Murim's Weakest Princess

Chapter 318: Crystal Lake Town

Bidding goodbye to Lizi, Anji allowed the Tong Pass guards to check her luggage as a formality before allowing her to skip the queue and pass.The carriage was exactly the same size it was, but without Lizi’s presence, it suddenly felt extremely large and empty. The maid had tearfully hugged Anji goodbye and promised to deliver her letters to the Celestial Dragon Sect as quickly as possible. Anji remembered shaking her head and telling Lizi to take her time. It was not urgent, but it was important.

From here to the Crystal Lake Pavilion, Anji noticed a change in the atmosphere. The merchants who had cleared the Tong Pass were now rushing without time for pleasantries. Nobody stopped to be nice as horses raced to Luoyang.

The roads were much wider than before, and the route to the Central Plains was flatter. Even the air feels different to Anji. It was less dense and lighter to breathe, something that soothes the lungs. If anyone needed to recuperate, the Central Plains were definitely a better option than the mountains.

Going somewhere new without family and people she was close with was an experience for Anji in this life. She had forgotten the feeling of travelling alone on a road she did not know. Maybe in the past she did it. As Zhong Kui, she took the road wherever her feet brought her. It did not use to create this sense of anxiety when she did not know what the future had in store for her.

Knowing the future was a curse. No wonder the seventh Mystical Qilin Sect Master ascended as soon as Yan Ping succeeded her. For eight hundred years, she had to endure looking at a future she could not change, like a never-ending nightmare. Different prophets behaved differently, and if Yan Ping weren’t Anji’s teacher, she might have also fallen into the same despair.

It took two days to reach the Crystal Lake Town, a little way off from the Tong Pass. In that time, Anji meditated. She needed to raise her golden core’s base cultivation from the Solid Core stage into the Enlightened Core. It does not have to be stabilised and functional. However, Anji needed to restructure her body for what was to come.

And in those two days, under Grandpa Jin’s intensive guidance, Anji finally succeeded.

"Young miss," a guard outside tapped on her carriage side. "We are arriving soon."

Exiting from her meditative state, Anji took a look outside the window and admired the new scenery.

Unlike before, the Crystal Lake Town held a very Central Plains charm. Even from here, she could tell just how different the building was compared to where she came from. The houses were built from wood and not stone, indicating a more forgiving, warmer climate. The people wore lighter clothing and straw sandals more than thick boots. The ladies wore their hair differently, and men actually shaved their chins.

In summary, the people living in the Central Plains were similar to Doctor He. They appeared thin and dainty, almost like the scholarly image Mingshen tried to become. Now that Anji had seen real Central Plains people, she finally understood why so few cultivators came from this place. The environment was very peaceful, and complacency did not promote growth.

Unlike the mountains where food has to be hunted and carefully grown, Anji could see at least fifty types of edible plants growing in the fields and forest all around her. The soil is constantly fertile, and the people lacked nothing. Water came from the river, not from a well.

What kind of paradise was this?

Although it was a small town not worthy of anything but a scenic pitstop on the way to Luoyang, it had its local charm. Anji waited in the carriage as the accompanying escort party talked to the inn owner. Already, she was gathering the attention of those in the area with such extravagance.

Putting on her veiled hat, Anji waited for the inn owner to receive her. As a royal guest, she had to at least act that part. Crystal Lake Town might be small, but there were many with keen eyes, especially the scholars stopping here for a short while. Scholars who might join the imperial court.

While the innkeeper prepared her room and unloaded her luggage, Anji scanned the small town’s radius with her energy. Pu Jianming did not even intend to conceal his presence. Anji immediately identified the presence of another cultivator. As expected, he was at least an Enlightened Core cultivator. Increasing her cultivation base at the last moment was the right thing to do, even if it was still presently suppressed by the artificial cores.

"Esteemed guest," the inn owner bowed outside. "The preparations are ready. We apologise for the long wait. Please allow me to escort you to your room."

Acting according to the script, Anji did not reply, letting her appearance create ripples among the onlookers. The more they remembered the white veil, the less they would pay attention to a young, rich lady from the capital city. Compared to a rich daughter, a cultivator was rarer in the Central Plains.

Like a fairy, Anji seemed to float down the carriage and into the inn. Her appearance was brief, but it did the work.

If Hong Nian Niang’s network worked hard, by afternoon, the talk of a fairy would reach every corner of the small town and travel to Luoyang, where Mingshen might catch wind of it. There was no mistaking her identity, and Anji wanted to give her smart older brother the heads up so he would not do anything reckless.

As soon as Anji vanished into the privacy of the VIP rooms, tongues started wagging. Anji also quickly got to work as the guards stationed outside made the necessary arrangements according to their instructions for special food preferences and bathing herbs to be prepared. The innkeepers would be busy for a while, and Anji’s mission was to create a tracking spell for Elder Shen.

Changing into comfortable clothing that suited the Central Plains, Anji closed the windows and rolled up her sleeves. It was time to work.