Just after the hour of Hai, Jiang Yi was already waiting outside the Quenching Room.
According to what the Heavenly Book had shown, Yang Xun disliked people who delayed their duties, so arriving early would better increase his favor.
“Everything depends on the details.”
Jiang Yi thought to himself.
He had not expected that his experience as a secretary in his previous life could still be put to use in the demonic path.
Sure enough.
A quarter into the hour of Hai, Yang Xun’s figure appeared on the mountain path.
He wore a black robe of office, his beard and hair both white, and with his fierce looks besides.
Seeing him in the dead of night was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
Yang Xun’s gaze was like a blade as it swept over Jiang Yi’s shoulders. Cotton-like clumps of snow clung to his dusty Daoist robe, already soaking a patch of it through.
His face turned cold, and he said in a deep voice:
“It’s freezing out here. Why come so early? Standing here in the wind like a block of wood! To think this old man thought you had a quick mind. Now it seems you’re just a fool as well!”
After being scolded head-on, Jiang Yi was neither angry nor afraid. He merely lifted open his cotton robe, revealing the lotus-lidded copper ewer tucked inside.
“Steward, have a look. I specially brought piping hot tea to warm myself. I’m not cold.”
Yang Xun ignored Jiang Yi’s deliberate attempt to curry favor. He opened the main doors of the Quenching Room and said:
“This old man has already had people purchase two chests of cold-water stones and gray phosphorus powder, along with other auxiliary materials. Mix up that catalytic secret recipe of yours and test its effect.”
Jiang Yi followed closely behind Yang Xun. After receiving the order, he said no more and immediately rolled up his sleeves, lowering his head to work hard.
He first opened the furnace vents, tossed in cold-water stones of uniform size, then spread a layer of gray phosphorus powder over them.
Next, he took out powder ground from pagoda-tree heartwood and mixed it with plant ash, adding a little limewater and blending it carefully.
“It’s done.”
Roughly two quarters of an hour later, Jiang Yi finished nimbly.
Yang Xun seemed impatient from having waited too long and waved his hand.
“Hurry and wash your face. You’ve made yourself filthy. What sort of appearance is that?”
Jiang Yi only scratched his head and smiled, like a mischievous child being scolded by an elder, then wiped the black smudges from his face clean with water.
Yang Xun watched the entire time, a complicated look in his eyes. Only when Jiang Yi had tidied himself up did he speak:
“This old man will open the furnace and draw the fire. Later, you’ll be responsible for adding charcoal and feeding materials. We’ll see whether it takes effect and produces qualified bone material.”
Jiang Yi nodded, a trace of anticipation passing through his eyes.
Not long after obtaining that volume of the Minor Forging Essence Fire-Control Art, he had relied on the Heavenly Book to analyze its essence and was studying it earnestly.
He had now reached the “entry” level.
For Yang Xun to sit firmly in the position of Quenching Room steward for thirty years, aside from his profound cultivation at the fifth level of Qi Refining, he must have cultivated the Minor Forging Essence Fire-Control Art to a deep stage as well.
Otherwise, why would even the inner peak senior brothers who came down for inspection have to show him some courtesy?
If Jiang Yi observed him up close, perhaps he might gain some comprehension.
“Watch carefully!”
Yang Xun’s voice was full and powerful. With a low shout, he released the vigorous true qi accumulated within his Yuan Gate Inner Palace.
With a boom, like thunder emerging from the mountains, the sound wave exploded!
Jiang Yi only felt a violent wind strike his face and waves of qi surge forth, nearly knocking him off balance!
“What powerful true qi… no, it’s more condensed than true qi, even more formidable! Is this the wonder of the fifth level of Qi Refining—opening the Yuan Gate Inner Palace and breathing in spiritual essence?”
Jiang Yi silently pondered, his gaze fixed firmly on Yang Xun as he operated the Fire-Control Art.
As that black robe of office billowed, rolling heat waves surged like a waterfall. They swelled against the wind, growing vast in an instant and transforming into several wild dragons!
True qi released outward, crimson flames surging!
The sight left Jiang Yi staring blankly, and he could not help thinking:
“Even if ten or a hundred of ‘me’ tried to resist, we’d all be suppressed and killed!
A ninth-grade cultivation method, the fifth level of Qi Refining—it truly is extraordinary!”
Affected by Yang Xun’s aura, the Quenching Room, broad as a great hall, seemed like a tiny boat drifting on the ocean, swaying without end.
“Rise!”
Yang Xun raised his hand slightly and clenched it in the air. The enormous furnace lid, heavy as a thousand jin, was flung open.
Immediately after, he opened his mouth and spat out the word “Draw.” Surging true qi poured forth wildly, as if a long rope had been shaken open and cast down!
Several lifelike, clawing, fang-baring flame dragons seemed to be tightly bound.
They actually became incomparably obedient and drilled into the furnace one after another.
After seven or eight breaths, with a whoosh, the blazing earthfire was drawn forth, burning fiercely until it filled the furnace walls!
Dense flames roared, melting gold and dissolving iron!
Standing below, Jiang Yi’s forehead broke out in sweat, his face burning hot.
“Control!”
Yang Xun formed a hand seal and pointed. At once, he pressed the boiling earthfire into submission, turning it from blazing white to blue.
Under the manipulation of true qi, that fierce fire split into dozens of thin snakes, swimming and coiling as they hovered within the furnace.
The cold-water stones crackled and popped, while the gray phosphorus powder hissed and smoked. The two fused together, taking effect.
“It’s my turn.”
Jiang Yi was not idle either. His movements were swift as he shoveled in charcoal and controlled the fire. Then he climbed the ladder, tossing in bone stock while sprinkling water to temper and blend it.
The bone stock, hard as iron, was placed amid the heat waves. Its impurities were burned away, its murky color faded, and its fishy stench refined out.
The entire process lasted a full half hour. Jiang Yi fed in fifty pieces of bone stock in all, and half of them actually became usable material, displaying a qualified appearance!
A long while later.
The furnace fire gradually died down.
Yang Xun slowly withdrew his art. His true qi returned to the Yuan Gate and sank into the Inner Palace.
He swept his gaze over the bone material. Each piece was lustrous white, almost jade-like, faintly revealing a gentle sheen. Sincere praise showed in his eyes.
The secret recipe Jiang Yi had presented had indeed produced immediate results.
This quality far surpassed what they had before!
Now that the inner peak was pressing for progress, the blame would not fall on his head. It would be Tang Cong and Zhou Guang’s turn to be utterly overwhelmed.
“Very good!”
Yang Xun’s fierce-looking face suddenly split into a grin, like the long shriek of a night owl, sounding strangely chilling.
“Boy Jiang, you’ve solved a major problem for me! I, Yang Xun, am particular in how I do things. I will never treat others unfairly… Speak. What do you want?”
Jiang Yi seemed to shiver. This sort of moment tested one’s ability the most.
It was just like when an old superior asked what you wanted. If you did not speak, you seemed distant. If you truly did speak, you could not go too far, or else you would not know your place.
One had to cater to the wishes of the person above and strike the measure exactly.
“I only happened to find something in a pile of old papers by chance. I dare not ask for a reward.”
Jiang Yi retreated in order to advance, waiting for Yang Xun to state his position.
Hearing this, the latter fixed his eagle-like eyes on him and snorted.
“Cut out that empty nonsense! This old man said I wouldn’t treat you unfairly, so I won’t treat you unfairly. You do things decisively, but when you speak, you hem and haw like a woman!
I’ve already changed your assignment to an easier one. What else do you want next? Talisman coins? Or… something else?”
Jiang Yi knew the timing was right. After a brief moment of contemplation, as if he had thought it through seriously, he finally spoke:
“When an elder bestows, one dares not refuse. Since the Steward has spoken, I will have the gall to say it.
Jiang Yi has no other wish. I only ask that the Steward grant me a chance to ‘advance.’”
Yang Xun raised a brow.
“Oh? How do you wish to advance?”
Jiang Yi took a deep breath, as though heaven and man were warring within him, then mustered his courage and spoke:
“I wish only to cultivate and become a Dao material!”
The eight words landed with ringing force, firm and unwavering, like the clang of metal striking stone.
Yang Xun could not help being stunned. Frowning, he replied:
“Do you know how laughable it is for a mere menial servant to say he wants to become a Dao material of longevity? Even the senior brothers of Qianji Sect’s inner peak would not dare say such a thing openly!”
Jiang Yi cupped his hands before him, lowered his head, and bent forward, his posture earnest.
“I dare not deceive the Steward. In the seven years since Jiang Yi entered the sect, I have worked diligently and conscientiously. Even when exhausted beyond measure, I never forgot cultivation, because I had the thought of becoming useful in my heart!
How could I not know such words are arrogant? But if I do not even have the courage to say them aloud, then Jiang Yi truly is nothing more than a piece of ‘consumable material’ waiting to be used up and thrown away!”
Yang Xun clasped his hands behind his back, his expression calm as he coldly watched the youth in the Daoist robe.
Yet in truth, stormy waves were churning in his heart. This was not the first time he had heard such words.
“Your son does not seek long life and eternal vision. He only seeks… only seeks to see the scenery along the path of the Dao! Even if I die halfway and become a stepping stone on the road, it would still be better than living a muddled life, never knowing its taste!”
The two of them could actually be so alike?
For a moment, Yang Xun fell into a daze.
A long while later.
He slowly turned around, his back facing Jiang Yi, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger:
“Dao material… Hmph. You’re not old, but your tone is not small.”
“In the archive room of the Labor Office, there is a copy of the Minor Forging Essence Fire-Control Art. You may read it yourself.
How much you can comprehend will depend on your own fortune.”
Jiang Yi bowed again in thanks.
“The Steward’s great kindness…”
But Yang Xun seemed too lazy to listen to more flattery from him and went straight up to the second floor, saying indifferently:
“Bring that pot of tea over. Let this old man quench his thirst.”
Jiang Yi hurriedly retrieved the lotus-lidded copper ewer set to the side. Inside was the Huigan vine tea that he had asked Old Hun He to bring along.
A stream of water poured into the teacup.
Because of the surging heat waves in the Quenching Room, the pot of tea had not cooled.
Yang Xun leaned back into that rocking chair and raised a hand to take the teacup.
The tea was rich, its color reddish-brown. Yang Xun sipped it lightly.
“At your age, why are you drinking bitter tea?”
Jiang Yi attended at his side and smiled shyly.
“My grandfather loved drinking it. He especially liked this mellow aged fragrance, and I picked up the habit from him.
This Huigan vine tea isn’t easy to find either. Only Yanghun Peak’s Fanglan Tea Shop has it.”
“Do you still have kin at the foot of the mountain?”
“My grandfather passed away, and my parents died early. I sold the family property to enter a Dao academy, and after that I entered Qianji Sect. Now I am all alone.”
Hearing this, Yang Xun seemed to loosen a knot in his heart and suddenly burst into laughter.
He rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, laughing so hard that he paid no attention even when the reddish-brown tea splashed onto his robe.
“Good! Good!”
Jiang Yi feigned bewilderment and asked bluntly:
“May I ask the Steward, what is good about it?”
Yang Xun did not answer. Only after laughing until tears gathered at the corners of his eyes did he finally stop.
That bald-browed, long face of his suddenly turned cold as he stared straight up at Jiang Yi.
“You are a good child. But if you want to become a Dao material, it is not so easy. A Dao material of the demonic path is a seed of cultivation, one who has cast off the body of ‘consumable material’ and the fate of ‘human material,’ and has truly entered the roots of a dharma lineage!”
“You must think it over carefully. This road is different from others. Consumable material labors with the body; human material runs about in toil.
Why can Dao material properly cultivate? Because Dao material must contend for fate! Just as the outer sect needs menial servants to work, and the dharma lineages need ordinary people to make up numbers.
Dao material must undergo human tribulations for the Dao lineage, answer killing tribulations, and cross death tribulations. Even if one’s life returns to the underworld, one may not retreat!”
After Yang Xun finished speaking, he saw the confusion in Jiang Yi’s eyes, and the last of his suspicions dispersed.
This truly was the “great-grandson” Heaven had delivered before him!
“You will understand in the future.”
Yang Xun’s emotions had surged violently, and by now he was somewhat tired.
Jiang Yi silently noted down the key point that “Dao material must undergo human tribulations, answer killing tribulations, and cross death tribulations,” then asked:
“Shall I support the Steward back to your residence to rest?”
Yang Xun waved his hand.
“Go rest on your own. Also, starting tomorrow, come report once every seven days. There is no need for you to work.
Find a reliable menial servant to help you fulfill the duties of an inspector.
If you can pass the third level of Qi Refining before winter begins, and reach the fourth level before spring starts, this old man can seek a position for you on the inner peak.”
Jiang Yi’s expression turned solemn. Without a word, he merely raised both hands high above his head and bowed respectfully.
Then he quietly withdrew and left the Quenching Room.
Yang Xun lay in the rocking chair, swaying back and forth as he muttered to himself:
“If Zhi’er had married, I imagine my grandson would not be much younger than him.”
……
……
“Affinity at first sight truly is wondrous beyond words.”
Jiang Yi walked along the mountain path. All around was silent, with only the whistling cold wind scraping past the treetops, occasionally knocking down a few handfuls of powdery snow.
From presenting the secret recipe, to pretending to be naive, to asking for dried lychees, and finally that pot of Huigan vine tea… every detail had been maneuvering!
Jiang Yi pondered. No wonder “beauty traps” had worked from ancient times to now.
Though called “beauty,” the essence was “old acquaintance.” To attack the heart was supreme, and it worked every time!
In essence, it was not much different from the “affinity strategy” he had used.
“At last, I’ve pried open a crack in the gate to the inner peak.”
Jiang Yi inhaled deeply. The air was icy cold, like a knife cut.
Yet his heart was incomparably fiery, scorching like charcoal.
From now on, the Minor Forging Essence Fire-Control Art had an origin. He no longer had to hide it and could cultivate it openly and aboveboard.
He also no longer needed to do the bitter labor of a menial servant. He only had to report once every seven days, and the rest of his time could be used for cultivation.
More importantly, by relying on Quenching Room Steward Yang Xun, he had gained both a background and connections. His spine could stand a little straighter than before.
“Menial servant, inspector, steward. Consumable material, human material… Dao material.
The steps leading to the great road of cultivation are high and long, but I too can advance step by step. One day, I will sit at the very top.”
Jiang Yi’s steps were light as he descended, yet it was as if he were scaling a sheer cliff, climbing ever higher.
……
……
The next day.
The bell of Guanlan Peak was like the long whip of a peddler driving cattle and horses, making numerous menial servants crawl out of their work huts before dawn and gather one after another in clusters before the gates of the Labor Office.
Old Hun He looked left and right, somewhat puzzled and strange.
Why didn’t he see Brother Yi?
This was the end of the month!
If one was not proactive about work and ran into the steward’s spearpoint, one would definitely be made an example of and lose a layer of skin!
“Damn it, could he have overslept? But I clearly called several times outside his room, and there was no movement!”
In the end, Old Hun He still remembered the favor of that bowl of spiritual rice and left the long, crowded line.
“Old Li, have you seen Brother Yi?”
Old Li shook his head.
“What? Brother Yi hasn’t come to work? Could he be so absorbed in cultivation that he forgot the time? From what I’ve seen, Brother Yi’s mind hasn’t been settled lately. I reckon he’s still thinking about Young Lady Luo! Planning to make a proud comeback…”
Old Hun He ignored Old Li’s muttering and hesitated over whether to first find a menial servant to substitute for Brother Yi and receive his assignment slip for him.
But seeing that the end of the month had arrived, each workshop was pressing for progress, and enforcement was already strict.
Moreover, Old Man Yang was rigid by nature and loathed those who were sly and shirked their work the most…
The more Old Hun He thought, the more disordered his mind became. His heart was on tenterhooks, and only when the Daoist boy from the Labor Office called him twice did he hear.
Taking his slip, he followed the crowd to the Quenching Room.
As ill luck would have it, Old Man Yang had also risen early. In his black robe and with his fierce face, beard and hair all white, he made people fearful at the sight of him.
“Brother Yi, sigh! You’re in for a real suffering this time!”
Before Old Hun He could think of a way to smooth things over, Yang Xun’s voice rang out loud and clear, like thunder pouring into their ears, making the eardrums of the gathered menial servants tremble.
“The Quenching Room will promote one person to inspector…”
Before his words had even fallen, everyone’s spirits lifted, and they unconsciously straightened their chests.
Old Hun He, however, did not care about some damned inspector position. In any case, it would not fall to him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to see Jiang Yi, dressed in a clean Daoist robe, step into the Quenching Room and walk straight over here.
“Brother Yi! You finally arrived!”
Old Hun He had just let out a sigh of relief when his heart instantly leapt into his throat again.
He saw Brother Yi, who looked especially radiant today, wearing an amiable expression as he gently parted the menial servant workmates before him one by one.
Like a water-dividing pearl falling into a stream, he actually walked straight up to Yang Xun.
“Is he looking to die?”
Everyone was shocked. A mere menial servant beast of burden dared be disrespectful to a steward—was this an old man hanging himself because he thought his life too long?
But in the next moment, Yang Xun exhaled and announced the chosen person in a resounding voice:
“From now on, Jiang Yi will help this old man share miscellaneous duties. The bone material produced in the Quenching Room will also be inspected by him for quality.”
All the menial servants were astonished. Looking at the Daoist-robed youth whose brows still held traces of immaturity, they all felt puzzled.
What connections did Brother Yi have?
He had actually climbed onto Steward Yang’s high branch without a sound?
Among them, the one most shaken was none other than Old Hun He.
“Ah?”
He froze on the spot, rooted where he stood.
Brother Yi, who had still been doing bitter labor alongside him yesterday—how had he suddenly been “promoted”?