Busy.
That was the only word that Lin Songmei could use to describe the warehouse.
There seemed to be constant streams of people going into and going out of the doors, and with three sets of doors, there was a constant busyness to the warehouse.
Not long after she and Yan Mingqing sat down though, a desk opened up, the receptionist calling out that they were open.
Pulling herself out of heaven, Songmei, who had almost fallen asleep, stumbled her way towards the desk with Mingqing. “I... I almost fell asleep...”
Songmei yawned, raising a hand to her mouth as her eyes teared up a bit. In the middle of her yawn though, Songmei let out a small yelp as Mingqing pulled her into a hug and supported her. “Here, here, wake up, wake up sleepy-head.”
A pink tinge creeping up on her face, Songmei coughed, unhooking herself as the two arrived in front of the desk. Brushing her hair back as she took a seat in one of the cushioned chairs available, Songmei greeted the receptionist. “Hi, I’m Lin Songmei, direct disciple of Elder Liu Xueli. Beside me is Yan Mingqing, a fellow disciple. We’re here to pick up the journey package.”
Nod. Nod.
The looping motions of the pen.
“Alright,” the receptionist answered with a nod and smile, “I’ve contacted the delivery team, your packages will be at Booth 5, so please go over there to wait. I hope you two enjoy your journey outside the sect!”
“Thank you.” Songmei nodded, getting up and leaving, escaping ahead of the amused Mingqing.
Songmei knew her face was red, it wasn’t her fault that Mingqing surprised her. But still! It was... it was annoying how smug Mingqing was...
Cough.
Slowing down for Mingqing, Songmei walked with her until they got to Booth 5, standing in the general vicinity while waiting for their names to be called out.
Poke.
Teasing laughter.
A finger against her cheek, Songmei felt her cheeks heating up again as she crossed her arms and leaned against the railing. “A-Anyway... Isn’t it sad that we’re leaving so early? We’ve barely been at the sect for two months...”
“That’s true...” Mingqing sighed, leaning against the railing beside Songmei as they watched a group of people haul away a large wooden box. “I was texting my brother the other day, and he was surprised to hear we’d be going out. Apparently, the sect usually waits until you’ve been cultivating for six months before sending you out...”
“We’ve barely been cultivating for one and a half though,” Songmei grumbled, sad to leave the sect and the comfort that it provided. “And since they said we couldn’t come back until we opened all of our main meridians... won’t we be out for a while? Unless something crazy happens, we’ll be out for about a year won't we?”
“Probably,” Mingqing murmured, looking out the window to admire the snow covered floating islands. “But hey, you never know... And also, it’s not the worst for us to go out. It’ll hasten our progress, we need to get stronger after all. It’s not fun being at the bottom of the barrel.”
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“It really isn’t.” Songmei concurred, a feeling of inferiority also still present in her heart after that powerful display.
Before they could continue their conversation though, and continue to wallow in their circumstances, a voice from behind the counter shouted, “Direct disciples Lin Songmei and Yan Mingqing! Two journey packages!”
Walking up to the counter, Songmei and Mingqing gave their thanks before carrying the palm-sized packages back to their home.
Palm-Sized...
Why only palm-sized?
Were they just going to give a little coaster and call it a day?
Maybe it was just a card loaded with money? Songmei wouldn’t protest that...
Songmei was expecting something huge though! She had prepared herself and her wrists for a grueling journey back home!
“Any ideas on what this might be?” Songmei asked Mingqing as they both inspected every side, every crease, and every label of the packaging.
“Nope.” Mingqing admitted, not finding any clue on the packaging. “When I asked my brother, he refused to elaborate on any more details too... So I'm just as clueless as you are...”
Great...
Back to feeling like a lost traveler who somehow got plopped in the middle of a fog bank...
The packaging too was... simple to an annoying degree. There was just one label on it, an innocuous label saying ‘First-time Journey package. (Lin Songmei)’
At least they could just rip it open once they returned home.
Songmei was ready, she was going to tear this package a new one... she’d eviscerate it so that the trash bin could only mourn for the pieces of packaging...
Returning to their house, their courtyard, their rooms, after only a few minutes of walking Songmei and Mingqing ripped open their packages, dumping the now-shredded pieces of packaging into the trash can.
All that they were left with, after destroying the package, was a small, sleek black cube-like case. With a golden clasp on one side, Songmei and Mingqing undid the clasp, opening it up to reveal a white ring patterned with small jade dragons.
Ring?
It wasn’t as if Songmei was getting married or anything...
Taking out the ring, Songmei noticed that inside case there was also a slip of paper, written on it, an expansive list of items.
At the top of the list though, Songmei noticed that the label was: Items held inside the ring, for disciple use only.
[Tent x1
Packing bags x3
New Terminal x1
Complimentary toiletries set x1
Basic bow x1
Quiver of arrows x10
...]
Seeing the long list, Songmei’s jaw dropped. This... this was a spatial storage ring! The item of legends! And it was given out for free?
‘Damn... maybe marrying rich really should be my number priority...’
Beyond the ring, Songmei also noticed that even though most of the items in the ring were cheaper, they added up to quite a sum of money. Especially a few items such as the tent and new terminal, both items that were luxurious and expensive...
The sect is loaded!!
Absolutely loaded!!
Songmei had to get stronger faster... or find a golden thigh to hug onto...
Looking over at the also shocked Mingqing, walked over, ready to compare what she got in her ring with Mingqing’s. Stiffening though, Songmei glanced over Mingqing once more... her... her one friend...
Mingqing would be a great golden thigh to hug onto!
... Songmei just had to make sure to continue being good friends with Mingqing, that wasn’t hard, Mingqing was great! Mingqing was super fun to hang out with!
Then... it just boiled down to not falling behind Mingqing in terms of cultivation...
Darn it...
Coming to a stop beside Mingqing who was glancing over the list of items she got, Songmei tapped her shoulder and put aside those thigh-hugging thoughts, asking if they could compare while draping herself over Mingqing’s shoulders.
“What fancy stuff did you end up getting?”