After standing still, Lin Zhusheng’s gaze swept over the empty redwood box and found nothing. He met the slightly surprised eyes of the Grand Elder and finally reached out his hand, asking, “Stinky… Grand Elder, where’s my token?”

This person definitely wanted to call him an old fart just now.

The old fart, with the corners of his mouth lifting under his beard, was so angry that his beard bristled. His eyes widened as he pulled out a jade token from his sleeve and tossed it over.

Anger aside, the action of pulling out the jade token was quite quick.

Lin Zhusheng caught it and took a couple of careful glances at it. He even compared it with the jade token in the Grand Elder’s redwood box, saying, “Why do they look different?”

Both were made of jade, and the tokens were pretty similar, but the one in his hand seemed a bit more intricate, with an extra flower carved on it.

It looked like a counterfeit. He suspected the Grand Elder was trying to fool him.

The awkward Grand Elder was still puffing up his beard when the Sect Master next to them finally caught on and pointed out, “This is the token for a direct disciple.”

He chuckled, laughing while putting away the token for the direct disciple from the box, saying, “I didn’t expect the Grand Elder to pick this up.”

Having prepared the direct disciple token in his sleeve indicated that he had the intention of accepting disciples from the very beginning, but he just hadn’t told them. The sudden move from someone who had never actively taken on disciples caught them completely off guard.

And it was a direct disciple, seemingly the only one.

Great. Lin Zhusheng quietly withdrew his suspicion of the Grand Elder.

He had suddenly become a direct disciple. Since the Grand Elder had never taken on a disciple before, he inexplicably became the Grand Elder’s first disciple. As soon as he received the jade token, he was put to work, responsible for helping distribute the ordinary disciple tokens.

The next one with the right to choose was the fox-eyed one.

According to what people wanted, aiming to suppress Song Ming, Lin Zhusheng thought the other party would choose to join under the Sect Master’s peak. Leaning against the back of the Grand Elder’s chair, he turned the jade token in his hand, watching as the person approached.

—Then they stopped in front of the Grand Elder’s desk.

“?”

The freshly minted master and disciple stared with their wise eyes as the person solemnly bent down and said with conviction, “Please allow me to follow the Grand Elder and my senior brother to learn!”

Lin Zhusheng took a long time to realize that the “senior brother” in the words referred to himself. In an instant, he felt helpless and confused, the jade token in his hand stopped turning, and he cast a pleading glance at the nearby senior brother, finally managing to stammer out, “Ah?”

The senior brother coughed lightly, lowering his head to say, “From a rank perspective, a direct disciple should be considered the elder.”

Calling him “senior brother” was indeed proper etiquette. Suddenly becoming a junior brother among peers, Lin Zhusheng was startled by the title “senior brother,” causing him to tremble for a moment.

Due to the identity of the head of the Quiet Contemplation Hall, there had never been a disciple who voluntarily jumped into the fire pit during the selection process. The truth was that the Grand Elder had only prepared one direct disciple jade token and the tokens for randomly assigned disciples to his peak; there were no extras.

After finishing the exchange with the senior brother, Lin Zhusheng, while saying that the old fart wouldn’t prepare well, urged him to borrow a jade token from the Sect Master next door, then turned back to persuade the fox-eyed one to stay calm.

Thinking it through, he could guess that after the competition yesterday, the person’s target had shifted from Song Ming to him, and coming under the Grand Elder was likely an attempt to take the script of a comeback and become someone who surpassed him.

Winning or losing aside, at such times, it was best to temporarily set aside personal grudges and choose a suitable place for oneself.

“I want to learn alongside my senior brother!”

After a long persuasion, the fox-eyed one bent down again, seriously saying, “After competing with my senior brother yesterday, I gained a lot and had an epiphany. The negative things I said before were indeed my fault; I was too shallow. I will definitely practice diligently from now on, so please don’t hold it against me, senior brother!”

Lin Zhusheng: “…Ah?”

The unexpected turn of events startled him again and again; he almost jumped onto the nearby senior brother, his hand already gripping the corner of the person’s clothes.

While the fox-eyed one was confessing his reflections, on the other side, he was struggling with the senior brother’s clothes, and the Grand Elder was still trying to borrow a jade token from the Sect Master, creating a chaotic scene.

In the end, the Grand Elder managed to borrow a jade token, which Lin Zhusheng handed to the fox-eyed one.

With the disciple token in hand, the fox-eyed one visibly brightened up and bowed again to express his thanks.

【Hu Li’s Favorability +5 (95/100)】

Unbeknownst to him, the favorability had quietly crossed the ninety-point threshold, causing Lin Zhusheng’s eyes to twitch.

After the ten disciples with the right to choose, things became much simpler. The disciples assigned to each Grand Elder went to collect their respective jade tokens according to the roster.

The only surprise among the remaining was Zhang Jing, who, due to his talent in talisman drawing, was exceptionally accepted as a direct disciple by the Fifth Elder, who was proficient in talisman arrays.

What a competitive batch. Four direct disciples emerged from this cohort, more than the combined total of the previous ones. With so many talented individuals, those who failed to enter the inner sect could only say it was a matter of luck.

After the disciple initiation ceremony, there was a two-day transition period for the newly promoted inner sect disciples to move and familiarize themselves with the inner sect.

Having run around in the game, Lin Zhusheng was already quite familiar with the inner sect. The most important thing was moving.

From the Grand Elder to the senior brother to his friends, everyone thought he would have trouble moving, and they all wanted to help, but he refused them all.

He had a lot of stuff, but the big sword was big enough; he could easily pack it all up along with the flowers and plants in the yard and take it away without any hassle.

The Grand Elder’s peak had a very simple name, directly using the name of the Quiet Contemplation Hall, calling it Quiet Contemplation Peak. The direct disciples lived at the foot and halfway up the mountain, while the Grand Elder’s personal residence was separately located at the top of the mountain. He had also lived at the top before.

The place he was assigned to live was already arranged by the Grand Elder, located in the side hall closest to the main hall, much larger than the place he had lived before, and his living standards had instantly skyrocketed, finally giving him a sense of being a direct disciple.

When the little cat landed, it immediately ran off to inspect its new territory. Lin Zhusheng had never expected it to help, so he moved his things into the room by himself.

Leaning against the window of the room, he could see the distant bamboo forest and the nearby yard that had clearly been turned over.

In the large yard, the weeds had all been cleared away, and the flowers and plants had been directly planted.

With a ready-made, tidied-up yard, he paused the moving and went to tinker with the yard.

The Grand Elder came to watch him work on the yard, and the more he looked, the more his brows furrowed, until he couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you have so much grass?”

Lin Zhusheng not only had grass but also saplings. He pointed in one direction and politely asked the Grand Elder, “Is there any arrangement for that area over there?”

When he asked the question, that area was already destined to belong to him.

There were only the two of them living at the top of the mountain, and as long as he didn’t plant grass inside the house, the Grand Elder wouldn’t interfere. He had beautifully planned out his future orchard.

After moving once and tinkering with the yard, the afternoon passed just like that.

In the evening, thinking he would be alone at the top of the mountain, Lin Zhusheng was just about to prepare dinner when the Grand Elder, who usually lived in the Quiet Contemplation Hall, returned.

Dinner for one person and a cat turned into dinner for two people and a cat. After dinner, recalling something, he poured a cup of tea for the Grand Elder.

When the Grand Elder looked over, he said, “Isn’t there a tradition of tea for accepting disciples?”

There was indeed a tradition of tea for accepting disciples, but it shouldn’t be like pouring a cup of tea after dinner like this. The Grand Elder took the teacup and took a sip, saying, “So casual?”

“As long as we drink the tea, it’s fine; it doesn’t matter,” Lin Zhusheng smiled, “Who are we to each other? As long as the sentiment is there, that’s enough.”

The most rule-abiding person ended up with the most rule-breaking disciple. After finishing the tea in the cup, the Grand Elder patted his head, saying, “Stinky kid.”

This time, Lin Zhusheng didn’t resist, pouring himself a cup of tea and saying, “The old fart can pat me; if I get dumb from it and can’t get first place in the next test, it’ll be your face that’s lost.”

With a cup of tea in hand, he hadn’t finished drinking when he was chased around the house by the Grand Elder.

While running and trying to sip the tea, he attempted to change the subject, asking, “Grand Elder, aren’t you going to the Quiet Contemplation Hall today?”

The Grand Elder wasn’t going to the Quiet Contemplation Hall today; he had already moved back to the peak and only went to the Quiet Contemplation Hall for part of the morning and afternoon.

The first day of moving to the peak ended with the two of them chasing each other around the house.

Still thinking about planting his saplings, Lin Zhusheng woke up early the next morning. Upon waking, he found a package outside his house, surrounded by scattered bluebird feathers.

It was another delivery from the hardworking bluebird, and this time it didn’t poke through his door. Pausing the digging to plant saplings, he brought the package inside.

The little cat, just waking up, came over, half-opening its sleepy eyes to watch.

It was the attire for inner sect disciples, with a white inner lining and a pale blue outer robe, faintly embroidered with silver patterns. From the looks of it, it seemed much more refined than his previous clothes.

Wearing the outer sect disciple’s clothes was inconvenient for moving around in the inner sect, so he changed into it.

He had his own unique pair of magical hands that could always turn the extraordinary into the mundane; no matter how beautiful the clothes were, they would look strange on him.

The little cat watched from the side, and as it perked up, its eyes gradually drooped again, ultimately unable to resist wiping its face, feeling that it shouldn’t have had any expectations from the start.

Putting aesthetics aside, being able to wear it well was already a victory. Farmer Lin put on his new disciple outfit and stepped out the door to water the flowers and plants in his yard before the sun rose.

During sword practice, he slept like a log, but when resting, he woke up earlier than the rooster.

Another person who also woke up earlier than the rooster was the Grand Elder, who started practicing swordsmanship early in the morning. Lin Zhusheng shouldn’t have been curious; he shouldn’t have taken the watering can to sneak a peek when he finished watering the flowers.

Just one peek, and he was caught by the Grand Elder. The watering can in his hand turned into a long sword, and inexplicably, he began practicing swordsmanship on his day off, with a supervisor beside him teaching him hands-on.

Because it was one-on-one, there was no chance to slack off. He practiced swordsmanship with unprecedented efficiency, completing a full set.

With the long sword at his waist, he plopped down on the training ground, exhaling as if he was about to die.

Practicing a set of sword moves was more exhausting than climbing several mountain peaks with Song Ming; he had no extra energy left, and planting trees could wait for another day.

He sat there without any semblance of an image. The occupational hazard of the head of the Quiet Contemplation Hall kicked in, and just as he stood up to speak, the Grand Elder was the first to offer him the freshly made snacks from last night.

Great, the Grand Elder took the snacks without saying a word.

He also took a snack for himself to nibble on, sitting on the ground and watching the morning light spill over the distant peaks.

The Grand Elder stood beside him, following his gaze and saying, “That’s the Sect Master Peak.”

Sect Master Peak.

“Wait a minute.”

Pausing his nibbling, Lin Zhusheng raised his eyes, confirming, “I can now enter all places in the inner sect, right? The Sect Master Peak counts as part of the inner sect, right?”

The Grand Elder nodded, saying, “Why?”

Lin Zhusheng didn’t say much; he just suddenly remembered that he could now find the senior brother anytime.

And he was going to find the senior brother right now. Pulling out his big sword, he waved at the Grand Elder, saying, “I’m going to find my senior brother to play; I’ll be back after that.”

Finally, he stuffed a bag of snacks into the Grand Elder’s hand, saying, “This is today’s lunch; remember to eat after going to the Quiet Contemplation Hall.”

With the snacks stuffed in, he quickly took off on his sword.

Before the Grand Elder could ask anything about the senior brother, the huge shadow of the sword in the air was already flying toward the Sect Master Peak.

Looking down at the pocket in his hand that still had a bit of warmth, he opened it to take a look and found it contained snacks along with two fruits for after the meal.

——

After practicing swordsmanship for half a day, he suddenly decided to find the senior brother. The reality was that Lin Zhusheng started to feel his hands ache halfway through the flight.

The place where the senior brother was now living was different from when they had lived together before. He flew around the peak twice before finally finding it.

Or rather, it was the senior brother, who had just finished practicing swordsmanship, who first spotted him, signaling for him to come down.

The other party also lived at the top of the mountain. As he approached the ground, his last bit of stamina was exhausted, and he jumped off the sword.

He jumped unexpectedly, and the senior brother was clearly taken aback, quickly stepping forward to catch him.

“Whoosh—”

As the big sword hit the ground and the sound of wind rushed by, Lin Zhusheng fell into a familiar embrace.

Wen Baizhou caught him, taking two steps back to steady himself, his arms wrapped around Lin Zhusheng’s waist and behind his head, not daring to move or loosen his grip, asking, “What happened?”

“I came to find you to play.”

This was quite comfortable. Lin Zhusheng took the opportunity to rest his hands on the senior brother’s shoulders, swaying in mid-air without fear of falling, briefly explaining, “I was pulled by the Grand Elder to practice swordsmanship for half a day this morning, and I’m a bit out of strength now.”

After swaying enough, he patted the senior brother’s hand and lightly landed, picking up the big sword from the ground.

As he stood up, the senior brother kindly helped him up, allowing him to stand easily.

The grip on his wrist wasn’t loosened, and the person in front led him into the courtyard, asking as they walked, “Have you eaten?”

“I ate, just now, I’m full.”

Originally, he wanted to remind the senior brother about the grip that hadn’t loosened, but the question distracted him, and Lin Zhusheng turned to look at the courtyard.

It was a large area, with a training ground for sword practice and some ornamental plants. After passing through a small patch of bamboo forest, they could see the main entrance of the residence.

Pushing the door open with one hand, the senior brother led him inside.

The place they lived in was similar to the one they had lived in before, very simple, with not too many things. Sunlight streamed through the windows, falling on the wooden table and chairs and the floor, adding a bit of warmth.

Lin Zhusheng turned around and finally remembered something, spinning in front of the senior brother, saying, “The clothes the bluebird sent this morning look a lot like yours.”

As he turned, the hem of his clothes moved along, the pale blue satin shimmering in the light for a moment.

Wen Baizhou looked at him a couple more times, his gaze finally landing on the strangely peculiar clothes, asking the question that had been on his mind from the start, “Your way of dressing seems a bit special.”

Not just a little special.

Bringing up this question, Lin Zhusheng looked left and right, then resolutely lowered his voice and leaned in to confess that he actually wasn’t very good at dressing.

“…”

This “not very good” was a rather mild way of putting it. He didn’t even need to confess; Wen Baizhou could roughly tell just by looking at him.

He asked, “Do you need my help?”

“Hmm?”

Originally, Lin, who had reconciled with his useless hands and planned to just get by for the rest of his life, looked up, his eyes brightening without a hint of joking, saying, “Is that okay?”

Seeing that expression, anyone would find it hard to refuse.

Wen Baizhou directly answered with action, saying “Excuse me,” as he bent down to touch Lin Zhusheng’s collar.

Lin Zhusheng was brought to sit on the table, and the only thing he had to do was sit still and not move around, watching as the senior brother untied the various knots he had painstakingly tied that morning.

The pale blue outer robe slipped off his shoulders, piling up on the table, and he was completely unaware, still watching the senior brother teach him how to dress on the spot.

“…”

Let’s just say every button was in a place he hadn’t expected.

At first, he felt like he was being foolish, doubting himself.

But as he saw more, he began to think he must be a genius, managing to place every button and knot in places they shouldn’t be while still maintaining a somewhat acceptable appearance.

That’s what he thought, and that’s what he said, giving himself a thumbs up, saying, “I’m really amazing.”

As the outer robe slid down and was put back on his shoulders, the senior brother began to help him wear it. When he heard Lin Zhusheng’s words, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Every time the senior brother laughed, Lin Zhusheng would be captivated, and he would speak his mind, raising the thumb he had just put away again to praise him.

Wen Baizhou was tying the belt when he heard this and looked up, his gaze landing on Lin Zhusheng’s light-colored pupils, also complimenting, “It looks good.”

It wasn’t just a casual compliment; he wasn’t the type to give compliments. His expression was serious, and he genuinely thought it looked good.

Having his craftsmanship acknowledged for the first time since he started refining faces, Lin Zhusheng, the AAA professional face sculptor, was a bit surprised, then smiled, saying, “I think so too.”

Wait.

After smiling, he suddenly realized something and extended his finger to start counting urgently.

His expression turned serious. The hand tying the belt paused, and Wen Baizhou asked, “What’s wrong?”

Unable to count with his fingers, the more he counted, the more confused he became. Lin Zhusheng then asked him, “How long have we known each other?”

“Ten years…” Wen Baizhou lowered his eyes, then quickly corrected himself, “Since May 3rd.”

It had already been five months.

The face-sculpting card was for 180 days, which was six months, and there was less than a month left until now.

Shocked to the point of ignoring why the senior brother remembered the time so clearly, Lin Zhusheng slapped his carefully sculpted face, feeling for the first time how quickly time could pass.

Although he still hadn’t remembered what this face looked like, it didn’t stop him from liking the fruits of his labor and feeling quite reluctant to part with it.