Chapter 26

The Wilderness lay at the extreme northwest, where the spiritual energy was in chaos and demonic beasts ran rampant. It was one of the two great forbidden regions in the world.

Between the undulating, weathered cliffs, two figures slowly made their way across the ocher sand and gravel.

The woman on the left was tall and slender. Her fitted martial attire, dark blue with reddish-brown accents, outlined her graceful figure. A matching headscarf hid her curly blue hair, while a pale-blue veil covered her face, revealing only a pair of seemingly ordinary eyes that nevertheless held an unmistakable air of arrogance.

Beside her walked a woman dressed in a white robe with subtle silver patterns, her face hidden behind a white veil.

“I told you I’d thought everything through. Now no one will be able to recognize us,” Liufeng Xin said, tilting her head and giving Lou Yue a mischievous wink.

Lou Yue pressed down her pale-blue veil, which the wind had blown up. Her tone was languid. “Yes, Your Holiness is wise indeed.”

“I’m a lovesick woman who went mad for love, abandoned my position as the Saintess, and eloped with the Lou clan’s young master.”

Lou Yue shot her a sidelong glance. “You sound proud.”

“Of course I am! This is the Saintess’s glorious achievement. One day, it’ll become a legend I tell the younger generations.”

Remembering what had happened two years ago, Liufeng Xin suddenly sighed. “I just never imagined that the person who eloped with the Saintess would turn out to be a young lady.”

Lou Yue laughed despite herself. “You’ve said that eight hundred times already.”

“It was too much of a shock to my poor heart. Even now, I still feel cheated whenever I think about it.”

“Cheated?”

Liufeng Xin nodded emphatically. “I lost a perfect husband, while Long Aotian gained a beautiful wife. I’m the one who got the short end of the stick!”

Lou Yue’s brows drew together as she stared darkly at her.

“Sis, I was wrong.” Liufeng Xin immediately surrendered, though she still could not stop talking. “But you’re far too vindictive. It’s been two years, and you still haven’t forgotten him.”

Lou Yue abruptly stopped and called out in protest, “Who hasn’t forgotten him?!”

Liufeng Xin slipped an arm around her waist and leaned against her coaxingly. “All right, all right, you haven’t forgotten him. If we run into him this time, I’ll definitely help you get even.”

“We’re here for the Ancient Sage’s legacy,” Lou Yue emphasized.

“I know, I know. I won’t ruin anything. At most, I’ll trip him up a little from the shadows. Besides, even if he comes looking for us, he won’t recognize us.”

Lou Yue glared at her. “Don’t jinx it. It’ll come true.”

Liufeng Xin immediately clamped her lips shut and made a zipping motion across them.

Over the past two years, having spent every day together because of their “elopement,” Lou Yue had long since figured out Liufeng Xin’s boisterous nature. She often found herself reminiscing about the Saintess she had first met—the aloof, untouchable woman. Like now.

Sure enough, Liufeng Xin could not hold it in for long before speaking again. “What do you think Long Aotian would do if he found out you were a woman?”

She began pondering aloud. “Would he be happy or sad?”

“Sigh, is Long Aotian even attracted to men?”

Lou Yue took out a map to confirm the location of the Wilderness’s only village and answered casually, “First, he’ll never have the chance to find out that I’m a woman. Second, I don’t care whether he’s happy or sad.”

Liufeng Xin hurriedly asked, “And third?”

Lou Yue finally gave in to her relentless questioning. “How would I know whether he’s attracted to men?” She sighed. “Saintess Sis, night falls early in the Wilderness. If you hate having sand blown into your face, then hurry up already.”

“Hmm, I really don’t like the nickname Saintess Sis. Can’t you call me Little Fairy?”

Lou Yue raised her voice. “Little Fairy! Are you coming or not?”

“Coming, coming!”

Liufeng Xin quickly ran several paces ahead of Lou Yue, then began skipping merrily in the wrong direction.

Lou Yue looked up at the heavens and sighed. “Little Fairy, please go right...”

She must have had a donkey kick her in the head back then to come up with something as absurd as eloping with Liufeng Xin.

They finally reached the village marked on the map before nightfall.

Although they knew the general plot of events, they still needed to obtain detailed information about the depths of the Wilderness here. Charging in blindly would only lead to disaster.

But Lou Yue discovered that they had still underestimated the allure of the Ancient Sage’s ruins. Even in a perilous wasteland like the Wilderness, countless people were flocking there eagerly.

The dilapidated village had practically become a bustling supply station. Its noisy din could be heard from several hundred meters away.

Liufeng Xin pulled her into a tavern.

Calling it a tavern was generous. It was merely a crude earthen shed with a faded scrap of cloth hanging outside. A crooked, wildly uneven character for “wine” had been painted on it.

Compared with the other places, this one was especially lively. All seven tables were packed with people, making it an excellent place to gather information. However, Lou Yue disliked squeezing in with strangers and immediately tried to pull Liufeng Xin away.

At that moment, someone at a nearby table called out to them. “Hey, girls! Come sit over here!”

The speaker was a chubby man with a good-natured face. He squeezed over on the bench beside a thin man. “Come on, Third, move over a bit!”

The thin man’s temple seemed to twitch. “If you don’t want to sit, then get lost.”

The fat man was not offended in the slightest. He cheerfully waved at them again. “Come on, come sit!”

“Thank you, Big Brother!” Liufeng Xin curved her brows in a smile and pulled Lou Yue over to sit down.

“Just call me Fat Second!” the chubby man said warmly. “This is Big Brother Wei, that’s Skinny Three, and she’s Qiao Qiniang.”

As he spoke, he called for the proprietor to bring over another pot of wine and two plates of snacks.

Across from them, Big Brother Wei looked imposing. His gaze swept briefly over the fabric of their clothes before he asked, “Are the two of you here for the Ancient Sage’s legacy as well?”

Liufeng Xin nodded without hesitation. “Of course! My sister and I heard that an Ancient Sage’s ruins had appeared here, so we came to try our luck. Maybe we’ll even find some fortuitous opportunity or precious treasure.”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce us. My name is Mu Xin, and this is my younger sister, Mu Yue.”

Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward Lou Yue. They could tell that Liufeng Xin was at the peak of the Golden Core realm, but they could not see through Lou Yue’s cultivation at all.

“Here comes the wine! And the snacks!”

Liufeng Xin poured each of them a bowl of wine. Just as she was about to taste it, Fat Second hurriedly warned her, “This wine is extremely strong. Try a small sip first.”

Liufeng Xin took a sip, and her eyes lit up at once. She gave Fat Second a big thumbs-up.

Fat Second grinned sheepishly. “I’m not bragging, but even the great clans can’t find wine better than this! Still, little sister, you’re surprisingly unfazed by strong liquor.”

Liufeng Xin brought the wine to her veil and took another sip. “I’ve sworn to drink every fine wine under heaven! Does this wine have a name?”

“It doesn’t have an official name, but we privately call it Yellow Springs Wine.”

Liufeng Xin was curious. “Why Yellow Springs?”

Fat Second chuckled. The thin man beside him replied in a sinister tone, “Because after drinking it, you won’t be afraid of taking the road to the Yellow Springs.”

“We all came here seeking treasure, but the Wilderness is an incredibly dangerous place. So many people come here and never return. If they can have a drink of Yellow Springs Wine before they die, at least their journey won’t have been in vain.”

As Fat Second spoke, his voice lowered. He tilted his head back and drained the wine in his bowl.

Big Brother Wei, Skinny Three, and Qiao Qiniang all fell silent, each raising a hand to finish the wine in their bowls.

For a moment, it seemed that the only sound left was the wind and sand beating against the tattered cloth.

“How long have you been here?” Lou Yue suddenly asked.

Big Brother Wei glanced at her and answered solemnly, “A year and a half.”

Qiao Qiniang took over. “We were part of the second group to arrive in the Wilderness. The first group died out long ago. As for the seven of us siblings... now, only four remain.”

“Then why don’t you leave?” Liufeng Xin asked without thinking.

Skinny Three let out a derisive laugh, his voice full of resentment. “Leave? And go where? Every blessed place under the heavens has already been claimed by the great clans. If rogue cultivators like us want to rise, all we can do is come to a lawless place like this and gamble our lives for a chance at fortune!”

He glanced at the two women, his tone hostile. “You two are from one of those great clans too, aren’t you?”

Liufeng Xin hurriedly brought out the excuse she had prepared. “We’re from a branch so distant it can hardly be considered part of the clan. Otherwise, my sister and I wouldn’t have come out to gain experience on our own.”

Fat Second stepped in to smooth things over. “Don’t take offense, miss. One of our brothers died at the hands of someone from a great clan, so Skinny Three has a grudge against them.”

“We understand, we understand. To be honest, we can’t stand their overbearing ways either!” Liufeng Xin chimed in.

Lou Yue swept her gaze over the group’s cultivation levels. Aside from Big Brother Wei, who was in the early Nascent Soul stage, the other three were only in the early or middle Core Formation stage. Such cultivation was already quite impressive among rogue cultivators, but the Wasteland cared nothing for whether one came from a rogue background or a great clan. Here, only strength determined who lived and who died.

In a place like this, the demon beasts were not even the most dangerous threat. The human heart was far more unfathomable.

Lou Yue listened as Liufeng Xin probed for information about the depths of the Wasteland in roundabout ways. Then, amid the din around her, a low voice suddenly reached her ears.

“Two jugs of wine.”

She looked up sharply.

At the crude counter several tables away stood a man with his back to her.

A black cloak covered his body, its hood pulled low so that only his tall, imposing figure could be made out.

After putting the wine into his storage ring, the man turned and walked away to the right. The upper half of his face was hidden behind a mask, making his features impossible to discern.

The winds of the Wasteland were fierce. His strides were long, and the wind whipped his cloak into motion, blowing back the hood at the side of his face and revealing a black thorn-shaped earring.

Lou Yue shot to her feet.

“What is it?” Liufeng Xin asked in alarm. The people nearby turned to look as well.

“Wait here.”

Lou Yue left those words behind and hurried after the man.

Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She couldn’t explain why she was following him. At that moment, her body had simply made the decision on its own.

The Wasteland was an important part of the plot. She knew she would encounter Xiao Rangchen here, but she hadn’t expected to run into him so soon.

—There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you since last night.

—But given the circumstances, saying it now would sound like I was only trying to appease you.

—I like you.

Those three brief sentences had repeated themselves in her mind countless times over the past two years.

She told herself that she was following him only because she wanted him to admit that he had been lying to her back then.

However, after turning around a bend in an earthen alley, she lost sight of him.

“...”

After two years apart, the Dragon Proud Heavens had turned into an eel—slipperier than ever.

By the time Lou Yue returned to the tavern, Liufeng Xin was already chatting so enthusiastically with the others that she had completely forgotten herself.

“Oh, you’re back.” When she saw Lou Yue, Liufeng Xin quickly shot her a look that clearly asked, “Did anything happen?”

Lou Yue signaled that everything was fine.

“Good timing. I’ve already discussed it with Big Brother Wei and the others. We’ll enter the Wasteland with them tomorrow morning.”

“I heard from Xin that you’re a spell cultivator at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection stage, miss?” Big Brother Wei asked gently.

Lou Yue glanced at Liufeng Xin, who had at least remembered to help conceal her true cultivation, then answered blandly, “Yes.”

“With the two of you assisting us, we’re sure to gain a great deal from this trip into the Wasteland!” Big Brother Wei let out a hearty laugh. “Thirty percent of what we obtain will go to you.”

“Big Brother!” Skinny Three interjected with a frown, clearly objecting.

“No more discussion.” Big Brother Wei gave him a look, then turned toward Lou Yue. “I’m only in the early Nascent Soul stage, yet I can’t see through your cultivation. The feeling you give me is far beyond that of someone at the Great Perfection stage. All I ask is that, should anything happen, you protect Qiniang. She is carrying the child of our late sixth brother.”

“Big Brother...” Qiao Qiniang’s eyes reddened, and her voice caught in her throat.

“Hey, don’t be so pessimistic! We haven’t even gone in yet. Besides, you still have me.” Unable to bear the gloomy atmosphere, Liufeng Xin pulled out four bottles of pills and pushed them toward the others. “Here, one bottle each! Take one as soon as your strength runs out. I guarantee your spiritual energy will keep flowing without end!”

Lou Yue was amused by Liufeng Xin’s boldly confident manner, and the corners of her lips curved upward.

The others also shook off their gloom.

“Haha, then we won’t stand on ceremony!”

“Go ahead, take them.”

Early the next morning, Lou Yue and Liufeng Xin arrived at the agreed meeting place on time.

“Let’s wait a little longer. We have one more companion. Something came up, so he may be late,” Big Brother Wei said.

About a quarter of an hour later, a tall, slender figure slowly emerged from the shadow beside the rock wall.

A black cloak wrapped around his body, and a half-mask covered his face.

Long hair fell beside his brow, drifting silently in the wind of the Wasteland.