"Young Master Nao, we've successfully finished selling your store of Dragon Saliva Metal." The three bosses of the Treasure Cave reported on their knees before the young figure they had come to know as 'Nao Zumei'.
The three elders had been around for a long time, being the last survivors of the old Quick Finger Sect, a Sect which had prided themselves as Treasure Hunters until they snatched the wrong treasure out from under the noses of one of the Nine Great Sects, earning them the title of an 'Evil Sect', like any other who opposed their absolute rule the Three Great Schools and Nine Great Sects.
Their clan and their families had all been destroyed. The only thing the brothers still had was each other. The 'Righteous' Sects had taken everything from them, including the second brother's legs, and they had barely escaped with their lives.
This was why when they met Nao Zumei, the three of them had come to an agreement.
They had no children of their own anymore, and they were too old to have more now, with even the youngest brother pushing a hundred. Instead they had decided to make Nao Zumei their Sect's heir. She would be the one to inherit their fortune, their work and their legacy.
Even if they didn't know her true identity, they held faith in her. They had experienced her kindness, as they could feel her power. She was an Alchemist whose strength exceeded that of a 9th Cauldron Alchemist, even if her energy was different from the Star Energy used by the Senior Alchemists, and at such a young age, she was already at the level of a Dan Core Realm Cultivator.
Looking into her radiant orange eyes, they could sense true benevolence. Not that self righteous crap that the great powers had, but true compassion and strength.
"Thank you for your hard work. I am sorry for the inconvenience." She said, her voice so calm and steady that it was hard to identify whether she was a boy or a girl. If it hadn't been for Second Brother's insistence that she was a woman, the other two would have believed her to be a young man.
"It was no inconvenience at all." The First Boss said with a shake of the head. "Our family is indebted to you. In fact, there is something we would like to give you."
She watched as the Third Boss took out a Jade Tablet and presented it to her. "This Jade Tablet contains the knowledge of our Sect's secret techniques. We would like you to have it."
"...I cannot accept such a gift." Nao Zumei replied with a small movement of her head that caused the supernatural flames on her mask to shift about.
"Young Master Nao, we three brothers are all that is left of the Quick Finger Sect, and have neither descendants nor pupils. If you do not take it, it will simply be discarded and lost to time." The Second Boss said as they all continued to kneel before the girl, until at last she took it.
Jade Tablets were interesting Spirit Artifacts, where the maker could inscribe a technique or piece of knowledge into the stone, and then others could gain access to that knowledge by allowing themselves to synchronize with the stone. Though there was no guarantee that they would be able to understand or use that information, and practice is usually still necessary.
Because of the difficulties in their creation and the value of the knowledge they usually possessed, such tablets are often extremely valuable. Even seemingly worthless techniques could have tablets that fetch quite a price.
The tablet of the Quick Finger Sect, which had once been a 2nd class Sect, would have been worth as much as a small castle.
However, its contents were not what Lingyue had expected.
Rather than detailed explanations of some kind of super attack that she would likely never use, it instead contained instructions on how to use your Yuan Energy to effectively pickpocket someone without their noticing. Something that Lingyue would admit she found more appealing, so long as Reborn wasn't listening.
After all, it could be used to remove dangerous weapons and artifacts from attackers to remove their advantages and make things safer for everyone, even letting Lingyue use it against them. She had used such a strategy in the past against Future Hibari, to some success.
Still, she was uncomfortable with receiving such a valuable gift.
After receiving the gift and her money, Lingyue was making her way out of the Treasure Cave's underground when she noticed something strange.
An old monk, standing in the middle of the crowd, seeming to go unnoticed as people went from the stand on his left to the one on his right without ever even looking at him.
They were not looking at him, because there was a magical field placed around him to stop people from seeing him.
...That was strange. Why would you go through all of the trouble of coming to such a place to sell your goods and then place up a barrier to stop people from coming to buy them?
As Lingyue watched the monk curiously, the monk opened his eyes, as if feeling the girl looking at him and looked right back at her. He smiled at her and beckoned to her to come closer.
After a moment's hesitation, she did. As she passed over the barrier, it was disrupted, broken by her intrusion.
"So, you are the destined person of the buddhist way. The one who I was predestined to meet here today." The monk said with a slight bow.
"While it is good to meet you, I have always placed my faith in people being able to share their own destiny. While we might have been placed on a path at birth, we still have the power to choose any road we like." Lingyue said, bowing back respectfully. "Was that barrier of yours meant to keep out everyone but the person you were destined to meet? If so, I am sorry for having broken it."
"You don't need to be sorry at all. That barrier could only be seen through by one who has an affinity for the buddhist arts. It was meant to make sure that you or someone like you would be the one to find me." The monk said.
The monk had not known what kind of person it would be to see through the barrier, but this person was certainly not what he had expected. Someone whose face was masked by flames, which had immediately put him in mind of the Fire Wielder Sect, one of the Evil Sects of the Central Plains that had nearly driven his Vedas School to extinction, but the aura about them that wasn't too different from that of a Buddha, if less powerful, with the world seeming to be in perfect balance with them.
"I see. And now that I have found you, what do you want me to do?" Lingyue asked the man.
"I would like you to buy something." The monk said, drawing Lingyue's attention to the things he had for sale. A metal plate the size of a roof tile, a monk's robes and a copper bowl.
Each of the items were giving off a unique energy signature, but what wasn't so deep in the Treasure Cave? Though while the bowl and robes appeared to be artifacts, the metal plate seemed to be a form of Jade Tablet, and the metal itself was unique.
Though she supposed the one that interested her the most was the copper bowl.
"There is an echo of Star Energy inside of it." Lingyue said as she looked to the bowl with curiosity.
"Oh, you can sense Star Energy? Would you perhaps be a Senior Alchemist?" The Monk said with great interest.
"...A Senior Alchemist? What's that?"
"...Nevermind." The monk replied, his body deflating a little. To think that there were people in this world who didn't know what a Senior Alchemist was. Those Alchemists who managed to use Spirit Force in order to forcibly absorb Star Energy and transcend the limits of what could be accomplished with Spirit Force alone, becoming even more powerful than the 9th Cauldron Alchemists. "The bowl once belonged to an elder monk who possessed the ability to sense Star Energy as well. They used this bowl as a medium to absorb that power into their bodies and perform their magic. It is a valuable Black-class Artifact."
"Is that so." Lingyue said, thinking of buying it for Anqiu.
"Robe is another rare powerful Artifact that protects the owner from being found by Demons and can withstand powerful flames, and this tablet is made of Meteor Iron and is both a symbol of our worship and contains scriptures relating to the Buddhist Arts of our School." The monk went on.
So the plate was made of Meteor Iron? It seemed strange to use something so valuable to make a Jade Tablet when stone would do the trick. Then again, it was supposed to be an object of worship.
The plate was thin, probably not even weighing a tenth of a pound in total, so it wouldn't be of much use in making an artificial limb. Besides, she would feel guilty, melting down an item of worship. She also couldn't honestly say she had any interest in the Buddhist Arts. While they were supposed to be advanced fighting techniques for fighting evil, Lingyue didn't have any evil which she planned on fighting, and she didn't see the need to use killing blows against enemies that didn't require it.
The robes interested her much more, as she was having problems with her clothes burning when she wasn't wearing her Alchemist robes, and those could only withstand a certain level of heat themselves and were too easily noticeable. The monk robes were also the perfect shade of orange to match her flame and with unisex in design.
"Does your temple know you are selling these items?" Lingyue asked, puzzled that what would probably be considered holy relics were being sold in an underground market by what she believed was a devout believer.
The monk saddened a little. "Yes. They do. None of us like it, but times are hard in this new land." He admitted. "Our Vedas School was originally a part of Central Plains, but the recent wars and the spread of the Evil Sects has caused our School to crumble, our old temples are no more. We fled to this land in hopes of finding peace, but when we arrived we were treated no better than if we were an Evil Sect ourselves. We are forbidden to work or trade our goods in the normal markets and people charge us unreasonable prices for our basic needs. Even us monks, who would gladly live on nothing but stale bread find it difficult to survive. It has not been easy to keep all of my brothers fed in this land."
"...I'm sorry to hear that." Lingyue said, her dying will falter and the monk hearing the genuine empathy in her voice. A voice he now recognized as female. "Back in my home village, my mother and I were treated much the same. Shopkeepers upping their prices on us because we would have no one else to turn too. Even on 10 silver a month and while hunting in the mountains, we rarely had an abundance of food on the table. I know how hard it is to see your loved ones suffer under such conditions."
"So, you too have suffered injustice." The monk said with a nod of his head. "Do not worry child, for those who suffer in this life without letting it eat away their hearts will be rewarded in the next."
"...I wish that were true. I really do." Lingyue said with a sad shake of the head.
The monk could hear Lingyue lack of faith, but despite her lack of faith in karma, she was a genuinely good soul. It was a pity it didn't sound like she would have much money herself.
"The elders all agreed that selling some of our Artifacts was necessary, though we would only sell to those who could see past the barrier and had an affinity for the Buddhist Arts." The monk said, explaining the condition placed on him being here.
However, as he spoke, someone else entered the picture. "Honorable Monk, I am interested in buying this iron scripture."
Lingyue momentarily froze, as even with the years past and the man's masked face, she could immediately recognize him.
It was Hong Fang.
The presence of a massive amount of Dragon Saliva Metal had attracted the man's attention and he had ran to the Treasure Cave in order to purchase some, to make an item with which to brown nose his way further into his father's favor, but it had all been sold out when he had finally arrived.
He was about to go home embittered and try to track down those who had purchased it before him, when he heard Lingyue and the monk talking about the fact that the tablet was made of Meteor Iron, he jumped in to claim it for himself.
Recovering from her original shock, Lingyue let the Dying Will Flames eat the unnecessary feelings and return her calm demeanor. "Did you not hear him before? He is only going to sell to those who have an affinity for the Buddhist Arts." Lingyue said, her voice cold as ice, despite the flame burning brought which masked her face. "You are not a pious man."
"Young man, you should not judge so quickly." Hong Fang replied. Lingyue could feel the desire to retaliate against her emanating from the man. But his hand was being stayed, not just by the rules of the house, but because he had no idea who he was dealing with. The Treasure Cave attracted all kinds, and if she was a young master of a powerful family, he could be easily screwed. "According to the rules of the Treasure Cave, once a price is set on a good, the seller can't change the price or remove it from the market. So tell me, how much was the tablet valued at?"
"...It was valued at 100,000 gold coins." The monk admitted.
"Then I'll buy it." Lingyue said, shocking the monk and she pulled out her purse and started to count notes.
"Hold on, I am the one who will be buying it." Hong Fang said.
"The house rules also state that it is first come first served, do they not? I was here first, so I get to decide what I want to buy, and if I leave nothing then that was my choice." Lingyue said, turning things around on the man. "I wish to buy the robe and bowl as well. I assume 1,000,000 gold covers everything."
Hong Fang choked, realizing that the person had brought a lot more money than he himself had. All of Hong Fang's personal assets put together was only around 5,000.000 gold., but he still didn't want to give up.
"Young man, one needs to know how to be courteous and humble to others. Did your father not teach you these sorts of manners?" Hong Fang said angrily that Lingyue would cut in front of him.
The girl ignored his taunt. After all, she didn't have any father.
Being ignored just made the man angrier.
But as he squeezed his fist in rage, the monk cut him off. "Dear guests, there is no need to quarrel." The monk said calmly. "If the two of you are sincerely wishing to buy my scripture then mind informing me of your intended use?"
"I won't deceive the honorable monk. My father's birthday will be coming up soon. I intend to use this Meteor Iron to craft a one of a kind sword for him." Hong Fang said, his voice righteous.
Lingyue was shocked to hear the man openly tell a monk that he intended to desecrate a sacred scripture in order to make a weapon, but it seemed as though being willing to do something like this for one's father was considered virtuous in this crazy world.
"I see. And how about you?" The monk asked Lingyue.
"...To be honest, I have no use for it. It is the only item of yours that I do not want for myself or my family." Lingyue openly admitted. "The metal is not in a high enough quantity for my purposes and I wouldn't feel right melting it down. I also do not intend to practice the Buddhist Arts inscribed on it, as I hate violence. I can't even claim to want it for worshipping purposes, as I have never placed my faith in the Buddhas."
"If that is the case, then why do you want it?" The monk asked, perplexed.
"Is to keep it out of the reach of someone who would misuse it not reason enough?" Lingyue asked in response.
"I would say that is the best reason that one could possibly have." The monk said with a smile. "The other two items were valued at 50,000 a piece. So you only need 200,000 in total."
"Then consider the rest a donation, from someone who was once in the same position you find yourself in now." Lingyue said with a bow of her head. "I hope that regardless of your troubles, you and your brothers will all remain happy together."
Seeing what was going on in front of him, Hong Fang panicked and moved to get between the monk and Lingyue. "Please, honorable monk, please reconsider!"
The monk merely clapped his hands, as if in prayer and then with a speed that could even impress Lingyue, he gathered everything up, and moved past Hong Fang before the man could move a muscle.
A drop of sweat formed on the man's neck as he realized that he was dealing with someone far stronger than himself.
No, it wasn't just from fear. Something had impacted his chest, though he hadn't seen any punch being thrown. The blow had paralyzed his body. He was helpless before this seemingly frail old monk.
Lingyue was not surprised in the slightest. From the moment she saw him, she had figured the monk to be the strongest man in the room. Though the blast of energy he had sent into Hong Fang to temporarily paralyze him did intrigue her.
Maybe she would look into this Buddhist Arts stuff if it could restrain people in such a manner.
"Amitabha, dear benefactor, what's good and what's evil is all sewed by you, and all evil is from the seed that you planted." The monk said to Hong Fang. One final lecture on karma as he finished his business with Lingyue and left.
Her business done as well, Lingyue also turned and made for the exit.
Once she was out of the building, she shot up into the sky and flew away, back towards Glass City.
"Reborn, what did you do?" Lingyue said harshly as she looked up at what just the night before had been a newborn baby Dragon Horse, whose head barely reached her stomach. Now the Spirit Beast was the size of a normal horse, having more than quadrupled in size overnight.
"Why do you immediately assume this was my doing?" Reborn asked her with a tilt of her head.
"Because you said last night that you would look after them all! That's why!" Lingyue shouted at the baby hitman.
After spending some time the night before playing with their new pets, they all left them in the Red Mist Sky with Reborn while they went to a local inn for the night. Then, in the morning, Lingyue sent her friends back into the Red Mist Sky without her while she was taking care of the Treasure Cave.
So it wasn't until she returned home and went to retrieve everyone that she found out that something was deeply wrong with their newly acquired pets.
"It seems that eating the cultivation fruits and breathing in the high Yuan Energy of the Red Mist Sky's air has caused the Spirit Beasts to mature rapidly, the same way it does with the Spirit Grasses." Reborn said with a shrug. "It has only been a day, but they have each grown as if a year has gone by. If they stay here, they will probably exceed their normal limits of their species."
"Hold on, if this place has that kind of effect on Spirit Beasts, then why is Uri still so puny?" Cai'er asked, getting an indigent squeak out of the white fox.
"Why do Construction Realm Cultivation techniques not work for someone in the Reincarnation Realm? Uri is just too strong at his current form to benefit from it. When it comes to pure Yuan Energy, Uri is stronger than all of them combined." Reborn said.
The tiny fox puffed out its chest with pride, confident in his position as the 'strongest'.
"...Seriously?" Cai'er said with disbelief.
"Don't underestimate people because of their size." Reborn said with his normal grin. "If the two of us were to fight, I would annihilate you."
Cai'er started to laugh nervously, not sure if Reborn was telling the truth or not.
Lingyue was continuing to look up at the majestic steed in front of her, his bright green scales shining in the light of the artificial sun and his dark mane wrapping all the way around his neck. The cute little baby was almost all grown up.
...She felt robbed.
Fun fact, the proverb, "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you've fed him for a lifetime." is from Confucius, not Jesus. Jesus said "follow me and I will make you fishers of men."
Ironically, he said this to two fisherman who then proceeded to become his first disciples, living off of handouts rather than doing real work. So it has the complete opposite meaning to what people say Jesus said. (LOL)
JK, I'm sure that they actually did real work... I hope they did.
Though I personally find the Flying Spaghetti Monster's version of it the most deep.
"Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Give a fish a man, and you'll feed it for three weeks."