Mochou Lake lay in a mountain hollow, as smooth as a mirror. Its surface was without a ripple, yet it captured the silhouettes of the woods and the moon, possessing a beauty untainted by dust.
There were no swimming fish, and rare was the sight of a bird near its waters. Even the passing wind only dared to stir the faintest ripples, as if terrified of disturbing whatever existence resided at the bottom of the lake.
“Young Master, do we really not need to help that shop assistant?”
Jiang Keke followed behind Yun Heng, asking cautiously.
After leaving the restaurant, Yun Heng had led her straight to Mochou Lake. Jiang Keke had wanted to ask earlier, but Yun Heng’s condition had been poor due to the alcohol.
Only now, when his complexion had regained some of its color, did she dare to speak.
“Compared to providing temporary aid, solving the fundamental problem from the source is the top priority.”
Yun Heng shook his head and replied softly, “Besides, the spiritual energy in this area is not abundant, and the people’s cultivation levels are generally low.”
“With my dharma treasure protecting him, the safety of his life and his family’s lives can at least be guaranteed.”
Jiang Keke nodded in vague understanding.
She then saw Yun Heng lean down. His left hand formed a bowl to scoop up a spoonful of clear water, while his right hand directly drew a simple array on the muddy ground, into which he poured the water.
“Young Master, what are you doing?” Jiang Keke asked curiously.
“Trace to the Source.”
As Yun Heng spoke, a droplet of water wrapped in the array’s spiritual energy rose and floated in midair. It began to drift slowly in one direction, like a firefly.
Yun Heng narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly. “I am not a good swimmer, so I can only use this method to find the last person who came here to repair the array. Let’s go, follow it.”
Jiang Keke tilted her head as she watched Yun Heng’s back.
‘Not a good swimmer?’
But she clearly remembered her Young Master, while only at the Qi Refining stage, crushing a crowd of Foundation Establishment practitioners at the age of ten to easily take the youth division championship for the Ten Thousand Mile River Crossing in the Upper Three Provinces…
***
Jiang Keke looked back at Mochou Lake once more, and then it clicked.
‘Perhaps the Young Master is just like those birds, simply unwilling to disturb the soul of that Mochou Groom…’
Initially, Jiang Keke had thought Yun Heng came here to “seek treasure” or “collect wealth,” but now it seemed he had no such intentions.
‘Young Master is so kind,’ Jiang Keke thought to herself.
The water droplet led them to an academy in the center of a township.
The academy’s name was quite grand, called “Jiutian,” but a rough glance at its size revealed it was not even as large as some ordinary four-walled courtyards.
To the left of the entrance to Jiutian Academy stood an archway with an inscription:
“Only three days remain until the Immortal Seeking Grand Exam; students should prepare early.”
“Speaking of which, what exactly is this ‘Immortal Seeking Grand Exam’? Why haven’t I ever heard of it before?” Jiang Keke asked.
“It is a unique sect examination for the Heavenly Dao Academy.”
In truth, explaining it as a “college entrance exam” would have been easier to understand, but Jiang Keke would not have known what that meant.
“But doesn’t the Heavenly Dao Academy have only one rule, saying they only accept those at the Nascent Soul stage who are under twenty years old?” Jiang Keke tapped her chin with her index finger, recalling the information she knew.
The Heavenly Dao Academy was not the strongest sect, yet it possessed an influence that commanded respect even from the supreme powerhouses of the human, demon, and dragon races.
This was not only because the academy had a long history spanning over 100,000 years, but also because of its special rule of “only accepting freaks.”
As a result, almost every student who graduated would quickly make a name for themselves in the cultivation world and become a regional hegemon.
People always held a special sentiment toward their alma mater. Thus, if anyone dared to harbor ill intentions toward the Heavenly Dao Academy, it was equivalent to provoking all those powerhouses at once.
Even the well-read Jiang Keke had never seen anyone in a storybook dare to write anything bad about the Heavenly Dao Academy.
“It is a local specialty. You can think of it as the academy’s branch in the Kingdom of Zhao.”
“Oh, I see.” Jiang Keke realized the truth. Then, remembering that her Young Master was already nineteen years old, she could not help but sigh, her face full of disappointment.
“Speaking of which, Young Master, isn’t it time you put some thought into your cultivation?”
“I heard some rumors a few days ago that most of our acquaintances in the Upper Three Provinces have already secured guaranteed admission to the academy. One of them is even about to reach the Deity Transformation stage…”
At this point, Jiang Keke hurriedly covered her mouth and looked away, immediately taking small steps backward.
“…I know who you are talking about.”
Seeing his little book attendant’s guilty expression, Yun Heng sighed helplessly. He turned his gaze toward the distant east.
“However, because her cultivation speed was too fast, she has now hit a bottleneck. If she truly wants to break through to the Deity Transformation stage, it will conservatively take another seventy or eighty years.”
‘You’re just at the Qi Refining stage, yet you’re critiquing someone who has one foot in the Deity Transformation stage…’
Jiang Keke rolled her eyes inwardly, though she did not dare to say such a criticism out loud.
Neither of them mentioned a name, but both were well aware of who that “favored daughter of heaven” under twenty years old was.
That “betrothal” was a massive pressure for Yun Heng. He did not like being bound, nor did he like walking a path deliberately arranged by others.
Had it not been for this, the eldest young master of the Yun family would not have abandoned his wealth and status to run away from home, nearly severing ties with the Changsheng Yun family in the process.
“But actually, didn’t you know I’ve had guaranteed admission this whole time?”
Yun Heng smiled brilliantly and took a token from his storage bag. The front bore the four words “Heavenly Dao Academy” written in a bold, flowing script, while the back clearly displayed Yun Heng’s name.
Jiang Keke’s eyes widened.
“?! Since when? How come I didn’t know???”
Stowing the token, Yun Heng stretched. “Around the time I was three and a half, I think. An elder named Lan came to visit the Yun family. He hugged me twice and then gave me this token.”
“Elder Lan? Could it be that…” Jiang Keke’s mouth hung open in disbelief.
“Shh — we can talk about the academy and my fiancée, whom I still haven’t even seen, later. For now, we just need to focus on the task at hand.”
Yun Heng patted Jiang Keke’s head, forcing the atmosphere back to reality. He then walked up to an old man and a youth who were dozing off at the academy entrance. He smiled and nodded.
“This junior is Yun Heng, a traveler from afar. I would like to rest at your prestigious academy for one night. Would that be possible?”
Jiang Keke stepped up quickly and tactfully took a high-grade spirit stone from her storage bag.
The price far exceeded the cost of a night in a typical inn. The grandfather and grandson, who had been disturbed from their sleep, found it difficult to say anything. After accepting it, they led the two to a vacant room inside the academy.
“There are many students resting nearby. Please do not disturb them while they prepare for their exams,” the youth whispered to them before returning to the entrance with his oil lamp.
The room was very small; it was essentially a storage closet. There was no bed, only a thin carpet spread out for lying down.
Jiang Keke covered her nose with a towel to clean the dust, trying her best not to make too much noise.
Yun Heng, meanwhile, waited for the young guard to move away before summoning the water droplet again.
He focused intently, using a brush to draw a miniature concealment array and a miniature eavesdropping array inside the droplet.
Once finished, Yun Heng used his spiritual energy to urge the water droplet to continue its search.
“Though it’s a bit late to ask, Young Master, why are we going this far for a local legend? This doesn’t quite fit your style.”
Jiang Keke had mostly finished cleaning. Although there were still piles of clutter, the place finally looked somewhat habitable.
She felt that Yun Heng would probably stay up all night, but she still thoughtfully laid out two layers of mattresses on the carpet.
In Jiang Keke’s impression, Yun Heng was not someone who liked to meddle in other people’s business.
Yet, whether it was listening to the story this afternoon, having the shop assistant tell the legend, or the subsequent trip to Mochou Lake and arrival at Jiutian Academy, all of it undoubtedly showed that Yun Heng was very interested in Mochou village.
“Didn’t I say it? My goals are only three — Soul Summoning, Wealth Collection, and Treasure Gathering.”
Yun Heng let out a yawn. “There are hidden practical benefits behind the legend; we need to dig them out. This is our true first bucket of gold and our ticket for the next step of our plan.”
He had no interest in the secret treasure in the lake mentioned by the shop assistant. But if he wanted to use Mochou village to “collect wealth,” he had to root out the “Mochou Groom legend.”
“I see. Then Young Master, what do we do next?”
“Sleep.”
After saying that, Yun Heng lay directly on the mattress. He wiggled his hips and let out a pleasant groan. “I’m exhausted — “
It had been a long time since he had tried the act of “sleeping.”
Now that he was living a new life, he had to experience it no matter what.
Mmm… this bed is so comfortable. Lying down is so nice. It’s so much better than meditating or cultivating…
“Eh?”
Jiang Keke blinked rapidly. “Weren’t we going to investigate all night? Why suddenly…”
But seeing Yun Heng’s tired state as he began to snore lightly shortly after lying down, Jiang Keke thought better of it and didn’t continue.
She could sense that the influence of the alcohol had not completely faded. The Young Master’s steps had been much slower than usual, and his complexion was far from the healthy glow he had during the day.
Furthermore, since yesterday, her Young Master had been drawing arrays one after another. His mental energy consumption must have been exceptionally high.
For a cultivator only at the first level of Qi Refining, he truly should recover his energy through sleep.
Thus, Jiang Keke took her wolf-tooth club from her storage bag, gripped it in her hand, and blew out the candle.
She tiptoed to the other side of the carpet, lying about an arm’s width away from Yun Heng, and whispered:
“Goodnight. Sweet dreams.”
“Brother Fang, a demon inspection team came to my restaurant today. Those boors actually maintained a respectful attitude toward a strange young man.”
“Not only was that young man investigating the past, but he even used a strange dharma treasure to protect Xiao Hei. Do you think…”
“Wan’er, don’t be nervous yet. One thing is for certain: this is definitely not someone under King Zhao traveling in disguise.”
“Our spies have been monitoring them constantly. Besides, the current King Zhao is just a half-dead old man, so there is no need to worry at all.”
“No, what I mean is… could it be someone from the headquarters?”
“Hiss… that shouldn’t be the case, right? Why would the academy headquarters have the leisure to come to a backwater place like ours to investigate?”
“To take a step back, even if they truly noticed a problem with the branch, they should go to the capital.”
“Better safe than sorry… Brother Fang, if all else fails, why don’t we just kill him during these next few days? He’s just a piece of trash at the Qi Refining stage anyway.”
“No! The Immortal Seeking Grand Exam is in three days. If we cause a real elder from the headquarters to become furious because of some unclear fellow, it’ll be hard to say what our branch’s rewards will be for the next few years.”
“Then… what do you mean?”
“This matter requires a longer-term plan. For now, let’s find a pretext to arrest him tomorrow.”
“Fine. I’ll go contact some people to make the arrangements now.”
“Mhm. Thank you for your hard work.”