The three girls couldnât understand how a mortal woodchopper was here in Myriad Beast Mountains.
âHere, obviously.â The youth answered as if it was obvious without looking at the girls.
âHere?â They were astounded. This was their first time knowing that the mountain range had mortal inhabitants.
It was renowned as a land of perils in Buddha Emperor Plateau with plenty of vicious birds and beasts. The high-level chaos primal beasts also occasionally showed up.
Not to mention ordinary cultivators, even Heavenly Sovereigns didnât want to stay here for long.
âWait, are you a cultivator?â One friend stared at Li Qiye.
The other two did the same thing. They didnât pay enough attention earlier and thought that he was a mortal.
âIâve cultivated for a few days.â The youth responded.
After careful observation, they found that he was indeed a cultivator, just not an expert.
âA Violet Marquis at best.â A friend whispered to Xiao Ling.
The three exchanged glances. A Violet Marquis being able to stay around these parts? How strange.
âMaybe he grew up here and got used to it?â The third friend said.
âWhat should we do?â Xiao Ling asked them.
The two thought about it. They were lost right now and continuing aimlessly might make them stuck deeper in the mountain range.
They stared at Xiao Ling, signaling for her to decide.
âLetâs find a place to stay first.â Xiao Ling suggested and the two agreed.
Thus, they decided to follow the young woodchopper. Strangely enough, their mounts didnât listen to them and kept a considerable distance from him.
Alas, they didnât actually notice this and kept moving.
âYoung, Young Noble, weâre separated from our friends and are lost right now. Ma-may we stay at your place for one night?â Xiao Ling had a hard time asking for a favor.
Since she was a student at Duality Academy, she had a good background and rarely spoke humbly to anyone.
The youth glanced at her, prompting her to immediately add: âWeâll definitely reward you.â
âAs you please.â The youth responded.
The three were happy to hear this and hurried up.
âMay I ask for your name, Young Noble?â The silence along the trip bothered her so Xiao Ling asked.
âLi Qiye.â Li Qiye casually responded.
Of course, the three havenât heard of Li Qiyeâs name before. They assumed that he was just an ordinary person.
âWhy are you chopping wood? Arenât you a cultivator?â One friend found this strange.
From her perspective, cultivators were far nobler than ordinary humans, even new ones. Someone like Li Qiye could do anything and it would still be better than this.
âFor charcoal.â Li Qiye replied.
This made them even more confused. The third raised her voice out of astonishment: âYouâre selling charcoal for money? How foolish. Youâre a cultivator, why would you do something so lowly for money? You can make much more doing other things.â
The other two girls nodded in agreement. They werenât looking down on Li Qiye. Itâs just that gathering wood was something reserved for lowly mortals.
Li Qiye only smiled in response, not minding the comment.
âIf you just want to get by, there are other things you can do outside, better than selling charcoal.â The other girl scowled since Li Qiye didnât agree.
âThereâs no future in doing so. I think youâre better off finding another job at the capital. For example, a patrol.â The first one said.
Li Qiye still didnât state his opinion.
The three continued to talk about Li Qiyeâs bad decision. Meanwhile, Lilâ Yellow glared at them as if it was looking at a group of clowns.
They just didnât notice the dogâs expression, believing that it was only an old dog not worth paying attention to.
Lilâ Yellow then stared at the mounts in the distance and revealed its teeth then licked its lips, putting on a strange grin.
The three mounts were scared out of their mind; their legs started shaking. They wanted to tell their masters to leave this place as soon as possible.
This was the most dangerous location since they could become the dogâs food at any moment. Unfortunately, they didnât know how to speak. Plus, they were too afraid to do anything in the first place after being threatened by Lilâ Yellow.
âAre you not afraid of the beasts here?â Xiao Ling was curious because Li Qiye showed no sign of caution as he walked through the forest.
That serpent earlier scared the soul of them. They didnât dare to stay in this region alone.
âIâm used to it, thereâs nothing to be afraid of.â Li Qiye chuckled.
âBut there are some ferocious ones here, especially the chaos primal ones. Earlier just now, we got chased by a three-headed winged serpent, thatâs why we got separated from the group.â One of them responded.
The other nodded: âEarth-level chaos primal beasts are too scary and strong, itâll definitely eat you if it sees you.â
âYou just need to stay here longer. Do your neighbors want to eat you?â Li Qiye said.
âUhâ¦â The girls had no response.
âYouâre saying that you consider those beasts your neighbors? No, theyâre violent and will definitely eat people who provoke them.â One girl raised her voice.
Lilâ Yellow thought that these girls were too silly. Who eats who? Li Qiye would be the one eating all the chaos primal beasts here.
They would be thanking the heaven if Li Qiye didnât seek them out to eat, let alone trying to eat him.
âHavenât seen them try to eat me.â Li Qiye smiled.
âItâs better to be careful.â Xiao Ling kindly warned: âMy teacher said that most chaos primal beasts donât have intelligence, only beastly instincts. You might consider them neighbors but they might not feel the same way.â
Lilâ Yellow glanced at her. No beast here would dare to consider him a neighbor. Their legs trembled instantly at his sight.
âItâs fine, I have my hatchet right here.â Li Qiye tapped the weapon hanging by his waist.
âWhat can that thing do outside of chopping wood? It canât hurt the primal beasts at all, you need a treasure.â One girl thought little of the weapon.
âItâs not bad.â Li Qiye said.
The three thought that Li Qiye was too naive. First, he thought that beasts could actually be his neighbors. One day, he would become food for one for sure.
Along the way, they didnât notice how quiet the path was, not even a single growl could be heard from the beasts. This was the opposite during their run prior.
The beasts and birds have already fled in fear wherever Li Qiye went. They didnât dare to whimper, let alone roar.