Tale of an Ordinary Cultivator

“Stop him! Don’t let him get away!”

A flustered storeowner shouted as he chased a young boy through the streets.

The young boy looked to be around twelve years old and was wearing a ragged robe that could barely keep someone warm in this cold season. In his hands were two whole roasted chickens, which he hugged closely to his chest as he ran, seemingly afraid that he would accidentally drop them during his escape.

A single glance was enough for onlookers to get a good grasp on what was happening.

This young boy must be a food thief.

Despite the prosperity of Moonrise City, there were bound to be people who fell through the cracks. The scene today might not be too common, but it was not unheard of either.

“Hmm,” Zhao Yunxiao mused as he saw the young boy running in their direction from afar.

But before he could do anything, Zhao Yunxiao felt a slight tug on his sleeve.

He looked back to see Lu Zhiying shaking her head slightly, which surprised him a little.

After all, this was the first time that he was seeing Lu Zhiying stand up for a stranger. And this was just an ordinary mortal who was committing a crime as well.

“What’s the matter?” Gu Qiansi noticed this and asked with a similar level of confusion.

“He might die if he doesn’t escape here,” Lu Zhiying said nonchalantly, as though she was talking about something as common as the weather.

“He might... die?” Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow in response.

While the young boy looked rather thin and malnourished, his youth helped bolster his vitality. In fact, he would probably be able to survive even without eating for the next few days.

“Not from hunger, but from beatings. His wrist has been branded with a special mark, which indicates that he is the property of an underground syndicate. If he doesn’t fulfil his quota, the syndicate might not want to keep him around anymore,” Lu Zhiying shrugged. “Then again, that’s not important. Let’s go get some food. I’m hungry!”

Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi exchanged glances once again, before realising that they seemed to have done that a lot on this trip.

By now, the young boy had already run past them and disappeared around a corner.

“Damn it!” the storeowner could only curse his luck and return to his store.

“What’s wrong, Senior Martial Brother Zhao, Senior Martial Sister Gu?” Lu Zhiying asked upon seeing that the duo was not moving.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Zhao Yunxiao shook his head with a smile. “Let’s go, I know where we can get the best food in the city.”

Zhao Yunxiao took the lead and headed down the street, while Gu Qiansi gently linked her arm with Lu Zhiying’s as they followed along.

***

Full Moon Restaurant – this was the largest and most famous restaurant in all of Moonrise City.

The five-storey high restaurant boasted grand architecture and luxurious designs, truly living up to its illustrious reputation.

Just by looking at the exterior, it would make one feel that nothing could ever go wrong with giving the food a try!

Inside, each level was a large banquet hall in and of itself, holding numerous tables that were comfortably spaced out.

Under the lead of a well-groomed waiter, Zhao Yunxiao’s group settled down at a table before making their order.

This was not Zhao Yunxiao’s first visit, so he was able to quickly make the order without even having to look at the menu.

“How nice! I’ve always wanted to eat at a posh restaurant like this!” Lu Zhiying did not try to hide her excitement.

“Haha, is this your first time at such a restaurant?” Gu Qiansi asked.

“Hmm, it’s not exactly my first time at such a luxurious restaurant, either. But whenever I used to visit a place like this in the past, it would be for work assignments, so I don’t actually get to eat,” Lu Zhiying explained.

“I see,” Gu Qiansi nodded in understanding. “Well, you are a customer today instead of a staff, so make sure to eat your fill!”

It would appear that Lu Zhiying had worked at a restaurant in the past, which was not too uncommon a job.

However, Zhao Yunxiao felt that there was something strange with the way Lu Zhiying described it.

Would one usually call them work assignments if they were working at a restaurant?

No, that’s not right.

Since Lu Zhiying was not intending to say anything, he should stop trying to guess her past as well.

What’s in the past was already behind them, after all!

Before long, plate after plate of fragrant dishes started filling their table, the fragrant aroma wafting out to draw in their senses.

“I’m digging in!” Lu Zhiying’s eyes sparkled as she moved her chopsticks.

“Feel free to eat all you want,” Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile.

The two of them did not start eating, choosing to observe for now as their junior martial sister put a piece of soft fish meat in her mouth.

However, the excited look on her face instantly turned into a frown.

“What’s this?” Lu Zhiying said while chewing the meat. “Isn’t the standard a little subpar, considering it is the best restaurant in the city?”

While the food tasted good, it was not exactly amazing or anything like that.

Since she had extremely high expectations for the taste, Lu Zhiying could not help but feel betrayed.

“It’s only natural that you will think that way,” Zhao Yunxiao was not surprised to see her reaction. “After all, you have already tried the food back on the mountain. There is no way that food from regular restaurants will be able to compare.”

Not to mention Gu Qiansi’s cooking, even food from the sect canteen would have tasted better simply because the ingredients used were on a completely different level.

No matter how expensive they were, how could common ingredients used at mortal restaurants ever compare to the food consumed by cultivators – ingredients that were filled with spiritual energy?

Even if the preparation method were the same, just the presence of spiritual energy alone would make it much more palatable since it would directly nourish the entire body!

“How disappointing!” Lu Zhiying grumbled. “Senior Martial Sister Gu’s cooking is a thousand times better than this!”

“Shh, lower your voice, Junior Martial Sister Lu,” Gu Qiansi hushed. “Don’t let the staff hear that, or they might think that you are here to make trouble!”

“But it’s the truth...” Lu Zhiying pouted. However, she knew better than to keep on complaining as well.

“Lower your voices indeed,” Zhao Yunxiao repeated in a whisper, soft enough that even his two companions could barely hear him. “There seem to be other cultivators present as well.”

Hmm?

The surprised Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying quietened down immediately as they perked up their ears to listen in on their surroundings.

There were quite a number of customers in the restaurant at the moment, but it did not take long for them to lock in on the right group.

The male-female pair was speaking softly so that other customers would not be able to pick up on their conversation, but they did not go to the extent of accounting for the presence of other cultivators.

That was only normal as well.

Prior to this, Zhao Yunxiao’s group had not been overly concerned about suppressing their volume, either.

It was just that their conversation had been focused on the topic of food. Had their conversation explicitly revealed the fact that they were cultivators, the other party would probably have picked up on that too.

“I can’t wait to return to Flaming Cloud Mountain, where we can finally have some decent food again,” the young man within the pair said with a helpless sigh.

Lu Zhiying immediately felt a sense of closeness to this person, relating to the view that the food was simply not up to par.

At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao whispered to the rest, “Flaming Cloud Mountain is home to the Vermilion Bird Sect.”

“Vermilion Bird Sect?” Lu Zhiying asked.

She was still not too familiar with the other factions.

“It is one of the Four Great Symbol Sects, just like our Black Tortoise Sect. To put it simply, they are one of our main allies,” Gu Qiansi explained. “But aren’t they based in the southern regions? What are they doing here in the north?”

Black Tortoise Sect of the North.

Vermilion Bird Sect of the South.

Azure Dragon Sect of the East.

White Tiger Sect of the West.

These four factions were commonly referred to as the Four Great Symbol Sects of the Duyuan Empire – a major alliance with members from the four factions spread well across all four regions of the empire’s vast territory.

Still, considering the sheer distance between each region, members of each faction seldom visited the other regions unless there was a major event happening.

It was true that the next Meeting of the Great Symbols would be hosted by the Black Tortoise Sect here in the north. However, there was still quite a bit of time before that, so these people were unlikely to be here for that reason.

“Stop complaining,” the young man’s female companion replied. “If you really want to return soon, then start putting in more effort. We can return once we are done here.”

“Nothing will change with blind effort. We have combed the entire city, but the traces left behind are all really faint,” the young man answered. “Senior Martial Brother Lin has probably already left the city.”

“That’s true as well,” the young lady nodded. “Let’s join up with Senior Martial Sister Quan soon. Maybe she has already found him.”

“Sigh, why does Senior Martial Brother Lin have to go this far, coming all the way to the northern regions?” the young man grumbled. “Even if he wants to desert the sect, he should just hide somewhere in the south for some time, until everyone eventually forgets about him. At least I know that I would do that if I were him. It’s both safer and easier that way.”

“Mind your words, we still don’t know if he’s really deserting the sect,” the young lady corrected him.

“Isn’t it obvious by now?” the young man continued. “Why else would he not return to the sect after the mission has been completed? Even if he really had a good reason to do so, he wouldn’t have left without telling anyone.”

“Enough talking. We will leave the verdict to the sect administrators after we bring him back,” the young lady said. “It is not up to us to comment.”

“You know I am right,” the young man shrugged.

The young lady remained silent, be it because she had no counterarguments or because she did not see the point in doing so.

Zhao Yunxiao’s group could not help but exchange glances.

They finally got their explanation for the presence of the Vermilion Bird Sect members here in the northern regions.

However, the reason for their presence did not seem to be the most glorious one.

Chasing a deserter – this was something that most factions would prefer to keep under wraps.

“Hey...” Lu Zhiying said with an excited glint in her eyes.

“No, we are not doing it,” Zhao Yunxiao interrupted without waiting for her to finish.

“Hey! That’s not nice! I haven’t even said anything!” Lu Zhiying complained.

“I know, and I’m consciously stopping you from saying anything as well,” Zhao Yunxiao continued. “Don’t get any strange ideas.”

“Senior Martial Sister Gu!” Lu Zhiying turned to Gu Qiansi for support.

Unfortunately, the response that came was not exactly the answer that she had wanted.

“Your Senior Martial Brother Zhao is right. This is something we should stay clear of,” Gu Qiansi shook her head.

“...Fine,” Lu Zhiying could only reluctantly return to her food.

At the same time, she could not help but continue perking up her ears in hopes of hearing more juicy news.

Unfortunately, the pair from the Vermilion Bird Sect did not continue their conversation further, and left promptly after they were done with their meal.