Be our Guest

In a large room of the employee dormitory, Fang Shi stood in front of a third of the recently hired staff.

"The season of the phoenix is about to end, and today will be your first day officially working after completing your training", he said, "As much as I wish everyone was here, the employees selected as alchemists, artifact refiners, talisman creators, or array masters still have a long road in front of them. On the other hand, everyone here will be starting their first day as clerks for the various shops or working in our newest addition, Evernight luxury resort."

Fang Shi smiled as he continued, "I don't believe anyone should have any problems, but in the rare case that something comes up, page me quickly. Also, the senior is always watching so you don't have to worry if customers try to bribe or coerce you. Just remember that some new products are being released today so I'll be walking around in the areas often to check. We are due to open soon so go to your stations, and get ready."

The employees acknowledged him and the projections of workers from the Blue moon branch disappeared. Everyone else left in the room also left as they headed to their assigned work area. Now by himself, Fang Shi took a moment to think where the most trouble could come from: the cultivation hall, the new game floor, or the hotel.

'Guests are familiar with games, shows, and movies enough that newly added products shouldn't cause the biggest headache', he reasoned, 'Also, the game floor is just like the games played in the teahouse and bar so a dedicated floor will be minor issue as well. There are hotels or inns in the cultivation world, but I feel that some of our guest might misunderstand what services are offered and become angry so this is the best choice.'

Self assured, Fang Shi walked towards the new building that towered over all the others.

At the same time, a crowd of people had formed in front gate. Protector Mei was in the front, alongside Protectors Jin and Lei as the escort for the human cultivators and Feng Leiyu, Tie E, and Yan Wei stood for the spiritual beasts. In addition, there was a familiar elder there, as well as a new face. Elder Qing from the famous beast taming family was excitedly waiting for the gates to open next to the protectors while a man wearing black and green stood with the spirit beast.

'You Du', Mei Lihua reminded herself when she saw the guest invited by the spirit beast, 'I'm surprised they asked him to come. As far as I know, he was a snake that was lucky enough to unlock a dragon bloodline, but his original form is strange. Snakes normally evolve into flood dragons before finally becoming dragons according to legend but he looks nothing like a flood dragon. He proudly boasts that he is currently a drake that will become an earth dragon before ascending to its final dragon form, but earth dragons are looked down on. Either way, I don't wish to speak with him if I don't have to. Rumors say that his poison is mysterious.'

A noise caught her attention, and a smile bloomed on her face as the doors of the front gate swung open. She and the other escorts stepped forward to commence with the normal routine of monitoring the entrance to ensure that for every spirit beast entering, a human cultivator was there to balance it out. Once that was completed, she entered with her peers and the first thing that caught her eye was the large building that had appeared behind the halls she grown familiar with.

Mei Lihua had seen the wall scrolls that hinted at new products and services coming soon, and had been frustrated when the owner kept her in the dark so she was pleased that she didn't have to wait anymore. She stopped when she noticed this because as a Nascent soul cultivator, she had a long life and waiting years wasn't difficult for her.

'Perhaps my dao heart isn't as firm as I thought', she thought to herself, 'That cultivation artifact in the cultivation hall might be more profound that I gave it credit.'

Mei Lihua also noticed that the main hall had gained a floor, but she ultimately decided to explore the new facility first.

"Protector Mei, welcome to Evernight resort", Mei Lihua heard as she entered the new building.

"What is a resort?", Mei Lihua asked in confusion, "Isn't this just an inn or hotel?"

"Protector Mei, my name is Yan Rouxi", a woman behind the front desk introduced herself, "Allow me to explain more about the resort."

Mei Lihua gave her a quick nod so Yan Rouxi continued, "Protector Mei is correct to say that this resort is a hotel, but we offer more than just a place to rest and food."

Yan Rouxi touched the counter in front of her, and an image was projected in the air. She pointed at the first few floors before saying, "The bottom floors are the least expensive and merely offer a guest a place to rest for the night. These guests will still have to go to the restaurant or public bath, and while cultivating in the room is possible, I wouldn't recommend it. These next floors have additional features and guests that reserve these rooms will have access to communal baths, as well as meal delivery services available. The top floors are more spacious and have more amenities such as, a cultivation artifact pod, and personal bath. Finally, there are eight villas that surround the main hotel that have access to the best spirit gathering arrays, the best cultivation artifacts, and are fully staffed to handle most of the guests needs."

"Most?", Mei Lihua responded curiously.

"Yes, Protector Mei", Yan Rouxi replied, "We have excellent chefs and employees who are trained to respect the guests, but they aren't servers and it will not be tolerated by the senior if guests try to take advantage of the staff."

"I understand", Mei Lihua nodded.

It was true that even at her realm, there were cultivators that still obsessions for worldly pleasure and had not qualms about throwing their authority around.

"Are there any villas available?", Mei Lihua inquired.

"Of course, protector", Yan Rouxi tapped the counter again and the map that was still displayed disappeared, and eight images replaced it.

Mei Lihua used her sense to look at each one, and was pleasantly impressed. Three of the villas were designed in a familiar way, but the other five had two styles that felt like the first three but different. Each villa had beautiful blooming trees, stylish rock gardens, bamboo forests, or some feature that was aesthetic pleasing. After some consideration, Mei Lihua pointed at one of the five strange villas with cherry blossoms.

"I would like to reserve this one for three nights", she requested.

"Excellent!", Yan Rouxi replied, "Please Protector, set your Tianmu on the counter for a moment and then you can use it to enter the villa. Once the three nights is over, all fees will automatically be paid."

Mei Lihua did as instructed before retrieving her Tianmu, bidding Yan Rouxi farewell, and headed to the villa. As she approached, Mei Lihua could sense the protective array that surrounded the area and she felt conflicted. On one hand, she felt secure staying inside such a strong array, but on the other, she felt concerned that the pavilion had such a powerful array master supporting it. After presenting her Tianmu, the array opened and she flew in.

As Mei Lihua arrived at the villa, two rows of young women were waiting outside.

"Greetings, Protector Mei", all the women said simultaneously.

"No need for politeness", Mei Lihua replied as she landed.

"I'm Mei Yuxian", the woman closest to Mei Lihua stated, "I'm the lead caretaker of the cherry blossom villa during your stay."

"I would like to explore the villa now", Mei Lihua said, "Is there anything I should know first?"

"Yes, Protector Mei", Mei Yuxian responded, "Currently, we don't have any personal chefs that can satisfy the senior's needs. Just inform us of your order, and we will have your meals delivered by crane from the restaurant."

"Alright", Mei Lihua didn't complain.

Mei Yuxian gave Mei Lihua a tour throughout the whole villa, pointing out the bath, cultivation room, gardens, and more.

Upon completion, Mei Lihua dismissed the staff, "I wish to start cultivating, I'll let you know if I need something."

As the young women bowed and left, Mei Lihua walked up the advanced cultivation pod and entered. As she entered her personal space, Mei Lihua looked over at the small desk she had placed in it to see a scroll sitting on top. This was a scroll containing news of all the items and services added to the pavilion, as well as changes to existing products if they were implemented.

With a wave of her finger, the scroll opened in front and she began reading:

- A new facility, Evernight resort, has been opened and offers rooms and villas with a wide range of services.

This was followed by a detailed list of everything Mei Lihua had heard before.

- a new floor has been added to the main hall and the virtual realm, the game room. Not only are there more tables to play Mahjong and Go, two new games have been added, Fight the Saint and The Game of Cultivation. Please go to the information section to find out more.

- A new game experience has been released, Samsara. It's only available on cultivation artifacts only. If you're interested in a brand new experience and adventure, the cultivation hall is now open at all hours.

- Two new shows have been released, 'Clouds and Wind' and 'Lady Whitesnake'.

- Two new films have been released, 'Man of Iron' and 'Wushu Hustle'.

Mei Lihua stopped reading at that point, the remaining news were about new materials, ingredients, and resources that had been added to the store and she wasn't interested in reading about them now. After thinking for awhile, she decided to buy and play Samsara first.

The screen changed as the game started and narration could be heard, "In the began, there was nothing and everything. From this, a supreme being named 'Pangu' emerged and separated Yin from Yang from the surrounding Chaos. Yang formed the heavens while Yin formed the earth, and Pangu held up the heavens for a long time before dying.

One his death, and his body transformed with his breath becoming the wind and clouds, his blood forming rivers, his body forming land, his bones became mountains, his marrow became jade and precious stones, his sweat became rain, his voice became thunder, and his eyes completed the heavens by forming the sun and moon.

The Dao completed Pangu's work as it was essential to the formation of the heavens, and the Wheel of Samsara.

You are a soul who has just left the wheel, returning to the world again, ignorant of your past lives due to the bridge of forgetfulness. Will you follow your destiny? Or will you take your own into your own hands?"

Mei Lihua was overwhelmed as grand scenes were displayed in front of her, showing her what the narration stated.

'Pangu?', she thought to herself, 'Is this just a story or does owner Fang's master know the creation of the world?'

After a few moments, Mei Lihua realized she had been stunned by the opening and that the game was waiting for an answer, "I will follow my destiny."

The area grew dark for a few moments and when it brightened again, Mei Lihua found herself in a world similar to the one she lived.

"Fellow Daoist, did you travel through those mountains to arrive here?", a voice came from behind her.

Mei Lihua turned around and saw a man in his twenties wearing a red robe speaking to her.

Mei Lihua thought about her circumstances before she answered, "Yes, why do you inquire, Fellow Daoist?"

"Ah, I've been rude", the man replied, "I'm Bai Xu, and I'm envious of your luck. Lately, something has happened and more travelers have been attacked by Yin ghosts when they try to cross these mountains recently."

Mei Lihua wasn't concerned at first, at her realm, Yin ghost posed little threat to her. She went to explore her surroundings when an uncomfortable and familiar feeling came over her. She had played 'Fairy and Sword' before and the first time she did, she had a rare outburst when she had become mortal in the game. This time she wasn't mortal as she still had her senses, but she realized her realm had been suppressed to the Qi Gathering realm.

Mei Lihua wasn't bothered about this because past experience told her that this would only solidify her foundation and core even more.

"Thank you for alerting me to the unseen dangers", Mei Lihua responded.

"It's all I can do", Bai Xu smiled, "Your arrival could be an auspicious moment that will change the fate of the small village. The Mayor of this small village is looking for Daoists that could provide assistance as my own combat abilities are lacking. Perhaps your ability is better than my own?"

"I only know a few tricks", Mei Lihua humbly said, "But perhaps they can be of some use. Farewell Daoist, I bid you farewell."

Mei Lihua walked over to the small hut that Bai Xu had pointed out, but as she strolled forwards she saw words floating in the air that only she could see.

(You own a small storage ring on your finger, use your senses to put items in and take them out.)

(If you sense your own condition, a light screen will appear that will display everything. In this game you can gain karma or merit, these will negatively or positively affect you. Karma will need to be cleanse with merit, and extra merit can be used to enhance your body mind or soul.)

(As you decided to follow your destiny, the spells, abilities, and techniques you use will mirror the ones of your true self.)

Mei stopped at the last message, 'Does that mean if I choose my own fate, I could wield powers different than my own?'

Mei Lihua exited the game and then restarted it. When the main screen appeared this time, it had slightly changed. There were two plaques in front of her now, past life and new life. The past life plaque had an image of her as she had just appeared when she first entered the game while the other plaque had no images. Curious, Mei Lihua selected the new life plaque and witnessed the same scene she had seen previously. She actually didn't want to watch this again, and as soon as she thought it, the scene blurred out and the choice about destiny and fate appeared. This time she chose to hold her fate in her own hands and when her surroundings changed, she saw herself floating in front of her.

Mei Lihua felt strange looking at herself, but more words appeared and she understood that she could change her looks to look however she wanted. She felt confident in her appearance, so she didn't make any changes before advancing to the next screen. This screen looked like a giant spider web with thousands of tiny points spread out. More instructions entered her mind and Mei Lihua was amazed by what she saw. Each point was a method, ability, technique, skill, or spell, and Mei Lihua was informed that she could pick one offensive point, one defensive point, and one movement point.

Mei Lihua had spirit roots of wood but when she was younger, she had been curious what it would have been like to cultivate with fire. She decided to find out by picking Flame arrow, Fire Shield, and Mirage step as her first choices. After making her selections, she found herself back in front of Bai Xu though the latter didn't recognize her. She returned to the main title again, and as expected there were two different plaques under the past life plaque.

Mei Lihua decided to play her first character, and entered the game again. She found herself right in front of the mayor's hut where she had been when she exited earlier.

As she entered, an old man looked sitting in a chair looked over, "Fellow Daoist, I have nothing of value, please spare my life."

Mei Lihua was stunned and then realized she had just walked into someone's house uninvited, "My apologies, I met with Bai Xu and he informed me that you were seeking assistance."

"It's about that, I see", the mayor's faced change with understanding, "Very well, I'm Mayor Gu Changqing and there's a situation that has gotten out of control. Not far from here is an area where yin energy gathers, but many years ago a passing monk sealed it to prevent the energy from expanding and affecting others. It's possible that his seal has weakened, and the yin spirits have escaped."

"Mayor Gu, this is a simple matter", Mei Lihua stated, "If you direct me towards the seal, I'll take care of it."

The old man obliged and she left in the direction he pointed out. Even with her realm suppressed, this task wasn't very difficult as she battled the yin spirits and repaired the seal. With the task completed, a light screen appeared and she saw the merits earned. She used the merit to strengthen her skills and as her abilities increased in power, she felt a small gain in comprehension.

"What?", Mei Lihua exclaimed, "I'm a nascent soul with hundreds of years of comprehending the element of wood. How could I possibly have gains?"

Baffled by this experience, she quickly switched to her second past life to once again complete the task. As a cultivator the primarily cultivated wood skills, controlling a character that used fire felt alien to her. What impressed Mei Lihua was that controlling this character didn't cause her to suffer backlash.

Mei Lihua went through all the steps again, and once the altar that seal the area was repaired, she used the merit to enhance herself. Though it was weaker than before, she still that she had comprehended the relationship between wood and fire. Excited, Mei Lihua spent the rest of the day creating three more characters for the other three elements.