Hu hu...
The Kunlun Mountains were dusted with light snow that evening. A gentle breeze rustled through the branches of the mountain forest, creating a symphony of sounds, accompanied by the activities of nocturnal birds and beasts. A snowy owl perched on a distant treetop let out a chilling screech, unnerving Jiang Tingxia and Zhou Ruoxi, sisters in the martial arts, as they lay in their tent.
They had never spent a night in the wilderness before. Although they lived on Mount Emei and heard the calls of birds and beasts in the mountains at night, they had never heard anything as peculiar and eerie as the snowy owl's cry.
Wan Yunting, on watch, glanced at his phone. It was only ten o'clock. Since their current location still had some signal, he could still access the internet. He had just finished a video chat with Fang Yanxi and was now busy replying to messages from Gu Luotang and others.
Hearing the sound of a zipper, Wan Yunting turned his head. Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia, wrapped in cloaks, emerged from their tent. They looked at the other tents; everyone else had clearly gone to sleep.
After all, disciples like Li Zihang and Xu Lingwei had lived on Mount Wuliang for years and considered such mountain noises normal. As for Uncle Wuwei, it was even more so.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Wan Yunting watched the two sisters approach him briskly. Jiang Tingxia's small face was flushed, and her large eyes nervously scanned the dark surroundings. "Junior Brother Wan, aren't you scared?"
Wan Yunting paused, seeing their tense expressions. So, they were scared by the strange bird calls in the surrounding woods and had come out. He chuckled, "I'm fine. Don't be scared, it's just the strange cries of those owls."
"That's not right. I've heard owl calls before. Mount Emei has them too, and their calls are different."
Jiang Tingxia and Zhou Ruoxi sat by the bonfire, comparing notes.
"Perhaps they're different species of owls. There are so many species, maybe the ones calling now are a breed unique to these Kunlun Mountains," Wan Yunting said with a smile.
"That's possible..."
Jiang Tingxia nodded and said, "But their calls sound so eerie, it scared both my sister and me awake."
Zhou Ruoxi, sitting beside them, cast a shy glance at Wan Yunting. He smiled and nodded, "It's alright. If you can't sleep, sit here by the fire. Go back to sleep when you feel like it."
"Okay, then my sister and I will keep you company on watch," Jiang Tingxia said.
Jiang Tingxia shifted closer to Wan Yunting, pulling Zhou Ruoxi with her, "Sister, you sit closer too. It's warmer when we're together."
"Mm..."
Pulled by her junior sister, Zhou Ruoxi's pretty face flushed slightly. It was unclear if it was from the cold or from shyness, but she sat next to Jiang Tingxia, with only her junior sister between her and Wan Yunting.
"Junior Brother Wan, tell us a story."
Jiang Tingxia turned her head, her bright, lively eyes sparkling in the firelight, showing her evident interest in Wan Yunting.
"What story could I tell? Why don't you tell me about the deeds of the Emei sect? I don't know much about it," Wan Yunting replied, turning to look at them with a smile.
"Alright."
Jiang Tingxia happily turned to Zhou Ruoxi, "Sister, you tell it. You know more than I do."
Zhou Ruoxi's pretty face stiffened. She hadn't expected her junior sister to push the task onto her. Seeing the expectant look in his eyes, Zhou Ruoxi's heart inexplicably sped up. Her voice faltered, "Tell, tell what...?"
"Just tell us how the Emei sect was founded, the story of its founding ancestor," Wan Yunting said, his gaze fixed on her.
"Sister, hurry and tell," Jiang Tingxia urged her. Zhou Ruoxi took a deep breath, steadied her heartbeat, and then looked up at Wan Yunting, nodding with a smile, "Okay, let's start with the founding ancestor of our Emei sect..."
And so, the three sat around the bonfire. Zhou Ruoxi earnestly narrated the history of the Emei sect, while Wan Yunting listened with a smile, occasionally adding dry branches to the fire to keep it from dying down.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Lei Tianhu and his group, who had not yet reached the Kunlun Mountain range, had also found a spot to camp and rest.
"Big Brother, here you go..."
The second in command opened a can of beef and handed it to Lei Tianhu, who was sitting beside him. "I just checked the location. We're still more than five kilometers away from that kid's position. If we set off early tomorrow and quicken our pace, we should catch up to them by noon or afternoon!"
The mountain paths were difficult. Although the distance was only a little over five kilometers, Wan Yunting's group was also moving, so Lei Tianhu's men had to speed up to catch them.
"Then notify the brothers to wake up at six in the morning."
Lei Tianhu, having finished his canned beef, tossed the tin can onto the snowy ground. His eyes gleamed with ferocity in the firelight. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then on his clothes. "They probably won't set off until around seven tomorrow morning, so we need to catch up ahead of them!"
"Understood."
The second in command nodded. The third and fourth in command, sitting nearby, also nodded...
On Wan Yunting's side.
After listening to Zhou Ruoxi's hour-long narration, Jiang Tingxia was already yawning with drowsiness. Wan Yunting checked the time; it was already half-past eleven. He smiled and said, "Alright, Senior Sister Zhou, it's getting late. You should go to sleep."
"Mm, I'm sleepy too..."
Jiang Tingxia couldn't bear her sister's serious recounting of the Emei sect's history any longer. She stood up, pulled Zhou Ruoxi, and said to Wan Yunting, "Junior Brother Wan, you continue to keep watch. We're going to sleep."
"Mm, goodnight..."
Wan Yunting waved his hand with a smile.
Zhou Ruoxi also smiled and nodded at him, her autumn eyes seeming to hold a lingering reluctance before she turned and went back to her tent to sleep.
Wan Yunting continued to sit by the bonfire, his alert gaze scanning the dim, dark surroundings of the forest. Apart from the cries of snowy owls and small animals, he detected no immediate danger.
However, Wan Yunting remained cautious in his heart. He believed that since his group was in the mountains to find medicine, Sima Boyong and his faction must have found out. Given his vengeful nature, they might have sent people to follow them, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate!
After surveying the surroundings and confirming there was no immediate danger, Wan Yunting sat cross-legged by the bonfire and began to meditate, circulating the qi in his dantian through his meridians. Instantly, his body felt warm and comfortable.
Unknowingly, he practiced for several hours. It was past three in the morning, during the latter half of the night, when Li Zihang, who had set an alarm, got up to relieve Wan Yunting. However, he earnestly cautioned Li Zihang to stay vigilant and to wake him if anything happened.
It was not until six-thirty in the morning that Wan Yunting, who had been sleeping in his tent, woke up. Although he had only slept for a little over three hours, he showed no signs of fatigue, appearing quite energetic.
He opened his tent and emerged, seeing Li Zihang sitting cross-legged, his chin resting on his hand and propped on his thigh, fast asleep. The fire had long since died down, leaving only wisps of smoke. However, the morning wind and snow had stopped, the sky had brightened considerably, and the chirping of sparrows could be heard in the forest.
Huh...
Wan Yunting stretched his back with both hands and then walked over to kick Li Zihang gently, "Wake up."
"Uh..."
Li Zihang groggily woke up and turned to look at Wan Yunting, "Junior Brother Wan, you're awake. What time is it?"
"Half-past six in the morning."
Wan Yunting squatted down and began to restart the fire. "Go see if Uncle is awake, and call everyone else. Let them all get up quickly."
"Oh."
Li Zihang stood up, rubbing his sleepy eyes, and then went to Wuwei's tent to wake him. However, the next moment, Wuwei unzipped the tent and came out, saying, "I'm awake. Zihang, you go and call the others."
"Yes, Uncle."
Li Zihang then went to call his senior sister Xu Lingwei and roused Lu Bao and Chen Bin.
Soon, Zhou Ruoxi and Jiang Tingxia also woke up to the commotion. They all emerged from their tents, looking drowsy and languid, clearly having slept soundly the previous night.
"Lu Bao, hurry and pack your things. We're setting off at seven o'clock."
Wan Yunting added more firewood to rekindle the fire and was holding a metal kettle, adding clean melted snow to it, placing it on the fire. He smiled at Zhou Ruoxi and the others, "I'll boil some hot water for everyone. It'll warm you up after a drink."
"Okay, Junior Brother Wan is so thoughtful."
Jiang Tingxia's lazy voice was pleasant to hear. Immediately, she tugged at Zhou Ruoxi, "Sister, do you need to go to the restroom?"
Hearing her junior sister mention this in front of Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi felt embarrassed. But she did need to go. However, in the empty forest surroundings, as women, they couldn't just go behind a tree a short distance away and take care of business.
Wan Yunting could see their shyness and stood up, smiling, "Follow me."
Jiang Tingxia and Zhou Ruoxi's pretty faces froze. They watched him walk towards the forest. The two sisters exchanged glances, unsure of what Wan Yunting was doing, but they couldn't help but follow.