Blacksmith Yang's saber was merely a replica of a standard military weapon, and it was forged quite crudely. A close inspection of the blade revealed tiny pits and depressions on its surface.
For Shen Xiu, however, it would do well enough as a beginner's weapon.
In the courtyard of the martial hall, he quickly grew accustomed to the weight of the broadsword. As he swung it, flashes of light radiated outward and a biting chill filled the air, already carrying a fierce and sharp edge.
Over the last few days, Shen Xiu adjusted his mental state to its absolute peak, then set off for the Outer Affairs Hall of Jínhóng Martial Hall.
This was the place where the official disciples of the martial hall usually went to accept tasks and assignments.
At this moment, countless official disciples were bustling in and out.
Shen Xiu could see that one of the walls was completely covered with countless wooden plaques, their surfaces densely inscribed with small characters detailing the information for various tasks.
These tasks were specially prepared for disciples who had already completed three designated assignments.
Jínhóng Martial Hall set a lower limit, but no upper limit. Any disciple who wished to take on extra work was free to do so, provided they were confident in their ability to complete it.
No one would try to stop them; after all, the more tasks the disciples completed, the greater the revenue for the martial hall.
As for the mandatory tasks required of official disciples for their first three months, those had to be collected directly from the service counter.
"What business do you have?"
Behind the service counter, a young female administrator sat with her head lowered, reading a popular storybook. Hearing footsteps, she didn't even raise her head as she asked in a listless tone.
"I've come to collect my three hall assignments."
The female administrator muttered something under her breath as she flipped the storybook shut and looked up. Her expression instantly froze, her mouth fell open, and she drew in a sharp breath.
Hiss—
Just looking at this young man.
He really was striking.
He possessed sword-like eyebrows, star-like eyes, and a gaze as deep as the sea!
Looking closer.
He radiated heroism and vigor, noble and imposing!
She had seen plenty of official disciples in the martial hall—fat ones, thin ones, old ones, young ones—most of whom were crude, muscle-bound fellows with rough personalities. She had never laid eyes on anyone so handsome.
At that very moment, the lonely female administrator, who had been knocking about Jínhóng Martial Hall for several years, arched her brows and beamed with joy.
"Could this junior brother have just been promoted to an official disciple? Is this your first time coming to pick up new disciple tasks? Hand me your token, and I'll register you and look up some assignments."
The female administrator's sudden shift in attitude left Shen Xiu feeling rather helpless.
He could only sigh that good looks were a form of justice, though this did speed things up considerably, so he supposed there were some perks to it.
Shen Xiu nodded. "It's my first time here."
As he spoke, he fished out the token at his waist and handed it to the female administrator.
"Which section are you from, little junior brother? Did you get promoted from being a registered disciple? I haven't seen you around before. Now that you've finally become an official disciple, you must work hard from now on."
The young female administrator took the token to log his information while firing off a continuous stream of questions.
After finishing the registration, she turned around, pulled a piece of parchment from a drawer, and handed it to him. Finally, she couldn't resist asking his age and whether he was betrothed.
Cold sweat beaded on Shen Xiu's forehead as he answered her questions one by one.
Yet, when the female administrator heard that he had been promoted from a menial laborer disciple, he distinctly sensed a hint of disappointment in her tone.
Shen Xiu had no time to worry about other matters; he unfolded the parchment the female administrator had given him.
The head of Lǐ Family Village in Guiyan Town reported that a large wild boar had seemingly appeared near their medicinal herb fields, causing no small amount of damage to the village's agricultural investments.
After multiple unsuccessful attempts to drive it away,
they had submitted this task to Jínhóng Martial Hall in Taixi City, hoping that a martial hall disciple would be able to track down the beast and slay it.
...
The parchment contained details similar to this, along with a mention of a ten-liang silver reward.
However, after reading it, Shen Xiu furrowed his brows slightly.
For a village of that size to be unable to handle a single wild boar seemed rather strange no matter how one looked at it.
As if sensing Shen Xiu's doubt, the female administrator beside him said with a smile, "Don't underestimate this wild boar. Judging from the information coming out of Lǐ Family Village, it's very likely that it has been tainted by demonic Qi and mutated."
Looking over the information, Shen Xiu gained some understanding.
A large village certainly wouldn't lack strong-bodied men or experienced hunters.
If so many people had failed to surround and hunt down the wild boar, the creature must have possessed some unusual traits.
"Thank you for the warning, little senior sister."
Before leaving, Shen Xiu did not forget to express his gratitude. Since the female administrator had previously been a disciple of the hall, he smoothly addressed her as little senior sister.
Upon hearing this, the female administrator beamed with delight.
As she watched Shen Xiu walk away, the female administrator continued to gaze wistfully at his retreating figure until he finally vanished from sight.
Only then did she let out a sigh.
"He's polite and good-looking, but what a pity. A pity he's a bit too young, and on top of that, he was promoted from a menial laborer disciple..."
Upon seeing this disciple, in that brief span of time she had even thought of names for their children, yet the other party turned out to be someone promoted from a menial rank.
What did a menial laborer disciple represent? It represented someone who only took that path because they had no money and no way out.
As for those registered disciples who paid money to enter and study martial arts, any one of them came from a family with a bit of windfall wealth, coming in every few months or year.
After claiming the task, returning to his quarters to prepare his weapons and protective gear, and mapping out a plan, Shen Xiu left the martial hall, exited Taixi City, and headed all the way east.
Continuing east for over twenty kilometers, he soon arrived at Guiyan Town. Locating Lǐ Family Village within the town, he stated his identity, and someone immediately welcomed him inside.
The person who came out was the head of Lǐ Family Village, a short, slightly stout, dark-skinned middle-aged man.
Seeing Shen Xiu dressed in the attire of a Jínhóng Martial Hall disciple, he stepped forward to greet him with a face full of smiles.
"Are you a brother from Jínhóng Martial Hall? I am Lǐ Yongnian, the head of Lǐ Family Village. I have already prepared wine and food, so I must ask this brother to rest for a moment."
Shen Xiu understood that the other party was being so courteous entirely because of the backing provided by the Jínhóng Martial Hall uniform he wore.
After eating a simple meal, Shen Xiu began to discuss the matter of the strange wild boar with the village steward and several men who had seen the beast's tracks.
Through a brief conversation, Shen Xiu learned the sequence of events. This mutated wild boar had apparently strayed down from the nearby mountain peaks and wild forests a few days ago.
Having loitered around Lǐ Family Village for several days without finding enough food, it had begun ravaging the medicinal herbs planted in the village's fields.
The losses were indeed quite heavy.
The people of Lǐ Family Village had not lacked for solutions; they had previously hired several hunters and a number of mighty, robust men to hunt down the wild boar.
Only the outcome had been somewhat unexpected. The wild boar possessed exceptionally tough hide and flesh; not only had they failed to trap it, but it had even injured two of their men.
Traps and every other method imaginable had been tried. Sometimes the wild boar would fall into a trap, but it always managed to break free and escape.
If there had been skilled experts of high caliber, they might have been able to pin it down, but unfortunately, the two Body Tempering Realm experts from his village had recently been sent to Shanglin City to deliver medicine.
There was no way they could return in a short time.
Left with no other options, Village Head Lǐ had no choice but to contact Jínhóng Martial Hall in Taixi City.
"When does this wild boar usually appear?"
While inspecting the tracks left behind by the wild boar in the fields, Shen Xiu turned his head to ask the robust man standing beside him.
This robust man was also one of the participants who had taken part in the hunt for the wild boar and had seen the creature with his own eyes.
"This wild boar rarely shows up during the day. It usually comes around every couple of days after dark."
The robust man first recalled the details before answering.
"Then we'll come back after dark."
Shen Xiu tossed away the clump of dirt in his hand and made his decision.