12: Sect Mission

Arriving at the living room, it was clear that it had been carefully tidied up, appearing clean and neat.

"Given my current conditions, shouldn't I find a female cultivator to live with..."

Thinking of the chaotic state of his house, this thought suddenly appeared in Zhang Qingxiao's mind.

"Could it be that Zhou Quan wants his daughter to be with me?"

It was this very thought that made him suddenly associate it with the change in Zhou Yun's attitude toward him over these past few days.

With this thought, Zhang Qingxiao couldn't help but carefully size up Zhou Yun from the corner of his eye.

She was good-looking, had a nice figure, was well-endowed, and her personality was considered gentle.

She must have dressed up specifically for today, wearing a new Daoist robe, her hair simply coiled at the back of her head. Without any makeup, she naturally exuded a sense of shyness, looking quite charming in a unique way.

Looking at her like this, she was indeed a very good choice.

On second thought, he dismissed this idea.

He had only just started living a better life for a few days and hadn't fully stabilized yet; having one more person meant one more burden.

Furthermore, the Chang Sheng Sect might go to war with the Guiyuan Sect in the near future, and the outcome was still unpredictable.

Sure enough, once a person has a little money, it's easy to have other thoughts.

Having made up his mind not to consider finding a Dao Companion for Dual Cultivation for the time being, Zhang Qingxiao withdrew his gaze from Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun also noticed Zhang Qingxiao sizing her up; her little face turned red, and she hurriedly ran to the kitchen to bring out the dishes.

When she brought the dishes to the table, she kept her head down the whole time, not daring to make eye contact with Zhang Qingxiao.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, these dishes were all made by my daughter herself. The taste is quite good, please hurry and try them."

"We didn't prepare too much, Fellow Daoist Zhang, please don't mind the simplicity of the meal."

Zhou Quan's craft in making talisman paper was good, but supporting two people meant their life couldn't be considered wealthy.

Today's meal, with both meat and vegetables, was clearly prepared with a lot of effort.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are too polite. I don't usually get to eat such a sumptuous meal."

Zhang Qingxiao now ate Spirit Rice and Yao Beast meat for almost every meal, but there was little variety, so seeing the dishes on the table, he couldn't help but have a great appetite.

At the dinner table, Zhou Quan openly and subtly praised his daughter for being virtuous and beautiful, capable of handling household chores, and tried every possible way to probe Zhang Qingxiao's attitude.

This whole performance almost overwhelmed him. After finishing the meal and putting down his bowl, he practically "fled" back home.

"Dad, does Brother Zhang not have any interest in me in that way?"

Watching Zhang Qingxiao run away all the way, Zhou Yun looked at her father with a mix of disappointment and uncertainty.

Over this past month, Zhang Qingxiao had changed significantly; his whole person seemed to have a special aura.

He was also much more confident than before.

They say confident men are the most handsome, and Zhou Yun's feelings began to change, starting to worry that Zhang Qingxiao might not fancy her.

"Didn't you see the way he looked at you? How could he not have any interest in that way?"

"It's just that he's been alone for too long and is thin-skinned, so he's just embarrassed."

"Listen to your dad. In the future, go to Zhang Qingxiao's house often, help him tidy up, and slowly make him unable to live without you. Good things will naturally come to pass."

Zhou Quan had been watching very carefully; the way Zhang Qingxiao looked at his daughter just now was definitely not as innocent as he appeared.

He understood men's thoughts very well.

Especially for a man like Zhang Qingxiao, who is in his thirties and has no Dao Companion, his heart must be filled with longing.

"Oh, then I'll go to Brother Zhang's house tomorrow."

Although Zhou Yun was still quite shy, she knew very well in her heart that as Zhang Qingxiao became more and more outstanding, there would surely be many female cultivators eyeing him.

She had the advantage of proximity, so she had to make her move early.

"That's right. As neighbors, no one will say anything."

"If you act too late, that widow living diagonally opposite us who has been widowed for a year might make her move first."

"I've seen her peeking at Zhang Qingxiao from her yard from time to time over these last two days."

Worried that his daughter would be too shy and reserved when she got to Zhang Qingxiao's house, Zhou Quan added some fuel to the fire.

If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't appropriate for him to say certain things, he would have wanted his daughter to consummate the relationship with Zhang Qingxiao.

Zhang Qingxiao naturally didn't know that the father and daughter were at home plotting how to help him solve his life's big event.

After returning home, he gulped down two mouthfuls of plain water, went to the Pill Refining Room, and began refining the Yellow Dragon Pill.

Compared to the Pi Gu Pill, refining a batch of Yellow Dragon Pill took longer, needing about an hour and a half.

The Qi consumed was less, however, because he used the Spirit Gathering Formation.

Basically, it would take four batches of refining the Yellow Dragon Pill to exhaust his Qi.

As his proficiency in the Longevity Skill reached the Great Master level, his speed of recovering Qi also doubled.

In half an hour, his consumed Qi would fully recover.

In one night, Zhang Qingxiao refined three batches of Yellow Dragon Pill and, very luckily, succeeded in refining one pill.

He took out one Low-Grade Spirit Stone, consumed the Yellow Dragon Pill, and began to Cultivate.

"Knock, knock, knock... knock, knock, knock..."

"Is Brother Zhang at home?"

In the morning, Zhou Yun prepared herself mentally and knocked on Zhang Qingxiao's door.

"Coming, coming."

Hearing it was Zhou Yun's voice, Zhang Qingxiao hurriedly stopped his Cultivation, strode to the courtyard, opened the gate, let Zhou Yun enter the living room, and then asked with a smile: "Zhou Yun, is there something you need from me?"

"Brother Zhang, I see that your room is a bit messy, so I'll help you tidy it up."

After Zhou Yun finished speaking, she immediately started tidying up, which left Zhang Qingxiao not knowing what to say.

Thinking that the Spirit Stone and the medicinal power from just now hadn't been fully refined, he could only respond with a sound and returned to the bedroom to continue Cultivating.

At noon, Zhou Yun helped him steam the rice, stir-fry two dishes, and stew two jin of Yao Beast meat.

After finishing all this and preparing to leave, she was called back by Zhang Qingxiao.

"Zhou Yun, go call your dad over to eat with me here. I didn't do Body Refining today, so I didn't consume much; I can't finish all this by myself."

Looking at the clean and tidy room, Zhang Qingxiao's eyes lit up. Seeing Zhou Yun about to leave, he hurriedly called her back.

"My dad has already eaten; there's no need to call him."

Zhou Yun said, somewhat shyly, returning to the room and muttering softly.

Meanwhile, Zhou Quan had already started grumbling at home, thinking his daughter was really something; she didn't even come back to make him a meal.

It forced him, after working hard to make talisman paper, to just make do with the leftovers from the morning.

Smelling the fragrance of food coming from next door, he chewed hard on the leftovers, constantly comforting himself: "She's my own daughter, she's my own daughter. If she gets together with Zhang Qingxiao, I can also benefit along the way."

After lunch, Zhou Yun insisted on washing the dishes, while Zhang Qingxiao lay on the recliner in the courtyard to digest his food.

"Dang... dang... dang..."

"The Chang Sheng Sect Master has ordered: In three months, we will go to war with the Guiyuan Sect. All Utility Disciples at the third level of Qi Refining or above may go to the Sect Mission Hall to accept missions and fight alongside the Sect."

"As long as the mission is successfully accepted, the Sect will distribute Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, and Spirit Stones based on the cultivation Realm of all Disciples."

"During the battle, all spoils of war, as well as the distributed Medicinal Pills and Magical Artifacts, will belong entirely to oneself and do not need to be handed over to the Sect."

The voice rang out from far to near, echoing continuously in the alley.

Many Utility Disciples came out of their homes to ask about the situation.

For a time, the alley was bustling with activity.

Regarding this, Zhang Qingxiao was not interested at all.

The more tempting the rewards, the greater the danger.

He had food to eat and drink now, and he wasn't lacking Spirit Stones; it was better to let others take this risk.

"Brother Zhang, absolutely do not listen to the words of the Mission Hall Disciples. The Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, and Spirit Stones that we Utility Disciples receive are all the worst."

"After the war starts, it will also be extremely dangerous..."

Zhou Yun, who was washing the dishes, hurriedly came out to warn him.

"Hmm, I know. Only a fool would go."

Zhang Qingxiao didn't even have the thought of going out to join the excitement, let alone accepting any Sect mission.

This time, the Chang Sheng Sect was even taking the Utility Disciples along, which clearly meant they had little confidence, or they were treating the Utility Disciples as cannon fodder.

If he went, he might not even know how he died.

...