rustycol | Liu Yao - Chapter 37
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Many thanks to InkSplatterM and MrMrsMissRandom again. You guys are awesome!
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There are two mountains at opposite ends of Azure Dragon Island. On the mountain at the further end, where the sea waves and the forest connect all the way to the horizon, someone is moving as fast as a gust of wind, aiming straight for the wall of rock.
The person taps the ridge of the mountain a few times with the tips of his feet, then climbs up as if he were riding on the wind and the clouds. He aims at a bush of “dried weed” that has neither leaf nor flower and takes the entire bush, including the root. Then he turns and grabs the rock with his fingers, launching himself onto the mountain side.
This person’s control over his movements is so adept that it becomes casual. However, as he lands, it turns out that he is a youth of just fifteen or sixteen years old. He turns his head and glances at the sun setting over the mountain cliff, then walks fast forward with a slight curl of his lips.
It isn’t until this point in time that the giant hawk guarding the “dried weed” from the early morning realises that what it has been guarding was stolen. It screeches and puffs up its feathers like a chicken. The animal however is pretty smart and realises that it shouldn’t mess with this person. It flies around on the spot, not daring to pursue the youth. In just a short moment, the youth’s figure already blends with the thick forest and can’t be seen anymore.
Suddenly, the long whistle echoes through the forest. The giant hawk startles and flies up away from the cliff. Several other whistles reply, forming a surrounding circle in the forest. These people must be waiting beforehand.
The birds of the forest fly up screaming. They go back and forth a few rounds and then disperse.
The youth’s expression doesn’t change at all as he hears the whistles. He carefully shakes off the mud and dirt on the root of the ‘dried weed’, puts it inside his robe, and twirls the wooden sword in his hand. He says with a tsk, “You cling like a bad smell.”
This youth is indeed Cheng Qian.
Five years pass by in a blink of the eye. The boy grows up into a youth. The words his most senior brother gifted him in the “Land of Tenderness” when they first met have become true. His looks haven’t diminished a bit.
In a second, four or five figures emerge from the forest. The ringleader, whose face is like a lump of coal, is Zhang Dasen.
Before going to Azure Dragon Island, the primordial spirit of Zhang Dasen was already at “lesser achievement” level, so he has some fame among the rogue cultivators. He uses a double-ended lance, displaying an arrogant attitude. Day in and day out, a bunch of rogue cultivators flatter him, so he preens even more.
“It’s that brat again.” In the past five years, the feud between Zhang Dasen and Cheng Qian doesn’t go away. On the contrary, it gets even worse. Zhang Dasen growls as soon as he recognises it’s Cheng Qian, “If you have any brain, hand it over here.”
Cheng Qian keeps his hands behind his back, the wooden sword hanging in parallel to his body. He taps his feet slightly, making a vaguely confused face as if to say ‘I don’t understand why that dog is barking’.
Zhang Dasen likes to provoke and intimidate. If the other side talks back at him, he will be somewhat fine with that. However, whenever he sees Cheng Qian’s impassive face as if nothing happens, he can explode with anger.
