Eldest Sister, Second Celestial Master

Reading his sign fortune, Lei Jun was curious.

Going beyond the mountain to help with disaster relief and disease prevention was a Supreme Good Fortune Sign.

Conversely, choosing to make ink at the Talisman Ink Workshop led to a Lower Middle Auspicious Sign—he might be caught in the crossfire when the city gate caught fire and the fish in the moat suffered.

To avoid this calamity, he could either take the day off, return to his little courtyard, and lie flat, taking on no assignments or training at all.

Or he could go beyond the mountain to assist with disaster relief.

"Junior Brother Lei, you haven't claimed an assignment either?" Zhang Yuan entered the Hall of Affairs at that moment.

He had actually arrived long ago, but had never decided which assignment to take. He had been waiting for Lei Jun.

Who would have thought that after waiting and waiting, the good assignments had all been claimed, leaving only two thankless tasks by the time Lei Jun arrived.

But the moment he saw Lei Jun, Zhang Yuan immediately perked up.

When Elder Du opened the altar, Zhang Yuan had been the most eager. In the end, among the Dao children of Sixth Courtyard, he had been injured the worst, and later had needed Lei Jun's help to treat him.

During the hunt for the bandits, he had learned from his setback and dared not act rashly again. Instead, Lei Jun had charged bravely ahead, and Lei Jun's group had received the first-merit commendation.

Thinking back on it, Zhang Yuan felt half regretful and half envious.

They usually got along well, and Lei Jun had helped him before. He was not so resentful of Lei Jun as he was jealous of Chen Yi. He merely felt that Lei Jun's luck was truly excellent.

"Which one are you planning to choose, Junior Brother Lei? Shall we go together?" Zhang Yuan made up his mind. This time, he would follow Lei Jun's banner to the death and cling tightly to his thigh.

Whatever Lei Jun did, he would do the same!

"Since coming up the mountain, I haven't gone down it yet. I'll choose this one."

Lei Jun selected the assignment to provide disaster relief at Green Cloud Ripple River Beach beyond the mountain.

Zhang Yuan paused in his breathing, then took a deep breath. "I'll choose this one too!"

After the two received their assignments from the Hall of Affairs and made some preparations, they headed to the outer mountain gate.

At the mountain gate, the Dao children also bound for Azure Cloud Marsh had gathered. There were not many of them, but still more than a dozen.

After the Yellow Robe True Disciple Daoist from the Main Mansion on the mountain gave the Dao children a lecture, they formed up and set out.

Once they reached Azure Cloud Marsh, there was no real need for disciples of Celestial Master Mansion like them to serve as laborers. Stewards and shopkeepers from beyond the mountain naturally deployed workers, organized relief efforts, distributed porridge and medicine, and isolated and eliminated disease.

The Taoist Priests from Celestial Master Mansion, including Dao children like Lei Jun, served more as auspicious ornaments, directing and supervising.

Such a group of immortal-looking Taoist Priests and red-lipped, white-toothed boys constantly soothed the people's hearts, making the common folk more settled and even more grateful for the heaven-sent grace of Daoist immortals.

For Lei Jun and the others, although they did not need to exert much effort, close contact with disaster victims still exposed them to all the myriad faces of the mortal world. It counted as a different kind of journey to temper their hearts amid worldly dust.

Here, they could see the brilliance of human nature, as well as much of its ugliness.

Most Dao children did not want to come, mainly because the environment was harsh and noisy.

After staying for many days, not only were the morning and evening lessons at the Dao Child Courtyard neglected, but they also had little time or suitable surroundings for personal cultivation.

Lei Jun did not mind the environment. His state of mind was steady, and aside from the duties assigned to him, he spent most of his time observing his surroundings.

He discovered that the hired hands, porters, and physicians at Azure Cloud Marsh were all ordinary mortals.

But those stewards and shopkeepers all appeared to possess some Qi Refining cultivation.

"They also once attended lectures at the Dao Child Courtyard."

A young adult Daoist in an Apricot Yellow Taoist Robe stood beside Lei Jun and spoke softly.

"Only those with affinity are brought to Dragon Tiger Mountain. Dao children who reach the Dao Child Courtyard beneath the mountain often have something commendable about them.

"But the world is turbulent, and people's hearts are ever-changing. As time passes, all kinds of accidents may ultimately occur.

"So when some later grow older and see no hope on the Dao path, they can only leave the mountain. The sect then arranges for them to oversee its businesses outside the mansion."

The yellow-robed Daoist was precisely the True Disciple of Celestial Master Mansion leading this expedition.

Lei Jun actually knew him. During the previous mountain search and encirclement, the team Lei Jun had belonged to had been led by the now-dead Young Daoist and the Taoist Priest Luo before him.

Taoist Priest Luo had advocated holding their original positions, while the Young Daoist surnamed Gao had led people out to actively search for the fugitives.

Although Lei Jun had chosen to strike out with High Daoist at the time, Taoist Priest Luo had not been dissatisfied because of it.

On the contrary, seeing Lei Jun participate in disaster relief now, he admired him all the more, feeling that Lei Jun was a young man with righteousness in his heart and the courage to shoulder responsibility.

Thus, as Taoist Priest Luo looked at Lei Jun, who stood tall and clearly towered over the other Dao children, he encouraged him warmly.

"Though you entered the sect to cultivate the Dao a little late, you have progressed quickly. There is no need to be anxious. The Ordination Ceremony is held once every three years. Even if you miss next year's ceremony, there will still be opportunities later. You need only cultivate diligently."

Lei Jun said, "Thank you for your guidance, Taoist Priest."

Two days later, another True Disciple of Celestial Master Mansion arrived at Green Cloud Ripple River Beach with several Dao children on assignment.

They brought surprising news.

Yesterday afternoon, another incident had occurred at the Dao Child Courtyard.

A mass brawl had broken out among the Dao children in the Talisman Ink Workshop.

Zhang Yuan had a headache. "What terrible luck. Why have there been so many disturbances this year?"

Lei Jun asked, "What exactly happened?"

One of the newly arrived young Dao children said, "First, people from First Courtyard and Eighth Courtyard started fighting. Then more and more people joined in. Fellow disciples from other courtyards were in the Talisman Ink Workshop too, and they all got involved. Even two from our Sixth Courtyard..."

"First Courtyard? People from First Courtyard never take assignments at the Talisman Ink Workshop." Zhang Yuan was puzzled at first, then remembered something. "Wait, Eighth Courtyard... could it be..."

Lei Jun listened silently, watching the young Dao child gossiping.

The other party nodded vigorously. "It was people from First Courtyard who started fighting with Senior Chen Yi of Eighth Courtyard. Then more and more people were swept in.

"In the end, the Taoist Priest on duty at the Talisman Ink Workshop was alerted. The matter became huge, and everyone involved in the brawl was sent to the Discipline Office."

"All of them?" Lei Jun asked.

He remembered that the Taoist Priest on duty at the Talisman Ink Workshop during this period was a Li Clan Disciple.

"I think Chen Yi and the others were sent to the Discipline Office first to face the wall and reflect, but then someone from the mansion on the mountain was alerted, and the people from First Courtyard were punished with confinement too," the Dao child recalled.

Lei Jun asked, "Which Taoist Priest was rumored to need the Pure Gold Spirit Mushroom from Spirit Mushroom Platform for alchemy?"

Zhang Yuan looked around and lowered his voice. "It seems to be a Daoist Li..."

There were quite a few Taoist Priests and elders surnamed Li on Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Under normal circumstances, the title "Daoist Li" did not refer to any specific person. Rather, it broadly referred to Li Clan Disciples who had formally become True Disciples of Celestial Master Mansion.

After hearing Zhang Yuan's words, Lei Jun said nothing more. He merely watched the young Daoists continue whispering among themselves.

Looking back now, the branching paths of fate had drifted farther and farther apart.

Some of Chen Yi's present experiences all stemmed from the Pure Gold Spirit Mushroom that had sprouted when Spirit Mushroom Platform revived.

Or rather, from Lei Jun's Middle Middle Auspicious Sign:

Do not join the excitement. Wait quietly for the right moment. After the sudden upheaval, go to Spirit Mushroom Platform, and you may obtain a Sixth Grade Opportunity. But a tall tree catches the wind, inviting envy and concealing future trouble. Ordinary fortune.

That so-called future trouble had continued to this day.

From Chen Yi being ambushed and intercepted during an outing for training, to now being targeted by the Li Clan Disciples of Dao Child First Courtyard, the conflict between both sides had only deepened.

Still, it could not be said that it was all because of Chen Yi alone.

During the earlier theft at Dao Child First Courtyard, although a higher-ranking traitorous elder had incited it, at its core there had already been accumulated conflict between disciples with the Li Surname and those of Other Surnames within Celestial Master Mansion.

After the theft and arson at First Courtyard, that conflict had undoubtedly intensified even further.

The thief was already dead, but certain Li Surname disciples of First Courtyard had a bellyful of wicked fire with nowhere to vent it.

Then Chen Yi, a Dao child of Other Surnames who already had other grudges with them, beat to death or injured Dao children of Third Courtyard who had attached themselves to Li Family disciples. That made the Li Family disciples burn all the more to beat down this bird that dared stick its head out.

No wonder the latest sign fortune had mentioned that when the city gate caught fire, the fish in the moat suffered.

Once both sides fought red-eyed, Dao children of Other Surnames who had been in the Talisman Ink Workshop could also have been caught up in it.

Its eventual development into a massive brawl was essentially an eruption of the conflict between those with the Li Surname and those of Other Surnames in the Dao Child Courtyard.

Just as the sign fortune had said:

Lower Middle Auspicious Sign: Go to the Talisman Ink Workshop to make ink. When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer. Freedom is temporarily lost, and hidden dangers are buried. Inauspicious.

Even if they had not wanted to fight, those present would likely have been swept up in a single net by the mansion's elders afterward, punished, and locked in confinement for several days first.

But none of this had anything to do with Lei Jun now.

He had long since stood upon another fork in fate's road.

Over there, people could beat each other's brains into dog brains; it did not disturb the peaceful years over here.

The Lower Middle Auspicious Sign had already come true. Now, he only had to wait for his Supreme Good Fortune Sign.

Lei Jun stopped listening to the gossip and went to patrol the river beach.

"Rumble!"

The sky suddenly darkened.

Lei Jun looked up. A Jet-Black Thundercloud had somehow arrived overhead, blotting out the sky.

The Jet-Black Thundercloud looked familiar to him. He had seen it once shortly after first transmigrating.

Sure enough, just as before, the thundercloud came swiftly and went swiftly, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Yet a person suddenly appeared before Lei Jun.

She was a woman in a Light Purple Daoist Robe, draped in a black cloak. Her pale, bloodless young face was as exquisite as a painting.

But when Lei Jun saw her, his first feeling was of coldness seeping through his entire body, as though he stood naked on a snowy night.

Yet he felt no discomfort. Instead, he smiled. "Eldest Sister."