The expert who entered was still wearing tattered and shabby clothes, with a straight sword at his waist. He was weathered and his wrinkled face showed a trace of weariness that he could not hide.

"Teacher." Chen Jing, who rushed over upon hearing the voice, bowed to him.

The expert's voice was calm: "You woke up so early?"

"Yes, thank you, teacher," Chen Jing said sincerely.

"No need to thank me." The expert's voice was flat: "It's your good fortune that you were able to swallow that black pill without going into a qi deviation and dying on the spot. Besides, I also need an apprentice and an assistant. You also need a better position to support your younger brother and sister. Am I right?"

As Chen Jing listened, he suddenly realized the implied meaning in the expert's words.

"Would you be willing to take me as your apprentice?"

Disciple and student are completely different. In the Song Dynasty, a master could have dozens or even hundreds of students, but the number of disciples who truly inherited his mantle and were as close as father and son would hardly exceed ten.

Besides Chen Jing, the expert's students also include several skilled hunters from the hunting groups.

The expert said, "If you don't want to, I won't force you."

Chen Jing nodded immediately. Putting aside Hei Dan's kindness and the skills the expert had taught him for free, if the expert hadn't discovered him during a chance encounter and recommended him to join the hunting party, his life would probably be very difficult and dark now.

"The apprenticeship ceremony can be held in a few days; there's no statue of the founding master here," the expert said. "First of all, you can't stay here with me indefinitely. I'll recommend a house in the Eggshell District of Ash City for you to take with you your younger brother and sister. Don't associate with your 'father' anymore."

Chen Jing nodded; this was indeed what he wanted to do. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "The house... must be very expensive."

Chen Jing wasn't a shameless person; he didn't want to keep taking advantage of his master, feeling that it wasn't right.

"A room in the Eggshell area that can accommodate three people costs about 9 Blue Sun Coins per month. It fluctuates around 3 Blue Sun Coins per month." The expert said, "This is the rental price. If you want to buy it, the price will exceed 1,000 Blue Sun Coins. I don't know the exact amount."

Blue Sun Coin, Blue Moon Coin, and Blue Star Coin are the common currencies of the Blue Dynasty. They follow the decimal system, with 1 Blue Sun Coin equal to 10 Blue Moon Coins or 100 Blue Star Coins. The Blue Dynasty provides credit guarantees for them.

Ash City was far more influenced by the Blue Dynasty than by the closer Xia Dynasty. Firstly, the Xia and Song Dynasties had a more intense feud, while the Blue and Song Dynasties fought less frequently and with less deep-seated hatred. Secondly, the Black Hand often used the Song River to trade with the Blue Dynasty, and many Blue Dynasty merchants also used large ships and the Black Hand's power to travel to and from Ash City, bringing with them many books and goods from the Blue Dynasty. The Blue Dynasty's currency was also the most popular.

As for the original currency of the Song Dynasty—Qin coins—it was no longer usable. Paper money became worthless, but the gold, silver, and copper coins, which were cast from metal, still had the value of being precious metals and could still be used.

This is normal… Chen Jing thought aimlessly. Paper money is a form of credit currency, requiring the guarantee of credit from state institutions. But the Song Dynasty has become the former Song Dynasty, so of course it cannot provide guarantees for those pieces of paper. Metal currency, on the other hand, still has its own value, so it can still be used.

Therefore, the main currencies circulating in Ash City are metal currency and paper money belonging to the Blue Dynasty.

This... the price is cheaper than I expected... Because of the lingering effects of the high housing prices before his transmigration, Chen Jing didn't initially think it was expensive.

As a member of the hunting party, the daily wage is 2 Blue Moon Coins. Chen Jing, being a senior monster lure, receives 2 Blue Moon Coins and 5 Blue Star Coins. If the hunt is successful or there are special contributions, he can also receive corresponding share and additional rewards.

Of course, the monster lurer would not fabricate contributions to interrupt the hunting party's hunt. First of all, such fabricated contributions are easy to expose. For example, whether the slave spirit has left or is still wandering around is easy to verify. Secondly, the hunting party has more than just Chen Jing and Li Huaxing as monster lurers, but multiple people. They can corroborate each other's information. It must have been confirmed that the slave spirit has indeed left, which is why Captain Ma gave Chen Jing so many rewards.

Moreover, fabricating "contributions" will cause the hunting party to fail, resulting in losses for everyone. Once exposed, that person will be ostracized and punished by everyone.

In Ash City, the laws aren't that strict! Vigilante justice is common!

Chen Jing did a quick mental calculation. In other words, including the share of the hunt, the rewards, and the relics and equipment he found, his average monthly income was around 10 Blue Sun Coins. Sometimes he would earn much more if he found valuable antiques and items, but less if he didn't find anything or if he frequently failed at hunting. He could barely afford to rent a house.

“If I’m lucky, I might find valuable antiques or equipment, and I could earn dozens of Blue Sun Coins, or even more, in one go. But that’s uncertain. The hunting party’s area of ​​activity is relatively close to Ash City. Although it’s not a place that scavengers often go to, there are still adventurous scavengers who go there.” Chen Jing thought, “But I can’t rely on such random things to make money. Whether I can find something valuable or not is purely a matter of luck!”

The reward Chen Jing received from Commander Ma was a small bag containing 50 gold coins, which were worth approximately 50 Blue Sun Coins, but actually more.

"These should be enough to complete the payment, and besides, I'm a superhuman now, so I can earn even more money..."

Chen Jing nodded to himself and said to his master, "No problem."

“I need you to do some things for me during this time,” the expert said. “Go after you’ve settled in. Consider it payment for giving you the Black Elixir and making you a superhuman.”

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!