Lu Qingning followed Xiao Hongyu to the mission hall. A disciple with the complexion of a pale scholar was taking a nap at the front desk.
Xiao Hongyu stepped forward, took out her own and Lu Qingning’s identity tokens, and said, "We're here to take a mission for two people: one at Mid Qi Refining and one at Early Foundation Establishment."
The disciple opened his eyes, and upon seeing that it was Xiao Hongyu, he instantly woke up. He rummaged through the numerous missions before him and finally found one suitable for the two of them: "How about this one? The daughter of a landowner in Waterwheel Village is suspected of being possessed by some monster. Go there and investigate. This is an emergency teleportation talisman. You can use it if you encounter danger."
Xiao Hongyu took the mission sheet and the talisman, then turned around and left the hall with Lu Qingning.
Neither of them noticed the disciple sitting in the hall wiping the sweat from his forehead and squinting as he watched them leave.
"What is the Senior Sister up to?"
This person was none other than the Second Elder's direct disciple, Luo Yunting.
However, he did not dare to speculate rashly about Xiao Hongyu. Seeing the two go far away, he simply continued leaning back in his chair to take a nap.
Stepping out of the hall, Lu Qingning muttered inwardly.
That disciple in the hall looked so scrawny and weak; no wonder he was only suited to watch the front desk.
Then she turned her head to Xiao Hongyu and said, "Senior Sister, I want to go to Danding Peak to see Ye Nanxing."
Lu Qingning stood right in front of Xiao Hongyu. In the past half year, she hadn't grown at all and still had to tilt her head up just to clearly see Xiao Hongyu's face.
Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly and turned the direction of her flying sword.
The two of them quickly arrived at Danding City.
Danding City was as crowded as ever.
However, unlike before, the other shops were not as bustling as they used to be; most people were crammed in front of a towering building that stood out from the rest like a crane among chickens.
At a single glance, Lu Qingning saw three gilded characters: "Netherworld Pavilion."
Yet the doors of the Netherworld Pavilion were tightly shut.
"Senior Brother Ye! Sell me another pill!"
"Senior Brother Ye! My upcoming trip is dangerous, please sell me another poison-repelling pill!"
"Senior Brother Ye!"
The area in front of the building was filled entirely with disciples shouting Ye Nanxing's name.
Witnessing this scene, Lu Qingning burst out laughing: "Hahaha! I never expected it to sell out completely!"
Looking at the distant, crowded stream of people, Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly and said, "Mh, this is truly unexpected."
"Mh... but doesn't this make it hard to see Senior Brother Ye Nanxing now?" Lu Qingning pondered aloud.
Xiao Hongyu shook her head. "No, he must be on the third floor right now."
With that, Xiao Hongyu grabbed Lu Qingning, leaped up to the third-floor window, and kicked it open with one foot.
"Eek—"
Lu Qingning suppressed a cry, and after landing in a daze, she saw Ye Nanxing sitting cross-legged on a sandalwood chair.
Sensing their arrival, Ye Nanxing opened his eyes and laughed, "Haha! We have Junior Sister Lu Qingning to thank for this! I've really made a fortune this time, all thanks to you! Here, this is your share of the spirit stones—a total of 37,200 High-grade Spirit Stones!"
As he spoke, Ye Nanxing took a storage bag from the one at his waist and tossed it to Lu Qingning.
Just as Lu Qingning reached out to catch it, she saw the person beside her reach out, take the bag instead, and turn to tell her, "You don't need this many spirit stones right now. I'll keep them for you for safekeeping; if you need any in the future, just come to me and ask."
Lu Qingning snorted, too lazy to argue with Xiao Hongyu.
Ye Nanxing scratched his bald head and said, "Still... I can't refine enough pills all by myself now, and I don't trust others to do it. Every disciple in the sect is fighting over my pills now. What should we do?"
Lu Qingning put her hands on her hips and sighed, "What a vexing blessing to have, Senior Brother. Why don't you just close your doors for a few days, claim you're improving the pill formulas, and then do whatever you need to do afterwards? From then on, charge anyone who wants to buy pills a membership fee of one thousand spirit stones, and tell them that Netherworld Pavilion's pills are specially crafted to provide top-quality pills for premium customers, so it's completely normal for them to be a bit more expensive. After that, double the price of all the pills and claim they're improved formulas—all brand-new versions.
Then you don't even actually have to improve any formulas; anyway, that's how you'll filter and refine your customer base!"
Ye Nanxing stroked his head and said, "Makes sense! Junior Sister is truly brilliant! Oh right! This is a new pill I've developed. You can take it in a moment of crisis, and it's bound to give you a pleasant surprise!"
With that, Ye Nanxing tossed a box over to Lu Qingning. Xiao Hongyu swept her spiritual sense across the pill and gave Ye Nanxing a surprised look.
There was nothing wrong with the pill itself... but this effect...?
Regaining her composure, Xiao Hongyu said, "Since Junior Sister has already collected her dividends for the past half year, we'll take our leave."
With that, Xiao Hongyu wrapped her arm around Lu Qingning's waist, stepped onto her flying sword, and the two of them made a high-profile exit by flying straight out of the Netherworld Pavilion's third-floor window.
"Who are those two? Why are they acting so arrogant?"
"You don't even know them? That's clearly the attire of direct disciples; they must be on good terms with Senior Brother Ye!"
"So what if they're direct disciples?!"
"Exactly! What right do direct disciples have to fly over Danding Peak?"
...
Listening to the shouts of the crowd below her, Lu Qingning chuckled to herself.
Yes, direct disciples are just that amazing.
Strictly speaking, flying is forbidden on Danding Peak.
Of course, Xiao Hongyu was the exception.
Normally, however, aside from carrying Lu Qingning, Xiao Hongyu wouldn't use her flying sword to travel in and out of the various peaks either.
Since they were already on the flying sword, she simply didn't bother getting down. Xiao Hongyu increased her speed, and the flying sword shot straight into the clouds. Lu Qingning was caught off guard and leaned her head back, bumping right into Xiao Hongyu's chin.
Xiao Hongyu let out a soft huff. Lu Qingning turned her head to look at her and asked, "Senior Sister, are you alright?"
Lu Qingning didn't realize how close the two of them were right now; the moment she turned her head, she could feel Xiao Hongyu's breath, and her gaze lingered repeatedly on Xiao Hongyu's lips and chin.
Xiao Hongyu paused for a moment, then used her hand to push Lu Qingning's head back into place, saying, "I'm fine."
Her other hand firmly embraced Lu Qingning's waist to prevent her from falling.
Though Xiao Hongyu could catch her even if she did fall, it would just cause a little extra trouble.
Outside Waterwheel Village, Lu Qingning and Xiao Hongyu landed smoothly.
Only after her feet touched the ground did Lu Qingning calm her nervous heart. She patted her chest and said, "Alright, now our journey of wielding swords across the martial world officially begins!"
Xiao Hongyu gently patted her head and said, "Remember to be humble when you meet people later. This isn't the Tianjian Sect; human hearts are complicated."
Lu Qingning nodded hastily. "Okay, okay~ I will strictly obey Senior Sister's teachings~"
In truth, as soon as Lu Qingning and Xiao Hongyu arrived outside Waterwheel Village, someone came out to greet them.
"Two Immortals, this humble one has been waiting for you for a long time!"
Greeting the two of them was an elderly man of about fifty, dressed quite decently, likely a steward or someone of similar status from the landowner's household.
Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly without saying anything, and Lu Qingning followed her example, keeping quiet to act like an expert.
The man leading the way spoke as he walked, "Oh my, you two have arrived just in time! Just a moment ago, two roaming immortals arrived at the estate claiming they had a way to save our young miss. But since the immortals from the Tianjian Sect have arrived! Then we won't need to bother with those roaming immortals anymore!"
Lu Qingning cast a peculiar look at Xiao Hongyu.
Xiao Hongyu's expression remained as calm as ever, showing no reaction.
Yet Lu Qingning had ten thousand Whys she wanted to ask Xiao Hongyu in her heart.
Sob, not knowing voice transmission is truly so agonizing!!!
Lu Qingning was about to die of frustration.