Chapter 177
Elder Song interrupts cuddle time again the next morning when the guests are about to arrive, so I reluctantly crawl off the beanbag chair and go shower to face the day. This one is either going to be great or absolutely awful, depending on the aptitude of the children they brought, and I’m not sure that I’m ready to face it.
"Any guesses on what they’ve brought us to work with?" I ask Elder Song, who I know could use his divine senses to pick through every aura in town if he really wanted to.
"I asked around last night after the two of you retired to your room to cultivate. They all hired village kids from their territory, with only two special requests for children of existing servants, so I would expect a ragtag bunch of kids whose parents didn’t have a trade to hand down. But they should be at least generally vetted by the family’s experts before bringing them here so they don’t embarrass themselves in public with candidates who aren’t suitable for cultivation." Song shrugs.
The small army of children and Nobles arrives just after breakfast. They indeed look as ragged and destitute as I had expected, but there are surprisingly few boys among the crowd. That seems a bit odd, but Elder Song has an immediate answer for me.
"If the family needs money badly enough to basically sell a child to a noble employer, what are the chances they’ve got a dowry or marriage prospects for their younger daughters? Since the nobles don’t care either way, as cultivating will make them strong enough to do any task around the house, the only ones who went deliberately looking for boys are the ones who wanted a carriage man or butler specifically."
"That makes sense. They might be employees, but the odds are they’ll never see their parents or home villages again once they move to the Lord’s estates, unless they’re close enough to visit on holidays." I nod my head in understanding.
A little girl has snuck away from the group, looking to explore the hotel. Both me and Elder Song are watching her progress with interest, she’s done an amazing jog getting away from the group, and has even managed to blend in despite her clothes. Her escape comes to an end when Elder Ye and Betty come through the door she’s about to escape through, knocking her over.
"Now who do we have here? A tiny stealth expert? I think you will do well with the Shadowed Blade." Elder Ye laughs, placing the girl on her feet and turning her back towards the group.
"Go on now, the meeting is about to begin." the Elder sends the girl on her way with a smile and gives a confirming nod to Elder Song. That one is definitely being moved to a different group to become a full disciple and possibly a Bodyguard.
We have decided to make the sorting simple here, and then more in depth once they get back to the Sect. With Elder Song’s ability to open portals across the continent, that will be much sooner than anyone from the nobility expects. They’ll likely be meeting their teachers at the Shadowed Blade Sect Compound in about two hours, if they pass our examination.