For Bu Wan it was an average day for her. She helped out at the tavern, took drinks, and played dice. Of course, luck was always on her side so she never had to work too hard. She was just making her way home when a couple approached her. She didn't recognize them at all.
"Excuse me what town is this" the women asked.
"This is black forest city, its less of a city and more of a town, we only have a population of around 20,000 people here. If you're looking for an inn I suggest the one I work at, its just down the street and two blocks to the right".
There were lots of visitors to black forest city due to its close proximity to the border. Because of this, the city itself was focused on accommodation to a point were it made up a large part of its economy.
Bu Wan herself was an undercover diviner who job it was to identify potential spies and demonic cultivators.
"Thank you so much, we will be on our way then" the women replied.
'They look too normal, its weird that they have child with them though, not many spies would try that tactic'.
Bu Wan already pegged them as potential spies do to their appearance. Those who tried their best to look normal were anything but. The harder someone was trying to fit in the more they looked out of place to Bu Wan.
She quickly went home and took out some tools from a hidden compartment. Hidden from view with a false wall was incense and spirit stones. The country of Yangoo bordered the principality of yore to the north. A land filled with libraries and towers, were a culture of fierce studying, a high importance of knowledge and land filled of snow and mountains awaited. Although they were a neutral country politically, due to their culture they had a habit of sending spies everywhere they could. The country was built off of the quote "knowledge is power" so they try to obtain every detail they can from their neighbors. This lead to the rise of spy masters or inquisitors in the northern area of Yangoo to counter act these influx of spies. Bu Wan was one of those so called inquisitors.
She broke up the spirit stones into a fine dust by using an enchanted hammer and then a mortar and pestle. The dust usually got everywhere but Bu Wan was a pro and used her qi to keep it in place. She used the dust to draw a formation on a flat table as the faint candle lights lit the room. She then pulled out a bottle a blood and used it as the dust seemed to soak it up.
"I ask for information regarding the couple I last met. Who are they, what are they, what is there purpose, and what should I know about them." she then placed a gem in the middle of the formation and clasped her hands in prayer. She waited... and waited some more.
'No response' she eventually thought to herself.
A armature would think its due to a failed ritual but Bu Wan knew she had done it correctly.
'It means that the entity she was praying too is protecting them, or there is interference elsewhere'.
She had done the ritual using the blood of a vampire meaning that a patron of their pantheon would respond but their was none. She used some different resources and different rituals but the results all turned out the same: failure. There could be hundreds of different reasons as to why a ritual fails. The god or entity that your are praying too might not respond. You might not have the required materials, a lack of quality, talent, the wrong wording, etc. But for all of Bu Wan's rituals to fail painted a different story entirely. It meant that they had a way to protect against such tactics. This meant they were hiding something and it was Bu Wan's job to find out what.
Gu Zhi and Gu Xiao stopped at the inn ready to set in for the night.
"I'll go talk to the locals to try and find some information about the place, you take care of Gu Bo." Gu Xiao said.
Gu Zhi was taking care of Gu Bo before he noticed something weird happen. One of the talismans he had on him to take care of divination seemed to be growing warm, and then cooling off and growing warm again.
'Someone is divining us' Gu Zhi thought to himself.
He also felt a very small prickling sensation deep within himself. He focused, as he tried to trace back the where the feeling was coming from. It took a while, as it was very hard to find, but with extreme focus he was able to see it. Deep within the recesses of his mind he could feel something that seemed to be more than himself.... No it was his true self. In the hollow expanse of him mind he found his soul and something that felt like an eye staring at him. In his own mind he had less sight but was more sensitive than ever.
"HUAHHH, *Huff* *Huff*"
The second he studied the object studying him he seemed to have a sudden premonition of danger. Like his senses screaming at him like never before to stop before it was to late. However Gu Zhi had nothing but a smile on his face.
'I found it'.
He was grinning ear to ear like a child who just found candy.
'I FOUND MY SOUL'.
One of the hardest parts of soul cultivation was finding your own soul. It helped the higher level cultivation you were so for a foundation level cultivator like Gu Zhi even with his talent in sensitivity, he still failed for two years. But it seemed like all he needed was a little push - probably from something unfriendly - to achieve his goal. Now with his soul found, he could finally start practicing the soul enlightenment technique.