Walking out of the mission hall, Yu Xuan still had one nagging question: what was a monk doing here?
As far as he knew, the Heaven Immortal Sect didn’t follow any monastic traditions, nor did it house monks — especially not ones ditating in public mission halls. Her presence was a puzzle.
’I can always ask her later’, he thought, pushing the curiosity aside for now.
His imdiate priority was to et the contact for the escort scroll mission.
The location had already been marked on his dallion. To his mild surprise, it turned out to be a tea house.
After wandering through a few winding streets in the town’s outer sector, Yu Xuan arrived in front of a modest little establishnt.
It was nothing extravagant: a few wooden chairs, a simple counter, and the sll of fresh leaves steeped in hot water.
The setup was designed for direct interaction — the kind of place where the owner brewed and served the tea personally.
Inside, in the far corner, sat a lone figure.
Yu Xuan approached the man and asked directly, "Did you post the mission for the escort scroll?"
The man turned to face him.
Yu Xuan blinked. The man’s eyebrows were entirely absent, replaced by what appeared to be swirling patches of shifting color — iridescent like spilled paint.
His mustache, equally unnatural, pulsed with the sa strange hues, currently a deep ocean blue.
"Have a seat," the man said calmly, gesturing to the chair beside him.
Yu Xuan sat down without comnt, though he was struggling not to stare.
"You’ve already received the mission details, haven’t you?" the man asked, his eyebrows now turning bubblegum pink.
Yu Xuan resisted the urge to laugh. He looks like that one friend who bleached his hair golden for style — only to wake up next day with it mysteriously dyed pink. The exact color he swore he hated.
"Most of the details, yes," Yu Xuan replied.
"But it didn’t ntion a destination — just that the scroll needs to be delivered to a reclusive expert. I was hoping to get a little more clarity."
The man nodded, reaching into his wide sleeve.
"He’s a friend of mine. Due to... complicated circumstances, I can’t et him in person. So I need soone trustworthy to deliver this on my behalf."
He pulled out a scroll, plain and unremarkable, with no markings or seals that hinted at importance. Its simplicity made it all the more suspicious.
The man handed it over and leaned in slightly. "Under no condition are you to open this scroll. None. Do you understand? Do not open it."
He repeated it with unnerving emphasis.
Yu Xuan nodded slowly. "Understood. And the location?"
The man handed him a small pouch. It jingled with spirit stones.
Yu Xuan narrowed his eyes. "What’s this for?"
"Travel expenses," the man replied nonchalantly.
"The recipient lives in another town. I know it wasn’t ntioned in the mission description, but consider this an addition. You’ll need to use the teleportation array to reach the area. I’ll mark a rough coordinate on your dallion, just search around that zone, and you’ll find him. His surna is Zhou"
Yu Xuan reluctantly handed over his disciple dallion, the ordinary one. The man pressed his fingers to it briefly, and coordinates etched itself into the surface before fading.
Yu Xuan sighed inwardly. It was his first mission — he didn’t want to start his record with a rejection, even if sothing felt slightly off.
"Have so tea," the man offered as the shop owner arrived with two steaming cups.
Yu Xuan accepted it and stole another glance at the man, whose mustache had now turned an alarming shade of neon green.
’Is it so kind of illusion technique? A racial trait? Maybe a cursed dye?’ he thought.
Then he took a sip of the tea.
"Mmm. This tea is excellent."
"Of course it is. I paid for it," the man replied, puffing out his chest slightly.
Yu Xuan’s brow twitched. I didn’t ask, though.
Why does it sound like he’s bragging over a cup of tea?
Still, he sipped slowly, enjoying the warmth.
The man, however, downed his in a single gulp, stood up with a dramatic flair, and said, "As soon as you deliver the scroll, your sect points will be transferred. And let remind you, do not open that scroll, no matter what."
Then, without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd like a leaf in the wind.
"Sure, sure..." Yu Xuan muttered, sipping his free tea. "Totally not suspicious at all."
After finishing the last sip of his free tea, Yu Xuan stood up, brushing his robes off lightly.
’One task down’, he thought.
The escort mission was technically underway — though he wasn’t entirely sure if he’d just been handed an important delivery or unknowingly signed up for sothing absurdly cursed.
Either way, it was now on his ntal checklist.
Next up: the letter-writing mission.
Thankfully, this one was in the sa town. No teleportation arrays, no glowing eyebrows, and hopefully, no ordinary scrolls with ominous warnings.
Yu Xuan picked up his pace, moving briskly through the streets.
He didn’t know how long the letter-writing would take, but he wanted to finish it today if possible.
Ti was precious, especially since he still had to travel to another town afterward to deliver the scroll. The sooner he wrapped this up, the better.
Besides, he thought, what if finding this ’Zhou’ takes longer than expected? The man didn’t even give him a proper description.
He then muttered aloud, "He didn’t even ntion what the guy looks like."
All he’d been told was a surna, "Zhou" and that he was a reclusive expert.
Yu Xuan could only hope that soone in the other town would recognize the surna. Maybe Zhou was a local big shot or so minor overlord. If so, finding him would be easy.
With that thought lingering, he shook his head and focused on the current task.
"Let’s just hope the person who needs the letter written is normal," he said under his breath.
He had no idea what kind of person would post a mission for sothing as personal as letter-writing.
It could be a lovestruck cultivator, a reclusive scholar, or a spirit beast trying to send an apology to soone it bit last week. At this point, Yu Xuan was ready for anything.
He sincerely hoped this wouldn’t turn into another strange encounter.
’Please, no glowing facial hair this ti’, he silently prayed.
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