Chapter 66 – Bai Su, Flying Sea Pavilion (Feihai Pavilion)

At the sound of that voice, Bai Lingque stopped attacking. The Green Bean shot forward without resistance and hit him squarely in the chest.

Then, with a soft plop, it fell to the floor. Seemingly startled by the crowd, the Green Bean panicked and scrambled around, trying to crawl back to Lian Mu.

Lian Mu: “…” Useless thing.

Bai Lingque stepped on it, but the silver-masked person in white stepped forward and asked, “Is this your spirit pet?”

Lian Mu couldn’t be bothered to answer. Instead, she controlled the Green Bean through spiritual energy. With effort, she made it wriggle out from under Bai Lingque’s foot.

Though a bit dumb, the Green Bean had a genuinely tough shell. The floor cracked beneath it, but its shell remained unscathed, even managing to lift Bai Lingque’s foot and escape.

Bai Lingque tried to catch it, but the silver-masked one stopped him. “Don’t touch it.”

Then she turned to Lian Mu. “Apologies. He was rather reckless just now. I hope you weren’t too offended.”

Lian Mu raised an eyebrow. “He’s yours? Since you knew he was reckless, why didn’t you stop him earlier?”

The silver-masked woman said, “Please calm down, young friend. Let’s talk this through. I didn’t expect him to attack you, and I was caught off guard. Let me apologize on his behalf.”

Classic deflection. Lian Mu had heard that kind of excuse plenty of times in her past life. But the woman clearly had an agenda, so Lian Mu gave her an out. “What do you want to say?”

Before she could answer, Ji Mingyue returned. Seeing that Lian Mu had suddenly stopped fighting, she was visibly surprised.

“It’s just… I felt he was too rude to you earlier,” the woman said gently. “If you need any compensation, please let me know.”

Lian Mu wasn’t interested in chatting. She turned and pulled Ji Mingyue away. “Just tell him not to bother me again.”

Catching a glimpse of the bounty slip in Ji Mingyue’s hand, the woman asked, “Are you two looking for spirit plants? I happen to have a few high-grade ones. Consider it a gift of apology.”

Lian Mu paused and stepped back. “How high-grade?”

Ji Mingyue: “…” Where’s your pride?

The woman in white replied, “Above third grade.”

Ji Mingyue smiled slightly. “Let’s see them first.”

“This isn’t the best place to talk. Please, come with me.”

Third-grade spirit plants were indeed tempting. Lian Mu agreed decisively, but to be cautious, she had Bai Lingque leave and chose the location herself—a pill refining room she had used before.

As they entered, Ji Mingyue glanced around. “…”

This place feels oddly familiar.

“Where are the goods?” Lian Mu got straight to the point.

The woman untied the spatial pouch from her waist. “No rush, young friend. Let me introduce myself. I’m Bai Su, from the southern Vermilion Bird region. Bai Lingque is my subordinate.”

Lian Mu: “You let your subordinates beat up sword cultivators like it’s a hobby?”

Bai Su kept her tone gentle. “He’s a bit hotheaded. He’s had issues with sword cultivators since young and is quite competitive, so I can’t always rein him in.”

Lian Mu: “…”

Can’t even control your own people, but sure know how to spin a story.

“You don’t look like you’re from the northern Black Tortoise region, are you?”

Ji Mingyue narrowed her eyes and answered for them, “We’re not.”

Bai Su nodded and handed them the pouch. “A token of goodwill. I hope you can forgive his outburst.”

Ji Mingyue, being an alchemy cultivator, checked the contents. The spirit plants were indeed excellent. She nodded to Lian Mu.

Bai Su smiled. “I noticed this young friend has a spirit pet. Might I take a closer look?”

So she’s finally getting to the point. Lian Mu didn’t hide it—she pulled out the Green Bean. It wasn’t like she could sneak it away anyway, and maybe she could learn something.

The black scorpion with green eyes flinched from the light, tucked its tail, and scrambled nervously across the table.

Lian Mu pressed it down. “Done looking?”

Bai Su looked up, her smile slightly fading. “This spirit pet is quite clever. Would you consider selling it? I’ll pay 500,000 spirit stones.”

Lian Mu glanced at its blank expression. “…”

Where exactly does it look clever?

Still, 500,000 was tempting. But her experience in business told her—if someone’s offering that much upfront, the real value is definitely way more.

Lian Mu: “No. I’ve raised this scorpion for years. I’m attached to it.”

“…One million?”

“Still not selling.”

Exactly as she thought.

Lian Mu decided to test her: “This scorpion’s been with me since birth. When I was born, an omen appeared in the sky, and it was delivered to my side. We’ve been together for eighteen years. You think I can just sell it?”

A flicker of surprise flashed in Bai Su’s eyes, then disappeared. “…In that case, may I suggest we become friends? If you ever change your mind, you can come find me.”

Lian Mu pointed at Ji Mingyue. “Sure, we can be friends. She’s my friend—you can get to know her too.”

It’s not like they’d see each other often. A few more “friends” wouldn’t hurt.

While Ji Mingyue was still counting spirit plants, the two had already “bonded.” When she finally caught up, she was stunned by how fast Lian Mu made connections.

“Bai Su is my real name,” Bai Su said softly, taking a finely-carved bamboo token from her sleeve. “My home is in the southern Vermilion Bird region. I’ll be heading back soon. If you ever wish to visit, bring this token. I’ll be waiting.”

Lian Mu accepted the token, noting the three delicate characters carved on it—“Flying Sea Pavilion.” The handwriting was elegant and refined.

Southern Vermilion Bird region… If she remembered correctly, the second round of the Immortal Sect Tournament would also be held there.

“What’s the Flying Sea Pavilion?” Lian Mu examined the intricate floral pattern. She had never seen that kind of flower before.

Bai Su replied, “Just a small place that trades in spirit pets. If you wish to find me, drop a bit of blood on the token. It will guide you.”

Lian Mu could tell this woman was not simple, so she accepted it. “Alright.”

She still needed to figure out how much Green Bean was really worth. With someone finally willing to throw money at it, she couldn’t let the opportunity go.

Ji Mingyue checked the time, nudging Lian Mu’s arm. “It’s noon—we should go.”

They hadn’t found all the bounty plants yet. If they delayed, they’d run out of time.

Lian Mu stood up. “We have things to do. We’ll be leaving now.”

Bai Su rose to see them off. “Safe travels, young friends.”

……

……

At the top floor of the Star-Plucking Tower, the air was heavy.

The scene on the recording stone had frozen on the moment the three of them entered the pill refining room.

A disheveled man sat on a grand chair, fiddling with a jade walnut, his face dark.

“Milord…”

Suddenly, he hurled the jade walnut at the black-clad man speaking to him, shouting in fury, “Why didn’t you tell me that talisman cultivator was one of hers?!”

The black-clad man trembled, blood trickling from his forehead. “Milord, we didn’t know either…”

The man’s fingers shook with anger. On another recording stone, the first floor of the Star-Plucking Tower was shown, now completely in ruins.

The man closed his eyes briefly. “That old fox Bai Su traveled all the way to Xuanwu North, bringing her subordinates to stir up trouble in the Third Domain… What, isn’t Feihai Pavilion (Flying Sea Pavilion) making her enough money?”

The blue-robed man beside him said lazily, “No wonder that talisman cultivator only targeted sword cultivators from Star-Plucking Tower. So she came to crash the scene. They’re still in the building—aren’t you going to send someone to block them off?”

Everyone knew that most cultivators who came here to accept bounty missions were sword cultivators. Driving them away would mean a massive loss of spirit stones for Star-Plucking Tower.

“…Let them go,” the man said after a brief silence. “Starting today, cancel all cultivator bounties. Fighting inside the tower is strictly prohibited—violators will be expelled from the Third Domain immediately.”

“What about that ‘Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab’ mission?” asked the blue-robed man.

The man glanced at the figure shown in the memory stone. “If this sword cultivator could get Bai Su to curry favor with her, she’s definitely no ordinary person. Leave her alone for now.”

The blue-robed man drawled lazily, “Fine—leave her alone it is. The Tower Master’s away, and even you are turning into a coward.”

The man with loose hair shot him a cold glance. “What do you know?”

“Now is not the time to fall out with Flying Sea Pavilion.”