Just as Fang Jueqian was wondering how to inquire further, the head teacher happened to arrive. With a feeling of regret, he sent Qiu Haoqing a message reading [Class has started, let us chat later], and put away his communication jade talisman.
This lesson was on cultivation encyclopedias. The head teacher was teaching material that Fang Jueqian had already studied in advance, so the class was rather tedious. Scarcely a few minutes had passed before his eyelids began to droop.
Just as Fang Jueqian was hesitating whether to sneak in a quick nap, his deskmate gave a light cough and flicked a piece of paper across when the head teacher turned her back.
This familiar scene made Fang Jueqian instantly vigilant. Could someone be looking for trouble with him again?
However, the note was completely blank. The breath Fang Jueqian had been holding immediately escaped, leaving him somewhat puzzled as to why his deskmate had thrown him a blank sheet of paper.
Fang Jueqian looked at his deskmate, who gestured for him to write on the paper. Fang Jueqian noticed that his deskmate’s own textbook also had a piece of paper lying flat on it, though that one seemed covered in numerous characters.
Not quite understanding, he picked up his brush and mimicked the writing posture his deskmate had indicated. The moment the brush touched the paper, the previously clean white sheet instantly seemed to have its topmost layer of white dust wiped away, revealing many scrolling black characters.
Fang Jueqian stared in wide-eyed shock:
[Class Wu Secret Base]
[Notice]
[Wolf-Hair Brush: I formally propose the recommendation of a new member.]
[Cloud-Embroidered: Wolf-Hair Brush, who are you recommending?]
[Wolf-Hair Brush: Someone whom I believe has long been qualified for selection.]
[Foundation Pill: According to regulations, recommending a new member to join us requires not only a guarantor from our senior internal ranks, but also a vote with over seventy percent approval before they can be accepted. Are you initiating this ritual?]
[Wolf-Hair Brush: I am willing to guarantee him. I have observed him closely. Given his cultivation, talent, and character, he should have become one of us long ago.]
[Top-Grade Spiritual Stone: Initiating the voting ritual now. I vote yes.]
[Stream: I vote yes as well.]
[Update]
[Foundation Pill: Approval exceeds eighty percent. Wolf-Hair Brush, you may now send the recommendation letter to the new recruit. Do not forget to convey our creed to him: We never, ever forgive a traitor.]
[Cloud-Embroidered: The new recruit must not forget to choose a smooth-sounding codename for himself. Codenames already in use cannot be chosen, nor can anyone impersonate another person’s codename, oh.]
[Wolf-Hair Brush: Delivery successful. I have already sent it to him. As for confidentiality, do not worry; he is a very reliable person.]
[End]
Fang Jueqian looked at the dialogue with a blank expression, feeling as though he had been transported back to an elementary school classroom.
Yet this was far more advanced than passing folded notes between the front and back desks in primary school!
Moreover, back then he was always just the tool used for poking backs to pass notes, completely lacking any sense of participation.
A faint surge of excitement welled up inside Fang Jueqian, making him feel as though he had instantly grown a dozen years younger.
He covertly glanced at the other students in the classroom and noticed that quite a few of them wore furrowed brows, nodding in agreement with the head teacher’s lecture from time to time while casually writing and drawing on their desks.
It looked as though everyone was wholeheartedly devoted to the lesson with not a single person goofing off, but in reality, things were different.
Prior to this, Fang Jueqian had wondered why everyone listened with such rapt attention during every single class, pouring their all into even the most dry and boring lectures while constantly taking notes.
He had originally thought that the people here were exceptionally respectful of teachers, which made him feel immense pressure whenever he wanted to doze off during class.
It turned out this was the real reason.
The realization that he wasn’t the only one slacking off felt simply wonderful!
Suppressing his excitement, Fang Jueqian tentatively wrote on the paper:
[Is that how it works?]
The moment he finished writing, the characters, which had previously floated like ink upon the water’s surface, sank instantly beneath the water to become part of the scrolling subtitles:
[Is that how it works?]
[Cloud-Embroidered: Is this the newcomer? You forgot to pick a codename.]
[Stream: Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome.]
[Greeting]
Under the enthusiastic guidance of his seniors, Fang Jueqian quickly figured out how to add a codename:
He actually had to add it manually himself.
Fang Jueqian thus quickly blended into the group.
Having finished welcoming the newcomer, the Class Wu Secret Base returned to its primary agenda: gossiping.
Bogeys and tidbits from the elementary division of the Guiyuan Immortal Sect, from within the sect itself, and even from other sects were continuously transmitted and exchanged through this clandestine method, backed up by reliable-sounding evidence such as my friend’s aunt’s master’s younger sister personally said so.
Because of the abundance of eccentric people and bizarre occurrences, the drama and absurdity were entirely on par with the massive entertainment industry scandals Fang Jueqian had witnessed in his past life.
[Golden Crow: Breaking news! Something happened to Elder Zhang’s newly taken mortal concubine.]
Since gossip happening close to home naturally held greater appeal, everyone else in the secret base immediately abandoned an alleged master-disciple romance from another sect and incessantly badgered Golden Crow for details on the new situation.
[Golden Crow: Wasn’t there a falling-out between Elder Zhang and his newly taken concubine a few days ago? A few days later, that concubine moved down to live at the foot of the mountain. Well, now she is injured, and they say the injuries are quite severe, undergoing emergency treatment with a medical cultivator right now!]
[Cloud-Embroidered: I said before that something was bound to happen sooner or later. The concubines Elder Zhang took in previously all had at least some cultivation, and even then they struggled to secure their footing. Now that a mortal has arrived, isn’t that just hitting an egg against a rock?]
[Rainbow: Exactly, exactly.]
Fang Jueqian did not quite understand, so he weakly inquired:
[Square Pastry: Excuse me, does Elder Zhang have many concubines?]
[Cloud-Embroidered: Oh, Square Pastry is new here, so let me fill you in. The situation is like this.]
Thus ensued a brief lecture for Fang Jueqian regarding Elder Zhang of the Guiyuan Immortal Sect, renowned for being romantic and wealthy, extravagant with money, and skilled in alchemy, along with his ever-expanding corps of concubines.
Elder Zhang cared for neither male nor female, grew easily tired of the old and enamored with the new, and routinely brought home a new concubine every year or two.
Consequently, all sorts of explosive news could frequently be heard emanating from that mountain. Previously, bizarre stories had even broken out about concubines killing each other out of love and hatred, ultimately weeping and kneeling before Elder Zhang to beg for his blessing, which Elder Zhang had actually granted.
As long as no lives were lost, Elder Zhang generally paid little heed.
However, the previous concubines all possessed cultivation and roughly understood Elder Zhang’s reputation and what they might face, so it was a relatively balanced dynamic.
Yet this time, the mortal concubine had been completely unprepared. After being alienated by others, she had picked a fight with Elder Zhang and moved alone to the foot of the mountain, while Elder Zhang remained entirely oblivious to the matter.
A sudden chill washed over Fang Jueqian. Remembering that he happened to live right at the foot of the mountain as well, he hurriedly asked:
[Square Pastry: What is wrong with moving to the foot of the mountain? What does it matter if Elder Zhang is unaware?]
[Cloud-Embroidered: You really do not understand, do you? The ground beneath our sect has spiritual veins. Although their distribution is irregular, the closer one gets to the mountain peak, the better the quality of the spiritual vein and the faster the cultivation speed. Therefore, even the residences on the mountain are differentiated: the closer to the peak, the higher the status, and the closer to the foot, the lower the status.]
Fang Jueqian thought of his own residence and could not help harboring a sliver of wishful thinking:
Surely his place did not count as part of that?
[Cloud-Embroidered: On that mountain, Elder Zhang lives at the very top. The closer one is to him, the more favored and protected one is. Yet that mortal concubine took the initiative to move to the foot of the mountain, and Elder Zhang didn’t even bat an eye. That sends a very clear signal to everyone else.]
[Square Pastry: What signal?]
[Cloud-Embroidered: The signal that she can be discarded.]
Fang Jueqian began to tremble slightly.
[Square Pastry: Is it really that dramatic? It is just moving houses.]
[Golden Crow: Square Pastry, Elder Zhang is a rank seven alchemist. How many rank seven alchemists are there in this world? Whatever resources he casually lets slip from his fingers are enough for smaller cultivation families to cultivate a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators. But the more concubines Elder Zhang has, the fewer pills each person receives. Aside from the specially favored ones who get extra rewards, who would be happy? Even if they themselves are willing, would the families behind them be willing?]
[Golden Crow: Among those extra Foundation Establishment cultivators, if someone happens by sheer luck to advance to Core Formation, it is enough to sustain the family for decades more. If they hit the jackpot and produce a Nascent Soul, it could prop up the family for hundreds or thousands of years.]
[Cloud-Embroidered: Golden Crow is right. So people must always keep a long-term perspective and not squander things recklessly just because they enjoy temporary favor. Otherwise, the suffering comes later.]
Fang Jueqian felt a chill.
[Foundation Pill: Huge news! The date for the academic examination has been set, exactly one month from now. You guys will never guess who is in charge of presiding over it this time.]
[Wolf-Hair Brush: To announce it this early this time.]
[Top-Grade Spiritual Stone: Stop keeping us in suspense, hurry and tell us who it is!]
With the new information dropping, the secret base instantly blew up. Quite a few dormant lurkers popped out, engaging in heated discussions.
Fang Jueqian, however, felt a momentary shudder.
It felt rather like watching a comedy film, only to realize at the very end that it was actually a horror movie, with the added thrill that the protagonist in the story bore a striking resemblance to himself.
During his subsequent chat with Qiu Haoqing, under the other’s gentle and masterclass conversational techniques, Fang Jueqian could not resist sharing this thought of his.
Naturally, he concealed the source of his information, simply telling Qiu Haoqing that he had recently heard about Elder Zhang’s situation and felt a bit moved by it, before beating around the bush to ask whether the Dao Lord had any other suspected former lovers or ambiguous connections.
Although Qiu Haoqing claimed he had never heard of any such thing and repeatedly comforted him not to overthink it, assuring him that his master held deep, unwavering affection for the master’s wife with absolute loyalty, Fang Jueqian only felt more jittery the more he listened.
He even felt a strong urge to travel back to yesterday, slap his rebellious self who had dared to talk back to the Dao Lord, and resolve to treat the Dao Lord with utmost respect from now on, living out the remaining decades with careful caution and abandoning all reckless displays of bravado.
After classes let out, Fang Jueqian prepared himself for a night of all-night cultivation. Upon returning to his quarters, however, he discovered Yellow Turban Luxes carrying large and small bundles of items at the entrance, while an arrogant-looking rabbit stood nearby barking orders at them, carrying the haughty air of a minor villain’s lackey from a television drama:
“Crunch, crunch, this one needs to be taken away too.”
“Yes, that one as well, our young master cannot do without it.”
Fang Jueqian was extremely surprised: “What are you guys doing?”
The rabbit turned around and, upon seeing him, grew so excited that it flung the carrot right out of its paw:
“Young Master, you are amazing! We are finally moving to the mountain peak!”