Chapter 22: The Garden of the Jade Healing Sect

Chapter 22: The Garden of the Jade Healing Sect

He had grown used to Li Xinyue's willingness to answer questions, to the point where he had, for some reason, expected that would be the same with the Lan siblings.

Instead, William hadn’t seen them since they had dropped him off at this ‘Garden.’ Which was a description that definitely should never apply to something this vast. A garden should be something that could fit on a small patch of land, not this ridiculous farm that he couldn’t see the end of whichever way he looked.

One of the few things that the Lan siblings did tell William was the shocking number of workers needed for the daily upkeep. With over ten thousand mortals and low-level cultivators toiling away daily, it was obvious that Huang Jingyi didn’t intend for William to make any true contributions. He was here purely for the experience of working with spirit plants.

... And maybe it might have had to do with making sure he felt indebted to Huang Jingyi so he kept visiting the clinic.

Both reasons were even more likely with the pass he had received when the Lan siblings left him. It let him wander around most parts of the Garden without restrictions. In fact, that had been precisely what he had been doing the past week.

That, and trying to do his damned best to activate another quest.

This place might be a perfect way for William to make practical use of the books he had been reading continuously since he arrived, but he was also in an apparent dead zone for experience points. No matter what he did or who he talked to, a side quest wasn’t activated.

William contemplated giving up and accepting that this month may only be helpful for the future. It was a better mindset than thinking of it as stagnation. In the time he spent on the farm masquerading as a garden, he would have completed the side quest to visit Jade Healing Clinic, netting him a crucial hundred and fifty experience points.

Enough to get him to the next level without considering any bonuses. Even worse was that he would miss out on three more weeks, which made his heart burn in regret.

“Master Wei, where would you like to go today?”

Another downside to the place was the people working there.

[Name: Shao Jun | Level: 99]

“Just go wherever you need to, Shao Jun. I’ll follow behind like usual.”

William did his best to keep any sign of pity off his expression as he answered Shao Jun. Still, from the slight stiffening of the old man’s lips, he probably hadn’t succeeded. Shao Jun was a typical cultivator that called the Garden home. One that had exhausted all their potential.

“Then shall we head for the Fire Plums today?” Shao Jun clasped his arms behind his back while waiting for William’s answer.

“That’s fine,” William nodded in agreement. He couldn’t help but frown when Shao Jun summoned the workers assigned to him for the stay. Over a dozen well-built men carried a palanquin over and set it down. He wished it wasn’t necessary, but his Stamina was still pathetic since he wasn’t allowed to eat any spirit plants.

When William said that the people who worked here were a negative about the place, he didn’t mean that the people themselves were terrible. Instead, it was the situation around their ‘employment.’

“Senior Lan?” William asked with barely hidden hope. Maybe she would be the one that would let him activate a quest, and if not, he could try to convince her to let him do something more to get a better use out of this trip.

“You’re coming with me,” Lan Yin commanded as she flicked her hand to pick William up without getting out of her spirit boat.

Daoist Chen and Huang Jingyi had done something similar, except when Lan Yin decided to follow in their steps, William felt like he was surrounded by a pocket of dense air. He assumed that it was because of Lan Yin’s presumably lower cultivation.

“Don’t move,” Lan Yin said before the spirit boat moved forward with alarming speed.

William couldn’t actually feel the movement, but he could see the blur of the surroundings since the boat had no cover to block his vision. It wasn’t a fun experience with the confusion to his senses.

“Elder Huang instructed that you are allowed to enter the forbidden areas as long as you diligently self-study for the first week.”

William forced himself to ignore the blurred surroundings and, luckily, had a helpful target. Lan Yin’s exceptionally beautiful face was a convenient distraction, and he had the excuse of listening to her talk to do so.

“Where are we going, Senior Lan?”

As soon as William finished his sentence, the spirit boat abruptly halted, and he found himself in a vastly different area compared to where he had just been. Instead of endless, well-kept farmland, the surroundings appeared to be overgrown and untamed, resembling a wildland.

“Unlike where you were, the Sect doesn’t depend on this part of the Garden for its harvest. Shao Jun told me you asked for more, so here is your chance.”

William yelped when he was unceremoniously pulled off the spirit boat and dropped onto the ground.

“You’re welcome to feast on whatever catches your fancy,” Lin Yi added when William looked up at her, “I’ll come back in three weeks. Make sure to live until then.”

The spirit boat began to move and swiftly vanished into the distance before William could say anything.

Frowning, William carefully surveyed his surroundings, pondering why Lan Yin had hinted at potential danger to his life. He believed there was nothing within the Garden that could pose a threat to him, considering the large number of mortals living here.

Despite a possible risk to his life, William's greed began to stir within him. After a week of being unproductive regarding his stats, a golden opportunity had presented itself.

William tried his best to dismiss the strange expressions on Shao Jun's face and the workers carrying the palanquin just before he was taken away. He didn’t know why they seemed so concerned, but he couldn’t do much about it anyway.

All he could focus on was taking advantage of this chance to buff his stats.