"Senior Sister Xiao," Wang Xiu said with a smile. "This is our Divination Sect’s newest junior sister, Jiang Ling’er."
He then turned to Ling’er. "Ling’er, this is Senior Sister Xiao Qingyu. She’s in charge of all matters in the Task Hall and has a great personality. You two should get closer in the future."
Xiao Qingyu sighed dramatically, giving Wang Xiu a sidelong glance. She feigned a pout. "You used to call me ’Sweetie.’ Now that you have a new junior sister, I suppose it’s ’out with the old, in with the new,’ and I’m just ’Senior Sister Xiao’ to you."
PFFT.
Wang Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Senior Sister Qingyu was stationed at the Task Hall and interacted with all sorts of disciples every day. Her cultivation level, eloquence, and other skills were top-notch within the Sect; she possessed the wisdom to handle any situation gracefully. If anyone actually believed such a person would be so easily swayed, they were only setting themselves up for disappointment.
"Senior Sister Qingyu," Wang Xiu said with a smile, "Junior Sister Ling’er has just joined the Sect. I’m planning to take her down the mountain to complete some tasks and familiarize her with the towns below. Are there any suitable tasks available?"
Xiao Qingyu considered his request, first nodding and then shaking her head. "There are plenty of tasks suitable for her and plenty suitable for you. However, there really aren’t any suitable for you to do together."
Jiang Ling’er: ???
Wang Xiu: ???
"Don’t look at me like that!" Xiao Qingyu took a jade slip from her bosom and handed it to Wang Xiu. It carried a faint, creamy scent.
She explained helplessly, "These past few days, you’ve been carrying the title of a True Disciple, but every time you go down the mountain, you’re doing jobs like feng shui consultations, fortune-telling, matchmaking, and funeral arrangements.
"Firstly, it diminishes the prestige of the True Disciples.
"Now, whenever the common folk in the vicinity have a wedding, a birth, or a funeral, they all want to hire a True Disciple from our Sanqing Immortal Sect. Some people are even putting off their marriages because they can’t get a True Disciple!
"Secondly, it diminishes the *price* of the True Disciples.
"As a True Disciple, you go down the mountain and charge only a few dozen silver for a task. This has led many to believe that the True Disciples of our Sanqing Immortal Sect aren’t worth much, and now they dare to haggle over the price of every task.
"And get this! Many of our senior brothers from the Sword Sect, Blade Sect, Talisman Sect, and Formation Sect risk their lives to go down the mountain and slay demons, only to have their fees haggled down to a fraction of the original price. It’s almost enough to shatter their Dao Hearts.
"Our Sect has been poor for these past few hundred years. The prices for our tasks are already discounted multiple times over, like a clearance sale! If we keep undercutting the price, we won’t even have enough to cover travel and accommodation expenses!"
「On the other side.」
Jiang Ling’er and Jiang Yourong were both dumbfounded.
So, Wang Xiu wasn’t kidding! He really only takes on basic tasks. But is the reward for those even worth running all over the place? We don’t get it!
"So," Xiao Qingyu said, "the Elder of the Task Hall issued an ultimatum yesterday. True Disciples are no longer allowed to take on basic tasks and disrupt the market. Violators will be severely punished."
Wang Xiu: ???
Alright then. After reading the information on the jade slip with his divine sense, Wang Xiu confirmed the news was true. Or rather, this restriction was probably aimed at me specifically. After all, among all the True Disciples of the Sanqing Immortal Sect, who else is idle enough to take on basic tasks?
"So be it!" Wang Xiu said helplessly. "In that case, I’ll have to trouble you, Senior Sister Qingyu. Please arrange a Foundation Establishment-level demon-slaying task for me, and a regular, basic task for Junior Sister Ling’er! It would be best if they’re in the same town, so I can look out for her."
Xiao Qingyu pursed her lips and sighed theatrically. "Junior Brother Wang Xiu, you certainly have a soft spot for pretty girls. As it happens, I have two tasks just like that on hand."
With a gentle flutter of her slender fingers, a jade slip materialized before Wang Xiu and Jiang Ling’er. "Five hundred li from here, in Maple City, Landlord He’s elderly father has recently passed away. He hopes the Sanqing Immortal Sect can send someone to help conduct the soul-guiding ritual and select a gravesite with good feng shui for him—the kind that brings prosperity and blesses his descendants."
Xiao Qingyu rolled her eyes. "He originally wanted to request a True Disciple by name, but his request came right as the new regulations were announced, so the Sect refused him outright.
"Although," Xiao Qingyu’s voice lowered slightly, "the Sect, in principle, doesn’t allow True Disciples to take on basic tasks, if Landlord He’s filial piety for his father is sufficiently... moving..." The cool and poised young woman rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. "It’s not as if Junior Brother Wang couldn’t possibly consider making an exception for him!"
As she spoke, she seemed to recall something. Reining in her smile, she coughed lightly. "Of course, I’m just speaking theoretically. The content of the Sect’s mission will not change, and neither will the reward.
"As for how you and Landlord He negotiate things, that’s your business. It has nothing to do with the Sect, and even less to do with me.
"Junior Brother, remember—don’t give anyone any dirt on you."
Heh. This Senior Sister Xiao pretends to be looking out for herself, but she’s actually giving me hints left and right. She really is a fascinating person.
Wang Xiu leaned closer to Xiao Qingyu, slipping two Spirit Stones into her palm. Inhaling the faint, sweet scent coming from her, he smiled and said, "I’ll never forget the care you’ve shown me, Senior Sister."
"See that you do. Make sure you keep me in that heart of yours." Xiao Qingyu glanced at Wang Xiu and tossed out a second jade slip. "This second task is near Mingyue Mountain on the eastern outskirts of Maple City. Lately, travelers have been going missing in a mysterious fog there.
"The Managing Disciples stationed there went into the mountains to investigate. They found the area saturated with resentful energy and teeming with ghostly figures.
"The survivors they rescued claimed to have encountered a fairy in white. They said they unwittingly followed her deep into the mountains. If not for the intervention of our Sect’s disciples, they would have certainly met with disaster.
"Based on the Managing Disciples’ assessment, it should be the work of a Resentful Ghost, with a cultivation level around the second or third level of the Foundation Establishment Stage."
Managing Disciples? Wang Xiu mused. The Sanqing Immortal Sect usually establishes Taoist temples in the major nearby towns to maintain connections. These temples are typically guarded by two or three Foundation Establishment Stage disciples who support each other and protect the region. Since the ghost in the forest abandoned its prey and avoided the Sect’s Managing Disciples, its cultivation level can’t be too high. It’s likely at the Foundation Establishment Stage, at most.
Wang Xiu smiled. "I’ll take this task!"
A half-smile played on Xiao Qingyu’s lips. "Tasks involving demon slaying and exorcism are riskier to handle alone. Usually, disciples team up to support each other.
"Yesterday, Ji Zidian, the True Disciple from the Thunder Sect, accepted this mission. As it happens, she doesn’t have a suitable partner, so she asked me to keep an eye out for one.
"I think you’re very suitable, Junior Brother Wang Xiu. The two of you, practicing together while slaying demons... it could become a wonderful story for the ages."
With that, Xiao Qingyu winked slyly. "How about it? Give it some thought. Junior Sister Ji is known as the number one beauty of the Thunder Sect. Countless people would beg for an opportunity to train with her. If her previous teammate hadn’t been pestering her relentlessly, she wouldn’t have been forced to take on a demon-slaying mission alone this time. If you’re interested, Junior Brother Wang, your senior sister here can play matchmaker and help set you two up?"
...
Looking at Xiao Qingyu’s face, which was brimming with a gossipy smile, the corner of Wang Xiu’s mouth twitched.
Good grief. If anyone ever tells me again that Senior Sister Xiao from the Task Hall has a cool temperament and is an ice-cold beauty, I’ll spit a mouthful of salt water in their face. This girl... she’s a closet deviant through and through! Where’s the ’ice-cold’ part, huh!?