Chapter 29

Without waiting for this person to speak, someone nearby immediately said angrily, "Zhao Xiaoer, you were the one who cursed the most back then. Senior Brother Wang, don’t listen to him. He cursed more harshly than anyone else."

"Zhao Xiaosan, I am your elder brother. You traitor, just wait until we get back to the room, and see how I will beat you!" Zhao Xiaoer's face changed slightly, and he said in a fit of rage.

"I am upholding justice by turning against my kin. Senior Brother Wang, please have mercy and give me an easier task."

"Senior Brother Wang, don’t listen to these brothers. They are the best at playing good cop, bad cop. They have deceived many named disciples. Senior Brother, I am the only one who has never said a bad word about you from beginning to end."

"Senior Brother Wang, I have been sickly since childhood and can’t do heavy work. How about I come to massage your shoulders and back every evening?" A rather attractive female named disciple said pitifully.

Among the named disciples of the Hengyue Sect, females were few, making up less than one-tenth of the total. After all, males had an advantage in the endurance test.

With fewer female named disciples, they were naturally very popular, like stars in the sky. Some even gained the favor of inner disciples due to their natural talents.

At this moment, another female named disciple gave Wang Lin a flirtatious look and said in a coquettish voice, "Senior Brother, Senior Brother Liu never made me do heavy work. I just had to serve him every evening. I am familiar with the sisters among the named disciples. How about I bring them to see you every evening?"

Amidst the various suggestions, everyone was eager to tell Wang Lin that they had not said anything bad. After listening for a while, Wang Lin became impatient and shouted, "Shut up, all of you! What nonsense is this?"

After saying that, he pointed to someone and said, "You, fetch water, twenty barrels a day! If you’re not satisfied, go see the elder!"

The person trembled, stammered for a long time, and seeing the impatience on Wang Lin’s face, immediately put on a smile and nodded hurriedly.

"You, wash clothes, five hundred pounds a day. Remember, if you’re not satisfied, go see the elder!" The person who was pointed at swallowed hard, his vision went black, and he almost fainted. He muttered, "Five hundred pounds, that’s the combined weight of all the clothes in the sect..."

"You, clean the entire sect! Same rule, if you’re not satisfied, go see the elder!"

"You, clean the latrines. If I see a single fly in there, you’ll be living there."

"You, gather herbs, five hundred pounds a day. If you try to fool me with weeds, I’ll break your legs and expel you from the sect! Everyone, remember, if you’re not satisfied, go see the elder!" The others were fine, though the workload was heavy, they all endured it. But the last person who was pointed at, his legs gave out, and he fainted immediately.

All the named disciples showed expressions of pity. Five hundred pounds of herbs, there probably weren’t that many in the entire Hengyue Sect’s forest.

...

Wang Lin, following the faces of those who had mocked him in his memory, pointed to each one and casually assigned tasks. He didn’t feel tired and soon finished assigning all the tasks. He hesitated for a moment, thinking that these tasks were impossible to complete, and the only solution was to go to the elders. But if the senior masters still didn’t care, it would be troublesome. To be safe, he needed to make things even bigger, so everyone would know that keeping him in the miscellaneous affairs department was a huge mistake!

With this in mind, he pointed to a new face and said, "You’re lucky, your task is simple. Just collect gifts for me, keep a list of who sent what and when, and bring it to me once a month. If you’re greedy, I’ll expel you from the sect!"

The person was delighted and immediately knelt down, promising repeatedly that he would never make a mistake or have any discrepancies.

All the named disciples were dumbfounded. Previously, Liu had always been secretive about this, but this Wang Lin was openly demanding bribes.

At this moment, a named disciple suddenly stepped forward, took out three family visitation talismans from his chest, and presented them with both hands, fawning, "Senior Brother Wang, this is a small token of my respect."

Wang Lin grunted in acknowledgment, took the talismans, and put them in his chest. He said, "What task did I assign you just now?"

"Fetch water, twenty large barrels a day!" the person quickly replied, his eyes showing nervousness.

"Five barrels a day!" Wang Lin said slowly.

The person was immediately overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

With this lead, the others immediately became active, ready to step forward. Wang Lin slowly stood up and said, "Everyone, disperse. If you want to give gifts, follow the rules. Write down your current task and the task you want, and give it to the person I designate. We will rotate every ten days!"

With that, he walked back to his room and slammed the door shut.

In the courtyard, everyone sighed and some even showed signs of resentment, cursing Wang Lin in their hearts, but no one dared to curse him directly. They all left with long faces.

After they left, Wang Lin came out of his room and carefully explored the entire miscellaneous affairs department. Finally, he found a storage room behind a secluded door.

The storage room was not large, but after inspecting it, Wang Lin, though not entirely satisfied, decided it was the most secluded place. He cleared out a space, locked the door, and sat down in a meditative posture, entering the dream space.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, Wang Lin had been in charge of the miscellaneous affairs department for two months. In these two months, except for the first few days when he spent time assigning tasks to the named disciples, he devoted all his time to cultivation. He didn’t care about their tasks; if anyone failed to complete them, he would just give a cold snort, and they would immediately offer him talismans.

Wang Lin was very troubled during these two months. His cultivation was often interrupted by the named disciples who occasionally came to see him. He couldn’t understand what the senior masters and elders were thinking. Even after he had gone to such lengths, they still hadn’t replaced him.