Chapter 6: South Pacify City
In the distance, an enormous city stood nestled among the mountains. Its walls rose dozens of zhang high, their entire surface a lustrous white, as though the city had been carved from a single block of jade. Beneath the sunlight, they gleamed with a cool, crystalline sheen.
High in the air, great immortal cranes spread their wings, each bearing robed cultivators upon its back. Nearing the city gates, they folded their wings and descended slowly. From even higher above, streaks of sword light occasionally flashed past, while other cultivators rode spirit beasts of every shape and kind along the mountain roads.
Qin Zhen stood on the hillside for a long while without moving. Only now did she truly realize that she had entered a world utterly different from the mortal realm. So this was the sort of place her younger sister had lived in all these years.
She took a deep breath and hurried toward the city.
Above the gates were three imposing characters, their strokes sharp and forceful. Qin Zhen could not read them, but from the conversations of those waiting to enter, she learned the city’s name—Southward Comfort City.
Southward Comfort City depended on the Azure Cloud Sect. Cultivators came and went here, but many ordinary people unable to cultivate also lived within the city, so mortals were not barred from entering.
Qin Zhen followed behind the crowd and passed through the gates without trouble. Her attention was immediately drawn to the sights within the city. All manner of shops lined the broad streets in orderly rows. Some sold medicinal pills, others weapons, while before many storefronts were displayed spirit plants and materials from spirit beasts that Qin Zhen had never seen before.
Qin Zhen could not read the signs, but fortunately, many shops had simple symbols carved beside their plaques. A cauldron signified a pill-refining shop, a longsword a weapon-forging workshop, and a leaf a store that sold spirit plants. Qin Jia had told her all this the last time she returned home.
The streets bustled with people. Some cultivators had palm-sized spirit birds perched upon their shoulders, while others cradled long-eared spirit beasts in their arms. Qin Zhen was curious, but she did not dare stare at anyone for too long, only stealing an occasional glance.
What she needed most now were spirit stones. Gold and silver from the mortal world could buy nothing in the cultivation world. After observing the shops along the street for some time, Qin Zhen finally stopped before an elegantly decorated establishment.
A gauzy curtain, thin as cicada wings, hung across the entrance. Through it, she could clearly see tables and chairs inside, as well as patrons eating their meals.
It seemed to be a restaurant. Qin Zhen lifted the delicate curtain and stepped inside. The moment she entered, a rich, inviting fragrance washed over her.
It had been a long time since she had eaten a proper meal. At the scent of food, her stomach gave a soft rumble. A woman dressed in a crimson-red gown came forward to greet her. She first glanced at the mud-stained hem of Qin Zhen’s clothes, then noticed the longsword on her back, yet her face showed no disdain.
“Little girl, are you here to eat?”
Qin Zhen shook her head.
“Big sister, I don’t have any spirit stones.”
The woman paused slightly. Qin Zhen continued, “I’ve just come out of the mountains and am looking for work in exchange for food and a place to stay.”
“I can chop firewood, carry water, and clean the courtyard.”
The woman looked Qin Zhen over from head to toe. Though the little girl’s clothes were worn and tattered, she was neat and clean, and she spoke clearly. She did not seem like one of the ordinary beggar children in the city. Still, Fragrant Elegance Pavilion already had enough servants and had no need for more hands.
The woman was about to refuse when a quarrel suddenly erupted from the rear courtyard.
“This batch of Green Jade vegetables was perfectly fine yesterday. How did they all wilt overnight?”
“Manager, I truly wasn’t slacking off!”
“I watered them exactly as the spirit-plant master instructed. The spirit-gathering formation is working properly too, but they just won’t recover.”
“The City Lord’s Manor is hosting a banquet tomorrow. If we can’t gather enough spirit vegetables, how is Fragrant Elegance Pavilion supposed to answer for it?”
Qin Zhen had not paid much attention at first. But when the door to the rear courtyard was pushed open, an overwhelming sensation of discomfort and suffocation suddenly flooded her mind.
Her steps halted, and she looked over instinctively.
Dozens of wooden crates stood neatly arranged in the courtyard. Each crate held several palm-sized green spirit vegetables.
Their leaves still appeared emerald-green, but their edges had begun to curl slightly. From their roots, a heavy, pained emotion continuously reached Qin Zhen.
It was not a lack of water, nor was it a shortage of spiritual energy.
They could not breathe.
Qin Zhen stared at the crates for a long while. The woman in crimson robes followed her gaze.
“Do you know Green Jade vegetables?”
Qin Zhen shook her head. “No.”
“Then what are you looking at?”
Qin Zhen hesitated before answering, “The soil beneath them is packed too tightly. Their roots are blocked. They can’t breathe.”
The courtyard immediately fell silent. Then a gray-clad attendant could not help but laugh.
“Plants can breathe?”
“Where did this little girl come from? Don’t spout nonsense here.”
Yet the woman did not immediately drive her away. This batch of Green Jade vegetables was worth no small sum. The city’s spirit-plant master had already examined them and said that the spiritual energy might be out of balance, advising them to increase the supply of spirit stones. But the spirit stones in the spirit-gathering formation had already been replaced twice, and the Green Jade vegetables had only grown more wilted.
She looked at Qin Zhen. “Do you have a solution?”
Qin Zhen walked over to one of the crates and crouched beside it. She gently inserted her fingers into the soil. Though the surface was loose and soft, the earth beneath had hardened into compacted clumps.
More strangely, there was a layer of extremely fine white rootlets mixed within it.
Those rootlets did not belong to the Green Jade vegetables. They were entwined around the vegetables’ roots, quietly siphoning away the spiritual energy in the soil.
Qin Zhen closed her eyes. A greedy, restless emotion traveled up through her fingertips.
“There’s something else in the soil,” she said. “It has tangled itself around the Green Jade vegetables’ roots.”
The gray-clad attendant frowned. “We inspect them every day. How could there be anything in the soil?”
Qin Zhen did not argue. Following the place where that emotion was strongest, she brushed aside the soil and pulled a strand of white rootlet as thin as a hair from around the Green Jade vegetable’s roots.
Once it left the soil, it began to writhe like a living creature.
The crimson-robed woman’s expression changed at once.
“Spirit-Draining Vine!”
The seeds of the spirit-siphoning vine were extremely tiny and often mixed in with spiritual soil. When they first took root, they were almost impossible to notice. But once they entwined themselves around the roots of other spirit plants, they would rapidly drain away their spiritual energy. If Qin Zhen had not found them, this batch of jade-green vegetables would likely have withered completely within two or three days.
“Turn over the spiritual soil in every wooden crate!”
The woman immediately ordered,
“Pick out every last root of the spirit-siphoning vines. Not a single one can be left behind!”
The shop hands hurriedly got to work. However, the spirit-siphoning vines’ roots were tangled too tightly with those of the jade-green vegetables. Any carelessness could tear away the vegetables’ roots as well. Qin Zhen, meanwhile, could clearly sense where the vines were located.
“Here—there’s another one on the left. Don’t use too much force underneath; you’ll damage the main root.”
As she gave instructions, she held her palm near the leaves of the jade-green vegetables. A faint warmth flowed from within her body, and the curled leaves gradually unfurled. The pain they conveyed to her also eased considerably.
About an hour later, all the spirit-siphoning vines had finally been cleared away. Su Qingqing personally inspected the plants. The jade-green vegetables that had been treated first were already standing tall again, their leaves restored to their former sheen.
The way she looked at Qin Zhen immediately changed.
“Are you a spirit plant cultivator?”
Qin Zhen shook her head. “I’ve never learned any spells for cultivating spirit plants. I’ve just always been rather good at growing things.”
Su Qingqing clearly did not entirely believe her. Even spirit plant cultivators had failed to notice the spirit-siphoning vines, yet Qin Zhen had located them so precisely. How could she merely be “rather good at growing things”?
But Qin Zhen was unwilling to say more, and Su Qingqing did not press the matter. Everyone had their own secrets.
“My name is Su Qingqing. I’m the proprietor of Fragrant Elegance Pavilion.”
She took five low-grade spirit stones from her storage pouch and handed them to Qin Zhen.
“The batch of jade-green vegetables you saved is worth far more than this. But as a mortal, carrying too many spirit stones would only make you an easy target for trouble.”
“These five spirit stones are your reward for today.”
Then she pointed to a small room in the back courtyard.
“Fragrant Elegance Pavilion has been needing someone to tend to its spirit vegetables.”
“If you are willing, you may stay here for the time being and help inspect the spirit vegetables delivered each day. I’ll provide food and lodging, and pay you another ten low-grade spirit stones every month.”
Qin Zhen did not agree immediately.
“I still need to find my younger sister. She is a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.”
Su Qingqing raised her brows slightly.
“The Azure Cloud Sect?”
Qin Zhen nodded. “Her name is Qin Jia. She hasn’t returned home in five years. We have received no news from her, so I entered the cultivation world to look for her.”
Su Qingqing considered this for a moment.
“The Azure Cloud Sect has countless disciples. It won’t be easy to make inquiries based on a name alone. However, South Fufeng City falls under the Azure Cloud Sect’s jurisdiction, and Fragrant Elegance Pavilion receives many Azure Cloud Sect disciples every day. If you stay here and work, it may be more convenient than searching the streets by yourself.”
Qin Zhen’s heart stirred. She had only just arrived and could not read the writing of the cultivation world. Nor did she know where the Azure Cloud Sect’s mountain gate was located. Even if she did encounter one of its disciples, they might not be willing to pay attention to an unfamiliar mortal. Staying at Fragrant Elegance Pavilion was indeed the safest and most practical option for now.
“Alright,” Qin Zhen said earnestly.
“I’ll stay, but only until I find my younger sister.”
Su Qingqing smiled.
“Of course.”
She had an attendant prepare Qin Zhen a bowl of hot food, then instructed someone to lead her to a small room in the rear courtyard to rest. Sitting at the table and gazing at the steaming meal before her, Qin Zhen finally felt the tension that had gripped her for over a month ease somewhat.
At the very least, she had entered the world of cultivation—and found a place where she could get close to disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect.