Chapter 1992: Those Destined
Chapter 1992: Those Destined
Zu An arrived in front of the Yin Yang Path counter to take a glance at the questions of their recruiting exam.
Judging from the expressions of respect the surrounding people showed the young master and their private conversations, Zu An quickly figured out who he was.This was a direct disciple of Master Yin Yang, ranked number three, and his name was Fang Biao. His status among the younger generation was definitely special.
The two pickpockets saw him as well. They immediately said to their boss, “Young master, that’s the fat sheep from earlier!”
However, who would have thought that after just giving Zu An a single look, Fang Biao immediately shifted his gaze away and said, “I have no interest in men.” Immediately after, he looked at the direction had Zhang Zitong left in with a fiery gaze.
When he saw them leave, Zu An frowned. According to Yan Xuehen’s description, this Yin Yang Path was a strong ally of the Heavenly Devil School, but looking from the way they behaved, it really did seem a bit despicable. Even though he understood that as the Heavenly Devil School, Yun Jianyue had no choice but to ally with the Yin Yang Path to fend off the other forces, he didn’t approve of it.
Even so, in the end, he didn’t decide to help. For better or for worse, Zhang Zitong was a silver token envoy. If she couldn't even deal with this bit of trouble, she would really be sullying the name of the Embroidered Envoy.
He finally read through the contents of the Yin Yang Path exam. It was actually talking about sensual pills that worked on both men and women. The better the effects were, the more points they gave. Zu An was speechless. They put it nicely, but in the end, weren’t these just aphrodisiacs?
He was actually quite the expert in this field. He had things like ‘Bull Cream’ and ‘Eighteen Spring Winds’, and most recently, there was even the ‘Worries Be Gone Rosemary’. Which one of them wasn't the best drug of their respective domains? He didn’t understand why he had encountered so many situations like this either, but he always kept a share of the drug. After studying the Baopu Sutra, he could even make every single one of them. It wasn’t that he was particularly fond of these drugs; he just felt that he would have better defenses against them once he figured out how they worked.
With his current understanding in the field, even the leader of the Yin Yang Path was probably just a little brother in terms of knowledge. He could just make any random drug to pass the test. And yet, in the end, he couldn't do it because of his pride. He didn’t want to stay in this kind of filthy place any longer than he had to.
After thinking to himself for a bit, he went to another side. This counter was much quieter compared to the others, without many people. There was only a small fatty sitting in the examiner seat, rocking back and forth while sipping on some tea. Zu An looked up and saw the banner: Treasure Hunter Path. A curious expression appeared on his face. Why were there always fatties like this among tomb raiders? Wu Liang from the Fiend races was like that too. Wouldn’t someone get stuck in a tunnel with that kind of build?
When he saw Zu An stop at his stall, the fatty was immediately in high spirits. He called out, “Hi there! Are you interested in our Treasure Hunter Path? Even if you don’t end up joining, how about you stick around for a chat?” He enthusiastically led Zu An to a seat while speaking.
Zu An thought to himself that he was proficient in One Drop of Heaven’s Essence, and he had already visited so many ancient tombs. He had a lot of experience in this field, so he would likely be able to pass the test. And so, he sat down.
Those at the other counters sneered and said, “Another idiot is being fooled by that fatty Hu.”
“Who's even joined the Treasure Hunter Path in these past few years? There’s barely anyone left, and they don’t even have any powerful cultivators covering for them either. Forget about a path master, they don’t even have an elder.”
“Exactly. Do they even know what kind of world we live in now? Without anyone watching out for your back, you’ll have to be extra careful when doing everything! You won’t even have the most basic cultivation resources, so how can you compare to the other places?”
“That’s not all. Their path is chased down wherever they go, and no matter what they do, they can’t even wash away the smell of dirt from their bodies. As long as anyone finds out you’re from the Treasure Hunter Path, they’ll chase you to the ends of the seven hells, and your life will practically be forfeit too.”
...
Even though their voices were soft, how could their conversation escape Zu An’s ears? No wonder this place was so quiet. Still, he didn’t mind. Either way, he didn’t really plan to join the Treasure Hunter Path.
“How do I address this brother over here?” the little fatty asked, pouring him a cup of tea with a big smile.
Zu An was actually a bit overwhelmed by the sudden favor. After all, he had already experienced sheer disdain and contempt from the other counters. He replied, “I’m Lu Ren; may I ask how I should call your respected self?”[ref]Lu = shore, land, continent. Sounds like the word road. Ren = humane, kernel. Sounds like the word for person.[ref]
“Lu Ren?” The little fatty sized him up and said, “A good surname, and the given name is also good.”
Zu An was speechless.
What's good about a name like that? This guy really is blindly offering praises.
“My surname is Hu, and my given name is Fatty, so you can just call me Fatty Hu,” the little fatty said, acting really friendly from the get-go.
Zu An thought to himself, Your parents really were lazy with the naming. They actually gave you the given name Fatty?
“Looking at how this brother was wandering about, you are clearly interested in our Holy Sect. How about giving our Treasure Hunter Path a chance?” Fatty Hu asked with a huge smile, “Do you like ancient secrets and inheritances of ancient deities? Do you like houses of wealth and all kinds of divine weapons... These are things only our Treasure Hunter Path can experience!”
When he saw the fatty's spittle fly everywhere, Zu An could only reply, “And what have you experienced yourself?”
Fatty Hu choked. He gave him a look and replied, “You won’t have any friends if you talk like that, you know?” Even so, he quickly gathered his thoughts and said, “The greatest treasures go to those they are destined for, after all. In my opinion, brother Lu is blessed by the heavens and has an outstanding presence, so you definitely have a great destiny awaiting you. Who knows, you might even obtain an ancient inheritance before me! So how about you join our Treasure Hunter Path?”
Zu An knew the fatty was trying to coax him into joining, but he just happened to want to join the Devil Sect, so he nodded and said, “It sounds pretty interesting. Is there a test for joining?”
“Seeing as we seem to share some karma, I actually wanted to just accept you, but I can't go against the will of my ancestors and can only test your treasure hunting knowledge. I hope brother Lu doesn’t mind,” Fatty Hu said. He then muttered to himself, "The Treasure Hunter Path is already in such a difficult situation, and yet there are still so many rules. There’s already barely any members left..."
Zu An pretended to have not heard him and said, “Then I’ll have to ask brother Hu to continue with the process.”
Fatty Hu thought about it and said, “The two of us share some affinity, so I’ll make it a bit simpler. Tell me a bit about your understanding of treasure hunting. Do you know how many styles there are in the world?”
Zu An was stunned. He actually didn’t know that. He thought for a bit, then began to cook something up with his knowledge from his previous world’s dramas. “Tomb raiders specialize in different things to deal with different situations. Since ancient times, there have been Raised Tomb, Treasure Hunt, Shifting Mountain, and Excavated Mound. Raised Tomb is similar to Treasure Hunt and both excel in seeking heaven’s guidance through divination, seeking dragons through feng shui, locating burial spots through gold dividing...”
The fatty had just been asking randomly at first, but how could he have expected that Zu An would talk about so many things that he had never heard of before? He immediately moved closer and askedd, “Can you be a bit more detailed?”
Zu An could only pull randomly from Ghost Blows Out the Light, Grave Robbers' Chronicles, and other sources. He was also proficient in feng shui techniques to begin with and had experiences in several tombs. When he combined it all together, Fatty Hu was completely left stupefied.
Fatty Hu was so excited his entire body was shaking. He grabbed his hands and said, “Brother Lu, you were sent by the heavens to save our Treasure Hunter Path!”
“So I passed?” Zu An replied, sighing in relief.
“How can that be all? From today forth, I’ll give my position as senior disciple of the Treasure Hunter Path to you!” Fatty Hu said while patting his chest.
“Then what about your master?” Zu An took the chance to ask.
“My master already passed away a long time ago. I am now the one in charge of the Holy Sect’s Treasure Hunter Path,” Fatty Hu said with a big smile.
“Then how many brothers do we have?”
“In the past, the Treasure Hunter Path had quite a few in our glory days...”
“I'm talking about now.”
“If I include you, there’s two.”
Zu An was speechless.
Then what meaning is there in your damn senior disciple title? No wonder you let me in so easily!
When he saw Zu An’s expression, Fatty Hu seemed to be embarrassed too. He was worried that Zu An would leave and quickly said, “Our Treasure Hunter Path indeed doesn’t have many people right now, but if there are fewer people, that means there are more opportunities! Look, if you join through the other sects, you’ll have to work your way up through odd jobs and go through a year or two of tests before you can even become an outer disciple. Outer disciples then have to go through a cruel process of competition to have a chance of becoming inner disciples. The very few most outstanding inner disciples will then be taken as direct disciples of their group’s path master or elder.
“The entire process is like raising poisonous gu bugs. Who knows how many people might die in the process? They might not even be able to become an inner disciple. In contrast, it’s different on our side. You immediately became an inner... No, with the fate we share, I'll let you become a direct disciple and accept you in my master’s place!”
...
Zu An was actually surprised. Even though this Treasure Hunter Path had fallen, it seemed to suit his current situation. He took the chance to ask, “By the way, what is the deal with the path master or elder you mentioned? Why do some people become disciples of path masters and some of elders? Is there a difference?”
“Of course there is!” Fatty Hu was scared that he would leave, so when he saw Zu An’s interest, he immediately explained, “Apart from the sect master and vice sect master, in the Holy Sect, the most respected people are the path masters, and then elders are slightly beneath them. After that are the hall masters and incense masters in charge of various regions.
“The Holy Sect’s three schools and six paths’ factions should in theory all have overlords similar in status, but because the situations in the different factions are different, many factions no longer have the strength to take on that position of overlord. That's why there are now only four great overlords left.” Fatty Lu sighed as he spoke, as if he were talking about something extremely tragic.