Chapter 17: Time to Go Down the Mountain
When a maiden dreams of a man, it may not necessarily be due to lust, but fear.
Yu Lan’s eyes opened, and her entire body was covered in cold sweat. She reached a hand back to feel her clothes sticking uncomfortably to her skin.
She had thought she would be able to sleep soundly in Divine Vision Sect, but she never expected to still be haunted by nightmares. The scene of her capture played out once again in her dream. If the pain hadn’t been so real, she wouldn’t have woken up so early.
Yu Lan undid her clothes and wiped her body with a towel. While doing so, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, leisurely admiring her fine figure. It seemed that after cultivating, her originally fair skin had become even more delicate and tender.
“I never thought I’d become more beautiful.” Yu Lan smiled, finding the results of cultivation quite amusing. Her first impression upon beginning cultivation had been that she would become stronger; she hadn’t expected to become more attractive instead.
Yu Lan stuck out her pink tongue and licked her arm. Lowering her eyelashes, she murmured, “I have a desire to eat myself.”
This phenomenon was mentioned within the Heart Demon Technique, but Yu Lan hadn’t expected it to occur so soon.
Thankfully, this phenomenon didn’t actually make her want to consume her own body in a literal sense; it only made her taste her own scent involuntarily.
Yu Lan calmed herself, then pushed open the door to her room. She planned to pay her respects to her current, if somewhat inexpensive, master as soon as she woke up.
What should a disciple of a sect do? If she were in a large sect, Yu Lan would know what to expect. For example, she could complete missions assigned by the sect to earn merit points, then use them to acquire better and more resources to cultivate herself into a stronger cultivator.
However, none of these things were possible in the Divine Vision Sect. The most Yu Lan did here was cultivate and meditate, day in and day out. There were options for gardening and raising ducks, but Yu Lan had no interest in those.
Unfortunately, duck blood was an important food source for her, so Yu Lan had no choice but to feed on them from time to time.
Thus, she spent her days in monotonous fashion, a far cry from the indulgent lifestyle she had lived in the brothel where she used to work.
Yet that didn’t mean she despised this life.
After some time living in Divine Vision Sect, Yu Lan gradually found this life not bad, and her desire to flee weakened. Her Senior Sister treated her well, and so did her master.
Even though her master occasionally fell ill after reading those secret ancient manuscripts and suggested all sorts of preposterous things—like going to the river to seek a maiden whose supreme bone had been extracted, for instance—aside from these incidents, her master, He Youzhou, was virtually flawless.
“Right, I’m supposed to go see Master at the Main Hall today,” Yu Lan muttered to herself as she changed into her clothes.
She found herself saying “Master” more easily these days. At first, it had felt stiff and unnatural, but now it came out automatically. She strolled leisurely toward the Main Hall, where she soon spotted her Master meditating on a prayer mat, with Zhi Shi standing behind him, as usual.
“This disciple greets Master,” Yu Lan said, slowly approaching He Youzhou and performing her obeisance.
Divine Vision Sect didn’t seem to have a prescribed manner of performing obeisance, so Yu Lan offered her respects in the same way she had when she was at the Mansion of Beauties, the name of the brothel she used to work at, which is to bow at them.
“Yu Lan, your cultivation uniform has arrived,” He Youzhou said, looking down at her.
It’s a good timing, since he could tell that Yu Lan had entered the Qi Refining stage recently and become a proper cultivator.
“My cultivation uniform?” Yu Lan looked up.
She looked around, but saw no sign of any clothing that might be hers. Moreover, she knew Divine Vision Sect didn’t even have a single space storage device, so she grew more puzzled.
As if noticing her disciple’s bewilderment, He Youzhou stopped teasing and whistled loudly instead.
Whoosh! The sound of a whistled stream of air echoed, and a white crane flew into the hall from the door.
After circling the hall a few times, the crane landed steadily by He Youzhou’s side, then handed over the item it held in its beak.
The white crane was the messenger of the boss lady He Youzhou mentioned, responsible for delivering packages anywhere in the world. It was no common crane, but a majestic spirit bird capable of traversing thousands of kilometers in a single day.
As for the package it delivered, it naturally contained Yu Lan’s future cultivation uniform.
“Go back and thank the boss for me,” He Youzhou said while patting the white crane’s head.
The crane nodded as if to say that it understood, then flapped its wings once and flew out of Divine Vision Sect’s hall.
The white crane had come quickly and departed just as swiftly; Yu Lan barely had time to process what had happened.
“Master, what is that?” Yu Lan couldn’t help but ask.
“That’s the messenger bird of the shopkeeper who made your clothes,” He Youzhou explained offhandedly, then tossed the package to Yu Lan.
She caught it with ease as it descended from the sky.
“Oh, right, go change in your room, then come back to the main hall and let me take a look,” He Youzhou said with anticipation.
“This disciple will comply,” Yu Lan responded quietly, gazing at the package.
After a short while, Yu Lan returned to her room to change into the cultivation uniform, then returned to the Main Hall.
Unlike Zhi Shi, Yu Lan’s uniform was not form-fitting but rather a set of light and graceful purple robes embroidered throughout with butterflies poised to take flight. The robe’s shoulder hung loose, exposing a fair and silky shoulder like unto jade. The split skirt revealed her slender and fair left leg.
Yu Lan’s long, ink-black hair was loosely tied back, with a hairpin inserted at a slant. Though she wore no makeup, her every movement and gesture exuded an allure that invited those around her to draw closer, as though she were a siren calling to her unsuspecting prey.
If one were to claim that she was a bewitching succubus, many would believe it without question.
It was at this moment that He Youzhou recalled Yu Lan’s true identity: the most renowned dancer of the Mansion of Beauties, possessing a beauty that drove men to distraction.
“Many thanks to Master, Yu Lan loves this uniform.” Yu Lan wore the uniform with delight; it seemed custom-tailored to her figure. From her personal style to the comfort of the garment, she found nothing amiss. If she strained to find fault with it, she could only say that perhaps the uniform was a touch too colorful.
“I’m glad you like it.” He Youzhou was also quite satisfied. “Since your practice clothes are ready, it’s about time I brought you down the mountain as well.”
“Wait, Master, down the mountain? You’re taking me with you?” Yu Lan was startled by He Youzhou’s words.
“That’s right. It’s about time I brought you down the mountain.”