Chapter 22

The bamboo token, two fingers wide and three inches long, was coated with black lacquer. On it, in regular script, were written the words “Fifteen days of duty in the Library,” with a cloud and fire seal at the bottom, indicating it was a task assignment from the Qingyun Hall.

Disciples of the Martial Academy who accepted tasks from the Qingyun Hall would all receive such a bamboo token. After completing the task, they would return it to the Qingyun Hall to receive their rewards, making it a very important voucher.

The Qingyun Hall would also proactively assign tasks to disciples, delivered by the attendants.

However, such tasks were usually very important and rarely assigned to new students. At least, in the two years that Wei Changfeng's previous self had been at the Martial Academy, he had never heard of such a thing.

He had only been at the Martial Academy for three or four days, and the Qingyun Hall was already assigning him a task—this was definitely abnormal!

Wei Changfeng frowned and asked, "Senior Brother, I am a new student. Why is the Qingyun Hall assigning me a duty task?"

The attendant disciple coldly replied, "This task was assigned from above. How would I know the reason? If you have any questions, go to the Qingyun Hall and ask the senior master yourself!"

The Martial Academy had a clear hierarchy, with the chief of the academy and the senior masters at the top, and the attendants and martial instructors below. Disciples were also divided into different ranks, with upper academy disciples and lower academy disciples being worlds apart.

An attendant disciple's status was definitely much higher than that of a new student like Wei Changfeng, so he spoke without any courtesy.

But Wei Changfeng was very clear that someone was trying to trip him up and make things difficult for him!

Fifteen days of duty in the Library meant that for half a month, he would not be able to focus on cultivating martial arts and improving his strength. Any disciple who had been at the Jingyun Martial Academy for a year or two knew how troublesome the work in the Library was!

The senior master in charge of the Library was named Ouyang Feng. It was said that he had been responsible for guarding the Library for several decades and was a temperamental and irritable old man. No disciple in the Library had escaped his harsh treatment.

Therefore, the disciples in the Martial Academy secretly called him the "Mad Elder" and avoided the Library at all costs unless absolutely necessary!

Moreover, the duty task in the Library offered little reward, and one had to be constantly cautious of being injured by the unpredictable Mad Elder. Even if the Martial Academy would provide compensation, it would still be a loss.

"What are you standing there for? Are you taking this task or not?"

Wei Changfeng was still hesitating when the attendant disciple became extremely impatient and shouted, "I need to report back!"

By this time, a crowd of disciples had gathered near the entrance of the Martial Hall, whispering and pointing at Wei Changfeng, mostly out of schadenfreude.

"That's Wei Changfeng!"

"Ah? I heard he's going to fight a life-or-death match with Senior Brother Hao Xiong?"

"He's a new student, overestimating his abilities and courting death. Just wait and see the show!"

"That seems to be a senior brother from the Qingyun Hall!"

"I just heard that the Qingyun Hall is assigning Wei Changfeng to fifteen days of duty in the Library."

"Ha ha ha, he's really in for it!"

Wei Changfeng ignored their cold remarks. His mind raced, and he resolutely reached out to take the task token.

"Disciple obeys the order!"

Seeing that Wei Changfeng understood the situation, the attendant disciple nodded in satisfaction. "That's right. Go to the Library now. The senior master is waiting for you. If you delay, you'll be in trouble!"

With that, he turned and left with a haughty demeanor.

Too much bullying!

A surge of anger rose in Wei Changfeng's heart, but he held the task token in silence.

Since his rebirth, he had always intended to keep a low profile and avoid trouble.

But trouble kept coming to him, and now, at a critical moment, someone was trying to harm him in secret.

This was truly intolerable.

The more his anger grew, the calmer Wei Changfeng appeared, like a rock sealing in a volcano.

He did not want to be mocked here, so he put away the task token and walked toward the Library.

The disciples who were in his way moved aside, looking at him with various expressions—mockery, disdain, sympathy, and more.

As he walked, Wei Changfeng had already made up his mind.

He could have refused the task, but it would have been recorded by the Qingyun Hall, and they would have assigned other tasks to him, ensuring he would not have a moment's peace.

The reason was most likely related to his life-or-death match with Hao Xiong.

Earlier, Senior Brother Li had told Wei Changfeng that someone had opened a betting pool for the match.

He had also suggested that Wei Changfeng could seek help from Dongfang Lingtian if he had any trouble.

The trouble had indeed come!

Understanding the cause, Wei Changfeng accepted the task. If he kept refusing the Qingyun Hall's assignments, he would be reported to the disciplinary hall and possibly expelled from the Martial Academy.

Then, how would he have the ability to fight the life-or-death match with Hao Xiong?

Most importantly, the Library might not be a dragon's lair or a tiger's den!

The Library of the Jingyun Martial Academy was a seven-story tower located between the lower and upper academies, near the foot of the mountain, visible from a distance.

The Library housed a vast collection of martial arts manuals and techniques accumulated over hundreds of years, a heavily guarded area. Disciples could only enter with permission to exchange or purchase manuals.

Lower academy disciples could only go up to the second floor, while upper academy disciples could access the third and fourth floors. The higher the floor, the higher the quality of the manuals, and the higher the cost of exchange.

In addition to ordinary attendants, there were also copyists in the Library, responsible for transcribing books. Most of what ordinary disciples could exchange were these handwritten copies.

Due to the heavy workload, the Library often lacked personnel, so the Martial Academy frequently assigned lower academy disciples to serve for a period to maintain operations.

The reason for this was closely related to the notorious "Mad Elder" Ouyang Feng!

After showing his task token to the martial instructor responsible for guarding the Library, Wei Changfeng stepped into the first floor of the Library under the sympathetic gaze of the instructor.

...

At the same time, in Apricot Flower Lane, Jingyun City.

A gaunt, black-faced giant, supported by two companions, staggered into the "Hui Chun Hall" clinic.

Behind them, a beautiful and sorrowful young woman followed closely.

Inside the Hui Chun Hall, many people were waiting patiently for a tall, thin physician to diagnose them.

The young woman rushed to the physician's side and knelt down, pleading, "Master Alchemist, please save my husband. He is about to die!"

"Ah!"

As if to confirm the young woman's words, the black-faced giant, supported by his companions, spat out a mouthful of black, foul-smelling blood, which splattered on the ground.

The other patients were terrified and quickly moved away, afraid of being contaminated.

The two companions quickly helped the black-faced giant sit on a wooden bench. He hung his head, eyes half-closed, breathing faintly, clearly in a critical condition.

The tall, thin alchemist frowned and quickly walked over.

He lifted the black-faced giant's head, examined his eyes, and then took his pulse.

After a moment, the alchemist released his wrist and asked, "Did you take the medicine I prescribed yesterday?"

The young woman replied sadly, "He took it. He started vomiting blood this morning. I had no choice, so I asked people to bring him here quickly. Please save him, Master Alchemist!"

The tall, thin alchemist's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

He coughed and said, "Don't thank me yet. Your husband's poison has reached his heart and lungs. There is no saving him!"

The last three words struck the young woman like a bolt of lightning, leaving her stunned.

No saving him!

After a while, she regained her senses and asked in a trembling voice, "Master Alchemist, didn't you say yesterday that you could definitely cure him? Why is it like this now?"

The tall, thin alchemist frowned, a bit displeased, and replied, "His poisoning is too deep, and I didn't realize it. As the saying goes, medicine can only treat curable diseases. I suggest you prepare for his funeral."

The young woman's face turned deathly pale, and the last glimmer of hope was extinguished, leaving her eyes hollow and terrifying. She stared blankly at the tall, thin alchemist, unable to speak.

The tall, thin alchemist involuntarily took a step back. He looked at the other patients and, after a moment's hesitation, said, "I have a pill here. Have him take it; it should help him last another day or two."

He took a pill from a medicine box and handed it to the young woman, feeling a pang of regret.

This life-prolonging pill was made from high-quality herbs and was very expensive.

If he hadn't misdiagnosed the condition and feared it would affect his reputation, he would never have given it away for free.

A glimmer of hope rekindled in the young woman's eyes. She took the pill and quickly fed it to her husband.

The black-faced giant swallowed the pill with difficulty and felt a bit better.

He grabbed his wife's hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Take... take me to the Jingyun Martial Academy... to find Wei Changfeng. He can save me!"

The tall, thin alchemist heard clearly and sneered, "In Jingyun City, who can cure a patient that I, Hu Wanchun, cannot? Who is Wei Changfeng? The Jingyun Martial Academy... it's ridiculous!"

But the young woman no longer trusted him. She asked her companions to help her support her husband and immediately left the Hui Chun Hall.

The tall, thin alchemist watched them leave and coldly snorted.

---

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