"Greetings, Steward Lu!"
The five of them all respectfully saluted. Even those youngsters around ten years old copied the motions quite well, which made Lu Li think of the unfortunate Li Xiangyun. Sighing inwardly, he waved his hand, "No need to be polite."
However, when the young maiden heard the name Lu Li, her body visibly trembled, which puzzled Lu Li a bit. After thinking it over, he could only assume it was an illusion or that the other party was simply too nervous.
"Alright then, I'll leave this place to you, I'm off to drink!"
Seeing this, Wen Hong waved his hand, got up directly, and left.
Lu Li was somewhat speechless. After thinking for a moment, he called for Chen Zhong. Chen Zhong's current bulk was even larger than Wen Hong's. As soon as he arrived, he glared, startling the few youths. Lu Li gave Chen Zhong a sidelong glance, "They just arrived. Find them a dormitory."
"Oh." Chen Zhong glanced at the group. When his eyes fell on the young maiden, he couldn't help but frown slightly and asked, "Girl, do you have any special requests?"
"I... can I just live here?" The maiden glanced at Lu Li, then looked at Chen Zhong.
Chen Zhong was taken aback. He had only wanted to ask if she had any special needs, like requesting to share a courtyard with female disciples, for example. He hadn't expected her to ask to live here. Scratching his head, he looked at Lu Li, "Steward, this..."
"Alright." Lu Li nodded. Newcomers might be afraid of strangers, which Lu Li felt he could understand. He then looked at the four youths, "This courtyard can house five people in total. If any of you want to live here, you can speak up, but there are only two spots left."
The four youths looked at each other. Finally, only one square-faced, round-headed youth with a big head stepped forward, "I... I'm Su Chen. I'd like to live here too."
"Anyone else?" Lu Li looked at the remaining three.
All three shook their heads. They seemed to have already gotten familiar with each other. So, Lu Li had Chen Zhong take the three of them out of the courtyard to find other accommodations.
After getting to know them, the maiden's name was Liu Xinyu. She was fourteen years old this year. As for her spiritual root, it was the Five Element Spiritual Root; otherwise, she wouldn't have come to be a Miscellaneous Disciple. To avoid bringing up any painful memories, Lu Li didn't ask about other matters.
As for the youth named Su Chen, he was eleven years old this year, from a small village in Baiye City, Liangzhou. Like Lu Li, he was also from a farming family.
When Chen Zhong returned, Lu Li had Chen Zhong assign tasks to the two of them and explain the rules for Miscellaneous Disciples in the Qingyang Sect. Only then did he return to his room.
With the newcomers settled, Lu Li prepared to focus on cultivation again.
This time, he planned to cultivate straight through to the third stage, then sign up for the formal disciple assessment.
With Lu Li entering secluded cultivation, Chen Zhong's daily routine, besides his own cultivation, now included the extra chore of preparing meals for Lu Li.
He knew the ferocity with which Lu Li cultivated. If he didn't deliver meals on time, Lu Li probably wouldn't come out to eat even once every two or three days.
As for Chen Zhong's own cultivation progress, it was excruciatingly slow. So far, even though he had exchanged for some True Essence Pills, he had only opened sixty-three acupuncture points. Who knows when he would even reach the second layer of Qi Refinement?
It's worth mentioning that the big-headed youngster named Su Chen also cultivated with great diligence. Apart from cleaning duties, he spent the rest of his time shut up in his room.
In contrast, that Liu Xinyu often walked around the courtyard and occasionally glanced toward Lu Li's door.
"Brother Chen Zhong, Steward Lu has been shut up in his room for months. Isn't he afraid of going stir-crazy?" One day, after finishing her work, Liu Xinyu sat in the courtyard watching Chen Zhong practice his boxing and asked casually.
After several months of living together, Chen Zhong had become quite familiar with the other two in the courtyard. Moreover, Liu Xinyu was close in age to Chen Zhong, gentle and soft-spoken. Chen Zhong treated her like his own little sister.
He finished his form, squatted by the water basin in the courtyard, wiped his face, and said loudly, "Him? He's just a cultivation maniac. A few months is nothing. Once, he cultivated for over two years straight. Except for occasionally doing some chores, he almost never came out."
"Now it's even better. He doesn't even have to do chores anymore, and he cultivates as if his life depends on it."
Speaking of this, he felt both admiration and worry, "He doesn't even know how to take a break."
"Oh, have you been here long?"
"Over three years, almost four now." Chen Zhong sighed, as if remembering something painful, and shook his head, "Forget it. I'm going to make a meal for the Steward. Even if he doesn't eat it, I still need to prepare it."
Even though he delivered meals daily, Lu Li rarely ate them.
"I'll go with you." Hearing this, Liu Xinyu immediately stood up from her chair and followed.
Chen Zhong didn't refuse. The two went to the dining hall to get some food, then returned to the courtyard. This time, Liu Xinyu also entered Lu Li's room.
Lu Li's room was similar to the others. Upon entering, there was a round table, and to the right was an ancient-style canopy bed with an opaque mosquito net hanging in front of it.
This was Lu Li's deliberate arrangement, so people wouldn't see him sleeping inside. Otherwise, Chen Zhong would probably be making a fuss.
The two entered.
As expected, yesterday's meal was untouched. Chen Zhong placed the hot food on the table, collected yesterday's leftovers, and prepared to leave.
Liu Xinyu, however, glanced a few more times at the large bed, frowning and muttering, "Why does it feel like he's just sleeping?"
"What?" Chen Zhong looked at Liu Xinyu, puzzled.
"No, nothing."
And so, day after day.
In the blink of an eye.
Another winter arrived. Over a year had passed since the last batch of newcomers.
This winter seemed particularly harsh. The Qingyang Sect, which had never seen snow before, was hit by a blizzard. Overnight, the entire Qingyang Sect was blanketed in a thick layer of snow.
In the Miscellaneous Valley, Wen Hong announced a few days off for everyone to rest and wait for the snow to melt before resuming work.
Although cultivators' physiques were far stronger than ordinary mortals, for typical Qi Refinement stage cultivators, it wasn't enough to completely ignore this kind of cold.
However, one person was an exception.
At this moment, Chen Zhong was shirtless, carrying a large stove from outside the courtyard, heading straight for Lu Li's room. He gently placed the stove about three feet away from Lu Li's bed, shook his head, and quietly closed the door.
"Brother Chen Zhong, is the Steward still cultivating?" An agile young maiden wrapped in a snow cloak peeked out from Chen Zhong's room and asked.
"Mm." Chen Zhong nodded and walked over.
There was also a large stove in Chen Zhong's room. Besides the snow-white-clad Liu Xinyu, there was also a big-headed youth poking at the charcoal fire.
The big-headed youth seemed to have grown quite a bit taller.
As evening approached, Chen Zhong prepared to go help Lu Li with dinner preparations, but Liu Xinyu stood up first, "Brother Chen Zhong, rest for a while. Let me do it."
Chen Zhong nodded and sat back down. This wasn't the first time Liu Xinyu had delivered the meal. Initially, he had been a bit uneasy, but as it happened more and more often, Chen Zhong noticed that Lu Li seemed to eat the meals Liu Xinyu delivered more frequently, so he was happy to let her do it.
Not long after, Liu Xinyu carried several bowls of steaming hot food to Lu Li's room. While tidying up, she kept glancing toward the bed, even nearly spilling a bowl of soup at one point before snapping back to reality and hurrying away.
"Agh, my bones seem to have fused together!!!"
Just as she reached the doorway, she suddenly heard a thud. She looked over and saw that Lu Li had rolled off the bed. She quickly turned back, placed the tray on the table, and rushed over to help Lu Li up.
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