Without further ado, the two of them stepped into the celestial realm, Tiantaitian.
Once inside, the atmosphere was much less constrained compared to the streets outside. Yunduan removed her conical hat, and the two were led by the attentive disciple Yin Qing to the guest room, where they could rest temporarily while waiting for Pei Chen’s arrival.
“…How stingy.”
Shang Can glanced at the table overflowing with tea and snacks on Yunduan’s side, then at her own bare mahogany table, unable to suppress a sigh.
“Thank goodness he didn’t move my chair too; otherwise, I’d have to sit on the table.”
The news of Qingyu Yunduan and Biluo Huangquan Shang Can joining forces to investigate the attack on Tiantaitian had likely spread among the cultivators—though the version reaching them was probably that “Yunduan was to supervise the demon cultivator, Shang Can.” So despite Shang Can appearing harmless with her mask on, anyone aware of the news would recognize her identity upon seeing her next to Yunduan, resulting in this rather unfair treatment.
Every time she came to Tiantaitian, it seemed nothing good ever happened. This cursed place just didn’t suit her.
Lost in her thoughts, she noticed Yunduan placing her tea cup in front of her and saying, “You should drink.”
Shang Can dramatically leaned back. “That won’t do! If I drink Yunduan’s tea, that disciple watching us at the door will definitely kick me out of Tiantaitian.”
The disciple, who had thought he was hiding unnoticed, was startled and angrily withdrew his head.
“Just drink yours,” Shang Can said, pushing the cup back. She leaned casually against her chair. “I’ll just nibble on these sugar cakes that your admirers brought over. Want some? They’re not as sweet as the ones we had before, but they’re still decent—”
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Before she could take a bite of the sugar cake, Pei Chen’s warm voice drifted in from outside the door. Shang Can frowned slightly, turning to look.
“The acting sect leader must be busier than someone like me—ah, I forgot, I’m also considered part of the workforce now, so I suppose we’re equally busy.”
Pei Chen didn’t react to her sarcasm; instead, he smiled apologetically and gave her a polite bow. “Please don’t take offense, Shang Can.”
He even frowned slightly upon seeing the empty table in front of Shang Can, calling the reluctant disciple at the door to say a few words. Soon enough, the disciple unwillingly brought Shang Can a cup of tea, which only made her feel more suspicious.
“…What are you doing? You’re not plotting something, are you?”
Shang Can refused to touch the tea cup and took a few steps away from her seat.
“At this point, I came here to clear my name; I have no intention of befriending Tiantaitian.”
“Please don’t misunderstand, Shang Can,” Pei Chen shook his head. “While demon cultivators often have a bad reputation, I personally hold no bias against them.”
“We’re all cultivators; though demon cultivation methods resemble those of the demon race and their combat styles differ from ours, as long as they don’t do anything heinous, I see no harm,” he continued.
“Even though it’s said that demon cultivators have peculiar temperaments, are fierce in their actions, and enjoy fighting, your recent conduct doesn’t seem to align with that image, Shang Can.”
He glanced at Yunduan, who had been silent, and added in a warm tone, “I believe Yunduan thinks the same.”
Shang Can felt alarms ringing in her mind and stepped in front of Yunduan, expressionless, raising a hand to block Pei Chen.
“Thanks for the compliment, but today Yunduan and I are here to discuss our plans. Kun Yaojun is a busy person; let’s get straight to the point.”
Even though Shang Can interrupted the conversation, Pei Chen maintained his composed demeanor, signaling her to continue.
Shang Can looked back at Yunduan, who showed no intention of speaking, and then explained their intention to visit the mountain where reports of escaping demons were most frequent. Pei Chen nodded in understanding and pondered,
“That place is indeed suspicious; the disciples of Tiantaitian have checked it several times but found nothing.”
“However, with Yunduan and Shang Can’s profound cultivation, it’s possible you might uncover some clues.”
He noticed Shang Can’s face, which clearly expressed, “Can we go now?” and hesitated before addressing Yunduan. “Yunduan, may I ask for a moment of your time… for a private conversation?”
Before Yunduan could respond, Shang Can, unable to contain herself, feigned concern and asked, “If you have something to say, should I leave first?”
Though she said this, she remained rooted in place, showing no intention of moving aside.
“No need.”
Yunduan replied, looking at Pei Chen. “Do you have something to discuss?”
Seeing this exchange, Pei Chen was briefly taken aback but quickly returned to his usual composure, smiling. “It’s nothing; I was just going to ask how Yunduan and Shang Can have been getting along and whether you need any assistance from Tiantaitian.”
“From the looks of it, I was just overthinking,” he said, raising his hand to give a slightly deeper bow. “Please take care, and if there’s any way I can help, don’t hesitate to come to Tiantaitian to find me.”
After leaving Tiantaitian, the sky had darkened, and it was dusk.
Yunduan put her conical hat back on, and she and Shang Can walked slowly down the street.
“You seem to dislike Kun Yaojun.”
It was rare for Yunduan to initiate a conversation. Shang Can paused before confidently stating,
“I’m from Biluo Huangquan; should I like the acting sect leader of Tiantaitian who almost came to blows with me just a few days ago?”
Upon hearing Yunduan’s indifferent “That makes sense,” Shang Can secretly sighed in relief.
…How to put it? While that reason was justifiable, to be fair, Pei Chen’s performance today was actually commendable; it was quite rare among cultivators who lump demon cultivators and demon races together, treating them like a scourge.
Although before she left, when she asked Pei Chen how he knew the location of Biluo Huangquan, he didn’t answer directly, only giving a polite and apologetic bow while saying, “I can’t say, please forgive me, Shang Can” in a flowery manner—it was understandable; protecting the safety of informants is a commendable quality in any organization.
Unfortunately, due to seeing that book, “The Miscellaneous Matters Between Kun Yaojun and Yunduan,” before entering Tiantaitian, Shang Can couldn’t help but find Pei Chen increasingly unsightly today.
…It seemed she really had disliked this guy Pei Chen from the beginning.
Feeling a bit guilty, she quickly sought a new topic. “It’s getting late; let’s find an inn to stay and grab a bite to eat.”
Pei Chen had suggested earlier that they stay in Tiantaitian, but Shang Can thought if she really did, many disciples of Tiantaitian might not sleep well at night, so she kindly declined his offer, certainly not because she didn’t want to be too close to Yunduan.
The two entered an inn, and Shang Can naturally took on the task of communicating with the innkeeper. She approached the counter and said, “We’d like two quiet rooms, please.”
Fortunately, there was no cliché situation of “We only have one room left”; Shang Can successfully booked the rooms, pulled out a silver ingot to hand to the innkeeper, and added, “Please bring two meals to the rooms later, and we’ll need hot water for bathing as well. Thank you.”
“Of course.” The innkeeper smiled widely, cheerfully gesturing upstairs, “You two, this way!”
With no other pressing matters for the day, Shang Can had a leisurely time eating and drinking, then even took a bath. She wasn’t idle, however; she took out the map that Wan Shao had given her to study closely.
The mountain was quite close to Yanyang; flying over would take about half an hour. Shang Can had suggested not going today, considering they had been traveling for half a day and weren’t in the best condition, so caution was the best course.
But as she looked at the map, an idea suddenly struck her; she checked the time, hesitating between being cautious and feeling eager to try.
While she was pondering, she suddenly heard a door opening from the next room, followed by a quick knock on her door.
“…Come in.”
Sitting by the table, Shang Can looked a bit bewildered as Yunduan walked in and closed the door behind her, feeling a sudden wave of guilt.
“Yunduan… do you need something from me?”
Yunduan, appearing to have just finished washing up, looked tidy, but her long hair was loose, damp and cascading over her shoulders, adding a touch of laziness to her demeanor.
“It’s nothing urgent.”
Yunduan took a seat across from Shang Can, her gaze scanning the open map on the table, her eyes shifting slightly.
“I was just worried you might get impatient and run off alone at night.”
“…”
Shang Can’s throat tightened for a moment. She neatly tucked the map away and laughed, “How could that be? Of course, I’ll wait until tomorrow to go with Yunduan, haha.”
“Ha, what nonsense! Is Yunduan a mind reader or something?”
Just two minutes ago, that thought had crossed her mind; she hadn’t even made up her mind yet, and yet Yunduan had pointed it out right then—could it be that she had spoken her thoughts aloud and the person next door overheard? Surely not?
Deeply shaken by Yunduan’s perceptiveness, Shang Can promptly abandoned her plan, acting as if she had never entertained such an idea. She maintained a carefree demeanor as she laughed with Yunduan.
However, Yunduan didn’t seem to fully trust her. Even after Shang Can repeatedly assured her that she wouldn’t act alone behind Yunduan’s back, Yunduan nodded in acceptance, yet she showed no signs of leaving. Instead, she poured herself a cup of tea and settled in, appearing intent on staying for a while.
Shang Can felt powerless against her, but recalling a matter that had crossed her mind earlier, she seized the opportunity to ask, “How’s the Spirit Summoning of Lord Yunduan going?”
Spirit Summoning was a technique from Qingyu that was somewhat famous in the cultivation world. Its purpose was to condense spiritual energy into a temporary spirit body that could move around for a time or assist its master in battle.
Yunduan thought for a moment and replied, “It’s going well.”
Yunduan’s “going well” likely meant it was quite impressive. Shang Can nodded proudly and asked, “Do you think the False Can and the demons that vanish after being injured are similar to your Qingyu’s Spirit Summoning?”
She knew the answer, but still feigned curiosity. The Spirit Summoning could indeed condense a spirit body to act freely, and that spirit would disappear after sustaining a certain level of damage, which might resemble the feeling of the False Can they had witnessed. However, replicating the kind of spectacle they saw with the demons attacking Tianwaitian was out of the question.
After all, even if Shang Can summoned spirits now, she would probably only manage to condense a handful that could be controlled; anything beyond that would merely be a burden with no combat ability. The demons that day numbered in the thousands; it was impossible for any cultivator to possess such overwhelming spiritual power, let alone the overwhelming demonic energy that was present.
As expected, Yunduan shook her head and said, “That’s not Spirit Summoning; it can’t achieve that level.”
As she spoke, she seemed determined to demonstrate this point to Shang Can. She rummaged through the room, pulled out a stack of white paper, and deftly folded one sheet.
“…”
Shang Can propped her head up, watching intently. Though she had already figured out what Yunduan was folding, she couldn’t help but feign ignorance and ask, “What is this?”
Yunduan folded with great skill, quickly completing her work. She set the finished product neatly on the table, her jade-like eyes shimmering faintly as she softly said, “It’s a paper crane.”
Before them lay a thousand paper cranes. Shang Can feigned surprise, nodding, “Lord Yunduan, your hands are so skillful.”
Indeed, it was quite skillful; when she had taught Yunduan years ago, Yunduan had learned in one go.
It seemed that sealing memories wasn’t very reliable, Shang Can thought.
But then again, considering she had known Yunduan for half of Yunduan’s life, how could it be completely sealed?
Not daring to dwell on it, she shifted her focus back to the present. “What’s the paper crane for? Is it a gift for me?”
Yunduan remained silent, raising her hand to gently touch the crane’s head. A faint white light flickered from her fingertip, appearing and disappearing in an instant.
Suddenly, the paper crane, which had been standing upright on the table, quivered and attempted to move its paper wings. It suddenly fluttered into the air, slowly circling the room.
Shang Can watched it intently; the scene was both familiar and striking, but she couldn’t look away.
The paper crane flew a few circles in the room before seemingly tiring and heading straight toward her. She hurriedly reached out to catch it, and it gracefully landed in her palm.
“Has it run out of spiritual energy?”
Neither Yunduan nor the paper crane responded to her question. Shang Can held it up to her face, delicately touching its wings as if it were a fragile item.
After a brief silence, the crane suddenly moved again at her touch, flapping its wings and flying toward Shang Can’s face. She instinctively leaned back, and the crane intentionally brushed against her cheek, eventually settling gently on her shoulder, no longer moving.
This time it seemed to have truly exhausted its spiritual energy. Shang Can took it from her shoulder, confirming it had returned to being an ordinary paper crane.
“This is Spirit Summoning, where spiritual energy is attached to a tangible object. There are also methods to shape the spiritual energy, but this one is more common.”
“Can’t you feel, Can? This is different from what the False Can used.”
During the entire process, Yunduan, who had remained quiet, finally spoke up, looking down at the paper crane in Shang Can’s palm.
“This is for you.”
Shang Can was taken aback, nodding somewhat confusedly, “…Okay, thank you.”
Without any leads on the methods of the False Can, Yunduan seemed to lose interest after this and left Shang Can’s room after exchanging a few words.
Listening to the sound of the door closing next door, Shang Can unconsciously looked back at the paper crane in her hand.
It was folded intricately, far better than the cranes Yunduan had made back in the day, clearly showing the precision of the paper artist.
Spirit Summoning can be executed in two ways: letting the spirit body act autonomously or following the master’s commands.
This little paper crane that had just been nudging against her… which method was it using?
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