Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

Chen Yuan followed Zhao Shan through the door and looked at it carefully.

The patio of this courtyard is not small, the ground is flat, and there are several stone locks scattered around.

There is an old locust tree in the east of the yard, with lush branches and leaves and a broad crown, covering half of the sky and casting a large green shade.

There is a stone table and a wooden weapon rack under the tree. There are only two weapons on the rack, a knife and a gun.

There are only two houses in the courtyard, one is the main house, the door is ajar, a large water urn is placed under the eaves, and next to it are buckets, brooms, dustpans, mops and other sundries.

To the west is a smaller wing room with a closed door.

Zhao Shan pointed at the wing:

"Junior Brother Chen, you will stay in this wing from now on. I have to go back to Master to take care of things. You need to clean up first."

Chen Yuan smiled innocently and said gratefully:

"Okay, thank you for taking care of me, senior brother!"

After Zhao Shan left, the smile on Chen Yuan's face slowly faded.

He closed the courtyard door, thought for a moment, bolted the door from the inside, and then walked into the wing.

The wing room must have been unoccupied for a long time, and the furniture in the room was covered with dust.

Chen Yuan put down his baggage, went to the front door of the main house to pick up tools, and started cleaning.

There was not much furniture in the room, only a wooden bed, a cabinet, a square table, two short stools, and a toilet.

The bed was empty, there were no bedding or pillows, and there was nothing in the cabinet. There was only a candlestick, a teapot on the square table, and two pottery bowls upside down.

Fortunately, the toilet is very clean without any dirt.

In less than two quarters of an hour, Chen Yuan had cleaned the wing.

He pondered for a moment and carefully cleaned the main room again.

There is a lot of furniture in the main room, and Zhao Shan is a rough man, so he doesn't pay much attention to it. The furnishings in the house are messy, and there are many old dirt in the corners.

Chen Yuan did not change the furnishings of the furniture in the main room, nor did he touch Zhao Shan's cabinets and beds. He only cleaned up the dirt seen on the surface.

Then, he arranged the stone locks in the courtyard neatly and swept away the loose soil on the ground.

Chen Yuan was strong and physically strong, and these tasks were not heavy. In less than an hour, the small courtyard became completely new.

Then, he unlocked the door, moved a short stool, sat at the stone table, and waited silently for Zhao Shan to come back.

…

At dusk, when Chen Yuan was getting bored waiting, Zhao Shan walked in with a big bundle.

Chen Yuan stood up to greet him and said:

"Brother, you are back."

Zhao Shan put the bundle on the stone table, glanced around, and said in surprise:

"Is this all done by you?"

Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"I tidied up the wing room and then cleaned other places as well."

Zhao Shan entered the main room to take a look and praised:

"Yes, it looks much cleaner. I can't tell that you are so meticulous in your work."

Chen Yuan scratched his head and said with a naive smile:

"My mother said, I don't know anything, I only have a lot of strength. I have to work hard so that my boss can teach me my real skills. Senior brother, if you teach me martial arts, you should be my boss, right? I'm afraid you think I'm lazy. , don’t teach me well.”

Zhao Shan shook his head and laughed, but his eyes at Chen Yuan became softer and he said:

"Master has ordered me to teach you martial arts...but why didn't you clean the inside of the cabinet and the bed?"

Chen Yuan waved his hand:

"My mother told me not to touch my boss's things."

Zhao Shan nodded slightly, with a look of satisfaction on his face, and raised his hand to point to the bundle on the stone table:

"These are the bedding, clothes, and daily sundries I brought back for you to save you from having to make another trip."

Chen Yuan unpacked the bag. Inside was a thin quilt and pillow, two sets of yellow fine cloth jackets, a wooden sign with four characters engraved on it, a food box, and a white cloth towel.

He took these things back to the wing, spread out the bedding, put on a yellow muslin short coat, hung the wooden sign around his waist, put the coarse cloth bag containing the jade away close to his body, and returned to the courtyard.

Zhao Shan looked up and down and said with a smile:

"I don't know the specific size, so I picked two sets of larger ones. How do you feel?"

"It fits just right, thank you, senior brother!"

"These are summer clothes. In winter, two sets of winter clothes will be issued. The same goes for bedding. You will have to pick them up by yourself then... Come on, get the food box and I will take you to get food."

Zhao Shan locked the courtyard door and led Chen Yuan through two alleys and into a courtyard.

There are three large rooms in the courtyard, all with chimneys erected on the roofs, and smoke is rising. Several large tables are arranged in a row in the courtyard, with several wooden barrels placed on them, containing food.

Several handymen wearing coarse cloth aprons were serving meals to a dozen apprentices in gray clothes who were queuing up. From time to time, a few handymen would come out of the house and pour the steaming meals into wooden barrels.

A fat, middle-aged man in silk clothes was watching the servants serving rice to the apprentices, and shouted something from time to time:

"Hurry up! Don't be lazy! Where are the thick flour pancakes? Bring some more..."

When Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan walked in, the fat man showed a smile on his face and nodded to Zhao Shan:

"Commander Zhao is here, what would you like to eat today?"

Zhao Shan cupped his fists and saluted:

"Manager Sun is here too. I'm still the same. I just want some more white flour pancakes and stewed meat."

The obese man smiled heartily:

"Okay! Xiao Liu, come here and fill Commander Zhao's food box with ten white flour pancakes, two large bowls of stewed meat, and a small bowl of vegetables!"

Under the envious gazes of all the gray-clothed apprentices, a young handyman walked over quickly, took the food box from Zhao Shan with both hands, and turned around to enter the house.

The wooden barrels in the courtyard were filled with thick flour pancakes and stews with little oil and water, and only a little bit of meat.

The apprentice in gray clothes is not holding a food box, but a pottery bowl, and each person's meal is also fixed. There is only a bowl of stew and two thick flour pancakes. It is impossible to eat whatever you want like Zhao Shan.

After Manager Sun finished giving orders to the handymen, all the apprentices in gray greeted Zhao Shan enthusiastically:

"Brother Zhao, long time no see!"

"Brother Zhao, thanks to your help last time, I was not punished. If anything happens in the future, just give me your orders!"

Zhao Shan smiled and cupped his fists in return, showing no airs at all.

Manager Sun smiled and said:

"General Zhao is so popular!"

Zhao Shan smiled and said:

"I just helped a few brothers with a little help, it's nothing."

Chen Yuan's heart moved. His senior brother seemed to be a kind-hearted person.

Manager Sun smiled, turned to look at Chen Yuan, and asked:

"Who is this……"

Zhao Shan said:

"This is my master's new apprentice today, Chen Erniu. Junior Brother Chen, this is Manager Sun who is in charge of the kitchen."

Chen Yuan followed Zhao Shan's example, cupped his fists and saluted:

"Er Niu has met Manager Sun."

Manager Sun cupped his hands and said with a smile:

"It turns out that he is also Guanshi Li's apprentice, so he is not an outsider. Just tell me what Brother Chen wants to eat."

Chen Yuan smiled sheepishly:

"I have a big appetite..."

Manager Sun waved his hand nonchalantly:

"Brother Chen, you don't have to be polite. You can eat as much as you want!"

Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"Then thank you, Manager Sun."

He stopped Xiao Liu who was coming out of the house, handed the food box over, and said:

"Brother, please help me pack five white flour pancakes, two large bowls of stewed meat, and a bowl of vegetables."

Xiao Liu was flattered and hurriedly took the food box:

"If you don't dare to be a villain, I will serve it to senior brother!"

A strange look flashed in Guanshi Sun's eyes:

"Brother Chen's appetite is indeed quite big."

Zhao Shan explained:

"Guanshi Sun doesn't know. My junior brother has supernatural powers and has a large appetite. It's normal."

Only then did Manager Sun suddenly realize.

Not long after, Xiao Liu walked out of the house and handed the food box to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan took the food box, opened the lid, took a deep breath, and showed an intoxicated expression:

"It smells so good! Senior brother, can I eat meat every day from now on? This is better than eating during the Chinese New Year!"

Before Zhao Shan could answer, Manager Sun laughed and said:

"Haha, don't worry, Brother Chen. From now on, you will not only have meat to eat every day, but also every meal."

Zhao Shan said awkwardly:

"It makes Steward Sun laugh. Junior brother Chen was born in a village. He lived in poverty before and has never seen much of the world..."

Manager Sun smiled and said:

"It's okay. Brother Chen is very straightforward. He speaks directly when he has something to say. He suits my temper very well, haha!"

Chen Yuan scratched his head and looked at Zhao Shan sheepishly:

"Brother, did I say the wrong thing..."

Zhao Shan shook his head:

"Let's go. It's not your fault. I'll talk to you in detail when I get back."

…

The two of them carried the food boxes and returned to the yard where they lived.

Zhao Shan put the food box on the stone table, and Chen Yuan took the initiative to go to the side room to bring out another short stool and place it next to the stone table.

Zhao Shan sat down and opened the food box:

"Junior brother, you are much smarter when you work than when you talk."

Chen Yuan sat down opposite him and said with a naive smile:

"My mother said the same thing, saying that I am stupid and can't speak. I only know how to work, and I have to rely on my senior brother to help me."

Zhao Shan smiled and said:

"Then I will talk to you carefully about our Hundred Soldiers Hall..."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed and he listened carefully.

Zhao Shan opened the food box and said while eating:

"Our Baibingtang has a long history. It is the branch of Baibingtang in Leping County under the jurisdiction of the Fuhu Gang in the county. It is responsible for the ironware business in Leping County. The county's garrison, powerful landowners, and shop owners all come to buy Our semicolon’s ironware.”

"Senior brother, what is the Fuhu Gang?"

"The Fuhu Gang is one of the two major gangs in Yuzhou. It is powerful and has thousands of members. It has three main halls: Baibing Hall, Shennong Hall, and Law Enforcement Hall. The leader of the gang, Luo Zhenwu, is a well-known Huajin master in Yuzhou. My martial arts skills are unparalleled. My biggest dream is to join the main gang, learn advanced martial arts, and break through my inner strength!"

Zhao Shan's eyes showed longing, and he did not hide his ambition in front of Chen Yuan, a simple young man.

Chen Yuan said:

"Senior brother is so powerful, there must be no problem!"

Zhao Shan shook his head:

"My martial arts skills have only reached the level of bone refining, so I'm still far away..."

"Bone refining?"

Zhao Shan explained:

"The realm of martial arts, from low to high, is divided into skin refining, bone refining, marrow refining, internal strength, gang strength, transformation strength, and innate strength. I have been practicing martial arts for four years and have only just broken through bone refining, and I am still far away from internal strength. "

Chen Yuan said nervously:

"Is it so difficult to practice martial arts? Then how far should I practice before I can save enough money to build a house and marry a wife?"

Zhao Shan stuffed a piece of stewed meat into his mouth and said:

"Junior brother, don't worry. You have divine power, which shows that your physical body is not low in strength. As long as you practice diligently, you should be able to go smoothly before refining the marrow. It is not difficult to get a wife, but it will be difficult after that."