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Chapter 113
🕑 Added 2023-05-16 08:02:53 +0000 UTCXie Jin’s home could be considered the end of the rainbow. End in the sense that the rainbows scattered by the last light of sunset died when they fell within the boundary of the village. Here alone the light separated by the prism-like leaves became whole once more. It was a startling bleak contrast compared to the colorful jungle surrounding it.
The village itself was a compact affair. Blocky houses of oily black stone pressed right against each other and ringed around the tall trees whose canopy obscured the village from above. It was the black stone that seemed responsible for the village’s lack of rainbows. Chen Haoran could just barely make out a seven-colored outline dusting the corners and edges of the homes before disappearing. The houses lacked any sort of doors, looking more like little ring forts protecting the trees than a place people lived. Villagers climbed ladders to access the roofs and then disappeared down holes leading inside. Other villagers set up small fires on their roofs to cook, and more than once, an adult or child walked across the roofs with a basket of food to offer down to their neighbors.
These ring houses could be found around every tree. Jiang Lie and Wang Xiao were taken to one by Xie Jin’s cousin Ren. Jiang Lei met Chen Haoran’s gaze one final time before leaving. It was said that the eyes were the windows to the soul. If that were the case, then Jiang Lei’s may as well have been tinted. He turned away, expressionless. It left Chen Haoran feeling complicated. He truly wouldn’t have minded being friends with Jiang Lei if it weren’t for the clear ulterior motives the man had. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one?
“I still can’t believe you’re here,” Xie Jin said, stirring him from his thoughts.
“You make it sound like I would never come here. What? Didn’t want to give me a tour?”
An indescribable emotion flashed on Xie Jin’s face and disappeared just as quickly. “I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”
“You should have brought him with you when you came back,” Xie Jin’s grandfather spoke.
Xie Ling had descended from the air and led the way. As they passed various homes, the people atop the roofs would stop what they were doing and pay their respects. Xie Ling smiled and waved, occasionally stopping and having a short conversation about foraging grounds and hunting with the cultivators.
“Easy for you to say,” Xie Jin muttered. Before he could even finish the sentence, his sleeve bulged, and his arm, under a force not his own, rose to slap him in the head.
“Thank you,” Xie Ling spoke without turning around.
“Whatever,” Xie Jin said, rubbing his head. “Still to think those guys were Peach River Swordsmen, of all things.”
“Can you explain what that is?” Chen Haoran asked. “I only know the name and that they’re apparently extinct.”
Xie Jin narrowed his eyes in the direction Jiang Lei went. “They should have been. They’re a legend.”
“Don’t make things up just because you’re too young to have experienced it,” Xie Ling interrupted. “I’ve met plenty of Peach River Swordsmen in my day. If they’re a legend then what does that make me?”
“A fossil,” Xie Jin quipped. His sleeve bulged, but this time he was ready and held it down with one hand. What he wasn’t ready for was for his grandfather to turn around and slap him upside the head instead. “Damn geezer,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Chen Haoran smiled awkwardly at the by-play. It was tough to be relaxed in the presence of a stronger cultivator. Much less when you were reminded that they were over 400 years old. It was a mind-boggling number to ascribe to a single person. There were countries on Earth that weren’t that old. Whole generations would be born, grow up, and pass in that time. Of course, the White Tyrant was even older, but seeing as how he was a ghost and, well… himself, it was easy to overlook.
“To answer your question,” Xie Ling continued. “The Peach River Swordsmen represent the Peach River Sword Sect. It is a famous institution in Zumulu’s history, and many of its students became notable figures in their own right.”
“Not just notable,” Xie Jin excitedly took over. “Peach River Swordsmen are a byword for honor and justice. Anywhere the Peachwine flowed was within their swords’ reach. If a warrior proved himself, then he’d be allowed a sacred peach from their grove.” He paused, then scowled. “I can’t believe those bastards are Peach River Swordsmen, though.”
“The Peach River Sword Sect is just another power like any other,” Xie Ling gently chided. “They had their own goals that happened to help people, and it became such that continuing to do so was beneficial for them.”
Xie Jin grunted. “Whatever. It didn’t matter in the end. The Empire did the same to them what they did to all our pillars. I’m surprised there’s enough inheritance left to train those posers.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s a fascinating story,” Xie Ling said. He brought them to the only building in the village that stood alone, built into the largest tree rather than around it. It was still constructed of the same oily black stone, but where the other homes were blocky, this one was rounded with flaring arches and wide steps leading to a simple reddish-brown door.
Xie Ling placed a hand on the door and looked back at Chen Haoran. “As I’m sure yours is.”
He opened the door. What he thought was a home proved to be a temple of some sort. Or a throne room? Green silk patterned with silkworms and dragonflies hung from the ceiling. Smoke lazily drifted from two incense burners placed in the corners, filling the air with a deep, warm scent of amber and wood. At the end of the hall was a raised dais with two cushions set before it.
Atop the dais sat another Xie Ling.
Chen Haoran paused at the entryway and stared at both Xie Lings in confusion. The one waiting for them inside was a carbon copy of the one that led them here but had an unhealthy pallor to him. Even so, the more Chen Haoran looked at him the more lifelike he seemed. The Xie Ling that they had been following, however, look more and more uncanny, like a perfect doppelganger that only revealed its imperfections when directly compared to the original. His thought was proven accurate when the Xie Ling he’d been speaking to melted into purple miasma. A small black snake slithered over to the seated Xie Ling and disappeared into his sleeve.
Xie Jin bumped his shoulder as he passed. “What are you waiting for?”
“I thought Gu had to be insects,” Chen Haoran blurted out.
Xie Ling smiled. “Gu indeed have their origin in the unique insects of Zumulu. They can take many forms, however.”
Xie Ling’s voice had a noticeable rasp to it that hadn’t been present in his avatar. Despite that there was a warmth to it that was completely lacking in his copy, no matter how kindly it spoke. It was… comforting.
Chen Haoran slowly walked up to the elder cultivator and clasped his hands in a bow. “Hello, sir.”
Xie Ling nodded and motioned him to sit. “I am Xie Ling. Chief Shaman of the Onyx Arms and grandfather to that unruly whelp.”
Xie Jin sneered.
Chen Haoran huffed a laugh. “My name is Chen Haoran. I was lucky enough to meet Xie Jin and become friends with him.”
Xie Ling stroked his beard. “Chen? Like the pirates?”
“No sir, not like the pirates.”
“Shame.” Xie Ling even looked regretful as he said that. “Regardless, welcome to our humble home. While I have an idea as to why the Peach River children are here, I’d like to hear yours.”
“Right,” Xie Jin echoed. “What happened to settling in Daqing?”
Chen Haoran sheepishly smiled.
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“How?” Xie Jin asked.
“Like I said, it was a series of unfortunate events.”
“I was gone for a month.”
“A lot can happen in a month.”
“You—” Xie Jin massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed.
Admittedly, even over the course of a month, it was quite a lot.
He looked toward Xie Ling, who had remained silent throughout his entire recounting and clasped his hands again. “I’d like to ask if you had any advice, sir.”
Xie Ling stroked his beard in thought. Finally, he sighed. “It’s a heavy request to shelter you here. While it is true the Empire doesn’t approach the Basin lightly, it is not for lack of ability. Just desire. Should those Commanders decide it is worth the risk, then they will pursue you no matter what.”
Chen Haoran’s heart fell. Even though he only came here because of Jiang Lei, he still had some hope that Xie Jin’s home would provide a solution to his issue. It was understandable, though. Who’d be willing to offend the Empire for someone they barely knew?
Xie Jin immediately threw himself to the floor. “Grandfather, please.”
Chen Haoran was startled. “Xie Jin?”
Xie Ling watched his grandson but said nothing.
“Chen Haoran is a good man and a good friend. I beg of you, let him stay.”
Xie Ling hummed. “So you say, but you are the only one who knows him, and not for very long at that. Compared to your friend, I consider the Peach River Swordsmen more trustworthy.”
“I will take full responsibility,” Xie Jin said, his head still bowed.
“There’s no need to go this far,” Chen Haoran said, placing a hand on Xie Jin’s shoulder. “If you could just point me to a way to leave the region, I would be grateful.”
Xie Ling waved him off. “If my grandson is asking me so earnestly, how could I, his grandfather, deny him?”
Chen Haoran and Xie Jin looked up in shock. Xie Ling smiled. “I do not know you, Chen Haoran, but from what I have seen, you are not someone who forgets his relationships. In troubled times a loyal man is worth more than a mountain of gold. You may stay here until your trouble has passed.”
Chen Haoran held in his relieved sigh. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, grandfather,” Xie Jin excitedly said.
Xie Ling snorted. “Don’t look too excited. You said you would take responsibility. Take Ren and Bao Si and go erase their tracks. No reason to let the jungle do all the work.”
Xie Jin’s face fell, but he still nodded. “Understood.”
“So long as you do,” Xie Ling said. “Go situate your friend and head out at first light.”
Chen Haoran and Xie Jin rose and bowed to Xie Ling again before leaving the hall. Chen Haoran sighed in relief after the doors closed.
Xie Jin shook his head. “You better appreciate this, Brother Chen. I’m going to be doing a lot of extra work now with the last people I want to be around.”
Chen Haoran clapped Xie Jin around the shoulders. “Brother Jin, you have no idea how grateful I am.”
Xie Jin laughed. “I accept good alcohol as payment.”
“I’ll buy enough for you to swim in.”
“Good. Much better than those other bastards.” Xie Jin twisted his lips in distaste. “Who knows what they’re up to by coming here?”
“Your grandfather seems to have an idea”
Xie Jin scoffed. “That geezer likes to pretend he knows everything just because he’s old. He’ll spit blood before he admits he doesn’t know something.”
Well, it wasn’t like Chen Haoran didn’t have his own ideas as to Jiang Lei’s and Wang Xiao’s purpose. “Well, I—”
“Some thoughts are best kept to oneself, child.”
Chen Haoran shuddered as Xie Ling’s voice seemed to whisper directly in his ear. When he turned around, however, the doors were still shut. Xie Jin continued speaking, heedless of the warning Chen Haoran just received.
He nodded for lack of any better response.
“Were you saying something, Brother Chen?”
“I think I need a drink.”
