“Junior Brother Lin, proper business comes first. Otherwise, how am I to answer if the Grand Elder inquires?”
At these words, the purple-robed cultivator regained a bit of his sanity. He had no choice but to clench his fists, glare at Wen Li, snort in frustration, and sheathe his sword without speaking further.
Wen Li looked down at Yao Dai in her arms. “See? We must convince people with reason and embrace magnanimity.”
“Next time, I'll retreat behind everyone on my own,” Yao Dai said, nodding like a chicken pecking at grain as if she had received ultimate truth. “Master, you don't need to worry about me—just focus on slaughtering in all directions!”
“...”
Are you slaughtering them? You're clearly using us as human shields!
Everyone looked at each other, realizing they were all still frozen in absurd poses with twisted waists and sticking-out rear ends. Hurriedly straightening up, they coughed lightly and shifted their gazes away, pretending nothing had happened.
“Ahem...”
The air was thick with agonizing embarrassment.
This master and disciple were truly out of their minds, taking a mile after being given an inch.
Li Bincheng let out a long sigh as well. Suddenly, a realization struck him: What normal cultivator would line up behind beggars for free steamed buns?
It seemed he had overlooked something quite extraordinary.
But since things had already come to this, he could only bite the bullet, placate the crowd, and get down to business.
The Li family's primary business was vein mining.
A few days ago, one of their main mines was suddenly attacked. Countless workers lost their lives, their bodies horribly mauled as if bitten and devoured by some creature.
The workers who managed to flee said the attacker was enveloped in a giant cloud of pitch-black mist, making it impossible to see what it was. However, it moved with extreme speed, and the wounds on the casualties looked to be caused by the sharp claws of a ferocious beast.
Everyone suspected it was a demon beast.
Though the Li family retained a few cultivators, the nature of the demon beast remained unknown. Furthermore, those retainers were at most late-stage Foundation Establishment and had only promised to step in if the Li family faced total annihilation. Thus, Li Bincheng had no choice but to issue a broad bounty.
One of the cultivators asked, “How will the bounty be split? Are we supposed to act together and divide the three thousand mid-grade spirit stones among us?”
“No, no, no, this old man naturally wouldn't treat you so harshly,” Li Bincheng quickly explained. “You may travel together or separately. As long as someone captures the demon beast and resolves the crisis facing my Li Manor, each person involved may receive three thousand mid-grade spirit stones.”
His implicit meaning was that he hoped they would work together, as it offered a higher chance of success for both the Li Manor and themselves.
“Can you still be certain that the demon beast is near the main mine?”
Li Bincheng added, “That beast attacked the main mine three times and surrounding villages twice. Not only does it plunder spirit stones, but it also devours humans, leaving green blood wherever it goes. We infer that it is likely injured, meaning there is a high probability it will strike again.”
“The demon beast's strength shouldn't exceed the Second Realm Mid Stage. It is best if you all travel in groups, and the sooner you depart, the better, so as to prevent further harm. During this time, you are all welcome to lodge at the Li Manor.”
Demon beast realms ranged from the First to the Seventh Realm, with each realm divided into early stage, mid stage, late stage, and great perfection, corresponding to the ranks of cultivators.
The Second Realm Mid Stage of a demon beast corresponded to mid-stage Foundation Establishment for a cultivator.
“Do you have any further objections?”
“Since no one has—”
“Me! I do!”
Li Bincheng looked toward the voice, but Wen Li hadn't moved at all.
Yao Dai waved her hand. “Over here! Look down.”
“Oh, little friend, what question do you have?”
Everyone turned their gazes toward her. Could she possibly have some kind of clue?
“I want to ask... when dividing the money, do I count as a head?” Yao Dai twirled the edge of her skirt, flashing a bashful smile.
“...”
Everyone retracted their gazes, no longer holding any expectations.
Even Li Bincheng was stunned. Her, a tiny little kid, counting as a head?
Was she going to hurl a few insults at the monster and then hide behind everyone during the fight?
“This...”
Li Bincheng gave Wen Li an awkward look. After all, demon beasts were no benevolent creatures—what if something happened to this child?
Wen Li, however, nodded with gratification. “Since you want to go out and gain experience, go right ahead. Who knows, maybe you'll break through in the middle of fighting.”
If I'd known sooner, I would've taken on a few more disciples just to grab extra head-count fees. Whether in modern times or now, raising kids is expensive! Shouldn't I be meticulous with my budgeting?
Who says kids are useless? Even helping to spit on the enemy counts as contributing!
Don't discriminate against children.
Wen Li's words filled Yao Dai with anticipation, but they left the other cultivators utterly choked up with frustration. Break through in the middle of fighting? Listen to that! Is that human talk? They spent four or five years cultivating with all their might without guaranteed advancement, yet this little brat expected to break through from a single fight?
Then what are we? Jokes?
Dismissing it as mere coaxing for a child, the crowd sneered coldly and paid her no further mind.
They merely felt that this person sharing a name with the top of the Aptitude Ranking was truly night and day compared to the original—nothing more than an unreliable idle wanderer who fooled children with mouthy nonsense.
“Alright, alright. Then this little friend shall count as one too.”
Seeing that Wen Li had put it that way, Li Bincheng relented. Ah well, if he had to pay an extra three thousand mid-grade spirit stones, so be it—as long as the demon beast was dealt with. He only feared having money with no life left to spend it.
Without further delay, everyone set off immediately.
The other six cultivators departed together; with maps and communication devices on hand, they had no fear of losing their way.
Meanwhile, Wen Li picked up Yao Dai and was about to summon her immortal sword to take flight.
“Fellow Daoist Wen Li,” said the young cultivator in brown-and-gold robes, stepping forward. “I am Du Mojin, a fifty-second-generation disciple of the Lingjian Sect, and this is my junior brother, Lin Qing. I wonder if Fellow Daoist would be willing to travel with us? The four of us can look out for one another.”
Wen Li turned her head. She recognized Lin Qing as the one who had tried to attack her, and Du Mojin as the one who had stopped him. Lingjian Sect...
It was one of the four major cultivation sects in the Western Province, subordinate to the Grade Four Cultivation Kingdom, the Guiling Kingdom.
Cultivation kingdoms were ranked from Grade Three to Grade Seven. A Grade Four kingdom was already top-tier in the Western Province, requiring by regulation at least three Soul Formation Great Perfection cultivators and one early-stage Mahayana cultivator to oversee it.
Earlier, Du Mojin had mentioned a Grand Elder... which presumably meant the Grand Elder of the Lingjian Sect. For them to be so close to the elder and assigned out on missions, they had to be inner sect disciples at the very least, if not core disciples.
Before Wen Li could speak, Lin Qing, who held a grudge against her, expressed his shock first.
“Senior Brother, why must we travel with her? She's even carrying a dead weight! Our mission...”
“Sure.”
Wen Li nimbly hauled Yao Dai onto their flying boat, saving herself the effort of wasting spiritual energy to steer a sword.
An immortal sword was merely one type of flying spiritual tool, suitable for small numbers. When traveling with more people, different sizes of flying boats were required—or even flying warships that could accommodate tens of thousands.
Seeing her act so brazenly, Lin Qing clenched his fists in rage. But bound to obey Du Mojin, he could only sit as far away from Wen Li's pair as possible, maintaining a strict distance.
While he maneuvered the flying boat at the front, Du Mojin, clad in his brown robe, struck up a conversation with Wen Li.
“Forgive me for asking, Fellow Daoist Wen, but which sect do you hail from?”
Wen Li replied nonchalantly, “I belong to no sect or school. I'm just an unorthodox, loose cultivator who took an irregular path.”
Sitting beside her and clutching her arm, Yao Dai raised an eyebrow in silence.
Du Mojin, handsome and radiating a righteous air, showed surprise.
“For Fellow Daoist to enter the Dao on your own without a sect, your natural talent and opportunity must be extraordinary. I am impressed.”
This was no mere flattery. Drawing Qi into the body to enter the Dao required specialized guidance from experienced cultivators; making a single wrong turn could prove fatal, and even if one managed to enter the Dao, unstable Qi could lead to an early demise.
Moreover, the chance for a mortal to cultivate was impossibly slim.
However, loose cultivators were rare, and fighting alone made it exceedingly easy to perish.
Even Lin Qing, who was driving the vessel up front and disdained her, couldn't help glancing back at Wen Li with a bizarre expression.
Yao Dai bellowed at the top of her lungs, “Master, he's staring at you!”
At those words, everyone turned their eyes toward him.
“...”
Lin Qing's face flushed red, yet he stubbornly argued, “Who said I was staring at her? I was just trying to ask Senior Brother how much further we have to go!”
Prompted by this, Du Mojin looked ahead. Well, now—the other cultivators' flying boats were long out of sight, while theirs had barely flown a dozen meters. Sighing softly, he pulled out a map to calculate the distance.
Only to discover something else.
“Turn around,” he sighed. “We're going the wrong way.”
No wonder they couldn't see anyone else; the others were behind them.
“Ah, oh.” Lin Qing hastily turned the flying boat around.
“Hahaha! Master, he—”
Wen Li reached out and covered her mouth. “First read the Record of Western Province Wonders I gave you. You used excuses to slack off yesterday. If you can't recite it when I quiz you within seven days, I'll beat you.”
The punishment was simple and brutal.
“Mmh mmh!”
Yao Dai's eyes widened. With her mouth covered, she nodded frantically, hurriedly pulling out the book to bury herself in memorization.
Seven days? How is that any different from taking off your pants to fart? If Master wants to beat me, she should just say so directly!
At least then I could run away first!
Seeing how unusually the master and disciple interacted—the master not behaving like a master, the disciple not like a disciple—Du Mojin couldn't help laughing softly and asking out of curiosity:
“Fellow Daoist Wen, taking on a disciple at such a young age—could it be that your cultivation is extraordinarily deep? If so, we will have to rely on Fellow Daoist's full support later on.”
“You're too kind. My cultivation is ordinary,” Wen Li said calmly.
“I only took a disciple because I'm afraid that when I get old and loose-sphinctered, there'll be no one to wipe my pants.”
For once, Du Mojin failed to maintain his composure, his expression fracturing completely. “...”
It was his first time hearing a cultivator state such a reason for taking on a disciple.
Du Mojin couldn't help coughing lightly, offering an awkward smile.
“...Fellow Daoist Wen is truly... quite straightforward.”
Even Lin Qing, who was listening intently up front with his ears pricked, almost choked to death on his own saliva.
How could a lunatic like this share the exact same name with the idol at the top of the Aptitude Ranking in his heart?
He had almost thought he was meeting the real deal—it was a total insult to his idol!
Rate on N.U.
