Chapter 10: Daisies

Although Lin Zhan had put on two extra pairs of trousers in that icy cave, his fall was still a harsh one. He tumbled a few times before sprawling on the ground, unable to recover for quite some time.

"Hey, kid, what's your name? Stop pretending to be dead and get up! Tsk, tsk, five years of penal labor—what kind of bad luck did you bring upon Elder Huang? And to think he brought you here himself!"

A pair of leather boots appeared before Lin Zhan. He looked up to see a burly man with a face full of coarse flesh, clad in a grey robe that clung tightly to his rotund body, making his head appear all the more prominent.

The man was grinning maliciously, his large nostrils flaring in Lin Zhan's direction, a truly menacing sight.

"B-b-big brother! My name is Lin Zhan," Lin Zhan stammered, feeling a chill rise from the soles of his feet, but he forced himself to ignore the pain, scrambling to his feet.

It was only then he noticed two other men behind the big-nosed figure, both baring their teeth in grim smiles.

One of them stepped forward and barked, "Listen up, kid. This is Hallmaster Huang of the Daisy Hall under the Blazing Flame Ice Mountain Sect. From now on, you’re under Daisy Hall’s jurisdiction. Be obedient and do your work well!"

"Greetings, Hallmaster Huang!" Lin Zhan said, his instincts kicking in. Since fate had brought him here, and he was ignorant of the local customs, it was best to bow his head for now.

"Very well," Hallmaster Huang replied, adopting the air of a benevolent leader, his tone not unkind. "I have always been one to recognize and employ talent. As long as you do your work diligently, all will be well. After all, even a menial disciple is a registered member of the sect—not everyone has the chance to be here. Fire Yi, take the newcomer to get familiar with the surroundings and teach him how to work. We’re short-handed lately!"

"At your command!" Fire Yi—the one who had spoken earlier—bowed in acceptance.

Lin Zhan followed Fire Yi, and before leaving, he cupped his hands and bowed to Hallmaster Huang. This was, after all, his immediate superior. Though he had observed that the man’s temperament could be capricious, there was no room for disrespect on his part.

Only then did Lin Zhan dare to take in his surroundings. The grand complex of buildings belonging to the Menial Hall loomed indistinctly through the snowy mist, leaving him deeply awed. Compared to the city walls of Snow City that pierced the clouds, these buildings were built along the mountainside, majestic and well-ordered.

Lin Zhan quickly brought his attention back to the present. The sallow-faced, sharp-eyed Fire Yi beside him—should he call him Senior Brother?

In the end, Lin Zhan considered himself quite fortunate. He had destroyed the stone gate and been sentenced to five years of servitude, but had somehow become a registered disciple under the Blazing Flame Ice Mountain Sect. For now, it seemed he’d managed to find some stability.

After half a day of familiarization, Lin Zhan, guided by Senior Brother Fire Yi, gained a basic understanding of his new environment.

Daisy Hall was one of the four major menial halls under the main Blazing Flame Peak. The other three were Bamboo Hall, Plum Blossom Hall, and Orchid Hall.

The Hallmaster, Yun Mobei, was rarely seen. The one they interacted with was the broad-nosed Hallmaster Huang. The perpetually constipated-looking Fire Yi and the acne-ridden Senior Brother Qi Ming, whom Lin Zhan had met earlier, were the two stewards beneath Hallmaster Huang.

"In our Daisy Hall, you can’t use your own names. You’re the tenth disciple to arrive this month, so you’ll be called Menial Eleven," Fire Yi announced as they walked toward the courtyard where the menial disciples rested.

"Uh, Steward Fire, shouldn’t the tenth disciple be Menial Ten?" Lin Zhan asked, puzzled.

"Menial Ten is already reserved, so you’re Menial Eleven," Fire Yi replied expressionlessly, giving Lin Zhan a glare.

What an unpleasant name, Lin Zhan thought. Not only did it sound terrible, but to think someone would even compete for the number—he was speechless.

Grumbling was pointless. Swept into this world of ice and snow, he was still adjusting to the time difference. Lin Zhan sighed inwardly, resolving that from this moment on, he would no longer complain. Survival and doing his utmost to live well—that was all that mattered.

As they entered the courtyard, he saw two men splitting firewood in the open space.

Fire Yi called out, "Menial Seven, Menial Eight, one of you come and take Menial Eleven to the supply room for two sets of clothes!"

The two men looked up with identical faces—each with only one eye—and grinned broadly.

Three months later, Lin Zhan had grown from a complete novice to a menial disciple, barely competent in all manner of chores in Daisy Hall of the Blazing Flame Ice Mountain Sect.

His grey menial robes made him blend in; he was no longer such an oddity. All the clothing and items he had stripped from the soldiers’ corpses earlier, including weapons, had been handed over to the supply room for safekeeping.

Menial One to Menial Nine all lived together in one room. Lin Zhan, with his utterly average looks, surprisingly stood out among this group—because the other nine were, to put it gently, far from attractive. "Odd-shaped melons and jujubes" was far too kind a description.

Menial One had no flesh on his face, his skin stretched tight over his bones, looking like a skeleton. Menial Two’s facial features were wildly disproportionate, eyes and brows set far apart. Menial Seven and Menial Eight, supposedly twins, each had only one eye. It was said that they had been born with their heads conjoined, and when separated, each had to sacrifice one eye.

Lin Zhan’s arrival raised the average appearance of Menial Team C of Daisy Hall considerably.

Thus, whenever he was chastised for poor performance, Lin Zhan would comfort himself, "Heh, at least I’m better looking than you lot!"

He was lucky—these senior brothers, though not much to look at, were all good companions who cared for him. As the youngest, he was especially well looked after.

The work was arduous, but during rare moments of leisure, Lin Zhan found much to enjoy. He gradually learned more about the Blazing Flame Ice Mountain Sect and heard that Qin Qingxuan had become an official disciple of Misty Peak.

The Blazing Flame Ice Mountain had five towering peaks: the main Blazing Flame Peak, and the subsidiary peaks of Westward, Sword Burial, Heavenly Gang, and Misty.

The menial halls were situated on the mid-slopes of Blazing Flame Peak, with Daisy, Bamboo, Plum Blossom, and Orchid Halls scattered across the mountainside.

Most menial disciples were those who had broken sect rules or erred within the inner sect, supplemented by those who had failed the aptitude tests. Thus, those who had not passed the initial tests lingered outside the sect gates, hoping for future selection as dedicated menials—though such menials were not considered true disciples.

Of course, Lin Zhan was an exception. Having been dumped in the menial hall by Elder Huang for destroying the sect gate, Hallmaster Huang simply counted him among the non-dedicated menials.

"So I’m not so unlucky after all!"

Fated to be led by the nose, Lin Zhan at last had something to be glad about. Perhaps this was a good beginning?

He started to daydream: a mysterious old grandmaster appearing in his mind, stumbling upon a priceless treasure while kicking a stone, accidentally entering a cave to receive a heaven-defying inheritance, or having beauties flock to him, desperate to offer themselves in dual cultivation... All of these depended on luck!

Lin Zhan’s thoughts began to drift away into wild fantasies.