Years later, in the records of Qingluan Peak of the Tianque Sect, someone once commented:
“If Eldest Senior Brother Lin Shu of Qingluan Peak is the highest mountain in the world of the abstract, then Eldest Senior Sister Chang Jiujiu must be the longest river in the world of the abstract.”
Chang Jiujiu was a legendary name.
As Lin Shu’s Eldest Senior Sister, Chang Jiujiu had arrived at the Tianque Sect ten years before him.
In the early years when Lin Shu had just joined the sect, Jiang Cha was often away on errands. Thus, Lin Shu was left in the care of this Eldest Senior Sister. Jiang Cha had instructed her: “Little Shu is still young and has just left home. He’s inevitably a bit maladjusted. You must treat him as a mother would.”
Chang Jiujiu nodded, indicating she understood.
However, events later proved that this airheaded Eldest Senior Sister had completely misunderstood their master’s meaning.
Jiang Cha’s intention was for her to treat Lin Shu gently, kindly, and patiently.
What Lin Shu felt, however, was a suffocating sense of “maternal love.”
Specifically, even though Lin Shu had long since learned how to walk and run, his Eldest Senior Sister insisted on wrapping him in a swaddling cloth and carrying him on her back. She would wander all over the sect in full view of everyone to help him “get familiar” with the place.
At lunchtime, she intended to spoon-feed him. When Lin Shu protested, she tied him to a chair and fed him bite by bite. As a side note, because Eldest Senior Sister couldn’t cook and Lin Shu hadn’t started his cultivation yet—meaning he couldn’t take Fasting Pills—the meals were actually prepared by the Junior Uncle next door.
As for the nights, Lin Shu would be held in her arms to fall asleep. Although Lin Shu tried to break free many times, he was repeatedly caught by Chang Jiujiu and knocked unconscious with a single palm strike, allowing Lin Shu to enjoy “baby-like” high-quality sleep.
It wasn’t until Lin Shu grew taller than his Senior Sister that Chang Jiujiu finally gave up on those “caregiving” habits.
She once asked Lin Shu if she had become a qualified Eldest Senior Sister. Lin Shu thought about it for a moment, handed her a bottle of milk, and remarked that her ribs had pressed against his face so hard it hurt.
***
Looking at those large red characters on the signature line, Lin Shu sighed.
Why did it have to be Eldest Senior Sister running the operations? Did the people in the sect really trust the disciples of Qingluan Peak that much?
A few years ago, ever since the time she proposed the theme of “Music Affects Appetite” and teamed up with his Junior Uncle to poison a whole crowd of people, she had run… gone out for a trial. Lin Shu hadn’t seen her for a very long time.
‘Sigh! I have a feeling this trip to Mist City will be full of accidents!’
…
A few days later, the immortal boat approached Mist City.
Lu Zhiyun and the Sanqing Fairy stood on the dome, looking down at the city, but they saw only a single, towering spire reaching into the clouds.
“Is this Mist City? But why is there only one tower?” Lu Zhiyun asked in confusion.
“It’s not just that! It’s quite prosperous around that tower!” Sanqing Fairy grinned.
“Huh? Then why can’t I see it? Is there some special array blocking it?”
Lin Shu stepped forward, coming to Lu Zhiyun’s side to explain. “Junior Sister, your cultivation isn’t high enough yet. Once you step through the gates of the Soul Transformation Stage and investigate with your Divine Sense, you’ll be able to see the true appearance of this city.”
The history of Mist City was very long, dating back to the beginning of the transition between the Great Shang and Great Qian dynasties.
At that time, because this location was very close to where the two sides fought their great war, the master of Mist City utilized the natural fog here to refine an array to avoid being caught in the crossfire or being discovered.
The immortal boat docked at the exclusive spot provided by the Great Qian Dynasty for the Five Great Transcendent Immortal Sects.
This area was located in the northern part of Mist City, very close to the city center. When they landed, Lu Zhiyun saw disciples from the other four of the Five Great Transcendent Immortal Sects responsible for transporting supplies.
However, after looking around, she didn’t see any disciples from the Tianque Sect.
“Senior Brother! Where are our Tianque Sect people?” Lu Zhiyun asked.
Lin Shu waved his hand and said helplessly, “I checked the ledgers last night. Based on the level of loss, buying more stock would only lead to more debt. Currently, it’s said that the items in the warehouse simply won’t sell.”
Sanqing Fairy had hidden inside Lu Zhiyun’s body early on. Hearing Lin Shu’s words, she let out a *pfft* and laughed, transmitting her voice via Divine Sense.
‘To think that even a Transcendent Immortal Sect would lose money and fail to sell goods. How embarrassing!’
‘Back in the day, when I led the other immortals under my command, we worked for ourselves and made a killing.’
Hearing this, Lin Shu suddenly remembered something.
As an immortal, the Sanqing Fairy should have had a lot of money! That meant she should have left behind an “inheritance”!
“Fairy, speaking of which, do you remember where you buried the money you hoarded?”
‘Hoard money? Why would I hoard money? If you have money, shouldn’t you spend it?’ Sanqing Fairy said as if it were common sense.
“Uh… so you’re saying you don’t have an inheritance?” Lin Shu’s lip twitched.
‘What else?’ Sanqing Fairy said smugly. ‘I predicted a step ahead that those immortals would start fighting. So, before I created my clones, I spent most of my money ahead of time! I only left a little bit for my clones!’
“Heh… heh heh…” Lin Shu was so frustrated he laughed.
‘What? Do you have an issue with this immortal’s foresight?’ Sanqing Fairy asked.
“No! Not at all!” Lin Shu gave a hollow smile. “You are the famous Sanqing Fairy, ‘Losing-a-Lot’! How could I possibly have an issue?”
‘Lo… Lo… Losing-a-Lot?!’ Sanqing Fairy was shocked and immediately began to argue. ‘It’s Money! This immortal’s surname is Qian! My name is Qian Duoduo!!!’
‘My friends all said that my purpose was to attract wealth. As long as I stood there, I didn’t have to do anything, and heaps of money would come rolling in!’
Hearing this, Lin Shu countered, “I don’t know who it was that made me lose an entire peak the moment they arrived…”
‘I… I didn’t do that on purpose!’ Sanqing Fairy said indignantly. ‘I’ll work hard this time, help you plan, and make it up to you!’
“Don’t! Just stick to attracting wealth!”
Lin Shu realized he had taken the joke too far. If the Fairy actually got involved personally, they would probably lose even more!
‘See! Hehehe!’ Sanqing Fairy giggled foolishly upon hearing that.
After a moment, Lu Zhiyun asked, “Wait, is the Fairy’s name actually Qian Duoduo?”
At that moment, Lu Zhiyun’s mental space shook once before returning to silence. No matter how much she pressed for answers, the Sanqing Fairy remained quiet.
Qian Duoduo?
Lu Zhiyun fell into thought.
Back when she was alone and helpless in the capital, she seemed to have raised a dog, which she had also named “Qian Duoduo”!
It seemed she and the Fairy truly shared a destiny. However, it was probably best not to tell the Fairy about this. If she found out that Lu Zhiyun had named a dog “Qian Duoduo,” the Fairy would likely never talk to her again.
***
They walked and stopped along the way, with Lin Shu explaining various customs of Mist City to Lu Zhiyun.
Only by being inside the city did Lu Zhiyun realize how ignorant she had been while on the immortal boat.
Antique-style buildings stood in rows, as dense as scales on a fish, reflecting the prosperity of the mortal world. Even the capital where she had grown up was barely a match for this.
Compared to the solemn capital, Mist City felt more lived-in. Street vendors were everywhere in the alleys, and the streets were crowded with people and carriages. It was incredibly lively.
After crossing several main streets, Lin Shu and Lu Zhiyun arrived at a small building. It had no name, but the disciples at the door wearing the characteristic robes of the Tianque Sect already explained the situation.
“Greetings, Senior Brother!” two female disciples said in unison.
“No need for formalities,” Lin Shu waved his hand. “Where is Senior Sister?”
“She’s inside! She’s currently studying the ledgers and planning for the second half of the year!” one female disciple said.
“Senior Sister Chang is so dedicated! She’s been forgetting to eat and sleep these past few days, patrolling the shops almost day and night without stopping!” the other female disciple added.
Lu Zhiyun couldn’t help but feel moved. There was actually such a responsible cultivator on Qingluan Peak!
In her time at Qingluan Peak, she had hardly seen any reliable senior brothers or sisters, with the exception of Lin Shu.
Lin Shu narrowed his eyes and asked, “Really?”
The two female disciples said in unison again, “Really!”
Lin Shu smiled and said, “Come! Make an oath to the Great Dao. Say that if you’re lying, you’ll never find a cultivation partner for the rest of your lives!”
“Se… Senior Brother! Isn’t that a bit much?” Lu Zhiyun spoke up for the two senior sisters.
A demonic cultivator’s methods were truly too…
Before she could finish her thought, the two female disciples hurriedly spoke up.
“We were wrong, Senior Brother! These past few days… no… these past few years, Senior Sister Chang has been sleeping until noon every day!”
“And she taught us to say those things! She said if we run into you, we must say that, or she’ll dock our pay!”
“Right now she’s inside sleeping. She even told us that if you ask, we should say she’s patrolling the shops!”
“Oh, right! Senior Sister was afraid you’d find out, so she even made a clone to stay inside!”
In less than the time it took for one incense stick to burn, the two of them poured out their grievances as if dumping out bitter water.
Lin Shu mused, “I knew it!”
Lu Zhiyun was speechless.
She was still too young. She had vastly overestimated the bottom line of Qingluan Peak!