Qin Wanwan waited in her room holding her employment gift box. After a while, a paper crane landed at the window.
Qin Wanwan tapped the paper crane, and Baisui You’s voice came from within, “Miss Li, I have already left the dense forest and am unharmed. If Miss still intends to travel with this Bai, tomorrow at dawn, I will wait for Miss at the east gate of Immortal-Seeking Town to travel together.”
Qin Wanwan replied, “Alright.”
After tapping the paper crane, it flew up gracefully and left Qin Wanwan’s sight.
Not long after the paper crane left, Nanfeng came to her room and called to Qin Wanwan, “Master, everything has been arranged. You can go downstairs to drink with Daojun Jian.”
Hearing this, Qin Wanwan nodded. She frantically took several Sobering Pills, and only then did she finally muster the courage to walk downstairs.
Tonight, she absolutely had to get Jian Xingzhi drunk!
When Qin Wanwan reached the courtyard, she saw Jian Xingzhi dressed in blue robes, sitting in the courtyard.
Nanfeng was an elegant ant. In less than half an hour, he had commanded his underlings to transform the courtyard into a sea of flowers. Jian Xingzhi sat in the midst of the sea of flowers. Hearing Qin Wanwan come downstairs, he raised his eyes and lifted his cup with a smile, “You’re here?”
Qin Wanwan sat down holding the box containing Jian Xingzhi’s letter of introduction and commission, placing the box to the side. Jian Xingzhi glanced at the box, “What’s this?”
“A gift.”
Qin Wanwan spoke earnestly. As she spoke, Qin Wanwan poured wine for them both.
Both had tacitly prepared wine bowls. The wine filled an entire bowl. Qin Wanwan pushed it to Jian Xingzhi, “We blew up Wenxin Sect and cleared your grievances before coming down the mountain—we should have celebrated long ago. Come, let’s drink.”
Without another word, Jian Xingzhi nodded, “Bottoms up.”
The two finished their bowls. Jian Xingzhi poured wine for Qin Wanwan, “These past days, going through life and death together, that’s also a bond. Come, bottoms up.”
Qin Wanwan nodded and gritted her teeth, “Bottoms up.”
The two went back and forth, finding excuses and finishing several bowls. Seeing that the person across from her remained completely unaffected, Qin Wanwan understood.
She was here to get Jian Xingzhi drunk, not to drink herself. What if she ended up getting drunk instead? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
So she changed the rules, “Drinking straight like this is boring. Let’s play a game instead.”
“How do we play?”
“We’ll ask each other questions, and whoever can’t answer has to drink.”
“Fine.” Jian Xingzhi agreed immediately. He figured that even if he couldn’t ask about other things, at least he knew plenty about various herbs, spirit beasts, scriptures, sword techniques, spells… He knew a lot.
“Alright then,” Qin Wanwan nodded. “Can you recite the multiplication tables?”
“What’s that?” Jian Xingzhi was stunned.
Qin Wanwan raised her hand, “Drink.”
“What’s the first line of the *Supreme Scripture for Crossing Tribulations*?”
Qin Wanwan was stunned. She hadn’t expected that this Jian Xingzhi, at his age, could ask such a cultured question. Jian Xingzhi raised his hand, “Drink.”
Qin Wanwan took a deep breath and downed a bowl of wine.
“Do you know what comes after ‘The land is so beautiful it has made countless heroes bow in homage’?”
Jian Xingzhi drank without hesitation.
“Do you know how to stack five layers of the Thunder Incantation?”
Qin Wanwan drank.
The two went back and forth. Their knowledge bases miraculously had no overlap whatsoever. By midnight, both had drunk until they vomited, then vomited and drank again.
Qin Wanwan barely held on thanks to the Sobering Pills she’d taken in advance. Jian Xingzhi also struggled to continue thanks to the detoxification formation circulating within his body.
Qin Wanwan’s face was flushed red. Feeling she had no more questions to ask and seeing the sky gradually brighten, she propped up her head and rubbed her temples, “How about this—you do one thing, I take one drink. I do one thing, you take one drink.”
“Fine.”
Jian Xingzhi nodded, “What should we do?”
“Give me the qiankun pouch.” Qin Wanwan stretched out her hand.
Hearing this, Jian Xingzhi propped up his head with a smile, untied the qiankun pouch from his waist, and dangled it from his hand, “Then you promise me,” he stared at her, “that you’ll always protect me until I ascend.”
The two fell silent, quietly looking at each other.
Pear blossoms drifted down with the moonlight. Qin Wanwan gritted her teeth, “You know what I’m planning to do.”
“You want to run.”
Jian Xingzhi stated with certainty.
Qin Wanwan forced a smile, “I’m planning a wonderful future for you.”
“You’re planning to ditch me.”
Jian Xingzhi’s eyes turned cold. Qin Wanwan struggled to defend herself, “It’s because I love you.”
With that, Qin Wanwan opened the box on the table, “I found you a new job, a really good one. You only work ten days a month, the state provides housing and grain, there’s a fixed salary, it’s stable and peaceful,” the more Qin Wanwan spoke, the more heartbroken she became, “This is the greatest happiness I can give you. Zhiyan, go.”
Jian Xingzhi didn’t speak. He looked at the commission in the box. After a long while, he raised his head to look at Qin Wanwan, “Are you brain-damaged?”
He, Jian Xingzhi, had been at Golden Core since birth, had always been an outstanding figure among cultivators, and she actually wanted him to guard a warehouse?!
“My excellence,” Jian Xingzhi could no longer tolerate it, “can’t you see it?”
“Zhiyan,” Qin Wanwan stood up and walked before him, “I know you can’t let me go, but we’ve both changed.”
With that, Qin Wanwan cupped Jian Xingzhi’s face in her hands. Jian Xingzhi jumped in fright. He stared blankly at Qin Wanwan, who was holding his face and looking down at him from above, “You… what are you planning to do?”
“I know what you want,” Qin Wanwan’s face was full of deep emotion, “but Zhiyan, you are the most important person in my heart, and the one I can’t let go of the most…”
With that, Qin Wanwan lowered her head. Pear blossoms swirled around her. Jian Xingzhi watched her closed eyes and increasingly close face. His heart beat wildly, his entire body went rigid, like a cat frightened beyond measure—instantly his fur stood on end and he frantically wanted to retreat.
“Let us bid farewell with this kiss. From now on, you will live the happiness I can never reach…”
Qin Wanwan’s breath intertwined with his, so close at hand. Just as she was about to touch him, Jian Xingzhi could tolerate it no longer. He pushed her away with one hand while turning his head and shouting, “Don’t!”
At that very instant, Qin Wanwan chopped at his neck with her hand.
With a “thud,” Jian Xingzhi collapsed onto the table.
Qin Wanwan yanked the qiankun pouch from his hand and straightened up, hands on her hips, “Refusing the toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit—you think I can’t handle you?”
With that, Qin Wanwan took another Sobering Pill, then turned to call Nanfeng, who had been hiding in the shadows all along, “Take him and the box together, and send them to the address in the box.”
“Ah?” Nanfeng was stunned by this sudden turn of events and couldn’t believe it. “Send… send him away?”
Qin Wanwan ignored his shock. She took out a small pouch from the qiankun pouch, stuffed it into Jian Xingzhi’s chest, and patted his shoulder.
“I’ve given you the money and your indentured contract. Jian Zhiyan, I’ve done right by you. Take care of yourself from now on.”
Finishing her words, Qin Wanwan straightened up. Looking at the sky that had just brightened, she stumbled out, “I’ll go find Baisui You first. After you put him on the carriage, go directly to Heaven Sword Sect to find people and say I’ve found Qianliu. Sense my location properly and bring people to find me.”
Nanfeng listened in complete confusion. Only after Qin Wanwan left did he react, responding blankly, “Yes.”
Then he turned his head to look at Jian Xingzhi sprawled on the table. He couldn’t help but reveal some sadness.
Men.
Men who fall in love with women.
So utterly pitiful!
But no matter what, he still had to carry out his master’s mission. He hoisted Jian Xingzhi onto his back, carried the box, and following Qin Wanwan’s instructions, delivered everything to the designated location at Wanshi Workshop.
People were already coming and going there. Many had already boarded carriages. Because Jian Xingzhi was unconscious, he was arranged in the best carriage. He was the last one. As soon as he arrived, the carriage began its journey.
Meanwhile, Qin Wanwan arrived at the city gate half-drunk and saw Baisui You waiting at the gate. Qin Wanwan smiled apologetically at Baisui You, “Fellow Daoist Bai, I’m sorry. I drank too much last night. I might need to sleep in the carriage for a bit.”
“No problem.” Baisui You smiled, “It’s better if you sleep more.”
With that, he extended his hand toward Qin Wanwan, “Miss Li, please board the carriage.”
Qin Wanwan took Baisui You’s hand and boarded the carriage. As soon as she got on, drowsiness surged over her. Leaning against the carriage wall, she fell asleep.
The two carriages headed in different directions. When the sun had fully risen, Jian Xingzhi suddenly awoke. He bolted upright and discovered he was surrounded by a large group of people. These men were all sallow and emaciated, wearing tattered hemp clothes, looking at Jian Xingzhi with some curiosity.
Jian Xingzhi pushed through the crowd and lifted the carriage curtain, only to see that outside was already an unfamiliar road.
With this movement, he felt something in his chest. He quickly pulled out a qiankun pouch from inside, and feeling around in the qiankun pouch, he discovered many spirit stones, his indentured contract, and a letter.
He took out the letter and found it was written by ‘Qin Wan.’
“My beloved Zhiyan, when you see this letter, you should already be on the road.
I know you don’t understand my actions at all, why I must make you leave. Actually, it’s all because I’m no longer myself.
One day I woke up and felt the world had changed drastically. I am no longer the Qin Wan you loved, and you are no longer the Zhiyan I loved.
We’ve both changed a lot. I hope that before we grow to dislike each other, we can preserve that last bit of beauty in our hearts. Whenever I recall you, you will always be in my heart as the most gentle, most beautiful, most kind Jian Zhiyan.
I found you a very good job. You will have a stable salary, a stable career. You will find your own happiness in the mortal world.
May we not hate each other, and may we love each other forever.
Your Qin Wan.”
Reading this letter, Jian Zhiyan fell into deep thought.
666 sighed, “Alas, she must have had a change of heart, feeling you’re not as gentle and delicate as she remembered.”
“Am I not gentle enough?”
Jian Xingzhi frowned. 666 didn’t speak. After a moment, it comforted Jian Xingzhi, “Actually, the job she found for you is pretty good. I want it too. This is also a kind of love.”
As soon as the words fell, the carriage suddenly stopped.
A rough male voice called out, “Get out! Everyone get out!”
The people around began getting off one after another. Jian Xingzhi also jumped down, and as soon as he did, he found they were in front of a huge cave.
“Everyone stand properly in formation! The good-looking ones will be sent to Lord Qianliu. The ugly ones, starting today, you are miners of Qianshan Mine! Qianshan Mine will not mistreat you. We will guarantee one steamed bun per meal. Eight hours of mining per day. Stable work, no days off—ever!”
“Welcome, you all! New slaves!”
Jian Xingzhi: “…”
“This is,” Jian Xingzhi looked at the burly men in front carrying spiked clubs and clenched his fists, “the good job she mentioned.”