Chapter 60: Someone Fulfills the Appointment
On the thirteenth day of the winter month, atop Azure Leaf Peak.
Inside the cave dwelling, Song Yan sat with disheveled hair, soaking in the warm pool, soothing the fatigue brought on by long days of bitter cultivation.
He raised his right hand out of the water. A gentle stream of sword qi circulated around his fingertips, between his fingers, across the back of his hand, and around his wrist.
This was a small trick recorded in the complete Five-Star Spirit Vein Seeking technique, capable of training the flexibility of one’s divine sense during ordinary times.
“Hum…”
The sword qi detached from his right hand. Song Yan raised his left hand, preparing to catch it.
“Bang!”
A snake shadow burst out of the warm pool from below, snatching the sword qi in its mouth before plunging back into the water.
“…”
Song Yan smiled helplessly.
The little green snake secretly surfaced, its pair of eyes looking at him smugly.
“Heh heh~ You lost.”
Strangely enough, although this sword qi was sharp, Xiao He was able to catch it in her mouth without being harmed.
Song Yan scooped up a handful of clear water and wiped his face, asking casually, “Where were you hiding?”
On the other side from where the little snake had popped up its head, a soft snake tail emerged from beneath the water.
The flawless sword qi was circling slowly around Xiao He’s tail.
“Xiao He, you might just be the descendant of some very powerful demon beast…”
Song Yan considered this seriously. “Otherwise, how could you be so different from other spirit beasts?”
“Of course.”
Xiao He took this to mean that she was very powerful.
“Can’t you cultivate? I’ve seen those spirit beasts and demon beasts, and they all seem to be able to cultivate demon arts.”
“I can’t…”
Hmm… but considering it from this angle, the previous possibility was very unlikely.
Because the descendants of those ancient and powerful demon beasts seemed to inherit the demon cultivation methods through their bloodline, learning them naturally once they awakened spiritual intelligence.
“Maybe I should find an opportunity to let Xiao He start cultivating demon arts too…”
Currently, Xiao He’s offensive and defensive methods relied entirely on her demon beast instincts, not demon arts.
Song Yan was pondering this when his mind suddenly stirred.
“…Hm?”
There was someone outside the door.
Song Yan stepped out of the warm pool. Spiritual energy surged around his body, dissipating the water vapor, and then he casually threw on a robe.
Walking out of the cave dwelling, a familiar-looking girl stood before him.
“You?”
Song Yan’s tone was neither cold nor warm. “I thought you’d run off with my three spirit stones.”
Sewing a Dao robe was only three to five days of work.
But now, nearly half a year had passed.
Clearly, as a transaction, she had broken her word.
The freckled girl’s robe was somewhat dirty, even shabby. Her gaze darted away, seemingly a bit embarrassed.
“I… I came to deliver the Dao robe.”
From her equally worn traveling bag behind her, she took out a very clean Dao robe and handed it to Song Yan.
She didn’t even have a Cosmos Bag?
Song Yan thought to himself that this girl was really poorer than he was.
“Why so long?”
He accepted the Dao robe and placed it in his Cosmos Bag.
The freckled girl seemed to find an opportunity and hurriedly explained, “I wanted to sew water-repelling formation patterns onto the robe, but I couldn’t afford the materials…”
“So I went alone to the Flame Mist Mountain Range to search for them, fell off a cliff, lost my way…”
Song Yan paused. “I don’t recall making that request.”
The girl looked stubborn. “If I were only sewing an ordinary Dao robe, then I would be no different from a mundane tailor.”
“Heh…”
Call her foolish if you will, but with such a low cultivation level, surviving three or four months in the Flame Mist Mountain Range and still coming back alive…
Despite clearly looking like she couldn’t even afford food, Song Yan didn’t know where this girl got her self-imposed pressure and pride.
However, three spirit-grade stones, a new Dao robe, and with water-repelling formation patterns at that…
He had profited regardless.
“Alright then… thank you.”
Song Yan nodded and turned to go back into the cave dwelling.
“Ah, this… Senior Brother.”
“Hm? Is there something else?”
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. It’s really…”
Song Yan waved his hand, cutting her off. “There’s no need. Fortunately, I’ve been staying in these days and don’t change clothes often, so let’s just call it even this time.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother. Then… if you need more Dao robes sewn in the future, or if friends or your Dao companion need robes made, could you…”
Song Yan raised an eyebrow.
So she wanted him to recommend her.
“…”
Although there had been some accidents and it took a long time, this young girl’s attitude toward her craft of sewing truly made Song Yan feel a certain respect.
“Alright, what’s your name?”
This was the first time Song Yan saw such joy on this stubborn young girl’s face.
“My name is Ju Luyi.”
…
Back in the cave dwelling, Song Yan tried on the robe for a while.
It was very comfortable and fit perfectly.
Spiritual energy surged, condensing water, and he splashed it toward the Dao robe. The water seemed to hit some invisible barrier and dispersed in all directions.
“…”
Ju Luyi.
A very interesting fellow Daoist.
He took stock of his possessions: pills, spirit stones, the illusion formation for setting up a temporary cave dwelling…
Having packed everything, Song Yan walked out of the cave dwelling.
Today was also the day of his appointment.
Following the mountain path outside the sect, he descended to a small pond at the edge of the foothills.
“…”
Song Yan thought he had arrived early, but unexpectedly, Wu Huaguo and Rong Xiaofeng, the married couple, had already been waiting there.
“You two, long time no see.”
The couple stepped forward and cupped their fists in greeting. They were about to call out “Fellow Daoist Tong,” but suddenly remembered it was a fake name.
“Mm…”
Song Yan pondered for a moment, then spoke his real name. “I am Song Yan.”
That white wolf mask had been truly uncomfortable to wear. Once the night market ended, he had thrown it away.
A false name could not fool this married couple, and there was no need for that. So he did not intend to hide his identity. They were going to cooperate anyway, so he might as well be open about it.
“Fellow Daoist Song.”
Rong Xiaofeng laughed heartily. “Rest assured, Brother Song. In front of the others exploring the cave dwelling with us, we will still call you ‘Fellow Daoist Tong.’ How about that?”
Song Yan nodded. “Then I thank you both.”
What surprised Song Yan was that the couple’s names seemed to be… their real names.
…
Thirty to forty li east of here was a small gathering place for independent cultivators called Spirit Creek Market.
Usually it was a gathering spot for cultivators from small surrounding sects and independent cultivators in the nearby mountains. If the Spirit Source Marsh Night Market was the “grand fair” for cultivators in the area, then Spirit Creek Market was an ordinary small fair held every day.
According to what Wu and Rong had said, the organizer of this expedition was a very strange person.
“That person has late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, yet he says he only wants two ink treasures from the cave dwelling…”
It was said that among the ten people in this group, he was the only one at the late-stage Qi Refining realm.
Song Yan frowned. “Could this person be lying, using this as an excuse to lure us there and then kill us…”
He did not know from when his gentle nature had started to make him suspect the malice of fellow cultivators in the cultivation world.
“That’s what makes it the strangest.”
Wu Huaguo shook her head. “What he said was actually the truth.”
Song Yan paused, nearly forgetting.
This extraordinary woman had the ability to discern whether others spoke truth or lies…
“That really is strange…”
He had the strength and standing to seize the greatest share, yet he only wanted two items for nurturing the mind?
It wasn’t that this was bad, but rather…
He could have taken everything.
Song Yan startled himself with this thought.