Many people applied, and it was the turn of a man in his thirties with a gaunt face and a perpetual yawn.
"I'm here to apply for the position of Spirit Medicine Man."
Seeing that it was his turn, the man quickly straightened up and said, "I have a second-tier Xuan Tian Master cultivation, and I have experience. I just worked as a Spirit Medicine Man last month, and I'm here again today."
A disciple of the Seven Stars Sect glanced at him and said with disdain, "Go away, go away. Looking at you, you're not even fit to be a Spirit Plant Man, and you still want to be a Spirit Medicine Man? Do you think the money of our Seven Stars Sect is that easy to earn?"
He casually pushed, and the man stumbled back several steps, almost falling.
Su Luo's eyes flickered. With a second-tier Xuan Tian Master cultivation, he was almost knocked over by such a push. Was this still a cultivator? The cultivation of that Seven Stars Sect disciple was not much stronger than this man, but the result was...
A commotion broke out among the applicants, and no one paid attention to this man. They moved on to the next one.
This man was applying to be a Spirit Plant Man. The Seven Stars Sect disciple scrutinized him for a few moments, asked him if he had any prior experience and about his physical condition. After all the answers were satisfactory, he was allowed to go inside to sign the contract.
Before long, it was Du Wei's turn. He was at the very front of the line.
"You! Have you done this before?" the Seven Stars Sect disciple asked impatiently.
"No, this is my first time. I'm here to apply for the position of Spirit Medicine Man," Du Wei replied, acting like the other applicants, with an expectant look.
Upon hearing this, the Seven Stars Sect disciple's spirits lifted. "It's your first time? Alright, go inside!"
He was surprised to pass so easily. Du Wei glanced at his master behind him. Shang Xie Shao Qing nodded slightly, and then he went inside to wait.
Next was Shang Xie Shao Qing. The Seven Stars Sect disciple heard that he was also a first-timer applying. Seeing his energetic demeanor and tall stature, he stared at him for a while before waving him through. "Also your first time? You have a good physique. Go inside and sign the contract."
The more Su Luo listened, the stranger it became.
This scrutiny, and the emphasis on the "first time"...
It was as if they were applying to be courtesans in a brothel; otherwise, why would the Seven Stars Sect care so much about the first time?
Soon, it was Su Luo's turn.
The Seven Stars Sect disciple's smile widened. "Not bad, so many first-timers today. Go in, go in."
He then looked at the applicants behind them and shouted loudly, "Are there any more first-timers who haven't done this before? Come to the front, quickly... First-timers can directly become Spirit Medicine Men and get a monthly salary of thirty thousand taels of silver!"
Su Luo and the others went in, ignoring those behind them.
They wrote their names on a contract prepared by the Seven Stars Sect, but it was taken away before they could even read it clearly.
Of course, they had written fake names, and the people from the Seven Stars Sect didn't seem to care.
After waiting for a while, as this round of applications was almost complete, among the successful applicants for Spirit Medicine Man were Su Luo and four others, plus over twenty more. There were men and women, most of them somewhat thin, but in decent spirits.
The rest were Spirit Plant Men, about seventy or eighty of them, a much larger number than the Spirit Medicine Men.
"You are the selected group. Follow me."
A dark-faced man spoke to the crowd and then led them through an open courtyard. After passing through several teams of strict guards, they soon saw the towering mountain gate of the Seven Stars Sect, surrounded by lush trees.
Su Luo and the others went all the way to the mountain peak before separating from the Spirit Plant Men.
They were led into a grand hall, and then a middle-aged deacon in green clothes came out. He began to explain, "From now on, you are the Spirit Medicine Men of the Seven Stars Sect. You can call me Deacon Zheng. Remember to work hard, and you will not be treated unfairly."
Then, several disciples came forward with silver notes. Deacon Zheng said, "This is ten thousand taels of silver notes. Take it for now. When you finish your month's work and leave, we will give you the remaining twenty thousand taels. Of course, if you do well, you can even join our Seven Stars Sect."
Everyone was overjoyed. Clearly, some of them had been through this before, and they happily accepted the ten thousand taels of silver notes.
Su Luo and the others also accepted the silver notes, thinking, "It's free money."
"When do we start working? What exactly does a Spirit Medicine Man do, and will someone teach us?" Su Luo asked, pretending to be curious and eager to start working and earn money.
"Don't worry, Spirit Medicine Men work very hard. We'll first assign you your living quarters. After you've rested, someone will naturally take you to work," Deacon Zheng said without elaborating, then instructed disciples to take Su Luo and the others to rest.
After everyone had left, Deacon Zheng's face in the hall darkened. "Why are there so few people? We need to recruit at least a hundred people every day, otherwise, the mission will not be completed."
The dark-faced man who had led them in stammered, "Deacon Zheng, it's not that we're not recruiting people, it's that the applicants don't meet the requirements. Spirit Plant Men are okay, but the quality of Spirit Medicine Men is really poor. They are all pale and have depleted qi and blood..."
"Depleted is depleted, it's not like they haven't died before!"
Deacon Zheng said angrily, "As long as your actions are clean, that's enough. It's a critical juncture recently. If we fail, we'll all be punished, and then we'll become the Spirit Medicine Men!"
The dark-faced man shivered. "Yes, Deacon Zheng, I'll oversee it immediately."
"Chirp chirp!"
Outside the hall, a bird flew up into the sky.
Su Luo clearly heard their conversation and retracted her stray thoughts, a sense of vigilance growing in her heart.
She said nothing, simply followed the crowd, allowing the Seven Stars Sect disciple to lead them through the corridors of the hall, moving deeper and deeper.
After a long, winding journey, everyone was led to rows of rooms.
If it weren't for the clean ground, just looking at the simple rooms with only a wooden plank bed and a table, and no windows, one would think they had been brought to a prison.
"This is where we'll be staying?" Shang Xie Shao Qing's expression changed slightly. He didn't want to live here.
It was worse than what the chores in the Longevity Palace lived in.
"Are you here to work or to enjoy yourselves? As long as you can sleep, it's fine. Go in," the Seven Stars Sect disciple said coldly.
"Alright, what's there to argue about? Hurry up and rest, or the work will be tiring," another man who had worked as a Spirit Medicine Man said. He was the first to enter a room, and the others, seeing this, casually found rooms and went in.
The Seven Stars Sect disciple said with a stern face, "Remember, rest well. Someone will come to notify you to start work later."
After saying that, he left.
Su Luo's expression was somber. The Seven Stars Sect was a deep pool.
They waited in the rooms, exchanging messages through the walls, speculating about what might happen. When it was time for dinner, a chore person came to deliver food. Su Luo casually glanced at it and suddenly thought of something.
She activated her Divine Eye and observed that the food had been drugged.
"Drunken Dream Powder. After consuming it, people will remain in a deep sleep, their bodies completely numb. Even if an arm is cut off, they won't wake up from the pain... Why are they giving the Spirit Medicine Men drugged food?"
Su Luo immediately transmitted her findings to Li Tian Jue next door: "Senior Brother, there's something going on!"
Soon, Shang Xie Shao Qing and the others were all aware.
"They're actually drugging us, wanting us to sleep forever. As expected, the Seven Stars Sect wants to harm people!"
"There must be a problem, but since we're here, let's see what they intend to do."
"Everyone, act normally, don't get discovered..."
"Why hasn't anyone come yet? I'm getting impatient."
Finally, after half an hour, Deacon Zheng's voice came from outside: "Spirit Medicine Men, come out, prepare to work."
The rooms were silent; no one came out.
Deacon Zheng's lips curled into a smile. "Go, be quick!"
Over a dozen Seven Stars Sect disciples quickly pushed open the doors and carried out the unconscious applicants, including Su Luo.