Chu Ning walked for a while and soon arrived at Zhuang Yunde's residence.
"Junior Brother Chu is here? Are you here to hand in the talisman paper?"
Zhuang Yunde warmly invited Chu Ning into the courtyard.
Chu Ning didn't immediately ask him about Mu Ling, but instead took out the talisman paper he brought to submit to the sect.
Zhuang Yunde took the package of talisman paper Chu Ning handed over, carefully examined it, and counted it, then nodded with a smile:
"The quality of the talisman paper is excellent, and the quantity is exactly 3,500 sheets. Not bad, Junior Brother Chu, you've met this season's quota."
Zhuang Yunde's next words, however, left Chu Ning somewhat stunned.
"Did you run into Junior Sister Mu Ling on your way here, Junior Brother Chu?"
"Senior Brother Zhuang, you already know?"
Zhuang Yunde chuckled.
"Let me tell you about this Junior Sister Mu Ling first.
This Junior Sister Mu Ling is a junior of Elder Mu, who is one of the few Golden Core Realm elders in the sect."
"Golden Core Realm elder?"
Chu Ning took a deep breath; just this one sentence from Zhuang Yunde was enough to make him realize the status of this Elder Mu.
Elders in the Golden Core Realm are different from Elder Chen, who brought them into the sect; Elder Chen is at the Foundation Establishment Stage, merely an elder at the Instructor Hall.
But a Golden Core Realm elder is an elder of the sect, the strongest combat force of the Cyan Creek Sect.
In fact, he had heard Zhuang Yunde mention in casual conversation that there are only 4 Golden Core Realm members in the sect that he's aware of.
"Then why is she at the Hundred Arts Hall?" Chu Ning asked, somewhat puzzled.
As an elder at the Golden Core Realm, her status in the sect isn't something ordinary people can compare to; getting a junior into the Inner Sect is an easy feat.
"Actually, she started in the Inner Sect." Zhuang Yunde replied.
"However, Mu Ling's talent really isn't impressive; after years of cultivation and slow progress, she lost interest in cultivation.
Instead, she pondered over other skills and then became obsessed with talisman making."
At this point, Zhuang Yunde shook his head and said:
"However, her talent in talisman making is also average, with a low success rate.
And yet she loves to make talismans continuously, wasting a lot of talisman paper with little effect.
Elder Mu, upon learning this, instructed that the hall should supply talisman paper to Mu Ling only in limited quantities to make her focus on her studies."
Chu Ning's expression was a bit strange upon hearing this.
He found it hard to imagine how low Mu Ling's success rate was and how much she had practiced, for the Hundred Arts Hall to limit her talisman paper supply.
Zhuang Yunde continued: "Later, she turned to buy talisman paper at the market.
But recently, Elder Mu went out, and because of Mu Ling's previous troublemaking outside, Elder Mu imposed a grounding order on her, preventing her from buying talisman paper."
Chu Ning finally had a rough guess of today's events, and he spoke to the other person:
"So Senior Brother Zhuang informed her about my talisman paper production?"
Zhuang Yunde's small eyes squinted with a smile as he looked at Chu Ning.
"I see this as a win-win situation. You know, if you submit talisman paper to the sect, you need 55 sheets to exchange for one spirit stone; at the market, the price is even lower.
I guess Junior Sister Mu didn't offer that price when you exchanged talisman papers with her, did she?"
"She offered 50 sheets of talisman paper for one Lower Grade Spirit Stone."
Chu Ning said, pulling 11 spirit stones from his clothes and handing them to Zhuang Yunde.
Zhuang Yunde took them casually, his eyes smiling even more tightly.
"You see, it was just a few words that allowed me to earn one more spirit stone, and Junior Brother Chu earned several more spirit stones too. Why not do it?
Junior Brother Chu, if you have talisman paper, you can sell it to her again."
Chu Ning sighed and shook his head, "I've brought all the talisman paper I've made today, and over a thousand sheets of it have been bought by her."
"Don't worry, there's always the next season, isn't there?" Zhuang Yunde showed an innocent look.
"With all that practice this time, by next season, Junior Brother Chu will have refined his skills and could earn even more spirit stones."
Hearing this, Chu Ning clasped his hands respectfully towards Zhuang Yunde with a knowing look.
"Thanks to Senior Brother's blessing, I won't forget your guidance if I really make progress."
Zhuang Yunde was even more pleased at hearing this.
After a bit more casual conversation, Chu Ning finally left Zhuang Yunde's residence and walked back.
"Junior Brother Chu!"
After only a few steps, Chu Ning encountered Mu Ling again.
"Senior Sister Mu!" Chu Ning was now even more courteous.
Mu Ling jogged over to Chu Ning.
"Junior Brother Chu should know my background now, and I need your help with something."
Chu Ning felt more stressed, honestly. Knowing Mu Ling's impressive background, he instinctively wanted to keep his distance.
After all, this Senior Sister Mu seemed to be nothing but trouble, with such strong backing, he definitely couldn't afford to offend her.
So, he said very tactfully:
"I'm just a servant disciple, I'm afraid I can't be of much help to Senior Sister."
"You can help with this." Mu Ling, seemingly oblivious to Chu Ning's polite refusal, quickly replied.
"All you need to do is help me buy a thousand sheets of talisman paper each month. I'll pay with spirit stones and give you a service fee, plus this storage bag as a gift."
Chu Ning looked at her very suspiciously.
"That's all?"
"That's all!" Mu Ling confirmed with a nod.
"Although buying a thousand sheets a month from the market can be a bit tedious.
You might need to visit several shops, and sometimes you can't buy them all at once and might have to go a few times."
At this point, Mu Ling, seeming afraid that Chu Ning would refuse, quickly waved the storage bag in her hand.
"But it's okay, I'll give you ten percent of the spirit stones as a reward each time."
Hearing this, Chu Ning was a bit tempted; this seemed like a good opportunity to him, a bit like a windfall.
Buying a thousand sheets of talisman paper a month wasn't hard for him; he still had several thousand sheets.
Still, Chu Ning was a bit skeptical about why this good deal fell to him.
So, he voiced his question.
Why choose him?
Mu Ling quickly explained: "Junior Brother Chu, you're familiar with talisman paper production, so you're naturally the right person to discern its quality.
The other brothers and sisters at the Hundred Arts Hall can discern as well, but they have a lot of responsibilities and might not be able to go to the market each month.
And other disciples outside can't just come in and out freely; Junior Brother Chu is truly the most suitable candidate."
After hearing this explanation and reflecting on what Zhuang Yunde said about Mu Ling's personality, Chu Ning became mostly convinced.
So, he showed a slightly troubled expression and said:
"If Senior Sister regards me so highly, then I'll run the errands for Senior Sister."
Upon hearing this, Mu Ling was thrilled and offered the storage bag to Chu Ning.
"Then this storage bag is yours; it contains 22 spirit stones, 20 of which are for buying talisman paper, and the remaining 2 are your service fee.
Next month on this day, just deliver the talisman paper to me."
With this, without waiting for Chu Ning to say more, she quickly turned and left.
"Ah, I need to go practice making talismans!"
Chu Ning was left standing in the breeze, feeling a bit bewildered.
It seemed like he had just landed a monthly subscription deal?