Chapter 163

  Eternal Range (VI)

  It was about ten days after Xi Zhao broke through, and once we finally dislodged ourselves from a rather hilly terrain, I saw them--the mountains.

  Honestly, they looked more like a wall since more than half of them were covered in a thick layer of mist and haze. Nonetheless, at the very least we can finally see them--even if we're still roughly a week away from their base.

  Accordingly, the more north we travelled, the chillier the weather got.

  These past two days, in fact, were rather bad; we hadn't seen the sun even once, it rained practically all day long yesterday, and I could smell it, that scent of winter that would appear around late September or early October back on Earth.

  That specific, almost metallic smell that I used to loathe.

  It was back.

  The terrain, too, reflected the change in 'seasons'; we went from rather green fields with small hillsides and a lush forest to our right to a far less saturated blend.

  A river, its banks rocky and shallow, cut through, by its side a small village--our last stop.

  As far as Wan Lan knew, there weren't any 'roads' to the Eternal Range, only paths the locals were somewhat familiar with. Besides, even she wasn't really certain how to cross it, so it was probably up to me to figure it out.

  Regardless, after waiting for the kids to stop staring at the mountain range, we walked over the small hill and into the village. Smoke billowed from practically every chimney, and the dirt roads showed traces of old snow at their edges, likely from having been piled up while they were clearing the paths.

  Everyone we saw was wearing clothes made out of thick fur and at least a couple of layers on top of that and were just as wary of us as all other villages were.

  No, seriously, you'd think we came in with clothes bloodied scarlet and wielding machetes while screaming 'DEATH TO THE CHILDREN'. They really were just that against the strangers.

  At least, however, unlike practically all other villages, this one had a functioning inn--a two-story building made out of an ashen stone of some sort, with a rather pleasant scent wafting out from its main doors.

  Under the locals' scrutinizing gazes, I took the kids and we entered, welcomed by an older woman almost immediately. Checking her out with Creator's Eyes revealed... nothing.

  She was just an ordinary mortal, with a single trait of 'Clever'.

  "Welcome guests, welcome," she said, smiling and bowing. "My name is Shen Lan." No, your name is Meng Huang. "And I am the inn's host."

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  "How many rooms do you have available?" I asked. I didn't mind if we piled into one, to be honest, but I'm pretty sure the growing teens like their freedom and privacy. I know I did.

  "We have three rooms that might suit the guest's needs." Hmm, she probably means that she's got plenty of, 'Hey, I just need a room so as to not get wet', but only three rooms.

  "We'll take them," I said. "How much?"

  "Just twenty coins per room, per night, guests," I didn't actually have that much 'mortal' currency, as it was called here--mostly these old, copper and silver coins--and most of what I had actually came from the Fire Sun Sect people, believe it or not.

  "Hm," I tossed over sixty copper coins; she took them and showed us up to the rooms. There were no keys or identification tokens or anything of the sort--just raw-dogging it, as it were.

  Nonetheless, we settled into the three rooms quickly--girls took one, boys took another, and one was exclusively for me.

  It was a simple room--just a bed, a nightstand, and an oil lamp hanging by the door. The bed itself wasn't particularly comfortable--even the padding in our tent was just about--but it did restore some sense of normalcy.

  We've been travelling for months now, camping inside the tent, and only rested inside a room with a proper roof once or twice in that span.

  Honestly, every day I grow more grateful that Old Zemin gifted us the tent. Without it, I legitimately don't know how we would have made it thus far. I mean, we would have, but I just don't know what our condition would have been like. Just the ability to remain dry as it poured rain outside... priceless.

  Though the room included dinner, only the kids went. Instead of joining them, Long Tao came into my room, and I immediately had a bad feeling about it. He unceremoniously walked over to the ajar window and glanced out. It just so happened that my room faced the mountain range in the distance.

  "... yes?" I prompted him to speak after almost two minutes of silence.

  "I am very sensitive to... different things," he said, turning back toward me. "And my father taught me how to recognize those feelings and discern what they mean."

  "Right." Okay, let's try really hard and figure out the meaning of his vague riddles.

  "Those mountains house something evil," alright, looks like he did it for me.

  "Evil?"

  "Hm," he nodded. "Ultimately, I don't believe in its existence, truth be told--good or evil. My... father told me far too many stories that all show humans, and others even, are simply sums of contradictions and paradoxes. The reason why I say it houses something evil is because the stench of blood is so strong it's making me nauseous. My father said that it would be one of two things: either there was a battle that took thousands of lives relatively recently, or there have been killings within the area for decades on end without a stop."

  He's still not telling me everything--merely implying it.

  I don't think he would have brought it up even if there were killings there on the daily. It's a world of cultivation, and the range's rather harsh terrain and environment aren't exactly conducive to 'happy living'.

  No, he brought it up because the level of violence is likely well beyond that. To the point that there may actually be something 'evil' in there.

  "Do you think we should turn around or look for another way to cross?" I asked.

  "No," he smiled rather vaguely. "Why would we? It's a perfect place for the kids to train."

  "... where there's something you call evil?"

  "Precisely." Oh, wow. "Though, there's one question still worth asking. Why does it stay there?"

  Right.

  So he's implying there's also a treasure or something to gain from the little crossing.

  "I guess we should load up on anti-evil talismans, then."

  "..." His expression dropped, and his gaze... well, it was like he was looking at a grade-A dumbass.

  "I was joking."

  "... oh. Ha ha."

  "... get out."

  Haah.

  That felt so good to say.

  Thankfully, he really did just get out. He did roll his eyes, yes, but hey... I can live with that. I got to tell him off.

  Today was a good day.