Two days after Liang Chen fled from the Green Rivers City, there was a carriage driven by four horses slowly making its way down a long road. The road was surrounded by winding hills covered in grass and flowers, a youthful girl with blonde hair sitting in the carriage and looking at the hills with shining eyes. There were two middle-aged men clad in leather armor sitting in the carriage, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings. At the front of the carriage, on the wide driver's seat, sat a slightly older man, his head covered in gray hair. The old man was driving the carriage when he suddenly spotted someone further down the road. The old man turned to the little girl, speaking in a slightly raspy voice.
"Young Miss, there is someone ahead of us. They seem to be signaling us, looking like they are wondering if they can hitch a ride."
The old man, Zhou Zing, was able to see that the person down the road was waving at them, looking like he was trying to get their attention. Since he was trying to get their attention, it was likely that he was hoping to hitch a ride with them. The youthful girl, Zhou Shui, took her eyes off the hills, turning towards Zhou Zing.
"How does he look?"
Zhou Zing narrowed his eyes slightly, a green light surrounding his eyes as he focused on the person ahead of them. He had channeled his Qi into his eyes, drastically increasing the strength of his vision, allowing him to easily see the features of the person ahead of them.
"He seems rather young, his hair green, his eyes golden. He is clad in a brown robe that seems homemade, and he is rather dusty. He is most likely a poor child that is looking to get to the city a little faster."
Zhou Zing provided a short explanation of the person ahead of them, Liang Chen, adding what he felt was most likely. Zhou Shui moved to the front of the carriage, looking down the road and trying to see Liang Chen. But she could not channel her Qi into her eyes, so she was unable to see his features, the only thing she could see was a person clad in a brown robe. In the end, she shrugged her shoulders and returned to staring at the hills.
"Then we can take him along. It will only take us about three more days to reach Wind's Whisper City anyway, so it won't matter if we bring one more."
Zhou Zing gave a slight nod of his head, giving the horses a slight whipping to speed them up. The carriage quickly managed to catch up with Liang Chen, who was waving at the carriage with his left arm. The carriage stopped next to him, Zhou Zing looking at Liang Chen with a slight smile.
"Are you looking for a ride?"
Zhou Zing was almost certain that Liang Chen was looking to hitch a ride, but it was still necessary to ask first. Just as he thought, Liang Chen quickly nodded his head, lowering his left arm as he spoke.
"Yes! I am trying to get to Wind's Whisper city."
Wind's Whisper City was one of the cities marked on the map that Qing Chun had given him. It was a city not owned by any clan, and it focused completely on selling and buying everything, making it a city of merchants. Liang Chen needed resources, and Wind's Whisper city was the best place he knew to get resources. He would need money to buy the resources, but he decided that he would figure out how to get over that hurdle once he reached it. Hearing Liang Chen's response, Zhou Zing pat the seat next to him.
"You can hop up here onto the front with me. We are also heading to Wind's Whisper city, so we will take you there. I am Zhou Zing, the Young Miss is Zhou Shui, and those two people are Gan Yimu and Gan Situ."
Zhou Zing gave a quick introduction of himself and the three other people in the carriage. Gan Yimu had long brown hair and was more rugged, while Gan Situ was a bit more lean, his hair a deep black in color. Liang Chen gave everyone a nod and a bright smile, climbing up to the seat next to Zhou Zing using his left arm.
"Thank you! I am Liang Chen."
While Liang Chen was climbing up to the seat, his right arm hung completely loose at his side, swaying uncontrollably as he moved. Looking at the right arm, as well as how Liang Chen only used his left arm to climb onto the carriage, Zhou Shui could not help but ask.
"Does your right arm not work?"
Liang Chen looked a little taken aback at getting asked about his right arm, but he quickly glossed it over with a smile. His left hand grabbed his right arm, swaying it a few times as he gave a quick explanation.
"Ah, my right arm? I got in an accident when I was younger, wounding my shoulder so much that I lost all use of my right arm."
The story he told them was a complete lie, the truth was that he was currently training. He had discovered that he could strengthen his body by letting his lightning Qi continuously course through his flesh. As long as he was able to resist the searing pain, his body would slowly be strengthened thanks to the lightning. But he was not yet able to properly control this lightning as he strengthened his body, so it resulted in his nerves getting overloaded and not functioning while he did the training.
Zhou Shui gave a slight nod of her head, a sliver of pity flashing past her eyes. She no longer bothered talking, turning back to look at the waving hills. Liang Chen sat at the front, chatting with Zhou Zing and the Gan brothers as the carriage slowly made its way towards Wind's Whisper city.
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While Liang Chen was making his way towards Wind's Whisper city, three people arrived outside a small hut located on the outskirts of Willow's Rest city. At the back of the hut was a quiet pond, an old woman sitting on a chair and looking at the pond with a blank gaze. There was almost no hair on the old woman's head, only a few long strands visible at places. She was so thin and wrinkly that it looked like someone had simply draped some skin on a skeleton.
The three people, Qing Chun, and her two guards, walked up to the old woman and then kneeled down by her side. The old woman did not immediately react, but after a short while, her dim brown eyes lit up with some light. She did not even look at Qing Chun and the two others as she spoke.
"Tian Chun, do you know what you have done?"
The old woman's voice was hoarse and raspy, grating on the ears of anyone who heard it. Upon hearing the words of the old woman, Qing Chun, or rather, Tian Chun, lowered her head, a low voice escaping from her lips.
"I have disappointed the clan."
Hearing Tian Chun's words, the old woman turned her head slightly, her dim eyes staring at Tian Chun with a disappointed expression. Tian Chun felt a shiver go down her spine, lowering her head even further. The old woman spoke slowly, every word digging into Tian Chun's mind.
"You have done more than disappoint the clan. We had to reincarnate you six times before we finally managed to ensure that you were born as someone of the Qing clan. We had hopes that you would be able to rise in the ranks of the Qing clan, but now you have completely wasted that. And for what? For that child? It seems we did not train you well enough."
Tian Chun and the two guards next to her did not say anything, cold sweat gathering on their foreheads. Especially when they heard the old woman say that Tian Chun had not been trained well enough. Only they knew how terrifying the training they had undergone was. All the clans had spies like Tian Chun, spies who were forced to reincarnate until they were born as a child of a certain clan, that was how they got most of their information about the other clans. The old woman let out a slight snort, turning her head away from Tian Chun.
"You should have let him kill that other child. Had you let him do that, you could remain within the Qing clan and continue with the plan."
The old woman clearly already knew everything that happened in the city while Liang Chen was fleeing. The old woman knew that Tian Chun and the two guards could not kill the child, as the Qing clan would realize that someone other than Liang Chen had killed the child from the Qi on the body. Tian Chun raised her head slightly, after hearing the words of the old woman.
"Forgive me, Master Qigang, but I did not want for him to stain his hands in blood. For him to be tainted."
After hearing Tian Chun's words, the old woman, Tian Qigang turned her head back towards Tian Chun. Her thin mouth curled slightly, forming an ugly and disdainful sneer as she looked at Tian Chun, spitting out her words.
"You did not want him to be tainted? How unbearably naive. In this world, there is no one that can live without being tainted. All you have done is postponed how long it will take for him to get tainted."
How could Tian Qigang not feel disdainful after hearing Tian Chun's words? This was a world of cultivators, only those determined enough to stain their very being with blood would be able to rise up. Tian Chun lowered her head again, her voice weak and somewhat sad.
"I know. But I wanted that smile to stay warm and innocent for as long as possible, that is all I wanted."
Tian Chun was born in the Tian clan and brought up as a future spy, killed and forced to reincarnate six times. But in all the training they had given her, they had forgotten to do the simple thing of showing her any kindness. And it was because they had not shown her any kindness, only fear, and pain, that she had ended up feeling the way she did for Liang Chen, one of the first people that had shown her kindness. Tian Qigang turned her head away from Tian Chun, no longer bothering with her as she waved her hand.
"How disappointing. Tian Chun, return to the clan to await punishment. You are quite lucky, had it not been for the fact that we recently managed to reincarnate someone as the child of a high ranking figure within the Qing clan, we would surely have killed you and reincarnated you a few times."
Tian Chun did not know exactly which child of which high ranking figure within the Qing clan Tian Qigang was speaking about, but it was clear that the position of that child was extraordinary, otherwise, she would not be able to return to the clan alive in this life.
"Yes, Tian Chun thanks Master for her benevolence."