Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 32: Personal Ties

"You’re talking about Kong Xianian from the Splendid Purity Sect?"

Wu Tu was first stunned upon hearing the name, then quickly asked, "He made a move against you?"

Li Rui shook his head: "He just asked me some questions."

He concealed the fact that Kong Xianian had used a bewitching technique on him.

Wu Tu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this: "I’ve heard of this man. This time, the Splendid Purity Sect sent two agents to Qinghe, and Kong Xianian is one of them."

"Agents?"

Wu Tu explained: "Those like Zhu Yue, who formally joined the Splendid Purity Sect, are outer disciples. The Splendid Purity Sect has an extremely strict assessment system, an examination every three years. If they fail, they must leave the Sect. But there’s another path: they can work for the Sect as external operatives, called agents."

"If an agent performs well, they still have a chance to be reinstated as a disciple."

Li Rui nodded.

In other words, a temp worker with the potential to become permanent staff.

Wu Tu continued: "This time, Kong Xianian is responsible for hunting down the traitorous Splendid Purity Sect disciple. The other agent is tasked with gathering evidence on the Ghost Nether Sect."

"I’m currently working under Agent Liu."

Li Rui suddenly understood.

Wu Tu added, "Old Brother Li, as long as we stay upright, we don't have to fear Zhao Wei or that man named Kong. If anything happens, you can go seek Deputy Branch Master Zhang."

Li Rui replied, "Thanks for the reminder, Brother."

Wu Tu then shared a lot more insider knowledge about the Heaven-Earth Alliance, chatting non-stop for a full hour without tiring.

When Li Rui left the gambling den Wu Tu managed, he returned straight to Tianyi Hall.

Tianyi Hall was as quiet and deserted as ever.

Occasionally, one or two disciples from the Transmission Hall would come by to collect copied martial manuals, but Zhou Shulin and Liang He were enough to handle that.

"Hall Master."

Upon seeing Li Rui, Zhou Shulin stood and saluted.

Li Rui waved his hand.

"You may continue."

Tianyi Hall had only three people total, and one of them was a high-level connection hire. If Zhou Shulin and Liang He left, Li Rui would have to personally man the front desk himself.

Therefore, he often showed them special care.

This deeply moved the two inexperienced young men.

They had already gone out drinking with him several times.

In their drunkenness, Zhou Shulin and Liang He felt their Hall Master was like an understanding big brother, and poured their hearts out to him.

Li Rui carefully remembered everything.

Maybe it would come in handy someday.

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Of course, it would be best if he never needed to use it.

In the jianghu, the biggest taboo was trusting too quickly and speaking too much. His warmth was a tactic to firmly grasp the only two pieces of labor he had.

Li Rui was not someone who would harm others without reason, but he also understood the importance of keeping a hidden card.

The human heart was hard to fathom, who could predict what would happen?

Returning to his single-room "office" in Tianyi Hall, just as he picked up the unfinished Daoist Scripture of Supreme Goodness from yesterday, Liu Tong, for once, knocked on his door.

"Liu Tong, what’s the matter?"

Li Rui asked kindly.

When dealing with a "relationship hire," it was best to nurture goodwill, you never knew what unexpected benefits might come.

Whether he punched in or not was completely irrelevant.

It was merely an uncle’s concern for his nephew.

After not seeing him for a month, Liu Tong still looked like a frail young master suffering from kidney deficiency. He chuckled, "Hall Master, my brother-in-law has summoned me to work at the Civil and Martial Hall. The transfer order will be issued in a few days. I wanted to invite Hall Master Li and the two brothers for a little gathering."

Li Rui wasn’t too surprised.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Liu Tong’s departure from Tianyi Hall was only a matter of time.

"Alright, no time like the present. How about tonight?"

"Agreed."

Liu Tong answered immediately.

By evening, at the Flower Night Brothel.

"Our Old Li is doing well, coming to the Flower Night Brothel twice in a row."

Looking at the familiar room and the familiar plump young women, Li Rui sighed with emotion.

It seemed he still didn’t understand enough about feudal, decadent culture, live and learn.

Zhou Shulin sat next to a beautiful woman, face flushed red, awkwardly covering his pants.

As for Liang He, he had to stay on duty, sadly missing out on tonight’s free enjoyment.

Liu Tong was a seasoned frequenter of brothels, more at ease in the Flower Night Brothel than at home. Most of the girls here recognized him, and on the way up, no fewer than ten courtesans greeted him familiarly.

Zhou Shulin was filled with envy.

Both were "relationship hires," yet their treatment differed as much as heaven and earth.

Liu Tong raised his wine cup: "These days, thanks for Hall Master and Brother Zhou’s care. Brother Liang isn’t here, but I’ll remember to repay him another day. Tomorrow, I’ll start working at Civil and Martial Hall, it’s all by my brother-in-law’s arrangement, but our friendship remains."

"Forgive me, I’ve said too much. Let me down this cup first, you all drink as you wish."

Before the words even fell, he lifted his head and drank the wine in one gulp.

Though the wine in this era wasn’t very strong, it was rough and impure. After a few cups, Liu Tong and Zhou Shulin were already seventy percent drunk.

"Brother Zhou, it was my fault before. I hope you’ll forgive me."

Zhou Shulin, his face flushed, waved his hand: "Just minor things. No need to mind it, Brother Liu."

Li Rui quietly listened to the conversation between the two young men, shaking his head inwardly.

On the surface, Liu Tong appeared humble and submissive to Zhou Shulin, but in truth, everything was under Liu Tong’s control.

If Liu Tong wanted to transfer to Civil and Martial Hall, he needed someone to come and assess him. If Li Rui, Zhou Shulin, or Liang He caused trouble during the assessment, even if he passed in the end, he would still leave a bad impression of being "ineffective" in his brother-in-law’s mind.

Liu Tong was indeed highly skilled at handling interpersonal relationships.

One could say he was deeply shrewd.

Li Rui didn’t find this off-putting; rather, he appreciated dealing with clever people.

Of course, another reason was that Liu Tong’s brother-in-law’s surname was Zhang, the same as Wu Tu’s backer.

Since Zhao Wei was unreliable, Li Rui naturally needed to find new support within the Heaven-Earth Alliance. Wu Tu’s connection alone was not enough.

He needed more ties to Deputy Branch Master Zhang.

Subtly and unconsciously, he would become one of Deputy Branch Master Zhang’s people. When Zhao Wei really tried to move against him, there would be someone willing to step in.

Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean Zhao Wei would attack him. But Li Rui had long been accustomed to preparing for the worst.

Liu Tong grew increasingly drunk.

Waving his hand, he signaled the accompanying courtesans to tactfully retreat. Zhou Shulin looked reluctant.

Lowering his voice, Liu Tong said, "Hall Master Li, Brother Zhou we’re all family here, so I won’t hide it. Our Alliance Master has reportedly broken through. The Heaven-Earth Alliance’s status is bound to soar. By then, our own positions will rise with the tide.

Now that the Qinghe Branch has just been established, it’s the best time to claim a spot. If we wait until the Alliance Master announces his new strength to the world, it’ll be too late to scramble for positions."

"I truly see you as brothers, that’s why I’m saying this but please don’t tell anyone else."

Zhou Shulin’s eyes widened, nodding rapidly.

Li Rui suddenly understood.

He finally realized why someone like Zhu Ping, the head of a powerful family, would suddenly show favor toward him.

So, this was the reason.