"Chirp, chirp... chirp..."
At the Incense Accumulation Sect's mountain headquarters, in a floating pavilion a little over a li behind the main hall.
Walkways linked the peaks, which rose like islands amid a boundless sea of mist, lending an ethereal air to the mountain scenery that morning.
The parrot-like Fragrance-Sensing Upside-Down Bird, clad in five-colored plumage, chirped merrily as she hopped onto Li Ling's finger and pecked at the feed he had prepared from flower dew and tiny grass seeds.
On the ground nearby, the two cats, White Lion and Flower Leopard, lifted their heads and stared with wide, unblinking eyes.
"Husband, after these past few days, the sect's affairs have finally settled onto the right track. At last, we can breathe easier."
A pleasant voice sounded outside the door. Mu Qingsi entered with graceful steps, wearing a long floral brocade dress, and sighed in relief.
"I'm certain now that neither of us is particularly good at these mundane affairs. Managing everyone's food, clothing, and daily expenses, along with everything needed for development, means wearing ourselves out over paperwork. If we truly managed it all, we'd inevitably waste time we should spend cultivating."
Li Ling turned toward her and smiled. "Not necessarily. Some cultivators have such powerful minds that they can handle a thousand trifling matters in a single thought, keeping every detail perfectly clear. It's just that worldly karmic entanglements are complicated. Once you step into the fray yourself, you're bound to get tangled in them.
"Besides, a sect always needs people who can plan well and make sound decisions to support it. If we travel abroad or enter secluded cultivation and cannot attend to things for a while, we need capable people within the sect to entrust them to.
"Such people must be consciously nurtured in ordinary times.