It was like when a senior leader asks what you want. Saying nothing creates distance, but asking for too much shows a lack of tact.
You had to cater to your superior's wishes and strike the perfect balance.
"I was just lucky enough to find something in a pile of old records. I dare not ask for any reward."
Jiang Yi was making a tactical retreat, waiting for Yang Xun to state his position.
Hearing this, the old man's hawk-like eyes fixed on him as he snorted.
"Cut the false modesty! I said I wouldn't treat you unfairly, and I meant it. You're decisive when you act, but you dither when you speak. You sound like a woman!"
"I've already switched you to an easier assignment. So, what else do you want? Money? Talismans? Or... something else?"
Jiang Yi knew the time was right. He paused thoughtfully, as if giving the matter serious consideration, before finally speaking.
"One cannot refuse a gift from an elder. Since you have given me leave, Servant, I will be bold enough to speak my mind."
"I desire nothing else. I only ask that the Servant grant me a chance to 'advance'."
Yang Xun raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? And how do you wish to advance?"
Jiang Yi took a deep breath, looking as though he were wrestling with a momentous decision, and finally mustered the courage to say:
"I wish only to cultivate and become a Dao Material!"
The words landed with an audible thud, resolute and unwavering, ringing like the clash of metal on stone.
Yang Xun was taken aback. He frowned and responded,
"Do you have any idea how ridiculous it sounds for a mere Mortal Servant to declare he wants to become a Longevity Dao Material? Even the senior disciples on the Inner Peaks of the Qianji Sect wouldn't dare say such a thing so openly!"
Jiang Yi cupped his hands, bowing his head in an earnest posture.
"I would not dare deceive you, Servant. In the seven years since I entered the sect, I have been diligent in my duties. Even when utterly exhausted, I have never neglected my cultivation, all because of this single ambition to become something more!"
"I know my words are presumptuous. But if I don't even have the courage to say them aloud, then I truly am just an expendable, waiting to be used up and cast aside!"
Yang Xun clasped his hands behind his back, his expression calm as he coolly observed the youth in the Daoist Robe.
'In truth, a storm was raging in his heart. This wasn't the first time he had heard such words.'
"I don't seek eternal life. I only ask... I only ask to glimpse the scenery along the path of the Dao! Even if I die along the way and become a stepping stone for others, it's better than living an entire life in ignorance, never knowing its flavor!"
'How could the two of them be so similar?'
For a moment, Yang Xun was lost in a daze.
A long moment passed.
He slowly turned his back to Jiang Yi, his voice betraying no emotion.
"Dao Material... Hmph. You're not old, but you've got a big mouth."
"In the Records Room of the Labor Institute, there's a manual called the *Little Refining Yuan Fire Control Technique*. You may go read it yourself."
"How much you can comprehend will depend on your own destiny."
Jiang Yi bowed in thanks again.
"Servant, your great kindness..."
But Yang Xun, as if unwilling to hear any more flattery, started up to the second floor, saying coolly,
"Bring that pot of tea over here. I'm thirsty."
Jiang Yi quickly retrieved the Lotus Lid Copper Pot he had set aside. Inside was the Sweet Return Vine Tea he had asked He the Venerable to bring.
He poured a thin stream into a teacup.
Thanks to the billowing heat from the Quenching Room, the tea hadn't grown cold.
Yang Xun leaned back into the rocking chair and took the cup.
The tea was rich, its color a deep reddish-brown. Yang Xun took a small sip.
"At your age, why are you drinking such bitter tea?"
Jiang Yi, waiting at his side, smiled sheepishly.
"My grandfather loved it. He was particularly fond of this mellow, aged fragrance, and I picked up the habit from him."
"This Sweet Return Vine Tea is hard to find, too. Only the Fanglan Tea House on Nourishing Soul Peak sells it."
"Do you have any family left down the mountain?"
"My grandfather passed away and my parents died when I was young. I sold off our family property to study Daoism, and later I entered the Qianji Sect. Now, I'm all alone."
Hearing this, Yang Xun seemed to have a great weight lifted from his heart and suddenly burst into laughter.
He rocked back and forth in his chair, not even noticing the reddish-brown tea that sloshed onto his robes.
"Excellent! Excellent!"
Jiang Yi feigned ignorance, asking with a blank expression,
"If I may ask, Servant, what is so excellent?"
Yang Xun didn't answer, only stopping when he had laughed so hard that tears formed in the corners of his eyes.
His long, bald-browed face suddenly turned cold. He tilted his head back, staring intently at Jiang Yi.
"You're a good kid, but it's not so easy to become a Dao Material. A Dao Material of the Demon Dao is a Cultivation Seed. It means shedding the body of an 'expendable' and the fate of a 'resource' to truly become a foundational sprout of the Daoist Lineage, a part of the Dharma Lineage!"
"But you must consider this carefully. This path is different from others. Expendables toil with their bodies, and resources are always busy running errands."
"Why can a Dao Material focus on cultivation? Because a Dao Material must fight for their life! It's just like how the Outer Sect needs Mortal Servants to do labor, and the Dharma Lineage needs mortals to fill its ranks."
"A Dao Material must face Human Tribulations, answer Killing Tribulations, and pass through death tribulations for the sake of the Daoist Lineage. You cannot retreat, even if it means death!"
After speaking, Yang Xun saw the blank confusion in Jiang Yi's eyes, and the last wisp of suspicion in his own heart dissipated.
'This really is the "grandson" that the heavens have delivered to my doorstep!'
"You'll understand in the future."
Yang Xun's emotions had been on a roller coaster, and now he felt a bit weary.
Jiang Yi silently filed away the key information that 'a Dao Material must face Human Tribulations, answer Killing Tribulations, and pass through death tribulations.' Then he asked,
"Shall I help you back to your residence to rest, Servant?"
Yang Xun waved his hand.
"Go and rest yourself. And one more thing. Starting tomorrow, you only need to check in with me once every seven days. You don't need to report for work."
"Just find a reliable Mortal Servant to handle your duties as an Inspector for you."
"If you can break through to the Qi Cultivation Third Layer before winter, and reach the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer before spring, I can request a position on an Inner Peak for you."
Jiang Yi's expression turned solemn. Wordlessly, he raised his clasped hands high above his head and performed a deep, respectful bow.
Then, he silently withdrew and left the Quenching Room.
Yang Xun lay in the rocking chair, swaying gently as he muttered to himself,
"If Zhi'er had started a family, I suppose my grandson wouldn't be much younger than this boy."
...
...
'Affinity at first sight... it truly is a mysterious thing.'
Jiang Yi walked along the mountain path. All was quiet around him, save for the WHOOSH of the cold wind through the treetops, which occasionally shook loose a dusting of powdered snow.
'From presenting the secret formula, to acting naive, to asking for the dried lychees, and right down to that pot of Sweet Return Vine Tea... every single detail was a deliberate move!'
Jiang Yi mused to himself. 'No wonder the old "honey trap" stratagem has worked since time immemorial.'