Mortal: Traveling Between Two Realms with Mei Ning to Pick Up Trash

Not long after Zhou Yu left.

The Gate of Wonderful Sounds.

"Sect Master, a stranger has accepted our commission," Wen Siyue said, bowing.

"Oh?" Zi Ling didn't turn around.

Wen Siyue continued, "The other party seems to have just arrived in Tianxing City and is at the fifth level of Qi Refining."

"From outside? Could it be the Reverse Star Alliance?" Zi Ling said calmly. "Never mind, just be a little more careful at the fifth level of Qi Refining."

"Yes." Wen Siyue then withdrew.

……

Zhou Yu left the alley and glanced down at the address on the paper again. The first address wasn't far from here, about a fifteen-minute walk.

The streets of Tianxing City are like a complex web, with wide, straight main streets and winding alleys. Zhou Yu crossed two main streets and turned into a narrower alley.

The alley was quiet, with only one or two stray cats occasionally leaping over the wall.

When he reached the middle of the alley, he heard a commotion ahead.

It wasn't a fight, it was an argument.

Zhou Yu slowed his pace, turned a corner, and saw a small fork in the road ahead, where several people were gathered. A middle-aged man and woman were sitting on the ground, with several bamboo baskets scattered around them, their contents rolled all over the ground, appearing to be bundles of herbs and some rough ore.

Standing in front of the middle-aged man was another man, around thirty years old, wearing a brocade robe and with a fine jade pendant hanging from his waist.

"I told you your stuff isn't worth that price!" The man in the brocade robe spoke loudly, with a condescending impatience. "Three taels of silver? This basket of junk isn't even worth one tael of silver!"

The middle-aged man's lips trembled, and his voice was very soft, so Zhou Yu couldn't hear him clearly. He was probably saying something like, "This is something I found with great difficulty," or "My child is sick and I need to buy medicine."

Behind the man in the brocade robe stood two burly attendants, clearly trained in martial arts. Several passersby stood at a distance, neither approaching nor speaking.

Zhou Yu stopped and looked at the people around him.

We are all just ordinary people.

The herbs and minerals in the hands of the two people on the ground were indeed of poor quality; they would be lucky to sell for even two taels of silver, let alone three taels.

But the man in the brocade robe's attitude made Zhou Yu uncomfortable.

It's not about the price. Even if a deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. If you think it's too expensive, just don't buy it.

But the man's tone and attitude clearly indicated that he wasn't doing business, but rather bullying people.

Zhou Yu hesitated for a second, then walked over, squatted down, and helped the middle-aged man and woman pick up the scattered herbs one by one and put them back into the basket.

The man in the brocade robe paused for a moment, then looked down at him.

Who are you?

Zhou Yu glanced at him, and the aura of a fifth-level Qi Refining expert immediately appeared.

"I'm sorry, Immortal Master, I was blind." The man in the brocade robe was frightened.

Zhou Yu ignored him.

The man in the brocade robe ran off, followed by two attendants, and they quickly disappeared around the corner of the alley.

Zhou Yu put the last herb into the basket, stood up, and dusted off his hands.

The two people looked up at him, their eyes red-rimmed, and their lips trembling as they said thank you.

Zhou Yu took out a spirit stone from his storage bag and placed it in the other person's hand.

"Take it," Zhou Yu said. "Go back and buy medicine for your family."

The two were stunned. They looked down at the spirit stones in their hands, tears welling up in their eyes. They kept muttering something, probably in a dialect, which Zhou Yu couldn't quite understand.

He didn't linger and turned to continue walking forward.

When he had walked a dozen steps away, he heard a low sobbing sound behind him, and a muffled "God bless you."

Zhou Yu did not turn around.

He simply felt that in this world, the lives of mortals were too insignificant. He couldn't be as single-mindedly devoted to the Dao as Han Laomo. If Mei Ning, a cultivator, could help the mortal Zhou Yu, then it was nothing for the cultivator Zhou Yu to help other mortals.

……

The first address was in an inconspicuous residential house.

Zhou Yu stood at the door, checked the door number, then raised his hand and knocked three times, paused once, and then knocked twice more.

There was silence for a few seconds inside the door, then a deep male voice came from the crack in the door.

Where does the tide rise?

"The tide recedes here," Zhou Yu replied in a low voice.

The door opened a crack, and an eye peeked at him through the crack. Then the door opened, and a tall man stood inside, his face hard and cold, with a scar on his chin.

"Where are the things?"

Zhou Yu took out the gray cloth package from his storage bag and handed it over. The man took the package, tore open the seal, opened it, and checked the contents. After confirming that everything inside was correct, he took out a palm-sized red piece of paper from his sleeve, which had a blurry stamp on it.

"Here's the receipt."

Zhou Yu took the red paper, put it into his storage bag, and turned to leave.

First one, done.

He took out the paper, looked at the second address, which was in the east of the city, about a quarter of an hour's walk away.

The second address was the back door of a grocery store. The person who received the goods was a young woman with delicate features. She didn't talk much, checked the goods, and gave me a receipt. The whole process took less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The third address was a remote warehouse. The person who received the goods was an old man with a hunched back who walked with a trembling gait. He glanced at Zhou Yu, nodded, said nothing, handed him a receipt, and closed the door.

The fourth address is the Miaoyinmen Liaison Office in Tianxing City.

Zhou Yu stood in front of a two-story building and took a deep breath.

This building is more impressive than the previous ones. Although there is no sign above the door, the entrance is clean and tidy, and the two vermilion doors are inlaid with copper rings.

He walked up the steps, raised his hand and knocked on the door three times, paused once, and then knocked twice more.

Where does the tide rise?

"The tide recedes here."

The door opened.

The person who opened the door was a young woman, dressed in an elegant light purple dress. She had a beautiful face and a subtle air of heroism in her eyes. Her cultivation level was higher than the previous people who received the goods; Zhou Yu couldn't sense it, but she was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Come in." The woman's voice was clear and crisp, devoid of any emotion.

Zhou Yu stepped over the threshold and into the courtyard.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it was decorated very elegantly.

The woman led him through the courtyard and into the main hall.

Several tables and chairs were set up in the main hall, a landscape painting hung on the wall, and a cup of tea was placed on the table, still steaming, obviously someone had just been drinking tea.

"Where is it?" The woman turned around and looked at him.

Zhou Yu took out a gray cloth package from his storage bag. This was the last batch of goods. He handed it over, and the woman took the package, opened it, and inspected it. Her movements were quick but very careful.

"Spirit stones, pills, talismans." She checked each item one by one, then nodded. "The quantities are correct."

She took a receipt from her sleeve and handed it to Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu took the receipt, put it into his storage bag, and turned to leave.

"Wait a moment."

The woman suddenly called out to him.

Zhou Yu stopped and turned to look at her.

"Are you new here?" the woman asked, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment. "I haven't seen you before."

"Yeah, I just took on this job today."

The woman remained silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating about something, but ultimately nodded without asking any further questions.

"Let's go."

Zhou Yu went out and walked back the way he came.

……

By the time we returned to the shop without a sign, it was already getting dark.

The middle-aged man was still sitting behind the counter, holding the jade slip in his hand, as if he hadn't moved an inch all day.

"You're back?" He looked up at Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu walked to the counter and laid out the four receipts in a row on the table.

The middle-aged man picked up the receipts one by one and looked them over to confirm that they were correct. Then he took out a small cloth bag from under the counter and placed it on the table.

"Five spirit stones, count them."

Zhou Yu opened the cloth bag and poured out five spirit stones, no more and no less.

"Thanks." He put the spirit stones back into the cloth bag and then into his storage bag.

The middle-aged man looked at him and suddenly asked, "Did anything happen on the way?"

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"no."

"Alright then." The middle-aged man waved his hand. "I have work tomorrow. If you still want to work, come find me tomorrow afternoon."

Zhou Yu nodded, turned around, and walked out of the shop.

……

By the time we got back to Haifeng Residence, it was almost dark.

The lights came on in the inn's lobby, and the plump proprietress was sitting behind the counter eating sunflower seeds. When she saw Zhou Yu come in, she greeted him with a smile.

"You're back? Your two friends are upstairs."

Zhou Yu responded and went upstairs to the second floor.

Mei Feng's room door was open, and his boisterous voice came from inside: "Zhou Yu's back? Come in, come in!"

Zhou Yu walked over and stood at the door. He saw Mei Feng lying on the bed with his legs crossed, munching on a pastry he had bought from somewhere, his mouth covered in crumbs. Mei Ning was sitting at the table, with several bottles of pills spread out in front of her, which she was counting.

"You've been shopping all afternoon?" Mei Ning asked without looking up.

"Yeah, I just took a walk around." Zhou Yu walked into the room and sat down at the table.

Mei Feng sat up, looked him up and down, and chuckled twice.

"You don't look like you were just wandering around. You smell like a pharmacy, and... the smell of paper and ink from talismans." He sniffed. "You've been to quite a few places."

Zhou Yu was slightly startled. Mei Feng's nose was so sensitive.

"I just visited a few stores," Zhou Yu said, without changing his expression.

Mei Feng didn't press the matter. He stuffed the last bite of pastry into his mouth and mumbled, "Tomorrow we'll go to the market together. I'll take you to see some real old shops. The ones you visited by yourself today were probably just small stalls and shops, nothing of value."

Zhou Yu nodded without refuting.

He took out a few small items he had bought today from his storage bag: a packet of spirit tea, a few pieces of dried spirit fruit, and a small wooden comb for Mei Ning, and placed them on the table.

"For you."

Mei Feng's eyes lit up, and he grabbed the dried spirit fruit and started to tear it apart.

Mei Ning looked up at the small wooden comb, picked it up, and put it into her storage bag.

"Thank you," Mei Ning said softly.

Zhou Yu smiled and leaned back in his chair.

My first day in Tianxing City has come to an end.