Chapter 135: Politeness

"I heard Zheng Shi-di is going to give a lecture at the Rune Law Hall tomorrow."

Han Qi was walking toward the marketplace when a thin, tall man beside him suddenly spoke.

"Lecture?" Han Qi was curious—he hadn't heard a thing: "Zheng Shi-di giving a lecture?"

"Yes, I heard he's now a lecturer at the Rune Law Hall," the thin man said, relaying the gossip he'd picked up.

"We should go tomorrow to support Zheng Shi-di—just in case something happens."

Han Qi paused, then spoke.

"What do you mean, Senior Brother?"

"You know what the Rune Law Hall is like—it's trouble-prone!" Han Qi said with concern: "Zheng Shi-di's still at Qi Refining. Holding his own against new Qi Refining disciples is no problem, but past lecturers were all Foundation Establishment Senior Brothers—I'm afraid they'll sideline him."

The thin man nodded silently, about to speak again.

A man suddenly passed by him, head bowed, steps hurried—as if afraid lingering too long would draw attention.

He didn't seem to notice Han Qi and the others, and bumped hard into the thin man.

The thin man, caught off guard, stumbled forward and glared up at the man.

"Oh? Li Senior Brother?" the thin man cried, surprise flashing across his face.

This Li Senior Brother wore a coarse cotton Jiu Shan Sect disciple robe, its cuffs worn thin from washing—uncommon even in Jiu Shan Sect.

Most Jiu Shan disciples didn't wash clothes at all.

For one, even if they wanted to, most would just use a Purification Rune—a yellow-grade rune that cleansed them inside and out, like bathing while still wearing your clothes, washing them along the way.

Of course, the clean version.

But more importantly, though low-tier disciples were poor by Jiu Shan standards, they were still rich compared to common folk.

Cotton cloth, which required no spiritual materials to produce, was extremely cheap in the marketplace.

It was common for Jiu Shan disciples to simply throw out dirty robes and buy new ones.

Most disciples, unless they had odd habits, dressed quite neatly.

But Han Qi and the others knew this Li Senior Brother was genuinely poor.

Li Senior Brother looked up at the three, pulled his hands deeper into his sleeves, and his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Li Senior Brother, where are you headed?" Han Qi smiled, bowing politely, his tone warm.

Seeing Han Qi's confident demeanor and the uniform of a marketplace enforcer, Li Senior Brother grew even more self-conscious, lowering his eyes: "I... I'm going to find some work in the marketplace."

"Then you picked a great day!"

Han Qi laughed.

"A great day?"

"Today, the marketplace is packed with outside cultivators—they're willing to spend! If you work the docks all day, you'll earn two or three times your usual wage."

"Really?" Li Senior Brother, rarely venturing out, didn't know how much the marketplace had changed: "Then... I'll be off, Senior Brothers."

"Take your time, don't rush!" Han Qi called after him.

Watching him walk away, the thin man sighed: "Senior Brother, how did Li Senior Brother end up like this?"

Han Qi fell silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Among the Senior Brothers we originally followed, Li Senior Brother had the best temperament—he was considerate... His talent was decent too, but he kept obsessing over rune seals."

"I heard his father was also from Jiu Shan Sect... and had some connection to Zhang Shijie's Master?"

The thin man mused.

"Yes, Li Senior Brother's father was a Foundation Establishment cultivator—they'd always been under Zhang Shijie's lineage," Han Qi explained: "But Li Senior Brother's father died in an explosion caused by a rune seal—and took several other disciples with him. That's how the family fell. I never expected Li Senior Brother would get hooked on it too—probably spent every last coin on it."

Watching Li Senior Brother's bowed figure vanish into the marketplace, Han Qi couldn't help but sigh.

They'd originally followed Li Senior Brother—truthfully, aside from being poor, life had been quite pleasant.

Li Senior Brother had a good temper, rarely went out, and never caused trouble.

He'd just have them run errands.

Later, as his fortunes worsened, he could no longer afford to support the three of them.

But they'd parted amicably.

Now that his own life had improved slightly, he'd grown softer—seeing Li Senior Brother sink further into poverty, he felt a pity he'd never felt before.

Li Senior Brother walked through the marketplace, head down, avoiding eye contact.

He knew that if he looked up, he'd see unfriendly glares—six out of ten rune-sellers in the marketplace disliked him.

Since his father's death, they'd turned his father and him into a joke.

Li Senior Brother knew he wouldn't find work in the marketplace.

Not as a shop assistant, not as a bookkeeper, not even as a simple laborer hauling goods.

Any Jiu Shan disciple who knew him wouldn't hire him.

Those who didn't know him learned quickly from others.

Over time, no Jiu Shan disciple in the marketplace would employ him.

But he had a way to earn money—go to the docks and find outside disciples who didn't know him.

Guide them, run errands—enough to cover basic needs.

He trudged through the marketplace to the docks, and realized Han Qi and the others were right—the docks were swarming with outside cultivators.

Soon, a middle-aged cultivator who looked wealthy hired him to show him around Jiu Shan Sect.

As they walked, the middle-aged man asked questions—clearly curious about many things in Jiu Shan.

"Young Master, do you know who proposed the free shuttle boats for Jiu Shan Sect?"

He asked Li Senior Brother.

Li Senior Brother paused—he'd heard of this before. Living by the docks, the shuttle boats were big news.

"I think... Zheng Shi-di?"

"Zheng Fa?"

To his surprise, the cultivator immediately named Zheng Fa.

Li Senior Brother froze, his expression turning wary.

He wasn't stupid—he could tell this man wasn't here to sightsee, but to probe.

Seeing his expression, the man admitted frankly: "To be honest, I'm in charge of the marketplace for Qian He Sect nearby. Your marketplace is thriving, and I came to learn."

"Honestly, after watching so long, your free shuttle boats are something we could adopt," the middle-aged man sighed: "But your... theater... ah."

"Theater?"

This was a blind spot for Li Senior Brother—he looked confused, utterly unfamiliar with the term.

"You don't know what theater is? It's Zheng Fa's doing!" the middle-aged cultivator said, as if incredulous, pointing to a distant circular amphitheater: "Inside there—it's amazing!"

He sounded like a Jiu Shan native, pushing it like a sales pitch: "I tell you, I came just to watch once... but after watching, I wanted to see it again! I'm coming back next month!"

Li Senior Brother stared, then murmured: "Really that good?"

"Listen, Young Master," the middle-aged cultivator said with envy: "I may run the Qian He marketplace now, and I'm someone important—but when I think of how easily you can watch theater, with internal tickets... I truly regret not joining Jiu Shan Sect back then!"

"... " Li Senior Brother twitched his lips, suddenly feeling his worn, faded Jiu Shan robe had gained value.

For a moment, he felt a strange pride.

"I'd say Jiu Shan was stronger than Qian He before—but ordinary disciples' lives were similar! It's Zheng Fa—he came and created all these new things... I think he's the kind of person who loves trying new things, and actually makes them work!"

At parting, the middle-aged cultivator sighed again to Li Senior Brother.

On his way back, Li Senior Brother couldn't stop turning those words over in his mind.

The more he thought, the stronger the urge grew.

Zheng Fa.

Loves new things.

He rushed into the marketplace and found Han Qi and the others.

"I heard you're now under Zheng Shi-di?"

"Yes."

Seeing Li Senior Brother's eager face, Han Qi and the others were baffled.

"Then, could you three introduce me to him?"

Li Senior Brother said bluntly.

The next morning, Zheng Fa arrived at the Rune Law Hall.

As he stepped through the courtyard gate, he felt a pang of reflection—

He'd only been here three times before.

All three times, as a new disciple.

Now, this fourth time, he was the lecturer—in less than half a year since enrollment, Zhang Shijie told me to be headmaster—this felt absurd.

The students hadn't arrived yet, but the lecturers had.

And they'd come in droves—it was clear many had come because of him.

A Qi Refining newcomer, enrolled for less than half a year, becoming a lecturer at the Rune Law Hall—this was undeniably attention-grabbing.

Looking at the lecturers watching him, Zheng Fa bowed deeply, posture humble: "This junior has no experience as a lecturer. If I make any mistakes, please, Senior Brothers, guide me."

"Nonsense! Your rune talent is legendary!"

"No need for guidance—let's exchange insights!"

"We senior brothers may well need to learn from you!"

These senior brothers behaved more and more politely, even somewhat humbly.

Zheng Fa felt even more embarrassed and continued humbly: "I don't fully understand the rules of the Spirit Character Hall; if I've offended anyone, I humbly ask all senior brothers to forgive me…"

"We're all fellow disciples of the same sect—why talk about rules?"

Zheng Fa stood up and looked at these friendly, courteous senior brothers, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

All that talk about disputes in the Spirit Character Hall, about the two factions being like water and fire!

All that talk about senior brothers despising me for my low Qi Refining cultivation and rising too fast?

It's all slander from outside enemies!

Just look at this atmosphere!

Isn't it excellent?

Behind him, Zhang Shijie watched this scene of fraternal harmony, nodded, and gave a quiet, self-effacing smile as she slowly walked out of the Spirit Character Hall.

Like a random passing thigh.

…

Not long after, the disciples come to listen to the Character Discourse began to arrive.

Zheng Fa found an empty room and waited for the disciples to come.

On the surface, the Spirit Character Hall's rule was that students chose their own instructors—anyone could attend whomever they liked, with no forced assignments.

But in reality, there were usually only two instructors present—one from each faction—so unless a student was rebellious enough to defy their master and betray the sect, they had little choice.

Today, Zheng Fa represented the faction led by Zhang Shijie.

What Zheng Fa hadn't expected was that the first to enter were several Character Discourse Hall instructors—including one from Pang Shu's faction.

Clearly, Zhang Shijie could make them courteous, but not truly respectful.