"Senior Sister Chang, let's go this way."
Upon leaving the mission hall, they walked only a short distance along the road before coming upon a place resembling a post station. From here, the road wound forward, stretching into the distance with no end in sight.
At the other end stood a row of avian Beasts. People lined up, holding the exit tokens Chang Le had also recently exchanged for, and showed them to the disciples tending to the spiritual beasts. They then exchanged for a bird or beast, leaped onto its back, and either soared straight up into the sky or vanished in a flash of dust—each departure accompanied by dazzling, gorgeous special effects.
Chang Le stared, completely transfixed. Seeing this, Mu Youzhi pointed toward the other side and said, "There is a flying boat dock over there. If you need to handle affairs across states, you go there to take a flying boat."
As she spoke, a shadow fell across the ground. Chang Le looked up to see a painted pleasure boat gliding across the sky, adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, extraordinarily magnificent. Golden light flickered around it, and from time to time, one or two runes materialized upon its hull, radiating an ethereal, immortal aura.
Chang Le couldn't help letting out a gasp of wonder, sounding just as unworldly as Hou Jing standing beside her.
Chang Le looked over at Hou Jing. Hou Jing scratched her head and offered an embarrassed smile. "This is my first time seeing one too."
"Flying boats are not common," Mu Youzhi said, casting a glance at the vessel. "I wonder what important figure has arrived."
"No matter what figure it is, what does it have to do with us?" Hou Jing said.
Chang Le nodded in agreement beside her, then gazed longingly at the beasts opposite them. "Are we riding those?"
Seeing the expectant look in Chang Le's eyes, Mu Youzhi fell silent.
Chen Wei smiled, pointed toward the thatched shed ahead, and said, "No, the missions we take are ordinary outer sect disciple missions. The place we're heading to is merely Wei City at the foot of Gushan Sword Sect, so we're riding that instead..."
An hour later, Chang Le rubbed her aching backside with a pale face. With no springs and no rubber, relying entirely on wooden wheels to move forward, the carriage didn't consume wood—it consumed her poor backside!
Thinking of the exhilaration of riding the flying sword with Xu Yingqi earlier, and contrasting it with the deeply uncomfortable expressions of everyone around her, Chang Le's heart turned to ashes.
To fly on a sword, one needed to be at least at Foundation Establishment.
And as for her—a good-for-nothing stuck at the Qi Refining 9th Layer for decades—she had no idea if such a thing was even possible in this lifetime.
Yet, at the thought of Xu Yingqi, Chang Le fished out her Silk Slip. Wei Zhaoguang had given her so much help; though she couldn't help Wei Zhaoguang herself, she could at least ask Senior Sister Xu to pass along a message.
The moment she opened the communication interface with Xu Yingqi, she saw a string of messages pop up.
First was: "Asleep yet?"
Then: "If you have any questions about cultivation, you can ask me."
Later: "Where did you go?"
And finally: "...I didn't mean that you had to pay me back..."
Chang Le covered her face. It seemed she had been mistaken for someone who borrowed money and refused to repay it.
Her divine sense lingered on the interface as she tapped out a reply: "I accepted a mission today to go down the mountain with new friends for experience, not ignoring you on purpose."
Unexpectedly, a reply came back instantly from the other end.
"Hmm."
Chang Le froze. Hadn't she spent the whole of last night browsing the forums—ah, no, the Gushan Gazette—and didn't it say that Senior Sister Xu Yingqi was extremely busy? How could she reply so fast?
Ah! Could it be that Senior Sister Xu was actually a master of time management?
Chang Le understood. No wonder her replies were so aloof and detached; it must be because of her numerous affairs, just like busy people in modern society who needed to hold their phones and reply to colleagues and supervisors at every moment.
No wonder she replied so quickly and so succinctly—how was this any different from the completely emotionless "Received" of an office drone?
Having figured it out, Chang Le hastily replied: "Please go ahead and be busy, Senior Sister Xu. It doesn't matter if you don't reply to me. I understand."
At that very moment, sitting atop a long sword hovering high in midair after waiting all night and half a day for a reply, Xu Yingqi silently raised her head. She patted the long sword beneath her and asked, "What does she understand?"
The long sword emitted a low hum, swaying its blade to indicate that the sword didn't understand either.
Xu Yingqi propped her chin on her hand, pondering for a moment before flicking her wrist. A screen of light materialized out of thin air, and she scrolled down it line by line.
A sigh suddenly sounded beside her: "Even if you can freely view the task acceptance status of every disciple in Gushan Sword Sect, at least try to cover it up a bit. If other disciples see this, I'm afraid they'll run off to the Disciplinary Hall again to complain that Gushan Sword Sect dispenses justice unfairly. By the way, aren't you going to receive the distinguished guest? They came specifically for you, you know."
Xu Yingqi ignored her. She quickly found the information she wanted and was just about to close the light screen when a message suddenly caught her eye.
"Someone is at the outer sect mission hall. Saw it with my own eyes—Senior Sister Wei embracing both sides in the inner sect life."
Attached below was a large image showing Wei Zhaoguang holding Chang Le's hands, with Xiao Haotian's unsightly expression visible behind them.
"Ha, I've long found Xiao Haotian unpleasing to the eye. Thinking he's hitched himself to Inner Sect Senior Sister Wei, he looks down at everyone with his nose in the air. Now that Senior Sister Wei has had a change of heart, I'll just wait and see how much longer he can act so smug!"
"As expected, two beauties cuddling up together is much better to look at."
"Cuddle, I want beauties cuddling!"
Xu Yingqi read down the lines, her hand abruptly tightening around the sword hilt.
...
"Senior Sister Chang. It's time to get off the carriage."
Mu Youzhi's voice sounded. Chang Le raised her head, withdrew her divine sense, and looked around in a daze. "We're here?"
"Yes," Mu Youzhi said. Casting a downward glance at the Silk Slip in Chang Le's hand, she added, "Sword Sect news is messy and entertaining, but don't indulge in it too much while you're out, or it won't go well if you run into danger."
Hearing this, Chang Le put away the Silk Slip with some embarrassment.
She couldn't help it; the phone was simply too addictive, especially on a boring journey. As a modern person, checking your phone the moment you get into a vehicle wasn't something you controlled—it was sheer muscle memory!
Besides, as serious as Gushan Sword Sect looked, everyone was actually full of gossip... For instance, what happened at the outer sect mission hall had already been posted online so quickly.
Even though it was gossip about herself, because there were so many inaccurate rumors in it, she felt no sense of personal involvement; yet seeing most people mocking Xiao Haotian made it feel a bit too relatable, and she couldn't help joining in, having a marvelous time eating melons.
"Alas, you can't really blame Senior Sister Chang; it's simply impossible to put down," Hou Jing said, following behind Chang Le as she also put away her Silk Slip.
Her words drew disapproval from Mu Youzhi: "The world of cultivation ultimately respects strength. When you have time, you should still focus primarily on cultivation... Junior Sister Hou Jing, it seems I'll need to apply to have your Silk Slip functions restricted."
"Ah! An hour is simply not enough!" Hou Jing cried out in despair. "I cannot live without the Silk Slip."
Chen Wei said softly from the side, "Junior Sister Hou Jing is still young, only sixteen, so Senior Sister Mu oversees her daily life and cultivation."
Chang Le: ...... What kind of anti-addiction system for the cultivation world is this? It's damnably reasonable!
With lingering sympathy, Chang Le glanced at Hou Jing and patted her shoulder.
Hou Jing was only sixteen this year—right at the age for anti-addiction controls.
With this little intercession, the group chatted and laughed, the atmosphere exceptionally pleasant.
Chang Le looked around. This was an ordinary small town; its walls were built of bluestone, with the two characters for "Wei City" hanging above the gates. The city gates stood wide open as groups of people lined up to enter and exit in an orderly fashion. Chang Le noticed that although those people were dressed in ordinary attire rather than the dharma robes of cultivators, their expressions were peaceful and their builds robust, showing that life was reasonably good.
The air was filled with a damp scent of city walls, and the solid yellow dirt path beneath their feet gave way to a broad bluestone pavement as it approached the city gate, deeply grooved with cart tracks to guide vehicles forward. The guards posted on either side all wore light armor and carried long swords at their waists, their waist tokens bearing carved sword motifs—clearly disciples of the Sword Sect.
This was somewhat similar to what Chang Le had seen in movies and television, yet different, filling her with a sense of novelty.
Suddenly, Hou Jing raised her head and pointed toward the edge of the sky. "What is that?"
Chang Le also looked in the direction Hou Jing pointed. At the very edge of the distant sky, a flash of white light abruptly burst forth. Then the white light vanished, leaving nothing to be seen.
"That's the direction of Gushan Sword Sect. Could someone be fighting?"
The group looked at each other in uncertainty, various speculations flying about.
"That's... sword qi...?" Chang Le murmured suddenly.
This sensation came out of nowhere, but Chang Le felt a vague sense of certainty. For some reason, she could faintly sense the other party's sharp sword intent, along with a trace of familiarity...
As she was pondering, a squad of Gushan Sword Sect disciples walked over. Glancing into the distance, one of them said, "You all shouldn't stare; hurry up and get your business done."
"True. Who knows if it was powerful beings fighting or disciples of some proud generation sparring."
The cultivators chatted softly among themselves as they walked off to the side.
Chang Le followed along with Mu Youzhi and the others, noticing that the cultivators took a separate passage, though the number of people was clearly far fewer than the mortals waiting in line to enter the city.
Chang Le watched as the cultivators handed over a token and tapped it against a plump crystal ball. If they were Sword Sect disciples, the information on the disciple token and the disciple's likeness would appear upon it. The person in charge would compare the two and wave them through.
It somehow felt rather like airport security—checking the ID and then doing a manual verification.
All sorts of random thoughts drifted through Chang Le's mind as she followed the crowd inward, blending into the stream like a drop of water merging into the sea. Once they passed through the narrow city gate tunnel, everything before their eyes suddenly opened up.
The sounds of human voices instantly multiplied a thousandfold: hawking cries, the noises of carts and oxen, shouts from distant establishments soliciting guests, all kinds of food aromas in the air, the scents of traded spices and rouge, and a riot of colors washed over Chang Le all at once.
It felt as though she had suddenly experienced the mortal hustle and bustle found in novels, yet because it was so utterly different from her own world, it seemed all the more illusory and unreal.
Chang Le froze in her tracks, only snapping back to reality when Chen Wei gave her shoulder a heavy slap.
"Lively, isn't it? Senior Sister Chang has spent all her years in the sect; you might find it unaccustomedly noisy at first, but you'll get used to it after a while," Chen Wei said, flashing a grin at Chang Le.
Suppressing the feelings in her chest, Chang Le looked aside.
With a slight smile, Mu Youzhi was currently twisting Hou Jing's ear. "You were just planning to run off toward the place selling sugar pastries, weren't you? Don't think I didn't see."
Hou Jing covered her ear and whimpered, "I just... I just had a bit of a craving."
"If you ruin your teeth, I bet you'll cry even louder and more sincerely than now! Mortal food contains impurities, and with your cultivation so low right now, purging them will just waste unnecessary time. You are not allowed to go!" Mu Youzhi smiled with a terrifying expression.
It made Chang Le shudder.
Chen Wei laughed from the side. "Junior Sister Hou Jing has been looked after by Senior Sister Mu ever since she entered the sect at age ten, so she tends to be kept on a tight leash."
Chang Le was speechless, feeling as though she saw the embodiment of "elder sisterly disdain" in Mu Youzhi. After a moment's thought, she tapped her spirit beast bag, letting out Xiaobai—who had been cooped up for ages—and picked the little fellow up to place it in Hou Jing's arms.
Hou Jing: "Eh?"
"My..." Chang Le watched as Xiaobai unhesitatingly flicked its tail at Hou Jing. "My spiritual pet. Junior Sister Hou, please hold it for me for a bit."
Flustered, Hou Jing clutched the living creature in her arms, not daring to move or run around anymore.
Seeing this, Mu Youzhi let go, gave Chang Le a grateful look, and clapped her hands together. "Alright, let's go find the Hall of All Things to hand in our mission."
The group followed behind the experienced Mu Youzhi as she led them toward the Hall of All Things.
There were no dynasties to speak of in this world; all manner of mortal settlements, from villages and towns to cities, were protected by nearby sects.
Mortals lacked spirit roots and found it difficult to cultivate. Yet mortals were the foundation of cultivators; while cultivators could reproduce, the higher their cultivation, the harder it was to conceive progeny. Disciples often needed to be sought from among mortals with spirit roots, while mortals relied on cultivators to clear away beasts and ghosts to maintain their safety.
Without mortals, there would be no transmission and succession of cultivators; without cultivators, there would be no peace and prosperity for mortals.
The so-called cycle of heavenly principles, with neither superior nor inferior, was precisely this.
The Hall of All Things was the place where cultivators resolved matters for mortals.
"Don't think that resolving matters for mortals is uninteresting. We cultivators are deeply rooted among mortals. I once heard that the Myriad-Auditing Daoist achieved enlightenment and ascended right out of the mortal world," Mu Youzhi said. "However, wandering through the mortal world requires extreme caution. A single misstep can lead to the destruction of both body and soul. As for the exact reasons why, I am not clear."
Listening to Mu Youzhi's introduction, Chang Le found it quite fascinating.
Mu Youzhi paused her steps and said, "We have arrived."
Chang Le raised her eyes to see a street-facing shop with its doors wide open. Inside sat a desk where a man looking like an administrator was lowered over some paperwork. At the very back of the hall stood four windows blocked off by iron bars, behind which numerous small cabinets resembling those in a traditional Chinese pharmacy could be seen neatly arranged.
Figures dressed as Sword Sect disciples frequently walked in and out. None of them looked at the four newcomers, their paces hurried.
Mu Youzhi led the group inside. Without raising his head, the administrator spoke: "Lost items go to window one, disputes go to window two, major cases involving fatalities go to window three, and everything else goes to window four."
Mu Youzhi respectfully raised a hand in salute and said, "Outer sect disciples of the Sword Sect, here to report on mission Jia-Er-Qi."
Hearing this, the administrator finally looked up and patted a massive jade plaque beside him, standing as tall as a person.
Mu Youzhi familiarly produced her disciple token and tapped the jade plaque. The plaque displayed the details of mission Jia-Er-Qi, along with the other members who had accepted the mission.
Cross-referencing the information on the jade plaque and taking a careful look at Chang Le and the others, the administrator finally broke into a smile. "Ah, so it's you Junior Sisters and Junior Brothers. Go on up to the second floor; Senior Brother Zhou has been waiting for you for a long time."
"Thank you."
Mu Youzhi cupped her fists in salute, and the others followed suit.
The administrator smiled and patted the desk beside him. Right beside window one, a wooden staircase suddenly materialized, leading upward to the second floor.
Mu Youzhi stepped aside and said softly, "Let's go."
The others nodded, following behind Mu Youzhi.
Stepping onto the wooden stairs produced a creaking sound. Unaccustomed to it, Chang Le looked up and caught the scent of aged timber peculiar to old houses.
These sensations felt novel to her; she had seen this world in books before, but experiencing it in person revealed how vastly different it truly was.
Such minute details were never described in books, making it seem as though the world in the text and the one she was living through belonged to two entirely different realms.
This feeling of novelty lasted all the way until they reached the second floor and met Senior Brother Zhou. Senior Brother Zhou was not a typical Sword Sect disciple; his eyes were stern, the vertical crease between his brows deep and pronounced, and the weapon tucked at his waist was not a sword, but a judge's baton.
At a single glance, he gave off a strong vibe of criminal investigation.
"The four of you, I've kept you waiting a long time," Senior Brother Zhou said. "I am responsible for handing over your work."
Mu Youzhi cupped her fists. "We must trouble Senior Brother Zhou. We are all novices, so please guide us, Senior Brother."
Senior Brother Zhou pondered for a moment, his eyes falling upon a nearby dossier as he stood up. "As it happens, there is a suspicious murder case here right now. Let us use this case as a demonstration for the handoff."
As soon as these words were spoken, Chang Le couldn't help looking at Mu Youzhi. What happened to the easy job suitable for non-combat personnel to slack off on?
Why did they run into a major case right off the bat?