I Just Won't Play By The Book
chapter-18

Under the gaze of four pairs of curious eyes, Jiang Beiran took out a jade vial from the storage ring and said to them, "This is the Honey of Various Flowers that I brewed by myself. It is made by gathering the essence of various flowers. Its aroma can help you refresh your minds and stay awake."

"Wow, Brother, you even know how to brew your own honey?"

"Brother, can you show me what this honey looks like?"

"Brother, can I taste this honey?"

Staring at the faces of the three sisters of the Yu family, who had surrounded him, Jiang Beiran coughed hard and gave them a sharp, sweeping look.

"Em…" The three sisters, who knew they had violated the rules, hastily retreated to their original positions.

Nodding, Jiang Beiran opened the vial containing the Honey of Various Flowers and then looked at the three sisters and said, "This vial of Honey of Various Flowers in my hand contains the extracts of Plum Blossom with Locked-In Coldness, Cherokee rose, Blossom of the Fine-Haired Grass, Fire Tree, and other plants. It is very effective in nourishing the blood and the qi, nourishing the skin, and retaining beauty and youth."

When they heard the last four words, the three sisters of the Yu family and Liu Zijin's eyes immediately shone brightly. Even Fang Qiuyao, whose head had been turned away and was not looking at them, could not help but perk up.

Seeing their reaction, the corners of Jiang Beiran's mouth curled up slightly. "Sisters, it seems that all of you are very interested in this vial of Honey of Various Flowers that I hold in my hand. So how about this? I can give a bottle of it to the sister who performs the best in this operation."

The three sisters of the Yu family immediately cheered after hearing this. Although they were not sure whether or not the effects that Jiang Beiran had listed were true, either way, it was free. Because of that, they more or less believed him a little, and the smell of the Honey of Various Flowers was really good. It was better than any makeup products they had bought.

Putting the Honey of Various Flowers, which had already worked its charm, back into the storage ring, Jiang Beiran looked at the five girls. "How is it? Do the shoes fit? No need to address me this time. Just answer directly."

Yu Guishui opened her mouth and replied, "Mine…seems to be a little tight."

Jiang Beiran took a quick glance at Yu Guishui's feet, roughly determined the size, and said, "All right. Take them off and give them to me. I'll help you modify them."

"Thanks for your help, then, Brother," Yu Guishui said as she took off her straw shoes and handed them to Jiang Beiran.

Taking the straw shoes from her, Jiang Beiran directly pulled out a piece of sedge [1] from the storage ring and started to continue weaving.

As she watched the straw shoes grow bigger at a speed detectable by the naked eye, Yu Guishui blinked and said with astonishment, "Brother, you are so clever with your hands."

On his other side, Yu Guizhui also came closer and said, "It's not just a matter of being clever with one's hands anymore, is it? What kind of weaving method is this? How can you continue to weave directly onto a pair of already woven straw shoes?"

But Jiang Beiran did not answer. Instead, he silently continued to weave and then handed the straw shoes to Yu Guishui after they were done. "It's done. Try them on again."

With an incredulous expression, Yu Guishui took the straw shoes from him and carefully put them on to see if they fit.

"Wow, they really do fit now. Brother, you're amazing," she said.

Seeing that the other two sisters were about to cheer again, Jiang Beiran quickly shouted, "Okay, don't be noisy. Do the rest of you have any problems with the straw shoes?"

The four remaining girls all shook their heads.

‘They all have the same shoe size,' he thought to himself.

Jiang Beiran had woven a bunch of pairs of straw shoes initially as backups, so they were all the same small size. That meant they would also be convenient for him to modify if they turned out to be too small. However, now it seemed that modifications were not necessary.

"Since everything is fine, let's set off to the Order of Management to pick a trial quest," he told them.

"Yes, sir!"

With five sisters who no longer looked so glamorous, Jiang Beiran felt much less pressure. At least the brothers who would pass them would not look back so often.

Entering the Order of Management with familiarity, Jiang Beiran heard someone call his name as soon as he walked in.

"Brother Beiran?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Jiang Beiran immediately turned around and joined his hands in a salute and then said, "Good day, Brother Qin."

Joining his hands in a salute toward Jiang Beiran as well, Qin Muyuan smiled and asked, "Here to fulfill the duty of Iron Seal again?"

"Yes." Jiang Beiran nodded and then turned to the five sisters and introduced them, saying, "This is Qin Muyuan, Brother Qin, a very responsible Flower Crown."

Flower Crowns were managers in the Order of Management who were specifically responsible for issuing trial quests and performing the subsequent investigation on whether or not the scores given out were fair. They were generally selected by the Virtuous Tablets of the Order of Management from among outstanding Iron Seals, so most of them were relatively young.

Once, a Virtuous Tablet had wanted to promote Jiang Beiran to be a Flower Crown as well. However, Jiang Beiran's cultivation level was too low to convince the public, so he had to reluctantly give up.

"Greetings, Brother Qin." Liu Zijin and the rest of the five girls bowed together.

When Qin Muyuan heard the five sisters greet him and saw them bow, he was suddenly surprised, and he could not help but feel a little strange.

‘Have those five sisters been standing behind Brother Beiran this entire time?' Qin Muyuan wondered.

But even so, one must not lose one's manners, so Qin Muyuan didn't dwell on it for too long before joining his hands together and returning the salute. He said, "Greetings, Sisters. I am Qin Muyuan of the Order of Ten Thousand Swords."

When both sides had gotten acquainted, Jiang Beiran joined his hands in a salute to Qin Muyuan and said, "Brother Qin, this time, I am the Iron Seal of these five sisters. Please issue us a trial quest."

Qin Muyuan was once again surprised. He had known Jiang Beiran for several years and had the impression that Beiran never brought female disciples down the mountain for trials. However, this time, he was bringing five of them in one go?

Looking at Qin Muyuan's incredibly surprised expression, Jiang Beiran wanted to spill the beans, but he knew it was useless to complain. Instead, he simply continued and said, "Thank you, Brother Qin."

Only then did Qin Muyuan respond with a nod. "All right. Follow me."

After going through the whole process of taking up a quest, which Jiang Beiran was very familiar with, Qin Muyuan told Jiang Beiran about the current trial quest.

"Jifu Village of Longshan Town has recently seen a number of child abductions. The villagers are all very anxious. You all may set off today to go over and investigate this matter," Qin Muyuan explained.

Having said so, Qin Muyuan placed a piece of paper filled with words on the table.

"Yes, I will follow the order." After responding, Jiang Beiran took out an iron seal with his name from the storage ring and pressed it down hard on the paper. This meant that he would be responsible for the matter as an Iron Seal.

"I wish you all the best on your trip, Brother Beiran." After saying this, Qin Muyuan felt that something was wrong. It was as if he suddenly remembered something when he said to the five sisters, "I wish the same to you all, Sisters."

‘Strange. Why do I keep forgetting about these five sisters? Could it be that they have practiced some kind of Qi suppressing technique? That's really impressive, to be able to reach this level at such a young age,' he thought.

"Many thanks, Brother." Liu Zijin and the rest immediately bowed toward Qin Muyuan.

"All right. Remember to listen to Brother Beiran during your journey there. He is one of the few outstanding Iron Seals in our Sect of Returning Hearts. You will definitely be able to learn a lot from him," Qin Muyuan told them.

"Yes," the five girls answered at the same time. However, what they were all thinking was completely different.

Liu Zijin was not very surprised nor astonished, because she had originally come to find Jiang Beiran on purpose after learning how capable he was.

Fang Qiuyao was a bit disdainful. She thought that Jiang Beiran was praised by so many people just because he was a wimp, but that he actually had no real ability at all.

Meanwhile, the three sisters of the Yu family grew more and more curious about Jiang Beiran. At first, they hadn't really cared when Law Protector Yu had said she had found a very capable Iron Seal for them. After all, it was just an Iron Seal. They believed that there wasn't much difference between one Iron Seal or another. The job was just to bring new disciples around and complete some very easy trials. How capable could he be?

But after meeting him, Jiang Beiran's actions made them believe that this brother seemed to have an endless bag of treasures, able to produce everything from it, and that he also had a pair of clever hands well beyond their imagination.

Just now he had even earned such vigorous praise from a Flower Crown.

"It seems like…he is indeed a very capable brother?"

[1]: A type of grass.