The name of the mask wasn’t actually recorded; none of the three men knew its correct name, and all items of this nature were usually recorded just as 'low-grade spirit tool'. The record being made had set this event in stone, and the mustached man newly regarded Fang Xing without emotion. "Good. All done now. Congratulations on your new spirit tool; off you go."
Still pretending to be uncertain, Fang Xing asked again, "You’re definitely sure this is good? What if…."
"Nonsense! You’ve already chosen this item and it’s already been recorded down. You cannot give it back for exchange any longer."
"But… you just said I could come back and swap it for something else if it’s no good…" Fang Xing pretended to be in shock on the surface while continuously mocking the three men in his mind.
"Swap?" the mustached man laughed, "It’s not impossible, it just depends on how you act when you come back."
It wasn’t as though things like this hadn’t happened before. Most of the disciples who didn’t pay the Spirit Stone in the beginning would come back later and be forced to pay an even higher price to exchange their spirit tool for another. Using this method, the three men had gained quite a generous savings of precious gems and rare items.
The sect would never be able to find out exactly which item Fang Xing had chosen, after all; the jaded plate only had "low-grade spirit tool" engraved on it. It would be a lot more difficult if the name of the mask or another item Fang Xing chose was known since it would be recorded, making it impossible to secretly swap or exchange at a later date.
"Okay, I guess that’s how it is!" As if finally convinced, Fang Xing took the mask into his arms and walked off.
As soon as Fang Xing left the pavilion, all three men burst out into laughter. "He really chose that mask thing! Hahaha, and look at him treasuring it as though it’s actually worth something!"
"It was his own fault for offending us, yet he actually wanted something good? In his dreams!"
"Hah, watch me burn a hole in his pocket when he comes back for an exchange!"
—
As soon as Yu Sanliang saw Fang Xing walking out of the pavilion, he hurried closer with a worried expression and quickly asked what had been chosen. Fang Xing passed the mask to Yu Sanliang, and the man carefully examined it in his hand. "What is this thing?" he asked in confusion; the mask was old and tattered, and it definitely didn’t look useful.
"You don’t know shit; this is definitely something good," Fang Xing replied before snatching the mask out of the plump Daoist’s hands. "Now go, take me to where I’ll be sleeping tonight!" Seeing how Fang Xing was confident in his chosen item, Yu Sanliang stopped his questioning and asked Fang Xing to follow him closely as they walked towards their next destination.
—
After working at the Miscellaneous Department for several years, Yu Sanliang was quite knowledgeable of the sect. Furthermore, despite the fact he wasn’t very popular, he was also up to date with the latest gossip since he usually ran the less pleasant errands for the other departments and was exposed to a lot of people.
"Take a look at this side, this place is known as Clear-Sound Valley, where all the female disciples live. There’s a large pool of crystal-clear spring water running outside the valley that female disciples usually go to bathe at. Apparently, to prevent any male disciples from peeping into the pool, the elders placed a smog spell around it that they claim to be impenetrable all year ‘round. But, there was a shixiong who claimed he managed to see them bathing once, and he even bragged about it for months afterwards!
"Now if you look towards this cliff, this is where Elder Song Gu holds his classes. He is extremely powerful and knowledgeable, and he’s even a bit of a legend here in the sect. He’s also one of the few elders who are friendly and easygoing; even for people with poor talent like us, if you ask him a question—any question—he will greet you with a smile and answer you with patience. There’s also Elder Song Yan who visits here every ninth day of the ninth month to speak about the ways to cultivate or to give hints and tips for using spells. It’s always packed when he comes, so even those core disciples try to get in there early.
"That place over there is known as Danxia Valley, one of the four inner courts of our sect. All the disciples there are dedicated to studying the path of alchemy, and not one—not a single one of them—has a good temper. They’re all arrogant assholes, but everyone needs their help with medicinal pellets and elixirs, so it’s best to avoid their bad side. They do, however, house the highest number of female disciples within the sect, and they’re all quite pleasing to the eyes. Maybe when you’re a bit older, we’ll try to find you a wife there; it should be really beneficial for your cultivation."
Hidden-Cloud Summit was where some of the outer court disciples lived. It took more than four hours before they’d finally reached the summit by foot, yet Yu Sanliang hadn’t stopped talking once during this time. To others, Yu Sanliang could come across as a nuisance, but this was an opportunity for Fang Xing to learn and find out as much gossip and information about the sect as possible. For Yu Sanliang, it was finally his chance to show off everything he knew about the sect, and he turned into an unceasing torrent of information during the journey.
"The inner court disciples live over in that mountain peak. Don’t go near it without a good reason…"
"Those who break the sect rules are sent here…"
"That’s the Culinary Department. All outer court disciples who want to dine there will have to pay a hundred silver taels per month…"
"This is the Pavilion of Enlightenment. It has collections with all of our sect’s important spells and books, but only inner court disciples can go in there…"
—
"This is where you will stay. Mine is close by, so if you need anything, just let me know!"
The summit was covered by a white fog that alternated between hiding the area below and revealing the few hundred little cottages that were scattered about. Its vast size kept it from feeling crowded, and the surroundings were quite pleasant as well; a small waterfall flowed through the valley, and a light breeze of wind would cause the bamboo forest nearby to rustle with soft sounds. Although it was already late autumn in the Chufung Kingdom this time of year, the abundance of spiritual veins caused the Qing-Yun Sect courts to still flush with spring blossoms.
According to Yu Sanliang, Hidden-Cloud Summit was merely one of the ten districts allocated for the outer court disciples, and he himself lived in a neighboring valley a few miles away. In fact, all of the outer court disciples lived in cottages like this, and it was only after becoming an inner court disciple and reaching tier four that they would be able to move to one of the better locations closer to a spirit vein. If they managed to achieve tier seven, they would even be awarded an entire summit for their cultivation use, receiving the same resources and treatment as the sect elders.
Once the pair arrived, a man came politely towards the two of them. He was in charge of room assignment and orientation despite only being in the second tier, and after checking Fang Xing’s token with his name and rank, he assigned Fang Xing a cottage next to the spring well and asked whether or not he would be dining at the Culinary Department.
"If you want to eat there, you’ll have to pay a hundred silver taels per month," Yu Sanliang reminded.
Stumped, Fang Xing showed a bitter smile at that—he didn’t have any money at all. He tapped Yu Sanliang on the shoulder and said, "In that case, lend me a hundred silver taels and I’ll give it back to you another day!"
This only left Yu Sanliang stumped as well. "You don’t have even that much?"
Fang Xing was unwilling to admit his penniless state and lied, "No, I just don’t have it on me right now!"
Unfortunately, Yu Sanliang did not bring enough with him so he had to ask if they could pay tomorrow. The man fortunately agreed without much of a fuss, but he gave a fleeting glance of obvious disdain towards Fang Xing.
In the world of cultivation, if one didn’t have any extraordinary talent, then the only other way to thrive was with money… but it was an unlikely bet even still. Then there were people like the looks of this boy, unable to afford even a hundred silver. ‘It’s almost guaranteed nothing will come of him,’ the man thought to himself.
Fang Xing headed back to his cottage. Despite how plain it was, it actually wasn’t too shabby; not only did it use a good pinewood known to repel mosquitoes, but there was a bed, table, and set of chairs inside as well.
Such things costed money, but this naturally came out of Yu Sanliang’s own pocket as well. He’d already decided to pay for Fang Xing’s meal plan, after all; there was no point being stingy and holding back from paying a little bit more. He’d brought this situation on himself with his choice on who to befriend.