On the large empty road which was surrounded by uncultivated fields, two silhouettes could be seen riding horses. There was one handsome young man and an extremely beautiful young girl. They were galloping at full speed surrounded by a cloud of dust.
These two people were obviously Lin Feng and Meng Qing who were now riding a single horse towards the imperial city.
Lin Feng was proud that he could ride so quickly. His horse was galloping so fast that Lin Feng's long hair was floating along with his robes which created a sound like that of a flag blowing in the wind.
The bad thing though was that Lin Feng was about to fall because of the strong wind. Lin Feng was about to fall because he was standing on the horse behind Meng Qing. However, what comforted him is that he was behind Meng Qing and could put his hands on her shoulders to stabilise himself.
"If I hadn't broken through to the Ling Qi layer and I was still as weak as before then I would have fallen down from the horseback a long time ago."
Even though Meng Qing had never seen anything else apart from the Black Wind Mountain and she didn't understand much of the outside world, she still didn't let other people notice the change in her emotions. She was extremely smart and also had amazing perception abilities.
At that moment, Meng Qing turned her head around and looked at Lin Feng. She noticed that he was having a hard time and slightly smiled at him.
Even though it was only a slight smile, it seemed like there was nothing else in the world except that beautiful smile. All other things in the world instantly seemed uninteresting and dull. That smile illuminated everything around it and made the world seem bright.
"It's too much. What a cruel world." thought Lin Feng. He couldn't believe how beautiful Meng Qing was. When he was looking at her, he forgot everything for a brief moment. He slightly smiled back at her as he thought about his pitiful state.
"Do you want to sit down?" asked Meng Qing looking indifferent again as if nothing could affect her.
"Yes, I do." said Lin Feng straightforwardly while nodding. Lin Feng was an honest and straightforward young man.
Unfortunately, the world was full of people with evil intentions. It was important not to be naive and not to show other people potential weaknesses, for example by being too honest.
But Lin Feng was simple and honest which is why he was often disappointed by cruel and heartless people.
"Explain to me how the outside world works, if you manage to make my heart beat and shake up my feelings, I might consider the matter." said Meng Qing with expectant eyes which stupefied Lin Feng. He was puzzled and couldn't help but smile.
"The outside world?"
Even though Lin Feng knew a lot about how cruel that world was, he was puzzled. After all, he had also been in that world for a short time. Moving Meng Qing was easier said than done.
But at that moment, Lin Feng had a flash and said to Meng Qing while smiling: "Let me tell you about the story of my family."
"Alright." said Meng Qing while faintly nodding.
"In my family, there is a ferocious beast which is a thousand years old. It has magic powers and is extremely strong. Its name is Bai Su Zhen."
Lin Feng's voice was faintly audible. He remembered the classic scriptures he had read in his previous life. He remembered the story of the lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. During life they had fallen in love but due to certain circumstances they had been driven apart. When death had separated the lovers they transformed their spirits into butterflies so that they would never be separated from each other again. He was trying to take elements from such stories to make his own story even more touching and moving.
Meng Qing was so captivated by Lin Feng's words that she didn't pay attention to the fact that Lin Feng sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Their two bodies, from the distance, seemed to be joined as one.
"Alright." said Lin Feng who had finished telling his story and then pulled on the reins to stop the horse.
At that moment, Meng Qing turned her head around. There was less than a centimeter between Lin Feng and Meng Qing's face.
When Lin Feng saw Meng Qing's face that near, his heart started pounding. At this moment all he wanted to do was to kiss her. She was really a captivating and enchanting young woman.
"It seems like my heart is still weak. Haha." thought Lin Feng. So close to Meng Qing, he was unable to remain cold-blooded. His heart felt like the ice which was gathering had begun to melt.
Lin Feng was an extremely motivated cultivator and set high goals for himself. In this world, people like Meng Qing were rare. She could remain cold blooded no matter what the situation. Only a wise cultivator could achieve such a high level of self-control but Lin Feng was incapable of such a thing. He was not on the same level as Meng Qing.
Meng Qing looked surprised and immediately asked Lin Feng: "Did you finish your story?"
"Yes." said Lin Feng while nodding.
"If you finished your story, why are you still like this? I didn't give you my permission." said Meng Qing sounding unsympathetic but with teasing look in her eyes.
"Ehhh….." Lin Feng was surprised and then added: "Alright, I'll continue telling you stories."
"Hm." Meng Qing hummed and turned around without adding anything.
"...."
Lin Feng's mouth was open but he was speechless. How evil was this woman? If he didn't tell her stories, he couldn't sit like that… well then, how could he possibly stop telling her stories?
"Boooom vroooom vroooom!"
At that moment, the ground was shaking with the sound of horses.
Lin Feng gazed into the distance and saw a cloud of dust. This was the sound of horses galloping and its noise was getting louder and louder.
Not long after, a few armored horses appeared in front of them surrounded by a cloud of dust.
Meng Qing urged the horse to move and tried to make him move to a location to hide. At that moment, the armored horses were about to pass them. The leader of these people glanced at Lin Feng for a second and then continued galloping.
"Horse mounted bandits?"
Lin Feng was astonished. These people looked extremely well trained. Even though they were galloping on a road, they were in formation and there wasn't the least bit of chaos in their movements. They were galloping in a perfectly synchronous formation.
Strong auras were emanating from their bodies. Lin Feng could sense the aura they had and how incredibly strong these people must have been.
However, their clothes and their hairstyles looked terribly messy just like the thieves Lin Feng had previously killed.
"How is it possible that these people look so similar to the thieves that you killed?"
Meng Qing was also surprised and asked Lin Feng that question sounding cold and indifferent as always
She just turned around for a second and saw that Lin Feng looked as confused as her.
A short while after, Lin Feng seemed like he had understood something.
"They are the same!"
Lin Feng looked ice-cold and said: "Meng Qing, let's go back, quickly!"
"Alright."
Without hesitating, they turned around and galloped at full speed in the direction they had just come from.
...
Duan Feng's carriage was going at full speed leaving a deep trail in the ground behind him.
The Imperial City was extremely far from Yun Yang Town and they didn't want to spend too much time on the road.
"Ho oh!"
At that moment, Uncle Wang stopped the carriage.
Even though Uncle Wang was extremely weak, he was extremely respected by the Duan Clan because he was close to Duan Feng's grandfather. After Duan Feng's father's death, Uncle Wang had been the one assigned to handle a certain number of things in the Duan Clan. His status within the clan was extremely high.
That is why Uncle Wang had dared to insist for Lin Feng to leave even though Duan Feng was firmly opposed to that decision. However, except for Duan Feng and Jing Yun, all the others were happy to see Lin Feng leave.
At that moment, Uncle Wang noticed a yellow windstorm of dust on the horizon and noticed that the ground was shaking.
Everybody felt that the ground was shaking. They all anxiously started gazing into the distance at the source of the commotion.
A short time after, a certain number of men mounted on horseback appeared in front of them which frightened them.
Horse mounted bandits…
Suddenly there were more bandits in their way.
It seemed like they were really unlucky on this journey.
"Let's hope that these bandits are not as strong as the thieves we just encountered."
They were all hoping that these bandits were not as strong as the thieves they had met before which were dealt with by Lin Feng. They were all extremely strong and their leader had even reached the Ling Qi layer. If Lin Feng hadn't been there, they would have all been slaughtered.
They were thinking about Lin Feng and how he had left them. Uncle Wang had accused Lin Feng of being one of Duan Tian Lang's spies but now Lin Feng wasn't there anymore and now bandits had appeared again. They were all puzzled and wondered what was really happening.
But what is sure is that they all wished that Lin Feng was still there with them. Uncle Wang had also thought that Lin Feng was a spy because he had gained Duan Feng's trust very quickly. Besides, at that moment, they didn't know what the bandits' goal was.
The chief of the bandits held a long dagger which had a dazzling light covering the surface of the dagger.
"Kill them all, leave no survivors." said the chief of the bandits in a cold voice. The bandits' bodies were emitting very strong Qi.
"Boom."
The ground was violently shaking. All of the bandits' daggers emitted an extremely strong and deadly Qi which moved straight towards to the carriage and started to oppress them.
"Protect the young master!" shouted Uncle Wang. The guards moved in front of him and released their spirits.
"Die!" shouted one of the bandits as he swung his long dagger through the air. Suddenly, blood sprayed everywhere and a head flew into the air.
The darker elements of this world in general liked to behead people and always aimed at the throat of their enemies. Wherever they went, blood usually flowed in huge quantities. They enjoyed the fear that would be caused by the scene when other found it.
That violent scene seemed like it had stopped time around them. Suddenly, time seemed to pass very slowly and the landscape had become completely silent. Blood was dripping from the tip of the dagger.
A guard had been beheaded. There were still a few dozen bandits who were observing them with ferocious eyes.
The ones who were left were terrified and shaking from head to toe in terror. Some of the guards were even in a state of panic and their heart was beating out of their chest. They could hardly breathe under the intense pressure of the bandits. These bandits were much stronger than the thieves they had just met. It seemed like it was the end for them. They were all going to die.
Could it be that they were going to die in the same conditions and end up beheaded and left here to rot?
"Lin Feng, where are you!"
They all wanted Lin Feng to come back and save them. They remembered how Lin Feng had killed the thieves so easily and so quickly.
Unfortunately, Uncle Wang had ordered Lin Feng to leave and nobody had insisted to make him stay. They were all too proud and many were happy to see him leave, but now they were wishing he was still there.