Chapter 10: When the Waters Flow, the Abyss Deepens
At the mountaintop, beneath the dim night, Qin Anyu sat cross-legged on the ground, holding a cup of wine in one hand and a roasted chicken in the other, taking a sip of wine and a bite of chicken with focused attention.
Beside him, Qin Youqin also sat cross-legged, clutching half a roasted chicken, slowly chewing, her gaze fixed anxiously on Qin Anyu’s face.
After finishing his last sip of wine, Qin Anyu stood up. “We should be going.”
They had come from the official road to this place, eating and drinking this whole time. Qin Youqin, who had remained silent, finally spoke: “Young Master, I see your steps are unsteady. Should we rest a while longer?”
Qin Anyu stretched deeply, his body making a series of cracking sounds, smiling as he said, “I thought you were too scared to speak.”
He picked up his wine cup and put it away in his bundle, then placed the bundle on the horse’s back. “You haven’t finished your chicken. Eat as you walk. I’ll lead the horse; just follow me.”
The path ahead was rugged and steep, unsuitable for riding.
Qin Youqin stood up, gripping her chicken, and asked again, “Young Master, maybe you should rest a little longer?”
This girl was truly stubborn.
Qin Anyu chuckled, “No need. Finishing a chicken and two bowls of wine like that—you still couldn’t catch my move.”
Yet, inwardly, he felt helpless.
He was the mighty Immortal Emperor, yet to defeat a somewhat strong Qi-cultivating Realm Nine opponent, he had to expend seventy to eighty percent of his strength—truly a dragon trapped in shallow waters.
In the hazy night, the two walked along the mountain ridge.
As they climbed to the highest ridge of Mount Mang, they heard shouts and the clash of battle, and saw a towering glow.
Qin Youqin swallowed her chicken and said, “Young Master, those must be mountain bandits attacking.”
Seeing Qin Anyu ahead gave no reply, she continued, “Young Master, I once heard that Tanzhou Prefecture was peaceful and prosperous—how can there be bandits here?”
“Girl, my father is the Prefect, and the Qin family never lacks food or drink. So why did you lose an arm? Why have you grown so thin? And why are there gangs like the Hawk Faction in the city?”
Where there is light, there is darkness; the two coexist. A solitary yin cannot thrive, nor a solitary yang.
Qin Youqin fell silent, stopped eating her chicken, and quietly followed behind the horse.
After walking a while, the battlefield came into clear view.
It was a small-scale fight; one side had over thirty people, the other just over twenty, with about ten bodies lying on the ground.
Qin Youqin gasped, “Young Master, the bandits are winning.”
“Do you know which are the bandits?”
“Of course. On the way here, we passed many people, and I remembered their faces and clothes. Those twenty odd people being surrounded are the bandits. Young Master…”
“I’m not going.”
“…”
“It’s not fear, but relying on others is less reliable than relying on oneself. To survive, you must fight desperately; if that fails, you run. It’s no shame to flee if you lack strength. Life is more important—wealth is but an external possession.”
---
“Young Master, I see the one who fled. Oh, the one you killed one of, the remaining one. He’s standing with two bandits.”
“Your eyesight is impressive, seeing faces clearly from so far away—better than mine.”
“Young Master, aren’t you going to help?”
“Why should I?”
“They want to kill you.”
“He ran off. My time is precious. I won’t waste it on failures like them.”
“Oh.”
After walking along the highest ridge for some distance, Qin Anyu led the horse while Qin Youqin mounted hers and took a descending ridge path that looked long.
After some time, Qin Youqin asked, “Young Master, is this the way to the Linxia Sect?”
Qin Anyu smiled, “If it were, would we have to take such a rugged mountain path?”
“That’s true.”
“Girl, you must be sleepy.”
“No, why do you say that?”
“Because you’re confused.”
Qin Youqin let out a light laugh and fell silent.
Under the faint cold light, the two and their horses wound through various ridges.
Finally, at a spot just before a steep climb, Qin Anyu stopped. “Girl, can you still walk?”
A tired voice responded, “Young Master, I can still walk. Where are we now? I feel the depths on both sides are bottomless, and the cold wind blows, howling—it’s a bit frightening.”
Qin Anyu helped Qin Youqin down, took all the bundles off the horse’s back, then gave the horse’s rump a slap. “Go. Go live a free life.”
The horse raised its head and neighed, then ran forward along the ridge.
Qin Youqin was surprised and puzzled. “Young Master, are we going to live here from now on? It’s cool here, but there’s no water or trees, and it’s not concealed at all.”
Qin Anyu flicked her forehead with his fingers. “You think too much.”
He then reorganized the bundles into one large pack, slung it on his back, and tied a rope around both their waists.
One end was tied to Qin Youqin, the other to himself—a rope five or six feet long between them.
“Girl, the perilous journey is about to begin.”
“With Young Master here, I’m not afraid.”
Seeing Qin Anyu approach the cliff’s edge on the right, she nervously asked, “Young Master, are we going to jump down here? If we do, I can do it alone. Being tied together, I might hold you back.”
---
Qin Anyu almost laughed at her, then said fiercely, “Follow me, no talking.”
“Okay.”
At the cliff’s edge, Qin Anyu grabbed a bush growing from the ridge, slid forward, and vanished instantly.
Qin Youqin screamed in fright, tears streaming, rushing to the edge shouting, “Young Master…”
A voice came from below, “Girl, are you stupid? Sit down and extend your legs.”
“Oh.”
She obeyed, sitting down, stretching out her legs, supporting herself with one hand as she slowly moved forward. When her hips reached the edge, she felt the rope tighten at her waist and suddenly she flew off the cliff, then felt another tug as she was pulled against the sheer rock face.
Just when she thought she would hit the cliff, everything stopped—a strong arm wrapped around her waist.
“Wow, it’s so steep and dark.”
“You silly girl, aren’t you afraid of falling?”
“No. One end of the rope is tied to Young Master’s waist.”
“Can you see clearly? Every bump, every bush, every small tree—that’s where we’re headed.”
“Wow, so thrilling.”
Faced with this bold and naive girl, Qin Anyu had nothing to say but set her down beside him. “Rest a while; then we’ll continue.”
“Young Master, why not come during the day?”
“This is a secret path I discovered; it can’t be known by others. Once we’re down below, you’ll see it’s much the same day or night.”
After a short rest, they continued along the cliffside, Qin Anyu holding a torch ahead.
Passing bumps, bushes, and small trees, after five hours they reached a large platform and began eating.
Qin Youqin took a bite of bread, looked up in surprise, and asked, “Young Master, how far have we come? We can’t see the sky anymore, but it’s not dark here.”
“If measured straight down, it’s eight li; if by the path we took, thirty li.”
“Wow, it took so long to travel such a short distance. Are we really that slow?”
“Eat quickly, then sleep. The real danger lies ahead.”
“Oh.”