Chapter 39: Roaring Valley.
"I read about it in the books, but it sure is different when experiencing it in person, don't ya agree?"
Li Yang looked at the land in front of him as he spoke, raising his head to look at the Roaring Valley. Yes, he had to raise his head to actually see the valley, or to catch a small glimpse of it to be correct. The Roaring Valley was located in a mountain, not on, in. It was probably once a gargantuan mountain, almost as wide as it was tall, but something in times long ancient had practically split the entire landmark in half. The cut had been gouged out and vegetation had slowly started to grow there, a valley naturally forming within the scar that separated the once-whole mountain peak.
What allowed him to peek into the valley was a waterfall, one of the many that dotted the side of the mountain that faced them. The waterfalls, like the valley itself, had just naturally formed over time as rainwater gathered and rubbed against the wall, eroding it over countless years. It was a spectacle, a sight worth seeing even if you had to travel, especially for normal people. But what a shame it was that this land was locked down most of the time, its grand sight obscured to all but the few who guarded it as they waited for the time to open it again.
"...My mouth... It's dry."
Mei Kongxu's voice came from behind Li Yang, from within the wagon as she pushed aside the curtain and looked at the mountain. Her brows were scrunched up somewhat, her tongue occasionally sliding across her lips to wet them. She looked pensive, almost on edge, but he could tell that it wasn't as bad as when they visited the previous ruins and her power ran out of control. Li Yang smirked slightly at the response, that same irksome smile that was always accompanied by mischievous words.
"Oohh, that's a good sign. If Wifey's uncomfortable then we're definitely on the right track, let's hope it only gets worse from here so that we know when we're close."
Li Yang himself couldn't really feel anything from this place, but if his guess was correct and this was indeed where the Pristine Tyrant self-detonated in the past then it might be that he couldn't feel anything because that detonation had supposedly destroyed practically all of the Tyrant's soul. As for why Mei Kongxu was feeling something, he guessed that her past life, if she indeed had one too, had visited this place after the Tyrant's demise.
"Let's go get registered."
Li Yang ignored Mei Kongxu's glare and spurred the horses onwards. There was a checkpoint set up a short distance away from the mountain's base, right in front of the various paths that led into the valley. There were quite a few people clustered in front of the checkpoint, most were clad in whatever they owned so they were likely the wanderers. But some were clad in the dark blue robes dotted with white stars that belonged to the Star's Gaze Temple, they were probably the ones who would be leading the various groups that wanted to enter.
Li Yang brought the wagon to the stable that stood at the side of the stone checkpoint, a few of the lowest-ranked disciples had been put in charge of taking care of the steeds of those who would spend long periods of time in the valley. Mei Kongxu left the wagon, still occasionally wetting her lips, and Li Yang handed the reins to the one that came to greet them.
"Here ya go. But I gotta warn you, I spent a pretty penny on these guys so I don't want anything to happen to them. I'll have you reimburse me should anything happen to them while I'm gone, and if you can't do that then you best believe that I'll use you as a horse from now on. No way in hell I'm walking around with that cranky sleepyhead there."
Li Yang used one thumb to point at Mei Kongxu over his shoulder, a lopsided smirk on his face as he looked at the man, who winced as he took the reins. But there sadly was no response from the man, he simply lowered his head and quickly guided the horses towards an empty room so that he could detach them from the wagon.
"Peh, how boring."
"Just get a move on, otherwise I'll just leave you behind."
Mei Kongxu didn't even bother sighing anymore at Li Yang's comments, she simply started walking towards the checkpoint. Li Yang clicked his tongue once before following Mei Kongxu, he couldn't very well leave his dear wife alone after all.
The two made their way through the crowds and up to the stone checkpoint, stopping in front of a slightly dusty booth housing an older woman.
"State your cultivation realm and whether or not you'll enter together or separately."
The woman did not bother wasting any words, she didn't even greet them as she moved on to the main topic. Normally there would be no need to separate people based on cultivation realm, they could just enter and wander freely. But now that they were entering with disciples from the temple they had to divide them by realms, they seemingly weren't willing to pair wanderers with disciples stronger than themselves, otherwise, the wanderers would just get a free pass to some of the better resources in the valley after all.
Li Yang put on his best offended face and dragged Mei Kongxu into his embrace, his movements a bit stilted thanks to the heightened gravity that constantly affected him. He then held out his arm to show off the ring on his finger, using his other arm to raise Mei Kongxu's hand to show her ring.
"Middle-stage of the Human Rune Realm, both of us. And what do you mean separate? Look at this, can't you tell that this is my darling Wifey and I'm her adored Hubby!?"
An elbow swiftly found its way to his waist, Mei Kongxu digging it in so deeply that Li Yang felt like she was trying to reach his intestines. His body bent slightly, but he maintained his smile, albeit a bit more strained now. This wife of his had really started to amp up the force of her retaliation whenever he involved her like this, it seemed like she was starting to get more comfortable as she figured out how to handle him.
"Whatever. Middle-stage, got it. Head to that disciple there, the dark-red haired one, she will be your group's leader."
The woman's eyebrow quivered for a second at the scene, but her expression remained stoic, almost bored, as she pointed them towards one of the disciples that were waiting around. The one she pointed them towards was a youthful girl with hair as red as a rose and eyes as blue as the sky, she was also at the middle-stage, but Li Yang guessed that she had likely carved five or six runes so she was technically a slight bit above them.
She looked a bit bored, or perhaps stoic and stern, as she stood there and overlooked the various wanderers, as well as other disciples, that she was in charge of. With an expression like that, how could Li Yang not make his move?
"Oh! Fairy Sister Star, you'll be our guide for this trip? Well slap me twice and call me a god, I must have been a saint in my past life to have been granted such luck in this one! I'm Li Yang, what can I call this Fairy Sister?"
Li Yang didn't even try to suppress his voice, it rang out clearly audible to practically everyone who was still gathered here. Even worse was the way he waved his arms to draw her attention, it was practically filled with childlike excitement, enough to make people scoff at his actions. The woman didn't respond to his calls, her eyebrows only twitched a bit as she seemed unsure on how to react.
"No response? Come on now, Fairy Sister, at least grace me with your name, otherwise, how will I ever get to rest in peace?"
Li Yang wasn't deterred by the lack of response, nor the stealthy scoffs he heard from a few of the surrounding people. He confidently strode forward, holding on to Mei Kongxu's wrist so that she couldn't slip away. But someone stepped into his path before he could reach the unresponsive girl, a man who seemed to be in his late twenties blocking him.
"How about you join my group instead?"
The man had ashen blue hair and dark brown eyes and had a serene air about him, the curve of his lips could even be considered rather kind, containing only a twinge of pride. He was a bit taller so Li Yang had to raise his head to lock eyes with him, tilting his head slightly as he responded.
"You interested in her? Or my wife over here? Well, on that second one, sorry, but she's already married to me so you'll have to go pluck some flower buds on your own. And if it's her, she doesn't seem to reciprocate those feelings, not with her gaze at least? Is it a one-sided crush maybe? Ah, I get ya, those are a bitch man, but stay strong, may the best man win."
Li Yang didn't let up even in the face of this disciple, stretching out his hand while flashing a sincere smile. This man had an expression similar to the girl's, stoic and serious, only the curve of his lips was a bit different. Gods, why did the sects and organizations have to raise their cultivators to be so serious and joyless, they practically drained all life from them just so that they could become cultivation machines for their sake.
"If she is your wife, wouldn't it be more appropriate if you stick with her and don't call out to other girls like that?"
The man actually accepted Li Yang's outstretched hand and shook it, completely ignoring Li Yang's almost mocking remarks as he latched onto the most logical piece of information Li Yang had provided. But logic was not something that worked well against Li Yang, who simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, it can't be helped, she loves me so dearly that she is fine with not keeping me all to herself. Greatness has to be shared you know, she understands that."
"He's lying. We're married in name only. It's just a formality."
Mei Kongxu shot down Li Yang's retort with a cold snort, calling him out for everyone to hear. Li Yang's smile cramped for a second but he quickly regained himself, he was nothing if not flexible when it came to moments like this.
"Ouch, wifey. Why you gotta hurt me like that? At least do it in the bedroom like normal, at least there I like it."
Li Yang's eyebrows rose and sank as he gestured in a seductive manner with them, just a step shy of winking as he played along. The man gave a slight nod of his head to Mei Kongxu's explanation, it certainly explained why two people who seemed this different at first glance were together.
"A formality, huh? Sounds like you have it rough too. But either way, no, I'm not interested in your wife so don't worry about that."
He denied Li Yang's insincere accusation with a light shake of his head, maintaining his demeanour and continuing to block the road. He looked straight at Li Yang, locking eyes with him as if he wanted to peer straight through him. But just a staring contest like this was far from enough to make Li Yang shrink back, he was able to do something like this even against his own father or Mei Kongxu's mother.
"Ah, so it really is her then? You've got a good eye, but you should have made a move earlier then. I mean, can't exactly go around pussyfooting the topic when life can be this short, gotta grow some balls and go fo...Gh!"
His words were cut off by a pained grunt, all the air in his lungs forced out from his mouth as the man's fist suddenly smashed directly into his solar plexus. Just as he lurched forward, his breakfast quickly making its way up his throat, a second punch hit the back of his head, unceremoniously smashing him into the dirt.
"Can you still stand?"
The taste of blood filled Li Yang's mouth as the man spoke, his tone not changing in the slightest. Li Yang's tongue roamed about within his mouth for a bit, two teeth had been knocked out and ended up leaving some cuts in his mouth, hence the taste of blood. He placed both arms against the ground and pushed himself up, locking eyes with the man again.
"Good, got anything to say?"
The man nodded slightly at Li Yang's demeanour, especially his eyes. Li Yang's nose was leaking blood and dirt covered his face, but his eyes were worth looking at, that was what he thought. Li Yang rolled his tongue around in his mouth once more, collecting the teeth that had been knocked out and then spitting them out along with a bit of blood.
"Please sir, may I have another?"
A fist found his face just as quickly as he finished his words, a jab smashing into his cheek and knocking him down once more while also knocking out two more teeth. A hit like that should have knocked out a fair few more teeth, Li Yang understood that now when he personally experienced the hits. It seemed like the man was holding back a fair bit so he probably wasn't a brute. Well, not entirely at least, he was still just bashing about a random person after all.
"And? Still able to stand?"
The man spoke again as he looked at Li Yang, his face once again smeared into the dirt. Li Yang's hand pushed against the ground once more as he stood up, he had to stand up like this because of the heightened gravity pushing him down, it was also part of the reason he couldn't even react to the man's punches. The man nodded his head once more when Li Yang once again stood up and spat out his teeth.
"Good, at least you've got the tenacity of a cultivator. Your proud eyes also belie your mischievous demeanour. Let me tell you this, carefreeness and confidence are great traits, hard to acquire and even harder to keep. But you need to know when you can put them on full display and when to just sprinkle them about, if you let them get to your head at all times then your head will become too heavy for your shoulders to bear. Now, do you have anything to say?"
The eyes were the window to the soul, the older you got the truer you would find these words. And the man had been paying close attention to Li Yang's eyes the entire time they talked. They didn't hold an ounce of the jovial attitude that filled his word, the mischievous tone of his voice. They were smiling, perhaps even mocking, but they were prouder than all creation, higher than the sky. His entire attitude was a lie, nothing more. Li Yang lowered his head for a second before he responded, spitting out another mouthful of blood before he raised his gaze again.
"I'll return those punches, I hope you're aware of that? Well, not that last one, I did ask for it after all, I'm at least that gracious."
The corners of his lips turned up into that lopsided smirk, that cocky mask that was now stained with blood and dirt. Even now he still had it in him to make jokes. The man didn't mind it, nodding his head one final time.
"I look forward to it, so make sure you don't lose your head to your own arrogance before then."
He had stepped up because he didn't like how things looked, but from the looks of things it seemed like it was a bit pointless. From this short encounter, he was at the very least confident that this youth wasn't someone who would take things too far, he'd probably leave it at mocking and humiliating others. Well, it was questionable if he would be able to even do that to his sister. Assured of that, he turned his head back to the girl and stepped out of the way.
"I'll be leaving him with you after all. Hitting him seems to be effective so just use that to teach him if he gets too uppity."
"As you say, Brother."
The girl cupped her fists and responded politely, her answer clearing up a few things for Li Yang. Siblings. That was why he got so annoyed when Li Yang asked if he had a crush on her. The man had stepped out of the way and opened the path again, and his sister had accepted his lesson on how to treat Li Yang, but Mei Kongxu knew the truth. And it was because she knew the truth that she couldn't help but mutter in a voice so low that only she could hear it.
"...You wish it was that easy, I've already tried multiple times..."
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ShiranuiShukumei
ShiranuiShukumei Ya know, I'm starting to remember why I stopped releasing all my stories at once. Stressing over releasing chapters for all of them in good time is a surprisingly good mind killer.
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