Chapter 11
The envoy set off half an hour later.
They passed through the Southern gates of the sect. The group was a procession of thirty-five disciples handpicked by the elders themselves from the inner and core divisions. Their mission was simple: Escort Yu Miaoran to the Jade Veil Sanctum to renew the Jade Veil Accords and prevent a war between the three sects.
Liang Chen was granted a horse to be able to ride near Yu Miaoran. A servant helped saddle the horse and the same servant helped Liang Chen up the horse. Liang Chen had been a master horse rider in the previous timeline, so he was familiar with the basics.
As they followed the mountain path eastward, the terrain began to change. The tall pinewood trees gave way to thorny underbrush and the cobbled paths vanished and were replaced with more earthen paths.
They were currently situated in the western continent, or more referred to by its common name, The Dezene Continent.
There were three continents in this world, and Dezene was the most war-hardened continent. The land still bore marks of its tumultuous past, but they had been covered by nature's course across the land.
The continent was split between four major families, each ruled by immortal dynasties. They resided in the Lotus region, the third province under the jurisdiction of the Yulan Family. And nestled deep in one of its ten mountain ranges, the Yian mountain range was the Crimson Lotus Sect.
Their destination was the Jade Veil Sanctum. It was a neutral ground nestled between the three sects in the Yulan Empire. The Crimson Lotus Sect, The Wisteria Empress Sect and the Heaven's Tear Sect.
The Jade Veil Sanctum was rich with heavenly qi. Which was rare in the mortal territories. The three sects had been in a long lasting war for control of the Sanctum, up until a few centuries ago, where the three sects decided to form a truce and stop the bloodshed.
Every fifty years, the accord would be signed by the heirs of the three sects. Any delay and the three sects would be back into conflict.
Which was why Yu Miaoran, as the Crimson Lotus Sect's representative and living heir, was tasked with the renewal. A task her father had decided should be supervised by Liang Chen.
And Yu Miaoran couldn't have hated it more.
She rode slightly ahead of him now, seated gracefully on a white spirit horse. Her robes shifted gently with the breeze, and her masked guards trailed behind like wraiths.
She hadn't spoken a word to Liang Chen since they set out. She hadn't needed to.
But Liang Chen didn't care.
They continued their journey towards the Jade Veil Sanctum, and so far, it was going smoothly.
As the path curved into a broader stretch, Liang Chen noticed Jian Lam signaling for the envoy to slow down. The sun was beginning to dip lower, casting amber hues across the wide grasslands that bordered the Lianshou Forest.
This was their designated pit-stop. They would rest here tonight and continue early the next day. The journey was supposed to take up to five days under the right conditions, that's if their conditions were as favourable as today.
As they set up camp, a few disciples began whispering behind him.
"I heard the forest's filled with beasts that can mimic your voice."
"That's nothing. My cousin said she saw a demonic cultivator carving bones into talismans there."
"Idiot, she probably saw a bone shaman. You think they'd let a rogue cultivator near a Jade Veil route?"
Liang Chen didn't correct them. He knew better.
The Lianshou forest was the most dangerous forest in the ten provinces. It was said that on average, it killed maybe up to 10,000 cultivators a year. 10,000 cultivators was enough for a single army to wipe out a medium-sized province and still have remaining manpower to raze villages. The forest killed that many in a year.
Soon night fell. The camp soon crackled with life.
Fires were lit. Guards were posted. Arrays etched hastily into the soil began to glow with faint silver runes. The disciples, most still in the arrogant bloom of youth, huddled around one another. Some bragged. Some sparred. Some merely sharpened blades they'd never used.
Liang Chen sat alone, his back to a crooked cedar tree at the edge of camp. That's when Yu Miaoran approached.
She didn't sit, nor offer a greeting.
"Tell me" she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "What did my father see in you?"
Liang Chen didn't look up. He was watching a moth flutter too close to the edge of the firelight, then vanish as if swallowed.
"Probably the same thing he saw in his enemies," he said, voice flat. "Potential."
Yu Miaoran narrowed her eyes. "Potential? In a nobody from the outer courts?"
He gave a short chuckle. "I was a nobody. Now I ride beside the heir. Funny how fast status changes when you're good at killing people."
Her lips curled slightly behind her fan. "So you're just a weapon."
"No," he said, standing slowly, brushing off his robe. "A weapon needs to be wielded. I don't wait to be swung. I carve paths on my own accord."
She tilted her head. "And if that path leads to a grave?"
He looked her dead in the eye.
"Then I'll bury whoever's in my way first."
Yu Miaoran blinked. Then, to his mild surprise…
She laughed.
It wasn't the forced laughter nobles used. It was real genuine laughter that made the tension less heavy.
She lowered her fan, showing a faint smile. "You're bold."
"Not bold," Liang Chen replied with a small smirk. "Just honest."
She studied him for a long moment. "You know… I've met princes who tremble at the thought of speaking back to me. Elders who spend weeks drafting their words. But you?"
"I don't like wasting time."
"I can tell," she said, then finally turned away. "You might actually be useful after all."
And with that, she walked back toward her tent, her guards trailing behind like wraiths.
Liang Chen remained standing for a moment.
Not because of the conversation.
Not even because of her approval.
But simply because the forest was no longer still.
There was a presence, somewhere in those woods.
Liang Chen cracked his neck and reached behind his back. His hand found the haft of his spear and pulled it free in a single, fluid motion.
A moment later, his saber, Whispering Gale, slipped from its sheath.
He rolled his shoulders, eyes narrowing.
"Let's go hunting," he murmured to no one in particular.