“All accounted for?” Tou He asked.
“Yes,” Wu Ying said, the last dregs of adrenaline finally leaving his body. He staggered to a nearby gravestone and sat down hard, wincing at the impact and making note to provide a proper offering to the grave owner before he left.
“Tired?”
“No. Full of energy,” Wu Ying said without any heat.
“Well, the dinner you’re buying will give you back some strength.”
Wu Ying snorted, reaching into his robes to pull out a square of cloth. He laboriously cleaned his wooden sword, eyeing the still-smoldering corpses around him. After a time, he spoke up. “We should finish the sweep. And then wait until after nightfall to make sure they’re all gone.”
Once the pair had rested and bandaged their wounds, they piled the bodies on Tou He’s useful bonfire. Afterward, they continued their sweep of the graveyard, tapping against gravestones and leaving incense sticks and bundles of tied off and burning paper money[18] in front of each grave.
At one of those graves, Wu Ying stopped, staring at a particular purple flower.
Tou He paused beside him, eyeing the flower before he shrugged and looked at Wu Ying. “What is it?”
“A flower.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
“It’s winter.”
“Oh. Oh!” Tou He said, realization dawning. “Is it special?”
“I think so?” Wu Ying said. Then he looked around the graveyard before he shrugged. “We might as well take it with us. It’s not really meant to be here.”
Tou He nodded and reached for the flower, hand splayed wide to grab the stem. Wu Ying darted forward and smacked Tou He’s hand, making his friend jerk his hand away and glare at Wu Ying. “What was that for?”
“I should ask you. What were you doing?”
“Taking the flower.”
“Like that?”
“Yes?” Tou He paused. “Isn’t that how you pluck flowers?”
“No! Also, we want the plant. Otherwise, by the time we arrive, it’ll be all dried out.”
“Does it matter?”
“I don’t know. But better to have the plant alive than dead, no?” Wu Ying said.
Tou He scratched his head in amusement. “I guess you know how to do this?”
“Not exactly, but I can guess.” Plants required soil, sunlight, and water. Exactly how much care, the amount of soil, and the extent the roots could be disturbed varied. Wu Ying could at least give it a shot, using his prior experience. “Watch the area?”
“Of course.”
Bending next to the plant, Wu Ying gently prodded it with a nearby and convenient stick. Seeing that the flower did not react adversely to the stick, Wu Ying slid on a pair of gloves and took out his utility knife to dig around the plant. Unsure of how deep or extensive the root system of this plant was, Wu Ying took care to dig carefully.
Once Wu Ying had located the root system and determined that the plant mainly used a single major root with a few smaller off-shoots, he dug around the plant and uprooted the entire thing into a waiting piece of waterproof cloth. He wrapped the newly freed roots and soil in the cloth before adding some water to the plant. Having determined he had done as much as he could, Wu Ying took the plant back to their temporary camp.
“Are we done?” Tou He asked once Wu Ying had set the plant in the shade of their luggage.
“Yes,” Wu Ying said. “It should keep. Let’s keep looking.”
Together, the pair went to finish their check of the graveyard. Every time they located another plant, Wu Ying repeated his actions in transplanting the unusual flowering plant, curious to see if they would survive the journey. Perhaps they could get something more for this trip than the base contribution points.
Chapter 11
The remainder of the assignment passed without incident. Concerned that his uprooted plants would not survive long, Wu Ying elected to skip the celebration and take off for the sect directly, leaving Tou He to collect the remainder of their belongings and report on the successful completion of the mission. In the light of the morning sun, Wu Ying ran with a wide open, li-eating gait that he could keep up for hours on end. In fact, with the addition of his cultivation, Wu Ying doubted he would need to stop for more than a meal or two during the day.
Days later, Wu Ying stumbled to a stop right in front of the paifang that marked the border of the sect grounds. Elder Lu, in his thin robe, was seated in his usual place, sprawled out with his pipe and smoking away. At his cultivation level, Wu Ying was not surprised the Elder did not feel the cold.
“Elder Lu. Long Wu Ying returning from his assignment,” Wu Ying said as he offered the Elder his permission token.
“Where is the monk?” Xi Qi said as he took the token and pushed a touch of his chi into the token to acknowledge Wu Ying’s return to the sect.
“Coming after. He went to inform the village head. I wanted to bring these back first,” Wu Ying said, gesturing at the makeshift tray where the plants swayed.
“Go in then. You know that you cannot mark the assignment complete without the village elder’s token, yes?” Xi Qi said.
“Yes, Elder.” Wu Ying said, swaying on his feet.
Due to the short winter days, Wu Ying had made the choice to run through the night, using a small lantern to light the way. Since the roads leading between settlements were well maintained, running through the night was not a big concern for Wu Ying—other than potentially attracting a Demon Beast. Using his previous experience as a guide, Wu Ying had allowed his aura to leak while he ran, warning off any beast that wanted to challenge him. It was a calculated risk, since the leaked chi might attract stronger predators. But it was a risk that had paid off, with Wu Ying arriving unmolested.
“Then go.”
Wu Ying took off once more, at a slower pace, up the mountain. His destination was the pill refiner’s apothecary hall, since that was where he could sell his items. Briefly, Wu Ying considered finding Liu Tsong to verify what he carried but discarded the idea. It was unlikely he would be cheated if he sold the plants directly to the sect itself.
Unlike the line that sold products to sect members, the line for those selling herbs, fungi, and other crafting materials to the sect was nearly non-existent. When Wu Ying made his way to the desk, the bored attendant that manned the table was hiding a yawn. He sat up in surprise as Wu Ying placed the still-living plants on his desk.
“Long Wu Ying. Looking to sell to the sect,” Wu Ying announced while presenting his sect token.
“Interesting. You’re not one of Elder Li’s people, are you?” the attendant said, placing a finger in the soil of one plant before he moved to inspect the remainder of the plants. “Night Blossom. Four alive in poor condition. One in very poor condition.”
Wu Ying winced at the man’s blunt assessment of the plants. Watered or not, cared for as best he could or not, the plants had begun to wither after he had taken them out of the graveyard. It was the main reason why Wu Ying had decided to run through the nights.
“Do you want this in contribution points or taels?” the attendant asked.
“Can I get a combination?”
“Half-and-half is the maximum. Unless you want something less?”
“Half is fine,” Wu Ying said.
The attendant turned away, waving down one of the gophers, who took the plants while the attendant opened his book and jotted down the details of the sale. Once he was done, he tapped Wu Ying’s seal on his jade tablet, transferring the contribution points. Then he counted out four tael and three hundred coins before pushing it all over to Wu Ying, whose eyes widened in surprise.
“Four tael?” Wu Ying squeaked.
“Yes. And four hundred sixty contribution points.”
“That much?” Wu Ying said. The mission they had completed was worth slightly over eight hundred contribution points, but the total had to be split between the pair. On the other hand, an inner sect member was required to contribute at least two hundred contribution points a month.