The air was slightly damp, and a chill soaked through her body.
“You’re awake?”
Zhao Chun heard her and opened her eyes. Qi Yunrong was standing beside her, holding her heavy ruler, looking down to ask the question.
“Where is this…”
She sat up. The wounds on her body had not yet healed, but she had recovered much of her strength.
“Are we in the Drifting Clouds World?”
The spiritual qi around her was vibrant, a clear sign they had left that minor realm.
“Senior, do you know where that place was?”
Qi Yunrong’s brows furrowed tightly. She didn’t know either, and replied, “I’ve never heard of it. Perhaps it’s one of Drifting Clouds's wandering minor worlds, one can't be sure.”
She glanced at the disheveled Zhao Chun and said coolly, “Worry about yourself first!” A wandering minor world? Zhao Chun also came from one, but she had never seen a minor realm as desolate as that one.
It was even… desolate in a strange way… At this point, there was no way to find the truth. She could only store it in her heart.
In the future, as her cultivation base advanced, perhaps she would gradually learn a thing or two. Qi Yunrong looked around. The two of them were currently in a mountain range, with no signs of human life.
After shattering the bottom of the heavenly pit, she had fallen through a deep black hole to this place. Because she was born in the Drifting Clouds World, a sense of familiarity arose in her heart, letting her know she had likely returned to Drifting Clouds, though she didn't know the specific location.
This time, she had traveled with disciples from her sect. She still didn't know if her junior brothers and sisters were safe after the incident at the Flaring Wind Sect ruins. At this thought, Qi Yunrong grew a little anxious.
She said, “I'm going to scout the nearby area. If you still have some strength, follow on your own!” Zhao Chun was covered in blood and dust, which was indeed uncomfortable.
After casting a Dust Removal Technique, she took a clean outer robe from her storage pouch to change into. Only then did she breathe a small sigh of relief and reply, “Of course, I will go with Senior.”
“To think she’s someone so highly regarded by her sect.”
Only Foundation Establishment cultivators typically used storage artifacts. Qi Yunrong's talent was outstanding, and she was the head of all disciples in the Everglow Sect, which was why she had been granted a storage artifact during her Qi Refining stage.
She didn't expect to see one on Zhao Chun as well, and assumed that, like herself, Zhao Chun was one of the top disciples of the True Spirit Sect. Zhao Chun knew she had misunderstood but had no intention of explaining.
Being granted one by the sect was a much more orthodox origin than taking it from a person she had killed. Besides, the matter involved Yue Zuan, who was an abandoned disciple of the Everglow Sect, making it even more difficult to explain to Qi Yunrong.
Zhao Chun dared to use the items from her storage pouch because she could see Qi Yunrong's status was quite high, and she wouldn't be the type to get greedy over such a thing. Thus, it didn't matter if she let the misunderstanding continue. Valued by the True Spirit Sect?
Zhao Chun smiled to herself. She couldn't compare to the other elders' disciples. Qi Yunrong summoned her Smoke Boat.
A cultivator could only fly through the air upon reaching the Core Formation stage. As she was only at Foundation Establishment, she still had to rely on an object to travel. Zhao Chun followed her out of the mountain range.
The view was still layers of lush green. After traveling for a long time, she suddenly saw a lake embedded in the green fields like a star. Built around the lake was a small city.
“Let's go take a look!”
Qi Yunrong sped forward, her Smoke Boat slipping into the forest outside the city, not wanting to startle the mortals. Although it was surrounded by a high bluestone wall, judging by the population, it couldn't really be called a city. It was about the size of a small town, where the people lived by farming and weaving.
Sure enough, when the two arrived at the main gate, they saw three words written in black characters on a bluestone slab above: Lakewater Town. It was a name that perfectly matched its geography, and was also extremely simple. In the Drifting Clouds World, although it was said that immortals and mortals were different, cultivators did not hide their tracks.
Moreover, with the large number of low-level cultivators, it was inevitable that they would have some interaction with mortals. Therefore, Qi Condensation Cultivators were not a rare sight in the eyes of mortals. The gate guards saw that Zhao Chun's and Qi Yunrong's eyes shone with light and their bearing was unlike those of mortals.
Knowing they were immortals passing through, they didn't dare to question them much and hurriedly ushered the two inside. Lakewater Town was quite lively inside. There were many merchants coming and going, and even porters carrying various goods on shoulder poles, selling them as they walked and shouting their wares all the way.
Qi Yunrong was about to grab someone at random to ask for information, but Zhao Chun had sharp eyes and spotted a familiar face in the crowd. The previous trip to Ji City had been for the matter of selecting a husband for the Hong family's young miss. Later, they fell victim to Yue Zuan's venomous hand.
Hong Qisheng perished on the spot, and Madam Hong went mad. Having lost her support, Hong Qian took her mother and the family steward and left Ji City, saying she was going to live with Hong Qisheng's main clan. As fate would have it, the Hong family's main branch was actually in Lakewater Town.
That graceful woman carrying a small basket was none other than Hong Qian.
“Miss Hong.”
Hearing someone call her, Hong Qian turned around. Seeing it was Zhao Chun, who had once visited her home, she said in pleasant surprise, “Immortal Master! What brings you here?”
“It's a long story. I actually have a few things I need to ask you.”
Hong Qian nodded and welcomed Zhao Chun and Qi Yunrong into a small shop on the side of the street. She explained that she ran this little shop herself, selling some simple food and drinks, and the profits were enough to support her mother and ensure they had enough to eat.
The floor above served as the living quarters for her and her mother. She led the two of them inside and closed the door before daring to ask for details. Zhao Chun glossed over many details, only saying that she and Senior Qi Yunrong had arrived here by accident and still didn't know where they were.
Hong Qian smiled slightly.
“This is Orange Prefecture Ridge. According to my late father, it's in the northeastern part of the Southern Region.”
Still in the Southern Region. That made things much easier. Now that they knew their location, they could return to the sect.
It made sense, she thought. The Hong family members were all mortals and couldn't have traveled very far; they definitely wouldn't have been able to leave the Southern Region. Cultivators needed to ride great boats to travel between regions, let alone mortals.
Now that this was clear, Qi Yunrong couldn't sit still any longer. She had not yet received any messages from her junior brothers and sisters and feared that someone might be in danger. She immediately stood up and said, “I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first.”
Without waiting for Zhao Chun and Hong Qian to see her off, she pushed the door open and hurried away. To Hong Qian, she was a stranger. She only knew she was Zhao Chun's senior, but her aura was extremely powerful.
With her here, Hong Qian felt quite constrained in her speech and actions. Seeing Qi Yunrong leave, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“That senior… is quite intimidating.”
A Foundation Establishment cultivator was not someone a mortal could easily meet. Zhao Chun smiled.
“Senior Qi may seem cold and severe, but she is actually a warm and kind person. To me, she is a life-saver.”
As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover. This principle was even more applicable among cultivators. The faces of those who walk the path of cultivation were varied, making it difficult to see their true nature.
Only through careful interaction could one see a person's heart over time. Hong Qian understood this as well and nodded slightly. The incident with Yue Zuan had made her mature a great deal.
After returning to her main family branch and suffering all sorts of difficulties, she now carried a heavy burden on her shoulders, and her words were much more steady. Zhao Chun sent a message talisman to Meng Han but had yet to receive a reply. At Hong Qian's invitation, she stayed in Lakewater Town for two more days.
During these two days, she also learned a lot about what had happened to Hong Qian and her mother. After returning from Ji City, Madam Hong's condition had improved somewhat, but she had grown increasingly silent and taciturn, unwilling to interact with others.
Within the main Hong family branch, quite a few people knew that Hong Qisheng had obtained an immortal fate and stepped onto the path of cultivation. When they learned of his death, they felt some pity for the mother and daughter. Both of them were used to a life of comfort and privilege.
When they first arrived at the Hong family, they found it a bit difficult to adapt, which drew some criticism from others. Afterwards, the matter of Hong Qian's marriage came up. She was beautiful and in the prime of her youth—it was rare for an ordinary family to have an unmarried daughter of eighteen or nineteen.
Not long after she arrived in Lakewater Town, matchmakers were already beating a path to their door. But having just lost her father and with her mother ill, Hong Qian was truly unwilling to marry. After refusing many times, she was subjected to slander and gossip.
The Hong family then tried to marry her off by force. But she had a fiery temperament; she immediately cut her hair in front of the main gate, declaring she would never marry in this life. She then took her mother, separated from the family, and used their remaining savings to open a small shop to make a living.
Zhao Chun also sighed, lamenting the many hardships of women in the mortal world. She then asked why she didn't see Xiao Shuang, the steward who had traveled with Hong Qian before. At the mention of this, Hong Qian lowered her gaze and sighed.
“Not long after we came to Lakewater Town, he left. He said he was going to find a way for my mother and me to return to Ji City, so we wouldn't have to suffer the cold stares of others. I've asked around, but there's been no trace of him…”
Zhao Chun comforted her with a few words. In the middle of their conversation, a yellow talisman floated in. It was a message from Meng Han.
(End of Chapter)