Chapter 236: Courting Death, Volunteering
The wailing young man was smacked on the butt by his father, who roared furiously, “I still need you to carry on the family line! Stop embarrassing yourself here and get your ass back home—!”
Another man was there because his family had fallen on hard times. His son clung to his leg, his wife hugged his arm. “Husband, are you really going to abandon the two of us? Becoming a Gu tester at Mo Ran Hall is nine deaths out of ten! If you go, what are we supposed to do… boohoo…”
His son wailed too. “Daddy, don’t go—!”
“Chunxiang, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of Mother. I’m useless—I can’t support you anymore. But if I become a Gu tester, the National Preceptor will give each of us one hundred taels of silver. You and our son won’t have to worry about food and clothes anymore!”
Scenes of such heartrending farewells played out again and again.
Nan Xun didn’t know whether she was born cold-hearted or simply used to such sights. Aside from a faint stir of sympathy, she felt no excess emotion.
The line formed five long columns, nearly sixty people in each. By that count, close to three hundred people had come scrambling to become Gu testers.
Even more than Nan Xun had expected.
Although she reeked of sour stench and wore tattered clothes—almost on par with a beggar—the citizens of the imperial capital were fairly well-mannered. Aside from casting her a few disgusted glances and standing farther away, no one cursed or struck her.
The loose, oversized clothes concealed Nan Xun’s shapely figure, and with that sour smell about her, no one looked closely. She really did manage to hide her gender.
Everyone waited from morning until noon. At last, five disciples of Mo Ran Hall arrived.
All five wore white, short, belted robes. Each had delicate features and looked quite young.
But Nan Xun knew that a few of them were likely from her “grandfather’s generation.”
As for the National Preceptor—absolutely an ancestor-level figure.
Seeing them, the crowd showed reverence. Some timid ones even lowered their heads, afraid of offending such lofty figures.
Each Mo Ran Hall disciple took position before one column and began selecting candidates.
They chose far faster than Nan Xun had imagined. With a brief sweep of their eyes, they directly picked out five sturdy men from the lines.
Nan Xun, whose presence their gaze skimmed past without pausing even a second: “……”
“All right, everyone disperse,” the one who looked highest in seniority said flatly.
Among those not chosen, some looked disappointed, some even sighed in relief—but none acted like Nan Xun, who ran straight up to the Mo Ran Hall disciples and shouted, “Big brother, please choose me! Don’t judge me by my small size—I’m immune to all poisons, absolutely the best candidate for Gu testing! If you don’t believe me, bring a venomous snake to bite me!”
The crowd, not yet fully dispersed, couldn’t help but watch with interest.
What Mo Ran Hall said went—you were supposed to accept it quietly. Daring to question them? Tsk. This filthy, stinking kid was probably about to bleed from all seven orifices on the spot.
The white-robed disciple who had just selected candidates glanced at her. “What arrogant nonsense. There’s no such thing as someone born immune to all poisons.”
Nan Xun’s eyes flickered, and she immediately changed her tune. “I don’t know if I’m immune to poisons. But when I was little, chopping firewood in the mountains, all the venomous snakes would avoid me—they never bit me!”
Her expression was utterly sincere, like she was about to tear her heart out and show it to him.
Another disciple beside him suddenly chuckled. “Second Senior Brother, since this little brother is so eager to volunteer, why not give it a try? Who knows—maybe snakes really won’t bite him.”
The man called Second Senior Brother shot him a sideways look. “Sir said to avoid unnecessary trouble. Are you trying to anger him?”
At that, the other man instantly shut up. The remaining disciples were even colder, showing no interest in Nan Xun at all.
They treated her like thin air and led the selected Gu testers away.
Nan Xun was fuming. “I’ve endured humiliation and hardship all these years. Now I’m lining up to die and they won’t even take me! Little Eight, isn’t that infuriating?”
Little Eight asked in confusion, “What humiliation and hardship have you endured?”
Nan Xun snapped, “I’ve fallen so low as to become a courtesan—how is that not enduring humiliation?”
Little Eight snorted. “Funny how someone was eating the best food and drinking the finest wine every day—eight roast chickens a day! I’ve seen gluttons, but never one like you.”
Nan Xun: “…That’s the body’s fault, not mine.”
Little Eight: “Excuses. You were always a big eater—this just enabled you.”
Nan Xun decided not to argue with a beast. After standing there dazed for a moment, she hurried to catch up with the group ahead.
“Hey, big brothers, please take me as a Gu tester! I’m hardworking and not afraid of suffering—and the venomous snakes really won’t bite me!”
They ignored her completely. Nan Xun kept following them all the way to outside the imperial palace.
She had thought Mo Ran Hall, no matter how powerful, would be on the busiest street outside the palace. Instead—Mo Ran Hall was built inside the palace itself!
And every disciple carried a token that allowed free entry and exit.
The authority granted by the emperor was simply enormous.
Naturally, Nan Xun was stopped.
Seeing the group about to enter the palace gates, she panicked and once again shouted her self-recommendation.
Finally, one Mo Ran Hall disciple lost patience. He strode over, grabbed Nan Xun by the collar, and dragged her inside. “Kid, you’re the one courting death. Don’t come crying later!”
A hint of malicious amusement flashed in his eyes. Whatever he was imagining, he now looked at Nan Xun like she was already a corpse.
Nan Xun shuddered.
This bastard was definitely thinking about how to toy her to death.
“Seventeen, if Sir learns you brought back a useless person and blames you, don’t expect us to plead on your behalf,” Second Senior Brother reminded coldly.
Gong Shiqi scoffed. “Sir won’t blame me. You all heard it—this kid wants nothing and isn’t afraid to die. It’s basically a free pickup.”
Just like that, Nan Xun entered the imperial palace of Southern Yun Kingdom and followed the group of Gu testers into that resplendent palace—Mo Ran Hall.
Calling it Mo Ran Palace would have been more fitting. Perhaps the word “palace” offended the National Preceptor’s taboos, so it was changed to “hall.”
Mo Ran Hall came with an ultra-luxurious compound. The main hall rivaled the monarch’s sleeping palace in splendor, and each side hall had ten rooms. If every disciple took one, there would still be two rooms left.
Nan Xun smiled confidently. “I think one of those last two rooms will definitely be mine someday.”
Little Eight replied, “Keep that confidence going—no problem at all!”
