「Two days later.」
The sky had cleared after the snow. Two deep ruts from wagon wheels and a scattering of hoof prints had churned the pure white snow into sullied slush.
Startled birds took flight from their roosts, shaking loose a drift of powdery snow.
"WHINNNY!"
The horse snorted in the snow, anxiously pawing at the ground.
Inside the carriage, Du Youqian poked his head out and looked around.
Yang Wenwan smiled and asked, "Brother, who are you waiting for?"
"I'm not waiting for anyone. Just taking a look around," Du Youqian said with a smile.
'That woman… she didn't come.'
It wasn't that he was disappointed, exactly. It was just that Du Youqian did feel a tiny, fingernail-sized sliver of concern for her.
Three years ago, Lin Sha had broken through to the Innate Realm.
Du Youqian, however, was still a hair's breadth away from cultivating back to the Innate Realm himself.
So, she had used her martial prowess to coerce him, forcing the poor, weak, and helpless Du Youqian to…
Best not to dwell on it. The process itself may have been a soul-leaving, ecstatic experience—the pinnacle of earthly pleasure.
'Demon Sect Demonesses are truly something else!'
But looking back on it after the… climax… all that remained were tears of humiliation.
And on that night when they rekindled their passion, she told Du Youqian her story.
She also said that since Du Youqian was such a firm believer in the Immortal Dao, she wanted to try believing too and was planning to go seek out a path to immortality.
It was only on that night that Du Youqian finally understood why she clearly possessed superior Demon Sect Techniques, yet seemed to have no ties to any Demon Sect organization.
He also came to understand her complex psyche—why she had once so violently attempted to take her own life, and why she had later become so attached to him.
After that night, Lin Sha disappeared.
Du Youqian was sure she wasn't dead.
After all, there weren't many things in this world that could threaten an Innate Grandmaster.
As for Cultivators, most wouldn't venture into mortal lands. Even if they did come on business, they would leave as quickly as they arrived.
The thin Spiritual Qi, you see, could cause a Cultivator's Realm to regress.
According to Elder Tao, the Immortal Master Tributors assigned to the various Imperial Families all considered their post in the Mortal World a miserable chore.
They only did it out of necessity, for the sake of their Sect's destiny.
They had to be rotated out every few years.
Otherwise, unless a Core Formation Ancestor was personally present, they couldn't lock down their Magical Power to prevent their Cultivation from regressing too severely.
Therefore, Du Youqian felt that Lin Sha must have had some other kind of fortuitous encounter.
'Who knows? Maybe she really had found a Blessed Land or an Independent Practitioner Dojo and started her own cultivation journey.'
Du Youqian remembered clearly that Lin Sha definitely had a Spirit Root. He also had a feeling it wasn't a poor one—it might even be Middle Grade, or perhaps even Upper Grade.
And now, he was finally on his way to see the Cultivation Realm of the Han Kingdom for himself. Du Youqian's heart was filled with anticipation.
'I hope we're both okay.'
The sound of hooves clopped once more as mud and melting snow were left behind.
~~~~~~~~
"Brother, are there really Cultivators here?" Du Youqian asked, tilting his head back to gaze at the endless, precipitous mountain range.
This was the western region of the Han Kingdom. A massive mountain range, stretching three thousand li, formed a natural border between the Han Kingdom and the Tang Kingdom.
This mountain range was known as Yu Kun Mountain.
To the south of Yu Kun Mountain, the great Han River flowed from east to west.
South of the Han River was Five Wishes Mountain, where the Monkey was located.
While studying the geography of the Han Kingdom, Du Youqian had suspected that Yu Kun Mountain must contain a Pocket World Blessed Land.
Yang Wenwan pointed toward Yu Kun Mountain. "That's right. There are some things you should know now. Behind every kingdom, there is at least one Immortal Sect providing protection. If a kingdom offends its patron Sect and loses that protection, it risks complete annihilation—its country destroyed and its people exterminated."
"The Sect backing our Han Kingdom is called the Zhongxuan Sect, and it is located right here in Yu Kun Mountain. Look, Brother, that peak is called Feixian Peak. The grounds of the Zhongxuan Sect are at its base."
Gazing at the snow-capped peak, Du Youqian asked curiously, "Aren't there any other Immortal Sects in Yu Kun Mountain?"
Yang Wenwan shook his head. "That, I do not know. Immortals and mortals are different. Although I am at the pinnacle of power in the Mortal World, to those high and mighty Immortal Masters, I am unworthy of their notice because I lack a Spirit Root for Cultivation. They would never deign to tell me much."
"Perhaps there are other Immortal Sects in Yu Kun Mountain, but a Mortal would never be able to find their gates."
Seeing the wistful look on his sworn brother's face, Du Youqian figured he must have had some unpleasant experiences.
He recalled his life before last, when he had been a man of immense power in the Wu Kingdom, yet was still ordered about by those Immortal Masters as if he were a mere servant. Du Youqian could more or less understand his sworn brother's feelings.
"Let's go, Brother. Those mountains are farther than they look. If we don't pick up the pace, we'll be sleeping in the wilderness tonight."
"I wouldn't mind that at all. It would be a pleasure to chat with you by a campfire tonight, Brother."
"Ahem!" Mr. Si, who had been silent for the entire trip, let out a cough.
Though he still said nothing, the cough made his opinion clear: it was best not to camp in the open.
In fact, he had vehemently opposed Yang Wenwan's decision to travel with only a small escort to bring Du Youqian to Yu Kun Mountain.
As the Governor of Three States, the safety of the soldiers and civilians of all Three States rested on Yang Wenwan's shoulders. How could he so easily leave the protection of his main army!
What if the Jin Kingdom discovered this and dispatched a few Innate Grandmasters to sneak into the Han Kingdom and assassinate him?
If Yang Wenwan were seriously injured, or worse, the Governor's Mansion would be left without a leader. The Jin Kingdom would inevitably seize the opportunity to push south.
They would very likely take advantage of the chaos to overrun the Three States, leaving the Han Kingdom without its northern shield!
"Haha, Brother, it seems we won't be able to enjoy the pleasure of camping out and chatting by the fire tonight after all."
Du Youqian laughed. "That's fine too. To be honest, Brother, I'm burning with impatience. I just want to meet the Immortal Masters as soon as possible."
Mr. Si gave Du Youqian an approving nod.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was already dusk.
Fearing they might reveal their whereabouts, they didn't even leave the carriage at a nearby post station. Instead, they left it behind with the driver to stand guard while the three of them proceeded on foot.
Night fell, and the sky was moonless.
The snow on the ground had not yet fully melted. The mountain forest was devoid of the chirping of insects, and most wild beasts had retreated to their lairs.
Aside from the crunch of their footsteps and the rustle of the wind, the world was utterly silent.
"Wait." Yang Wenwan suddenly stopped and raised a hand.
His eyebrows furrowed so deeply they almost looked like two Nike swooshes as he glanced around suspiciously.
At almost the exact same moment, Du Youqian also froze, stock-still, as if he had seen Medusa and instantly turned from a living man into a stone statue.
The way he went from motion to absolute stillness in a single instant was so unnatural it was maddening to watch.
It was simply not a movement a normal human could perform.
Mr. Si raised his eyebrows in astonishment.
He had long known that this "Young Master Qiu" practiced Martial Arts and seemed to have exceptional talent.
But before the age of eighteen, Young Master Qiu had just been a scholar, too weak to even truss a chicken.
Even if he had trained diligently without pause for the past six years, Mr. Si believed he could have become a first-rate expert at best.
That was why he had never taken "Young Master Qiu" seriously.
But now, he knew he had been completely and utterly wrong.
That tiny detail just now had made him realize that "Young Master Qiu's" Martial Arts were in no way inferior to his own.
In fact, it was possible he had already, without a sound, reached the level of an Innate Grandmaster!
'I actually let the Governor stand completely defenseless in front of an Innate Grandmaster!'
If they weren't facing a powerful enemy right now, Mr. Si would have immediately cut off one of his own fingers as a reminder of his failure.
"Is it the Jin Kingdom? How could they have ambushed us here? Is there a traitor?" Yang Wenwan muttered to himself in confusion.