Within Origin Sect's mountain gates, there was a specially made flying boat for disciples whose cultivation was not yet profound. Refined from spiritwood over a hundred years old that naturally carried a wisp of Spiritual Energy, these boats ranged from several zhang to dozens of zhang in length and could carry anywhere from a dozen to nearly a thousand people. Dedicated disciples operated them, traveling back and forth on schedule between many fixed locations within the sect, making it easier for low-cultivation disciples to travel and handle affairs.
Early in the morning, Qingchu arrived at the flying boat station nearest Embedded Spirit Lake, where Lin Xiao lived, clutching a thick stack of papers covered in writing. She caught the first flying boat bound for Medicine Mountain, twelve hundred li away. The disciple piloting the boat sent it soaring into the air on time, speeding toward the east.
The flying boat was incredibly swift. In less than two incense sticks' time, it landed in a courtyard built before a vast expanse of mountains. Qingchu carefully thanked the boat-piloting disciple, who had Golden Core Stage cultivation. Hugging the stack of papers, she followed the edge of the courtyard, taking tiny steps along the foot of the wall toward the Great Hall on the northern side.
This courtyard completely blocked the only valley passage leading into the mountain range behind it. It had front and rear sections and covered roughly ten mu of land. Eighteen halls stood in a row at its center, while groups of young men and women in coarse blue Daoist Robes, medicinal hoes on their backs, gathered from every direction. Led by Daoists in green robes, they passed through the courtyard and entered the mountains through the valley behind it.
Yao'er lowered her head and slipped through the courtyard like a little mouse, doing her utmost not to draw anyone's attention. Her body was hunched over, and when she walked slowly, she nearly curled herself into a ball of flesh. Thus, she carefully edged forward step by step along the wall.
High in the air, Lin Xiao stood atop a streak of red light, expressionlessly watching Qingchu cross the courtyard with such caution. For no reason at all, an unpleasant feeling rose in his heart.
The destruction of the Great Luo Pill Dao and Yao'er's death had ground Lin Xiao's heart into a wasteland. Yet he was only eighteen years old, and the emotions innate to human beings could not be so easily extinguished. The pitiful Qingchu was like a tiny seed falling into Lin Xiao's barren heart, bringing him a trace of vitality that was incomparably precious to him now. Lin Xiao harbored no unusual feelings toward Qingchu. He simply regarded her as someone he needed to protect, much like the little dog he had once owned.
To the present Lin Xiao, Qingchu was a spiritual anchor, keeping his mind from utterly falling apart and allowing him, at the very least, to retain the emotions a living person ought to have.
Qingchu peered around below the steps before the Great Hall at the center of the courtyard for a while. Only then did she cautiously climb the steps, truly like a little mouse stealing rice, and scurry toward the third hall on the right. But before she had run even two zhang, several green shadows shot over from the side. A small hand abruptly grabbed Qingchu by the shoulder, flung her high like a scarecrow, and after she swung in an arc through the air, slammed her heavily onto the ground.
"Ah!" Qingchu cried out softly. After being thrown into the air, swung in a circle, and then heavily cast to the ground, she felt sharp pain jolt through both legs. Her entire lower body was numb and sore, completely without feeling. Instinctively clutching the papers in her arms, she lowered her head and repeatedly bowed. "Senior Sister Xiu, Senior Sister Ya, Senior Sister Jie, Senior Brother Xiong, Senior Brother Ying, good morning!"
A beautiful young girl in a green Daoist Robe raised her hand lazily and lightly brushed her temple. Her features were as picturesque as a painting, yet the corners of her brows and eyes carried an overbearing arrogance. She said coldly, "Little green-faced girl, why didn't you come clean my room yesterday? Hm? From yesterday afternoon until now, there hasn't been a trace of you. Where did you run off to play?"
Another girl, with two thick brows and a face as rugged as a man's, gripped Qingchu's shoulder hard and shouted, "You ugly little green-faced freak! You didn't help weed my medicinal garden yesterday, and it got me scolded bloody by Martial Uncle! Tell me, was it unfair for me to throw you down like that today?"
A third girl, who appeared timid and frail as a willow in the wind, leisurely extended a finger. Her slender, pointed finger lightly pinched Qingchu's earlobe and slowly twisted it. She giggled. "Little Qingchu, little Qingchu, when did you suddenly grow so bold? Heehee, Senior Sister Jie told you to help wash her Daoist Robe, and you actually dared forget?"
Besides these three girls, two handsome youths in green Daoist Robes stood with their arms folded over their chests, sneering continuously at Qingchu. After a while, one of them finally said with a cold laugh, "Ugly freak, Princess Xiu, County Princess Jie, and Miss Ya were all very angry yesterday! Tell us yourself, how should you be punished this time?"
The other youth gave a strange chuckle. "Three lashes, perhaps? Or~~~" He reached out and lifted Qingchu's chin with his finger, turning the right side of her face toward himself. Looking only at Qingchu's right cheek, she truly was a lovely and adorable little beauty. The youth swallowed hard, and a lewd smile suddenly flashed across his face. He laughed in a low voice. "Or, tsk tsk, if one only looks at this half of your face, you are rather a sweet little beauty who makes people want to cherish you! Anyway, your aptitude is insufficient, and you'll never receive profound Daoist teachings. As for your maidenhood~~~"
"Hm?" Princess Xiu snorted coldly and shot the youth a glare. Then she abruptly slapped Qingchu across the face, sending her staggering and crashing miserably to the ground. Princess Xiu lifted her chin proudly and glanced at Qingchu from the corner of her eye with a sneer. "You little slut, you've already learned how to seduce men? Don't you take a look at what you look like! Hmph, you certainly won't have any good fruit to eat today. What are you holding in your arms? Hm? You disappeared for an entire day yesterday just to busy yourself with these things?"
Miss Ya, rugged as a man, snatched the thick stack of papers Qingchu had been clutching tightly. She flipped through them with a "kaka" laugh. Seeing that they were merely densely filled with the names of various medicinal ingredients and their quantities, she casually tossed the papers away and slowly placed her foot upon Qingchu's tender, fair hand.
As her foot gradually pressed down harder, Miss Ya laughed strangely. "Little slut, Princess Xiu said you won't have any good fruit to eat today! Hehe! You secretly slipped out to play yesterday and accidentally fell from a mountain rock, breaking your arm. Look, wasn't Senior Sister Ya thoughtful enough to plan it all out for you? Hehe, do you want one arm broken, or both?"
Qingchu had been so frightened that she could not make a sound for a long while. Great tears spilled from her eyes, and only when she felt the pain in her arm did she begin to sob. "Wuwu, I didn't run out to play. It was... it was Patriarch Yi Yi who sent someone to take me away. Wuwu, Patriarch Yi Yi wanted me to do something."
At the sudden mention of Daoist Yi Yi, Origin Sect's chief administrator of internal affairs, the three women and two men were all badly startled. Princess Xiu's face twitched as she shouted, "Nonsense! What sort of person is Patriarch Yi Yi? He would send someone to find a useless little girl like you? What utter nonsense! Ya, stomp and break both her arms and one of her legs. Let her lie obediently in bed for a few days, and see whether she still dares spout such nonsense afterward! Hmph, Patriarch Yi Yi? Even with my status as a princess, meeting Patriarch Yi Yi is as difficult as climbing to heaven, much less for an ugly freak like you!"
Miss Ya grinned excitedly, opening her mouth wide, and was about to stomp down and break Qingchu's arm.
Lin Xiao descended slowly from the sky atop his sword light, landing directly behind Miss Ya. In a lifeless, dry voice that was hoarse and unpleasant, he said, "I can testify that Qingchu is telling the truth. Senior Yi Yi truly did ask her to do something. There is no falsehood in this."
The young men and women turned around and stared at Lin Xiao in surprise. They had not seen him descend on his sword, so they still swept their lofty, arrogant, hostile gazes disdainfully over him. County Princess Jie, delicate and frail enough to be toppled by a gust of wind, gave Lin Xiao a timid glance and called out softly, "Where did this lowly wretch come from? You dare speak before us? Do you know who we are? What are you supposed to be? You think you can testify for this ugly little freak?"
Having suffered the calamity of his sect's destruction twice in succession, Lin Xiao's temperament had changed drastically. Though he had not fallen into demonic madness and become a bloodthirsty killing fiend, his heart had become extremely cold and indifferent—almost inhumanly so. Hearing County Princess Jie's words, Lin Xiao merely said flatly, "I am no one. I testify for Qingchu because everything she said is true. Who are you? I do not care!" His right hand lashed out as fast as lightning. Five green shadows flashed, and amid five crisp slaps, the three women and two men wailed and flew away together.
Although Lin Xiao's cultivation had fallen by more than half, he had still formed a Golden Core. Moreover, his body had been tempered by heavenly fire, making him far stronger than ordinary cultivators. With a casual wave of his hand, he could exert several hundred jin of force. These slaps had been delivered with all his strength—each carried over a thousand jin of force!
One princess, one county princess, one young lady, and two young male followers all opened their large and small mouths at once, spitting out more than thirty fragments of jade. Lin Xiao's slap had knocked out every tooth in their mouths. Blood gushed from their ruptured gums like spring water and trickled down from the corners of their mouths. Lin Xiao had used too much force. Not only had their teeth been knocked out, but cracks had also been driven through their cheekbones. Their faces rapidly swelled before the eye.
The three women and two men screamed mournfully on the ground. Yet because Lin Xiao's slap had cracked their jaws, they could not even open their mouths to scream. In the end, their cries could only burst from their nostrils, becoming frantic grunts like those of wild boars gone mad.
With a light sweep of his sleeve, a gentle wave of air rolled up the scattered papers from the ground and returned them neatly to his hand. Lin Xiao grabbed Qingchu by the shoulder and pulled her, still sobbing continuously, up from the ground. He gently patted her head. "When I saw you leave, you seemed very frightened, so Big Brother Lin followed to see what was happening."
Qingchu swiftly wiped her face with her sleeve, drying away the tears. She blinked rapidly, forcing the tears in her eyes to disappear. Still sniffling softly, she nonetheless squeezed out a smile and looked at Lin Xiao. "Attendant Lin~ Mm, Big Brother Lin, th-thank you! But they are all~" Qingchu fearfully stretched out her little hands and tightly gripped Lin Xiao's sleeve.
"A princess? A county princess?" Lin Xiao's expression did not change as he faintly tugged at the corner of his mouth. "So what if it were the princess's father? I imagine my head weighs a little more than all the heads in her entire royal household put together." After suffering one great upheaval after another, Lin Xiao's nature had begun to change, and even the way he viewed things had undergone a certain transformation.
No one could say whether this transformation was good or bad, but at the very least, after acquiring this strange change, Lin Xiao's chances of surviving in the cultivation world had grown much greater.
"Oh?" Qingchu stared blankly at Lin Xiao, not daring to continue the conversation. No matter how she thought about it, she could not understand why Big Brother Lin's head would weigh more than all the heads in Princess Xiu's family combined. Princess Xiu was the youngest princess most beloved by the current emperor of the Qi Dynasty. The entire Qi Dynasty royal household probably numbered hundreds of thousands of people, didn't it?
What was Big Brother Lin's head made of? How could one person's head weigh more than the heads of hundreds of thousands of people combined?
Lin Xiao took Qingchu's hand and headed toward the third hall on the right. He could not be bothered to look at whoever was lying on the ground. He simply strode forward, casually stepping on Princess Xiu's face, then on County Princess Jie's chest, and even kicking the vicious Miss Ya unconscious in passing.
As for the two young male lackeys, Senior Brother Xiong and Senior Brother Ying? Lin Xiao had no need to do anything more. When he had delivered those slaps, he had given the two of them special attention. Half their skulls had been shattered. Even with spiritual pills to treat them, they would not be getting back on their feet for at least half a year. Their obscene words had thoroughly enraged Lin Xiao. He had only barely restrained himself from killing them outright.
Inside the third hall, an old man in green clothing—Uncle Li, whom Qingchu had mentioned—accepted the papers Lin Xiao handed over and slowly flipped through them.
Gradually, the smile on Uncle Li's face froze. He stared blankly at Qingchu, then foolishly at Lin Xiao, and asked in shock, "Qingchu, you said just now that he is?"
Before Uncle Li, Qingchu was clearly much more relaxed. A truly happy smile even appeared on her timid little face as she said softly, "Big Brother Lin is a newly appointed Attendant of our sect!"
Without saying a word, Lin Xiao took a purple-jade token from his sleeve. It was the Consecration Token Daoist Yi Yi had left with Qingchu yesterday for her to give Lin Xiao.
Uncle Li's face twitched. He gave Lin Xiao a dry smile and bowed before asking somewhat blankly, "This old man, Li Le, the fifth steward of Medicine Mountain, pays respects to Attendant. The medicinal ingredients listed on Attendant's order are not precious, but the quantities are truly rather frightening. May I ask what Attendant requires so many medicinal ingredients for?"
"The quantities are frightening?" Lin Xiao casually pulled out a sheet of paper and pointed at the words, "Licorice, one million jin," frowning. "Is this quantity frightening?"
Li Le gave a dry laugh. "Licorice is not worth much, but one million jin... Even if it is being used in medicine, how many people would have to consume it? What is more, even the smallest quantity on the medicine list you issued is one hundred thousand jin of Purple Heart Grass. This, this~~~" Li Le glanced again at the Consecration Token in Lin Xiao's hand. That was right, he had not seen incorrectly. It truly was an Attendant's token issued by Origin Sect. With this token, one could mobilize a portion of Origin Sect's resources and manpower. But the medicine list Lin Xiao had produced was simply too terrifying, wasn't it?
Three thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight kinds of commonly used medicinal ingredients, and even the smallest quantity was one hundred thousand jin! Heavens, what was he trying to do?
Lin Xiao lightly shook his head and said flatly, "Prepare the medicinal ingredients for me. I will explain this matter to Daoist Yi Yi."
Having said that, Lin Xiao casually tossed the Consecration Token before Li Le, then turned and led Qingchu out of the hall. He said evenly, "I need these medicinal ingredients to refine pills and get some practice. Mobilizing this many ingredients will likely cause you some trouble, so use my Consecration Token to handle it."
"Refine pills? Get some practice?" Li Le was nearly frightened unconscious by Lin Xiao's words.
What sect had produced this monstrous Attendant? So many medicinal ingredients, merely to practice with?
Li Le shook his head, picked up the token, and carefully tucked it into his robes.
As he watched Lin Xiao lead Qingchu away, a kindly smile gradually appeared on his face. Qingchu might have found herself a good master after all.
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