Mistaken Era – Chapter 1
Fei County was considered one of the more prosperous counties under the Great Qi dynasty’s rule over the past hundred years. This place was renowned for its silk production, with merchants constantly coming and going.
However, recently the rural roads surrounding the county town had become eerily quiet, without even a stray dog begging for scraps in sight.
Upon entering the county, every household’s doors were tightly shut, and wineries and teahouses had their doors barred, with only a few tattered cloth banners listlessly hanging under the scorching April sun despite the windless day.
The streets that should have been filled with the aroma of wine were so silent, inevitably leaving visitors deeply disappointed and those who had gone three days and nights without food plunged into despair.
Four beggars, accompanied by a mangy old dog, wandered into the market street.
This group eyed the closed doors suspiciously as they walked down the deserted street. There seemed to be shadows moving behind the doors, yet no one came out, and a pungent smell of sulfur permeated the air.
Occasionally, these outsiders would knock on a door, hoping for some porridge or water, but were met only with rude rebuffs laced with an inexplicable fear.
A scrawny youth exclaimed desperately, “Sect Leader Sister! You said we could beg for some rice here? But this place is like a ghost town, without even a bowl of dishwater!”
After days without food or water, the youth’s raspy voice sounded coarse and feeble, evoking pity from any listener.
Upon hearing him, the two older men and women dejectedly sat down on the ground, unwilling to take another step forward.
At that moment, the short-statured figure standing beside the youth slowly removed the hood of her cloak, revealing a head of jet-black hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of bright, animated eyes with a charming red mole at the corner.
This cloaked figure was a beautiful young woman in her prime, but hunger had thinned her face, making her large, distinct black and white eyes appear even bigger, and her once rosy complexion now had a sickly pallor.
She feigned a lighthearted tone, “Have you all forgotten what our master said on his deathbed? Fasting greatly benefits cultivators. Eating too many grains will only increase our mortal bones and pollute our spiritual meridians. Now that we’ve fasted for three days, I’m starting to understand what the old master meant. I truly feel lighter on my feet and a sense of transcendence with each breath.”
Hearing the young lady’s useless encouragement, the youth’s legs went weak and he knelt on the ground in despair, “Sect Leader, are you sure continuing like this will help us achieve immortality, and not just starve us to death by the roadside?”
The young lady nodded firmly, “Of course not! Our Lingshan Talisman Sect is no mere empty reputation. How could we starve just from missing a few meals?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than a thunderous rumbling erupted from her belly, the sound clinging to the mortal realm, clearly indicating she was ravenously hungry.
Seeing the meaningful looks from her three fellow disciples, Cui Xiaoxiao calmly smiled, relying on the skills she had cultivated from a young age as a con artist, “Did you hear that? That was the sound of my intestines separating from the mortal realm. I’m just a step away from enlightenment…”
The thirty-year-old man sitting on the ground sneered and turned to the old dog lying by Cui Xiaoxiao’s feet, growling, “I don’t have your cultivation level, Sect Leader! If it comes to it, let’s roast this old mutt!”
Hearing this, the newly appointed leader of the Ling Sect, Cui Xiaoxiao, raised her cloak to shield her long-time canine companion and glared at the burly man with widened eyes, saying sternly, “You dare!”
The dog named Auspicious poked his head out from under the cloak, baring his teeth menacingly at the man, his wrinkled eyes brimming with killing intent, without making a sound.
As the fellow disciples were about to come to blows, the woman sitting beside the burly man was drawn to a notice by the roadside. Crawling over to read it, she exclaimed excitedly, “Hey, there’s a meal discount! Come take a look!”
Setting aside their quarrel, the group gathered around to see – it was a notice posted by the county office.
The notice stated that an evil specter had appeared at the county’s silkworm farm, with the silkworm farmers dying unnaturally one after another. Even the staff sent to keep night watch met cruel fates. The county magistrate was now recruiting extraordinary individuals to stand night watch at the farm and solve this mysterious case.
Normally, upon hearing of such an ominous case, most people would flee. However, as disciples of the Lingshan Talisman Sect, exorcising evil spirits was part of their duties.
Seeing the generous reward listed on the notice, if they took on this task, they could eat and drink well for over a month.
However, Cui Xiaoxiao looked pensive, hesitating to respond.
The burly man named Ji Wuqi, who had suggested killing the dog earlier, gave Cui Xiaoxiao a meaningful look and said, “Cui Xiaoxiao, don’t tell me…you’re afraid and don’t dare take this job?”
Cui Xiaoxiao didn’t reply, simply staring at the notice with her large, distinct black and white eyes.
Meanwhile, the tall woman beside them spoke up in a low voice to Ji Wuqi, “Elder Martial Brother, you can’t be rude to the Younger Sister Sect Leader. Although she hasn’t been in the sect long, Master appointed her as the inheritor of the Lingshan Talisman Sect on his deathbed. We all vowed to follow her…”
After listening to the words of Second Martial Sister Jiang Nanmu, Ji Wuqi finally fell silent with resentment, no longer making mocking remarks.
However, he was not convinced in his heart—he was clearly the most outstanding disciple favored by their master, yet he never expected that before his master’s demise, he would suddenly take on Cui Xiaoxiao, that little trickster from the jianghu, as his final indoor disciple. Furthermore, he had passed down to her the secret manual recording the sect’s esoteric cultivation methods, as well as the position of sect leader.
Looking at her pretentious manner! She had probably already been scared witless by the notice, and didn’t dare accept the task, right?
Indeed, Cui Xiaoxiao had only recently succeeded the position of sect leader, and had no real cultivation foundation, just some wandering cultivator. How could she possess the ability to subdue demons and dispel evil spirits?
But at this moment, Cui Xiaoxiao confidently removed the notice and said, “Let’s go eat a hearty meal at the county office first!”
Ji Wuqi rudely asked, “What ability do you have to dare take on this task?”
As long as it wasn’t about cooking dog meat, Cui Xiaoxiao always maintained an amiable expression. Even facing the eldest senior brother’s rudeness, she simply smiled and said, “I may not be capable, but you three are all highly skilled. Since that’s the case, why couldn’t you remove the notice?”
No matter what, it was still daytime now, and there was still some time before going to guard the silkworm farm at night. The county magistrate should at least provide a hearty meal for these extraordinary guests first, right?
The other people also felt this made sense.
To explain, their pitiful state was a “gift” from their late master. Before his demise, in order to test the unity of the new sect leader and fellow disciples, he had actually placed a curse on them: any gold, silver, or purchased food they handled themselves would instantly turn to ash.
Their master said that if they wanted to eat, they could only leave the mountain to go on a journey of cultivation practice and accept food bestowed by others.
As for when the curse would be lifted, the old master did not provide a clear indication before passing away to the Pure Lands.
He clearly did this to prevent them from lingering on the Spirit Mountain, forcing them to descend and temper themselves.
After exhausting the birds and beasts on Spirit Mountain to fill their bellies, the few of them had no choice but to follow their master’s dying instructions and leave the mountain to cultivate, beg for food to satisfy their hunger, and ponder how to break the curse along the way.
Unfortunately, they did not encounter any tasks, nor catch any birds or beasts to eat during their journey.
The few of them were too proud to shamelessly fight with real beggars over scraps, nearly starving to death from their master’s curse.
These past few days, they could only endure by eating wild vegetables and mountain fruits.
When they arrived at the county office, the county magistrate looked down at these few who claimed to be cultivators from the Spirit Mountain Talisman Sect with some disdain. He spoke, “It seems the times are hard if even beggars can’t get by through begging. But going a little hungry is still better than an unnatural death. If you want to scam for food and drink, you’d best be on your way! This task is not easy to take on…”
Cui Xiaoxiao turned to examine her fellow disciples – disheveled and covered in dirt, indeed not much different from beggars. No wonder the county magistrate didn’t take them seriously.
Seeing a few constables rudely trying to drive them out, Cui Xiaoxiao instructed the youngest boy, “Ayi, show them a little skill!”
Angered by the constables’ disrespect, Ayi didn’t hold back. He simply pulled a corner of his robe, bit his finger to draw some blood, and sloppily drew a talisman on the cloth. With a wave of his hand, it turned into a streak of fire, burning the cloth to ash that scattered into the sky.
The remaining ashes unexpectedly coalesced into form, transforming into a soaring falcon that let out a piercing screech as it swooped towards the county magistrate sitting on the dais, snatching his official hat up onto the roof beams.
This sudden event happened in the blink of an eye, leaving everyone in the county office gaping in shock.
Ayi also puffed out his chest proudly.
After the stunned county magistrate regained his senses, he hurried around the hall table with an excited expression and cupped his hands respectfully towards Cui Xiaoxiao, “Venerable cultivator , my ignorant eyes failed to see your divine talents. Please forgive my disrespect! With your assistance, the demonic forces at the silkworm farm will surely be eradicated…”
“That’s not necessarily so!”
Before the Talisman Sect could fully bask in the county magistrate’s flattery, someone suddenly poured cold water on it.
Cui Xiaoxiao turned to look and her eyes lit up. She saw a group of handsome young men in white gauzy robes walking in from the office entrance.
Leading them was a tall, well-proportioned man with four red lines twisting into a lotus mark on his forehead.
The dozen or so people behind him had either three or two red lotus lines on their foreheads as well.
Watching this group in billowing white robes glide across the ground without seeming to disturb a speck of dust exuded an ethereal aura.
After noticing the lotus marks on their foreheads, Jiang Nanmu couldn’t help but murmur, “These people…could they be disciples of the Nine Profundities Sword Sect?”
The newcomer glanced disdainfully at the “beggars” from the Talisman Sect before coldly addressing the county magistrate, “I am a disciple of the Nine Profundities Sword Sect, sent here under my sect leader’s orders to subdue the demonic forces.”
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Ji Wuqi and the others changed.
The Nine Profundities Sword Sect had quite the reputation – one could not avoid mentioning their founder and sect leader Qin Lingxiao.
What cultivator had not heard of the Nine Profundities’ foremost sword master Qin Lingxiao?
This heaven-blessed prodigy had once sworn brotherhood under the demon lord Wei Jie. Persevering as his master descended into demonic practices, Qin determinedly slew Wei Jie when he went insane from evil arts, simultaneously absorbing nearly a century of the demon lord’s cultivation, exponentially increasing his own power.
By now, Qin Lingxiao has probably already refined his Dan and attained the Yuan Ying realm, just steps away from breaking through tribulation to ascend to immortality.
The Nine Profundities Sword Sect that Qin Lingxiao single-handedly established is furthermore the paramount sect among all cultivation sects, with countless disciples under its glorious banner.
Never did they expect that so many eminent cultivators from such a prestigious sect would suddenly appear in this small Fei County town – it was almost unbelievable.
That ignorant county magistrate failed to recognize their formidable status. Despite witnessing the “talon snatching official hat” technique from the Spirit Mountain Talisman disciples, he did not believe these Sword Sect disciples possessed any more outstanding abilities.
Cui Xiaoxiao had only recently become the Talisman Sect’s sect master within the past month. Before being taken in by their late master Tang Youshu, she was merely a street hustler skilled at trickery in the mortal world, completely ignorant of the ways of cultivation.
Though Qin Lingxiao’s name carried great weight, the similarly ignorant Cui Xiaoxiao heard the speaker’s words and her first thought was – these people want to snatch our mission!
So she pursed her cherry lips and apologetically said to the Nine Profundities disciples, “There is an order to things. This mission was accepted by us of the Spirit Mountain Talisman Sect first. You all should look elsewhere for tasks.”
However, the Nine Profundities disciples couldn’t help but erupt into scornful laughter.
The leading disciple, Jiang Zheng, disdainfully appraised the slender girl before him and couldn’t resist mocking, “Outrageous! A mere deviant sect dares to compare itself to my preeminent Nine Profundities Sword Sect? Laughable! You think we’ve come to vie for some trivial task like you all?”
The disciple beside him also sneered coldly, “Your so-called master Tang Youshu was once a fellow disciple under our sect leader. What kind of dog sect is this ‘Talisman Sect’? An obscure talisman cultivator actually dared to establish his own sect? And he ultimately died pathetically on Spirit Mountain! You’d best scram before causing more embarrassment!”
