DC 66

in case anyone was curious, I am not quarantined. I have been deemed an essential personnel. happy reading.

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“Junior Sister Feng! Over here, come take a seat.”

After kicking the shithead back into the shitheap, Feng Jiao had a very relaxing walk to the Mess Hall. He even considered taking the walk on non-charge days. Unlike other cultivators, Feng Jiao could cultivate while he walked, at least in a sense. Most cultivation techniques needed years of sitting or standing in a specific pose to help the flow of essence through their meridians, but Feng Jiao’s ability to leech essence from the surrounding fauna didn’t require that. 

So long as at least one of his feet was touching the plant, or a plant whose roots connected to the target plant via physical contact, he could use his spiritual sense to pull the essence out of them. Although the essence came with a large number of impurities and still needed to be refined at a later date, the speed was still far more efficient than trying to absorb wood essence through his acupoints using regular cultivation methods. 

When he finally made it to the Mess Hall, the sun had still yet to rise and there was, not so surprisingly, a much shorter line than every other time he’d come there. With only a few people in front of him, Feng Jiao made it into the Mess Hall just as the sun peeked over the horizon. Within seconds of entering, he heard a shout from ahead of him and saw Pye Lee, the slightly sleazy cultivator from the Aspect Hall. Surprisingly, he was already seated with a full tray of food in front of him. Somehow he managed to get an omelette made, with chunks of pepper and meat visible from the surface. As if he were unafraid of his food getting cold or stolen, he stood and walked over to Feng Jiao.

“Fancy seeing you here, Senior Disciple Pye. I must have somehow missed you in the extremely short line I found myself in.”

“Please, call me Brother Lee. And since you asked, it doesn’t really hurt you to know that I have many friends around the sect. One of them so happens to be the Disciple in charge of the Mess Hall on Charge days. Since the line is so short anyways, she just lets me in whenever I show up.” Pye Lee explained with a slightly complacent and smug look on his face. Feng Jiao had no doubt there was some dirty deal going on but it really didn't affect him all too much so he left it go.

“Brother Lee it is, please just call me Jiao I suppose. Right, so I take it you want me to sit with you this morning, Brother Lee?” Although the words Brother Lee felt heavy on his tongue, Feng Jiao was more than aware that he had a part to play. Since Bai Fu had enlightened him about the many preferential treatments he’d received since being mistaken as a female in the female run Sect, Feng Jiao had begun to find it more acceptable to turn a blind eye to it. At least, until he was strong enough that his gender didn’t matter when it came to treatment. 

“Naturally, but don’t think that this counts as the meal we are supposed to share together, Jiao’er.” Feng Jiao’s eye twitched hard, but Pye Lee was too busy explaining to the person dishing out food to give Feng Jiao extra treatment to notice. By the time they made it through the line, Feng Jiao had a better breakfast lined up than he’d had in months. Although he didn’t get an omelette, he did end up with a very large serving of scrambled eggs and a large slab of what appeared to be ham.

“So, Jiao’er, what have you been up to during your first week in the sect? I take it you haven’t broken through to the Condensation Realm yet, but have you finished comprehending the technique yet?” Pye Lee asked around a mouth-full of breakfast. 

“I’ve started to understand the basics, I think. My essense gets purer by the day.” Feng Jiao couldn’t bring himself to mention that he hadn’t even finished understanding five percent of one of the cultivation techniques he’d stolen, let alone building the one he was eventually going to use. He didn’t lie though just trying to practice the hidden hallowed technique as he comprehended it had purified his wood essence by many degrees.

“That’s good. So what brings you down the mountain on Charge day? As far as I know that trip is particularly… crappy, to say the least, without being able to use the Shift Formation.”

“I was going to go visit some of my friends, they arrived at the sect with me last week and I wanted to see what they were up to. I heard today is their day of rest.” Feng Jiao explained. He was momentarily confused by the words ‘shift formation’ until he remembered that Tan Sai had told him earlier that the formation the sect used weren’t true teleportation formations. They could only shift someone around a local area and even then it was highly dependent on topography. A landslide next week could totally take out all their functionality, unlike a true teleportation formation which could send someone thousands of miles away regardless of what landscape changes may have happened. The crafting method for those had been lost to the public at least a millenia ago.

“Ah, yes. The boys that arrived with you, I’m sure that they’ll be thrilled to know that you haven’t forgotten them. I’m happy you haven’t forgotten your friends already, most of the women who came over with me dropped me right away when they realized how unbeneficial for them our friendship was. Of course, things have been getting better for men around here recently, although I’d likely not be able to keep my nice job without hugging a few skirts.”

“Is that why you were acting so sleezy when I was selecting my cultivation technique? I mean, what kind of Senior Brother starts hitting on such a young Junior right after they’ve arrived in the sect?” Pye Lee just about choked on his food when Feng Jiao spoke so forwardly. 

“Ah-ahem. Excuse me, I didn’t expect you to speak so boldly. But if we’re being candid, I wasn’t trying to be, uh, sleezy. Like I said, and like I’m sure you noticed, the upper management has different standards and treatments for male and female disciples. Although I’ve got a few friends that keep me comfortable, I always try to connect with the talented seeds that show up in the sect when I get the chance. I wasn’t trying to lead you on or anything, not that I don't think you’ll grow into a beautiful young woman someday, it’s just-” As he spoke, Pye Lee became visibly more red and nervous until he was eventually saved by a large commotion that sprung up behind Feng Jiao, near the entrance to the Mess Hall. 

Feng Jiao was noticeably annoyed with the rucus as he’d been enjoying watching Pye Lee flounder. Although it was annoying to be misgendered, Feng Jiao enjoyed moments like that. He could just imagine how embarrassed Pye Lee was going to be when it was eventually revealed that Feng Jiao was also a man. Pye Lee, noticing the annoyed look on Feng Jiao’s face, did not pick up his apology where he left off, merely offering an awkward smile.

“Sorry about the noise, one of the Outer Sect Flowers just walked in. Although the men are outnumbered here five to one, they can still get a little noisy when they see a beauty.” Seeing the confused face Feng Jiao was making, Pye Lee continued. “The Outer Sect Flowers is a list of the top ten beauties and talents amongst the female Outer Sect Disciples. The list is compiled by women, actually, and they vote every six months, shortly after new-disciple intake.”

“What is the point? Do the disciples here really have nothing better to do than to rank people based on their physical appearance? On the journey to immortality, there should be a million better uses of one’s time than worry about who looks like what.”

“Has anyone explained the 4Fs to you yet?” Feng Jiao nodded, “Okay, good that saves a bit of time. The list is just another way for someone to gain a bit of face and way to give a bit of face as well. The list is as much about beauty and talent as it is about factions and cliques. Most on the list are influential people in the sect. For example, Lu Cha is ranked number two on the list as the alliance leader of the Radiant Gardens.”

“Isn’t that the girl who shit in her robes?”

“Shh! Not too loud! The Radiant Gardens has ears everywhere and they do not like people to talk about their dirty history, but yes. Besides Lu Cha, the other top 4 alliances also have a member in the Flowers, with only the Radiant Gardens having two. There are always a few spots that go to independants too, of course. I wouldn’t be too surprised if you or Bai Fu ended up on the list sometime soon if I’m being honest.” 

Feng Jiao didn’t respond verbally to Pye Lee and instead squinted into the vegetable broth he’d gotten with his breakfast. While pushing around a bit of greens, he wondered to himself just how far he was willing to let this female act go. Although it had started as an accident, Feng Jiao couldn’t deny that it was beneficial to his cultivation. While his friends were working like dogs, he had mostly free time and could cultivate in any way he chose. What if he did become one of the Outer Sect Flowers? 

Pye Lee wasn’t wrong, it was a real possibility. Thanks to his flawless skin, lustrous ash-colored hair and silvery eyes, he was beautiful in almost every sense of the word. Was he willing to be an idol for the females and a fantasy for the male disciples? He could only shake his head and decide to cross that bridge if he came across it. Until then, he wanted to savor his breakfast and leave to find his friends. Pye Lee, thinking that Feng Jiao was suddenly self-conscious about his looks, allowed them to eat in silence.