The Guling Jiang clan?
The moment those four words were spoken, the lively atmosphere in the room came to an abrupt halt.
Everyone looked toward Wang Heng, as if puzzled.
Where was Guling? Why had they never heard of it?
And how could a small town sustain such a great local clan?
Damn, I misjudged him!
Wang Heng’s heart gave a thump, the corner of his eye twitching.
“Disaster!”
How could he have expected that Jiang Yi, who looked so handsome and refined, clear-spirited and bright, with such extraordinary bearing in conversation, was actually mere common chaff rather than a scion of a local clan?
What a waste of such an outstanding appearance.
“Hahahaha!”
In the end, Wang Heng was smooth and worldly by nature. He suddenly burst into laughter, easing the awkward atmosphere.
“So it was the ‘Lujiang Jiang clan’! Forgive my disrespect! Everyone, please don’t take offense. Junior Brother Jiang is fond of jesting and insisted on saying Guling on purpose to amuse us.”
Li Ruohan, seated to the side, furrowed her brows.
“The Lujiang Jiang clan? I have never heard of this branch. Senior Brother Lu, do you know of it?”
Lu Yun shook his head.
“This Lu is ignorant and ill-informed.”
Wang Heng coughed twice and lightly glossed it over.
“Guling of Beimang lies between the Zhao and Sheng states, with Mount Lu as its waist, the two peaks Hanyang and Tiechuan, and a great river called the Dalong River.
“There is a very famous sect lineage there, known as the Lushan Sword Sect.
“So Junior Brother Jiang calls himself from some ‘Guling Jiang clan,’ but in truth it falls under the Lujiang territory.”
Lu Yun gradually understood.
Junior Brother Wang was smoothing things over.
He frowned, then followed along and changed the topic.
“Everyone, try this cup of ‘fish-dragon grass and black-bone chicken soup.’ The Herb-Gathering Peak had a fine harvest this year. The survival rate of spirit plants increased by twenty percent compared to previous years. Under normal circumstances, one would never get to eat this.”
Senior Brother Lu is seasoned indeed!
Wang Heng secretly praised him, then laughed cheerfully.
“No wonder the owner of Heshui Cave treats Senior Brother Lu like a great Buddha. With Senior Brother Lu’s care, his business must surely be thriving more and more by the day!”
As laughter and chatter rose again, the superior room was once more filled with a merry atmosphere.
“Junior Brother Jiang’s background is probably very ordinary…”
Seeing Wang Heng and Lu Yun talking happily with each other, yet no longer saying much to Jiang Yi, Li Ruohan, sipping her Biluochun tea, belatedly realized it.
“It seems he is not a direct descendant of a Qi Refining local clan. That so-called ‘Lujiang Jiang clan’ was likely Senior Brother Wang putting it in better terms.”
What a true pity!
Li Ruohan set down her teacup and let out the same sigh as Wang Heng.
This Junior Brother Jiang’s speech, manners, composure, and bearing were just like a fine seedling carefully cultivated by a great clan.
Ordinary menials, worked like oxen and horses, would long since have white hair growing in clumps and declining qi and blood.
How could they possess his fine looks and elegant presence?
Li Ruohan sighed softly. Her bright eyes gently moved away from Jiang Yi as she joined the conversation between Lu and Wang.
“Senior Brothers, I have recently wanted to exchange for a few ‘Essence-Nourishing Pills’ to nourish my body and harmonize inner and outer, so that I may break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Might either of you have a way?”
Wang Heng looked toward Lu Yun, who waved his hand.
“This matter is difficult. It happens to be year’s end, and the inner peaks are all hurrying to audit their accounts. Essence-Nourishing Pills are part of the inner peak senior brothers’ monthly allotment and are already consumed in great quantities, so it is not easy to keep any aside.
“Especially Senior Brother Xu, who is responsible for distributing them. Lately… his temper has not been good. Some time ago, when he went to the outer peaks for inspection, he even struck down and killed a blind menial.”
When Lu Yun said this, he finally deigned to glance at Jiang Yi.
“Right, this happened in the Tempering Room of Chiyan Peak, where Junior Brother Jiang is.”
Zhao Fang, who had just entered the sect and had the shallowest seniority, hurriedly spoke when he heard it was a matter of Chiyan Peak.
“I heard about it too. Senior Brother Xu paid eight thousand talisman coins in compensation!”
Wang Heng asked curiously,
“Why is Senior Brother Xu Yan in such a foul temper? He is one of the top talents among the inner peaks. Having entered Elder Sui’s tutelage, his status is not much lower than that of the Sect Master’s line.”
Lu Yun had always been well-informed and did not keep them in suspense. He said directly,
“Didn’t we just mention that the Herb-Gathering Peak had a good harvest this year? They refined two extra ‘Hanyuan Pills,’ but Senior Brother Xu didn’t receive any. The Sect Master’s line took them all.”
Hanyuan Pills?
Jiang Yi, who had been intentionally or unintentionally ignored and treated coldly, raised his brows. The first time he had petitioned the Heavenly Book to show him an opportunity, he seemed to have seen this piece of information.
“That is indeed infuriating! Only about five Hanyuan Pills are produced in a year, and when two extra portions finally appeared, he still didn’t get to taste them! If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to endure it either!”
Wang Heng chimed in. Hanyuan Pills gathered the essence of a hundred herbs. They could purify the spiritual inspiration drawn in through breathing and reduce the effort needed for circulation and tempering.
Taking one was equivalent to saving several years of bitter cultivation. It could not be called anything but precious!
“And that is not all. It is said Senior Brother Xu originally intended to make a fuss, but was stopped by Elder Sui. To compensate him, Elder Sui specially pointed him toward an opportunity.
“Heh, guess what? It came to nothing again!”
Lu Yun laughed heartily. Taking the embarrassing plight of someone more formidable than himself as a topic of conversation inevitably brought him a little satisfaction.
“Senior Brother Xu is rather too unlucky.”
Li Ruohan frowned and asked,
“How could an opportunity already in hand fly away?”
Lu Yun explained with a smile,
“I also heard it mentioned by a steward from the Herb-Gathering Peak. Elder Sui calculated that among the four outer peaks, there would be a place where yin and yang converge, blending with the earth qi, gathering moonlight, and dripping down flowing essence… This thing is extremely rare!
“It can cleanse and refine the physique, open all the bones and meridians, and greatly advance one’s cultivation! But Senior Brother Xu searched for a full seven days and somehow failed to find the place!”
This Senior Brother Xu is truly fated with me!
Jiang Yi thought.
So the moonlight flowing essence I swallowed was actually the other party’s opportunity?
He silently lowered his head and earnestly tasted that cup of fish-dragon grass and black-bone chicken soup, rich with spiritual qi, as if he had never eaten such a fine thing before.
This action fell into the eyes of Wang and Lu, and their inner appraisal of him dropped another notch.
It seemed Junior Brother Jiang truly was born of village chaff, his horizons far too shallow!
Everyone was chatting happily and exchanging what they had seen and heard, yet he only knew how to freeload spirit meals and fine medicines!
Li Ruohan’s expression was urgent as she returned to the main topic.
“Senior Brother Wang, do you have any way? Once spring begins, the inner peak seats will be supplemented. I must use Essence-Nourishing Pills to add a few chances of breaking through.”
Wang Heng pondered in silence, not daring to give a guarantee.
“I will help Junior Sister Li ask around, or perhaps ask Senior Brother Xiao. He is already at the fifth level of Qi Refining and is certain to enter the inner peaks. Perhaps he has some methods.”
Li Ruohan rose to thank him.
“Many thanks, Senior Brother! As long as I can exchange for Essence-Nourishing Pills, any amount of talisman coins will do!”
After this matter was discussed, the few of them turned to idle conversation.
Jiang Yi ate and drank away, downing three cups of spirit meal and fine medicine in a row until he was eighty percent full.
Seeing that the sky outside had already darkened, he tactfully rose, cupped his hands, and took his leave.
Wang Heng did not ask him to stay. He merely nodded faintly, which counted as seeing him off.
After Jiang Yi stepped out of the room, Lu Yun joked with a laugh,
“It is rare for Junior Brother Wang to misjudge someone. Haha! You actually brought a common chaff mortal here among us!”
Wang Heng sighed helplessly.
“I have made Senior Brother laugh at me. Among all the menials attending lectures at Guanlan Terrace, this Junior Brother Jiang had the finest bearing, unlike ordinary folk! Who could have imagined… ah!”
Li Ruohan consoled him.
“Senior Brother need not be vexed. Since Junior Brother Jiang can enter the inner peak to attend lectures, he should have some ability. Perhaps there will be a day when he can still be of use.”
As the three were conversing, Zhao Fang, who had as little presence as Jiang Yi, hesitantly spoke up.
“So Senior Brother Wang does not actually know Inspector Jiang?”
Wang Heng was stunned. He looked toward Zhao Fang, who had just been recruited into the Qianji outer gate, and asked in astonishment,
“What Inspector Jiang?”
Zhao Fang wanted to speak but stopped, then stammered,
“That Senior Brother Jiang just now is an inspector of the Tempering Room on Chiyan Peak, and his methods are extraordinary!
“A few days ago, the two inspectors of the Inscription Room and the Forging Room opposed him. That very night, he beat one to death and crippled the other. He was truly awe-inspiring!
“This matter has already spread throughout Chiyan Peak…”
Wang Heng’s eyes widened, and he could hardly believe it, suspecting that he had heard wrong.
“Why did Junior Brother not say so earlier!?”
His tone carried anger.
If Junior Brother Jiang truly was the inspector of a room, it meant that he had the backing of an overseer.
Coupled with the fact that he was suspected of cultivating Daoist arts, he ought to possess considerable talent and was entirely worth treating well!
Zhao Fang muttered,
“I heard Senior Brother speak so confidently about some Lujiang Jiang clan, and thought Senior Brother already understood the details…”
Wang Heng was so furious that his face turned alternately green and white. For a long while, he could not squeeze out a word.
Lu Yun, seated beside them, was also exceedingly surprised. That Junior Brother Jiang had actually caught an overseer’s eye and been promoted as a mere common chaff to a room inspector, practicing martial arts and cultivating the Dao?
He was truly an anomaly!
“Senior Brother need not be gloomy. We were all the ones who misjudged him. Junior Brother Jiang has ambition. In the future, he will inevitably have dealings with us again. When the time comes, we can set out a table and speak openly; that will be enough.”
Li Ruohan’s voice was gentle as she spoke prettily.
“Besides, if you will allow me to speak somewhat mercenarily, even if this Junior Brother Jiang enters the inner peaks, without a local clan to support him, I fear cultivating the Dao will still be difficult.
“In the future, he may still have to rely on us to lend him a hand.”
Wang Heng felt much more at ease upon hearing this. He nodded and smiled.
“Junior Sister Li’s words are reasonable. To establish oneself in the inner peaks and cultivate the Dao properly is no simpler than doing labor in the outer gate.”
Lu Yun also said,
“Indeed, indeed. You and I are not snobbish villains, nor did we excessively look down on Junior Brother Jiang.
“If he truly bears a grudge, it is no great matter.
“Moreover, with Senior Brother Xiao here, what waves could a mere common mortal body stir up?”
Wang Heng let out a long sigh.
“It was originally a fine matter, yet I botched it. What a pity!”
……
……
“What a shame. I was too embarrassed to drink two more cups…”
After leaving Heshui Cave, Jiang Yi rode a flying crane straight back to Chiyan Peak.
After returning the jade token, he walked toward the communal courtyard. Wind and snow pressed down on his shoulders as his thoughts quietly turned.
“That meal today was worth several days of my cultivation. We are all menials, yet the likes of Zheng Dajiang and Wang Heng can live so comfortably, supported by their local clans. Truly pleasant!”
Thinking to this point, a sudden sense of urgency welled up in Jiang Yi’s heart. There were not many additional seats in the inner peaks. According to Overseer Yang, there were only a few places in total.
Among the four outer peaks, each peak had three major workshops, and every overseer could recommend one person.
A rough calculation showed that there were no small number of competitors!
Jiang Yi stepped into the communal courtyard, but did not enter his room.
He stood quietly for a moment, organizing his thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the large water vat in the corner had formed a solid layer of ice.
“Winter has arrived.”
His gaze flickered, and the golden paper emerged.
[I humbly petition the Heavenly Book to show me the auspicious day for breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining?]