Ordinary Bone

Chapter Vol. 1 Ch. 12

"Slap!"

Fairy Lingyue extended a finger and lightly tapped the ghost servant’s forehead with a glow of milky white light. A rune was gently inscribed on its brow.

When the rune merged into its forehead, the ghost servant’s expression became blank. It stood up stiffly, seemingly unaware of Fairy Lingyue’s presence, and muttered to itself as it turned to leave:

"Why did I fall here? Never mind, I’d better return and report to my master. When I see the king, I’ll tell him there’s now a novice cultivator guarding the medicine garden at Green Bamboo Residence. We can wait until the spiritual herbs in his garden mature, then come back to take his life and claim all the herbs. By then, the king might even reward me with a fresh, tender liver. Exquisite! Marvelous!"

At the end, the ghost servant swayed its head in satisfaction, clearly very pleased with its own plan.

"Sigh... letting a tiger return to the mountain is always risky, but I hope little Taiping will one day understand my good intentions as his teacher," Fairy Lingyue murmured as she watched the ghost servant shuffle away.

Although she had yet to formally accept Xu Taiping as her disciple, and didn’t even know if he was willing to take her as his master, it didn’t stop Fairy Lingyue from mentally placing herself in the role of a mentor.

Of course, she would never admit that her real motivation was the unbearable loneliness she had endured, trapped within the Earth Fruit for centuries. She simply wanted to amuse herself.

The Next Day

Xu Taiping woke up early.

First, he cleared the weeds in the medicine garden. Afterwards, he added a few more shovels of soil to the spot where the Earth Fruit was buried, knowing that the fruit was his greatest asset for survival in the cultivation world. He couldn’t risk anyone stealing it.

Since Fairy Lingyue had returned to the Earth Fruit the previous night and hadn’t appeared since, Xu Taiping figured she might truly need a month or two to recover before reemerging.

After tidying the medicine garden, he spent the entire morning cleaning up the three thatched cottages of Green Bamboo Residence.

The cottages were extremely simple. One was a bedroom with only a bed, another was a living room, and the third was a kitchen. There was also an outhouse at the back, near the medicine garden.

While cleaning the kitchen, Xu Taiping stumbled upon two curious items: a water jar that never ran dry, and a rice jar that produced a full jar of rice whenever a single merit coin was placed inside.

With water, rice, and a piece of dried fish hanging on the wall, Xu Taiping managed to cook his first meal since arriving at Qingxuan Sect.

After eating, he made up his bed with the sheets and blanket left in the cabinet, then sat cross-legged on the bed, taking out the jade slip and bronze mirror given to him by the West Wind Pavilion.

While eating in the living room, Xu Taiping planned out his day. He tore a page off the almanac hanging on the wall, exposing the date: the first day of the lunar month. Written in bright red ink were favorable and unfavorable activities: "Auspicious for learning, inauspicious for digging."

The almanac was one of the items he had purchased yesterday through a spirit bird delivery. It had cost him six merit coins, and he still felt a bit pained by the expense.

After the Meal

Xu Taiping returned to the bedroom, carefully placing the bronze mirror on a battered old table.

On the table, he also placed a half-bowl of clean water, a few flower petals, and a Qingxuan Sect merit coin.

Recalling the instructions for the bronze mirror, he dipped his fingers into the water and sprinkled a few drops onto the mirror’s surface. Then he added the flower petals and the merit coin.

"Whoosh..."

The moment the merit coin touched the mirror, a soft breeze emanated from it, carrying a faint scent of sandalwood.

A voice emerged from the bronze mirror:

"Xu Taiping, outer disciple of Qingxuan Sect, has taken his seat. Do not leave. Elder Ziyang’s lecture will begin shortly. If you miss it today, you’ll have to wait three months."

Having already read the "Chronicle of Bronze Mirror Functions", Xu Taiping wasn’t startled by the voice. He knew it was the spirit of the mirror speaking.

According to the chronicle, the spirit acted as a guide, helping users navigate the mirror’s functions. Of course, the sect’s forbidden areas were off-limits, and each use of the guide cost a merit coin.

"Thank you, Spirit of the Mirror."

Xu Taiping expressed his gratitude. The mirror spirit wasn’t a simple, lifeless object, so he felt it was only proper to show respect.

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