A light rain fell.
The sky was a clear azure, and the sun remained hung high in the air, a rare sun shower where clear skies and rain coexisted. A rainbow arched from one end of the horizon to the other, building a bridge across the heavens as swallows darted through its colors.
On the bluestone path, two women walked supporting one another. The woman in green held a paper umbrella, walking slowly, turning every few steps to look anxiously at the blindfolded woman beside her.
A blood-red bell hung from the fan at the green-clad woman’s waist. As she moved, the copper tongue swayed and clearly struck the walls of the bell, one could almost hear the crisp ringing in their mind, yet upon snapping back to reality, they would realize the bell made no sound at all.
It hung at her waist, silent and eerie.
The woman in green was exceptionally beautiful, her skin pale, with a faint, phantom-like smile playing at the corners of her lips, thin and light, yet enough to draw passersby into a second glance.
However, upon that second glance, one would notice the uncanny eyes on her face.
Her crimson eyes looked as though they might drip blood at any second, harboring an endless abyss where no light could penetrate.
As the green-clad woman stood beneath a building, the eaves blocked the light from above. Standing in the shadows, she almost merged into the darkness. Only when she looked at the white-clad woman beside her did the smile on her lips become sincere.
Continuing forward, they were about to enter the great mountains. This range had long been called “The Cursed Mountains” by the villagers. Every so often, mournful wailing would drift from the peaks, occasionally accompanied by tremors that could startle people awake in the middle of the night.
Yet, when morning came, the mountain range appeared perfectly normal.
Eventually, the villagers couldn’t take it anymore and gathered the local youths to investigate. Those who went in never returned.
Over time, the villagers began to avoid the mountains, and the area became desolate. Later, many cultivators came to investigate, but these were matters far beyond the involvement of ordinary folk.
At the foot of the mountain sat a solitary, dilapidated tea stall. A husband and wife were busy working in front of it. Seeing the two women, they showed no surprise and called out, “Would you two guests like some tea?”
Wen Chiyue was a sword spirit; her body was ethereal. She could survive without eating or drinking. She turned to Jiang Xiechen and whispered, “Master, are you thirsty?”
Jiang Xiechen shook her head. “No need.”
After a brief silence, Wen Chiyue muttered softly, “Really? I smell the tea from this shop and it’s truly fragrant. Plus, there are so many customers even in the middle of nowhere, it must be good. Even if you’re not thirsty, it wouldn’t hurt to try… Ah, Master, do you have any mortal money on you!?”
She said the last part a bit loudly. Realizing this, she quickly covered her mouth, her eyes blinking rapidly in unease.
In Wen Chiyue’s heart, Jiang Xiechen was invincible and peerless; nothing could trouble her master. However, in the cultivation world, goods, herbs, tools, and spirit stones were used as currency that wasn’t necessarily true in the mortal realm.
If they didn’t have money, the worst case scenario was pawning the Autumn Frost Sword. She could always find a time to secretly fly back on her own later.
Hearing Wen Chiyue’s words, the proprietor laughed heartily. “No matter, no matter! Spirit stones are fine too. This shop was built specifically for esteemed cultivator guests. Look, honored guest, this tea even has some Spirit Soothing Grass added to it.”
Spirit-Soothing Grass could calm a cultivator’s spirit. While not overly potent, it was better than nothing. It was a common plant in the cultivation world and worth very little, but to a mortal, it would likely cost a fortune.
Wen Chiyue let out a “wow” and played along: “No wonder it’s so fragrant. Can I see?”
The boss, likely having rarely encountered such an approachable cultivator, was about to nod and agree when he suddenly met Wen Chiyue’s red eyes.
Even though the boss knew the vast difference between cultivators and mortals, eyes like those… he had only ever seen them on monsters.
The boss swallowed hard, taking several steps back until he bumped into his wife. The wife cried out in surprise as the cup in her hand shattered on the ground, complaining, “What are you doing?”
The boss snapped out of it. He knew cultivators possessed heavenly powers and feared offending the one before him. Not daring to look directly at Wen Chiyue again, he said with cautious flattery, “No, I… I was just stunned by your celestial beauty… I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You wanted to see the tea leaves being roasted in the pot, right? Please, this way.”
Hearing her husband’s words, the wife secretly pinched his waist. She peered quietly at Wen Chiyue and was also stunned upon seeing the color of her eyes.
The boss pulled his wife away forcefully to clear a path for Wen Chiyue.
Wen Chiyue smiled, indifferent to their thoughts. She leaned her head in and immediately caught the fresh scent of the tea leaves. Conversely, she found she didn’t care for the smell of the Spirit Soothing Grass in the pot.
Wen Chiyue exclaimed, “Master, Master! This is really fragrant! Come try it, it’s something not found in the cultivation world. I wonder if it tastes as good as it smells.”
Jiang Xiechen could tell that Wen Chiyue wasn’t thirsty, she was simply greedy.
The little sword spirit had just taken human form and was full of curiosity about the world. Jiang Xiechen had no intention of stopping her. She nodded slightly and tossed two spirit stones from her robe, landing them accurately on the counter. “Two cups.”
The boss’s eyes lit up at the sight of the spirit stones. Bowing low, he lifted the cloth hanging behind him and smiled. “Right away, right away. Guests, please come in.”
To avoid offending cultivators, the tea stall was quite large, with tables set far apart and even a few partitioned stalls.
Having succeeded in her plan, Wen Chiyue giggled with satisfaction. She skipped along, pulling on Jiang Xiechen’s arm as they walked into the tea shop.
She didn’t forget to look back and add, “Oh, by the way, don’t put Spirit Soothing Grass in mine. It has a weird smell. I don’t like it.”
Jiang Xiechen paused her step and nodded toward those behind her. “Forgive the trouble, none in mine either.”
Once the two entered the shop and the cloth fell back into place, obscuring them from view, the boss muttered, “Huh? So there really are cultivators who think Spirit-Soothing Grass smells weird? Looks like I’ll have to rethink the recipe.”
They had worked here for over twenty years and encountered countless cultivators, yet this was the first time anyone had raised that issue.
To cultivators, Spirit Soothing Grass was practically a daily staple, no different from a glass of water, and it helped refine spiritual energy to boot. Why wouldn’t they want it?
He did know of a few cases where someone would specifically refuse the grass, either their cultivation was too low, or… they weren’t a cultivator at all.
Recalling Wen Chiyue’s demon like eyes, the boss shivered. He wiped the spirit stones repeatedly on his clothes before tucking them into his robe and hurrying his wife to prepare the tea, terrified that poor service might trigger a violent outburst.
Wen Chiyue guided Jiang Xiechen to a random table and sat down.
Shortly after, the boss brought two cups of tea and placed them before them.
A corner of the curtain facing the mountain was lifted, allowing a cool breeze to drift through the room. Accompanied by the sound of rain, it was indescribably pleasant.
Wen Chiyue touched the tea cup and hissed, quickly warning Jiang Xiechen, “Master, Master, this tea is still scalding! Do you want me to blow on it for you before you drink?”
Without waiting for Jiang Xiechen’s answer, she reached out her hand to take the cup from in front of her master.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiechen held the cup and pushed it to the side, dodging Wen Chiyue’s “demon claws.” “No need.”
The wind fluttered the white cloth covering Jiang Xiechen’s eyes.
Being rejected didn’t discourage Wen Chiyue at all. She said happily, “As expected of Master! Even like this, you can hear my movements. Master, is it hot on your hands? If I don’t need to blow on the tea, I can blow on your hands instead!”
Jiang Xiechen slowly blew on the tea and took a sip.
The tea was freshly brewed, still steaming, with leaves drifting slowly in the water. It was slightly hot upon entry. She set the cup down and didn’t reply, instead facing the direction of the mountain, listening to the movement outside.
A man sitting nearby noticed their behavior and asked, “Are you two also planning to enter the secret realm?”
Wen Chiyue, her back to the man, didn’t even turn around. “What’s it to you? What does it have to do with you?”
The man shook his head and said, “I’m just being kind. The secret realm opening this time isn’t something two weak women like you can participate in… I think you should go back to wherever you came from.”
Wen Chiyue was moved to angry laughter; even the tea in her belly didn’t seem as fragrant anymore. She had never been a sword spirit to suffer in silence. She let out an “oh” and asked, “You certainly have a lot of free time. Instead of worrying about how to find treasures in the secret realm, you’re worrying about us. Is it because your cultivation is so poor that you can only find satisfaction in belittling others?”
Bang!
The man slammed the table, stood up, and shouted, “You little brat, how dare you speak to me like that! I’m doing this for your own good. One of you is a blind woman with no cultivation, and the other has only luckily stepped onto the path of immortality and thinks she’s something special? Everyone here is a cultivator, and there are countless people here stronger than you. I advise you to watch your tongue.”
Wen Chiyue swayed her head leisurely. “Say what you want, but why use others as an example? Is it because your cultivation is inferior to mine?”
“Pah!” The man drew his sword. “With that measly cultivation of yours?”
Though he could sense spiritual fluctuations from Wen Chiyue, he couldn’t tell her exact level. It was either because she was far stronger than him, or she was too weak, perhaps just at the Qi Refining stage.
Given that she was bringing a blind person with no spiritual energy to such an important secret realm, he assumed it was the latter. This was why he dared to provoke her.
The man’s gaze lingered several times on Jiang Xiechen’s beautiful face before resting on Wen Chiyue’s figure. Beauty is in the bones, not just the skin, even with Wen Chiyue’s back turned, his years of “experience” told him both women were extraordinarily beautiful.
Greed stirred in the man, and he gave a lewd chuckle. “I say, why not just find a cultivator to marry? It could be considered a bright future.”
His gaze was too blatant. Wen Chiyue also slammed the table and stood up, shielding Jiang Xiechen. She looked at the man with a fierce glare and said word for word, “Look again? Look again and I’ll gouge your eyes out.”
The man sneered. “You?”
He suddenly paused, catching sight of Wen Chiyue’s eyes. Shocked, he stammered, “Your… your eyes…”
Before the words could leave his mouth, Wen Chiyue suddenly drew the fan from her waist. As if cutting through the wind, she leapt forward and landed right in front of the man.
The man instinctively tried to block with his sword, but he felt a shock vibrate through his palm. Wen Chiyue rapidly tapped his wrist and arm with the fan several times, forcefully shaking the sword from his grip.
The fan came to rest against the man’s throat.
Though it appeared to be an ordinary fan, the man felt an inescapable cold glint from it. His Adam’s apple bobbed, his throat was actually bleeding slightly.
Wen Chiyue said with a beaming smile, “What about me? Why did you stop talking?”