The key Yan Liqiang was holding had 'Tianqiao 3' inscribed on it. Similarly, there was also a wooden sign with the word 'Tianqiao 3' hanging outside this small courtyard. Hence, Yan Liqiang entered the courtyard.

There was a small two-story wooden house in the small courtyard. The lowest story of the wooden house was supported by four wooden pillars that were so thick a person could wrap both arms around each one. There were no walls between the pillars and the area was open to the air. The four pillars were surrounded by a meter-high mud wall on three sides, leaving a gap in between them. Two chicken coops piled with rice straws were placed in the enclosed area in the middle of the yard. Beside the chicken coops were a big pile of tools such as brooms and wooden buckets. Beside those four pillars were stairs that led to the second floor of the small wooden house.

At first glance, this small wooden house appeared to be quite similar to a stilt house.

Although the stairs of the wooden house creaked under the feet, it was quite st.u.r.dy. At least one wouldn't sway on the steps. Yan Liqiang went up to the second floor with his keys. Just about two steps on the left side of the stairs was a locked door. Yan Liqiang used the key to unlock the door and he went inside the house.

The house seemed to have been abandoned for quite a very long time. The floorboards inside the house were covered by a layer of dust. When Yan Liqiang crossed the room, his footprints were left on the floor. All the furnis.h.i.+ng and displays of the house were extremely basic: there was only a bed, a table, a chair, and a wardrobe in the room. Even the wooden house itself was built out of the cheapest pinewood. Since the windows of the house were tightly shut, the entire house was filled with the distinct scent of pinewood.

The bed frame was very bare — there was a dusty board laid on top of it. There wasn't even a cup or teapot on the table; only a lamp. The oil in the lamp had dried up a long time ago, leaving only a charred cotton wick.

Yan Liqiang could only smile wryly at this extremely simple accommodation. However, the only thing that comforted Yan Liqiang was that the wooden house wasn't leaking and the inside of the house wasn't humid; therefore, the smell of mold was completely absent. There shouldn't be any issues in resting or sheltering from the rain here.

Yan Liqiang opened the wardrobe and took a look in it first. The upper part of the wardrobe was empty, but there was a set of bed sheets, a blanket, a mattress, and a mosquito net on the bottom. Although they looked a little worn out, they were still relatively clean and were neatly put away.

"Yan Liqiang, you will be staying here for quite a long while from now on. Do your best!"

He encouraged himself aloud before he put down the sack he was holding. Then he enthusiastically rolled up his sleeves and started tidying the room up.

The first thing Yan Liqiang did was open one of the tightly shut windows to ventilate the room. He then went downstairs and found a broom and dustpan among the pile of tools left there. He returned upstairs, swept all the dust away, then went downstairs again to find a mop and fetched some water with the wooden bucket. His bed, wardrobe, table, chair, and everything in his sight were wiped clean. When he was done and the room was dust-free, only then did he open the wardrobe to retrieve the mattress, bed sheets, and blanket that were sitting in there. He took them downstairs and hung them up on the bamboo poles used for hanging laundry, spreading them out to bask in the sun, including the mosquito net.

If he had enough time, he could've taken out the bed sheets and washed them before use. But since he would be officially 'a.s.suming the new post' tomorrow, time didn't allow him to do all that so he had no choice but to put up with this for now.

When Yan Liqiang found a wooden stick to slap the bed sheets and blanket he was airing out, two people came into the courtyard he was staying at. One of them greeted Yan Liqiang as soon as he entered the yard.

"Junior Martial Brother, are you the newcomer?"

The two people who had walked into the yard were around sixteen and seventeen years old. They were polar opposites of each other in terms of height and skin color. The taller of the two had fair skin and was quite handsome. On the other hand, the shorter of the two was tanned and well-built. Both of them were dressed in gray robes with gray belts tied around their waists. They were similarly the sect's lower-ranked external disciples. When Yan Liqiang arrived here earlier, he vaguely recalled that both of them seemed to be doing their jobs of shucking corns by the field.

It was the tall and fair youth who spoke. There were two dimples on either side of his cheeks when he smiled, causing him to appear very friendly.

"Yes, I have just been a.s.signed here." Yan Liqiang stopped to reply.

"Haha, Junior Martial Brother, you are indeed unlucky! It has been a long time since anyone has lived in this courtyard. All the ones who stayed here were a.s.signed to clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak. That's the dirtiest and most tiring job in the entire Divine Sword Sect. I didn't expect you to get that. Did that Huo Bin b.a.s.t.a.r.d a.s.sign you here?!" That youth squinted his eyes.

"Yes, it was indeed Servant Huo of Gray Hall who a.s.signed me here!"

"There's no mistake about it, it's the same b.a.s.t.a.r.d. There's only one person from the Huo Clan in all of Gray Hall and that b.a.s.t.a.r.d is responsible for a.s.signing the jobs on Tianqiao Peak. What did you do to offend him for him to actually do this to you, Brother?"

"I didn't offend him. However, I kind of did something to someone in the Commandment Courtyard over those few days and he happened to know Servant Huo. That's how I was a.s.signed here. Oh, did both of you end up here because you offended Servant Huo too?"

"Of course. Otherwise, why would we call him a b.a.s.t.a.r.d?!" The fair youth seethed, "That day, I saw a quite beautiful Junior Martial Sister at Gray Hall so I couldn't stop myself from approaching her to chat her up. I was only joking with her when that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Huo saw me and that was how I ended up here. He even accused me of indecent behavior and told me to reflect on it. What the f*ck? He should really get a mirror for himself. He accused me of indecent behavior for only chatting with the Junior Martial Sister. He should look at the way he ogled at her. That f*cker was almost drooling!"

"What about this Senior Martial Brother?"

"Well, he's just a blockhead. The other disciples from the same batch who joined the sect with him were talking about giving that Huo guy twenty taels of silver each but he refused to give even a copper coin. In the end, his overweening att.i.tude got him a.s.signed here by b.a.s.t.a.r.d Huo!"

"That's twenty taels of silver we are talking about, I'm not that rich! Besides, I've come to the Divine Sword Sect to learn abilities, not to learn how to flatter anyone. There's no way I'm giving him anything even if I have the money. What can he possibly do to me?" The short and well-built youth huffed with a look of defiance on his face.

It seemed like those who had the same misfortune would sympathize with each other. Yan Liqiang laughed. "I am Yan Liqiang. What are your names, Senior Martial Brothers?"

"I am Gu Zexuan…" The fair youth introduced himself, then pointed to the person beside him. "He is Zhao Huipeng. He doesn't speak much, but he likes to listen. If you are with him and you realize that he hasn't spoken to you for a few hours, please don't misunderstand. It isn't like he has something against you. That's just how he is…"

"Yup…" Zhao Huipeng gave a word of acknowledgement and didn't say anything else.

"Oh right, Senior Martial Brother told me that it has been a long time since anyone lived here. Does that mean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak haven't been cleaned for a long time?"

"How could that possibly be?" Gu Zexuan laughed. "Most of the time, the external disciples will take turns doing this kind of job so it's kind of like a temporary task a.s.signed by drawing lots. The longest period is usually only seven days while the shortest is three days. Since it's just a temporary job, the external disciples who have to take on this task usually won't move all the way here. There are a lot of external disciples in the Divine Sword Sect. Even if a different person is a.s.signed the job for one day, many won't even get their turn in several years. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Huo and the other servants don't dare to offend some external disciples from clans with certain backgrounds, so they will never be a.s.signed this type of dirty and tiring job either!"

"So who stayed in my house before?"

"I heard that it was a very old Senior Martial Brother who stayed in your house in the earliest days. He violated some sect rules a long time ago, causing his cultivation to be stripped away from him. He was imprisoned in the Divine Sword Sect for seventy or eighty years, only to be released when he was old and still an external disciple. Upon his release, that Senior Martial Brother moved into your current place and was responsible for cleaning the toilets on Tianqiao Peak every day. The house was left empty after that Senior Martial Brother pa.s.sed away from old age until a few years ago when another Senior Martial Brother who had just joined the sect seemed to have also offended someone and was a.s.signed here too. That guy stayed here to clean toilets for nearly five years until a year ago. He advanced as a Supreme Martial Warrior, rose above the external disciple rank, and finally moved away! Tiaoqiao 3 is not a good place..."

"I see!" Yan Liqiang finally clicked. This kind of thing wasn't something he could understand a few days ago in the Commandment Courtyard.

Speaking to this point, Gu Zexuan looked at Yan Liqiang. The tone of his voiced turned sincere and earnest. "Junior Martial Brother, I'd advise you to find an opportunity to give that Huo guy some money if you can afford to. Give in to him and say something nice to him. That way, you'd be able to rid yourself of this job sooner. Otherwise, you won't be left with much time to cultivate since you will be hanging out around the toilets every day here. It's going to be hard for you to improve. A few years of setbacks will greatly impact your future prospects in the Divine Sword Sect and cause you to miss out on a lot of opportunities. It's really not worth it…"

"Why didn't Senior Martial Brother Gu submit to that Servant Huo?"

"Hmph, even if my clan isn't some wealthy and influential great clan, my clan has quite a reputation! A few seniors in my clan hold certain authority within the military. That Huo guy knew of my background so he didn't dare to overstep his boundary in delaying my future prospects. I won't be staying here too long. I will leave in just a few months or more at most. As long as I don't lower my head, there's no way that Huo guy can press me down forever."

Yan Liqiang smiled. "To be honest, I'm in a similar situation as Senior Martial Brother Zhao Huipeng. I'm pretty poor too. All I have is only a few taels of silver in my pockets. Even if I wanted to give money to that Huo guy, I couldn't possibly offer anything. Although cleaning toilets may be a little dirty and tiring, it's nothing to be ashamed about. I actually want to test myself to see if I can do this job well and take it as an opportunity to train myself."

"Brother, that's so impressive!" Gu Zexuan gave Yan Liqiang a thumbs up with a look of disbelief on his face. "I'll be convinced if you can still think the same way after two months..."