Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Kid Who Cries Gets Candy

Rong Shu answered with a guileless face: “Alright, I’ll go right away.”

At the same time, she sighed inwardly: [Ahh, Senior Sister Yu has gotten smart; she even sent someone to cut me off.]

When Rong Shu arrived at Joyous Hall, she discovered there was actually a maidservant inside.

The maidservant went in to report, and after a moment Yu Ruan Ruan emerged from the hall, the same sweet smile on her face as she called out: “Junior Sister!”

Rong Shu cupped her hands in salute: “Senior Sister Yu.”

Yu Ruan Ruan got straight to the point and explained why she had called for Rong Shu: “Junior Sister, I teamed up with our Third Senior Brother to take a task. We are going to Scarlet Sun City to help someone capture a batch of low-grade spirit beasts that fled into the mountains. With Third Senior Brother along there won’t be any danger, so I wanted to invite you to come with us.”

The System had already informed Yu Ruan Ruan that in Scarlet Sun City, Rong Shu would have a chance encounter with the handsome and dashing young city lord and that the two would become kindred friends.

But as of now, the one who would get to meet the young city lord of Scarlet Sun City could only be her, Yu Ruan Ruan.

She could sneak over by herself, of course, but the System had said that if she snatched the opportunity fated to belong to Rong Shu right in front of Rong Shu’s eyes, the effect on weakening Rong Shu’s fortune would be even better.

When she and Scarlet Sun City’s young city lord showed up arm in arm before Rong Shu, Rong Shu would definitely be envious and jealous, right?

By then, Rong Shu’s fortune would certainly be diminished.

Rong Shu refused without a second thought: “Senior Sister, I’ve had some recent insights and want to go into seclusion for a while, so I’m afraid I can’t go. Also, I’ve accepted a sect task and won’t be able to hand it in for another half month.”

Go down the mountain?

She thought to herself: [With my measly cultivation at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, going down the mountain is way too dangerous.]

[This isn’t just wandering around near Heaven’s Evolution Sect; it’s a trip hundreds of miles away to Scarlet Sun City, and we won’t be back the same day. If something delays us, I might not return to the sect for ten days or half a month.]

Having been rejected by Rong Shu so many times, Yu Ruan Ruan was prepared and said smoothly: “Junior Sister Rong, we can wait until you finish your sect task, then depart for Scarlet Sun City.”

Rong Shu hesitated visibly: “That doesn’t seem right. How about we forget it, Senior Sister Yu? I don’t want to delay you and Third Senior Brother.”

Yu Ruan Ruan put on a very considerate air; her tone was sweet yet left no room for refusal as she said: “Third Senior Brother just formed a contract with a new spirit beast and needs some time to get in sync. In half a month we’ll go to Scarlet Sun City together to complete the task.”

With things said to this extent, it would seem a little heartless for Rong Shu to keep refusing.

Rong Shu began to ponder.

Scarlet Sun City was one of the twelve main cities of the Southern Wastes.

Back on Spirit Gathering Peak during lectures, she had heard a sect elder speak about the current power balance in the Southern Wastes.

As one of the twelve main cities, Scarlet Sun City had a large population, a prosperous economy, thriving commerce, and even stationed a branch of the Alchemists’ Guild there.

At that thought, Rong Shu’s brows eased: “Since Senior Sister Yu is graciously inviting me, it would be rude to refuse; I’ll accept.”

“Good, then in half a month I’ll come find you, Junior Sister.” Seeing her goal achieved, Yu Ruan Ruan’s delight showed on her face, and she didn’t keep Rong Shu any longer.

After leaving Joyous Hall, Rong Shu kept thinking about the Alchemists’ Guild branch in Scarlet Sun City as she walked back to her little courtyard.

Ever since deciding to pursue the path of an alchemist, she had been paying attention to information in that field.

Heaven’s Evolution Sect was not a sect focused on the pill path. Though there were alchemists in the sect, they were few, and the sort that you practically never saw; Rong Shu had no way to learn alchemy within the sect.

She later learned about the Alchemists’ Guild that spread across the Southern Wastes—a non-sect organization that gathered the vast majority of the region’s alchemists, possessed the most complete stock of spiritual herbs, and maintained the most comprehensive system of alchemical knowledge.

Most importantly, the Alchemists’ Guild offered free, open foundational alchemy courses; any cultivator with a Fire Spiritual Root or a wood spiritual root could audit the classes.

Within the Alchemists’ Guild there were not only pill rooms, but also sales of Pill Furnaces and spiritual herbs to ensure alchemists could refine in peace; finished pills could even be sold back to the Guild.

“Making a trip to Scarlet Sun City wouldn’t be a bad idea after all,” she murmured.

Going out on a task naturally carried risk.

But if the benefit outweighed the risk, then it was worth taking a gamble.

Of course, Rong Shu could not go to Scarlet Sun City unprepared; she had to minimize risk as much as possible.

[Even with Third Senior Brother along, it still isn’t foolproof. At the fourth layer of Qi Refining, I’m far too weak by the standards of the cultivation world.] Once so satisfied with her recent breakthrough, Rong Shu now scrunched up her little face, quite displeased.

If she said this aloud, she would definitely get mobbed by the whole outer sect.

Three months after entering the sect and already at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

That was lightning-fast cultivation speed.

Even those with single-attribute spiritual roots weren’t this fast.

Not to mention that Rong Shu was also juggling cultivation of the dark, fire, wood, and a bunch of other miscellaneous elements.

Suddenly thinking of something, she halted mid-step, then turned and headed toward the Hall of Heartlessness.

For a disciple’s first time going far afield on a task, especially with a pitiful first-layer Qi Refining cultivation that could get her killed by accident, her Master, the number one expert of Heaven’s Evolution Sect, ought to show some consideration, right?

With that guilt-free mindset, Rong Shu requested an audience with Jun Xiu Ran and, in a few words, explained why she had come.

Upon hearing that a little first-layer Qi Refining disciple planned to go out on a task, Jun Xiu Ran immediately frowned.

Rong Shu looked troubled as she spoke: “It’s all because Senior Sister Yu invited me so warmly, Master; it would be hard for this disciple to refuse.”

At that, the word “nonsense” that was about to leave Jun Xiu Ran’s mouth stuck in his throat.

He looked again at his newly accepted disciple; those eager, pleading eyes made him fall silent for a moment before he flicked a hand and sent out a streak of white light.

The white light landed before Rong Shu and became a thin Talisman.

“This is a Defensive Talisman,” he said, “it will automatically block three lethal attacks from below the Golden Core realm, or one full-power strike from a Golden Core cultivator.”

“Many thanks, Master.” Rong Shu accepted it with a bright smile, then casually added: “Master, Third Senior Brother has an Azure Sky Falcon that can fly. When the time comes, will we ride the Azure Sky Falcon to Scarlet Sun City? Wouldn’t that be too exhausting for the Azure Sky Falcon? The lecturing sect elder on Spirit Gathering Peak said Heaven’s Evolution Sect is very, very far from Scarlet Sun City.”

Jun Xiu Ran: …

Why did that sound a little off?