Chapter 82: Reclaiming the Land and Revitalizing the Cultivation World (82% complete)
Tianyan Academy.
After class, Langdu returned to the office area of the third level.
He was strolling leisurely through the empty corridor, humming an off-key tune, intending to go straight back to his room. But as he passed a certain spot, he turned and pushed open a door into a magnificent, golden hall.
He pushed the door open without any obstruction and walked in freely.
“I’m talking about Ah Hui.”
He had just shouted something when he saw the scene before him and immediately fell silent.
Jun Huilian was sitting cross-legged on a futon, with a jade-colored canine-like animal lying in the crook of his legs.
Before her lay a writing brush, an inkstone, and a stack of blank yellow talismans. With a focused expression, she picked up the brush with her right hand, dipped it in ink, and then drew talismans on the paper.
With a slight flick of the wrist, the brush moves swiftly across the talisman paper, sometimes curving like a snake, sometimes coiling like a dragon; the seemingly casual strokes reveal a tremendous pressure.
As she drew the talisman, the surrounding air almost froze, leaving only the sound of the brush rubbing against the talisman paper.
The space around her seemed to split apart inch by inch, creating a suffocating sense of oppression. This absolute pressure lasted until she finished the last stroke.
Jun Huilian picked up the completed talisman and blew on it gently. The talisman instantly burst into flames, turning into a wisp of green smoke that disappeared into the air. The last direction of the green smoke was towards the Yongzhou region.
Only then did Langdu regain his breathing, and he deliberately made some noise.
Jun Huilian raised his eyes casually upon hearing the sound.
"You've arrived."
Langdu, without any hesitation, plopped down in a chair and began to speak eloquently: "Why did you let those kids go out? I didn't agree with you assigning them high-level missions; they were beyond their capabilities. And then, something unexpected happened—they actually went and took on special-level missions. Are you really at ease letting the kids go out?"
He came in to ask Jun Huilian what he thought.
Those two tasks are not something the students are capable of completing right now.
"There's nothing to worry about," Jun Huilian said without looking up. "A genius, after all—"
“I know, I know, geniuses are always different in their education, but there’s no need to make them take such a risk.” Langdu snorted. “Such enviable talent, and you dare to send so many promising talents to such a dangerous place.”
“I’m here to guarantee them a minimum income,” Jun Huilian smiled, putting away his brush and ink. “Besides, they’re having a great time.”
"It's a pity that my old bones can't leave the island, otherwise no one would be able to harm my future successor," Langdu muttered.
"You already have a suitable candidate?" Jun Huilian raised an eyebrow.
"Hehe, that's right, I already have a good candidate in mind. The person I've chosen is definitely better than the one Shuzhu has in mind!" Langdu stroked his beard and grinned, his eyes turning into fox eyes.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Shuzhu emerged gracefully from behind the screen, clearly having been there for quite some time.
Langdu's expression immediately changed, and he threw a tantrum, yelling like a spoiled child: "I'm telling you, you were actually eavesdropping behind my back!"
"What do you mean I'm eavesdropping? I've been here since early morning," Shuzhu said calmly.
"Then you scared this old man without making a sound."
"Pshaw, he's supposed to be an ancestor, but he's getting worse with age. If I could scare an old thing that ascended tens of thousands of years ago, then I'd be amazing."
"If I deliberately conceal my presence and you can't detect it, that doesn't count!"
"Fine, that doesn't count. Let's talk about your student and my student. You old scoundrel, you wouldn't be eyeing my student as your successor, would you?"
"Tsk, don't flatter yourself. Your students are good, but the ones I have my eye on are the very best."
The two old rascals argued back and forth in the main hall, their voices echoing.
Jun Feibai, who had transformed into a small form and was lying on Jun Huilian's lap, lazily raised his head, rolled his eyes at the second floor, and covered his ears with his paws.
Jun Huilian patted his head twice, then took out a magic mirror.
The moment the illusion appeared was magnified several times.
Shuzhu and Langdu fell silent, their eyes fixed on the mirror.
"I wonder how wild your favorite disciples are getting out there. I was just about to check on them. Would you like to come along?"
She defused the argument with a few words, and the two old men exchanged glances, but then fell silent and stared at the scene projected by the illusion mirror.
...
On the other side of the coast, the disciples being discussed were indeed having a great time.
"Waiter, one of each dish!" Su Xiaoyao said loudly with great enthusiasm, waving her sleeve.
"Alright, please wait a moment, fellow Daoists." With a big business at hand, the waiter greeted them with a smile, and with a glance, his men sprang into action.
Su Xiaoyao glanced around at her surroundings and then casually sat down in the lobby on the first floor.
They all disguised themselves, and although they heard people discussing Tianyan Academy every few steps after they went ashore, no one recognized them along the way.
"Before I got ashore, I was really looking forward to the side dishes at the restaurant, but when I actually tasted them, I felt they weren't as good as Lao Xiao's cooking."
After all the dishes were served, Shen Suqi ate a few bites and suddenly sighed.
"Everything smells delicious when you're not up early." Su Xiaoyao picked up a piece of pickled cucumber for her. "This is pretty good, it's appetizing."
“After we finish this meal, let’s go to the street over there and buy some snacks to take back,” Shen Suqi said. “I’d rather eat something different than the food that’s available at the academy.”
Her words reminded Su Xiaoyao of something.
She put down her chopsticks and searched through the storage space until she found a note.
She read aloud from the note: "Before leaving, Xiaomian asked me to bring her candied hawthorns, poria cocos cakes, and candied fruit; Xiaokui asked me to bring her twenty herbs unique to Yongzhou; Xiaobao asked me to stop by Dongyuanlou to buy all the newly published novels; and Lao Zhang from our class asked me to pick up two sets of cotton quilts that her mother had left at Tiancanlou..."
She read a long, detailed passage until her mouth was dry, and only after drinking a cup of tea did she put the note away.
"So many things!" Shui Fan exclaimed. "Aren't you carrying the hopes of all your classmates?!"
"Not at all," Su Xiaoyao said modestly. "Their wallets also carry all my hopes."
This is her new business: cross-border purchasing.
"You think you can manage all that?" Helian Yi narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off.
Su Xiaoyao blinked shyly: "Isn't that what you guys are here for? I won't take it for free, I'll give you a share."
Helian Yi knew this would be the outcome, and his heart remained completely unmoved.
"I'll be in charge of the Dongyuan Tower and Tiancan Tower on the east side." Unable to struggle any longer, he simply lay down and chose his direction first.
“Perfect timing! While you guys go on your raid, I’ll go buy the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.” Shui Fan clapped her hands and made her decision.
"Why did you buy those?" Xiao Tingyuan looked up in surprise.
Shui Fan beamed with a joyful smile, her stunningly beautiful face radiating even more brilliance than before.
His eyes gleamed with excitement as he replied, "You haven't been to the deep sea, so you don't know. The octopuses in the waters below Yongzhou are huge and plump, and they even have the ability to regenerate limbs. They're ranked number one on our Merfolk's menu, so we should bring plenty of seasonings with us."
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and anyone could see the genuine anticipation in his voice.
As he spoke, he took out a luminous pearl from his storage space as if it were a treasure, and showed it to everyone by opening his palm: "Look at this pearl, it looks ordinary on the surface."
"It's not so ordinary after all." Su Xiaoyao held up her fist and compared its size to the luminous pearl, honestly expressing her inner opinion.
Shui Fan was already used to such ornate beads, and continued, "But actually, they are very practical. They are an essential item for every member of our Merfolk tribe when we go out hunting. They can raise a huge stove on the seabed, so that we can eat raw food whenever we want, or cooked food without any trouble."
"There's such a good thing?" Xiao Tingyuan's eyes lit up.
Shui Fan and his brother proudly declared, "Next time you visit my home, I'll give you the highest-class treatment."
"Are there different levels?" Xiao Tingyuan listened attentively.
"Yes, I don't mind eating raw or cooked food, so I don't usually carry the best. Let me tell you, when it comes to appreciating fine food, no one is more knowledgeable than us merfolk..."
A chef and a food connoisseur chatted happily and decided to go shopping for seasonings together after dinner.
"Oh, what a small world."
The clanging of chains rang out, and Su Xiaoyao knew without turning her head who the strange voice came from.
She turned around and met an unfamiliar face, then said with a grin, "Oh, who is it? It's Su! Oh dear, you guys received your mission and set off before us, so why are you still late?"
Su Qinghuan wasn't annoyed: "We naturally take our time with high-level missions, unlike some people who work themselves to death by forcing themselves to take on missions beyond their capabilities."
"Hehe." Su Xiaoyao replied with a fake smile, "Not in a hurry at all, it seems you have already cracked the mystery of the advanced mission."
Su Qinghuan's heart skipped a beat, but he kept a straight face: "Of course, we have that much confidence when we do things."
Su Xiaoyao feigned surprise: "Wow, so you can actually put together an IQ too."
Su Qinghuan didn't understand what "intelligence" meant, but it wasn't hard to hear the sarcasm in her pretentious tone.
He didn't want to say much, because he knew that too much interaction with Su Xiaoyao always led to bad things happening.
There are already hundreds of precedents to follow.
He snorted coldly and led his classmates to their seats, which were neither too close nor too far from Su Xiaoyao's table.
Su Xiaoyao pouted.
Many classes wanted to outdo each other by using the points from advanced tasks, but little did they know that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; the Physical Education class, which had remained silent all along, won the task.
Prior to this, she, as the class leader of the weapon repair class, Shen Suqi, the class leader of the talisman repair class, and Helian Yi, the class leader of the sword repair class, had all learned about the details of the advanced mission in advance.
The advanced mission involves finding a long-lost treasure. The mission hints only outline a general area and then provide a riddle about the treasure.
Putting aside how many books one would have to consult to understand that ancient and obscure text, even if someone had figured it out over the centuries, they still wouldn't have been able to unlock the secret of the treasure.
The riddle was written on the task posting page, visible to everyone, but because of the risk of not being able to accept the task, no one had ever specifically tried to solve it before.
Only Helian Yi decisively spent money to buy a deciphered version of the text from the black market, but even though he understood the content, he still couldn't guess the answer.
Su Xiaoyao didn't believe that Su Qinghuan could solve the riddle in such a short time. She was more inclined to think that he was just wandering around the beach because he was confused and happened to run into them.
She not only raised her hand to touch her cheek.
There is a strange tacit understanding between enemies; even if both sides are disguised, they can still recognize each other at a glance in a crowd.
"I'm full."
Bored, she leaned back in her chair, her eyes scanning the dishes on the table. Suddenly, she stood up and picked up a plate of food that no one had touched.
She walked over to Su Qinghuan's table with a smile on her face.
Su Qinghuan felt a sense of foreboding. His instincts told him to lean back and run away, but he also succumbed to the thought that he couldn't afford to be outmatched in front of his mortal enemy.
He said with a stern face, "Our missions don't overlap, what do you mean by this?"
"What could I possibly mean by it, that classmates are helping each other out?" Su Xiaoyao blinked innocently.
She smiled sweetly as she put down the plate of food in her hand, the porcelain plate making a soft sound as it collided with the table.
"It's just a dish I'm sending you as a token of my friendliness."
Su Xiaoyao was already outstanding in appearance, and her smile was extremely sweet, which made the rough men at the table blush.
Su Qingqian glared at him, exasperated.
Have you forgotten how this guy stirred up trouble in their class before he left?
"I'd be a fool to believe you. We don't need your dish." Su Qingqian scoffed, then turned to the waiter and said, "One of each dish, please."
"Alright, esteemed guest, please wait a moment!" The waiter laughed so hard he bent over.
"Is that so?" Su Xiaoyao's smile remained unchanged as she glanced at the dish on the table, her meaning ambiguous. "However, I don't accept returns of things that have been given away. You can savor it, savor it carefully."
After saying that, he turned and left.
After Su Xiaoyao and her group left the restaurant and dispersed in their respective planned directions, Su Qinghuan's expression suddenly changed.
He stared intently at the dish in front of him.
"Boss, what's wrong?" Even someone with a thick skin could tell he wasn't feeling well.
Su Qingqian gritted her teeth: "Su Xiaoyao will never spit out anything that's already in her mouth, not even a plate of food she doesn't want to eat."
The listener was completely confused: "Then, then she..."
“She must have her reasons for doing this,” Su Qinghuan said with certainty. “This dish uses mushrooms also known as poison agaric octopus mushrooms, named for their terrifying caps that resemble the poison agaric octopus, the overlord of the Yongzhou seas.”
"Isn't that right beneath our feet?" a classmate exclaimed in surprise.
Su Qinghuan slammed her fist on the table, her cheeks flushed with anger: "She's provoking us! She must have solved the mystery of our mission to brazenly deliver the dishes to us, just to mock us!"
"Yongzhou Realm, Poisonous Cap Octopus..." The classmate realized, "So the treasure location is in the territory guarded by the Poisonous Cap Octopus?!"
“That’s right.” Su Qinghuan said angrily, “Damn it, she uncovered the mystery I couldn’t solve, and she even dared to show off in front of us! Su! Xiao! Yao! Next time, I will definitely defeat you fair and square!”
Meanwhile, the person she was talking about was swaggering around harvesting candied hawthorns, and not a single one escaped her watchful eye from one end of the street to the other.
After paying the bill, she saw Shen Suqi, who was silently lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about so intently?" She waved her hand in front of her eyes.
“There must be a deeper meaning behind what you did.” Shen Suqi grabbed her sleeve. “Tell me quickly, why did you send Su Qinghuan a dish? Were you mocking him, saying, ‘In my eyes, you’re just a dish that’s not good enough to be served?’”
Su Xiaoyao was speechless: "There's no such thing as a complicated story. It's just because that plate of mushrooms wasn't cooked properly. Didn't you notice that no one at our table ate it? I just wanted to see if 007 would get so caught up in solving the mystery that he might impulsively eat it."
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Author's Note: I've been feeling a bit anxious lately and have trouble concentrating. I'll be taking a break from updating for a while to adjust. I'm also worried about rushing the ending as I approach the second half. I'll try to organize my thoughts and update more each time.
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