Delivering a package.
That was Jiang Ke’er’s very first Ranger mission in her entire fox life.
With a cart piled high with goods, the members of the Demon Revival Society found themselves doing something that seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with their supposed grand goal of revival.
“We have no choice. Everything has to start from scratch,” Changsun Qingyue encouraged Mu Guoguo, who looked a bit downcast.
“Once we raise our level, we’ll finally have the qualifications to do what we actually want.”
“I know,” Mu Guoguo nodded.
“It just feels like delivering packages doesn’t fit the style of a Huoyue Tianlang like me!” Jie Shui interjected with a sigh.
“Huoyue Tianlang, my ass,” Mu Guoguo scoffed. “You’re just a mangy mutt acting all high and mighty. You’re not even as reliable as a husky, always making yourself out to be the hero.”
From the way Changsun Qingyue, Mu Guoguo, and Jie Shui bantered, it was clear they’d known each other for quite some time.
“Speaking of which,” Jiang Ke’er said, puzzled, “why does a cultivation world even need people to deliver packages by hand? Isn’t that kind of… un-fantastical?”
“You mean the Qianli Transmission Talisman, right?” Changsun Qingyue caught her meaning.
“Most cultivators do use Qianli Transmission Talismans to send goods long-distance. The Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce even has its own Qianli Transmission Route, letting them deliver parcels straight to cultivators’ homes…”
“But even though the Qianli Transmission Talisman isn’t expensive, not everyone can afford to use it. In the Realm of Novice Cultivator, there are still plenty of low-level cultivators, and even ordinary people who aren’t cultivators at all—they can only rely on traditional manual delivery.”
“Ordinary people?” Jiang Ke’er was confused. “I thought only those ‘with a heart seeking the Dao’ could enter the Ancient Scholarly Realm? How do ordinary people even get an entry permit?”
“That’s true,” Changsun Qingyue patiently explained. “Some of these ordinary people encountered misfortune in the Ancient Scholarly Realm and lost their cultivation.
But more often, they’re the children of cultivators who entered the Ancient Scholarly Realm… Because of the unique environment here, children born in this place can’t cultivate.”
Jiang Ke’er’s eyes lit up in understanding.
“These people who can’t cultivate are called Realm slaves. They’re the lowest of the low in the Ancient Scholarly Realm. They usually hide away in remote mountain valleys, huddling together for warmth, spending every day just trying to survive…”
Why not just have their children outside, then?
That question was on the tip of Jiang Ke’er’s tongue, but she swallowed it back.
She wasn’t stupid.
She quickly figured it out.
If they had their children outside, those children would never be allowed back in.
Most of these Realm slaves were probably Demon Race.
The outside world was far too harsh for the Demon Race.
Instead of living in constant fear, worrying about being skinned alive, it was safer to stay in the Realm of Novice Cultivator forever.
Even though they lost the chance to pursue higher realms, at least here everyone’s strength was about the same, and as long as their kin looked out for each other, they could live in relative peace.
They didn’t dare to hope for much—just survival was enough.
They wanted their children to live safely too, so they chose to have them in the Realm of Novice Cultivator.
After all, getting an entry permit for the Ancient Scholarly Realm was no easy feat, and if they gave birth outside, their children might never return.
That was how so many Realm slaves came to be.
“Missions to deliver packages to Realm slaves villages are usually ignored by the Xunxia Guild,” Jie Shui sighed, “because the forest roads are hard to travel and full of mysterious dangers like Xubeasts, but the commission from Mirror Logistics isn’t high. Most of these delivery tasks just get left unfinished… This cart’s worth of goods has been sitting here for over half a month.”
“Then why did you take it?” Mu Guoguo teased.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to ‘help out wherever you can’?”
“N-no, of course not!” Jie Shui’s face turned red.
“It’s just that all the good missions got snatched up this morning, and this was the only one left! Besides, this route isn’t that dangerous. With my strength, I can definitely protect everyone… I only took this mission after careful consideration! I’m not just some softhearted do-gooder!”
Not very convincing.
“Did you guys know,” Jie Shui awkwardly tried to change the topic, “the place we’re headed has a blind old granny who waits at the village entrance every month for news from her son?”
“About twenty years ago, her son said he was leaving the Realm of Novice Cultivator to make his way in the world, and she never heard from him again,” Jie Shui said.
“But for the past twenty years, every month, the Demon Race Postal Branch at the Xunxia Guild writes her a letter in her son’s voice, letting her know he’s safe… I never thought stories like that really happened in real life.”
Jie Shui was full of emotion.
“Will we get to meet her this time?” Jiang Ke’er asked curiously.
“We will! I checked—the shipping info includes her letter!” Jie Shui suddenly perked up.
“If nothing goes wrong, we’ll see the blind granny at the village entrance. Once we hand her the letter… mission complete~”
This guy really seemed to be overflowing with a sense of mission.
It was actually kind of endearing.
The granny’s village was the final stop of their journey.
Along the way, they had to pass through two other Realm slaves villages first.
Nothing unexpected happened on the road, and soon they arrived at the first village.
As soon as they entered, they unloaded more than half the goods from the cart.
Because this village was close to a cultivator town, it still had a lively atmosphere, not too out of touch with the times.
As a result, the number of Demon Race living here was the highest.
Quite a few Demon Race cultivators also lived here long-term, responsible for guarding the village.
“You finally made it.”
The villagers couldn’t wait to tear open the packages.
Inside were all sorts of artifact forging materials, finished weapons, and injury medicines.
Judging by the price tags, most of them were discount or promotional items.
“Good thing you got here in time. In a few days, it’ll be the Blood Moon Xu Tide,” the Demon Race cultivators breathed a sigh of relief.
“If this shipment hadn’t arrived, it’d be hard to survive this Xu Tide… And our Yidao Village is the only line of defense for the two villages behind us. If we can’t hold, the consequences are unthinkable.”
Blood Moon Xu Tide?
Jiang Ke’er quietly made a mental note of the term.
“Could I trouble you to deliver these materials to Erdao Village on your way? Please give them to Huang Shifu at the village’s artifact shop, and ask him to rush out enough magic tools… Against those thick-skinned Xubeasts, we can’t hold out without new gear.”
A few cultivators pulled out small pouches of Spirit Stones and placed them on the cart. “Of course, we wouldn’t let you do this for nothing.”
“No need for Spirit Stones, it’s just on the way…” Jie Shui tried to refuse.
“Don’t worry. We’ll make sure the goods are delivered safely,” Jiang Ke’er accepted the Spirit Stones pouch and nodded.
The cultivators looked grateful.
Seeing Jiang Ke’er accept the pouch, they actually seemed relieved.
“The Blood Moon Xu Tide is almost here. Xubeasts have been restless lately—be careful on the road,” they warned.
“Understood,” Jiang Ke’er replied.
The group got back on the road, carrying the supplies toward Erdao Village.
Jie Shui grumbled in dissatisfaction, “They’re already struggling so much, why take their money?”
“As tough as it is, a little Spirit Stones isn’t much to them,” Jiang Ke’er raised an eyebrow.
“Excessive kindness just makes you look stupid. Business is business—take what’s owed.”
“Hey! You can’t say that!” Jie Shui bared his teeth.
“You fool, what the Realm slaves lack most isn’t Spirit Stones. Taking it actually puts their minds at ease.”
“What they care about more than Spirit Stones is dignity and respect,” Changsun Qingyue explained, knocking Jie Shui on the head.
Changsun Qingyue finished, then shot a sidelong glance at Jiang Ke’er—though she seemed brash on the surface, this new member was surprisingly sharp, more perceptive than most Demon Race, and a lot more reliable than she looked.
She couldn’t help but wonder about Qiao Qianxue, the “bodyguard” Jiang Ke’er had mentioned.
Qiao Qianxue was always quiet, expressionless, calm and decisive in her actions, seemingly hard to approach.
Only when she looked at Jiang Ke’er did her expression soften, making her all the more mysterious.
Whoosh—
The rustling in the woods snapped her out of her thoughts.
“It’s a Xubeast!”
“Oh no! Third-rank Xubeasts—there are five of them!”
“Why… It’s daytime! We’re done for!”
Terror spread. Cold sweat instantly soaked the backs of all the Demon Race.