Immortal Cage - Chapter 24: Bright Flowers in the Dark Willow
Following the path they came from, walking through the corridor, Yu Lie and a group of people reappeared on the ground of the alchemy room.
At this moment, the guide boy and Garlic Nose finally breathed a sigh of relief and murmured to themselves.
Garlic Nose shook his head and said, "Good fellow, the aura of the senior guide boy is indeed strong. Our friend Yu handled the situation wisely by showing restraint just now!"
The guide boy also glanced at Yu Lie and said, "Although our friend lost the bronze token, being favored by Senior Fang is also a rare opportunity. It will be beneficial for him in the alchemy room."
Neither of them showed any negative changes in attitude towards Yu Lie losing the token. Yu Lie had restrained himself in front of Senior Fang earlier, so he couldn't speak carelessly now. He maintained a relaxed expression and nodded towards the two in front of him, saying, "It's good to enter the alchemy room. I will rely on you two in the future, hoping for your care."
Yu Lie also smiled at Garlic Nose, who had just scratched his nose, emphasizing the friendly gesture.
Both the guide boy and Garlic Nose responded, "No problem, we'll help each other out."
The three of them then exchanged names.
The guide boy's surname was Lu, with a single character name "Bian." He used to be responsible for minor tasks like fetching and guiding people, which might be trivial but not only safe but also profitable.
Garlic Nose's surname was Bi, full name Bi Jiling. His family expected him to be clever and sensible, hence the name.
While Yu Lie could choose his position later, Bi Jiling's path was already set. He was assigned to the fire pit in the alchemy room, responsible for chopping wood, making charcoal, a physically demanding job but relatively safe.
As they conversed, Yu Lie learned about the specific lower-level positions from the two.
"The fire pit is responsible for chopping wood, making charcoal. The slag pit is responsible for dumping medicinal residue, it's tiring and the environment is harsh, although not dangerous after processing, there are still risks."
"There are assistant fire boys in the stone hall, they can watch the alchemy process, but I advise our friend Yu not to choose that."
"The pill pounding room has boys pounding pills, although they work hard all day like donkeys, it's not very dangerous."
Listening to the two, Yu Lie furrowed his brows. He realized that the lower-level positions each had their drawbacks, with some slightly better options like Bi Jiling's wood chopping position or the pill pounding boys.
But all these positions treated people like livestock, exploiting them. Their only advantage was a lower chance of being used as alchemy materials, with a small risk of death but no real benefits.
Yu Lie pondered carefully.
The guide boy and Bi Jiling continued to introduce other positions to Yu Lie. Suddenly, Bi Jiling shook his head and said, "The poison extraction department below the pill room has quite a few people. But it's not recommended, as the materials there are poisonous. One wrong move and you could get poisoned, leading to disabilities or even death, not uncommon."
The guide boy added, "I've heard about this. The poison extraction boys often take sick leave, usually working one day and resting the next. I was tempted by it back then!"
Upon hearing about this position, Yu Lie's interest was piqued. He spoke up, "Please elaborate."
The guide boy explained in detail, "Extracting poison is dangerous and harmful to the body. Even with good protection, some toxins can seep into the body slowly. Working one day and resting the next is a necessity, or else it's a path to self-destruction... This position can only be held for a maximum of ten days, often ending in disability after five or six days."
Listening to their descriptions, Yu Lie became even more intrigued. While this position was dangerous for others, it seemed like a good opportunity for him. Not only could he find materials for his poison techniques, but he could also have more time for cultivation.
Yu Lie was delighted, realizing that although he had lost his prestigious position, a new opportunity had presented itself. He didn't immediately show his interest in the poison extraction position but listened to a few more options.
Yu Lie soon discovered that with the bronze wine cup in hand, these seemingly harsh positions were not as risky for him, each offering its own opportunities.
For example, similar to the slag pit, there was a position specifically for handling waste medicinal materials. While the environment was hazardous, Yu Lie could turn waste into treasure.
Yu Lie felt a complete turnaround in his situation and thought to himself, "Senior Fang, you didn't expect this, did you?"
After careful consideration, Yu Lie chose the poison extraction position over the other options. While the waste disposal in the alchemy room was not entirely neglected, the town would still reprocess waste, even turning it into poison.
The higher the quality of the waste, the stricter the management, and although there was a chance to move up in this position, if Yu Lie gathered too much or too frequently, it might expose his unique abilities, causing more harm than good.
Comparing all the options, the poison extraction position seemed most suitable for him. The management was lax, and Yu Lie could use his poison techniques as a cover, especially with the alternating work schedule allowing him to avoid the life of a laborer.
Yu Lie informed the guide boy of his choice. The guide boy and Bi Jiling were surprised, but Yu Lie politely explained, "It's not just for the ease but also related to my cultivation technique. I'll give it a try for a while."
The two seemed pensive and stopped persuading him further. They invited Yu Lie to hurry to his new position with them.
With the position settled, the three of them were now truly colleagues, helping each other out. They had become familiar faces, making work in the alchemy room more convenient.
Next, the guide boy led Yu Lie and Bi Jiling to visit the people in the alchemy room, following the protocol.
Yu Lie received a new bronze token, different from the previous one. This one was smaller and plain grey, with only the character "Dan" imprinted on it, signifying his status as a member of the alchemy room, allowing him access to certain areas.
Upon officially entering the poison extraction department, Yu Lie hinted that he was under Senior Fang's care. The head of the department, a middle-ranking guide boy, caught Yu Lie's implication and glanced at the guide boy who brought him, smiling immediately.
The head of the poison extraction department said cheerfully, "There are many small positions under the main department, and we have a vacancy. Yu Lie, you can start with one of those positions as a responsible guide boy."
The small positions rotated in handling the work in the poison extraction department, switching day and night. Although each position had few people, there were at least four in each.
With this arrangement, Yu Lie, upon entering the poison extraction department, would have some authority, reducing restrictions after joining.
On his first day in the alchemy room, Yu Lie didn't rush to work but focused on familiarizing himself with the environment.
Yu Lie also learned that there was a special kitchen department in the alchemy room, better than the outside eateries. He took the initiative to invite the guide boy, Bi Jiling, and the head of the poison extraction department to have a good meal together in the kitchen.
After a satisfying meal, as the time to finish work in the alchemy room approached, the head of the poison extraction department finally arrived. He only had a glass of water before leaving.
Instead of leaving the dining hall, the head of the poison extraction department walked towards the back of the hall.
Blushing, the guide boy pointed to the spacious dining hall and said, "People think our alchemy room's dining hall is the best, with free meals and delicious food, but they don't know that the small kitchen in the back is the real gem."
"The middle-ranking guide boys from other departments often come here! I heard they even serve exotic beast meat."
Yu Lie sat on the ground floor of the dining hall, looking up at the windows above. He indeed saw many figures raising their cups and enjoying themselves.
Bi Jiling said, "The middle-ranking guide boys have the small kitchen, so what about the senior guide boys like Senior Fang? They must have their meals delivered to their department."
He looked envious.
The guide boy replied, "Not quite, the senior guide boys consume pills and elixirs, they no longer eat regular meals!"
This revelation left Bi Jiling stunned, as he hadn't considered this possibility.
Ordinary meals, no matter how good, were still made from grains and would affect the cultivation of the guide boys. The pills and elixirs consumed by the senior guide boys were likely to be more beneficial and less wasteful than regular food.
For the ordinary guide boys in the town, such luxury was beyond imagination!
Yu Lie sipped his wine, silently thinking, "Senior Fang and the senior guide boys live a truly nourishing life!"
Currently a lower-ranking guide boy, Yu Lie was two transformations away from reaching the senior level.
However, it was only two transformations away.