Family Turmoil Chapter 4: An Unexpected Arrangement

The next day, at the break of dawn, Chu Xing climbed out of bed. After a night of consolidation, the newly awakened primal energy within him hadn’t increased, but it had become more refined.

Yet he knew this power was far from sufficient.

He had pondered all night but found no shortcut to quickly grow stronger. His mind kept returning to the Dragon Blood Grass that had helped him break through.

After much thought, the place with the most resources was still the Pill Hall’s warehouse. Perhaps he could go back and see if he could scavenge something useful. But the only uncertain factor was Senior Sister Bing Shan.

As long as he was careful this time and didn’t run into her again, it would be fine. With this in mind, he took a deep breath and pushed open the courtyard gate—

But his feet seemed nailed to the ground, his whole body instantly frozen.

At the gate stood a graceful figure clad in faint purple—the very person he had fervently hoped not to encounter: Mu Wanqing.

Mu Wanqing noticed him standing there motionless after opening the door and furrowed her brows slightly at his evasive gaze. “Why do you look so guilty, as if caught stealing? What scheme are you plotting now?”

“No, no! Absolutely not!” Chu Xing hurriedly waved his hands and regained composure. “Senior Sister, you’re blocking my door so early in the morning. Could it be that you didn’t get enough last night and want to try again today?”

A blush rose on Mu Wanqing’s cold, beautiful face. Thinking back to how she had stumbled into his arms last night, she felt both embarrassed and annoyed, but quickly composed herself and snorted coldly.

“I’ve thought it over all night.”

Chu Xing’s heart tightened.

“I won’t report you to the Enforcement Hall for stealing Dragon Blood Grass.”

“But, as the price for keeping your mouth shut, from today on, you belong to me.”

“Pfft!” Chu Xing nearly choked. “Senior Sister, you can’t say things like that. Although I’m a handsome and talented junior brother, aren’t we moving a bit too fast? I… I’m not ready yet.”

Mu Wanqing’s lovely face turned cold as a flicker of anger ignited. “Shut up! Do you think this is some kind of favor?”

She pulled a wooden token engraved with the Pill Furnace pattern from her sleeve and tossed it at Chu Xing’s feet.

“You like spirit herbs, don’t you? So much that you sneaked into the Pill Hall’s warehouse to steal them? Every single spirit herb, from seed to maturity, embodies painstaking effort—something you could never understand.”

A cold smile curled the corner of her lips.

“I’m doing you a favor. From today on, you will work in the Hundred Herb Valley behind the spirit herb garden at the back of the mountain. There, thousands of withered and dead spirit herb remnants are piled up. You will face them every day and reflect seriously!”

The Hundred Herb Valley!

Chu Xing frowned. Wasn’t that the dumping ground everyone avoided? He had heard that the last disciple assigned there fell seriously ill after only three days, supposedly poisoned by the miasma in the valley.

He immediately understood Mu Wanqing’s intention.

This was both a punishment and a humiliation—forcing a grass thief like him to confront toxic waste day and night. How malicious!

Indeed, the most poisonous thing is a woman’s heart!

Yet Chu Xing’s heart blossomed with joy.

Withered spirit herbs? Rotten medicinal residue?

Aren’t these filled with the purest essence of plants? Though mixed, the sheer volume was immense!

What was a miasma-ridden garbage pit to others was a paradise of spirit energy for the starving stone bead in his dantian!

This girl was practically sending the god of wealth to shower him with riches!

Suppressing his wild delight, he sighed, “Senior Sister, isn’t this too harsh? I’m still a promising young man. If word gets out that I’m cleaning rubbish, how will I ever establish myself in the sect?”

“That’s your problem.” Mu Wanqing said coldly. “Take the token and register with Old Sun Er at the Affairs Hall. He knows what to do. Remember, this is your only chance—do it, or be taken away by the Enforcement Team. Your choice.”

Without another word, she turned and left without any hesitation.

“Hey, Senior Sister, don’t go!” Chu Xing hastily picked up the wooden token and hurried after her. “Look, you arrange work for me and worry I’ll starve. Since you care so much, why not… give me some pills as snacks?”

Mu Wanqing’s steps abruptly halted. She spun around, and a flash of anger flickered through her icy eyes. “If you say another useless word, believe me, I’ll cripple you right now!”

“Alright, I won’t say another word.” Chu Xing raised his hands in surrender and wisely took two steps back.

Watching the elegant purple figure disappear at the alley’s entrance, Chu Xing couldn’t help but smile. When you’re sleepy, someone sends a pillow—you can’t miss such a blessing!

He had to go!

Half an hour later, outside the Xuanxing Pavilion’s main gate, Affairs Hall.

Chu Xing walked straight to a counter where a lean middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache and small, darting eyes sat—a shrewd character known as Sun Er.

Sun Er was well-connected in the Affairs Hall and enjoyed being called “Second Master” by others.

He was tapping an abacus noisily when he glanced up and asked without looking, “What’s up? If you want a job, queue over there.”

Chu Xing said nothing, merely placing the wooden token engraved with the Pill Furnace pattern on the counter.

“Dong.”

The soft sound interrupted the abacus. Sun Er raised his head impatiently, but when he saw the unique Pill Furnace pattern on the token, his small eyes narrowed sharply. He grabbed the token and examined it closely, confirming its authenticity.

“Senior Sister Mu’s personal token?” Sun Er looked at Chu Xing seriously. “How did you get this?”

“Second Master,” Chu Xing smiled and lightly tapped the counter. “Senior Sister Mu told me to find you. She said you know everything.”

Sun Er squinted, returned the token politely, and sized up Chu Xing, a notorious underachiever of the outer sect. He sighed deeply.

“Junior Brother Chu, you managed to offend the Iceberg Ancestor of the Pill Hall—no one else but her—and got personally assigned to that deadly Hundred Herb Valley. You’re in for it now.”

He leisurely pulled a booklet from under the counter, flipped to a page, and handed over a black iron badge with a hint of sympathy in his tone.

“Hundred Herb Valley, waste cleanup, three contribution points a day. It’s not an easy job. Take care of yourself, Junior Brother Chu.”

Chu Xing chuckled silently. Everyone thought he was doomed. He didn’t correct them, simply nodded lightly and took the badge.

As Chu Xing turned to leave, Sun Er suddenly called out, “Kid, you look pitiful enough. Let me give you one more tip.”

He pointed toward the spirit herb garden.

“Besides rotten leaves, sometimes there are good things in that valley. When the senior brothers prune spirit herbs, their hands are rough. Sometimes they cut off immature seeds and throw them away.”

Chu Xing’s heart stirred.

Sun Er continued, “If you’re lucky, you might dig up one or two plump seeds in the mud. Keep it quiet. After work each day, take them to the nearby Wanbao Market. There, inner sect brothers buy them. A single Blue Vein Grass seed can fetch ten low-grade spirit stones.”

Hearing this, Chu Xing pocketed the iron badge and left the Affairs Hall directly.

He first returned to his shabby little courtyard, found a half-worn coarse cloth bag and a rusty iron shovel, then set off toward the sect’s back mountain.

The deeper he went, the more concentrated the pure primal energy in the air became. Spirit herb fields, carefully tended, appeared on both sides of the path.

Many outer sect disciples were working in the fields and glanced curiously at Chu Xing as he walked alone deeper into the area.

The Spirit Herb Garden was a crucial sect area, directly managed by the Pill Hall. Every spirit herb inside was precious, and ordinary disciples were strictly forbidden to approach.

Yet Chu Xing passed without hindrance because he held the token from the Affairs Hall.

At the garden’s entrance, a young man in inner sect disciple robes was leaning against a large tree, resting with closed eyes. He was one of the caretakers.

Chu Xing approached respectfully and presented the token.

The caretaker opened his eyes, glanced at the token, then sized Chu Xing up and down with an expressionless face before pointing to a more secluded path nearby.