Bei Zangli was a small city. Most residents spent the day traveling over to Jinan in order to sell wares procured through their day to day. At the largest number, there might have been about 30 people living here, but half of them were gone at any given time. The type of work one did here depended on the type of life you sought. Farming for their own consumption, and occasionally selling it to their neighbors or just sharing it in turn for favors, was the normal expectation of Bei Zangli. It was the type of small town where the citizens would simply live their life, and then die. Which is why there was a grave site just out of the livable areas.

Fu Ran remembered the city a little bit from the last time he visited. He had followed behind his Shizun like a lost puppy back then, so he never strayed far enough to run into much troubles.

The people in Bei Zangli were nearly all elderly, and weren’t used to big groups. Even cultivators weren’t liked here, and rarely stopped unless they were going directly to The Faceless City: Jinan.

In fewer words: This city was a ghost town!

Fu Ran had instructed his children to behave as the five person group settled into a small cafe. The windows were open and small wind chimes rang out with a gentle breeze. Red lanterns decorated his view in the window, and they matched perfectly with the view of the red maple forest.

The cafe rustled with the movement of only a single older owner. As there were no other customers to bother, Fu Ran didn’t chastise the children for talking loudly.

“Can we get some sweets?” Lin An looked over to Wan Yu and Meng Xiao, she rocked back and forth in the cute flower-carved chair.

Meng Xiao nagged Lin An immediately, “And do you have money?” A pout had formed on Meng Xiao’s face, and he looked disheartened.

Fu Ran was fairly amused watching the bickering when it didn’t involve talks of incapability. Eventually the owner came over and set down papers in front of the group, he was beyond polite.

“Now, what brings cultivators from a big sect to Bei Zangli?” The man scratched the beard on his chin and grinned. He chortled lightly upon taking notice of the markings of An Xian Yun Peak all over their bodies. It was most evident on the disciples, as they wore had painted pictures of clouds and a moon on their belt, but Fu Ran wore details of it as well. His white inner robes were laced with faint detailing of clouds, and he wore a silver hairpin with the main symbol of a tree. They made no efforts to hide their appearance here, and thus it was seen by the locals with ease.

“Oh, um, you can tell with just a glance? Do you see cultivators often?” Fu Ran asked, holding pleasant conversation and trying to hide the fact that he hadn’t spoken to another human with any frequency in years.

The owner smiled, but his eyes tried to avoid looking directly at Fu Ran. “Oh, we certainly see them often! Though usually they are just coming through.”

“To Jinan?”

“As always! Anyways. What’ll you have to drink?” he asked, letting his right hand ruffle the hair against his neck. He had already set out cups on the thin sheets of paper he placed earlier. The teacups were quite nice and felt smooth and high quality under Fu Ran’s touch.

“How about… a local choice?”

“Maple it is then,” the owner promptly disappeared behind the partition that separated the kitchen from the sitting area.

Lin An’s face still looked sullen when Meng Xiao denied her sweets, and she seemed lost looking out the window instead. Fu Ran cleared his throat before letting his voice fall out playfully. “How about, after our first mission is completed, I buy us some celebratory sweets before we go back home? This Shizun can spare that much, and I like them, too.” Lin An giggled in delight, though Meng Xiao looked at her incredulously.

“Spoiling them already?” Tian Han chuckled softly. Fu Ran stiffened. The children could laugh all day and cause no problems, but when the tyrant laughed, it cracked his facade exterior enough for worry to slip in.

He picked up the tea cup like he was trying to hide his expression with a sip, but Fu Ran was sourly reminded that the drinks had not yet been made, so he lowered it with a clack. “Children are meant to be spoiled, regardless of what any other Peak Master has told you.”

“I agree,” Tian Han said bluntly, but not letting his kind face slip.

The owner returned with tea, and while pouring it there was a gentle smoky scent, but it still came off as sweet as well. “Thank you, owner.”

“Owner!” Tian Han piped up, shocking a few people at the table. Fu Ran had never heard Tian Han put on a more excitable air about him, but he seemed to do so with such ease. “Is there anywhere a big group of cultivators can stay for a night?”

The owner did not dismiss the request and instead thought seriously. “Hmm… Bei Zangli is quite small, so we don’t have any inns. Perhaps you could work for food and bed for the night. However I don’t know many who could take on five!”

“I see. That is troublesome…” Tian Han said, feigning disappointment. Playing the childish spirit, his lips slipped into a small grin, and his leaned forward towards the older man. “We really wanted to see the strange rumored sights.”

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The old man went rigid. “Strange sights? Well this is a small town, and if there was anything you wished to see, you would be best off heading to Jinan.” Fu Ran noticed his hands shaking on the pitcher of hot tea, but he kept the smile above that beard bright and unmoving.

His acting was good to not have his voice change or shift in nervousness, but it was clear that he grew uncomfortable.

“Or maybe a shrine we can stay at for the night? There’s one in the woods, right?” Tian Han brought his gaze to Fu Ran next before he continued, “Maybe we can find it if we look hard enough.”

Spoken more like a traveling country boy to me, Fu Ran thought.

The owners words were a little messier now, and he explained, “The shrine really isn't suited for guests, you see… No one in the village goes to check in on it anymore. It’s probably halfway falling in on itself.” When he set down the pitcher of tea, it was done so unintentionally rough. The clanging of ceramic onto dark hard wood was clearly louder than the owner had thought it would be. He wore shock for only a moment before he let his features twist into annoyance. “Cultivators or not, you best avoid dangerous areas and not make trouble in Bei Zangli.” He wiped up some of the spillage before hastily disappearing behind the screen.

“That is indeed quite the attitude,” Fu Ran muttered. Fu Ran brought the tea up to his lips and grinned. He spared a glance at his disciples for picking one of the three at random. “Meng Xiao, did you learn anything from that conversation?” The boy stiffened in surprise, like he wanted to spit out his tea. He clearly wasn’t paying attention at all. However the next words he spoke made Fu Ran feel a twinge of pride.

“It’s suspicious, like obviously so.” Once he spoke, Lin An nodded and copied him by saying “suspicious!” Tian Han waved his hand and told her to keep it just a little more quiet.

“That’s good. That means there is something to uncover then. If you have a sneaking suspicion that something is wrong, you should investigate it.” The three children hung onto their Shizun’s words.

This is exactly how his own Shizun taught. Why teach skill if you refuse to teach how to use their minds? The children of An Xian Yun Peak need to know what to do with the talent they cultivate. At the very least, they need to learn to make their own decisions. Only doing what you are told without questioning the moral correctness, or the repercussions… leads the Sect back to how it was over a decade ago.

Fu Ran paid the old owner for his time and drinks, doing his best to ignore the new sour mood on the man’s face. Seemingly like he was waiting for them to leave quicker, as soon as they left, a sign was put up on the front door. It read, “Closed.”

“He was in a rush,” Tian Han said.

Fu Ran gave him a questioning look, “Do you think bombarding him with questions like that was the right move?”

“We immediately confirmed what was written in your mission report, so I think so. And only at the cost of upsetting a single citizen.” Tian Han had a point, so Fu Ran nodded and dropped the topic.

“Shizun!” Lin An tugged on her teacher's arm. “Are we gonna go look for the shrine now?”

“Patience. We already know the location of the shrine. It’s…” Fu Ran lifted his sleeved hand and held his arm up to the tree line. There was a tall mountain about six times as high as the single ground level buildings on top of Bei Zangli. Even though the day was only about half over, lights could be seen atop the mountain. The skies in that direction had started to darken near the horizon, causing the city light to be bright and dazzling. Along with the lights, the red maple trees below made it look like the mountain was on fire in the sunset colors. Its presence swallowed that of the small city of farmers. Fu Ran’s hand fell to the line of trees that separated the two cities.

“It’s in between Bei Zangli, and Jinan.” Specifically he pointed out the path. It could be easily found when they wanted to find it. So for now, the location wasn't their main objective. For now it was a different task that he had come up with specifically to give his disciples a new lesson. Time to work on social skills! Only Lin An has the slightest ability in this category!

With a soft clap of his hand, Fu Ran caught the attention of his disciples. “For now we will be doing individual research! I want you to gather information in town, and when we all meet back up, we can talk further about what we learned.”

“But what do we ask?” Meng Xiao asked in a panic. Fu Ran knew he would be the one to take to this task the hardest.

“Anything that can help you uncover what's going on,” Fu Ran explained.

“But-! Talking with old people won't help us with anything!”

Gods, he sounds just like a little Shesui Lang when he says things like that.

“Nonsense. You simply don’t want to talk to these people because you don’t know how. Strength comes in many forms, and the art of conversation is a very important strength to have. In this aspect… Lin An has more strength.” Meng Xiao suddenly had a light of flame in his eyes and he bared his teeth in shocked rage. It seemed that those particular chosen words struck a cord within him. Shaking, he slid a leer towards Lin An.

“Do you mean it, Shizun?” Lin An asked in disbelief.

“Yes. This Shizun can tell that one of Lin An’s talents is getting along with people and helping others.” Fu Ran didn’t mind praising his students. He enjoyed seeing them happy.

Zhi Lao said all of his disciples were spoiled rotten when he took them under his wing three years ago. I bet I wouldn't even recognize some of them if I saw them today. He was a bit forlorn, and had a deep set guilt of wishing he had done more to be a better Shizun for those kids. He knew this without even having to dig deep into his own heart. However, Zhi Lao was a fantastic Shizun to have, as well. It could be considered “not fair” to force them to swap teachers, but it would be even more unfair to have them stay with a teacher incapable of training them.

The evening grew nearer and Fu Ran didn’t want to waste more precious daylight. Therefore, he walked them all to the edge of the village before giving them one last order of, “Go!” Fu Ran happily started to walk off towards the red woods, leaving his children whining in response.

“Going to leave them all alone?”

Fu Ran smiled at his ‘visitor’. “I have something I would like to look into anyways.” Tian Han wore a complex face, but he didn’t seem worried sick.

“Wait Shizun!” He listened to Meng Xiao call out to him but didn’t stop his pace. “Where are we going to meet up? And when?”

Fu Ran’s eyes squinted in thought. “We will meet up at the shrine come midnight. I’m sure you three will be able to locate it easily if you work together.” Fu Ran’s eyes closed and he caught himself chuckling. He felt a little cruel, but sometimes it was fun to play the bully Shizun. He waved them goodbye.