Earlier, after the two women settled into their room for the night, the veiled maiden could not sleep and decided to cultivate. Sitting with her legs crossed, she had initially been gathering spiritual energy from outside of the opened windows. Somehow, though, the huntress entered a nightmare. This caused her to relive the recent past, the horrid day that catapulted her journey out to the main cultivation world. Still, it was rare for the cultivator to easily lose herself.

From the other side of the wall, Mei Ying could hear the shidi and shixiong converse about the many events happening tomorrow. The inn’s enclosure was thin and cheap.

Fortunately, this time, the group managed to snag two rooms on the second floor. That way, they did not have to endure any unpleasant noises like last time.

“You were sleeping and cultivating at the same time.” Xia Qi sat on the bed, facing the other. Her red lips trembled for a bit. “You will not experience a breakthrough into the next stage if you cannot overcome your recent mental demon.” Pointing to Mei Ying’s navel, she added, “Be careful…or you might hurt your spiritual platform.”

The white-robed woman sighed.

“Your current state…” A dark shadow shrouded the older huntress’s beautiful porcelain face. “…What did you and that Young Master talk about?”

Mei Ying smiled warmly. How quick to jump to conclusions! “Ah, Xia Qi, we should not bully those whom we consider to be our juniors. We simply had a nice chat about our travels. He was also quite kind to lead me along the way to this inn.”

“Kind my ass! He was quite devious, using his good looks!” Glancing at the young woman’s marble-white hands, the friend arched an eyebrow. “If you had not consented, Li Qin would have ended him.”

“Not to say that Li Qin is inferior by any means…” Scratching her head, the naïve maiden forced a laugh. “…For both of them to conceal their auras, wouldn’t it mean...that the two young men are on a higher cultivation rank than us? Not even Nian Zu, who is the strongest of us all, was able to read them.”

Xia Qi clenched her jaw. She was truly bitter.

“Let’s do a check.” With a smile, Mei Ying opened her arms to welcome her friend to tap some of the standard meridian points. “I’m waiting.”

“This girl…” Though mumbling to herself, Xia Qi’s eyes were warm and gentle.

“Anyway…it would not do well to provoke the young men when they had invited us to their table.” While the hunters are good people, Mei Ying did not want the cultivator here to harbor any ideas. She felt the other person gently tap her two shoulders and check her tiny wrists for disruptions in blood flow.

The maiden went on, “What would the Shan Qing and Shujing Jian sect masters say if their disciples were to bite the hand that fed them over a trivial matter? As righteous cultivators, it would not reflect you all well to clash with those two for any reason—not before the conference.”

It was true.

If three disciples from two different major cultivation sects fought the Young Master-and-servant duo, both of whom were younger than them, it would have been the strong bullying the weak. Even though the two young men were not weak at all. The common people would think that the major sects were getting too big-headed for their own good. It would appear as though they were flaunting and overexerting their powers over others.

“I don’t trust him.” said Xia Qi, folding her arms. She had finished tapping a few other meridian points. “Maybe Li Qin does not like that Young Master too.” The huntress tilted her head, thinking. “There’s…something strange about him...”

“Alright.” The other young woman blinked. She accepted that her stubborn friend’s opinion could not be changed. “You do not like that person. But unless he had harmed you, what kind of justification would you have to go out of your way to express…your dislike?”

“My enmity.” corrected Xia Qi, flicking her green sleeve.

Mei Ying sighed again. “…Your enmity.”

It was rather uncomfortable for the older cultivator to be spoiled by the naïve maiden. Quickly, she cleared her throat. It seemed that her friend was unharmed from the mental demon. Not only that, but it was also better to change the topic, one that will promote peace in mind and rest for tomorrow.

“Moving on though…” In a low tone, Xia Qi casted her eyes down to the floor. “I can bring you with me to the Tian Shan Feng event at the Jin Sword sect. Just say the word. My sect master would understand. No one would laugh or dare say a word against you.”

Despite not knowing her long, the green-robed huntress had grown quite fond of her friend. She had become attached, not willing to part with the innocent person.

Mei Ying's eyebrows raised upon the bold proposition. Yet there was not a word. Without answering, the young woman grabbed a handful of the blankets, all of which were decorated with embroidered butterflies, and laid down on the firm bed. Slowly, she went under the covers.

Xia Qi scooted aside and swiftly unclipped the golden flower from her long, flowing hair. “Well?” She paused, removing the silver ornament from Mei Ying’s half hair-bun. “If you’re going to sleep, don’t forget to remove your veil.”

Unhooking the white veil from her ears, the young woman placed it under her pillow. "You, Nian Zu, and Li Qin have all been good to me.”

From the corner of her eye, the younger huntress caught the other one shaking her head at the laziness that was shown.

Mei Ying chuckled. “I am glad that I fell into a beautiful huntress’ trap formation instead of a demon’s den, ah! After the conference, you are all free to seek this little one out. I should not be far away, hunting.”

It was a polite way of refusing the friend’s offer despite the perks of the Shujing Jian sect’s high status and powers.

Staring up at the eggshell-painted ceiling, Xia Qi snorted. If her friend had asked, she would have easily sorted out the money situation… Wait...

“Actually, Mei Ying..." The older woman averted her attention back to the other, only to see that the cultivator had already dozed off.

The green-robed huntress became quiet.

Massaging her temple with one hand, Xia Qi sighed loudly. “YOU DIDN’T EVEN TAKE OFF YOUR OUTER ROBE!”

❁❁❁

Evening went on without another disturbance. When the golden disk had barely peeked over the mountains, setting the warm halo aglow, the hunters had already checked out of the inn. Their parting words were brief. They all knew they would see each other again.

Quickly, the four people parted ways, mostly off to their own destination. Nian Zu and Li Qin both needed to regroup with their sect. Xia Qi had to restock on healing pills. Only one would not be at the Tian Shan Feng conference at all.

Glancing down at the three red talismans, Mei Ying smiled as she zipped across the bright blue skies on her flying sword. She thought it was adorable that her friends were so worried about her, that they each left behind a Person-Summoning talisman before heading off.

Such a gift was rare, carefully reserved among cultivators who are close to one another. How a Person-Summoning talisman works is that the person writes the magical script with their blood. They then give permission to their trusted companion in summoning them to any location and any type of situation. Of course, this requires extreme close relationships because if the cultivator’s trust is abused, they can quickly find themselves in danger and lose their life. Either that or if the Person-Summoning talisman is handed off to someone else, it would more likely complicate everything.

Tucking it into one of her secret pockets, the white-robed huntress casted a quick spell to keep her special gifts there. When a great emergency arises, the scrolls will be useful for sure. Indeed, the senior hunters were too good to her.

Just then, the veiled maiden reflected on the nightmare that she had dreamt before Xia Qi rescued her. It was troubling. How could she, Song Mei Ying, foolishly allowed a mental demon to bottleneck her advancement toward the next cultivation rank? No one but herself could overcome this obstacle.

If she cannot further cultivate, the young woman did not know how she could face the Song clan or the main cultivation world that laughs at her low status. It is the same as being all talk with no actions. ‘Child of Red Omen’ or ‘Child of Song Omen’? The person who ends all hopes for the Song clan to arise from their shitty status…

Never mind that for now. Mei Ying huffed, listening to the clouds above her rumbled. Where should I go to pick up some hunting jobs for money? Yes, spirit stones are always a problem for her.

Many hunters belong to a cultivation sect or clan that has trained the person in their distinct cultivation styles. Normally, these groups provide the person many resources and spirit stones to fund their long travels. In return, they may send back gifts and reports of their findings as well as making new allies and resources that can benefit the sect or clan. Overall, it was a convenient method of spreading the word of the group’s reputation for the better or worse instead of waiting for annual martial tournaments or cultivation conferences.

Of course, Mei Ying has no one to fund her travels.

In fact, the Song clan absolutely forbade her from leaving the floating village. They had expected her to spend her entire life in focusing on ascension. Even when Shaman Xia’s protégé, Hua, was murdered, the council of elders was quick to remove the young woman from the village investigation. The matters of the Mortal realm were nothing compared to Mei Ying ‘fulfilling’ her destiny. Nothing and no one should have mattered.

Then, the maiden ran away.

It was in the spur of the moment, and Mei Ying could not possibly ask her senior hunters, who all get money from their sects to help. It was too embarrassing… The Song clan’s fall from the cultivation world had partly started with money problems…

“Young Miss!”

Startled by a faint voice, the veiled cultivator snapped out of her daydreams and narrowly evaded the approaching silver Sky Pillar. She came to a halt. Her eyes skimmed across the open airspace. But there was not a person anywhere.

It was at that moment when a great white sedan carriage came into light from the massive clouds before her. The young woman’s eyes widened. She did not sense the approaching vehicle at all!

Did…Mei Ying hurt her spiritual platform after all?

“Young Miss!” called the small, bubbly voice again.

Slowly, the white-robed huntress swerved her flying sword to the side for the floating vehicle. The edges were glistening gold, decorated with rubies, pearls, emeralds, and iridescent opals. The roof was lined with gold tassels and sparkling stars. Each window streamed with rippling white silk curtains and jingling bells.

Upon closer inspection, the young woman blinked over and over. She wanted to make sure that she was not dreaming!

The immaculate carriage was pulled by two gigantic horse-like beasts, each with one long, pointed horn at its forehead. Both creatures had long, thick eyelashes. They also had manes of golden fire, long legs, hooves on all four feet, fish scales across their bodies, and a tail like a lion’s. How intriguing…

Waving at Mei Ying, a small lily-white hand poked out of the window. “Do you know where Huamei City is at?”

Returning to the present, the cultivator smiled. The speaker seemed to be an adorable child. Around the vehicle are shrouds of ice-blue robed cultivators whose severe faces gave off the air of importance.

“Yes, this older sister knows where Huamei City is.” replied the veiled maiden.

“Ah, good, good! The Jin Sword sect palace is there, right?”

“Yes.” Pointing into the far distance, the young woman explained, “This older sister was traveling north. Just go south and cross the river. Surely, you will see a town, and behind it, will be the bustling Huamei City with its shiny banners and celebrations.”

The huntress could not help but be honest with the child. “Be safe on your travel to the Tian Shan Feng event, little one.” She turned and was about to continue flying away on the sword…

“Wait!” The youngster shouted.

Curious, Mei Ying turned around.

The small boy's head poked out of the sedan’s window, wearing a crown of gold stars, tassels, and white pearls. His eyes were dazzling gold like a pair of sunsets. His brows were strong and dark. Three fingers were held up high in the air for everyone to see.

“Does the big sister want three million spirit stones?” asked the adorable child.

THREE. MILLION.

“Three…mil…” The huntress paused, narrowing her brows together.

The young woman's hovering sword was puzzled. Their master had a moment of weakness. The weapon was suspended in the air, waiting patiently.

“The small sect has sent Wei Sheng to fight in the Jin Sword sect’s martial arts tournament to kickstart the Tian Shan Feng conference.” Perching both elbows against the white jade window and streaming silk curtains, the child went on, “It is a flashy event, but if you win first place for us, we can split the prize money in half. If not, you can keep whatever you have won before that defeat. There are only three top spots, so this one is sure that you will be among these few.”

Quietly, the huntress murmured to herself, “…Why did no one tell this one about the martial arts tournament until now?”

Did the senior hunters forget that one of their friends is poor? It was rather unusual.

There was a reluctant sigh. Mei Ying gradually met the endearing youngster's eye as he smiled toward her direction.

“Why would you want this person to fight for you?” asked the veiled maiden, making her way closer to the carriage window. A few of the nearby cultivators hovered against the vehicle just in case. “I don’t have much experience, fighting others for sport.”

Cocking his head, the boy explained, “Dreams had foretold that if the big sister…” He points to the flower birthmark on Mei Ying’s forehead. “…fights for this one, he won’t have to go home to a beating. In Wei Sheng’s dreams, the big sister was flying out here in the morning skies, away from Huamei City.”

The child’s innocent smile widened. “This is a fated encounter.”

Ah, so…little Wei Sheng and his small sect practices divination magic. At this thought, the veiled maiden studied the golden stars hanging from the sedan carriage’s roof.

Divination specialty sects do not have many strong physical attacks. To make up for that shortcoming, they practice countless magic spells and talismans. The only problem is that if they do not pace themselves well during battle, most divination cultivators do not have enough spiritual energy to keep up with constant use of spells. They emphasize too much on the mind over the body.

Despite the downsides, diviners are often sought out by many sects for their highly accurate fortune-telling methods, such as palmistry, face readings, feng shui, and many others. They are important consultants for marriages, hunting missions, business, performances or events, moving, travels, and so on forth. Strength is just not their forte.

Even so, the sect's patriarch had sent the poor boy to participate in the martial tournament against hundreds of older and much stronger cultivators. It was better to save face and appear brave than to not have anything to show for at all. But little Wei Sheng's aura does not seem much higher than maybe…the late Core Formation.

A powerful wind blew by, swirling the white-robed maiden’s long hair. The currents knocked against the silver belt around Mei Ying’s small waist, along with the tinkling bells. Her long veil waved back and forth.

If the huntress is to be punished or ridiculed, she could live with that. But to abandon a small child behind for that fate? She could not live with that at all. The young woman sighed.

When Mei Ying sees her friends at the event, she will have to explain, no doubt.

“Alright...” Cupping her hands together, the veiled maiden managed a small, polite smile. “This older sister will fight in the Jin Sword sect's Tian Shan Feng tournament.”