To the Village Chief’s Residence
The guard took a glance at Leng San and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, young man. It’s my duty to guard the village. I can’t leave my post to help you. I’m very sorry for the loss of your family. The thieves in the forest are cruel and hide themselves very well. Even the officials couldn’t locate their hideouts. I might not be able to help your dad, but I’ll cut down any thief who dares to pursue you!!”
Leng San slightly frowned.
‘My lie turned out to be the truth. I must get more information from him.’
“Excuse me, where exactly is this place? I’ve been traveling with my family for more than a month, but I’ve never asked anyone about the location.”
“This is the Floating Cloud Village, a middle-sized one. We are located to the north of the Black Tortoise Continent. The village chief is the fourth son of the governor of the Indigo Cloud City. He decided to settle down in this village,” the guard replied.
Leng San was lost in thought for a moment before repeating after the guard, “Indigo Cloud City?”
“Yes, the Indigo Cloud City is around forty li to the east... It is one of the seven major cities of the Black Tortoise Continent.”
“Thank you elder, for answering my question. Would I cause you any trouble if I were to work in this village in exchange for food and a bed? I’m all alone. Please give a young one some mercy.”
Leng San’s face turned grim once again. The expression of his eyes was desperate but filled with hope. He wanted more information from the guard but chose to humbly beg for shelter and food instead to cast off suspicion. In addition, his pitifully weak qi helped convince the guard to accept his plea.
“Alright, I offer my condolences to you. I’ll write an endorsement letter to the warden of the village chief’s residence who I’m close with to find you some work in exchange for food and shelter. But remember, do not cause any trouble in the village, or else I’ll kick you out immediately!!”
Leng San cupped his hand and slightly bowed.
“Thank you very much, elder. At the moment, I have nothing to offer you, but I’ll never forget your kindness.”
The guard smiled. He went into the station and came back after a while.
“My name is Li Xun. I lead the soldiers who are in charge of guarding the south gate. If you have any problem, come find me here. This is the endorsement letter. Go to the largest residence in the village and ask the guard for permission to meet Chun Jiangtu. Then give him the letter. We are close friends.”
Leng San accepted the letter, cupped his hands, and bowed as a sign of gratitude. He entered the village and dispersed his Dragon’s Sense while taking notes of residences in the village. Despite being called a village, it was quite large. He located around three hundred households and five hundred villagers. The qi of villagers was mostly violet, ranging from the low levels to the high levels (low levels are one to three, middle levels are four to six, high levels are seven to nine). After a while, he discovered a large residence. A giant sign, “Floating Cloud” was installed above the entrance. Two guards with high-level violet qi were guarding the place.
“I have an endorsement letter from Elder Li Xun to deliver to Elder Chun Jiangtu. Is this the residence of the village chief?”
Leng San’s humbleness easily convinced the two guards. One of the guards went into the residence. The other one approached Leng San.
“You’re right, wait here, young man. We will call the warden of the residence for you.”
After a while, two men appeared from the residence. One of the two men was the guard that went in earlier. The other person who had a long beard was an elder at around the age of fifty. He was a tall and slim man, dressed in a blue robe. According to Leng San’s initial detection, the man’s qi was at the middle level of the indigo stage.
“I’m Chun Jiangtu. What news about my friend did you bring to me?”
Leng San cupped his hands and slightly bowed before handing over the letter to Chun Jiangtu.
“Elder Li hopes to place this boy in your care. This is the letter from Elder Li.”
Chun Jiangtu’s brows knitted together. He then read the letter.
“Hmm...what a misfortune. You’ve come at the right time. My residence needs additional workers. From now on you’ll stay at this residence. Your job is to tend the gardens within the village chief’s residence in exchange for food and shelter, along with one silver coin per day of work. Follow me, if you accept the conditions.”
‘1 silver coin per day. The pay for residential labor isn’t much different from the past. So this means that the value of money hasn’t changed that much. At least, this is much better than being a beggar. Not a bad idea to stay here for a while.’
One hundred copper coins are equivalent to one silver coin. One hundred silver coins are equivalent to one gold coin. One piece of mantou (Chinese steamed bun) costs ten copper coins. This was a common monetary system throughout the four continents. Leng San quickly assessed the condition, cupped his hand, and bowed to the two guards before taking off to follow Chun Jiangtu into the residence.