Returning to the Nest

Rongqi City was the core city of the Central Continent. Even though the continent's interior had already rotted to the core, a starved camel was still larger than a horse.

Its prosperity was naturally incomparable to the Northern Border. Immortal mist swirled around the glazed tile roofs, carriages pulled by spirit beasts slowly descended from the clouds, and the Sun-Dazzled Spring flowed along the central canal, its surface shimmering with a faint golden light, like countless flecks of gold dust being swept along by the current.

Within the city, layers of Spirit-Gathering Formations were stacked upon one another, making the spiritual energy so dense it was nearly mist. Du Qi took a deep breath as he walked down the street, feeling his lungs fill with a moist, sweet fragrance that blended the scents of vegetation and warm sunlight.

Roadside stalls sold spiritual rice cakes and medicinal herb soups. A few children who looked to be only in their early teens squatted on the ground playing with mud; the mud figurines they casually molded actually held faint fluctuations of spiritual energy from the Qi Condensation stage.

Du Qi had rarely been to Rongqi City. Or rather, the Central Continent's core city he had heard of was nothing like this.

As the Young Sect Master of the Beast Taming Sect, naturally no one dared to stop Su Li from entering the city. She walked ahead, her red dress swaying and her bare feet stepping on the bluestone pavement, the delicate silver bells around her ankle chiming softly with every step.

When the guards saw her, their straight backs unconsciously stiffened even more. Du Qi followed behind with his head lowered, trying his best to shrink into an inconspicuous shadow.

He noticed that the guards' gazes paused on him for a brief moment before immediately darting away. Then he heard their whispers, kept extremely low.

“Are you fucking suicidal? Don't drag me down with you! That's the little princess of the Beast Taming Sect. A single fart from her could blast us into ashes, and you dare to ask about the person she's bringing?”

Du Qi kept his head lowered, but the corners of his lips curved up slightly. Was this how power was meant to be used? For the first time, he stood on the side of being feared. He knew...

The guards weren't afraid of him, but of the fact that he was standing behind Su Li. He suddenly felt a bit dazed. In the dark rooms of Black Mountain Fort, on the sheer cliffs of Boundary Cliff, and in the ink of every wanted poster, he had always been the one crushed by power.

Now, he stood on the side of those who used influence to oppress others. This feeling... made him somewhat unable to resist. He quickened his pace to catch up with Su Li.

“What's this? You've been grinning like an idiot ever since we entered the city. Is there something happy? Tell me so I can ruin your mood.”

Su Li turned her head to look at him, her deep red eyes reflecting the sunlight of Rongqi City. Only then did Du Qi realize his lips had been curved up the entire time. Was his smile that obvious? He instinctively wanted to suppress it, but after a moment's hesitation, he let it remain. “It's nothing,” he said. “I just think you're actually pretty impressive here.”

Su Li was taken aback, and the tips of her ears suddenly turned red. She didn't even know she could blush. She turned her face away, pretending to look at the goods on the roadside stalls. “...Tsk.” Had this guy... smeared honey on his lips?

The two walked side by side. After the Central Continent Alliance annexed the Beast Taming Sect, the wild mountains in the southwestern corner of the alliance's territory were allocated to the Beast Taming Sect as a place for taming beasts.

This way, the Beast Taming Sect was right under their noses, making them easy to monitor and manipulate. From afar, Du Qi saw the grayish-green silhouette of the mountains. He could even see the faint, flickering shapes of spirit beasts leaping through the trees on the mountainside. Su Li didn't speak, but her steps unconsciously quickened a bit more.

The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect ran to spread the word: “The Young Sect Master is back!” The news climbed up the mountain path like flowing water. By the time it reached the main hall, several elders who were meditating in silence opened their eyes simultaneously.

The Supreme Elder sitting in the main seat had a few strands of dark green mixed into his white hair. The necklace around his neck spun slowly; it was neither metal nor jade, resting against his withered skin. He heard the commotion outside, the sound of footsteps echoing on the stone steps. “The Young Sect Master is back.”

“Xiao Li is back? She didn't get injured, did she?”

His voice was very soft, as if he hadn't fully woken up yet. The reporting disciple knelt at the door, his head lowered extremely low, but his voice suddenly became hesitant. “Reporting to the Supreme Elder, the Young Sect Master is fine, it's just...”

The Supreme Elder closed his eyes and lightly tapped his fingers twice on the reddish armrest of his chair. “Just speak. What is there to be so hesitant about?”

Over the years, the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect had followed the sects of the Central Continent. They hadn't learned much of the good, but instead had picked up more and more of these petty ways: guessing the thoughts of superiors, pocketing money, shifting responsibility, and convoluted etiquette.

Seeing these disciples lowering their heads and shrinking their shoulders one by one, like a pack of frightened little beasts, made his heart feel heavy.

Little Su Li had also trained like crazy to support this ruined, nominal sect. At less than a hundred years old, she was already near the great perfection of the mid-to-late stage of Soul Transformation, leaving her with absolutely no time to clean up the sect. It wasn't easy for old fellows like them to step in, either.

But a sect couldn't rely on just one strong person. The Supreme Elder stroked the wood grain on the armrest, which had already been worn shiny, his gaze somewhat vacant. Ever since the Sect Master and his wife passed away, the entire Beast Taming Sect had rapidly collapsed.

Little Su Li had wanted to protect the sect like crazy, but in the end, she still couldn't save it. The sect was annexed, the territory was carved away, and the disciples scattered and gathered, gathered and scattered. Those who still remained on the mountain were mostly people who couldn't leave, or didn't know where to go. A few tears welled up in his cloudy eyes.

It was because he and the other old guys were useless, letting a young child like Su Li bear the bitter chore of cleaning up this mess. He felt ashamed before the spirit of the Sect Master in heaven.

The disciple finally spoke up hesitantly. “Elders... the Young Sect Master... she brought back a man.”

“What?!”

The Supreme Elder stood up abruptly. Because the movement was too fast, his old waist let out a crisp crack. He held onto the armrest, his lips twitching from the pain, but he no longer cared about anything else.

The other elders nearby, who had been pretending to be calm, could no longer sit still either, their expressions changing one after another.

The tears that had been welling in the Supreme Elder's eyes for a long time finally flowed down the wrinkles of his face. His lips trembled as he muttered in a shaking voice, “May the Sect Master bless us... the Young Sect Master has finally opened up!”

A wave of chaotic activity broke out in the main hall. Some went to brew tea, some went to prepare snacks, some hurriedly tried to put away scattered magic tools, and some moved the spirit beast cages away from the entrance of the parlor.

The Supreme Elder waved his hands anxiously at the front. “Don't bother with those useless formalities! They're almost here!” He rubbed his hands, the wrinkles on his face stretching into a wide smile, before quickly adopting a solemn expression, clearing his throat, and putting on the dignified air of a highly respected elder.

Draped in red gauze, Su Li climbed the mountain peak, followed by a panting Du Qi. The mountain path wasn't particularly steep, but Du Qi followed behind Su Li—she walked extremely fast, and if he didn't move quickly, he really wouldn't be able to keep up with this girl...

Su Li stood in front of the mountain gate, looking at the plaque that read “Beast Taming Sect.” Its edges were somewhat peeling, and the gold-gilded characters had been worn white by the wind and sand.

She curved her lips, raised her hand, and waved it vigorously, just like she had many years ago. Back when she was still a little girl, before she had ever used a calamity seed, and when her parents were still alive, she would stand in front of the mountain gate and call out like this every time she returned from the outside.

“Grandpa Wei! I'm back!”