Jiang Chen had heard of Three Mountain City's bounty. But for some reason, it had never gone up on the Merit Board. The city had issued it on its own, to everyone — which meant, in a sense, it carried no seal of the royal court.
Of course, that also meant the rewards did not come from the court's purse. Word was that the city lord had emptied his own treasury to pay for it. The prizes ran far richer than equivalent missions on the Merit Board.
"Everything real, tangible goods." Li Yun ticked them off. "Artifacts. Secret arts. Dao Essence Stones."
Tangible goods were less convenient than Dao merit — but precisely because they were hard to price, their value usually ran higher.
"Forgive me for asking, Senior Brother Li." Jiang Chen thought a moment. "This kind of mission needs a tight team. Why not take your own crew? Especially with rewards this good."
Cultivators who worked missions regularly all had fixed teams. Zhang Yuan and Wang Hao were the cores of theirs. Once Ling Chuan, Zhao Yan, and the others laid their foundations, they would gather and run missions together — not scatter like now, trailing behind other teams.
Only Li Yun always seemed to work alone.
Li Yun pressed his lips together. "They're all dead. Only I'm left."
The group traded glances. No one knew what to say. Cultivators were supposed to take parting and death in stride. But no man was made of wood or stone. Who could stay unmoved?
Huang Azhan forced a dry laugh, trying to lighten the air: "Then, Senior Brother... your team wasn't exactly lucky."
Ling Chuan tugged him back and spoke up: "Senior Brother Li, this mission isn't on the Merit Board, so it has no difficulty rating. But judging by the rewards, it can't be below rank seven. To be honest, none of us are strong enough. I'm afraid we'd only hold you back."
"Actually, this beast-clearing operation sits around rank six in difficulty." Li Yun's expression did not change. "But you should know why Three Mountain City is named what it is. Three peaks stand in its territory — the Upright Brush, the Jade Balance, and Flying Over. Each one is a famous mountain, grand or sheer. The city took its name from them. And those same three peaks are the source of the beast plagues that ravage the city's lands."
"The beast nest?" Jiang Chen asked.
Li Yun nodded. "The Upright Brush was cleared out two years ago. By now the city has had time to gather strength — this time their main force hits the Jade Balance. But we're not going to the Jade Balance. We're going to the Upright Brush."
"But wasn't it already—"
"It was cleared. But two years passed, and new beasts have wandered in. Scattered, not organized. They're our targets. So the difficulty drops a lot." Li Yun picked up his chopsticks. "That's the whole picture. You decide for yourselves. If you don't come, it won't hurt our friendship."
Jiang Chen knew he and Li Yun got along well — but only that far. They had good impressions of each other, yet no real bond of friendship to speak of.
Refuse now, and a wall would grow between them.
But Jiang Chen would not agree just to court Li Yun's favor. He genuinely wanted this mission. First, the rewards were rich. Second, he wanted to do his part for Three Mountain City's troubles. Third, his foundation was nearly complete — exactly the kind of task he needed to sharpen his arts.
"With your strength, Senior Brother, taking us along is our luck." Jiang Chen made the call.
Li Yun studied him, a knowing look in his eyes. "That sword you used to kill Xiong Wen already proved your worth. And in your group — Ling Chuan is steady and thorough, Du Hu has fierce combat talent, Zhao Yan is clever and gifted."
He even praised Du Hu, who was not there. Naturally, he did not skip Huang Azhan: "Little Huang... is clever too."
"Senior Brother Li has sharp eyes!" Huang Azhan clapped at once.
"I'll sit this one out." Ling Chuan shook his head. "I opened my meridian not long ago. I'm still gathering Dao essence to lay my foundation. I'll stay at the academy, and look after An'an."
Between meridian-opening and foundation was an awkward stage. A cultivator needed to stockpile Dao essence to build the foundation, but without spending it, he could not wield true power. Jiang Chen, with his transcendent sword scripture, was the exception.
Call it a favor, call it looking after him — Ling Chuan did not want to tag along and coast. He would rather walk steady, one step at a time.
"Fine. Oldest brother stays." The group was too close for fussing. Jiang Chen settled it.
The final party for Three Mountain City: Li Yun, Jiang Chen, Zhao Yan, Huang Azhan. They agreed to set out from the south gate in three days.
...
The Wang family estate.
Wang Hao strode into the same secluded little courtyard, beaming. "Brother!"
Wang Yuan lay in his lounging chair, a yellowed old scroll in hand. The fat orange cat dozed at his feet, soaking up the early-winter sun.
At the sound of Wang Hao's voice, he did not even stir. "What is it?"
The cat, on the other hand, was deeply displeased to see Wang Hao. It turned its back on him and showed him its rear.
"Look at this!" Wang Hao hurried over, bent at the waist, and swung a jade bottle before his brother's eyes. "What's this?"
Wang Yuan knew the bottle. He remembered the pill inside with perfect clarity — every single detail.
Once, he had held such hope for it. Later, such disappointment.
No one could know what churned inside him in that moment. He only lifted his eyelids a fraction. "Your slot is used up. Fifteen hundred Dao merit — hard to scrape together, isn't it?"
"Not hard." Wang Hao shook his head, grinning bright. "Your little brother took first place at the Three-City Trial. Three-year champion!"
Wang Hao was always the calm, steady one in public. Only in this little courtyard did his restless streak show.
Wang Yuan turned a page. "Thoughtful of you. But it means nothing to me."
"Try it, brother. Try it once more."
Wang Yuan glanced down at the fat orange cat. "Feed me, and you might as well feed Xiao Ju. She'd live longer, and she'd act friendlier to you."
"I can't do that. Father would beat me to death."
"And he won't beat you for feeding me?"
"Father... he cares about you, in his own heart."
"You won a championship — the clan poured resources into that. They expect a return. Take the Meridian-Opening Pill back." Wang Yuan laid the book over his face. "My nap time."
"Brother!" Wang Hao's voice cracked.
"If you leave the pill, I'll feed it to Xiao Ju." Wang Yuan's voice drifted out from under the book, still placid.
But Wang Hao could feel the iron in it.
He put the bottle away, walking out in slow steps, looking back every few paces.
He saw the old book covering his brother's face — a Dao scripture. Its title: the Sutra of Deliverance.