Chương 111: 110. Out of Office: Headhunting

I look at Zhuang Zhou again. His root hasn't changed. Neither has his constitution. A B-grade Thunder Root paired with Thunder Marrow is still the most valuable talent I have found since leaving Coiling Dragon. The problem is everything surrounding it. A child who steals because he is hungry can be fed. A child who steals because he enjoys escaping consequences is more difficult.

Cultivation will sharpen his reflexes, strengthen his body, and eventually give him the power to ignore people who can currently restrain him. If his habits remain unchanged, every stage of advancement will make him a larger problem. In my previous life, companies often claimed that attitude mattered more than credentials. Skills could be taught. A capable worker with a poor temperament could damage an entire team. Cultivation does not allow such a simple answer.

The difference between mediocre and exceptional aptitude is not merely who learns a task more quickly. It may become the difference between a cultivator who breaks stone and one who shatters mountains. A sect that ignores talent in favor of agreeable personalities will eventually be ruled by sects that do not.

'But ignoring character is equally foolish as ignoring one's aptitude.' Zhuang Zhou is twelve. He steals, lies, and treats authority as something to evade, but he has not crossed into cruelty or serious violence. His insistence that his brother come with him shows that someone still matters more to him than his own convenience. Zhuang Yan has spent years correcting him, paying for his mistakes, and preserving a life stable enough that the boy can afford to be troublesome.

There are also people at Coiling Dragon who will be able to rein him in. I turn toward Zhuang Yan.

"I am still willing to accept him." Zhuang Zhou straightens slightly. His brother does not look relieved.

"You have known him for less than a day," Zhuang Yan says.

"You should understand that he will not become obedient so simply."

"I do understand." Zhuang Zhou looks offended by how quickly we agree.

"He would enter as a probationary outer disciple. Theft, leaving the mountain without permission, entering restricted areas, or taking sect property would have consequences. If his conduct does not improve, his talent will not protect his position." Zhuang Yan studies me for several moments.

"And the shops here?"

"Any compensation still owed should be settled before you leave. If the amount exceeds what you can pay now, I will cover it and record the debt against his future contribution earnings." Zhuang Zhou sits forward.

"My future what?"

"Work." His interest fades. I take the Spirit Root Detecting Gem from my storage ring and place it on the table. The cloudy stone catches the weak light from the window, the crack along one side visible even while inactive. Zhuang Yan looks at it more carefully than his brother does.

"This can test him?"

"Approximately." I arrange ten low-grade spirit stones around its base. Zhuang Zhou watches each one disappear into the formation with increasing attention. I indicate the center.

"Place your hand on it." Zhuang Zhou hesitates only long enough to make certain nothing appears likely to bite him. Then he presses his palm against the stone. The gem brightens. Green light spreads through the cloudy interior, but it does not settle evenly. Thin branches flicker through it, sharp and restless, disappearing before reforming elsewhere. Zhuang Zhou stares.

"Green?"

"The artifact recognizes only a limited number of elemental responses. Thunder is often treated as an extension or transformation of Wood. It is giving the closest answer it understands." The green light fades when Zhuang Zhou removes his hand. For the first time since I entered the room, his brother appears to fully accept that the offer may be real. I explain the remaining terms without extending the discussion.

Zhuang Zhou would receive food, quarters, robes, foundational instruction, and a cultivation method suited to his root after further assessment. He would remain under probation and would not be permitted to leave the mountain or access restricted resources without approval. As a formality, I test Zhuang Yan, and the gem remains inert. He looks disappointed, but I offer staff work under Shen Qiao instead. The position includes lodging, meals, and a steady wage higher than his current combined earnings.

He would assist with inventory, purchasing records, warehouse accounts, and the sect's growing trade operations. Coiling Dragon would also provide further education. I leave several silver pieces on the table.

"This is not payment for accepting. Use it to settle immediate obligations, replace lost wages, and prepare for travel if you choose to come. I will wait until tomorrow morning near Old Ink Pavilion." Zhuang Yan looks at the silver but does not touch it.

"You would give us this before we agree?"

"I am asking you to consider uprooting your lives. You should not be forced to decide because you cannot afford the alternative." He nods slowly.

"We will… give you an answer in the morning." I leave them to speak privately. The East Canal Inn is modest, quiet, and far enough from the market that no one appears to be discussing a supposed child abductor. I rent a small room and remain there for the evening. Most of the time is spent reading the herbal almanac. The combinations are crude but well recorded. Several could be adapted into training tonics or low-level medicinal baths if we source ingredients from this region.

I make notes for the developing alchemy hall with the feedback the Gazes gives me until the light becomes too poor to continue comfortably. The brothers arrive shortly after sunrise. Zhuang Yan carries a tightly packed bundle and a small wooden case. Zhuang Zhou has one bag over his shoulder and looks as though he packed by placing whatever was closest into it.

"We accept," Zhuang Yan says.

"I informed my employers. The outstanding compensation has been paid." He glances toward his brother.

"Most of it came from the silver you left." Zhuang Zhou does not appear ashamed. I nod.

"Then we should leave before the roads become crowded." Only after reaching the northern gate do I consider the journey properly. Two mortals cannot travel at my pace. Walking beside them would consume most of the day and undo much of the time I saved by coming here personally. Carrying them is possible. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It is also difficult to imagine a dignified arrangement involving two passengers being held under my arms while I move at Foundation Establishment speed.

'Well…' I summon Autumn Leaf from my storage ring. The sword wobbles beneath my feet during the first ascent. My control returns quickly, though carrying two passengers changes the balance more than I remember. I keep us low above the treeline and restrict the sword to half speed. Zhuang Yan stands behind me with both arms locked around my waist. He has not opened his eyes since the city disappeared behind us. Zhuang Zhou stands at the rear. He has not stopped talking since we left the ground.

"Can it go faster?" The forest moves beneath us in dark green stretches broken by roads, streams, and the last patches of winter snow.

"What happens if I jump?"

"You fall." He laughs and shifts his weight again. Autumn Leaf dips slightly. Zhuang Yan's grip tightens.

"Zhou'er," he says through clenched teeth, "stand still."

"I am standing still."

"You are hanging over the edge." By the time Coiling Dragon Mountain appears beyond the trees, I have begun to reconsider whether rare talent is always worth collecting personally. I bring Autumn Leaf down near the foot of the mountain. Zhuang Yan steps onto solid ground and remains there with his knees bent for several moments. I search through my storage ring and take out a sect token marked with Coiling Dragon's insignia. I hand it to Zhuang Yan.

"Follow the mountain path. Give this to the first person you see and tell them Lu Chen sent you. If you see a raccoon, tell it to bring Ling'er." Zhuang Yan looks at the token, then at me.

"A raccoon?"

"It will understand enough." Zhuang Zhou is already looking toward the trees.

"There's a raccoon?" I step back onto Autumn Leaf.

"I still have more recruits to find. The sect will arrange your quarters and explain the rest." Zhuang Yan bows. Zhuang Zhou raises one hand.

"Come back with the sword! Thanks for the ride, old fart!" I rise above the trees before he can ask anything else and turn away from the mountain. The following days pass less peacefully. I begin with the settlements closest to the main road, asking questions in markets, clan courtyards, village offices, and anywhere else people gather long enough to notice who has never been tested. The first useful answer leads me to the Bai clan.

They are not especially powerful, but everything about their compound is organized around producing soldiers. Boys begin basic conditioning as soon as they can follow instructions. Every male child is tested at seven, after which those with roots are assigned methods suited to the clan's fire and metal inheritances. The daughters are taught etiquette, household management, music, accounting, and enough cultivation theory to properly evaluate a future husband. They are never tested.

Bai Yulan, the clan head's youngest daughter, is sixteen and already promised to the second son of a neighboring family. The Gaze finds her while she is reading alone beneath a covered walkway. A C-grade Fire root. She has received minimal martial training and no cultivation instruction. Her education is broad, her manners carefully controlled, and her dissatisfaction strong enough that the Gaze does not bother making it subtle. She assumes I am lying when I tell her.

Then she assumes I am trying to provoke a dispute with her father. I explain that I gain nothing by forcing her to leave. If she wishes to remain, I will say nothing. If she wishes to cultivate, Coiling Dragon will accept her. The damaged gem glows red beneath her hand. Bai Yulan stares at it until the light fades.

"You could show this to your father," I tell her.

"He may reconsider." She looks toward the inner compound.

"He would use it to improve the marriage." There is no hesitation in the answer. A daughter with a spiritual root is not necessarily granted freedom. She may simply become a more valuable alliance. I leave her with directions and tell her the decision must be hers. Several hours later, she meets me beyond the southern gate in plain travel clothing. Her mother has arranged the rest quietly. An old servant escorts her to a carriage bound toward Greenstone.

I provide a sect token carved from a piece of scrap wood because I hadn't planned this far ahead. The mark is crude, but recognizable. The same carriage gains another passenger before departure: Chen Mu is twenty years old and has spent most of his life sweeping courtyards, carrying water, clearing ash from training halls, and remaining unnoticed by the clan cultivators passing around him. He was orphaned young and raised among the servants.

No one thought to test him because he belonged to the household staff rather than the family. The Gaze reveals a C-grade Wood Root. Recruiting him takes less than a quarter hour. He owns one bundle. When he reaches the carriage and recognizes Bai Yulan, he nearly drops it in his attempt to bow. She responds with a stiff nod before looking at the trunks already filling most of the available space. Neither knows what to say. The servant eventually tells Chen Mu to help with the luggage.

He looks at me and I pretend not to notice. The next village lies near the edge of Stone River's influence. The people there are less interested in my promises. Stone River had visited often enough to collect grain, labor, and deference, but rarely enough to provide anything resembling trust. Several families assume Coiling Dragon is simply replacing one demand with another. Tang Bo was meant to attend a regional testing six years earlier. The date fell during harvest season.

His father had injured his leg, his mother was pregnant, and the family could not spare him. No one returned after the harvest. His C-grade Earth Root has remained unused ever since. The family does not accept immediately. They ask about food, housing, injury, travel, obligations, and whether Tang Bo will be permitted to return during harvest. I agree to seasonal visits when training allows and provide enough silver to replace his labor through the coming year. His father counts it twice.

Tang Bo leaves with a sack of clothing, two pairs of shoes, and repeated instructions concerning proper meals. By the end of the day, I have recruited three disciples and spent more time discussing carts than cultivation. The next day becomes worse. In a roadside settlement south of the hills, I find Wu Heng repairing a damaged roof while his younger siblings pass tiles up from below. He is twenty-two and possesses a C-grade Fire-Earth Root.

He had suspected he might have talent when he was younger, but suspicion did not feed a household. His father is dead, his mother's health is poor, and four younger siblings depend on the work he takes wherever it is available. He refuses before I finish explaining the offer. I explain instead that Coiling Dragon requires cooks, laborers, cleaners, clerks, craftsmen, and people willing to work the surrounding land. His family would not need to remain behind. That makes him listen.

His condition is that everyone comes. While assessing the household, I discover that his fourteen-year-old sister, Wu Lihua, possesses a D-grade Fire Root. Both are accepted. Arranging the relocation requires another carriage, temporary work for his mother and the siblings old enough to contribute. and instructions sent ahead to Shen Qiao that will likely worsen his opinion of my planning. The fishing town of Shallow Reed provides the final two.

Lin Xiaoyu is fifteen and has spent most of her life helping her family mend nets, unload catches, scrape hulls, and carry baskets between the poorer docks and the market. The main testing ceremony is held inside the town proper. Her family lives beyond the outer channel and rarely attends anything that costs a day's labor. No recruiter has ever visited their quarter. She possesses a C-grade Water Root.

Her parents are willing to let her go only after I agree that part of her disciple stipend can be sent home during the first year. They lose a worker by accepting, and promises of future glory do not replace present income. The final recruit nearly refuses me completely. Gao Jin is twenty-six and manages a general store near the western quay.

His parents own the building, but he has spent years expanding the business, maintaining accounts, arranging deliveries, and building relationships with fishermen, caravan guards, and neighboring shops. He possesses a C-grade Metal Root. He had been tested once as a child with a cheap wood-aspected talisman. It showed nothing, and by the time his family could have afforded a better examination, he was already working.

Cultivation became something that happened to younger people, and unlike the others, Gao Jin has no urgent reason to leave. His income is stable. His family respects him. His customers know him. The life before him is limited, but it is not miserable. I tell him that Coiling Dragon accepts older beginners. I also tell him that joining does not require abandoning everything he has learned. If cultivation suits him, he can train.

If it does not, Shen Qiao will find a place for someone who understands inventories, margins, supply routes, and customers. He can do both until one path becomes clearly more useful. Gao Jin asks more questions than every other recruit combined. He leaves the shop under his parents' management and agrees to a trial period.

By the time the third evening arrives, seven new disciples are moving toward Coiling Dragon by a combination of merchant carts, hired carriages, family wagons, and written directions of increasingly questionable quality. Including Zhuang Zhou, I have recruited eight disciples. Only one possesses a B-grade root. That is already more than I expected. The others are not hidden heirs, lost geniuses, or victims of elaborate suppression. Their talent disappeared for ordinary reasons.

'I could return to Coiling Dragon immediately.' The first recruits should reach the mountain by tomorrow. Several families will arrive soon afterward. Shen Qiao will require warning, the quarters will need reorganizing, cultivation methods must be assigned. Returning would be responsible. Instead, I remain on the road.

'It's been peaceful.' There have been negotiations, travel delays, improvised transport, and an alarming amount of silver leaving my storage ring, but no one has challenged me to a public duel. No sect elder has attempted to kill me. Ling'er has not beaten me into the ground in the name of improving my foundations. The final consideration persuades me that travel should become a more regular responsibility. Jade Crossing City lies less than half a day away.

Its population exceeds twenty thousand, and three medium-sized sects maintain competing interests there without any one of them controlling the city outright. Their constant presence prevents the others from staking a permanent claim, leaving the magistrate and mortal administration with more authority than governments usually retain near powerful cultivators. A city that size should have archives, old local histories, and records. Recruitment has gone better than expected.

I decide to spend one more day searching for dragons.