Moonlight slowly rose in the quiet night.
It hung above the small pavilion and cast its cool silver glow through the window, bringing a slight chill to those it touched.
However, this refreshing coolness was perfect for the current season.
It made one instinctively pull their collar tighter while forgetting their worries in the gentle breeze.
The pill furnace in the pavilion radiated warmth.
Though there was nothing inside, it only hummed softly with the flickering of the spiritual flames.
Notably, the originally faint and elegant herbal fragrance in the pavilion had been completely overtaken by the rich aroma of roasted chicken.
Xia Liu pouted.
She stared fixedly at the woman who was treating someone else’s home like her own territory.
Her cheeks puffed up in displeasure.
“What are you two staring at me for? Eat up.”
The woman chewed with her mouth full.
Grease glistened on her lips.
She waved the half-eaten chicken leg in her hand toward Xia Liu and Su Zhan.
Xia Liu took a step back.
She continued to stare straight at the woman.
She was probably regretting not having learned any techniques that could kill with a glare.
Su Zhan decisively chose Xia Liu’s side between the woman and her junior sister.
She remained silent to express her refusal.
“Martial Aunt Cheng, why don’t you eat at your own place instead of bringing it here?”
“I spent three months nurturing the air in here with medicinal fragrance, and now it’s all ruined by this roasted chicken.”
Xia Liu snorted in dissatisfaction.
Her words made her attitude perfectly clear—she was very unhappy right now.
The woman’s name was Cheng Shuang.
She was Ning Yao’s master, with a frivolous and casual personality—the exact type Xia Liu disliked.
If not for Ning Yao, she would have been able to sleep peacefully these past two days.
And Ning Yao’s current troublesome personality was entirely thanks to this unreliable and improper martial aunt.
It was all because Martial Aunt Cheng spoiled Ning Yao too much.
Every time Ning Yao caused trouble, she would only make things worse instead of stopping her.
Even after being scolded multiple times by the Sect Leader, she still showed no signs of remorse.
On the contrary, she seemed quite proud of it.
“Hey, isn’t your martial aunt just showing concern for you two?”
Cheng Shuang shamelessly hummed.
She pretended not to hear the barbs in Xia Liu’s words.
After finishing one chicken leg, she licked her fingers, tore off another piece of meat, and stuffed it into her mouth.
“If Martial Aunt Cheng’s idea of ‘concern’ is making her disciples watch her eat, then I’d rather not have this kind of concern.”
Xia Liu said with clear disgust.
Cheng Shuang had arrived not long ago.
At first she had properly knocked on the door twice, saying she was here on Ning Yao’s behalf to apologize to Su Zhan and that she had something important to discuss.
The moment she stepped inside, however, she had brought a greasy oil-paper package.
She plopped herself down on the only small bed and muttered, “I know you two have been in a bad mood these past couple of days, so your martial aunt is treating you to something good.”
This had made Xia Liu’s already poor mood even worse.
“Martial Aunt, your behavior really is a bit inappropriate,” Su Zhan said helplessly.
She knew Cheng Shuang wasn’t doing this to deliberately annoy them, but rather to tease Xia Liu.
Still, this mischievous behavior was truly worthy of the “little devil” title.
“Zhanzhan, you’ve changed.”
Cheng Shuang suddenly sniffled.
She rubbed the back of her hand—which was luckily not covered in grease—against the corner of her eye, putting on a fake crying act.
“I know that after defeating Ning’er, you’ve become famous in the sect. All kinds of junior sisters like you now, and your days are no longer dull and boring. You don’t need this martial aunt of yours anymore.”
“You… you won’t even call me Sister Cheng anymore…”
Xia Liu rolled her eyes.
“Martial Aunt, can you stop pretending to be young? Also, your crying looks so fake. I’ve never seen anyone whose tears flow from their mouth.”
“Because the roasted chicken from the Delicacy Pavilion really is delicious. And your martial aunt is still young and beautiful—what do you mean ‘pretending to be young’? …Anyway, you two really aren’t eating? Fine, I’ll finish it myself then.”
As expected, no one responded.
Cheng Shuang shrugged and quickly devoured what little meat remained on the roasted chicken.
After that, she slowly took out a handkerchief, wiped her hands clean, and pulled another document from her robe, handing it to Su Zhan.
“What’s this?”
Su Zhan took it.
She unfolded the document—which reeked of roasted chicken—and read through it carefully, looking somewhat puzzled.
It was a commission from Fangyou Mountain.
There was no signature.
The content requested a high-cultivation fellow Daoist to help exterminate a man-eating demon.
A generous reward was promised upon completion.
The request was very brief and crudely written.
Normally, something like this would never appear in the Merit and Virtue Pavilion.
“This is a long-term commission from the Fangyou Mountain area. It’s been posted in the Immortal Alliance for several years without being resolved. Your martial aunt specially brought it to help you get out of this mess,” Cheng Shuang explained.
“A major commission that’s been up for years? Why are you giving it to us? You’re not trying to get revenge on me just because I complained a little, are you?”
Xia Liu also leaned over to read it.
After skimming the contents, she muttered, “Besides, why is the information on here so vague? Isn’t this some kind of honey trap or scam?”
“Not at all. This commission was issued by the head disciple of the Fangcun Sect. Although the Fangcun Sect is much smaller than Qingyun Sect, it is quite well-known in the Fangyou Mountain region.”
Cheng Shuang cleared her throat.
“As for why the details remain so vague after several years, it’s because… most of the people who accepted this commission ended up dead.”
“Then why are you giving it to us?! You really are getting revenge, you petty woman!”
Xia Liu immediately glared and shouted.
As an alchemy cultivator, she treasured her little life the most.
Hearing Cheng Shuang talk like this made it sound like she was being sent to her death.
How could she accept that?
“Cough cough, hear me out. What petty woman? Your martial aunt clearly loves you two the most.”
Cheng Shuang touched her nose, looking slightly guilty.
“It’s that most of them died, not all of them…” she emphasized.
“This commission has been accepted fifteen times in total. Every time, the ones who took it were prodigies from various sects and factions. Nine of those prodigies perished, while the remaining six are still alive and well today.”
“However, after returning from Fangyou Mountain, all six of them had their Dao hearts broken. They no longer cultivate and spend their days in a daze. When asked about the details of the commission, they remain completely silent.”
“Martial Aunt…” Xia Liu took a deep breath and said gloomily, “From this moment on, you will lose this nephew of yours. Tomorrow morning I’m going to take a tear-inducing pill and cry outside the Sect Leader’s and my master’s doors, saying you’re trying to murder me and Senior Sister Su.”
“Calm down, calm down.”
Cheng Shuang sighed.
“A commission is just a commission. You don’t actually have to complete it after accepting it. Once you get there, you can just say your strength is insufficient and you can’t handle it. Simple as that.”
“Don’t overthink things in such a rigid way. Would your martial aunt really send you two to your deaths? This is simply an excuse for you to escape the current situation. You can start the tempering early and spend a couple extra days playing around at Fangyou Mountain.”
“Besides, the sect would never be willing to send two precious treasures like you out to die. If anything happened to either of you, not only the Sect Leader, but your two masters would never forgive me.”
Cheng Shuang grumbled sullenly.
She then looked toward Su Zhan, who had been silently pondering ever since receiving the document.
No matter how much she bickered with Xia Liu, the final decision still rested with Su Zhan.
“So, what do you think?”