“Two rooms. Shopkeeper, just two.” Yan Jue acted decisively, slapping the silver onto the counter.
At worst, he would sleep in the same room as that showy peacock, Lu Wu. That guy rarely used a bed anyway.
After booking the rooms, Yan Jue used a transmission talisman to notify Lu Wu of their location. The remaining silver was just enough to order some food and wine. Remembering that Lu Wu had been clamoring to taste Lanling’s famous Pear Blossom White, he ordered a jar.
The two sat in a secluded corner. Before the food arrived, Yan Jue overheard some fresh gossip. A few cultivators in formal sect attire at the neighboring table were discussing matters quite openly.
“Do you know whose disciple Ye Liufang is?” one asked.
“Ye Liufang? The woman who became famous in Lanling at only seventeen?” Mentioning a woman, the speaker’s tone carried a hint of disdain. “I heard she has a fiery temper. She is at the age to be married, yet she stays in the sect. Any noble or prominent family who comes to propose is driven out by her. She has no feminine decorum at all. What about her? Whose disciple is she?”
“She is the disciple of Master Yanxiu! I heard that after Master Yanxiu learned of her behavior, he decided to appear in person at this year’s Great Immortal Sect Assembly.”
Another person’s eyes widened. “Master Yanxiu! The sect leader who founded the Moshan Sect a hundred years ago? He is still alive?” He lowered his voice.
“What are you saying? He is a Master at the peak of the cultivation world, only one step away from ascension!” The man spoke with such passion it was as if he were the one about to ascend.
“But I heard that Moshan has not been peaceful lately. Several disciples were possessed by demons, and some female disciples have vanished into thin air.”
“That is exactly why Master Yanxiu is coming out of seclusion. He will surely investigate this personally and give the cultivation world an explanation. We are just going to watch the excitement. Perhaps seeing Master Yanxiu will even help our own cultivation progress.”
Yan Jue sipped his tea and listened leisurely. It seemed Moshan had been quite lively over the years. At this rate, the number one immortal sect would become the number one joke. He hoped Yanxiu was truly coming to save the crumbling structure.
The conversation at the next table continued. “What kind of person is this Master Yanxiu exactly?”
“A junior like you does not even know him? Master Yanxiu is not only the founder of Moshan but was also the senior brother of Yan Jue, who ascended back then. It was Master Yanxiu who identified Yan Jue’s second disciple, Qi Yelan, as having a demonic root. Yan Jue subsequently killed him and was able to ascend. In my opinion, the one who should have ascended was Master Yanxiu. It is just that Yan Jue was slightly superior in cultivation. He did not even notice his own disciple had a demonic root, or perhaps he knew and intentionally protected him.”
Yan Jue no longer cared. Compared to what he had heard at Danyang over the last three years, what did this matter? However, he accidentally noticed A-Ye’s hand, resting on the table, was trembling. His eyes were bloodshot and his pupils quivered as if he were suppressing something.
Seeing this, Yan Jue quickly placed his hand over A-Ye’s to steady it. He understood A-Ye’s feelings. As a devout follower, hearing his idol slandered would naturally fill him with righteous indignation, even if what those people said was technically true.
If one ignored the factors of luck and destiny, Yan Jue sometimes felt his own ascension was a joke. “A-Ye, do not listen to their nonsense,” he whispered.
“Nonsense?” Qi Yelan narrowed his eyes, his jaw tightening.
“What is it?” Yan Jue asked, startled.
Qi Yelan took a few seconds to steady his breathing. “What do you think?”
“I,” Yan Jue hesitated. How was he supposed to evaluate himself? Meeting A-Ye’s serious gaze, he cleared his throat. “Immortal Qingyan certainly made mistakes, but he may have had his own reasons. The world just does not know them.”
A-Ye looked down as if deep in thought. “Reasons? He had reasons?”
Yan Jue nodded repeatedly. He was the one who knew that best.
Soon, the dishes they ordered arrived. After days of traveling on foot, Yan Jue had ordered some hearty meals to recover: braised pig’s trotters and roasted duck. A moment later, Lu Wu arrived, following the scent.
“The food here looks good. I could smell it from far away.”
Yan Jue handed him chopsticks. “How did it go?”
“Perfect. We will have plenty of face tomorrow! As I expected, the assembly is not open to just anyone, so I have prepared identities for us.” Lu Wu lowered his voice for the last part.
“What identities?”
“Disciples of the Penglai Sect.”
“Does such a place exist?” Yan Jue asked. Penglai was a legendary place where immortals lived, appearing only in books.
Lu Wu shrugged. “It is better if it does not exist. That way we will not be exposed. The head disciples of the First Immortal Master of Penglai. How is that? Overbearing, right?”
“Head disciple? Who?”
Lu Wu pointed to himself. “Me. You are my junior brother. As for him,” Lu Wu looked at A-Ye’s disheveled appearance, “a rogue cultivator we rescued on the way.” Lu Wu had originally wanted to say beggar, but he changed his mind after seeing Yan Jue’s warning look.
Yan Jue then informed Lu Wu of the news he had just overheard. Lu Wu’s expression became meaningful. “I was just wondering how that old man Yanxiu achieved longevity. Now I know.”
“What did you hear?” Yan Jue did not quite understand.
Lu Wu shook his head. “A guess. But I am eighty or ninety percent sure.”
“Do not be cryptic. What do you know?”
Lu Wu closed his fan and tapped it on the table. “The secrets of heaven must not be leaked.”
While Lu Wu dared not speak, Qi Yelan had no such inhibitions. “That man Yanxiu is not a good sort. The missing female cultivators are likely related to him.”
Yan Jue’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? How could that be?” In his memory, while Yanxiu was not a saint, he should not have fallen that far.
Lu Wu nodded. “Your friend is right. But it is too early to draw a conclusion. We will know when the time comes.”
“Oh,” Yan Jue replied.
Lu Wu raised his glass. “Let us not talk about that. Let me taste this nectar of Lanling. Brother Wen, join me.”
Yan Jue did not drink much. It was not that he disliked it, but this body was the type to pass out after one cup. He had tried many times to improve his tolerance without success, so he had given up. “I will pass. I have to wake up early tomorrow.”
“What are you afraid of? You were not like this before. Back in the day,” Lu Wu started.
Qi Yelan suddenly asked Yan Jue, “Back in the day? Are you not only nineteen? How long have you two known each other?”
Lu Wu realized he had slipped up and quickly made an excuse. “Hey, kid, it is not polite to interrupt people.”
Yan Jue shot Lu Wu a glare. “Well, that is,” he stammered.
Just as he was struggling to explain, a waiter and a customer at the next table began to argue.
“How can you eat here and not pay? Which sect are you from? Get someone to bring the money quickly!”
The group looked over. Surrounded by several servants was a young man around Yan Jue’s age. He looked flustered, like a pampered son of a wealthy family who had little experience with the world.
“I am an inner disciple of the Moshan Sect. My name is Qin Wei. I brought silver today, but it must have been stolen on the road. When I return to the sect tomorrow, I will pay the bill in full.”
The youth made his promise with conviction, but the waiter was not kind. “Everyone has to pay for their meals, regardless of their sect. Besides, there is no such surname in the Moshan Sect. Do not take me for a fool. Get the money now, or I will take something of yours as collateral!”
Hearing this, Qin Wei clutched a jade pendant along with a valuable-looking sword. “I will pay. Although I am rarely at the sect, I am truly a member. My Grandmaster was Immortal Qingyan!”
Hearing his own name, Yan Jue’s eyebrows quirked up. He thought to himself, Oh? I actually have a disciple with such pure roots?