Three days later, Tang Jie, Wei Tianchong, and Shi Meng officially headed out, setting off from Wanquan City and heading west toward the Celestial Mountains.
As they intended to see the sights, they didn’t move very quickly and chose to go through beautiful areas so that they could take in all the natural wonders this kingdom had and experience the local customs. They had quite a good time.
Tang Jie seemed to switch personalities, putting aside cultivating and joining Wei Tianchong in taking in the sights. Even Wei Tianchong had to wonder why Tang Jie had suddenly changed.
But he had no idea that, in Tang Jie’s eyes, all of this involved the operation of the world, and this was exactly what Tang Jie needed to experience in order to comprehend Insight.
Once one cultivated to a certain point, one would often feel like one had hit a wall. At times like this, cultivation alone was meaningless. One needed to head into the mortal realm and understand the Great Dao of humanity. But it was normally only those at Celestial Heart and above who would do this. Someone like Tang Jie who was comprehending Dao before Mortal Shedding only came around once an eon.
On this day, the three of them arrived at the Upwater Plains.
Tang Jie pointed ahead and said, “Past the Upwater Plains is the Warsong Mountains. Past that is Duskland, the land of the Seven Absolutions Sect.”
Shi Meng said, “Once we’re there, we’ll no longer be under the protection of the Basking Moon Sect, so we have to be careful with everything we do. When the time comes, we should change out of school uniforms to avoid any problems.”
In Sageheart, the student uniforms were their protective umbrella and made it so that few people were willing to provoke them. But outside of Sageheart, the status of Basking Moon student was more harmful than beneficial. Although the Basking Moon Sect and the Seven Absolutions Sect were not mortal foes, they weren’t good friends either. In private, the Seven Absolutions Sect was probably quite willing to kill a few Basking Moon students. Otherwise, the Wandering Palace wouldn’t have been so cautious with even the location of the conference, choosing the very center of the Celestial Mountains.
In the carriage, Wei Tianchong shook his head. “It’s going to be difficult. Even if we change clothes, we’re not Duskers, so we’ll expose ourselves the moment we open our mouths.”
He wasn’t sitting in a carriage because he was spoiled. Rather, he was making a new puppet, and carving couldn’t be done while riding a horse.
Tang Jie was very satisfied to hear this from Wei Tianchong. It was a sign that he had made a lot of progress.
He smiled and said, “If it’s about accent, that’s not a big problem. Besides, though we may be traveling, that doesn’t mean that everything will be peaceful.”
“Tang Jie, what do you mean?” Wei Tianchong asked.
Tang Jie replied, “The materials you can buy at Basking Moon Academy are ultimately rather average. Duskland is rich with products, so if Young Master wants to make a good puppet, we can gather some resources while we’re on the road.”
Wei Tianchong shook his head. “Isn’t that essentially performing missions right under the nose of the Seven Absolutions Sect? Without permission, we’ll be in deep trouble if we’re discovered.”
Territorial divisions weren’t just nominal. In the first place, they had been made to divide up resources.
No matter how great one’s background, running to another country’s soil to steal its resources was essentially stealing from another sect. Those wandering warriors who cut down fiends with a sweep of their swords… haha, they could kill fiends, but they had to leave the treasures behind!
Thus, those warriors who walked the land in search of fortune simply weren’t plausible in the Rosecloud Domain, at least in any rational sense.
But Tang Jie didn’t dare, saying, “If a cultivator wants to achieve big things, they have to fight a little for it. And if we’re not drawing attention to ourselves, who will know?”
Wei Tianchong seemed to get it. “Oh… you know, I was wondering why you had the sudden urge to head out early. I’m guessing you were intending to go hunting in the other countries from the start? Confess, Tang Jie! Were you not trying to make yourself a little money?”
Tang Jie raised his head back and laughed. “That’s a rare show of insight, Young Master!”
But he did not deny his plans.
He had his plans for this trip to the Celestial Mountains, but completing this plan was bound to be extremely difficult. Thus, Tang Jie had to think of a way that allowed him to make some preparations. Some of this prep work couldn’t be finished in the school, so he had decided to get them done while on the road.
Tang Jie simply said, “Come on. If you have any questions, let’s wait until we’re past the border!”
He raised his whip and spurred his horse onward while Shi Meng had the carriage closely follow behind him.
One day later, the trio had passed through the Warsong Mountains and come upon a vast plain. The sky was blue and the grass was a lush green, and the scene was right out of a painting, with clear skies all the way to the horizon.
It was the middle of winter, a season of ice and snow, but this place seemed to be in the middle of spring.
This was the famous Evergreen Plain of Duskland.
“I’ve heard that this Evergreen Plain experiences spring throughout the year and is a gorgeous place. It seems like the rumors were true.” Wei Tianchong was so moved by this beauty that he came out of his carriage.
“Tang Jie, where should we go next?” Shi Meng asked.
“To the Watcher River. There’s a violet gold ore vein there that supplies the Seven Absolutions Sect. We’re going there to see if we can buy any.”
Violet gold was an excellent material for making puppets. Even integrating a small piece would massively boost the grade of the puppet.
This was a regulated resource of Duskland and was not sold to outsiders without permission. But where there was light, there was shadow, and there were always countermeasures for policies and rules. There would always be a few bold miners who would hide some violet gold to sell.
A fist-sized piece of violet gold could decide the fate of an entire family, so many people would take the risk.
Tang Jie knew that there was a black market near the Watcher River that specifically sold cultivation resources that couldn’t see the light of day. Besides the resources gathered by poachers, illicit goods gained from murder were also sold there. And because it was located on the border between two countries, once these items left the country, they were difficult to trace down and could be sold for greater profit. Thus, the trade was quite profitable.
But these three were newcomers and unfamiliar with the lay of the land. As they were wondering what to do, they spotted a convoy approaching from the distance.
There were around twenty large wagons, each one packed with goods and escorted by guards. It appeared to be a merchant caravan.
When the caravan people saw Tang Jie’s group of three, they conversed among themselves, and a few moments later, three riders broke off from the caravan and came toward Tang Jie’s group.
Their leader was a girl of sixteen or seventeen, wearing the customary clothes of the border folk, with hair organized into ten-some braids and adorned with all kinds of accessories. They came close before stopping, and the girl shouted, “Hey, are you guys from Sageheart?”
Tang Jie and the others exchanged looks, not knowing how to reply. If they said they were, they might suddenly be attacked. While they weren’t afraid of fighting, in a foreign land, it was best to be cautious.
The girl seemed to be able to tell how apprehensive they were, and she giggled. “Since you’re not answering, you probably are. Don’t be afraid. We of the Ayia Tribe are the best hosts. There must be some connection between us for us to meet, so you should come over and have a cup of kumis. Of course, if you’ve come to do trade, if you need any of our goods, we can make a deal.”
Only now did Tang Jie’s group realize that because they also had a carriage, the other party had taken them for traders. Traders and caravans would lose nothing and only gain from interacting with each other. After all, business was business.
Of course, this also depended on the situation. Tang Jie’s group was richly dressed and small in number, so it was easy to tell that they weren’t bandits. This was why the other party had come out to meet them. If they had been a large group without any wagons or goods, the other side probably wouldn’t have been so proactive.
“Then we’ll have to bother you,” Tang Jie said, taking the offer. This would also allow them to understand the local customs.
They followed the girl to meet the caravan master, a middle-aged man who was the father of this Ayia Tribe girl, Cai’er. The Ayia Tribe was small in number, but they were broadly spread over the Rosecloud Domain, found in every country. They mostly lived as traders and shepherds and were known to be people who lived their lives on horseback.
Through their conversation, Tang Jie learned that this Ayia Tribe caravan was headed over to the Watcher River to do business. As Watcher River had ore veins and was also located near Sageheart, it had a bustling marketplace. Whether they were from Sageheart or Duskland, many traveling merchants came through the area, both big and small.
As he had come to gather the resources he needed, Tang Jie had brought some of Sageheart’s specialties with him. But as he was a cultivator, he didn’t need to carry these goods on a wagon like ordinary people, and had placed them in his Mustard Seed Bag instead.
Of course, anything that could be put in a carriage probably wasn’t very valuable in the first place.
Sure enough, after asking, Tang Jie found that the caravan didn’t have any materials that were very valuable, but he didn’t mind and asked about the local customs. The Ayia people traveled all over the place and had broad experiences, and their stories were quite interesting. Conversing with them was quite fruitful for these students who were leaving their homeland for the first time.
As they walked and talked, they saw quite a few convoys on the road. It turned out that they had come at the perfect time, for it was time for Watcher River’s big market.
The big market was the annual country fair held in Watcher River. At this time of year, caravans from all around would come here to trade, so this time of year had the greatest number of business deals.
The scale of the convoy grew larger and larger, and what had been one convoy became four, several hundred people in all. It was quite the imposing group, and almost everyone was from the Ayia Tribe.
Cai’er explained that this was the habit of the Ayia Tribe. This also made it easier to coordinate, and if they encountered any bandits, they could work together to fend them off.
On the evening of the next day, they arrived at a lake.
The lake water was clear, grass faintly visible beneath the surface. There was a mountain in the distance, but it was capped with white snow, making it seem like spring and winter were two neighboring sisters.
“This is Horserest Lake, and past Horserest Lake is the Watcher River. We’re going to rest here for today so that we’ll be full of energy when we get to the market tomorrow,” Cai’er excitedly said to Tang Jie’s group.
Perhaps because she had grown up in the caravan and rarely had the opportunity to chat with outsiders of the same age, she was quite happy to chat with them. Moreover, Tang Jie’s group was from a school, so they were humble and polite.
That night, the caravan made camp at the shore of Horserest Lake, the Ayia people lighting a big bonfire to cook their food. After dinner, they circled the bonfire and danced, spreading their enchanting and melodious music throughout the area.
Of course, with the dancing and singing, there was also a show.
Twenty riders came out of the crowd, both men and women. While laughing, they came up to a white line drawn out on the ground.
There was a shout, and the twenty riders set off, every female rider followed by a male rider. The male riders were saying something as they followed behind, but the female riders ignored them, focusing on riding their horses. Once they had galloped a certain distance, the riders turned their horses around, and it was time for the female riders to pursue the male riders, but rather than talking, they raised their horse whips and lashed the men. The men spurred their horses into a furious gallop, but they didn’t dare to strike back, and all the while, the crowd roared with approval.