And so, the secular Official Government would invite some spellcasters well-versed in Great Cultivation to set up Spirit Clearing Guards, stationed in cities and towns of all sizes, specializing in slaying demons and exorcising evils. In addition to these state-sponsored cultivators, there were also disciples from the Great Cultivation Sects who would come out to gain experience by walking the secular world to uphold the same cause. Of course, there were also those like the Old Taoist Priest who specialized in exorcising ghosts and capturing demons for the purpose of gathering wealth to support their families.
The Old Taoist Priest's Taoist magic was considered third-rate outside, but capturing little ghosts and little demons was nothing difficult for him. When he encountered generous wealthy men who would give gold as a reward, the silver they received was enough for him and his apprentice to live lavishly for a while. However, because the Old Taoist Priest was cautious about the Treasure Mirror, he didn't dare to stay too long in one place. Thus, he led his apprentice to drift from place to place, hiding here and there. In terms of having seen and experienced life, Li Yaner couldn't hold a candle to Gu Shi Yi.
Thus, in Gu Shi Yi's view, it was utterly illogical for Li Yaner's family, being so poor, to still insist on having a son.
"My father said, having a son is the only way our Li Family can continue the lineage. Otherwise, our Li Family's roots would be severed!"
Gu Shi Yi was very perplexed,
"In our place, daughters can inherit the family business too..."
Like her, she was by status the legitimate eldest daughter of the main family and could choose to not marry but instead take in a son-in-law to carry on the lineage. Any children born would be legitimate heirs to the main family. If capable enough, one could take control of the entire family, just like one of her great grandmothers had managed the family affairs and had brought glory to the Gu Family for a period!
Leaving aside Gu Shi Yi's puzzlement about the Li Family's fixation on having sons, the parents did indeed turn their fortunes around after working in town. Although Li's father looked fierce, he had brute strength and, willing to do hard labor, actually earned a good sum of money. Once Li's mother had a son, they bought a house in town, brought over the grandparents and Li Yaner, and even sent Li Yaner to school.
Having moved to town, Li Yaner always carried a small mirror with her, one which she had picked up by the road—the broken piece of another person's shattered mirror. Back then, her household was very poor and, being a girl, she wasn't favored by the elders and didn't even have a mirror to comb her hair with. So she picked up a piece and took it home, not knowing that this piece of mirror would grant her a confidante to grow up with. Though this confidante couldn't skip rope, play hopscotch, or kick shuttlecocks with her, she could whisper secrets under the covers with her and share the wonders of another world.
The two of them grew up together thanks to these two mirrors. Gu Shi Yi let Li Yaner know that in another world, it was like a mythological tale with thousand-year-old foxes and ten-thousand-year-old turtles, people who practiced Taoist magic who could command the wind and fire, and fly on swords to take lives. Meanwhile, Gu Shi Yi joined Li Yaner at school, learning to read and write, discovering that in this world, although the people did not practice Great Cultivation, they created various machines that could move mountains and change the world.
Later, as Li Yaner's family gradually grew wealthier, Gu Shi Yi observed how her family added modern conveniences such as a television, fridge, and washing machine—things unknown in her world. And through that small box, she learned of a much bigger world beyond this small town.
Gu Shi Yi liked the conveniences found in Li Yaner's place,
"You people, even as ordinary humans who can't ride the wind, are able to travel a thousand miles in a day. It's wonderful!"
There, although the spiritual energy was depleted and the heritage of cultivation had long been lost, another kind of civilization and technological development had flourished, which had taken a different path from her own world.
But Li Yaner envied Gu Shi Yi's place with its clear waters and green mountains,
"Your world is the better one, abounding with spiritual energy. Even the plants and trees can become sentient. Unlike here... we can't even see the blue sky or clear waters anymore..."
That was indeed true!
The two shared a mutual disdain for one aspect; Li Yaner's world was indeed heavily polluted...
Life in Li Yaner's world was much more exciting than in Gu Shi Yi's, with the two friends from separate realms reading books, binge-watching dramas together, cursing out scumbag men and tea-drinking women, and sharing a mutual disdain for shoddy special effects. However, their tastes in men were poles apart. Li Yaner favored handsome, refined men with fair complexions like a certain ancient character before he got tanned, while Gu Shi Yi preferred mature men. She didn't care about faces; as long as there were six-pack abs and prominent V-lines, she loved them, especially those tough European and American types, like The Rock.
Gu Shi Yi often sighed,
"Your place is so great. In summer, the streets are filled with bare torsos, and you can even show off your legs and chest. Unlike here... where everyone is covered up so tightly..."