"Greetings, Great Senior Sister!"
The moment Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast stepped through the gates of White Cloud Temple, they were faced with two gatekeeping disciples, both bowed at ninety degrees as they greeted them very respectfully.
Shen Jingbin was given a huge fright.
"Ah, greetings."
These two gatekeeping disciples didnât have the high IQs of Song Yuqing or Poison Toad, so they didnât converse any further with her after she acknowledged their greetings, and returned to their task of wholeheartedly guarding the sectâs entrance.
Quiet And Steadfast sighed and said, "Disciples from your sect are so respectful."
Thinking about it, Quiet And Steadfast was the Lead Disciple of the Lich Palace, but when they were there, the gatekeeping disciples hadnât greeted them in the same way.
Eh, no. She hadnât even seen any gatekeeping disciples. In fact, she didnât even know whether it was because they didnât have any, or if it was due to them concealing themselves.
Shen Jingbin led Quiet And Steadfast along the familiar path as they made a beeline for Song Yuqingâs house.
The last two times she was here, players within the sect stayed far away from her. However, strangely, this time around, not only did they not avoid her, they even formed a circled around her. The more courageous ones even ran up to her and tried to strike up a conversation.
It was the same scene whenever she went to school.
Feeling suspicious, she gave her face a little rub.
Thatâs not right, itâs still the same horrifying face.
Did they hit their heads or something?
"Great Senior Sister! Do you need help with anything? Iâm ranked 13th amongst all the Daoists on the Leaderboards! Just let me know if you need any help!" Said another player as he ran up to her and offered his services with a smile on his face.
"No need. I donât need any help for now," Shen Jingbin replied as she waved him off.
While saying so, she dragged Quiet And Steadfast off and opened up her stride.
Unwilling to relent, the player behind her continued to shout, "No need to stand on ceremony with me Great Senior Sister, just let me know if you need any help!"
After he spoke, the rest of the players surrounding them started cry out as well, "Thatâs right! Donât stand on ceremony Great Senior Sister! Let me know if you need any help! My name is..."
"Great Senior Sister, muack muack! Be sure to call me along if youâre gonna be doing anything big! My name is XXX!"
The endless waves of shouting caused Shen Jingbinâs face to pale, as she worried that the crowd of players might just pounce at her in their fervor.
Seeing her reaction, a smile flashed across Quiet And Steadfastâs face. He flipped his hand so that it was on top of Shen Jingbinâs and pulled her along.
Shen Jingbin was startled by him. Bro! Where are you running of to? Do you even know the way?!
However, reality proved that Quiet And Steadfast had pretty good luck too. They were able to arrive at Song Yuqingâs residence even with Quiet And Steadfast randomly leading the way.
Was it pure dumb luck?
"Alright, alright. We donât need to run about any longer, weâre here."
Most players wouldnât dare to barge into Song Yuqingâs residence because they were worried about lowering his Goodwill towards them. When it came to NPCs within the game, having their Goodwill was extremely important, especially when it came to BOSS-like NPCs such as Song Yuqing.
Quiet And Steadfast loosened his grip on her hand and said, "Sorry, you looked uncomfortable being surrounded like that, so I pulled you away."
Shen Jingbin wasnât concerned with these small details. "Itâs alright. Letâs enter."
Shen Jingbinâs complete lack of modesty was difficult for Quiet And Steadfast to bear!
Girl, Iâll start to doubt myself if you donât even blush a little from this!
"Youâve come."
After the two of them had entered his residence, Song Yuqing stepped out from behind a screen.
He sized up Quiet And Steadfast before he said, "Are you a disciple of the Lich Palace?"
Quiet And Steadfast gave a bow and replied, "Yes, I am."
Song Yuqing stroked his beard as he sighed and said, "We of the White Cloud Temple have wronged your sect in the past. Send my apologies to your Sect Leader if you happen to see him in the future."
"Will do."
Shen Jingbin suddenly realised that relationships between NPCs were really complicated.
Song Yuqingâs gaze fell on Shen Jingbin. "Have you accomplished the task Iâve given you?"
"Mm!" Shen Jingbin grunted in assent as she nodded her head.
Just after she finished speaking, the system notification rang out.
"Congratulations on completing the quest âInvestigating The Demonic Sectâ. Quest reward: Shinra Sect teleportation scroll (1), 20,000 Experience, 10 taels of silver, 20 Chivalric Prestige Points."
"I know you met Shentu and Yulü in Hell. They gave you quite a far bit of information on top of asking you to help them with something, right?"
"Were NPCs telepathic as well?!" Shen Jingbin thought to herself in astonishment.
"Thatâs right, they asked me to search for the Four Divine Beasts."
"The Four Divine Beasts..." Song Yuqin muttered to himself. "So it was like that... My disciple, the appearance of the Shinra Sect this time around was preordained. The road you walk is long and arduous, but fret not and fight to your fullest, for you have the backing of the entire White Cloud Temple and I. If you require further assistance, come to me and I shall make it so."
Shen Jingbin was so moved by his speech that her eyes were brimming with tears. "How cool! I canât get over how cool he became all of a sudden!"
"Alright! Thank you, Master!"
At this moment, Quiet And Steadfast suddenly spoke out, "Sect Leader Song, I have something I want to ask you about."
"Ask away," Song Yuqing said as he turned to Quiet And Steadfast.
"Do you know about the matter regarding the Four Divine Beasts? If I remember correctly, White Cloud Temple has a spell called the Blazing Flame Arts. The fireball that this spell produces is the same kind as the Vermillion Bird. Does White Cloud Temple have any connection with the Vermillion Bird?"
Blazing Flame Arts was a skill that could only be used by high leveled Daoists. The skill book itself required players to exchange large amounts of sect Prestige Points to exchange for it. Blazing Flame Arts boasted impressive destructive prowess. To top it off, it was also able to inflict fear and root enemies, making it a must-have skill for all Daoists.
Big Buddhist Nun and Little Monk were both Daoists too. Back when the married couple was still accumulating Prestige Points for the skill book exchange, they dragged all of the members of Jade Sea Pavilion along in their quest for points. This was something Quiet And Steadfast remembered very vividly.
Song Yuqing gave Quiet And Steadfast a look of admiration. "I didnât expect you to have such a profound understanding of White Cloud Temple. Look at you Nutjob, you canât even match up to another Lead Discipleâs understanding of your own sect."
Shen Jingbin felt wronged after having been singled out like that, "Master, Iâm still young. I donât know anything about the world of adults," In the next instant, she shot back when the realization that her Master had kept knowledge of the Four Divine Beasts from her hit home, "Master, you know about the Four Divine Beasts? Why didnât you say anything?!"
Song Yuqing gave a tsundere-like snort. "This was your Masterâs test for you. Whatever the case may be, youâre still the Lead Disciple of White Cloud Temple. You should have taken the initiative to learn about matters pertaining to our sect on your own."
"... You forgot, didnât you," Shen Jingbinâs courage suddenly swelled as she spoke out.
Song Yuqing glared at her. "Donât speak nonsense! How could I have forgotten!"
After becoming a Lead Disciple, Shen Jingbin wasnât the least bit afraid of Song Yuqing. "You clearly forgot, and yet youâre still trying to lie through your teeth."
"... Wicked disciple!"