Arriving At Ji

Xiuying's eyes sparkled vividly as she dragged her two friends through the marketplace.

The aroma of various foods and spices filled the entire area. Vendors were on every corner advertising their products, and customers crowded around each stall, some browsing and some purchasing.

Everywhere the trio had gone, it was crowded, noisy, and most of all lively. Of course, this was to be expected as this was one of the largest and busiest markets on the planet of Ji.

Exotic livestock, silk, jewelry, furniture, and many others, almost nothing was absent from the market.

"You two, hurry up. You guys have got to try this." Xiuying urged as she quickly got in line.

Squeezing themselves through the bustling crowd, both Gao Liang and Zhongming quickly got in line, both of them curious as to what Xiuying was so excited about.

The smell certainly was pleasant; it carried a hint of star anise, cinnamon, and cardamon. The food stall was small and rustic yet had a multitude of people lining up. Whatever it was, it must have been good.

"So, what is the name of this food that you are so excited to share with us?" Zhongming asked.

"Ah, it's called Roujiamo. It was a childhood favorite of mine back home," The girl recalled almost dreamily.

"You see that?" Xiuying pointed at a large clay oven, "that's where they bake the special flatbread. It's called 'mo'."

Sure enough, the workers at the stall were taking out palm-sized disks of bread, they kind of reminded Zhongming of English muffins.

"And over there," she pointed at a large pot this time, "that's where they cook the meat, braised for hours on end; the meat is tender, juicy, and full of flavor."

Zhongming could practically hear her salivating as she spoke those words. Then, looking over to where Xiuying had drawn his attention, he could indeed see the people in the stall scooping out large pieces of braised meat.

The workers were fast and experienced. You could see it in how they moved, from the way they quickly diced the large pieces of braised meat to how they shaped and formed the dough for the 'mo' bread.

Actually, Nascent Soul cultivators and above did not require food to survive. Being conceptual beings, their physical avatars did not have the limitations of the human body.

Of the three, only Zhongming required any subsistence to survive. However, although high-level cultivators did not need food, many still ate regularly.

Much of it was due to habit and a physiological need for food, similar to how regular humans would have an urge to snack even when they are not hungry.

Some cultivators, however, took it much too far. Due to the body being a mere physical representation, all high-level cultivators could manipulate their physical appearances, which is why most Nascent Soul and above cultivators tended to be extremely attractive.

Due to this fact, some cultivators would spend their days stuffing themselves, indulging perpetually in revolting gluttony, needing to worry about neither beauty nor health.

Such a callous waste of food in an era where the common man could still starve to death was absolutely unacceptable to the Mo sect.

This was why there was a sect rule regarding the amount of unnecessary consumption that one could consume. In fact, many of the elder members of the Mo Sect, including Mo Li, willingly indulge in neither food nor drink.

Ideally, cultivators who had transcended their physical needs would not consume anything. However, even if the physical needs were gone, the physiological needs remained. It was a bit too cruel to prohibit one of the few pleasures in life, and thus as long as you weren't eating an egregious amount, it was allowed.

"Excuse me, fellow cultivators," A meek, gentle voice caught the attention of the three Mo Sect members, "May I be so bold as to inquire about which sect you three belong to?"

Turning around, Zhongming observed the questioner; she was young, likely somewhere around his age was his first impression. She also looked like she led a relatively sedentary lifestyle; her skin was pale like alabaster, her frame was petite, and her hands lacked any calluses at all.

She was also very well dressed, silk, jade, and gold aside. The embroidery on her dress was complex yet measured, definitely the work of an expert craftsman. She was likely the daughter of someone important.

However, as Zhongming continued to probe, he realized that she was likely a Nascent Soul cultivator. Unfortunately, that made a good portion of his assessment meaningless as it would be folly to try and ascertain information about her based on mere appearances.

Her speech and mannerisms, however, could give some relevant information. Some of the vocabularies that she used were limited to the more educated scholarly families and nobles, yet not all of the words that she used were sophisticated.

Possibly, she was from a commoner family and had aspired to become more like the upper-class members of society by imitating their speech and dress. Or perhaps, she also could have been from a scholarly or noble family and has wished to emulate the common folk.

The way she stood and held herself lent much credence to the latter theory. There were certain etiquettes and postures that women of noble birth were rigidly instilled with since young. Such habits were much harder to change and mask than mere vocabulary. If Zhongming had not been mistaken it was very possible that she was someone of noble birth.

It may potentially become problematic if they had revealed the truth, in the State of Ming, the Mo Sect had been held in great esteem. Because of this, there was no shortage of influential people who had wished to pull the Mo Sect to their side.

Although they had come for the Great Hunt and would no doubt run into quite a few influential people, one less person knowing was one less potential headache.

"We-" Zhongming began only to be swiftly cut off by Gao Liang.

"We are from the Mo Sect."