Workhorse

Professor Ye’s efficiency and decisive, whirlwind style were truly a sight to behold. That very afternoon, before the registrar's office had even closed for the day, a single phone call wrapped up every last bit of bureaucratic red tape. The very administrators who had once sent Ji Jue running back and forth eight or ten times just to register an electric scooter's license plate didn't dare utter so much as a squeak now. Docile and obsequious, they cleared every procedure and deferentially invited Student Ji Jue to drop by and sign whenever he had a spare moment. Though he already knew Professor Ye's true standing was far more than that of an ordinary teacher, experiencing it firsthand still made Ji Jue marvel at the conveniences of power. Professor Ye, who had watched the whole spectacle with detached coolness from the sofa, merely lifted her teacup and said flatly, "The Ring of Taiyi—the largest alchemy research institution in the mortal world and the trade association for all artisans—holds a stake in Tianmen University. If you manage to secure an artisan license before graduation, their smiles when they see you will be brighter than if they were looking at their own fathers." "Are you serious?" Ji Jue was stunned. He wasn't shocked by the Ring of Taiyi's colossal influence, nor was he curious about whether the school administrators would truly be that humble before him. He was questioning the premise itself. Before graduation? An artisan license? Professor, are you for real? He was entering his junior year this semester, followed by senior year next year. Two years. Even if Professor Ye waved her pen and exempted him from every single major course requirement, and even if he went without eating, drinking, or sleeping, two years was still just two years! After gaining an elementary understanding of alchemy, Ji Jue had already been awed by its Byzantine categories and myriad miraculous crafts. Leaving aside whether he could one day attain the rank of 'Rubedo' like Professor Ye—becoming a mega-heavyweight whose cold shoulder people would eagerly fawn over wherever she went—the sheer difficulty of getting his foot in the door was enough to make his scalp tingle. Good jobs were like certain diseases—attainable only through exchange of bodily fluids and inheritance. And to a degree, the standard certification from the Ring of Taiyi was far more coveted, sought-after, and precious than even those jobs. Plenty of people slogged away from age twelve to forty; spending half a lifetime as an apprentice running errands for others was hardly uncommon. The reasons: excellent mentors were certainly rare, but the standards—outrageously exacting and tightening by the year—were also an abyss that swallowed countless aspirants attempting the crossing. Spiritus manipulation that met the standard rating, comprehension of the Twelve Virtues' emblems and engraving hundreds of fundamental runes, identification of thousands of spiritus circuits, along with the independent creation of a complete Grade B alchemical item... Just thinking about it made Ji Jue feel like tearing his hair out. Especially the runes and the Virtue emblems. As vessels and conduits for the blessings of the Virtues, runes required an artisan's deep comprehension of each blessing—and each one practically had its own separate experience bar. As for the Virtue emblems etched by an artisan, they were an even more direct reflection of one's grasp over the path of the Virtues. That was pure, hard-earned capability accrued day after day; there was no faking it whatsoever. "Me?" Ji Jue pointed at himself, completely at a loss. He felt as if he had suddenly been thrust onto a fork in the road. To the left was a monkey leading a horse with a bald monk on its back, trailed by a fat man and a bearded fellow; to the right was a four-armed, twenty-fingered god-knows-what sitting atop a throne of white bone... "Don't worry, I have confidence in you." Professor Ye set the lid on her teacup. When she looked up at him, a faint hint of a smile seemed to brush across her stern face. "You won't let me down, will you?" Ji Jue nodded frantically. He didn't dare make a peep. It wasn't until he was almost home that the headache overwhelmed him and he couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh. It stood in stark contrast to his exhilarated, cheerful little sister on the back seat. "Did you have fun at school?" Ji Jue asked curiously. "Yeah! The counselor and teachers are really easy to talk to, and a bunch of upperclassmen heard that I have good stamina and won prizes at high school sports meets, so they were scrambling to recruit me into their clubs." Lu Ling was beaming, her eyes dancing. "Everyone's so rich! The jewelry and bags they wear are all brands I've never heard of, but none of them looked down on me for being poor." "Just take it in stride. Everyone has one nose and two eyes—nothing special. If you get along, hang out together. If anyone picks on you, let me know, all right?" Ji Jue wasn't actually worried that Lu Ling would get bullied. Ever since she was little, the girl had been full of clever tricks. She smiled at everyone and had a tongue sweet as honey; half of the positive reviews for Dalu Auto Repair Shop had been wheedled out by her... As for the other half, Ji Jue had won them over with his face. Flaunting his looks to drum up business—it was too full of tears to speak of. As for that fellow Lu Feng, he was always sprawled out on his mat with a smug, take-it-or-leave-it attitude, infuriating just to look at. He was only ever dead weight. Ji Jue shook his head and sighed. Then, a voice came from behind: "Second Brother, you seem really happy." "Huh? Where? Did you see me smile?" Ji Jue asked, baffled. He leaned closer to check the rearview mirror and shifted his expression. The tight corners of his mouth twitched slightly, but there wasn't the faintest trace of a smile. Where on earth did he look happy? "It's different." Lu Ling shook her head, resting her little chin on his shoulder as she giggled. "Every time you have exams or run into trouble, you look like this. You seem all serious and intimidating, but the corners of your eyes crinkle, and your eyes light up—like you aren't afraid of anything." "Really?" Ji Jue leaned toward the rearview mirror, peering left and right. He genuinely couldn't spot the curve his sister had described. As for his eyes, they weren't lightbulbs—how could they glow? If anything, the wind had dried them out, leaving no sparkle to be seen. By contrast, Lu Ling behind his shoulder had eyes curved like crescent moons, radiating bright cheer. "I already asked around today," she said earnestly. "Some seniors paid off their loans in four or five years after graduating. My interest rate is even lower! As long as I work hard and earn a few more certificates while I'm in school, Mom and the others won't have to carry such a heavy burden in the future. In a few years, once I build up some experience and get certified as a Senior Accountant, I can land a job at a big company and support the family! "Then I can help pay off your loans, Mom can retire, and Third and Youngest can transfer to better schools—maybe that'll help their grades." "What about Brother Feng?" Ji Jue asked, curious. At that, Lu Ling rolled her eyes. "Forget Eldest Brother. Let him run the repair shop!" "Haha, deal!" Ji Jue burst into laughter. "When the time comes, I'll buy an authentic Mustang and have him work on it. If he doesn't fix it right, bad review! If there's no casting couch treatment, bad review too!" "Yay, let's do it together!" Amid their cheers, the throttle of the Little Sheep twisted, chugging forward as it carried them away, disappearing into a sunset that seemed lovelier than usual. Past their fleeting laughter, traffic continued to flow steadily on the streets, and Yacheng remained as bustling and noisy as ever. *Click!* With the crisp snap of a camera shutter, everything seemed frozen in this moment. *** Late at night, in the dilapidated living room, the half-gnawed television still sat in its wretched state. Meanwhile, the mud-splattered "culprit" was sprawled across the living room floor, rolling about, flicking its two tires, and squirming continuously. On its front cowl, the plastic casing between the two turn signals opened up to reveal an indescribable maw and a plastic tongue, drooling with anticipation. "Sit! Sit!" Ji Jue scolded and ordered repeatedly, until the Little Sheep reared up onto its rear wheel and "sat" on the floor before him. Its two wheels spun back and forth obediently as it panted with an open mouth. It looked uncannily like a dog—completely baffling. "Good. Open up. Take it slow—eat slow, dammit, I'm not gonna steal it from you!" Ji Jue picked up a fresh chicken leg he had packed from Mother Lu's house and tossed it into the Little Sheep's mouth. The tongue seized the chance to lick him, leaving half his hand slick with motor oil. Watching the chicken leg snatched right out of the youngest child's mouth get swallowed whole by the Little Sheep—bones and all, crunched down with mouthwatering crispness—Ji Jue couldn't help but sigh. For this family, the youngest had sacrificed far too much. ...Well, he had been failing math recently anyway, so a little more sacrifice would do him good. A kid that young needed to learn early that brats with bad grades had to suffer! At the very least, no chicken legs for him! Still... He stroked his chin, examining the Little Sheep as it spun in circles on the spot with excitement after finishing the chicken leg, thoroughly bewildered. "Tell me, what on earth are you, anyway?" The Little Sheep blinked its high beams cluelessly twice, having no clue what he meant. By all logic, this thing was a product of Ji Jue's ability. Yet after his ability subsided, every other object had reverted to scrap metal. Only this dog-like Little Sheep, through some twist of fate involving dragon blood, had somehow become alive. Saying "hafu-hafu" at it elicited no response, so it didn't seem like a real dog either. Yet it was truly too doggish! Especially after discovering that Mother Lu was the ancient Greek god of poached chicken—even while pinned under Ji Jue's butt, it could barely keep its mudguards from grinding sparks. Thank goodness Mother Lu hadn't noticed! He really should have shown it to the professor, but this thing involved dragon blood... He had promised Wen Wen to keep her draconification a secret. Even though he didn't quite understand what dragons really were just yet, since he had made a promise, it was best that nothing tied to dragons could ever be traced back to her. Besides, for the moment, nothing seemed terribly amiss. So... he might as well just keep it as a pet. After all, who wouldn't want a Little Sheep scooter that could blaze down a highway at over three hundred kilometers an hour without needing gas or a recharge? "Here, boy, here~ Who's the best Little Sheep in the whole wide world? Our Little Sheep, of course, isn't that right?" Ji Jue stroked its "dog head" and praised it. "Good boys all need names. Shouldn't our Little Sheep have a name too?" Instantly, the Little Sheep grew even more excited, its "dog head" bobbing frantically. "Hmm, let me think..." Ji Jue rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment. Finally, his gaze drifted to the battered emblem on its shell, where he could faintly make out the gold-embossed letters below: *Niuma Motorcycles, Your Choice.* Ji Jue's eyes lit up at once. "Why don't we call you 'Little Workhorse'!" [???] In a momentary freeze, roughly a hundred thousand question marks seemed to transmit across his ability's perception—and upside down, at that! The moment it heard it was going to be called Little Workhorse, the Little Sheep instantly threw a fit. It thrashed its body wildly, shaking its handlebars like mad, and flipped on its high beams to blast light straight into Ji Jue's eyeballs, demanding that he change it! It refused. Then what should it be called? It couldn't very well be named Pal, could it? "What's wrong with Little Workhorse? What's bad about it?!" Ji Jue felt his world-shaking intellect had been insulted. In an earnest, heartfelt tone, he said, "Just because something is called Little Sheep doesn't make it a real sheep. But if you're called Little Workhorse, you're definitely a true beast of burden. Look, oxen and horses—aren't both of them stronger than a sheep? And bigger, too! Why wouldn't you want that?" *Beep-beep-beep!* The newly christened Little Workhorse, formerly the Little Sheep, honked its horn furiously in protest. Regrettably, resistance was futile. The matter was settled. At least, Ji Jue had unilaterally decided it. "All right, stop making a fuss. Work hard tomorrow, okay? I'll reward you with a chicken leg tomorrow night." Ji Jue waved a hand and headed upstairs. After washing up, he lay down in bed and, as was his habit, glanced at the wristwatch he had unclasped from his wrist. Cousin Watch was as steady as ever. Aside from carrying the whole team when necessary, it never caused the slightest fuss, and it didn't even need to eat poached chicken! It was truly the most low-maintenance employee in the whole family. Unfortunately, there was still no movement on the watch face. Originally, after he became a Celestial Chosen, the golden 0 had finally filled up, and the 1 had gotten off to a good start. But beyond that initial start, it was like a flop of a web novel that had struggled for over a year to squeeze out a few words, only to hit an impending dead end. For more than half a month, no matter how Ji Jue used his ability, how much spiritus he accumulated, or how he examined it inside and out, that [1], which had barely begun to fill, remained completely motionless from beginning to end! Being a zero was hard; being a one was even harder. Up to now, Ji Jue's ability hadn't grown in the slightest.