Chapter 98: Continous Mission VIII
The crane gave a long-suffering croak as Yuxin and Tian Lei approached the courtyard again, packs in hand. Its feathers gleamed like polished ivory in the morning sun, and it looked—if a bird could look anything—mildly exasperated.
Yuxin patted its neck. "Don’t worry, no giant murder-worms this time. Just flowers."
The crane side-eyed her with all the dignity of an ancient immortal creature who had been lied to before.
Tian Lei mounted first, checking the strap on his sword. "Departure."
"Departure," Yuxin echoed, springing up behind him with effortless grace. She settled in with her arms draped lazily around the saddle rail. "Destination: nap with scenic herbal overtones."
The crane leapt skyward, wings beating once, twice—then they were gliding high over Cloudveil City, the wind slicing cool and clean around them. The city terraces fell away below like ripples on a jade lake. Sunlight caught the bronze windchimes atop the Mission Hall, scattering sparks into the breeze.
They passed over mist-cloaked valleys and soft green hills, the air growing sweeter as they neared the lowlands. Soon, the terrain softened into a patchwork of glimmering ponds and flower-dotted meadows.
Yuxin leaned forward slightly, veil trailing behind her like a pale comet tail. "There," she murmured.
Nestled between two low ridges, a shallow basin spread out like a giant bowl, brimming with pale mist. Here and there, tall reeds rose like sentinels, and drifting clusters of tiny glowing petals pulsed faintly like stars caught in the air.
Tian Lei guided the crane down toward the rim of the basin. The air immediately grew warmer, heavier, and scented with crushed mint and rain-soaked wood. The mist curled around their legs as they dismounted, soft and cool.
Yuxin crouched and ran her fingers through the air. Silver motes clung to her skin like tiny fireflies. "Spirit pollen," she said with a grin. "Mood: enchanted picnic."
Tian Lei scanned the basin, eyes narrowing. "Locate the dew-blooming cluster. Harvest quickly."
"Such romance," she sighed. Then she rose, blades tucked neatly away, and started down the mossy slope. "Come on, captain. Let’s go steal from flowers."
They descended into the mist, the crane settling on the rim behind them like a watchful guardian, while the valley whispered softly around them—leaves trembling, petals drifting, and somewhere far below, the quiet, patient shimmer of unseen magic waiting to be found.
—
The further they went, the thicker the mist became—curling like silken veils around their ankles, their waists, their thoughts. It wasn’t oppressive, exactly... just dreamy, like the valley itself wanted to hum them into a nap.
Yuxin hummed under her breath as if accepting the offer. "Mmh. If I vanish, tell people I ascended via floral enlightenment."
"Noted," Tian Lei replied dryly, though his eyes never stopped moving. Each glimmering petal that drifted near, he tracked as if it were a blade in disguise.
A faint glow ahead caught Yuxin’s eye, and she darted ahead with a dancer’s bounce. "Aha—look at them."
They emerged into a small clearing carpeted with soft moss. There, rising from a shallow pool, bloomed a cluster of dew-blooms—wide, translucent flowers whose petals shimmered like captured moonlight. Droplets clung to them, refracting the pale glow into rainbow sparks that danced on the mist.
"Target acquired," Yuxin whispered theatrically, producing a slim silver vial from her sleeve.
Tian Lei crouched beside the flowers, testing the air with a faint pulse of Soul Sense. The spiritual pressure here was delicate, gentle—like warm rainfall against the skin. No lurking beasts, no killing intent. Just serenity.
He nodded once. "Safe. Harvest."
"Gladly."
Yuxin moved with exaggerated ceremony, plucking each dew-bead with the same reverence one might show priceless gems. They floated from the petals like tiny glass pearls, landing in her vial with soft chimes.
"Mission complete," she sang, corking the vial and twirling it in her fingers. "Estimated profit margin: delectable."
Tian Lei straightened, gaze flicking toward the mist above the pool. It shimmered faintly, as if sighing. Then it began to part—soft spirals lifting, revealing the valley floor stretching out around them in wide, serene ripples of moss and flowers.
"Let’s depart before the mountain notices," he said.
"Agreed. Before it tries to make us part of its vibe," Yuxin added solemnly.
They turned back toward the ridge, the crane now dozing with one leg tucked beneath it. It blinked awake as they approached, giving a suspicious squawk that clearly meant are you alive and did you break anything?
"All limbs accounted for," Yuxin assured it, tapping her foot on the moss for emphasis. "Zero murder-worm encounters. This is personal growth."
The crane ruffled its feathers like a weary supervisor signing off on an expense report, then lowered itself to let them mount.
Moments later they were gliding skyward again, the mist-basin shrinking below like a fading dream—its glow dwindling to firefly specks in the endless green.
The return flight carried a quiet, contented stillness—like the world had briefly forgotten to be dangerous.
Wind whispered through Yuxin’s veil as she lounged back in the saddle, flicking the vial of dew-bloom essence between her fingers. Each droplet caught the sun in a flash of prismatic color before settling again like captured starlight.
She yawned. "We should do more missions that don’t involve things trying to chew our faces off."
"That was the plan," Tian Lei replied, eyes on the horizon.
"And yet somehow, you keep picking the face-chewing ones," she accused lightly.
"Statistical coincidence."
"Mmhm." She tucked the vial away and folded her arms. "Next time, I’m requesting ’nap-related assignments only.’ Maximum serenity, minimum screaming."
The crane angled its wings, slicing through a stretch of high clouds. Below, Cloudveil City came into view again—its jade terraces glinting like stacked mirrors in the afternoon light.
By the time they descended into the Mission Hall’s upper courtyard, the wind had gentled to a lazy breeze. The crane touched down with an elegant hop, then gave them both a pointed side-eye before stalking off toward its roost with a muttered series of croaks that sounded suspiciously like I’m not a taxi.
"Love you too," Yuxin called after it, then stretched with an audible pop of her spine.
Tian Lei dismounted and strode toward the Mission counter, boots clicking softly on the polished stone. The Hall was quiet at this hour—just a few disciples napping at tables or shuffling scrolls half-asleep.
The clerk at the counter blinked awake as they approached, peering at them over a mountain of ledgers. "Back already? No screaming, no fire?"
"Flowers," Tian Lei said simply, handing over the sealed vial.
"...Flowers," the clerk echoed, blinking again like it was a foreign concept. Then he leaned close, catching a whiff of the faint shimmering aroma rising from it. "Oh. Oh. Premium dew-bloom essence. This will fetch—"
"Snacks," Yuxin interrupted, placing her palms on the counter. "Convert part of our payout into snack tokens. Top shelf only."
The clerk’s expression suggested this was not the first time she’d done this. Still, he sighed, stamped their mission slip with a jade seal, and passed over two payment talismans. "Mission complete. Don’t spend it all on candied lotus seeds."
"No promises." Yuxin snatched the tokens like a victorious magpie.
Tian Lei accepted his with a curt nod, already turning toward the exit.
Yuxin fell into step beside him, swaying her sleeves. "See? Low-stress. Profitable. No trauma. It’s almost unsettling."
"Don’t get used to it," Tian Lei said.
"Already did," she said brightly.
They passed out through the tall golden doors of the Mission Hall, the afternoon light spilling across the flagstones ahead—warm, bright, and blissfully uneventful.
The golden light of late afternoon gilded the city terraces as they stepped out onto the broad stone steps. The air smelled faintly of sandalwood and roasted chestnuts drifting from the lower markets, and for once—just once—Tian Lei felt no immediate need to be on guard.
Yuxin spun one of her payment talismans on her finger like a coin. "Snack district?"
"Report first," Tian Lei said automatically.
She gasped in mock betrayal. "We literally already reported. We even got paid for our non-screaming. This is a celebration, Captain Stoic."
He gave her a side glance that might have been the faintest smirk—or just sunlight catching on his cheekbone. "Fine. Ten minutes."
"Ten minutes," she echoed solemnly. "We’ll see about that."
The snack district of Cloudveil City sprawled along a winding lower terrace, half market and half festival—narrow stalls crammed with trays of sugared plums, skewered rice dumplings, candied chestnuts, and glistening spiral-cut fruits lacquered with honey. Incense curled lazily through the air as the crowd buzzed with late-day shoppers and gossip.
Yuxin plunged in like a woman possessed by the spirits of twelve hungry foxes.
"Three of those," she told one vendor, pointing at lotus cakes that shimmered with edible gold leaf.
"Two of those," to another, indicating what appeared to be grilled sugar-glazed pears on sticks.
"And whatever this is," she added, already biting into a puff of something violet and sticky that a startled stallkeeper had just offered as a sample.