Sword Shadow Dust Gale
Lan Ling’er didn’t utter a word, focusing on controlling her emotions as best as she could instead when Mu Yu mentioned Lie Shang.
Tian Ran sulked, “It’s practically impossible for you to come to our places. You have to cross Myriad Mountains, where high-level fiends roam. Most of them are level four to level five. Even I have to be careful in there. The most advanced cultivators here are Golden Core Realm cultivators, I assume. You won’t be able to cross the desolate mountain range at that level, so don’t try.”
“How did you come over, then?” questioned Mu Yu.
“Uh, I… flew over! I have my ways,” stammered Tian Ran, rousing Mu Yu’s curiosity.
Mu Yu considered Golden Core Realm cultivators to be overpowered and level three fiends to be formidable. He never imagined what powers those beyond those levels possessed. Additionally, if Lie Shang managed to find a way to cross the mountains, did that mean he had ascended beyond Golden Core Realm? If he was superior to his shifu, he wouldn’t be willing to stay at Dustfallen Sect. Presuming all his guesses were on the dot, there was the chance Lie Shang left to pursue greater heights.
Adventurous at heart, Mu Yu wanted to explore the world beyond Moyun Mountains. But alas, he was only at Foundation Establishment Realm.
“What did you come to our deprived place for?” asked Lan Ling’er.
Tian Ran sighed. She took a seat on a rock, legs bent and hands on her knees. Despondently, she explained, “I came in search of Sword Shadow Dust Gale. To my disappointment, none of you have heard of Celestial Sword Nine Guides. I don’t know where to go from here now.”
“Sword Shadow Dust Gale? What business do you have with him?” inquired Lan Ling’er, sounding as if she knew who he was. “I meant, we haven’t heard of neither of the two. How do you know the person you are looking for is here?”
Mu Yu detected something odd from Lan Ling’er’s tone that seemed to hint at her trying to keep a lid on something. Tian Ran, conversely, missed it.
Tian Ran expressed her refusal to elaborate with her head. “I cannot share it with you, or you will become a centre for trouble. You should hurry back to your sect; they won’t give up on the fiend spirit so easily.”
Mu Yu assumed Tian Ran had considerably better items than a fiend spirit, hence the lack of interest in it. He posed the question, “How about you?”
“I’m going to keep searching, of course. I won’t leave until I find Sword Shadow Dust Gale.”
“Outside of Pine City, there’s another place where a rather large number of cultivators gather. The place is called Wild Square. It’s over fifty metres east from Pine City. I suggest you continue your search there,” suggested Lan Ling’er, pointing into the distance, which was also in the opposite direction of Dustfallen Sect.
Tian Ran enthusiastically jumped to her feet. “I’ll go take a look. Stay safe, you two. We’ll meet again.”
“You stay safe, too,” replied Mu Yu, treating Tian Ran as if she was his younger sister.
Tian Ran gave a nod, then vaulted up and blasted off. It was then Mu Yu and Lan Ling’er’s turn to mount their flying swords and rush back to the mountain. It wouldn’t be surprising if people launched an attack on the duo for the fiend spirit after Tian Ran left, so they needed to make haste.
Mu Yu’s mind was occupied with Lan Ling’er’s tone when she responded to Tian Ran. He eventually couldn’t resist and queried, “Ling’er, you know Sword Shadow Dust Gale and have hear of Celestial Sword Nine Guides, right?”
“No,” responded Lan Ling’er, not looking back. She surprisingly didn’t bring up his faults on the way back.
“Ling’er, I know you well enough. You’re not a good liar. You make mistakes whenever you lie. Tian Ran may be naïve, but I can tell. You deliberately directed her in another direction and far away, might I add. I have a hunch you don’t want her to find Sword Shadow Dust Gale. You know who that is, don’t you?”
“Hmph.”
“How come you don’t want her to find Sword Shadow Dust Gale? She saved us, didn’t she? Shifu told us to uphold principles and return favours owed. If you know, I think you should tell her.”
“Did your brain stop working? Celestial Sword Nine Guides. Sword Shadow Dust Gale. You still haven’t noticed? ‘Dust’ and ‘Gale’ are ‘feng’ and ‘chen’from Feng Haochen! Shifu’s name is Chenfeng. Inhabitants beyond Moyun Mountains call him Sword Shadow. Dustfallen Swordplay’s original name is Celestial Sword Nine Guides!”
Mu Yu was so astounded that he failed a turn. While he didn’t know the significance of the name Sword Shadow Dust Gale, he had a rough idea of what to expect. He was curious as to why Feng Haochen decided to stay at Moyun Mountains under a different name and lead an unfettered lifestyle. By the same token, he wondered what Tian Ran was searching for his shifu for. The more he learnt, the more confused he was rendered.
“Senior Sister, is this also something I’ve never heard Shifu mention?”
Lan Ling’er shot Mu Yu a glare and shook her head. “I think you and I are the only ones who know about it besides Uncle An. I only discovered Shifu’s identity when I accidentally overheard his conversation with Uncle An. I’ve never told anybody else.”
“Then, Shifu’s cultivation…”
“He’s definitely a Golden Core Realm cultivator. If I were to hazard a guess, Shifu must’ve met with mishap at some point, leading to his current state. I suppose our sect name is a memento of sorts, as ‘Dust’ derives from his name and alias, while ‘fallen’ should derive from the concept that he has fallen from grace. I never asked what happened because Shifu doesn’t want us to know. If he wants to know, he’ll inform us.”
“Why are you telling me, then?”
“Because you were going to help Tian Ran, you dullard. This is a warning: though I don’t know Shifu’s past, I won’t let anyone harm him. Shifu has chosen to seclude himself here, which implies he doesn’t want to interact with those beyond Moyun Mountain. Regardless of how or what Tian Ran helped us with, she’s an outsider at the end of the day. We have no right to ruin what Shifu has protected without his consent.”
For a moment, Mu Yu was going to contend but decided against it in the end. He was going to testify in defence of Tian Ran’s character. Lan Ling’er was right, however. He did owe Tian Ran a favour, but that didn’t empower him with the permission to make decisions on behalf of his shifu.
“Understood. I’ll keep a lid on it.” Mu Yu looked over his shoulder in the direction Tian Ran headed. Despite feeling bad about it, his shifu took priority, no questions asked.
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