Chapter Three.

The next morning Xiao Yi wakes up and finds Xuan Lu missing. The mat that Xuan Lu slept on has been rolled up and the quilt has been neatly folded and placed near Xiao Yi's bed. He rubs his eyes to get a clearer view of what is going on. Apart from Xiao Yi there are other refugees staying at the refugee quarters. Earlier Xiao Yi used to share his room with three other boys but they all moved out after finding ways to fend for themselves so he has been enjoying the room to himself till Xuan Lu showed up but now Xuan Lu has also disappeared.

At this time of the day most people are sweeping the yards and taking breakfast. Xiao Yi walks from corner to corner in search of his new roommate. He's looking for him mainly because Xuan Lu had promised to help him with chores in exchange for a place to stay. Xiao Yi gives up looking for him after a while and proceeds do the chores himself.

Though he already gave up,he still waits patiently for Xuan Lu till afternoon. This patience begins to turn into worry. Could the sickly fella have fainted somewhere and ended up being feasted by dire dogs? He leaves the Temple and walks towards the market looking for Xuan Lu. Xuan Lu was still nowhere to be seen.' Maybe he has found himself a new residence? But who leaves all of a sudden without thanking his benefactors? Humans sure are surprising.' Xiao Yi thinks to himself as he walks back to Lotus Temple in the evening.

The following day Xiao Yi wakes up,he faintly sees someone seated beside him as he slowly opens his eyes.The one seated beside him is Xuan Lu and he seems to notice Xiao Yi's movement,so he turns to talk to Xiao Yi.

"You're awake,"Xuan Lu smiles gently.

"Why are you back?"Xiao Yi asks coldly.

"Aren't you going to the Spirit Mountain? You only have two hours left,"Xuan Lu says calmly but Xiao Yi springs up from his bed in shock.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"Maybe they don't want you to go."

"That's impossible. They all promised to help me find the Spirit Mountain."

"Instead of trusting your little monk friends why don't you come with me?"

"Where are you taking me?"

"Spirit Mountain."

"I thought you hate immortality."

"Who said I hate immortality?"

"The last time we talked about it you weren't pleased about it."

"I changed my mind. Besides my wicked family might be looking for me so it's better I seek refuge at the Immortal Village. I got the compass."

Xiao Yi is surprised to see a white jade coated compass in Xuan Lu's hand.

"Are you sure it's a real one?"

"Even though I'm a sickly fella,I have good luck when it comes to collecting treasures."

"Where did you find the compass?"

"Never mind,"Xuan Lu replies coldly leaving no room for more questions related to the compass.

Xiao Yi puts on his clothes excitedly while asking a few silly questions.

"Do you think the Immortal fruits are sweet as the fruits in the mortal realm?"Xiao Yi asks excitedly.

"Have you become silly due to excitement or you're actually silly? I have never been to the Immortal Village how am I to know how those fucking fruits taste like?"Xuan Lu questions back coldly losing his patience.

They barely bid the monks an appreciative farewell because of the limited time.Elder Mo keeps a lot of horses so when he lends them two of his horses he doesn't care whether they return them or not. The two boys reach Spirit Mountain a few minutes before several flying carriages being pulled by white flying horses land at the foot of the mountain. In one of the carriages,a beautiful young lady in white alights from it. She has a strong aura and anyone can feel her domineering presence. She greets the now mesmerized mortals and introduces herself as Wan Mei,the eldest senior sister in the Immortal Village. She's here to pick them up.The Immortal Village doesn't verify who enters the Immortal Village or not but the real verification takes place inside in the Divine Hall. Wan Mei instructs them all to get in the carriages. The turn out this time for mortals seeking immortality is great than the previous years.

After they all board the carriages the horses accelerate upwards to a certain point and maintain the momentum as they fly inside and land at the Divine Platform outside the Divine Hall. They all alight looking around amazed by how beautiful and ethereal the Immortal Village looks . It looks like even more beautiful than in the stories told in the Mortal Realm. The fact that the soil there is white turns out to be true. The white soil particles may be mistaken to be the same as snowflakes in the mortal realm.

They all follow Wan Mei inside to the Divine Hall where a number of Immortal Lords and Ladies are seated all round waiting anxiously for the young and frail mortals. Divine Hall is the biggest building in the Immortal Village and it can accommodate many people . The Immortal Village harbours all kinds of immortals including spiritual beings and fairies. Spiritual beings and fairies are normally born in the Immortal Village while the rest of the immortals are mere mortals born with spiritual roots hence they are able to cultivate immortality and extend their life.Despite the fact that the fairies and spiritual beings are born in the Immortal Village,they don't have much influence in the affairs involving the Immortal Realm. Instead they lead a carefree life while maintaining their beauty. Most spiritual beings act as guardians of the Immortal Village while most fairies deal with healing and prescribing medicine to the injured immortals. Some of the fairies handle matters concerning the Mortal Realm such as marriages.

As the mortals step inside Divine Hall, one of the Immortal Lords ,Murong Xu stands up to welcome them warmly. He instructs them to stand in front of the Spiritual Root Determining Mirror one by one. The mirror can detect presence of spiritual roots in someone.