Leaving the inn after having gotten something to eat, Qing Yi realized that it was early in the morning. From the looks of it, it seemed like she had ended sleeping through the rest of the day and night after the incident with the bandit group.
"Where are we meeting the person from the River Sect?"
Turning to Chu Yang coming out of the inn just behind her, Qing Yi asked curiously. Feeling a bit excited at the prospect of meeting a disciple from a sect that was not the Flying Sword Sect for the first time… Well, outside her encounter with a few she had seen passing through the Bright Sun City.
But back then, she had been focused on cultivation and never really had the chance to interact with any of the disciples from different sects passing through the city…
"We agreed to meet at the entrance in around an hour, so we still have some time to look around the town here if you want to."
"No need, I really want to meet the person from the River Sect!"
Shaking her head when she heard Chu Yang's suggestion to looking around the small town they were currently inside of, Qing Yi felt way more curious towards the person from the River Sect.
She really wanted to find out more about the River Sect and maybe even sell-
"Ahm!"
"Ah… C-Chu Yang, we should get going! You should know the way to the meeting place."
Blushing slightly when she realized that she may have said the last part out loud, Qing Yi quickly brushed the embarrassment aside and told? Chu Yang to lead them towards the meeting place outside the city.
"As you say…"
Rolling his eyes at her blatant attempt to conceal what she had said earlier, Chu Yang decided to just ignore it and did as she told him. Leading the way out of the small town, towards the location that he had planned to meet up with the person sent over by the River Sect to act as a guide for them.
Not that he really felt like they needed one to reach the Red Flower Ridge, but having a guide would still be better than not having one and they might even be able to find out the reason why the River Sect was so reluctant when it came to dealing with a few bandits at the Foundation Establishment Realm by themselves…
…
"Are you sure they were people sent over by the Flying Sword Sect?"
"Yeah, I confirmed it from the token of the male disciple."
Located just outside the town that Qing Yi and Chu Yang were currently inside, a group of five people had gathered together as they talked among each other.
"We can finally get rid of those annoying bandits! With the disciples from the Flying Sword Sect being the ones to take care of them, there is no way that it will affect us! And with the recent rumours spreading around about them having a Domain Lord, there is no way they would be affected by this either.
Not that the person supporting that damnable scum among those bandits would be able to do anything to the Flying Sword Sect even if the rumour is false, they still have quite a few Nascent Soul Realm Experts and with the recent destruction of the Burning Flame Sect under the Flying Sword Sect and Spring Flower Sect. Nobody would dare to offend them in the entire Heavenly Sky Kingdom!"
Saying this, an older person in the group of five said confidently as his bright blue robe billowed in the wind. The symbol of a wave could be seen at the centre of the older person's robe, as the other four people present were dressed in the same kind of robe, though with a few variations making them unique from each other.
As three of the people were discussing among each other, the remaining two people stood a bit to the side as one of them, a woman in her early thirties grabbed the last person's hand and pulled him to the side
"Huang… Are you sure that you want to guide the disciple from the Flying Sword Sect? It might be risky when you reach the Red Flower Ridge… Other than that, we have no clue about their personalities! Even if the Flying Sword Sect has a great reputation, one would never know how much of it is true!"
The woman in her early thirties finished talking in a somewhat quiet tone as her concern for the person she had pulled to the side was on display for all to see.
"Mother, you don't have to worry so much about me… This will also be a good opportunity for our River Sect to establish a connection with the Flying Sword Sect! Even if you don't want to admit it, this will be a good opportunity for us!"
Sighing quietly to himself as he said this, the person from the River Sect called Huang shook off his mother's hand.
"But-"
"No but, we will never be able to get a Nascent Soul Realm Expert if we keep isolating ourselves like this! We have to look outwards if we want to grow in the future and finally give birth to a Nascent Soul Realm Expert inside the sect!"
Knowing his mother well, Huang stopped her before she could come up with an excuse for him to stay back in the sect together with her.
The River Sect had been isolated from the rest of the Northern Region of the Heavenly Sky Kingdom for as long as Huang could remember and for someone who wanted to go out and explore the world, this was nothing short of torture!
He admired the Flying Sword Sect, as he had always heard about it from his parents and how they were the sole overlords of the entire Northern Region of the Heavenly Sky Kingdom.
But this was not the main reason why he admired the Flying Sword Sect… No, it was the fact that they allowed for their disciples to go out and adventure after reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm!
He managed to hear this from a travelling cultivator that visited the River Sect in the past and since then, he who had always dreamt about going out and exploring the world decided to wait until reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm before brining it up with his parents… Who ruthlessly rejected him.
It was a few days after being rejected that he heard his parents talking about finding a guide for two disciples of the Flying Sword Sect that had come to their territory in order to complete a rather special mission.
So, without further ado, Huang had volunteered himself for the task. Only manging to get his parents approval after a few hours of convincing…
"Hah… Fine! But you have to promise me that you will run away in case something dangerous happens!"
Thinking about what her son said with a struggling look on her face, the woman looking to be in her early thirties finally let out large sigh as she agreed with her son. Even now, she was regretting ever letting him come here in the first place…
"Thank you, mom-"
"The two disciples have already appeared and are heading over here! We should head back to the sect for now. Huang Yongyu, the rest will be up to you!"
Smiling happily as he hugged his mother, Huang and his mother were soon interrupted as the older person who had spoken up earlier called out as Huang watched his mother reluctantly leave together with the rest of the group. Leaving only Huang behind as he anxiously waited for the two disciples of the Flying Sword Sect to appear. Not knowing what to expect.
…
At the same time, Qing Yi and Chu Yang had made their way over towards the meeting spot just outside of the small town, with Chu Yang leading the way.
"By the way, where did the tiger demon beast go? I haven't seen it since I woke up earlier…"
Walking along the road leading out of the town, Qing Yi asked curiously as she had not manged to see the tiger demon beast that had taken them all the way to the River Sect's territory ever since she had fainted.
"It is waiting outside of the town in the nearby forest… Apparently the town does not want anyone entering together with demon beasts, tamed or not!"
Saying this, Chu Yang could not help but shake his head. Not daring to say that the real reason he did not take the tiger demon beast inside of the town, was because he feared that it might end up attacking some of the people inside.
After having seen it eat the corpses of the bandits yesterday, Chu Yang could simply not bring himself to trusting that it had been properly tamed!
"I see, what about-"
"Ah, we are here!"
Just as Qing Yi was about to ask about something different, Chu Yang spotted a lone figure dressed in a blue robe with a wave symbol at the centre of the chest a few dozen meters in front of them just beside the forest where a certain tiger demon beast was located.