The sky had already darkened. Yu Mi, carrying Bao Gu, was swiftly flying through the sky on a flying sword. Having teleported from Yun City and encountered a grand battle among Nascent Soul cultivators along the way, Yu Mi had no idea where she was now. She had never been to Xuan Yue Ancient City and knew very little about it. Spotting lights on the ground that seemed to belong to a fairly large town, she decided to make a stop.
Yu Mi hovered above the town for a moment and, sensing no presence of cultivators, decided to land.
It was late, and many households had already turned off their lights and gone to bed. The streets were almost empty, except for an inn that still had its doors open, illuminated by a lantern hanging at the entrance.
Seeing the inn, Bao Gu excitedly suggested, “Senior Sister, let’s stay here for the night before continuing our journey.”
Yu Mi wasn’t fond of traveling at night. The darkness made it easier for demonic beasts to ambush travelers, and it was dangerous if they encountered stealthy beasts or cultivators with cloaking treasures. She nodded and said, “Let’s see if they have rooms available.”
“Okay,” Bao Gu replied, adding, “Senior Sister, don’t worry. I will work hard on my cultivation.”
Yu Mi thought to herself, “In the world of cultivation, who doesn’t work hard? Unless one’s talent is too poor and they hit a bottleneck they can’t break through without resources, it’s difficult to make progress. For someone like Bao Gu, who may lack talent but is blessed with good fortune and resources, not working hard would be a disgrace.”
As they approached the inn, Bao Gu noticed a figure lying at the entrance. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a beggar, wearing tattered clothes and curled up under the eaves outside the inn. He seemed quite old, with dirty, tangled white hair hanging down like noodles. It was early winter, and Bao Gu, who was at the third level of Qi cultivation and wore a treasure garment resistant to water and fire, could still feel a bit of chill. The beggar, in his thin, tattered clothes, must have been freezing.
The Duobao Spirit Monkey made a sound, seemingly saying, “How pitiful.”
Yu Mi also noticed the beggar. Initially indifferent, she scanned him with her divine sense after hearing the monkey and was shocked to find that he was not a mortal but a cultivator with unfathomable cultivation. She couldn’t probe his depth. Feeling a chill, she thought about leaving but saw the beggar looking up at her. Just as she was about to apologize and leave, she noticed his eyes were dull and chaotic, as if he was mentally unstable. Cultivators feared encountering high-level cultivators who had gone mad due to cultivation mishaps the most. If such a person was benevolent, it was fine, but if malevolent, they could lash out unpredictably, slaughtering anyone nearby without warning.
The innkeeper, who was counting his accounts, saw Yu Mi and Bao Gu at the entrance and hurriedly welcomed them, saying, “Are you looking for a place to stay? We have top-quality rooms available. Please, come in.” Noticing Yu Mi’s wary glance at the beggar and her hesitation, he quickly added, “Don’t worry, miss. This old man has been in our town for over ten years and has never harmed anyone.” He then attempted to shoo the beggar away.
Bao Gu quickly intervened, “Innkeeper, please don’t drive him away. It’s sad to see someone of his age in such a state. Look at how little he’s wearing; he must be freezing. Could you give him some old cotton clothes for the winter? Old ones will do; new ones might get stolen. And maybe bring him some meat later. It’s late, so whatever you have will suffice.” After speaking, she sighed and headed inside, adding, “My father used to say that doing good deeds brings good fortune. Helping a beggar like this doesn’t cost much but could save a life. Every winter, some beggars freeze to death. If they had warm clothes, they might survive.”
The innkeeper smiled and replied, “What a kind-hearted young lady! Please, come in!” He then ushered Bao Gu inside and called out for his helper.
A crisp voice responded, and soon, a young girl around twelve or thirteen years old came out with a steaming teapot, quickly wiping down a table and serving tea to Bao Gu and Yu Mi.
The innkeeper asked, “What would you like to eat? We have braised beef, pig’s head skin, pig’s ears, and wild rabbit meat. We also have noodles, steamed buns, and dumplings.”
Bao Gu ordered a bowl of noodles with sauce and asked the innkeeper to cut some beef and bring a few steamed buns for the beggar. Turning to Yu Mi, she asked, “What will you have?”
Yu Mi replied, “I’ve brought my own dry food.” She then told the innkeeper, “Please show me to my room,” and advised Bao Gu, “Eat your noodles and rest early. Don’t cause trouble.”
Bao Gu nodded and smiled, “I won’t cause trouble.”
Yu Mi thought to herself, “You say you won’t cause trouble, but you’re approaching those mentally unstable high-level cultivators, offering them food and clothing. They won’t freeze or starve without your help. Their minds are damaged, often unable to distinguish between good and evil, and they can attack without warning, leaving those nearby dead without even knowing why.” With the cultivator still squatting outside, she dared only grumble in her heart, feeling uneasy as she went upstairs.
The innkeeper instructed the young girl to take care of Bao Gu and then led Yu Mi upstairs.
Bao Gu looked around the inn. The first floor had only six tables, fully occupying the space, with a staircase leading to the guest rooms on the second floor. She heard the innkeeper casually ask if they were wandering heroines.
Soon, the young girl cooked the noodles and brought out a plate of hot beef. She served the noodles to Bao Gu and brought the beef to the beggar at the entrance.
The beggar, smelling the beef, looked up, grabbed it, and started eating.
After a while, the innkeeper went to the backyard and brought out a thick cotton jacket and pants, asking Bao Gu, “Miss, will these do?”
Bao Gu saw that the clothes, though patched, were clean and thick. She nodded and thanked the innkeeper.
The innkeeper delivered the clothes to the beggar and then returned to Bao Gu, saying, “Miss, you’re a kind-hearted person. There aren’t many like you these days. Sigh.”
Bao Gu asked, “Innkeeper, why the sigh?”
The innkeeper replied, “Nothing, just a thought.”
Bao Gu looked at him, puzzled. It seemed normal to her; in Qing Shan County, people would give their old clothes to beggars. What was there to sigh about?
The innkeeper cautiously looked outside and said, “Every year, people bet on whether this old beggar will freeze to death. Last year, some young men bet he would freeze to death during a snowy day. They threw him into the river. He managed to swim out, but they threw him back in. The beggar swam to the opposite bank, where a kind-hearted merchant warmed him up and gave him ginger soup, saving his life.”
Hearing about the beggar being thrown into the river in the snow made Bao Gu feel cold. There are good and evil people in the world. After finishing her noodles, Bao Gu asked, “Innkeeper, you accept silver, right?”
The innkeeper smiled, “If it’s a large ingot, I’m afraid I can’t make change. If you don’t have copper coins, you can settle the bill tomorrow.”
Bao Gu laughed, thinking, “Who says silver isn’t useful after becoming a cultivator? It’s still needed to stay at an inn!” She took out a small piece of silver from her oversized storage bag and asked, “Is this enough?”
The innkeeper weighed it and said, “I’ll get your change.” He then went behind the counter to count copper coins.
Bao Gu said, “Innkeeper, no need for change. Use the rest to buy steamed buns for the old beggar.” She then went upstairs, knowing the innkeeper was kind-hearted for allowing such a dirty beggar to squat outside the inn. As she reached the middle of the stairs, she suddenly heard the beggar getting up and calling out, “I am Nan Shan, may I have the honor of knowing the young lady’s name?”
Bao Gu paused and replied, “My name is Bao Gu, sir. You don’t need to be formal…”
Before she could finish, the beggar laughed, “Ah, so you’re Miss Yun Xi, a pleasure to meet you.” She froze, thinking, “I said my name is Bao Gu, and you’re calling me Miss Yun Xi?”
“Given the dangers ahead, would Miss Yun Xi like to travel together with me?”
Bao Gu was speechless, staring at the beggar who posed stylishly, messing up his noodle-like, bird’s nest hair. Most importantly, he was talking to her with his back turned. She thought, “Are you really talking to me?”
The beggar’s gentle voice continued, “Yun Xi, I swear by heaven and earth, I am willing to follow you through life and death. Will you accept?”
The innkeeper explained to Bao Gu, “Miss, please go upstairs. This old beggar is insane. Every once in a while, he does this. He was deeply in love with a girl named Yun Xi when he was young. Alas, she died, and he went mad.”
“Who says Yun Xi is dead? Yun Xi is not dead! Yun Xi, it’s been a long time. Do you miss me?”
Bao Gu said “Oh” and hurried upstairs, entering Yu Mi’s room, feeling a bit embarrassed to call out, “Senior Sister.” She had treated the mad beggar’s words as if they were directed at her.
Yu Mi was meditating on the bed. Seeing Bao Gu enter, she said, “No need to practice tonight. Rest well, and we’ll leave at dawn.” She then moved to a chair to meditate, letting Bao Gu sleep on the bed.
Bao Gu agreed to Yu Mi’s arrangement.
Outside, the old beggar performed a one-man show with “Miss Yun Xi,” from their meeting and falling in love to their separation and her death. He cried so loudly when “Yun Xi” died that Bao Gu felt chilled to the bone. Deep love ended in separation, leaving only memories for the one left behind.
Bao Gu and Yu Mi spent a sleepless night.
As dawn broke, they heard the innkeeper and his granddaughter opening the inn’s door to start the day.
Yu Mi and Bao Gu went downstairs and asked the innkeeper about Xuan Yue Ancient City.
The innkeeper had never heard of Xuan Yue Ancient City and didn’t know where it was.
Bao Gu asked, “Do you know where we can find immortals?”
The innkeeper replied, “Immortals live in the mountains and the sky. How could we see them? I’ve heard that to find immortals, one must go deep into the mountains. Miss, you seem skilled, but the mountains are dangerous with wild beasts. I advise you not to seek those unknown immortals and risk your lives.”
Suddenly, a voice at the door said, “Xuan Yue Ancient City? Go south for a thousand miles, and you’ll find it atop the snow-capped mountains, amidst the clouds.”
Bao Gu and Yu Mi stepped out of the inn in surprise and saw the old beggar still huddled outside, wearing the cotton clothes and pants given to him by the innkeeper the night before.
Bao Gu asked, “Old sir, do you know where Xuan Yue Ancient City is?”
Yu Mi was skeptical of the mentally unstable beggar’s words. She looked at him, but he was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, not even lifting an eyelid.
The innkeeper stomped his foot and said, “Miss, going south means endless snow-capped mountains with no one in sight. There are no immortals there! Going to the snow mountains in winter is… He’s insane. Don’t listen to him.”
Going south for a thousand miles might not be reliable, but the snow-capped mountains and clouds could be a clue. Since the south was covered in snow mountains, that might be the place.
Yu Mi told the innkeeper, “It’s fine.” She then summoned her flying sword, took Bao Gu with her, and soared into the sky, heading towards the snow mountains in the south.
The innkeeper screamed in shock, “Immortals!” and knelt down to worship.
Bao Gu said to Yu Mi, “Senior Sister, flying away like this in front of mortals, aren’t you afraid of scaring them?”
Yu Mi smiled, “The innkeeper is kind-hearted. He would worry about us going to the snow mountains to die. Knowing we are ‘immortals,’ he won’t worry about us anymore.” Some cultivators avoid showing their powers in front of mortals, but Yu Mi never deliberately hides hers. If she had avoided mortals in Qing Shan County, she wouldn’t have met Bao Gu.
