Chapter 26 - Red Cloud Mountain

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  Although some of the terms that Gu Xuan shared were foreign to Lin Hua, after connecting the dots, she was able to comprehend it somehow.

  Now that she has processed it, she can’t help but feel downcast.

  “Even in an environment that’s 10 times greater than the mortal world, Brother Gu still took 2 years after cultivating day and night?”

  Lin Hua questioned before remarking, “So if I do the same here, it’ll take me more or less 20 years just to establish the bridge alone?”

  Lin Hua finally understood why martial artists hid their martial arts techniques as if it was some treasure.

  To people like them, it’s indeed a treasure even if it took a long time to learn it.

  Hearing her words, Gu Xuan looked at her meaningfully. She doesn’t seem to have internalized what he meant by cultivating day and night. However, since she was already discouraged, Gu Xuan didn’t try to destroy her slight hope and said, “That’s right but who knows?”

  When Lin Hua heard Gu Xuan speak, she turned to his face and saw that he was smiling as he explained, “Maybe you’re more talented than me and break through within 10 years or less. If you can achieve such a result in the outside world, the sect will not only take you in but consider you as some kind of treasure. Within the sect, there are only about a hundred martial artists who have the ability to use inner qi freely. If you were able to reach that level, wouldn’t you be more talented than them so why wouldn’t the sect nurture you?”

  After saying his piece, he offered, “Although I can’t teach you the sect’s cultivation technique, I can still tell you about my experience. According to my analysis after cultivating for a while, it’ll take more time without a cultivation technique but it’s still possible.”

  Lin Hua nodded and replied gratefully, “Then, I’ll have to thank Brother Gu.”

  Gu Xuan nodded and began to tell Lin Hua about his experiences, “After meditating for a while, even without a cultivation technique, you’ll be able to learn how to open your pores. As you do so, I advise you not to forcefully let the spiritual qi flow into mortal pathway and simply let it flow as it should. You have to tread very carefully.”

  Lin Hua nodded and asked several more questions which Gu Xuan nonchalantly answered but although he was nonchalant about it, he answered with proper knowledge as to not give Lin Hua half-baked knowledge.

  After a while, a question arose in her heart so she asked, “Brother Gu… Although I know all this now, I don’t know where the sect is so how do I get there without a guide if I reach the 1st Layer?”

  Gu Xuan shared quite a bit of knowledge with Lin Hua about realms and that they don’t necessarily equate to martial masters or grandmasters, realms are more on power, not proficiency. He naturally told her about cultivation layers.

  Gu Xuan, of course, answered her question truthfully, “I haven’t confirmed it yet since I haven’t gone inside the Blue Cloud City but a fellow disciple said that there’s a branch of our Moonlight Sect within. Have you ever heard of the ‘Twilight Pavilion’?”

  “Twilight Pavilion?” Lin Hua repeated as she processed in her mind if there was such a force and then asked with confused tone, “The Restaurant?”

  Gu Xuan chuckled and nodded, “That’s right, I haven’t seen it for myself but it was supposedly a 3-floored pavilion?”

  After learning about such a fact from Gu Xuan, Lin Hua couldn’t help but sigh after processing her shock.

  “I didn’t expect that the most luxurious restaurant in Blue Cloud was actually a front for a hidden sect. I’ve learned a lot.”

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  Seeing her lack of knowledge, Gu Xuan was a little confused so he inquired, “Didn’t your family use to be a high-ranked one? They didn’t know? According to my fellow disciple, although it’s a secret to the general public, it’s not a secret to high-society such as elders and clan heads. Since your previous guardian was the head guard of your family, your status within the family should be considerably high. It’s strange that you don’t know.”

  Lin Hua was no longer surprised by Gu Xuan’s ability to piece things from her words alone so she simply answered with a nod, “Although we were famous, our family isn’t from the Blue Cloud City, if it were…”

  Lin Hua didn’t continue and simply stared at Gu Xuan’s eyes, and again, Gu Xuan nodded in understanding, “You wouldn’t be able to stay in Blue Cloud City because your enemies are around, you could only run to another city. I see.”

  Lin Hua then nodded with a smile as she recalled, “Our family originally lived in Red Cloud Mountain, it’s also considered a little recluse, with not much contact to the outside world but, as a high-ranking member of the clan, I had to learn some things so I’m able to understand some things ordinary people wouldn’t be able to.”

  Lin Hua’s nostalgic smile soon turned upside down as she recalled, her eyes tearing up. “Then that day came… The Shadow Wolves Bandits… those bastards… They weren’t very well-known at that time so my father fought them because of their unruliness. Although my father was a martial arts master, he wasn’t a match for their leader, he was a martial arts grandmaster according to my father’s words as he bought us time to escape… wuu…”

  Seeing Lin Hua crying and sobbing, Gu Xuan couldn’t do anything besides wearing a stiff smile. Normally, people would hug someone feeling this way but Gu Xuan was different.

  He carried Lin Hua earlier simply for them to be able to travel at high-speed. Hugging her when she’s crying is a different story since it concerns emotions.

  Gu Xuan knew his boundaries and wouldn’t do something so intimate to a stranger he just met an hour or two back so he simply went quiet.

  He couldn’t find the right words to say so he just stayed silent.

  Although Gu Xuan wasn’t doing something to help her calm down, she also knew that they only knew each other today, so Gu Xuan just being there listening meant a lot to Lin Hua.

  After their previous guardian died, she had no one to rely on, her brother was simply too young so she had to be strong.

  Because of Gu Xuan’s exceptional observation, he was able to become quite close to her heart as he deduced her identity, giving her a chance to vent.

  Even if Gu Xuan didn’t do something as intimate as hugging her to help her quiet down, being given the chance to vent her emotion was more than enough for her.

  Lin Hua’s gaze turned to Lin Heng who was circling the wild boar that was hanged into a tree. Lin Heng poked the wild boar with a wooden stick he picked up from somewhere and then suddenly fell to the ground backwards on his backside.

  He was initially surprised but then laughed out loud.

  Seeing her brother grow up healthily even if they weren’t rich, Lin Hua’s heart warmed as she felt happy.

  She then turned her gaze back to Gu Xuan and said, “Thank you, Brother Gu.”

  With Lin Hua thanking him, Gu Xuan couldn’t help but scratch the back of his head, “I don’t know if I did something worth thanking but I’m sorry for making you remember a terrible memory.”

  Lin Hua shook her head and smiled, “On the contrary, I feel great because we had no one for the longest time and I haven’t been able to show my vulnerable emotions to anyone.”

  Gu Xuan just nodded, “Well, I’m glad I at least didn’t make you feel worse.”

  Lin Hua wiped the tears in her eyes and stood up with a wide smile, “The bleeding should be done by now, let’s go, Brother Gu. I’ll show you how I usually debone a boar.”

  Gu Xuan smiled at her as well but didn’t reply, simply following closely behind her. He made his footsteps slightly heavier so that Lin Hua could sense his presence.

  Upon arriving near the wild boar, Lin Heng exclaimed, “Sister! It’s done bleeding!”

  “Um.” Lin Hua replied as she pulled out the sheathed knife from her inner robes and revealed its sharp edge.

  She closed her eyes briefly, breathing in and out, and said with a tone of seriousness, “I’ll start now, Brother Gu.”

  Gu Xuan nodded and then stood in a place where he could see the knife in Lin Hua’s hand.

  She inserted the knife into the boar’s flesh and started to skillfully remove the boar’s hide.

  As if watching a work of art, Gu Xuan watched as Lin Hua removed the boar’s hide without an ounce of blood in it.

  He can’t help but praise in his heart as he appreciated, ‘She’s worked hard.’

  Gu Xuan could see the hard work and dedication she had put in her skills.

  After 30 minutes or so, Lin Hua had finished removing the wild boar’s hide as well as deboned it, not leaving even a piece of meat from its bone.

  The hide was kept in good quality with her superb skills, and the meat was also properly divided.

  Seeing her masterful work, Lin Hua said as she sheathed the sharp knife after wiping the blood off, “With all this meat, we don’t need to hunt for a while and will be able to sell for at least a week…”

  Lin Hua froze as she suddenly realized that it was Gu Xuan who hunted the wild boar so she looked at him, unsure of what to say after her comment.

  Gu Xuan just chuckled and nodded, “It’s fine, you can have it. Just let me have some meat skewers for free when I pass by your store.”

  With Gu Xuan’s assurance, Lin Hua smiled happily, “If that’s the case, I won’t refuse then, Brother Gu. Thank you.”

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