Lin Rui continued his daily routine of cleaning Storeroom D, working quickly and saying little. Foreman Liu was happy to let him be, writing him off as a diligent but dull-witted chore boy.
When he was alone, however, Lin Rui would carefully examine the so-called "waste materials." In his past life as a private investigator, a sensitivity to minute details had become second nature. His recent time in the Alchemy Division, combined with the faint perception of plant vitality granted by the Azurewood Heart Chant, allowed him to see things others missed.
Take the Ironthread Grass, for example.
It was supposed to be completely charred, carbonized to the point where it would crumble at the slightest touch. However, some of the pieces in Storeroom D had a strange, dark purple tinge at their broken ends, and their texture was tougher than that of ordinary ash. Then there were the dregs of the Dragon's Blood Vine. Though scorched and warped, if one sniffed closely, one could detect a very faint, burnt odor, similar to the incomplete combustion of some kind of chemical. It reminded him of the unique residual smells of certain synthetic drugs from cases he had handled in his past life—it was definitely not the normal scent of burnt vegetation.
Was someone behind this, or was it all a coincidence? Lin Rui couldn't be sure, but his gut told him something was fishy.
Today, the Alchemy Division was suddenly short-staffed, reportedly to rush a batch of elixirs for the inner hall. Several young disciples from the outer division were temporarily reassigned to help.
Among them was a young female disciple dressed in a blue-black uniform, her face cool and her eyes holding a hint of detachment. She was assigned to organize herbs in Storeroom C but occasionally had to cross-reference some of the waste material logs in Storeroom D.
She walked to the entrance of Storeroom D, holding a stack of blank registration slips, her voice crisp but devoid of warmth.
"You are Lin Rui?"
Lin Rui was in the middle of dumping a basket of "waste" Ironthread Grass into a designated wooden barrel. He turned at the sound of her voice.
"You know me?" he asked.
Qu Youyan's gaze lingered on him for a moment, as if sizing him up.
"My name is Qu Youyan. I was a classmate of Lin Baobao and Xu Yu in the Lin family school. I ran into Baobao earlier. His information network is surprisingly effective; he said you are now working in the Alchemy Division. I didn't quite believe it." Qu Youyan's tone was flat, betraying no emotion. "He seems to hold you in high regard. Said you were a decent person, worth befriending."
"Baobao exaggerates," Lin Rui replied. "It was just Second Uncle looking out for me, letting me learn a few things here."
Qu Youyan's slender fingers tapped gently on the edge of the jade slips, her eyes sweeping over the piles of medicinal dregs inside the storeroom.
"Learn things? What can you learn in here? How to identify burnt roots?"
The words sounded like a taunt, but Lin Rui caught a flicker of faint curiosity in her eyes.
"At the very least, I can learn to identify more herbs, so I don't get tricked into buying poison grass disguised as spirit medicine in the future," Lin Rui responded, half-joking.
The corner of Qu Youyan's mouth seemed to curve upward, but the arc was so slight it was gone in an instant.
"That's true enough. Zhuyun Town looks peaceful, but the waters run deep. Getting more exposure to the way things work is a good thing."
Several other temporarily assigned apprentices were also busy in Storeroom D, moving waste and sweeping the floor.
Qu Youyan said no more to Lin Rui. She walked directly to a worn-out wooden table serving as a makeshift desk and began to organize the storeroom's waste material logbooks.
She was extremely meticulous in her work. Even when organizing these records that no one else valued, she was precise and thorough. Her slender fingers flew across the jade slips, pausing occasionally as her brow furrowed in concentration, as if she were comparing something.
Lin Rui continued with his own work, but he kept an eye on Qu Youyan out of the corner of his eye.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Qu Youyan let out a soft "Tch," startling a nearby apprentice who had been dozing off.
The apprentice rubbed his eyes. "Youyan, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Qu Youyan put down a jade slip and tapped a finger on it. "I just think the bookkeeper here has poor eyesight, and his arithmetic seems to have been taught by Old Aunt Wang, who sells steamed buns on the street."
Another apprentice, who was logging new waste materials, came over to look. "What's the problem? It's just records of waste materials. Who's going to look at them closely?"
"Ordinarily, no one would," Qu Youyan said, picking up a blank jade slip to begin transcribing. "But if the log says thirty catties of 'Dragon's Blood Vine' were brought in the day before yesterday, and twenty catties were used up in failed elixirs yesterday, and another fifteen catties were discarded today... did the extra five catties sprout roots and grow by themselves right here in Storeroom D?"
Her tone was even, as if she were telling the most ordinary of jokes.
The other two apprentices were completely bewildered by her words, thinking she was making a mountain out of a molehill.
But Lin Rui's heart skipped a beat. Dragon's Blood Vine! It's the Dragon's Blood Vine again!
He nonchalantly moved a few steps closer, pretending to grab a cleaning tool.
"Miss Qu, is there a problem with the storeroom's accounts?"
Qu Youyan looked up at him, a playful glint in her cool eyes.
"Not a big problem. Just some muddled accounts," she said, tossing the problematic jade slip casually onto the table. "Perhaps the foremen were too busy and just scribbled down a number by mistake when they were logging it. Or perhaps, the herbs in this storeroom aren't meant for people to look at in the first place."
Her words were pointed, and Lin Rui understood her meaning perfectly.
"There seems to have been a lot of discarded Ironthread Grass and Dragon's Blood Vine these past few days," Lin Rui said casually. "I wonder what kind of elixir they're trying to make that consumes so much."
Qu Youyan picked up a brush pen and wrote on a new registration sheet, "Ironthread Grass, charred, approx. 20 catties." Her calligraphy was elegant but carried an underlying strength.
"Who knows? Perhaps one of the elders has acquired some ancient elixir formula and is experimenting," she said. "After all, our Lin family's Alchemy Division is the best in Zhuyun Town. What kind of strange and rare elixir can't we produce?" She paused, then added, "It's just that their disposal methods for the waste seem a bit careless. Some of these herbs clearly have residual medicinal properties, yet they're just mixed together and burned. It's truly a shame."
She said, "A shame," but Lin Rui heard another meaning. If those dregs with the "abnormal" colors and smells were truly waste, why weren't they being destroyed more thoroughly?
The loopholes in the accounts, combined with the physical abnormalities he had observed in the waste materials, the clues were beginning to connect in Lin Rui's mind. Storeroom D was far more complex than it initially appeared.
As evening approached, the temporary support mission in the Alchemy Division ended.
Qu Youyan handed the organized logbooks to Foreman Liu, who gave them a cursory glance before waving her away.
As she reached the door of the Alchemy Division, she suddenly turned and looked back at Lin Rui.
"Lin Rui," she said.
Lin Rui started.
"Baobao said you're very good at observing people. I wonder if it's true."
"He's just talking nonsense."
"Is he?" Qu Youyan's clear eyes seemed to see right through him. "Zhuyun Town may be small, but it's full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Sometimes, it's better to see things and not say anything. That's how you live a long life. Take care of yourself."
She turned and left, her blue-black figure quickly disappearing into the twilight.
Lin Rui stood where he was, gazing in the direction she had gone, lost in thought. This Miss Qu seemed even more perceptive than he had imagined. Her discovery and her warning today—was it unintentional, or was it a deliberate hint?
Night fell like ink. After a long day of toil in the Alchemy Division, Lin Rui returned to his courtyard.
Inside his room, he first took out a plain paper notebook and recorded everything he had seen and heard in Storeroom D that day, including the accounting discrepancy Qu Youyan had pointed out. He wrote in meticulous detail—the dark purple tinge on the broken ends of the Ironthread Grass, the strange, burnt chemical smell from the Dragon's Blood Vine dregs, and the extra five catties of Dragon's Blood Vine that had appeared out of thin air in the accounts. He didn't miss a single detail, a firm believer in the principle that "the devil is in the details."
After finishing his notes, he put the book away and took out the fragment of the Azurewood Heart Chant from his inner robes, along with the Fragmentary Records of the Lin Clan's Ancient Elixir Formulas left by his father.
Under the dim lamplight, Lin Rui spread open the Azurewood Heart Chant.
Every word of this cultivation method was a gem, containing the secrets of the endless vitality of wood. His previous practice had been based more on intuition, a sort of instinctual response of his body to the method. But tonight, he wanted to understand some of its key concepts from a fundamental, textual level.
His gaze fell upon two terms in the chapter on "Wood Gazing"—"Source Discerning" and "Flow Cleansing."
"Source Discerning," literally, meant to identify the origin. The manual's explanation was quite mystical, stating, "All things have a spirit, and so it is with plants and trees. Their life is vigorous, their death is silent, and all have their own source of qi. A cultivator must quiet their mind and spirit, observing with their heart, only then can they perceive the subtle differences, discern the true from the false, and know the superior from the inferior."
Lin Rui rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Discerning source-qi... does this mean that at a certain level of cultivation, one can perceive the most fundamental properties of a substance? For example, would the 'source-qi' of those processed Ironthread Grass pieces be different from that of normal ones?
He then looked at the words "Flow Cleansing." The manual explained: "The vitality of wood is utterly pure and clean, capable of washing away filth and clearing blockages. Guiding this vitality into the body not only strengthens oneself, but one can also use this pure qi to refine external objects, returning them to their original state, or to remove their impurities and preserve their essence."
Refining external objects, removing their impurities... Lin Rui's eyes lit up.
If "Source Discerning" could help him identify the abnormalities in the medicinal dregs, could the method of "Flow Cleansing" be used to restore those "contaminated" or "altered" herbs to their original state, or at least separate out the foreign substances mixed within?
Putting down the Azurewood Heart Chant, Lin Rui picked up the Fragmentary Records of the Lin Clan's Ancient Elixir Formulas.
This fragment was less a book of formulas and more a jumbled collection of notes, containing not just elixir refining methods but also many strange rituals and secret lore.
Under the light, Lin Rui studied it word by word. A section titled "Guiding Qi to Inquire of the Spirit" caught his attention.
This "Inquiry" was not some profound magic. From the description, it seemed more like an ancient divination or... tracking ritual. The steps were quite elaborate: it required the ashes of specific burnt plants, the user's own heart's blood as a catalyst, placed in a specially made ceramic bowl, and then supplemented with chants at a specific time and facing a specific direction.
Lin Rui carefully considered the details.
The ritual didn't emphasize the user's own spiritual power, but rather placed extreme importance on the correct choice of materials and the precision of the steps. It was less about communicating with some ethereal "spirit" and more like a ritual that used the chemical reactions between specific materials, or perhaps some symbolic meaning, to achieve a directional goal. Plant ash, heart's blood... these things themselves contained certain kinds of special "information."
He suddenly recalled that in his father's sparse notes on the fragment of the Azurewood Heart Chant, he seemed to have mentioned a similar method. Next to it, circled in red ink, were the four small characters for "Cloud and Rain Response." He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but comparing the two now, a thought sparked in Lin Rui's mind.
"Cloud and Rain Response." Clouds were ethereal, gathering and scattering without a fixed form, just as the plant ash scattered in the wind. Rain fell from the heavens, nourishing all things, much like a drop of heart's blood falling and merging with the ash. Could this "Response" refer to a specific kind of... "answer" or "pointer"?
His father's notes were brief, yet they seemed to echo this "Inquiry" method.
Lin Rui's heart began to beat a little faster. He wasn't one to believe in ghosts or gods; his past life had taught him to trust logic and evidence. But this world of cultivation was bizarre, and many things couldn't be judged by common sense.
He read the steps for the "Inquiry" ritual over and over. The choice of every material, the sequence of every step, all carried a kind of ancient, rigorous logic.
A bold idea formed in his mind.
Perhaps he could try this ritual.
He wasn't expecting to truly "inquire" of any "spirit." Rather, he wanted to see what kind of "reaction" this ancient ritual, which his father had specifically marked, would produce if he followed its steps and material requirements exactly—and whether it could truly "point" to anything.
The key was the correct materials and precise steps.
The next day, while cleaning Storeroom D, Lin Rui nonchalantly collected some dregs from the burnt Dragon's Blood Vine from a pile of "harmless" waste. It counted as plant ash, and it was one of the materials he needed for the "Inquiry" ritual.
Night fell, heavy and silent. The outer courtyard of the Alchemy Division was quiet, with only the low chirp of insects in the grass.
Like a wisp of smoke, Lin Rui slipped past the sightlines of a few patrolling disciples, arriving silently at a remote corner in the back of the Alchemy Division. Piled here was miscellaneous junk, including an old, man-high cauldron covered in rust and cracks, clearly abandoned for years. This was the spot he had chosen during the day—secluded and unlikely to be discovered.
He took a deep breath to calm himself. The moonlight, filtering through the sparse tree branches, dappled the old cauldron, lending it an eerie air.
Lin Rui took out the small ceramic bowl he had prepared and poured the Dragon's Blood Vine ash into it. Then, he bit his fingertip. A crimson drop of blood fell, merging quickly with the ash. He followed the specific technique recorded in the Fragmentary Records, stirring the mixture gently with a thin bamboo stick while silently chanting the ancient, tongue-twisting syllables. They were less like a spell and more like a specific vibrational frequency meant to guide some unknown change.
Some time passed. There was no imagined fluctuation of spiritual energy, no resonance of "vitality."
Lin Rui held his breath. Just as he thought the ritual had failed and was about to clean up his tracks—
A figure stepped out from the shadows behind the cauldron as if from nowhere.
"Kid, not sleeping in the middle of the night? Playing with mud out here?"
The voice wasn't loud, but it was laced with a teasing tone that sent a jolt through Lin Rui, almost making him drop the bowl.
"S-Second Uncle?" Lin Rui's heart hammered against his ribs, his palms instantly slick with cold sweat.
It's over. I've been caught red-handed! If this kind of sneaky 'witchcraft' gets me branded as a heretical cultivator, not even the Azure Creek River will be able to wash me clean.
Lin Tiancheng strolled over to the cauldron, glanced down at the concoction of blood and ash in the bowl, then looked up at Lin Rui, a half-smile on his face.
"Not bad, kid. You actually managed to figure a few things out," he said with a click of his tongue. "You haven't even scratched the surface of the 'Guiding Qi to Inquire of the Spirit' ritual, and your technique is a million miles off, but... that courage and ingenuity of yours is quite interesting."
Lin Rui was stunned, unable to process what was happening. He's not here to punish me?
"Second Uncle, I..."
"Alright, enough with the 'I, I, I,'" Lin Tiancheng waved a hand dismissively. He took out a palm-sized, jet-black jade disc from his sleeve. It was carved with complex cloud patterns, and its surface was as smooth as a mirror, glowing with a cold light in the moonlight. "Your method is too crude. Watch me."
Before his words had even faded, his left hand formed a strange seal, his index and middle fingers held together like a sword, and he tapped the old, broken cauldron lightly.
"With Azurewood as the guide, let the spirit trace a line, back in time!"
A wisp of pure, wood-type spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips into the cauldron. The previously dead cauldron actually let out a soft hum. Immediately after, a very faint, almost invisible wisp of green smoke rose from the mixture in the bowl.
Lin Tiancheng held up the "Obsidian Spirit-Image Disc" in his right hand. The disc trembled slightly as he aimed it at the wisp of smoke.
The green smoke twisted and coiled in mid-air, gradually coalescing into two blurry human figures.
Lin Rui immediately recognized one of them: Foreman Liu from the Alchemy Division! He was currently bowing and scraping, fawning over the other figure as he spoke. His servile posture was a world away from the bossy, commanding air he carried during the day.
The other figure was completely shrouded in a wide, black cloak, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female. Even the moonlight seemed to deliberately avoid them, leaving their face completely hidden in shadow. But Lin Rui's gaze was drawn to a peculiar ornament hanging at the person's waist—it was a strangely shaped sachet, made of a material that was neither gold nor jade, but some kind of dark, dull metal, carved with a twisted vine pattern.
Lin Rui was almost certain this person was not a member of the Lin clan. Their bearing and the way Foreman Liu treated them indicated a status far above his own.
The smoky image flickered, briefly showing a blurry corner of what looked like a secret storeroom, with Foreman Liu handing a package to the black-cloaked figure.
The entire vision lasted only a few seconds before the green smoke abruptly dissipated, and the light from the Obsidian Spirit-Image Disc dimmed.
Everything returned to silence, as if nothing had happened.
But Lin Rui felt a chill run down his spine. Foreman Liu! The elixir poison! The person in black! The ritual had actually revealed the tip of the iceberg. Foreman Liu was the inside man, and behind him was a mysterious mastermind.
"Second Uncle, that..."
Lin Tiancheng's expression was calm, as if this result were not unexpected.
"Hmph. A rat the family raised but could not tame," he snorted, a hint of anger in his voice. "I was already investigating the elixir poisonings, but there are too many eyes and ears in the inner hall. If I had made a big scene, it would have just spooked the culprit. This Foreman Liu is most likely colluding with some shady outside power, selling off the family's medicinal herbs."
He paused, his gaze falling on Lin Rui with a hint of appraisal.
"You're a clever one, kid, to think of starting with the dregs of that Dragon's Blood Vine. You should know, in all of Zhuyun Town, that particular vine can only be found in the few acres specially cultivated in our Lin family's spirit garden. Yet, nine out of ten of the cultivators who were poisoned had taken elixirs that used this very ingredient as a supplement. If this matter had been exposed by those by-the-book fools at the Celestial Law Division first, and they traced the problematic herbs back to our Alchemy Division, wouldn't it have brought shame upon our family for no reason?"
Lin Tiancheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the old cauldron, his gaze distant. He murmured to himself, "Fifth Brother, oh, Fifth Brother, this son of yours... he certainly inherited some of your unconventional ways. This old cauldron... You used to love tinkering with your strange contraptions here. Could it be your spirit in the heavens, guiding him to uncover this filth?"
Listening to his uncle, Lin Rui's mind raced. So, Second Uncle already had his suspicions, but he lacked direct evidence and was concerned about the family's reputation.
"Second Uncle... then... should I still... help out in the Alchemy Division?" Lin Rui asked cautiously, almost letting the word "intern" slip out.
Lin Tiancheng glanced at him, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
"What, scared? Or do you think the water is too deep and you want to run away?"
"That's not it," Lin Rui quickly shook his head. "I was just thinking, now that I know all this, if I stay in the Alchemy Division, maybe... maybe I can still be of some help in the future."
"Oh?" Lin Tiancheng raised an eyebrow. "You've got some nerve, kid. But with your pathetic level of cultivation, if you really get involved, you might get swallowed whole without even knowing what happened." His tone shifted. "Of course, if you're happy to stay, I won't stop you. It's never a bad thing to learn more. The path of alchemy is vast and profound, far more than just refining a few mundane pills."
"That would be great!" Lin Rui immediately agreed, a perfectly guileless smile on his face. "The chance to learn more about elixirs is something I couldn't ask for. If I can refine a few decent elixirs in the future, at least I won't have brought you any shame, Second Uncle."
"Alright." Lin Tiancheng put away the Obsidian Spirit-Image Disc, a look of relief on his face. "This artifact has recorded a bit of evidence. I'll take it to the Patriarch shortly and see how he wants to deal with this family traitor."
He turned to Lin Rui, his gaze filled with a measure of approval.
"Right, take out that cultivator tablet the Celestial Law Division gave you."
Lin Rui did as he was told, retrieving the azure jade tablet from his robes.
Lin Tiancheng took out his own inner-hall tablet. He placed the two tablets side by side on the edge of the old cauldron, his left hand forming a slightly different seal than before as he chanted in a low voice, "With the Azurewood as witness, by the Spirit Web's judgment, all deeds are known to Heaven."
As the incantation ended, both jade tablets let out a soft hum in unison.
Immediately after, Lin Rui felt the air around him seem to freeze for an instant. An invisible force gathered from all directions, enveloping him like warm water. The faint wisp of vitality in his dantian, as if drawn by some force, became slightly more active. The feeling was just like his EXP bar had just shot up in a video game.
Lin Tiancheng watched the faint spiritual light flash across Lin Rui's body and nodded.
"It seems the Spirit Web of this world is quite pleased with your role in exposing the Alchemy Division's corruption. You've got good luck, kid. This 'positive feedback' came right on time."
Lin Rui felt the change within his body, secretly overjoyed.
This direct "level-up" experience was far more satisfying than苦 aining through meditation.
He estimated that the accumulated vitality in his body was now not far from the bottleneck of the first stage of Mystic Art Enlightenment. Perhaps with one or two more "mission completions" like this, he could break through smoothly and officially become a stage-one cultivator.
"Hey, Second Uncle, I didn't know you could get EXP—" Lin Rui almost let the modern term slip out again, quickly correcting himself. "I didn't realize the Spirit Web could directly enhance one's cultivation!"
Lin Rui completes his first mission, triggering positive feedback from the Spirit Web, and his "cultivation level" increases.
Lin Tiancheng glanced at him.
"I have a reward for you as well." Lin Tiancheng patted the old, broken cauldron. "This cauldron, it's not bad. A bit broken, but it has a good foundation. I'll have Xuanming help patch it up and reinforce it, then I'll have it sent to you. In your spare time, you can use it to refine some small trinkets, get some practice in."
"Wow!" Lin Rui's eyes lit up. "Really? This mission was totally worth it!" He was ecstatic; this was a truly unexpected windfall.
Lin Tiancheng's tone was flat, as if he were talking about the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Didn't I tell you before? This world's Spirit Web has its own cycle of cause and effect. By exposing Foreman Liu tonight, you have helped purify the family, which benefits both the clan and the local Spirit Web order. It's only natural that you would be rewarded. This 'positive feedback,' helping to improve your aptitude and advance your cultivation, is all as it should be."
He paused, tapping a finger on the rust-covered cauldron, which made a dull thud.
"As for this cauldron..." A nostalgic smile touched Lin Tiancheng's lips. "This was your father's—my Fifth Brother, Lin Yuntian's—favorite plaything when he was young. He used to love using this cauldron to refine all sorts of strange, unconventional elixirs. He got scolded by the clan elders for it more than a few times. Seeing you sneak around by this very cauldron earlier, performing that 'Inquiry' ritual, brought back quite a few memories of the mischief Fifth Brother and I used to get into."
He sighed, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"You used your father's old things and, by a fortunate coincidence, helped me uncover the traitor in the Alchemy Division, settling a matter that has been weighing on my mind. The Spirit Web rewards you, increasing your aptitude. I see this cauldron and am reminded of old times. Seeing your apparent interest in the path of alchemy, I decided to have it repaired and give it to you. It is a fortunate connection. All of these things are linked by cause and effect; they don't just happen out of nowhere. This world is governed by a principle called 'Yuan'—affinity and fate. You'll come to understand it slowly in the future, kid."
Lin Rui was dumbfounded.
He had initially thought that, while this world of cultivation was magical, it should at least follow some basic logic. However, after listening to his uncle's explanation, concepts like "Spirit Web feedback" and "cycles of cause and effect" seemed even more mystical than the fantasy novels he had read in his past life.
So, I used my dad's old cauldron to perform a failed ritual, which accidentally helped my uncle catch an inside man, and then the Spirit Web gave me 'EXP' for it, and my uncle, feeling nostalgic about his brother, decided to fix the cauldron and give it to me as a reward...
No matter how he looked at it, the chain of logic was steeped in an "inexplicable" sense of destiny.
"Mystery upon mystery, the gate to all wonders..." Lin Rui snarked silently in his mind, but his face wore an expression of one who had been enlightened.
"Thank you for your guidance, Second Uncle. Your nephew understands."
The next day, at the first light of dawn, a crowd of clan members had already gathered in front of the Lin family's outer hall, "Announcement Hall."
A notice on white hemp paper, freshly posted by a deacon, was still wet with ink, but every word was like a needle, pricking the eyes of the crowd:
"Liu Cheng, Foreman of the Outer Hall's Alchemy Division, being unfit for his position and guilty of gross misconduct, did collude with outside parties to steal and sell the family's spiritual materials, thus disgracing the clan. The evidence is conclusive. In accordance with clan rules, his cultivation is to be crippled, and he is to be expelled from the Lin family, never to be re-employed. Furthermore, Lin Rui, a disciple of a branch family, being sharp of mind and keen of observation, did assist in uncovering this matter and shall be rewarded for his merit, as a warning to others. The reward shall be issued separately by the External Affairs Hall. Signed, Lin Tianhua, Patriarch of the Lin Clan."
The notice was short, but the information it contained was explosive.
Foreman Liu was finished! And for a major crime like colluding with outsiders! And the "waste of space" Lin Rui, of the "ancestral manifestation" incident, was the hero who exposed him? For a time, a tidal wave of discussion spread through the crowd.
At that moment, Lin Rui was in his small courtyard, leisurely munching on a spirit-grain flatbread made by Zhutao, accompanied by a bowl of clear porridge. The green bamboo in the corner rustled in the morning breeze. It was a picture of peace, as if sealed off from the clamor of the outside world.
A slightly high-pitched voice, full of enthusiasm, approached from a distance.
"Young Master Lin! Great news!"
Lin Rui looked up to see a smiling, round-faced man of about forty, dressed in the uniform of the Lin family's External Affairs Hall, jogging into the courtyard. His surname was Lin, and his given name was Fu, known as Steward Fu. He was responsible for distributing rewards and punishments, as well as coordinating various tasks in the outer hall, and he excelled at treating people according to their social status.
Lin Rui put down his flatbread and stood up to greet him.
"Steward Fu, good morning."
"Aiyo, Young Master Lin, you are too kind!" Lin Fu's face was wreathed in smiles. He took an exquisite brocade box from his storage pouch and presented it with both hands. "On the order of the Patriarch and the inner-hall elders, I have come to deliver Young Master Lin's reward!"
His small eyes darted around, sizing up Lin Rui, his tone deliberately fawning.
"Young Master Lin has done a great service for the family this time! That Liu Cheng always acted so high and mighty, who knew he was such a backstabbing dog behind the scenes! It was Brother Rui's eagle eyes that rooted out this parasite! The entire outer hall is now saying you are our Lin family's 'genius detective'!"
Lin Rui accepted the brocade box, feeling little emotion. He knew that this kind of reputation came quickly, but if it weren't backed by corresponding strength, it would disappear just as fast.
"You flatter me, Steward Fu. I was just in the right place at the right time."
"Young Master Lin is too modest, too modest!" Lin Fu's smile grew even wider. "Hurry and open it! This is a reward specially selected for you by the Patriarch and the elders. Others couldn't beg for such a thing!"
Lin Rui opened the brocade box. Inside, two items lay side by side.
On the left was a palm-sized, azure jade token of fine, warm quality. On its face was a simple, ancient character for "Archive," carved with silver thread. On the back was the Lin family's azure serpent totem.
On the right was a scroll made of a special beast hide, sealed with the large, vermilion seal of the Lin family's inner hall.
Lin Fu pointed at the jade token.
"Young Master Lin, this is the 'Archive Pavilion Access Token.' With this, you may freely enter the first floor of our Lin family's Archive Pavilion and peruse its collection. While the first floor does not contain the clan's core cultivation methods, it is filled with books on the hundred arts of cultivation, records from various prefectures, strange tales, and even some basic insights on alchemy, formations, and talismans. It is of great benefit for broadening one's horizons and increasing one's knowledge!"
He then pointed to the beast-hide scroll, his tone becoming more solemn.
"And this is the 'Inner Hall Disciple Examination Qualification Document'! Young Master Lin, you have truly hit the jackpot! For this examination, countless branch disciples have fought tooth and nail without even getting a chance! With this, it means that within one year, you will be qualified to participate in the official inner-hall examination. If you pass, it will be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. Your future will be limitless!"
Lin Rui listened, his face impassive, but his mind was already erupting in a storm of sarcastic commentary. "Access to the first floor of the library? Sounds good. But the qualification for the inner-hall exam has a one-year time limit? This isn't a reward, it's a death warrant! So they think I'm not under enough pressure, and they have to push me onto this crowded, single-plank bridge? They want me to compete to the death within a year against the inner-hall candidates who've been soaking in spirit medicines since birth? I could just thank you to death for this!"
He took a deep breath, suppressing his inner monologue.
"Thank you for the clan's generosity, and thank you, Steward Fu, for making this trip personally," Lin Rui said, closing the box. "Your nephew will certainly cultivate diligently and not disappoint the family's expectations."
Seeing Lin Rui accept the reward, Lin Fu's smile grew even more brilliant.
"Of course, of course! Then I won't disturb Brother Rui's cultivation any longer. If you need anything in the future, send a note to the External Affairs Hall. I will certainly do my best!"
After seeing Lin Fu off, Lin Rui sat alone in the courtyard, looking at the brocade box with a complex expression.
"If I have to compete, I'll compete. Who's afraid?" he muttered to himself, a glint of determination in his eyes. "This Qingluo Prefecture is a world where the strong prey on the weak. If I want to live like a person and not get stepped on like an ant, I have to climb. This inner-hall examination... perhaps it's an opportunity."
He then picked up the Archive Pavilion token, rubbing the cool, smooth patterns on its surface. Knowledge is power. In any world, that was an irrefutable truth.
"First, I'll go to the Archive Pavilion and see what treasures are hidden in this cultivation world's 'encyclopedia'."
And in that moment, the sky above Zhuyun Town was still a brilliant, cloudless blue.