In groups of five, they could choose their own training locations, though not too far, restricted to the towns and mountain forests around Cangxian Mountain.
Gu Er was the sole exception; Elder Bai He had specifically instructed that she had no tasks and could simply wander around the small town at the foot of the mountain.
So when Gu Er applied to go to Bailu City, the senior disciple leading the group refused without hesitation.
“Gu Er, why do you insist on going to Bailu City?” Zhong Daoxue sidled up to Gu Er, asking with a curious look.
“I need to take care of something there,” Gu Er replied from her seat on the flying vessel. Bailu City was the closest place to Lingyun Sect that had a Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
Zhong Daoxue tilted her head, pondering for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea: “Hmm… well, you could apply to come with us on our training mission first, and then head to Bailu City afterward.”
Gu Er raised an eyebrow and asked, “That could work. So what’s your mission?”
Zhong Daoxue quickly pulled a mission scroll from her storage ring and waved it proudly: “Clearing out the walking corpses at the mass grave in Yeyu Town!” With that, she mimicked the movements of a walking corpse, flailing her arms and making exaggerated gestures, which made Gu Er laugh out loud.
Gu Er thought it over, this would work, and she was already familiar with Zhong Daoxue and the others, so she nodded in agreement.
Four hundred years ago, the great war between immortals and demons had brought devastation to the world, leaving mass graves piled high with corpses.
Ever since, every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when yin energy was at its heaviest, the bodies of those who died unjustly would, nourished by the yin energy and driven by resentment, transform into walking corpses that roamed into nearby villages to attack people.
Thus, every year, the major sects sent some disciples to the corpse-heavy mass graves to clear them out.
Yeyu Town was located to the southeast of Cangxian Mountain. The town was of moderate size, with shops of all kinds lining both sides of the streets in neat rows, and the cries of vendors rising and falling in succession. The streets were filled with a dazzling array of goods that made one’s eyes swim.
“Wow, it’s so lively!” Zhong Daoxue pulled Shen Xun’an along as she wove through the crowd, touching this and looking at that, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Sister, slow down!” Zhong Daochen shouted from behind as he chased after them.
Gu Er strolled leisurely at the back when suddenly a sweet, fragrant aroma drifted into her nose. She followed the scent and saw it came from a pastry shop.
Gu Er paused mid-step, standing at the shop’s entrance, her nostrils flaring slightly as a look of bliss spread across her face.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Yao appeared abruptly behind her, her voice cool and clear.
“It smells so good. Do you want some pastries? Should we buy some?” Gu Er turned around, smiling at Zhao Yao, her eyes curving into crescents.
Zhao Yao furrowed her brow slightly, seeming a bit out of place in such a lively setting, but she still gave a gentle nod: “Then let’s go in and take a look.” Her voice remained calm and expressionless.
“Sister Daoxue, Xun’an, Senior Brother Zhong, I’m buying some pastries!” Gu Er raised her arm, waving vigorously at the three people ahead and calling out loudly.
Then she stepped into the pastry shop with Zhao Yao and Yue Feng.
The moment they entered, the rich aroma of pastries enveloped them completely. The air was thick with a sweet fragrance.
The counter was lined with all kinds of pastries, round golden shortcakes, delicate little treats adorned with dried fruit, and intricately layered thousand-layer cakes with exquisite designs.
“Welcome, honored guests! What can I get for you?” The shopkeeper greeted them with a beaming smile, his eyes squinting into thin slits as he warmly beckoned them over.
“Shopkeeper, what would you recommend?” Gu Er asked with a smile, her eyes scanning the pastries displayed on the counter.
The shopkeeper quickly led them to a plate of rose crisps, picked one up, and handed it to Gu Er, enthusiastically introducing it: “These are quite good, delicate, sweet, and flaky. Many young ladies love these. Please, have a taste, and if it suits your palate, I’ll weigh some out for you.”
Gu Er took the rose crisp and gave it a gentle bite. The flaky crust crumbled between her teeth, and the sweet rose filling instantly melted across her tongue.
She chewed slowly, then nodded: “Not bad. Sister Daoxue should like these. Weigh out some, please.”
The shopkeeper then eagerly led them to another spot, pointing at a candied-fruit cake: “This one is also very popular with the young ladies. Would you like some of this too?”
Gu Er looked at the glossy exterior packed with candied fruit, and just imagining the sweetness made her teeth ache.
She frowned slightly and asked the shopkeeper, “Do you have anything not so sweet, something with a lighter, more delicate flavor?”
“Lighter flavor? We do have some that aren’t too sweet,” the shopkeeper quickly replied, gesturing toward the counter beside him. “Sugar cakes? Plum blossom cakes? Bean cakes? Which would you prefer, miss?”
Gu Er glanced around but didn’t see anything she liked. Her brows furrowed slightly, a hint of disappointment creeping in.
She loved desserts, yet she couldn’t stand overly sweet ones. Fried pastries or ones that crumbled and shed flakes didn’t appeal to her either. This made her long for the modern sponge cake with filling, that fine, soft texture that wasn’t cloyingly sweet.
“Do you have any Longjing tea cakes?” Zhao Yao, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, breaking Gu Er’s train of thought.
“Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment, miss.” The shopkeeper deftly picked out a Longjing tea cake with a warm, jade-like hue from behind the counter and handed it over.
Zhao Yao took the Longjing cake, took a small bite, and frowned.
Gu Er had been watching her reaction closely. Seeing this, she quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Is it not good?”
“No, it’s just that the flavor isn’t quite right.” Zhao Yao shook her head gently, a trace of regret in her voice.
“The Longjing cake the young lady is thinking of, that’s the signature item of Fuyuan Zhai,” the shopkeeper chimed in, a hint of nostalgia on his face. “Their Longjing cakes, I have to say, were truly delicious! They used only the finest Longjing tea leaves, and theirs just tasted different from anyone else’s. Unfortunately, they left this place a long time ago, the whole family moved to Bailu City.”
“If their Longjing cakes were that good, didn’t they have any branch shops?” Gu Er looked at the Longjing cake in Zhao Yao’s hand, then reached out playfully. “Yaoyao, let me have a taste?”
“The shop in Bailu City was originally a branch. Who knows what they were thinking, they closed the main shop here and moved the whole family away.” The shopkeeper shook his head helplessly.
Gu Er took a bite, and her eyes widened slightly: “This is pretty good! I’d love to taste the Longjing cake from that Fuyuan Zhai you mentioned, to see how good it really is.”
“You’re heading back to Bailu City, aren’t you? When you get there, give it a taste, it’s sure to suit your palate.” Zhao Yao looked at Gu Er, a faint trace of nostalgia flickering in her eyes, and her voice softened slightly.
“Great! When I go, I’ll definitely buy some to try!” Gu Er said excitedly, turning to the shopkeeper. “Wrap up some of this Longjing cake for me too.”
Following the message Zhong Daochen had given them, Gu Er and her two companions arrived at an inn.
The inn was bustling with customers. The waiter, face beaming with smiles, hurried over to greet them: “Honored guests, are you stopping for a meal or lodging?”
Gu Er replied as she walked into the inn. “Lodging. By the way, has anyone wearing clothes like ours come in before?”
“Over here!” Zhong Daochen, sharp-eyed from his seat in the corner, spotted the three of them and waved.
“Right this way, honored guests! Would you like to see what you’d like to eat?” The waiter skillfully handed over the menu.
“We’ve already ordered a few dishes. See if you’d like to add anything else,” Zhong Daochen said with a smile.
“I’m fine with anything. Yaoyao, Senior Brother Le, is there anything you’d like to eat?” Gu Er turned to ask the two beside her.
“Anything’s fine,” they both replied.
“Then we won’t add anything for now, we’ll order more if it’s not enough,” Gu Er said, handing the menu back to the waiter.
“Got it! Please wait a moment, honored guests!” The waiter acknowledged and hurried off.
It was midday, and the inn was lively. Every table was full, with chatter rising and falling in a constant din.
The waiter carried steaming dishes, weaving deftly between tables, his feet barely touching the ground.
After the six of them finished their meal, they sat together, planning to discuss the evening’s arrangements.
Just then, the waiter came to clear the dishes. As he worked quickly, he struck up a conversation: “You all clearly come from somewhere impressive, you’re from Lingyun Sect, aren’t you? Here to deal with the walking corpses at the mass grave?”
“Exactly.” Zhong Daochen replied succinctly.
Hearing this, the waiter’s initially warm expression shifted slightly, and he couldn’t help but grumble: “Ah, speaking of that mass grave, it’s been a real disaster! Four hundred years ago, in that great war between immortals and demons, so many people died! A perfectly peaceful life, all thrown into chaos. That Demon Lord was utterly wicked, and that Gu Wan…” He paused, a flicker of disgust in his eyes. “Hmph, ungrateful, betraying his sect, he’s a disgrace to the cultivation world!”
Gu Er, who had been lazily leaning against the table, gave a slight twitch at the name but said nothing.
Zhao Yao’s usually icy expression shifted subtly. She crossed her arms, her tone utterly flat: “You weren’t even born four hundred years ago, yet you speak as if you’d seen it all yourself.”
“Do I need to have seen it? Isn’t that what everyone says?” The waiter retorted stubbornly, lifting his chin slightly with a defiant look.
Zhao Yao continued: “Rolling balls stop at hollows; rumors cease at the wise.”
Seeing this, Le Feng quickly reached out, gently pressing Zhao Yao’s shoulder, and said softly, “Zhao Yao, don’t get worked up. The waiter’s just speaking casually.”
Zhong Daoxue’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, her elbows propped on the table: “Come on, tell us, what really happened four hundred years ago?”
The waiter, seeing so many people interested, cleared his throat, found a stool, and sat down to begin recounting that long-buried tale: “Four hundred years ago, the immortal and demon realms clashed at Cangwu Pass in a battle that shook heaven and earth and moved the gods to tears. That demon lord, driven by boundless ambition, sought to devour the mortal world and unify all under his rule. Countless cultivators charged forward one after another, determined to protect the peace of the world.”
“At first, the cultivators held the upper hand, but who could have imagined that at the critical turning point of the war, Gu Wan would suddenly defect, turning her blade against her own side and helping the demon lord reverse the tide. Countless cultivators fell on the spot, corpses strewn across the fields, blood flowing like rivers. Those wronged souls were cast into the mass grave, their resentment never dissipating, that is the origin of the walking corpses that plague us today.” The waiter grew more impassioned as he spoke, fury written plainly across his face, his hands flailing in the air as if reenacting that brutal battle before their eyes.
The other patrons in the inn gathered around, chiming in with a chorus of agreement. “Exactly! A traitor like that deserves to be hacked to pieces!”
“What a pity they didn’t finish her off back then!” The crowd seethed with righteous indignation, as if that great war were unfolding right before them.
Gu Er listened quietly, her expression calm, yet her eyes were deep and unfathomable, impossible to read. Her fingers tapped lightly on the counter, producing a rhythmic sound.
Zhong Daoxue blinked, looking puzzled: “But why would Gu Wan do such a thing?”
The waiter shook his head: “Who knows? Perhaps she was bewitched by the demon lord’s honeyed words, or perhaps she coveted the power of the demon sect. In any case, her actions are unforgivable.”
Zhao Yao swept a cold gaze across the crowd, her tone icy: “You’ve never even seen her. Don’t be so quick to pass judgment.”
Le Feng furrowed his brow slightly, and after a moment of thought, said: “The events of four hundred years ago have mostly been passed down by word of mouth. The truth may not be so simple.”
Zhong Daochen let out a cold snort, crossing his arms with contempt written all over his face: “Whatever the reason, betrayal is betrayal. A person like that, even in death, can never atone for their sins.”
“Judging by your attire, you must be from Lingyun Sect, yet you’re actually defending that traitor. What’s your agenda?” A voice rang out, simmering with indignation.