Wu Jinliang held the lot and called out, "Our money and some of the pills we use for cultivation were all taken during the interrogation. Can you help us get them back?"
Bian Weiying, who was already at the door, replied, "Come to fetch water tomorrow, and I'll give them to you."
This immediately made Wu Jinliang beam with joy.
He had only been trying his luck and didn't really expect it to work.
He was rather addicted to cultivation recently.
With the progress that came from taking the Forever Changing Pill, developments that weren't even imaginable in the Exile Lands, losing access to his pills had halted his rapid progress, making him anxious.
This olive branch extended to him left Shi Chun feeling both happy and uneasy.
The good news was that they wouldn't have to worry about Bian Weiying killing them for now.
The bad news was that this was only temporary.
If they couldn't provide the answers Bian Weiying wanted, there would be no way for them to cooperate.
Bian Weiying could kick them off Wukang Mountain at any time.
And simply being kicked out would be a minor worry compared to what might actually happen.
"Do we still need to go fetch water if we've got enough lots?" Wu Jinliang asked as he counted the slips in his hand.
Shi Chun hoisted the yoke onto his shoulder.
"Let's go rest."
Wu Jinliang: "If we get back too early, won’t that fat guy make us do something else?"
Shi Chun: "He wouldn’t dare!"
Sure enough, when they returned to the Punishment Hall, after handing over enough slips to Pang Tiansheng, Pang Tiansheng looked as if he had something unsaid, yet eventually didn't speak his mind and had Zou Xingbao lead the pair to their assigned room.
Zou Xingbao and Duan You turned out to be their roommates.
Four people shared a room and the accommodations weren’t that welcoming—they slept on a single plank bed.
Being pushed to this point, they couldn't afford to be picky.
After all, this place was meant for serving out punishment.
Holding a stack of slips, Pang Tiansheng was annoyed.
Not only had those two despicable guys returned fine, but they had completed their task ahead of time.
What was going on with Junior Sister Bian?
Pang Tiansheng left the Punishment Hall with a perplexed look and personally went to return the slips to Bian Weiying, with the primary intention of asking about Jie Chun's vengeance.
Bian Weiying’s response was simple.
She mentioned that she had her own plans and asked Pang Tiansheng to temporarily watch over Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, to not act without consideration.
Elder Xia, who had been quietly paying attention, also felt a momentary relief.
He had been shocked when he first learned that Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were reassigned to Bian Weiying, feeling both angry and resentful towards Pang Tiansheng.
If he weren't the disciple of the Sect Master, Elder Xia would have surely given him some sort of lesson.
In the afternoon, Zou Xingbao and Duan You took Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang again to their designated cleaning area, explaining their routine duties: fetching water in the morning and cleaning in the afternoon.
It was an easy job time-wise.
The evenings were allocated for cultivation for everyone.
With four people crammed into a room to cultivate, it didn't feel secure.
Wu Jinliang made do, but Shi Chun couldn't afford to.
His case was unique.
Cultivating without any special attention resulted in no progress at all.
He wouldn't waste time doing that.
So, he climbed onto the roof, sitting on the ridgeline.
He appeared to be star-gazing, but he was really observing the lights scattered across Wukang Mountain.
Comparing this with the terrain he studied during the day, he aimed to familiarize himself with every bit of Wukang Mountain.
He also pondered over Bian Weiying's words, contemplating how he might provide the explanation she wanted.
Because of the information provided by Bian Weiying, he realized the true purpose of Xiang Lan'er and the Demonic Path people—some things, no matter how strong the Demonic Path is, cannot be seized by force.
He also realized that regardless of whether Xiang Lan'er was sincere or not with Bian Weikang, she was destined to truly marry him in the end.
That was predetermined for Xiang Lan'er.
He even came to suspect that perhaps when Xiang Lan'er was young and sent to the Graceful Cloud Pavilion for training, she had already been set up as a backup plan for Bian Weikang.
This was the first time since leaving the Exile Lands that he received such a massive amount of information.
That night he contemplated many things, as numerous as the stars twinkling in the night sky.
Suddenly, it seemed as if daylight had broken.
No, the surroundings were still dark; it was the sky above that had brightened.
Bewildered, Shi Chun looked up.
Over Wukang Mountain, a vast aurora appeared, swirling like ethereal ribbons, resembling a phantom colorful phoenix, stunningly beautiful, interwoven with the night sky.
Even more startling was the sudden tolling of the bell, "dong dong dong," resonating across the mountain peak.
The entire architectural complex of Wukang Mountain lit up more brightly, and shadows of people started bustling about everywhere.
The same was true within the Punishment Hall.
Lights rapidly increased, and the people inside flocked out, with Pang Tiansheng jumping onto the large millstone, catching sight of Shi Chun on the roof.
He shouted, "Duan You and Zou Xingbao, stay here and keep watch. The rest of you, follow me to the lake!"
Leading the charge, Pang Tiansheng and a group of people from the Punishment Hall dashed out.
Upon standing up on the roof, Shi Chun saw others from different areas likewise rushing out, but they all headed down the mountain.
"Brother Chun, what's happening?" Unable to understand, Wu Jinliang had been jolted awake and shouted toward the roof.
Shi Chun leaped down, landing beside him, and he too shook his head in confusion.
Wu Jinliang surveyed the area and called out, "Brother Duan, Brother Zou, what's happening?"
Duan You and Zou Xingbao approached, and Duan You exclaimed in surprise, "You two don't know?"
Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang exchanged puzzled glances and then shook their heads.
"Oh, right, you just came out from the Exile Lands," laughed Duan You, then pointed at the dazzling aurora above and explained.
"This is the key to refining Immobilization Talismans. Whenever the aurora appears, the entire Wukang Mountain becomes busy."
"The key to refining Immobilization Talismans?" Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were bewildered, looking up at the aurora again but could not fathom anything about it.
Shi Chun promptly inquired, "So why is everyone rushing down the mountain?"
Zou Xingbao replied, "To fetch blue bamboo. Haven't you seen it in the city? It's that blue plant. You'll see it in a moment. The trouble is, it can't be stored in a storage space. The moment it passes through storage space, its effectiveness is greatly reduced, and you can't store plants on the mountain for long or they'll spoil—so they have to be kept at the foot of the mountain."
He pointed once more at the vibrant auroras up above.
"These auroras appear unpredictably. Sometimes they're here every night, and sometimes they don't come for days or months."
Duan You added, "The duration is also unpredictable. Sometimes it lasts all night, other times it's less than an hour, so when it appears, most people start moving immediately to not miss the opportunity. Ha ha, you could say at Wukang Mountain, we’re reliant on the heavens."
These things are not exactly secrets, as they can be found out from elsewhere, so the two spoke openly.
Of course, with other people, they might not have indulged them.
But Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were different in their eyes—they were like rabid dogs, ready to bite at any moment, even when confronted by someone with higher cultivation.
Plus, they were under the same roof; there comes a time when they must sleep after all.
There was no point in keeping up pretenses, so it was better to stay friendly.
That incident had really opened their eyes to those who come from the Exile Lands; they really seemed a bit different, not quite like normal people.
At that moment, a large shadow suddenly rose from the foot of the mountain and soared above Wukang Mountain, descending towards the lake.
Their view was blocked by the courtyard wall, so Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang flew up to the roof to see more clearly.
The other two exchanged glances and followed them up.
Duan You explained, "The blue bamboo needs soaking in water before using. It's likely that a sect expert quickly fetched a batch from storage below to buy time at the peak. During this disordered state, Punishment Hall folks aren't allowed to descend the mountain—they just head to the lake to offer help."
Sure enough, once that enormous shadow dispersed upon hitting the water, a group of people started to work quickly and chaotically.
Soon enough, Pang Tiansheng was back, leading the Punishment Hall people, all carrying bundles of soaked blue bamboo—the same shrub-like plant Shi Chun had seen drying out in the city.
Some took to the roof, spreading the blue bamboo over the tiles, some spread it on the courtyard wall, others on the ground, and some even on the path outside the yard, ensuring no area was left bare.
Forced off the roof, Shi Chun and his companions couldn't obstruct others' work, so they went outside to find another place to watch.
Before long, the people who had gone down were back, carting loads of blue bamboo, racing towards the lake, dipping it in the water before dispersing across different locations to implement the Punishment Hall method.
The busy scene resembled an army getting ready for battle.
As Shi Chun observed all around, Wu Jinliang suddenly nudged his arm.
Upon their eyes meeting, understanding passed between them, and they moved slightly away from Duan You and the others to have a private conversation.
“Do you catch anything with your eyes?” Wu Jinliang whispered.
Shi Chun sighed, "You think I don’t want to see something useful? You think wanting to be anxious is enough to just magically become anxious?"
Wu Jinliang clicked his tongue, “Well, living souls can’t die from holding it in, right? Think of a way. I have an idea, do you want to try?” Saying this, he leaned in to whisper more in Shi Chun's ear, with a sly smile plastered on his face.
Realizing what Wu Jinliang suggested, Shi Chun turned to him with an ever-changing expression, suddenly recognizing that this fellow was quite the character at times.