Chapter 63 An Encounter

Under the cover of night, a huge, crimson bird circled and descended, stirring up gusts of wind that whipped up large amounts of snow from the ground.

“Thank you for seeing me off, Senior Chi Peng!” After landing, Cui Hongyue was very polite to the giant red bird, bowing to it as if it were an elder.

The young man in brocade robes, named Cui Chongyi, also bowed and watched the red roc fly away.

“Uncle Hong, is this where Chonghe is staying? It’s so desolate. The fire spring in that small town ahead is of a very low grade and can hardly produce any spiritual items. Why didn’t you arrange a better place for him?”

“Young Master, please don’t call me Uncle Hong, I can’t accept that title.” Cui Hong quickly stopped him. He looked to be in his thirties, and his arms appeared very long because of his practice of the Tongtian Gong.

His face was sharply defined, and his eyes were very sharp. He first looked around warily before sighing and saying, “I am just following orders.”

Upon hearing this, Cui Chongyi nodded, deciding not to say anything more on the matter.

He was not yet twenty years old and had a beauty mark under his left eye, but he did not seem to be a sentimental person. He was quite talkative and said, “Uncle Hong, there’s no need for so many formalities when you’re out in the world. I need to gain experience for a while and I’ll need you to take care of me. Let’s not stand on ceremony.”

Cui Hong didn’t force him and led him toward Yinteng Town.

“Why is no one living in this house?” Cui Hong stood at the entrance of the town, and his expression immediately changed. The not-so-small house was now empty.

He asked around and finally breathed a sigh of relief. The family hadn’t moved away from Yinteng Town; they had simply moved to a larger house in the town center.

After asking around, the two finally found it.

“Suspicious target detected.” In Silvervine Town, a magpie flapped its wings and flew away.

Not long after, from the mansion in the town center, Cui Hong roared: “I gave you a lot of money back then, is this how you do things? Then you can forget about living!”

Cui Chongyi also stood up abruptly, slamming the coffee table to pieces with a slap, his face extremely ugly.

“It’s not my fault. He woke up and suddenly clutched his head, growling like a madman, and ran out. I didn’t dare… go near him, and when I looked for him again, he was gone,” a pale-faced man in his early forties replied.

Cui Hong’s eyes were terrifying, like two golden lamps shining, emitting beams of light that seemed almost tangible. A powerful long arm reached out and quickly grabbed the man.

The middle-aged man’s face immediately turned pale, and he hurriedly explained, “He should be fine. I… I saw him on the street a few days ago, and he looked very energetic.”

“Huh?” This surprised Cui Hong and Cui Chongyi. Their hearts had sank, thinking something bad had happened, but they never expected that things would take a turn for the better.

The middle-aged man quickly said, “I saw him visit the Wu family with an old man. He looked radiant, and his illness should be completely cured.”

“What’s the background of the Wu family?” Cui Chongyi asked.

“Our ancestors were extremely powerful, known as masters of both spear and arrow. They were once unmatched in this region, but they have declined now. I reckon that young man might be going to learn the Wu family’s New Life Technique.”

Cui Hong released him, his expression shifting repeatedly, muttering to himself, “Has he been reborn in this remote place? I…sigh!”

He frowned. The dignified middle-aged man from the Cui family had instructed that Cui Chonghe should live a normal life here.

“Let’s find Chonghe first,” Cui Chongyi said.

Cui Hong visited the Wu family to learn about the situation.

Cui Chongyi didn’t go in. Instead, he stood on the street of Yinteng Town, wanting to experience the local customs and culture of this remote place.

He didn’t go far; he went to a shop less than 100 meters from the Wu family’s gate and inquired about the prices of local specialties.

“Are the birds in this remote place so bold? They almost bumped into me.” Cui Chongyi quickly turned his head, and a small black bird flew past his head.

Not far away, on a tall locust tree, a white owl squinted and looked down, muttering to itself, “It’s not just the accent from that area of ​​the aristocratic city; judging from its reaction, its strength is also very likely to match. I’m sorry, young man, it’s not my fault if I catch the wrong person. Let me use you to help calm down first, to prove that I’m doing my best.”

…

Outside Shuangshu Village, Old Liu felt no reluctance. Having lived through so much at his age, he simply came to see Qin Ming off.

“If you can’t make it out there, come back soon and grow old with me.”

“You really don’t know how to talk. I haven’t even gone far yet, can’t you say something nice?” Qin Ming said, glancing back at Shuangshu Village. Under the night sky, the black and white twin trees looked quite extraordinary in the reflection of the fire spring.

Old Liu said, “Don’t underestimate Black and White Mountain. It used to be a forbidden zone, so oppressive that everyone felt suffocated. Sooner or later, it will rise up again!”

Looking at the mountains, Qin Ming felt a pang of reluctance, having lived there for two years.

“I’m leaving now. Do you have any advice to share?”

Old Liu said, “There are more good people than bad in this world, but you can’t be too careful. I think you’re quite mature for your age, so I don’t need to remind you of these things. Just be careful of the people in the city. I’ll just mention two types of people that are commonly seen outside the city, and you should be wary of them.”

Qin Ming had only mentioned it casually, but he didn’t expect him to actually say something.

“First, there are the elderly traveling merchants. No matter how strong they are, don’t underestimate them. They dare to travel around the land shrouded in eternal night. They wouldn’t dare to travel far away for decades without some special skills. Some of these traveling merchants you don’t even know their true identity, whether they are doing business or searching for something.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming nodded solemnly, indicating that he had learned something. Today, he was going to travel far away with a group of itinerant merchants.

“There are mountain patrollers in every place. If they live to be over a hundred years old and are still frequently going in and out of the dark mountains, do not provoke them easily, because you do not know what they are.”

Qin Ming nodded solemnly and said goodbye to Old Man Liu.

“The traveling merchant you helped me choose is leading a group that departs from Emei Town. Should I stop by the mountain when I pass by and wipe out that nest of monkeys for you, so I can vent the anger you suffered when you were young?” He was really hitting a sore spot.

You’d better leave now!

“Haha…” Qin Ming walked away amidst loud laughter, disappearing into the vast snowfield.

…

When Qin Ming joined a traveling merchant’s group in Emei Town, he unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance. This young man had served him and Old Man Liu tea when Qin Ming went to the Wu family to read the secret manual.

“You are… Qin Ming?” Wu Zheng was surprised, then his face lit up with joy, feeling that traveling with an acquaintance was a blessing.

“Are you going to Crimson Cloud City too?” Qin Ming asked him.

Seventeen-year-old Wu Zheng nodded and said, “Yes, I want to broaden my horizons. Everyone in my Wu family who has achieved something has been to Chixia City to broaden their knowledge.”

Qin Ming wanted to say that Old Wu had also been there. The dazzling array of flowers was overwhelming, and he dared to spend two gold coins in one night. After staying there for a period of time, he caused the Wu family to fall into complete ruin.

“Stay true to yourself and understand what you’re going there to do.”

“I want to become the next generation’s master of both spear and arrow!” The boy was seventeen years old, reborn, full of dreams and aspirations for the future, wanting to go far away and strive.

The traveling merchant leading the group was in his early thirties, not the kind of old traveling merchant that Old Liu had mentioned, which reassured Qin Ming somewhat.

Moreover, this traveling merchant named Xu Sheng had a good reputation in the local area. He frequently traveled between Chixia City and this remote place. In addition to selling goods and doing business, he also led tours for a fee, taking people back and forth between the two regions.

“I’m telling you, there’s a vast desert ahead, stretching across the land. It’s absolutely dark there, without a single ray of light. If you fall in, you’ll surely die and never get out. No one is allowed to wander off. You must stay close to me and follow the path at the foot of the mountain. Remember, never speak carelessly at the edge of the desert, or you’ll be in trouble!”

On the second day after setting off, Xu Sheng was very serious, giving repeated instructions as they approached the desert.

There are no fire springs in the desert, and it is deathly still. Even a so-called master would be in grave danger if trapped there, as he could see nothing and would soon be completely lost.

At this moment, they were traveling across a plain, with only night and white snow in the world, because they were approaching a desert and vegetation was hard to find.

It was still early night, but this plain was already nearing midnight, as if a huge abyss was swallowing everything in front of it.

“What’s in the desert that you can’t even say whatever you want?”

Xu Sheng said, “Even high-level exotic birds dare not cross the desert, or they will die. Do you understand its level of danger? In addition, any newborn who has no respect for the desert will surely suffer calamity. This is not a joke. This is true in some deserts in various places.”

“What exactly happened?” someone asked, unwilling to give up.

“You still want to delve into this kind of question? There are dozens of theories, and any one of them can make you give up. According to some esoteric religions, the desert is related to important rituals of certain gods. If you dare to act recklessly in the vicinity, you will naturally be slightly punished.”

The group fell silent. A minor punishment could cost them their lives, but what would happen if they were severely punished?

“Isn’t it said that gods are just some powerful beings?”

“If that’s a god to you, shut up right now, or get out of the group!”

…

At this moment, Cui Hong was sitting in the forest, facing off against a white old elephant, listening to its incessant chatter.

Yesterday, Cui Chongyi was snatched away by a large bird, which greatly alarmed Cui Hong. He chased after it all the way deep into the mountains and finally made a breakthrough. He learned that the bird had been taken away by a powerful Purple Lightning Beast as a suspected target. The bird’s life was not in danger at the moment.

Cui Hong searched his way to this place and encountered a mysterious old elephant. The elephant sat cross-legged in the forest, looking like a wise and enlightened person. Most importantly, it had four snow-white tusks.

Cui Hong was completely bewildered and stunned.

It wasn’t until the old elephant sitting cross-legged in the woods carelessly knocked out one of its large tusks that Cui Hong realized two of its tusks were false and had been temporarily installed.

He was furious. He had wasted so much time for nothing; he had really thought he had encountered a descendant of a six-tusked white elephant.

boom!

A great battle broke out in the mountains and forests.

…

On the third day of the team’s journey, Qin Ming witnessed the darkness of the desert. Ordinary newcomers would indeed get lost immediately upon entering, as it was pitch black.

Even with his keen hearing and sharp senses, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Fortunately, they were traveling along the mountains at the edge of the desert, and with the mountains as reference points, they could pass through smoothly as long as they didn’t wander off.

As for traversing the mountains, that was extremely difficult, as they were filled with the territories of various strange creatures, and the mountains were exceptionally tall and difficult to navigate.

Boom!

Suddenly, a huge noise erupted ahead. The commotion coming from the mountains on one side of the road was so great that huge rocks tumbled down, nearly hitting the people at the front of the group.

“Retreat quickly!” shouted the traveling merchant Xu Sheng.

Then, people saw a snow-white old elephant, its body glowing, standing upright and fighting a human. It swung its trunk, constantly unleashing blinding flashes of light.

In addition to having two tusks in its mouth, its forearms are as flexible as human arms, with two white, jade-like tusks attached, as if it were wielding two swords and constantly slashing at its opponent.

Qin Ming’s pupils contracted. Even in this dark place, he could clearly see the appearance of the person fighting the old elephant.

The white elephant was glowing, illuminating the person very clearly.

“A man with very long arms, in his early thirties, with sharply defined features, looks a lot like one of the two men I’ve been gradually remembering!”

He was somewhat surprised to encounter one of the two people who had saved him years ago in such a place.

Cui Hong, being a highly skilled individual, was very perceptive. Sensing being watched for an extended period, he looked towards the caravan and his heart skipped a beat. He had actually discovered the person he was looking for.