Before they made it back to the Scholar’s Residence, Mingzhu — for some reason — suddenly asked Yue Yang whether he was tired, seeming reluctant for their outing to end.
Unfortunately, Yue Yang yawned.
He indicated that unless there were beautiful women involved, he wasn’t going anywhere else.
Mingzhu was furious, sulking the entire way back, and didn’t so much as say goodbye upon reaching the Scholar’s Residence — heading straight to his room, slamming the door hard for good measure. The Principal watched all this with a smiling face, and only when Yue Yang was about to close his own door did he ask with concern, “What’s this — did the two of you quarrel? A real man should have a broader heart than that. Give Mingzhu a little more leeway.”
“Yes.” Before the Principal, Yue Yang was unfailingly the picture of an obedient student.
“Mingzhu’s temper is like an old friend of mine — comes on fast, passes even faster. By tomorrow morning it’ll be as if nothing happened. No need to worry.” The Principal offered Yue Yang these comforting words.
“Really?” Yue Yang’s talent for playing dumb was, without question, at the grandmaster level.
“It’s no good for a young man to spend every day in the laboratory studying cold machinery. Tomorrow, the two of you should go out and have fun again.” The Principal considered his prized pupil flawless in every respect — a mind brilliant to the point of being monstrous, creative inspiration unmatched in all the world, and whether in inner temperament or outward bearing, more endearing the longer one looked. A perfect young man, truly. Just a touch muddled about certain things — perhaps from a lack of exposure to certain matters, or perhaps because his mind was so thoroughly occupied with research that he’d never given much thought to the ordinary business of life.
What a silly boy.
Once Yue Yang had said his goodnight and retreated to his room, the Principal let out a faint sigh.
But almost at once a smile returned to his face, as though some private bit of comedy had struck him — enough to break even a man as stern as he was.
The next day, exactly as the Principal had predicted, Mingzhu was no longer angry.
Bright and early, he came over, knocking on Yue Yang’s door and hauling the not-yet-risen Yue Yang straight out from under his blankets.
“You’re coming shopping with me.” Mingzhu announced the day’s agenda outright.
“How tedious.” Yue Yang sorely wanted to lie back down for a bit more sleep, but the sight of the golden hammer in Mingzhu’s hand finally forced his hands up in surrender. He declared that he would absolutely not betray the trust placed in him, that he would carry out the mission of accompanying Mingzhu shopping to the fullest, that he’d press forward through difficulty, and where there was no difficulty he’d manufacture some and press forward anyway — guaranteed to complete the task.
“Now that’s a good boy.” Mingzhu was delighted, very nearly producing a piece of candy to reward Yue Yang.
Yue Yang and Mingzhu ate breakfast at the Scholar’s Residence and took their leave of the several smiling instructors, stepping out into the dawn before the sun had even crested the horizon, the morning glow at their backs.
Whether by fated coincidence or simple chance, Yue Yang and Mingzhu happened to encounter — on the tree-shaded path not far from the Scholar’s Residence’s main gate — the three white-clad maidens revered throughout Human Valley as the divine envoys.
The three maidens resembled one another closely, like triplet sisters, yet each was wholly distinct. All three wore serene smiles on their faces; whenever one saw them, they maintained an elegant composure, never once caught in an undignified moment.
The maiden standing on the right had a small round face, sweet and endearingly artless. When Yue Yang had first entered Human Valley, he’d nearly been unable to resist the urge to reach out a wolfish hand and pinch that cheek. Fortunately he hadn’t acted on the impulse — otherwise he absolutely would not be standing so comfortably on Heaven Plain Mountain’s Ancient Pavilion Terrace today. The crime of harassing a reception divine envoy would have made a thousand or more years of imprisonment seem lenient.
Of the three, the one in the middle was the gentlest, her features more delicate and refined, carrying the strongest scholarly air — like a female sage. In her hands she held not a Summoning Grimoire but a “silver grimoire,” responsible specifically for recording the wanderers entering the valley.
The maiden on the far left was the tallest. Beyond her noble grace, her small face carried an additional touch of valiance. Yue Yang recalled that it was she who had fastened the noble insignia onto him when he first entered the valley.
“Mingzhu greets the three reception envoys.” Mingzhu hurried to pay his respects, while discreetly tugging at Yue Yang’s sleeve, signaling him not to be too rude.
“Good morning. There’s no need for formality, both of you.” The maiden in the middle returned the courtesy slightly, her voice as pleasing to the ear as a heavenly melody.
“Master of Star Diamond Castle, Baron Titan — we meet again.” The small round-faced maiden seemed to have the deepest impression of Yue Yang, deliberately naming both his alias and his noble rank as she returned the greeting. The way she said it gave Mingzhu the sense that this round-faced envoy knew everything about Yue Yang as though it were written in her palm — and those bright, large eyes held a complete absence of the curiosity one usually saw when looking at a stranger.
“Is there something you need from me?” Yue Yang firmly believed in the saying one doesn’t visit the temple without a reason.
“Don’t be so rude to a divine envoy!” Mingzhu quickly nudged Yue Yang with his elbow, signaling him not to speak so bluntly — it sounded terribly impolite.
“It’s no matter.” The maiden in the middle holding the silver grimoire was clearly the leader of the three. She waved a hand gently, orchid fingers like jade, soft palm turning, the motion as graceful as a spring breeze stirring willow branches. Then she nodded slightly and confirmed, “We’ve come, in fact, with a request for the two of you.”
“Please, command us, envoy!” Mingzhu was overjoyed to hear it.
That these three white-clad maidens were divine envoys was something everyone knew. Yet even venerable seniors and sages like the Heavenly Pride Chairman or the Thousand-Year Great Sage rarely had the chance to converse with them. If some student within Human Valley were fortunate enough to receive their words, his standing would multiply a hundredfold instantly — indeed, merely being looked upon directly by the three maidens was an enormous honor. They were, after all, the eyes of the divine in the mortal world, their actions representing the will of the gods. Which was to say, their favor was, in effect, equivalent to the favor of the gods themselves. How could that fail to stir a person?
The three maidens rarely appeared in the world; even when they came to the Assessment Ceremony, they observed from a distance, saying nothing. Earning their attention was an extraordinarily difficult thing — and that attention was precisely the opportunity every wanderer and elite longed for and could never obtain.
Now, with the three reception envoys actually bringing a request to him, how could Mingzhu not be wild with delight?
“We’ve lost something at the bottom of the sea on the Eastern Peak, and we’d like you to retrieve it for us. If you can complete the task before the Assessment Ceremony, we’ll grant you a great reward. If it takes longer than ten days to a fortnight without success, we’ll simply have to abandon the search.” The tallest maiden with the touch of valiance on her face spoke without ceremony, directly entrusting Yue Yang and Mingzhu with a “seemingly simple” retrieval task.
“May I ask what it is we’re searching for?” Mingzhu asked, suppressing the excitement in his heart.
“It’s an ancient relic.” The round-faced maiden’s bright eyes made a circuit across Yue Yang’s face before she suddenly shook her head with a giggle. “We don’t actually know the relic’s shape either — only that it lies at the bottom of the sea. You’ll have to choose for yourselves. Searching the seabed, it might be a stone, it might be a strand of seaweed, it might be something else entirely. Whatever the two of you deem appropriate, bring it back to us.”
“And it’s fine even if we choose wrong?” Yue Yang fought down the urge to pinch that little round face.
“Choose wrong, and the task simply fails.” The round-faced maiden waved a hand with a touch of artless charm. “You’ll want to think it through carefully. Don’t be in a rush to complete the task.”
“What is this ancient relic used for?” Yue Yang hoped to extract more intelligence. If you can’t tell me the shape, surely you can tell me its function. With nothing at all to go on, how is anyone supposed to find it?
“The ancient relic isn’t a single item.” The maiden in the middle holding the silver grimoire offered a hint. “Second hint: when they are all gathered together, they are the key to opening a certain ancient mechanism. Third hint: the ancient relic possesses a mysterious power that may give you some directional guidance — though how strong or weak that power is, we don’t know, only that it will certainly be there. Baron Titan, Young Lord Mingzhu, those are all the hints we can give. We hope they aid your search, and we wish you swift success.”
“If we complete the task in a single day, will the reward be doubled?” Yue Yang never minded rewards — the more the better.
“If you truly managed that, then we’d simply ask you to help us with another favor.” The round-faced maiden seemed rather inclined to believe Yue Yang could finish ahead of schedule.
“Let’s wait until it’s done before discussing that.” The tallest maiden on the far left was the more pragmatic one.
She produced a small purple-blue scroll and handed it to Yue Yang.
Yue Yang had no idea what it was, but Mingzhu hurriedly gave thanks and accepted it. Apart from the Ancient Pavilion Terrace on the main summit, the other four peaks all required the permission of the challenge law to enter — ordinarily, no one could simply wander in. To enter the Eastern Peak to search for the relic, one needed the challenge law’s authorization, and this small purple-blue scroll — different from the crimson War Scroll used for challenges — was presumably the essential tool for completing the task.
Having entrusted the task, the three white-clad maidens drifted away.
Yue Yang turned the scroll over and over, unable to discern anything from it, and impatiently unsealed the purple-blue scroll — snap — spreading it open.
Purple and blue light burst out from the scroll.
In an instant, it enveloped them both.
Mingzhu, both angry and alarmed, complained repeatedly, “You fool, why are you always in such a rush?”
Yue Yang broke into a sweat. “How was I supposed to know it’d do that? I still wanted to study it properly first—”
Before he could finish, the two of them had already been transported into the Eastern Peak.
The Eastern Peak rose and fell with rolling hills, its forests lush and verdant. Countless unnamed little beasts, startled by the pair’s sudden arrival, scattered in fright, diving into the green grass and undergrowth. Perhaps because they so rarely saw people, the scattered creatures froze for a moment, then — curious — poked their little heads back out, secretly peeking at Yue Yang and Mingzhu.
Greenery spread before them, fragrance filling every breath.
Though the Eastern Peak sat atop a summit ten thousand meters high, somehow it resembled a garden at ground level — a hundred flowers blooming in competition, butterflies dancing in rivalry — utterly unlike the western, southern, and northern peaks. Even compared to the central Ancient Pavilion Terrace of the main summit, it held an additional measure of wild charm and verdant green.
This place felt closer to forest and open field. Life formed its own self-contained system, with no human trace at all.
Searching for an ancient relic at the Southern Peak, which at least had a lake, would have been one thing — that could just barely make sense. But this Eastern Peak held nothing beyond little brooks and trickling streams — not a single extra drop of water. Where was the “sea” supposed to be?
Faced with this stark contradiction, Mingzhu and Yue Yang exchanged a long look.
It seemed this superficially simple retrieval task was, in fact, anything but ordinary in its difficulty. At the very least, before they could find the “sea,” any thought of finding the ancient relic was entirely out of the question.
(End of Chapter)