“Brother, wake up…”
Perhaps it was because the medicinal soup he drank a few days ago had taken effect, but Jiang Xuning slept exceptionally peacefully this time. Not only were there no nightmares, but his body didn’t feel as painful as usual. It felt as if he were wrapped in something, oddly comfortable, and so he fell into a deep slumber. By the time he regained consciousness, he didn’t know how much time had passed.
Jiang Xuning blinked, feeling the warmth coming from his forehead. Looking at the person before him, he was still a bit dazed.
“A-Heng?”
He mumbled. Although his gaze was still somewhat blurred, he eventually recognized the person in front of him.
“Mm, Brother, it’s me.”
Seeing such an adorable scene, Yu Heng laughed immediately. The original grey mist dissipated, and he was currently in an extremely good mood. He reached out and pinched the youth’s fair cheek before helping him sit up.
Throughout the process, Jiang Xuning appeared exceptionally well-behaved, which caused the smile on Yu Heng’s face to deepen. He raised his hand to push open the half-closed boat window, pointed outside, and then said warmly, “Look, Brother, Guangling City. We’ve arrived.”
Due to the presence of protective arrays, even though the flying vessel was mid-air, it didn’t feel cold when the window was opened. Only the whistling sound of the wind was enough to clear one’s head. Jiang Xuning subconsciously sat up straight and followed the direction Yu Heng pointed. What entered his sight was nothing but a scene of prosperity.
Guangling of the East Continent was not something Jiang Xuning hadn’t heard of. It was said to have been built bordering the Tianyan Sect. Initially, it was just a tiny village, but because of the protection of the number one immortal sect, it gradually developed into the city it was today.
Added to the fact that it backed onto the Tianyan Sect, the atmosphere of Guangling City was particularly open. Cultivators and mortals coexisted there. Even if someone flew over the streets on a sword, it wasn’t considered a rare occurrence. Not to mention pill shops and sword-casting workshops, even the dishes sold in the restaurants were mostly made of spiritual rice and spiritual meat. This satisfied the appetites of cultivators without producing too many impurities in the body; it was quite unique.
Looking at these scattered buildings, Jiang Xuning couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder. He originally thought that the Yue City where he lived was prosperous enough, but seeing Guangling now, he realized it was like comparing a small sorcerer to a great one. For a moment, he stared blankly.
His reaction naturally fell entirely into the eyes of Yu Heng beside him. Yu Heng’s heart softened. He smoothed out Jiang Xuning’s somewhat loose hair and said with a smile, “If Brother likes it, when I have time, I will accompany you here.”
…
After passing Guangling City, the speed of the flying vessel slowed down. Mist filled the air ahead, as if a certain barrier had been set up. Yu Heng raised his hand and summoned a lotus lantern. In an instant, the haze vanished, and the view opened up entering into another realm of the human world.
Great mountains stood towering, surrounded by peaks. There were auspicious clouds and immortal cranes, flowing waters like silver ribbons, with houses and cottages interspersed throughout. Accompanied by the cries of cranes, cultivators dressed in blue-and-white or pale green attire occasionally flew by on swords, or those in purple-black rode past on demonic beasts. Though many, it did not appear chaotic; it was orderly and possessed a different kind of scenery.
Entering this place for the first time, Jiang Xuning felt as if he had accidentally stumbled into a fairyland. He couldn’t help but feel awe, yet he also felt an indescribable sense of peace and tranquility.
“Alright, Brother, we should head down. Once we enter the sect, we can no longer ride the flying vessel.”
As Yu Heng spoke, he raised his hand and pulled the still-dazed Jiang Xuning out of the cabin. Just as they stood still, the flying vessel landed.
“Look, it seems Senior Brother Huo and Junior Brother Yu are back!”
“Yes! I recognize that flying vessel, it seems to be them!”
Before Jiang Xuning could recover from the imposing three characters of “Tianyan Sect” carved into the giant stone, a clamor came from the distance. He subconsciously looked over and saw a group of men and women dressed in various colored robes rushing towards them, their faces full of joy.
“Senior Brother Huo, Junior Brother Yu.”
Everyone was shouting; for a moment, one couldn’t tell who was calling whom. It was very lively until they drew near and finally quieted down.
“It really is you two. Just now we thought we had seen wrong.”
The first to speak was a girl in purple, about seventeen or eighteen years old. Her appearance was extremely striking. Looking at the two before her, she felt an indescribable joy, her eyes curving into smiles, and dimples faintly appearing on her cheeks. Shedding her sharp edge, she added a bit of charm.
“That’s right, Senior Brother Huo, Junior Brother Yu, you’ve finally returned. We’ve missed you to death!”
“Yeah, yeah…”
The crowd chattered away; there was an indescribable harmony and friendliness.
Watching such a scene, Jiang Xuning, standing to the side, couldn’t help but feel a bit lost. He lowered his head, unsure of what he was thinking.
“Junior Sister Liu.”
Huo Ling nodded slightly. He still didn’t speak much, but compared to when he was at the Jiang residence, he was much gentler.
Beside him, Yu Heng also responded appropriately, calling her “Senior Sister Liu” very obediently, which made the girl chuckle again. The others nearby watched eagerly and hurriedly crowded forward, insisting the youth call them something as well before they would let him be.
“Seniors, please stop teasing me, or I’ll have to tell my elder brother.”
The youth broke through the crowd and finally pulled over Jiang Xuning, who was still in a daze. His cheeks were slightly flushed, but his gaze never moved away from the person.
After Yu Heng shouted this, the crowd finally noticed that besides Huo and Yu, there was another extremely unfamiliar face.
“And this is?”
Liu Tang looked at the person Yu Heng was holding tightly, feeling somewhat confused. She had never seen this person before, let alone someone so close to Junior Brother Yu.
“This is my elder brother, Senior Sister Liu,” Yu Heng took over the conversation, saying with a smile, “He is from Yue City. This time I went down the mountain specifically to find him.”
“So it’s him.”
She had heard about Yu Heng going down the mountain to find someone, but she hadn’t expected it to be his brother. She couldn’t help but look at him a few more times.
“Elder brother?”
The others expressed surprise upon hearing this. After taking a few more looks, they clearly didn’t quite believe it. “How can this person be Junior Brother Yu’s brother? Just looking at his appearance…”
Their voices weren’t very loud, but they were loud enough for Jiang Xuning to hear clearly. Although they didn’t finish their sentence, he naturally knew what they meant.
Jiang Xuning wasn’t actually ugly; in fact, he could be called handsome. In Yue City, he was a well-known handsome man; when he went out, he would even receive flowers and handkerchiefs thrown by young ladies. It was just that this was the cultivation world, and the cultivation world never lacked beauties. Additionally, he had just suffered a serious illness recently, his body was weak, and his face was pale and not very good-looking. Therefore, he appeared average. Coupled with being compared to the likes of Huo Ling and Yu Heng, it was no wonder the crowd didn’t notice him at the first opportunity and only did so after Yu Heng’s specific reminder.
“We are not related by blood,” Yu Heng explained quickly, “It’s just that when I was wandering outside in my early years, I was fortunately saved by my brother’s father. I was able to get my life back because of that, so our relationship is deeper than blood.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Everyone came to a realization. When they looked at Jiang Xuning again, they weren’t as probing as before; instead, they were a bit more enthusiastic. They were about to ask something more when Yu Heng spoke first.
“Seniors, didn’t you just say you were going down the mountain to eliminate evil spirits? If you don’t go now, I’m afraid you’ll miss the hour.”
“You know how strict the Disciplinary Elder is…”
He spoke in a teasing manner, but his eyes were calm. Upon hearing this, the crowd woke up as if from a dream. Like startled birds, they immediately bid their farewells, summoned their natal swords, and flew away as if escaping, for fear of being late. After all, the Disciplinary Elder’s whip was no joke…
Liu Tang was the last to say goodbye. Leaving a “See you later,” she summoned a spirit beast that resembled a wolf and flew away.
“Let’s go, Brother.”
Yu Heng retracted his gaze and pulled Jiang Xuning’s sleeve, his eyes filled with nothing but starlight.