Luo Yu’er only wanted to escape Feng Feiyun but accidentally ran towards the direction of Endless Land, stepping into a primal forest. When she calmed down and realized something was amiss, she has already been several hundred miles in.
‘This is bad, why did I run into this dangerous area? That young master scared me foolish.’
One could clearly hear the roars of beasts in the mountain range even when they were a hundred miles away.
Fear appeared on her peerless face as she recalled the perilous legends about these parts. She wanted to fly and get out since she was still close to the border.
However, a hand pressed down on her shoulder. Feiyun was behind her and said: “Don’t fly, you’ll die right away.”
She couldn’t move at all. Suddenly, a nine-meter-long bird flew out of a black mountain but a gigantic golden ape dozens of miles away threw out a huge boulder.
The bird’s head got crushed and blood splattered everywhere. The golden ape leaped over and dragged the bird’s corpse away.
This scared the crap of Yu’er. She could be the one dead right now if Feiyun didn’t stop her.
“There are beasts everywhere here. Only the top ones will fly in the sky or they’ll become a living target.” Feiyun said.
“Young Master Feng… please spare me…” Yu’er looked pitifully at him. This was actual begging, not a case of coquettishness.
“Be a good girl and stay right behind me or else… Hehehe…” Feiyun smiled deviously before heading deeper into the forest.
Yu’er knew that she couldn’t escape with her current cultivation and would only risk being bullied by disobeying. She frowned and hesitated before deciding to follow him.
According to the Jiang legends, Bronze Cauldron Mountain was where the Witch God slew numerous demons. It was a sacred place but its actual location remained a mystery.
Feiyun took his time reading the stone tablets and bone writings back at the tribe and had a general idea of its location. He followed the path erected by treasure-masters along remote marshes.
Because they couldn’t fly and needed to avoid powerful spirit beasts, their speed was quite slow. They have only traveled ten thousand miles after five days and didn’t see a single living person.
Yu’er eventually stopped being afraid. The young master seemingly changed. Though he still looked quite evil, the guy didn’t touch a single finger of hers or had any intention of sleeping together.
Images of the past surfaced in her mind. She remembered that Feng Feiyun had changed back then too. He helped her and cut off Boss Wu’s arm on top of eliminating the villainous San Ye.
He gave her fifteen gold coins too only to drink a cup of tea. She knew that she wasn’t good at it; the tea was only worth several bronze coins at best. The young master simply wanted to help her. Plus, he didn’t even drink her tea after paying. She still owed him fifteen cups.
‘Why is he evil again now? What happened to him in the last several years?’ She wondered.
Her eyes brimmed with curiosity while following him. She opened her mouth several times and almost had enough courage to ask. Alas, she ended up closing it each time.
“How did your grandpa pass away?” Feiyun cut his way through thistles and thorns along a mountain gorge.
“Grandpa… passed away from illness.” Her eyes turned slightly red.
“Do I look like a child to you? How can Wisdom Master Jing Feng let him die from an illness? Just one random grass can let him live for more than a hundred years without getting sick.” Feiyun turned around, easily knew that she was lying.
Feiyun didn’t like prying but the old man was an old acquaintance so he made casual conversation. However, the girl chose to lie. There must be something else going on.
She looked down at the stream and said: “During my third year at Heaven Worship, one night, the Third Tribe Lord of Heaven Witchcraft broke into our place, wanting to find me but I was training with Master at the temple so he took grandpa instead. Big Brother Chang Datou and Gou Dadan gave chase right away but during the pursuit… that third lord… crushed grandpa to death then escaped… hoo hoo.”
She started sobbing because the two of them relied on each other for survival since forever. She thought that her grandpa would have a good life after she became the goddess. Who would have thought that his death was because of her?
“Why did you lie to me?” Feiyun didn’t know what to say.
“Hoo hoo… because if I told you that grandpa was killed, you would call me a useless idiot and say that I can’t even avenge him despite being the goddess… but maybe it’s true. I’m really useless for not being able to wake the divine tree, many died because of this…” She bawled her eyes out, wanting to make up for the last several years.
“I won’t make fun of you anymore, just stop crying, okay? What kind of goddess cries like this? Have you no shame?” Feng Feiyun said.
“Really?” She questioned his trustworthiness.
“The third lord of Heaven Witchcraft is Shi Zhenxiang? I will help you kill him.” He nodded in response.
“Ah? Why are you helping me when it’s not any of your business. Plus, this guy is very strong, he can destroy a mountain with a single punch.” She thought she was hearing things.
“Because I’m Young Master Feng, the only person who can bully you. Little Yu’er, you still owe me fifteen cups of tea, gotta pay me back! Haha!” Feiyun walked up to her and said.
Feiyun moved forward, not knowing why he could relax with Yu’er. Perhaps it was because he didn’t need to worry about her scheming for her own gains. She was similar to Nalan Xuejian in this regard.
However, he knew that Xuejian had feelings for him so he tried his best not to mingle with her or she would fall deeper in love. This wasn’t the case for Yu’er. She had nothing but fear so it was fine to tease her to relax. No need to worry about her falling in love either because that’s impossible. The only thing in her head was probably how to get away from Young Master Feng.
She stood there in a daze and watched him leave in a lazy manner. Alas, when facing his enemies, he would become ruthless and cold like a completely different person.
‘Does he only act like this in front of me? Why does he want to help and protect me so much? Even going as far as avenging grandpa, I’m not his sister nor his lover, why is he so good to me?’ Waves rippled in her eyes while her eyebrows fluttered, feeling slightly confused about Feiyun’s intent.
She shook his head and dispelled these crazy thoughts before catching up. It looked like she was following him on her own volition now instead of being forced to do so.
Later that same day, they actually met a smaller tribe.
It was old and rarely interacted with outsiders. They haven’t seen a visitor in several decades. Feiyun and Yu’er were met with enthusiasm instead of apprehension.
Feiyun became curious. A tribe with several hundred people could survive in this dangerous area?
He looked around and saw an old well and a stone tablet that clearly have been around for a millennium now. The tribe certainly had older items too. This indicated the existence of the tribe since long ago.
Remember, a Giant would have a hard time surviving for more than three days in the outer area but the villagers here have been around for much longer. There was more than meets the eyes here.
A group of young children surrounded the two of them. One of the girls had a melodious voice: “You’re really pretty, Big Sister, just as pretty as the Big Sister from yesterday.”
“Someone else visited your tribe yesterday?” Feiyun’s expression changed.
A group of old men came forward too and looked quite friendly. One of them wore beast hide while holding a tobacco pipe made of bamboo: “A monk in white and a beautiful girl wearing Buddhist robe visited us yesterday. They also came from outside.”
The only reason Feiyun managed to survive so far was due to his keen awareness allowing him to dodge danger. Moreover, he could control the beasts nearby to scout for him. That’s how he managed to make it this far.
In other words, one needed supreme cultivation to reach this remote tribe.
‘A monk and a girl in Buddhist attire?’ He became curious.