The Endless Promise

13. Beneath The Pine

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Tea and snacks were served after they settled in a garden pagoda.

Zhang Furen and Xu Furen went off to discuss, leaving Xu Weiyan with Lord Zhang and Lord Xu.

Lord Zhang and Lord Xu started off with small talk, and Lord Zhang asked Weiyan how she was, commending her accomplishments again.

Tea was served with flower cakes, as the two men lightly discussed the daily happenings of Yue City, and Weiyan busied herself by admiring the garden.

But soon the discussion moved to a more serious topic, which made Lord Zhang's brows draw together.

"I hear the disciples went after ten ghosts this month alone?" Lord Zhang began. "What could be causing this?"

Weiyan's ears twitched. Having just returned, she had not completely caught wind of the Sect's problems.

"Hmmmm." Lord Xu sounded tired. "The ghosts aren't really the problem. Sometimes, all we must do is help them solve their grievances... But in addition to the ghosts, there are too many evil spirits!

"We've faced sixteen this month alone, and five were so powerful that I and the elders personally stepped in."

"What?!" Lord Zhang dropped his own cup. "Those are at least level nine spirits!"

Sect Missions were ranked from One to Twelve based on severity, and these levels applied to beasts and evil spirits as well. Anything above Level Nine wasn't placed on the Sect's mission board, as it was too powerful for anyone below Elder Rank, and anything above Level Twelve wasn't even ranked, as it was too powerful for anyone in the sect.

"We've been keeping the evil spirits a secret, so there won't be mass panic, especially in the cities. The City Heads personally send word once there's an evil spirit at play."

The Yueyan Sect owned the entire Yueyan Mountain, which was a large sprawling mass, though smaller when compared to Huo and Yun Mountain, the two largest in Baishan.

Yueyan Mountain was rich in flora and fauna, with two large waterfalls and one major river, called the Yan River, which flowed throughout the mountain.

All these prime conditions had attracted settlers through centuries...

On the mountain itself were seven cities and six small settlements at different altitudes, but at the mountain's base were over twenty cities, and they were all indirectly governed by the Yueyan Sect.

These Cities were populated by regular humans who didn't cultivate, so the Sect left them to City Heads or County Heads and this sometimes led to rebellion, as younger generations might be tempted to 'forget' who the actual rulers were...

But with a beating or two, they were usually put back in line.

If the city leaders didn't do well, the people could also write petitions to the Sect, and the Sect Elder in charge of the external cities would descend and investigate, replacing the leaders if need be.

But most importantly, these cities depended on the Sect for protection.

Since residents were regular humans with no cultivation, they sent in requests to the Sect. These requests could range from catching criminals that elude the magistrate, or escorting a wealthy man, or goods, or delivering precious items, breaking feuds, creating talismans, casting protective spells or formations, expelling ghosts, and the like.

Once a request came in, payments were made to the Sect based on the danger level, and then a mission was created and ranked on the Sect's mission board.