Chapter 16 : A Job Well Done
Chapter 16: A Job Well Done
Looking at Senior Brother Zhou’s gentle and refined face—he even vaguely noticed traces of drawn eyebrows—Long Tao also responded with a perfunctory smile and offered his thanks.
However, his gaze kept roaming about, and very quickly… his line of sight locked precisely onto a desk in the corner.
On it lay an almost blank mission record book with sparse ink marks, and beside it were several finely drafted yet nearly empty construction blueprints.
The renovation project itself was in full swing, yet this clerical work seemed like a forgotten corner.
“Thank you for valuing me, Senior Brother Zhou. I will certainly do my utmost. However, as this Senior Brother Su said, my cultivation is shallow, and I fear I cannot handle heavy labor.”
As Long Tao spoke, he walked over to a desk and picked up a booklet and some drawings.
“But I see that this set of mission records is almost entirely blank. I am rather confident in this area. If the senior brothers do not mind, let me handle these troublesome clerical matters. All of you senior brothers look adept at actual combat—this kind of paperwork is probably mentally taxing for you as well.”
Those words immediately struck home for most of the people present.
Work records were tedious and annoying, and because they were purely written tasks, the rewards were pitifully low.
No one was willing to do them.
Previously, they had always been handled by the good-natured Senior Brother Zhou, and everyone had felt rather embarrassed about it.
Now, an outer sect fool suddenly fell from the sky and volunteered?
“I think that’s excellent. Senior Brother Zhou handles countless matters every day—coordinating the overall situation while also keeping records is truly too exhausting. These trivial chores should indeed be entrusted to someone as meticulous as Junior Brother Long!”
A disciple who had previously remained quiet and low-key spoke up at this moment.
With someone taking the lead, others naturally followed.
“Same here.”
“Junior Brother Long looks like a careful person. This role suits no one better!”
“I have no objections.”
……
Amid the overlapping voices, Long Tao smoothly took over this assignment that everyone had been avoiding.
The atmosphere in the area also relaxed, and the looks people cast at Long Tao even carried a bit of approval.
Senior Brother Zhou, wearing a kindly smile, walked up to Long Tao and warmly patted his shoulder—not too lightly, not too heavily.
“This really troubles Junior Brother Long.These past two days, dealing with these clerical trifles truly drained my mental energy. I even delayed my meditation and breath regulation. With a junior brother taking over, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!”
Then his tone shifted, though the smile remained.
“However, the records here concern how many Spirit Stones each fellow disciple will ultimately receive, so they must not be handled carelessly. For everyone to gain this opportunity to serve under True Person Mingzhu, we all expended tremendous effort—no one had it easy. If unclear records lead to misunderstandings over shortages or discrepancies, it would harm the harmony among fellow disciples. Please be sure to pay close attention to this.”
The smile on Long Tao’s face did not change; it even became more humble.
“Senior Brother, rest assured! To ensure fairness, I will list every detail clearly in the end. However, for the work records from before today, I will need to trouble the senior brothers to come over and report them first—consider it taking a short break along the way.”
Everyone nodded.
They had spent the entire morning working, and no one was really clear on how much each person had done.
Previously, they trusted Senior Brother Zhou and did not pay much attention to it.
Now that a newcomer had taken over, it was better to sort things out again.
Moreover, after a morning of high-intensity hand seals, incantations, and transporting construction materials and spiritual plants, even though they were elite inner sect disciples, as Junior Brother Long had said, it was indeed time to rest a bit.
The subsequent process went surprisingly smoothly.
The disciples stepped forward one by one, some clearly and some vaguely reporting the work they had done that morning—how many clumps of Yao Spirit Grass they had moved, how many Inscribed Stones they had carried, which section of the waterway they had reshaped.
Long Tao sat at the desk, his brush flying, neatly recording each item in the booklet.
After finishing each person’s entry, he even deliberately turned the booklet toward them for confirmation.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, no one felt comfortable exaggerating.
Moreover, Long Tao’s writing was clear and concise, with well-defined entries.
From beginning to end, only a few people had minor discrepancies, and they were too lazy to fuss over small gains.
After a brief discussion, they simply split those merits evenly.
Once the last person confirmed their records, the rest period naturally came to an end.
Everyone resumed their work, but unlike before, this time, before each person began a new task, Long Tao would walk over, write down an entry, and draw a circle upon completion.
Like a tireless shadow, he held that booklet and began patrolling back and forth throughout the Spirit Spring Garden.
“Wu Hour, second quarter—Wang Xuran, moved Listening-Tide Stone to the east side of Waterway No. 5.”
“Wu Hour, second quarter—Jian Shangrong, planted seven Moon-Gazing Grass plants on the south side of Waterway No. 7.”
“Wu Hour, third quarter—Xin Dongxuan, opened the second segment of the new No. 19 waterway. Width and depth qualified, length twenty-two chi.”
……
At first, no one paid much attention, assuming he was just putting on a show.
But after an hour and a half passed, Long Tao was still methodically circling the site, accurately recording each person’s work and progress.
The booklet was now filled with dense lines of small black characters, systematically documenting every change.
Its level of detail far surpassed Senior Brother Zhou’s vague and scant notes.
Gradually, the way the disciples looked at him changed.
This focus and orderliness earned a kind of unspoken respect.
Even Senior Brother Su, who had initially disliked him the most, looked considerably more amiable.
Thus, they endured until the end of the work period.
After half a day of toil, everyone looked utterly exhausted, but perhaps because of Long Tao’s records and “supervision,” the work that day had been done both quickly and well.
Even they themselves were surprised by the efficiency.
At that moment, a clear and cool female voice tinged with impatience sounded from the garden entrance.
“Work’s over. You all dragged your feet these past two days. If you keep delaying like this, don’t blame me for bringing in more manpower! When the Spirit Stones in your bowls get reduced, don’t start blaming heaven and others!”
Upon hearing the voice, Long Tao did not even raise his head to look.
He quickly took the booklet and went to greet her.
“Senior Sister, today’s project progress was quite good. Here are the detailed work records for all the senior brothers. Please review and inspect them!”
Seeing that the person recording for her today was not the previous Senior Brother Zhou, the female disciple’s eyes held a trace of suspicion.
When Long Tao raised his head and met her gaze, both of them involuntarily widened their eyes.
This female disciple who had come to inspect the work was actually the Miss Zhu from yesterday at the marketplace—the one who had commissioned that statue of True Person Mingzhu.
So she was a disciple of True Person Mingzhu.
Although it was unclear whether she was a Personally Transmitted Disciple, being able to oversee such work meant her status was certainly not low.
“It’s you? What a coincidence. But you’re an outer sect disciple—how did you get in here? Who introduced you?”
After her initial surprise, Miss Zhu did not dwell on it much.
As she flipped through the booklet, she asked casually.
Long Tao answered honestly.
“I have some connection with Junior Brother Nan Yuchen, and I have always admired the immortal scenery of Moon-Washing Peak, so I asked him to do me a small favor.”
This reason made her slightly surprised.
That silly and shy little junior brother of hers had actually met a Qi Refining disciple outside, and their relationship was good enough for him to open a back door and let him enter Moon-Washing Peak?
However, what surprised her even more was the booklet in her hands—far too detailed! So detailed it made one’s scalp tingle.
Who moved which stone at what hour, what grass was planted—all of it was listed.
She patiently skimmed through several pages, then lifted her gaze to scan the actual traces of renovation within the Spirit Spring Garden.
Comparing them with the records in the booklet, they matched perfectly, without the slightest discrepancy.
More importantly, the progress was visibly much faster than in the previous days!
Senior Sister Zhu closed the booklet.
The look she gave Long Tao shifted from suspicion to interest and scrutiny.
“This… was all recorded by you?”
Long Tao revealed a self-deprecating smile.
“Sigh… those of us who crawled up from menial work can only put in more clumsy effort in these areas, just to make a living.”
“Not bad. A hundred times better than the muddled accounts from the past two days.” Her gaze swept over Senior Brother Zhou among the crowd before returning to Long Tao.
“This record-keeping work will belong to you from now on. Come again tomorrow.”
With that, she turned and left without waiting for Long Tao’s response, leaving behind a crisp and decisive silhouette.
Long Tao also failed to notice that, at a concealed spot on his waist, an almost imperceptible small object had appeared.
At the same time, he was completely indifferent to this sudden stroke of good fortune.
After all, the real task had not even begun yet.