The Sickly Beauty and Her Guide Leopard - Chapter 20

Hearing a meow, Zhang Yuan turned to see Yan Qingshuang’s Spiritual Beast, Jian Li, standing there. She set down the bottles and jars she was carrying.

“Visiting me? This isn’t exactly a pleasant place.”

Jian Li pointed fiercely at the mask on Zhang Yuan’s face.

Zhang Yuan removed the mask, revealing the message Jian Li had typed on her Spirit Mirror:

“I want to exchange for Mission Spirit Stones.”

“No, you need to go directly to the Mission Management Office in the Disciplinary Hall for that. I don’t have a single Spirit Stone on me.”

Take me, take me!

Jian Li had already mastered the typing system.

The truth was, she wanted to avoid being targeted. As a small leopard with no extraordinary abilities, she feared that someone might use false pretenses to withhold her Spirit Stones, leaving her with no recourse for justice.

Zhang Yuan glanced back at the bear being tortured and tossed the remaining dirty bottles and jars into its arms.

The Little Raccoon Monster immediately reacted instinctively, crouching down to place them in the wooden basin for washing. Its paws moved in a blur as it scrubbed the grime away, cursing, “Shameless bastards! Using such underhanded tactics! Even if you torture me for a hundred years, I won’t talk!”

Jian Li stared in silence, noticing the mountain of dirty laundry piled nearby, waiting to be washed.

This is animal cruelty, she thought. Exploiting its OCD is a cruel form of torture.

The Little Raccoon sensed Jian Li’s scrutinizing gaze and offered her a憨厚 smile. Jian Li returned the gesture with a friendly nod.

We’re both Little Spiritual Beasts, she thought, feeling a deep sense of sympathy.

Zhang Yuan tugged the dazed Jian Li toward the Mission Office, ruffling her hair to her heart’s content.

“Don’t give it that sympathetic look,” Zhang Yuan warned. “It’s an evil Monster Beast. It murders and sets fires outside the sect, and harms our own disciples within. It even stole forbidden texts and gave them to the Demon Race.”

How could a tiny raccoon possibly kill anyone? Jian Li wondered.

Yan Qingshuang had also been widely misunderstood, and no one had ever cleared her name. Hearing isn’t always believing.

I don’t believe it.

“You’re barely a newborn,” Zhang Yuan retorted. “What could you possibly know? It’s lived for over a thousand years.”

As they chatted, they reached the entrance of the Mission Office.

Zhang Yuan took Jian Li’s Storage Pouch, checked its contents, and confirmed it contained the required number of Jade Spirit Orchids for Chang Chi.

“Go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”

Jian Li obediently waited at the end of the line. When her turn came, she hopped onto the counter and presented her Storage Pouch with both hands, as if it were a precious treasure.

The Mission Office clerk, a shifty-eyed woman, quickly counted the Jade Spirit Orchids and said with ill-concealed malice, “These flowers look a bit wilted.”

How could that be?

Jian Li leaned closer to the petals. To the naked eye, they appeared perfectly fresh. She sniffed them several times with her small nose, but there was no change.

The clerk’s fingertip began to glow with Spiritual Power, but someone grabbed her hand.

“Junior Sister Li Dagou, why don’t you take another look?” Zhang Yuan said coldly. “My friend worked hard to gather these yesterday. There shouldn’t be any problems.”

Li Dagou was her common name before she began cultivating. Zhang Yuan’s deliberate use of her full name in front of everyone left her unable to retaliate against Steward Zhang.

She forced a sheepish smile and made a show of examining the flowers again. When she straightened up, she changed her tune. “Oh dear, my apologies. I just woke up and my eyes aren’t quite focused yet.”

Jian Li quickly typed: If your eyes are bad, your dog nose should still work fine.

Humiliated by the Little Spiritual Beast’s insult, Li Dagou’s face flushed crimson, then paled. Her mouth opened and closed, but she dared not retort.

Zhang Yuan, showing her some respect, refrained from reading the message aloud.

The disciples managing the Mission Management Office had long suffered under Steward Li’s tyranny, fearing her power. Li Dagou, ever the opportunist, bullied the powerless disciples mercilessly, extorting Spirit Stones and mission items.

For the first time, the disciples witnessed Li Dagou’s humiliation, and they cheered in hushed tones.

Li Dagou clenched her fists, secretly vowing revenge.

After receiving her reward, Jian Li immediately thanked Zhang Yuan and invited her to dinner. Zhang Yuan waved her hand dismissively. “I still have Monster Beasts to judge.”

Jian Li harbored a saintly compassion for the Beast Clan, having never looked down on any of them—except for that shapeshifting dragon.

It’s not evil.

“You see the good in everything, even a roadside weed,” Zhang Yuan said, conjuring a paper-wrapped package of mung bean cakes from her sleeve like a magician. “What do you think of these?”

Jian Li glanced at the cakes, shook her head, and called out to her new companion, Xiao He, with a meow.

“Meow.”

Mung bean cakes? Trying to bribe me with something so trivial? Preposterous!

“Oh? Then what about this?”

Jian Li remained nonchalant, gazing at the sky where Xiao He was flying and casually continued meowing.

“Turn around.”

The white, round pill in Zhang Yuan’s hand resembled a small candy. Jian Li immediately swallowed her sarcastic retort; this clearly wasn’t an ordinary item.

Jian Li scribbled furiously: What is it, Sister Zhang?

Zhang Yuan chuckled, patting her head. Jian Li didn’t flinch.

“It seems the saying ‘whoever feeds you is your mother’ holds true. This is a Form Transformation Pill, effective for twelve hours.”

I want it!

Though it wasn’t particularly useful, Jian Li was curious about what she would look like in human form.

Zhang Yuan hummed. “I could give it to you, but what’s in it for me?”

Jian Li rubbed her paws together. She had money and fruit, but giving away her money was out of the question. Instead, the Little Snow Leopard politely produced a bright red fruit.

Originally, Zhang Yuan had only wanted Jian Li to let her pet her thoroughly, but this fruit was a decent substitute.

She agreed, and the barter was complete.

Jian Li waited for Xiao He, who greeted her warmly. Jian Li trotted over, waving and meowing at Zhang Yuan.

As the two creatures chatted, Jian Li asked curiously, “Xiao He, how much do you earn in a day?”

Xiao He struggled with complex numbers, pausing to think. “I’m not sure exactly, but I get five Spirit Stones and a random pill from the Internal Affairs Hall every day.”

“So how do you calculate the fare for each trip?”

“We have this,” Xiao He said, twisting her long neck with a smile to show Jian Li the route identifier hanging around her neck.

Green numbers flashed across the screen, constantly updating the distance traveled.

“Bailian Peak made these specifically for us.”

When playing games, Jian Li could teleport across the map without spending any money.

She never imagined the Cultivation World would have something as mundane as taxis.

Jian Li spoke bluntly, “Five Spirit Stones and one Pill a day? Don’t you feel like you’re being enslaved by humans?”

Xiao He’s mind struggled to process this. “Why do you say that?”

“Five Spirit Stones is too little. You work all day. Don’t you feel exhausted, both physically and mentally?”

“Not all day. I work one day and rest the next.”

Jian Li sighed. “Fine. I just think you could ask for more. What can you even do with five Spirit Stones?”

“I don’t know,” Xiao He replied. “I don’t care about money. I just want to go out and see the world.”

“You have wings! You can fly anywhere you want!”

The Celestial Cranes lived simple lives. Aside from work, they spent their days playing in groups. Only those with high cultivation levels were allowed to leave the Sect to pick up passengers.

The Celestial Cranes were well-traveled and knowledgeable, with plenty of stories to tell. Their descriptions of the outside world were captivating.

“My cultivation level isn’t high enough,” Xiao He said. “The Internal Affairs Hall won’t let me leave.”

“What’s so difficult about that?” Jian Li replied. “Stick with me, and I’ll take you to the peak of crane life.”

Using the same persuasive tactics she used on Big Orange, Jian Li made Xiao He’s beady eyes gleam with excitement.

Such a naive Celestial Crane, Jian Li thought. I’ve gained a free mode of transportation without losing anything.

Yet she felt uneasy. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she should ask for extra compensation for Xiao He or offer them some additional benefits.

Perhaps this was the empathy of fellow laborers, both treated like beasts of burden.

Only Celestial Cranes involved in Sect affairs were allowed to enter and exit the Dining Hall freely. Other Spiritual Beasts, even Bl00d Contract Spiritual Beasts, had to be accompanied by their Beast Tamers.

As expected, the Dining Hall was bustling with activity. It was just after mealtime, and a dense crowd of people jostled together, waiting to collect their food.

The Celestial Cranes had their own separate window. Their dietary restrictions were strict, with few foods they could eat and many they couldn’t.

A row of Celestial Cranes sat neatly in a line, waiting for their turn.