Chapter 37:
Mi Yi had passed away, and Yuan Jing had left. Even the somewhat bothersome Xiaoyaozi, Mu Huan, and the others had departed. The inn suddenly became quiet.
Hengyu said to Liaowu, “We should also head back.”
Their trip to Pingcheng was originally just to fulfill the wager with Xiaoyaozi. They had stayed longer because of Mi Yi and Yuan Jing’s matters. Now that everything was settled, it was time to leave.
Cultivators were quick to pack. When the sun hanging in the sky became somewhat scorching, the three of them left the inn, walking against the flow of people towards the city gate.
Outside Pingcheng, Hengyu summoned her flying carpet. Just after flying a dozen miles away, Hengyu felt a strong spiritual power fluctuation emanating from the jade token in her storage ring.
Using her divine sense, she retrieved the token and infused it with spiritual power. As soon as the spiritual power entered, a numerical value appeared on the token: 300.
Liaowu was taken aback when he saw this number. Although he wasn’t a Hehuan Sect disciple, he knew that such a value was too low, completely incompatible with the status of a Hehuan Sect Young Mistress.
Before Liaowu could ask anything, a bright light appeared in the sky and quickly flew towards Hengyu. In the blink of an eye, the light arrived before Hengyu and transformed into a fully bloomed Hehuan flower – the sect’s method of transmitting messages to disciples on missions.
Hengyu held the jade token to the Hehuan flower. The blooming petals gradually closed, finally turning into a divine thought that flew into Hengyu’s sea of consciousness.
An ancient and timeworn voice echoed in her mind: “Inner disciple Luo Hengyu, you are required to arrive at the Sword Sect in two months to participate in the Young Generation Disciples’ Dharma Assembly.”
After receiving this message, Hengyu flipped her hand and put the jade token back into her storage ring.
“Fellow Cultivator Luo…” Liaowu started.
“What’s wrong?” Hengyu had a dog’s tail grass in her mouth, the fluffy grass swaying as she spoke.
Liaowu’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the dog’s tail grass: “I hear that the Admiration Value is extremely important in the Hehuan Sect, subtly related to breakthroughs in cultivation. I feel that Fellow Cultivator Luo’s Admiration Value is a bit low, which might hinder your advancement.”
Hearing the topic of “advancement,” Hengyu sat up straight, removed the dog’s tail grass, and her expression became serious: “Does Senior Brother Liaowu have any insights on Admiration Value?”
She had just advanced from late Foundation Establishment to the peak of Foundation Establishment and wouldn’t be able to break through again within a year or two, but it was necessary to plan ahead. Besides practicing calligraphy and swordsmanship, Hengyu had been pondering the matter of Admiration Value.
When she met Mi Yi, she felt fortunate, thinking she had finally found someone to discuss it with. Unfortunately, Mi Yi was under a silencing spell and couldn’t answer her questions. Hengyu had been planning to send a message to her master for clarification, but she hadn’t expected Liaowu to bring up the topic.
“I wouldn’t say insights, but if Fellow Cultivator Luo has any questions about this, you can discuss them with me.”
Hearing this, Hengyu paused. But upon further thought, she understood. The major sects of the Canglan Continent were neither enemies nor friends. Even the seemingly peaceful Wuding Sect might have investigated other sects.
This practice wasn’t difficult to understand. If Hengyu were a decision-maker in her sect, she would do the same – not necessarily with malicious intent, but with necessary vigilance. Otherwise, over tens of thousands of years, with countless sects rising and falling, how could the Eight Great Righteous Sects and Five Great Demonic Sects stand at the peak of the continent, controlling so many blessed lands and hiding countless coveted resources?
Hengyu took a deep breath and organized her thoughts.
“The formation on the Hehuan Sect jade token can connect to people’s hearts. Any Hehuan Sect disciple can gain Admiration Value when they gain someone’s admiration.”
“But – what exactly does admiration mean? Romantic love definitely counts, but does the reverence of the weak for the strong also count?” – Human hearts were so complex, yet this jade token could convert human emotions into a concrete numerical value.
Its principle was very similar to the system used by the Strategy Department of the Time and Space Administration to monitor the favorability of targets towards agents.
The most compelling evidence for her speculation was the ABCDS grading system for the Hehuan Sect’s inner sect missions. She had specifically investigated this. Before the founding of the Hehuan Sect, there was no alphabetic system on the continent; everyone used the traditional Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches system for ranking. But after the founding of the Hehuan Sect, the alphabetic system became commonly used.
Therefore, Hengyu had reason to suspect that the founder of the Hehuan Sect was a transmigrator, or perhaps even someone from the Time and Space Administration.
Of course, Hengyu only kept these latter thoughts to herself. The founder of the Hehuan Sect had perished tens of thousands of years ago. With the person gone, her speculation would forever remain speculation, with no way to confirm it.
After listening to her question, Liaowu didn’t immediately answer but said, “When I was reading the scriptures, I once came across a story about a great master of the Hehuan Sect.”
“Six thousand years ago, the space near the South China Sea shattered, and the speed of its spread was extremely fast. Within just a few days, the hundreds of thousands of living beings within the South China Sea region would have been affected.”
“The great master of the Hehuan Sect happened to be cultivating nearby. He directly entered the shattered space and tried every means to mend it, eventually exhausting his spiritual power and dying. Before his death, the disciple attending him noticed that the Admiration Value on his jade token seemed to have increased by two thousand.”
Liaowu paused and said, “Of course, because that great master already had over one hundred thousand Admiration Value, the disciple wasn’t sure if he remembered correctly.”
Hengyu was stunned: “…If that disciple didn’t remember wrong, does that mean saving hundreds of thousands of lives only earns two thousand Admiration Value???”
Yet casually capturing the heart of a Foundation Establishment disciple could yield more than two thousand Admiration Value.
This ratio was too cruel. No wonder the Hehuan Sect only recommended the strategy route for gaining Admiration Value.
Her expression was rarely so bewildered, and Liaowu couldn’t help but smile, kindly adding, “The South China Sea is a place lacking spiritual energy, and those hundreds of thousands of beings were mortals. If it were hundreds of thousands of cultivators, the Admiration Value gained would naturally be much higher.”
Hengyu: “…”
This addition didn’t comfort her at all, thank you very much.
Closing her eyes, Hengyu quickly regained her composure: “Regardless, it’s still a possible path.”
Hengyu took out the jade token again, rubbing its edge with her fingertip. She decided to study this jade token carefully, along with formations. Research and development was her forte.
What if she could develop something beneficial to all humanity on the continent? Wouldn’t that mean she could passively harvest Admiration Value?
With this thought, Hengyu began rummaging through her storage ring, finding introductory books on formations and starting to read them carefully. As she read, she couldn’t help but sigh: When traveling, it was always wise to bring more scriptures and manuals.
In the evening, the three arrived at their destination without incident. Walking into the city, they first arrived at Hengyu’s courtyard.
Hengyu turned and waved to Liaowu and Liaonian: “I’ll go back now.”
Pushing open the wooden gate and entering the courtyard, Hengyu looked around, finding it exactly as she had left it. Dust accumulation was nonexistent due to the formations set up in the courtyard.
After a comfortable bath, Hengyu dried her hair with spiritual power, then entered the study with her hair loose and sat down to read the books on formations.
She stayed in the courtyard for half a month, engrossed in her studies. After finishing the two books on formations, Hengyu decided to visit Liaowu at Qingyun Temple, hoping to borrow more books from him.
Morning was usually the busiest time at Qingyun Temple. Passing through the market at the foot of the mountain, Hengyu bought a candied hawthorn stick and ate it as she followed the pilgrims up the stone steps and into the temple.
Hengyu was already familiar with the paths of the Wuding Sect. After entering the temple, she turned onto a cobblestone path, intending to go directly to Liaowu’s quarters.
Reaching the outside of the quarters, Hengyu heard the sound of a guqin coming from within. The melody was melodious and low, yet clear and pleasant, like gentle rain hitting jade, calming the heart along with the sound of the zither.
“Is Liaowu playing the guqin?”
Hengyu stepped through the archway, her vision widening to encompass the entire courtyard. Sure enough, Liaowu, dressed in a blue robe, was sitting in the courtyard pavilion, playing the guqin. As if sensing something, Liaowu’s right hand rested on the strings, then suddenly plucked them –
Hengyu took a step forward, then felt her feet bound. She raised her hand, spiritual power surging, and slashed downwards.
Liaowu plucked the strings again.
Hengyu took a step back and retrieved her purple jade flute from her storage ring. After twirling the flute in her hand and adjusting her position, Hengyu tested the sound and began to play along with Liaowu’s guqin.
Once the flute and guqin harmonized, Liaowu’s obstructions became ineffective. Hengyu continued playing the flute as she walked towards Liaowu step by step. Upon reaching him, Hengyu twirled the flute in her hand and, while Liaowu was unguarded, lightly tapped his head with it.
“You actually tried to stop me from approaching you with your guqin music. This is your punishment.”
Although she called it punishment, the tap was so light that it was more like teasing.
Liaowu’s hands rested on the strings, unable to concentrate on playing any longer. He dodged to the side and said helplessly, “I was just playing with Fellow Cultivator Luo.”
Hengyu reached out and tapped his head again: “I’m also playing with you now.” She even took the opportunity to push her luck: “Oh, and this punishment isn’t enough. You have to make me another bracelet as compensation when you have time. I want one with bells.”
Liaowu: “…”
“See how much your little game has cost you? Remember this for next time.” This way, she could take the opportunity to make more requests.
Liaowu, who had been somewhat speechless, couldn’t help but chuckle. It was a genuine chuckle, somewhat muffled but pleasant, like a gentle breeze brushing against the heart, making one’s heart itch.
“Fellow Cultivator Luo has been busy studying formations for the past half month. Why did you suddenly come to Qingyun Temple today?”
Hengyu sat down opposite him, slightly lifting her chin, her gaze falling on the teapot, then nodding her chin towards it: “I only have two basic formation books, and I’ve almost finished reading them. I wanted to borrow a few more from you.”
To have thoroughly studied two formation books in half a month was quite an impressive speed.
Liaowu lifted the teapot and poured her some tea. After filling the cup, he handed it to her and pushed the pastries on the table towards her.
After doing all this, Liaowu then said, “The path of formations is ever-changing. If Fellow Cultivator Luo wants to delve into its study…”
Hengyu took out a bottle of spiritual liquid from her storage ring. She picked up a pastry with her left hand and slowly ate it while using her right index finger to draw a formation with the spiritual liquid as the base. After a few breaths, a miniature spirit-gathering formation appeared in the air.
“Now you believe I’ve truly mastered those two books, right?”
“Those two formation books are very basic, covering a total of six formations, all commonly used on the continent. After memorizing how to draw them, I started practicing, and I only failed a few times before mastering each formation.”
Surprise appeared on Liaowu’s face: “Only a few times?” Although he hadn’t studied formations in depth, he knew that even those skilled in formations would fail dozens of times before mastering a new one.
Hengyu raised an eyebrow; it seemed her performance was quite exceptional: “I suppose I have some talent in formations.”
Although she said so, Hengyu herself wasn’t sure about talent or not. She felt that her ability to master formations after only a few failures was related to her previous work at the Time and Space Administration. She was already accustomed to finding bugs in vast data streams and correcting them bit by bit.
When learning formations, she used the same logical thinking – analyzing the points of failure, thinking of solutions, and conquering the formation in the shortest time possible. The things she had learned in the past weren’t useless; they had helped her greatly in this regard.
Hearing Hengyu’s self-praise, Liaowu chuckled softly: “Fellow Cultivator Luo, this is not ‘some talent,’ but rather ‘exceptional talent’.”
Hengyu smiled.
“Here are three formation books, which should be enough for Fellow Cultivator Luo to study for a while. When we return to the Wuding Sect, I will find more books for you.” Liaowu took out three books from his storage ring.
Hengyu teased, “You found them so quickly? Are you used to categorizing your books, or did you prepare these for me in advance?”
Liaowu replied, “I am used to organizing my storage ring.”
Hengyu stopped joking, performed a formal salute, and thanked Liaowu for his help.
After putting away the books, Liaowu asked, “Does Fellow Cultivator Luo have any urgent matters to attend to next?”
“Not at the moment.” Hengyu shook her head. She had just mastered those formations, and this trip was also meant for relaxation.
“Then, Fellow Cultivator Luo…” Liaowu said, “you can go to the kitchen and learn how to cook vegetarian dishes.” He hadn’t forgotten about their wager.
“…Alright, a bet’s a bet.”
The two stood up and walked towards the temple kitchen. Hearing the commotion, the young monk Liaonian dashed out of the room to watch the fun.
It was just past lunch, and the somewhat plump chef monk was sitting on a chair, slowly fanning himself, not yet in a hurry to prepare dinner. Seeing elongated shadows cast into the kitchen, the chef glanced outside and quickly stood up. He straightened his robes and put his palms together to greet Liaowu.
Liaowu returned the greeting.
After Liaowu explained their purpose, the chef said to Hengyu, “If this benefactor wishes to use the kitchen, please feel free.”
“Thank you for your generosity,” Hengyu replied. She looked around and asked the chef, “What dishes are typically served in a vegetarian meal?”
The chef smiled and began to explain: “The staple foods in our temple are rice, whole wheat flatbreads, and vegetarian leek buns. Occasionally, we also make vegetarian cabbage dumplings. As for dishes, we have stir-fried choy sum, vegetarian leek boxes, lotus flower emerging from water, honey-glazed pumpkin…”
Hengyu thought carefully: The wager stipulated a full vegetarian meal. In that case, she wouldn’t make anything fancy for the staple food, just steamed rice or porridge! As for the dishes…since she didn’t know how to cook anything, any dish was the same to her.
After listening for a while, Hengyu decided on honey-glazed pumpkin and teriyaki mushrooms.
“Only two dishes?” Liaowu was slightly taken aback. Hadn’t they agreed on a full vegetarian meal for him?
Hengyu said earnestly, “Senior Brother Liaowu, you’re only eating alone. I’m afraid even two dishes would be too much. As a Buddhist Son, you should advocate frugality.”
Liaowu suppressed a smile: “Liaonian can eat with me. And doesn’t Fellow Cultivator Luo intend to eat what you’ve cooked?”
Hengyu shook her head resolutely. She always had confidence in herself. For example, this time, she was certain that the dishes she cooked would be terrible. Since that was the case, it was enough to burden Liaowu; why should she burden herself as well?
After deciding what to make, Hengyu began by washing the rice. After that, she glanced at the pile of firewood in the corner of the kitchen and decisively took out her spiritual liquid and drew a small fire-inducing formation. After drawing the formation, she infused it with spiritual power, successfully activating it. In the blink of an eye, a flame sprang up in the center of the formation, radiating intense heat.
Hengyu clapped her hands and placed the rice pot over the flame.
After taking care of the rice, Hengyu brought over a small pumpkin. She held a knife, carefully considering how to cut it. Then – she began peeling the pumpkin using her apple-peeling technique, taking a while to get the hang of it.
Liaonian brought a small stool and sat beside her, watching her peel the pumpkin with his chin in his hands. After a while, Liaonian commented, “Fellow Cultivator Luo, you look more serious now than when you faced Senior Yuan Jing.”
Hengyu: “…”
Soon, Hengyu finished peeling the pumpkin and cleaning the mushrooms. At this point, she went to consult the chef monk. The chef explained the key points.
Then – then, as Hengyu expected, she burnt the pumpkin. Once, twice, thrice…
On the fifth attempt, Hengyu looked at the pumpkin in the dish, which had almost melted together and couldn’t maintain its shape, and coughed lightly.
“What’s wrong?” Liaowu asked her.
“I think I’m improving with each attempt. The sixth time I stir-fry it, its appearance will surely catch up.”
Liaowu said gently, “There’s no need.”
“Huh?”
Liaowu picked up a pair of chopsticks, picked up a clump of pumpkin from the dish, and put it in his mouth. After slowly swallowing, he said, “It’s sweet.” There was no hint of forced politeness on his face.
“You…” Hengyu’s expression was hesitant.
“It’s alright. It’s just a wager. If Fellow Cultivator Luo is truly having difficulty, let’s stop here. I will eat this honey-glazed pumpkin with my rice tonight.”
Hengyu pursed her lips. She picked up a pair of chopsticks, bent down, and picked up a clump of pumpkin, her brow furrowing immediately – the pumpkin was sweet with a burnt taste, the two flavors mixing strangely. But Hengyu didn’t spit it out, instead swallowing it silently like Liaowu had just done.
“If you’re going to eat this dish, I’ll eat with you.”
“Fellow Cultivator Luo, you don’t have to force yourself.”
“Then why should you force yourself?” Hengyu said, “Don’t do things you don’t want to do. You shouldn’t always be gentle; you should have your own temper.”
“Fellow Cultivator Luo is right.” Liaowu smiled good-naturedly, still looking indulgent. “But I don’t mind.” It was clear that she had never lifted a finger in the kitchen. It made sense. As the Hehuan Sect Young Mistress, with her esteemed status, her food, clothing, and travel would all be taken care of. She probably hadn’t even entered a kitchen before.
For the sake of a wager, she had entered the kitchen to wash rice and cook. Liaowu appreciated her effort, so how could he possibly dislike the taste of this honey-glazed pumpkin? He even felt remorseful, thinking that he shouldn’t have proposed the wager that made her cook vegetarian dishes.
Hengyu found it hard to express her current feelings. She had heard countless flattering words and many heartfelt words, but none of them were as touching as Liaowu’s simple “I don’t mind.”
“…I’m also happy to eat with you.” After a while, Hengyu smiled, “Don’t say any more, or I’ll find you nagging.”
Liaowu had opened his mouth to speak but closed it helplessly upon hearing her words.
After dinner, Hengyu prepared to return home. As she left the quarters, a bone-chilling north wind blew towards her. Hengyu narrowed her eyes, feeling as if the wind carried a hint of gentleness as it brushed past her cheeks.
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