Chapter 18#
Unheard Of#
The tasks prepared by Baihua Peak for this training were varied and diverse, ranging from large-scale missions like fighting demonic beasts and rescuing villages, to smaller ones like refining elixirs and delivering messages. There were even puzzles and investigative cases, and the difficulty of the task received depended entirely on one’s luck.
Many teams received their mission scrolls, discussing them animatedly. Xiao Man took the one from Qu Hanxing’s hand, unfolded it under the gaze of the three, and spread it on the table.
There were only a few lines of text in the scroll, which could be read at a glance: “Go to Yuntai Town to find a magical artifact called ‘Unheard Bell’.”
“What is the Unheard Bell?”
“Where is Yuntai Town?”
Qu Hanxing and Mo Juntian exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in each other’s eyes.
“Let’s check.” Wei Chuyun took out a map.
All four heads huddled together. After searching for a moment, Qu Hanxing pointed to a spot and excitedly said, “Here! Found it, near the capital!”
Xiao Man immediately looked, and sure enough, Yuntai Town was discovered west of the imperial capital, Shenjing.
Yan Wushu had mentioned before that he had something to do in Shenjing, and since one of their current tasks was in that vicinity, he would conveniently act as a guide and look after them.
Now, the task they received was located near Shenjing.
So… it couldn’t be such a coincidence, could it?
Xiao Man couldn’t help but furrow his brow. At this moment, a fellow disciple from not far away walked over and asked, “Is your mission also in Shenjing?”
“Yes, yes, yours too?” Qu Hanxing raised his head from the map.
The disciple nodded, “Yes!”
“Isn’t there a chance we could travel together?” Qu Hanxing snapped his fingers, then turned to Xiao Man and the others, saying, “Also, I heard there’s going to be a grand festival in Shenjing this season. If we finish our mission quickly, we can all go join the fun!”
“Hahaha! Our mission is to help out at the festival!” As soon as Qu Hanxing finished speaking, someone standing diagonally opposite raised their scroll and laughed loudly.
“How is that different from going to play?”
“Your mission is too easy!”
“How can this be?” Many people in Chaoyu Tower glared in dissatisfaction.
The person hooked his arm around his companion’s shoulder, smiling smugly, “Luck is also a kind of strength!”
Xiao Man witnessed this scene, raised his hand to stroke his chin, and thoughtfully said, “So there’s more than one mission in Shenjing?”
“It seems so.” Wei Chuyun put away the map and returned it to his Qiankun Ring.
Xiao Man wondered which one Yan Wushu had taken. His gaze returned to the scroll, examining it carefully from beginning to end, inside and out, and said:
“It doesn’t say who our team leader is.”
“Does it matter who it is? We can’t ask for help anyway.” Qu Hanxing twirled his folding fan, his tone dismissive.
“Here.” Wei Chuyun suddenly reached out, slowly wiping the lower right corner of the scroll with his thumb, which was imbued with spiritual power.
A row of small characters appeared, which read:
“Falling Goose Peak, Bai.”
It wasn’t Yan Wushu. Xiao Man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“It was deliberately hidden; this should be part of the mission. If we couldn’t even discover this, we might have points deducted after the mission ends,” Wei Chuyun said.
“Only a surname? Is it necessary to be so mysterious?” Mo Juntian looked at the five characters, finding it a bit strange.
“I once asked my senior brothers and sisters about the training. This senior leader will probably contact us within half a day. By then, we just need to tell him our departure time.”
Qu Hanxing thought it was no big deal, shaking open his folding fan to fan himself lightly, “Anyway, they only appear when there’s danger. If we don’t encounter any peril, we might not even see them until the mission ends, so there’s no need to give their full name, right?”
Wei Chuyun had a different view, “Only giving a surname makes it difficult to guess their identity, which prevents anyone from fawning over the team leader due to their special status. Baihua Peak has considered this thoroughly.”
Qu Hanxing thought for a moment, then looked at Wei Chuyun and said, “As expected of Brother Wei, your way of thinking is different.”
Then he changed the subject, returning to the original question: “Speaking of which, what is the Unheard Bell in the mission?”
“Unheard Bell? A bell that cannot be heard?”
Xiao Man searched his memories carefully, but found nothing in the end. He shook his head and said, “This should be something we need to investigate ourselves.”
He wasn’t surprised. Even if he had lived for another hundred years, it would be impossible for him to have seen or heard of every magical artifact. Moreover, this was originally a test given to them by Gushan, intended to select the outstanding disciples from this batch, so no matter how tricky or strange it was, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Mo Juntian pulled out the notes he had taken when he was learning about magical artifacts.
Qu Hanxing held the scroll high, sometimes against the light, sometimes in the shade, turning it over and over, muttering, “Are there really only these two lines of text? Are there no other hints? Is it necessary to use such a large scroll for just these two lines?”
In Chaoyu Tower, everyone had formed teams and received their tasks. Peak Master Ji Wuji quietly left, and the instructor for this class walked in. Xiao Man saw him and reminded Qu Hanxing to sit properly, “After class, let’s go to the library to check.”
The training mission began the moment it was received. During the midday break, the senior named Bai from Falling Goose Peak contacted Xiao Man and his group.
In Qu Hanxing’s imagination, the mission guides were always aloof and cold, only giving a flat “hmm” no matter what they said.
However, in reality, this Senior Bai was very gentle. When he learned of their plan to depart tomorrow, he proactively reminded them to prepare before descending the mountain, to bring more talismans, elixirs, and a spare sword.
Finally, he also said that before setting off for Shenjing, he would treat them to a meal at the Fuqi Man Restaurant at the foot of the mountain.
Xiao Man knew about Fuqi Man Restaurant, located in Huaman City at the foot of Gushan. Yan Wushu had once told him that eating a pot of ‘Fuqi Manman’ there before leaving Gushan was a custom for Gushan disciples.
“This senior is quite nice,” Wei Chuyun said softly after the communication ended.
Mo Juntian was concerned about something else: “I wonder what his cultivation realm is.”
“His voice sounds quite young, perhaps…” Qu Hanxing said, then interrupted himself halfway, “But for cultivators, age doesn’t mean much and can’t be used as a basis for judgment.”
“Let’s go, to the library.” Xiao Man lightly flicked his sleeve and rose from his seat.
The afternoon sword art class was canceled.
The sea of books in the library was vast, perhaps impossible to read through in a lifetime. Unfortunately, the books low-level disciples could access were limited. The four of them worked together, and within a day, they searched through all the available books on magical artifacts, but found nothing.
Many other disciples from Baihua Peak also came to the library seeking clues. Qu Hanxing, under the guise of mutual help, went to inquire, but they also replied that they had never heard of it.
Night had fallen deeply, and as the autumn wind swirled in, Xiao Man felt a chill on his fingertips.
He put the books he had taken down back on the shelf. When he turned around, he saw Mo Juntian sitting against the wall, yawning with drooping eyelids; then he looked at Qu Hanxing, who was leaning against the window frame, hanging himself on the window, his two hands and two legs dangling, his face full of fatigue.
Only Wei Chuyun and he still had the energy to search for and flip through books.
All the books on magical artifacts allowed for low-level disciples had been checked once, and continuing to search would be meaningless. Xiao Man tilted his head and said to Wei Chuyun beside him, “Everyone is tired, let’s stop here for today.”
He then remembered that Tan Wenzhou’s Xingyun Peak also had a small library, and with a thought, he added, “I’ll go back and look again.”
When Qu Hanxing heard this, he immediately realized something. He quickly pulled himself off the window frame, raised a hand to cover his face, leaned his head forward, and whispered, “Is there some way to get into Xueyi Peak?”
“…Sort of.” Xiao Man lowered his gaze and replied softly.
“Won’t searching alone be too tiring?” Wei Chuyun closed the book in his hand and looked at Xiao Man.
He smiled, “It’s fine.”
“The key is that we can’t go up there either.” Qu Hanxing hung himself back up, sighing faintly, “It feels really bad to be willing but unable to help.”
“Do your best, but don’t neglect your rest,” Wei Chuyun said seriously, “I still have some connections here.”
Xiao Man nodded in agreement, returned the remaining books in his arm, and left Baihua Peak directly through the window.
The formation on Xingyun Peak no longer blocked Xiao Man. After speaking with Tan Wenzhou, Xiao Man went directly to the small library and skillfully found the area where books on magical artifacts were stored.
Xiao Man did not intend to go through all the books. The Unheard Bell was a test given by Gushan to low-level disciples, so it naturally wouldn’t be too profound, and thus there was no need to look in the direction of high-level magical artifacts.
He picked and chose some books from the shelf, and sat there from when the crescent moon hung high until the sun rose in the east.
At the beginning of Chenshi (7-9 AM), Xiao Man rose from the window, put the scattered books at his feet back on the shelf, leaving only one in his hand.
The sunlight was like thin gold, and when the wind blew, the faint fragrance of autumn osmanthus could be smelled. Then, with a creak of the door, Tan Wenzhou walked in, gently fanning himself, and asked with a smile, “Has Your Highness found the answer you were looking for?”
“I want to borrow a book from Peak Master Tan.” Xiao Man looked at Tan Wenzhou, requesting earnestly.
Tan Wenzhou: “Which book?”
Xiao Man handed him the book in his hand: “This one.”
He was holding a travelogue.