Chapter 100

A towering green mountain, blocking the distant sky, a winding blue stream, clear as sapphire...

As dusk fell, the returning birds spread their wings and flew into the lush, layered mountains.

It had been three days since he left the Qingyun Temple, and the journey had been quite smooth.

Ye Qingxuan yawned, stretching his arms, feeling an indescribable sense of ease and satisfaction.

This time, Ye Qingxuan set out with the young demon bull, Aqing. It was also the first time for both of them to travel far from home. Leaning on Aqing's broad back, Ye Qingxuan felt very comfortable and relaxed, and despite the long journey, he did not feel tired at all.

Patting Aqing's big head, Ye Qingxuan pointed to the large wine jar hanging on the left side of the young demon bull and said, "Aqing, are you tired? I'll treat you to some wine once we find a place to rest..."

Moo—

The big green bull let out a pleasant long moo, drawing a burst of joyful laughter from the young man.

Thanks to the help of his third senior brother, he easily convinced his master and obtained this rare opportunity to leave the mountain. Although his master sternly instructed him to return immediately after delivering the letter, a few extra days on the journey wouldn't be a big deal.

Before leaving, Ye Qingxuan was given a thorough briefing by his fourth senior sister. After all, in the eyes of everyone in the temple, he had never left before. Thinking about the difficulties he might face, the fourth senior sister almost decided to accompany him... She was always like that, carefree most of the time but with a very soft heart. Not only did she prepare a good amount of silver for him, but also packed a large amount of dry rations, weighing about twenty to thirty pounds.

His third senior brother drew a large map for him, showing him how to reach the city of Yunzhou, and wrote a lengthy "Guide to the World of Martial Arts," warning him about the dangers of the world and what precautions to take...

He had walked along the mountain path for three whole days, and Qingyang Town was already far behind. According to the map given by his third senior brother, there was a dilapidated temple in a mountain hollow not far ahead, where he would spend the night. The next day, after crossing the mountain hollow, it would be just twenty miles to the wide official road. Following the official road eastward for two more days, he would reach Yunxia County.

The sun was about to set, and the sky was turning dark.

His luck was not bad; he did not miss the place to stay. If he had to spend the night in the deep mountains and forests, it would have been very dangerous.

But I have Aqing, so I'm not afraid of ordinary beasts.

This trip would have been much more difficult without Aqing. This descendant of the green-armored demon bull not only had abundant strength but also a decent speed. Despite the leisurely pace, it was almost as fast as a regular pack horse. Running from early morning to dusk, it did not show any signs of fatigue. Covering eight hundred miles in a day, it was almost as good as a famous steed, truly the first essential for travel.

Thinking of the black-scaled steed he had seen before, which could travel two thousand miles a day, he wondered what kind of speed that would be.

Before the sky completely turned dark, Ye Qingxuan finally arrived at the dilapidated temple in the mountain hollow. The temple, though dilapidated, still had a roof.

Without hesitation, Ye Qingxuan led Aqing through the broken temple gate and into the hall.

The broken altar did not clearly show which mountain god it was dedicated to. The clay statue of the mountain god was damaged, and its features were unclear. The altar and other items were already broken and scattered on the ground. Ye Qingxuan unloaded the bamboo baskets from Aqing's sides, let Aqing move around, and after a thorough search, found two candles and a flint. He lit them and placed them at the foot of the statue.

Stepping back two steps, he bowed deeply and said, "This poor Daoist, Qingxuan from Qingyun Temple, is borrowing a place to stay for the night. I apologize for the disturbance and hope for your protection..." Suddenly, his eyes darted, and he went back to search. Soon, he found a box of high-quality sandalwood incense, quickly lit three sticks, and stuck them in the ground with two handfuls of soil. He then said, "Qingxuan is venturing into the world this time, and I hope Grandfather Mountain God will protect me, so I can quickly make a name for myself. Uh... most importantly, keep me safe. Thank you, thank you..."

After bowing three times, he chuckled and began to set up for the night.

Ye Qingxuan was not really a child. In his previous life, though he was a homebody, he had traveled and camped before. Mainly, he had a friend who was a hiking enthusiast and had taken him on a few trips in the mountains.

In no time, Ye Qingxuan had set up the campfire and prepared dinner.

He was truly grateful for Aqing's carrying capacity; otherwise, the things prepared by his fourth senior sister would have been hard to carry. Among the many rations, she even prepared a set of bedding for him...

After eating a lot of dry rations and drinking a large bowl of the second senior brother's homemade clear wine, Ye Qingxuan snuggled up to Aqing, covered himself with the bedding, and prepared to sleep, feeling very content.

Just as Ye Qingxuan was about to fall asleep, a chaotic noise came from outside, and the temple door, which had already been closed, was pushed open by someone. The force was so great that the broken door fell to one side.

Startled, Ye Qingxuan sat up, instantly grabbing the green steel sword under the bedding.

A hoarse voice came from outside the door: "Damn, the temple door is so flimsy. We brothers are quite lucky to find this mountain god temple in the wilderness... Brother inside, we'll just stay here for the night..."

As he spoke, two middle-aged men burst in, each holding a shiny long knife. "Huh?" The first thing they saw was not Ye Qingxuan but the large green bull behind him, with its large, bright eyes glaring at them impatiently.

Never had they seen such a strong emotional expression on an animal. They did not expect the person in the temple to be a young Daoist, clearly woken up by their noise.

The man in front had a fierce face but forced a friendly smile, while the thinner man behind him glanced at Qingxuan, sheathed his knife, and looked around.

The fierce man smiled and said, "Little Daoist, we brothers will stay here for the night, hehe..." After a quick look around, he asked casually, "I wonder how many companions you have with you? We would like to thank them..."

Ye Qingxuan looked at their actions with some curiosity and said, "I'm alone, no companions..."

"Oh?" The two men exchanged glances and then burst into laughter.

Their attitude changed from cautious to arrogant.

The thinner man gave Ye Qingxuan a sinister look and then went out of the temple door, not knowing what he was doing.

The remaining fierce man sat down by the campfire and said, "In this wilderness, you have quite some courage, little brother..."

Ye Qingxuan was speechless at this kind of person, ignored him, patted the somewhat anxious Aqing, and lay down to continue sleeping.

Ye Qingxuan did not notice that when he lay down, the fierce man snorted coldly, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, and he subconsciously stroked the hilt of his knife, exuding a murderous aura.

The door creaked, and the thinner man brought in two small girls, one around ten years old and the other only six or seven. The older girl tightly hugged the younger one, both moving timidly into the temple.

The thin man looked quite impatient, shouting, "Damn, move faster! I've been walking in the mountains all day, and I'm exhausted. If these two little bitches move any slower, they won't get any food today..."

Ye Qingxuan instantly woke up, opened his eyes, and saw the two girls being kicked down by the thin man, rolling into a heap.

The thin man snorted coldly, ignoring the two girls, and walked to the campfire, taking a flatbread from the fierce man and eating it greedily.

A whimper came from the older girl, who was in pain, but she still firmly protected the younger girl with her body. Her bright eyes showed determination as she got up, ignoring her own pain, and looked around, asking anxiously, "Lingling, don't be afraid. Let sister check if you're hurt..."

The two sisters sat on the ground, both with messy hair and dirty faces, but they had very beautiful big eyes.

"Sister..." The little girl clung to her sister's front, tears welling up in her eyes, looking very pitiful.

"Don't cry, don't cry... Sister is fine. Does Lingling feel any pain?"

The little girl shook her head and slowly said, "Lingling is fine..." Then she used her small, dirty hands to rub her sister's waist, where the thin man had kicked her, and asked, "Does it hurt, sister?"

It seemed that the little girl had pressed on the sore spot, and the older girl let out a pained groan, sweating profusely. The little girl was frightened and pulled back her hand, not knowing what to do, just holding her sister's hand and crying, tears streaming down her face.

The older sister quickly pulled the little sister into her arms and comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry, sister is fine..."

Seeing the two sisters comforting each other, Ye Qingxuan looked strange. The two middle-aged men, who were chatting and laughing, showed no concern for the sisters, only occasionally glancing at them and snorting coldly...

Ye Qingxuan's face darkened, and he muttered to himself: "Damn, I've run into human traffickers..."