Chapter 97: Room Assignment - Of course, you have to stay next door.
The shimmering sea gently rippled, and the spirit boat drifted a hundred meters away in the blink of an eye, gradually leaving the sea area where the sea monsters gathered.
The fighting and clamor of the past have been cast into the long river of time, and the night has returned to tranquility.
The four members of Dingsheng Sect were all busy with their own tasks. Ji Mingran settled the newly boarded cultivators, Shen Qingluo continued to patrol around the cargo ship, Zhu Shibai turned the rudder according to the direction indicated by the luminous pearl, and Guan Wangzhen diligently washed the deck.
Just now, all the sects' spirit ships were attacked by sea monsters. The Dingsheng Sect's ships were inconspicuous among them. In addition, with Ji Mingran's array protection, the ships suffered the least damage from the sea monster swarm.
However, the clothes of several people on the ship were stained with the blood of the sirens. Standing on the deck, the blood dripped from their bodies and seeped into the deck. Although the culprits had used cleansing magic to clean themselves, Guan Wangzhen still kept complaining that he could smell the blood of the sirens.
His nose was always sensitive and he couldn't stand unpleasant smells. He always carried cleaning supplies with him, so he declared that once the ship entered calm waters, everyone who had killed a sea monster must wash up and use the cleaning soap he distributed.
It was just a matter of washing up; all the cultivators wanted to take a break, so they all agreed.
With everyone's unanimous approval, Guan Wangzhen was satisfied and, as usual, rolled up his sleeves and got down to cleaning.
Presumably because they were both bird people and couldn't stand the smell, Ji Xingyang joined the cleaning team without saying a word, pulling another disciple of the Nameless Sect and Guan Wangzhen along to frantically clean the ship inside and out.
Following Ji Mingran into the cabin were the quiet and gentle Yu Tianxing, the distraught Qin Danniang, and the cheerful Shi Jinle.
Although the cargo ship was smaller than the spirit boat, it was still large enough to accommodate more than ten people. The ship had three decks. The first deck had only one room, which was originally used to store the goods to be transported. Dingsheng Sect made some rough modifications and put a long table and about ten chairs and stools inside for fellow disciples to gather and talk. The second and third decks were also rooms.
Ji Mingran first led everyone up to the third level inside the cabin.
Pushing open the door to the first room, Ji Mingran said to Qin Danniang, "You can use this room."
The third floor gets plenty of sunlight, and getting some sun there would help restore her energy and spirit, which was perfect for Qin Danniang, who was currently in a daze. Ji Mingran thought to himself.
As someone abandoned by her fellow disciples, Qin Danniang was extremely grateful for the Dingsheng Sect's shelter and readily complied with their arrangements, even willing to stay on the deck.
Seeing that Ji Mingran had even arranged a room for her, Qin Danniang was even more grateful. She composed herself and sincerely said, "Thank you."
"Go inside. Let's rest while things are calm." Ji Mingran pushed Qin Danniang inside, stating his thoughts bluntly: "Then we can concentrate on refining pills."
Ji Mingran still longs for the healing pills and spirit-storing pills that Dan Niang refined, and is thinking about how to ask her for more. However, Dan Niang is determined to rejoin her fellow disciples and cannot stay. Now that so many of her dim-witted fellow disciples don't want her, it's perfect that she's on the Dingsheng Sect's ship.
Qin Danniang assumed that Ji Mingran was using alchemy to distract himself from his troubles. Before entering the room, she turned back and smiled gently, saying, "Alright, since you've taken me in, I should repay you."
She gave all her pill storage bags to her fellow disciples, and now she has no pills left. However, the Dingsheng Sect still took her in, and she is determined to refine more pills to provide for everyone!
The worry in Qin Danniang's eyes vanished, replaced by determination. She stepped into the room, sat down, and began refining pills.
After settling Qin Danniang in, Ji Mingran then pushed open the second door and said to Shi Jinle, "You'll stay in this room."
The room on the third floor is the best in terms of layout, size, and location. Shi Jinle lent the guiding magical artifact, the Night-Shining Pearl, in exchange for the opportunity to board the ship, so he should rightfully get the best room.
The cargo ship's facilities were far inferior to the Hehuan Sect's pearl and gem spirit ship. Even the best rooms were equivalent to storage rooms compared to Shi Jinle's residence on the spirit ship.
But these were all choices that Shi Jinle made voluntarily. Pushing open the door, Shi Jinle glanced at the furnishings in the room and said nonchalantly, "Okay."
Everything is settled. Ji Mingran nodded, turned around, and was about to walk downstairs, with Yu Tianxing following behind him.
"Wait!" Shi Jinle asked, "Where are you going?"
Ji Mingran turned around and said in surprise, "Going to the room on the second floor?"
This is indeed normal, but something seems off. Shi Jinle thought for a moment, then pointed to the person next to Ji Mingran and asked, "Where does he live?"
Ji Mingran tilted his head, puzzled: "He lives next to me."
"He lives next to you?" Shi Jinle's voice rose again. "Don't you live on the third floor?"
She knew something was off; the room next to hers was completely empty, clearly unoccupied. "Aren't you the most senior member of your sect? Why aren't you living on the third floor?"
And the key point is that Shi Jinle asked loudly, "Why did you arrange for him to live next to you?"
Ji Mingran didn't understand why Shi Jinle was firing off a barrage of questions, but he still patiently answered, "There are only three rooms on the third floor, so the four of us from the same sect will all live on the second floor."
As for why Yu Tianxing was arranged to stay in the room next to hers, Ji Mingran asked in confusion, "If he doesn't stay next to me, where else can he go?"
A faint laugh drifted into my ears.
Ji Mingran glanced at Yu Tianxing; ever since their last encounter, Yu Tianxing seemed to be in a good mood.
It seems that you have indeed recovered most of your health!
"This...aren't there still rooms here?" Shi Jinle was stunned by Ji Mingran's answer. After thinking for a moment, her eyes lit up and she said, "How about this, I'll switch with him, and I'll stay on the second floor."
"No way." Ji Mingran refused outright.
"Why?" Shi Jinle was about to jump up.
Why are her emotions fluctuating so much? This reminded Ji Mingran of the unreasonable customers he had encountered in the coffin shop before.
This guest is, in a sense, also a distinguished guest.
He needed to be patient and reassured. Ji Mingran patiently explained, "If he lives on the third floor, I'll have to move to the third floor too, but I also want to live on the same floor as my fellow disciples."
"Why do you have to live on the same floor he lives on?" Shi Jinle noticed something amiss. "Does he have to live with you?"
Ji Mingran replied without hesitation, "Yes."
Back in the small world, Yu Tianxing lived next door to her. Now that they've reunited, he should move back to live next to her.
Isn't this common sense?
Ji Mingran thought about it again and again, but still couldn't understand why Shi Jinle asked the question.
Could it be... that this isn't normal? Did she unintentionally do something that doesn't conform to normal human interaction?
Ji Mingran hesitated for a moment, then cautiously glanced at Yu Tianxing again. Seeing that he was standing there as usual and had not raised any objections to what she had said, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally calmed down.
Yu Tianxing is a normal human being, and since he didn't say anything, it means her behavior was normal.
Shi Jinle was stunned by Ji Mingran's answer. Seeing her look at the black-robed cultivator beside her twice, she felt a pang of sadness and couldn't speak for a long time.
She knew the two knew each other, but she would never believe that Huang Maoji was really Ji Mingran's eldest son.
But the fact that one of the two chickens called her "mother" and the other "father" suggests they must have a close relationship.
Now they even live together; their friendship is more than just deep!
"I need to calm down." Shi Jinle took a deep breath, said something, and went back to her room, slamming the door shut. She needed to think about what to do next.
"Yes," Ji Mingran nodded in satisfaction. Having successfully completed her task of answering the distinguished guest's questions, Shi Jinle had been settled in smoothly. Everything was normal, and she led Yu Tianxing downstairs.
There were many rooms on the second floor, but the soundproofing wasn't good. Therefore, she and Shen Qingluo and the others didn't stay together. Instead, they stayed in at least three or four separate rooms. The room next to hers was still empty, and Yu Tianxing moved in there.
Ji Xingyang and the remaining disciple of the Nameless Sect were then allowed to choose any room to stay in.
As Ji Mingran led the three to their cabin, the cargo ship and sailboat had become relatively stable. The sea was calm and quiet with a gentle breeze, and they did not sense any gathering of monsters.
After the deck was cleaned, Ji Xingyang led the Unnamed Sect disciple into the cabin to choose a room, and Guan Wangzhen plopped down next to Zhu Shibai.
Shen Qingluo also returned to the deck.
The sailboat adjusted its speed and direction to sail alongside the cargo ship.
After settling matters concerning the sailboat with Fu Daolan and Shao Qingshang, they arrived at the cargo ship's deck.
"Greetings, everyone." Shao Qingshang saw the three members of Dingsheng Sect sitting around the ship's wheel and walked over as well.
"Where are Mingran and the others?" Fu Daolan looked around, trying to find Ji Mingran and Yu Tianxing.
“They’re choosing rooms. They have nothing else to do, so it’s good for them to rest for a while,” Zhu Shibai said.
Fu Daolan, as if they were old friends, pulled Shao Qing down to sit.
“That’s right, we finally have a chance to catch our breath,” Fu Daolan said. “Ever since we entered this sea area, apart from the first three days when we had time to search for treasures, we’ve been basically chased by all sorts of demons and monsters. We’ve been going up and down the mountain, it’s been tough.”
This piqued Shen Qingluo's curiosity. "What usually lives in the sky?"
The ships of the Dingsheng Sect could not fly and sailed on the sea. They encountered only demonic beasts and never encountered any demons or monsters that stayed in the sky.
"Based on our observations over the past ten days or so, the sky is mostly inhabited by ghosts and demons, and the sea is mostly inhabited by monsters," Shao Qing said. "The ghosts and demons appear silently and control people's minds. If you are not careful, you will fall into the illusions they create. If you encounter one or two, it will be fine, but they are endless and difficult to deal with."
As for the monsters on the sea, they are exceptionally ferocious, and escaping from them is equally difficult.
"Fortunately, they all stayed in their own territories and did not interfere with each other, so we also had a chance to retreat from them." Shao Qingshang also explained why their ships suddenly descended from the sky.
These days, the spirit boats of the Void Sect have been darting up and down across the sky and sea.
Zhu Shibai then asked, "Are there any omens in the heavens?"
“Yes, we found some too.” Shao Qingshang didn’t hide anything. “We found several items floating in the air, but they were mostly being held by demons, making them difficult to retrieve.”
Fu Daolan replied even more readily: "But we got them all."
Zhu Shibai: "Could you tell us what it looks like? If you were once part of our sect, we are willing to exchange it for other spiritual artifacts, treasures, or inheritances. Of course, if you wish to stay, we will not force you."
In exchange of information, Zhu Shibai first mentioned several items that did not belong to the Dingsheng Sect.
After pondering for a moment and deeming it feasible, Shao Qingshang described the items he had searched since entering the prize pool secret realm: "Most of them are inherited treasures left in the secret realm by former powerful figures of the Void Sect. As for the remaining three..."
“None of those.” Zhu Shibai shook his head after hearing Shao Qingshang’s description. “I speculate that because each prize contains the aura of its creator or holder, it will attract and gather disciples from the same sect who are participating in the competition. Therefore, most of the prizes we encountered were left behind by powerful figures from the same sect.”
“I agree.” Shao Qingshang agreed, then posed another question: “Does Fellow Daoist Zhu have any clues about the sea area where the prize pool secret realm appeared this time?”
Fu Daolan added, "Apart from the two of us, all the Void Sect disciples participating in this competition are native to the spiritual cultivation world. They don't know this place, and have never even heard of it before."
“I’ve never heard of such a sea area in the spiritual cultivation world before,” Guan Wangzhen said.
Zhu Shibai: "Me too. This area is a gathering place for sea monsters and demons, and there are many of them. It should be known to all spiritual cultivators..." After a moment of contemplation, he said in a deep voice: "I also have a speculation about this."
Meeting Shao Qingshang's worried gaze, Zhu Shibai was certain that the two were thinking of the same thing. His heart sank, and he solemnly said, "The Abyss of Sacrifice to Demons."
......
Pushing open the door, Ji Mingran led Yu Tianxing into his room.
The room was square, with a screen painted with a pattern of five peaks and two rivers separating the interior. A set of dark red table and chairs was placed in front, and the bed was behind.
Yu Tian walked to the table, gestured for Ji Mingran to sit down, and skillfully picked up the tea set to start making tea.
Tea was poured into a cup, and Yu Tianxing handed it to the person in front of him: "What do you want to ask?"
Holding the steaming teacup, Ji Mingran finally had a chance to ask him properly: "Why are you here? You disappeared during the competition, how come you've reappeared now?"
Yu Tianxing simply said, "I am here because I have been here before."
Just like before, he didn't answer her questions directly. Ji Mingran stared intently at the person in front of her.
After everyone returned to the ship, Yu Tianxing had lowered his veil again, completely obscuring his face. Through the veil, Ji Mingran couldn't see his features, and therefore couldn't discern his expression when he answered her.
But she could sense that Yu Tianxing was looking at her.
“I’m quite familiar with this place,” he asked. “Last time you wanted a spirit beast, what do you want this time?”
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