In the central area of Dawning Vale's capital, tucked inside a secluded alley, Yue Rin slammed her fist into the wall and followed it with a kick, muttering under her breath.
"Humiliating me like that…" Her voice shook with the kind of anger that had nowhere to go. "You're lucky there were guards around, or I would've torn you to pieces, you bastard."
Another kick struck hard enough to make the bricks shudder. One that would've made a mortal yelp. Yue Rin just hissed and leaned her back against the wall, then slid down until she was sitting.
Even with her face hidden beneath her hood, she raised both hands and covered it anyway, as if that could erase the memory.
"I haven't suffered this kind of social death since my high school days. Ugh."
Two loud slaps sounded from beneath the hood.
"Get a grip, Yue Rin," she hissed. "You're a transmigrator destined to rise. Your future self is probably mocking you right now."
And then the scene from moments ago replayed in her mind, clear as a curse.
Her body gave up.
She dropped onto the ground and rolled once, then twice, as if she could rub the embarrassment off the stone.
"Embarrassing… embarrassing… embarrassing…!"
By the time she stopped, her cloak was dusty and her pride was worse.
Yue Rin finally hauled herself back to her feet, brushed at her cloak, and pulled the hood lower.
"Better to think it never happened." She nodded to herself, slow and serious. "Yes. It didn't happen at all."
Her mouth tightened.
"It was a dream. An embarrassing dream."
After hypnotizing herself for a few more breaths, she turned and headed toward her original destination.
The Central Library.
* * * *
The moment Yue Rin stepped inside, the noise of the streets faded, as if an invisible barrier had been placed between the world outside and the quiet within.
The interior was spacious. A reception desk sat at the front, and shelves upon shelves stretched across the first floor. Large signs marked each section clearly. Literature. History. Medicine. Geography. Tables and seats were placed between shelves for readers who wanted to linger.
Yue Rin hadn't come to admire the mortal floor.
She headed straight for the reception desk.
"Hello," she said, setting a spirit stone down. "I'd like access to the cultivation floor."
The receptionist didn't look up for long. "Your name?"
"Yue Rin."
"Wait a moment."
The woman took the spirit stone and closed her eyes, holding it as if confirming something through it. Then she slid it into a drawer, pulled a lacquered card from another, wrote Yue Rin's name, stamped it, and handed it over.
"Head left and continue until you see two guards in front of a staircase. Give them this card."
Then, as if she'd said it a thousand times, her tone flattened into routine.
"You may borrow mortal books, but not cultivation ones. Any damage will be traced back to you. Be careful."
"Understood. Thank you."
Yue Rin stepped away and examined the card while she walked.
It was palm-sized, lacquer-red, with a thin silver border. The stamp at the corner was crisp, shaped like a pine leaf. The surface carried the faint, clean scent of ink and polished wood.
The last time she'd been here, maybe a year ago, they'd used tokens instead. Cards were probably just more convenient.
|| Yue Rin || || Cultivation Floor Access Card || || [LEAF STAMP] ||
After weaving through shelves, tables, and readers, she reached the staircase entrance. Two guards stood there, perfectly still, like they were part of the building.
She handed one of them her card.
The guard gave a slight nod and sent a thin thread of Qi into it. The lacquer warmed for a heartbeat. The pine leaf stamp glowed faintly, then faded. When he returned it, an extra mark had appeared.
|| Yue Rin || || Cultivation Floor Access Card || || [LEAF STAMP] || || [Used] ||
"Enjoy your stay."
Yue Rin climbed the stairs.
The cultivation floor was quieter than the first. The mortal floor was quiet too, but there were always small sounds. Pages turning. Soft footsteps. A whisper, quickly swallowed. Up here, even those felt muted, as if the air itself didn't want to be disturbed.
She didn't wander.
She already knew what she was looking for.
Spirit herbs.
The last time she'd come, she'd gone straight to the pills section. After finding information on the foundation-strengthening pill, she'd stopped. Mostly because her head had been pounding from reading, and she'd started feeling like she was back on Earth cramming for exams.
Right after the stairs was a large sign with a simple map of the floor and basic rules. Yue Rin walked up and scanned it.
"Spirit herbs…" she murmured, tracing along the layout with her finger. "Found it."
It was near the spirit beasts section, along the inner right side of the floor.
When she arrived, the shelves and tables looked similar to those downstairs, but there were noticeably fewer books. Less didn't mean easy, though. Cultivation texts had a way of turning one question into a hundred.
Yue Rin scanned titles one by one.
Spirit Herb Pouches and Sample Boxes: A Practical Handbook. No.
Common Spirit Herbs and Their Minor Uses. No.
Simple Poultices for Cuts, Bruises, and Qi-Scars. …She hated pain.
Spirit Herbs That Nourish the Foundation: A Beginner's Register. That.
She pulled the slightly heavy book from the shelf, found an empty table, and sat down.
Then she began to read.
And time flowed.
* * * *
"Ngh~"
When Yue Rin finally closed the book, she stretched her stiff limbs, then dropped her forehead onto the table for a moment.
Her eyes felt heavy, as if someone had stuffed them with sand.
"I don't even know how long I have been reading…"
She lifted her head and looked around.
Besides the steady burn of the flame lamps mounted to the pillars and her own breathing, she couldn't hear anything. No pages turning. No footsteps.
"It might be night already." Yue Rin exhaled slowly. "I should head back to the inn."
The book had listed several herbs that could help with foundation stability and strengthening, but most of them were rare. Many grew outside the kingdom walls, deep in forests.
But those places had long been picked clean. With Verdant Pine Sect disciples frequently traveling down the mountain to train, the surrounding areas were cleared of dangerous spirit beasts. That meant low-level cultivators, and even bold mortals, could sweep through and strip anything valuable.
Still… one entry had made Yue Rin's breath catch.
The Foundation-Settling Orchid.
She'd seen it before.
And she already knew where.
The soon-to-open Verdant Pine Secret Realm.
And yes, it was guarded by a powerful spirit beast.
Now she had two options.
One: keep doing missions, save spirit stones, and scour auctions for the foundation-strengthening pill for who knew how long.
Two: be brave, enter the secret realm, and collect the orchid herself.
"Ugh… what to choose, what to choose?"
Indecisive was an ugly word, but it fit.
Cultivators loved saying fortune favored the bold, that hardships should be faced head-on, and all the rest. But Yue Rin truly didn't want to go in. It was stressful sleeping with one eye open, keeping her guard up every moment, knowing a random strike from nowhere could pierce her heart or take her head before she even had a chance to crush her token.
"…You know what. Leave it to fate."
Tomorrow she would go to the Rogue Alliance Pavilion. If there was a spot left for the secret realm, she'd buy it and start forming a plan. If not, she'd stick with option one.
Why not buy directly from the sect?
Because if she went to them, they'd just tell her there were no spots left anyway.
"Alright. Since that's settled, it's time to go home."
Yue Rin stood, returned the book to its shelf, and headed downstairs. Near the exit, she noticed a basket set beside one of the guards, filled with access cards. Most were white, likely for the mortal floor.
She tossed her own card in as well and stepped outside.
"It really did turn into night."
The moon was high, hanging near the middle of the sky.
It was probably close to midnight. Too bad this world didn't have clocks.
The tavern would be closed by now, and the inn's restaurant too.
"Ugh… guess I'll go hungry."
Walking through stone streets at night always gave her a peculiar feeling, especially with guards in iron armor patrolling nearby. Their lantern light swept across wood and brick like slow waves.
After a short walk, Yue Rin reached the inn.
When she pushed the door open, complete darkness greeted her. Not a soul in sight.
So she headed upstairs, returned to her room, and closed the door behind her.
She set her sword aside, opened the small cabinet, and removed her cloak and chest binder, storing them away. After using Cleansing Flow, she slipped under the covers.
"Yawn… I should take a shower tomorrow. Cleansing Flow is convenient, but it just isn't the same."
Her eyelids began to sink.
Then a thought snapped her awake.
"…Wait!"
Yue Rin sat up, climbed out of bed, and closed the curtains.
Only then did she slip back under the covers, satisfied.
"Good night…"
A few breaths later, sleep finally took her.