Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

Huang Ziyi took a closer look at the book cover.

It clearly says "Rules of Conduct for Disciples of the Suishan Sword Sect" on it!

His face flushed instantly, and he was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed, and he said:

"Alright, alright, Junior Brother Gu, quickly put the book away. Next time, your senior brother will carefully select a good one for you!"

"Why wait until next time? Senior brother, why don't you..."

Huang Ziyi lowered his voice and said urgently, "Someone's coming!"

Gu Shuxian was taken aback. He listened carefully and, sure enough, heard footsteps approaching. He quickly put the disciple's code of conduct into his pocket.

Borrowing miscellaneous books privately can be a big deal or a small deal, but if others find out, it will eventually cause trouble.

Gu Shuxian composed himself, went to look for the empty carrying pole, and was about to turn around and leave.

As luck would have it, a male disciple dressed in outer sect attire strode into the front courtyard.

He rushed towards Huang Ziyi, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Senior Brother Guardian, do you have... wait? What about those copper coins in your hand, Senior Brother...?"

Huang Ziyi was still holding the borrowing fee given to him by Gu Shuxian, and had not yet put it away.

Tsk, are we about to be discovered?

Huang Ziyi, without batting an eye, said:

"Oh, I saw that the wood-carrying disciple was working hard, and I wanted to give him some reward money, but he refused."

"I see, Senior Brother is truly kind-hearted..."

Pooh!

Shameless!

Gu Shuxian cursed inwardly, but kept a straight face and left the library quickly with his head down.

……

Not long after.

Gu Shuxian stepped onto the bluestone mountain path outside the gate again, slowed his pace, and fell into thought.

He considered going down the mountain to find the sequel to "The Legend of the Swordsman," but then he thought again...

I don't seem to have any money!

I used all the money I had saved to borrow books, and now my pockets are emptier than my face.

You can't exactly pretend to be a disciple of a righteous sect to steal... I mean, steal books, can you?

Gu Shuxian was somewhat troubled.

As a menial disciple, one doesn't earn much money and has few opportunities to go down the mountain.

Or, we could use one of our trips down the mountain to find ways to make money, like murder and robbery, or robbing the rich to help the poor.

In this world, there are countless notorious thieves and heartless rich people. If we were to target them, it would neither violate our conscience nor our rules.

But after much deliberation, Gu Shuxian dismissed this crazy idea.

The risk is too great!

Besides the difficulty in explaining his strength to the sect, he also lacks martial arts techniques and combat experience, even though he now possesses internal strength within the Tongmai Realm. Against seasoned veterans of the martial world, the outcome is uncertain.

Take a deep breath and calm your restless heart!

Gu Shuxian knew he was in a hurry.

Upon hearing that there would be a sequel to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", I was quite flustered.

That shouldn't be!

"Hide your strength and bide your time, patiently awaiting the opportune moment!"

This matter requires further consideration.

Having made up his mind, Gu Shuxian didn't go to the training ground he usually went to after finishing his work, but instead walked towards the Jia-class courtyard with a determined look in his eyes.

There are still things I can do right now.

If you can finish reading the book during the day, you won't need to spend money on candles at night!

Since we can't open up new sources, let's cut costs!

……

Pushing open the creaking wooden door of room number 9, the room was empty.

Only the bedding on the communal bed was piled up haphazardly, and the air was filled with a mixture of musty and sweaty smells.

Normally, most people would be at the training ground at this time.

Gu Shuxian pushed open the wooden window to let in some fresh air, and in the autumn sunlight, he solemnly opened the "Rules of Conduct for Disciples of the Suishan Sword Sect".

"These are the menial disciples, the foundation of the sect..."

"yawn……"

Just as he was reading most of it and starting to feel drowsy,

crunch.

The door to room number 9 was opened.

Gu Shuxian looked in the direction of the sound.

A boy of sixteen or seventeen walked in.

He recognized the man; he was a servant disciple in the same room named Qian Le. Other than that, he wasn't very familiar with him.

To be precise, apart from Li Dashuan, Zhang Tieniu, and Wu Shuisheng, he wasn't very familiar with the others.

After all, I've only been in this house for half a month, and it's still the busiest and most tiring autumn season. Most of the servants from the firewood yard just lie down there after they come back, not wanting to talk, so there's not much of a chance to communicate.

Gu Shuxian nodded as a greeting, then turned to immerse himself in the disciple's code of conduct once again.

Qian Le took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"Junior Brother Gu, you're here!"

His tone even sounded a little surprised, and Gu Shuxian looked at him suspiciously.

"Senior Brother Qian, what's the matter?"

"hey-hey!"

Qian Le first peeked out and looked around, then leaned closer and said with a strange smile:

"Junior Brother Gu, do you know what we do?"

"Us? We're just menial disciples, doing odd jobs."

Seeing that he was getting too close and had no sense of distance, Gu Shuxian took a step back without making a sound and replied.

Qian Le quickly said, "That's not what I meant! Oh well, I'll just be frank. I have a way to make money here. Are you interested, Junior Brother Gu?"

Ways to make money?

Gu Shuxian was indeed interested; he was just worried about not having enough money to buy the book.

But is it reliable?

If someone suddenly tells you about a money-making opportunity, it's most likely a trap.

Gu Shuxian wanted to hear what the other person had to say, so he uttered a roundabout, seemingly pointless statement:

"Brother Qian, there's no way to make money in our handyman's quarters. You're lucky if you can earn an extra five coins a day chopping wood."

Qian Le chuckled, glanced at the doorway again, and said, "How much is that piece of junk worth? There are much more valuable things on the mountain!"

"What does Senior Brother mean?"

"Mountain produce! Wood ear mushrooms, wild bamboo shoots—a few pounds of these things from down in the mountains can sell for tens of coins! Aren't they more valuable than wood?"

Wow... so it was smuggling!

The disciple's code of conduct I just read states that sect property must not be violated, and then I immediately encountered smugglers—how exciting!

"Isn't this against the rules?"

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. Besides, the sect patrols the mountain regularly, and the good stuff has already been taken away. We're just picking up the leftovers."

We've also figured it out; aside from the stricter controls on wild game sects, most sects turn a blind eye to these common mountain products.

Indeed, based on what Gu Shuxian had seen and heard over the past half month, some of the handyman disciples would secretly eat wild fruits and mushrooms on the mountain. Occasionally, a few bold ones would take them to the firewood yard and eat them as they walked. The stewards didn't say anything when they saw this, since it was actually not easy to manage such things.

"That makes some sense. So, how do we get down the mountain?"

Or rather, how do I get back?

"Hey, you don't need to worry about that at all, I have my own connections!" Qian Le said smugly. "If you don't believe me, go ask Deng Shifan and Meng Ping if I've ever taken them down the mountain."

Meng Ping?

Meng Ping helped him out of a predicament last night. Although they didn't know each other well, judging from that incident, the other party was at least a person of principle.

If Meng Ping was also involved, it means that this matter is indeed not a big problem.

Besides, I really do lack money to buy books to read.

Although as long as one maintains twenty coins a day, with Huang Ziyi's connections, one can still have books to read every day.

But who wouldn't want to see a sequel to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in a hurry?

Moreover, you can't put all your eggs in one cage. Senior Brother Huang Ziyi is confined there by his master. What if his master changes his mind and recalls him, replacing him with an incorruptible person to guard the library? Wouldn't he be devastated if he couldn't borrow any books to read?

Gu Shuxian was somewhat tempted.

So here comes the most crucial question.

"It sounds like a good deal, but why me?" Gu Shuxian asked.

Yes, why?

Because do pie fall from the sky?

Qian Le didn't answer directly, but scratched his head and then asked shyly:

"Junior Brother Gu...you can read, right?"