“Yugui Prefecture?”
Hearing the name, the members of the Demon Revival Society all furrowed their brows.
Because… it was unfamiliar, so much so that it couldn’t even be found on the Realm of Novice Cultivator’s map.
And in the perilous Realm of Novice Cultivator, the unknown meant danger.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a small, normal place,” the mission dispatcher Huang Que reassured them.
“Besides, once you get there, an A-grade Ranger Squad will meet you. You’ll only need to assist with some simple logistics tasks.”
“I see…”
The unease in everyone’s hearts lingered. Changsun Qingyue spoke up, “May we request a different promotion mission? After all, we’re still just a D-grade Small Society with little experience on missions. If we delay something important to the client, it wouldn’t be good…”
“Don’t worry,” Huang Que’s face lit up with a kind smile.
“This is just a small task, and it’s absolutely the most suitable promotion mission for you. It can’t get any simpler than this. Once you arrive, just follow orders… and the mission only lasts three days. During those three days, you just need to help that A-grade team with some minor logistical work. After returning, you’ll be promoted to a C-grade Society! A task this easy won’t come around again!”
Changsun Qingyue still felt something was off. “But…”
“No buts!” Huang Que’s expression instantly darkened. “This is an assessment task assigned by the Ranger Guild! If you give up, it means you’re not qualified to advance to a C-grade Society. You’ll have to wait decades for another assessment!”
After saying that, Huang Que left without giving them a chance to respond.
The Revival Society was just a small group with little strength, naturally not daring to oppose the Ranger Guild, so Changsun Qingyue had no choice but to swallow her grievances.
“Hopefully it won’t be too dangerous. If it is, even if we abandon the mission, I won’t allow anyone to fall into peril,” Changsun Qingyue sighed.
“Ranger missions are naturally dangerous. Qingyue, why are you suddenly chicken?” Mu Guoguo teased. “You weren’t like this before.”
“I didn’t have to make decisions back then!” Changsun Qingyue’s cheeks flushed. “That madman Emperor Taizong of Tang used to say ‘fortune favors the brave’ and dragged everyone into near-death situations. I can’t be reckless like him. I have to consider your safety!”
Perhaps that was the burden of being a leader.
Being the one in charge meant more worries, no longer carefree like when she was just a member following the group.
Jiang Ke’er thought to herself—luckily she was selfish, never thinking leadership was a burden, nor would she be troubled by responsibility. Living happily and freely was her only pursuit.
“Qingyi must be worrying too, right?” Changsun Qingyue suddenly said.
“Huh? What?” Jiang Ke’er was surprised.
“Ever since she became Houtu, she’s been busy with the livelihood of the Underworld Province Remnant Clan. Usually, she’s gentle and personally cooks, taking care of everyone around her…”
“…It’s nothing special,” Jiang Ke’er scoffed. “Not a troublesome thing, and it benefits me quite a bit.”
“Just as Qiao Xiaoxian said, she’s all talk but true at heart,” Changsun Qingyue laughed.
“W-what the hell?!” Jiang Ke’er blushed. “When did you even talk to that guy?”
“Before Qiao Xiaoxian left, she told me not to listen to what you say, but to judge your thoughts by what you do,” Changsun Qingyue covered her mouth with a smile. “Now I see, Qiao Xiaoxian really understands you best.”
“…She understands nothing!” Jiang Ke’er was furious.
Jiang Ke’er never thought of herself as a good person.
Everything she did was just to live freely.
Reborn, she didn’t want to be timid or submissive… she just hoped to act by her true feelings, to choose by instinct.
A good person? She had no intention of being one. Good people never had good endings.
“Qingyue, you learned bad habits from Qiao Xiaoxian,” Jiang Ke’er pouted.
After half a month together, Jiang Ke’er had clearly integrated with the Revival Society members. They had dropped all pretenses and politeness and often teased each other casually.
“And you’ve gotten fat,” Jiang Ke’er suddenly added.
Changsun Qingyue was struck like lightning, quickly touching her face and arms. “No way… this is bad, it really seems I’ve gotten fat.”
No one could control their figure with Jiang Ke’er’s careful feeding three meals a day.
“Whatever, fat or not!” Glancing at the jerky Jiang Ke’er had made in her pouch, Changsun Qingyue gave up and bit into a piece. “As long as I eat fast enough, calories won’t catch up to me… eating is the priority anyway. I’m not worried about marriage, the engagement is already set…”
Yes, orange cat above all.
Press F to enter tank mode, it was only a matter of time. Emperor Taizong of Tang was lucky.
The group bantered back and forth, quickly casting their worries about the mission aside.
But though the atmosphere relaxed, they did not neglect preparations.
From the location given by the Ranger Guild, the destination should be deep in the mountains and forests.
Low-level cultivators couldn’t ignore terrain, so they had to bring enough exploration equipment.
Once the gear was ready, at noon, the group gathered at the Ranger Guild’s entrance.
With Qiao Xiaoxian absent, only four members went on this mission. After checking their items in the Qian Kun Bags, they bought four horses and set off.
The destination was only half a day’s ride from Shiwei Zhou. Before nightfall, the four successfully arrived.
Outside several wooden cabins stood a battered boundary marker inscribed with the characters “Yugui Prefecture.”
“Strange, the map clearly marked this as forest…” Standing outside Yugui Prefecture, everyone was momentarily stunned.
The dilapidated cabins gave off a stale aura. Several horse carts were parked outside, indicating cultivators used these cabins as temporary rest spots.
Farther away was a mist-shrouded swamp, from which a few silver glimmers faintly emerged, resembling houses or palaces.
Before Jiang Ke’er could look longer, suddenly dozens of cultivators rushed out from the cabins.
They were numerous, probably numbering in the hundreds!
In an instant, they surrounded Jiang Ke’er and the others.
“You’re the so-called… ‘Demon Revival Society’?” a human male stepped forward, narrowing his eyes to scrutinize the four little demons before him, displeased. “Why only four?”
Changsun Qingyue was about to speak when Jiang Ke’er suddenly stepped forward to interrupt.
“No, we’re just freelance cultivators passing through. We originally wanted to hunt some Xubeasts here to make money, but the map was wrong—there’s no forest here at all. Since there isn’t, we’ll be leaving.”
“Freelancers?” the human male sneered. “No matter who you are, if we see you, you’re not leaving!”