Chapter 173: Hiring a Monkey

Maotao interjected, "By the way, wasn't Songyang Prefecture originally founded by a prince of a different surname? How did it become the Marquis of Songyang now?"

"Oh, that's because our country changed its system in the interim. Titles would be demoted for lack of new merit in successive generations. Two successive Lords of Songyang Prefecture were unremarkable, so their titles were lowered. It wasn't until the late emperor ascended the throne that the system was changed back. It's complicated to explain, but anyway, the Marquis of Songyang will be hereditary without change from now on, unless a major crime is committed."

After resolving the broken sword repair issue, He Lingchuan made a new request to Assistant Liu:

To buy an alchemy furnace.

In the future, he would primarily practice the Meridian Art, which required specially formulated medicine that was difficult to purchase pre-made. He would mostly have to prepare it himself. He heard that alchemy furnaces also came in many grades, and a good furnace could increase the success rate by more than ten percent.

As before, Assistant Liu readily agreed, then asked He Lingchuan in return, "Do you know how to practice alchemy, or do you have an expert in this field nearby?"

"I'm a complete novice. Aren't I planning to buy a furnace and then learn and experiment?"

"Alchemy is difficult to learn. The technical terms, medicinal properties, heat control, and techniques require dedicated practice for three or four years to achieve even minor success. In the process, countless medicinal ingredients will be wasted," Assistant Liu said with a smile. "It's quite a hardship."

He Lingchuan understood the implication in his words: "I'm certainly not the only one who finds it difficult?"

"Cultivation is a long journey, and important figures are unwilling to scatter their energy. I suggest you hire a medicinal ape."

"Medicinal ape?" He Lingchuan was greatly surprised. "What is that? A demon?"

Indeed, the prosperous capital was full of novelties everywhere.

"Yes, there's a Daoist sect called the Thousand Hearts Stream, which is entirely composed of fire apes. It also has branches in our country and is particularly renowned for alchemy. Customers in need can pay a hefty price to hire a medicinal ape to concoct medicines specifically for them."

"What's their skill level like?"

"They are alchemists, often even surpassing human practitioners. I heard that Grand Tutor Sun used to have several medicinal apes in his household."

He Lingchuan chuckled, "Sun Fuping is truly a golden brand; anyone associated with him makes money."

Assistant Liu quickly waved his hand, "You can't say that openly now."

"Then take me there."

"It's just that the price is a bit high, and the medicinal ape you hire must be treated with respectful offerings. You cannot treat it lightly or slowly, much less as a slave or pet, otherwise it can leave at any time."

Maotao raised his chin, "Money is a small matter, as long as it's worth it."

"You can't use the term 'it' to refer to a medicinal ape in their presence, otherwise they will turn hostile," Assistant Liu warned. "I've seen people who angered medicinal apes; they were left with a bruised face in public, and suffered from diarrhea for three days afterward."

So, keeping an extra little monkey meant they had to be careful with their words? He Lingchuan and Maotao exchanged glances and shrugged.

The carriage turned and headed north towards the city.

As they passed through the market, Maotao, who had been peering through the curtain, suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, isn't that A-Deng, Steward Lao Mo's attendant? He's posting something on the wall."

He Lingchuan leaned out to look, and indeed, it was A-Deng, his family's servant. He was posting a notice on the public announcement wall, accompanied by two assisting soldiers.

Assistant Liu immediately called for the carriage to stop.

The market was bustling with people. When officials had news to announce to the entire city, they would come to this spot to post notices. Conversely, only official documents were permitted here; not just anyone could come and post things indiscriminately. Otherwise, they would be arrested and slapped twenty times, or even thrown into jail if the impact was severe.

For a servant from the He family to post something here, it naturally required official permission.

The characters on the notice were large, with the top three words bolded and enlarged. Maotao murmured them aloud:

"Edict for Talents?"

There weren't many words, and He Lingchuan read through them quickly. The general content was that He Chunhua, the new Governor of Xiazhou, was eager for talent and wished to recruit local virtuous individuals to go north and jointly fight the rebels. Regardless of background, and without conventional restrictions, anyone with genuine skills and knowledge in military campaigning, grain management, combat, or internal affairs could come to apply, with excellent remuneration promised. At the bottom was the official seal and wax stamp of the Governor of Xiazhou.

Most commoners were illiterate, so A-Deng, the He family servant, also had to act as a speaker, reading the edict for talent aloud to the crowd and answering questions.

He Chunhua's target audience wasn't these commoners, but rather he hoped to use them to spread the news as quickly as possible, given that the assisting army's time in Shihuan was limited.

The crowd grew larger and larger. He Chunhua was an official from out of town, rarely heard of before, so everyone found it novel and couldn't help but chatter. Seeing the road becoming increasingly congested, He Lingchuan told the coachman to proceed as quickly as possible.

Maotao was puzzled: "Why doesn't Lord He bring some people from Blackwater City? He'd know their backgrounds there, but instead, he's 'seeking talent' here?"

When He Chunhua went north, he originally had five or six advisors, but he only brought Mo Jingxuan with him. Talent in internal affairs and logistics was even scarcer.

"Perhaps there are fewer talents in smaller places?" He Lingchuan propped his chin with his hand. "After all, this is the imperial capital; what kind of person isn't there?"

He recalled his father always complaining about insufficient manpower, having to do everything himself. This time, heading to Xiazhou, He Chunhua needed to assemble his team as quickly as possible, and preparing for the future by stockpiling talent was crucial.

After all, with enemies eyeing the North, there wasn't much time left for He Chunhua and Xiazhou.

"I hope Father can recruit suitable talents soon."

He Lingchuan shook his head, instantly casting that concern aside.

This was none of his business; he'd leave it to He Chunhua and He Yue to worry about.

Soon, the carriage ascended a small hill.

The peak was graceful, at most thirty zhang high, and at this moment, it was covered in silver, with tree branches swaying and snow gently falling.

The carriage was blocked by an archway and stopped there.

It wasn't that the coachman didn't want to drive up the hill, but the archway was only six feet high, yet it was so wide that it completely blocked the entire mountain path.

This archway was built quite mischievously, as if to collect a toll.

From a distance, He Lingchuan saw several uniquely shaped stone urns standing on the stone archway. Upon closer inspection, he realized they weren't stones at all, but large grey-furred monkeys whose color was very similar to stone!

They squatted on the archway, heads tucked in, utterly motionless, like wooden chickens. Only when someone approached did they speak in a muffled voice: "Thousand Hearts Stream Lodge. Those who come must walk!"

Assistant Liu got out of the carriage and handed a few pieces of shortbread to an old monkey with whitening fur, which it then distributed to the other monkeys. Only then did he cup his hands and say, "Elder Tang, it's been three days. This time, I wish to hire an alchemist for Lord He, the Governor of Xiazhou's eldest son!"

He did not refer to the monkeys as apes, but as alchemists.

"Do you often practice alchemy?"

"Naturally," He Lingchuan replied, "On average, every two or three days."

Practicing the Meridian Art required the Yin-Yang Powder he consumed to be as fresh as possible to maximize its potency. He Lingchuan himself wished he could concoct a batch that would last half a month, but with assistance, this requirement should be easily met.

Assistant Liu explained to him, "Controlling fire for alchemy is an important part of the fire apes' cultivation. The Thousand Hearts Stream hopes that all fire apes they send out will make vigorous progress in their practice." He then turned to the old monkey, "Within the lodge, which alchemist is available?"

"You've come at an unfortunate time. A large pharmacy from out of town just came by and hired twelve of them in one go," Elder Tang, the old monkey, scratched his back. "Now there's only one alchemist left."

Maotao immediately whispered to Assistant Liu, "Could it be someone else's leftover?"

The old monkey's head fur was white, and far from being hard of hearing, it was remarkably sharp. It immediately widened its eyes and said, "What nonsense are you spouting, young man!"

Assistant Liu cleared his throat. "Elder Tang, both parties in an employment agreement must negotiate as equals, without lies or deception. Does this alchemist have any special qualities?"

Employment was a two-way street; both the one seeking to hire and the one seeking to be hired needed to understand each other.

"Their alchemy skills are excellent, with very few failed batches. They are a standout among all the fire apes here."

When medicine was ruined during concoction, it was called a "failed batch." High-grade elixirs were very costly, and ruining one batch could mean losing tens or even hundreds of thousands of silver taels.

Assistant Liu probed, "Do they eat too much?"

"No, no."

"Are they unhygienic or have an odor?" Monkeys had a smell, and without bathing, it could be quite strong, which some families couldn't tolerate.

"How could that be!" Elder Tang glared. "All those bad habits you imagine, Lingguang has none of them. He is also our most diligent, motivated, intelligent, and nimble child here. He just happened to be out, which is why he wasn't hired by the others."

The old monkey jumped to the ground. "Come, I'll show you him."

The archway was very low, and He Lingchuan, not wanting to jump over it in front of the Thousand Hearts Stream monkeys, had to bend down and duck through.

The monkeys watched with smiles, some baring their teeth.

Humans having to bow to pass under the archway satisfied the monkeys' mischievous disposition.

There were only a few buildings on the mountain, large and spacious. He Lingchuan looked up and noticed several treehouses built in large trees, with shadows swaying on nearby branches.

Right, monkeys liked to stay in trees.

Elder Tang called out a few times towards the trees, and soon there were chirping sounds in response from above. Immediately after, an ape climbed down a tree and landed on a branch in front of everyone.

This monkey's fur was lighter in color than its peers, and it wore a conical hat on its head.

He Lingchuan observed its lean build, agile movements, exceptionally clean fur, and remarkably intelligent eyes. Unlike ordinary monkeys whose eyes darted around, its gaze swept over everyone before locking onto He Lingchuan, as if it knew he was the focus.

Elder Tang introduced He Lingchuan's identity to it, whereupon He Lingchuan asked:

"Are you called Lingguang?"

The monkey nodded, not scratching its ears or cheeks, appearing as composed as a human.

"Elder Tang recommended you to be my medicinal ape. I have a few medicinal ingredients here; how about you help me concoct them into Thousand Stability Pills?"

Lingguang knew this was its entrance test. It decisively jumped to the ground and, from an unknown place, produced a furnace smaller than a palm and placed it on the ground.

The furnace slowly grew until it was level with Maotao's shoulder.

Then it extended a hand to He Lingchuan.

For an ape, its palm was remarkably clean, without a speck of sand or leaf debris.

After receiving the medicinal ingredients, it quickly grabbed handfuls and threw them into the furnace, completely unlike He Lingchuan, who meticulously measured everything without daring to make the slightest mistake.

Then the monkey blew a breath towards the bottom of the furnace, and with a "whoosh," fire erupted inside.

No wonder they were called fire apes.

Next, throughout the process, the monkey controlled the fire, making it large then small, deep-colored then light, and occasionally throwing in more medicinal ingredients at a speed so fast that onlookers could barely make out its movements.