Chapter 72: The Mysterious Valley

Seeing the three sitting cross-legged, Lin Xiaobao busied himself, gathering dry branches from all around. Soon, he had built a bonfire, but even so, as he sat beside the flames, he still felt a chill.

“May I ask your names?” Lin Xiaobao kept feeding wood into the fire as he spoke. “Since we’ll be traveling together for a while, it would be awkward not to know how to address each other. My name is Lin Xiaobao; I’ll go first. You may introduce yourselves as you wish.”

The young woman had seldom heard such playful words from anyone, and though she wished to laugh, she suppressed it. Considering the sense in what Lin Xiaobao had said, she replied, “My name is Si Mengling. The one in white is my third senior brother, Le Hongcai, and the one in black is my eldest senior brother, Xu Youyi.”

Mengling? Menglin! It seems her mother truly loved Lin Tian deeply. Though his thoughts wandered over this revelation, Lin Xiaobao asked with a look of envy, “You’re so formidable—surely you come from the Hall of Wind and Snow?”

“Since you know we’re from the Hall of Wind and Snow, you’d best not try anything clever along the way,” Si Mengling replied, going along with the conversation.

But Lin Xiaobao caught a flash of disdain on Le Hongcai’s face, as if being called a disciple of the Hall of Wind and Snow diminished his status. Could there really be a sect in Ning Feng stronger than the Hall of Wind and Snow?

Impossible! Lin Xiaobao quickly dismissed the idea. If it were true, the Hall of Wind and Snow could not dominate all the resources of Ning Feng. The Hall protected the nation, but when it came to cultivation resources and selecting disciples, they always had absolute priority. If a stronger force existed, it would surely have replaced them.

Since that wasn’t the case, these people must not be from Ning Feng. Suddenly, an answer stirred in Lin Xiaobao’s heart—they are disciples of the Floating Cloud Sect from Zong Tai. Only a sect with power comparable to the Hall of Wind and Snow could produce such young cultivators at the Spirit Dao level.

But if they hailed from the Floating Cloud Sect, why had Si Mengling appeared in Howling Moon City years ago? And why were they now in Kaiyang Town?

“That much is obvious. The Hall of Wind and Snow has done much for Ning Feng these years—even two years back, they drove Zong Tai’s forces out of here!” Speaking of the Hall, Lin Xiaobao’s face shone with admiration.

Yet, when the three heard him say Zong Tai had been driven out, their expressions soured.

“Enough nonsense, get some sleep! We have a long road ahead tomorrow.” With that, Si Mengling flicked her finger, and a stream of spiritual power shot toward Lin Xiaobao’s waist.

He was about to speak, but suddenly his body shuddered and he collapsed limply to the ground.

“Should’ve shut him up sooner!” Le Hongcai muttered, displeased, as Lin Xiaobao fainted. Xu Youyi, meanwhile, remained as still as a meditating monk, eyes closed.

“Junior Sister, how do you know this boy?” When Si Mengling didn’t respond, Le Hongcai pressed on, “Did you meet him last time we snuck into Ning Feng?”

“It’s none of your business!” Si Mengling shot him a glare. “Once he leads us to the seal, you are the fastest—rush back and report to Master immediately!”

Le Hongcai protested, “Why report to Master when we could try to break the seal ourselves? That would be a great achievement!”

“Do you really think we have the ability to break the seal?” Si Mengling clearly didn’t want to argue. “Stop wasting words. Recover your spiritual power; we could encounter real disciples of the Hall of Wind and Snow at any moment.”

Of course, Si Mengling’s earlier gesture hadn’t truly knocked Lin Xiaobao unconscious. He now listened to their conversation with perfect clarity, confirming his suspicions.

How interesting! Your father is an elder of the Hall, yet your heart belongs to the Floating Cloud Sect. Lin Xiaobao pondered how he might explain this to Lin Tian one day.

“Get up, time to travel!” At dawn, Si Mengling kicked the sleeping Lin Xiaobao.

“Ouch!” Lin Xiaobao clutched his backside, springing up. “The sky isn’t even bright yet—we’re setting off already?”

“One more word and I’ll kill you right now!” Whenever she saw Lin Xiaobao, Si Mengling recalled that embarrassing scene.

Lin Xiaobao nodded obediently, saying nothing more.

Xu Youyi again used spiritual power to drag Lin Xiaobao along, and the four sped southwest toward Jiuping Mountain.

Suspended in mid-air, Lin Xiaobao found their speed inferior to his own, but at least he didn’t have to exert himself, which he rather enjoyed.

As they ventured deeper, the trees grew ever denser and taller, until there was no path at all—just an endless stretch of towering woods. Along the way, Lin Xiaobao spotted many medicinal herbs, but with the others present, he only marked the locations of several rare specimens to gather later.

“How do we proceed?” The three landed and turned to Lin Xiaobao.

“Mmm... mmm...” Lin Xiaobao looked at Si Mengling with a fearful expression, covering his mouth with one hand and drawing his finger across his throat with the other.

After a moment, Si Mengling understood. “You may speak now.”

“Are you sure you won’t kill or beat me if I speak?” Lin Xiaobao asked, as if granted a reprieve.

“I promise!” Si Mengling wished she could thrash him, but since they needed him to find the ancient seal, she restrained herself.

“I have no idea how to go further!” Lin Xiaobao declared simply. “The map I found—I could only follow it by walking on the ground. If we fly, I can’t tell the directions at all, and I don’t even know where we are now!”

“Where’s the map?” Le Hongcai asked immediately, clearly frustrated.

“The map? I memorized it, then burned it. Carrying it would be far too dangerous!” Lin Xiaobao explained.

“Then why didn’t you say we were lost earlier?”

“Wasn’t it you who wouldn’t let me speak?”...

After some argument, Si Mengling finally conceded and led Lin Xiaobao back the way they had come.

“This is it!” At Lin Xiaobao’s direction, they landed once more. He surveyed the area and pointed. “We go this way.”

Having learned from experience, they no longer dared to fly recklessly with Lin Xiaobao; instead, they advanced step by step as he instructed.

Lin Xiaobao’s real aim was to draw closer to Si Mengling, hoping to learn more about her—at least enough to help Lin Tian acknowledge his daughter one day.

Clearly, this would not be easy. During their travels, Lin Xiaobao had asked if the bracelet was important to Si Mengling, which earned him a furious rebuke. From her eyes, Lin Xiaobao could see she harbored deep inner conflict.

Along the way, Lin Xiaobao gathered many herbs, storing them in Si Mengling’s pouch. The three were curious, but Lin Xiaobao explained his medical heritage.

He had no fear of being overtaken by others; according to Elder Wu, the valley itself was a vast array, confusing even the spiritual senses of a peak Spirit Dao master.

Thus, it took them more than half a month to reach the valley’s edge. By then, Lin Xiaobao’s relationship with Si Mengling was no longer as antagonistic as at first—though this was only Lin Xiaobao’s own hopeful impression.