Jiu Hui and the other four had been drifting on the gourd for three days.
“Soon, soon, as long as we pass Fuguang Mountain, we’ll be able to make it back to the sect in a day.” Elder Mo also knew that his gourd was a bit slow. “Up ahead is Qiyue City, Qiyue City is famous for its food, let’s rest there before we continue.”
Qiyue City was bustling with activity, with people coming and going everywhere, and many cultivators among them. The local people respected the cultivators, but they were not afraid of them. Jiu Hui even saw shopkeepers haggling with cultivators.
“Qiyue City is different from Tianhe City. Their City Lord is a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, and the young City Lord is a core disciple of the Great Elder of Qinglan School. With their protection, which immortal cultivator would dare to bully others here?” Luo Yan bought two bags of roasted chestnuts and gave one to Jiu Hui: “Let’s go, the most famous restaurant is just ahead.”
The roads in Qiyue City were wide and clean, and the people on both sides of the road were well-dressed and leisurely, with laughter and chatter everywhere. A child was playing and fighting, and was caught by his parents and spanked a few times on the buttocks. The child opened his mouth to cry, but his mother impatiently stuffed a malt candy into his mouth, successfully stopping a crying fit.
Not far behind them was the City Lord’s Mansion. A plaque of ebony hung above the entrance to the mansion, with the characters “Pingling” engraved on it.
Jiu Hui stopped in her tracks, staring at the characters “Pingling.”
“What’s wrong?” Luo Yan asked, stopping with her.
“These two characters look familiar, I think I’ve seen them somewhere before.” Although it was just two characters, Jiu Hui saw thousands of sword techniques in these two characters. She closed her eyes and opened them slowly after a moment.
“It is said that this plaque was given to the ancestor of the Pingling family by a great sword cultivator a thousand years ago. If you find it familiar, it is possible that someone imitated the handwriting of this great cultivator.” Luo Yan whispered, “In the past few hundred years, no one has ascended to immortality. Those who have failed to cultivate immortality have been frantically imitating the sages in the hope of finding that illusory chance of becoming an immortal.”
“Why has no one become an immortal?” Jiu Hui asked in confusion. “Is it because their cultivation isn’t high enough?”
“The will of heaven forbids it.” Elder Mo’s expression was complicated as he looked up at the sky. “Legend has it that a thousand years ago, an immortal came here to undergo a tribulation. He suffered countless hardships throughout his life, and after surviving the tribulation and returning to the celestial realm, he cursed this place, saying that within a thousand years, it would face a great catastrophe of life and death.”
“Immortals crossing tribulations is their destiny, even if they suffer hardships their entire lives, that destiny is the deliberate arrangement of the Heavenly Dao. The common people have never met him, and have never participated in his suffering, so what logic is there in him cursing the common people to usher in a catastrophe?” Jiu Hui frowned: “A lifetime of love and hate determines the life and death of all living beings, what kind of god or immortal is that?”
“If crossing the tribulation is his destiny, and suffering a life-and-death catastrophe is the destiny of our beings…” Jiu Hui thought carefully, “Since he can successfully cross the tribulation, then we can also successfully survive the life-and-death catastrophe. If immortals are really omnipotent, how could they be born into the mortal world to cross the tribulation?”
“You are ambitious!” Elder Mo clasped his hands behind his back. “We cultivators are like boats rowing against the current, practicing the art of longevity. If we don’t even have the courage to defy fate, why bother cultivating immortality?”
“However,” Elder Mo paused, “I told you all a long time ago that rumors are not to be taken seriously. Who knows if the reason no one has ascended to immortality in all these years is because of a curse from the immortals, or because later generations are simply not up to par? For example, our Wangshu Pavilion has been passed down for over two thousand years, and not a single one of us has ascended to immortality. We can’t very well shamelessly blame it all on a curse from the immortals, can we?”
“These incompetent juniors have been blaming the immortals for their own shortcomings for years.” Elder Mo snorted. “They fail to refine top-grade pills and blame it on curses. They fail to advance in their cultivation and blame it on curses. Even when their relationships fail, they blame it on curses. The curses must be very busy.”
“Master, Master.” Chang He whispered to Elder Mo, “You’ve said a bit too much.”
Now the junior brothers and sisters all knew that no one from their Wangshu Pavilion had ever successfully ascended.
“Haha.” Elder Mo let out two dry laughs. “Of course, ascension is not the only standard for measuring a sect. Looking at the entire cultivation world, how many sects can inherit three thousand years like our Wangshu Pavilion?”
“Elder Mo, didn’t you just say that our sect has been passed down for two thousand years?” Jiu Hui looked at Elder Mo. How did it become three thousand years in just a few sentences?
“More than half is rounded as one, so wouldn’t two thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine years be nearly three thousand years?” Elder Mo was not right, but he was still confident. “The historical background of our sect is not something that an ordinary sect can compare to.”
Luo Yan covered her face silently. This boasting had gone too far.
Zhi You, who was walking beside him, glanced at Elder Mo with a puzzled expression. According to the sect’s records, Wangshu Pavilion was established 2,489 years ago. The current Pavilion Master cultivated both swordsmanship and magic techniques. The best result in the sect’s grand competition was 28th place.
Could it be that the sect’s records were wrong?
The five of them walked into the restaurant. Although it was not yet time for dinner, most of the tables and chairs inside were already occupied. The waiter saw that they were cultivators and led them to the second floor. “Honored guests, please be seated.”
Compared to the lively first floor, the second floor also had quite a few guests, but most of them were dressed in fine clothes, and there were fewer people talking. Jiu Hui and the others chose a table by the window and sat down. When the waiter brought the menu, Jiu Hui glanced at the strange names of the dishes and moved the menu in front of Zhi You.
To her surprise, Zhi You looked even more troubled than she did, as if he had encountered a major problem. “I’ve never eaten out before. You order.”
Jiu Hui handed the menu to Elder Mo. “Elder, Senior Brothers and Sisters, what would you like to eat?”
Elder Mo and his two disciples waved their hands. As long as they didn’t order any dishes, they could shamelessly not pay later.
“Would you please serve us some of your signature dishes, and five cups of this wine to start with.” Jiu Hui handed the menu back to the waiter. “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry, honored guests, I will definitely arrange everything properly for you.” The waiter took the order and left, but only turned around to steal a glance at Zhi You after walking some distance.
A scheming pretty boy who didn’t want to pay for the meal, tsk.
“Waiter, bring us some of your signature dishes, and be quick about it.” Two Jiutian Sect disciples walked in and sat down on the second floor, looking somewhat exhausted.
“Alright, honored guests, please wait a moment.”carpreads.pages.dev
“We’ve been searching for three whole days, but we haven’t found a single trace of the person. And there are several other sects here to join in the fun.” The disciple wearing a dark brocade robe sighed. “I wonder if the Sect Head Senior Brother will blame us for our incompetence when we return.”
“It’s all the fault of that Yuzhen Sect……”
“Are you afraid that Nan Feng will blame you for your incompetence, so you’ve come to Qiyue City to savor its delicacies?” A man dressed in a luxurious brocade robe and holding a jade folding fan sauntered in, followed by two sword-bearing servants.
Jiu Hui’s eyes hurt from the man’s dazzling golden crown, so she quickly rubbed her eyes and looked away.
“Senior Sister Luo Yan, this person looks very wealthy.” Jiu Hui whispered, “Which sect is this disciple from?”
“Yuzhen Sect’s Young Sect Master Jin Qingqiu?” The Jiutian Sect disciples recognized the person and stood up to cup their hands in greeting. “Young Master Jin, greetings.”
“Greetings, fellow Daoists.” Jin Qingqiu closed his folding fan and returned their bows. “It is fate that we have met. I, Jin Qingqiu, will cover the cost of everyone’s meals.”
“Many thanks to Young Master Jin!”
“Young Master Jin is so generous!”
Most of the people present were casual cultivators and disciples of small sects, so they were very happy to save a meal. For a while, there was applause and praise, and the entire second floor was immersed in a sea of joy.
The four from Wangshu Pavilion, in particular, clapped especially hard, their smiles especially sincere.
Zhi You hesitated for a moment, his eyes blank as he followed suit and clapped his hands.
“Fellow Daoists, you are too kind, too kind.” Jin Qingqiu cupped his hands towards everyone around him and sat down at the table next to Jiu Hui with a smile on his face. “Everyone, eat well and drink well, eat well and drink well.”
The two disciples of the Jiutian Sect looked a little embarrassed. The words they had just said about the Yuzhen Sect must have been overheard by Jin Qingqiu.
“Many thanks for your generosity, Young Master Jin, but we cannot accept something for nothing. How can we let you spend your money on us?” The Jiutian Sect disciple said, “We appreciate your kindness, Young Master.”
As soon as he said this, the others looked embarrassed. Should they let Jin Qingqiu spend money on them?
Jin Qingqiu’s smile faded a little as he played with the jade fan in his hand without saying a word.
The second floor was quiet for a moment.
“Young Master Jin, they don’t need you to pay for their meal, so can we add another dish?”
Jin Qingqiu turned his head to look at the woman who had spoken. She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, her hair in a simple bun, and she was smiling at him.
“Waiter, bring all the delicacies in your shop to this table for my fellow Daoist.” Jin Qingqiu tapped his palm with his jade fan: “I, Jin Qingqiu, appreciate a girl who is so generous and forthright.”
“Many thanks to Young Master Jin.” Elder Mo cupped his hands in thanks. “We’ll have to shamelessly indulge ourselves today.”
Luo Yan and Chang He also followed suit and cupped their hands in greeting. Who wouldn’t like someone who treats others to a meal on a whim?
The atmosphere on the second floor became cheerful again. Everyone began to express their gratitude to the little girl who had broken the deadlock. Earning money was not easy, so saving money was a good idea. After all, cultivators were not well-off.
The only ones who seemed a bit uncomfortable were the two disciples from the Jiutian Sect. They hurriedly ate some food and left, taking less than two incense sticks’ worth of time in total.
As soon as the people from the Jiutian Sect left, Jin Qingqiu stood up and said, “It was a great pleasure to meet all of you fellow Daoists today. Have you heard about what happened in Wenxian City four days ago?”
“Is that the Demon Cult’s Dharma Protector’s surprise attack on Wenxian City, which harmed innocent civilians?”
“That is correct.” Jin Qingqiu cupped his hands toward the person who had answered him. “That day, there was a young lady who was not afraid of the demon’s intimidation. She would rather die than give up on eliminating the demon and defending the Dao. I admire her very much. If any of you know this young lady, please pass on the message that my humble sect awaits to accept her as a core disciple.”
Jin Qingqiu used the word “await” instead of “willing”.
“If you don’t know her, please spread this message far and wide. I hope that young lady will be moved by our sincerity.” Jin Qingqiu bowed deeply to everyone.
“Young Master Jin, you’re too kind. We will definitely spread the word about this matter for you.” Everyone returned the salute. “Yuzhen Sect treats its disciples like their own children. If that young lady hears this news, she will definitely join your esteemed sect.”
Yuzhen Sect, as its name suggests, was rich and had many magic treasures. Its greatest advantage was that it was rich, rich, and rich!
Pfft!
Elder Mo spat out the pheasant bone in his mouth. It was true that one couldn’t eat a rich man’s meal for free!
As for Jiu Hui, she was enjoying her meal as if the girl Jin Qingqiu had mentioned had nothing to do with her. She probably had no intention of switching to Yuzhen Sect.
He was overthinking it. He could still continue eating.
Thousands of miles away, on the Zhenxing Tower, the fate tablets of the major sects suddenly began to tremble violently, their chaotic interweaving and messy brilliance entangling them together, making it impossible to distinguish between them. It seemed as if the entire tower was on the verge of collapse.
The four elders guarding the Zhenxing Tower opened their eyes simultaneously. The four of them wore black, white, green, and red robes, respectively.
Elder Bai sighed and said, “Send a message to the Ten Great Sects and tell them that fate… is coming.”
Elder Hei thought of something and chuckled before closing his eyes again.
Elder Lu and Elder Hong sighed, got up, and walked outside the building. They opened their palms, and ten glowing jade slips flew into the clouds and disappeared.
-—–
Qiyue City.
“Junior Sister Jiu Hui, what’s wrong?” Luo Yan noticed that Jiu Hui had suddenly looked out the window.
Zhi You put down his chopsticks and looked at Jiu Hui.
The sky above Qiyue City was clear and blue, and the sun shone brightly.
Author’s Note:
One of the manuals for elders: When you go out, save when you should, spend when you should, and don’t let your pride get in the way of your money.
Everyone from Wangshu Pavilion: Boss Jin is so generous!