Nine Netherworld Demon Subduing Record

Upon seeing the old man, Fu Qing noticed that Chen Xing'an's expression hardened, while Bai Yi quietly hid behind them, as if that would prevent the old man from seeing her.

"Still hiding? Still hiding!" The old man's voice was loud. The old man raised his foot, and in Fu Qing's eyes, the old man only made a slight movement with his foot, but in just a moment he was in front of everyone.

As Fu Qing got closer, he saw that the old man had long, gray, curly hair that looked like it hadn't been styled in a long time. His face was full of anger as he swung his right cane, shoving Chen Xing'an aside. Then he flicked the cane to the right, and Fu Qing hurriedly tried to block it with his hand. But the moment he made contact with the cane, he felt as if he had hit the jackpot and fell backward.

However, before falling to the ground, it seemed as if some force supported him, preventing him from collapsing completely.

Fu Qing only saw the old man give him a cold glance, then glare at Bai Yi, point at him with his cane, his wrist trembling, wanting to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, just flicked his cane and snorted coldly.

He turned around, walked up to Chen Xing'an, tilted his head forward, stared fiercely at Chen Xing'an without saying a word, as if he wanted to glare Chen Xing'an to death.

Chen Xing'an wore a strange, embarrassed expression; this was the first time Fu Qing had ever seen him like this.

"Masters, it was my fault. I shouldn't have secretly taken Bai Yi out. I accept the punishment."

The old man raised his right hand again, and Chen Xing'an shrank back.

"Kid, let me tell you, if I didn't have some sense of reason, I would have made you regret it!" The old man pointed at Chen Xing'an, uttering the last few words slowly and deliberately, his teeth clenched.

At this moment, Bai Yi stepped forward, took the old man's arm, and said softly, "Master, I secretly followed him there, and I also secretly ran away, I..."

"Alright! It's good that you didn't die there." The old man pulled Bai Yi's arm, glared at Chen Xing'an, and was about to leave, but Bai Yi let go of his arm.

"What are you doing? Disobeying your master's orders?"

Bai Yi straightened up, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I dare not, but I have an appointment with this young man Fu Qing. I was supposed to take him to the Maritime Affairs Department, and I do not want to go back on my word."

"What agreement?" the old man roared. Bai Yi whispered something in his ear, and the old man listened while scanning Fu Qing up and down.

"Maritime Affairs Department?" Fu Qing stood aside, remaining silent, as this seemed to be a private matter for these individuals.

"Could the Maritime Affairs Bureau be the place she's going to introduce me to work?"

Fu Qing was thinking that since Bai Yi was busy, he might as well go to the Maritime Affairs Bureau by himself and try his luck. But after listening to Bai Yi's whisper, the old man said, "For such a trivial matter, is it worth going to that Maritime Affairs Bureau?" He walked up to Fu Qing, looked him up and down, and asked, "Kid, I need a handyman for my herb garden. If you're willing to come, come with me. If not, you can do as you please."

"What do you mean? Are you willing to take me in? Is the boss hiring me directly?" Seeing that the old man seemed to have a problem with Chen Xing'an, Fu Qing quickly changed his mind, clasped his hands and said, "I thank you, sir, but I'm afraid I'm not up to the task of being a handyman in the herb garden."

Upon hearing Fu Qing's words, the old man was taken aback, Bai Yi's mouth gaped open, and Chen Xing'an was also puzzled.

What Fu Qing was thinking was that Master Chen had saved his life, and he couldn't knowingly take on this task when he knew that his teacher and his benefactor had a grudge.

He glanced at the old man, then at Chen Xing'an.

Seeing Fu Qing's expression, Chen Xing'an knew what he was thinking. After considering it for a moment, he went over and pulled Fu Qing aside, whispering, "Brother Fu, the Ninghua Sect's medicine garden is a job that many people would kill for. Don't be foolish. Besides, I have no grudge against the masters. We just..."

He seemed to remember something, then waved his hand and said, "Never mind."

The old man glared, flicked his sleeve, and walked away without looking back, muttering to himself, "My apprentice ran away, the brat stole someone, and he treats even a mortal like this. Sigh... I'm furious."

The old man moved with lightning speed, as if he were teleporting, and disappeared without a trace in just a few breaths, leaving the three people standing there looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Brother Fu Qing, how about this? I see you have a good character. Why don't you stay at the Imperial Household Department? There are some odd jobs here. Although it's not as good as the herb garden and the salary isn't much, and it's not as good as the Maritime Affairs Bureau, it's stable and not bad either," Chen Xing'an said, patting Fu Qing on the shoulder.

Fu Qing hadn't expected Chen Xing'an to say that, but thinking that this way he wouldn't have to trouble Bai Yi to run around for him anymore, although he felt embarrassed to ask Chen Xing'an for this favor, he considered that he needed to settle down as soon as possible so that he could understand this world as soon as possible. He cupped his hands and said, "Then I thank Master Chen."

Bai Yi glanced at Fu Qing, then at Chen Xing'an, and was about to speak when a thunderous voice suddenly boomed from afar: "Aren't you coming back yet? Waiting for dinner?"

Hearing this, she sighed and said, "Since you've made this choice, I won't say anything more. Senior Brother Chen, Brother Fu Qing, I'll head back to the sect now."

Chen Xing'an nodded, while Fu Qing clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "I still have to thank Master Bai for saving my life."

Bai Yi nodded, said nothing more, and jogged away until he disappeared at the end of the road.

Once the surroundings had completely quieted down, Chen Xing'an gestured for Fu Qing to follow him. When they arrived at the entrance of the government office, they saw the guards at the gate twitch their lips slightly. Chen Xing'an immediately straightened his face, and the two guards hurriedly regained their composure, their expressions returning to their serious demeanor.

"Cough cough!" He coughed a few times and slipped into the government office.

-

"age?"

"nineteen."

"Special skills?"

"no."

Fu Qing wasn't without any special skills, but in this world, some of his skills were simply useless.

"Can you read?"

Fu Qing was taken aback. Although there were some variations of the characters in Xi Zhao script, it was not difficult overall. Just like traditional Chinese characters, you might not be able to read some characters on their own, but once they were connected, you would understand them perfectly.

"Yes."

"Then why did you say you have no special skills?"

Fu Qing was stumped, but thinking about it, he understood. Seeing that the clothing and architecture of this world were similar to those of ancient China, the level of education was probably not high, and being able to read was still a rare skill.

"Then you can manage the library. Starting tomorrow, you'll work in the archives from 9 AM to 3 PM, with rest days on the 4th, 12th, 20th, and 26th of each month. Remember, you must not divulge any information about the books inside, or you'll face the death penalty. For now, you'll live in the storage room next to the archives. After taxes, you'll receive three jade coins per week. You'll have to figure out your own meals; we don't provide them here. Is that alright?"

The burly man in black robes sitting opposite Fu Qing was writing and drawing with a pen while glancing at Chen Xing'an, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed. Before Fu Qing could speak, Chen Xing'an said, "Three jade coins are a bit too few, let's make it four."

"Okay!" the big man readily agreed.

Soon, a document was delivered to Fu Qing. After seeing that there were no problems with the terms, he pressed his fingerprint in the blank space.

"Alright, from now on you're one of us. Do a good job, young man." After the burly man finished speaking, he said to Chen Xing'an, "Steward Chen, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Chen Xing'an nodded, and the burly man scurried away like the wind.

Fu Qing stood up and said, "Then I thank Master Chen." He then thought for a moment and asked, "Should I also call you Deacon Chen?"

"No need. You're only nineteen. Just call me Brother Chen."

Fu Qing agreed, and Chen Xing'an continued, "Next, you should familiarize yourself with this job. To be honest, I didn't expect you to be assigned to the library. Your predecessor recently resigned and returned to his hometown. Also, you can go to the storeroom and ask Grandma for a set of our uniforms."

Upon hearing this, Fu Qing looked at his own attire, still the same hoodie, jeans, and white sneakers. Although the dust had been shaken off, it still looked somewhat worn. His hair was simply tied up with a strip of cloth torn from his trouser leg.

"OK."

Chen Xing'an turned and pushed open the door. At this moment, Fu Qing remembered something and asked, "Brother Chen, I heard you say before that major sects or government offices can test spiritual veins. I wonder if this place..."

Chen Xing'an seemed to have known that Fu Qing wanted to ask this question. He smiled and said, "The test will open on the 15th of each month. Counting the days, there are still three days left. You can arrange your time in advance, and I will come to call you when the time comes."

After saying that, he seemed to remember something: "By the way, what you saw and heard in that secluded place, you must not tell anyone."

Fu Qing nodded. Putting aside any secrets that might be hidden there, he couldn't possibly expose the fact that he had traveled from that place to more people.