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Chapter 99: So Special
Lin Hu turned back to look at his master and saw his master had changed his position. He was sitting next to the window, leisurely reading a book, the creases in his robes gone. He took a step back. "Miss Kong Hou, please enter."
Kong Hou strolled into the room and saw Huan Zhong reading. She whispered, "Am I disturbing you from your reading?" But she could never tire of Huan Zhong reading by the window.
"No." Huan Zhong elegantly put the book down. "Come here and sit."
Kong Hou walked to sit next to him and secretly examined Huan Zhong. Seeing him look at her with a smile yet not a smile, she coughed. "I came to find you for paired cultivation."
"All right." Huan Zhong looked up at Lin Hu. Lin Hu perceptively left and closed the door for them.
Seeing Lin Hu leave, Kong Hou whispered, "Huan Zhong, are there any among you sword cultivators who have significant others?"
"Two centuries ago, an elder of our sect married a medicine cultivator." Huan Zhong earnestly thought back and finally found a cultivator willing to join with another. "The two have a good relationship and never fight."
One was obsessed with medicine, and the other with the sword. Even if they wanted to fight, it would be difficult.
Of all the sword cultivators in Radiance Sect, only one had a significant other…
Kong Hou"s brow furrowed. "Oh."
"What is it?" Huan Zhong looked at Kong Hou.
Kong Hou shook her head silently. "Nothing."
When she lifted her head again, her smile was as bright as usual. "Let us do paired cultivation."
"All right."
Huan Zhong sat down cross-legged, looked at Kong Hou next to him, showed a warm smile and closed his eyes.
Cultivation was to comprehend the word and one"s inner self. People with complementary auras would benefit from cultivating together. Kong Hou"s living environment was simple and she did not interact much with outsiders. This clean and innocent personality meant she could feel the world"s elements more easily.
After a night, Kong Hou felt that her spirit platform was no longer as dried up as though it were a thin layer at the bottom of a bottle about to crack out of dryness. While not much improved, it was better than nothing.
Huan Zhong woke up earlier than her and had dressed in white robes but which had different silvery patterns. Seeing her wake, Huan Zhong handed a bottle of spirit fluid to her. "I will call Lin Hu to prepare the carriage."
Taking the body temperature jade bottle, Kong Hou washed herself and drank the spirit fluid. When she came out of the door holding the bottle, she coincidentally encountered the four cultivators from Nine Phoenix Sect.
"Radiance Sect and Splendid Cloud Sect have recently been in contact and grown closer. I don"t know how these two sects suddenly became as close as a family…"
The youngest shidi was muttering in a small voice. When he raised his head and saw a beautiful female cultivator looking at him with large eyes, he flushed slightly. As a male cultivator, he was embarra.s.sed at talking about a sect behind their backs and being heard by a young female cultivator.
Seeing the beautiful female cultivator nod slightly at him, the youngest shidi hurriedly returned a bow, his face growing redder.
Ling Yue looked at the brightly smiling female cultivator. Wasn"t she the one who had been mistaken as a disciple of Splendid Cloud Sect?
"Please." Kong Hou took a step backwards and motioned for them to go first.
"Celestial, you first," the shidi said.
Kong Hou was going downstairs to find Huan Zhong and Elder Lin. She did not exchange more pleasantries with them. She bowed and then walked down the stairs.
The youngest shidi looked at her back until she disappeared around the corner. When he reluctantly took back his line of sight, he saw his shijie staring at him. He immediately lost all thought and didn"t dare to look at Ling Yue.
"Jing Yuan, as a sword cultivator, your mind has to be calm, your presence peaceful. Do not be a person who cannot walk when they see a beautiful girl. Then you are not a cultivator, but a pervert." Ling Yue"s voice was cold as she said, "After we return, copy your mental scripture ten times, so that you can calm your mind and energies and focus on the sword."
The shidi called Jing Yuan said with a pale face, "Yes."
"Shijie, Shidi has joined the sect for less than a decade. It is normal that his mind is not steady enough. Do not be angry." The other male saw the young shidi with his pale face and wanted to ease the atmosphere. "After we return, I will supervise him to practice the sword."
"Kong Hou of Splendid Cloud Sect has joined her sect for seven years and has Mind Activation cultivation," Ling Yue said to the speaking shidi. "You have joined the sect for almost fifty years, and just have Mind Activation cultivation."
The male disciple: "…"
If he had known this, he would not have spoken.
"Shijie… " The other female disciple whispered, "It is late, let us travel. From here to Splendid Cloud Mountain, there is still a day"s worth of travel."
Facing her shimei, Ling Yue"s expression was much better. In the sect, she would always have some more patience for the shimei. She nodded. "All right."
The two shidi sighed in relief, and obediently followed behind them silently.
When Kong Hou went downstairs, she did not find Huan Zhong and Elder Lin in the hall. She looked around, saw the carriage parked outside and walked out to see. Huan Zhong and Elder Lin were standing next to the carriage and talking. Huan Zhong"s expression was grave.
"Has something happened?" Kong Hou walked close. "Huan Zhong, your expression is not well."
"It is nothing." Huan Zhong looked back at Kong Hou. "Just now, I was discussing our gifts for Path Friend Cheng Yi. Our opinions do not agree."
"Eldest Shixiong is a sword cultivator, you are also a sword cultivator—there doesn"t have to be much consideration." Kong Hou did not say something like there was no need to prepare gifts. She jumped onto the carriage. "Just any talisman would do."
"You are right." Huan Zhong followed onto the carriage. Before putting down the curtain, the four disciples of Nine Phoenix Sect walked out. Their expressions were similar in their aloofness, and fitted Nine Phoenix Sect"s usual conduct.
Jing Yuan wanted to peak, but thinking about Shijie"s stern face, he bent his head down.
When the horses whinnied and led the carriage to charge into the sky, he said in amazement, "Those are flying horses, and two of them."
Flying horses were extremely hard to capture and tame after being captured. After being tamed, they had to be fed spirit gra.s.ses and dew. This was a kind of horse that burned spirit stones from head to hoof. There were rarely any cultivators that endured to use this kind of horse to pull carriages.
"So luxurious and flamboyant. They definitely are not sword cultivators." Jing Yuan found Ling Yue Shijie looking at him and put away his admiration. He said with a stiff expression, "Our cultivation should not care about material items, and not copy the extravagance of others."
Ling Yue said, "Your defense jade pendant is worth five thousand spirit stones. Take it off."
Jing Yuan: "…"
Was he wrong again?
"Cultivators need to focus on their minds, but no one said you have to live in poverty." Ling Yue jumped onto her flying sword. "Do not be so extreme."
The Nine Phoenix Sect disciples travelled for a while and occasionally saw the two horses running in the clouds. Jing Yuan said confusedly, "Shijie are these two going to Splendid Cloud Sect to celebrate?"
Among the young generation of Splendid Cloud Sect, the most famed disciples were Wu Chuan, Cheng Yi, Ling Hui and the others. Now, there was also a pentad spirit base genius Kong Hou. They could be considered to have qualified successors. Cheng Yi"s mind manifestation ceremony was grand, and the sects all gave face, sending their sect elders, peak masters, or sect eldest disciple to attend.
Nine Phoenix Sect and Splendid Cloud Sect did not have many interactions, and still had Ling Yue Shijie, the sect eldest disciple, come with gifts. He heard some sects were still trying to get an invitation in order to show their faces in front of the major sects.
"These two people are of unknown ident.i.ty and should not be offended." Ling Yue glanced into the clouds with a serious expression. "Especially when that male cultivator who appears to have no cultivation has an attendant who is in Mind Manifestation Stage." How many Mind Manifestation forebears in the cultivator world were willing to be attendants for other people?
But even so, Ling Yue did not believe these two were from Radiance Sect and Splendid Cloud Sect. She frequently interacted with people of Radiance Sect. The sword cultivators of Radiance Sect were all as emotionless as stones, and could not show gentleness toward women like that man did.
Thinking about the words Master had said to her before leaving the sect, Ling Yue frowned slightly. As a female disciple, she had never slacked on the sword path, and did not think she was weaker than any male cultivator. But Master…
"Shijie, they are all saying that Radiance Sect is preparing to enter a marriage alliance with Splendid Cloud Sect—could this be true?" Jing Yuan felt this was incomprehensible. Could fish and bird be together and have children?
"What does it have to do with us?" Ling Yue put her hands behind her back. "Even if they are truly going to have a marriage, they are equal in rank and willing. What is surprising about this?"
"It is strange. We have never heard about Spirit Master Huan Zhong of Radiance Sect in the past, but in the last few months, there have frequently been news of him. Whoever he is, he cannot compare to Spirit Master Zhong Xi." The shimei peeked at Ling Yue"s expression. "If Shijie is going to marry someone, only a man like Spirit Master Zhong Xi will qualify."
"Ha." Ling Yue snorted. "What will I do with a man who only has cultivation but no romantic sense? Men, if they are good-looking and have a sweet mouth, it is good to keep them as an amus.e.m.e.nt. What is the meaning in marriage?"
Shimei: "…"
As expected, Shijie liked the soft boytoys more. Master"s plans were fated to fail.
Cheng Yi"s Mind Manifestation ceremony had not started, but Harmonious City was already filled with people from all over, the larger restaurants packed with people. Many cultivators who had already abstained from food would be unconsciously attracted by delicious food after entering Harmonious City and break their own rules again and again.
The female cultivators gorged themselves while they ate expensive Body Shaping Pills, wanting both good food and a good body.
Sky Sect"s branch store in Harmonious City put up new wards every day, and sold months" worth of items in a short ten days. The storekeeper flicked the abacus loudly as he watched the young female cultivators pick their dresses. For some reason, he thought of Splendid Cloud Sect"s Celestial Kong Hou who had very good luck.
But he had not seen her for a long time. He didn"t know if she was in seclusion or was out travelling.
"Storekeeper." A clear and familiar voice sounded. "Have new dresses come out?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Seeing the person, the storekeeper was energized. "Long time no see—has Celestial been well?" The storekeeper took out several sets of dresses for Kong Hou to pick from. "There are many people upstairs. Celestial, pick here."
"Thanks." Kong Hou picked a few, and had the storekeeper wrap them up.
The storekeeper thought, it seems that Celestial Kong Hou was wealthy right now to buy several dresses at one time. While he was thinking, his hands moved quickly. He folded and wrapped the dresses to hand to Kong Hou. He lifted his head and saw two men waiting outside the door for her, but these were not the two shixiong from Splendid Cloud Sect that frequently accompanied her.
"Farewell." The storekeeper saw Kong Hou off to the doorway and saw the life token hung off Lin Hu"s waist.
These were people from the main sect?
The storekeeper suddenly felt awe and bowed to Lin Hu and Huan Zhong.
"We came back in a hurry, and I forgot to buy gifts for the shijie." Kong Hou put the dresses into her storage ring. "But with these dresses, the *shijie will not care."
Lin Hu: "…"
His thoughts and the thoughts of women were completely different.
"Celestial, you returned?" A matron dressed in blue robes saw Kong Hou and said with a smile, "A few days ago, I encountered Celestial Ling Hui. She said you went travelling. You are much more handsome now."
"Yes, take this jar of honey; it is good for your skin," someone else added.
"I got some of the wild mushrooms that Spirit Master w.a.n.g Tong asked for last time. Celestial, take it with you. Yesterday, a foreigner wanted to buy, but I didn"t give it to them."
"Thank you, thank you." Kong Hou took what the people handed over. In order to have them accept her spirit stones, she spent some more time. In the end, she gave away her spirit stones and also had more things in her hands.
Lin Hu helped her put the things into her storage back, his expression slightly stunned. "The people of your city… are so enthusiastic?"
"Did they frighten you?" Kong Hou smiled. "They usually are not like this, but I went travelling for a while; they have not seen me for a long time so they are more enthusiastic."
Lin Hu shook his head. "No, this is good."
The people of Pei City feared and revered the sword cultivators of Radiance Sect, but they would not dare be like the people of Harmonious City who would surround the sword cultivator and shove fruits and wild produce at them. He had heard long ago that Splendid Cloud Sect was casual when interacting with people, but he hadn"t imagined just how casual they were.
Most cultivators would deliberately distance themselves from the people. Ordinary people only had a short hundred years, and the cultivators did not dare to waste too much time on these people.
But looking at the closeness that ordinary people felt towards Kong Hou in the noisy crowd, Lin Hu was moved inside.
Was it correct to maintain a cold distance from people because of the short time?
"Shijie, it is them again." Jing Yuan saw Kong Hou smiling brightly in the crowd and murmured, "They really came to congratulate Path Friend Cheng Yi."
This female path friend was like a sun when she smiled.
She was special and completely different from the shijie and shimei of his sect.
Translator Ramblings: I bet a matchmaking service would make a killing in Huan Zhong"s sect.