"I need money," Shuyan muttered as he swept the floor in front of a magnificent pavilion with a board over the entrance that read — Administrative Hall. This was the hub of the Emerald Peaks. Dozens of people flocked around the building, entering and exiting. Adorned in red-and-black robes, the disciples and the occasional deacons of the sect exuded the air of immortals with their wide sleeves and swords strapped to their waists.
The girls were especially a treat to Shuyan's eyes — distracting him from his work.
But he didn't let those vixens corrode his hardworking spirit and continued sweeping diligently.
"Ugh… why is this so heavy?" a delicate voice complained beside him, causing the hardworking Shuyan to turn around and see a beautiful girl struggling with a cloth bag on her back. She was barely managing to carry the load up the stairs leading to the main entrance.
Shuyan instinctively ran toward her with the intent to help.
"Let me help you, Sister," he called out as he grabbed the bag from her back without waiting for her consent.
Heavy.
That was the first thought that flashed through Shuyan's mind the moment he got hold of it.
The girl flinched but still managed to mutter, "Thank you, Senior Brother." Her head stayed low and her fingers clenched, not daring to voice any complaint about the sudden help.
"Don't mention it." Shuyan waved off her gratitude and walked toward the Administrative Hall, unaware of the internal conflict she was going through. He probably wouldn't have cared even if he knew — his intent had simply been to help.
The girl followed behind him and matched his steps, prompting him to take a second look at her.
She was beautiful, with delicate features and flawless skin, but there was one thing out of place — her pristine white clothes. They weren't the robes of Outer Disciples, and she definitely wasn't an Inner Disciple either; no Inner Disciple would be out in the Outer Sect carrying a sack like a porter. Her age also made it clear that she wasn't disciple here since she looked younger than fifteen.
So he asked curiously, "Where are you from? You don't seem to be from the sect."
The girl looked at him with a forced smile. "I'm from the mortal city outside the sect, Weiyang. My name is Yu Yueling. I again thank you for your help, Senior."
Shuyan nodded — a bit surprised by her overly respectful manner and the unnecessary amount of information — but he didn't bother with it and simply replied, "I'm Shuyan." He was used to mortals coming to the sect to run errands. She was probably some bigshot back in the mortal city and was sent here for sightseeing. Her being here alone was a bit strange, but he didn't put much thought into it.
"Shuyan. Good name you have, Senior Brother," Yueling said, trying to sound like an adult — almost drawing laughter from Shuyan, who barely managed to hold it in after seeing her serious face.
Their arrival at the destination helped him stop teasing the beauty, and he gently lowered the bag.
"You take it from here. I have work to get back to."
Yueling nodded and bowed deeply, but Shuyan was already walking away. He still hadn't finished his job.
The trusted broom in his hands continued sweeping the stairs one by one as he slowly descended. Reaching the bottom meant he would be closer to his house and be done with his cleaning duty for the day. So he continued enthusiastically until a jagged pebble blocked his divine broom's path — uncaring of the heavenly wrath that had caused his peers to fall down the stairs before.
Shuyan was about to swat it away with annoyance but then paused. He liked the look of this pebble. Just like him — enduring the sun and admiring the scenery of these beautiful mountain ranges despite its bleak future. So he put it in his pocket and continued down.
It took him nearly an hour before he finished the cleaning and grabbed a quick bite from the cafeteria, which was halfway up the mountain on another side, where he had to again climb a couple hundred steps just to eat.
All this distance was intentional, according to the sect, to help disciples train their bodies — but Shuyan just called it bullshit.
By the time he arrived at his house, it was almost dark. He sighed and walked through the dusty path to his sweet home tucked behind a small bamboo forest at the bottom of the peak. It was his heaven.
He entered through the creaky door and quickly walked out with a vat of water, with which he washed his face and body. He was back inside in a flash, his body aching. But then something poked his thigh, causing him to fish out the jagged pebble he had found on the steps of the Administrative Hall.
Shuyan stared at it as he slowly fell back on his bed. It was nothing unusual except for the cracks running all over the surface. He tried to break it with his hands but failed.
"What the hell is this?" he muttered, astounded by the tenacity of the pebble. He was a Muscle and Tendon Tempering stage cultivator with strength more than triple a mortal adult's, and he still couldn't break an already cracked stone. Something felt off.
He tried again and then—
"AH—!" he hissed as he nicked his finger on a sharp edge of a crack. Blood smeared on the stone, and a burst of light erupted from his hand.
Then everything turned dark.