Chapter 19

"Laifu, what's the deal with this young man?" Xu Fu looked at Bu Zheng and asked the middle-aged man.

This middle-aged man was actually called Laifu, a rather unique name, and like Xu Fu, it contained the character 'Fu'. This wasn't a name change by Xu Fu; he was originally called this. His surname was Li, Li Laifu.

"He's a new miscellaneous disciple who came this year. I thought you were dead, and I became the supervisor here, only to be disappointed." Li Laifu lay back in the rocking chair, looking quite dejected.

"A miscellaneous disciple here? What's going on with the sect? Are they planning to develop our Alchemy Peak? That doesn't seem right. Young man, did you offend someone?" Xu Fu looked at Bu Zheng and quickly figured out the key point, living up to his reputation as a shrewd old man.

Coming here usually meant no future. In the past, if there weren't restrictions, many more people would have been kicked in here. Now, Bu Zheng could just barely get in because Li Laifu had become an ordinary disciple, and there were no miscellaneous disciples here, so an opening became available.

Even in the worst place, there had to be a miscellaneous disciple, at least one. Yes, because of this system, the Alchemy Peak had a miscellaneous disciple; otherwise, it would have been a different story.

"I might have offended Old Liu. He broke my sword, so I asked him for a new one." Bu Zheng answered honestly.

"..." Xu Fu was taken aback, looking at Bu Zheng, "Was your sword very valuable?"

"Not really, just an ordinary iron sword..."

"..."

"You're amazing!" Li Laifu gave a thumbs up.

"Alright, since you're here, you're my responsibility. No one else can bully you here." Xu Fu looked proud, as if he were a very reliable supervisor.

"Right, no one else can bully you here, but this old man can bully you, and if you get bullied outside, he can't do anything about it." Li Laifu explained Xu Fu's words.

Xu Fu's face turned red, and he coughed a few times, saying, "Well, Laifu, this young man is in your hands now. You'll have an extra helper."

"Hmm, that's right. I can give the heavy work to the new guy. This is great." Li Laifu looked at Bu Zheng with a particularly lecherous gaze, making even the innocent Bu Zheng feel uneasy.

"Sure, I'll take care of it." Bu Zheng felt a bit uneasy but knew it was right. These tasks were what he should do; otherwise, the sect wouldn't just support him for nothing.

"Great, you'll start by refining pills today." Li Laifu said immediately, thinking that he could soon be as relaxed as Old Xu Fu. He suddenly felt less disappointed, and his mood improved.

"I can't!" Bu Zheng replied.

"Can't? No problem, I'll teach you. It's simple, just a few days, and you'll be fine. As long as you can refine pills, that's all that matters. We only care about how many furnaces you refine." Li Laifu felt a bit disappointed but thought it wasn't a big issue. After a while, he could teach Bu Zheng, and the problem would be solved.

In fact, Li Laifu's success rate in refining pills was only slightly better than average. He had no talent for it. If it weren't for practice and his focus on basic pills, his success rate would be very low.

Talent is very important in some things. Even if you work hard, if you don't have the talent, it means you have other talents, and it's a matter of whether you can find them.

Like most people, Li Laifu didn't know what his talent was. His life had passed this way, and he liked this kind of life. Although the Alchemy Peak had no future, it offered excellent rewards, not a fortune, but a decent income.

He could even afford a second wife and a concubine, and this life was enough.

In the Qingyun Sword Sect, there were many people with better alchemy talent than Li Laifu, even better than Xu Fu, but they didn't choose the Alchemy Peak because it had no future.

It was so ridiculous; the future was often the main reason people gave up their talents...

It's not that alchemy had no future, but the Alchemy Peak of the Qingyun Sword Sect had no future!

Because of this, as long as Bu Zheng could succeed in refining pills, he could replace Li Laifu's work of the past twenty years, regardless of his talent or performance. No one would care.

For Bu Zheng, Li Laifu's life was his goal: to marry a wife, have a child, and even marry a couple more...

"Alright!" Bu Zheng agreed without hesitation. He looked forward to Li Laifu teaching him alchemy; it was a skill, and more skills never hurt.

And so, Bu Zheng began learning alchemy, and this was the start of Li Laifu's headaches...

"What? You don't understand?"

"What? You can't do this?"

"Go back and read more... What, you can't read?"

...

Li Laifu looked at Bu Zheng, wondering who had recruited this kid, who couldn't even read. How could he teach him? The most frustrating part was that even when he explained, Bu Zheng still didn't understand some things.

Xu Fu watched the scene between Li Laifu and Bu Zheng with a smug look on his face.

However, Xu Fu was also puzzled. How could the sect recruit someone who couldn't read? But he soon realized that no one would check for literacy; they only checked for talent and bone structure. Normally, martial artists could read to understand their techniques.

This is interesting. Let Laifu deal with the headache. I should go find Old Mu for a game of chess...

Just as Xu Fu was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Young man, what's your name?"

He still didn't know Bu Zheng's name, and as a supervisor, this seemed a bit inappropriate.

"My name is Bu Zheng." Bu Zheng replied immediately.

"Bu Zheng, that name doesn't fit our style. How about we call you Afu?" Xu Fu smiled at Bu Zheng.

"..." Bu Zheng was silent.

"My name is Xu Fu, his name is Laifu, and your name is Afu. That's harmonious." Xu Fu laughed.

"Whatever." Bu Zheng nodded, "Call me whatever you like."

It's just a nickname, and a person can have many nicknames. In a group, there might be one nickname, and Bu Zheng had nicknames among his friends, none of which were very good.

But, don't you think this is confusing?

"Alright, Afu, keep learning. Laifu, make sure you teach him well." Xu Fu's final words were a bit strange, clearly enjoying the situation.