She blinked, wondering if what she'd seen was just an illusion.
She looked at the jade slip again. No, she hadn't misread it.
She closed her eyes and opened them once more. Still the same, not a single word out of place!
Why?!
She looked up at the task elder, wanting to ask, but not knowing where to begin.
"Little Junior Sister, why are you just standing there?"
Lin Qingfeng's voice sounded behind her again, though she hadn't noticed him approach.
You can't freeze up!
You're the only proper NPC our sect has. We're at a critical stage in the sect's development, so you can't hold up your contribution to the sect!
Su Ling'er's heart gave a little jolt.
Senior Disciple Brother, could you please stop suddenly appearing behind me every time?
It's scary, okay?!
She vented furiously in her mind, but clutched the jade slip and asked hesitantly, "Senior Disciple Brother... this task... why is it still the same two?"
"Didn't I just finish cleaning?"
Lin Qingfeng raised an eyebrow.
There was no helping it. Other daily sect tasks wouldn't unlock until the NPCs' combined Contribution Points reached 500.
Right now, the sect had only one NPC: Little Junior Sister.
Until she earned enough Contribution Points to reach 500, she'd have to make do with doing these same tasks.
He worked out how to get Little Junior Sister to keep at it of her own free will. After rummaging through the impressive-sounding quotes in his head, he looked at her again.
"That's how it is."
"Little Junior Sister, do you know why sword cultivators practice the same motions—drawing and swinging their swords—day after day?"
Su Ling'er froze.
"Because the path of cultivation isn't about seeing how many sights you can take in. It's about whether your foundation is solid.
"Only after swinging your sword ten thousand times can you grasp its essence.
"Sweeping leaves and carrying water are the same."
"The sect doesn't have you repeat these two tasks to make you work for nothing. It's testing your perseverance and patience.
"Only when you can do the most tedious, ordinary tasks without a ripple in your heart, and see them as cultivation itself, will your Dao foundation truly be secure."
"All new disciples go through this.
"This is the foundation-laying method of the Gui Xi Sect."
He looked at Su Ling'er and smiled warmly.
"Go on, Little Junior Sister."
"Don't overthink it. Put your heart into understanding the 'true meaning' behind it."
"Your senior brother will be watching you the whole time!!!!!"
Su Ling'er stared at him, at that face practically radiating the air of an enlightened master.
A foundation-laying method?
A test of perseverance?
Yeah, right! You rotten old devil, you're full of it!
Could you please stop emphasizing that you'll be watching me the whole time?!
You clearly just want to see me show the slightest bit of dissatisfaction, so you can punish me even more horribly the very next moment!
And then you'll stand by and enjoy watching your poor Little Junior Sister being forced to submit!
Cruel!
Vicious!
Pah!
Su Ling'er didn't dare ask anything else, or hesitate again.
"Senior Disciple Brother, I nearly failed to appreciate the sect's good intentions. I'll get to it right away!"
With that, she didn't linger. She turned and headed back along the path she'd come by.
But she could always feel his gaze fixed on her back, as if an endless abyss were watching her.
The third time, she got the same task.
The fifth time, it was still the same task.
The tenth time...
The fifteenth time...
When she accepted the twenty-seventh task and set off along the flagstone path to her destination, her pace slowed without her realizing it.
This path...
The ancient trees on either side, the moss patterns on the flagstones, even the oddly shaped rock at the bend...
Why did it all look so familiar?
She frowned, a strange feeling rising in her heart.
Was it an illusion?
Or did all the secluded paths around the sect simply look more or less the same?
She pushed aside her doubts and continued on.
But when the outline of a familiar courtyard finally came fully into view at the end of the path, she stopped dead.
This was it!
This was the very courtyard she'd cleaned on her fourth trip!
She couldn't be mistaken!
The locust tree by the entrance and the few clumps of weeds in the corner were exactly as she remembered them!
But that was impossible!
She'd just cleaned this place spotless!
Why had they sent her here again?
She hurried into the courtyard.
The flagstone path was still covered in fallen leaves, just as it had been the first time she came.
A gust of wind swept through, sending a few leaves tumbling to her feet.
The smile that had appeared when she'd thought about finishing the task with ease stiffened.
She hurried to the corner. The pile of leaves there had long since vanished.
Then she turned and ran to the back hill. Nine copper vats stood there, silent and still.
Under the sunlight, the sides of the vats were dry and gleaming bronze. Inside... there was nothing!
They were all empty!
How was that possible?!
The nine huge vats of water she'd filled herself—every last drop was gone!
The wind lifted her hair, but she didn't feel the slightest chill.
Something was wrong. Definitely wrong!
What on earth had happened?
Why were the courtyard's fallen leaves back, and the vats empty, after so little time had passed?
Su Ling'er investigated for a long time, but couldn't find the slightest clue.
Senior Disciple Brother didn't show up to explain either, so she had no choice but to keep sweeping the leaves and filling the vats.
Whenever she tried to stop for a rest, Senior Disciple Brother's figure would inexplicably appear behind her.
Just as he'd said, he was watching her the whole time.
As soon as she showed the slightest sign of slacking off, he'd suddenly appear and remind her to keep contributing to the sect. He'd even say, "Work a little longer, and you won't have to do this task anymore."
She'd heard that line dozens of times by now.
By the seventy-second time, Su Ling'er's movements had grown somewhat stiff.
She kept waving her hand, sending a whirlwind through the fallen leaves; she kept forming hand seals, sending a water dragon to fill the copper vats.
Then she accepted another task and arrived at yet another location.
This was the courtyard she'd visited on her forty-third task.
She couldn't understand why a sect occupying just one mountain peak had so many empty courtyards.
It was as if they existed solely to be swept and have their vats filled.
And sure enough, this place was covered in fallen leaves, and the vats were empty again.
She kept repeating the same tedious labor. With Spiritual Power, it wasn't tiring, but the endless repetition still left her mentally exhausted.
You're an Evil Cultivator Demonic Sect that kills people, refines pills, and even uses living people to forge things. Do you really have nothing better to do?!
How can you be so obsessively particular about keeping the sect grounds clean?!
And if you're going to have someone clean, at least pick a courtyard where people live!
No one lived in these courtyards, and no one was on the back hill. Who was she cleaning it all for?
The ghosts?!
Did these leaves grow legs or something?
She swept up one batch, and another batch grew right back!
Were these trees eight-hundred-year-old monsters?
Dropping eight hundred years' worth of leaves in a single day!
And these water vats—was someone drinking all the water?
Or were you using it to feed spirit beasts?
What on earth happened here?
Before you continue