10

The room was large, decorated with silk curtains that fluttered in the breeze. The bed and writing table didn't catch her attention as much as the full length painting of a tea ceremony. It was the centrepiece of the room.

Her eyes roamed over the details of the painting as Pei ling moved around behind the wooden partition where she supervised the filling of the washbasin with warm water. 

' send a message to your friend for me, will you? Tell him to find the representative of the thousand bamboo immortal sword sect and inform him that ancestor chu wants an audience with him in the morning. I will be here waiting. Inform me upon his arrival.''

'immediately, sir.' she excused herself to deliver the message.

Bai li yue promptly stepped out of her clothes one the servants vacated the room and sank into the basin with a long sigh. The basin wasn't big enough to swim in, but it was deep enough for her to dunk her whole body and give herself a thorough scrub. She washed her jeans trousers and hung them out to dry on the wooden partition. Thankfully the girl knew her job and had left a couple of buckets of clean water standing by the pool.

She gave herself a final rinse and took out a change of clothes from the spatial ring. 

Her former clothes were in a dirty pile on the ground. Such quality clothes were ruined beyond repair by those pesky snakes.

'i'd better not meet another one of them on the way to the sect. If i do, i'll show them who's boss.'

While her hair dried, she peaked into the spatial ring to take a look at her teacher.

' teacher, how are you doing so far?'

Teacher chu was resting in a corner. His features flickered in and out of sight and he could only nod to show he was still there.

' hang on for a little longer teacher. I have sent for the sect representative. He should be here in the morning. You'll be in the sect before you know it.'

She had no interest in food or rest once she left teacher chu to preserve his energy. The night was the longest night she had ever experienced. She stood up several times to go and find the sect representative herself but had to calm herself down. Life and death was a matter of perspective. Master wasn't going to die anytime soon. She had arrived in yangyang city with almost ten days of  the deadline left. Come morning, she will have a short talk with the sect representative and continue on to the sect.

She spent her time focusing on the centrepiece. She hadn't thought much of the painting at first, but after studying it for hours on end, she had to admit that it had its charm. The painter did not possess prodigious talent, but he managed to evoke leisure and decadence through his work.

It had been so long since she had time to sit and appreciate art. She missed the act of painting; like a missing limb remembered in the harshness of winter.

'They were stuck in another world, all alone. Come to think of it, what happened to my lost paintings? And the people who got them? I completely forgot about them.'

The inn gradually came awake. The footsteps of the employees were soft as they went about their duties and prepared for the day. The city was also coming awake. the sounds of pedestrians hadn't picked up, but she could hear the distant hustle and bustle. 

Pei ling knocked on the door and entered. She had come to wake the guest up, but was taken aback to see a young man seated in the room. She could barely recognise him from yesterday. The change was drastic. His hair was undone and flowed over his shoulders and down his back like a black waterfall. The oversized robe dwarfed him despite the folded sleeves. 

Doesn't he look too young to be an ancestor? She wondered to herself,  motioning the servants in with serving trays. They worked like a well oiled machine and left the room in a matter of seconds. 

' any news about the errand?'

' not yet, sir, but Tang hua will definitely find your quarry.'

' that's odd. He shouldn't be a hard person to find. Don't you know the thousand bamboo immortal sword sect? How difficult is it to find a man?'

' of course i do. Who in yangyang city doesn't know that the Immortal sect is the oldest sect and the most respected sect in jingqian province?' she smoothly assured her guest. 

Manager shui had given her a quick lesson about the sects in the province when he saw how ignorant she was. The thousand bamboos immortal sword sect was the oldest sect in the province. It was in large part, due to the sect that the province rose to prominence. Yangyang city was a small township that oversaw the mines owned by the sect so the growth of the city was tied to the sect. The thousand bamboo immortal sect, till this day, holds a special place in people's hearts. 

Bai li yue's furrowed brow smoothed out when she heard the sound of running feet. Tang hua stopped at the door breathing hard. He was accompanied by an older gentleman. 

Tang hua caught his breath and didn't show his surprise at the guest's change of appearance. He dragged the man inside and bowed.

' my lord, Tang hua didn't succeed in finding your quarry, but i brought someone who might know something.'

Tang hua's whole composure was different now. Receiving gold as a reward from an old man is different from being awarded gold by a young man in his book. An old man spending extravagantly was nothing new. He worked hard to earn his money, and so spent it wisely. But young people spending extravagantly was a different issue. If his eyes don't deceive him, this young man was no older than 18 years. He was still wet behind his ears. It meant he came from a rich background. His parents wouldn't let him go out into the world without giving him enough wealth with which to survive. Tang hua was incredibly quick witted and he had gotten special training at the treasures pavilion to recognise this type of customer. The oversized robe was out of character, but these characters tended to have eccentric personalities.

' what are you standing there for? Speak! Tell the young master what he wants to know!' Tang hua ordered loudly.

Bai li yue chuckled. Who is he trying to flatter? When did i become a young master?

' it's alright. Speak. I won't be hard on you if you tell me what you know.'

The man looked at tang hua who nodded, urging him to speak.

' this lowly one is a former outer student of the thousand bamboo immortal sect. I failed to reach the required realm for acceptance into the sect so i had to drop out. '

' i see. What does this have to do with the representative?'

He hesitated for a while as if the answer to the question was too heavy for him to voice. 

' young noble, the answer to your question is a sect secret. It cannot be spoken in the presence of mortals.'

Tang hua didn't need any persuasion. He pulled Pei ling out of the room. Satisfied, the old man bowed.

' forgive my caution, but even though i am no longer a member of the sect, i was raised by the sect as a child, so my allegiance will remain till i die. Answering young noble's question, the thousand bamboo immortal sect is not what it used to be. The glorious days have long ended. All that remains is an empty shell.'

' what are you saying?' trepidation cloaked her voice.

' the thousand bamboo immortal sect is now a 1 star sect, my lord. It is nothing more than-'

' what about sect leader Thousand sabres, Ancestor Thousand groves? What happened to them?' teacher chu who had appeared without warning, asked in a serious voice.

The old man whimpered in fear when he saw the almost translucent figure.

' answer the question!'

Bai li yue roared.

' r-replying to- to- i have no knowledge of the people you speak of. Forgive me- forgive me.'

Chu jiang li's shoulders droop in despair. The situation was ominous for both of them. The sect was the answer for both of them. 

' teacher, i'll rush to the sect right now. We can see the truth for ourselves.'

She drew chu jiang li's form into the ring and threw a pouch of gold at the man.

'hand this to Tang hua and the girl. They will pay you for your services. If what you just told me turns out to be a lie, then be assured that i will return to find you and your end will be most pitiful.'

The man felt a furious wind rise in the room and then blessed quiet. Tang hua and pei ling opened the door to find the old man still whimpering on the floor. The young noble was nowhere to be seen.

After collecting himself from the floor with the help of Tang hua, he saw their curious looks. They were doing a bad job hiding their curiosity. He straightened his clothes and readjusted his top knot. He had thought of keeping the money for himself, but those people had struck fear into his heart. What if they returned in the future and heard about what he had done?

' he left this for us to share.'

He produced the coin purse and untied the knot to reveal glittering coins that will feed them and their families for months to come.