Oh, I suppose that does make a lot of sense... Thank you for the advice.
[ He hasn't ever had the chance to night hunt without an instructor leading him along (and... this probably still counts as that, actually...) so there's a lot of little things he's never learned.
He holds the talisman up to light up more of the area, giving them a better look at the loose earth around and in front of him. ]
I wonder if we should keep going this way. They said the spirits were appearing in the forest, but they probably all died in this landslide, right? Would it be better to try to find them, or to find where they died...?
[ Help he's never actually investigated a haunting before. ]
[If he went by the assumed, finding their bodies and burning them would be the right thing and the quick thing to do to put ghosts to rest.
But, that was also boring.
What a dilemma. Be responsible... or show off?
Of course, as the adult, he really should say they should try and dig up bodies and put them to rest. Even if at the same time he sort of wanted to play around.
Though, on second thought, he didn't really know how dangerous they were. A safer approach was better.
[ He takes the silence as an indication that this is something he's supposed to figure out on his own. And that makes sense. It wouldn't be a good learning experience if Shen Qingqiu just handed him all the answers! He's here so that Mo Xuanyu doesn't get wounded with no hope of rescue.
He stares at the remains of the landslide and makes his decision. ]
I think most of the others aren't going to want to look here. It's not like I'll be any less respected for climbing through the mud...
[ But then he turns back to Shen Qingqiu and looks at his immaculate robes, and feels a twist of guilt. ]
... Master Shen, you don't need to come with me. This isn't the sort of thing that someone of your status should be made to deal with.
[Xiu Ya could easily deal with any issues, he was pretty sure of it. From what he understood the major problems were basically Jiangshi? It would be a joke not to be able to slice through them....
His thoughts paused as he registered he was being addressed. Had he not said anything in a while? Was he asked a question? What was it?]
Do not worry about it.
[Seemed like a generic answer, sorry, he wasn't paying attention enough, he didn't hear what was said....]
[ If that's what he says, Mo Xuanyu won't worry about it any further. Instead he starts to set off through the loose soil, picking his way through downed trees, being more careful this time. They hadn't strayed too far from the village yet, so he starts to head back somewhat in that direction, but with a slight uphill angle. ]
I'm going to see if I can find a building that might have had occupants in it.
[ He says it aloud in case he's far enough off-base that Shen Qingqiu wants to correct him, but he's expecting he'll be left to make his own mistakes and figure things out for himself. ]
[This really was all a gruesome affair. He felt like he was in some sort of horror story. But, unlike a horror, he wasn't worried particularly about his well being. He didn't think a ghost would pop out and curse him to death or anything.]
Are things like this common?
[If so, it felt a bit... not very glamorous like cultivator life should be. Not that he could say his daily life was particularly glamorous, but then, he at least had the immortal master in the mountains aspect to it.]
[ Mo Xuanyu pauses and looks at him in confusion. ]
I... Well, I haven't gotten the chance to go on a proper night hunt in a while, but, um... yes? What would you do in your sect for incidents like this?
First, send a few people to assess the situation and determine what is needed. If there's something major, send others with the intent of investigation and potentially solving the issue. If it's a large thing send back for reinforcement with a detailed report, if it's a good chance for experience, then bring disciples with an advisor to supervise the situation and assess how well it goes.
But... that's so many steps. How large did you say your sect was? Even though the Lanling Jin Sect is the largest sect in this area, I don't think we'd be able to handle doing that for every report we receive. And even if we could, by the time we had all the information, wouldn't a smaller sect or clan have stolen the prey? And--don't spirits rarely come out during the day? The sun has more yang energy than most are able to handle; that's what I've been taught...
[Large enough to essentially have twelve small sects.]
It all depends on what the request was or the initial reports. Generally, we don't do much unless something is requested. And it only goes up if the first groups of people can't handle it. Most things would be a request sent, and pretty well understood and dealt with appropriately. But, there would still be information.
[Like, does the village here not know how many people may have died!?]
And... we mostly deal with monsters.
[Since Proud Immortal Demon Way was an action stallion novel there wasn't much for horror in it.]
Oh. I think we mostly deal with ghosts, but even monsters prefer the nighttime... [ Maybe? He hasn't gone night hunting much at all so maybe he's... wrong about that. ]
No, no. Let us continue. Perhaps a bit more light.
[He feels like they are going to break their necks if they keep walking around. So, deciding he needed to make it at least safer, he pulled out a talisman to cast a light spell. It was a lot better than the fire talisman, brighter, and floated. Proud Immortal Demon Way might be a shitty cultivation novel, but, at least in some ways, the low fantasy setting wasn't as low fantasy as here. One thing to be grateful towards Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky, he knew the minimum amount of power fantasy needed in his cultivators.]
[ Mo Xuanyu doesn't hide the way his eyes widen and his jaw drops a little as he stares at the light. It takes him several seconds before he snuffs his fire talisman, and then he's scrambling towards Shen Qingqiu. ]
Master Shen, um...! If you don't mind, could I see that talisman? I've never seen a spell like this! Is this something your sect came up with?! It's amazing!
[Yes? No? Maybe? Hell if he knew. This was very basic and generic. Expected even, especially if it was in such a shitty cultivation world.
But, he was starting to consider the differences. Despite the low fantasy of Proud Immortal Demon Way, he might describe this world more as a historical fantasy rather than low. Or horror. When considering that, it made sense, the way abilities were used.
Oh, but... what should he say?
He pulled out another talisman and handed it over.]
[ Mo Xuanyu quickly takes the talisman and holds it close, studying it carefully. Now that he's looking at it, it seems like such an obvious thing, but he's pretty sure he's never seen anything like it before. Maybe there's a drawback to it that isn't readily obvious? Does it also have too much yang energy and scare away prey? Is it because it's obviously unnatural? Is it because the fire talismans are also useful as weapons? But surely there would be uses for this even outside a night hunt! He makes a mental note to bring this spell back to Jin Guangyao and ask about it. He would know the reasoning behind it.
Mo Xuanyu hands the talisman back to Shen Qingqiu. ]
Thank you very much. I've already learned so many things from Master Shen.
Then, let's go. Like this it should be much easier to find some of the houses.
[ Slightly invigorated thanks to the new knowledge, he resumes picking his way across the loose ground, but his first small slip reminds him he needs to be careful where he places his footing and he starts to take slower steps. ]
[If they were not buried below the earth at least.
But, now with light they could at least walk around without breaking their neck on a foot turn. Though, at this point, he was wishing he could just sit under a tree and watch. He hadn't expected it to be so... gritty when he had volunteered.]
Quite. Hopefully, we won't have to dig.
[Because it wasn't like he had brought a shovel with him.]
Oh, no, of course not! I'll do any digging that we need. Master Shen doesn't have to worry about that sort of thing.
[ Obviously the disciples are the ones responsible for anything messy like that! Why, Shen Qingqiu is already indulging him more than enough just by following him through the remains of the landslide.
But with that he continues to make his way forward, studying the area around him as he goes. He doesn't have much of an idea what he's looking for, mostly hoping that he'll stumble into something that's obvious and worth investigating. ]
[Well, that was convenient. He didn't have to feel guilty or anything now.]
Very well. I shall keep watch over here, and if you have any questions or issues, please come and see me.
[And, he actually went looking for somewhere next to a tree that might have a lot of nice fluffy grass and was ready to lay out a large cloth to sit on. Because yes, indeed, he brought a large silk cloth, the size one could have a picnic on, so he could sit on it.]
Alright, I will! [ And this was perfectly acceptable. After all, he was the one who was in training. Why would the master do the work when it could all be on the disciple?
He continues climbing among the dirt and eventually finds what seems like it might be a house. Mo Xuanyu hesitates for a moment, then slowly starts digging.
He's at it for less than a minute when, hidden from his attention by the sound of his work, a walking corpse pulls itself out of the ground and starts to make its way towards him from behind. ]
[Shen Qingqiu was incredibly bored, he didn't expect this to be so... dull. But then, it was the middle of the night, hard to see, and there were just the two of them. He hadn't realized just how much he enjoyed having all of his disciples around during such outings. But, he tried to keep watch, even if he spaced out a few times thinking of other inconsequential things. In fact, he wandered so much he almost missed the corpse approaching.]
[ Mo Xuanyu turns quickly, then yelps and stumbles backwards when he catches sight of the corpse. Luckily it's a low level, so even with his flailing, he manages to pull out his sword and dispose of it without issue. He spends a few seconds standing there, wide-eyed and panting as he recovers from the shock, then... ]
This is it! If there's corpses here, then people definitely died here!
[ With renewed vigor he begins digging into the dirt, and it isn't long before he starts to reach the wood from a collapsed roof. ]
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[Though, maybe fire would send them away? There wasn't just talismans for light?]
And, even if it does, it's better to see what we're doing than break an ankle.
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[ He hasn't ever had the chance to night hunt without an instructor leading him along (and... this probably still counts as that, actually...) so there's a lot of little things he's never learned.
He holds the talisman up to light up more of the area, giving them a better look at the loose earth around and in front of him. ]
I wonder if we should keep going this way. They said the spirits were appearing in the forest, but they probably all died in this landslide, right? Would it be better to try to find them, or to find where they died...?
[ Help he's never actually investigated a haunting before. ]
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But, that was also boring.
What a dilemma. Be responsible... or show off?
Of course, as the adult, he really should say they should try and dig up bodies and put them to rest. Even if at the same time he sort of wanted to play around.
Though, on second thought, he didn't really know how dangerous they were. A safer approach was better.
Fuck. This was already mildly annoying...]
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He stares at the remains of the landslide and makes his decision. ]
I think most of the others aren't going to want to look here. It's not like I'll be any less respected for climbing through the mud...
[ But then he turns back to Shen Qingqiu and looks at his immaculate robes, and feels a twist of guilt. ]
... Master Shen, you don't need to come with me. This isn't the sort of thing that someone of your status should be made to deal with.
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His thoughts paused as he registered he was being addressed. Had he not said anything in a while? Was he asked a question? What was it?]
Do not worry about it.
[Seemed like a generic answer, sorry, he wasn't paying attention enough, he didn't hear what was said....]
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[ If that's what he says, Mo Xuanyu won't worry about it any further. Instead he starts to set off through the loose soil, picking his way through downed trees, being more careful this time. They hadn't strayed too far from the village yet, so he starts to head back somewhat in that direction, but with a slight uphill angle. ]
I'm going to see if I can find a building that might have had occupants in it.
[ He says it aloud in case he's far enough off-base that Shen Qingqiu wants to correct him, but he's expecting he'll be left to make his own mistakes and figure things out for himself. ]
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Are things like this common?
[If so, it felt a bit... not very glamorous like cultivator life should be. Not that he could say his daily life was particularly glamorous, but then, he at least had the immortal master in the mountains aspect to it.]
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[It just did not seem like a very effective method of things.]
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I... Well, I haven't gotten the chance to go on a proper night hunt in a while, but, um... yes? What would you do in your sect for incidents like this?
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And preferably in the daytime.
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But... that's so many steps. How large did you say your sect was? Even though the Lanling Jin Sect is the largest sect in this area, I don't think we'd be able to handle doing that for every report we receive. And even if we could, by the time we had all the information, wouldn't a smaller sect or clan have stolen the prey? And--don't spirits rarely come out during the day? The sun has more yang energy than most are able to handle; that's what I've been taught...
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[Large enough to essentially have twelve small sects.]
It all depends on what the request was or the initial reports. Generally, we don't do much unless something is requested. And it only goes up if the first groups of people can't handle it. Most things would be a request sent, and pretty well understood and dealt with appropriately. But, there would still be information.
[Like, does the village here not know how many people may have died!?]
And... we mostly deal with monsters.
[Since Proud Immortal Demon Way was an action stallion novel there wasn't much for horror in it.]
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Um.
Should we stop?
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[He feels like they are going to break their necks if they keep walking around. So, deciding he needed to make it at least safer, he pulled out a talisman to cast a light spell. It was a lot better than the fire talisman, brighter, and floated. Proud Immortal Demon Way might be a shitty cultivation novel, but, at least in some ways, the low fantasy setting wasn't as low fantasy as here. One thing to be grateful towards Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky, he knew the minimum amount of power fantasy needed in his cultivators.]
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Master Shen, um...! If you don't mind, could I see that talisman? I've never seen a spell like this! Is this something your sect came up with?! It's amazing!
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But, he was starting to consider the differences. Despite the low fantasy of Proud Immortal Demon Way, he might describe this world more as a historical fantasy rather than low. Or horror. When considering that, it made sense, the way abilities were used.
Oh, but... what should he say?
He pulled out another talisman and handed it over.]
It's a common spell in the land I come from....
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Mo Xuanyu hands the talisman back to Shen Qingqiu. ]
Thank you very much. I've already learned so many things from Master Shen.
Then, let's go. Like this it should be much easier to find some of the houses.
[ Slightly invigorated thanks to the new knowledge, he resumes picking his way across the loose ground, but his first small slip reminds him he needs to be careful where he places his footing and he starts to take slower steps. ]
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But, now with light they could at least walk around without breaking their neck on a foot turn. Though, at this point, he was wishing he could just sit under a tree and watch. He hadn't expected it to be so... gritty when he had volunteered.]
Quite. Hopefully, we won't have to dig.
[Because it wasn't like he had brought a shovel with him.]
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[ Obviously the disciples are the ones responsible for anything messy like that! Why, Shen Qingqiu is already indulging him more than enough just by following him through the remains of the landslide.
But with that he continues to make his way forward, studying the area around him as he goes. He doesn't have much of an idea what he's looking for, mostly hoping that he'll stumble into something that's obvious and worth investigating. ]
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Very well. I shall keep watch over here, and if you have any questions or issues, please come and see me.
[And, he actually went looking for somewhere next to a tree that might have a lot of nice fluffy grass and was ready to lay out a large cloth to sit on. Because yes, indeed, he brought a large silk cloth, the size one could have a picnic on, so he could sit on it.]
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He continues climbing among the dirt and eventually finds what seems like it might be a house. Mo Xuanyu hesitates for a moment, then slowly starts digging.
He's at it for less than a minute when, hidden from his attention by the sound of his work, a walking corpse pulls itself out of the ground and starts to make its way towards him from behind. ]
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Watch out!
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This is it! If there's corpses here, then people definitely died here!
[ With renewed vigor he begins digging into the dirt, and it isn't long before he starts to reach the wood from a collapsed roof. ]
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When did the landslide happen?
[Was it night or day....]
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