A large stone arch stood over the entrance and hanging beneath it was a simple wooden plaque.
Lin Mu looked up and read the words aloud. "The Fifth Janitorial Division?"
He blinked. "I... did not expect this."
Truthfully, he had simply been heading toward the nearest settlement he had seen on the way here when he came with High Elder Shatter Peak. He had assumed it would belong to some administrative office or perhaps a training ground.
Instead... He had arrived at what was essentially the sect’s cleaning department. or rather one of them.
Xukong chuckled inside the ring. "You certainly have a talent for ending up in unexpected places."
Lin Mu smiled helplessly. "I suppose even a sect this large needs someone to clean after everyone."
He stood quietly for another moment while observing the area.
The division itself occupied a surprisingly large plex. Several broad courtyards were connected through covered walkways while warehouses lined both sides of the roads. Dozens upon dozens of servants hurried about carrying supplies in every direction.
Some transported enormous bundles of robes piled higher than themselves. Others pushed carts overflowing with cleaning tools. Several cultivators carried stacks of polished jade tiles.
One elderly servant casually balanced an entire bronze statue upon his shoulders while walking toward a warehouse while whistling casually. All if it looked utterly absurd. That was because, although they held the status of servants, every person here was still a cultivator.
Even the weakest possessed cultivation beyond a mortal.
"It should still work." Lin Mu muttered. "There ought to be disciples supervising this place. If anyone knows where I should go... It would probably be them."
With that thought, he walked through the entrance.
But the moment he stepped inside... Something felt strange.
Several servants looked toward him. One servant carrying buckets slowed his pace and another woman stopped sweeping. Two men transporting a wardrobe glanced at him before whispering something to each other.
Lin Mu initially assumed they were merely surprised to see an unfamiliar face, so he continued walking. The strange looks only multiplied and every few steps someone turned to stare.
Some frowned, others looked confused and a few even appeared annoyed.
Lin Mu finally slowed. "Why is everyone looking at me?"
Before he could think further, footsteps approached from the front. A middle aged man wearing servant robes strode toward him with brisk confidence. Unlike the others, this servant wore a rectangular bronze badge attached to his chest.
The badge bore the symbol of a broom crossed with a brush. It was clearly someone with authority.
He stopped directly before Lin Mu.
"Hey!" His voice carried enough authority that several nearby servants also paused to watch.
Lin Mu looked at him innocently. "Yes?"
The supervisor frowned. "Why aren’t you in uniform?"
Lin Mu blinked. "...Uniform?"
"And why are you wandering around here?" The supervisor folded his arms. "Porter assignments were distributed this morning. You’ve already missed them."
Lin Mu stared at him for several seconds. "...Porter?"
The supervisor looked increasingly suspicious. "Don’t tell me you overslept."
Lin Mu remained pletely silent as several thoughts raced through his mind.
’Uniform... Porter... Large build...’ Then everything clicked. "...Ah."
He finally understood. "They think I’m a servant."
Specifically a porter.
Considering Little Bull’s appearance, the misunderstanding actually made perfect sense. The young man stood nearly two meters tall with broad shoulders, thick muscles and the weathered appearance of someone accustomed to manual labor.
pared with the elegantly dressed disciples Lin Mu had encountered yesterday, Little Bull truly resembled someone whose profession involved carrying boulders rather than books.
Lin Mu sighed inwardly. ’I should have changed into Wild Peak robes.’
Only now did he remember the enormous wardrobe he had been shown yesterday. Unfortunately... Nobody had actually told him to wear those robes. The Wild Peak disciples themselves hardly followed any dress code.
Half of them walked around wearing ordinary clothes while several preferred beast hides. One disciple had attended dinner wearing nothing except shorts. High Elder Shatter Peak himself barely managed to squeeze into robes that looked ready to surrender at any moment.
Uniforms clearly ranked rather low on their list of priorities.
The supervisor cleared his throat impatiently. "Answer me."
Lin Mu nodded. "I’m not a servant."
The supervisor raised one eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I’m a disciple." Bull uttered and gave birth to utter silence.
The supervisor slowly looked Lin Mu up and down. Then... He laughed. It was a very short laugh, one entirely devoid of humor.
"A disciple."
"Yes."
"You?"
"Yes."
The supervisor nodded several times. "I see."
He leaned closer. "And I’m the Patriarch."
"Oh." Lin Mu blinked. "You got promoted?"
The supervisor nearly choked. Nearby servants immediately covered their mouths while several shoulders visibly trembled. Someone had started laughing already.
"Enough joking." The supervisor quickly recovered. "I’m serious."
"So am I. I’m a disciple." Little Bull reiterated.
The supervisor rubbed his forehead. "Which division?"
"The Wild Peak." Those two words changed everything.
The supervisor froze as his expression stiffened and his eyes slowly widened.
Then, he looked at Lin Mu again. Really looked at the massive physique, the simple grin, the rough appearance and the carefree attitude. Suddenly... Everything fit together.
Cold sweat instantly formed across his forehead and his back became damp.
"...Wild..."
"...Peak?"
Lin Mu nodded cheerfully. "Yes."
The supervisor unconsciously took two steps backward and his expression transformed from annoyance into outright panic.
’That explains everything.’
’Of course he looks like this.’
’Of course he’s enormous.’
’Of course he’s smiling like someone who accidentally punched through three walls before breakfast.’
The Wild Peak.
There existed many places within the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect that ordinary servants respected. Several they admired and a handful they feared. The Wild Peak, though, occupied an entirely unique category.
The disciples there never bullied servants, they never demanded bribes and they never deliberately abused anyone. In fact, whenever servants encountered genuine trouble, Wild Peak disciples often stepped forward first.
Once, an entire warehouse had collapsed. The Wild Peak disciples had helped rebuild it before breakfast. Another time, several servants had bee trapped beneath a landslide. The Wild Peak simply moved the mountain.
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