It was already the Xushi hour (7-9 PM) when Chen Er Zhu arrived at Wanghu Village.
Following the handover letter he received when taking the mission, Chen Er Zhu arrived at the southeast corner of Wanghu Village, near Wangyue Lake.
There was a luxuriously decorated Daoist temple here, and according to the letter, this was the residence of the Disciple assigned to guard Wanghu Village.
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Is anyone there?"
Chen Er Zhu knocked on the door and politely asked.
Soon, the door opened, and a young man wearing the same gray Daoist robe as Chen Er Zhu pushed it open.
"You must be the Junior Brother here to take over for me?" Wu Zian recognized Chen Er Zhu as an Lingding Immortal Sect Outer Sect Disciple at first glance.
He had been waiting for someone to take over his mission of guarding Wanghu Village for over half a month.
If no one had taken over his mission, he would have left Wanghu Village and returned to the Lingding Immortal Sect half a month ago.
"Are you Senior Brother Wu Zian? My name is Chen Er Zhu, and I've come to take over the mission of guarding Wanghu Village."
Upon hearing this, Wu Zian was ecstatic.
"Wait for me, I'll go pack my things and leave immediately; this will be your residence from now on."
After saying this, he eagerly went inside to pack his belongings.
Soon, he emerged with a bundle.
"Junior Apprentice-brother Chen, there are some things I must warn you about. The mission to guard Wanghu Village is not as easy as you might imagine.
Although I haven't encountered any danger here for over half a year, I always feel that this place is very strange, though I can't pinpoint exactly what makes it strange.
I wonder if Junior Apprentice-brother Chen knows that three previous Senior Brothers who guarded Wanghu Village disappeared without a trace?"
Chen Er Zhu nodded and said, "I did hear about that after accepting this mission."
Upon hearing this, Wu Zian's face showed an expression of understanding.
Like Chen Er Zhu, Wu Zian also only learned after accepting the mission that three Senior Brothers had previously disappeared without a trace in Wanghu Village, with no body ever found.
"Those sons of bitches, they knew this mission was dangerous but didn't reveal anything. But don't worry, as long as you don't wander around looking for trouble, nothing should happen, and half a year will pass quickly.
Other than being a bit boring, everything else is quite good here. You don't have to worry about food, drink, or daily necessities at all; the villagers of Wanghu Village will arrange everything for you.
Oh, and in the small box on the desk in the room, there's an Earth Restraint Talisman and an Ice Spike Talisman. They were specially left by the Sect for the Disciple guarding this place to protect themselves. Now they are yours."
Afterward, Wu Zian gave Chen Er Zhu some more instructions, then left in a hurry.
Seeing Wu Zian leave in such a rush, Chen Er Zhu regretted his decision once again.
If guarding Wanghu Village was a good assignment, Wu Zian would never have been so happy to leave, nor would he have rushed back overnight.
Since it has come to this, he can only settle down and guard Wanghu Village.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning.
Someone knocked on the gate of Chen Er Zhu's residence.
As the door opened, an old man in his sixties with a wisp of a goatee appeared outside the door, accompanied by a boy of fifteen or sixteen.
The girl held a lunchbox in her hand and stood behind the goatee-bearded old man with her head bowed.
"Are you the new Immortal? When Immortal Wu left yesterday, he specifically sought me out and told me that an Immortal named Chen Er Zhu had taken over his mission. I didn't expect the Immortal to be so young."
Zhou Zhixiang was somewhat surprised the moment he saw Chen Er Zhu. If Wu Zian hadn't told him yesterday that someone had taken his place, and that no one dared to enter this Daoist temple except for an Immortal, he truly wouldn't have believed that the person in front of him, who looked even younger than his granddaughter, was the new Immortal.
"That's right. Starting today, I will be guarding Wanghu Village. And you are?" Chen Er Zhu asked curiously.
Zhou Zhixiang quickly introduced himself: "My humble name is Zhou Zhixiang, and I am the village chief of Wanghu Village. This is my granddaughter, Zhou Cuiping. The Immortal can just call her Xiao Cui. From now on, Xiao Cui will take care of the Immortal's daily life and meals. The Immortal can instruct Xiao Cui to do anything."
Xiao Cui was quite a bit taller than Chen Er Zhu, and her appearance was very pretty. In a few more years, it wouldn't be impossible for her to grow into a great beauty.
"Hello, Immortal. This is the breakfast prepared for the Immortal." Xiao Cui said, placing the lunchbox in her hand on the table.
"Thank you. I'll be troubling Miss Xiao Cui from now on." Chen Er Zhu replied very politely.
The previous Immortals who guarded Wanghu Village were all taken care of by Xiao Cui, and none of them had ever said "thank you." So, when Xiao Cui heard Chen Er Zhu thank her, she was a little overwhelmed.
Chen Er Zhu was just a low-level Cultivator in the Lingding Immortal Sect; if he were thrown into a crowd, he wouldn't attract any attention at all.
However, among ordinary people, even a low-level Cultivator like him was an Immortal they had to look up to.
"Village Chief Zhou, I'm new here and completely unfamiliar with Wanghu Village. I'd like to ask Village Chief Zhou to tell me about Wanghu Village and the surrounding area," Chen Er Zhu said.
"Our Wanghu Village has 521 households and 2,981 people. There are also more than a dozen villages nearby, and their populations are similar to ours in Wanghu Village. They are also protected by the Immortal.
However, our Wanghu Village is more frequently troubled by Yao Beasts, which is why the Lingding Immortal Sect sends people to guard our Wanghu Village.
But rest assured, Immortal, those Yao Beasts are nothing but chickens and dogs to the Immortal; the Immortal can easily slay them with a casual strike."
When Chen Er Zhu accepted the mission, the mission brief did mention Yao Beasts, but because the number of Yao Beasts appearing around Wanghu Village was small, and they were all low-level Yao Beasts, even a Lianqi (Qi Condensation) Level 3 Cultivator could easily slay them.
Afterward, Chen Er Zhu asked some other questions. Only after Zhou Zhixiang explained in detail did he leave his Daoist temple with Xiao Cui.
Because Xiao Cui needed to be on call, she lived in a wooden house next to the Daoist temple.
From now on, Chen Er Zhu's three daily meals would be prepared by Xiao Cui in this wooden house.
Although Cultivators can go without food by consuming Bigu Pill, purchasing Bigu Pill requires a lot of Spirit Stones, and Chen Er Zhu had been hungry since he was young, so his long-cherished wish was to eat his fill every day.
The lunchbox Xiao Cui brought was very generous; besides a large box full of rice, there were also three dishes and one soup. Although they were all country-style dishes, they perfectly suited Chen Er Zhu's taste.
The reason Chen Er Zhu risked so much to beg Luo Ling to let him serve her was simply to be able to eat a full meal three times a day.
Now, he not only achieved his goal of eating well and fully three times a day.
He also became an Immortal in the eyes of others.
This was something he had never dared to dream of before.
Taking out the Azure Bamboo Heart Guard he had on him, Chen Er Zhu checked the doors and windows. They were all closed, and there was no one around. Only then did he cautiously take out the bronze mirror.