Chapter 39: Manager Chen

Lao He noticed those gazes and warned, “Master, there are a few guys in their thatched huts, staring at you with ill intentions.”
“They must be the local managing disciples. What level of cultivation do they have?” Su Che wasn’t surprised. His own strength was indeed too low, making him stand out greatly upon arriving here.
Lao He replied, “There are eight people within a hundred feet—three outer disciples and four inner disciples, all at the seventh level or above of Qi Cultivation. There’s also an outer disciple around sixteen or seventeen years old at the fifth level.”
“To reach the fifth level at such a young age—this boy must have excellent cultivation talent,” Su Che thought. “In the vast Tianxuan Sect, hundreds of thousands of disciples are all outstanding individuals selected from various levels. Among them, those with extraordinary talent are not rare. My own talent is only average. On the path of cultivation, I must race against them…”
About a quarter of an hour passed before Lao He reported, “That Manager Chen seems to have calmed down. He’s holding a pot of tea, lost in thought.”
“It’s fine. Let’s go in.”
Su Che adjusted his clothes and quickly entered the courtyard. Standing in the center, he called out loudly, “Outer disciple Su Che is here to report. Is Manager Chen available?”
“Come in,” came a slightly hoarse voice from inside.
Lao He immediately reported, “Master, his expression changed when he heard your name, but he quickly regained composure. Could those insults behind his back be related to you?”
“That’s impossible. I don’t know him at all—how could I have offended him?” Su Che wondered, yet he continued walking lightly into the room.
The interior was simply furnished. A thin middle-aged man sat on the left side of the table, his expression completely normal, showing no emotions.
“Disciple Su Che greets Manager Chen,” Su Che said after bowing, then voluntarily handed over his identity jade token.
“Su Che, huh?” Manager Chen took the jade token, infused it with true energy to examine it briefly, then placed it back on the table. He asked sternly, “You’re just a new disciple at the first level of Qi Cultivation. How do you think you’re qualified to be in charge of the herb garden?”
“I have some expertise in growing spiritual herbs. I also possess a wood attribute spiritual root and mainly practice wood-related cultivation techniques. I can establish a basic mental connection with spiritual plants and sense their emotions…” Su Che had certainly prepared for this. By studying ancient texts, he had already understood what qualities were required for so-called ‘talent in growing spiritual herbs.’

Manager Chen stared at Su Che carefully, remaining silent for a long time. His gaze was cold, conveying a rather unfriendly atmosphere.
“Master, this guy seems to have ulterior motives. He’s likely to find reasons to trouble you,” Lao He said in a low voice.
“I think so too,” Su Che also felt a badpremonition.
After all, he was following the path of Senior Brother Yu Qing, which meant he had the protection of the Elder of the Herb Garden. The Elder was the highest authority in the entire Spirit Herb Garden, while this Chen was merely the manager of a certain area. Without special reasons, he shouldn’t try to cause trouble for Su Che.
After all, the Elder could make him leave at will with just a word—couldn’t he see that?
After a while, Manager Chen finally spoke. He pretended to cough and said sternly, “It’s clear you possess a Wood-type spiritual root. However, the skills you mention are all intangible things that can’t be verified on the spot. Without concrete proof, how can you prove your talent?”
Su Che didn’t respond immediately. He quickly weighed his options—should he use soft tactics or tough ones against such a person?
“In dealing with people, one can’t always be gentle or always harsh. It depends on the situation, and flexibility is key. If Manager Chen really intends to make things difficult for me, using gentle tactics won’t work; instead, he’ll only make things worse…”
“That’s right! Be tough with him!” Lao He shouted, waving his big claws. “We have a fiery temper and love to ‘use strength to suppress others’.”
Su Che made up his mind. He straightened his chest, raised his voice slightly, and said confidently, “Manager Chen, my talent in growing spirit herbs has been recognized by Senior Brother Yu Qing and the Elder of the Herb Garden, which is why I was given this position as a manager apprentice. If you still want to assess my abilities in this area, it will only take a few months before I can show everyone results.”
Growing spirit herbs wasn’t something that could yield results in just a few days. Even for the herbs that required the shortest growing time, it was already quite good to see changes after a few months. So, Su Che’s claim was reasonable.
Manager Chen’s gaze turned cold at first, then he smiled slightly. But to Su Che and Lao He, his smile looked like a sinister grin full of malice.
He said, “Su Che, are you implying that with Yu Qing and the Elder protecting you, you can completely ignore my existence?”

“Of course not!” Su Che chuckled, suddenly switching to a childlike, playful expression. “If Manager Chen is just a little kinder to me and not so strict, I’ll show you ten times, even a hundred times more sincerity in thanking you. I really know how to be grateful.”
Manager Chen was slightly stunned, unaccustomed to Su Che’s sudden change in attitude. He supervised over twenty apprentices and had never encountered such an unusual person before.
It could be said that Su Che’s performance was quite successful—he turned his “youthful ignorance” into an advantage, making Manager Chen mistakenly think he was a spoiled young master from a wealthy family, fearless and bold enough to say anything and take on any risk…
The more this happened, the more Manager Chen had to weigh his options. Was it worth offending such a well-connected kid just for some grudge, only to provoke some powerful old monster?
As he pondered, he saw the kid sneering at him again and saying, “Manager Chen, let me say it again—I really know how to be grateful and respectful to elders. Over time, you’ll see that the elders all like me. Really!”
Damn you… Manager Chen cursed inwardly but forced a smile and said, “Is that so? Well, I look forward to seeing your performance.”
At this point, he temporarily gave up the idea of troubling Su Che. He stood up and waved, saying, “Come on, I’ll show you a medicinal herb field! Life as an apprentice in charge of the herb garden is very hard and boring. I hope you can endure the loneliness.”
Su Che knew when to stop. He replied respectfully, “Manager Chen, rest assured. Since I’ve embarked on the path of cultivation, I must be able to endure loneliness.”
Manager Chen chuckled dryly and said nothing more, simply leading the way.
Su Che adopted a obedient demeanor and followed closely behind, saying no more nonsense. But in his heart, he was still wondering with Lao He why he was disliked so much right from the first meeting.
Later, Su Che was assigned a medicinal herb field planted with “Seven-Star Grass.” The field, covering over two acres, had only a hundred plants of Seven-Star Grass. This was because growing spiritual herbs wasn’t like growing crops—it couldn’t be too dense. The higher the grade of the spiritual herb, the stricter its requirements for nutrients, spiritual energy, and growing space.

“Su Che, first get familiar with the surroundings and take good care of this herb field. Only by fully proving your abilities will you be assigned more and better herb fields,” said Manager Chen with a slight smile. “What do you think?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Su Che replied respectfully, showing deference as a disciple. “Thank you, Manager Chen!”
“You’re welcome,” Manager Chen waved his hand. Before leaving, he added, “Remember, report to me every week on the growth of the spirit herbs.”
Su Che responded with a nod as he watched Manager Chen walk away.
When Manager Chen was several dozen feet away, Lao He reported, “Master, that bastard is slandering you behind your back again. This time, he’s even naming you specifically!”
“What’s he saying about me?”
“Damn kid, just wait. I’ll find another chance to deal with you slowly… Don’t think that because Yu Qing is backing you up, I won’t dare touch you… Ugh, that phrase was too harsh. Master, I won’t repeat it… Oh? That one seems important! It seems he’s saying that your arrival has taken away someone else’s position as the steward disciple…”
“I see!”
Only then did Su Che realize that his admission was an exception. It was possible that he had taken someone else’s intended position as steward disciple, and that person must be a relative or friend of Manager Chen. That’s why he felt resentful and hostile toward Su Che.
“What a mess!” Su Che didn’t know what to say now.
He had inadvertently offended his direct superior. Apparently, Senior Yu Qing and the herb garden elders were unaware of such trivial matters; otherwise, they wouldn’t have assigned him to Manager Chen’s jurisdiction.
“Master, having someone working against you behind your back is annoying and could even interfere with our plan to find a hidden herb garden,” suggested Lao He. “How about you talk to Yu Qing again and ask him to assign someone else?”
Su Che immediately retorted, “That’s not possible. We can’t bother Senior Yu Qing for every little thing. I must find a solution on my own.”
“Alright then,” Lao He scratched his head and mused, “Let me think of a way. After all, I possess both the cunning of humans and the trickery of extraterrestrial demons, plus the cunning of rat-like monsters…”
“Don’t mention rats to me! And again, is your tail loose? It keeps swaying nonstop. Don’t you feel it at all?”
“I do feel it, but since it’s part of my body, I tend to ignore it. Master, since you hate it so much, why not just cut it off?”

“There’s no need. If you don’t mention rats, I basically don’t care about them either.” With that, thinking to himself about Lao Hei, Su Che entered the temporary thatched cottage assigned to him.