Youth

After saying all that, Li Yunxin only needed this one instant.

Two greenhorns. Perhaps two extremely powerful greenhorns.

But he was no fourteen-year-old boy.

And his parents in this world were, at the very least, not some True Martial Sect disciples who had defected, as they claimed, and who only knew a few talismans.

They were more likely the people those two had said were enshrined by lofty sects and great schools...

Danqing Daoists!

In that instant, the cloud patterns originally painted on the corner of the wooden table quietly flowed outward. They were said to flow, but they moved with astonishing speed. By the time the two Daoists blinked, they discovered that strands of cloud and mist had wrapped around them.

Red Pine Master frowned and was about to shatter the mist and subdue Li Yunxin. But the moment he stirred, he was even more shocked—the spiritual power in his Qi Sea had become as drifting and elusive as the clouds themselves, unable to gather into qi!

Li Yunxin had already darted forward and stomped viciously on the ground.

The two Daoists did not know what else he intended to do, but they had realized that they seemed to have made a mistake this time.

It seemed... the Grotto Heaven Daoist they had plotted to kill back then had not been entirely unguarded against the two of them—at least half of what he had said had been utter nonsense.

Something along the lines of, "This poor Daoist observed him for more than a month and long knew he was merely a yellow-mouthed child. How laughable that Li Chenfeng and his wife possessed some real skill, yet truly wished to hide their names there and would not even pass their arts to their only son. If not for that lightning tribulation exposing their tracks, hehe..."

Looking at the youth today, his schemes ran deep and he knew when to advance and retreat—how was he some "yellow-mouthed child"?!

Alarmed and anxious, they bit their tongues and sprayed mouthfuls of blood essence onto their sword blades. The longswords immediately began to hum and tremble, and within the span of a breath, the clouds wrapped around them dispersed.

But though the mist had scattered, the spiritual power in their bodies still could not gather into qi. The two did not know what bizarre spell this was. They only knew that now, they could rely only on their worldly martial skills to seize that youth!

Yet when they took another step, the entire courtyard changed—within that tiny space, darkness suddenly fell. The winds and clouds above their heads changed color, and even the tree in the courtyard began to dance its branches and leaves, like some great ghost that had suddenly come alive!

This had happened seven days earlier. It was the beginning.

From that day on, Li Yunxin had finally left the little mountain village where he had lived for fourteen years and truly set foot in the world.

But it was not the high-spirited, magnificent, fantastical journey he had once imagined. Now, he sat exhausted against a tree, waiting only to gather a little more strength so he could leave this place of trouble as quickly as possible.

During the chase and escape earlier, the two Daoists had used a talisman to seal his Qi Sea. That pursuit had changed from a struggle between cultivators into a struggle among three ordinary people.

If his Qi Sea had not still been sealed, why would he have needed to fear those five constables and risk his life to draw Ninth Young Master here?

Only when several torchlights faintly appeared in the distance again and voices carried over did Li Yunxin barely manage to rise from the ground. He searched several corpses, finding a dozen or so copper coins, a few scraps of silver, and a one-tael silver ingot. Then he staggered downstream along the river.

Drooping willows lined the white-sand shore, and spring was glorious.

A convoy traveled along the river. Two martial men on horseback led the way, followed by four young men carrying sabers. Behind them came three large carts, their wheel tracks deeply pressed into the ground, suggesting they carried quite a bit of cargo. There were people atop all three carts, but the most eye-catching was probably the girl on the last one.

The girl was in her teens and wore a short black martial outfit. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, with several strands hanging beside her forehead—the very look of a child of the martial world. At that moment, she held a willow branch in her hand and looked about listlessly. Her bright eyes were lively and animated, but her cherry lips were slightly pouted. Clearly, she was not very happy.

They had already been traveling for three days. The scenery was lovely, but the land was sparsely populated. Every now and then, they would glimpse a wisp of cooking smoke curling up from some distant mountain hollow,

and that alone was enough to make their eyes light up.

Qiao Jiaxin actually regretted it a little. She should not have pestered her father into bringing her along on this escort run. If she had stayed home, she would probably be catching fish in the water now. She could catch little transparent fish and shrimp, raise them in a clay jar, and enjoy watching them swim about every day.

She wound the willow branch around her fingers for a while, raised a hand to shield herself from the sunlight shining from the east, swung one leg aside, and turned to speak to a middle-aged man in a tattered Daoist robe on the other side of the cart. "Hey, Old Liu, do a trick for me."

The old man in Daoist robes frowned. "This poor Daoist is not some wandering performer—this poor Daoist is a painter. Such things as tricks..."

Qiao Jiaxin curled her lip. "A few days ago, in Hui City, I saw you dragging a woman into an alley and doing tricks for her. You drew something on a piece of paper, waved your hand and burned it, then scared her away."

The old Daoist's old face reddened, and he hurriedly cut her off. "Do not spout nonsense. With my status, how could I do such a thing? You must have seen wrongly, seen wrongly!"

The driver in front burst into laughter and turned to tease the old Daoist. "I believe Jiaxin—I even saw you enter Jadeite Tower—"

The old Daoist's face turned green again. "I-I-I am the sect master of the Dongxuan Sect. How could I possibly visit a place like that?!"

The girl giggled again. "Yes, yes, the Dongxuan Sect. Your Dongxuan Sect only has you in it!"

She was laughing happily when the cart suddenly stopped.

Looking ahead, she heard her father, Qiao Duanhong, say in a deep voice, "Who might you be, sir?"

Qiao Jiaxin's heart immediately began to thump wildly—had they run into bandits? Had they run into bandits?!

She quickly jumped down from the cart and craned her neck to look, but she saw only a youth.

He wore green robes and looked like a scholar, yet a short saber hung from his waist, making him seem rather mismatched. The youth stood by the roadside, curiously examining their group. He even raised one hand and stuck up his thumb, though she had no idea what that meant.

Qiao Jiaxin stared blankly for a moment, and her face flushed slightly.

Because she thought... that youth was truly handsome.

He was unlike the men of the escort agency, whose skin had turned slightly dark and red from years of wind, meals, and sleeping in the open. The youth's skin was very fair, almost translucent beneath the sunlight. His clothes clung to his body, making him look tall and slender, as though a gust of wind might set him swaying back and forth.

Pah, pah, pah! What was she thinking?!

At that moment, she saw the youth scratch his head and smile awkwardly. "Um, are you escorting goods?"

Qiao Duanhong let his gaze rest briefly on the short saber at the youth's waist, then studied him carefully before saying, "Hongfu Escort Agency of Weicheng. We are indeed escorting goods."

The youth seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and cupped his hands. "I have long admired you, a pleasure to meet you. I am Li Yunxin, and I happen to be heading to Weicheng. Could I catch a ride with you?"

Qiao Jiaxin could not help laughing. Though this was her first escort run, she had long been accustomed to seeing people of the martial world at home. At a glance, she could tell that this youth...

Hahaha, was a fledgling—at least, that was how her uncles spoke. Whenever they mentioned those young masters who came before them and put on airs as seasoned martial heroes, she would laugh too.

As for the phrase "catch a ride," it was the first time she had heard it, but she roughly understood what it meant. Traveling alone through the wilderness was certainly dangerous. Even if one did not encounter wandering bandits or mountain brigands, there were still wolves, tigers, leopards, and other beasts.

Mm... that old Daoist surnamed Liu had also "caught a ride."

Qiao Duanhong frowned slightly and hesitated for a while. He was actually somewhat worried that the youth might be a scout. Generally speaking, organized bands of mountain brigands would send scouts to infiltrate a convoy before making their move. They might use sleeping smoke or slip laxatives into the food, then send a signal once the deed was done, whereupon a great crowd would come charging out from somewhere—at least, that was what he had heard.

In truth, the Hongfu Escort Agency only traveled the route between Luo City and Hui City. Though they had encountered danger over the past decade or so, they had never truly run into such a situation. After all, this region was Great Qing's fertile land of fish and rice; it could not tolerate bandits and roving outlaws gathering in large numbers.

After that thought passed through his mind, Qiao Duanhong softened his tone. "I am Qiao Duanhong. Catching a ride is possible, but—"

He thought that if this youth was not a bandit scout, then he was some young master who had slipped away from home to travel. His hands were long, pale, delicate, and smooth; clearly, he was not someone who had tempered his strength through hard labor. His clothes were not luxurious, but neither did they resemble those of a humble household. His manner was relaxed and easy, so he had likely seen a bit of the world. Children from poor families were mostly timid and submissive—how could they possess such bearing?

Thus, he was about to explain that catching a ride required silver. He feared this young master would not understand.

Who would have thought that before he could finish, the youth knowingly reached into his sleeve, pulled out a one-tael silver ingot, and tossed it to Qiao Duanhong. "I understand, I understand. Is this enough?"

Heh, he was quite lavish with his money. One tael of silver was enough for a middling rural household to live on for a month.

Qiao Duanhong relaxed even further. He caught the silver and tucked it into his robes. "It is enough. Young Master Li, go to the back and choose a cart."

Li Yunxin cupped his hands with a smile and walked over.

Qiao Jiaxin had already jumped back onto the cart and watched him curiously. Children of the martial world weathered wind and rain, and those who came and went through her home were all martial artists, so she did not have the rules of a proper sheltered young lady. When she usually looked at boys her age like this, the thin-skinned ones would blush, while the more composed ones would still seem uncomfortable. After all, she was a pretty girl, and boys were at just the age when they were most sensitive to certain feelings.

But this one was different. He neither blushed nor seemed uncomfortable. Instead, he looked over their entire group with great interest, as though everything was remarkably fresh to him.

That was indeed true. He had lived in that little mountain village for fourteen years and had run away for the first time. Of course he was curious about... what the larger ancient world, this other world, was really like in its customs and ways of life.

When his gaze met Qiao Jiaxin's, he even raised the corner of his mouth in a faint smile and nodded.

Qiao Jiaxin gave a soft little cry in her heart and lowered her head instinctively. But she immediately felt that acting shy like that was even more embarrassing, so she lifted her head again.

But the youth had already jumped onto the cart. Qiao Jiaxin felt it sink slightly—he had sat down beside Liu Laodao.

She felt a little relieved, yet also faintly disappointed.