"Is...is it okay?" Qin Yueting's tears stopped instantly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Yu Ling. She then pulled out a large bag of silver and patted it into Yu Ling's arms. "Sister, you're so kind!"
The system, unable to bear it any longer, repeated it in a sarcastic tone: 【Oh~ Sister~ You're so kind~】
Pshaw! If it weren't for the fact that we absolutely had to go to the palace, our host wouldn't have made this trip for you! (╯^╰)
The hand that had received the money naturally slipped back into its pocket, and then Yu Ling tossed it into her storage space. Well, actually, that was the real bonus.
Yu Ling said, "No need to thank me. Anyway, I have nothing to do today, so it won't hurt to go. You should rest well today. I'll go to the palace first thing tomorrow morning, so don't worry."
"Nothing to do?" She hadn't even seen Yu Ling these past few days; the other woman must be incredibly busy, just saying that to comfort her. Qin Yueting didn't believe Yu Ling was genuinely bored. She was so touched, *sob*, *crying*, "My sister is so kind!!!"
"But... Sister, won't you be in danger?" Qin Yueting wasn't the kind of person who was unreasonable and domineering. She really wanted Yuling to help her, but she was also afraid that Yuling would really be in danger because of helping her. She was conflicted and torn.
Yu Ling didn't want to reveal too much, saying, "Don't worry, that's the palace, what could possibly happen? Maybe your brother was assigned to some secret mission after joining, and he just didn't have time to tell you. Don't run around these next few days, just wait for my news."
While things generally don't go wrong in the imperial palace, when something does happen, it's a major event concerning the fate of the nation.
However, these things have little to do with ordinary people, because by the time they find out, the matter is usually over, and even if they know in advance, there's nothing they can do about it.
"After you find my brother, will you still be able to come out? The palace isn't a place you can just come and go as you please." As she spoke, Qin Yueting stuffed a large sum of silver into Yuling's hand, afraid that Yuling would suffer any grievances if she went out.
"A windfall like this? I wouldn't mind settling down in the palace!" Yu Ling was truly bold to accept it. As she spoke, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile, "It's alright, I'll find a way."
This isn't her first time mingling in royal circles. Besides, she has her own legs; at worst, she can fake her death, disappear, and then turn into a fox and run away.
The next morning, Yu Ling was dressed in the formal attire of a Celestial Master, her long hair piled high, her steps light and graceful, exuding elegance. The person at the Celestial Master recruitment stall had a sharp eye and could tell at a glance that Yu Ling was not the kind of person who was just pretending. After asking a few questions about her name and lineage, she passed the first test.
Next comes the level assessment.
This was still conducted uniformly in a courtyard outside the palace, and only after the applicants came out from there could they actually go to the palace to take up their posts.
"Next... Du, Du Shuangyu?" The person who called out the number clearly recognized the original owner, and his tone immediately became friendly, "Oh my~ Master Du, you've finally come to your senses. It's so hard for a young lady to suffer outside in the wind and rain!"
Yu Ling didn't recognize him at all, which meant that the original owner didn't remember who he was either, but she still pretended to be familiar with him and asked, "Thank you for your concern, brother. Shuangyu has something she wants to ask you. About three months ago, did a Celestial Master named Wei Wenzi come here?"
Wei Wenzi is Qin Yueting's half-brother, and one of the reasons she came here.
"Three months ago? That should have been when they first announced the recruitment of Celestial Masters. Although not many people came here every day, it still added up to quite a few. I don't remember exactly. Do you want me to ask around for you?"
"No need. If he really takes a position in the palace, we should meet." After saying that, Yu Ling went inside to take the exam.
The examiner sat on a stool, holding the original owner's identity information in his hand, and asked:
"Du Shuangyu, you're an orphan, and your master is gone too. Have you ever taken on a disciple?"
No.
Do you have any relatives or companions?
No.
The original owner was a pure lone wolf with nothing. The only person he spent the most time with was that love-obsessed fox demon, and they didn't even like each other.
"Okay, then try casting a lightning spell."
After saying that, the examiner placed a monster-like model aside, reinforced with strong defensive spells.
Lightning Summoning Technique?
Are the imperial palace's recruitment of celestial masters all this low-level?
Having been struck by lightning so many times, Yu Ling had become somewhat knowledgeable about it and even had some understanding of lightning. Thinking that she couldn't let the person who recruited her look down on her, she directly improved the strongest lightning-summoning technique that the original owner had practiced, and added the energy given by the spirit leaf to increase its power. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl descended from the sky.
The monster model evaporated on the spot.
The examiner silently glanced at the spotless ground, then at Yu Ling, and then at the piece of paper in his hand. He tore it up with a rip, then took a blank sheet of paper, and with a few quick strokes, wrote a new assessment report for Yu Ling.
"Passed. This is your token. Next."
Yu Ling took the thumb ring that was tossed to her. It was made of mutton fat jade, felt excellent, and was a magic weapon with defensive attributes. Giving such a treasure right after passing the test was quite generous.
With the token in hand, she could enter the palace through a special path. Before going in, Yu Ling went back to the inn to say goodbye to Qin Yueting, and also checked out of the room and got her deposit back before leaving.
Qin Yueting was able to move into the vacated Class A room as she wished, hoping that Yu Ling's trip would bring her good news.
Human palace designs are all pretty much the same, nothing new. Yu Ling walked on by herself, not interested at all, leaving the little eunuch leading the way speechless.
Although the demon-catching masters served in the palace, they were all under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Preceptor and were not usually questioned by the emperor. Therefore, they had no right to enter the deeper parts of the palace and could only serve as figureheads on the periphery.
Upon arriving at the location, Yu Ling greeted several colleagues who had also been admitted through the same assessment process but at different times, and then began searching for Wei Wenzi.
“Wei Wenzi? I vaguely remember him. I heard that name when I registered. He seemed to have entered the city even earlier than me, but I haven’t seen him since I came in.” One of the earliest Celestial Masters said.
[Hey, that's strange. How could a perfectly healthy person just vanish into thin air? And Qin Yueting said her brother's life tablet is still there, so he shouldn't be in any danger. So, where did this person go?]
The system grumbled, "What a waste of my time! Wouldn't it be better to let me eat, drink, play, and complete tasks instead?"
"Knowing that this person exists is enough. There's no rush to find him. Let's put that aside for now," Yu Ling said.
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