Chapter 15: The Hidden Market

On the other side, Song Qingyao had walked such a long distance that she was now panting heavily, her steps unsteady.

But…

Seeing Song Zhiyou still looking lively, Song Qingyao felt a competitive urge and refused to utter a single word about stopping to rest.

As for Song Zhiyou, the effects of the Blood Rousing Pill hadn’t worn off yet, coupled with a slight embarrassment from dragging Song Qingyao along on foot.

After more than two hours, the two of them, dusty and tired, finally saw the outline of Fengling Dojo in the distance.

Though called a dojo, this place actually had more cultivation-related industries than Heyang City, and had already developed into a scale similar to a market town.

The sect selection was held right in the center of this town.

The crowd was bustling, and as far as Song Zhiyou could see, almost everyone was a cultivator.

But neither of them had the energy to observe carefully.

Song Qingyao’s face was pale, her legs trembling, and she felt as if she were floating on clouds.

She urgently wanted to lie down.

But if Song Zhiyou didn’t lie down, she wouldn’t either.

Song Zhiyou, on the other hand, had sunken eyes and reddened eyes.

She had unspoken difficulties—the effects of the Blood Rousing Pill were fading just at this moment.

Song Zhiyou felt that if she closed her eyes now, she would fall asleep immediately.

But she was afraid of missing the sect selection, so she had to push on.

When they finally arrived at Fengling Dojo, they found it completely empty.

Not only were there no elders from the various sects or children coming for the selection, but there wasn’t even a single cultivator in sight.

Song Qingyao turned her head, shocked and sympathetic: “Song Xiaoliu, were you scammed?”

Song Zhiyou: “…”

That… shouldn’t be the case, right?

But really, there wasn’t a single person!

Just as Song Zhiyou was starting to suspect she had been made a fool of, several somewhat familiar voices sounded.

“Little girl, you’re here?”

“It’s you?”

Song Zhiyou looked up and saw several people standing on flying artifacts, heading toward Fengling Dojo.

Among them were people from the Xuantian Sect, and some others Song Zhiyou had also seen—they were the cultivators who had asked her about the opportunity’s whereabouts in the cave that day.

Now that she thought about it, they must have been elders sent by various sects to select new disciples.

And indeed, that was the case.

When the elders saw the big dark circles under Song Zhiyou’s eyes, the corners of their mouths twitched.

This little girl looked like she had been up to some mischief.

But such an innocent child naturally couldn’t be a thief; probably she had been cultivating diligently.

Thinking this, the elders’ gazes toward Song Zhiyou became even more kind.

Song Zhiyou greeted each of them in turn and then asked about the selection.

Looking at the empty dojo, with only Song Zhiyou and her companion besides themselves, the group exchanged glances, feeling an unusual awkwardness.

A few days ago, after that person teleported away, they had chased after him.

They got a bit too caught up in the chase, and for a moment, all the sects forgot about the selection.

By the time they remembered and rushed back, it was already this late.

They hadn’t even notified the ordinary people in the various cities yet.

What was even more regrettable was that the little thief, after being severely injured by their sect’s disciples, still managed to escape.

They should have learned from those two old fellows from the Xuantian Sect—restrained by pride, they should have acted from the start.

An elder from the Xuantian Sect coughed and said, “Registration is today and tomorrow, and the assessment starts the day after. You are the first to arrive. Go with Wangshu to register.”

Song Zhiyou took Song Qingyao’s hand and followed Lu Wangshu.

Song Qingyao had been stunned ever since the sect people arrived.

How could it feel… like all these immortal sect people knew Song Xiaoliu?

Song Qingyao felt the whole world had turned surreal.

After registering basic information, Lu Wangshu handed a wooden token to Song Zhiyou.

“The day after tomorrow, bring this to participate in the selection.”

Song Zhiyou took it. On the wooden token was written the character “one.”

Song Qingyao also registered and received a token with the number two.

After finishing, Song Zhiyou bid farewell to Lu Wangshu and led Song Qingyao out of the dojo.

An hour after they left, a group of people arrived.

A bunch of kids, having completely lost the energy they had when first arriving at the dojo, plopped down on the ground, wailing nonstop.

One particularly unenduring little boy had been crying and blowing snot bubbles all along the way.

Lin Yue was also panting from exhaustion, but he didn’t sit on the ground like the others.

His gaze eagerly swept across the dojo, and upon not seeing the girl his third uncle had praised, he felt a bit relieved.

“Third Uncle, we’ve already arrived at Fengling Dojo, and she hasn’t. It shows you overestimated her.”

With that, he straightened his back and walked step by step toward the registration area.

After registering, he also received a wooden token.

On it was the number three.

Lin Yue looked up abruptly: “Senior Sister, has someone already registered before me?”

“Yes.”

Lin Yue’s face turned pale.

…

…

Song Zhiyou took Song Qingyao to rent a room.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she fell asleep in an instant.

Dead asleep.

Song Qingyao looked at the unconscious Song Zhiyou and thought she was useless.

Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep too.

Song Zhiyou slept for an entire day.

Song Qingyao had woken up long ago and, seeing that Song Zhiyou showed no signs of stirring, she sat there chewing on a steamed bun, her brows furrowed.

She even considered finding a medical cultivator for Song Zhiyou.

But remembering she didn’t have many spirit stones, she gave up.

She also thought about giving Song Zhiyou a pill to try.

But then she remembered she didn’t have many pills either, and after much hesitation, she couldn’t bear to part with any.

After all, unlike last time, Song Zhiyou was just sleeping, not dead.

Indeed, Song Zhiyou was not seriously ill. After sleeping for a full twelve hours, she finally woke up from hunger.

Her face felt itchy, and her vision was blocked. She raised her hand and pulled a note off her forehead.

The handwriting was strong and beautiful.

“Song Xiaoliu, I saw you were a bit □ dead. I went to □ City to find a □ healer for you. If you wake up, come find me, then I won’t look for the □ healer! □ healers are very expensive! You must come find me when you □! —Song Qingyao”

In this note, there were characters Song Qingyao didn’t know how to write, and also characters Song Zhiyou couldn’t understand.

Song Zhiyou had stopped going to the family school after Song Lingtian did that thing.

Song Lingtian had demanded it.

He said he didn’t owe the Song family any favors and would teach Song Zhiyou himself.

Of course, he was busy cultivating and always had no time to teach.

The characters in this world were different from modern ones. Song Zhiyou had inherited the original owner’s memories and gained a half-baked general knowledge of characters.

Song Qingyao, on the other hand, was solely focused on cultivation. After learning a few characters related to cultivation, she forgot the rest.

Song Zhiyou stared at the note for a long time before finally understanding Song Qingyao’s meaning.

This girl thought she was about to die again and wanted to get her a healer.

But… what city is □ City?

Song Zhiyou stuffed some dry food into her mouth and inquired. Only then did she learn that in the market town of Fengling Dojo, there was a Hidden Market.

Cultivators usually set up stalls there, and they could also post or accept tasks on a mission board.

To find a healer, posting a task was the best choice.

Song Zhiyou guessed that Song Qingyao was there.

True to its name, the Hidden Market was very well concealed—behind a completely black wall.

Entering required paying one spirit stone.

Song Zhiyou placed the spirit stone on the wall, and the wall rippled like water.

She stepped through and, after passing through a pitch-black corridor, the scene before her suddenly opened up.

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