"It is 3 in the afternoon. The scheduled flight to Qiulan mountain will commence."
As those words echoed through the carriage, Mei heard the sound of something unfurrowing and looked outside. Two large yellow wings had sprouted, flapping as the carriage drove off the edge of the roof.
In a brief moment, the carriage rose into the skies at a tremendous speed, shooting through clouds, the pavilion far behind. From that point on, the wings stretched out into a gliding posture, unmoving.
Mei looked outside, in awe of how small everything beneath her had become. The people far below were now too small to see, buildings the size of ants. And yet, despite the speed of the carriage, the flight was as smooth as butter, as if she were sitting on solid ground.
Hmm... the huge golden wheels of the chariot were immobile, which was a little sad. She tentatively reached out of the window and gave the wheel a spin. And another. And another...
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3 hours later...
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With a cautious flap of its wings, the chariot descended to the ground carefully. The translucent bird no smaller than the chariot that had been pulling it vanished as its claws touched the ground.
"The destination has been reached. Please alight the carriage."
From her seat, Mei hopped off. It was almost sad. Even though the trip was a little long, she quite enjoyed being able to view vast expanses of forests, rivers and buildings scroll past her. The silk curtains were also particularly pleasant. She may or may not have been running her hands through them the whole time.
Hopping off from the carriage, she took in the sight around her.
The carriage had landed directly on a landing pad on the mountain; Mei could see greenery dot the slopes. But perhaps greenery was not the right word, for the leaves of the many trees were pale white, with blots of pale blue decorating them. Large blue blossoms were amongst the leaves, filling the air with a subtle, but pleasant floral scent.
A few dozen buildings were set up nearby, smoke rising from their chimneys, giving the place a rather homely feel.
So this was why it was called Qiulan (Autumn Blue)... She had never seen such beautiful blue trees before. Ironically, the few green trees that did appear amidst seemed like the alien ones instead.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Welcome, ohohoh!"
A large pangolin with shiny emerald scales scurried up to the carriage, a large cart full of various food items clattering behind it. Mei and the other disciples stared at it with a strange look.
"You must be the annual herb collectors! Please make yourself at home here in Qiulan Village. I've bought some of our local specialities for you to snack on along your journey." it explained.
But a pangolin? Mei looked over to the buildings and saw that no humans were wandering about, only various spirit beasts. Huh... a spirit beast village. Mei supposed it made sense, but she still found it weird.
While many of the disciples were talking to each other and the pangolin, one caught her eye particularly. Guang Ai's eyes were shining with joy, a massive grin plastered on her face as she looked around.
"Ah... it's too bad I couldn't bring Blackie with me," she muttered.
...Probably for the best.
Mei looked over to the cart and saw that the food items were all the type that was easy to carry around. Candied fruit, dried fish, bread and biscuits. But looking at the price tags, she was filled with horror.
Most of the items were 4-5 Jade, with some of the more expensive ones reaching 20. But it was now near dinner, and she was a little peckish... she grudgingly bought a large pack of tasty looking biscuits; it seemed like the best bang for her buck.
"Thank you for the purchase!" the pangolin put up its best smile, which was leaving its mouth agape and tilting its head upwards.
Normally, Mei would want to take a look at the shops around the village, but now that her pockets were bare, she figured there wasn't a point. She would just be exposed to temptations without any way to buy them... the pain!
Filled with "grief", she took out a biscuit and munched on it. So crunchy... the seasoning was very well done too. Not as good as the octopus chef's food though. Huh. She really had been comparing everything she ate to Hai Huang's food. Maybe saying a dish was "good enough to turn everything bland" wasn't an exaggeration.
She left without a word, unless munching counted.
"Don't forget about our match!" Junwei shouted from a distance.
Yeah, whatever.
After heading far enough down a dirt road, out of sight, Mei began to pick up twigs and grass, weaving a crude basket. It was a time-consuming task, but she really didn't want to waste Jade on buying one. What she didn't realise, however, was that if she spent a similar amount of time chopping vegetables, she would be able to buy a much nicer basket.
About an hour later, Mei stood up with a satisfied grin on her face, holding up a basket half her height. She had learnt back home, where her mother taught her how.
It was a little annoying to carry around, but with her strength, it felt as light as a feather, at least. Hah... It sure would be nice if she had a storage bag... Why did they have to cost over 1000 Jade?
Mei looked around, even peering over a cliff carefully. It didn't seem like there were any valuable herbs in sight, at least, if she remembered correctly. Back on the carriage, she spent some time skimming through the list of herbs.
She suddenly had an urge to eat more biscuits, but her hands were busy.
...
Mei spent another 10 minutes making straps to tie to her back.
She looked to the skies, seeing it was getting late.
...
...
Mei spent another 10 minutes finding a long branch and tying her lantern to it.
Ah. Night.