The wagons moved across the sand with surprising ease, Liang Chen not able to feel the slightest vibrations or even tilting whenever the wagon moved over some dunes. His back was resting against the cloth that formed an arching ceiling over the wagon, the young Zun twins diligently bandaging his wounds and spreading dried Demonic beast faeces on the bandages to cover up the scent of blood.
They would occasionally cast glances at his face to judge his expression, the young girl finally unable to restrain herself as she held her finger only a few centimetres away from the gash in his waist.
"Does... Does it hurt? Whenever some of the other warriors get hurt by beasts, they usually twitch and curse with very foul mouths."
Zun Zhi's finger seemed to tremble somewhat nervously, seemingly uncertain if she could move if closer or if she was already too close. She was helping her brother bandage the wound on his waist, but he wasn't sure if she was worried about him being in pain or worried about him yelling at her for making it hurt more. He simply shrugged his shoulder, using his right hand to poke directly at one of the unbandaged parts of the gash to drive his point home.
"It hurts quite a bit actually, but I've dealt with a lot of pain over the years so I have managed to build up a very strong resistance to it. So don't worry, you can keep bandaging as you are, it won't make it worse for me."
Liang Chen had experienced a lot of pain over the years, both physical and mental. So while the wounds created by the weapon of the Sky-Piercing Sparrow pierced even him disabling his sense of pain, it was far from being unbearable to him. His act of poking at his own wound seemed to catch the two twins off-guard, Zun Zhao, the brother, quickly pulling Liang Chen's hand away from his wound.
"Why would you want to deal with pain for several years? It hurts and is unpleasant, you should just avoid it and live a happy life!"
Zun Zhao quickly let go of Liang Chen's hand, seemingly realizing that he just acted very rudely towards someone he didn't know, meaning that his actions could cause Liang Chen to become furious with them. But such small actions were far from enough to arouse Liang Chen's anger, not to mention that Zun Zhao was just a small child, not even 10 yet.
"I said I've dealt with a lot of pain, not that I wanted to deal with a lot of pain. Avoiding it and living a happy life does indeed sound nice, but there just so happen to be times where you cannot avoid pain. For example, what if your sister was attacked by someone else? Would you defend her even if it resulted in you feeling pain?"
Liang Chen nodded towards Zun Zhi as he stated his question, Zun Zhao not even needing a second to think it over before he responded as strongly as he could.
"Of course!"
Zun Zhao gazed directly into Liang Chen's eyes, doing his best to show how determined he was to protect his sister. It was an expected response, they were siblings after all, but a small smile still appeared on Liang Chen's face.
"See? So in a situation where you need to protect your sister from someone else, you just aren't likely to be able to avoid pain. And the number of such situations increases exponentially depending on which path in life you choose for yourself. Then again, most pain is worth bearing if you bear it while living the life you chose for yourself."
Those thoughts came from the very bottom of Liang Chen's heart, he was fine with bearing any hatred and pain he accumulated as he walked his path, because it was a path he had chosen for himself. The two young siblings could evidently detect that Liang Chen's words came from a place of understanding, Zun Zhi moving her pointing finger across the three gashes that covered the left side of his body.
"...Did you choose a life where you would deal with a lot of pain? Did you choose...this?"
She could only describe the wounds as ghastly, the ones on his arms and leg going all the way to the bone while the one on his waist just barely revealed a trace of his organs. Just what sort of life would someone have to live where they came to accept wounds like this? Liang Chen nodded his head to the girl's quiet question, not a single trace of regret visible in his eyes.
"I did indeed choose a life where my path is covered in its fair share of thorns, I can't deny that. But thanks to that, the good times shine all the more resplendent."
All the pain and loss he had experienced was contrasted by the joy he had experienced and would experience in the future, each memory as brilliant as a sun. The two children sank into silence after Liang Chen made his statement, spending another hour on bandaging his wounds, making sure that it was properly done since wounds in the waist and thigh could easily cause people to bleed out. With their job finished, and the caravan showing no signs of halting, Liang Chen decided to learn a bit more.
"So how did the two of you end up joining the Tien family? And what sort of place is that family?"
They didn't look remotely similar to Tien Huang, and their names were completely different so it was easy to see that they weren't actual members of the Tien family. It wasn't out of the question that they came from some vassal faction, but a conversation like this was a nice way to pass the time while he focused on pushing back the encroaching energy and restoring his ruined veins. The one who responded was Zun Zhao, rolling his eyes and counting on his fingers while he thought over his answer.
"It is a family filled with very kind people, some of the bigger warriors can be a bit scary at times, but no one has been mean to us yet. We've been in the Tien family our whole lives, we and about 15 other children were apparently gifted to them after we were born, gifts to increase the Tien family's opinion of the village where our parents live. We were assigned to be servants for the Young Master and the other kids work for the Young Master's siblings."
Subservience, such was the curse of the weak, doing whatever they could to ensure their own survival. Giving away almost 20 of their own children was definitely not an easy task for the village, but it was probably the only way they could think of to increase their own standing. Of course, it could also be that they were hoping that this would lead to the children leading a better life than what they could offer, but without meeting the people in question there was no way for Liang Chen to learn the truth. With his first questions answered, he used his eyebrows to gesture out of the wagon and towards the one where Tien Huang resided.
"This Young Master, what sort of person is he?"
His first impression of Tien Huang wasn't a bad one, he had after all been willing to pick up and bring along Liang Chen, despite Liang Chen looking like no more than a cripple at the moment. But Liang Chen had seen his fair share of people who hid a vile persona beneath their sweet exterior so he wouldn't base everything on just the first impression. But Tien Huang seemed to be a topic that the two children enjoyed talking about, both of them bubbling with an almost bragging excitement.
"He's a good man! He taught us how to read and write and was also the one who gave us our names! He even gives us a bit of money every month so that we can go out and buy things that we want! He is very strict and a little scary when he wants to teach us new things, but he always makes sure to not scare us too much and apologizes straight away if he sees that we are getting really scared!"
Zun Zhao was the first one to get his words out, pulling a small leather bag out from inside his robe and revealing that it hid a small piece of charcoal. As if to prove his point, he used the charcoal to write on the boards that made up the wagon, writing both his own name, his sister's name, and the fake name that Liang Chen had given. The next one to speak up was Zun Zhi, who spoke so excitedly that her face was turning red.
"He's also allowed me to work with some of the other maids to learn how to cook, he always praises my food and keeps saying that he looks forward to me learning more recipes! Once, he even protected me from his Elder Sister after she came back from a failed mission and was in a terrible mood!"
The two siblings made it crystal clear that Tien Huang held an extremely high position in their heart, which wasn't too strange since he seemed to have basically served as their parent. Liang Chen also latched onto the final part of Zun Zhi's statement, its contents poking at his interest.
"Oh, his Elder Sister tried to be mean to you because she was in a bad mood? What sort of mission did she fail to be in such a poor mood?"
If she was in such a terrible mood that Tien Huang had to protect Zun Zhi then it was clear that this Elder Sister was planning on doing more than just some berating or yelling. Exactly what could cause such a foul mood that she would be willing to harm mere children? Or could it be that she was just an innately violent person? Zun Zhao was actually the one to respond this time, grumbling quietly while giving a light shake of his head.
"We don't know, the Young Master hasn't told us anything about what sort of mission she took on, but he said that it was very important work so we shouldn't be too angry with her. But she's always nasty when she comes home, so even if he said that we should forgive her, I don't like her."
Zun Zhao and Zun Zhi seemed to be completely unable to lie, this straightforward honestly was probably one of the traits that Liang Chen liked the most in young children. They didn't play around with lies or philosophies, they just said things as they saw them, it was refreshing compared to other cultivators.
Liang Chen continued to talk with the two children, using conversation to both pass the time and learn whatever they knew about the Tien family. The two also changed his bandages whenever they got a bit too bloody, the hours passing quickly as night arrived. And as night arrived and the caravan stopped, Tien Huang stepped onto the wagon handing the three people in it a simple and thick stew while nodding at Liang Chen's bandages.
"How are you holding up? Are the bandages set properly or do they get in your way?"
Tien Huang sat down somewhat heavily as he inquired, a slightly drawn-out breath escaping him. Liang Chen accepted the stew and began eating it right away, poison wasn't exactly useful against him so he didn't worry about it in the slightest. At the same time, he gave a casual shrug of his shoulder and used his right arm to point at his still limp left arm.
"Everything's fine. I've got a hardy life so there's no need to worry too much, a little thing like this isn't enough to end me."
A good portion of his veins were torn up, but he was still able to manoeuvre a bit of his Qi through his body and send it to aid in the process of beating back the encroaching energy. If things continued at the current pace then he guessed that it would probably only take two or so months until he finished restoring his veins, it was a laughably short time compared to the seriousness of his injuries.
Tien Huang clearly remembered the horrid state of Liang Chen's body, hesitating for a short moment before he started talking about what he had come here for.
"... We're going to reach our target tomorrow at noon, we've encountered far fewer Demonic beasts than we expected so we've managed to move faster than originally planned. Our target is a herd of Stone-soul Scorpions, and other than these two and you, the rest of us are going to go out and force them away from the caravan while fighting them. But they are wild beasts after all, there is a chance that one or two of them tries to escape, so please make sure that you hide well. We'll return to Moonset city once we've secured all the Stone-soul Scorpions, I'll then arrange for a physician to take a look at you before I give you a job. If you do it well, I can assure you that we'll keep employing you for as long as you want."
Originally it should have taken them two or so days to reach the herd of scorpions, but they hadn't encountered a single Demonic beast after picking up Liang Chen so they hadn't been forced to make a single stop yet. Liang Chen didn't give too much of a comment on Tien Huang's statement, nodding his head and giving him a grateful smile.
"Alright, I'll definitely take you up on that offer."
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Tien Huang responded by nodding his own head and then tilting it somewhat curiously at Liang Chen. This was the Moon-Graced Desert, they had already been attacked by Demonic beasts tens of times before they picked up Liang Chen. Yet now, right after he joined them, not a single beast had even shown its tail, was he really that much of a lucky star or was there something more behind it?
He didn't pursue the thought, at least not verbally, retracting his gaze and checking up on Zun Zhi and Zun Zhao to make sure that they were okay and that they had been doing their job properly. But he didn't linger around for too long, bidding them farewell when they were halfway through their meal.
The night quickly grew darker after Tien Huang left, the Zun twins going to sleep while Liang Chen remained awake and gazed out upon the chilly night sky of the desert. The moon that hung in the sky was so large that the entire desert was dyed silver in its light, truly living up to its name as the Moon-Graced Desert.
Dawn arrived as quickly as the night, the caravan moving out once more, the atmosphere around it far tenser now than it was the day before. They stopped once more after only a few hours, gathering up the wagons into a circular formation where Liang Chen's served as the hidden centre. Tien Huang gave them one final stern warning that they had to remain hidden and then strode off, bringing with him the other members of the caravan.
With everyone else heading off to take down their targets, the two Zun twins tried to make themselves as small as possible while hiding within the wagon, only barely building up the courage to peek out through the opening in the cloth. Zun Zhao couldn't help but speak with a light stutter after an hour passed, glancing in the direction that Tien Huang and the others had left.
"Do... Do you think that any of them are going to make their way over here? They won't right? They'll stay over there?"
They were all alone right now so it was only reasonable that he was scared. After all, if a Demonic beast truly did come here then they would have no way of defending themself, neither of the Zun twins had started cultivating. Liang Chen was far more laidback than them, shrugging his shoulder casually while leaning against the cloth that served as the wagon's walls and ceiling.
"Depends, do the scorpions have any intelligence?"
If the scorpions had no intelligence and acted on instincts alone, then there wouldn't be a single one of them daring to get closer, the mere pressure of Liang Chen's bloodline would terrify them so much that they wouldn't dare to get close.
It would normally be the same even if they had intelligence and strength inferior to his, but if they had some intelligence and detected that he was injured like this, then they would probably risk it for the chance to devour his bloodline. Liang Chen had only just asked the question when he got his confirmation, a Demonic beast entering his senses.
"Oh, one of them's coming, seems like they've got a little intelligence and aren't working on just instincts alone."
The beast barreled directly towards them, tearing through three wagons before it was finally revealed in front of them. The beast looked like an eight-legged scorpion that was nearly nine metres long, its entire body covered in a thick grey carapace dotted with golden spots that blended in with the sand. It had two pincers that were nearly three metres long and another set of smaller pincers that were only one metre long, a curved tail ending in a simple sharp tip growing out from its rear.
The five black and beady eyes of the beast looked at Liang Chen with a gaze that could only be described as ravenous, drool practically dripping from its maw. The beast had only reached the early stage of the Soaring Immortal realm, but its mere presence was enough to terrify the Zun twins. Zun Zhao glanced sideways at his sister and thought back to Liang Chen's words, standing up with trembling legs.
"I.. I... I'll bring it away!"
It took him a second to force his legs forward, but Liang Chen's hand landed on his shoulder before he could leave the wagon. He pushed Zun Zhao down again and forced him to sit down, placing his hand on the kid's head and ruffling his curly hair with a smile.
"You've got guts and a good heart, but your strength is too low to make a difference. He'll just gobble you up and then saunter over here to finish the job. Remember, just having a good heart and the will to do right isn't enough, you also need the strength to see it through."
He spoke kindly, but he was also terribly blunt, you wouldn't be able to achieve a single damn thing even if you went out to sacrifice yourself. Zun Zhao also knew this, he had since the start, but looking at his pale-faced and shivering sister, he couldn't help himself.
"Then... But... What do...?"
His words were an incoherent mess, it was as if he wasn't quite sure what he could possibly even say in this situation. But Liang Chen simply smiled at him, reaching out with his arm and tapping Zun Zhi on the head a few times to draw her attention.
"Look at me."
The Zun twins both looked at him, Zun Zhi still shivering and trembling like a leaf in the wind. They could hear the Demonic beast behind them, the scorpion slowly approaching, still sensing a great fear towards Liang Chen. But Liang Chen didn't even acknowledge the beast, nodding at the two kids with a smile.
"Yeah, just look here, I'll show you a magic trick."
He raised his right arm pushed out his chest, waving his arm around in the air as if he was trying to make himself look bigger. And as he was drawing the attention of the Zun twins in this manner, he stopped using his Fiendgod Essence to fight back the encroaching energy and sent it at the scorpion.
The beast's carapace collapsed without resistance under Liang Chen's Fiendgod Essence, the scorpion dying and ending up forced down beneath the sand without even being able to utter a single sound. Liang Chen scorched away the blood using the lightning he had merged into his body cultivation, lowering his hand again once the process was complete.
"And whoosh, all gone!"
He gestured towards the spot where the beast had been with his arm, the Zun twins hurriedly turning around and ending up dumbfounded at the sight. There were traces that the sand had been pushed aside, but not a single trace of the scorpion that had just been there, neither of them able to understand what had just happened as they turned back to Liang Chen.
"Wha... How... Where?"
Liang Chen sat down again and once again casually shrugged his shoulder, making up a quick excuse while also remembering to warn the kids, who quickly and obediently nodded their heads at his words.
"It ran off, buried itself into the sand and scurried away. It may have some intelligence, but it's just a little. Making myself look big and threatening is sometimes enough, it's especially useful due to how tall I am. Of course, the Demonic beast faeces also helped, all the small things coupling together, so you shouldn't try to do what I just did, got it?
"Got it!"
"Understood!"
The two felt a little safer now that Liang Chen had proven that he could scare the scorpions away, raising their heads a little more as they peeked out through the opening of the wagon. And nearly ten minutes after the scorpion arrived, Tien Huang also arrived, rushing through the crushed wagons and up to the Zun twins.
"Did one of the beasts make it over here!?"
He framed it as a question, but the state of the crushed wagons made the answer evident so what he was asking about was more along the lines of what had happened. The Zun twins both hopped up into standing positions and nodded their heads repeatedly while pointing at Liang Chen.
"It did, but Big Brother Chen managed to scare it away so that it dug right back into the sand!"
One of Liang Chen's eyebrows ticked up when he heard the title the two kids had given him. He had travelled a fair bit and met a great number of people, but this was the first time anyone had ever actually called him Big Brother. Tien Huang's gaze slid over to Liang Chen, whose only response was a wriggle of his fingers.
"Magic fingers."
Tien Huang looked deeply at Liang Chen for a moment, studying his nonchalant expression as if he was trying to see right through him. But in the end, he simply lowered his head and conveyed his gratitude, Liang Chen once more shrugging his shoulder.
"Right, then it seems like it has become my turn to thank you. I fear that both Zun Zhao and Zun Zhi would have died here if you hadn't been around to scare it away, thank you for helping them."
"No need to thank me, I like to help people."