Desolate Wasteland

Inside the Shu family inn..

"In three months..," a guest said to his fellow adventurer, "..the Purple Mist Sect will open a portal in the formation blocking the wasteland."

"Well, I heard that a year ago a Sage white tiger demonic beast attempted to break from inside through the formation," the other adventurer replied. "I also heard somebody hunted it.. but unfortunately, nobody knew where the beast went."

"I'm pretty sure a strong cultivator killed it," the guest said. "Anyway, I think I heard that the sect will attempt to open a gate only for Expert realm cultivators."

"That's pretty obvious," the other adventurer interrupted, "the sect has plenty of half-step Sage disciples.. if they're opening a gate, they'll make sure to monopolize the treasures in the wasteland."

"Makes sense," the guest said, "but its pretty good that the sect is opening the event to other cultivators.. I heard some big clans in Jiang City were invited."

"Do you think rogue cultivators like us have a shot at getting anything in there?" The other adventurer asked.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for someone like us," the guest excitedly replied. "There must be tons of treasures in there.. if we're lucky, we can get one or two.."

Unknown to the two guests however, Shu Liang, who was idly standing behind the reception table, was intently listening.

***************

"Father," Shu Liang called when the family gathered for dinner.

Shu Wei simply looked at the excited expression of his young daughter.

"I heard earlier today that the Purple Mist Sect is opening a gate on the Wasteland's formation," she said.

"Hmmn," Shu Ling remarked upon hearing her daughter. "It seems it's gonna be busy around here soon."

"Isn't that good for the business?" Qai asked.

"Eh!?"

"I mean, we're the only inn nearest to the Wasteland," he added.

"Hmmn..," Shu Wei who was simply listening began to ask, "..Liang'er, according to what you heard, when will the Purple Mist Sect start activating the gate?"

"They said it's in three months," Shu Liang replied.

"That would be the first since I got here in the plateau," Shu Wei explained. "The Purple Mist Sect have not gone inside the Wasteland in many years.. I'm pretty sure even the great clans in Jiang City will participate."

"Then we have to take advantage of the occasion," Qai said.

"What do you mean, Little brother?" Shu Wu asked as he joined the conversation.

"Well, we can grab this opportunity to earn some..," Qai explained. "Aside from reconstructing our inn into a bigger one, we can set up temporary trading area at the center of the plateau."

He then looked at his parents with a serious face.

"We can ask Elder Lu to invite some merchants and charge them for their stalls..," he suggested with a grin. "Plus we can set up our own shop as well."

"Ha ha ha, that's brilliant son," Shu Wei happily remarked.

"But that would mean we're gonna need manpower..," Shu Ling said with a tone of urgency.

"How about we hire the services of two servants to help us in the inn and the shop and then arrange with the sect to help us out in the security..," Qai suddenly suggested. "It's their affair in the first place."

"We can let the sect and clan elders use the other rooms we built for inner disciples then," Shu Liang added. "Its a good thing we built many."

"It's not a bad idea," Shu Wu said.

He then glanced at his father with a concerned look.

"I just hope the Purple Mist Sect will cooperate..," he sighed. "There will be lots of strong cultivators gathering here soon.. and the last thing we would want to see is to let them get out of control and start to wreck havoc in our plateau."

"Hmmn.. that's for me to worry," Shu Wei remarked. "I guess I'll invite the two village chiefs to help me out to convince the Sect Master.. I'm pretty sure their villages will greatly benefit in the as well."

The head of the family's facial expression started to show excitement.

"Let's start all the preparations first thing tomorrow," he said.

Thereafter, they divided among themselves their tasks before they went their separate ways to spend the rest of the night cultivating.