「Mid-September.」

「A quaint courtyard.」

Qing Dai came in from outside but didn’t see her mistress in the courtyard.

She went to the door of the room and knocked gently. "Miss."

"Come in," a cold voice called out.

CREAK!

Qing Dai pushed the door open and entered. She saw her mistress sitting before a mirror, combing her long hair. Her gaze, however, wasn’t on her beautiful locks; it was hard to tell what she was looking at.

’Perhaps she’s looking at the Guardian Sand between her brows.’

Qing Dai thought to herself, not daring to speak.

The temperature wasn’t high today, and her mistress was in a foul mood.

’Talking too much could lead to trouble.’

"Miss, the inspectors from the Immortal Sect have arrived," Qing Dai said respectfully as she drew near.

At these words, Meng Qiewei stopped her hands and asked softly, "Which family are we on their list?"

"The fifth," Qing Dai replied.

"What were the attitudes of the first four families?" Meng Qiewei asked.

"The first family met with them. The next three claimed they were unwell and refused to see them," Qing Dai answered.

"Is the inspector a man or a woman?" Meng Qiewei asked.

"He is not a Fairy," Qing Dai replied without hesitation.

"Mm, then inform the inspector that I am a married woman and do not receive strange men," Meng Qiewei said casually.

Qing Dai nodded.

She left, only to return a short while later. "The inspector has been replaced by a Fairy."

Meng Qiewei looked at Qing Dai and said, "I will not see her."

Qing Dai nodded.

She retreated from the room.

The moment she left the courtyard, the Elder who had been waiting approached her. "Miss Qing Dai, what did the Young Mistress say?"

"She refuses to see them," Qing Dai said seriously. "The Young Mistress is in a foul mood today and doesn’t want to see anyone. You’ll have to tell them to inspect the others first."

"Then how should we reply to them?" the Elder asked. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Just tell them the truth. Words like these must be conveyed exactly as they are," Qing Dai said.

The Elder nodded. "You’re right. Otherwise, the meaning would be lost, and they might think the Young Mistress is easy to deal with."

"If they say something unpleasant then and end up dead on our property, it would be troublesome."

After a pause, the Elder looked at Qing Dai again. "Miss Qing Dai, you report every detail of the clan’s affairs to the Young Mistress, don’t you?"

Qing Dai smiled and shook her head. "Of course not. We’re on the same side, aren’t we?"

The Elder said, "With so much happening recently, I find it hard to trust you, Miss Qing Dai."

Hearing this, Qing Dai feigned curiosity. "Is there some new gossip? Next time, I’ll sneak out some of the Young Mistress’s tea for you to try."

"When have I ever not snuck out tea?"

"Isn’t that enough to prove I’m on your side?"

"And that’s the special blend supplied by the Immortal Sect."

"That’s true, but isn’t stealing tea a bit much? If we’re discovered, will we get into trouble?" the Elder asked cautiously.

"Don’t worry. If anyone’s going to die, it’ll definitely be me, and me alone," Qing Dai said with certainty.

"You’ve worked hard, Miss Qing Dai. I feel it was truly wrong of me to doubt you," the Elder said, ashamed. He paused, then added, "But if this news reaches the Young Mistress’s ears..."

"Then it must be because there’s a traitor among you," Qing Dai stated firmly.

————

Jiang Man took a deep breath.

He stopped his cultivation. It was now the fourteenth of September, and he had only cultivated his Nascent Condensation Skill to the Tenth Layer.

It was already impossible to reach the Thirteenth Layer this month.

’Good thing it’s only thirteen layers. If it were the Fourteenth Layer, it would take even longer.’

’Cultivating a more powerful Cultivation Skill is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight.’

This just went to show how incredible the Simple Skill was.

’Simplifying a Cultivation Skill to the point where anyone can practice it is an incredibly difficult task in itself.’

Today, he decided to go to his master’s place to turn in the Spirit Medicine.

And collect another thousand Spiritual Source.

There weren’t many cheap Spirit Medicines left.

’I can’t keep earning like this for much longer.’

Jiang Man felt a bit wistful, but he also felt his knowledge of Spirit Medicine had indeed grown considerably.

After all, it was the Old Yellow Ox that was teaching him.

He had basically learned both the complex and the simple ones.

But because he had seen so many simple Spirit Medicines, his understanding of them was much deeper.

「Alchemy Courtyard.」

From a distance, Jiang Man saw Wei Beichuan being welcomed inside.

’Wei Beichuan is here for Alchemy too?’

Jiang Man didn’t pay it much mind.

Instead, he continued straight toward his master’s place.

Soon, he saw his master.

He bowed respectfully.

He Huai’an looked at Jiang Man, his heart once again filling with a sigh.

He had just stepped out and run into Mo Zainian, who mentioned that this disciple’s annual ranking had fallen off the charts.

He used to be first in their small courtyard, but now...

He didn’t finish his sentence, just shook his head repeatedly.

He’d said that after becoming a disciple, not only had his Alchemy Dao not progressed, but his Cultivation had actually regressed.

He’d even wondered aloud whose fault it was.

Had the Student Cultivator been slacking, or was the master’s guidance poor?

It wasn’t just Mo Zainian; the other Pill Masters were much the same.

They were all watching him like he was a joke.

’So I accepted one bad disciple. These people just won’t let it go.’

’As expected of a bunch of Pill Masters who have never produced a decent disciple themselves.’

’Always staring at my one underperforming student.’

"You make it very difficult for your master." He Huai’an sighed inwardly as he saw Jiang Man arrive empty-handed.

’At first, it was wine worth one hundred Spiritual Source, then fifty, then twenty-five.’

’Now, there’s no wine at all.’

’He’s figured it out. He’s just here to exchange for Spiritual Source.’

Jiang Man asked curiously, "What has this disciple done wrong?"

He Huai’an shook his head slightly. "What’s your annual ranking?"

"I don’t have one," Jiang Man answered honestly.

"I see. So you’ll have a ranking next year, right?" He Huai’an asked.

Jiang Man nodded. "Under normal circumstances, yes."

"What place are you planning to take next year?" He Huai’an went along with it.

After a pause, he added in a light-hearted, teasing tone, "How about you take first place?"

Hearing this, Jiang Man smiled and nodded. "Then I’ll listen to Master and take first place."

He Huai’an laughed heartily and then asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you’re not very humble?"

"Some have," Jiang Man nodded.

"And then?" He Huai’an asked.

"And then they discovered I was still being too humble," Jiang Man said truthfully.

’Like Old Huang, for instance.’

’He doesn’t say things like that anymore.’