I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Zhou Yi took out a silver note from his sleeve, with a face value of fifty taels.

“When you have time, go to Zhu, the Eunuch of the Capital Surveillance Bureau, and directly say you want to buy Disguise Paste, ten silver taels per set, five sets will be enough for half a year.”

“Thank you for the guidance, Brother Fangzi.”

Zhou Yi bowed and accepted the silver note, the hurdle before him was finally cleared.

As for agreeing to do things for Fangzi, though it sounded demeaning, he didn’t feel disgraced.

Zhou Yi knew his place, having been a poor farmer, in previous years he had gone to the village to collect grain taxes, often prostrating and pleading just to keep an extra handful of grain.

Being alive was better than anything else!

Yuanzi said, “Don’t worry, Xiao Yizi, it’s nothing dangerous, just note down anything you hear or see while on duty.”

“Mhm mhm.”

If I can just live long enough for all those in the palace who owe me favors or bear me grudges to die off, won’t I be free of debts, as light as a feather?

Peasant cunning!

He continued to follow behind, but the relationship among the three of them suddenly became much warmer, and Zhou Yi felt like he had been accepted into their circle, with Fangzi and Yuanzi no longer speaking as coldly as before.

In the afternoon after training was over, Zhou Yi went to the Capital Surveillance Bureau.

Eunuch Zhu was a very old eunuch; his corpulent body squeezed into the chair, making it unclear whether this was his true appearance or not.

After Zhou Yi mentioned Fangzi, Eunuch Zhu did not make things difficult and sold him five packets of the grayish-white paste.

When applied to the face, it left the skin pallid and gray, and when washed into the hair with water, it turned black hair to ashen gray, aging him considerably.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he was unrecognizable to anyone but acquaintances.

“For now, I’m safe!”

Zhou Yi felt slightly relieved and began to practice diligently, going out early and returning late.

The Art of Disguise was not without its flaws; should his secret be exposed one day, he might rely on his strong martial skills to fight his way out of the palace.

He spoke with Fangzi and Yuanzi, asking for advice on how to survive in the palace for a long time, recording their experiences in a book and reciting it three times a day—morning, noon, and night.

“Listen less, see less, speak not, do not, bow more when meeting others!”

“Give half of your monthly silver to the supervisor, and remember not to give it directly to high-ranking eunuchs!”

“Bow more when speaking to nobles, concentrate True Qi in your forehead till blood seeps out.”

“Play the son, find a godfather…”

Zhou Yi memorized dozens of rules, reciting them back and forth, ensuring they were always etched in his heart.

Spring went and autumn came.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

A group of inner servants arrived for duty assignment, with Zhou Yi blending in, neither leading nor trailing.

He counted them one by one; of the forty-three classmates at the academy last year, only thirty-seven remained, six had died before they were even assigned duties.

“Who knows whether they were murdered or died during training!”

Zhou Yi bowed and lowered his head, inconspicuous among the crowd, watching the inner servants ahead test their True Qi.

In the center of Diligent Administration Hall stood a column of refined steel where the inner servants concentrated their True Qi and struck it, leaving palm prints to be judged for quality, before Supervisor Xu, the Eunuch, assigned their duties based on that.

Bang! Bang! Bang…

A series of palm sounds echoed in Diligent Administration Hall, leaving marks deep and shallow.

The deepest were two to three points deep, the shallowest also one point; sufficient to kill a common man had it been on a human body, and this was after only one year of training.

After ten years of practicing the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome, one would either be unrivaled under the heavens or dead from exhausted lifespan.

When it was Zhou Yi’s turn for the test, he used just ten percent of his True Qi and left a palm print one and a half points deep on the steel column.

“Not bad.”

Supervisor Xu nodded slightly, looking Zhou Yi up and down; unlike the other inner servants who were assigned duties directly, he drawled in a throaty voice, “Jiangxuexuan in the Imperial Garden needs a guard, you go there.”

“Thank you, Supervisor Xu.”

Zhou Yi felt puzzled yet knelt down quickly, the sound of his kowtowing like the beating of a drum.

“Hehehe…”

Supervisor Xu let out a grating, strange laugh, “No wonder you caught Supervisor Wen’s eye, indeed a polite lad. I am lacking a godson myself, would you be willing to take on that role?”

Zhou Yi hesitated only briefly, recalling the look on Little Xi’s face before his death, and then promptly called out, “Godfather!”

“Eh.”

Supervisor Xu responded, saying, “You may leave now, and come to find your godfather tonight. I will have a good assignment for you.”

“Thank you, godfather.”

Zhou Yi kowtowed a few more times, unconcerned with the envious and jealous gazes of the other inner servants, and left Diligent Administration Hall with a bowed body.

The inner servants behind him who tested their palm strength also imitated Zhou Yi’s kowtowing, but sadly, none caught Supervisor Xu’s eye, since they did not have Supervisor Wen’s support.

Who was Supervisor Wen? A scholar serving as a teacher!

Zhou Yi left Diligent Administration Hall, stood by the railing for a long time, taking deep breaths to calm his mood.

He felt both the pressure from being observed by Supervisor Xu and the excitement of being assigned to the Imperial Garden and acknowledging a godfather. With Supervisor Xu as his backer, he no longer had to fear the bullying of other inner servants in the palace.

Inner servants in the Diligent Administration Hall were responsible for guard duty; the most prestigious locations were Yangxin Hall and Diligent Administration Hall where one was often in close proximity to the Emperor, making promotion more likely.

Next in prestige were Qianqing Palace, the palaces of favored concubines, and the Imperial Garden. Whether the Emperor appeared there or not.

Other palaces, where one might not see the Emperor more than a few times a year, were considered third-tier locations; the lowest tier involved patrolling the palace walls, where one would likely never see the Emperor in a lifetime.

Zhou Yi was about to leave for the scholar Wen’s study to kowtow, when a familiar voice from behind reached his ears.

“Brother Yi, we have not seen each other for so long!”

The speaker was Little Kang, a classmate of Zhou Yi, who had ranked within the top five in the palm strength test and was assigned to Jingyang Palace.

Jingyang Palace had once been the dwelling of the Retired Emperor. However, the Retired Emperor had long since passed away, leaving the palace empty. The Emperor would not idly reminisce about the past.

It was said the relationship between the Emperor and the Retired Emperor was so strained that they were practically at daggers drawn, yet ultimately, the reigning Emperor had the upper hand.

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