“Immortal Master, I’ve been waiting for you in agony!”
Xiang Zheng slid forward in a desperate lunge, kneeling rigidly before Du Xinghe.
Had he not recognized her as a female cultivator at the last moment, he would have clung to her and wept bitterly.
“Rise and speak.”
Du Xinghe’s command prompted Xiang Zheng, who had initially lowered his posture uncertain of the immortal’s temperament, to stand promptly upon sensing her aloof disdain for flattery. He proceeded to explain:
“This is the situation. Though our Yunshan Township falls under the jurisdiction of the Xuan Dynasty, the treacherous terrain—continuous peaks, steep slopes, and ravines—makes access perilous… While such obstacles mean nothing to immortals who can fly on swords, ordinary merchant caravans avoid this route entirely. We remain isolated, with almost no outsiders ever visiting.”
“Half a year ago, Master Lu returned from a hunting trip with an outsider woman, reputedly stunningly beautiful, whom he insisted on taking as a concubine. Forgive my bluntness, Immortal Master, but the Lu Family is the wealthiest household in Yunshan Township. Taking another concubine wouldn’t normally raise eyebrows, but the strange thing is—ever since this outsider arrived, thefts have plagued our township. Stranger still, only vegetables, fruits, and grains are stolen, while valuables like gold and silver remain untouched.”
“Our villagers are simple and honest folk—we used to leave our doors unlocked at night.”
The more isolated the village, the more outsiders are viewed as calamities.
For centuries, the same families have lived here interwoven by bloodlines. Everyone knows each other’s backgrounds—they could identify a person just by their silhouette. Being caught stealing would bring lifelong shame upon one’s entire family.
After listening, Du Xinghe questioned, “If the Lu Family is wealthy, how could they shortchange a concubine’s food and clothing, driving her to steal?”
Xiang Zheng agreed this was precisely the puzzle—he hadn’t initially suspected the Lu Family Concubine either.
He explained that despite Yunshan Township’s poverty, as Xuan Dynasty territory, it possessed a Bone Mirror for testing spiritual roots. Any promising cultivation candidates would be sent beyond the mountains to seek their fortunes.
Yet every time the Bone Mirror showed fluctuations, thefts would occur.
“These are my lifelong neighbors—I know their aptitudes inside out. For a hundred years, Yunshan Township hasn’t produced a single cultivator, let alone one powerful enough to activate the Bone Mirror I keep in my old house.”
His reasoning was sound and convincing.
Thus suspicion fell again upon the Lu Family’s outsider concubine.
As the township’s richest family, Master Lu had invested in numerous talismans and magic artifacts usable by mortals for protection. While these were mere trinkets by the Xuan Dynasty’s standards, in this remote backwater they served as heirlooms commanding respect. Despite Xiang Zheng’s repeated attempts to expel the outsider, Master Lu refused each time, eventually barring him from the estate.
“If this truly is a malicious demon beast, it must be eliminated! But it hasn’t harmed anyone, and I can’t falsely accuse Master Lu. I implore the Immortal Master to uncover the truth.”
Du Xinghe nodded. “Take me to see the Lu Family Concubine.”
A demon beast capable of human form would at least be at the Core Formation stage.
Yet the matter remained peculiar—why would a shape-shifting great demon demean itself as a mortal’s concubine just to steal food? The logic didn’t hold; there must be more to the story.
Xiang Zheng offered an uneasy smile. “Though you’re a female cultivator, I fear Master Lu may refuse…” He paused, then added, “But if the Immortal Master insists, he wouldn’t dare deny you!”
Cultivators didn’t negotiate with mortals.
Du Xinghe said, “Since you already have an idea, speak freely.”
“Judging by the frequency of the thefts, there should be another one tomorrow night. Would the immortal be willing to stay overnight in the township? When the bounty mission was accepted, I had already prepared a welcoming banquet for you.”
Xiang Zheng warmly invited her. Du Xinghe’s eyes flickered: “It’s not impossible, but I have one request.”
“Please speak, immortal.”
“At the banquet, I want women to dance for me.”
“…”
If this were a male cultivator, Xiang Zheng would have suspected he was inviting a wolf into his home.
But from any angle, Du Xinghe was clearly female!
“Is there a problem?”
Du Xinghe asked coldly.
Xiang Zheng shuddered and quickly said no: “It’s just… we’re poor here, with no places of entertainment. Even if there were girls willing to come, they wouldn’t know how to dance. I’m afraid they would only offend your eyes.”
Seeing Du Xinghe still insisting, he had no choice but to brace himself and make arrangements.
…
Before the banquet, Du Xinghe was arranged to stay in the best guest room at Xiang Zheng’s home.
He had originally intended to give up his own bedroom, but she refused.
Du Xinghe had A Qi sit down and borrowed Xiang Zheng’s bone mirror to check her Spiritual Root.
A Qi obediently let her handle everything.
“It really is an innate Water Spiritual Root,” Du Xinghe murmured thoughtfully. “Originally, there were many methods in the cultivation world to regenerate severed limbs, but your current disability is the price paid for borrowing divine power. I’m afraid only the Nascent Soul stage can restore it.”
“Master, did I do wrong?”
A Qi asked timidly.
“You didn’t do wrong. We cultivators shouldn’t be too fond of reflecting on ourselves—we should blame others more. Look at that dog emperor who can’t produce descendants with good aptitude, forcibly taking maidens with good Water Spiritual Roots into his palace to bear him children. Did he ever consider whether his own seed might be too inferior?”
Du Xinghe sneered: “If I were in that position, I would have fought the household official to mutual destruction too. Using me to advance your career? You’d better see if you can handle the consequences.”
A Qi was a native of the Xuan Dynasty and had a natural fear of the Profound Emperor. Hearing Du Xinghe evaluate him like this, she shrank back slightly, then mustered her courage and said: “Master is right, it’s the dog emperor’s fault.”
Du Xinghe examined her further and discovered that although she had never joined a sect, her aptitude was so excellent that she had naturally accumulated enough Single Spiritual Root through breathing exercises to have a foundation at the second level of Qi Refining.
The household official had crippled her, likely out of jealousy towards her talent.
The original owner had been diligent and had memorized the “Qi Introduction Art” thoroughly. Du Xinghe directly taught this technique to her and told her to go practice:
“How much you can learn depends on your own destiny. If you’re lazy, there’s no need to follow me.”
Du Xinghe had no interest in turning her cultivation journey into a child-rearing farming game.
Helping out was done on a whim. If A Qi was ambitious and diligent, she could be of use. If she was mediocre and wasted her talent, it would be better to part ways early.
…
That evening, Du Xinghe attended the welcoming banquet Xiang Zheng had prepared.
He bowed his head and again showed a troubled expression: “Immortal, today you requested dancing girls to liven up the banquet, but truly, there are no girls in Yunshan Township who know how to dance. I beg your understanding…”
“Can’t find any?”
Du Xinghe swept a glance over him: “What about your esteemed wife?”
Xiang Zheng was stunned.
Du Xinghe: “Do you have daughters? Don’t worry, I can swear to the Heavenly Dao that I would never do anything unethical to your wife and daughters. I simply want to invite them to dance and celebrate.”
Cultivators do not lightly make oaths to the Heavenly Dao, so Xiang Zheng’s heart settled for the most part, assuming she simply had eccentric habits.
But…
He did have a daughter, but she was only six and a half years old!!!!
“Invite them here.”
After speaking, Du Xinghe sat down, though her gaze shifted slightly.
She was looking at the daily task the System had refreshed for today.
Last time, after she recruited A Qi as a palace maid, the System promised to unlock more daily tasks for the host. Completing them would grant random rewards, and this time, the task that appeared was—
【Daily Task: Attend a palace banquet】
【Find fault with and frame a consort performing at the palace banquet (0/1)】
【The task completion will be evaluated based on the negative emotions other consorts at the banquet feel toward the host. The higher the completion rate, the better the rewards obtained.】
This was the real reason she had “given Xiang Zheng a hard time.”