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

The second day in Tianxing City.

Sunlight streamed in through the window.

Zhou Yu sat up, rubbed his eyes, and heard Mei Feng's loud voice coming from the next room, saying things like "Hurry up, hurry up" and "The sun's already high in the sky."

Zhou Yu chuckled, then put on his clothes, pushed open the door, and went out.

In the corridor, Mei Feng was leaning against the door frame of Mei Ning's room, a pastry dangling from his mouth, mumbling something indistinctly. When he saw Zhou Yu come out, his eyes lit up.

"Come on, let me show you the real Tianxing Market today."

Mei Ning also came out of the room, still dressed in a simple outfit, clearly ready.

The three of them went downstairs and left the inn.

The city of Tianxing was quieter in the early morning than in the afternoon; there were few pedestrians on the streets, and the air was slightly cool.

Mei Feng led the way, his steps light and quick.

"Let's go to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion first," he said, counting on his fingers, "that's the biggest magic artifact shop I've ever seen in Tianxing City, they have all sorts of good stuff. Then we'll go to the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, they have the most complete selection of talismans. In the afternoon, we'll go to the Precious Medicine Hall to buy some pills. Oh, right, Brother Zhou, you're at the fifth level of Qi Refining now, with your aptitude you can start thinking about Foundation Establishment Pills, we need to buy some Foundation Establishment Pill materials..."

Zhou Yu followed behind him, listening to his rambling, but his mind was on something else entirely.

Yesterday, the middle-aged man said there was work to be done tomorrow. I actually wanted to go, not for the five spirit stones, but to get to know the people of the Miaoyin Sect better so I could make a better assessment of the current situation in Tianxing City.

But if we go shopping today, given Mei Feng's personality, he'll definitely ask all sorts of questions once he finds out.

Never mind, I'll talk about it tomorrow.

……

Baibaoge is a three-story wooden pavilion located in the center of Tianxingcheng Market.

When the three of them pushed open the door and went inside, there were already several customers in the store.

The lobby on the first floor is spacious and bright, displaying various magical artifacts, including knives, spears, and swords, each with a name and price tag.

"Let's go upstairs and take a look," Mei Feng said, pulling Zhou Yu along.

Mei Feng walked around the second floor and finally stopped in front of a pair of swords. He picked one up and weighed it in his hand.

"Sister, what do you think of this?" He handed the sword to Mei Ning.

Mei Ning took it, drew the blade, felt it for a moment, and shook her head.

"Too heavy, not suitable for me."

Mei Feng showed no expression, put the sword back, and continued strolling.

Zhou Yu followed behind them, his gaze sweeping over each magical artifact before finally settling on the one by the window.

There was a person standing there.

A young woman, dressed in a purple robe, a member of the Miaoyin Sect.

Upon seeing the other person's face, with its delicate features and picturesque eyes, Zhou Yu frowned slightly.

Wen Siyue.

However, the other party didn't pay much attention to Zhou Yu and turned to go downstairs.

"What's wrong?" Mei Feng walked over unnoticed, and following his gaze, glanced at the stairwell. "Do you know him?"

"I don't know him." Zhou Yu shook his head.

Mei Feng smiled, didn't ask any further questions, and led him to the other side of the magic artifact shelf.

……

After leaving the Treasure Pavilion, Mei Feng led them to the Spirit Talisman Pavilion and the Precious Medicine Hall. Mei Ning bought a few talismans, Mei Feng bought two bottles of pills, and Zhou Yu bought some basic ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills, even though it hurt his wallet a little.

But Mei Feng is right. With the talent of a Heavenly Spiritual Root, Foundation Establishment is not far away. It's good to prepare early.

In the afternoon, the three of them went to a Lingbao shop.

This shop was much smaller than the Treasure Pavilion, but it sold a wide variety of things, everything imaginable. The magical artifacts weren't of high quality, but they were incredibly rare and unusual; Zhou Yu couldn't even guess what some of them were for.

"Hey, look at this, it's quite interesting." Mei Feng pointed to a doll on the shelf.

Zhou Yu and Mei Ning also came over to take a look.

It was a small wooden doll, about the size of a palm, carved in the shape of a little boy with a round face, big eyes, and an endearing, simple appearance.

It's quite rare to see a magical artifact made like this. I wonder what it's for—to soothe children? Or some kind of special puppet?

The three of them were gathered there watching when a rough voice suddenly came from behind them.

"If you're not going to buy, then get out of here. Don't block the way."

A burly man stood behind them, wearing a dark blue brocade robe with wave patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs, and a palm-sized token hanging from his waist, engraved with a shark with its mouth open.

I sensed the aura.

Foundation building period.

The three exchanged a glance, made no further moves, and quietly stepped back a few paces to make way for each other.

Just then, another voice came from the shop entrance.

"Elder Wan, you have quite the air of authority."

Zhou Yu looked over and paused for a moment.

Wen Siyue.

She appeared at the shop entrance without anyone noticing, wearing a purple robe, and two young female cultivators, both dressed as members of the Miaoyin Sect, followed behind her.

Elder Wan stopped in his tracks, turned around, and squinted at Wen Siyue.

"Miss Wen," his voice was a few decibels lower than before, "aren't you, Miaoyin Sect, being too nosy? How my Giant Shark Sect conducts its affairs is none of your business."

Wen Siyue's expression remained unchanged. Her gaze swept over Elder Wan, then looked at Zhou Yu and the other two, before finally settling back on Elder Wan's face.

"It seems your family has forgotten the lesson learned last time," she said.

Elder Wan's expression changed.

He glanced at Wen Siyue, then at the two female cultivators behind her, and his facial muscles twitched slightly.

"Fine, fine, fine." He raised his hands. "You have the backing of the Star Palace, I can't afford to offend you, I'll leave."

After saying that, he snorted coldly and strode out of the Lingbao shop without even glancing at Zhou Yu and the others.

The atmosphere in the store immediately relaxed.

Mei Feng quietly exhaled, and Mei Ning also slightly moved her body away from Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu looked at Wen Siyue, hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Thank you for helping me out, fellow Daoist."

Wen Siyue glanced at him.

The gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then swept over the storage pouch at his waist and the blue ring on his hand.

"No need to be polite," she said, her tone indifferent. "The Giant Shark Sect and my Wonderful Sound Sect have always been at odds, and this isn't the first or second time we've run into each other."

She paused, then her gaze fell on Zhou Yu's face.

"You... are you new here?"

Zhou Yu felt a slight unease, but remained outwardly calm.

"Yes, I just arrived in Tianxing City not long ago."

Wen Siyue nodded and didn't ask any more questions. She turned around and left with the two female cultivators. Her purple robe flashed at the door and disappeared into the bustling crowd.

Zhou Yu stood there watching her back, lost in thought.

"Let's go." Mei Feng patted his shoulder. "Don't look anymore, they're from the Miaoyin Sect."

Zhou Yu snapped out of his daze and nodded.

The three of them left Lingbao Shop and walked back along the road they had come from.

……

Zhou Yu frowned slightly as he walked.

He had figured out some things yesterday and today, and he didn't think it was a coincidence that he had encountered it twice in one day. Miaoyin Sect was now facing internal and external troubles. The Golden Core Elder of the Star Palace was dead, and the Giant Shark Sect and Tide Pavilion were eyeing it covetously from the outside.

Now that Miaoyin Sect is using Han Li's name, it can only carefully maintain a balance. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly run into Wen Siyue, who was "strolling" twice in such a large city as Tianxing?

It's highly likely that the people from the Miaoyin Sect had already investigated me when I accepted the mission. It seems that the Miaoyin Sect is not in a good situation right now, and they are on edge over everything, big or small.

However, the fact that they didn't take action and even helped out suggests that it wasn't at least not malicious.

Looks like I'll have to go see the middle-aged man again tomorrow.

After several more encounters, I realize that my understanding of this world is still too limited, and the original story cannot fully capture every aspect of it. I still need to investigate for myself to obtain truly useful information.

……

By the time we returned to Haifeng Residence, it was already quite late.

The lights came on in the inn's lobby. The landlady was still behind the counter eating sunflower seeds. When she saw the three of them come in, she greeted them with a smile.

"You're back? You must be tired after a long day of shopping. Hot water is ready upstairs."

Mei Feng responded and strode upstairs, with Mei Ning and Zhou Yu following behind.

Once inside the room, Mei Feng collapsed onto the bed.

"Ugh—I'm exhausted. Shopping is more tiring than fighting."

Zhou Yu sat down at the table, poured himself a glass of water, and Mei Ning sat down opposite him.

"How about we go somewhere else tomorrow?" Mei Feng rolled over and looked at the two of them.

"What do you think?" Mei Ning asked.

Mei Feng sat up. "There's a market for monster materials in the south of the city. I've heard it has a wide variety of items, and I've always wanted to check it out. There's also an alley in the west of the city that sells cultivation techniques. Although most of them are common items, you can occasionally find some good stuff there."

Mei Feng slapped his thigh and said, "Brother Zhou, what do you think?"

Zhou Yu shook his head. "I want to explore by myself tomorrow."

"Sigh—" Mei Feng sighed upon hearing this, "I've been rejected."

"Brother." Mei Ning frowned slightly.

"Alright, alright. By the way, what materials are you still missing for that Foundation Establishment Pill?" Mei Feng suddenly remembered, "Are the auxiliary herbs I bought today enough?"

Zhou Yu gave a wry smile. "I'm still far from enough. The main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill—Jade Marrow Fungus, Purple Monkey Flower, and Heavenly Spirit Fruit—are all expensive. I can't afford even one of them with my current amount of spirit stones."

Mei Feng scratched his head. "That's true. The main ingredient of the Foundation Establishment Pill is indeed expensive. It took me a long time to save up enough. But since you have a Heavenly Spiritual Root, your requirements for the Foundation Establishment Pill aren't that high. If all else fails, you can just force it."

Mei Ning added from the side, "If we force it, even with Zhou Yu's aptitude, it would probably take two years."

"Two years?" Zhou Yu was taken aback.

"Otherwise what?" Mei Ning said. "Foundation Building isn't that easy. Even with the help of pills, it still takes a long time, let alone without them."

Mei Feng chuckled twice. "Don't rush, take your time. Let's go outside and wander around. Maybe we can find a bargain."

Zhou Yu smiled but didn't say anything.

The three chatted for a few more minutes, then went back to their rooms to sleep.