Somehow, the news spread that everyone in a certain mansion in the city had gone mad.
When someone passed by that mansion, they heard chilling laughter coming from inside. The laughter wasn't from one person, but a group of people.
That person said that a dozen or so people were rolling around on the ground, laughing hysterically in the mansion.
Some were even walking on their hands, which was extremely frightening.
This scene was like a group of people had collectively fallen victim to evil.
That person just peeked in from outside the door, and upon seeing this scene, immediately ran away in fright.
After this person ran away, they were quite bold, actually calling a few friends and, emboldened, returned to the entrance of the mansion.
But when they mustered their courage and peeked over the wall into the courtyard, they discovered there were only corpses on the ground.
The last time had only startled this person, but this time, all of them were so scared they wet themselves, crying and screaming as they ran home.
However, when the matter spread, anyone who went to that mansion again saw nothing.
The city guards had also sealed off this mansion, and almost all the corpses inside had been cleaned up.
In an inn, an old man and a young woman sat at a table, slowly enjoying their breakfast.
The young one was a maiden; in fact, she was already quite developed and looked nearly adult, but there was still a hint of childishness about her. Dressed in what looked like a newly bought black dress, with long hair cascading down her back, she quietly listened to the conversations of other guests in the inn.
Eight out of ten tables were discussing this strange incident.
“Is this the work of Cultivator?”
The maiden looked up at the old man sitting opposite her and asked.
The old man looked quite old, but he was full of vigor. He had significantly more hair than many middle-aged people on Earth, and his beard was not short.
He was also a Cultivator.
The old man held his teacup, blew on it, then took a sip of tea and said:
“Yes, this should be the work of Qingfeng Sect Disciples from the mountain. Those Disciples are quite good at carrying out tasks after accepting them, but the process seems a bit irregular…”
“Qingfeng Sect…”
The maiden chewed on the word.
“I'm not a local of Qingfeng City, but I know a little about this Qingfeng Sect. It's just a small local Sect, not even a third-rate one. The Sect Leader of that Qingfeng Sect isn't even as powerful as me!”
“Oh.”
The old man put down his teacup, suddenly seeming a bit anxious for some reason.
“What do you mean by ‘oh’? I’ve been pestering you for two days; are you really not going to take me as your master? Believe me, with your Spiritual Root and talent, you will definitely become a Cultivator like me.”
“I haven't decided yet. Didn't you guess already? I'm not from this world.”
“Aren't you just a Transcendent? I also told you, decades ago I went to your world and learned a lot of things from your world!”
“Are you talking about Mahjong?”
The maiden glanced at the old man sideways.
“What’s wrong with Mahjong! I got rich by relying on Mahjong, and I’m going to rely on Mahjong to dominate the entertainment industry of the Nine Provinces!”
The maiden said nothing, merely picked up a pastry from the plate in front of her and put it into her mouth.
“You like sweets?”
The old man had also noticed these past few days that the maiden seemed to really like sweet things.
“Mm, I like them.”
The maiden nodded.
“If you follow me, I’ll buy them for you every day from now on!”
“I’ll consider it again.”
“You’ve been considering it for three days!”
The old man was now like a young man, scratching his head hard, not knowing how to coax this maiden.
The maiden silently sighed, resting her chin on her hand.
She still couldn't choose.
To embark on the path of Cultivation, that was another world.
She wasn't ready yet, and…
Suddenly, as if she saw something, the maiden shifted her gaze behind the old man. There was the open main door of the inn, and outside the door was the street, with people coming and going.
The maiden seemed to have seen someone, and she seemed to know this person, so she narrowed her eyes, wanting to see more clearly and confirm whether she had seen correctly.
“Hmm, what did you see?”
The old man turned his head to look behind him and saw three young people dressed in white, with wooden plaques hanging from their waists, walking past the doorway. The three of them were talking and laughing.
“Interested in those few people? I’ll tell you, those are Qingfeng Sect Disciples, at the Qi Refinement Stage. If you follow me, you’ll surpass them in a month or two.”
The old man turned back, continuing his earnest persuasion.
“Wait, you said they are all Cultivator?”
“That’s right, the two walking on the sides are at Qi Refining Ninth Stage, and the younger one in the middle is at Qi Refining Third Level. I’m almost at the Returning Void Stage, there’s absolutely no way I could be mistaken! If I can't even discern the Realm of such Cultivator, then there's no need for me to teach you!”
The maiden suddenly fell silent again. There were still a few pieces of her favorite pastry on the plate in front of her, but she had no interest in eating. Her eyes dimmed, but then immediately brightened.
“Oh, my dear young lady, what exactly do you want? Just tell me, and I’ll solve it for you, alright? As long as it’s not asking for the stars or the moon, I can satisfy you. Is that not enough?”
“I’ll be your Disciple.”
“Huh?”
This turn came too abruptly, so much so that the old man didn't react.
“I said, I’ll be your Disciple.”
The maiden’s tone was firm.
“Why did you suddenly… not consider it anymore?”
The old man was a bit disbelieving, a hint of suspicion on his face.
“Then I’ll consider it again?”
“No consideration, no consideration! A Cultivator must be a person of their word!”
The old man quickly interrupted, his complexion turning rosy. In an instant, he seemed ten years younger, looking full of vigor.
“Since you’ve agreed, you are now my Disciple. From now on, you must call me Master, understand?”
“Alright.”
“Hahaha! Good Disciple!”
He patted the maiden’s head and said with great joy:
“Master is happy, I’ll take you to play in the city for two more days.”
“No.”
The maiden shook her head in refusal.
“I want to Cultivate, now.”
The old man was extremely shocked.
“You clearly didn’t want to Cultivate five minutes ago! Isn’t this change a bit too fast?”
It was one thing for the maiden to suddenly have an epiphany, but why did she suddenly want to wholeheartedly dedicate herself to Cultivation?
This wasn’t right!
“If you don’t teach me, I’ll find someone else to teach me. The Nine Provinces are so vast, and you said my Spiritual Root is very, very good. There will always be someone who wants to teach me.”
“Oh, my dear young lady.”
The old man was about to fall and hug the maiden’s thigh.
“Can’t we just be honest and straightforward?!”
The maiden ignored him, silently ate the pastry in front of her again, her eyebrows lowered, staring at the tabletop.
In her mind, the white-robed figure who had just walked past the doorway kept replaying, and her mood was indescribably complex.
Was it him? Was it really him?
Was he also a Transcendent?