âI donât know where Sacred Mountain is.â Li Qiye looked outside and smiled.
The old man continued controlling the horse with a strange expression.
After a while, Li Qiye sparked up another conversation: âDo you like driving or would you rather do something else?â
âWellâ¦â The old man pondered before answering: âIâm just a driver who hasnât tried anything else, so I canât answer your question, Customer.â
âDriving requires skill and finesse.â Li Qiye smiled: âThe path isnât always flat and danger-free. Not dealing with the problems well might result in being in a beastâs stomach.â
âMakes sense.â The old man nodded: âFortunately, my old bones are still tough and this whip is usable. Ordinary beasts canât get close to me. My trust horse is smart enough to stay away from their lairs too.â
âBoom!â The old man raised his whip and smacked it perfectly on the horseâs back. The latter raised its speed right away. The process was smooth as if these two were perfect partners who could read each otherâs mind.
âI see.â Li Qiye nodded: âThe terrains will be tough as well with perilous peaks and precipices. Itâs better to be careful.â
âRest assured, Customer, Iâve been driving my entire life and know every small and big road across the holy ground. Iâll exercise caution when crossing those places. As long as youâre sitting on my carriage, you donât need to worry about a thing. Iâll get you to your destination unscathed.â The old man said with absolute certainty.
Li Qiye smiled and didnât say anything.
âCustomer, may I ask why youâre heading south?â The old man continued the conversation.
âChopping some firewood.â Li Qiye answered with a natural expression.
The old man didnât expect this response and shook his head: âYouâre joking, Customer. Youâre going to travel millions of miles from north to south just for some firewood?â
Everyone would naturally consider this answer a joke. Who would travel across the holy ground just to chop some wood?
âItâs fine if you donât believe me.â Li Qiye didnât bother debating.
The old man remained silent. It was still unbelievable if Li Qiye were telling the truth. Moreover, the position Li Qiye started at had a forest. There was no lack of firewood there so the whole thing felt like a surreal dream.
He didnât bother questioning anymore because Li Qiye looked like he was being serious.
âEveryone says that you need the right tool for the occasion. You need a good hatchet in order to not waste the long journey and I just happen to have a good one. Iâll let you borrow it.â The old man took out a hatchet and handed it back into the carriage.
The hatchet was wrapped several times by a thick cloth. The old man seemed to treasure it and didnât use it regularly.
âAlright.â Li Qiye accepted the hatchet and smiled: âHow convenient, I donât have to waste time looking for one now.â
âPerfect.â The old man nodded enthusiastically as if being of use made him happy.
The carriage sped at full speed but the two didnât feel any swaying or rocking.
After a while, it finally stopped. The old man shouted at Li Qiye: âCustomer, this is as south as I can go. The path ahead is perilous and my carriage wonât make it. This is as far as I can take you.â
âThatâs fine.â Li Qiye woke up and stretched, climbing down the carriage.
The wilderness stood before him with majestic peaks and foggy valleys. Fierce birds hovered above while vicious beasts roamed the ground. Their roars could be heard as a warning for intruders.
Li Qiye glanced at the place before tossing a bag of money at the old man.
âCustomer, itâs too much.â The latter caught it and said.
âConsider it a tip.â Li Qiye smiled.
âThank you, Customer. The path ahead is not easy, please be careful.â The old man bowed his head.
âIndeed. Well, one can get out of a treacherous mountain path but itâs harder to escape the treachery of men.â Li Qiye said.
âYour words are always wise and profound. I lack education and canât understand.â The old man smiled and shook his head.
âPerhaps.â Li Qiye turned back to him and said: âKneel and pay respects to me now and Iâll spare you in the future.â
The old man stared at Li Qiye, perplexed. The guy didnât seem to be kidding at all and still wore a natural expression.
âYouâre funny, Customer.â He let out a wry smile.
âHow unfortunate, you have missed the opportunity.â Li Qiye stopped caring and embarked on his path.
The old man stared intensely at Li Qiyeâs back. An extremely sharp flash could be seen deep in his eyes. His hands trembled ever so slightly but he held back, deciding against being reckless.
Though he calmly stood there, a million thoughts have just passed in his head. Most of them consisted of killing moves.
When Li Qiye turned around was the best opportunity for him to deliver a fatal blow. He had plenty of methods to do so in a split second.
Alas, he restrained himself; reason told him not to do it. Why? It was because Li Qiye was completely defenseless with numerous openings.
This made him confused about Li Qiyeâs identity. Along the way, he tried numerous times and failed to grasp the guy. All in all, judging by Li Qiyeâs conduct, he didnât consider the guy a real threat.
However, his intuition told him that this guy was dangerous. The conflicting feelings resulted in hesitation. He kept on watching Li Qiye until the guy disappeared into the mountain ridge.
From start to finish, Li Qiye walked slowly as if he didnât know what was going on. Death knocked on his door several times and he had no idea.
He finally withdrew his gaze and murmured: âSo courageous, I want to know who you are.â
He reflected on the circ.u.mstances and didnât come up with anything new. This happened too quickly and without warning.
âWhat does he want to do?â He wondered.
This was outside of his expectation. The same applied to the strongest characters and ancestors in Buddha Holy Ground. They didnât receive a single message or information about this.
He stared in a different direction; his eyes flashed coldly with murderous intent: âWill everything change soon?â
He then thought that it was impossible. It would be too sudden and no one in the holy ground could accept it.
âNo, a junior canât change anything.â He turned back towards the mountain ridge and concluded.
If a supreme genius had appeared, then he could understand. However, this ordinary brat had no cultivation to speak of. It made zero sense to him.
Nonetheless, he chose against following Li Qiye because that would be unwise. He knew that Li Qiye might be weak but he should have people backing him up.