Song Jixing returned to her room and directly opened the cardboard box.
Inside was a pot of white Baizhi grass with soil, with the soil beneath covered by a small bamboo basket.
Looking at the weaving technique of the bamboo basket, it should have been handmade by her Master, as the bamboo fence around the mountain peak where she practiced swordsmanship was all woven by her Master.
Song Jixing gently pinched the leaves and touched the petals.
This was a flower emanating spiritual energy, hence it remained in full bloom even in winter. The white petals had turned completely transparent in color, while the green leaves were a rich green.
It must be a gift from her Master.
Song Jixing looked at the flower for a while, realizing she had never grown flowers before, and opened her phone to search for knowledge on flower cultivation.
Ads for nutrients, pots, shovels, soil, and various other products instantly flooded the screen, making it dizzying and difficult to discern good from bad.
Song Jixing instinctively frowned, recalling the strong vitality of spiritual plants, and abandoned the idea of purchasing supplies.
It would be better to just replant it in the soil.
Song Jixing closed the lid of the cardboard box and took it, along with her luggage, back to the steel factory.
-
Perhaps due to the extremely long lifespan of cultivators, they did not celebrate the new year by year, so the cultivation world had no concept of a new year celebration.
This was the first time she and her fellow disciples had gathered together to celebrate the new year.
The invitation for the new year celebration came from higher authorities.
The customs followed were the traditional ones of Y City, with a reunion dinner, watching fireworks, surfing the internet, and receiving red packets.
The dinner was held in a newly built cafeteria, a three-story brick building painted red, not too tall but quite spacious, surrounded by a lush green belt of trees, exuding a vibrant energy.
This cafeteria was built for the new school, where future diners would mostly be cultivators. However, the cafeteria built by the outer disciples of Qingyun Sect would continue to operate, as they needed to prepare their own spiritual plant cuisine.
The new year dinner started at noon.
When everyone arrived at the new cafeteria, the uniformed staff greeted them with smiles, holding thick stacks of red packets and handing one to each person, saying, "Happy New Year!"
Song Jixing received one when she arrived.
This was her first time receiving a red packet before the new year's eve dinner, which felt different.
Song Jixing put the red packet in her pocket, intending to open it later, while Qi Yun and the other disciples beside her impatiently opened theirs right away.
The red packets contained paper currency, with the largest denomination being 100 and the smallest being 50, along with some 70s and 80s. It wasn't a salary but rather a gesture of auspiciousness and ambiance.
"This is money, right?"
"I think so!"
"But shouldn't this be given by elders to juniors?" a fellow disciple murmured softly.
After entering, Song Jixing surveyed the new cafeteria.
Unlike regular schools with glass windows and counters, it had rows of wide wooden tables with various dishes placed on top, with plates and utensils at the entrance for people to choose from.
The dining area had round wooden tables scattered on both sides of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, offering a good view, though the construction site outside was not particularly scenic.
In addition to the self-service dishes, there were also traditional Y City dishes on the round tables, with plates of steaming hot food creating a lively and enjoyable atmosphere in the cafeteria.
The only regret for Song Jixing was that her Master had not returned.
She tried to call him, but the phone said it was turned off.
Song Jixing pondered and figured her Master must have used the phone as a message talisman, only taking it out when needed, causing it to run out of battery and turn off.
Nonetheless, Song Jixing carefully composed a text message and sent it to him.
[Master, Happy New Year!]
Watching the fireworks soar into the sky and burst into a brilliant display, listening to the joyful chatter of the crowd, and smelling the rich aroma of food in the air, this ordinary day carried a different warmth.
-
During this period when there was no concept of celebrating the new year, Shi Hua had been wandering outside.
Without needing a bed, and with his robust physique, he simply needed to find a quiet place to sit and meditate whenever night fell.
Apart from the inconvenience of not having a cleansing technique, which required him to find a small hotel or bathroom to clean himself every day, there were no other issues.
Shi Hua had initially planned to cleanse himself in the wild, finding a secluded spot when no one was around. But Song Jixing had warned him in advance about the numerous surveillance cameras around the city.
Although they did not possess the piercing gaze of humans, they observed more meticulously and recorded more permanently than humans.
At first, Shi Hua did not believe it.
Until Song Jixing took him to a certain location and pointed out the dense array of surveillance cameras, Shi Hua immediately abandoned the idea of cleansing himself in the wild.
The so-called cultivation journey in the mortal world was not simply about wandering in the wilderness. If the journey was just about experiencing nature, wouldn't it be better to stay in the wild of the cultivation world?
Not only could he not go into the wild, but he had to immerse himself more in crowds, experiencing the various flavors of the human world and tasting all the flavors of the world.
So Shi Hua set out alone.
Perhaps due to his exceptional appearance, Shi Hua encountered various people with either malicious or benevolent intentions towards him along the way.
Some wanted to treat him to a meal, some wanted to help him find a job, and others invited him to stay at their homes, but Shi Hua declined them all.
Of course, there were also those who tried to make inappropriate advances, but they did not fare well in the end.
When Shi Hua handed them over to the public security authorities, he casually presented his identification documents. With a B Class ID, any case could not be treated as a simple civil or criminal case.
It had to be reviewed by the special department in Jing City.
Shi Hua traveled this way from Jing City all the way to W City.
Perhaps due to the upcoming new year, during these days, Shi Hua encountered many people who greeted him and asked why he wasn't going home for the new year, offering help if needed.
There were also people who brought him clothes, food, and left money when he was meditating at night. Shi Hua refused, but they insisted on leaving them.
Shi Hua had no other choice but to distribute these to other homeless people, as they needed them more than he did.
-
Winter in W City would bring a few light snowfalls, not heavy, and the snow would melt away before staying on the ground for half a day, leaving only the remnants on the hardy greenbelts along the streets.
Compared to the bustling streets of the previous days, today was relatively quiet.
After completing his meditation as usual, Shi Hua briefly cleaned himself up, gathered his belongings, and headed towards a certain destination.
Unlike his usual leisurely pace, today he walked swiftly with purpose, making his way to a secluded long bridge, where a young man was sitting.
The young man appeared to be in his early twenties, disheveled and dirty, with what seemed like a head injury and dried blood on his forehead.
His clothes were thin, and he wore no shoes, yet despite the cold wind, he did not shiver, only sitting dejectedly with his head down.
Passersby who initially noticed him would look curiously, but upon getting closer, they would all quicken their pace and leave.
Shi Hua sat down beside the young man.
