Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses Chapter 5: Chapter 5 Is That All?

The night was profoundly still, so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Leaning against the cold wall, Gu An felt a wave of frustration, unsettled by the frantic thumping of his heart.

For reasons he couldn't explain, despite the lack of any audible movement outside, he had an instinctive premonition that the Demon of Greed was closing in on his dwelling.

His eyes darted nervously between the entrance and the windows. Streams of moonlight filtered through the narrow gaps, casting a glow that felt both brilliant and terrifying.

Within his robes, the White Spirit Rat trembled in fear. The movement made Gu An's chest itch, and though he felt a brief impulse to cast the creature away, he found he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Time dragged on as Gu An held his breath, his every sense heightened and focused.

Never before had he yearned for the arrival of dawn as desperately as he did in this moment.

The Supreme Sect was far from a safe haven!

He realized he needed to amass a greater life span in the future. While maintaining a low profile, his growth in strength must never falter!

Lost in his thoughts, Gu An lost track of time until his attention was suddenly snared by the threshold of the door.

The door sat less than a meter to his left. Bathed in the pale moonlight, a dark silhouette began to bleed through the door crack, sending a freezing shiver down his spine.

The Demon of Greed!

It had arrived!

With his heart leaping into his throat, Gu An’s entire body coiled with tension.

He felt a sudden, desperate urge to bolt outside!

In an instant!

Gu An’s frame went rigid. A damp hand had come to rest upon his head, its jagged nails digging into his forehead and sending a wave of ice through his marrow.

His mind blanked out as he slowly tilted his head upward. From the shadows above, a pale arm emerged—looking much like a woman’s—with a hand that pressed down like a clawed vice.

The owner of the limb leaned out from the dark, revealing a savage, disheveled face. Her actual features remained obscured, save for a wide mouth bristling with dripping fangs.

She was grinning!

Damn it!

Driven to the brink of madness by sheer terror, Gu An lashed out with a surge of fury, his arm swinging in a violent slap against the face of the Demon of Greed.

Boom!

The roof was obliterated. Flesh and gore sprayed across the interior as roof tiles and clumps of earth were propelled dozens of feet into the air, vanishing into the darkness.

The night sky loomed heavy and black; the surrounding peaks and forests of Medicine Valley stood like silent, spectral demons.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Gasping for air, Gu An stood with his right arm still raised and trembling. His palm was slick with gore, and the blood of the Demon of Greed had splattered across his face.

Even as the world fell silent again, Gu An’s pulse refused to slow.

Moonlight poured through the ruined roof, illuminating the wreckage.

A gruesome blossom of blood stained the wall, and a severed, pale arm lay discarded at Gu An's feet.

It took ten long breaths before Gu An finally regained his composure.

[You have successfully taken 52 years of life from the Demon of Greed (Tier 2)]

He stared at the translucent notification appearing before him, his breathing still heavy, though his expression shifted to one of bewilderment.

"Was that really it?"

The situation felt absurd to him. Was his own power too great, or were Chu Jingfeng and the others simply too weak?

In the midst of his confusion, he caught the faint sound of a door creaking open. Reacting instantly, he dropped to the floor, shut his eyes, and pulled the Demon of Greed’s severed arm over himself.

To make the scene more convincing, he used his own hand to pry open the demon's cold fingers and clamped them around his own neck. With the stage set, he went limp and pretended to have passed out.

...

As the heat of summer faded into the cool of approaching autumn, the weather turned mild.

Gu An was busy harvesting Calming Grass in the fields. Outside the wooden perimeter, Li Ya and Meng Lang stood watching him work.

Li Ya was heavily bandaged across half his body. Two jagged scars marred his face, stretching dangerously close to his right eye—a testament to the ordeal he had survived.

Meng Lang, who appeared largely unscathed, watched Gu An and clicked his tongue. "That kid is still happily plucking weeds, as if he never even crossed paths with the Demon of Greed."

With an expressionless face made fiercer by his new scars, Li Ya replied quietly, "Perhaps he simply finds peace in his labor. Who are we to know if he still smiles once he's alone behind closed doors?"

The events of four nights ago felt as though they had happened only yesterday. Whenever Li Ya remembered the Demon of Greed, a chill of fear still gripped him.

His survival had been a matter of pure fortune.

Chu Jingfeng’s injuries were far worse, having had an arm brutally ripped away, whereas Cheng Xuandan, Zhang Chunqiu, and Meng Lang had escaped without a scratch.

The following morning, the Supreme Sect had dispatched several cultivators. Their power far exceeded Chu Jingfeng’s, with the leader having reached the ninth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. When they interrogated Gu An, he played the part of the terrified survivor perfectly, claiming to remember nothing.

The investigators eventually decided that a hidden benefactor must have intervened to save the servant disciple of Medicine Valley. Since Gu An possessed no discernible Qi, they ruled out the possibility that he had slain the beast.

Following the incident, Gu An moved to a different room, and Zhang Chunqiu—seemingly burdened by guilt—began treating him with even more kindness.

While Li Ya and Meng Lang talked, Gu An was quietly savoring the life span he was gaining from the second-tier herbs.

Each stalk of second-tier medicinal herb granted him two to five years of life. By assisting the others, he managed to collect sixty stalks this time, an experience he found immensely satisfying.

Naturally, his thoughts drifted back to the Demon of Greed.

Killing it had yielded fifty-two years of life. Did this mean that hunting demons was a more efficient way to extend his longevity?

However, the memory of that night’s terror and the sight of his companions' mangled bodies quickly killed that ambition.

There was no need for such risks.

He wasn't in a hurry to grow strong. Why gamble with his life?

No.

He had to remain cautious and focus on steady, discreet development!

After a while.

Gu An finished his harvest of sixty Calming Grass stalks. He carried the bamboo basket over to Meng Lang to deliver the goods.

Meng Lang cleared his throat, looking slightly sheepish. "You should be the one to report this to the eldest apprentice brother this time."

Embarrassed by his own cowardice during the attack, he no longer felt right taking credit for Gu An’s hard work.

Gu An didn't argue and offered a simple smile. "Alright."

He gave Li Ya a respectful nod before walking toward Zhang Chunqiu’s loft.

Li Ya departed as well, heading toward a far-off forest, leaving Meng Lang to rub his nose awkwardly as he looked between the two.

Inside the main hall.

Gu An presented the Calming Grass to Zhang Chunqiu. Instead of dismissing him, Zhang Chunqiu kept him for some polite conversation, asking about his well-being and sleep.

The image of the Demon of Greed strangling Gu An often haunted Zhang Chunqiu, filling him with remorse. As the eldest apprentice brother, failing to protect a junior was a stain on his honor.

Gu An was such a diligent and loyal disciple; his death would have been a truly bitter loss.

"Listen, regarding the Demon of Greed, let us not mention it further. I've received word that the creature was actually a pet kept by an Elder within the Sect. Keep this quiet; act as if it never occurred," Zhang Chunqiu said with great seriousness.

Gu An’s brow furrowed at the news.

So that was the truth of it. It explained why the monster had been allowed to terrorize the area for so long.

Looking troubled, Zhang Chunqiu continued, "Elders of that status are beyond our reach. A single command from them could wipe Medicine Valley off the map. Given your modest origins, you surely understand the weight of status. Survival requires patience."

He reached into his robes and produced a manual. "This is a Secret Technique our Master secured for you. He traded five years of Sect contributions for it as compensation for the trauma you endured."

Gu An’s face lit up with feigned joy as he accepted the book. The title on the cover read:

Residual Wind Leg!

"I am deeply grateful to you, eldest apprentice brother, and to Master!" Gu An said, bowing low in thanks.

Zhang Chunqiu smiled kindly. "Practice it when you can. It might save your life one day. Just don't let Meng Lang see it. As for Li Ya, his talent is remarkable, and Master intends to assist him in reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm. He will likely leave Medicine Valley within two years."

Gu An wasn't shocked by the news. It would be a waste for someone of Li Ya’s caliber to remain a common laborer in the valley.

After a few more pleasantries, Zhang Chunqiu dismissed him.

As the door clicked shut, Zhang Chunqiu sighed softly to himself. "Such a good, honest lad. He’ll be the one to look after Master once I finally leave this mountain... Lotus, just wait for me..."

Gu An’s pace faltered for a fraction of a second on the stairs, but he quickly resumed his descent.

...

Though the Demon of Greed hadn't claimed any lives in the valley, the atmosphere had shifted. Li Ya grew more reclusive, spending all his free time training in the woods, and even Meng Lang began to take his cultivation more seriously.

Gu An spent a month studying the Residual Wind Leg. He managed to learn just enough to make the technique appear on his status, but the slow progress was discouraging. He decided to set it aside and focus on it again when his luck improved.

The seasons turned, and autumn leaves blanketed the valley floor.

Gu An was a constant fixture throughout Medicine Valley, becoming its most industrious resident. Zhang Chunqiu’s trust in him grew to the point where he no longer felt the need to oversee his tasks. Meanwhile, Cheng Xuandan remained locked away, focused entirely on refining pills.

Winter eventually arrived, burying the valley under a thick layer of white snow.

A new year dawned amidst the frost.

As the snow finally began to recede, a visitor from outside the valley arrived, specifically asking for Gu An.

In his room, Gu An closed the door and moved to the table to serve hot tea to the young man waiting there.

The youth wore the blue robes of a Supreme Sect Outer Disciple. He scanned the room before asking, "How have you fared during this last year and a half?"

Among those who had followed Ji Xiaoyu to the Supreme Sect, five had been house servants, including Gu An and this youth.

The young man, Du Ye, possessed a Four Spirits Root. With the backing of the Ji Family, he had successfully entered the Outer Sect and had changed significantly over the past year.

"I've been well," Gu An answered simply.

Du Ye sighed and shook his head. "You really are stubborn. With the influence of the Third Miss and the Ji Family, getting you into the Outer Sect would have been easy. Why stay here in this place with no future for your cultivation?"

Gu An glanced at the youth's remaining life span—less than a hundred and fifty years—and compared it to his own, which neared a millennium. He smiled and said, "My talent is poor, and I have no stomach for pain or danger. This quiet life suits me perfectly."

Du Ye laughed and teased him for a moment before getting to the point. "Young Master Ji Lin is building a faction for the Third Miss within the Sect. We all need to do our part. You need to gather medicinal herbs diligently. I will return every six months to collect them.

These herbs will be used as gifts to help Young Master Ji Lin win over other disciples."

"I understand. I'll do it," Gu An agreed immediately. The herbs were of little consequence to him.

Pleased by his cooperation, Du Ye smiled.

After some further talk, Gu An walked Du Ye to the valley entrance and watched him leave.

Upon returning to the courtyard, he found Li Ya waiting for him.

Li Ya stepped forward and pressed a manual against Gu An’s chest. "I’m moving on. Take this sword technique as a parting gift. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me over these eighteen months."