Chapter 77 Qinglan Mountain City (1)
"Master, we are going to Qinglan Mountain City," Wen Weilan called out to the sculler at the stern.
The person neither answered nor responded, only continuing to mechanically scull.
But Wen Weilan wasn't worried at all whether the other party had received the message; she simply sat down cross-legged at the bow of the boat, patting the spot beside her, motioning for Liu Sheng to sit down as well.
Liu Sheng also sat beside her and asked curiously, "Is that all there is to it?"
Wen Weilan nodded and said, "Yes, this place is originally within the painting, and the sculler is also just a person in the painting; they are one. Every word spoken within the painting, all the people in the painting can know."
"How amazing!" Liu Sheng looked at the distant water and mountains unfolding like an ink wash painting. The autumn chill was slight, and the misty drizzle fell ticklishly on her face. Beneath her was a small boat swaying in the river, everything so real.
"Of course it's amazing; this is an ancient spiritual object of Divine Artifact level, the xiaoxiang eight views map. Only the Xiaoxiang House Master could be so generous as to take it out and use it as a gathering place for the Hunters of the Strange."
"I remember this painting is called Xiaoxiang Autumn Rain, so there are eight such powerful weird objects?" Liu Sheng asked.
Wen Weilan smiled, her eyes curved, and nodded, "Exactly. The Xiaoxiang House Master selected eight cities with the widest reach to establish Xiao Xiang Houses, and placed these eight maps within them to care for all the Hunters of the Strange to the greatest extent possible. We have five maps in Tang Country, and the other three are in Mobei, Lingqiu, and Xuan Province, respectively."
"It seems the Xiao Xiang House's influence is not to be underestimated, being able to establish itself in several countries. It's just that I hadn't heard of it before," Liu Sheng said, somewhat puzzled.
"That's not strange. The rise of the Xiao Xiang House has only been in the last two years. Before this, there wasn't an organization specifically for Hunters of the Strange," Wen Weilan turned to look at Liu Sheng, the breeze blowing her beautiful hair across her face.
"Moreover, you've been in Li County ever since you left the academy, and within the official system, you probably wouldn't have come into contact with any Hunters of the Strange. What's more, you never thought you'd one day be involved with Hunters of the Strange, or even join them, did you?"
Wen Weilan indeed understood Liu Sheng very well.
Although Liu Sheng had heard of Hunters of the Strange before, and even some fearless Curriculum Assessment Xuezis in the academy would go hunting the strange to temper themselves and pass the imperial examination, for her, it was all unnecessary to understand.
After all, Liu Sheng originally just wanted to live well, to live until retirement and enjoy life.
An existence like the Hunter of the Strange, full of adventurous spirit, had nothing to do with her.
Moreover, she couldn't cultivate, so going to hunt the strange would be pure suicide.
She never understood why, when they could just hand over weird objects to the Weaving Institute and the country, they had to hunt them themselves? It only added unnecessary risks to their lives.
But Wen Weilan told her that besides Xuezis like them who hunted the strange to temper themselves and improve their strength for the imperial examination, many Hunters of the Strange were forced onto this path.
There were two reasons. One was to make money, and the other was to live better while making money.
What could those who could cultivate but couldn't pass the imperial examination or get into the Weaving Institute do after leaving the academy?
Unless they truly had a skill like Liu Sheng's mother, Ling Youlian, others seemed only able to earn money through physical labor.
And the most lucrative way was to hunt and sell weird objects.
Many weird objects, after being contained and purified, could be used by cultivators; some were incredibly powerful, while others had endless wondrous uses. Just like Old Master Wen, he found a piece of Pear Tree Wraith wood and re-refined it into a weird object he could use, realizing his wild fantasy.
However, weird objects contained by the Weaving Institute would only circulate within the official system. How could non-official cultivators obtain them?
Naturally, they could only purchase them from Hunters of the Strange.
According to Wen Weilan, at first, the Weaving Institute strictly prohibited such transactions, and the existence of non-official Hunters of the Strange was also not allowed to be public.
But under strict prohibition, they had no choice but to turn a blind eye, and gradually, an underground market for weird objects formed.
Moreover, in the past two years, it seemed to have gradually opened up, which is why organizations like the Xiao Xiang House for Hunters of the Strange began to take root.
However, Hunters of the Strange are, after all, not professional personnel like those in the Weaving Institute's Exploration Division, who are trained and well-equipped. More often than not, they rely on brute force, and thus are extremely prone to being lost to the strange.
So, to make money better, they also needed to actively explore the strange, find at least one suitable weird object for themselves, and increase their chances of survival.
There were also more deranged individuals who would even intentionally lure weird objects into their bodies to become "Yugui."
However, Liu Sheng had not yet seen a Yugui in reality. She only knew that although Yugui were powerful, they were extremely dangerous and very easily assimilated or backlashed by weird objects, eventually completely turning into weird objects, with their whole body erupting in Guai Qi. At the time, some people speculated that Miss Wen had become a Yugui in pursuit of strength but suffered a tragic backlash, which was quite disgraceful.
Moreover, this method was too dangerous and not recognized by the Weaving Institute, so even if Liu Sheng couldn't cultivate, she never thought of going down this path.
It's just now…
Liu Sheng looked at Wen Weilan's profile as she gazed into the distance, her features rounded and gentle. This face was nothing like hers.
She knew how resolute Wen Weilan's heart was, and how difficult the path she had chosen was.
...
The bow of the boat docked, stopping at the pier.
Liu Sheng and Wen Weilan went ashore, and the small boat quietly glided away, becoming a single leaf in the river scenery.
Before them was a mountain village market nestled beneath the mountains. There was no rain here, but a faint afterglow from a yellowish sky with a dark-edged setting sun cast a soft light, illuminating the mountains behind it with a shimmering green.
In the market, the shops and stalls also looked like they were drawn with a few sparse ink strokes, their edges still blurred with ink. The post-rain mist rose, and Hunters of the Strange, with faces as indistinct as theirs, moved in twos and threes, their figures appearing and disappearing in the mist.
Liu Sheng walked a few steps and saw a large wooden sign ahead that read "Do not jump high." Remembering the strange phrase "Do not jump high" on the token, she finally asked about it.
"I once heard a Hunter of the Strange Senior say that in the painting over in Mobei, someone was curious and wanted to touch the clouds in the sky, so he leaped up, but he ended up piercing the sky."
"This is, after all, just a painting; the sky is also fake, so it naturally breaks with a poke."
"As a result, repairing the spiritual object cost Xiaoxiang Pavilion a lot of money, and that person also lost everything."
"That's why there's this saying: 'Do not jump high,' to prevent anyone else from being overly curious."
After Wen Weilan explained, she also chuckled slightly, finding the matter quite amusing.
Liu Sheng also laughed.
However, this also indicated that Xiaoxiang Pavilion couldn't directly imprison everyone with this weird object.
After experiencing the world of the Seven Profound Academy, Liu Sheng had a bit of Small World paranoia; what she feared most were these Small Worlds within a world, and then being trapped like a turtle in a jar by the controller outside the Small World.