As a seasoned flying sword messenger, Lu Jia had been to many places and visited many sects, delivering letters and items for countless cultivators and ordinary people. He used to be a rogue cultivator. After his cultivation entered the Core Formation Stage, it had remained stagnant ever since. Unable to afford expensive pills, he could only join the courier station and become a flying sword messenger. Fortunately, cultivators were very courteous to flying sword messengers and didn’t dare rob them at the risk of offending major sects. Especially after two hundred years ago when a famous Nascent Soul ancestor wrote a composition praising them, their status in the cultivation world rose even higher. They were praised by countless people as beacons of hope and guides of love and emotion.
Having this veteran go to Liuguang Sect to deliver items was a special arrangement by the courier station. They worried that a new flying sword messenger with shallow qualifications wouldn’t be able to maintain composure and would lose nerve in front of Liuguang Sect. After Lu Jia entered Liuguang Sect, he felt the courier station had been very thorough in their considerations. The piercing sword energy inside, along with the expressionless faces of those sword cultivators, all gave him the impulse to go weak in the knees.
But despite this, he still straightened his back and stood firmly on his legs. The dignity of a gold-medal flying sword messenger could not be lost.
“These things were really sent by someone named Huan Zong, as you said?” Jinyue looked at various packages bundled tightly with oiled paper. With a flick of his fingers, one package arrived in his hands. Opening the package, he saw inside wasn’t a rare secret manual or precious medicinal herbs, but rather… cured meat?
“This is Qiu City’s most famous honey-fragrant cured meat. The texture is sweet and chewy—it’s a dish that foreign cultivators must order when visiting Qiu City.” The flying sword messenger, seeing the strange expressions on everyone present, thought they were worried about food hygiene. Despite being very awed by these people, he still dutifully explained, “Please rest assured, everyone. Our courier station workers are all very conscientious and moral. During the packing process, they paid great attention to hygiene. They definitely wouldn’t steal food or short-change the weight. This is the signature from when the customer placed the order. You can verify the quantity and weight against the order contents.”
“The person who sent these things really said his name was Huan Zong?” Song He, Peak Master sitting below, couldn’t help but ask again. “You didn’t remember wrong?”
“Please be assured, honored customer. We would absolutely never mistake customer information.” Lu Jia said. “Please trust our work capability.”
The entire hall fell into silence. Jinyue signed his name on the confirmation form. “Thank you for your trouble, messenger.”
“No need for courtesy.” Having obtained the confirmation, Lu Jia no longer wanted to stay here. He left the main hall, jumped onto his flying sword, and departed from Liuguang Sect without looking back. Talking with these sword cultivators was truly too stressful. Staying too long was detrimental to longevity.
“Sect Master, do you think this could be some kind of hint?” Song He turned the specialty products over and over several times but couldn’t find any special markings. “Or did something happen in Qiu City?”
Jinyue’s brows were tightly furrowed. “Send a disciple to Qiu City to inquire.”
“I’ll arrange it right away.” Song He stood up and hurried out, afraid that if his movements were too slow, something irreparable would happen.
On Yunhua Sect’s martial arts field, inner sect disciples were teaching newly arrived disciples the introductory sword techniques. Seeing a flying sword messenger being led by Five Elements Hall disciples into the main hall, they silently guessed who had sent something to the Sect Master and the others.
The new disciples, seeing the inner sect senior brothers and sisters huddling to the side whispering, all became curious.
By evening, they learned that the personally transmitted senior sister from Qiyue Peak had sent local specialties to the Sect Master, Peak Masters, and personally transmitted disciples. Even during their dinner, their bowls contained several extra slices of Qiu City’s specialty cured meat.
The slightly plump Gao Jianyan was eating happily. Seeing that Gui Lin beside him hadn’t picked up his chopsticks, he asked, “You don’t like eating it?”
Gui Lin said quietly, “I heard that the Peak Master of Chenxia Peak doesn’t get along well with the Peak Master of Qiyue Peak?”
Gao Jianyan shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice, not understanding what Gui Lin meant by this.
“Senior Sister Kong Hou sent specialties to Chenxia Peak—isn’t she afraid the Qiyue Peak Master will be angry?” Gui Lin lowered his eyelids. “As disciples, shouldn’t we obey our masters in everything?”
“That’s not wrong to say, but the two Peak Masters don’t have any deep hatred between them. There’s no need to make things so tense, right?” Gao Jianyan looked around and reached out to put his arm around Gui Lin’s shoulders. “Stop talking. If this spreads, it won’t sound good.”
Gui Lin pushed away the hand Gao Jianyan had placed on his shoulder and picked up a slice of cured meat to put in his mouth. By the time he finished his meal, all the other meat in his bowl remained untouched. Gao Jianyan swallowed. To be able to leave behind such delicious cured meat—picky eating really wasn’t a good habit.
The snow hadn’t stopped. After Kong Hou and Huan Zong left Qiu City, they traveled eastward. When darkness fell, they were still in the forest. By winter, many trees had already shed their leaves. Snow mixed with rotting leaves, giving off a faint decaying smell.
Kong Hou jumped down from her flying sword and looked around. With great interest, she said, “Let’s sleep in the trees tonight.”
Huan Zong lifted the curtain. Seeing that Kong Hou seemed full of anticipation about sleeping outdoors, he raised his head to select a sturdy tree. He took out something from his sleeve and tossed it up the tree. A small wooden house appeared on the tree.
“A tree house?” Kong Hou cheered. “Huan Zong, you’re so amazing—you even have this.”
“It’s just an inexpensive magical tool.” Huan Zong hadn’t expected that a mere wooden house could make Kong Hou so happy.
“I’ve grown this big and have never lived in a tree house before.” Kong Hou wanted to fly into the tree house to look, but felt embarrassed to appear too eager. She could only put her hands behind her back and lightly kick at the accumulated snow on the ground. “I was originally planning to use tree branches to build a little nest.”
After kicking a few times, a black shadow suddenly darted out from beneath the accumulated snow. The spiritual energy emanating from the black shadow caused the surrounding withered grass to sprout several green leaves.
A spiritual creature or spiritual medicine? Kong Hou was stunned for a moment but quickly reacted. Her toes tapped the ground as she flew up in pursuit. This spiritual creature was extremely fast. Kong Hou flew about and rolled on the ground several times before finally pressing it firmly under her hand.
“Huan Zong, it’s Vermillion Grass!” Kong Hou tightly gripped the spiritual herb twisting and turning in her hand. Not bothering to wipe away the dead leaves and dirty snow on her face and head, she lay on the ground and turned her head happily toward Huan Zong. “Quick, get a jade medicine box—eating this is good for the heart and lungs!”
Huan Zong saw her disheveled appearance, her arms rubbed red by the ice and snow, yet she was reluctant to release the Vermillion Grass. Taking out a jade medicine box, he crouched down and took the Vermillion Grass from her hand, closed the lid, and extended his hand before her. “The ground is cold.”
“It’s fine.” Kong Hou grabbed Huan Zong’s hand and used the leverage to stand up. Looking down at Huan Zong’s fair, clean palm now dirtied by her, she somewhat guiltily shifted her gaze away and silently moved her hand behind her back.
“You must keep this jade medicine box safe. This kind of spiritual herb is extremely rare. Before you return to your sect, don’t let others know you have it.” Huan Zong glanced at the pile of snow Kong Hou had kicked aside, feeling as if he were witnessing some kind of miracle.
Vermillion Grass grew with no pattern whatsoever and was extremely rare. Even if one occasionally encountered it, there would be a fierce snake guarding it. Who could have imagined that such a rare spiritual herb would dart out after being kicked a few times? As for the guardian snake… in this heavy snow, perhaps it was hibernating?
“Why give it to me?” Kong Hou was baffled. “Aren’t you the one who needs this?”
Her body was perfectly fine—no illness, no disaster. What would she keep this for? Make it into medicinal pills to eat for fun?
Huan Zong froze, staring at this disheveled young girl before him. It took him quite a while to recover his voice. “For me?”
“That’s right.” Kong Hou nodded. “For you.” Kong Hou suspected that Huan Zong’s brain, due to being sick for too long, had somewhat slow reaction ability. However, this was the first friend she’d made after coming down the mountain. Even if he was a bit stupid, she couldn’t look down on him.
“Do you know this is Vermillion Grass?” Huan Zong reached out to pick dead leaves from Kong Hou’s hair and smiled helplessly. “How can you give it to me?”
“It’s precisely because I know that I’m giving it to you.” Kong Hou felt the question Huan Zong raised was quite strange. Among the three of them, he was the one with poor health, constantly coughing along the way. If this medicine wasn’t given to him, who should it be given to?
Huan Zong felt that Kong Hou’s current gaze at him seemed to be asking: Are you stupid? He gripped the jade medicine box tightly and laughed aloud. Because he laughed too loudly, he couldn’t help coughing several times. His ear tips and cheeks both turned red.
“Kong Hou, thank you.” His eyes were exceptionally bright.
Looking at his eyes, Kong Hou was reminded of stars on a summer night—sparkling and beautiful.
“You’re welcome.” She generously waved her hand, then remembering her hand was still dirty, smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
“Your arm is injured.” Huan Zong put away the jade medicine box and pulled out a soft, clean handkerchief. He bent down and used medicinal liquid to clean the scrapes on Kong Hou’s arm, wrapping the handkerchief around her arm. “In snowy weather, wounds heal more slowly. Sleep through tonight, and by tomorrow it will be completely healed.”
“Thank you.” Kong Hou raised her head and secretly stole several glances at the wooden house in the tree. With a flushed face, she said, “Can I go up and look at the tree house?” A house built in a tree must be very fun.
“Of course.” Huan Zong smiled. “Go see if there’s anything unsatisfactory. I can re-refine it.”
“Then I’m going!” Kong Hou couldn’t wait to fly up the tree and climb into the wooden house.
Watching the young girl happily disappear behind the tree house door, Huan Zong looked up at the tree house, the smile still on his face.
“Young Master.” Lin Hu walked up behind him, unable to conceal his excitement. “Is it really Vermillion Grass?”
The Vermillion Grass that Yuxiao Sect had searched the entire Lingyou Realm for without finding had so simply fallen into Young Master’s hands? He looked at the pile of accumulated snow Kong Hou had kicked aside, feeling this world was somewhat unreal.
Huan Zong nodded slightly. “That’s right, this is Vermillion Grass.”
Vermillion Grass—worth a fortune in the cultivation world, something countless cultivators desperately sought but couldn’t obtain.
“Huan Zong!” The tree house window opened, and the young girl stuck out her head, her tone as excited as a child receiving a beloved gift. “The tree house is so beautiful inside! There’s actually a soft big bed and all kinds of food inside—you prepared so thoroughly!”
This magical tool was given to him by an elder in the sect when he was very young. He had never taken it out to use, nor did he know what was inside.
“There are also many toys inside.” After a short while, the young girl emerged from inside holding a tumbler toy bigger than her head. She held it out the window for Huan Zong to see more clearly. “This tumbler toy looks just like you!”
Huan Zong looked at that tumbler with distorted features and a round belly, speechless.
What part of this armless, legless tumbler resembled him?
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**Author’s Note:** Kong Hou: Tree house! Tree house! So wonderful—finally sleeping in a real tree house!
Lin Hu: My heavens! Vermillion Grass—living Vermillion Grass!