Chapter 9: The Encounter with Cultivators
While Yan Tangtang stood there in a daze, the four strangers swiftly surrounded her.
Their horses were so powerfully built and tall that Yan Tangtang and her little donkey looked like a tiny mushroom just sprouting amongst tall grass in comparison.
The one who had spoken first was a youth dressed in vibrant red. Another youth in the group leaned in, inspecting her closely.
"A little black steamed bun with blue eyes?"
By now, Yan Tangtang realized that the "little black steamed bun" they were mocking was indeed her. Her mood soured instantly. It was true that this body was a bit tanned, but no one likes being called "dark" right to their face!
The four of them shared a brief laugh, but soon, the only girl in the group asked, "Little brother, did you get separated from your group?"
Instead of answering immediately, Yan Tangtang studied them one by one, analyzing their presence.
These four certainly didn't look like ordinary mortals, yet they lacked the overwhelming pressure of the Yan couple. Compared to her parents, the difference was like heaven and earth. Perhaps they are only at the second or third stage of Qi Condensation? she wondered.
Seeing the young boy fall into a deep pensive silence instead of answering, the four youths found it rather amusing. The child was quite a sight: dressed in a small set of black robes, his hair gathered into a round bun tied with a strip of black cloth. His skin was indeed a bit dark, and even the donkey he rode was a dusky brown. From a distance, he truly did look like a little black bun perched on a donkey.
The youth who had commented on her blue eyes looked at the girl in their group. "He clearly doesn't want to tell you. Why are you so curious?"
The girl snapped back, "Then why are you standing here instead of leaving, Chen-ge? Aren't you just as curious?"
The youth, addressed as Chen-ge, snorted and turned his attention back to Yan Tangtang. "Where are you headed? Don't look at us with such suspicion. Even if we added your donkey and yourself together, you wouldn't be worth the price of one of our horses."
Though his words were blunt and lacked grace, Yan Tangtang begrudgingly admitted he was right. They looked incredibly wealthy and didn't have the air of bandits.
She looked back at the youth and answered steadily, "Ren City."
The surroundings fell silent for a heartbeat. Then, the one called Chen-ge burst into a boisterous laugh. The other three weren't as loud, but they were grinning as well. After he finished laughing and wiped a tear from his eye, he spoke.
"Ren City is to your south. You're heading due east! If you keep going this way, not even your ghost will ever reach Ren City."
"Huh...?"
Yan Tangtang froze. She turned her head south, then looked back the way she was going, then back toward the direction she had come from.
She had left the small town aiming for the southeast, but now she had no idea where the town was, let alone how to get back. In her mind, she had simply been following what she thought was the southeast.
Seeing the child's bewildered expression, Chen-ge spoke up again. "We're also heading to Ren City. Follow us."
As they prepared to move, he glanced down at her and then up at the sky. "See the sky above you? It'll be dark soon. Follow if you want, but I won't force you."
With that, he spurred his powerful horse and galloped toward the south. The other three smiled at her, encouraging her to follow, before trailing after him.
Yan Tangtang watched the galloping horses and then looked up at the sun, which was indeed beginning to sink. It would be dark very soon.
After a moment's thought, she gritted her teeth and followed. Regardless of anything else, she was lost. She didn't dare stay alone in the wilderness after dark. She had originally assumed she would reach Ren City before nightfall.
Though she followed, the four youths were soon out of sight. Comparing the speed of a stallion to a young donkey was simply embarrassing. It didn't seem like they intended to wait for her. However, following the fresh hoofprints wasn't difficult, so the "little black bun" continued her journey atop her donkey as best as she could.
By the time Yan Tangtang caught up with them, the moon was shining brightly. She had spent the journey praying fervently that she wouldn't encounter any wild beasts while tracking the hoofprints. Only when she saw them in the distance did her heart finally settle.
Yan Tangtang wanted to laugh at herself. If she continued like this, her planned long-distance journey would remain nothing more than a fantasy.
The four of them were sitting around a campfire beneath a large tree. She could see them talking about something as they watched her slow approach. When Yan Tangtang finally slid off her donkey, her thighs were aching from her first real riding experience. She walked with a stiff, bow-legged gait, which prompted another round of boisterous laughter from Chen-ge.
Yan Tangtang: "..."
Young Master Chen, laughing at someone right to their face is incredibly rude!
However, knowing that straightforward people like him rarely harbored hidden malice, she chose to ignore the laughter.
As she approached the fire, she saw roasted meat. These people had clearly arrived long ago—long enough to hunt and cook a meal. Speaking of hunting, Yan Tangtang had seen small forest creatures along the way, but fortunately, she hadn't run into anything large.
She cast a glance at the roasted meat but turned back to her own pack. She fed some apples to her donkey and then ate a few grapes to quench her own thirst.
Thinking about water made Yan Tangtang feel quite dejected. She had remembered dry rations but had been stupid enough to forget a water skin. It was lucky she had bought grapes while getting the apples for the donkey, or she would be in a dire state.
She knew the four youths were watching her, but she pretended not to notice as she chewed on her dried meat and used the grapes for hydration. Once finished, she carefully tied her pack. Only when she grew quiet did the girl in the group speak.
"Little brother, do you not have any water?"
Yan Tangtang looked up at her, glanced at her pack, and gave a small nod. The girl handed over her own bottle.
"You can drink this..."
Yan Tangtang took it with a word of thanks but hesitated to drink. Seeing this, Chen-ge flicked a small seed at her head.
"If we wanted to do something to you, we wouldn't even need to scheme."
Finding his logic sound, Yan Tangtang drank the water and, with the girl's permission, gave a little to her donkey as well. The donkey was clearly exhausted; this was likely its first long journey too.
Eventually, Chen-ge began tossing seeds into the fire as he asked, "What are you going to Ren City for? Did you run away from home?"
As he spoke, he looked her up and down, his eyes seemingly saying: You're just a tiny thing, huh?
Yan Tangtang had already prepared a story in case they questioned her. Having read countless novels, concocting a tale wasn't difficult. She shook her head, indicating she hadn't run away.
The girl in the group, Mu Yanxing, felt that Chen-ge's (Chen Zhao) blunt way of questioning was ineffective, so she decided to take over. She signaled to him that she would handle it and looked at Yan Tangtang.
"My name is Mu Yanxing. What is your name, little brother?"
Yan Tangtang found talking to this girl much more comfortable than talking to Chen Zhao, so she answered.
"My name is Yan Tangtang."
She had no intention of lying about her name. The Yan couple were currently in a nine-year secluded cultivation, so they wouldn't be looking for her anytime soon.
Mu Yanxing nodded and chose a more familiar term of address. "Xiao Tang, you're traveling, right? Are you with a group or alone?"
Yan Tangtang gave her a straight answer. "I am alone."
Mu Yanxing was stunned. "What? Where are you going? To Ren City? Does your family know?"
They had assumed the boy had simply been separated from a larger party; hearing he was alone felt like a joke. Yet, Yan Tangtang's expression was entirely serious.
Then, they heard her reply: "They know."
The four youths exchanged glances. Traveling alone, yet the family knows, but she didn't run away? What does that even mean?
Chen Zhao threw out a harsh guess. "Kid, were you kicked out of your house?"
The question triggered an instinctive response from Yan Tangtang. "It's not like that!"
Mu Yanxing, worried Chen Zhao would continue with his harsh words, interjected, "Chen-ge..."
But Chen Zhao cut her off. "Miss Mu, what are you worried about? That this brat's fragile little heart will get bruised? Hmph! This kid isn't as dim-witted as you think. He knows how to travel on his own, knows to be wary of strangers, and knows how to hold his tongue. Do you really think he's just an ordinary child?"
His words silenced Mu Yanxing. Chen Zhao flicked another seed at Yan Tangtang. "I'm right, aren't I?"
Yan Tangtang looked around at the four of them. "My mother wants me to walk the path of cultivation. And... and she said she is going to start a new life too."
The four of them frowned at her words. "And your father...?"
"Father is no longer around."
Silence fell over the group. After a moment, the youth in red spoke up.
"But you haven't even begun cultivating."
Not to mention how young you are, you want to walk the path of cultivation without even having started? You don't even know if you have the talent for it.
In mortal families, it was notoriously difficult to determine if a child possessed the potential to cultivate. Even if they could be tested, the success rate was abysmally low. If it were otherwise, why would there be so many ordinary mortals?
The chance for a mortal to be capable of cultivation was less than 3%.
Looking at the child before them, who didn't even know if he possessed the root for cultivation yet was trekking out with nothing but a small donkey, they didn't know whether to laugh or cry.