Whether Hu Yan could actually hear words spoken so softly from so far away or not, it was still ill-advised.
The earlier remarks could pass for Zhang Erguo introducing things to a newly admitted junior brother who had seen little of the world. But if someone overheard those later, sordid rumors, they would take considerable offense.
Jiang Che did not think the rumors were true, either.
If Hu Yan really was having an affair with some Qi Refining disciple from the main sect, as the salacious rumors claimed, why would she come to Ailin County to risk her life gathering resources?
Besides, whether the story was true or false, and whatever sort of person Hu Yan was, none of it had anything to do with Jiang Che.
She was a late Embryonic Breath Period cultivator, with all her apertures open and her Gang Force formed, and she was leading this expedition. Once they reached Ailin, if any danger arose, they would be relying on this senior sister to hold the line. If they earned her resentment by spreading inappropriate remarks and ended up dead later, they would have only themselves to blame.
Four hours passed in a flash, with several more people arriving along the way. The final count came to eighteen.
When the time came, Hu Yan called out, and the group filed out of the tavern. They followed the town's main street onto the southbound official road and headed straight for Ailin, eight hundred li away.
Along the way, Jiang Che also worked out the composition of their group. Apart from Senior Sister Hu, there was one other disciple from the upper courtyard. The branch courtyards supplied the most, with nine, while the remaining seven were all from the lower courtyard.
Not one was in the early Embryonic Breath Period. Everyone had at least reached Transforming Force, and besides the two from the upper courtyard, one of the branch courtyard disciples had actually reached Full Aperture as well.
The Azure Mystic sect mission to Ailin remained posted in Verdant Mist Hall year-round, and anyone could accept it.
Whenever the deadline arrived, however many people had accepted the mission would assemble in Xuanxia Town and set out together. Among the registered disciples taking the mission that round, the one with the highest cultivation and greatest seniority would be chosen as leader.
Jiang Che and Zhang Erguo had signed up just before the final deadline for this round.
Zhang Erguo might have been wavering beforehand, and perhaps he had also feared that signing up too early would let Yan We iwan find out, making her difficult to persuade. There was no need to dwell on that.
Jiang Che, however, had come prepared.
He had chosen this round precisely because he reckoned he could reach Transforming Force.
Otherwise, going to Ailin without even the strength of mid Embryonic Breath would have been far too risky.
Today counted as their departure date. Under the sect's orders, they had to reach Ailin, eight hundred li away, within seven days.
This was a military order. Anyone who missed the deadline would be executed.
Covering eight hundred li in seven days would be quite a challenge for ordinary people. For cultivators, however, even those in the Embryonic Breath Period, traveling over a hundred li a day was no real problem, despite having no horses, no Flying Boats or flying swords to use, and certainly no ability to fly through the air.
Even if something unexpected happened along the way and delayed them, they would have Swift Travel Talismans prepared to hasten their pace.
Zhang Erguo had prepared some, including a share for Jiang Che. Otherwise, if something happened on the road and they were executed for missing the deadline, their deaths would be a truly bitter injustice.
As for their mission, it was actually quite simple.
After arriving, they had to stay for a full three months and follow the Ailin steward's orders in everything they did. Once those three months were up and the next batch of mission-takers arrived, their assignment would be complete, and they could return.
They could keep their spoils, and rewards would be given upon their return according to their performance. Even if they accomplished nothing noteworthy, the basic payment was generous, provided they committed no offenses and did not desert.
It was fitting compensation for the mission's dangers, certainly far better than the few spirit stone fragments they could earn doing menial work in the sect.
Nothing went wrong along the journey. They even arrived a day early. By dusk on the sixth day, Ailin County lay before them, and from afar, everyone could see a lone city lying silent beneath the evening light.
Arriving early gave them room to breathe, but solemnity settled over them all the same.
This was a notorious mill of flesh and blood, and they were its raw material, destined to grind against the endlessly spawning demonic creatures within.
Who knew how many of them would walk out three months later?
Two squads of armored soldiers stood at the city gate. They checked the documents, then verified everyone's waist tokens one by one. Only after confirming that everything was in order did they let them through.
Inside the city, most of the people coming and going were armored soldiers. Ordinary people were relatively scarce, and even they hurried along. The whole atmosphere was solemn and severe.
It looked less like a county town than a fortress.
Indeed, the present-day Ailin had been converted from a military encampment. The old border town, once reasonably prosperous, had been destroyed in the demonic calamity, and its original site was elsewhere.
The group hurried to Azure Mystic's Ailin Hall, where someone received them and led them into the main hall.
The outer sect's staffing in Ailin County was little different from elsewhere: one steward and two managers, three Qi Refining cultivators in total, formed the core of its garrison.
Today, however, only Manager Du was present. The other two were away from the county on important business.
When Jiang Che heard that the manager's surname was Du, something stirred faintly in his heart. When he saw the man in person, it really was him!
The former outer sect steward of Willow Source, the Qi Refining Cultivator Du Yongchang!
Du Yongchang saw Jiang Che too. His gaze paused briefly, then quickly shifted away.
He stood and explained a few rules. Essentially, since they had arrived early today, there was no need to rush into work; they could rest for a day. Tomorrow, once the registered disciples who were due to leave returned, they would carry out the handover.
At the end, he added evenly, "Go and get settled. Jiang Che, stay behind."
Before leaving, Zhang Erguo glanced back. Jiang Che gave him a slight shake of the head, and only then did he follow the others out.
Only the two of them remained in the hall.
Jiang Che spoke first. He offered a proper bow and said, "Steward Du, I've kept you in my thoughts ever since we parted in Willow Source. I wanted to see you off when you left, but I missed the chance. After arriving at Azure Mystic, I asked around, but never heard where you'd gone. I never expected to run into you here."
"I appreciate the thought. After Willow Source, I was confined within the sect for half a year, then sent off here. Thinking about it, I arrived only three months before you. You can go back after three months, but I have to stay for three full years."
Jiang Che understood. It all matched his suspicions.
Meeting him in Ailin might be called a coincidence, but it made perfect sense.
Few Qi Refining Cultivators wanted to stay in a wretched place like Ailin, so offenders were usually forcibly exiled here to atone for their mistakes. Du Yongchang fit that description. Being confined for half a year and then dumped here was entirely normal.
"It was my inadequacy as a disciple. If I'd found the clues sooner back then, perhaps things would have turned out differently."
Everything Jiang Che said was mere courtesy, but Du Yongchang still found it pleasant to hear.
He waved a hand. Rather than reminisce further, he brought up something else. "I asked you to stay because there's something I need to tell you."
"Please go ahead, Lord Du."
"You've come at a bad time. Here in Ailin, residual demonic energy has never stopped spawning demonic beasts, but over the past three months, the situation has grown increasingly dire. It's not just that ordinary demonic creatures corrupted by demonic energy have become more numerous. There are even signs of a True Demon appearing."
"A True Demon?!"
Jiang Che was quite startled to hear those words.
After reading some comments on the latest chapter, I gave it some thought. The setup in these transitional chapters does seem to have run a little long. When I reviewed it myself, it felt fine and flowed fairly smoothly into the later developments. I overlooked how the experience might be somewhat less satisfying with daily updates.
But the setup does serve a purpose. These are all fairly important characters in the next arc and the one after that, and I've planted some clues as well. I hope you'll bear with me, dear readers...
I'll post an extra chapter over the weekend to get into the main plot sooner. That might help.
After this chapter, there'll be two more tonight.
Before you continue