On an old traveler's path, two figures walked side by side and at first glance, they looked like nothing more than some beggars, with their clothes were torn and stained, covered in dirt, dust, and dried blood. Their appearance told the story of a harsh and exhausting journey, one that could fill countless tales.
But what truly made them resemble beggars was not their clothing, it was their hair, being unkempt and tangled, matted with dirt and traces of blood, it looked as though they had just crawled out of hell itself and yet, their weapons told a different story.
One of the youths held onto his sword tightly, almost hugging its dark brown sheath as if it were something precious and the other carried an old, worn sword at his right hip, while a finely crafted dagger rested on his left, its sheath still noble despite his ragged appearance.
Silently, the two walked along the lonely path, until at last, something appeared ahead, it is a small river and at the moment he saw it, the sword hugging youth broke into a wide grin.
"Hahaha! Finally!" he laughed, his voice full of relief. "We made it to the river! Village Head Ye, didn't I tell you I remembered this path correctly? Haha!"
Laughing loudly, Bai Da turned toward the youth beside him and broke into a run toward the small river.
Just moments ago, he had been complaining endlessly about the pain in his legs, how every step felt unbearable. Yet now, as if that pain had never existed, he sprinted forward without hesitation.
"Sigh…" Ling Ye let out a quiet breath, relieved to no longer hear Bai Da's constant complaints. Not only had they been irritating, but Bai Da also smelled… terrible. Then again, Ling Ye isn't in a much better condition himself.
Watching Bai Da rush ahead, Ling Ye followed at a steady pace, not bothering to hurry. By the time he arrived at the river, Bai Da had already stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shallow stream, splashing water over himself with loud, carefree laughter.
The sight is less than pleasant and for someone raised with discipline and refinement, seeing Bai Da bathing so openly and noisily was almost unbearable, but in the end, Ling Ye said nothing and instead, he quietly removed his own clothes and stepped into the river.
The water was cool and gentle as it flowed past him, washing over his tired body. Above, the warm sunlight shone down, and a soft breeze moved through the air, carrying away the lingering heat and exhaustion.
For a moment, Ling Ye simply stood there, still and calm.
He tilted his head slightly upward, letting the warmth of the sun touch his face and beneath the surface, small fish occasionally darted past, their faint movements visible in the clear water.
Then, slowly, he began to clean himself. With his hands, he scrubbed away the dried blood, the dirt, the sweat, everything that had clung to him throughout the journey. From head to toe, he was covered in the remnants of the forest, but little by little, it all washed away.
The grime faded, the blood dissolved and beneath it, his pale skin was revealed once more, along with strands of long black hair, now freed from dust and filth, flowing naturally with the current.
Now that he was finally clean, Ling Ye allowed himself a moment to truly relax and stretched his sore body, muscles tightening and loosening as he moved. His legs ached the most, each small motion reminding him of the long journey they had endured.
After lingering in the gentle water for a while longer, he slowly stepped out of the river, with droplets clung to his skin, sliding down his body as he stood there, wet and exposed to the open air. He glanced around, hoping to find something to dry himself with.
But there is nothing, only grass, a few scattered trees, and the empty traveler's path stretching into the distance and left with no choice, Ling Ye reached for his clothes.
They were still dirty, stained with dust, dirt, and dried blood, but he didn't put them on immediately. Instead, he paused, trying to clean them as best as he could.
Shaking them out, brushing them with his hands, he worked carefully and fortunately, his black daopao robe is covered more in dust than in blood. That small mercy made a difference.
Bit by bit, he managed to remove most of the dirt, the loose dust falling away with each motion and in the end, only faint stains of dried blood remained, dark against the fabric.
It wasn't perfect, but it is enough and without further hesitation, Ling Ye dressed himself again, the slightly cleaner robe settling over his body as he prepared to move on and while Ling Ye had been fortunate enough to avoid being completely soaked in blood, the same could not be said for Bai Da.
His daopao robe, once a deep blue, was now almost entirely stained a dark, dried red. After all, he had been the one to face and kill most of the animals along their journey. It was only natural that his clothes had absorbed the brunt of it.
Ling Ye spared it little thought and instead, he focused on his own task. After spending some time cleaning off the dust and dirt from his robe, the warmth of the sun had already begun to dry his body. Once he felt dry enough, he calmly dressed himself.
Nearly finished, Ling Ye picked up his boots and stepped back into the shallow edge of the river. Unlike his robe, they were easy to clean, just a few moments in the flowing water, and the dirt washed away effortlessly.
Satisfied, he placed them beside his clothes on the grass, leaving them there to dry in the sunlight and now fully cleaned, Ling Ye felt lighter and refreshed.
For the first time since entering the forest, he could breathe without that lingering discomfort clinging to him. With nothing left to do, his gaze shifted to the side.
He had been hearing Bai Da's laughter earlier loud, carefree, almost childish and now, curiosity got the better of him. Looking over, he saw that Bai Da had already finished washing as well.
Dressed once more, he lay sprawled on the ground, staring up at the sky as if he had no worries in the world. His sword rested loosely in his right hand, unmoving and compared to Ling Ye's quiet composure, Bai Da looked completely at ease.
"Hey!" Ling Ye called out to Bai Da, who was lying on the ground, staring up at the sky and hearing his voice, Bai Da turned his head lazily toward him.
"Get ready," Ling Ye said. "We should leave and continue on."
Bai Da nodded in understanding and pushed himself up from the ground. He stretched his body slowly, loosening his stiff muscles before walking over to Ling Ye, who was already waiting by the old traveler's path.
Together, they set off once more, with the path stretched ahead of them, quiet and familiar. For a while, neither of them spoke, but before long, Bai Da's usual restlessness returned. He let out a small breath and spoke his thoughts aloud.
"Village Head Ye, we're only about half a day away from the next village, right? That means we'll probably arrive in the middle of the night." He glanced at Ling Ye as they walked.
"Have you decided? Should we rest at night and arrive in the morning… or just keep going and reach it as soon as we can?" Ling Ye didn't answer immediately and thought for a moment, weighing the options, but he wasn't someone who hesitated for long.
"We'll rest," he said calmly. "We'll arrive when the sun begins to rise."
Satisfied with the answer, Bai Da nodded and smiled brightly, but now that they had bathed and no longer smelled like sweat and blood, his usual chatty nature quickly returned and once it did, it didn't stop.
He began asking Ling Ye about everything.
First, it was simple questions, about the village back home, about daily life there. Things Ling Ye could answer without much thought. Then, Bai Da shifted to stories about himself, recounting his experiences wandering through the martial world.
His voice carried excitement as he spoke, reliving those moments as if they had just happened and then he started asking stranger things.
Bizarre thoughts. Odd questions. Things he had seen or heard that he couldn't understand, now expecting Ling Ye to explain them and at first, Ling Ye tried to keep up. He responded when he could, even making an effort to engage, to keep the conversation going.
But soon, he reached his limit, with some of the things Bai Da talked about were completely unfamiliar, leaving Ling Ye just as confused as him.
"Village Head Ye," Bai Da suddenly said, his tone turning more curious, "about a year ago, when I was traveling in the east, I climbed a mountain with a few companions…"
He paused for effect, "Did you know… some mountains are actually living beings?"
Ling Ye stopped for a moment. A living mountain? He had never seen such a thing and never even read about it.
For a brief second, he didn't know what to say, then he exhaled lightly and shook his head.
"You really have seen all kinds of things," Ling Ye said, genuine surprise in his voice. "It's a wonder you're still alive."
Bai Da burst into laughter, clearly pleased. After all he had managed to catch Ling Ye's attention.
"Indeed… I've asked myself the same thing," Bai Da said with a light chuckle. "How I managed to survive that encounter."
His tone remained casual, but there was a faint weight beneath his words. "After all, I was the only one who lived to tell the tale. The others…" he paused briefly, "…weren't so lucky."
He shrugged slightly. "I got away with just a few broken ribs. Painful, of course, but survivable. Though, getting to a doctor afterward only made things worse. That, however, is another story."
A grin spread across his face, "Still… I was truly lucky back then."
Ling Ye looked at him, visibly stunned. He hadn't expected that.
"…How did you get injured?" he asked and seeing Ling Ye's reaction, Bai Da's smile widened, clearly enjoying the attention.
"Well," he said, almost proudly, "the mountain we climbed… was the living one."
He paused, as if savoring the moment.
"And then, it moved." Bai Da laughed lightly, "We all fell straight down."
Silence followed and Ling Ye stood there, processing what he had just heard. "A living mountain… and he stood on top of it," he thought to himself and before he could say anything else, Bai Da had already moved on, casually shifting to another story, as if nothing unusual had been said at all.
"Village Head Ye, did you know that in the east, there's an old tradition?" Bai Da said, his tone turning a little more animated. "It's about people who survive deadly calamities. They say that anyone who lives through such an event is blessed by the heavens and those who help them gain great karma in return."
Ling Ye hadn't heard of this before. Though he knew a few things about the eastern regions, this wasn't among them. His interest was piqued, and he listened quietly.
Bai Da grinned. "So, one of the village beauties wanted to gain some of that 'good karma,'" he continued, his voice lowering slightly as his grin widened, "and well… she decided to keep me company for the night."
He chuckled to himself.
"Safe to say, she believed she earned quite a bit of karma that day." Bai Da looked far too pleased with himself, while Ling Ye, on the other hand, felt his patience wear thin.
"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, his expression turning cold.
"Enough. Who cares about that nonsense?" he said flatly. "Be quiet for a while."