Chapter Index

    Thump—

    The little junior brother slammed his head against the stone wall of the alley, his forehead pressed against the stone as he screamed silently. Junior Brother Liu stared blankly into space, hugging his sword as he slowly slid down the wall, looking as if he had seen through the vanity of the world. Even Ye Cang looked overwhelmed, leaning against the wall with his heavy blade, contemplating the meaning of life.

    Only Lu Xiaoxiao, in her long dress that had been washed from deep purple to blue, held a brush in one hand and a folded piece of paper in the other. By the light of a wind lantern under the horse-head wall, she muttered to herself as she crossed items off her list.

    “…Went to the Silkworm Pavilion, hmm, the color’s not right, no good.”

    “…Went to the Snow Building, hmm, the pattern’s wrong, no good.”

    “…Went to the Jade Terrace, hmm, the wine’s fragrance is too vulgar, no good.”

    “…”

    The corner of Ye Cang’s mouth twitched slightly. He felt an overwhelming urge to cover his face and flee back to the sect overnight.

    The little junior brother beside him felt his legs tremble as he listened, and he turned his head in terror. “Sister Lu, Great Aunt Lu, my dearest great aunt, aren’t we going to Plum City to find Little Martial Ancestor? Let’s go quickly! What if Little Martial Ancestor leaves early and we miss him!”

    “That’s right,” Lu Xiaoxiao replied affirmatively, pulling four Flying Boat Passes from her sleeve. “It’s because I’m afraid of missing him that I specifically bought four passes for the ‘Startled Swan Colt Boat.'” Then, she began to count on her fingers for the three of them. “There’s no direct teleportation formation from Qianlai City to Plum City. If we set off now and fly on our swords to the nearest Pinecone City, and then wait for the formation there to open to go to Plum City, it will take a total of three and a half days. But if we wait for the Mountain Sea Pavilion’s Startled Swan Colt Boat to take off tomorrow morning and ride the Startled Swan Goose Boat directly to Plum City, it will only take two days!”

    The Mountain Sea Pavilion’s Startled Swan Colt Boat…

    Hearing this name, Ye Cang’s eye twitched, and the faces of the little junior brother and Junior Brother Liu turned ashen.

    Smack!

    “So!” Lu Xiaoxiao clapped her hands happily. “We still have one night and one morning to buy things! Hmm… it’s a gift for Little Martial Ancestor, so it must be carefully selected!”

    “Yes, yes, you’re right.”

    The other three nodded numbly.

    This wasn’t unusual.

    Many disciples from immortal sects, when returning to their sects after venturing into the martial world, would habitually bring back gifts for their elders. On one hand, it showed their sincere feelings; on the other, giving gifts to elders was, to some extent, a profitable “business”… After all, most elders doted on their disciples. Give them a gift worth three points, and the elders would give back something worth ten or twelve points.

    Often, a disciple would present a heavenly material or earthly treasure to their master, and in turn, the master would painstakingly refine it into a better pill for the disciple.

    A typical example was Medicine Valley.

    Of course, there were also those who used gifts to seek convenience, in exchange for techniques or status.

    This practice was once most common in the Mountain Sea Pavilion, and Pavilion Master Zuo Liangshi had repeatedly tried to ban it to no avail. It was only after Zuo Yuesheng, an old hand who knew the ins and outs of networking, became the new Pavilion Master that the situation was somewhat rectified.

    However, compared to the disciples from other immortal sects who racked their brains to find heavenly materials and earthly treasures, the disciples of Taiyi seemed a bit “odd.” They always liked to search for “unpresentable” “common things” to give to their Little Martial Ancestor. Usually, it was someone on a mission in a certain city who, while fighting and working, would take the time to wander the streets and alleys, looking for strange and unusual items.

    For example, a few bronze bells hanging under a tower in the Southeast Corner, or a pot of yellow crisp wine from a red clay alley.

    Or perhaps two or three rare and exotic flowers, or five or six frost flower stones with elegant water patterns.

    For this, the disciples of Taiyi were often ridiculed by other immortal sects behind their backs.

    They said that to present a broken stone or a couple of small bells to the Divine Lord was something only a Taiyi disciple would do.

    But he wasn’t the Divine Lord.

    He was their Little Martial Ancestor.

    The Little Martial Ancestor who loved to laugh, make trouble, and stir things up.

    The newly initiated disciples might not have seen it, but the senior brothers and sisters from before always remembered the years when the Little Martial Ancestor hadn’t yet descended the mountain. He would cause chaos in Taiyi all day long, like instigating a group to search for stones in the Mist River. Everyone searched for three months, disturbing the Horned Dragon Turtles in the river, and finally found all the feather stones in the Mist River to pave a path from the sect gate to the bell tower…

    Common things, unpresentable things, it didn’t matter.

    Taiyi was happy to please their beautiful Little Martial Ancestor, and what business was it of any other bastard?

    Lu Xiaoxiao was full of energy. She grabbed the little junior brother with one hand and Junior Brother Liu with the other, dragging them out. She didn’t forget to call out to Ye Cang, “Senior Brother Ye, hurry up! Let’s go check out the Flowing Light Pavilion!”

    “Wait—” The little junior brother grabbed the stone wall, hugging it for dear life. “You haven’t told us what we’re going to give Little Martial Ancestor! We need a goal, right? We can’t just search for a needle in a haystack, Great Aunt!”

    “Hmm…”

    Lu Xiaoxiao let go, resting her chin on her fist.

    “That’s a problem.”

    Given a moment of respite, the little junior brother and Junior Brother Liu immediately scurried behind Ye Cang, peeking out from either side with nervous expressions.

    Ye Cang, forced to be a human shield: …

    Before joining Taiyi, he had imagined the martial world to be a place of fighting and killing, of big bowls of wine and large chunks of meat, of coming and going in the wind and rain, where grudges were settled with a single slash of a saber, with a dash of chivalry and tenderness. But in reality, the true martial world was an endless mess to clean up, with wave after wave of idiotic junior brothers and sisters, a ground full of trivial matters, and a view full of foolish antics.

    It was quite disheartening.

    “…Qianlai City is famous for its washing stones, and its white soap made with wax has always been ranked first in the West Continent. Its quality is as pure as snow, as fine as condensed powder, and its molds are unique and exquisitely patterned, making it a good choice. In addition, although Qianlai Pine Wine is not listed in the world’s famous wines, it has a unique taste. Little Martial Ancestor enjoys wine, so it’s also a top choice.” Lu Xiaoxiao was exceptionally troubled. “But there’s a problem…”

    “Huh?”

    Lu Xiaoxiao spread her hands. “I’ve compared one hundred and thirty shops. Whether it’s the white soap or the Qianlai Pine Wine, we can’t afford any of it.”

    “What?!”

    The three of them exclaimed in unison.

    The little junior brother almost wanted to bang his head against a wall. Since you can’t afford it, what was the point of dragging us to over one hundred and thirty shops all afternoon?!

    “I just wanted to see if any shop was having a sale…” Lu Xiaoxiao said sheepishly. “If there was a sale, we could pool our money and afford it.”

    Ye Cang buried his face in his hands.

    Logically, Taiyi disciples were highly skilled and exceptional fighters. Even if the sect was poor, the disciples themselves could take on some bounties. They shouldn’t be so broke that they couldn’t even afford a piece of washing stone.

    The problem was, Taiyi produced saber and sword masters… and in this day and age, saber and sword masters were the most expensive. Casually quenching a saber or sword, fusing a new gold crystal or jade soul into it, would cost thousands of taels of gold. Poof, gone. And regularly going to the Heavenly Works Mansion to have the blades maintained and sharpened would cost another few hundred or thousand seal coins… Not to mention seeing a beautiful scabbard or a handsome, imposing sword tassel.

    In short:

    You can be poor in anything but your saber and sword.

    “So what do we do now?” the little junior brother scratched his head. “Are we really going to run all over Qianlai City to find a shop that’s having a sale…” The thought of that scene made him feel dizzy and wish for death. He quickly tugged hard on Ye Cang’s sleeve, his meaning all too clear: Senior Brother! Do something about her! Do something!

    Ye Cang… Ye Cang’s face also turned pale.

    He stood his ground firmly.

    He firmly maintained his demeanor as a senior brother.

    “Junior Sister, we don’t necessarily have to get the washing stone, white soap, or Qianlai Pine Wine,” Ye Cang said, drawing on his past experience with Little Martial Ancestor to show his authority. “Little Martial Ancestor’s tastes are quite broad. Miscellaneous notes, calligraphy, paintings, musical scores… why don’t we go look at the old book stalls?”

    “Hmm…” Lu Xiaoxiao pondered. “Senior Brother has a point…”

    The other three quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

    But Lu Xiaoxiao was now worried. To be honest, she got dizzy from reading, with storybooks being the only exception. But giving storybooks to Little Martial Ancestor… ahem, that would be a bit disrespectful.

    As she was pondering, they heard the loud sound of gongs and drums from the other side of the alley, from the bustling night market of Qianlai City, a sound that could be heard for miles. Then someone shouted:

    “—It’s starting! It’s starting! The martial arts competition for a painting is starting!”

    “—The new work of the West Continent’s number one painter, the grandmaster of the Idea-Form School, Mister Zhuang Jiuzhu, Western Continent Scenery Scroll, will be given to the winner of this competition!”

    “—A fine painting for a hero!”

    The four of them turned their heads in unison.

    ***

    The next morning.

    “Hoo, hoo…”

    A young man with delicate features and an outrageously flamboyant style of dress was sprawled on a table, fast asleep. Several expensive brushes were tucked behind each of his ears, and his sleeves were stained with ink, giving him the air of a world-class master.

    “Young Master! Young Master!”

    A young servant, his face beaming with joy, came running in, pushing the door open without any regard for etiquette.

    “Young Master! Good news! Great news! It’s sold! Your painting has finally been taken!”

    “What?”

    The young man shot up, and the brushes behind his ears fell to the floor with a clatter.

    “Sold?”

    “Yes, yes, yes!” The servant nodded repeatedly.

    “Did you hire someone? I’m warning you, if you dare to deceive this young master, you’re finished.” “How would this little one dare!” “Was it someone Master hired?” “No, no!” “Then was it Second Senior Brother?” “Immortal Elder Gu has gone to Qing Province, Young Master, have you forgotten!” “Then… was it Eldest Senior Sister?” “Eldest Senior Sister isn’t in the West Continent either!” “Then…” “…”

    After a long interrogation, the young man was finally convinced that the person who had taken the painting was a kindred spirit who appreciated his worldly-unrecognized artistic skills.

    “Hahahahaha! I told you so! It’s all because the world is ignorant and dull, unable to appreciate the beauty of this young master’s masterpiece!” The young man snapped open a folding fan with a swish, stood up gleefully, and asked impatiently, “Where are these kindred spirits? This young master must entertain them well!”

    “Uh…” The servant scratched his head. “They said they were in a hurry to see their elder and left early on the Mountain Sea Pavilion’s Startled Swan White Colt Boat.”

    Smack!

    The young man rapped the servant on the forehead with his fan.

    He scolded, “Such honored guests, and you… you didn’t even know to ask them to stay!”

    The servant felt wronged. “…Wasn’t I in a hurry to report the good news to you? You said so yourself, that if it was sold, you must be told immediately, otherwise you’d have my head.”

    The young man was at a loss for words.

    “Forget it, forget it!” He flicked his robes and hurried out. “The Startled Swan White Colt Boat, is it? This young master will go and catch them right now!”

    The servant, who was rubbing his bruised forehead, heard this and shot up, reaching out to stop him.

    “Wait—Young Master—Young Master!”

    The courtyard gate was empty.

    The wind blew, and a leaf swirled down.

    The servant’s hand was frozen in mid-air.

    Young Master…

    The Mountain Sea Pavilion’s Startled Swan White Colt Boat is indeed the fastest flying boat at the moment, but it has another name: the “No-Compensation Boat”!!

    Fast, but nauseating. Nauseating to death, with no compensation!

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