Based solely on Shi Chun's shabby and casual attire, Second Miss Dong Liangyu concluded he wasn't someone who'd pretend to be cultured to approach them sisters.

Her observation and judgment on Shi Chun had no romantic inclination, but rather she noticed his poverty.

The reason being that Third Sister Dongliang Ying, who presided over the hall, had to manage as both shopkeeper and accountant while attending to miscellaneous tasks like setting up pens and paper, serving tea and water, was overwhelmed by her workload.

Oldest Sister Dong Liangyi handled the family's food and drink matters in the backyard and was busy all the time; she couldn't attend to the book pavilion affairs.

Old Fourth Dong Liangze had outside matters to attend to, so helping in the hall wasn't feasible for him.

As for their father, despite having dignity, he never involved himself in household affairs, straightforwardly speaking, he didn't bother with mundane matters, and only indulged in reading, strolling, visiting friends, and preaching, and since his children were grown, they wouldn't compel him to work.

Therefore, Third Sister in the hall was genuinely overwhelmed, but the income from the book pavilion was indeed meager, making normal hiring unaffordable, even the lowest monthly wage of one to two hundred gold coins was difficult for the book pavilion to pay.

This made Shi Chun's impoverished appearance a favorable trait.

Moreover, he was knowledgeable and courteous, obviously not someone prone to misbehaving, which made him even more suitable.

Because previously there were kind-hearted people offering help, yet it turned out they approached the three sisters; their father was a strict adherent of etiquette, upon discovering this person's improper intentions, raised a stick and nearly chased them away.

Since then, their father instituted a rule; a little exhaustion was trivial, reputation was paramount, forbidding those with illicit intentions from entering.

After noticing Shi Chun's strengths, she explained the situation to her siblings, all felt it was suitable, then Old Fourth Dong Liangze personally investigated Shi Chun's circumstances.

He found out Shi Chun was doing odd jobs at a horse farm outside the city, earning two hundred gold coins a month, living in a smelly stable.

The only advantage the farm offered was a relaxed working environment, once tasks were done, there was nothing else, which was adequate for the salary.

Dong Liangze returned to share this situation with his sisters, discussed, felt there was potential, because the person loved reading, and they had plenty of books.

Of course, ultimately their father Dong Wenshu also had to agree, they explained the situation, upon hearing Shi Chun earned that little, yet frequently spent money to read, it was indeed commendable.

Thus, the stubborn Dong Wenshu rarely agreed.

However, the siblings all understood, father's approval wasn't enough, Shi Chun also needed to consent, considering the meager salary they offered.

Later Dong Liangze found Shi Chun, offered fifty gold coins a month, including meals and accommodations, with free access to the book collection pavilion's books, no tough or exhausting works.

Actually, while following him, Shi Chun already noticed him, even suspected him of having improper intentions, was in counter-observation, unexpectedly, this situation arose, hiring him to do odd jobs at the book pavilion?

Just that the salary was too low, merely fifty gold coins a month.

However, he didn't care about the salary now, he was currently a billionaire.

He had emerged from the bottom ranks, was now a prominent figure in the cultivation world, having achieved rapid social mobility.

With a snap of a finger, he could buy the whole horse farm, this salary was truly negligible.

Therefore, he was very curious about why they wanted him at the book pavilion.

No matter what Dong Liangze said, it was useless to him, explaining they couldn't offer higher wages, Shi Chun wouldn't relent even slightly, it wasn't his concern they lacked money, why should he lower his salary because they were short on funds, what kind of reasoning was this?

Ultimately it was the phrase 'knowledgeable and courteous' that resonated with Shi Chun.

Shi Chun realized this was indeed a scholarly family, having insight beyond ordinary people.

Imagine, with so many people frequenting the book pavilion, yet they could spot him at a glance, moreover, he appeared so poor, it seemed his poverty couldn't overshadow his dignity, a fine quality.

Thus, he gave it serious consideration, pondering whether to lay low at the book pavilion or elsewhere, really the book pavilion's environment was much better than the farm, and it would be more convenient to explore things at the book pavilion in the future.

So he agreed.

And where he was, there was almost always Wu Jinliang.

Upon hearing this, bystander Wu Jinliang wondered how could there be such a thing; going to read a book could result in someone following him for recruitment? Just how astute the Master was, having practiced elegance numerous times, was able to perceive knowledge and courtesy; everyone at the book pavilion must be blind!

He was tired of staying at the foul-smelling horse farm, going to a brothel made people cover their noses, so he also came forward, asking if the book pavilion was hiring.

Of course not, considering he hadn't undergone any audit, didn't meet the requirements, not to mention the wages, the book pavilion truly couldn't afford them, naturally Dong Liangze politely declined.

Thus Shi Chun quit the horse farm job and moved to the book pavilion.

Dong Liangze was rather decent, even helped him settle some wages from the farm, evidently, the book pavilion's owner held some reputation in Dazhi City, earning them face with the farm, which usually wasn't so accommodating, being quite affluent and aggressive.

Wu Jinliang had long put forth words, telling them to watch out!

In the end, it proved the book pavilion siblings had decent insight, Shi Chun working diligently, simply and efficiently, his conduct exuded composure, even when a book friend was upset, vented, he only dismissed it with a smile.

When encountering beautiful female book friends, he merely appreciated, with no intention of pursuing fragrance.

Toward the three sisters of the book pavilion, he exhibited no inappropriate or excessive behavior.

Even the pavilion owner Dong Wenshu could sense this, making Dong Wenshu very reassured and satisfied.

Shi Chun realized, whether in the book pavilion or Dazhi City, he was merely a transient visitor, he didn't want to leave any weaknesses open for attack, it was for his own good and the family's interest, as this family was rather feeble, unable to withstand the storm surrounding him.

When it comes to women's beauty, saying you don't fancy the three sisters might sound harsh, but Xiang Laner's beauty definitely surpasses the three sisters.

As for Dong Wenshu's temperament, it's evident that she would never let her daughter be with any man casually. If they were to be together, it would be for a lifetime, with legitimacy and a proper marriage.

Shi Chun had a simple consumption routine with them. Whatever the Dong Family ate, he would have a little, and said he had a small appetite.

It saved money, which naturally pleased the Dong Family.

Little did they know that whenever he turned around, Shi Chun might use the Mother-child Talisman to contact Wu Jinliang and get something delicious ready for when he came over. To some extent, or perhaps for him, the Dong Family's dining standards were not very high and were somewhat frugal.

The Dong Family also found that Shi Chun basically didn't engage in cultivation, worked during the day, would go out for a stroll when the door closed, and would fall asleep soundly.

As such, the Dong Family understood why he could get by on fifty sandalwood gold as a salary; the guy practically had nowhere to spend his money.

Just like that, the life passed for over a year, and everyone in the Dong Family became very familiar with him, even knowing his family background.

The family background arranged by Young Master Nan was not easy to uncover without deep investigation.

Oh, Shi Chun now uses the alias Wang Ping, and Wu Jinliang goes by Gao He, adapted from 'Wang Qiang' and 'Gao Sheng'.

Traveling outside, and due to reputation, it's naturally not good to use real names while in hiding. Speaking of aliases, they naturally thought of the names they used during the Sky Rain Meteor Conference. With a laugh, Shi Chun casually changed to 'Wang Ping', and Wu Jinliang pondered and opted for 'Gao He'.

After the change, Wu Jinliang suddenly asked, "Chun Tian, won't Mulan Qingqing be angry if she knew we changed our names again?"

Shi Chun's reply was, "Is it you who's sick, or me who's sick, why tell her about this?"

This time, they came out to hide without telling Feng Chi and Xiang Laner about their whereabouts – no need for explanation, you figure it out yourself, Xiang Laner...

Some male regulars in the Pavilion, who envied Shi Chun's chance to mingle among three beauties, occasionally teased him, or perhaps ridiculed him, questioning if he was to become a live-in son-in-law.

Shi Chun laughed it off, not worth arguing. Truly, if the other's luck turned bad and they met him afterward, it wouldn't be too late to correct them.

After making rounds in the hall and refilling everyone's tea, he stopped to glance at the board of challenges when passing by the "Reward Wall Topic" section.

This wall served as a source of entertainment in the Pavilion, with people posing questions to test others, and the reward amounts were marked beside the questions - a little gamble for fun.

Shi Chun focused on two questions in particular.

One was: Where is the ancient 'Divine Bird Mountain' now?

And the other: Where is the ancient 'Golden Que Mountain' now?

Each question had a reward of fifty coins, which is half a sandalwood gold.

The questions were set by Shi Chun, who arranged for people to post them for rewards. Rewards for such small fun in the Pavilion should not be too high.

Investigating 'Divine Bird Mountain' was naturally for finding the Reversing Soul Tree.

Inquiring about 'Golden Que Mountain' was due to the legacy of the dry corpse in the secret realm during the Sky Rain Meteor Conference, left by the demon cultivator named Jin Zhan, who left a 'Beidou Demon Book' for seeking his descendants to pass it on, promising a generous reward.

He wasn't counting much on the supposed generous reward. Not daring to venture into the Western Secret Realm again with his current strength, as last time he almost failed to escape, it seemed wise not to covet the treasures inside. Therefore, whether to pass the demon book on, he hadn't decided yet – he needed to observe the situation with the descendants and determine if they're worthy of the handover.

Coming to Juku State precisely because it was mentioned in Jin Zhan's legacy, he planned to look for it incidentally.

No way around it, 'Golden Que Mountain' only existed in ancient texts, where records indeed mentioned Jin Zhan, but due to the ancient times, only brief words were left, saying he had immense mana and fell during a battle with the Demon Ancestor.

The specifics of his immense mana weren't detailed in the texts they could find, yet many records confirmed the Demon Ancestor as the supreme expert in the Six Realms of his time, with his fame widespread even today.

Many perished under the Demon Ancestor, yet history withheld even a mention, all erased amidst the sands of time.

Shi Chun happened to know that Jin Zhan didn't perish at the Demon Ancestor's hands and survived the battle. This 'Beidou Demon Book' indeed seemed extraordinary.

Because of this, he couldn't carelessly hand it over, and who knows if Jin Zhan's descendants still existed.

Yet no historical texts specialize in detailing the historical changes of 'Golden Que Mountain', similar to 'Divine Bird Mountain', no trace of such a name could be found throughout Juku State.

Even Young Master Nan was intrigued, wondering why the places Shi Chun asked to investigate turned up empty.

Given that the Pavilion had many scholarly locals and happened to be in Juku State, Shi Chun tried his luck with the bounty on the board, idle or not it made no difference.

Yet the result remained the same, these two questions had been posted for quite some time with no answers.

This brought some melancholy to his mood, a bunch of idiots, all their reading amounted to nothing useful, and he'd browsed through a significant portion of the collection here.

Setting down the teapot, he proceeded to the main entrance, leaning against the door frame, gazing at the busy street bustling with people, often wondering if having wealth now, living peacefully and quietly all life wouldn't be bad.

But ultimately, he had his own dreams, and sometimes a haunting figure would emerge in his mind.

Before his eyes, the hustle and bustle was here and now, in the Demon Realm's territory, and in Xihe Niu State, any city with basics mingled both immortals and mortals, with rules prohibiting untransformed demon cultivators from entering towns without permission, and no appearing in humanoid form on the streets carelessly once outside their own homes.

Without these rules, they could continue digging caves in the mountains, why bother constructing extensive cities and structures.

The Demon Realm's territory, yet humans were more populous, for achieving divinity, for savoring to the fullest, ultimately only humans concentrate on that refined taste.

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