It took two days after Wu Ling sent his letters to the sect to hear back from both the sect and Yao Meifeng. When Madame Cixiu explained the orders he'd been given, however, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
"Just to be clear," Wu Ling asked the older woman who managed the chapterhouse in Bufa City. "Hall Master Bian isn't recalling me, even though we've accomplished our aim of breaking through? She's content to let us finish the remainder of the expedition?"
"Exactly as you say," the older woman said with a warm smile. "The instructions sent for you were very clear. If you're able to resolve your enmity with the Mountain's Bones Gang without further violence, that's preferred. Likewise, you are forbidden from attempting to assault their fortress. Hall Master Bian will assign the matter of Fantian Wong to someone better suited to such missions."
"Further, Hall Master Bian reminds you of your commitment to Warden Mu," Madame Cixiu added. "And she still hopes that you'll recover at least one stalk of Gold Wind Bamboo for the sect when you reach your destination."
Hearing the other woman's words, Wu Ling finally managed to relax. He'd been afraid that he'd have to return early since both he and Su Xiang had reached the second stage, but it felt like it would have been a betrayal to Zhang Buyan and Jin Wuya if they cut things short before reaching their destination.
Thankfully, the Hall Master didn't seem like she was in a rush for Wu Ling to return.
"Then, do you know why the Hall Master wants me to replace my identity jade?" Wu Ling asked as he reviewed the other instructions that Bian Xing had sent. "She wants me to select a different name to enter the Inner Sect with?"
"I don't know the Hall Master's mind on this," Madame Cixiu said with a shake of her head. "She only asked me to find out if you intended to continue using the name Hua Qianhu and if so, she instructed me to reissue you an identity jade with that name. If you wish to discard that name, she requires you to select another to use instead," the older woman explained.
"Further, she commands that you report directly to her as soon as you return to Silver Sword City so that she can explain these matters to you more fully."
"In that case, I can only obey," Wu Ling said, surrendering the identity jade that bore the name 'Wu Ling.' "Hua Qianhu is fine for my new identity jade," he confirmed. The process of transferring his contribution points and other elements from one jade to another took only a few moments, and that included issuing his rewards both for killing Nalan Jiang and providing information about Fantian Wong's whereabouts.
In total, the two actions had gained him eight thousand contribution points and significantly reduced the stress he felt about relying on the sect's help while in Bufa City. If any of his requests went beyond simple things the sect would do for any Understudy in the sect, he could always exchange an appropriate amount of points for it.
"I do have an odd request," Wu Ling said, once he'd received the purse full of spirit stones that accompanied his contribution points as a reward for completing his missions. "My sworn sister wants to reawaken as an Artist, specifically an Embroiderer. I don't know anything about reawakening other than my own, and my Master guided me through the process."
"How much would I have to pay the sect to gain your assistance in Sister Xiang's Reawakening?" Wu Ling asked. Since Reawakenings only occurred in the lives of second-stage and higher cultivators, Wu Ling was afraid that the cost wouldn't be low and any resources he needed to acquire could be prohibitively expensive.
If there was an incense, he was certain that it would be found on the second level of the Onyx Treasure Tower. If that were the case, not only would he need to wait to return to the city to obtain it, the price wouldn't be less than thirty thousand contribution points! Still, since he hadn't needed an incense to reawaken, he hoped that Su Xiang wouldn't need one either.
"Your sworn sister isn't just an outsider," Madam Cixiu said after taking a deep breath. "She's a disciple of another sect. Helping her will require Hall Master Bian's approval."
"Hall Master Bain?" Wu Ling blinked in surprise. "Shouldn't an Elder like my mother be able to approve it?"
"If it was anyone else, yes," the older woman said with a nod. "But you're the daughter of an Elder. That means you can't receive the same support from an Elder that a normal disciple can. Otherwise it looks like the elders are playing favorites."
"In terms of the cost," she continued, flipping through an old notebook. "Your sworn sister will owe the sect a favor since the sect would be doing a favor for her. It's up to her if she wants to carry that debt. This isn't something that you can pay on her behalf."
Of course it wasn't, Wu Ling thought. Some things couldn't be bought with points or money and helping someone open a new path was a life changing favor. The sect wouldn't pass up an opportunity to place someone in their debt, especially when it was someone talented enough to walk two paths.
Knowing Bian Xing, she might even wait years for Su Xiang to grow stronger before she called in that debt. She would wait until his sworn sister could offer her something of greater value than she could today. It was exactly the same way she held Wu Ling'd debt over his head, saying that she wouldn't need his help until his cultivation progressed far enough to be useful to her.
"I'll let my sister know," Wu Ling said, bowing over cupped hands. Ultimately, it would be Su Xiang's decision, he could only pass the information along.
"If Hall Master Bian approves," Madame Cixiu said. "I'll personally help your sworn sister with her reawakening. Then, I can consider tutoring her in Embroidery while she's here, though I imagine you'll be leaving before I can teach more than the basics."
"I think she'd like that," Wu Ling said with a warm smile. "She doesn't like being confined to bed while she heals."
"No, I don't imagine she does," the older woman said with a light laugh. Reaching onto a nearby shelf, she collected a small bundle of needles, a few colors of thread, scraps of fabric and a small collection of patterns before she turned back to Wu Ling.
"Consider these a gift from me to her," she said. "Even if she can't cultivate with Embroidery yet, having something to keep busy with can help keep her mind busy while she's stuck in bed healing."
"There are also two more things for you," she continued, placing two rolled up pieces of parchment on the counter. "One is from your mother, the other is from the disciple you sent a letter to the other day. It seems your junior sister had a great deal to say," she teased, pointing to the roll that was more than twice as thick as the letter from his mother.
"Thank you," Wu Ling said, his eyes misting slightly. When he'd set out on this journey, he'd expected to spend several months cut off from his loved ones. Part of him felt guilty because none of the others had the same ability to reach back home the way he did while they were in Bufa City.
But when his fingers brushed the scrolls that his mother and Yao Meifeng had sent, it was all he could do to resist the urge to open them right here in the chapterhouse to read them. Still, he imagined that they might contain private matters and it would be better if he opened them in the privacy of the villa.
"Thank you, Madame Cixiu, for everything," Wu Ling said, bowing over cupped hands. "I'll return in two days to find out what the Hall Master's answer is about Sister Xiang. At that time, I should also have finished the talismans I intend to place in the auction."
"Good, good," she said with a warm smile on her weathered face. "I've already heard rumors circulating about the talisman your sister used after her duel. I think you may fetch a higher price for these than you expect, but be cautious, if you stand out for making too great a profit at the auction, you'll place a target on your own back when you leave."
"I understand," Wu Ling replied. "But if we provoke that kind of danger, we'll just have to deal with it when it comes."
Wu Ling knew that coming to Bufa City to sell their treasures would create risks. Even with Madame Cixiu's warning, he still felt like the risks were manageable, especially now that three of them had reached the second stage.
Besides, even if their treasures fetched a high price, it was only relative to their current funds. The powerful third-stage or fourth-stage cultivators that could crush them without blinking wouldn't bother over such trivial sums… at least, he hoped that was the case.
If he was wrong then they could be in more trouble than they could handle.