Wings of Freedom

"The snake hole you dug leads outside this compound!" Yang Ning said. "But it's too narrow. You'll need to widen it!"

"Won't anyone notice?" Jiang Yunhao asked.

"The nearest guard is twenty-four meters away. He's an ordinary person," Yang Ning said.

"I understand!" Jiang Yunhao nodded, then called his companions over to discuss it. Before long, pained groans rose once more.

But one boy jumped into the hole and began widening the passage with his hands.

He did not realize it until he started digging, but after snakes had crawled through it year after year, the tunnel had become tough and slick. His fingers could barely scrape out any dirt.

The boy gritted his teeth and clawed down hard. His hands were instantly drenched in blood, but he ignored it and gouged out a handful of soil.

Then came the next one!

Yang Ning watched silently. There was nothing he could do to help.

He did not want to say that suffering would become nourishment for growth. All he could do was watch in silence and silently cheer them on.

Only when the night had deepened and the moonlight was cool as water did the snake hole finally become wide enough for everyone to pass through.

Fortunately, they were all children. If there had been adults, they would have needed to dig for much longer.

"Alright!" Seeing some children still trying to dig, Yang Ning quickly had Jiang Yunhao stop them. Then he said, "You can leave now!"

"Mm!" Jiang Yunhao immediately began directing everyone, arranging for the others to leave while also quieting the groans.

He stayed behind as the last one, watching his companions leave while observing the guards outside.

Fortunately, the guards found the place too filthy and had no intention of coming in.

"Have you thought about what you'll do after getting out?" Yang Ning asked.

"Of course, I'll work for you!" Jiang Yunhao said.

"I don't have much for you to do. Most of the time, you'll be free," Yang Ning said.

"Then I'll cultivate diligently and find a way to rescue my companions!" Jiang Yunhao said. "I want to create an organization to save Jiang Yun people!"

"Do you have a cultivation technique? Aren't you afraid of being caught?" Yang Ning asked.

"I do!" Jiang Yunhao nodded. "I'll definitely get caught, but I believe the Taiheng Sect won't kill me outright. They like nurturing opponents for their disciples to train against. I'll use those opportunities to slowly grow stronger!"

Yang Ning knew of Taiheng's ways as well. He just had not expected Jiang Yunhao to exploit them.

But—

"If you do this, the sacrifices will be enormous!" Yang Ning said. "You may die. Your companions may die too. You'll be like leeks—once you grow up, you'll be harvested crop after crop!"

"So long as the banner remains, hope remains!" Jiang Yunhao said earnestly. "I believe every Jiang Yun person has prepared to make sacrifices. I am no exception!"

"Where there are sacrifices, lofty ambitions multiply; we dare make the sun and moon shine upon a new heaven and earth," Yang Ning praised.

"Senior, you're incredible! You can write a poem like that!" Jiang Yunhao's eyes lit up. "Senior, give us a name!"

How could the Instructor's poetry possibly not be incredible?

But if he named them, would it create karma? Would some kind of calculation technique be able to trace him through it?

Perhaps the moment I contacted him, karma had already formed!

Yang Ning sighed. Life was always filled with accidents, but at this moment, ripples finally spread across the still lake of his heart.

So what if they calculated it? They possessed nothing, were slaves, and yet their fighting spirit still soared. I have a body full of cheats and have already prepared an escape route, yet I'm shrinking back in fear.

Could a coward become immortal?

"There was once a kind of bird that could never be caged, because every feather on its body shone with the light of freedom!" Yang Ning said softly. "This bird was called the Passenger Pigeon, also known as the Wandering Pigeon. Since your hearts yearn for freedom, then take freedom as your name. Call yourselves the Wings of Freedom!"

"Wings of Freedom. What a beautiful name!" Jiang Yunhao nodded solemnly. "From today onward, we are the Wings of Freedom!"

Five minutes later, Jiang Yunhao appeared in a desolate alley. All eighty of his companions stood beside him; not a single one had fallen behind.

This was a place Yang Ning had specifically chosen. It was not only because Jiang Yunhao was clever. The slave market where they had been held was also remote and desolate, located in the commoners' district. The shops on the nearby street all closed at night.

There were certainly people around, but Qi Refining cultivators with Divine Sense or high-level Body Refinement Realm cultivators would never fancy houses in such a place. Those who lived here were either commoners without cultivation, or elderly martial artists stuck at the third or fourth level of the Body Refinement Realm, with no potential left.

If there really were a Qi Refining Stage cultivator hiding in such a remote place, they must have some ulterior motive. They would not keep their Divine Sense activated in the middle of the night.

"Where do we go next?" Jiang Yunhao asked.

"East. Four hundred meters away is a river. Wash off the smell on your bodies there. On the other side is a ship used to transport slaves. There are only four guards aboard, and they're sleeping soundly. Take the ship, let it drift downstream on its own, and keep heading east on foot."

"And then?" Jiang Yunhao asked.

Yang Ning shook his head. "We'll talk after you get the ship."

Jiang Yunhao nodded and immediately called everyone to set off.

The eighty youths had only just eaten their fill. They were exhausted and sleepy, and some were still carrying injuries and illnesses.

Even modern university students taken on an outing by their teachers would have people fall behind. Let alone a group like this?

Yet Jiang Yunhao displayed exceptional leadership. He divided the eighty people into sixteen teams of five, appointed sixteen captains, then grouped every four teams together and made one captain among the four the group leader. Orders were delivered directly to the group leaders, while the four strong captains watched over and supported their team members, ensuring that no one fell behind.

And so, not only did none of the eighty fall behind, but no one shouted, groaned, or cried out in pain during the march. Even when cold sweat streamed down their faces, they still walked from the beginning to the end!

"How could a people like this, people like these, possibly fail to rise!" Yang Ning watched the scene silently. They were only children who had not even grown up yet!

All he could say was that Jiang Yun's cultural genes were like this—they had carved endurance, resilience, and hardship into their bones!

Yang Ning also began doubting Jiang Yunhao's identity again. Was he really only the descendant of farmers?

Right. He had said his ancestors were farmers, not necessarily his father's or grandfather's generation.

It did not matter. None of that was important.

Four hundred meters took the eighty people fifteen minutes. Soon, a small river appeared before them.

Ancient cities were built beside rivers, and Seacloud City was no exception. This was the estuary where the Taiheng Heavenly River entered the sea, so large and small tributaries were everywhere. Though this was called a small river, it was still fifty meters wide, with many ships of all sizes moored upon it.

Fortunately, the current was gentle.

Jiang Yunhao quickly spotted the slave ship Yang Ning had mentioned, because they had been brought here aboard this kind of vessel.

The youths first bathed in a patch of shallow water, then climbed up the anchor rope onto the ship.

An elderly, white-haired fisherman living aboard a nearby boat happened to get up in the night and suddenly saw this scene. His mouth opened in terror, but after thinking it over, he closed it again.

He had lived so long precisely because he was mild-tempered and never liked meddling in other people's affairs.

Ten minutes later, the ship's anchor was raised, and the vessel slowly began moving. It first pulled away from the riverbank, then drifted downstream once it reached the center of the channel.

Meanwhile, the youths floated in the water, swimming unhurriedly toward the opposite bank.

Another ten minutes later, everyone came ashore. Not one had fallen behind.

"You all know how to swim?" Yang Ning asked in surprise.

"We're all from the same village," Jiang Yunhao explained. "The village was beside a river, so everyone knows how to swim."

He was somewhat curious what this senior would have done if they could not swim.

But in the end, he did not ask.

What he did not know was that Yang Ning's method was simple: there were wooden planks on the slave ship, so they could just hug them and paddle across.

Yang Ning had never pretended to be some omnipotent figure with boundless divine powers, so he could shamelessly suggest simple methods too.

"The manor ahead of you is a cloth shop!" Yang Ning said. "Remember this place. This shop recognizes money, not people. Once you've settled down, you can come here to buy cloth and make clothes!"

"Alright!" Jiang Yunhao's eyes lit up. Their slave uniforms were far too conspicuous. New clothes would be ideal; at least ordinary people would not be able to tell.

"Head south. That is the direction out of the city. There are one hour and forty-two minutes until dawn. You need to cover eight kilometers in an hour and a half and reach a place called Yunshan. There is a Yunshan Manor there. Mu Yunshan secretly bought it to keep a mistress, but Yunshan was murdered by his wife and her lover. Now there are only Mu Yunshan's mistress and a dog in the manor. Kill her or spare her—it's up to you. In any case, this will be your residence from now on!"

"There's actually a place like that?" Jiang Yunhao's eyes shone. If not for this senior, he would never have known, even if he died.

And by doing this, it seemed he would not need to confront the slave traders the instant he escaped. Instead, he would have time to develop in peace!

"We'll go now!" Eight kilometers in an hour and a half meant covering eighty-eight meters every minute.

That was not much, but for starving minors, it was an extremely difficult task.

But what if finishing this road meant they would be completely free?

Yang Ning did not know how much potential freedom could unleash in a person. He only watched as these people, swaying as if they might collapse and staggering forward, finally reached Yunshan Manor within an hour and a half.

The moment they stopped outside the gates, Jiang Yunhao felt a coolness on his brow.

He raised a hand to touch it and found a drop of water.

The next second, rain came pattering down from the sky. As it washed away the dust of travelers, it also began cleansing away every trace and scent.

Jiang Yunhao's emotions—unease, anxiety, hope—were utterly transformed the instant the rain fell into exhilaration, gratitude, and shock!

"Senior, did you foresee this, or did you cause it?" Jiang Yunhao did not speak aloud. He only tucked his shock and reverence deep into his heart, then led everyone over the high wall beneath the cover of the rain.

Soon, barking and a woman's scream came from inside the courtyard, but before long, the scream became the sound of the woman weeping.

Not long after, the woman stopped crying, and clattering sounds of chopping vegetables and washing dishes rose from the kitchen.

They began making food.

"You won't kill her?" Yang Ning asked.

"Do you want me to kill her, Senior?" Jiang Yunhao asked in return.

"I told you, how you handle her is entirely up to you," Yang Ning said.

"Though I hate Taiheng people, every grievance has its debtor, every debt its owner. Sister Fu is an innocent ordinary person. Our war should not implicate ordinary people!" Jiang Yunhao did not know what Yang Ning thought. Perhaps this senior wanted him to kill the woman.

Or perhaps he was judging whether Jiang Yunhao would kill her.

But would this senior want the person he saved to be someone who slaughtered innocents indiscriminately?

Jiang Yunhao did not know, but he believed that the heart of someone willing to extend a helping hand to people in desperate straits had to burn hot!

"What do you need me to do, Senior?" Jiang Yunhao asked. "Now that we have completely settled down, we can serve you!"

"Learn some artifact forging while you're at it!" Yang Ning said with a smile. "Every day, I'll have you forge one thing. That's all!"

"Alright!" Jiang Yunhao nodded heavily. Perfect—the Wings of Freedom needed an Artifact Forging Master as well!

As if recalling something, Jiang Yunhao asked again, "Right, Senior. You said there was once a kind of bird. What about now? What happened to the Passenger Pigeon?"

Yang Ning pondered for a long time before saying, "It went extinct!"

"Extinct?" Jiang Yunhao froze.