Chapter 245 : A Bit Vindictive
Although Jiang Mo had come here to wait for Senior Sister, completing a task on the side wasn't a problem—after all, no one would ever complain about having too many points. During these eighty years, Jiang Mo had been focused on cultivation and hadn't completed many tasks. Even though she had accumulated some points, money always needed to be spent wisely. With Senior Sister not by her side, she naturally saved all her points and planned to continue saving.
Convinced by System's single sentence, Jiang Mo turned her attention back to the young people before her.
The young man clearly felt that the gaze directed at him had changed. His toes shifted uncomfortably, and he felt a slight urge to flee. Fortunately, there was no malice in her eyes, so he managed to resist the impulse.
Neither side spoke for a moment. After a while, one of the disciples from the young man's side grew impatient and cautiously asked, "Senior, might you have some instructions for us?"
This question finally broke the deadlock, and Jiang Mo, having organized her thoughts, spoke: "Not instructions, but I have some questions for you."
Hearing this, the group all wore bitter expressions. Eventually, the young man spoke: "Well, Senior, our cultivation is shallow, and we haven't been in Xianyuan Town for long. If you have questions, I'm afraid we won't be able to provide answers."
Jiang Mo immediately understood his meaning and waved her hand: "No, that's not it. I know what's happening in Xianyuan Town, and if you want to know the truth, I can tell you later. What I want to ask about is something else..." At this point, she suddenly paused, realizing she didn't know exactly what the System's task required her to ask—she couldn't just demand information without direction, could she?
When the young people heard she could tell them information, their eyes brightened. But when she suddenly stopped mid-sentence, they exchanged glances before softly calling out: "Senior?"
Jiang Mo returned from her thoughts, unsure where to begin. She decided to first tell them what they wanted to know.
The roadside at the town entrance wasn't an ideal place for conversation. After consideration, Jiang Mo led the group to her rented courtyard—conveniently located not far from the entrance. As they arrived at the gate, they happened to see Liu Da from next door spreading some substance along the courtyard wall.
Liu Da also noticed them, and seeing a young woman bringing back a group of young men, his eyes widened slightly. Then he realized these outsiders weren't ordinary townspeople but possibly some extraordinary wandering heroes. For these jianghu wanderers who didn't concern themselves with trivial matters, his surprise might seem intrusive.
Therefore, Liu Da didn't ask what they were doing. Instead, noticing that his own posture while spreading medicine looked somewhat odd, he volunteered an explanation: "Well, spring is here, so I'm spreading some medicine to keep snakes, insects, and rodents from entering the house."
Jiang Mo nodded casually, not inquiring further or paying much attention. She opened the courtyard gate and gestured for the group following her to enter.
The young man, however, noticed the scent in the air and hesitated, clearly realizing it wasn't any kind of pest repellent. Being skilled at reading situations, he guessed Liu Da was aware of this and ultimately chose not to comment.
The group entered the courtyard but not the house. With a wave of her sleeve, Jiang Mo erected a sound barrier. Even though Liu Da was nearby, he couldn't hear a single word they said. After completing this, Jiang Mo casually sat down on a low stool made from a tree stump in the courtyard and gestured toward the other empty seats: "Please, sit."
After exchanging glances, the group cautiously took their seats, and the young man proactively asked: "What would Senior like to know?"
Senior Jiang Mo hadn't decided yet, so she replied: "No rush. Let me first tell you about the cultivators in this town." At this point, she suddenly paused and asked: "Oh, right, you're locals, aren't you?"
The young man smiled awkwardly, realizing they hadn't introduced themselves, and hurriedly bowed: "This junior is Yu Sheng, from Liuxian Island."
Unlike Xuanqing Sect's Mount Xuanqing and Xuanqing City, where the sect influenced the place names, Liuxian Island's small sect was named after the island itself—perhaps because the Southern Sea had so many legends about immortals, place names were either "Xianyuan" or "Liuxian," which was quite distinctive.
Jiang Mo showed no particular reaction to this, simply nodding and continuing: "Indeed a Southern Sea sect. You probably haven't been to the mainland for a long time, which explains why your information is so outdated." After this observation, she got to the main point: "Starting six months ago, rumors spread throughout the cultivation world about a ghost ship on the Southern Sea. All these cultivators in Xianyuan Town are here because of this ghost ship."
Yu Sheng was surprised: "Ghost ship? Is it related to ghost cultivators?"
Ghost cultivators were an extremely small group in the cultivation world—formed by cultivators who specialized in ghost cultivation after death. However, due to limited inheritance methods, no examples of successful ghost cultivation had ever been heard of. Moreover, once one specialized in ghost cultivation, reincarnation became impossible, so few cultivators were willing to attempt it.
Jiang Mo, however, shook her head: "It has nothing to do with ghost cultivators. The ship is called a ghost ship simply because it appears and disappears mysteriously. It's said the ghost ship can travel to the deepest parts of the Southern Sea without being attacked by sea beasts, which is why it's so highly regarded." She glanced at them: "Living in the Southern Sea, you should know those sea beasts are not only formidable but also ill-tempered. Ordinary spirit boats wouldn't dare venture into deep waters."
Yu Sheng nodded at first, then shook his head, still confused: "It's just a ship that can enter deep waters. What exactly is in the deep sea that attracts so many people?"
Jiang Mo wasn't sure: "There are many rumors, saying all sorts of things. Generally, there must be treasures to attract people."
Yu Sheng nodded, and one of his disciples blurted out: "Then why has Senior come here?"
Jiang Mo smiled, resting her chin on her hand, finally revealing a hint of her girlish nature: "I'm not here for any treasure. I've come to wait for someone." As she spoke, her eyes curved into crescents, leaving no doubt about the identity of the person she mentioned.
Seeing her like this, the young men felt more at ease, and the pressure they'd felt before in the presence of a senior dissipated. However, their acquaintance was still shallow, so they didn't ask much more. The disciple who had spoken impulsively received a glare from Yu Sheng. Yu Sheng, showing self-awareness, didn't pry into Jiang Mo's personal affairs but said: "Since Senior has enlightened us, we'll answer any questions Senior might have to the best of our knowledge."
Jiang Mo's smile faded as she pondered, then said: "Tell me about the legends of your Southern Sea."
Even the composed Yu Sheng couldn't help but let out a surprised "Ah" upon hearing this.
Jiang Mo raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Can't you tell me?"
Yu Sheng quickly shook his head, looking troubled: "It's not that. It's just that our Southern Sea has too many legends, at least eight hundred if not a thousand... I'm afraid I won't be able to finish. What specifically does Senior want to know?"
With a wave of her hand, Jiang Mo produced a teapot: "No matter. You speak slowly, and I'll listen slowly."
༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺
Jiang Mo didn't know which legend System wanted her to hear, but rather than racking her brains, she had a simple approach—let Yu Sheng and his companions keep talking. If she heard the key information to complete the task, System would naturally notify her.
This method tired others rather than herself, so she didn't mind, offering a pot of spirit tea as compensation.
What Jiang Mo never anticipated was that Yu Sheng's storytelling would continue for three days, truly "at least eight hundred if not a thousand" tales. Even though cultivators had abundant energy and could go without sleep or rest, listening to so many legends at once left Jiang Mo feeling mentally foggy. Eventually, she had to ask System to activate its recording function while she let the words flow in one ear and out the other, her mind wandering elsewhere.
Finally, after three days, Jiang Mo heard System's pleasant notification sound—
"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have completed the prerequisite task. Reward: 100 points."
Jiang Mo, who had been staring listlessly toward the town entrance, immediately perked up at System's notification, her eyes brightening—the Liuxian Island disciples seated across from her even saw a golden light flash in her eyes, though it lasted only an instant. When they looked again, they saw only beautiful almond-shaped eyes with clear black and white—but after hearing the reward amount, the light in her eyes "pop" went out again.
Honestly, after spending three days listening to stories, the reward was only 100 points! Was the time of Jianbing Divine Lord really worth so little? Feeling insulted, the White Tiger immediately protested to System.
System responded lazily: "It was just listening to stories. If host thinks 100 points is too few, I don't mind if you give them to me."
Faced with System's indifference, the host had no good options and ultimately had to accept—even mosquito legs were meat, and as a frugal, money-saving tiger, she naturally accepted rather than actually giving the points to System.
Though she accepted it, Jiang Mo still muttered to herself: "Just 100 points? Not only did I waste three days, but I also gave away a pot of good tea. System, do you know how precious my spirit tea is? Look at the prices of those spirit teas in your system mall—even ten times 100 points wouldn't buy it back. What a complete loss."
System rolled over in its database, attempting to cover non-existent ears, knowing the host would next bring up opening a shop in the mall. But without the necessary permissions, what could it do? It couldn't exactly smuggle on the forum!
Thinking about the loan that hadn't been repaid in eighty years, with compounding interest, System didn't even want to roll over anymore.
With System offering no response, Jiang Mo shifted her attention away and looked back at the people opposite her, finding that Yu Sheng had started telling a new legend. She raised her hand to interrupt him, both impressed by his excellent memory and personally pouring another cup of spirit tea to soothe his throat: "That's enough. Your Southern Sea truly has many legends."
After speaking continuously for three days, Yu Sheng looked haggard but managed a strong smile: "Senior flatters me."
Jiang Mo hadn't been listening and had wanted him to repeat the previous legends, but seeing his condition, she abandoned the idea. She could review the recordings later, but if the young man continued, he seemed likely to break down. Better to let it go.
Fortunately, the spirit tea Jiang Mo had collected and offered to guests was indeed excellent. After drinking a cup, Yu Sheng not only felt his fatigue disappear but even noticed slight progress in his cultivation, which had been stagnant for some time. He immediately stood up, delighted, and bowed to thank Jiang Mo, no longer concerned about the hardship of speaking for three days.
Jiang Mo felt guilty about the thanks, considering he had spoken for three days while she had only provided a pot of spirit tea. Moreover, this tea was casually picked from her own Purple Cloud Peak and wasn't considered precious in a major sect like Xuanqing Sect.
The unusually conscientious Jiang Mo smoothed her sleeves and stood up: "Let's go. After talking for three days, I'll treat you all to a meal."
The town was inhabited by ordinary people, so the food was naturally common fare. However, Jiang Mo had discovered that the cook at the town's inn was quite skilled, producing exceptionally flavorful dishes. She enjoyed it very much and felt it was suitable for hosting guests—at most, she would provide her own ingredients, which would be sufficient to treat these young cultivators.
The others naturally wouldn't dare complain, so everyone left the courtyard.
Shortly after leaving, a child nearly bumped into Jiang Mo. She steadied the child and looked up to see the Nine Abyss Sect members again parading through town, frightening the children.
Looking at the Nine Abyss Sect group, Jiang Mo had only one thought—when would Senior Sister arrive?
Jiang Mo wasn't worried about Yun Qingyue not coming, because her Senior Sister might be a bit vindictive. In recent years, whenever the Nine Abyss Sect faced misfortune, her silhouette was often nearby. This time should be no exception!
Coincidentally, that very night, those Nine Abyss Sect disciples disappeared from the small town.