461 Old Wuen (1/2)
While Heavenly Fairy bounced around the Heavenward Sword, Meng Qi's Spiritual Qi movement became entangled with that of Sword Emperor. As their spiritual Qi movements stimulated each other, he moved up to a realm that he hadn't reached before.
At this moment, he felt that nature mingled with his spirit as if he had been part of the world. With the merging of the world and himself, his reaction was the same as that of the world. The movement of every hair of the people near the crest seemed to be appear clearly in his mind.
He submerged himself in the surgent invisible Vital Qi Sea around him. All of his pores were open, longing to smoothly absorb the Vital Qi. It felt as if he had returned to his mother's embrace again!
He felt an unprecedented sense of comfort. This was the realm of Oneness of Heaven and Men.
He had briefly entered the realm through the guidance of Sword Emperor's Qi movement as well as the sword stroke they couldn't change!
The various experiences that he had experienced, the subtle status at present and the grand path in the future all this crossed his mind. When he looked at Sword Emperor, he was glad but also a little upset.
Their Energy, Qi, Spirit and Will had been condensed into a dot during the peak gesture, resulting in the marvelous changes collapsing into a deep dim black dot.
As the black dot stretched, a rift appeared. The white light breaking forth from the rift suddenly blocked his view.
Before the white light swallowed him, Meng Qi saw how Sword Emperor's flesh had collapsed and he had killed his own External Devil with his fingers. He also saw his transparent Vital Spirit which had become youthful and looked somewhat familiar.
While the brilliant white light faded and became as dim as before, Meng Qi heard a melodious chirping sound. There were still some birds that did not fear the early winter chill.
The snow covered the grassroots, the dormant vitality, the messy stones, and the pedestrians in the distance. Everything emerged clearly in Meng Qi's mind.
However, the strange feeling of merging with the world had faded. Reverting to his previous state, he could still faintly sense the strength of the heaven and grasp the law of natural cycles. But it was hazy for him since there was an schism he couldn't break through at the moment.
Meng Qi sincerely smiled after briefly experiencing stepping into the Oneness of Heaven and Men realm. He believed that he could reach the realm before the next mission if he preliminarily establish his own path. At the moment, he only had to discipline his Kung Fu will and temper his mind by killing Wolf King. He wanted to see if he was keeping in line with the path that he had previously sought out. If not, he would have to temper himself again. There wasn't any use being so anxious since he couldn't go back to the Hidden Latch once he started.
If he was still walking on the path he had built and stepped into the Oneness of Heaven and Men realm, he could save two or three years of thinking compared to He Jiu and Wang Siyuan. He only needed to spend some time on consolidation and adjustment.
Patting his green robe, Meng Qi slowly stood up and looked around. Muddleheaded and absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't know the specific Samsara time in which he had been drawn by the External Devil. He also couldn't tell the difference in the rate of time flowing on both sides.
”What happened to External Devil? He pulled me in but was killed without rhyme or reason...” Meng Qi believed that he must be the most muddleheaded person to overcome the countercharge of External Devil. Thus, he could only use such a phrase to describe External Devil's action. ”Sword Emperor looks familiar when he's young, but there are many people who look familiar...”
He thought for a good while but came up with nothing. So he tried identifying his position instead and walked in the opposite direction, away from the grassland.
...
Early into November, a once-in-a-century white snow buried the grassland.
It was the ”white disaster” that herdsmen hated the most!
The snow was piled on thickly, with ice layers appearing even with thin snow cover. Since the flocks and herds of animals couldn't claw the surface layer to eat the forage grass underneath, many died of the cold and hunger in batches. Most tribes had driven their livestock toward the larger tribe, even if they had to give up more than half of their properties. In the larger tribe, there were powerful shamans from the Changsheng Denomination. They were the grassland martial artists capable of melting the snow and dispeling the white disaster.
Migration had seen many tribe members arriving at Gegengol. The winding serene river, untouched by the winter, was surrounded by many tents.
Since it was close to the border, it was also a gathering place of commercial trades filled with people with different accents. The goods from the south always attracted the biggest crowd, but only larger tribe leaders of noble lineage could afford them.
While listening to the noisy braying of the flocks and herds and smelling all kinds of strange fragrances, Old Wuen tightened his old fur clothes and looked at the drunk martial artists and herdsmen in the tents. Contented, he counted the silver coins, copper coins and the fur of cattle and sheep, believing today to be his harvest day.
The emergence of the white disaster had drawn more tribes to Gegengol than ever before. When the people from the grasslands gathered, their favorite past times were horse racing, wrestling, archery, martial arts competitions and drinking!
Thanks to it, business became increasingly brisk in his tavern.
”Old man, I heard that you were a great huntsman who could catch and kill the wolf monsters deep in the forest,” a half-naked drunkard said.
Old Wuen smiled, the wrinkles on his face moving like blooming flowers. ”No. I don't even believe that I've had such a past.”
”That was what I said! How could you be a great huntsman with your thin and weak body?” The drunkard sat down with satisfaction. ”With the External Sky above me, I'd never make a wrong judgment!”
Old Wuen said nothing and looked at the fur of the cattle and sheep as if he was recalling something. His eyes turned somewhat deep.
”Great Khan had decreed that the new copper and silver coins should be used for trade, but why are these people still coming here with the fur of cattle and sheep…” Old Wuen sighed as he complained about people from small tribes. The grassland was vast, with scattered tribes. While it was easy to gather all of the members of the tribes to rob the south, it wasn't as simple to make something popular.
Suddenly, someone opened the felt curtain of the tent, allowing a burst of cold wind to enter. He shivered.
A man wearing the winter clothes of the grasslands entered. His hair was hanging over his left lapel and he had a decent mustache and a pair of black gem-like eyes.
The man, who looked very young, went up to Old Wuen. There seemed to be no difference between the long saber on his waist and that of a wandering swordsman.
”Pay first, then drink,” Old Wuen told him the tavern rules without even looking up.
”One gram of gold for one gram of wine.” The young man spoke with a strange accent, appearing to be unaccustomed to the prairie language.
Old Wuen stopped counting the fur of cattle and sheep and slowly looked up.” The wine is for lending, not for sale.”