Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

"yes."

Chen Yuan responded, handed the baggage to Chen Laoer, turned around and walked to the hill-like pile of iron materials, bent down and hugged a piece.

He took a deep breath and tried to lift it up, but found that it was surprisingly easy, so he hugged it directly.

Chen Yuan weighed it and found that a piece of iron weighed about twenty kilograms. It was extremely heavy for an ordinary boy of twelve or thirteen years old, but in his hands, it was only slightly difficult.

Chen Yuan walked briskly into the warehouse, put down the iron materials, then returned to the courtyard and continued to move the iron materials.

The patio of this yard is very large, and the distance between the warehouse and the iron pile is not close, but Chen Yuan still moved three pieces of iron in a short time and passed the test.

But he kept Chen Laoer's advice in mind and continued to carry iron materials without stopping.

When Chen Yuan finished moving the fourth piece of iron, everyone in the courtyard looked at him with eyes full of surprise.

Manager Li, who had always had a calm expression, straightened up and looked Chen Yuan up and down.

When the tall young man shouted to stop, Chen Yuan had just finished moving the ninth piece of iron.

The tall young man said:

"Nine pieces of iron material, passed the test, and was included in the roster!"

The accountant had already picked up the brush, dipped it in thick ink upon hearing this, and asked:

"What's your name? How old are you? Where is your home?"

"The villain Chen Erniu is thirteen years old and lives in Chenjia Village..."

Chen Yuan answered respectfully according to Chen Laoer's instructions on the way.

The accountant quickly entered Chen Yuan into the roster and nodded gently to the tall young man.

"Deng..."

The tall young man was about to speak when Manager Li slowly raised his hand. He immediately shut his mouth and stepped aside.

Manager Li stroked his goatee and said:

"Chen Erniu, are you born with such great strength?"

Chen Yuan's heart trembled, he raised his head, showed a frightened expression, and said:

"No, the villain was infected with cold three years ago. His family was poor and he could not afford to see a doctor. My father went into the mountains to find some herbs. After the villain ate them, his illness was cured and his strength gradually increased..."

Manager Li frowned when he heard this. Chen Laoer observed his words and hurriedly added:

"Report to Manager Li, Xiaoxiao and Erniu are from the same village. This news spread throughout the village three years ago. Everyone in the village knows that Erniu was lucky and escaped from the ghost gate. Not only did he not die, but he also got a huge body. He is said to be blessed by God."

Manager Li's brows relaxed and he asked:

"Do you still remember what the herbs look like?"

Chen Yuan shook his head and said:

"Can not remember."

Manager Li nodded thoughtfully:

"Well, you must have eaten some exotic flowers and herbs, cured the cold, and gained great strength for nothing. It's really good luck..."

Chen Yuan felt relieved and knew that he should have passed the test.

This rhetoric was made up by him after he discovered the effect of Yujue to explain his gradual increase in strength after he was ten years old.

However, Chen Tiezhu did venture into the Chimang Mountains to find medicine for Chen Yuan, but it did not work. Chen Erniu still fell seriously ill and died, giving Chen Yuan a chance to live a new life.

Manager Li relieved his doubts and said to Chen Laoer:

"If you bring a good seedling this time, I will reward you with three hundred coins."

Chen Laoer was overjoyed:

"I thank Manager Li for the reward!"

The accountant counted out 300 Wen as a reward, along with 50 Wen as an introduction to the apprentice's wages, wrote two apprenticeship contracts, and handed them to Chen Laoer after Manager Li signed them.

After Chen Tiezhu signed the apprenticeship contract and registered with the government, Chen Yuan could become an apprentice of Baibing Hall.

At that time, Baibingtang can beat and scold Chen Yuan at will, but as long as no one is killed, even if he is beaten to a disability, the government will not interfere.

Chen Laoer took the apprenticeship contract and the reward and left happily. Before leaving, he told Chen Yuan:

"Manager Li thinks highly of you. This is your blessing. Work hard and listen to Manager Li."

He didn't lower his voice deliberately, and everyone in the courtyard could hear it.

The tall young man sneered silently, while the short, stocky young man in yellow on the other side of Manager Li nodded, seemingly in agreement.

Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"Yes, Uncle Erhua, I will definitely listen to Manager Li. I will do whatever Manager Li asks me to do."

Manager Li smiled slightly, and after Chen Laoer stepped back, he looked at Chen Yuan and said warmly:

"Chen Erniu, do you want to be my apprentice?"

Chen Yuan looked confused:

"Ah? Isn't this villain here to be an apprentice?"

The tall young man shouted sharply:

"Hurry up and kowtow to the master! Our Hundred Soldiers Hall recruits apprentices. They need to go through one month of probation and one year of handyman service before they can become a formal apprentice. If the master likes you, you can directly become a formal apprentice and you can also practice martial arts. No need. It’s a great blessing for you to do the hard work again, why are you still doing it?”

Chen Yuan suddenly realized this, knelt down and kowtowed, and said loudly:

"Young man Chen Erniu, pay your respects to Master!"

Manager Li frowned and said:

"Now that you have become my disciple, stop calling yourself a villain."

Chen Yuan immediately changed his mind:

"Yes, Erniu has met the master!"

Manager Li stroked his goatee, raised his hand and pointed at the two young men in yellow beside him, and said with a smile:

"Haha, good disciple, this is your Senior Brother Wang Cong Wang and Senior Brother Zhao Shan. Zhao Shan, you will teach Er Niu martial arts from now on."

The short and stocky young man replied respectfully:

"Yes, Master."

He was not tall, but extremely strong, with a dark complexion and a square face.

The other tall young man is naturally the Wang Cong mentioned by Manager Li.

Chen Yuan stood up and saluted the two of them:

"Er Niu has met Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Brother Wang."

Zhao Shan smiled and said:

"Junior brother Chen, there is no need to be polite."

A look of displeasure flashed in Wang Cong's eyes, and he said calmly:

"Junior brother, remember this. We must respect our master well in the future. This is our duty as apprentices."

Chen Yuan nodded repeatedly:

"I will definitely honor Manager Li... no, I will honor Master!"

"Ha ha……"

Manager Li seemed amused by Chen Yuan's naive appearance, stroking his beard and smiling, saying:

"Okay, I have to recruit apprentices as a teacher. Zhao Shan, you can settle down Erniu first, and then come back to serve."

"Yes, Master."

Zhao Shan replied respectfully and raised his hand to greet Chen Yuan to leave.

Chen Yuan picked up the baggage placed on the ground next to him, followed Zhao Shan and walked out of the courtyard.

After the two of them crossed the courtyard gate, Wang Cong bent down, smiled flatteringly, and whispered:

"Congratulations to Master for gaining a good disciple today. Junior Brother Chen has great strength and great talent. He will definitely be able to learn martial arts as soon as possible and relieve Master's worries."

Manager Li looked at Chen Yuan's back with a smile:

"What a good disciple. He's just a young boy from the country. He's as stupid as an ox, so he deserves his name... But this boy has a simple heart and a lot of strength. If you train him well, it will be of great use."

Wang Cong immediately changed his mind:

"Master is really wise! This Chen Erniu is just like Zhao Shan. They were born in poverty. They have never seen the world and are embarrassed by their big responsibilities. It is their blessing to be favored by Master."

Manager Li was noncommittal, lightly stroking his beard and murmured:

"Zhang Jinkui, I am recruiting many disciples. From now on, all the branch halls will be my people. Let's see how you fight with me, haha..."

…

Chen Yuan lowered his head and followed Zhao Shan out of the yard and turned into an alley.

"call……"

Chen Yuan breathed out gently, feeling cold sweat all over his back.

When the breeze blows, there is a sticky, clammy feeling, which is very uncomfortable.

Manager Li's voice was very low when he was talking to Wang Cong, thinking he was keeping it secret, but in fact everything fell into his ears.

He originally thought that Manager Li accepted him as his disciple because of his love for talents, but unexpectedly, he wanted to recruit disciples and compete with that "Zhang Jinkui" for power.

Fortunately, he had a cautious personality and took the initiative to hide his clumsiness when carrying iron materials. Later, he pretended to be honest and deceived Manager Li.

In fact, he saw something was wrong when Manager Li and Wang Cong played the roles of red and white faces respectively.

It was even more obvious that Guanshi Li did not teach him martial arts personally, but asked Zhao Shan to teach him martial arts on his behalf.

This Manager Li is not serious about accepting disciples at all.

However, as long as Guanshi Li is willing to teach him martial arts, he doesn't mind working for Guanshi Li.

Just be careful and don't really act as a pawn in the charge.

The world is dangerous and every step must be taken on thin ice...

Chen Yuan's thoughts were spinning, reminding himself that he must act with caution, then he raised his head and pretended to be ignorant:

"Senior brother, Uncle Erhua sent me here to learn blacksmithing. Why did I change it to learning martial arts?"

Zhao Shan slowed down, turned around, and explained:

"We at Baibingtang are engaged in the ironware business and often need to transport ironware. In order to protect the convoy from being robbed by bandits, we need guards who are skilled in martial arts."

"Oh...Do you make more money by blacksmithing? Or do you make more money by learning martial arts? My mother said that you have to save money to build a house before you can marry a wife."

Zhao Shan laughed and said:

"How can blacksmithing be compared to practicing martial arts? As long as you practice martial arts well, it will be easy to build a house and have a wife, or even have a few concubines."

Chen Yuan's eyes showed longing and he said:

"Then I have to practice martial arts well and marry a good-looking wife in the future so that my mother can have a grandson soon!"

Zhao Shan smiled and said:

"Tomorrow I will teach you martial arts. After you practice for two or three years, you will be able to escort a convoy and transport iron tools. The money you save should be enough to marry a wife."

"Um!"

Chen Yuan nodded heavily and turned to ask:

"Senior brother, have you married a wife?"

Zhao Shan was stunned, shook his head and said:

"No."

"Why?"

"I have to concentrate on practicing martial arts so that I can join the main gang and do something big... Forget it, you are still young and you don't understand."

"oh……"

Chen Yuan responded with a vague understanding, but his thoughts were racing in his heart.

Zhao Shan regarded him as a simple country boy, without any precautions, and revealed a lot of useful information, which gave him a deeper understanding of Baibingtang.

However, Chen Yuan still has many doubts. For example, this "general gang" is obviously unusual.

But since Zhao Shan took the initiative to say it, it shouldn't be a secret and can be left to explore slowly later.

Finally, the two came to a small courtyard deep in the alley. Zhao Shan unlocked the door and pushed in:

"Junior brother, this is the courtyard where I live, and it is also where you will live in the future."