Chapter 253 The Ruthless Senior Brother of the Path ...

Lai Fu was the most inconspicuous clerk in the Chaoyang City auction house. He wasn't originally called Lai Fu; the manager gave him that name after he was bought.

When he was at home, his parents called him Er Gouzi. Because the nearby villages were all wiped out by the demons, his parents sold him to a passing eunuch in order to save his life. They begged the eunuch to find him a good place to live and only accepted one tael of silver as payment for his indenture.

At first, Laifu was very happy. The work at the auction house was not tiring, he didn't have to be exposed to the wind and sun, he could eat his fill, and even his name sounded nice.

Wangcai, another young man working with him, told him that he was the thirty-ninth Laifu in the auction house, while he himself was the forty-fifth Wangcai.

Laifu innocently asked Wangcai, "What about the previous Laifu and Wangcai? Did they both earn enough money, quit their jobs, and go home to get married?"

Wangcai just gave a bitter smile and didn't say anything, only replying perfunctorily, "You'll find out when the time comes."

Laifu enjoyed a month of good life, the best he had ever had. Not only was the person in charge kind, but his work was also easy. He wore neat, clean clothes and learned to say things that would please the customers.

Sometimes, when the person in charge was in a good mood, he would reward him with two pieces of pastry and a bite of meat. It was the first time Laifu had ever known that pastries were so sweet and meat was so fragrant.

He wasn't ungrateful; he worked even harder every day and treated those in charge like elders, serving them diligently.

Everyone in the auction house treated him with even greater kindness, except for Wangcai, who did the same easy work as him.

Laifu was somewhat disappointed, after all, the first person to show him kindness after arriving here was Wangcai.

No matter how he explained that he didn't want to compete with Wangcai for favor, Wangcai's attitude towards him remained indifferent. Even when he shared his favorite snacks with him, Wangcai refused to accept them.

A month later, the venue held its first auction since he arrived. While the other staff were busy setting up the venue, he and Wangcai didn't have to do anything and even had tea and snacks to eat and drink.

The manager suggested that the two of them rest their voices and refresh themselves, and have some snacks to sweeten their mouths so that they would have the energy to serve the guests later.

In Laifu's view, serving guests was nothing more than serving tea and water and saying some flattering words. But when Wangcai came out with a smile, carrying a tray to deliver the auction items to the guests, he was covered in blood and had been dragged out by his legs.

The shopkeeper merely glanced at it and casually had it thrown outside the city, treating it no differently than garbage.

Not long after the auction ended, the forty-sixth Wangcai was bought back. Just as innocent as when Laifu first arrived, Laifu finally understood why he was the thirty-ninth Laifu.

It turns out that they were nothing more than the lowest-grade consumables in the auction house, used to appease customers.

Those customers would accept a loss of several thousand taels of silver if they killed a young waiter they had bought for two taels of silver.

For the customers, the auction house was quite sensible; they got their revenge and regained both face and substance.

Auction houses, on the other hand, make an even better deal; the money they earn from their customers could buy thousands of young men like them.

Just when Laifu felt cold all over, was almost in despair, and even thought about ending his life, the person in charge gave him a glimmer of hope.

If he can serve the seven guests well, his indenture will be returned to him, he will be allowed to leave freely, and he may even be given two taels of silver as a settlement fee.

Seeing that Laifu was no longer so listless, the person in charge patted him on the shoulder with a smile, rewarded him with a plate of snacks, and gave him a few days off.

Lai Fu finally understood why Wang Cai was unwilling to accept his snacks, and he also learned to remain silent when the new Wang Cai approached.

He asked an old man with whom he was fairly close, and learned that five people, including Wangcai, had survived and left, which wasn't a small number. But later, because they couldn't earn money and had nowhere to go, they all returned here, and then...

If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the happiest month of Xin Wangcai's life. Since there is only one way out ahead, why should he wake people up from their sweet dreams?

The first thing Laifu delivered to a customer was a piece of dark wood that he didn't recognize. The customer asked for five low-grade spirit stones, but the shopkeeper said that it was worth at most three low-grade spirit stones.

Lai Fu tried his best to smile, using the flattery the steward had taught him, offering discounts and gifts, and after saying all that nice things, he ended up with a broken rib and both legs before the man finally gave him four low-grade spirit stones.

The steward was in a good mood to see that he was alive. He said that he was lucky, then threw down a bottle of medicine, gave him a month's leave, and also gave him a big bowl of braised pork and two plates of pastries.

The reward wasn't for successfully getting the spirit stones back, but for surviving, which saved him the cost of buying a new recruit.

The second one, Laifu, had a broken arm. The third one was bruised and swollen from being slapped. The more guests he served, the more humble he became, and the more fluent his flattery was.

Perhaps he was really lucky. Although he was seriously injured each time, it was never fatal. Until the sixth guest, the auction house hired a shill to set up a trap and swindled a cultivator out of three low-grade spirit stones.

That was three thousand taels of silver. When Laifu was beaten to the point of near death, the cultivator was called out by his companion, which barely saved his life.

Fortunately, the city they lived in was a place where cultivators and mortals lived together. For example, the pills that were ruined when cultivators were refining pills were good healing medicines for mortals.

These discarded pills are very cheap, but consuming them will cause excruciating pain. However, being able to live is already a blessing, so who would care about the pain of a consumable item?

When Laifu recovered from his injuries and went to serve the seventh guest, he discovered that this guest had been ripped off even more.

Having been at the auction house for so long, Lai Fu was quite familiar with the prices. The Ice Crystal Lotus, which no one wanted even for half a low-grade spirit stone, was actually bid up to five low-grade spirit stones by a customer.

Lai Fu's hands were trembling as he carried the tray, but as he approached the private room, he immediately composed himself and went in with a big smile.

He thought he would be beaten up immediately, but to his surprise, the other party not only did not make a move, but also rewarded him with two plates of fruit.

The manager looked at the two plates of fruit in his hands and smiled meaningfully: "You're really a lucky guy. I'll charge you for the fruit at the market price."

Laifu looked at the glistening fruit on the plate, but couldn't bear to keep one for himself to taste. The manager charged one tael of silver per fruit, and together with the two taels of silver he had been promised, he was given a total of twenty-three taels.

When Laifu received the indenture, he was still in disbelief. He turned around and heard the manager tell the forty-eighth Wangcai that if he worked hard, he could be like him, earning a lot of money and living a comfortable life.

With twenty-three taels of silver, a huge sum for him, Laifu rented a simple courtyard and worked odd jobs on the street every day to make a living.

Even so, his money wouldn't last long. This was Chaoyang City, a place where mortals and cultivators lived together, at the foot of the Xuan Yang Sect, which ranked third in the cultivation world. No demonic cultivator would be foolish enough to come here to die.

Therefore, even the most shabby dilapidated house in Chaoyang City costs one or two taels of silver a month. If a person has no place to live, he or she will be evicted on a regular basis.

While it's true that you don't need to spend money outside the city, there are still demonic cultivators around. Lai Fu tried every possible way to make money, but his silver dwindled.

Just when he had only eight taels of silver left, a new place for lecturing suddenly appeared in Chaoyang City.

What they were talking about was not the Four Books and Five Classics, but some cultivators teaching these mortals how to deal with demonic cultivators. They even provided accompanying martial arts and mental cultivation methods, which were said to be martial arts and mental cultivation methods that mortals could practice.

Mortals are terrified of demons, so how many would dare to learn their techniques? Not to mention the possibility of being used as bait by demons, just the thought of them learning such things would likely lead to secret retaliation.

Lai Fu didn't have these concerns. He was already struggling to pay his rent, so he didn't care about offending the demons.

Furthermore, these cultivators have set up outposts on the most bustling street in the city, responsible for collecting demon corpses. Even the lowest-ranking demons can be exchanged for thirty low-grade spirit stones.

For the sake of those thirty low-grade spirit stones, Lai Fu studied with great enthusiasm. When he only had two taels of silver left, he finally formed a demon-slaying team with the other five people who were studying with him.

Whether it was due to their superior techniques or the fact that the low-level demons weren't as powerful as they had imagined, after two of their team members were injured, they dragged the demon's corpse and exchanged it for thirty low-grade spirit stones.

Since it was a temporary team formation, there was no distinction between high and low ranks, and each of the six people received five low-grade spirit stones.

The first thing Laifu did after receiving the spirit stone was to buy his own house in Chaoyang City.

A small house near the lecture platform, with three rooms and a small courtyard, cost him four and a half low-grade spirit stones.

With the five hundred taels of silver returned by the other party, Laifu was finally able to get a good night's sleep.

Those who were willing to step forward and learn how to exorcise demons were almost all people who couldn't afford rent and had nowhere else to turn. After seeing Lai Fu's methods, they all followed him and bought houses nearby.

The makeshift team continued to exorcise demons, and some people who were envious of their wealth began to attend classes and cultivate alongside them.

Lai Fu's teammates came and went. Some earned enough money and left to live a stable life, while new people learned their skills and joined in.

Lai Fu persisted in his cultivation and demon-slaying. As time went by, his martial arts skills improved, and he became the captain of the demon-slaying team.

He didn't move to a new courtyard, nor did he live a luxurious life. All he did every day was exorcise demons and cultivate.

The team members didn't quite understand this, but they were happy to have a leader who was both capable and easy to manage. However, as time went on, Lai Fu needed fewer and fewer teammates.

Once he was able to handle low-level demons on his own, he became a lone wolf. Thirty low-grade spirit stones were definitely more appealing to him if he took them all by himself.

Lai Fu had no idea what had happened in the cultivation world that had caused cultivators, who had always been indifferent to the mortal realm, to not only exorcise demons everywhere but also teach many people how to do so.

All the cultivators suddenly became selfless and dedicated, and even the martial arts techniques taught every three days became more and more refined, as if someone was constantly studying them.

But it's not a bad thing in the end.

After attending the class as usual, Lai Fu went to the shop called "Daoist Demon Eliminator" and bought several talismans for protection.

He greeted the monk minding the shop with practiced ease, "Daoist Qingya, you look radiant today, is there something good happening?"

Qingya smiled and put away the communication jade token. "My junior brother has returned from his training and insisted on coming over to guard the shop for a while."

Lai Fu, who was about to leave, paused. He had heard that this Daoist Qingya was a disciple of the Third Elder of the Xuan Yang Sect. His junior brother must also be a very powerful figure.

Lai Fu didn't linger. He paid the spirit stones and walked out, then brushed past the two people who entered.

Although two years have passed, Laifu has never forgotten that these two were the last guests he served.

It was the two plates of fruit he casually gave me that gave me the spirit stones to live a little longer in Chaoyang City, and also allowed me to wait for the cultivators' lectures.

After Lin You left, Heng Mo became somewhat listless, and several elders took turns talking to him but couldn't find anything wrong.

He was originally thinking about whether to find a medical cultivator to take a look, but Shen Ting, who had broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage during his seclusion, came out of seclusion. After only three days, Heng Mo was so busy that he had no time to be sentimental.

After all, no one could stay down forever if they had a rocket and a megaphone by their side.

Lai Fu didn't linger at the shop entrance for long. Before leaving, he vaguely heard Daoist Qingya calling out to the two of them, "Little Mo, Junior Brother, come over here..."

Three days later, Laifu came to the "Taoist Master's Demon Elimination" shop again to deliver demons. Qingya looked at him with some surprise: "Not bad, you've made great progress. You can even fight against demons in the mid-stage of Qi Refining."

Lai Fu smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he changed the subject: "Master Qingya, how powerful of a demon do you think I can defeat before I can join the Xuan Yang Sect?"

Qingya didn't know the answer to this, and simply comforted him, "I guess it'll be fine once you can deal with a demon in the late Qi Refining stage."

At least back then, I was more than qualified to be an outer disciple.

Lai Fu was very clear about the hierarchy of the demon race. He nodded and went back to cultivate.

He hoped that one day he could become a fellow disciple with the cultivator named "Xiao Mo". He did not ask to become his disciple, but only hoped that he could ask him to give him a name.

He already knew when he left the auction house that Laifu and Wangcai were not proper names. Some wealthy families often named their dogs after such names, and it was better than his parents calling him Er Gouzi.

Unfortunately, his parents didn't live to see the day the demons were exorcised. The day after Er Gouzi was taken away by the boy, everyone in their village was killed by the demons.

The martial arts manual used by the Xuan Yang Sect for teaching, suitable for mortals to cultivate and exorcise demons, was always researched and developed by Heng Mo and Shen Ting.

Hengmo's Golden Finger Shop has many such techniques, while Shen Ting has actually lived in the martial arts world and understands the ways of martial arts better.

When they heard from Senior Brother Qingya that someone could deal with a demon in the mid-stage of Qi Refining using only their current cultivation method, Heng Mo and Shen Ting were very curious.

Er Gouzi, or rather, Ming Yi now, never expected his wish to come true so quickly.

Heng Mo not only gave him a name, but also registered him under his own name, making him the first outer disciple of the next generation of the Xuan Yang Sect.

The auction house manager said he was lucky, and he wasn't wrong.