Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Enter!
Unlike the identical stone dormitories that housed most outer sect disciple.
Bang Fo’s residence was something else entirely—a sprawling private estate walled off from its neighbors, with a sloped tile roof, its own courtyard garden visible over the perimeter wall, and twin stone lanterns flanking a wooden gate carved with intricate patterns of coiling serpents.
It was a house. Not just a simple room, a house!
Shen Yuan silently reassessed the standing on Bang Fo in the sect before walking up to the front gates.
Knock!
A few moments later, footsteps came from inside.
The gate slowly creaked open, revealing a young servant girl around his age. She looked rather ordinary, her face carrying a tired expression as if she had not slept well for a long time. Her robes bore the same insignia as the other servants assigned to this estate.
Her eyes briefly swept over Shen Yuan, carefully sizing him up.
"New attendant?" she asked.
Shen Yuan nodded.
"Yes."
"I was instructed to report before midnight."
The servant girl simply stepped aside without asking anything else.
"Come in."
"Senior Brother Bang Fo is still in his study."
"He’ll summon you when he’s ready."
Shen Yuan quietly walked inside.
The moment he stepped through the entrance, his eyes swept across the entire estate.
Contrary to what he had expected...
The residence wasn’t empty.
Servants could be seen throughout the spacious courtyard, each occupied with a different task.
There were far more people than Shen Yuan had imagined a single Inner Disciple would require.
Near a stone table, a young servant continuously ground spiritual herbs into fine powder using a stone mortar. Sweat covered his forehead despite the cool evening breeze.
Not far away, another servant carefully carried stacks of blank talisman paper into one of the side rooms, handling every sheet with extreme care as though even the slightest crease would cost him his life.
Near the edge of the courtyard, an older servant knelt beside a small garden.
The plants growing there immediately caught Shen Yuan’s attention.
Their leaves were a deep violet color, unlike any ordinary medicinal herb.
A faint, almost imperceptible smell drifted from them.
Shen Yuan merely glanced at them once before looking away.
’Poison herbs.’
He silently stored the information away.
Further inside the residence, through a half-open doorway, another servant sat before a wooden desk.
His brush moved rapidly across sheets of parchment without stopping even once.
Rows upon rows of neatly written characters quickly filled the pages.
A few moments later, footsteps came from inside.
The gate slowly creaked open, revealing a young servant girl around his age. She looked rather ordinary, her face carrying a tired expression as if she had not slept well for a long time. Her robes bore the same insignia as the other servants assigned to this estate.
Her eyes briefly swept over Shen Yuan, carefully sizing him up.
"New attendant?" she asked.
Shen Yuan nodded.
"Yes."
"I was instructed to report before midnight."
The servant girl simply stepped aside without asking anything else.
"Come in."
"Senior Brother Bang Fo is still in his study."
"He’ll summon you when he’s ready."
Shen Yuan quietly walked inside.
The moment he stepped through the entrance, his eyes swept across the entire estate.
Contrary to what he had expected...
The residence wasn’t empty.
Servants could be seen throughout the spacious courtyard, each occupied with a different task.
There were far more people than Shen Yuan had imagined a single Inner Disciple would require.
Near a stone table, a young servant continuously ground spiritual herbs into fine powder using a stone mortar. Sweat covered his forehead despite the cool evening breeze.
Not far away, another servant carefully carried stacks of blank talisman paper into one of the side rooms, handling every sheet with extreme care as though even the slightest crease would cost him his life.
Near the edge of the courtyard, an older servant knelt beside a small garden.
The plants growing there immediately caught Shen Yuan’s attention.
Their leaves were a deep violet color, unlike any ordinary medicinal herb.
A faint, almost imperceptible smell drifted from them.
Shen Yuan merely glanced at them once before looking away.
’Poison herbs.’
He silently stored the information away.
Further inside the residence, through a half-open doorway, another servant sat before a wooden desk.
His brush moved rapidly across sheets of parchment without stopping even once.
Rows upon rows of neatly written characters quickly filled the pages.
Each continued working in complete silence, focused entirely on their own responsibilities.
The entire residence felt strangely quiet.
Shen Yuan silently counted them. Including the servant girl standing beside him...
There were five servants and each one had their own duty.
’Seven attendants died before me...’
His silver eyes calmly swept across the courtyard once more.
’Yet this estate continues to function as though nothing ever happened.’
Not a single trace remained of those who had died.
No one spoke of them.
No one seemed to remember them.
It was as if they had never existed.
The servant girl pointed toward a narrow wooden bench against one side of the courtyard.
"You can wait there."
"The entrance formation informs Senior Brother Bang Fo whenever someone enters the estate."
"He already knows you’ve arrived."
"When he’s finished with his work, someone will come for you."
Shen Yuan nodded.
"I understand."
He walked over and quietly sat down.
His hands rested naturally on his lap.
His posture was relaxed.
From the outside...
He looked like nothing more than an obedient servant patiently waiting for his master’s summons.
But on the inside...
His mind never stopped working. He started gathering information he could see, find exists and windows he could use to run away.
The fluctuations of the defensive formations.
It did not take long before the servant girl returned.
She stopped a few steps away from him.
"Master Bang Fo will see you now."
Shen Yuan stood up without delay.
"This way."
She led him through the courtyard and deeper into the estate.
The further they walked, the quieter everything became.
The buildings here were larger and far more elegant than those near the entrance.
Every corridor was supported by polished wooden pillars carved with serpents winding around bamboo stalks.
The air carried a faint medicinal fragrance.
Mixed within it...
Was another smell.
One Shen Yuan couldn’t immediately identify.
It wasn’t unpleasant.
Yet it made him instinctively more alert.
Eventually, they stopped before a pair of wooden doors.
The servant girl lowered her head.
"Master, The new attendant has arrived."
A calm voice drifted from inside.
"Bring him in."
The servant girl slowly pushed open the doors before stepping aside.
"You may enter."
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