The Frozen Wastelands (I)

After an entire month of training, Yueshi had completely spent his contribution points. In truth, it had been a few days already since he spent them all.

He had fought many times against Northern Wang's Third Prince, however, the result was still the same; he had also fought against a few other opponents, and didn't have a single win.

Obviously, that was because he was challenging only people stronger than him. Even the third prince was still a notch above him, despite losing in cultivation base.

Now, Yueshi was standing in front of the Starry Sky Pavilion, prepared to take on a few missions and earn contribution points, or else he would not be able to use most of the training facilities anymore.

And since he was not aiming to increase his cultivation base in the short term, there was nothing much the sect could offer him right now.

No, the right words would be – there were too few things he could do in the sect right now, and that was the pain of being poor.

After entering through the main door, he observed the bustling atmosphere inside.

Many disciples were enthusiastically taking on missions, and he even saw a few familiar faces, greeting them with a nod.

There were many boards placed here and there, with scrolls fixed on them. Approaching it, Yueshi saw the descriptions of a few missions, however, nothing that picked up his interest.

'Those are… terrible.' Things like searching for herbs or killing low-level creatures gave low rewards and were too easy for someone like him.

However, that was not a problem.

The Sect had a constant influx of new missions, and they had prepared tasks for all their members.

After all, if they could not even give out tasks on the level of their strongest outer disciples, then how would they accommodate the even stronger inner disciples?

Taking his time Yueshi observed all the boards, analyzing each and every mission. He was not sure of how powerful he was exactly, but he was sure he was good enough to be placed in the top ten.

'Nevertheless, that is a meager amount of power.' He knew that compared to others, he was walking this road faster. But in the end, his current power was limited and far from enough.

He could be the fastest person to cultivate in the world, but so what? In the end, someone in a higher realm, or stage, would still be able to deal with him.

He was not so incompetent as to become complacent and overconfident because of his current success.

Suddenly, maybe because he was distracted, he knocked against someone.

Fortunately, there was not a huge gap between their strength, or else one of them would have fallen to the ground.

With an apologetic look, Yueshi looked at the other party – only to be surprised.

The other side was an acquaintance and friend… no, maybe much more than that. With bright and mischievous eyes and a playful aura, the one standing in front of him was none other than Yuan Yue.

"Are you also out of points?" He asked, though such a question didn't even need to be asked.

She nodded. "Hm. I spent it all while receiving pointers."

As she was someone that learned faster the more she fought, her points were not fated to last. Not only had she used the pagoda, but she had also even challenged the senior disciples and asked advice from the elders.

All that also required her to pay a certain price.

"Don't even say… Ah, why is everything so pricey?" Sighing, Yueshi complained. And though their chat seemed to flow well, he could not help but avert his eyes, as if afraid of something.

Seeing the way he behaved, Yuan Yue did not comment, some sort of unknown emotion flashing past her eyes.

Well, no matter how awkward it was, she would not give up.

Having found out that she liked him, there was no way she would just give up – unless he outright told her to stop, that is.

Yes. Yueshi may like and love someone else, but until they got together, he was a free man.

Not that being with another woman would make it impossible for her to be with him, too.

Approaching slowly, she interlocked their arms in a fast and precise movement. Seeing his eyes opening wide, she giggled mischievously.

Like that, under the jealous stares of his fellow sect disciples, Yueshi was dragged around as the two tried to find a mission that interested their tastes.

As for Yueshi… while he wanted to put a certain distance between them, he did not want to destroy their friendship. Honestly, he felt he was being selfish, and a coward – he was just afraid of confronting Yuan Yue's feelings as well as his own.

Leaving that aside, for now, the two eventually arrived on a board closer to the counters, where the staff from the pavilion handled the necessary papers and gave out the rewards.

A moment after approaching, two pairs of eyes glowed excitedly.

[The Scarlet Flame Mercenary Group needs helps to complete a certain mission. They request for someone at least in the third stage of the Body Refinement Realm, and as this is an extermination mission, they are willing to pay in gold for each beast killed – based on their strength. Moreover, the sect will pay contribution points taking into account the beasts killed, their strength, and numbers.]

In short, if one killed a lot, they could reap a great reward out of this quest. Thanks to that, they were immediately interested in it, since there were few tasks as rewarding.

Most of the time, the missions had a goal and an established reward – ones like this were rare.

However, their hands froze in mid-air just as they were going to take the scroll out of the board. They were walking around together, but they did not think they would end taking a liking for the same mission.

Then, after hesitating for a second, Yuan Yue took her hand back.

Yueshi could not help but stare at her for a moment, his eyes revealing complex emotions. If he did not understand why she had done so, then he would be the stupidest of the fools.

Thinking about it, however, only brought him a greater headache.

"Why don't we see if we can do it together?" Still, he felt that it would not be right for him to just accept it. And, though it could become a bit awkward during the mission, he did not mind sharing it with her – if possible.

At his words, Yuan Yue's eyes twinkled in surprise as she stared at him in disbelief.

However, it did not take long for her wide eyes to turn into two crescent moons as she smiled brightly, tightening her grip around Yueshi's arm.

Yueshi could not help but note that she seemed really happy as the two made their way toward the counter.

After waiting in line for a moment, the two were eventually greeted by an attendant. The other side was a man that seemed in his early thirties and that, despite his ordinary appearance, was at the seventh stage of body refinement.

'As expected from a staff member of the Starry Sky Pavilion', Yueshi thought.

The pavilion not only stored all sorts of treasures to be given out as rewards at certain times but was also one of the sect's pillars. No one below the fifth stage would be accepted as an employee unless they had some sort of special talent.

That was why there were many old disciples among their ranks.

"Hello, sir. We want to know if we can take this mission together." Not wasting time, Yueshi passed the man the scroll.

Meanwhile, the man watched them with a smirk, as if he could see right through their relationship – though he was, most probably, wrong.

After reading through the mission information scroll, the middle-aged man stopped to think for a moment.

Having been chosen as an employee of the pavilion, he had an extremely good memory; with a single moment, he remembered all the information that had been passed down to him about this task.

"You can." After a while, he nodded. "However, the rewards issued by the sect will change slightly as the value of each kill will decrease." Yueshi and Yuan Yue exchange a few glances before nodding.

Such a method was chosen so that a group did not use their numbers to slaughter thousands or tens of thousands of beasts, just to reap a lot of points.

That said, since it was just the two of them, they were sure the amount would still be quite good.

"Then, please sign here, you two." Seeing they agree to such a term, the man passed a scroll to each of them.

In the scroll, there was more in-depth information of the task, and also information of their employers – in this situation, the Scarlet Flame Mercenary Group.

Next, the man cleared a few of their doubts, gave them some tips and bits of advice, and reminded them that they could only stay outside for two months.

"If two months pass and you must extend your stay for some reason, be sure to send a message to the sect. Otherwise, you will be declared dead and removed from the ranks of disciples." The man spoke until he was sure that Yuan Yue and Yueshi committed the info to memory.

After they settled a few more things, they bade farewell and left.

Yuan Yue eventually let go of Yueshi's arm, as she did not want to make things awkward with their group of friends.

At her actions, Yueshi sighed in relief – though he ruminated about the soft and tender mounds that had been pressed against his arm for a while more, making him feel guilty.

— - -

When Yueshi told the others he was going to leave in a mission, they were fairly surprised. Xuehua was worried for him, and he even saw disapproval in her glance – though there was nothing he could do about that.

If he had to choose which reaction was the worst, then it was Baiyun's – after learning that he was going with Yuan Yue he kept sending Yueshi a strange and peculiar smile.

Right now, Yueshi was waiting for Xuehua as she made their dishes.

Leaning against his arm, he watched her move busily around, and his gaze instinctively wandered her body.

Watching as her soft butt swayed from side to side as she moved from one side to the other, and how her small fingers gently squeezed the knife, he became entranced by each of her actions.

He felt as if all her movements were drawing his mind toward her - as if some sort of mystical and ethereal force was affecting him at this moment.

He could not even put it into words properly.

However, it was not her soft and tender butt; nor her long and elegant fingers; and it was also not her pair of mounds that attracted him the most.

Seeing her turn around, a gentle smile on her face, he smiled too – unconsciously and uncontrollably. It was as if her smile could squeeze bliss out of his troubled heart.

As she placed the dishes down on the table, he noted they were his favorites. He was not sure if they were the same ones that the previous him of this world had liked, or if she had noticed it over the past month and a half.

Well, that did not really matter, did it? The important part that she had done that for him.

"Wow, sister really knows me the best!" He exclaimed happily, his hands moving toward a streaming dumpling.

At his actions, Xuehua smiled slightly. She had seen how tense and troubled he had been – despite how much he tried to fake it. If she could help him loosen a bit, then she would be more than happy with doing it.

Slipping her hand through her hair, she put it behind her ear. However, she did not start eating and only watched as Yueshi stuffed himself full, her head filled with all sorts of thoughts.

No matter who was here, right now, no one would be able to decipher her mind at this instant.

Seeing her not eating, Yueshi stopped too – only to find his dear sister spacing out, staring at him with foggy eyes. This was not the first time something like this happened, however, this time she seemed even more immersed in her thoughts.

'What is it that goes through your mind, I wonder.' Yet, despite the curiosity, he did not ask. Neither in the past one and a half months, nor today.

A tinge of sorrow and pain seemed to exist deep in her brown eyes, and it pained him to see her like that.

Still, he knew that it was not right of him to ask, and he could only wait – wait for the day she would be willing to share whatever was burdening her with him.

In such an atmosphere, no matter how good the food was, it was fated to be distasteful and, in the end, Yueshi lost his appetite at the thought of still not being able to do anything for those he loved and cared about.

'I have to grow up, I have to become stronger and more dependable', he told himself.

Like that, another day came to a close in their lives.

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