Yu Xueshan returned to her quarters and happily tended to the flowers and plants she had grown. Gu's words earlier had not affected her in the slightest. After noon, she lit a stick of spirit incense and meditated for two Xia-hours.
The moment the time was up, she emerged from her meditation almost at the exact instant the spirit incense burned out. She then picked up the sweet fermented milk she had prepared beforehand and drank it sip by sip, feeling her mood rise once more from the tranquility after meditation into cheerfulness.
Just then, a voice suddenly called from outside the window, "Yu Xueshan, Yu Xueshan."
She looked over and saw that it was a Creation messenger bird. It had an extraordinarily large, easily recognizable head and a thick, curved beak, giving it a somewhat comical appearance.
Because of the contaminating nature of Chaos methods, Mystic Chaos Heaven was not permitted here. In this region inhabited by tens of millions, people could only communicate by the methods used in the past—flying talismans, Creation devices, or crystal jade transmissions. Fortunately, the region did not span too vast an area, and messages could arrive almost instantaneously, so nothing was delayed.
Seeing that she had noticed it, the messenger bird said again, "Instructor Fan summons you. He has questions for you."
Yu Xueshan gave an oh. Unhurriedly finishing her sweet drink and tidying herself up a little, she left her quarters. She followed the descending jade stairs, crossed stone pillars spanning ravines above rushing waterfalls, and arrived within a garden. A black-clad steward was already waiting there. When he saw her emerge, he said impassively, "Follow me."
Yu Xueshan followed him and soon met a young instructor who looked to be around thirty, dressed in a white scholar's robe. Approaching him, she