Against The Heavens

Not long after leaving the Universe Merchants, Li Yang suddenly realized that he had completely forgotten to ask from where the caravans that travel to Mourners refuge leave from.

"Guess I"ll just have to ask a pa.s.serby."

Li Yang shook his head and quickly asked some of the people that were pa.s.sing by him. After getting his answer, he didn"t directly head towards the northern gate, where the caravans would leave from. He first found a store that sold dried rations and water.

It was going to be a trip that lasted about half a month, so it was best to stock up on some preservable food in case anything happened. After buying some food and water, Li Yang couldn"t help but let out a small sigh. He was almost broke again, so it seemed like it was about time to accept a new mission.

"Are you Mo Jiang? I heard that your caravan is heading towards Mourners refuge, so I would like to tag along."

After reaching the northern gate, Li Yang found a person who matched the descriptions he had been given. According to the people he had asked, Mo Jiang was leading a caravan filled with food and water to Mourners refuge, so he would be leaving the city in the evening.

"Indeed, I am Mo Jiang. There is no problem if you want to tag along, but you will have to pay 1 silver for the food and protection. The bird is coming along as well?"

Mo Jiang was a fit middle-aged man, a large scar going from the left side of his face to his right like it was splitting his face in two. His head was clean shaven and polished, a rugged beard adorning his face.

He looked Li Yang up and down for a short moment before nodding his head. Each caravan that left the city would have its own set of guards, lest they are attacked by bandits and wiped out.

Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head as an answer, before handing over 1 silver to Mo Jiang. After receiving the money, Mo Jiang led Li Yang over to his caravan. The caravan consisted of only three wagons, each one covered by a tarp to prevent people from seeing the inside.

The front and back wagon each contained three guards, while the wagon in the middle was the one that actually contained the people who wanted to go to Mourners refuge. Li Yang counted six people in the wagon, so including him, there would be seven people joining the caravan.

The people heading to Mourners refuge were mostly old people who came to offer a small prayer to the Four Monarchs, so Li Yang was the youngest person in the caravan. Li Yang politely greeted the people inside the wagon and found a place to sit.

Mo Jiang waited for the sun to reach the horizon before deciding that no one else was coming and that it was fine to set out. He sat down in the front seat of the front-most wagon and grabbed the reins of the horses. With a slight whip of his hand, the horses started moving and the caravan set off.

The caravan would stop twice each day, once to eat dinner, and once to allow the horses some additional rest. During these breaks, Li Yang slightly interacted with the people of the caravan, but he found the people traveling alongside him to be far too stiff and uptight. They seemed to believe that the younger generation should revere and obey the older generation.

"So tell me, Little Yang, why did you choose to leave your tribe instead of simply marrying?"

The caravan was currently taking a break in a hilly area and eating dinner, two campfires lighting up the night. One campfire was for the guards, while the other was for the pa.s.sengers. Li Yang was seated at the campfire for the guards, gnawing on some meat while occasionally handing Jinwu some pieces.

Li Yang found that it was much easier to get along with the guards than it was to get along with the other pa.s.sengers. The guards were much more carefree and relaxed, not even caring about his slightly small stature and obvious young age.

"I wanted to travel more before deciding to settle down. Who knows, I might even find a wife who is much better than the women in the tribe."

Li Yang had a slight smile as he answered the guard. Li Yang was only 12 years old, but that was already old enough to be of marriageable age. These last few days of traveling, he had been chatting with the guards, each one sharing stories about their own lives. Of course, Li Yang had not told them anything important about himself, only talking about his life in the Liang tribe before he left them.

"True, someone like you could easily find someone better than what a small tribe is capable of raising. How about I introduce you to my daughter when we get back? She is a few years older than you, but let me tell you, she is a real gem."

The guards were quite fond of Li Yang, there was something about the atmosphere he released that made it easy for people to get close to him. They had also seen that he was a very relaxed person, not even showing the slightest hint of nervousness when he was with them.

"We will have to wait and see in the future, right now I wish to continue traveling."

Li Yang gave a noncommittal answer as he shrugged his shoulders. How could he possibly bother looking at other women when he had Fang Ying waiting for him? Even if the guard"s daughter ended up being a G.o.ddess, he would still not bother looking at her twice.

The guards continued merrily chatting with Li Yang and scarfing down meat and ale. As guards, the risk of death was constantly following them around on their missions. Because of this, they were much more carefree and easy going than others. After all, with the risk of death hanging above them, how could they not simply focus on enjoying life for as long as they could?

"Someone is coming."

Li Yang suddenly raised his head and looked at the hills around them. His words instantly caused the guards to turn silent and unsheathe their weapons, the merry and easygoing atmosphere from earlier completely gone.

Not long after the guards stood up, a group of people clad in dark leather clothing appeared at the top of a hill that was located behind the guards. There were around eight people, each one carrying a dagger and a short sword. The weapons were made out of normal metal and had no arrays carved into them, so they were completely normal.

"f.u.c.k, it"s them."

Seeing these eight people, the guards could not help but curse out. The other pa.s.sengers had also noticed the people, so they hurriedly moved to a spot behind the guards and huddled together.

"Kong Tao, there is no need to resort to violence. How much will it take for us to be able to pa.s.s?"

Mo Jiang stepped forward and called out to the eight men, bringing out a large leather pouch as he spoke. Li Yang took the opportunity to nonchalantly inspect the group of eight people.

The strongest was the person who seemed to be called Kong Tao, but he only had around the same strength as the bandit leader and the Metal Eater that Li Yang had killed previously, so he was no threat. Of course, he was a ma.s.sive threat to the caravan, as none of the guards had even reached the Mortal Rune realm.

"Mo Jiang. It saddens me to do this, but the boss has ordered us to gather a large amount of money so that we can hire people from the Royal Dragon Pavilion to explore the Cursed Realm"

The person who seemed to be called Kong Tao called out in a loud voice that was slightly tinged by sadness. His words instantly caused everyone in the caravan to turn tense and cautious.

"You mean?"

Mo Jiang"s voice and heart sunk. He had interacted with this particular group of bandits several times. Usually, it would be enough to give them a bit of their wealth and they would be allowed to pa.s.s.

"I am sorry, but all of you must die, it is the only way we can make sure that we get all the wealth you have."

Kong Tao spoke out with a sigh and shook his head, raising his weapons. The guards quickly raised their weapons and took a defensive stance, preparing to face the attack of the bandits.

"What is this Cursed Realm?"

Li Yang, who was still sitting calmly next to the fire, slightly c.o.c.ked his head and asked the guards. He had never heard about this so-called Cursed Realm, so he was slightly curious.

"It is a s.p.a.ce opened by an ancient cultivator. It is located not too far from Mourners refuge, so some people think that it might be connected to the Four Monarchs. No one really knows what it contains, as everyone who has ever entered it has failed to leave, that is how it got the name Cursed Realm."

Despite the group of bandits slowly approaching them, one of the guards, a youth in his twenties called Zhong Zhenya, still took the time to answer Li Yang. He was certain that he was going to die here, so what was the harm in answering Li Yang?

After hearing the guards answer, Li Yang slightly fondled his chin. If the Four Monarchs turned out to be who he thought they were, he would have to go an check out this Cursed Realm.

"Jinwu, you can go deal with them."

Li Yang slightly pat Jinwu on the head, talking in a carefree manner. But his words did not escape from the guard"s ears. Deal with them? As in kill the bandits? That little crow was supposed to?

Jinwu let out a happy cry and flapped its wings, leaving Li Yang"s shoulder like a blur. Despite its feathers being black, Jinwu"s flying form left behind a golden line that was clearly visible in the light. The air around that golden line started distorting from the sheer heat that the golden line was releasing.

This was what Jinwu gained from eating the flesh and blood of the Metal Eater, the increase in his strength. It was only a slight amount, but he could now release a small amount of golden flames, the mark of a Golden Crow.

Li Yang thought that would be it, but then Jinwu had shocked him and showed that it could also release a type of icy mist that would freeze everything it touched. After seeing this, Li Yang could not help but get more and more curious about what type of Demonic beast Jinwu really was.

Li Yang also remembered that deep valley where the Golden Crow and the Torch Dragon had fought, as well as the icy wind that the valley released. Some of Jinwu"s secrets seemed to be buried in that valley, so Li Yang would have to find a chance to visit it.

Under the astonished gazes of the people in the caravan, Jinwu reached the group of bandits. The first person to be attacked by Jinwu was the man called Kong Tao. Before he had the chance to react, Jinwu"s claws sank into his flesh, digging into his shoulder.

Just as Kong Tao was about to let out a sneer, a terrible heat swept through his body. Smoke started rising out from his orifices, even his eyes slowly melting under the heat. The others would not know, but Li Yang knew that the inside of the man"s body had been completely evaporated by golden flames.

Jinwu had targeted this man first so that he could find out just how strong he had gotten after eating the Metal Eater. Seeing the insides of the man evaporate, Jinwu could not help but let out a self-satisfied smile, sending a grin towards Li Yang.

With Kong Tao dying so easily, how could the other bandits possibly stand a chance? Jinwu quickly flapped his wings and flew towards the rest of the bandits, not even giving them a chance to flee. After making quick work of the bandits, Jinwu pecked around their bodies slightly, looking for anything valuable.

With a disappointed screech, he flew back to Li Yang"s shoulder and nuzzled up against the pillow Li Yang had gotten sown into his robe. It had failed to find anything valuable on the bandits, so it sulked slightly.

"Good work Little Jinwu. There is no need to sulk, of course bandits who were working for someone else would not carry any valuables."

Li Yang had a wry smile as he comforted Jinwu, completely ignoring the shocked and slightly terrified gazes of the people around them. He could not blame them for looking at him like that, he was after all just 12 years old. For the seemingly normal crow on his shoulder to suddenly show such strength, how could they not be shocked?

"Everyone back into their wagons, we are continuing the journey."

Mo Jiang showed his capacity as a professional, quickly speaking out when he noticed that Li Yang was not intending on saying anything. The others had some questions that they wanted to ask, but no one dared get close and ask Li Yang, so they simply returned to their wagons and the caravan quickly continued its journey.