritual sense rapidly calculated in Su Ming’s mind.

“This is both good and bad.”

“The good thing is that we finally have an opportunity to legitimately access one of the Sect’s core techniques. Formation Peak, even if only the periphery, offers resources and insights far beyond what the Accounting Room can provide.”

Su Ming nodded, he understood.

“What about the downside?”

“The downside is that your identity has changed.” Lin Yu’s voice deepened.

“In the Accounting Room, you’re an accountant. No one cares about an accountant’s cultivation. Your ‘severed immortal path’ is the best camouflage.”

“But once you’re at Formation Peak, you’re a ‘Formation Cultivator.’ Even if you’re just an odd-job Disciple, you’ll be scrutinized by the standards of a Formation Cultivator.”

“Every step you take, every mistake you make, will be watched by countless eyes.”

Su Ming fell silent.

He could imagine such a scene.

He was like a sheep mixed in with wolves; every step had to be taken with extreme caution.

“Then... how should this Disciple respond?”

“You need to show some talent, but absolutely not that of a Genius. You must be able to complete tasks, but with stumbles and difficulties. You need to make everyone think you’re just an ordinary person with a bit of cleverness, but limited by your innate bone structure, with a ceiling that’s just so-so.”

“You need to become, in their eyes, someone who is ‘unpalatable to eat, but a pity to discard’.”

“This Disciple understands.”

...The wait did not last long.

Three mornings later, before dawn.

Su Ming was sitting cross-legged on his bed, practicing his control over the “Concealment” rune.

Suddenly.

A faint, unfamiliar spiritual energy fluctuation came from a miniature warning node he had set up at the courtyard gate.

The fluctuation was steady, carrying a hint of the unique Cultivation Technique aura of the External Affairs Hall.

They’ve arrived!

Su Ming abruptly opened his eyes and immediately retracted all his spiritual energy.

He flipped out of bed, quickly made the bedding a bit messy, and deliberately spread out an account book on the table, creating the appearance of having stayed up late doing accounts and just fallen asleep.

He had just finished all this.

“Thump, thump, thump.”

The courtyard gate was knocked, neither too lightly nor too heavily.

Immediately after, a voice rang out.

“Su Ming of Ding Qi Courtyard, are you there?”

Su Ming did not respond immediately.

He waited for about ten breaths before pretending to be sleepy, rubbing his eyes, and opening the door.

“Who is it... so early in the morning...”

Outside the door stood a young man dressed in the robes of an External Affairs Hall steward.

The young man was about twenty years old, at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment cultivation, with his chin slightly raised and a hint of condescending scrutiny in his eyes.

Seeing Su Ming’s lazy appearance, he frowned.

“Are you Su Ming?”

“This Disciple is.” Su Ming quickly bowed in salute, a perfectly timed look of apprehension on his face, “I did not know Steward Senior Brother was arriving, and failed to greet you from afar. I hope you will forgive me.”

Seeing his respectful attitude, the steward’s expression softened slightly.

He cleared his throat and said in a businesslike tone, “I am Liu Feng, a steward of the External Affairs Hall. I have come to convey Elder Ma’s oral decree.”

Su Ming immediately lowered his head further.

“This Disciple respectfully awaits the Elder’s instructions.”

Liu Feng was very satisfied with Su Ming’s posture, and his voice softened a bit.

“Elder Ma’s oral decree: Due to insufficient personnel for the maintenance of basic Formations at Formation Peak, and the uneven quality of odd-job Disciples, the odd-job Disciple Su Ming, who has ‘a foundation in arithmetic and a meticulous mind,’ is specially transferred from our External Affairs Hall.”

“Effective immediately, you will spend half your day in the Accounting Room and half at Formation Peak, assisting with the verification and repair of basic Formation patterns.”

“There must be no errors.”

The oral decree was conveyed.

Liu Feng looked at Su Ming, who was still bowing his head, waiting for his reaction.

Su Ming’s body first trembled slightly, as if startled by the sudden news.

He slowly raised his head, his face first blank, then transforming into a look of incredulous apprehension.

“Formation... Formation Peak?”

His voice had a slight stammer.

“But... but this Disciple is dull, and only... only knows a Dust Evasion Formation! How... how can I bear such an important responsibility?”

Su Ming’s reaction was entirely within the normal range for an ordinary odd-job Disciple.

A hint of disdain flashed in Liu Feng’s eyes.

“This is Elder Ma’s decision; you only need to obey.” His tone carried an unquestionable authority.

“As for whether you are competent, the Senior Brothers of Formation Peak will judge for themselves. If you are not up to the task, they will naturally send you back.”

After speaking, he added another sentence.

“However, since you are a member of our External Affairs Hall, if you lose face at Formation Peak, you will also be losing face for Elder Ma and our External Affairs Hall. But if you can stay at Formation Peak, starting this month, you will receive an additional monthly stipend, and in the future, you will also have the opportunity to enter Formation Peak. You should do your best.”

These words carried both a warning and a subtle hint.