A new day has come.

  Xun Xie slept well, got up early, and started the day step by step.

  Weng!

  Weng!

  "Thank you for your patronage!"

  "No Duration. Daily Spin consumed."

  "Critical unavailable."

  It would be a lie to say his mood wasn't affected by today's result, but he couldn't let it keep coloring the rest of his day, could he?!

  After some punches and kicks to relieve his early morning stress...

  Xun Xie stretched his back, mounted his donkey, and headed to Blue Grain Town as usual. First stop: breakfast.

  Soon the stall filled with people.

  "Last night, fire in Stone Cherry Square burned half the street."

  "Yeah, heard it's two gangs fighting over territory."

  "Black Tiger Gang and Red Hand Gang. Fighting like they didn't fear death."

  "Eight dead, I heard..."

  Xun Xie frowned at the chatter. He already knew plenty about Blue Grain Town.

  This place had no official government.

  Yes, a lawless place.

  The town had four great teachers - Fang, Lin, Feng, and Hu. Extremely powerful, like mountains pressing down on the common people's heads, but they didn't directly rule Blue Grain Town.

  Their apprentices used personal strength to gather followers, form gangs, divide territory, and collect protection fees.

  Bigger territory meant bigger power.

  Territory grabs had become daily routine for major gangs.

  Interestingly, the four teachers never interfered in gang rivalries. Winners became kings, losers became bandits.

  At first glance, Blue Grain Town seemed chaotic with its many gangs.

  But in reality, several larger gangs maintained a strong balance, rarely going to war. Most people's lives weren't greatly affected.

  The power structure at the top had solidified.

  Those who fought and killed were usually small gangs or newly formed ones, battling to death over a single street or booth. Just another ordinary day.

  This wasn't Xun Xie's first time hearing about gang fights. It didn't concern him - he wasn't from town and wouldn't get involved.

  Living in the countryside had fewer complications.

  Of course, you couldn't get the fertile land near Blue Grain Town either.

  Like Yin Village, where Xun Xie lived, the valley soil was relatively barren. Crops didn't grow well, yielding less than half what fertile soil would provide.

  Moreover, remote country living posed safety issues. Leaving aside the rare calamity of a bodhisattva - about as common as lightning striking thrice in the same spot - there were wild bears, mosquitos, and occasional part-time bandits trying their hand at the lucrative robbing industry.

  After breakfast, Xun Xie went directly to the Hu residence.

  During warm-up, a maid rushed over shouting, "Xun Xie, Mr. Hu wants to see you."

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  Xun Xie startled.

  Old Man Hu was usually lazy. Except for guiding a few high-level apprentices, he rarely paid attention to others.

  For entry-level apprentices like Xun Xie, still practicing basics, Old Man Hu delegated to Yun Shan, too lazy to look twice.

  This is suspicious.

  Why would Old Man Hu suddenly call for me?

  Xun Xie couldn't help but think of another matter. The Land God had asked him to deliver a message to Hu Piao, but he hadn't said anything yet.

  Not because he'd forgotten or had no reason.

  Being able to see the "Yin God" wasn't normal - it marked him as different.

  This, if exposed, could lead to unimaginable consequences.

  What if someone wanted to study him like a guinea pig? "Misfortune comes from the mouth" - he'd learned that lesson clearly in his past life.

  Simply put, Xun Xie didn't want people knowing he could see the Yin God. Pretending to be ordinary was the safest survival strategy.

  He didn't want to be burned at a stake for being different. Even in modern times, being different got you shunned. Here, being different could be lethal.

  "Sister, what does Mr. Hu want with me?" Xun Xie asked quickly.

  "Don't know, ask him yourself." The maid turned and left.

  Either she didn't want to say or truly didn't know.

  Xun Xie wiped his sweat, straightened his sackcloth and linen clothes, then headed to the main room.

  Inside, Old Man Hu was meeting a guest.

  A middle-aged man in simple Confucian shenyi, elegant and poised - looked like a scholar.

  Xun Xie stepped forward and saluted, "Old Hu, this disciple is here."

  Old Man Hu turned to look at him and smiled, "Xun Xie, you're literate, right? How's your handwriting?"

  "Ask about calligraphy?"

  Xun Xie felt troubled. Thanks to the Great Clarity plug-in, he'd long since perfected the basic forms required for his martial arts foundation. He'd been focusing on studying language when he got the plug-in again, not particularly focused on writing, just understanding the words.

  "It's normal, I don't know many words," he replied.

  People in this era probably have lower standards for 'literacy', he thought, based on his conversations with shop owners and passers-by. He'd taken calligraphy classes as an elective, but that was in Chinese and an easy course with few requirements - he hadn't taken it seriously.

  After hearing this, Old Man Hu turned to the middle-aged man, who smiled and said, "It's fine. He can practice if he doesn't know how to write. I can teach him."

  Hu Piao nodded and said to Xun Xie: "This is my friend, surnamed Eastern Song, known as Mr. Song. He needs a book boy. I want to arrange for you to go there. How about making some extra money?"

  Xun Xie didn't want to be a book boy, so he replied politely, "This disciple is devoted to practicing martial arts and living in the country. I'm afraid it's not very convenient."

  "Don't worry, it won't delay your martial arts practice."

  Mr. Song smiled warmly, "Come to my house daily at the time of application and take care of your dinner. If you want to stay overnight, you can also have food and accommodation. Besides, how about two taels of silver every month?"

  When Xun Xie heard that, the conditions were quite good. He couldn't help asking in surprise, "What exactly am I to be doing?"

  Mr. Song: "My hands are not very convenient, and I need someone to help me write letters, transcribe books, and so on."

  Xun Xie glanced at Mr. Song's hand. He didn't immediately spot where Mr. Song's hands were.

  Taking a closer look, Xun Xie was shocked.

  Inside Mr. Song's two long sleeves were empty - his arms were actually missing!

  Xun Xie's mind quickly cleared. He nodded and said, "Student is willing."

  "Very good, come over tonight." Mr. Song looked quite satisfied and left his address.

  Xun Xie wrote it down and then went back to the yard to practice.

  "Junior Brother Xun Xie, who was that guest, and why did he tell you to come over?" Yun Shan and a few others came over and asked curiously.

  Xun Xie said simply.

  He didn't mention the two taels of silver, and he didn't mention anything about food and lodging. He was clear about human envy - even if they didn't explicitly show it, they might feel offended he was gifted such a great job for nothing. After all, no one could pick up money like he did on a regular basis.

  But unexpectedly, no one knew this Mr. Song, and no one had even heard of him.

  "I can write too, why didn't Mr. Hu find me?" A young man said sourly when he heard the words.

  "Maybe it's because you're ugly." Yun Shan sneered, making everyone laugh.

  Everyone quickly lost interest in this matter and practiced martial arts separately.

  When the time came.

  Wait... this is near

  Xun Xie followed the address and realized it was near the house with the Dragon Blood Saber... It couldn't be his wife or daughter, right? My luck isn't so bad... although she didn't see me so it's probably fine. Xun Xie couldn't help but feel a little hot thinking of the spring scenery he saw that day.

  Xun Xie followed the address to the front of a compound and looked up at the gate.

  The word "Song Mansion" was particularly striking.

  "Whew." Fortunately, it's not the same house.

  Xun Xie knocked on the door.

  Soon, the door opened.

  The porter was a strong man with a large black mole on his left cheek, and one eye was so pale that he seemed to be blind.

  Xun Xie reported his name and purpose.

  "It turns out that you are Mr.'s book boy, please come in." A smile appeared on the doorman's face, and he let Xun Xie enter.

  Xun Xie entered the door and glanced around, only to find that this Song mansion was very large, with bluestone paving, many pavilions, corridors, waterside pavilions, carved beams, and painted buildings, just like a mansion.

  It's not worse than the Hu Mansion.

  Xun Xie guessed that Mr. Song's identity was extraordinary - it wasn't easy to be a friend of Old Man Hu.

  All the way to the library.