PDLP Chapter 12 Changes
Chapter 12 Changes
"Liang Yong, Lao Hu, you lead some of the disciples to unload the cargo from the flying boat."
"yes!"
"Wang Xiaoshan, Tian Youliang, lead some of your disciples to quickly build accommodations."
"yes!"
"Hou Yi, take a few people and prepare lunch and dinner. Make them quite lavish."
"yes!"
Qin Zhiyuan issued orders methodically, mobilizing all the manpower sent by the sect.
Fan Zhou and the others stood still.
The boys looked at each other, wondering if Qin Zhiyuan had given any other instructions.
Finally, Fan Zhou spoke up and asked, "Senior Uncle Qin, what are we going to do?"
Qin Zhiyuan beckoned and said, "Come here, all of you. Register your names first, then collect your belongings as servant disciples."
Fan Zhou and his group approached.
Qin Zhiyuan took out a roster from his waist storage bag and a box of inkpads for Fan Zhou to hold.
Qin Zhiyuan opened the register and said, "Guan Qingyun, check if there are any errors in the records here. If there are no errors, then put your fingerprint on it."
Guan Qingyun quickly stepped forward to check the roster.
The register recorded his place of origin, his parents' names, his date of birth, and his aptitude for spiritual cultivation.
Because Fan Zhou was standing next to Qin Zhiyuan, he saw all of this.
He focused his gaze on the cultivation aptitude section, where it read:
(The Five Virtues belong to Fire; the spiritual root is 5.7 inches, below average.)
Fan Zhou raised an eyebrow. He had heard Tian Youliang mention these five virtues before. The ancient sages named them metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Each virtue has a different meaning and is an evolution of the Way of Heaven. Together, they can encompass all things in the world.
Spiritual roots are the most direct manifestation of a person's aptitude for cultivation, and are divided into three grades: superior, middle, and inferior. Each grade is divided into nine inches, with a maximum of three feet.
Fan Zhou turned his gaze and found his qualification record:
(The Five Virtues belong to Wood, with a spiritual root of four inches and nine fen, classified as lower-middle.)
"So I'm actually a wood element person, with a spiritual root of four inches and nine-tenths of an inch—that's really bad."
Fan Zhou then looked at the qualifications of the other people:
Zhang Yu's five virtues belong to wood, and its spiritual root is six inches and seven fen, which is considered lower to middle.
Wu Xiu's five virtues belong to water, and his spiritual root is six inches and one-tenth of an inch, which is considered lower to middle.
Liu Ergou's five virtues belong to metal, and his spiritual root is nine inches and eight fen, which is considered inferior to superior!
Fan Zhou was taken aback; the most talented among them was actually Liu Ergou!
"No way?"
Fan Zhou glanced at Liu Ergou. The guy had a blank face, dull and lifeless eyes, and was not particularly good-looking. Apart from being tall, he didn't seem to have any outstanding qualities.
"Sigh, sometimes fools have all the luck."
Fan Zhou sighed inwardly, but he was also happy for Liu Ergou.
This guy is already stupid, and if he's also lacking in talent, he'll probably have a hard time surviving in this market.
.........
Seeing that the information was correct, Guan Qingyun quickly pressed his fingerprint on the document and stepped back.
At the same time, the sect manager who came with Shen Yusheng took out two yellow robes from his storage bag and handed them to Guan Qingyun.
There was also a token and a small porcelain bottle on the clothes.
The manager explained:
"These are the clothes for a menial disciple, and the token is your identification. Inside the porcelain bottle are three Nourishing Essence Pills, which can aid in cultivation. Take one pill every three days, and never take them at the same time."
"Understood," Guan Qingyun replied, taking the items with a gloomy expression.
He naturally saw the other people's qualification levels as well, and he never expected that he would be ranked second to last!
Not only is he worse than Zhang Yu, but he's also worse than Wu Xiu, and even worse than that idiot Liu Ergou!
This greatly shocked him!
"Luckily, we weren't at the bottom, otherwise we would have lost all face."
Thinking of this, Guan Qingyun glanced up at Fan Zhou and saw that he was calm and showed no embarrassment or inferiority. This made Guan Qingyun even more displeased, and she secretly sneered:
"No matter how much you pretend, you can't change the fact that you have the worst aptitude! You still want to join the weapon forging workshop? I think you're only fit to be a farmer."
Afterwards, Zhang Yu and Wu Xiu also pressed their handprints and received their gifts.
They were both taken aback when they saw Liu Ergou's qualifications. They wanted to chat with him to get closer, but Liu Ergou made his point immediately, so they had to give up.
Guan Qingyun saw Wu Xiu and Zhang Yu chatting together, ignoring him completely, and felt a bitter pang of resentment. But if the two glanced in his direction, he felt they were probably secretly mocking him, and for a moment he felt as if he were being pricked by thorns, cold sweat soaking his temples.
"Liu Ergou, check if this information is correct," Qin Zhiyuan said.
Liu Ergou just looked at him and said, "Boss Qin, I can't read."
Qin Zhiyuan had no choice but to point to his name and say, "Put your handprint here."
Liu Ergou did as instructed, and Fan Zhou also pressed his handprint on the roster, officially becoming a menial disciple of the Sword Furnace.
Qin Zhiyuan put away the roster and instructed Fan Zhou and the others:
"Put your things back in your rooms, change into the clothes of a menial disciple, and then work with the new disciples."
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.
.........
Night fell quickly.
Because the airship brought a large amount of supplies, dinner tonight was exceptionally lavish, with four dishes and a soup, and even some wine was served.
Everyone gathered in the square to drink and sing together. A bonfire shaped like a grid was lit in the middle, and the firelight made everyone's faces flushed and their eyes glazed over.
Qin Zhiyuan was overjoyed and challenged his senior brother Shen Yusheng to a drinking contest. They downed jar after jar of wine, their faces flushed, which drew cheers from the crowd.
Several stewards also drank with the guests, chatting with acquaintances about interesting things in the sect, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
Fan Zhou and the others sat at a table in the corner, their expressions varied, each with their own thoughts.
Zhang Yu suddenly picked up his wine bowl and addressed the others:
"Sister Xiuer, Brother Liu, Brother Guan, Brother Fan, the five of us have known each other for a long time, and we've been eating and working together these past few days."
Now that so many disciples have arrived at the sect, some might take advantage of their strength to bully us newcomers. We must all stick together and help each other out when we encounter difficulties!
"Zhang Yu is right. It's fate that we met. No matter what our talents are or how we develop in the future, we should keep in touch!" Wu Xiu also picked up his wine bowl.
"Sister Xiu'er is right!" Guan Qingyun also picked up her glass.
Fan Zhou knew these were just polite words, but he still picked up his glass and nodded, saying, "That's right."
Only Liu Ergou remained motionless.
Zhang Yu's expression was somewhat unpleasant; he felt that Liu Ergou was looking down on them after seeing their abilities today.
Liu Ergou looked around, "Brother Liu..."
Fan Zhou interrupted, "It's you! Don't ask any more questions, come have a drink with us."
Liu Ergou seemed to realize something, but he was also a little confused. Nevertheless, he raised his bowl along with everyone else.
Zhang Yu finally managed a forced smile and shouted, "Let's do it!"
"Dry!"
Everyone drank their wine together.
The banquet lasted until very late.
But Fan Zhou left with Liu Ergou ahead of time; he still wanted to bury the urn on the mountain to catch the blood centipede.
"Fan Zhou, why do they call me Brother Liu? My name is clearly Liu Ergou!"
On the way up the mountain, Liu Ergou asked the same question he had asked before.
Fan Zhou placed the urn on the ground, turned around and said to him:
"When someone calls you 'brother,' it could be out of respect, flattery, or just a casual remark. You don't need to overthink it. Just know that someone is calling you that."
"Then why don't you just call me by my name?" Liu Ergou asked, puzzled.
Fan Zhou looked at him speechlessly: "Do you think the name 'Er Gou' sounds good?"
"What's wrong with calling me Er Gou? That's what my dad, my mom, and everyone in the village used to call me." Liu Er Gou looked puzzled.
Fan Zhou sighed, "Of course your father, your mother, and the people in your village can call you Er Gou (Second Dog)."
"But to outsiders, Er Gou is a derogatory name. Calling you that might make you angry and disgusted."
Liu Ergou frowned, seemingly unable to understand at all:
"How could the name my parents gave me be a lowly name? What's wrong with calling me that?"
"If your parents named you 'Dog Thing,' then you'll be called 'Dog Thing.' Are you going to stop being called 'Dog Thing'?"
"you……!"
Fan Zhou glared at him, annoyed. "I kindly explained to you, and you actually called me a dog?"
Liu Ergou shook his head and said, "I didn't call you a dog. I meant if your parents called you a dog..."
"Alright, stop right there!"
Liu Ergou immediately fell silent.
Fan Zhou was truly at a loss for words. After staring at him speechlessly for a while, he finally spoke:
"Even if my parents really named me 'Dog Thing,' I would never be called 'Dog Thing'!"
Liu Ergou stared at him in disbelief, as if his entire worldview had collapsed.
Fan Zhou continued, "I will definitely choose a better name for myself. This will be convenient for both me and outsiders. Do you understand what I mean?"
Liu Ergou mechanically shook his head.
"If you don't understand, then forget it. Just hurry up and dig a hole and bury this urn for me. I need to go back to sleep!" Fan Zhou gave up on trying to enlighten this guy.
Liu Ergou silently began digging a hole.
After burying the urn, the two went down the mountain together.
Liu Ergou was walking ahead, and just as he was about to reach the house, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked intently at Fan Zhou:
"Fan Zhou, why don't you come up with another name for me, like the kind you said, a nice-sounding name that's convenient for both myself and outsiders?"
"Huh?" Fan Zhou looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure?"
Liu Ergou nodded vigorously, "I'm sure!"
"Alright then, changing your name will save you from embarrassing yourself in the future."
Fan Zhou lowered his head and pondered, then said, "I'll just make a slight change to your original name."
"Ergou, Er is changed to Zhong, and Gou is changed to Xun! From now on, if someone asks you what your name is, just say you are Liu Zhongxun!"
Fan Zhou squatted down, picked up a twig, and wrote the three characters "Liu Zhongxun" on the ground.
Liu Ergou also squatted down, staring intently at the three large characters on the ground. A smile appeared on his blank face, and his eyes gleamed with fire as he repeatedly repeated his new name:
"Liu Zhongxun!"
"From now on, my name will be Liu Zhongxun!" he cheered happily.
Seeing how happy he was, Fan Zhou couldn't help but smile as well.
"Alright, alright, let's go back now."
The two returned to the house and went to bed.
"..."
Liu Ergou's voice suddenly rang out again in the darkness:
"Fan Zhou, what about my name, Liu Ergou?"
Fan Zhou rolled over speechlessly, pulled the blanket over his head, and muttered:
"I'll remember, I'll always call you Liu Ergou."
"That's good!"
Liu Ergou closed his eyes contentedly.