Su Jing tried to keep her cool. There was no need to panic since no accusations were directed at her. This man only emphasised that, and not to her, but to Ya Wen.
At most, probably the cultivators were still investigating and they wouldn't even consider the possibility of a mortal to be one of the perpetrators.
Thinking that, she adjusted her breath, looking towards Ya Wen. Yeah, if he wanted to use this array, didn't that mean he wanted to go to the mortal realm? This was the most advantageous destination for this city.
Then, his whole journey was now busted because of her.
No wonder he was surprised to see her, a mortal, freshly out in the immortal realm. He probably thought that the array had repaired itself, allowing Su Jing to come - and thus making him able to continue on his journey.
In the original story, the ancient array malfunctioning wasn't mentioned at all since Feng Zhi Hao wasn't even present in the cultivators' society till a month later. Being in the forest training, she wouldn't possibly care about some random array.
And this array wasn't a simple one either with a single entrance inside and one out. It was an entire web system of multiple transport arrays which connected all cities, and the mortal realm, though superficially.
Mortals would often land right in front of the forest, the furthest from the cities yet closest to the mortal realm, because teleporting used internal energy and mortals did not have enough to pass over long distances without dying.
That's why not all mortals could go to the immortal realm. Not having roots at all made them unable to use the array.
So why was Su Jing not teleported right into the forest too?
Surely, she might not have landed in the usual spot for the mortals, but she hadn't reached the next point, Yang City's Immortal Guild Building. Considering how she had already cultivated and used her roots before transmigration, the best explanation would have been that she had good Qi internal energy, but not enough to reach the destination to the end.
But, but. The situation was more complicated. She couldn't forget about Feng Zhi Hao. Although before she was confused about a gate appearing instead of an array, Su Jing could only think that there were actually two entrances to the immortal realm on that mountain - one hidden by the immortals.
The original story didn't tell any of this, but Su Jing was almost sure her deduction was right. It was simply because a cultivator from the immortal realm had a simple personality. They loved to spit out on mortals and not use the same things. They also went extremely rarely to the mortal realm, so the gate would be left unkept since they did not even care about taking care of it. And the mortals were the opposite, deifying the immortals and ensuring the place looked sparkling clean and always nice.
So in other words, Feng Zhi Hao's array was separated from the main system, and exclusively used by mortals, having the route mortal realm - the immortal forest. And in this way, the cultivators would get rid of the rejected mortals who somehow reached the realm, by subjecting them to be killed by the forest beasts.
The other, the old gate and also the array by which the cultivators refer as the ”way to the mortal realm”, went directly to Yang City since cultivators wouldn't wish to busy themselves with fighting in a forest. Remembering how it rejected her, maybe it was made exclusively for higher cultivators.
Anyway, when someone like Su Jing who hadn't had the internal energy to fully go directly to the Yang City point, and also someone who forced herself into the array like a cow in a wall, the array might have broken - in a measure to preserve her life. The transport arrays had such a safe setting, and Su Jing knew that from the part of the story when Feng Zhi Hao was studying arrays.
The main principle was to teleport but also to avoid accidents and casualties. So Su Jing shut down Yang City from the transporting system.
Thankfully it dropped her somewhere relatively safe and not into a beast den - beasts or the cultivators responsible for the array, Su Jing didn't know which was worse.
Looking at this young master, he was probably investigating this incident. She had to know more about him to get who he was and protect herself.
”It's not like I have a say in how the Immortal Guild's arrays work.” in the end Ya Wen responded, after a short pause, in which he seemed to carefully choose his words, ”They said they will resolve the issue as soon as possible. Even you, Young Master Wu, must be trapped in this city with your sect sisters.”
The young master, Wu, let out a soft chuckle, as he leaned back in his chair, "Trapped, you say? Yes, I suppose that is one way to look at it. But is convenient for us to stay here, since the Yang marketplace is in full bloom. And it is not like we couldn't use our flying sword skills to go to the next city.”
He then started to put tea in his cup, making Su Jing realise that the only meal they had was untasty liquids. Swordmasters followed the body practice so greasy food would be restricted from their diet.
”If anything, we would lose our time and energy travelling.” the sword girl added, also serving the same tea as the young master, ”It's not really practical to leave right away without purchasing anything so we can only stick here for now.”
He nodded, but then Wan quickly intervened, ”But doesn't Cultivator Brother Wen have teleporting talismans? I remember you used them last time in the Seven Sect Tournament.”
Her way of asking seemed a bit interrogatory so Su Jing couldn't help but stare at her. Wan, probably noticing her, fully glared at Su Jing, annoyed that she dared to look towards her.
”My talismans can only teleport back to my sect since I do not have permission to link them to other core energies.” Yawen responded, switching her attention to him, ”If you wanted to exchange some talismans, I am sorry but I believe someone from Silver Sect wouldn't need to reach Tian Hui Sect.”
Teleporting talismans were quite a different deal from arrays. Usually, it was just one-sided, and for it to function it needed the creator to clearly know the coordinates of the destination -meaning that if you wanted many destinations, you had to travel a lot.
In the said destination you had to create a core energy, or if you were weaker, or simply lazier, you could just attach it to the public core energies of the most popular spots. That often required you to make a request to the master that created it since recklessly allowing too many talisman users to a single core could make it explode and nuke the whole place around it.
Not to forget, you had to pay for it too.
Su Jing could understand Ya Wen's position. It was rather useless to create a teleporting talisman to places you don't often frequent so only if you weren't a seller, a talisman master or disciple would never carry too many of them.
”Plus, because of my health, I wasn't really in a good fit to use or craft talismans. The longer the distance, the more Qi is needed. ”
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Yawen's words were true as Su Jing knew of the struggles of the female lead regarding talismans.
”That's such a shame.” the young master replied, ”If only my clan could resolve the Yang array - but in the end, it is still in the hands of our employed master arrays.”
”Brother, your clan is one of swordsmen, not of space masters. This whole mess is the problem of the Immortal Guild. They should soon send some representatives.” Wan replied but quickly the other girl interrupted her.
”We don't know how much it will take. I have heard news of how the Master Luo of the Immortal Guild had gone on an expedition. ”
”Master Luo?” Wan seemed clueless.
”Master Luo is one of the elders of the Immortal Guild and the one supervising this area of the realm. ”Yawen replied, slowly explaining to Wan, ”He is one of the space-time teachers at Tian Hui Sect and the news Miss Mingmei heard is quite true too. He had left more than a few months ago.”
Su Jing stood as quiet as a wall as she was listening to their conversation. She put herself some tea, realising that she truly was a background character, and quite talented as well. She almost felt the blue filter washing over her body while the others talked.
Regarding Master Luo, he was someone known by her. His famous name was Luo Changle and he was the type of character meant to teach Feng Zhi Hao space-time cultivation practices since he was quite a rare genius even in the immortal realm. That type of teacher everyone wanted but only the female lead succeeded at being his disciple.
It seems that if she wanted to go to the same field as Yawen, she was gonna soon meet him since in the story he came back immediately after Feng Zhi Hao began being known as a doctor.
But that was a matter to worry about later. What attarcted Su Jing's attention was Young Master Wu's clan matters.
So his clan's array masters were overseeing the Yang City array? If that is true, then the people controlling the Immortal Guild Branch in Yang City were his clan. And the clan powering over Yang City was - the Black Tortoise Clan! Yawen told her about this just a few moments ago.
At first, Su Jing hadn’t paid much attention to the name, but now that she was revisiting her memories, something clicked. There had been a small scandal involving the Black Tortoise Clan, though not connected to Feng Zhi Hao directly. It was more like a side story to reason the actual events of the main story.
This clan had been the victim of a devastating attack by another powerful clan, which had resulted in the death of the previous clan master. All the realm was shaken by that, so the actions of the attackers were pointed out by everyone so much, that it was decided at the urgent Immortal Convection that the clan should be exterminated for the well-being of all cultivators.
And like this, the clan responsible for the assault had been completely wiped out. The true connection to Feng Zhi Hao was that, after many years, Feng Zhi Hao had fortuitously stumbled upon their most treasured heirloom—an artefact of immense value. Although many were blaming the clan's action, cultivators were as greedy in wanting to find their clan treasures. So of course, the female lead had to take it right before their noses.
With it, she had gained an advantage over the most skilled poison cultivators and doctors, making her nearly invincible in situations involving toxins. It had been an essential tool for Feng Zhi Hao’s rise to fame since this heirloom was something that made you immune to poisons.
So, the Black Tortoise Clan hadn't that much direct impact. And yet, Su Jing was beside one of its young masters. He was a swordsman at the Silver Sword Sect...
She searched for some distinct signs on his attire. But as much as she thought, the problem lay in the fact that cultivators often had many names, the most used being different from the one from their family. He could very conveniently appear in the story, with another name and not mention his clan at all. That was because they needed to show their worth as a single individual - to make themselves valuable to the family name.
If only she could have encountered him in the story setting with Feng Zhi Hao, it would be easy to tell which was which. Her suitors had quite different personalities when meeting her.
Or was Su Jing misjudging him simply because he had more than one female around him? Her head hurt since small details could easily escape if she wasn't attentive enough.
”Whether he comes back or not, he isn't the only one in the Immortal Guild.” Wu responded, as if not worried at all. ”The mortal selection was over anyway for almost all sects. If anything, maybe my Clan could request some cranes from the City of Higher Clouds - though, that may take a while.”
As if the issue of mortal selection had reminded everyone of Su Jing's existence, all of a sudden their eyes were now directed at her. Su Jing, even if she wanted to talk, couldn't pry too much since she was supposed to be a clueless mortal, who wouldn't possibly know about such issues.
”That reminds me, Cultivator Su said she was helped by another cultivator to come here, right?”
Su Jing nodded, putting down the cup of tea. Now that she was part of the conversation, the taste wasn't as good as before, ” That's right.”
”Is too bad they had already left. Maybe with enough pay, they would have been willing to help Cultivator Wen pass over the forest and reach the mortal array.”
Su Jing was not sure how to respond to this, ”They were in a hurry so I doubt they are still around, unfortunately.”
That's because they do not exist in the first place!
”Wasn't the mortal array one and the same with the Immortal Guild array?”
Yawen seemed suddenly confused by the words exchanged between Su Jing and Wu.
”It is still the Immortal Guild array, however, its users are only incoming mortals who failed to be selected. The one that just shut down is not connected to it as how the other cities' points are. It is the simplest of transport arrays on its own, you could say since our ancestors thought it would be risky to fully isolate ourselves from the mortal realm in case of such situations as today.”
Su Jing listened and was secretly happy that she was right. Yawen probably thought the arrays were all in one, with a stop in the forest for the mortals, and one in the Yang City for the other more powerful - after all, that is what the theory told you. If you had more Qi, you could travel far away, between more array points.
Yet now he discovered that the array actually had no stop in the forest, and it went from the Yang City directly to the mortal realm.
”That is something only a few immortals know since there is a rare interest in the mortal realm, plus there is already one who goes directly from this city. Cultivator Su might be able to tell you more about it, though. She is the only one between us who actually used it.”
Wu smiled after he said it, signalling with his head towards Su Jing.
”I am unsure what I could tell Cultivator Wen, haha.”
She wasn't even there!
Yawen got strangely silent, having his brows furrowed. Of course, as a space-time disciple, he probably was confused about how he did not know such things about arrays. While Su Jing would be happy to help out in any way since he had been nice to her, that was different when she had three other cultivators. It was an invisible pressure put on her shoulders!
”No, rather than her telling me, I'd like to hear it from you. Wouldn't your clan be the one overseeing it?”
Wu's expression remained relaxed. His gaze shifted to Su Jing briefly before returning to Ya Wen. "As much as I'd like to give you the details, our clan's involvement is limited. We handle security, but the workings of the array itself fall entirely under the Immortal Guild. You know how it is with space-time matters—too delicate for a bunch of sword cultivators like us."
Ya Wen didn't seem satisfied with the answer. "But you still oversee the management as an heir, don't you?"
"You're right, in a way. But if the Immortal Guild finds a breach, they handle it directly. Of course, my clan stay informed, but not to the point of dictating their array operations." He tilted his head as if to shift the topic subtly.
"But enough about these technical matters. Since the array is being investigated, it's only a matter of time before things return to normal. For now, why don’t we enjoy the market's festivities while we're stuck here?" Wu’s smile remained charming, though Su Jing could sense a faint edge in his tone.
”But brother! Are we leaving already? What about our beasts hunting?” Wan looked adamant about going out to kill beasts. She got up from her seat, putting her palms on the table as she glanced at Wu for an answer.
He got up, carefully taking her arm, ”Wanwan, don't worry. We could try the weapons we purchase on the beasts outside.”
Mingmei joined Wu and Wan, all three of them now turning their gazes toward Su Jing and Yawen. Su Jing felt a twinge of awkwardness under their scrutiny. Yawen was her best hope for leaving this city safely, so she hesitated to respond, unsure of what his next move would be.
Honestly, Su Jing felt a pang of guilt, knowing that his chance of safely passing to the mortal realm had been ruined by her. Still, it wasn’t her fault entirely. Fate—or maybe bad luck—had a hand in it too.
”That,” Yawen began, looking towards Su Jing, ”personally, I am in no need of sword master resources, but if Cultivator Su wants to visit it -”
”I am alright,” she interrupted him, ”I had actually seen it entirely before meeting you. Probably even the shop owners can recognise me.”
It's not like she lied. These market owners had rejected her left and right, dispising her origins and weak Qi.
“I understand, ” Wu replied, going around the table. ”We’ll be around if you need anything. And do not worry about the meal and beverage bill. It's on the house.”
With that he left, leaving Su Jing and Ya Wen alone. Wan gave her a last glare before disappearing behind the door.
”I hope this did not cause too many bothers for you.” Yawen quickly talked with her, with a sigh, ”Lord Qingwu is not someone dangerous but as the son of the Clan Head of the Black Tortoise Clan, he can't be particularly ignored.”
Su Jing hadn't expected Yawen to throw so suddenly their identities. Did he say that the young master was called Qingwu?
She knew of only one Qingwu, and that was a sub-male lead of Feng Zhi Hao! Who would have thought he was actually one of the main ones!
This character was the type who was known for his cruel nature! Not only that, he was also rich enough to gift things from time to time to Feng Zhi Hao, from medical resources to even a spiritual vein sought by almost all cultivators.
He actually wasn't associated at all with the Black Tortoise Clan, apart from small remarks of ”having to attend some matters back home”, and” to resolve some messy stuff”, making him gain that mysterious allure.
However, if Su Jing were to say, Feng Zhi Hao simply did not care about finding out more about him.
She did though, like his gifts, since they were useful in her cultivation. So, in a way, they were considered close, but only as cultivator brothers and sisters.
”Don't worry. I actually loved engaging with other cultivators from a sword sect.”
As if having a worry lifted up, he exhaled, ”Some people can sometimes be mean to mortals, but thankfully, Lord Qingwu isn't that bad. That girl Chunwan though, probably only wanted to protect her brother. Don't mind her actions.”
Su Jing hadn't expected Yawen to defend Chunwan. She however only nodded at him, not wanting to stress him too much over that.
Chunwan was also a character, but more like a cannon fodder villainess. She was loud, mean, and quick in her judgment, easily getting aflame over the least things possible, mainly involving Qingwu. It was clear she loved him, not only from the story's perspective but also from what she just saw. Though she had the basic annoying stereotype.
Su Jing found her more difficult to handle than Qinqwu or the other cannon fodder girly.
Chunwan didn't have a very detailed background, of course, but the episode in which she met the female lead was enough to show all her colours. This wasn't that far away since Chunwan was the first small-class villainess Feng Zhi Hao met once she entered the immortal realm!
And after this very encounter, she was accused of murder and then killed!