Chapter 136: Big Personality
When they finally arrived at the mess hall, it was already dusk. Anji felt bad for Pearl, who had to work overtime, even though the senior librarian denied that. The smell of food lingering in the canteen made them forget all about the interview.
"Little cutie! You’re finally here! I was worried you weren’t going to come at all. Come, have a seat. You too, Pearl. It’s a good thing you came. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know what to do with all the leftovers we made for the special children’s menu."
In such a short span of time, Aunt Wine had already created a special children’s menu for Anji. Her dedication in the kitchen received respect from Pearl who ordered some leftover food instead of from the menu.
Graciously, Aunt Wine left to get their food while her favourite customers settled themselves in. It was chilly at night on the Mystical Qilin Mountain. It was still spring and close to summer. However, the Mystical Qilin Sect always had a consistent temperature, according to Aunt Wine, who had also brought out her meal to dine with them.
"There is a very large array covering the mountain range that belongs to the Mystical Qilin Sect. It was said that the founder of this sect was a powerful sage, and when he created this array, he ascended to the next realm. The Sect Leader has the duty to inspect and maintain the formation spell for the longest time. However, in recent years, starting with the previous sect leader, who was known for her carefree attitude, the senior researchers have had a hand in helping to maintain it. We learned how many features were built into it only after the senior researchers were allowed to inspect the array. One of them is a temperature regulator."
Finding it interesting, Anji listened to Aunt Wine and Pearl share more about the sect’s history while eating the special spring rolls as part of her children’s menu. On the other hand, the adults had alcohol with their meal, something Anji was not allowed to touch. The alcohol had a faint flowery scent, making her curious. However, she knew what alcohol did to the body and would not ask to try it. Instead, she wanted to know more about the sect’s history, starting with how her shifu became the sect leader.
"We don’t know much because the sect leader does not talk much about the past. However, the previous sect leader was famous for her gambling habits. Although she did not place bets very often, she always used the sect as a gambling chip whenever she gambled with others. As the stakes were so high, the other smaller sects would have to gamble their entire property in a wager at least. That was how the territory expanded past these mountain ranges, not that it was useful to us. The previous sect leader was known to be the Sage of Probability because she had never lost a single bet in her life. Many people worshipped her outside the sect as a gambling goddess when she ascended, although she did not guarantee them victory in their games."
A gambler! Of all the things Anji imagined, she never thought there would be such a chaotic character in the sect. She thought Bai Dajin, Zhang Yi and Hong Nian Niang had big personalities. As it turned out, the Mystical Qilin Sect also had a big personality in the past. How was it that of all the disciples in the sect, Yan Ping, who was the polar opposite, was chosen as the next sect leader?
Chuckling, Aunt Wine explained that the Mystical Qilin’s Sect Leader only needed to do one thing.
"It’s not maintaining the seals or becoming excellent at spells that will determine the sect leader. Our current sect leader simply excels in everything. Compared to the previous sect leader, who was utterly terrible with calculations and spell circuits, Sect Leader Yan is the most perfect sect leader after our founder."
Hearing how different Yan Ping was from the other sect leaders, Anji’s respect for her shifu increased tremendously. However, she faltered when Pearl explained that the sect leader’s main duty was to learn how to see into the future. She wasn’t born with fortune-telling talents, and even if she had learned how to read stars from Doctor He, the stars were ever-changing.
"How does someone learn how to see into the future?" Anji asked, finishing her meal. "Do you have to follow a different cultivation path to learn that unique skill?"