The Bamboo Chest Chapter Five: Yuan Bai

The Wild World is truly vast. To travel from Zhicui City to Qianjing City takes not a day or two, nor a month or two, but a full half-year.

The young man shouldered his bamboo basket, bade farewell to his sister, and walked out of Zhicui City.

Dust and sand began to rise. Even though winter was approaching, this was, after all, the Wild World. Some had once said that in the Wild World, the wind and sand sting the eyes all year round, leaving no room for the four seasons. Lu Yun felt that person was absolutely right.

Wearing a conical bamboo hat, he eventually found a remote, desolate tavern. In the Wild World, this was the only kind of business one could find.

"It will probably take another two months to reach Qianjing City..." Lu Yun spread out his map and took a bite of the fruit Lu Cui had prepared for him. "Mmm, delicious!"

After a long trek, such a bite was truly comforting. Lu Yun’s mood, rarely good, quickly turned melancholic again. He missed his sister.

"Your wine, traveler." A burly man with a rough appearance held a flask of wine in one hand and a water skin in the other, setting them down before Lu Yun.

Lu Yun nodded in thanks, poured the wine into a bowl, and then opened his water skin, committing an act that would enrage any connoisseur. The man glanced back at the refined-looking youth and muttered under his breath, "Diluting wine with water yourself... what a talent."

"Tsk, it's still a bit sharp..." Lu Yun frowned, hesitating as he held the water skin. "Should I add more?"

Just then, two people entered the tavern. One large and one small, both dressed in fine brocade, exuding an air of nobility. The younger one saw Lu Yun about to pour water into his bowl and shouted sharply, "You scoundrel!"

Lu Yun was stunned. What was going on? Even the most boorish great demons of the Wild World wouldn't just curse at a stranger, would they?

Immediately, the child, who was a head shorter than Lu Yun, rushed over. Lu Yun instinctively reached out, but the child threw himself into his arms.

"Save me! Save me!" the child whispered urgently, his expression desperate.

Lu Yun looked at the silent man who had accompanied the child, then back at the boy, and silently pushed him away. The child paused, then quickly added, "Take me away from here, and I will surely reward you!"

"Hmm..." Lu Yun glanced at the silent man again and asked, "What is your relationship with him?"

"That is none of your business. Leave now, and I may spare your life," the silent man finally broke his silence, speaking coldly.

Lu Yun ignored him, keeping his eyes on the boy. Seeing that Lu Yun wouldn't help without an explanation, the boy said, "He is my guard. He wants to force me to go to Qianjing City to participate in the King-Sealing Tournament!"

"Oh?" Lu Yun raised an eyebrow. What a coincidence.

Seeing Lu Yun’s hesitation, the boy knew he must be heading to Qianjing City as well, so he struck while the iron was hot, "Take me away, I have connections in Qianjing City!"

"You dare?!" The silent man roared and charged forward.

Lu Yun picked up the map from the table, took a sip of his wine, and let out a chuckle.

***

"Coward." The boy being carried by Lu Yun looked at him with disdain, spitting out the word.

"What does a little brat know? This is called 'avoiding the sharp edge'!" Lu Yun occasionally looked back, vaguely seeing someone in hot pursuit. "Besides, he's a realm higher than me; how could I fight him?"

"Hey, why are you running south? Aren't we getting further and further away from Qianjing City?" the boy suddenly asked.

Lu Yun felt a bit embarrassed and said, "I was in a rush, the map is gone..."

"Shake him off quickly, I'll lead the way!" the boy said angrily. What kind of helper had he found!

***

The silent man finally stopped. Within his perception, the aura of his young master had vanished. He frowned, then took out a map. It showed the route to Qianjing City. It was ordinary, yet not entirely so.

"Zhicui City..." the man murmured, looking at the starting point. "I heard that the Sword Immortal from the Sword Qi Great Wall once appeared there."

***

"Huff, huff..." Lu Yun gasped for air and dropped the boy. The boy stumbled, let out an 'ouch,' clutched his backside, and looked at Lu Yun with resentment.

"Don't look at me like that, explain yourself." Lu Yun found a spot and sat cross-legged.

The boy tilted his head, looking innocently confused. "Explain what, big uncle?"

"Who's your 'big uncle'? Don't play dumb. Your guard didn't look like he was forcing you at all. You trapped me!" Lu Yun huffed.

"Then why did you carry me away?"

"Nonsense, I was already running!"

Lu Yun didn't tell the boy that after his map was snatched, he had no way to turn back. The incident at Zhicui City must be known to everyone in the White Plains Kingdom by now. After all, Zhicui City was the strongest city in the kingdom, and that ascending great demon was one of the kingdom's patrons; it was impossible for Qianjing City not to know of his demise. Being identified would be very troublesome.

Lu Yun rubbed his face and looked at the boy. "What's your name?"

The boy pointed at himself. "Me? Big uncle, that's not very polite."

"Stop talking nonsense, give me a pseudonym."

"Then, big uncle, just call me Yuan Bai." Yuan Bai smiled and patted his chest. "Don't you worry, with me leading the way, we'll reach Qianjing City without a problem!"

Lu Yun frowned. "Take a longer route."

"Of course, I'm not stupid," Yuan Bai said, his mouth full.

"What are you eating?" Lu Yun stared at Yuan Bai and the bamboo basket beside him, his eyelids twitching wildly.

The bamboo basket had been opened. Yuan Bai gave a cheeky grin, swallowed quickly, and said, "I don't know!"

Lu Yun immediately clutched the basket to his chest. Seeing that the fruit Lu Cui had prepared for him was already nearly half gone, his heart ached. "That was prepared by my sister, it was supposed to last me a whole year!"

"It's fine, big uncle. Once we get to Qianjing City, I'll treat you to a visit to a flower house!" Yuan Bai patted Lu Yun’s shoulder.

"Don't call me big uncle, I'm only a little older than you!" Lu Yun carefully packed the fruit away, looking at Yuan Bai warily. "I saved you, you lead me to Qianjing City. That’s it. Once we arrive, we go our separate ways."

"Fine," Yuan Bai agreed. "But big uncle, are you really not going to come with me to the flower house? It's very fun there."

"Not going!" Lu Yun huffed. "How can you be so obsessed with carnal desires?"

"Hey, big uncle, look, look!" Yuan Bai suddenly shook Lu Yun and pointed into the distance.

Lu Yun looked over in confusion, his expression gradually turning blank.

"That is... someone leaping over the Dragon Gate!"

A beam of golden light erupted in the distance, transforming into clouds and mist, with a golden dragon faintly visible. The golden dragon raised its head toward the sky with a burning gaze. Between heaven and earth, a magnificent gate spanned the horizon.

"With such momentum, they must be attaining a high-grade Golden Core!" Yuan Bai said excitedly. "We've struck gold! We've struck gold!"

Before Lu Yun could react, the boy rushed off toward the golden light.

***

The Hundred Flowers House in Qianjing City was truly vast and magnificent. Carved railings and jade pillars were everywhere.

A bearded man in a loose robe stood on the pavilion, overlooking the brightly lit city.

"If His Majesty knew that Dong Sanggeng of the Sword Qi Great Wall was hiding in my Hundred Flowers House, would he be so angry he'd die on the spot?" A beautiful woman in colorful attire walked gracefully to Dong Sanggeng’s side.

Dong Sanggeng gently stroked the long sword at his side and chuckled. "You can go tell him; it's not like I'm stopping you."

The woman rolled her eyes at him. That was easy to say, but if she really did it, that ten-foot-tall... well, it wouldn't even take ten feet, just a single wisp of sword energy would be enough to kill her instantly.

An Ascension Realm cultivator could truly walk sideways in the Wild World. The woman couldn't understand; since Dong Sanggeng was already so powerful, why stay in the Wild World? Did he really want to kill another ascending great demon?

If that were true, the Wild World would remember the name Dong Sanggeng for a very, very long time. After all, for thousands of years, no Sword Immortal from the Sword Qi Great Wall had ever achieved such a feat.

"I heard there's a martial arts tournament for the King-Sealing next spring?" Dong Sanggeng asked suddenly.

The woman was stunned, then nodded. "Yes. By then, the lords of the major cities in the White Plains Kingdom will come to Qianjing City to compete. The top three will be granted titles and lands. However, there is an unspoken rule for the tournament: at most, participants must be in the Dragon Gate Realm, and at the very least, they must be in the Cave Mansion Realm."

Dong Sanggeng suddenly remembered the refined young man and his sister, who didn't seem like local demons of the Wild World.

"They should be coming, too..."