Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

After waiting for a few minutes, I finally squeezed off the tram with the flow of people.

The platform was full of young people carrying suitcases.

"Make way, make way."

A staff member in a black uniform stood at the side entrance, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Line up! Line up! Don't push! Enter in batches!"

Chen Mo and his three companions, carrying their luggage, struggled to move forward slowly with the flow of people.

A stylish man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses next to him was complaining to his companion, "Didn't they say the Zhenyi Division headquarters covers more than 3,000 acres? Today they've only opened this tiny side gate?"

His companion, a martial arts practitioner dressed in a neat short-sleeved outfit, scoffed, "The side door is for people, the main door is for officials. You, who just reported for duty, think you can use the main door?"

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses looked a little embarrassed. "My uncle works for the police department..."

"Police Department?" his companion in shorts interrupted him. "The Anti-Cult Division is not under the jurisdiction of the Police Department."

As they were talking, they were pushed through the crowd into the side door.

Chen Mo and the other three followed behind, passing through the dark iron gate, and suddenly the view opened up before them.

The cobblestone path and the plane trees are just as they were more than half a month ago.

The difference is the people on the road.

Groups of young people, carrying luggage, walked in chatting and laughing.

Some were dressed in fine silks or suits, clearly from wealthy families.

However, most of them were wearing light gray or light blue long gowns and followed behind with restrained expressions.

Several carts were parked by the roadside, and a few porters in gray cloth jackets were stacking luggage on them and pushing them toward the dormitory area.

"How many people are there...?" Shen Baodong looked around. "We didn't have this many people during our assessments back then. Why is it like a temple fair this time?"

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Fang Chengjie replied, "Intensive training."

"What?"

"Today is for reporting to the training camp."

Fang Cheng rarely spoke a complete sentence, "Back then, we were assessed in batches, but today it's a unified training session."

Shen Bao suddenly realized: "Oh, I see."

Chen Mo didn't speak, his gaze sweeping over the people coming and going.

People of all kinds, from those in suits and long gowns to those in short jackets, rich and poor, were all crammed onto this bluestone road.

In the distance, a middle-aged man in a black uniform was standing at the intersection directing traffic. "Newcomers, head east! Go to the welcome area to get your number tags and uniforms! Don't push, one at a time!"

......

The welcome area was set up in an open space on the east side, with several rows of long tents erected, and each line of people was arranged in a winding manner.

Several uniformed clerks were sitting inside registering people.

The four compared the number of people and lined up at the end of the third queue.

Standing in the next line was a tall, thin young man. His long robe was faded from washing, and the cuffs were frayed.

Chen Mo looked at the man curiously for a few moments. His hands hung at his sides, his knuckles were distinct, and his veins were faintly visible. He had already mastered some of the techniques.

Judging from his family background, they didn't seem to be very well-off. Where would a poor family get the money to practice martial arts?

Since ancient times, the saying "the poor are scholars, the rich are warriors" has never been just a saying.

"Excuse me..."

Someone squeezed up from behind. It was a fat man in a silk shirt, waving a folding fan. "Excuse me, excuse me, I have an acquaintance ahead of me."

Nobody moved.

The fat man awkwardly put away his fan, muttering something as he stood still.

Chen Mo found it amusing and waved to the fat man, "Brother Li, you're so late today?"

The fat man was taken aback for a moment, then a smile spread across his face. He squeezed past two people and came over: "Hey, Brother Chen! Finally, I've run into an acquaintance!"

He fanned himself with a folding fan, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, the collar of his silk robe damp. He lowered his voice and whispered in Chen Mo's ear, "I heard yesterday that a few dark-skinned girls came to the brothel, and their skin, tsk, was like silk..."

Chen Mo didn't reply, but simply moved aside.

Li Jinrong didn't mind. He closed his fan, tucked it into his sleeve, and wiped his sweat. "It made me drink a few more cups. I almost couldn't get up this morning."

Shen Bao glanced at his attire and then at his round face, and asked curiously, "And who is this?"

Li Jinrong then noticed that there were three other people with Chen Mo. His gaze swept past Ah Xiu and then swept over Shen Bao and Fang Cheng. "Li Jinrong, you and Brother Chen are old acquaintances."

Shen Bao said "Oh" and looked at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo simply said, "Local."

They didn't say how they met, nor how long they'd known each other.

Li Jinrong, oblivious to the subtle tension, leaned closer and lowered his voice even further: "Brother Chen, have you heard? I heard the higher-ups have really gone all out for this training camp..."

"Line up—" someone shouted from the front.

The group moved forward a few steps, and Li Jinrong followed behind, saying non-stop, "My dad insisted that I come, saying that the Zhenyi Division is currently very powerful, and it's better to get a position here than to stay at home and wait to die."

"I told him that with my skills, I'd be at the bottom even if I went in, and he said I should still go even if I was at the bottom, just to get to know a few people..."

The tall, thin man next door turned around, his gaze lingered on Li Jinrong for a moment, then quickly looked away.

Li Jinrong muttered to himself, "Who is that? Do you know him?"

"I don't know him," Chen Mo said.

Li Jinrong said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions, but he took out the folding fan again and started fanning himself.

The sun was getting higher and higher, making people's heads feel hot.

Li Jinrong's silk shirt collar was already soaked with sweat. "How long will this queue last..."

The line moved forward a few more steps and finally caught up with Chen Mo.

"Next--"

The clerk didn't even look up.

Chen Mo stepped forward and handed over his token.

The clerk took it, glanced at it, made some marks on the booklet with a brush, picked one out from a pile of wooden plaques next to the table, and pushed it over along with the training uniform: "East Third Courtyard, Class B, Number Seven. Assemble at the drill ground at dawn tomorrow. No waiting for latecomers."

The wooden plaque is made of jujube wood, about the size of a palm, with the words "Zhenyi Si Jixun" engraved on the front and a serial number on the back.

He flipped it over and glanced at it: Number 7, Class B.

After receiving their belongings, the five people squeezed out of the crowd, clutching their uniforms.

Li Jinrong couldn't stop smiling: "Number 7, Class B? Sharing a room with Brother Chen? That's wonderful!"

Shen Bao brought the wooden plaque close to his eyes and examined it carefully: "The character '乙'... how is this arranged?"

"B is the dormitory area, and seven is the room number." Fang Cheng took out his wooden plaque and glanced at it.

How did you know?

Fang Cheng didn't say anything, he just raised his chin.

Shen Bao followed his gaze and saw a wooden sign standing at the intersection ahead, with several large characters written on it in ink: Section B to the east (boys), Section C to the west (girls).

"..."

There were still many people on the road heading east, with groups of two or three new trainees carrying their luggage, looking around as they walked.

Every few steps along the roadside, there was a signpost pointing to the hospital, reading "East First Hospital" and "East Second Hospital," with crooked arrows pointing in various directions.

Li Jinrong walked in front, followed by two servants carrying large and small bags. One carried a rattan trunk, and the other carried a bedding roll. They were all sweating profusely from exhaustion.

I just didn't see Li Jinrong's bodyguard, who was always by his side.

Chen Mo glanced at the two servants and casually asked, "Your guard didn't come?"

Li Jinrong sighed and tapped his folding fan against his palm: "Don't even mention it. My father said that when we go to the Zhenyi Division for training, we're not allowed to bring guards or make any special exceptions. He told those servants to see us to the door and then go back."