In the days that followed, Qin Chuan fought down the urge to go to Sifu Street and “chop off his hands,” cultivating bitterly day and night, condensing and refining spiritual qi.
In the blink of an eye, nearly ten days had passed.
May fifteenth, early morning.
Qin Chuan had just stepped out of his room when a middle-aged man in the courtyard, pumping air into a bicycle, greeted him with a smile. “Xiao Qin, you’re reporting to the Agricultural Spirit Temple today, right?”
Over the past few days, Qin Chuan had already become acquainted with the other two tenants in the courtyard.
This man was named Zhou Bingwen. He was nearly thirty and still unmarried, and worked at Jiuchuan Ironware Workshop in the county.
As for that bicycle of his, Qin Chuan had long since ceased to find it strange—it was said to be another object that had come from beyond the heavens, which always made him secretly speculate about certain possibilities.
“Mm, I’m going to report in today.”
“Looks like you haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Here, I’ve got a few buns. Pad your stomach on the way.” Zhou Bingwen took an oil-paper packet from the bicycle basket and handed it over.
“How could I accept…”
Qin Chuan was just about to decline when Zhou Bingwen had already pushed his bicycle toward the gate. Looking back, he laughed and said,
“I’m off to work first. Once you’re at the Agricultural Spirit Temple, do your best. Try to get regularized early and become an immortal official. Since we live in the same courtyard, we’ll share in the glory too!”
Qin Chuan grinned and watched him leave.
The Agricultural Spirit Temple was located on Fengcheng Road within the ward. The journey would originally have taken half an hour on foot, but he arrived in only the time it took for an incense stick to burn.
When he reached the imposing yamen of the Agricultural Spirit Temple, the gatekeeper stepped forward to stop him. Qin Chuan handed over his acceptance notice. The old gatekeeper took one look and revealed a gentle smile, about to open the gate, when he suddenly saw a carriage arriving outside the yamen, drawn by several spirited exotic beasts.
Just as Qin Chuan was curious, he heard the old gatekeeper exclaim in a low voice,
“It’s the county temple’s carriage!”
He hurriedly opened the gate.
Immediately afterward, Qin Chuan saw the carriage curtain lift, and two Daoists—a man and a woman—stepped down from within.
The female cultivator in particular wore black-and-white Daoist robes, her bearing transcendent, as if untouched by mortal smoke and fire.
Sun Qinghan.
Qin Chuan saw with his own eyes this young female cultivator who had been appointed from above. Not only was she the supreme superior of all Daoists in the county, she was also a figure of real authority who governed the land and waters of an entire region.
Even from afar, he could sense that invisible pressure.
This was not the ordinary authority of officials he had seen in his previous life, but a cultivator’s instinctive awe toward the qi presence of someone at a higher realm.
An immortal official of county-temple rank, with Golden Core cultivation—her very existence was like a towering mountain.
Before he could think further, more than ten Daoists of varying ages hurried out from within the Agricultural Spirit Temple, gathering in groups of three or five to welcome them at the yamen gate.
The square-faced middle-aged Daoist at their head stepped forward, cupped his hands with some excitement, and bowed.
“We only just received the jade slip message saying the newly appointed County Guardian would be coming to inspect the temple. We did not expect Your Excellency to arrive so swiftly. This humble Daoist is Liu Shichang, presently the deputy chief of the Agricultural Spirit Temple. Temple Chief Guo Shanshan has gone to inspect a neighboring county these past two days, so the affairs of the temple are temporarily handled by this humble Daoist.”
“Fellow Daoist Liu.”
Sun Qinghan nodded in return, a smile at the corner of her lips.
“It can hardly be called an inspection. I have merely encountered some difficulties regarding policy decrees related to spirit plants, and have specially come to exchange views with the fellow Daoists of the Agricultural Spirit Temple. I hope to hear everyone’s valuable insights.”
“The County Guardian’s arrival brings glory to our humble halls, glory indeed.” Liu Shichang stepped aside to lead the way. “Please, let us discuss matters inside.”
Qin Chuan watched as this group of Daoists—each clearly destined to become one of his future superiors—clustered around the cool and aloof County Guardian and entered the yamen.
“Young man, go to the third gatehouse to report in,” the old gatekeeper reminded him.
“Many thanks for your guidance.”
After thanking him, Qin Chuan stepped into the place where he might end up serving for a very long time.
The moment he entered the third gatehouse, he saw a scene of utter bustle. Five or six Daoists were rushing back and forth, shouts rising without pause:
“Quick! Find the roster of spirit plant cultivation for this spring!”
“And the acreage summary documents. I only organized them last month—dig them all out!”
“Hurry up!”
“Right, County Guardian Qinghan may go inspect the observation fields. Notify that side at once and have them prepare!”
“If the County Guardian asks something that Temple Chief Liu can’t answer, and accountability falls on us, it’ll be because we failed at our duties. In the end, we’ll be the ones who suffer for it!”
Behind a desk, a Daoist was sweating profusely as he rummaged through a mountain of documents, sighing helplessly. “With such a sudden visit, how is anyone supposed to prepare in time…”
Seeing that everyone was too busy to spare him any attention, Qin Chuan felt somewhat awkward. He found someone and asked in a low voice, “Fellow Daoist, I am Qin Chuan, a newly arrived fire-worker Daoist reporting in. May I ask whom I should seek to handle the formalities?”
The Daoist buried in the documents raised his head and glanced at him. “Newly arrived? You’re under my jurisdiction. Qin Chuan… there does seem to be such a person. Why have you only come today? Take out your talisman writ. Once I verify it, I’ll enter you into the register.”
Qin Chuan had not expected to find the right person so directly.
After the talisman writ was verified and his name entered into the rolls, the Daoist called out, “Chen Dongyang! Come here a moment. Take this new fire-worker to the experimental fields. Add another pair of hands over there.”
“Field hand?” Qin Chuan was slightly stunned.
The Daoist behind the desk swept him a glance and said calmly, “Fire-worker Daoists are menials. Naturally, wherever hands are short, you fill in. If you can cultivate to the fourth level of Qi Refining or render meritorious service, you may be regularized ahead of time. Otherwise, within a year, if there are no records of fault, you may also be regularized. At that time, you’ll be granted an actual post.”
Qin Chuan took a deep breath. Having received this explanation, he said no more.
A tall young man walked over from behind him, with thick brows and large eyes. His tone was fairly gentle. “You’re Junior Brother Qin Chuan? Come with me.”
The two of them left the gatehouse one after the other.
“Which Daoist academy did Junior Brother come from?”
“The Jiuchuan Daoist Academy here in the county.”
“So we’re from the same school! I’m a few years older, so I’ll call you Junior Brother.”
“This little brother is newly arrived and unfamiliar with everything. I’ll have to trouble Senior Brother Chen for much guidance in the future.”
Qin Chuan readily went along with it, cupping his hands and addressing him as Senior Brother, placing his attitude very low.
Chen Dongyang smiled. “There isn’t much to guide you on, really. For newcomers, it all comes down to one word: endure. I see spiritual light in your eyes, Junior Brother. You must have already drawn qi into your body. Next, you only need to cultivate step by step. Reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining within a year shouldn’t be an issue.”
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the rear garden of the Agricultural Spirit Temple. Behind this yamen, there was unexpectedly a world unto itself: twenty mu of garden plots were laid out in orderly fashion, with trees, flowers, medicinal herbs, and spirit grain neatly arrayed.
“Old Huo, this is Qin Chuan, the newly arrived fire-worker Daoist. The temple has already entered him into the register, and he has been assigned to the experimental fields to lend a hand for now. Please arrange some work for him.” Chen Dongyang led Qin Chuan to a wooden hut by the edge of the garden and bowed respectfully.
In a reclining chair before the hut sat an old man with a straw hat covering his forehead, a dry pipe in his mouth.
Qin Chuan also bowed respectfully. “Old Huo.”
On the way here, Chen Dongyang had already, out of fellow-alumni camaraderie, given Qin Chuan a few pointers in advance.
This Old Huo could be considered a legend of the Agricultural Spirit Temple.
Even the current temple chief had once received his instruction.
Old Huo’s name was Huo Yuanjue. Though he was a deputy-abbey-rank Daoist, he enjoyed full-abbey-rank treatment.
He was eligible for a supply of Foundation Establishment Pills and a breakthrough slot. Calling him the “sweeping monk” of the county Agricultural Spirit Temple would not be excessive.
In particular, he had once taken the Agricultural Spirit Temple’s fundamental cultivation method, the Verdant Wood Vitality Art, and brought forth the new from the old, creating the even more advanced Yi-Wood Azure Heaven Art.
This was a cultivation method said to be capable of healing ninety-nine percent of Jiuchuan’s plants and spirit plants, and Old Huo himself was therefore revered as the “Saintly Hand of Spirit Plants.”