Zhoudong is an Empire whose culture is very similar to ancient China. A Kingdom filled with people, through the process of cultivation, improve their health, increase their longevity, and develop powers beyond ordinary people's imagination. In this Empire, cultivating Qi and training in martial & mystical arts is part of the quotidian. However, only a few can become an Immortal or attain godhood.
Zhoudong is a place where the commerce of cultivation items is flourishing, and it can be seen everywhere in the streets. Some people have decided to make cultivating their work and thus were called Cultivators. Cultivators have grouped in associations named sects, and work on request. These sects are numerous and spread across the Empire.
And in this Empire's capital, there is the one sect whose cultivator's strength and might have inspired minstrels for countless generations. A sect whose members are legendary. This sect is named Chaotic Heaven, and this is its story.
ZHOUDONG; NANTOU (CAPITAL CITY)
Xinxin looked at the entrance of the Chaotic Heaven sect and breathed in. Those bastards would pay for every cent of the misery they brought upon her! The hall she arrived in was well lit, large and tall, but there were people fighting each other right and left, and the cleaning hadn't been done thoroughly for a while; some were even using qi attacks, such as the fire or ice qi.
A bench suddenly flew and went straight at her, so she picked her whip and imbued it with her qi to shatter the table. It made a loud noise that got everyone's attention. Suddenly the men around the place stopped fighting and looked in her direction.
"Greetings, may I know where the Hall Master of this division is, please?" she asked them.
"I am the Sect Master. Miss, I'm very sorry for the bench. May I know what you brings you here, please?"
She got out the file she compiled about the damages to her establishment, the inn she had so much pain to build a reputation for, that was caused by the two members of the Chaotic Heaven sect that was in Liaoging and presented him the final bill. His first reaction was to tell her that she should file a claim to the Imperial Palace about that.
"Hum, I see. So you don't want to be reasonable. Well, don't mind. I've prepared this other file which clearly proves that you only repaid seventy percent of what the Imperial Office of Sects has paid in your account in damages and other fines. I guess that they'll be glad to collect those thirty percent missing from the last three years. I don't want too since I kind of like your sect, but I'm bound to be a dutiful citizen of His Imperial Majesty... aren't I?"
Lord Zheng Bao looked at the second file in her hands and blemished. Each year their guild was paying extremely high fees... even thirty percent of that amount was huge... but this was thirty percent of three years! He breathed in and asked her if there was no way to come to an agreement.
"I don't know," she said. "I'm homeless and business-less because of you. And I was getting a decent income... I hate to beat it into you, you have basically wrecked my life... so unless you find me a job whose income is equivalent to what I had, then I guess you can only repay me for the damages that your members did to my establishment."
"How about tending to the living area and canteen of the guild?" said Chenfeng.
His idea wasn't all that bad. All in all, this girl was only reclaiming what was rightfully hers, she may use an underhanded method, but he had to recognize he would have bailed that out on the Imperial Office who would likely repay her but only after a year...
"Are you interested in being in our Sect, your duties as a member would be to take care of canteen and living areas of our sect for the usual income you had before?" he asked.
"I am," she answered immediately. Such a good job offer and it was stable. It wouldn't be her own money to pay for damage too... Plus, she'd get to live in the Empire's capital... There were no disadvantages to her.
It was the first time they saw such a woman so most of them didn't really know how to approach her. She was absolutely not like women who looked delicate and would be shy and mild-tempered. But since they had to take responsibility for the destruction they caused, they wouldn't be picking on her about that.
"From here on you are a member of the sect," said Master. "You can use the office just there for the bar and living quarter matters, and accommodate the room behind the bar as your own room, it's spacious and has a large window, plus it's next to the corridor leading outside, so you can have your own privacy. The commodities there can be used by you."
He didn't want to speak of toilets and such before a woman, so he hoped she'd understand what she meant. The girl just nodded, and she kissed one of her bracelets, "Appear Shi!" she ordered, and a blue snake appeared before their eyes. "Yes Master?" asked the Blue Snake. She gave some orders to the blue snake, who took human form and went toward the bar with a pen and paper and began to note all that was there.
"Master, while Shi is doing the inventory, can I get the list of boarding people, and the room plan; as well as the last inventory, and an account book of the bar, please? Since I'm beginning tomorrow, I need to make the preparation today."
"We... don't have that," admitted Master Zheng.
"Do you remember where you got everything from, then?"
"Not really," he answered.
"I see..." she said a bit perplexed. "So you'd just keep the stock up, without regards of what's the value of those?"
"More or less, every member will more or less keep his own stock up."
Xinxin shook her head desperately. It meant she would have to make the inventory and use her soul-system to track where each item came from. Letting out a sigh, this new job would need more preparation than she thought, but it was interesting... being part of a sect, maybe it would bring countless adventures? Well, Sects were normally for men, but she didn't care.
She was eager to see how far this would take her, in many ways. It felt like a great adventure was promised to her. That said, she looked at the hall's walls... all of the members of the sect were important people, so she had to make sure that their privacy and secrets were well-preserved. The walls didn't have any enchant and protections.
"Ah, for the Sect's record and your registration I need to know your cultivation level."
"I am a Celestial Beginner, grade 2 as I practice the Celestial Cultivation Method."
One had to know that if you were incompatible with the specialized method you chose, then you wouldn't just destroy your chances to cultivate, you would also destroy your chances of reincarnation. Same if you forced or rushed your breakthrough.
"Is the Celestial Method close to Divination Method?"
"Just like the Imperial Cultivation Method is one the specialized counterpart of the more generic Immortal Cultivation Method. The Celestial Cultivation Method is a specialization of the Divination Cultivation Method."
On those words, she went to the office she was told that she could use, to go on with the preparation. She was kind of looking forward to work there.
LATE THAT EVENING
Besides doing the inventory, she had spent the day remembering the people who were part of the hall, and she made some refreshment and snacks for the people of the hall. She was now cleaning the place as the lobby was now empty, only the kingdom's Crown Prince and Nalan Sengu, an elder of the hall was there.
"Junior Sister, are you alright?" asked a voice from behind her.
She turned her head with no rush, as she had been warned by her system that Wu Yahui, the kingdom's sixth Prince, was there. She tried to understand how to address him.
"Sorry, uh... well... how should I be addressing you? I wasn't really educated with etiquette..."
"You can call me Senior Brother Yahui. Hum, sect members bonds are more important."
"Well, then. Yes, I'm alright, Senior Brother Yahui," she answered. "Did I look unwell?"
"Well, you've been staring at the entrance door for a while... so I wondered if there's something about our door?"
She frowned, and grabbed his hand, and pointed out the door as she transmitted him her ability to see auras. She explained that such a black aura meant the door had been cursed, and she wondered if it was a friendly curse or not.
This wasn't one of the major concerns she had, but she couldn't tell him yet that she was consulting her system about the supply's origins. The sixth prince looked at the door absolutely stunned and said that it was disgusting.
"Oh, come on, I wash my hands often!" she said vexedly.
"Junior Sister Xia, I'm obviously speaking of the door!" he said shaking his hands before him. "That black aura is horrible."
"Well, it's a curse after all," she said.
"I... I touched this door..." he said as his face fell.
"It's too weak of a curse to hold on anyone who is above Martial Commander," she answered. "Since you are an Imperial King, you are fine."
"But then you touched this door," said the Crown Prince who had turned toward her.
"Sure, but I am immune to curses, so I didn't pay much attention to it before."
"We must tell master and remove the curse," she answered.
"Hum, but it doesn't feel like a bad curse," she explained. "I think it's been put with good intentions."
"Good intention, a curse?"
"All curses aren't bad," she answered. "For example, this one will make any woman turn back and go away from the door. Maybe it's just one of the members who got too popular and didn't want to be bothered?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads negatively, seemingly certain it couldn't be that, so it was decided to wait for the Hall Master. When he arrived, he said that he had forgotten he put this curse on the door, saying that in the prime days of the Crown Prince's arrival in the hall, there never was a peaceful day because of all the women who actually came to flirt with him, so he cursed the door.
"Master, if it was such an inconvenience why didn't you told me about it?"
"Because there was no way that you could have done anything about it. All of the big families of this country actually want to have their children attached to you, right?" he asked.
Realizing this, the Crown Prince stopped being angry and thanked the master for help. Then he turned toward her.
"Junior sister, we're planning an expedition to the west old ruins," he said. "Do you want to come with us when we're going?"
"I don't mind, but I'll have to find someone to uphold the duties I have in the hall first."
"It's okay, we'll ask the Hall Master to take care of that," he said. "It's his job to find you a backup anyways!"
"I agree, don't worry about such a detail, I'll make sure someone does what's needed while you're away."
With the Hall Master himself saying so, how could she not agree to their request? She was worried about who he would find, but she didn't say a word more as she nodded positively in direction of the Crown Prince. He seemed strangely overjoyed.