Guardians of Mountain and Sea - Chapter 20

After entering the city, Lin Pu, with Wan Xiang perched on her shoulder and the little cat in her arms, found an inn to rest.

She had already inquired and learned that taking the teleportation array from Songzhou would lead directly to the heart of the continent. After another half-month of travel, she would reach the eight hundred miles of the continuous Feather Mountains, entering the territory of the Feather Mountain Sword Domain.

Although her spiritual robe had a self-cleaning function, Lin Pu was about to return to her sect, so she asked the waiter for water and took a long, comfortable bath.

Once she had finished and felt refreshed, she noticed Wan Xiang standing dejectedly on the windowsill, letting out a couple of low chirps.

She walked over and scratched Wan Xiang’s neck with her index finger. The spiritual bird gently pecked at its master’s fingertip.

“I know you miss the Cold Sparrow, but Senior Sister Lingyi has her own matters to attend to. Once she finishes her business, she has to return to the Demon Sect. We cannot travel together for the next part of the journey.”

Feather Mountain was in the heart of the Central Region, while Lonely Cry Mountain was in the far north, separated by a vast distance. Moreover, Lin Pu’s goal was to return to her sect, while the Demon Sect true disciple needed to stay at the Songzhou Spiritual Treasure Gathering to find water-attribute items to aid her cultivation. Their paths no longer aligned.

The waiter knocked and entered to deliver food. Looking at the guest by the window, he smiled and said, “You must be here for the Spiritual Treasure Gathering as well, right?”

Though a mortal, the waiter had sharp eyes. Seeing Lin Pu empty-handed save for a cat and a bird, he guessed she was a cultivator with a storage pouch. Having seen many people in Songzhou, he could distinguish between different types of cultivators. This young woman had eyes that glowed with divine light, and her manner was polite and poised. She carried herself with an indescribable brightness and dignity. He reckoned she was a well-bred disciple from a major sect.

Thinking of this, the waiter said warmly, “Although the main gathering starts tomorrow, the night market has already been set up in the city. Many people are buying and selling treasures. A few days ago, it was rumored that a rogue cultivator found a hidden gem in the night market—an excellent spiritual tool! Won’t you go take a look, Fairy?”

After chatting with the waiter for a few more minutes, Lin Pu walked to the window after he left. Her amber eyes were clear, reflecting the bright lights of the mortal world.

She pondered for a while, then turned back and said, “Since we leave tomorrow anyway, let’s go browse the night market tonight. Senior Tiger, do you want to come out and play too?”

The little cat covered its ears and burrowed into the blankets.

Humans just love being indirect and duplicitous. Clearly, she wants a ‘chance encounter,’ yet she won’t say it. I’m not going to look for trouble by seeing that demoness!

The night market was indeed lively. The outermost stalls set up by mortals alone opened Lin Pu’s eyes. There were all sorts of things to eat, play with, and wear—strange and varied, combined with the clever ingenuity of mortals. They looked interesting, practical, and cheap. Being an “unrefined country bumpkin,” Lin Pu couldn’t help herself and first bought a whole pile of things.

Entering the inner circle of the night market was even more eye-opening. The circular venue, arranged according to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, could accommodate tens of thousands of people. In the center was a huge high platform covered in red cloth—the auction stage—which was currently empty, waiting for the formal gathering tomorrow. The night market radiated outward from the auction stage in layers.

Lin Pu stood frozen in awe as she entered. Her eyes were filled with the brilliant radiance of magical treasures. Some strange plants and medicinal ingredients had dimmer glows, but her spiritual senses were drawn to them. The Geng Metal essence in her body began to stir; the place was so full of treasures that for a moment, she didn’t know which way to go.

Someone bumped into her from behind. A long-faced rogue cultivator frowned in dissatisfaction. “You, standing there blocking the way, how are people behind you supposed to pass?”

Lin Pu quickly stepped aside and apologized with an excellent attitude. “I’m so sorry! It’s my first time at such a gathering, and I wasn’t paying attention. I’ve caused you trouble, brother!”

The rogue cultivator was impatient and only at the third realm. He had already spoken before realizing he was scolding an Earth-tier cultivator. His heart trembled, but then he saw the woman apologizing so politely. Relieved, he softened his tone and was about to leave, but then he turned back and said to the good-natured cultivator, “There are many treasures here. If you don’t understand… since it’s your first time, you can follow the Five Element orientations. Just head toward the area that matches your spiritual essence.”

Lin Pu thanked him with a smile and was about to walk toward the Metal-attribute area. However, after two steps, she stopped, the smile fading from her face. The rogue cultivator followed her gaze.

There stood a beautiful, barefoot woman in the Water-attribute area. She wore a gentle, friendly smile and was surrounded by a crowd of male cultivators. She answered everyone who spoke to her. Even when there were too many people to reply to, she would thoughtfully cast an apologetic glance to soothe them. Her eyes seemed to speak, making everyone around her feel a sense of goodwill, as if bathed in a spring breeze.

“That is Fairy Lingyi of the Myriad Demon Sect,” the long-faced rogue cultivator said, his eyes filled with obsessed admiration, though his tone held a hint of self-deprecating sadness. “For rogue cultivators like us, it is a stroke of luck just to receive a smile or a word from the Fairy.”

He had seen Lingyi once in the afternoon and had been stunned into a lapse of etiquette. The Demon Sect genius hadn’t been angry; she simply smiled and nodded at him. Yet that single smile had haunted his thoughts until now. Being only at the third realm with poor talent and advancing age, he had self-awareness. He didn’t dare crowd around like the sect disciples to curry favor. He only hated his own lack of ability; otherwise, if he could offer a rare treasure to win a smile and her name, this trip would be worth it.

Lin Pu felt unhappy. To her, everyone crowded around the beauty looked lecherous, and she disliked them at first sight. Suppressing a strange surge of irritability, she bit her lip and asked, “Who is that standing next to her?”

The man was handsome, wearing a bright yellow, narrow-sleeved dragon robe with a jade crown and a sword at his waist. He was currently picking up a string of pendants from a display and gesturing toward the Demon Sect fairy, his eyes tender and full of affection, the picture of a refined gentleman.

“Ah, that is Lu Yu, a disciple of the Yellow Dao Alliance. He has superior talent and entered the Realm of Creation within eighty years. When he returns this time, he will be accepted into the inner sect.”

The rogue cultivator’s voice was full of envy. Soon after, he saw the good-natured female cultivator walk over. Lu Yu had a dominant and mercurial temperament; the rogue cultivator wanted to call out a warning, but he held his tongue. They were strangers, after all; why look for trouble?

Lu Yu traded a bottle of top-grade spiritual pills for the pendants. The stall owner was beaming with joy, thanking him repeatedly. Although this wrist accessory was infused with a spell from a Heaven-tier cultivator, it was only a defensive tool that would be destroyed after blocking one attack from anyone below the Realm of Far Travel. Its value was far less than that bottle of pills.

But Lu Yu had noticed the Demon Sect fairy look at the ornament twice, so he bought it decisively. The stall owner was also a sharp person; he heaped praises on Lu Yu in front of the Fairy as if the words cost him nothing.

Lingyi had changed into a pink-and-white “Lingxian” dress, reining in her seductive charm. She looked like an innocent, harmless spiritual bird—pitiful and moving. Yet her beauty was peerless, and her bare, lustrous feet and smooth, straight legs added a touch of provocative loveliness that made people itch with desire to pamper her.

Lu Yu opened the wrist ornament, making a move to personally put it on the Fairy.

Lingyi smiled gently. “Fellow Daoist Lu is truly a talent with extraordinary potential… If you are willing, why not switch to the demonic path and return to Lonely Cry Mountain with me?”

As she spoke, she was about to hold out her hand for Lu Yu to tie the bracelet. At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind: “Senior Sister truly has quite a lot of people she favors and looks upon with interest.”

The female voice was crisp, but there was a hidden hint of indignation in her words.

Lu Yu knew Lingyi was joking about him joining the Demon Sect. But these few jokes both flattered him and showed the Fairy’s closeness to him; he was happy to play along. However, this interloping female cultivator was hard to read. She seemed dissatisfied with the Fairy, as if harboring some resentment, yet when she reached out, Lingyi didn’t dodge at all, letting her grab her wrist and pull her away.

Lingyi stood beside the female cultivator, tilting her head to look at her. With a curl of her lip and a provocative look in her eyes, she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Browsing.” The young cultivator then glanced at the wrist ornament and said disdainfully, “That thing is ugly. It won’t look good on you, Senior Sister.”

The free defensive tool was instantly unwanted by the Demon Sect fairy.

Lu Yu, observant as ever, put the ornament away. After a few polite words of greeting with Lin Pu, he led the way with a smile. “This Junior Sister is right; that item indeed doesn’t suit your beauty. However, there is something the Fairy will surely like.”

A cultivator at a stall saw them approaching and took out a jade box from beneath the table. He opened the lid and presented it to Lu Yu. “Young Master.”

Lu Yu nodded and held it before Lingyi with a sincere smile. “I wish to offer this treasure and ask the Fairy to accompany me to the Spiritual Treasure Gathering tomorrow. Would that be possible?”

Inside the box was a thumb-sized little person wearing a red belly-warmer. Seeing a group of “giants” staring at him, he shook in fear, hurriedly crouched down, and with a whoosh, transformed into a jade-colored pill the size of a fingernail.

An experienced cultivator nearby gasped, “An Essence-Lifting Vein-Transforming Pill!”

The Demon Sect true disciple gave a sincere, sweet smile and took the jade box.

Lin Pu walked back with her head hanging. Leaving the night market area, the mortal curfew had taken effect, making the streets look empty and cold.

“Hey!” The little demoness was sitting on a nearby eave, her fair legs swaying in the night wind.

The young cultivator ignored her and kept her head down. Wan Xiang, sensing its master’s mood, didn’t dare fly over to her, only giving two chirps as a greeting.

Lingyi wanted to laugh at her awkward behavior. Pushing off with her hands, she manifested a pair of Wild Mountain-patterned embroidered shoes on her feet and landed lightly beside Lin Pu. She walked with her hands behind her back, teasingly saying, “Lin Iron-Head, you have high standards, don’t you? With so many treasures in the night market, not one caught your eye?”

Lu Yu had assumed Lin Pu was also a disciple of the Myriad Demon Sect, so after the Fairy agreed to his invitation, he had warmly offered to give Lin Pu something as well. But this little fool wanted nothing and ran off with a dark face.

“I’m poor. I can’t afford them, and I can’t compare to people with such deep pockets.”

Lingyi stepped in front of her. Lin Pu nearly bumped into her and hurriedly stopped.

“I left all those suckers behind just to find you, and you’re giving me an attitude?” Lingyi frowned. Her nose was perky, her red lips were supple, and her pearly teeth were slightly visible as she spoke. Lin Pu’s breath hitched, and she lowered her gaze.

“What, I get things for free from others, and you, as a righteous cultivator, look down on that behavior? Fine, if our paths are different, we shouldn’t scheme together…”

Lingyi turned to leave, but Lin Pu quickly grabbed her hand. “No, no, that’s not what I meant!”

She wanted to explain but found it hard to speak. She changed the subject, asking haltingly, “Why weren’t you wearing shoes just now?”

Lingyi huffed and stepped on her foot, leaving a partial footprint on Lin Pu’s boot. “Fairies don’t wear shoes to walk. Besides, your shoes are ugly. I’m not wearing them!”

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