Chapter 13: Task

**Volume One: First Steps into Another World**

"No, that's not it," Cheng Shoubing replied, craning his neck to peer inside. "Miss Ji is the daughter of Divine Doctor Ji. Not only is she incredibly beautiful, but she's also the gentlest and kindest person. She often treats the poor for free, so she's very popular in the city. Most of these people are here just to catch a glimpse of Miss Ji."

Zu An pursed his lips. "You say Xue'er is incredibly beautiful, and now this Miss Ji is also incredibly beautiful according to you. How many beauties has a young page boy like you seen? How can you tell beauty from ugliness?"

Cheng Shoubing's face flushed crimson. Before he could respond, a red-faced man in the crowd ahead heard their conversation and turned around. "You brat, what do you know? Miss Ji is a beauty on par with Miss Chu from the Duke's Mansion, both famous in Mingyue City. But I heard Miss Chu married a good-for-nothing a few days ago, so let's not talk about her. Nowadays, Miss Ji is my only dream goddess."

Zu An's face darkened significantly. This bastard was openly insulting him to his face! If he tolerated this, he'd be unworthy of the title "keyboard warrior."

So he leaned in, feigning an effort to listen, then suddenly shouted loudly, "What did you say? You said Miss Ji is your wet dream goddess?"

He was now Rank Two, Stage Three, and his voice was much louder than a normal person's. Everyone in the crowd instantly turned to stare at him.

The red-faced man immediately grew anxious. "What nonsense are you spouting? I said 'dream goddess'—"

Before he could explain, Zu An interrupted him. "Oh, you mean you came here today hoping to steal some of Miss Ji's personal undergarments? Ugh, you're disgusting. I'm ashamed to be associated with you."

As he spoke, he pushed the man, ostensibly to distance himself, but in reality, pushing him into the crowd.

"I didn't, I don't..." Feeling the murderous gazes around him, the red-faced man panicked and hastily tried to explain. Unfortunately, someone shouted "Beat him!" and he was quickly swallowed by the crowd.

[Rage value from Lu Renjia +666!]

Zu An meticulously adjusted his clothes and walked directly to the front entrance.

Cheng Shoubing blinked beside him. *Such a move is possible?* Despite his shock, he quickly followed.

Just then, an angry roar came from inside the house: "Get out, all of you! Stop bothering me with your noise; I'm trying to sleep!"

Immediately after, the previously tightly shut main door slowly creaked open.

"Divine Doctor Ji is out! Divine Doctor Ji is out!"

The group of people who had been beating Lu Renjia instantly swarmed back to the doorway like a buzzing hive of bees, leaving only a pathetic man covered in footprints and bloodstains lying on the ground.

Zu An scrutinized the man who emerged. His cheeks were thin and gaunt, but one could faintly discern his handsome features from his youth. However, he was now unkempt, with a full beard, conspicuous dark circles under his eyes, and a strong smell of alcohol wafting from him from a distance—he was every bit a slovenly middle-aged man.

Yet, Zu An did not underestimate him in the slightest, because his ears were still ringing from the man's roar earlier, indicating that his cultivation was far superior to Zu An's.

*Now that's more like it,* Zu An thought. *This person clearly has the demeanor of a true master, just like a Drunken Sword Immortal... well, except his face isn't as round.*

"Divine Doctor, where is your esteemed daughter?" Someone next to him asked with an ingratiating smile.

Divine Doctor Ji squinted at him. "Who are you?"

"Divine Doctor, don't you remember me? I'm Wang Fugui, I come here often," the man hastily introduced himself.

"Don't remember," Divine Doctor Ji said, using his pinky finger to pick his ear, then flicked it casually. "This Divine Doctor only remembers pretty girls, or wealthy patrons... *cough, cough*, I mean, customers. You, my friend, must never have paid me any money."

Wang Fugui chuckled. "Although I haven't seen you for treatment, Miss Ji has treated me a few times..."

He was cut off by Divine Doctor Ji, who suddenly flew into a rage. "I've been wondering why my business has been dropping recently! So that useless money-loser has been giving you free treatments! All of you, get out!"

"Useless money-loser?" Zu An was stunned. *Describing his daughter like that? Is she really his biological child?*

"We're looking for Miss Ji, not you..." The speaker's voice instinctively faltered under Divine Doctor Ji's glare.

"She's not here. I sent her out of the city to gather herbs, so she wouldn't disturb my business." Divine Doctor Ji pulled out a chair and leisurely reclined on it. "If you want treatment, either pay a hundred taels of silver as a registration fee, or complete my task. Otherwise, all of you, get lost! Don't blame me if I'm impolite!"

Seeing that their dream goddess wasn't there, most people quickly dispersed. Clearly, they had suffered losses before. However, some genuinely seeking treatment remained, pleading, "Divine Doctor Ji, we truly don't have 100 taels of silver. Please be merciful and make an exception."

Divine Doctor Ji took a swig from his wine gourd, not even looking at the man. "Though I, Ji Dengtu, can cure all ailments, I cannot cure yours."

The man immediately grew anxious. "I haven't even described my condition to you, how do you know you can't save me?"

Divine Doctor Ji finally glanced at him. "Because you suffer from the disease of poverty. How can I cure that?"

"You have no medical ethics at all! What kind of divine doctor are you?!" The man's face instantly flushed crimson, clearly his pride wounded. He walked away dejectedly.

Divine Doctor Ji continued to recline in his armchair, humming an unknown tune, not even sparing him a glance.

At this moment, another shifty-looking person approached, quietly slipping a colorful picture book into his hand. "Divine Doctor Ji, this is something I just got—the latest edition from Heaven on Earth."

Divine Doctor Ji instantly sat up, snatching the picture book and flipping through it. Zu An, being close, keenly noticed faint glimpses of scantily clad young ladies within.

"This is good stuff," Divine Doctor Ji instantly hid the picture book in his clothes, patted the man's shoulder, and adopted a look of approval. "You may enter. I'll treat you later."

*This is possible too?!*

Zu An was dumbfounded. *I have "Young Wife Bai X," "The XX Chronicles," "Transforming into a Dragon Upon Encountering Wind and Clouds"... I wonder if those would work.* *Too bad I can't draw, otherwise I could just make one and offer it to him, couldn't I?*

"Why can *he* go in?" Others, unaware of the situation, immediately protested.

Divine Doctor Ji scowled and snorted. "Is it wrong if I just like him? If you want to go in, fine. If you can't pay the consultation fee, then complete the task."

"But your task is too difficult! You're deliberately making it hard for people!" someone cried out.

Only then did Zu An notice a sign hanging by the door. It read: "Today's Task: This Divine Doctor needs ten canine bezoars from Ferocious Jackals for a Qi-Transforming Pill."

He had heard of canine bezoars—stone-like objects that grow in a dog's stomach. They are mostly spherical or oval, with a grayish-white or grayish-black surface, and have functions such as calming internal wind, alleviating stagnation, and detoxifying.

But what exactly was a Ferocious Jackal? A type of wolf?

Hearing the complaints, Divine Doctor Ji swept a look at the crowd, as if looking at idiots. "If it wasn't difficult, why would I assign a task?"

The others immediately grew anxious and started talking over each other:

"But each Ferocious Jackal has at least Rank Two strength, and the leader might even be Rank Three."

"What's even more frustrating is that they often hunt in packs, from dozens to over a hundred. An ordinary person going there would just be sending themselves to their death."

"And canine bezoars are quite rare. You might not even find one bezoar from ten Ferocious Jackals."

"You're too noisy!" Divine Doctor Ji glared at them. "It's not that the Ferocious Jackals are too strong; it's that you are too weak. If you reached Rank Four, wouldn't completing this task be a piece of cake?"

The crowd cursed silently to themselves, then shouted back, "Cultivators who reach Rank Four can become the lord of a small city! How can people like us compare to them?"

Zu An observed coolly. From their conversation, he gathered that most of the cultivators remaining were Rank Two; there seemed to be no Rank Three cultivators. *In that case, I'm not that weak, am I?*

"Take this task or leave it; if not, get out. I'm not forcing you." Divine Doctor Ji grew impatient. "Don't block my entrance and business here. Scram, scram, scram."

Zu An couldn't help but pull Cheng Shoubing aside and ask, "This guy is so arrogant, isn't he afraid of being beaten up?"

Cheng Shoubing jumped, made a shushing gesture, and pulled him to a secluded spot before speaking. "Divine Doctor Ji's strength is unfathomable. Years ago, some people couldn't control their temper and tried to use force against him. Guess what happened?"

"They got beaten up?" Zu An asked, stunned, seeing how serious he looked.

Cheng Shoubing wore an expression that said, *you still lack imagination*. "Now, the grass on their graves is already tall."

"That fierce, huh?" Zu An couldn't help but stroke his chin. "Doesn't the government get involved?"

Cheng Shoubing explained, "As a Divine Doctor, countless powerful individuals have received his grace over the years. Even the City Lord treats him with utmost politeness. Furthermore, those people were the aggressors first, so the matter naturally remained unresolved."

Zu An felt a little unwilling to give up. "So, is that task truly impossible to complete?"

"Of course," Cheng Shoubing said, as if accustomed to it. "Those with low strength can't complete it, and those with high strength don't need to complete the task; they just pay the consultation fee. Years ago, people in the city complained too much about his expensive registration fees, so he deliberately designed some impossible tasks to silence public criticism."

"No wonder!" Zu An suddenly understood. *This Ji fellow designed the task to be so difficult, he never intended for anyone to complete it!*

Wait, he suddenly thought of something and glanced at Cheng Shoubing beside him. *This scoundrel knew I couldn't complete this task, yet he still brought me here. He probably just wanted to see that Miss Ji.*

Thinking this, he said with a dark expression, "You go back to the Chu mansion first. I'll wander around by myself for a bit." *This concerns my lifelong happiness; even if the task is difficult, I have to try. Anyway, I have the Dagger of Certain Death and the paralyzing poison bottle. If I'm careful, I might actually have a chance to complete it.*

*Of course, all of this must be kept hidden from the Chu family. After all, in their eyes, I'm still a good-for-nothing. Moreover, there's someone in the Chu family who wants me dead. If they found out I've made progress in cultivation, their next assassination attempt would be even more severe.*

*Remember one word: 'Gou'. Staying low, that's the ultimate strategy!*

Cheng Shoubing was stunned. "Young Master, you're not actually thinking of doing that task, are you?"

Zu An wondered if he had been that obvious. Before he could explain, Cheng Shoubing hastily said, "Young Master, do you know why those jackals are called Ferocious Jackals?"