Yue Shi Sect

At the end of the corridor, there was a small transporting formation that led to the main area. This area was what I recognised from when I had came in yesterday, and was much busier. Servants and cultivators bustled about, all carrying something or rushing somewhere. "This is the main hall, which is linked to the rest of the mountain. We carry out our main duties here." he said.

"What duties?" I asked. "Well, as a Cultivator's Bank, we train disciples to take up positions, acquire information for us, buy and sell things, invest taels in the mortal market, and carry out duties. Over there!" Yun gestured to a dark, spacious room. About 50 Aura Refining Cultivators were sitting in neat rows with their eyes closed, and each of them had their hands submerged inside a large bronze bowl while chanting something. "What are they doing?" I asked. I had never seen such a thing before. "They function as the eyes of National Aurra Bank. National Aurra Bank has many branches and shops. Whenever we deem we need some surveillance or information, they use their divine sense to probe using our secret technique to extract it." he said.

The next corridor had lots of haggard, but determined looking cultivators walking briskly. When one of them opened a door to go in, I briefly saw a round room with a dozen cultivators sitting inside, and cheers ringing out. "Yes! I made a profit!" a man roared from inside. The rest started to congratulate him. "These are our trading rooms. National Aurra Bank runs a monopoly on some items and we only put them on the market in small amounts. However, we also control the trade of much of Kunwu's middle to high range items and frequently turn a profit to sustain ourselves." Yun said.

I nodded in awe. Like this, we passed many corridors while he explained to me. "National Aurra Bank is too big, and you'll mainly be in the main peak, so this is where our tour ends for today." Yun said, just as a summoning talisman landed in his hand. "Alright." he said, after briefly reading it. "Steward Heng is ready now. Let's go and see him." he said. As we made our way to the Steward's Hall, I started to feel a bit nervous. What if he didn't like me? Would he throw me out?

The Steward's Hall had a different ambience than the main hall. It was decorated in shades of white, gold, and marble, and people moved swiftly and without making much noise. Cultivators pushed carts full of scrolls, jade slips and materials around, occasionally saying hi to each other. We stopped at the reception desk. "I have a guest here to see Steward Heng." Yun said. "Alright... Steward Heng is ready for you now. Just proceed." the well-groomed young lady behind the counter said. After we left, I spied her going back to her book, furiously writing something down.

After making many more turns, we finally stopped in front of the door. Before we approached the door, a clear voice rang out. "Come in.". A gust of wind blew and the doors opened. That voice belonged to a skinny, shrewd looking middle aged man, sitting behind a desk. The room was narrow but had a high ceiling, and piles of books were piled up all over the place. As we stepped in, the doors closed behind us. I followed Yun to greet him. "Ying Yue greets Senior Steward Heng." I said earnestly. "Hmm. Good." Steward Heng said, stroking his beard. Although he looked like that, he was actually a Core Formation Senior!

"Ying Yue, is it?" he asked, peering behind his glasses. I nodded. "I heard about you. Such a tragedy... tsk tsk... Your parents should have left you in our care sooner! What use is it going to the secular world? If anyone found you, you would be even more defenseless!" he said loudly. I couldn't help but agree with him. Knowing that there were all sorts of people after my parents' legacy, I wasn't very sure if chucking me in the secular world was the best way to hide me.

"Well, no worries! From today onward, you will be under the care of our Yue Shi Sect!" he said, slamming his hand on the table. My head flew up. "Ah? Yue Shi Sect?" I asked, flabbergasted. Steward Heng gave a look to Yun. "Yun, you didn't tell her?" he said disapprovingly. "There wasn't the opportunity, Senior. Junior apologises." he said.

"Yue Shi Sect..." Steward Heng began again, turning to me. "Few people know of it. It can't be considered a typical sect, as it was only formed out of need for our National Aurra Bank. In the end, the seniority structure is also similar to that of a bank. We don't have disciples. We have employees, and we have associates who stay with us for a long time. We don't have proper sect robes, and we rarely have proper master-disciple relationships. It's actually just a sect in name to shelter clients such as yourself as well as to give our employees legitimacy when they conduct business outside." he said.

Huh? In what way was that a sect, then? "National Aurra Bank... has been around about 5000 years. During this time, many cultivators have placed their trust with us. However, at the same time, many of these cultivators perished, and they often had beneficiaries who they wanted to protect who cannot fend for themselves. Because of this, National Aurra Bank takes in these beneficiaries under the name of Yue Shi Sect and raises them up until they reach the Core Formation realm. At that time, beneficiaries can decide whether they want to become a benefactor of National Aurra Bank and give back, or to go their own way." he said.

I nodded involuntarily. This sounded very logical. That meant there must me loads of others like me who were forced to seek shelter here. "According to your status as a VVIP beneficiary, you will be allocated a certain number of resources, perks, and be able to access your full legacy. You'll find out about this later. Simply put, if you need anything, just let us know and we will do our best to locate it or settle it for you. Alright, any questions?" he finally stopped to ask.

I shook my head. This was just fine with me. I had always been on my own and didn't expect anyone to really look after me. That they were willing to settle my daily needs and protect me was good enough. He nodded. "Yun, see her out." Steward Heng said. We bid our farewells and left the room. This was indeed a very strange system, I thought, as we made our way back. "Miss Ying, did you want to see anything else?" he asked. "No, I'd like to be left alone for a few days to do Closed Door Meditation." I said.