The meeting with the two cultivators was scheduled at the largest and most luxurious restaurant in the county city. Pang Hemu, both out of concern and to offer his opinion, accompanied Chen Xiao as they met with each of the cultivators separately for a more in-depth discussion.
Of course, the interview wasn't about discussing aspirations or future plans. Chen Xiao carefully inquired about their experiences after leaving the academy and their family situations. He also asked whether they would have any objections if they were required to travel outside the county city during their period of employment.
The entire interview process lasted an hour in total, meaning Chen Xiao spent nearly half an hour speaking with each of them. This lengthy discussion allowed him to gain a clear understanding of both individuals. In the end, he made his decision, he chose the forty-year-old cultivator named Du Rong as his personal guard.
Pang Hemu asked him, "Why hire him? The other one seemed much more spirited compared to Du Rong."
It wasn't that Pang Hemu looked down on Du Rong, but when comparing the two, the difference was obvious. Du Rong was clearly inferior to the other candidate, Ma Liang.
Ma Liang had bright, piercing eyes, an upright posture, and a composed demeanor. He was well-mannered and carried himself with an air of confidence. With someone like him by Chen Xiao's side, not only could he assist in handling various matters, but his presence alone would command respect.
In contrast, Du Rong seemed lacking. While he still carried the presence of a cultivator, he appeared far more weathered. His expression was dull, and there was a deep, unshakable weariness about him, giving the impression that he was perpetually exhausted. This made Pang Hemu uneasy.
Chen Xiao smiled and explained in a calm voice, "Boss, think about their backgrounds, and you'll understand why I made this choice.
"Ma Liang left the academy and spent a few years with the city's security force before being hired by a noble family. The farthest he has ever traveled was a single trip to the capital with his employer.
"But Du Rong is different. After leaving the academy, he didn't join the security force but instead ventured out on his own. He has explored uninhabited regions multiple times and traveled to many places. With him around, we'll be much better prepared for any situation on the road or in the wilderness."
Pang Hemu looked at him in surprise. "You're not going to the capital?"
If Chen Xiao were heading to the capital, then Ma Liang, who had experience traveling there should have been a suitable choice.
Chen Xiao shook his head. "I will go to the capital, but it's not my final destination. That's not the reason I didn't choose Ma Liang, though. Even though he's traveled with his employer, he was merely a follower, not the one making decisions. He only moved when the group moved and stopped when they stopped, he likely doesn't have much firsthand experience with planning travel logistics.
"But Du Rong is different. He traveled independently, which means he had to decide when to press on, when to rest, and how to handle unexpected situations. Given the choice, Du Rong is the more capable one."
Pang Hemu rubbed his temples and sighed helplessly. "Fine, I see your reasoning. But still, look at him, he's completely worn out. He didn't even bother to freshen up before meeting his potential employer. It doesn't seem like he values this job very much. People like that are difficult to deal with. You should be prepared for that."
Chen Xiao pondered for a moment before replying, "It's not that he doesn't care about presenting himself properly, it's that he can't.
"If I'm not mistaken, he's only recently recovered from an injury and hasn't fully regained his peak condition yet."
Although Chen Xiao specialized in feng shui rather than physiognomy, he knew enough to notice that Du Rong's forehead had a pale undertone. That was a sign of weak blood circulation and a deficiency in lung and spleen qi, likely indicating that he had just recovered from an illness or injury. Given that cultivators rarely fell ill due to their strong constitutions, the most probable explanation was that he had recently sustained an injury and had only recently healed.
Pang Hemu frowned. "You know he's just recovered from an injury, and you're still hiring him?"
Chen Xiao replied, "People like him, who have spent years traveling and surviving on their own, have their own ways of making money. If not for his injury preventing him from earning a living through his usual means, I doubt he would have accepted employment from an ordinary person like me.
"This tells me that he's currently short on money. Since he needs the pay, he'll be fully committed to protecting me in order to secure his earnings."
That was not Pang Hemu's concern. He said, "His physical condition is inferior to Ma Liang's. If something happens, how will he protect you?"
Chen Xiao said, "For the next stretch of the journey, I'll be traveling from the county city to the capital. It's a well-traveled route with minimal danger, so there won't be any need for Du Rong to fight.
"By the time we reach the capital, he should have fully recovered. At that point, if I don't terminate his employment, he won't be able to just leave on a whim.
"So, tell me, would you pass up the opportunity to hire such an experienced, well-traveled, and skilled bodyguard?"
Having made his decision, Chen Xiao signed a contract with Du Rong. The agreement specified his monthly salary and outlined his duties as a bodyguard. Naturally, the standard conditions for cultivators were included.
However, Chen Xiao added an additional clause, under normal circumstances, Du Rong couldn't leave until a replacement was found. Otherwise, he would be required to pay a breach-of-contract penalty, an amount several times higher than his wages.
When Du Rong saw this clause, his expression darkened. He gave Chen Xiao a long, searching look but didn't argue. Instead, he simply signed his name.
As per the agreement, Chen Xiao paid him a month's wages in advance so he could make preparations for their journey.
Although Du Rong wasn't married, his parents were still alive, and he had younger siblings who were already settled with families of their own. His parents lived with his younger brother, so before departing, he needed to bid them farewell.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiao packed a few changes of clothes and some essentials. The rest of the travel arrangements would be handled by Du Rong, there was nothing for him to worry about.
He also visited the bank to exchange the three thousand gold coins on his savings note for spirit currency. He stored twenty-seven spirit coins and five spirit pearls in a small pouch, keeping them close to his person.
In addition to those, he also carried some gold and silver for daily expenses. As for Du Rong's salary, he planned to pay him in spirit currency, something cultivators valued far more than regular gold.
This way, he wouldn't have to worry about conversion fees, and Du Rong would have no reason to object.
With everything settled, Chen Xiao made a trip to Aunt Huang's house. This time, he was going to bid farewell. He also planned to take a look at their residence as a gesture of gratitude for her care over the past few months.
Aunt Huang's house was just diagonally across from Chen Xiao's. All he had to do was cross the street. Her family was quite large, she had five sons. The eldest was already married with children, the second was also married, and the third was engaged. However, due to the lack of space at home, his wedding had been postponed for now. The remaining two sons were still young and far from the age of marriage. Despite her love for matchmaking, Aunt Huang had already started scouting for potential brides early.
Honestly, with so many people in the household, they should have been doing fairly well. Yet, oddly enough, their living conditions weren't great.
Uncle Huang had suffered an injury in his youth, preventing him from doing heavy labor. He could only take on light work, earning just enough to scrape by and raise his sons. With no real savings and back-to-back weddings to finance, it was already fortunate that they hadn't fallen into debt.
Their courtyard was irregularly shaped but quite spacious. Initially, their home was built along the outer wall, but as the family grew, they started running out of space. Thinking they were clever, Aunt Huang and her husband had constructed two small rooms in the middle of the courtyard. They had probably wanted to mimic the layout of a traditional siheyuan with inner and outer courtyards but had failed miserably. The result was a chaotic mess, more like an illegally built hodgepodge of extensions than a well-planned home.
Chen Xiao had grown closer to Aunt Huang's family during his busiest six months. On his occasional visits, he usually just sat in the front courtyard, where the couple lived. Since the back courtyard housed the women and children, he hadn't ventured there before. This was his first time seeing the full layout of their home.
Standing in the middle of the courtyard, Chen Xiao frowned. Seeing his expression, Aunt Huang's heart skipped a beat. The neighbors might not know, but she was well aware that Chen Xiao specialized in feng shui and residential layouts. It was said that those who followed his guidance could bring prosperity to their families for generations. However, by the time she had learned of his reputation, his consultation fees had already skyrocketed. She had been too embarrassed to ask him for help since she couldn't afford his services.
Now, seeing him voluntarily stepping into the back courtyard, Aunt Huang nervously asked, "Xiao Han, is something wrong with my house?"
Something wrong? This wasn't just a bad setup, it was a dangerously inauspicious layout!
The larger houses were built against the outer walls, while the smaller rooms were squeezed into the middle. This chaotic arrangement, with big houses enclosing small ones, was a classic feng shui pattern known as the 'Buried Child Formation'—an omen of premature death for the youngest child, decline in family fortunes, and poor financial luck.
Chen Xiao didn't dare to spell it out too bluntly, fearing he would scare her. Instead, he softened his words, saying, "It's not ideal. If you continue living like this, it could be unlucky for your family."
If nothing changed, Aunt Huang's youngest son wouldn't live to adulthood, facing a fatal calamity. Worse, she would suffer the heartbreak of losing a child in her old age.
Aunt Huang was a simple and honest woman. Just hearing the word 'unlucky' was enough to alarm her. She hurriedly asked, "Is there a way to fix it?"
Chen Xiao reassured her gently, "Don't worry. It can still be remedied."
"What should we do?" she pressed anxiously.
He frowned slightly. "I'm afraid it'll require a major renovation. Those two small rooms in the middle must be demolished. If you want to add more rooms, they absolutely cannot be built in such an unsupported manner."
Hearing this, Aunt Huang sighed with worry. "But our family is already so big, and my eldest and second sons will continue to have more children. We're running out of space."
Her eldest son's family did want to move out, but in a county city like this, let alone the capital housing prices were exorbitant. They simply couldn't afford it, so they had no choice but to squeeze in with the rest of the family.
Chen Xiao followed Aunt Huang back to the front courtyard, where he asked her for a piece of paper. Taking out a homemade charcoal pencil, he began sketching. "If you must add more rooms, you can separate the front and back sections. Open another entrance in the rear courtyard, turning it into two adjacent courtyards instead."
At first glance, the Huang family's home was somewhat heart-shaped. By adding a dividing wall, it would transform into a square attached to a rectangle. Aunt Huang had never considered such an idea before, but the more she thought about it, the better it seemed.
With the front and back separated and a new entrance added, the two removed rooms could be replaced by extending the new courtyard wall. Two large houses could be built on either side of the wall, ensuring they didn't lose living space. In fact, this new layout would make movement in and out of the house even more convenient.
Comparing Chen Xiao's drawing with her own mental image, Aunt Huang found that the only difference was the placement of a new doorway.
Chen Xiao explained, "If you open the back entrance here, it won't be directly facing the street, so you'll have to take a slightly longer route. But it will bring good fortune to your family."
Aunt Huang gratefully accepted the sketch, carefully storing it away. She had already made up her mind, once her husband returned, she would discuss pooling their money to renovate the house. This way, their home would be more structured, and their living conditions more comfortable.
After the separation, her eldest and second sons' families could cook for themselves, which would likely make her daughters-in-law happier too.
Once they had finished discussing the house, the two sat down for a chat.
Aunt Huang looked at Chen Xiao and asked with a teasing smile, "Are you leaving this time to go find your wife?"
Chen Xiao froze. He had nearly forgotten about the excuse he had made up back then to avoid matchmaking.
Mini-Theater: Years later, Chen Xiao really did return with a "wife" … though the gender wasn't quite what they had expected.