章節 7: Heartless
編輯: EndlessFantasy Translation
As soon as Wutian emerged from the door, the villagers quickly gathered around him. Their attitude had taken a one-eighty change; there was no more ridicule.
"You've unlocked your physique! Please remember to do something for the village, Wutian!"
"That's right. Everyone has been taking good care of Longshan all these years. You need to return the favor."
"Now, you've become a disciple of the Fire Cloud Clan. Don't mind what Longquan said in the past. It was for your own good. He just wants to see you succeed."
Wutian did not bat an eyelid over the villagers' flattery and Longquan's hypocrisy. He just gave a few perfunctory replies and went up to join the two individuals from the Fire Cloud Clan.
"I'm good to go," said Wutian.
The boy in the fine dress nodded and climbed back up the Flamingo, his face impassive. The girl followed suit.
Wutian looked back at the wooden house where his grandfather was, and without a word, he climbed onto the Flamingo's back.
"Ya!" the boy shouted.
The Flamingo screeched and flew up into the sky before it disappeared from everyone's view.
"Don't think that everything will be all right just because you're going to the Fire Cloud Clan, bastard! The best is yet to come." Longhe gazed at the sky with a smirk.
The air was chilly, while Wutian lay on the bird's back, motionless. It was his first time riding on a flying monster beast and also his first time at such a high altitude. He felt giddy, and his face was pale since he was nervous as hell.
"Caw!" Little Tian rested on his head as it cautiously observed the boy and girl the whole time.
"Aargh, that's a Demon Toad. It's so disgusting!" the girl screamed and instinctively stepped back to hide behind the boy. She looked at the creature and also Wutian with disdain.
Demon Toads were lowly life forms that were not even considered monster beasts. Due to their ugly appearance, women found them disgusting and avoided them like the plague.
"Don't be rude, my clan sister!" the boy chided. However, the look of contempt in his eyes was unmistakable. He despised those who mingled with Demon Toads. If Wutian had not been a cultivator and been close with Linshan, the boy would not have wanted to be associated with him."
Wutian gradually adapted to the high altitude. He sat up, but his legs were still shivering a little. "I apologize for scaring you," Wutian said to the girl as he held Little Tian in his hand.
The girl said nothing, her expression appearing even more disdainful.
Wutian said nothing too and just shrugged it off with a smile. Little Tian might not have been the prettiest thing in the world, but having spent time with it, it had become one of his family members along with his grandfather. After his experience during the past one month, he had learned his lesson the hard way; if the two of them found out what Little Tian was, they might try to kill him and take his precious possession just like Longhe.
Right then, Wutian finally noticed their extraordinary appearance. They were merely thirteen or fourteen years old, but they possessed unfathomable abilities, which were as mysterious as the ocean.
After quietly observing them for a while, Wutian shifted his attention to the earth down below.
Each of the Flamingo's scales was the size of his fist, fiery-red, and warm to the touch as if they had been forged from lava. The earth below him was an endless mountain range, majestic and magnificent. He held on to one of the scales and curiously studied it.
The Redsun Mountains were vast and long with endless bizarre terrains as well as sceneries. Wutian was witnessing such a landscape for the first time since his departure from Dragon Village, and he was indescribably awed.
"Wutian, my name is Huoshi. I am the son of the Fire Cloud Clan's master. This is Liuyan, my junior. But don't you underestimate her; she is a direct disciple of the great elder and is a fire being. In terms of strength, she's one of the top ten most powerful disciples in the Fire Cloud Clan," said the boy in fine clothes.
"That's badass!" Wutian was surprised.
"Take what Brother Huoshi says with a grain of salt. He is actually the powerful one. At only fourteen, his cultivation has reached the stage of Reborn Omega. That's not something you can see among the youngsters in Greendragon. Not to mention, he embodies fire and wood beings!"
Double elemental beings?"
Wutian was stunned. Longhu had a fire being, which was already rare, yet this kid, two years his junior, had double beings. Wutian now truly appreciated what it meant by 'every peak sits under the shadow of another, so every man may meet one stronger than himself.'
"Nice to meet you two, Brother Huoshi and Sister Liuyan. May I gain your favor." Wutian greeted them with fist-palm salute. Strength determined one's seniority in the clan, and Wutian knew that very well.
"Favor can be gained. I'm just not sure if you're willing to pay the price, Brother Wutian."
"You expect too much from me, Brother Huoshi. I'm just a village boy with nothing. How could I have anything that could interest both of you?" said Wutian humbly.
"Not really!" The boy's lips curled up in a meaningful smile.
"Caw!"
Right then, Little Tian cawed. To Huoshi and Liuyan, it was just an ordinary sound, but Wutian could clearly feel a sense of worry from it...
And it was exactly Huoshi's smile that had caused it.
With his one month together with the Gobbler, Wutian knew Little Tian very well; it possessed a heightened sense of crisis. If it had not been for its unique ability of caution, he would have died long ago. He would have become lunch for the monster beasts during his stay behind the mountain for twenty over days.
He was currently so high in the air. With nothing else near him and no monster beasts around to pose them a threat, the only explanation for Little Tian's warning would be Huoshi and Liuyan.
Did Little Tian sense something? Wutian thought to himself and kept himself alert as he comforted Little Tian.
Two hours later, the Flamingo arrived above a river.
"Do you want to get down for some rest, Liuyan?" asked Huoshi.
Liuyan nodded. "That's a good idea. Brother Wutian is riding the Flamingo for the first time, so he might not be used to it. Let's take a break before we continue our journey."
Huoshi commanded the Flamingo, and it swooped down to land on the river bank.
It was an endless thirty-feet-wide river with a strong current, but the water was clear. It had lush green vegetation, strange rocks, and rugged terrains that looked like hideous monster beasts on both sides.
"Go get some water, Brother Wutian." Huoshi took out a water bag and threw it to Wutian. He and Liuyan then went off and sat down under a large tree not far away.
Wutian took the water bag and glanced at the two from behind. Then, he walked to the edge of the water before he thoughtfully fiddled about with his fingers. He could not divine his own fortune, but he definitely could foretell something about Huoshi and Liuyan.
All of a sudden, he shuddered. His body hair stood up straight as a powerful sense of danger loomed. The source of that feeling came from none other than Huoshi and Liuyan.
"He really possesses that item, Brother Huoshi?" asked Liuyan.
"I think so. Longhe wouldn't dare lie to me."
"Then this is extremely serious. We mustn't act recklessly. Let's wait until we get back to the clan. By then, he'll have no choice but to hand over the thing."
"That's not right, Sister. If he only hands over the item back in the clan, the credit won't go to us. Think about it; that item is so precious that there is no one in Greendragon who doesn't covet it. If we manage to bring the item to the clan by ourselves, we will receive a greater reward."
"But if we take it by force and he doesn't comply, we could drag the clan into dangerous situations and possible extermination if information leaks out," said Liuyan.
There was a murderous look in Huoshi's eyes, and Liuyan already knew what he was thinking: he wanted to silence Wutian by killing him.
Huoshi rolled up his sleeve and revealed a black bangle around his wrist. The bangle gleamed, and a one-feet-long box appeared. "There is a Louse King that has been turned into an undead puppet inside. I will release this insect king when he returns with the water. He will surely die as a result."
"Wouldn't that be too cruel? He's really close with Elder Linshan." Like most women, Liuyan could not bring herself to do such an evil thing to obliterate the proof of their evil deed.
"I know that you're kind-hearted, Sister, but we shouldn't hesitate if we want to achieve something great. Otherwise, there will be no end to our troubles. Linshan is only a censor elder. We'll make up some stories, and he won't dare to pursue the matter any further," said Huoshi.
"For the clan's interest, this may be the only way." Liuyan finally nodded her agreement after some hesitation.
Wutian squatted on the edge of the river as he witnessed the two individuals whisper to each other out of his peripheral vision. Judging by the murderous vibe from their brows, he knew that his divination was accurate.
However, he could not figure out what the two were after, so much so that they wanted to kill him.
Many things came to mind, but he could not identify anything besides Little Tian that would arouse their interest.
Have they possibly found out what Little Tian actually is? Or is this about the emblem? Yes, it must be the emblem!
No one, except himself, knew about the Gobbler's true identity. In addition, the attitudes that the two of them had toward the Gobbler was clear to see. The only explanation was that they were after the emblem.
Could Longhe have told them about it? Wutian naturally associated the matter with Longhe since Longhe was the only other person who knew about the emblem.
Wutian scooped up some water and washed the sweat off his face. The fact that he was sweating in the winter showed how uneasy he was.
Looking at the rapid flow of the river, an idea came to mind. Wutian still wanted to make sure that he was not mistaken. He could not believe that Longhe would sell him and the villagers out for the emblem.
He secretly took the emblem out and buried it in the mud. "Brother Huoshi, Sister Liuyan, look! There's an emblem here!" he called out.
"An emblem?"
The two of them looked over and saw Wutian pick up a black emblem from the ground. Their faces were filled with surprise, which then changed to delight.
"Bring it over, Brother Wutian!" Huoshi quickly said.
Seeing their reactions, any hope of their innocence perished from his mind. Their faces said it all. He would be an idiot if he still had not seen it.
You heartless bastard, Longhe! Wutian cried internally.
Wutian grew up in the village, and under Longshan's nurturing care, he developed into a simple and kind-hearted person. Even after Longhe tried to kill him to snatch the emblem from him, he was still not willing to believe that Longhe had completely lost his conscience.
Sadly, little did Wutian know that the greed of men had no bounds. Earlier, Longhe had already forced him down the cliff for the sake of the emblem. He should not have felt surprised about Longhe divulging this secret to someone else.
"Bring it over, Brother Wutian. Don't just stand there." Huoshi asked him to hurry when he noticed that Wutian was not moving or saying anything.
Wutian glanced at the two individuals and looked back at the river. Gritting his teeth, he jumped into the water. The strong current instantly pulled him down, and he disappeared without a trace.
Huoshi and Liuyan were startled, but they quickly came to their senses and realized that Wutian had discovered their plot to kill him.
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