Sikong Lan’s medicine required five treasures.
The Azure Dragon Vine from the Eastern Azure Dragon Province, the Lord of the Mountain Bone from the Western White Tiger Province, the Tortoise-Crane Glue from the Northern Black Tortoise Province, the Phoenix-Feather Sunflower from the Southern Vermilion Bird Province, and the Kirin-Blood Dragon’s Blood from the Central Kirin Province.
Coincidentally, the assessment for the sect’s reputation score required completing missions. The Immortal Alliance issued tasks categorized into four grades—Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. By slaying demons and subduing monsters according to these tasks, one could earn prestige and accumulate reputation points.
After studying the map, Sikong Lan decided to lead the sect to the Azure Dragon Province first, as it was closest to Tianyun Mountain. She would search for the medicine while her disciples took on missions for their trial.
The sect spent half a month on Tianyun Mountain preparing, followed by five days of traversing the sea of clouds on a flying vessel. They finally arrived in the Azure Dragon Province at noon.
The Azure Dragon Province enjoyed a pleasant climate year-round and possessed abundant spiritual energy. Crystal-clear spiritual springs and streams intertwined, making it perfect for the growth of flora. The vegetation here was more lush and vibrant than in other provinces, with towering ancient trees everywhere and exotic flowers competing in splendor.
As the members of the Qunxian Sect entered the city gates, the disciples, full of curiosity, gazed around. Had their pockets not been empty, they likely would have bought up half the street’s local specialties and souvenirs.
Sikong Lan favored her dark green cloak. She pulled up the hood, letting the shadow mask most of her face.
She issued a cold command: “We split up.”
Addressing her disciples, she said, “You will practice and complete missions while I search for the medicine. Do not let anyone associate the Qunxian Sect with the search for these ingredients, lest my unstable cultivation be exposed.”
“Don’t let anyone recognize me, and don’t cause me trouble.”
Song Yin held the fat cat, while Jiang Zuilan dragged away Zhan Zhaozhao, who was busy petting a dog by the roadside. Upon hearing her words, the four disciples stopped in their tracks and nodded obediently.
Ling Yi instinctively walked toward Sikong Lan, aligning himself with her camp. To his surprise, Sikong Lan took a step back, the hem of her green cloak stirring the air.
Ling Yi reached out to her. “Let’s go together.”
“No.” Sikong Lan remained cold.
Ling Yi pleaded, “Is it really not allowed? Take me with you.”
Though he also wore a cloak, he slightly lifted his hand, creating a gap in the hood. It was clearly visible that two fluffy fox ears were poking out from the top of his head. The red-tipped fox ears twitched fluffily—a gesture that seemed like a plea, a show of flattery, or an invitation.
Sikong Lan’s throat moved slightly. Her fingers hanging by her side instinctively straightened, wanting to reach out and touch them, but she quickly forced her hand into a fist and pulled it back. Restraining her desire to pet him, she quickly recited the Heart-Cleansing Incantation, her expression remaining indifferent.
She had to get away quickly. This fox spirit had deep cultivation; she couldn’t afford to be bewitched.
She also knew that the state of her and Ling Yi—separated yet not quite—was very strange. Wanting to cut the knot quickly, she simply dumped the four disciples on him as well. It would save her from being hit with another astronomical debt one day.
Sikong Lan said, “If they aren’t in trouble, do not call for me.”
With a flick of her cloak, she turned and left, vanishing into the bustling crowd as swiftly as the wind.
Ling Yi watched her receding back, then turned to face his chattering disciples. He instructed them gently, “Go and play. Take on some missions and do what you want to do.”
Song Yin was already looking around for handsome men, while Jiang Zuilan was fiddling with the dice at her waist. The fat cat had set its sights on the sausages drying at a cured meat shop; half its body leaned out, drool threatening to drip from its fangs onto the meat, while Zhan Zhaozhao struggled to hold the cat back by its waist.
Ling Yi smiled tenderly again, his eyes curving. “Remember, above all else, do not restrain yourselves.”
Jiang Zuilan carried a massive debt from her failed business ventures. Ling Yi had paid off her debts and covered the losses of her shops, but he had also made her sign an IOU, requiring her to earn money to pay him back.
Surveying her surroundings, Jiang Zuilan decided to open a stall in the bustling market. Although Master had sharply critiqued her business sense—saying she “robbed Peter to pay Paul” until every “wall” collapsed—Jiang Zuilan believed that business was a matter of gains and losses. Eventually, her luck would turn, and she would strike it rich.
She didn’t open a clinic. While a healer opening a clinic was a guaranteed profit, that was her backup plan, only to be used when there was truly no other way. Until she reached that point of desperation, she intended to spend and invest recklessly. Her joy lay in opening different kinds of shops. Work was work, and life was life; the two had to be kept separate.
The Azure Dragon Province was lush, with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Jiang Zuilan quickly secured a stall location and stocked up on seasonal fruits. Because the Eldest Disciple had sniffed the dragon-patterned melons several times, she decided their flagship product would be those melons.
Song Yin stayed by her side, placing the cat on the front counter of the melon stall and posing it as a beckoning cat with one paw raised. Song Yin pulled up a small stool and cradled her face in her hands. “Little Third, I’ll use a beauty trap to help you attract customers, and Eldest Brother as the beckoning cat will help too. Business will definitely boom!”
Sure enough, many customers came. Jiang Zuilan provided a “wash and cut” service. Using her Golden Core cultivation, she wielded her knife to slice the melons into perfectly even, bright red pieces. Beside her, a sign written in clear black ink displayed the promotional offers:
Buy twenty melons and you can touch the cat’s pink paw pads.
Buy fifty melons and you can receive Song Yin’s transmission talisman password.
Business exploded, lasting from the afternoon until sunset. Jiang Zuilan successfully sold over half of her stock.
After staying for a while, Song Yin drifted away like a social butterfly. Before leaving, she said confidently, “I’ve observed the customer demographics and conducted a major survey of the young men in Azure Dragon Province. The average looks are very high!”
Different geographical locations and customs influenced people’s appearances. For instance, the White Tiger Province favored strong, robust physiques, so the men there were generally muscular and broad-shouldered. The Vermilion Bird Province was home to many bird clans, so she felt the men there tended to be pigeon-chested with protruding mouths. The Azure Dragon Province, situated in the east with favorable weather, produced men who were generally elegant and refined.
Though for now, Song Yin felt the most handsome man was still the one she had spent those days with in the cave. But a man like that was fine to experience once; there was no need to dwell on him. She wanted to find more. She waved to Jiang Zuilan and went off high-spiritedly to hunt for young cultivators, vanishing from sight.
Jiang Zuilan continued slicing melons at her stall, calculating that, barring any accidents, the money earned today could pay off a bit of her debt.
A customer came to buy a melon. It was dinner time, and many people in the market had already headed home. Jiang Zuilan planned to do a few more sales before closing up. She greeted the customer warmly.
The customer said, “Pick a melon for me at random. I’m easy to please; any kind will do.”
Familiar with the process, Jiang Zuilan picked a melon and deftly sliced it in half. The melon was perfectly ripe, the flesh full and juicy.
The customer reached out to stop her. “This isn’t red enough. I don’t want it.”
Jiang Zuilan looked. On the smooth cut surface, the flesh was a pale pink, moist and full—already ripe. But perhaps the customer preferred it overripe. She nodded, set the cut melon aside, and picked another.
She held the large, round melon before the customer, shaking it slightly to show it off. She raised her knife, a silver flash in the air. Just as the blade split the melon halfway, the customer interrupted again. “Oh, the pattern on this one isn’t clear enough. I don’t want it.”
Jiang Zuilan’s knife stopped abruptly, stuck in the melon. The melon cracked on its own with a snap, juice splattering the ground.
She swapped it for another melon, reaching into the pile to let the customer see the pattern clearly before splitting it with one stroke. Just as it opened, she heard the customer say, “The melon is a bit small. Change it again.”
Jiang Zuilan took a deep breath. She picked another melon, showing the customer the pattern and the size. To prevent him from saying the flesh wasn’t red enough, she even cut a small triangular notch to show him the inside.
The customer nodded in satisfaction, took the triangular piece, swallowed the red flesh in one bite, and casually tossed the rind under the stall. Jiang Zuilan quickly sliced the rest open.
However, the customer glanced at it. “This won’t do. I only wanted seven pieces, but you’ve cut it into eight. I don’t want it anymore.”
The customer turned to leave, even kicking away the triangular rind. But after taking just one step, a violent crash sounded behind him. Under the weight of her soaring fury, the simple melon stall collapsed with a loud crack.
Jiang Zuilan held her knife, her eyes blazing with fire. “You, stop right there.”
Elsewhere, Zhan Zhaozhao was working as a constable at the town magistrate’s office several miles away.
A week ago, he had finished a bowl of pork trotter rice made by Ling Yi at the corner of a table. The paper Song Yin had casually used to place her plate on wasn’t a perfect test score from her or Jiang Zuilan—it was his own zero-point test paper.
Eating his pork trotter rice, Zhan Zhaozhao vowed secretly: Hmph, my senior sisters all look down on me. I will definitely achieve something great. He then turned and headed for the town, determined not to return until he had made a name for himself!
He had heard that strange things were happening in the town lately, so he thought he would help. The young man was full of warmth and passion, but because he hadn’t mastered his skills, he was too embarrassed to say he was from Qunxian Mountain. Instead, he masqueraded as a constable to investigate the cases.
He had been a constable here for a week. He rubbed his stomach, missing that last meal of pork trotter rice from a week ago—it was the only oily food he had consumed in that time. He hadn’t uncovered any clues, nor had he eaten any good food. Darn it, why hasn’t Master’s Husband sent me any money yet?
He was full of passion but had empty pockets. Since his salary hadn’t been paid, he could only eat roasted sweet potatoes for every meal. Zhan Zhaozhao stole two sweet potatoes from a villager’s cellar and roasted them behind a wall. Just as he finished eating them while they were hot and wiped the ash from his mouth, he quietly hopped over the wall to sneak back into the magistrate’s office, only to be caught by his colleagues who were waiting for him. They clamped iron chains onto his wrists.
Zhan Zhaozhao was stunned. “Can you open a case over sweet potatoes?”
“We suspect you are a demon.”
Recently, there had been two strange cases in town. The first was that all the best textiles in the city had vanished overnight. The second involved a flower-thief who was snatching people across the city, specifically targeting newlywed grooms, making everyone afraid to get married.
“And you suddenly appeared at the magistrate’s office. It’s very suspicious.”
“We suspect you are the demon responsible.”
Zhan Zhaozhao felt extremely wronged as he was shackled and dragged back to the office by his colleagues.
“Furthermore, there are many suspicious points about you,” his colleague rambled, pointing out several other anomalies.
Zhan Zhaozhao tried to lift his spirits. He remembered the stories he had read about heroes who punished evil and did good; they always had to suffer such injustices. This was because those destined for greatness must first suffer through trials of the heart and mind. Moreover, extraordinary people were often misunderstood.
He said defiantly, ” I won’t go to jail. I want to appeal! I’ll have my companions come and defend me!”
“Fine. First, tell us where you are from.”
Zhan Zhaozhao couldn’t reveal his true identity as it would disgrace the Qunxian Sect. He loudly fabricated: “I am a white cat!”
Secretly, he activated a transmission talisman, sending messages to his second and third senior sisters to come and save him. However, just as the talisman lit up, he saw a familiar figure approaching. Two constables brought in a young woman—she wore pink clothes, looked as fragile as a willow in the wind, and had a delicate face, but her eyes were full of defiance.
“Your stall has only been open for seven days, and you’ve beaten up seven customers. Our office must take you in for some ‘ideological education’.”
the officer spread out a book of business regulations and asked Jiang Zuilan to sign, indicating she was voluntarily agreeing to study. He handed her a pen. “First, state your identity.”
“I am a cat demon.” Jiang Zuilan, of course, wouldn’t give her real identity. She said with a sincere expression, “I am a tabby cat.”
The disciples had all observed their Eldest Brother and claimed to be cat demons. For her, a mermaid, to claim she was a cat showed her great respect for her Eldest Brother.
Zhan Zhaozhao’s eyes widened.
Jiang Zuilan, showing no fear, squeezed out a few fake tears and wiped the corners of her eyes with her pink sleeves. “I know I was wrong.”
“I will pay compensation. It’s just that all my money is with my sister. I need to find her—”
Jiang Zuilan’s eyes widened. She saw Song Yin walking boldly into the magistrate’s hall. Her yellow silk dress fluttered, and the jade pendants at her ears jingled. Behind her were two young officers, looking eager and devoted, asking things like, “Sister Song, are you thirsty?” and “Sister Song, are you hungry?”
“Don’t worry, Sister Song. We’re just questioning you for information; nothing will happen.” “Sister Song is definitely innocent. We’re just following protocol; we’ll let you go immediately.”
Song Yin sat down calmly at the prisoner’s table, resting her chin on one hand, looking as lazy and bored as a cat as she surveyed the room. Then she saw her third sister and her silly younger brother.
Jiang Zuilan didn’t even ask how she had ended up there, as a young officer soon arrived with a list of charges and evidence.
“Sister Song, look. This one says you snatched a groom on the 11th of this month; there’s cat hair as evidence.”
“This is a witness statement saying you snatched his younger brother on the 16th, and he’s asking why you didn’t snatch him instead, given he’s much more muscular than his brother.”
“And there’s this kidnapping case from yesterday. With both witnesses and physical evidence present, let’s see how we should handle this.”
Song Yin didn’t take it seriously. She blinked her thick, upturned cat-like lashes innocently. “I’m a black cat demon. They weren’t ‘delicious,’ so I sent them all back.”
The Human Emperor had signed a treaty with the Immortal Alliance; royal agencies had the right to interrogate cultivators. In public offices like the magistrate’s hall, cultivators were forbidden from using magic. They couldn’t use spells to break out. Until the cases were resolved, they had to stay there and wait for someone to bail them out.
Zhan Zhaozhao looked gloomy. He had come down the mountain to do good, only to be falsely accused. Jiang Zuilan encouraged him: “Don’t worry, Master’s Husband will come to save us.”
Zhan Zhaozhao looked at his second sister, who was also a prisoner yet was drinking herbal tea and eating pastries, and then at his own cold iron shackles. He hesitated: “Is it really Master’s Husband who will save us, not Master?” The former was gentle, while the latter would only give him a slap.
Jiang Zuilan nodded. Master’s Husband’s real surname was Linghu. The current Empress also shared the surname Linghu; it was the imperial surname. Ling Yi had once lazily instructed them: If you’re going to offend someone, offend someone high-ranking. Otherwise, the officials will be too minor for me to know.
Zhan Zhaozhao asked, “What if the trouble we caused is too minor and the officials we met are too low-ranking for Master’s Husband to know?”
Jiang Zuilan fell silent. That was indeed possible. It would take time for a case to be reviewed through the layers of officialdom to reach that level.
They soon stopped worrying, as Sikong Lan appeared, floating in while holding the fat cat.
Half an hour ago, Sikong Lan was meditating in the inn, trying to suppress her inner demons. But the aroma of roasted duck from downstairs kept wafting up, and the inner demon named “I’m so hungry” grew larger and larger.
Sikong Lan swallowed her saliva slightly. Beside her sat a light green, bamboo-leaf-patterned storage bag. She shook it; inside was money Ling Yi had secretly tucked in. Sikong Lan didn’t want to spend his money. But her desires were screaming: I want to wear beautiful clothes and eat delicious food.
Back when she was earning those five degrees, the pressure was immense, and her only daily solace was eating. Wasn’t that the whole point of studying for Master’s and PhDs? What was the point if you couldn’t even have a hot meal when you were exhausted?
Sikong Lan held back her tears and chanted silently: I have already fasted; I am not hungry. This is just craving, just desire, just the mortal coil. We should practice asceticism.
It was all desire. She had to restrain it.
Then Ling Yi knocked on the door. He carried a freshly roasted Peking duck, along with pancakes and sauce.
“I don’t eat an ex’s food,” Sikong Lan said with a cold face, attempting to close the door.
The fox spirit had already squeezed inside. Ling Yi smiled; he was indeed a cunning fox. “No, this is a favor I’m asking of you, delivered on behalf of our disciples.”
Sikong Lan took the warm duck and turned away. Three bites, and a whole roasted duck was gone. Then she wiped the oil and sauce from her mouth, turned back, and said slowly, “What is it?”
Ling Yi’s smile vanished, and his head drooped slightly, but he tried to open his eyes wide like a puppy that had done something wrong. His mouth slumped as if in apology. “Our three disciples have all ended up in jail.”
Sikong Lan: “…”
Sikong Lan held the cat while Ling Yi followed behind. Knowing she wasn’t fond of talking much, he had already gone ahead to negotiate with the officers. As soon as the Linghu family token was shown, the lead official’s expression changed, and he hurriedly invited the two to take the seats of honor.
Looking at the disciples in the jail—the black cat demon, the tabby cat, and the white cat—it seemed all the colors were present. Surely their Master was no ordinary person either.
The officer said respectfully to Sikong Lan, “Are you also a cat demon?”
Sikong Lan replied, “Hah, I am a McDonald’s Crispy Fry.”
The officer: “…What kind of mouse?”
Ling Yi smiled as he led the officer away to discuss the details in private. Sikong Lan ignored the negotiations. She slowly stroked the cat’s smooth fur as she paced before the cage.
“So you’re saying there were two cases—one for missing textiles and one for kidnapping grooms—and you came down the mountain to be a constable for these cases?” She paced before the Fourth. Zhan Zhaozhao scratched his head and looked at the ground guiltily.
Sikong Lan said, “You dimwit. Isn’t it obvious that your Eldest Brother and Second Sister did it? You went and caught people? You should go and catch your own brain back.”
When she found the Eldest, his cat nest was piled high with textiles, and he was comfortably curled up inside licking his fur. Zhan Zhaozhao squatted on the ground awkwardly.
Sikong Lan went to see the Second and Third. All three disciples were inside. Song Yin stood there nonchalantly, lacking any proper posture. Her hands were casually clasped behind her back, her right hand circling her left wrist, her body tilting slightly forward and to the left in a graceful curve. She hummed a song with her head down, her toes idly drawing circles on the ground as if she were on a spring outing.
Jiang Zuilan stood expressionless, leaning her entire weight on her sword. Her eyes were full of: “I’m so tired. I want to fight ten people at once. Can I go home after I’m done? This is so annoying.”
There wasn’t much to say about the Third’s case—just a moment of impulse. She’d have to train her temperament when they got back.
Sikong Lan interrogated the Second: “The grooms you kidnapped… you returned the ones with average looks, and there’s an ugly one you didn’t return. Why?” She patted the cat’s plump hindquarters while criticizing Song Yin. “When wandering the world, one must never lose their aesthetic standards.”
Song Yin looked up and blinked. “Because the bride didn’t want to marry him, so I handled it for her.” The bride had said her family only married her off for the dowry; she was unwilling, and the man she was to marry had violent tendencies. Song Yin used a small trick to make the man disappear for a while during the wedding to teach him a lesson. Those pathetic grooms were currently being tossed into the woods with bruised and swollen faces.
The several misunderstandings were finally resolved peacefully, and Sikong Lan led her four disciples back.
Zhan Zhaozhao was utterly perplexed. “I came down the mountain quietly to be a constable. Even Master’s Husband didn’t know, and I even used a disguise. But I was reported for being a demon. Who could it have been?”
Sikong Lan tucked her hands into her sleeves. “The restaurant owner. It was written in the files; he recognized you as suspicious at a single glance.”
“Why? How did he notice me? Because I’m so elegant and refined? Because I chose the window seat that heroes always sit at?”
“Because you asked for ten refills of broth for one bowl of seaweed wontons and sat there for the whole afternoon. How embarrassing!”
The Azure Dragon Province had a vast variety of medicinal herbs and was one of the primary supply locations for the Medicine Sect. The Medicine Sect was about to hold a grand event here. Helan Tan had arrived ahead of time on behalf of the sect and checked into an inn.
He brewed a pot of hot tea but didn’t drink it. Amidst the rising white mist and the elegant tea fragrance, he thought of that girl. It had been nearly a month since the incident in the cave, and he hadn’t seen her. Not a single word. She said she wouldn’t come looking for him, and she truly hadn’t.
He was a bit frustrated. The reason she hadn’t found him must be because he gave her a fake name at the time. Since she didn’t know his surname was Helan, she naturally couldn’t find him. He shouldn’t have given a fake name.
The teacup filled with boiling water grew too hot to hold, and Helan Tan set it down as if realizing it late. He told himself again: So what? She made it very clear; she was just using him to supplement her cultivation. And he just wanted to use her to refine medicine. They are strangers; there’s nothing to miss. Don’t think about her.
Helan Tan took a deep breath, pushing away the shadow that had lingered in his mind for nearly a month. He cautioned himself again: What she does now is none of my business. It has nothing to do with me.
He then put on his formal robes, adjusted his hair crown, and headed out to Luoyue Tower to handle sect business.
He did not know that an hour after he left, Song Yin, as light as a swallow, landed on the roof of the inn where he was staying after a few leaps. Excitedly holding a fainted, baby-faced man, she moved swiftly across the rooftops to avoid the gazes of the crowd, while enthusiastically sending a transmission to Sikong Lan.
“Master! The quality of men in Azure Dragon Province is so high!”
“I’ve caught seven! Tonight, I’m going to eat seven all at once!”