CH 5.2

“mountain and sea sect disciple, if you don’t sheathe your sword, leave at once!” the leader of the patrol team shouted angrily.

the blade wind slashed ruthlessly at xiao qi, sending him back more than ten steps.

xiao qi’s expression grew solemn. he swiftly drew the wrapped sword from the package and threw it into the air.

quickly wiping his shoes’ soles and the silk robe covering his body with a dust-removing spell, he leaped onto the sword, soared into the air, and said, “senior sister lin shuang, i take my leave. in a few days, after i borrow my senior brother’s sword, i’ll come to find you again! if there’s something urgent, i’ll contact you through the voice-transmitting stone.”

lin shuang blinked, caught the communication stone, and waved a hand toward the sky.

in mid-air, there was a cold snort.

lin shuang looked up and saw the leader of the patrol team. his black martial outfit was disheveled, with the third button of his left lapel tangled with the second button of his right lapel. the first button was undone, revealing an uneven inner shirt and the side of his collarbone.

his black boots were mismatched—one leather and one dark surface, differing in height by half an inch.

his entire appearance was disheveled as if he were drunk.

however, this person happened to possess a pair of narrow peach blossom eyes, the slightly red corners of his eyes exuding a flirtatious allure. his black and white pupils were distinct, brimming with youthful spirit. at this moment, from midair, he looked down at lin shuang with a gaze that carried a hint of scrutiny.

“outer sect disciples, listen to the instruction!”

his voice was clear, carrying a tone of admonishment. three strands of silver thread in water-like patterns were embroidered on the buttons crossing over his collar.

he was at the third layer of foundation establishment.

“focus on cultivation and avoid unnecessary interactions with unrelated people!”

lin shuang uttered a sound of understanding, nodded, and quickly turned back into the wooden hut.

“disastrous, talking to unrelated individuals has wasted five breaths of resting time!”

“???”

the peach-blossom-eyed patrol leader’s brow twitched, and his chest heaved.

“meng senior brother, the outer sect doesn’t fall under our jurisdiction. why bother meddling?” the patrol disciple behind him said, puzzled.

the peach-blossom-eyed senior brother turned around immediately, “return to the inner sect!”

however, as he was leaving, he quickly shot out a wooden plaque from his right hand, landing it in the spiritual field not far from the wooden cabin.

what do you understand?

saving one life is saving one life.

does it mean that disciples from other sects are not human? is he just indifferent to their fate?

—quickly leave lin shuang. if you don’t advance, you’ll regress. living with her will only weaken your path of cultivation!

—kind-hearted person, please stay.

the wooden plaque lay lonely in the spiritual field.

zhao kehan went out to buy food at night and happened to step on it. she suddenly looked around but didn’t see anyone.

“the 309th wooden plaque… it’s been three years.”

“who is this kind-hearted person? where did senior sister offend him?”

“village chief, rest assured, i will strive to cultivate diligently.”

meng zi, in his black martial outfit, carried a broadsword as wide as his back. returning to the inner sect’s dwelling, he caressed a small totem image that was half-human and half-snake in his hand.

thinking about lin shuang’s appearance just now, his brow wouldn’t stop twitching.

she was in the clearwater sect, benefiting from an excellent cultivation environment, and receiving three hundred spirit stones per month. yet, she wasted her potential, her cultivation stuck at the third layer of condensation for many years without making any progress.

the few times they had encountered each other during patrols, she was either reading a celestial script or looking at some “golden carp sect master” illustration book, and listening to music played on her sound-cultivating qin.

meng zi closed his eyes.

when there’s a flood, drown in it. when there’s a drought, die from it.

she was so inattentive like this, disregarding the guidance of her transmission master and affecting the disciples around her. did she even realize how many children outside the sect wished to seek the dao, yet lacked the chance to start their studies?

meng zi shook his head with a sigh.

“meng senior brother, several disciples within the sect have responded to your task of acquiring third layer condensation talismans.”

meng zi was contemplating within his inner sect bedroom when a shy voice, like a clear spring, sounded from behind him.

he turned to look at his handsome junior brother who lived with him. a hint of sympathy flashed in his eyes.

putting away the village chief’s wooden carving, he focused on this petite and timid white-robed junior brother standing before him.

“xiao bai, you have entered the inner sect and left lin shuang for many years. now that there’s no one pressuring you to live with her, have you truly considered it? are you sure you won’t revert to your female form?”

upon hearing this, xiao bai’s face turned slightly red.

he lowered his head and remained silent

meng zi sighed, “fine. it’s up to you.”

poor xiao bai, a little clam spirit with innate beauty. eight years ago, after living with lin shuang for several months in the outer sect’s wooden hut no. 99, he couldn’t endure it anymore.

in order to move out of cabin no. 99 in the outer sect, he even forced himself to mature prematurely, changing his gender. from that point on, he transformed from a maiden in red robes into a young man.

from the day he matured and became a young man, xiao bai’s once black hair turned white overnight, he broke through to the fifth layer of the foundation establishment, and began living in the inner sect with him.

all these sacrifices were thanks to that woman, lin shuang.

today, xiao bai had somewhat escaped from his ordeal, but zhao kehan, a promising disciple, was still struggling in the mire.

“don’t worry, i saw lin shuang today. give her ten years, and i’m afraid she won’t even enter the inner sect.”

meng zi stood up, patting xiao bai’s thin shoulder.

“her cultivation is low; she might even be expelled from the outer sect.”

xiao bai looked up, his deer-like eyes flashing with obvious confusion.

his delicate and handsome face, seemingly fragile but already at the fifth layer of foundation establishment, was filled with disagreement and doubt.

however, he hesitated to speak his thoughts and eventually sighed, condensing his thoughts into one sentence.

“meng senior brother… you’d better stay away from her.”

“alright, today was just a chance encounter during patrol.”

meng zi opened the trading list for gathering spirit symbols and began to carefully browse.

xiao bai instantly felt relieved.

his gaze passed through the bedroom wall, looking southeast towards the outer sect. his expression was complex.

staying away from her was best because—

“her cultivation speed… is too fast, she’s not even… human.”

faster than monsters born with inherited bloodlines!

time management, efficiency guidelines… every day, she cultivates at a speed dozens of times faster than others and then just lies down!

as xiao bai thought about it, his long butterfly-like eyelashes trembled.

“hmm?” meng zi looked up. “what did you say?”

a beautiful but somewhat reluctant smile graced xiao bai’s lips.

when meeting her, there was a world of difference.

the more self-confident someone is the greater their inner demons.

not knowing anything is the best.

being the only one hurt is enough.

xiao bai silently walked to his meditation cushion, sat down cross-legged, and began absorbing the essence of heaven and earth. “senior brother, don’t ask, you won’t want to know. i’m cultivating.”

“speaking in riddles.”

meng zi shook his head.

however, since xiao bai had lived with him, he had proven to be attentive and gentle. he often transformed his tears into spiritual stones, helping him through difficult times.

he owed his kind-hearted junior brother bai a lot.

【credit account: junior brother bai’s 102 tears — approximately 1020 spirit stones. 】

meng zi glanced at the rough wooden card with a carved iou inside the tattered mustard seed pouch, sighing involuntarily.

he immediately switched the list of sect talisman exchanges he was browsing to be arranged from lowest to highest price.

【third layer condensation talisman (lightly used), 700 spirit stones. 】

【third layer condensation talisman (damaged, clearance price), 950 spirit stones. 】

…

meng zi browsed through, feeling both heartache and hesitation.

the lower-priced ones were severely damaged, and their durability was uncertain.

but soon, his eyes brightened when he saw a seller offering detailed information and an unusually cheap price.

【third-grade gathering spirit talisman (unusual), 1200 spirit stones. slightly different appearance, please, refrain from negative comments. 】

【effect: equivalent to standard three-grade. if practiced without breaks, usable for ten days at the mid-grade foundation establishment, and three months at the lower-grade foundation establishment. once used, the talisman disintegrates and cannot be repaired. 】

this was a good choice!

although it was marked as ‘appearance is different’, sounding a bit peculiar.

but the duration of use was clearly explained by the seller, and the price was reasonable.

he immediately messaged the talisman seller disciple on the sect’s trading platform.

【the most generous one】: brother, is trading convenient for you now?

【the most generous one】: would you mind if we trade privately?

meng zi carefully added spacing symbols between the restricted words on the sect trading platform.

whenever a trade occurred on the sect trading platform, the sect deducted a 10% commission, split evenly between the two parties.

private trades avoided this.

the seller replied quickly.

【the fastest immortal woman】: time and place.

【the most generous one】: night, inner sect — south — dog’s den — treasure, got it?

【the fastest immortal woman】: okay.

prompt and decisive.

truly living up to being the fastest woman.

meng zi showed admiration in his expression.

*

the night was dark and the wind was high. in room no. 99.

lin shuang placed down the disciple’s waist token in her hand, walked to the square wooden table, and lowered her head to inspect the cinnabar seeping into the wood grain.

satisfied, she nodded, then put the square wooden table into her mustard seed pouch.