Chapter 886 You're Not Allowed to Ring the Bell! (Seeking guaranteed monthly votes! Giveaway available!)
We arrived at Drip Cave.
The cave was just as it had been yesterday, with a gap in the ceiling letting in a beam of sunlight that fell on the empty platform in the center of the hall.
The Queen and the other senior swordsmen have not yet arrived.
Just then, an elderly Yue woman emerged from a dark passageway and, supported by two Yue women with peach-shaped plaques, slowly walked onto the stage.
Everyone recognized him as Uncle Tang, who had presided over the second trial.
Senior Sister Yuan followed behind her.
Upon ascending the high platform, Uncle Tang looked kindly at the young women below and nodded slightly.
"Those who are still standing here today are the backbone of Jianze in the future. Let me introduce myself. I am Yue Nu, the head of Taotang. Even if the Queen does not come to Taotang, you can regard me as the head of the hall. In the future, most of you will spend a lot of time with me in Taotang. Let's get to know each other here first."
The young women in the audience looked at each other in bewilderment.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the high platform.
This Chief Tang was likely speaking to the newly arrived young women like Chen Jiaxin and Song Zhian, excluding the young men selected for the Bamboo Hall such as Lu Jinghong and Sha Ergou.
Because she mentioned Momodo.
Within the Yunmeng Sword Marsh, the Queen's Palace holds the highest position, and the Ancestral Hall is located within it. Below the Queen's Palace are numerous halls, as well as some areas of equal status to these halls, such as Strange Islands, Secret Palaces, Secluded Valleys, and High Pavilions...
Most of the Yue women within the Yunmeng Sword Marsh were included in this category.
From what Ouyang Rong heard from Chief Tang's words, it seemed that some of the branches would be personally managed by the female ruler.
In some halls, where there is no direct female ruler, a chief Yue woman would be appointed to manage the hall on behalf of the female ruler. Her power was similar to that of the hall master, and she would report to the female ruler's palace regularly.
This Peach Hall should be considered a large hall, specifically responsible for the training of these newly recruited Yue women, perhaps similar to a Dharma transmission hall.
These past few days, the three tests for the new Yue women and the sword cultivators of the Bamboo Hall seem to have been arranged and presided over by these Yue women from the Peach Hall.
Ouyang Rong's gaze fell on the Yue women beside Chief Tang.
After observing for a while, he noticed that these Yue women all had tags hanging from their waists, but the materials were different.
Most of them had waist tags made of peach wood.
Only Senior Sister Yuan and another elegant Yue woman following closely behind Chief Tang had silver waist badges.
This elegant Yue woman was the senior sister who had come to inform Ouyang Rong to stay that morning.
It seems that her status in Peach Hall is similar to that of Senior Sister Yuan, like a Peach Hall steward. Compared to the cold and aloof Senior Sister Yuan, she has a gentler temperament.
The plaque hanging from the waist of the Tang chief monk was even more peculiar; it appeared to be a jade plaque, but there were no words on it.
The different materials used for the signs may represent the social hierarchy within Jianze.
Ouyang Rong seemed to be deep in thought.
In fact, he vaguely remembered seeing similar waist tags before at the Embroidery Girl and Lady Zhi Shuang's place. However, their waist tags seemed to be made of glass and jade, which looked very noble and expensive. Could they represent the Queen?
While Ouyang Rong was lost in thought, Chief Tang finished speaking to the crowd, turned to the elegant Yue woman with a silver badge at her waist behind him, and said a few words.
The latter stepped forward and spoke softly:
"Our master has ordered that we complete the last assessment today, and then gather here afterward..."
A commotion immediately erupted from the audience.
"quiet."
This time it was Senior Sister Yuan who spoke, giving a reprimand, taking a step forward, and looking around at the audience:
"The final assessment will not have its results announced, nor will it affect your current entry scores. Those present here are now all members of this sect. Unless you commit a major offense, you will not be expelled from the sect..."
The graceful Yue woman nodded slightly:
"You can think of it as going through a process, because it is an old rule established by Her Majesty the Queen. It has been established for many years, and every new Yue woman has to go through it once. Then, peach tokens will be distributed. Everything is as usual... Just take it easy."
The noise in the lobby immediately decreased significantly.
Most of the young women looked on with curiosity.
However, neither Chief Tang nor the two silver-medal Yue women spoke much throughout the entire process.
Chief Tang stood up shakily, stepped down from the high platform, and led the way into an unfamiliar passageway.
Senior Sister Yuan followed closely behind, waving to the others inside the Dripping Water Cave:
"All the newly selected young ladies, come along. Oh, and all the men who have been selected for the Bamboo Hall, come along too."
At her call, all the young women in the Dripping Water Cave followed her and surged into that unfamiliar passageway.
"Let's go, Brother Liu, Young Master Lu, Brother Sha."
Yu Mili followed behind Song Zhian toward the passageway, while calling out to the three of them.
Lu Jinghong was eager to try and had already followed.
Seeing this, Ouyang Rong also stepped forward, with Sha Ergou following behind him, muttering under his breath:
"Brother Liu, what kind of test is this? Why go through all this trouble?"
"Who knows?" Ouyang Rong shook his head slightly.
"Do you remember what I mentioned to you before?"
Song Zhian suddenly turned around and lowered her voice:
"It must be that useless test that everyone has to go through after being selected."
She paused, as if noticing Lu Jinghong's expression, and couldn't help but give him a word of advice:
“Young Master Lu, there’s no need to be so nervous. I heard from my senior sisters that no one knows the scoring criteria for this test. Usually, after Peach Hall reports it to the Queen, there’s no follow-up. We don’t know what kind of special talent the Queen is looking for…”
Ouyang Rong was in line, silently staring at the unfamiliar passageway ahead.
He had just searched the entire Drip Cave Hall but couldn't find A Qing. He wondered if she had gone to this "redundant test" place ahead of time.
"Liu Aliang".
Just then, a shout came from behind.
Something seemed familiar. Ouyang Rong turned around and saw that it was the elegant Yue woman.
The line to enter the passageway was almost up to Ouyang Rong and his group of five.
This elegant Yue woman spoke gently:
"What my martial uncle said doesn't include you. You stay."
Song Zhian and Lu Jinghong looked at Ouyang Rong with surprise.
What do you mean? Why isn't Brother Liu included?
Could it be that our previous deduction was wrong? Was it not a case of omission from the list, and Brother Liu still can't stay in Jianze?
The four of them were immediately confused.
But it was already their turn in the queue, so the four of them had no choice but to walk into the passageway, looking back every few steps, until they disappeared from sight.
Soon, the young woman and the boys inside the Dripping Water Cave all left.
The elegant Yue woman stayed behind with Ouyang Rong.
Only two people remained in the hall.
“My name is Xi Qi, you can call me Senior Sister Xi. This morning, Uncle Tang instructed me to come and put me in charge of your accommodation. Perfect timing, while they are taking their tests, let’s chat so I can arrange a place for you.”
Xi Qi stepped down from the platform and approached Ouyang Rong, speaking gently.
Ouyang Rong looked at her silently and asked in a low voice:
"I wasn't on the list yesterday, why did Chief Tang keep me?"
Xi Qi shook her head:
"I don't know, it should be related to a certain Queen. My master received the Queen's order this morning. She specifically asked me to stay. This kind of last-minute arrangement is the first time I've ever seen anything like it, but..."
She glanced at Ouyang Rong's attire, and gradually her gaze settled on his forehead, which was mostly hidden by a felt hat:
"However, it's not about adding you to the Bamboo Hall's selection list. Rather, it's about having the Peach Hall arrange a job for you... somewhere within the Sword Swamp, suitable for you."
After a pause, Xi Qi asked:
"Liu Aliang, what are you good at?"
Ouyang Rong nodded, and said woodenly:
"Ring the bell."
Xi Qi gently shook her head:
“That won’t work… Actually, the Queen’s command mentioned that it could be a bell-ringing job, but Her Highness seems to have forgotten. Recently, things have been tense, and the Sword Swamp is under high alert. All activities with loud noises, such as the morning bell, have been suspended, so we don’t need a bell ringer for the time being.”
"So, let's try something else. Liu Aliang, do you have any other skills? Let me see what you'd be good at."
What are you good at? What kind of job are you suited for?
Ouyang Rong slightly suppressed the urge to tell the truth, and shook his head with a bewildered expression:
"Besides ringing the bell, all I know is manual labor."
Xi Qi frowned slightly, as if she was having some trouble.
In front of her, someone really wanted to say that he was skilled at micro-manipulating swords and reaping heads, and might be suitable to be some kind of reclusive ruler...
But if I tell you, you won't be happy.
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(P.S.: Waaaaah, please give me a guaranteed monthly pass! I can enter the monthly pass lottery!)
(End of this chapter)
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