Chapter 5: Country Bred

The day for selecting attendants came quickly; three days after the news reached the village, an ox cart arrived to take Zheng Fa to the Zhao residence.

"I want to go to the city too!" Little sister Zheng Shan clung to Zheng Fa's sleeve, whining.

The Zhao family's main mansion stood within the inner city of Jingzhou; even Zheng Fa had never been there, let alone his six-year-old sister Zheng Shan.

"Shan'er!" Before Zheng Fa could speak, his mother had already pinched her small ear and scolded: "Your brother's going to the main residence—dozens are watching. This isn't a trip for fun. Are you going to cause trouble again?"

Watching his little sister, ears red and eyes glistening with tears, Zheng Fa patted her round head: "If I have time, I'll bring you something tasty from the city."

……

"Mother, I'm leaving."

Standing beside the ox cart, Zheng Fa bid farewell to his mother.

His mother said nothing, only pulled out a clean, coarse cloth bundle, untied it, and revealed rice cakes and a few slices of cured meat. She handed them to the driver: "My lord, you've had a long journey. I made some food—nothing fancy, but it'll help you along the way."

The old driver removed his pipe from his mouth and accepted it with a smile.

Only when he took the bundle did his mother beg: "This child has never been to the city. He's young—please look after him, and don't let him offend any nobles."

"No problem," the old man said, glancing at Zheng Fa. "This boy looks obedient. He won't cause trouble. Might even land himself a future."

His mother looked at Zheng Fa and whispered: "I don't expect any future for him—only that he returns home safe and sound…"

……

The ox cart moved farther from Zheng Fa's home; turning back, he could still see his mother and little sister watching from afar.

"Hold on tight!"

Suddenly, the driver shouted from the front, cracking his black whip through the air into the ox's haunches.

The cart lurched forward; Zheng Fa, unprepared, toppled backward and barely steadied himself by gripping the side rail.

Wind howled past his ears; the rice fields beside the cart blurred by in a flash.

The ox cart's speed surprised Zheng Fa.

He couldn't estimate its exact speed, but it felt no slower than the buses he'd ridden in his other world.

The cart itself was ordinary—a common vegetable cart, wooden-planked beneath, with railings on both sides.

But the ox pulling it was anything but ordinary—it differed from any he'd seen before, its body massive, nearly three to four meters long.

Most striking was the fleshy tumor on its spine; as it ran, the blood vessels on the tumor bulged visibly, revealing the surging crimson blood within.

Even more astonishing was how such a huge beast could move so swiftly, yet its hooves touched the ground in utter silence, smooth and steady—as if riding the wind itself.

"Surprised?" the driver laughed heartily.

"This ox?"

"This isn't an ordinary ox. It's called a Danzhu Ox. Rumor says it carries a trace of spirit beast blood—traveling a thousand li a day is no challenge! And this treasure of an ox? Not only fast, but rock-steady!"

"Spirit beast? Just a trace of blood, and it's this extraordinary…"

"Our Zhao family isn't ordinary. In all of Jingzhou, few own an ox like this!"

"The Zhao family is this powerful?"

"Powerful? It's more than that! Our Zhao family has immortals!" The driver's voice swelled with pride: "Since our Xuehe Laozu settled in Jingzhou a thousand years ago, every generation of our family has produced someone who entered an immortal sect and gained divine fortune!"

"Immortal sect? I've always heard the Zhao family had immortal backing—was it true?"

Zheng Fa's spirits lifted. After all, he'd grown up in a village; he might know less about this world than his other one.

Though he'd heard many tales of immortals before, none had been stated with such certainty as this driver's.

"Of the three great families in Jingzhou, which one doesn't have immortal backing?" The driver pulled out a slice of cured meat, chewed it, and glanced at him. "You want divine fortune?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

"For the sake of this cured meat, I'll give you some honest advice: that's not something for someone like you to dream of. I've spent half my life in the Zhao household—I've never even seen a single strand of an immortal's hair."

Zheng Fa fell silent, lips pressed tight. Only the crack of the whip broke the silence of the journey.

At noon, the ox cart stopped before another Zhao family farmstead, where a boy about Zheng Fa's age boarded.

The moment he saw Zheng Fa, his expression turned uneasy, tinged with hostility: "You're also going to be Seventh Young Master's attendant?"

Before Zheng Fa could answer, the driver lazily spoke: "Not just you two. Nearly dozens of boys in Jingzhou fit the age requirement. None of them missed out—only you two live too far, so I had to come fetch you."

Zheng Fa froze. He'd known Seventh Young Master was favored—but he hadn't realized how fiercely a mere attendant position was contested?

The new boy seemed to grasp the driver's meaning; his expression softened slightly, but he sat in the far corner, away from Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa felt his gaze flickering toward him at intervals throughout the journey.

After a long while, the boy finally spoke: "I'm Huang Yu. What's your name?"

"Zheng Fa."

"Did you attend elementary school?"

"Yes."

Huang Yu's expression darkened further.

Zheng Fa added: "But I only went for a year."

"I went for five years!" Huang Yu declared, shifting closer to Zheng Fa. "If I hadn't been too old, I'd have applied when Seventh Young Master first chose attendants."

Zheng Fa silently chuckled—the boy clearly thought he posed no threat, and his attitude had improved.

"Five years of elementary school? You're practically guaranteed this position," Zheng Fa said, playing along.

True to form, Huang Yu's eyes sparkled despite his efforts to hide it.

But the driver snorted softly.

"I wonder what kind of status Seventh Young Master really has—a mere attendant position drawing dozens of competitors, and talents like you, Brother Huang."

"I don't know what identity this Seventh Young Master truly holds; a mere position as a book attendant can make dozens compete, and even attract talent like you, Brother Huang."

"I've lived on a farm all my life—my ears are closed off…"

"This humble brother has long resided in the farmstead, with ears and eyes blocked off..."

Huang Guanshi scrutinized him from head to toe; seeing his clothes were clean but old, with cuffs so washed they were white and translucent, the wariness he felt toward Zheng Fa faded.

He thought for a moment, kept his mouth shut, and did not answer.

Zheng Fa knew this man probably did not want him to gain any extra information from him.

The old man driving the cart spoke up instead; he answered Zheng Fa's question: "Our Zhao family is divided into three branches; the eldest branch is the main lineage of the family head."

"Could this Seventh Young Master be..."

"Correct. The Seventh Young Master is the only legitimate son of the eldest branch. The Lady has only one daughter and one son, so although the Seventh Young Master is young, he will become the Zhao family head in the future. The current external Huang Guanshi of the Zhao family's eldest branch is said to have started as the family head's childhood book attendant; it is a very respectable position."

Zheng Fa understood immediately.

A book attendant was certainly not a position of power, but this was much like the so-called old ministers of the potential residence in history books of another world, or merit gained from following the dragon.

They were fighting for a future.

"Moreover, I heard..." The old man turned back to look at Huang Guanshi: "The Seventh Young Master's elder sister is the Zhao family's immortal seed of this generation; she was long ago noticed by the Immortal Sect! As for this book attendant position, let alone you, even the children of the prominent Huang Guanshi families in the city are fighting for it! Heh, so what if you attended elementary school for a few years?"

Zheng Fa now understood even better the value of the Seventh Young Master's book attendant position.

The only legitimate son of the family head's main lineage.

His own elder sister had even gained an immortal opportunity.

The Seventh Young Master's status could be said to be as stable as Mount Tai.

Zheng Fa glanced at Huang Guanshi beside him; he saw the other man's face flushed red, probably knowing in his heart that the old man was admonishing him:

Don't think that because you studied a few more years than Zheng Fa, you stand before the children of those Huang Guanshi in the city.

You are also from the countryside.