Wei Fang wasn't in a hurry to train his new technique.
He still remembered that he didn't have any spirit stones on him. He also had debt to the healing department; even though it was only one spirit stone, debt was still debt.
Maybe if it was just between friends, he could pretend to forget it, but debt with an agency was a different matter.
So, he decided to come to the mission hall to receive some mission, so he could gather some spirit stones and pay his debt.
***
"Boss, he came!" A disciple was running towards someone who was resting under the shade of a tree.
"Finally!" The man under the tree said with gritted teeth. "Let's go; we can't let this chance slip."
"Yes, we already waited for more than a month for this; we don't know how much longer we have to wait if we let him turtle himself again." There was obvious hatred in his voice.
Who wouldn't be angry if something that could be done in just a few days was stretched for more than a month?
A month ago, they already had information that the target didn't have any spirit stones and even had a debt to the healing department, so they prepared everything immediately.
Their plans revolved around the mission hall, because usually someone who didn't have spirit stones would come to the mission hall to accept missions. But who would have thought that the target just wouldn't come out of his courtyard for more than a month?
All that time that could be used to do other things, like cultivating and spending time with their junior sister, was wasted on waiting. Who wouldn't be angry?
So, now that their target appeared, they couldn't help but direct their anger towards him.
Unfortunately for them, they were only on the information team, so they couldn't vent their hatred directly.
"Is everything prepared?"
"Yes!"
"Then, let's go report immediately!"
***
When Wei Fang arrived at the mission hall, it was still as crowded as he remembered.
For normal disciples, mission hall was the only place they could get resources for their cultivation, except by going on adventures outside of the sect themselves. Of course, it didn't mean there was no mission outside the sect.
Wei Fang entered the mission hall amidst the crowd, looking for a mission that was suitable for him.
The mission was displayed on a mission board that was categorized based on requirements and specialization.
For normal disciples like him, the only mission he could accept was the one from the miscellaneous and mixed mission board.
The other mission board would require someone to be proficient in some profession like alchemy, forging, formation, etc. Or someone at a specific cultivation base.
He looked at the available missions he could accept:
Tending to the herb garden. No, it takes too much time.
Investigate the mysterious disappearance of children in Green Leaf Village. Too far.
Get the blue moon herb; it is too dangerous.
After looking for so long, he finally found a mission that he was satisfied with.
It was a transport mission; he needed to transport resources from the sect to one of its branches.
A mission like that was to be done in groups, and with his low cultivation level, he could only do the transport, errands, and reserve guard.
The main guard would need someone who was at least late stage Qi Condensation realm.
The remuneration was quite good, too. Fifty spirit stones for a journey that would take at least a week.
"This is it, then." Wei Fang said as he chose the mission.
He took the parchment mission to the receptionist. After confirming his cultivation level, he was allowed to accept the mission.
The receptionist lady also told him that the convoy would leave the day after tomorrow, so he should be prepared.
***
Two days later, at the foot of the Azure Cloud Sect mountain,
Wei Fang took a deep breath to calm his panting. Even though he was already at the middle stage of Qi condensation, it was still a stretch for him to load ten carriages full of things. It must be noted that the carriage in this world could carry more than ten tons while being pulled by a demon beast.
Of course, he was not alone; there were two more people who accepted the same mission as him.
"Haah, finally we could rest." A lean man said as he finished drinking water. "Wanna some, brother Wei?"
"Brother Wang is too polite. I also had water myself, so there was no need." Wei Fang said as he took out his leather bottle before downing it.
"I don't know being on this transport team was this tiring." Brother Wang complained. "It was no wonder the remuneration was so high."
"Is this your first time being in the transport time, Brother Wang?" Wei Fang asked; he also didn't know that being on the transport team would give them such a huge workload.
"No, I joined several transport teams already. Just the team was not as big as this, and the goods were not as many as this, so the remuneration was only half of this one."
Brother Wang shook his head.
"How about you, Brother Gang?" Wei Fang looked at the silent man beside brother Wang. "Is this your first time joining the transport team?"
"Hmm." The man called Brother Gang nodded without responding much.
"Luckily, we didn't need to be guards, so we could just ride on one of the carriages until we arrived at the destination.
"Why don't we sit on the same carriage so we can accompany one another?" Brother Wang suggested, looking expectantly at Wei Fang and Brother Gang.
Should I agree or not? It was true that the journey would take at least three days, so it would likely be better to be accompanied by someone. At least I can have someone to chat with.
Just as he hesitated, Brother Gang was more straight-forward. "Nah, I am good alone."
That one answer made the atmosphere awkward.
"Don't worry, bother Wang; I will sit in the same carriage with you." Wei Fang said he thought it was better to have someone to chat with while on the road.
"Oh, you are really good, brother!" Brother Wang hugged Wei Fang.
While Brother Gang looked at the two of them weirdly, there was a flash of understanding in his eyes. No one knows what was on his mind.
After the sun shared some of its light and warmth, the members of the guard team finally arrived. There were ten of them in total.
Wei Fang saw them discuss something for a bit before they ordered the convoy to start the journey.
Wei Fang could feel intense pressure from one of the guards. He felt that he was the strongest member of the guard team.
But oddly enough, he didn't become the captain after the discussion.
Wei Fang didn't think too much about it; maybe he just wanted to be low-key.
After a while, the convoy finally left the sect. The carriages were pulled by a demon beast called the Scaled Rhino; they had strong bodies and hard scales. They were herbivore and friendly by nature.
They were often used as a means to pull carriages that transported goods by various sects.
They had a mutualistic symbiosis with humans. As long as humans provide them with food, they could use it to pull carriages or do other miscellaneous things.
And so, the first journey of Wei Fang outside the sect finally began.