Gifts from Sect Leader Han

Originally, Liu Chun had planned to personally cover the additional cost of using the teleportation array for the extra disciple slot—one additional slot each month.

The Lingxian Sect’s trade routes were running smoothly now, and the share he received was quite substantial, so Liu Chun was still rather well-off.

He did not mind spending money on his own disciple. In his view, it was only natural for a master to spend resources on a disciple while teaching them.

Clearly, Lin Xiao did not see things the same way.

Although he knew that the relationship between masters and disciples in this world was extraordinary, he still insisted that the sect cover half the expense.

After all, the disciples were not merely Liu Chun’s disciples—they were also disciples of the Lingxian Sect. Nurturing talent was a shared goal.

The Finance Hall had no objections either.

And so, this arrangement was provisionally established. Unless something unexpected happened, it would probably continue until the day Liu Chun returned to the sect and settled down again.

With the apprenticeship ceremony over, the disciples of Qingyun Peak could finally be considered to have fully begun their lives of cultivation within the sect.

The following morning.

The Law Enforcement Hall disciple stationed at the foot of the mountain came to report that someone from the Qinghe Sect had arrived bearing gifts.

Now that the sect had recruited enough people to fill its various positions, the Law Enforcement Hall was finally able to send disciples to take turns standing guard.

According to the disciple on duty, the visitor had identified himself as the Qinghe Sect Master’s senior disciple. That meant they had to receive him with at least a little formality; they could not simply dismiss him.

Since everyone else was rather busy, the person responsible for receiving the guest was Yang Jinshu, Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Because of the widely known nature of the Trial of the Heart Road, Yang Jinshu met the visitor at the Lingxian Academy located at the foot of the mountain.

“I am Yu Jie, a disciple under the Qinghe Sect Master. Greetings, Elder Yang of the Lingxian Sect.” Yu Jie rose from his seat and bowed to Yang Jinshu, who was sitting in the reception room.

Clearly, the Lingxian Sect disciple who had escorted him there had already informed him of Yang Jinshu’s identity.

“Fellow Daoist Yu, you are too polite. May I ask what brings you to the Lingxian Sect?” Yang Jinshu asked.

Yu Jie took two boxes, one large and one small, from the storage pouch at his waist. He then pointed to the small, exquisitely crafted box and said, “To be honest, Han Weishu, who joined your sect last month, is my master’s only beloved daughter. She left in such a hurry that she failed to bring many of her belongings, so my master sent me to deliver them.”

He then pointed to the larger box.

“To thank your sect for being so understanding toward Junior Sister Han and for nurturing her with such care, my master has specially prepared some gifts as a token of his appreciation.”

Hearing this, Yang Jinshu understood that the Qinghe Sect Master was really asking the Lingxian Sect to treat Han Weishu well—to be patient with her and nurture her carefully.

She swept the contents of the large box with her spiritual sense. There were some spirit stones—around five hundred—as well as several stacks of commonly used talismans and a small amount of medicinal materials.

Since the sect master was giving these gifts for his daughter, he naturally could not have taken them from the sect’s finances. They must have come from his personal treasury.

From the looks of it, the Qinghe Sect Master really did dote on his daughter.

Although the Lingxian Sect’s trade channels had been available these past few years, the prices were low, and the amount of basic talismans and other goods the sect needed was limited rather than unlimited. As a result, the three major sects had seen only a modest increase in revenue.

Moreover, most of that income had to go into the sect treasuries.

It was therefore easy to imagine that even the Qinghe Sect Master was not particularly flush.

Yet he had taken out so much merely to prepare an entrance gift. This showed just how deeply he loved his daughter.

Yang Jinshu naturally knew that the Lingxian Sect treated all its new disciples well. As a thank-you gift, the Qinghe Sect Master’s offering was neither too light nor too heavy. After thinking it over, she accepted it.

They had gone to such lengths to deliver it, so they clearly did not want it returned.

Besides, the Lingxian Sect and the Qinghe Sect occasionally interacted with each other. The value of these gifts was not enough to make returning the favor difficult. They could simply find an excuse to send a gift in return later.

Yang Jinshu thought that would be the end of the matter, but Yu Jie took another item from inside his robes and handed it to her.

“This is a letter personally written by my master. I hope Elder Yang can help deliver it to Sect Master Lin.”

Yang Jinshu reached out and accepted it. Although the envelope itself was an ordinary object, its surface was covered by a layer of sealed spiritual energy.

“I will deliver it.”

After handing over the letter, Yu Jie continued, “My master has placed a seal on the letter. Please inform Sect Master Lin that he only needs to infuse it lightly with spiritual power to break the seal and open it.”

What Yu Jie did not mention was that the seal required at least the cultivation of the Core Formation stage to open with spiritual power.

After all, the master of a sect would possess at least Core Formation cultivation. Saying so outright would have sounded somewhat insulting.

Once everything had been delivered, Yu Jie took his leave and returned to his sect.

Yang Jinshu did not ask him to stay.

After all, the Lingxian Sect did not allow strangers to enter freely.

She merely escorted him politely to the entrance of the academy before placing the two boxes and the letter into her storage pouch and taking them back to the sect.

Yang Jinshu returned to the sect through the Trial of the Heart Road.

The Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree beside the path was in full bloom. When Yang Jinshu noticed several fallen petals and leaves on the ground, she was just about to pick them up.

Suddenly, she felt as if she had overlooked something. She raised her eyes and looked toward a certain spot in the tree.

Amid the masses of blooming peach blossoms, there was one unusually dense patch of green.

It was the middle section of a branch.

Only there were there no pink flowers—only green leaves and…

Three round little fruits?!

“It actually bore fruit…” Yang Jinshu murmured involuntarily.

For the past three years, so many people had passed beneath this seemingly healthy and sturdy Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree every day. It had bloomed year after year, covering its branches with peach blossoms, yet she had never once seen it produce a single fruit!

At the sight of this, she almost forgot about the gifts sent by the Qinghe Sect. She waved over the disciple standing guard nearby and instructed him to deliver the small box to Han Weishu at Qingyun Peak. Then she immediately raised her hand and, still somewhat unfamiliar with the motions, used the Lock Ring to call someone.

The first person Yang Jinshu notified was Lin Xiao.

After all, he had personally planted the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree. No one knew it better than he did.

A short while later, Lin Xiao appeared beneath the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree at the foot of the mountain.

“Where are they, Aunt Yang? Where are the fruits?”

As he spoke, Lin Xiao’s eyes darted around.

Before Yang Jinshu could point out the location, he had already spotted the three small, emerald-green fruits nestled together.

They were covered in a fine layer of white fuzz.

They were truly, incredibly small.

Looking at them, Lin Xiao sighed with wonder. “It really did bear fruit…”

As he spoke, he reached out and gently touched them.

They were hanging quite firmly, so it seemed they would not fall off and could continue growing.

He just had no idea how long it would take before they grew large enough to eat.