Chapter 141: Shield of Arrows

"No passage ticket! Is there any other way to get in?" Wei Yuning asked.

"This…" The middle‑aged man's expression changed.

He brazenly asked the law enforcers about criminal techniques; that's something no one would do.

He glanced at the two soldiers by the city gate, stepped closer, and whispered, "Seeing you, young master, a talented gentleman, you must not be a bad person—one hundred coins!"

Wei Yuning had no mortal coins; he searched his storage ring, took out the only thing linked to the mortal world—the Bailian Shangmei Dragon Boat Jade Token. Lately the Dragon Boat Jade Token had been tossed into the ring, completely cut off from the outside.

The middle‑aged man's eyes lit up; the jade looked fine, with a warm luster and flawless translucence.

"Is this okay?" Wei Yuning asked.

"Fine, fine!" The middle‑aged man exclaimed happily, nodding repeatedly.

"Then I'll give it to you; I have no use for it anyway!" Wei Yuning tossed it casually, and the jade landed in the middle‑aged man's hand.

Watching Wei Yuning's long departing silhouette, the middle‑aged man showed a greedy look and said, "Yu, follow that fool from earlier and see which inn he stays at!"

One of the soldiers quickly replied, "Yes, Captain!"

Jewel City was still fairly bustling; although it had become sun‑hidden, almost all shops were open. Pedestrians streamed along the streets, and whether merchants or street shops, most had business.

Even more amazing, the street here had shadow street lamps: on a pole hung two lamp globes, neither flame lamps nor phosphorescent lamps, emitting a gentle glow in various colors; though not very bright, their sheer number lit the whole street brightly.

Wei Yuning strolled the market, and after a short while understood the mortal coin system. It still couldn't escape the three basics: gold, silver, copper, plus a type of paper money. The paper money was made of talisman paper, bearing a raised image of a misty dragon, the same cunning dragon that appears on the Dragon Boat Jade Token, the Sea Mirage Dragon.

He had planned to skillfully earn some coins, but after thinking, Wei Yuning decided not to bully mortals after all.

While wandering, Wei Yuning also spotted a few cultivators, but they were all unestablished novices. He had now reached the peak of the Heart‑Moving Stage, his Dao resonance restrained; unless someone was higher than him or had a special technique, they would treat him as an ordinary mortal.

After wandering a bit more, at a lane entrance Wei Yuning found a pharmacy. He chose it because he smelled the familiar scent of pills, the aroma of Clear Melody Pill; although its quality was clearly far below the Cloud Hidden Sect's pills, it was indeed a cultivation‑world elixir.

The shop was small, about twenty square meters, and its plaque read three characters: "Immortal Medicine Pavilion", sounding rather grand.

"Is the owner here?" Wei Yuning asked a girl behind the counter.

The girl was about eleven or twelve, with twin ponytails, big eyes, wearing a short split outfit, sitting seriously at a low table behind the counter, writing.

"My dad went out to gather herbs; what medicine do you want?" the girl asked without hesitation, looking at Wei Yuning.

"I'm not buying medicine; I'm selling medicine!" Wei Yuning couldn't help teasing the cute girl.

"Sister, come out quickly, someone's causing trouble again!" the girl said, giving Wei Yuning no respect, and called for an adult.

"Here, here, why are there so many clueless ones? Do they think this little fairy is easy to provoke? I'm really angry, I'll just throw them into the river to feed the fish!" A lively voice rang out, the back door's beaded curtain was pulled aside, and a tall young woman with clear eyes, bright teeth, skin like snow, and hair like clouds walked out.

Wei Yuning was stunned; he hadn't expected such a beautiful girl in this remote place, and more importantly, she was also a cultivator. Though her Dao resonance showed she hadn't yet established a foundation, she was only half a step away from doing so.

Who knew the girl was even more shocked; she pointed at Wei Yuning's face, then at his clothes, her lips trembling, and after a long moment she shrieked, "You're the young master Yuning of the Cloud Hidden Sect, right? I know you!"

"You are…" Wei Yuning searched his memory but couldn't recall any impression of the person before him.

"You are Qiu Hu's disciple's niece and… Ye Ying's Dao companion; I've seen your spell illusion!" the girl said gracefully.

"Qiu Hu's niece? Are you an elder of the Azure Luan Sect?" Wei Yuning was speechless; he hadn't expected this world to be like this, and this 'elder's' cultivation was absurdly low!

"From Qiu Hu's side, I am indeed your elder. It's just that my cultivation is so low it makes you laugh, right?" the girl giggled, covering her mouth.

Seeing Wei Yuning at a loss, she smiled and continued, "We're not from the same sect, and your cultivation is higher than mine, so let's consider each other peers! My master is the Golden Crow Grandmother of the Azure Luan Sect, she has two senior sisters: senior sister Yun Yan, second sister Yue Huang; I joined last, the third disciple of the master, Xing Shuang, who entered the Azure Luan Sect just last year!"

Wei Yuning nodded in understanding.

Xing Shuang, judging from the Azure Luan Sect's naming convention, the shuang bird ranks just below the great divine birds, so this Xing Shuang's spiritual root should be decent.

"Why are you here?" Wei Yuning asked curiously.

"My master said the sect made a great enemy, so we had to close the mountain gate. I don't like staying in the gate to cultivate, so I begged my master, and before the gate closed I returned here, my hometown," Xing Shuang said with a bright smile, "I never expected to meet a 'familiar' here; what a coincidence!"

"Many people have been causing trouble lately?" Wei Yuning recalled the girl's words and asked.

Xing Shuang's face flushed, she said irritably, "They're all a bunch of bored people! If my master hadn't urged me to keep my temper, I'd have thrown them into the river to feed the fish long ago. One by one, they never look in the mirror, daring to make a move on me!"

Wei Yuning instantly understood. However, he felt sympathetic; although he had seen many beauties in sects, few truly amazed him. Even Qiu Hu and Xing Shuang were only comparable, and Xing Shuang hasn't even established a foundation yet, truly…

Suddenly, something stirred in his heart. If anyone could charm and keep Xing Shuang in check, it would have to be Jun Mo.

Thinking of Jun Mo, Wei Yuning's mood dropped to the bottom, but he forced himself to speak, "Xing Shuang fellow cultivator, I'm really not here to cause trouble! Because I have no mortal coins, I want to sell some pills for money for food and lodging, and since you also sell medicine, you must know the market, so I came here to sell medicine!"

"Yuning fellow cultivator, to be honest, this shop has almost no business; even immortal medicine sells poorly, so I wouldn't buy your medicine! If you need money, I can give you some emergency funds, and if you don't mind, you can stay at my home!" Xing Shuang said with a wry smile.

Wei Yuning thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Never mind, I'll find another way!" He truly didn't believe…

Is there no thug or greedy rich man in mortal society who collects protection fees? As long as there is, he could extort, act as a chivalrous hero, and the idea thrilled him!

"Brother, you can stay at my place! Since my sister returned, every night someone calls her name outside the shop, it's so annoying! With you here, they surely won't come!" the girl said.

"Yuning fellow cultivator, the child speaks bluntly, please don't mind! However, it's already late; even if you want to earn money, you must wait until tomorrow. If you don't mind the simple home, stay here for one night!" Xing Shuang advised.

"Alright, then I will trouble you!" Since everyone was like that, Wei Yuning had no choice but to agree, though his role seemed off, as if he became some kind of shield!