Three days later, Sang Nian successfully arrived at Luoxian City, located right at the foot of the Xiaoyao Sect’s mountain.
Chuyao and the others had to return to their sect first to report back on their mission, leaving after offering her a few parting words.
With the new disciple selections starting in just a single day, the city was packed to the brim with hopefuls who had come from far and wide, making it extraordinarily bustling and lively.
Taking Xie Chenzhou along, Sang Nian checked out several inns in a row, only to find every single one of them completely fully booked.
“There must be upwards of a hundred thousand people in the city right now, right?” she lamented as she walked through the weaving throngs of pedestrians. “Trying to get into the Xiaoyao Sect is ridiculously hard.”
She could only imagine what tomorrow’s official selection process would look like.
Yet, according to the original novel, the first test—evaluating spiritual roots—alone would screen out a vast majority of the applicants.
Followed by the second test, the third test…
In the end, no more than ten people at most would actually make it through the mountain gates of the Xiaoyao Sect.
Sang Nian felt an immense wave of pressure.
She didn’t need to worry about her spiritual roots; the original owner had them.
However, the original owner had entered the Xiaoyao Sect purely by leveraging Sang Qiyan’s connections.
Now that she had decided to conceal her identity and seek out a master on her own merit, she couldn’t rely on that shortcut anymore.
She had to walk through the gates of the Xiaoyao Sect entirely on her own.
And if she failed…
Sang Nian stopped in her tracks before a public announcement board, reading the posted notice word by word:
[The Xiaoyao Sect Cafeteria is sincerely hiring two food-servers.
Working hours: Three shifts per day (morning, noon, and evening), work one day and rest one day, twenty days of annual leave.
Monthly salary: Thirty spiritual stones, room and board included.]
Sang Nian’s eyes lit up with glowing stars.
Hey, becoming an official disciple wasn’t the only option available in life.
Looking stealthily to her left and right, she ripped the notice down with lightning speed and shoved it deep into her sleeve.
Witnessing the entire spectacle from the side, Xie Chenzhou:
“…”
“Sang Yunling, what are you doing?”
Dragging him into a secluded alleyway, Sang Nian assumed a serious expression:
“Stop calling me Sang Yunling.”
Frowning, Xie Chenzhou asked, “Then what should I call you?”
“Call me Sang Nian,” she suggested. “Or Niannian works too.”
Chuyao’s words from that day flashed through her mind—only people close to one another let each other use their childhood nicknames.
Scanning Sang Nian with a scrutinizing gaze, Xie Chenzhou let out a dry, mocking chuckle:
“Sang Yunling, I advise you to give up on me and save yourself the trouble.”
Sang Nian blinked: “Huh?”
He stated coldly:
“Perhaps our interactions along this journey have led to some misunderstandings on your part, but I, Xie Chenzhou, could never possibly like you in this lifetime.”
Sang Nian: “Huh??”
“My staying by your side right now is merely a temporary expedient,” Xie Chenzhou said, his voice carrying a faint chill. “Once I obtain… one day I will leave. When that time comes, if you dare to try and stop me—”
“I will personally kill you with my own hands.”
Sang Nian: “Ah???”
Without another word, Xie Chenzhou turned on his heel and strode away.
Sang Nian stood there with a face full of question marks.
Wait, does this guy have a screw loose?
Half a day drifted by. As night fell, Sang Nian finally tracked down the single inn in the entire city that still had a vacant room.
“You two are truly in luck. This is the very last room left in our entire establishment—if you had arrived even a moment later, you wouldn’t have gotten a bed.”
Beaming broadly, the innkeeper handed over the key:
“Our Luoxian City gets this lively once every ten years. I can tell at a glance that this is your first time here; the experienced folks booked their rooms months in advance.”
Accepting the key, Sang Nian replied, “It really is our first time. We didn’t think ahead.”
Stroke his beard as he sized up her and Xie Chenzhou for a moment, the innkeeper smiled and said:
“I can see that both of you possess extraordinary bone structures. You’ll definitely succeed in entering the Xiaoyao Sect this time around.”
Delighted, Sang Nian asked, “Really?”
“Naturally,” the innkeeper declared. “Old Chen here has been running this business for so many years, and my eye has never failed me. However…”
“However, what?” Sang Nian prompted.
“You’re still missing one crucial item,” he lowered his voice gravely. “If you have that item, your success will be guaranteed without a single hitch.”
Growing tense, Sang Nian asked, “What item?”
Glancing cautiously around their surroundings, the innkeeper retrieved two objects from a shelf behind him.
“As the old saying goes: first fate, second luck, third feng shui. Many a time, success falls short simply for lack of that tiny sliver of luck,” he rattled a paper talisman in his left hand. “This is a genuine Good Fortune Talisman personally drawn by Master Ruozhi of Cibei Cliff. As long as you wear it, it will undoubtedly bless you with a continuous stream of good luck.”
Xie Chenzhou: “…”
Not quite understanding the details but sensing it sounded impressive, Sang Nian gasped: “It’s that magical?!”
“Don’t get too excited yet, take a look at this.” The innkeeper brandished a longsword in his right hand. “This is my family heirloom sword, forged from extraterrestrial meteorite iron. The blade is three feet and three inches long, razor-sharp, and capable of cutting through iron as if it were mud.”
“If you want to pass the selections, it is utterly impossible without an adaptable weapon like this. Take it, and I guarantee you’ll slaughter any gods or Buddhas standing in your way.”
Xie Chenzhou: “…”
Her blood boiling with excitement, Sang Nian exclaimed: “It’s that powerful?!”
“Want to own it?!” the innkeeper pitched.
Nodding frantically, Sang Nian said: “Yes, absolutely!!!”
“Ten thousand spiritual stones,” he held out a hand.
Sang Nian immediately lowered her head to untie her storage pouch.
Unable to bear it a moment longer, Xie Chenzhou grabbed her by the arm:
“Are you an idiot?”
Before Sang Nian could reply, the innkeeper rolled his eyes and scoffed:
“I was only parting with these out of the goodness of my heart because I took a liking to you two. Since you don’t trust me, let’s call the whole thing off.”
Hastily, Sang Nian pleaded, “I want it, I want it! Hold on a second, I’ll give you the spiritual stones right now.”
With that, she gave Xie Chenzhou a gentle shove:
“Hurry up and let go, you’re blocking me from paying.”
As the two of them stood at a stalemate for a few seconds, Xie Chenzhou finally released her arm with a darkened expression.
Handing a stack of officially stamped bills over to the innkeeper, Sang Nian said, “Each note has a face value of ten thousand spiritual stones.”
With the transaction completed, the innkeeper’s expression shifted instantly from gloomy to sunny:
“Just as I thought, the young lady clearly knows quality when she sees it.”
He glanced sideways at Xie Chenzhou:
“Unlike certain people who freeload shamelessly, yet can’t even figure out who’s actually calling the shots in this household.”
With a gloomy expression, Xie Chenzhou demanded, “What did you just say?”
“I didn’t say a thing,” the innkeeper replied with an innocent shrug.
Carefully tucking away the talisman and the precious sword, Sang Nian forcibly dragged Xie Chenzhou toward the stairs:
“Alright, alright, it’s getting late. Let’s head back to our room to rest.”
Once they were inside the room, Xie Chenzhou shook off her hand with a dark scowl. “You didn’t hear him mocking me?”
Pulling out a chair to sit down, Sang Nian admired her newly purchased talisman and sword while casually replying:
“You must have misheard. I think he’s a pretty nice guy—he even gave me freebies.”
Gritting his teeth, Xie Chenzhou snapped: “You—”
Before he could finish, a Good Fortune Talisman was shoved straight into the brocade pouch at his waist. Tapping the pouch lightly, Sang Nian instructed:
“Make sure you wear it properly. If you lose it, I’m not buying you a new one.”
He froze, staring at her for a long moment before asking:
“You bought this for me?”
Sang Nian nodded. “Mhm.”
Averting his face, Xie Chenzhou muttered:
“I don’t need it. Take it back.”
“It’s not like keeping it there is going to get in your way,” Sang Nian reasoned. “This is a good fortune talisman, after all. It’s meant to bring you good luck.”
Looking straight into his eyes, she added with a buoyant, cheerful tone:
“You’ve always had such terrible luck; once you have this, things are bound to get better. I guarantee everything will go smoothly for you from now on.”
Xie Chenzhou fell silent. When he finally spoke again, his voice was inexplicably softer:
“You’re reading too much into things.”
Tying up his pouch securely, he adopted an expression of utter disdain:
“I’ll throw it away in a couple of days.”
[Ding~ Xie Chenzhou’s Affection +200]
Clearly, he loved it.
Stubbornly putting up a front.
Pouting slightly, Sang Nian unsheathed her brand-new sword and asked with eager curiosity:
“Is this sword as powerful as yours?”
Xie Chenzhou countered, “What do you think?”
Sang Nian pondered for a moment. “They should be about the same?”
Summoning his natal sword, Xie Chenzhou tossed it onto the table in front of her with a heavy thud and lifted his chin:
“See for yourself.”
Eagerly, Sang Nian reached out to pull the sword from its scabbard, but it wouldn’t budge.
She cast a puzzled look toward Xie Chenzhou.
Pulling out another chair to sit down with a lazy slouch, Xie Chenzhou flicked the edge of the scabbard with a single finger.
The blade shuddered and reluctantly slid out of its sheath.
In an instant, a dazzling, translucent radiance flashed across Sang Nian’s eyes. Squinting slightly, she peered closely at it once the glare faded.
The entire body of the sword was pitch-black, devoid of any carved patterns. Made of an unknown material, it emitted an astonishing, bone-chilling cold.
Testing its weight in her hand, she found it surprisingly heavy, dragging down her wrist with a dull ache.
“I have to admit, this sword looks pretty ordinary,” Sang Nian remarked.
The moment the words left her mouth, the sword in her hand violently vibrated.
Hastily setting it down, she put on an expression of grave seriousness:
“Of course, if you look closely, you’ll realize it’s anything but ordinary. Every single detail on it is absolute perfection—it is undeniably the greatest, most incredible sword in the entire world!”
The longsword remained quiet for a few seconds before abruptly lifting its hilt to rub awkwardly against her palm.
Sang Nian: “?”
Xie Chenzhou: “…”
“What’s wrong with it?” she asked.
Retracting his natal sword with a completely expressionless face, Xie Chenzhou replied:
“Nothing. It probably just wants to go back and check out the sword-casting furnace.”
Truly, the sword matched its master—the person was weird, and the sword was equally weird.
Sang Nian didn’t understand, but she respected it.
Standing up, she pulled a quilt out from the wardrobe:
“Do you know how to play rock-paper-scissors?”
Xie Chenzhou arched a brow: “Why are you asking that?”
Choosing a spot to lay down the quilt, Sang Nian explained:
“We’ll play rock-paper-scissors, best of one round. Whoever loses has to sleep on the floor tonight. Fair, just, and transparent—no backing out of it.”
Scooning his nose at the idea, he said: “Childish. I’m not playing.”
Rubbing her hands together in anticipation, Sang Nian chanted:
“Scissors, rock—paper!”
Xie Chenzhou and she threw out their hands at the very same time.
Glancing down at her own open palm, then over at his tightly clenched fist, Sang Nian burst out laughing and gloated triumphantly:
“I won! I’m sleeping on the bed tonight, so you can honestly go make your bed on the floor.”
Staring blankly at his own tightly closed fist, Xie Chenzhou wore an expression of sheer bewilderment.
Just why… Did I instinctively throw a rock a second ago?