Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 243: Chapter 194: First Stop

"Junior Brother Zhang, your home is in Jinshan County. If we head west, it should be quite close, right? Why don’t you take a detour home? We could also visit Junior Sister Chen. There’s no time limit, so a little side trip wouldn’t hurt."

Huang Zifeng frowned slightly.

"Junior Sister Lin, this..."

"Senior Brother Huang, that should be fine, right?"

Lin Zhen blinked her large, sparkling eyes, staring intently at Huang Zifeng.

Huang Zifeng’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly changed his tune, his words becoming a little stuttered.

"O-Of course, there’s no problem. It’s true there’s no set time limit."

Xie Yuan watched coldly from the side, thinking:

’This girl’s got a few tricks up her sleeve.’

’But why are you still so fixated on Mu Chaoyun?’

’You haven’t asked about her once since we left. I thought you would’ve long forgotten about that Junior Sister Chen of yours, but here you are, still hung up on her.’

’But we definitely can’t go. The real and fake Zhang Shan coming face-to-face would be no joke.’

Xie Yuan shook his head.

"Senior Sister Lin, I don’t need to go home. The mission is what’s important."

When Lin Zhen heard this, she pursed her lips slightly. Seeing her reaction, Huang Zifeng immediately said:

"Junior Brother Zhang, I approve of you going home. It’s on the way and won’t be a problem."

’This Huang Zifeng is so flexible all of a sudden? Why haven’t I heard you call me Junior Brother Zhang before now?’

Xie Yuan cursed inwardly, but maintained a serious expression as he said:

"No, Senior Brother Huang. The instructor said the trial must take priority."

’This Junior Brother Zhang, why is he so stubborn?’

Huang Zifeng cursed inwardly, then said coldly:

"Our Sect has always valued filial piety. If you don’t honor your parents, how can you honor your masters? Junior Brother Zhang, a chance to go home is rare. You should think it over carefully."

"..."

Hearing him pull out such a heavy-handed justification, Xie Yuan gave a mental thumbs-up to the simp and decided to use a delaying tactic.

"My mind is on the trial right now, so I wouldn’t be able to rest easy at home. Once the trial is complete, if it’s on the way, I’ll consider going home then!"

Hearing his well-reasoned argument, Huang Zifeng and Lin Zhen didn’t press the matter further and nodded.

"Then it is settled."

Seeing that no one else was speaking and that Lin Zhen was still respecting his opinion, Huang Zifeng pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Everyone, rather than searching for bandits and thieves elsewhere, let’s just go to the West Desert. Things happen faster there. The West Desert is crawling with villains and horse bandits, every one of them with blood on their hands—perfect for you all to test your swords against. As disciples of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect, we must take it upon ourselves to uphold justice and protect the innocent. When we roam the martial world, we must punish evil and promote good. This is not a duty you can shirk. You must remember this."

"Yes, Senior Brother Huang!"

The four Outer Sect disciples cupped their fists and replied in unison.

The five of them rested for a moment at a tea stall, filled their waterskins, and then paid and left.

The Tea Master wanted to be polite and refuse payment from the Sword Sect disciples. After all, with the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect nearby, the towns and counties at the foot of Cloud Mountain had always been peaceful. The sect’s disciples often came down the mountain to do good deeds, so their reputation was excellent, and the common people revered them.

However, Huang Zifeng naturally wouldn’t take advantage of this, and the Tea Master knew the Sword Sect’s code of conduct. So, after a couple of rounds of polite refusal, he accepted the payment for the tea and watched the group leave down the main road.

Cloud Mountain was located in the southwestern part of Yunzhou, not far from the West Pass on the border. After traveling for a few days, the group of five saw a gourd-shaped pass between two mountains in the distance.

Before them stood the mighty pass, flanked on both sides by thousand-fathom cliffs, with only a single narrow path running through the middle. Truly, it was a place where one man could hold off ten thousand.

No wonder that throughout history, when the kingdoms of the Western Regions wanted to invade the Central Plains, they always went through Yanzhou and rarely attacked Yunzhou. The Beidu Mountain Range stood in the way, leaving this heavenly pass, the "Gourd Mouth," as the only way through. But with terrain like this, even an army a hundred times the size would likely fail to capture a fortress garrisoned by a mere thousand soldiers.

The Barbarians of the Western Regions couldn’t get in, but the dynasties of the Central Plains could sally out. Thus, during times of war between the two peoples, the Central Plains would often station heavy troops in Yanzhou, while a contingent of light cavalry based at the West Pass could ride out at any time to harass the enemy, tying down tens of thousands of Xihu soldiers.

With both Yanzhou and Yunzhou in its possession, the Central Plains was in a virtually invincible position against the Xihu. In a thousand years, the number of times the Xihu had successfully broken through the passes could be counted on one hand.

"Beyond this pass is the West Desert. I’ve been there once before, and I can only say that its reputation is well-deserved. Be careful. From here on out, you’re on your own."

Huang Zifeng pointed at the magnificent West Pass and said this coolly, finally remembering his role as their leader.

But as soon as he said that, he immediately turned to Lin Zhen.

"Junior Sister Lin, you don’t need to be nervous. With your strength, this trial will be a piece of cake. You’ll be entering the Inner Sect in no time."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Huang. But as long as the trial is not complete, I dare not slack off."

Lin Zhen gave a slight bow.

"Of course, of course."

Huang Zifeng nodded repeatedly.

The group had their travel permits inspected at the West Pass. After they revealed their identities as disciples of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect, their passage out of the pass went smoothly. Before long, they were met with the sight of a thousand li of yellow sand, stretching to the horizon.

The sight of the great desert immediately stunned the disciples who were seeing it for the first time. Lin Cheng murmured:

"’A plume of smoke, straight and lonely, rises from the desert vast; over the long river, the setting sun is round.’ So this is what it’s like."

"Damn, that’s a lot of sand."

Pei Yu, who had been silent for the whole trip, couldn’t help but swear.

For people who have always lived inland, seeing the great desert for the first time has much the same effect as seeing the ocean for the first time.

Although Xie Yuan had never been here in this life, he had seen such sights in his previous one, so he was calmer than the other three. But in this era where travel was difficult for ordinary people, it was likely that none of them had ever traveled far from home before their cultivation began. It was only natural for them to be overwhelmed with emotion on their first time leaving the territory of the Great Li dynasty.

Huang Zifeng waited for them to admire the view for a while before saying coolly:

"You’ll have plenty of time to look later. Not far ahead is the first trading post in the West Desert, Fengsha Collection."

Lin Cheng nodded.

"We’ll stop there first to get our bearings and gather information."

Xie Yuan, Pei Yu, and Lin Zhen all nodded slightly, and Huang Zifeng also gave a nod of silent approval.

Throughout the journey, Xie Yuan hadn’t offered many opinions. Firstly, "Zhang Shan" was just that kind of person. Secondly, with his experience in the martial world, if he were to take the lead, there would be no need for Huang Zifeng to speak at all, and it was important to give the others a chance to learn.

And thirdly, he didn’t really care where they went. In this regard, his confidence was actually greater than Huang Zifeng’s.

Although Huang Zifeng had broken through to the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm shortly after their fight, when it came to actual combat strength, having lost to Xie Yuan once, there was no need for a rematch. The Cloud Dragon Nine Forms was a technique that even a Grandmaster’s disciple probably couldn’t learn at the First Transformation Realm.

The group made their way to Fengsha Collection, a key location situated between the West Pass and the nearest oasis city. Though not large, it was a gathering place for merchants from both the Xihu and the Central Plains, as well as people from all walks of life, both respectable and not. Its tangle of factions was unlike anything in Yunzhou.

Having already disguised themselves as traveling merchants, the group was met with silent stares from unseen eyes in the buildings and streets as soon as they entered the market. The sensation made the inexperienced Lin siblings and Pei Yu’s skin crawl, and even Huang Zifeng became warier.

Xie Yuan secretly swept his gaze across their surroundings. Seeing the others slowing to a halt, he shook his head slightly and said in a low voice:

"There’s an inn up ahead."

Ahead of them, a tattered, dust-yellow flag fluttered, bearing the words "The First House of the West Desert."

The reminder seemed to jolt the others back to their senses, and they quickened their pace toward it.

Huang Zifeng shot him a quick glance but said nothing, walking silently beside him.

As soon as they entered the establishment, a waiter with a fawning smile hurried over to greet them.

"Where are my guests from? Are you just stopping for a bite, or staying the night?"

"We’re from—"

"Bring us a few of your specialty dishes and a pot of clear wine."

"Right away."

Huang Zifeng cut Pei Yu off, causing the latter to break out in a cold sweat as he realized his mistake.

Pei Yu and the Lin siblings glanced around. The inn was dilapidated and old, its tables and chairs covered in a layer of sand. A few scattered patrons sat at other tables, all staring at them in silence. Behind the counter, a proprietress with a face painted ghastly white was sizing them up with great interest.

The three of them felt their chests tighten and couldn’t help but draw closer to one another.

The predatory gazes of the patrons, the waiter with his fake smile, the proprietress looking at them like prey...

This was clearly a black inn!

"A classic."

Xie Yuan brushed the sand off a stool with his hand, plopped down, and looked around with great interest.

"The first stop in the West Desert, the Dragon Gate Inn."

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