Stranger Danger

After the Lord of Mirror Lake was gone, the young man looked at the group of six hiding in the snow and called out, “It’s safe. You can come out now.”

The young man was, of course, Ye Qing.

The reason he came to Mirror Lake Peak was to collect the Endlessly Durable Water. Three days ago, after escorting Feng Qingyou to Mirror Lake City and settling her in, he immediately came over in search for the Endlessly Durable Water.

It took him three days, but he finally found the Endlessly Durable Water at the bottom of the Mirror Lake.

That was the good news. The bad news was that the bottom of Mirror Lake was where the Lord of Mirror Lake resided. There was no avoiding this fight as even a human would fight to protect their home to the death, much less a beast.

So, they fought. It ended in his victory as a matter of course.

The Lord of Mirror Lake was worshiped as a god by ginseng harvesters and many others, but in fact, it was a Stranger named the Ripe Lake. A Ripe Lake was a Disaster-class Stranger with a tiger’s head and a horse’s body. A silver horn grew out of its head, and it was covered in azure-colored scales. It detested noise and preferred to live in quiet, secluded lakes. It was quite rare.

Ripe Lake was an auspicious beast and human friendly. Its territory was protected from all Strangers and evils, and the lake it resided in could eliminate diseases and strengthen the body thanks to constant exposure to its aura. That was why it was beloved by all humans.

Ripe Lakes were extremely rare, and they usually resided in uninhabited places where human traces were few, if not non-existent. On top of that, it was friendly toward humans as well. That was why some humans called it a god or a divine beast.

While a Ripe Lake was normally affable and kind, it was one scary beast when it was angry. It was capable of commanding wind and water, soaring in the skies, and performing many impossible feats with its amazing power. Its innate Magia especially—Azure Death was its name—could dye an entire area in azure blue and annihilate everything. That was the blue light the Lord of Mirror Lake had used in an attempt to kill Ye Qing earlier.

If Ye Qing was anyone else, he would have had to dodge out of the way unless he wanted to risk annihilation. But since Ye Qing was protected by the Profound Yellow Mother Qi, he was able to ignore Azure Death like it did not exist and defeat it with ease.

“Thank you for saving our lives, celestial.”

Ah Yi and the others hurriedly climbed out of the snow and thanked Ye Qing profusely.

“No need. In fact, I’m the one who should apologize. Otherwise, you would not have been in danger.” Ye Qing waved them off and said, “Allow me to compensate you.”

Six waterskins appeared and fell on everyone’s hands.

“What is this, big brother celestial?” Li’l Ah Man asked in a small voice after hesitating for a bit.

“The water of the Mirror Lake. It possessed the ability to eliminate diseases and strengthen the body.” Ye Qing smiled. “You were going to use it to treat your mama, right? This much should be enough.”

He had heard their earlier conversation, of course. That was why he purposely collected some lake water while battling against Ripe Lake.

“The water of the sacred lake? Li’l Ah Man, thank him now!” The group of five exclaimed in pleasant surprise when they heard this.

“R-right! Thank you, big brother celestial! Thank you!”

It took Li’l Ah Man a beat to grasp what was going on. Overjoyed, she thanked Ye Qing loudly and hugged the waterskin like it was her entire life.

Ah Yi and the others looked grateful as well.

“You’re welcome.” Ye Qing liked this innocent yet tough little girl a lot. He asked smilingly, “Do you want me to take you down the mountain?”

“What?” Li’l Ah Man tilted her head to one side.

“You want to save your mama, right? I can take you home faster than if you descend the mountain yourself,” Ye Qing explained.

“Is… Is it really okay?” Li’l Ah Man was both happy and hesitant.

“Of course it is,” Ye Qing replied smilingly.

“Okay! Thank you, big brother celestial!” Li’l Ah Man chirped with excitement when she heard his reply.

“Good. We shall be taking our leave then. Take care, you all.”

Ye Qing bade the ginseng harvesters goodbye and wrapped the little girl in astral qi. Then, they took off into the sky in a flash of light. For a time, all the ginseng harvesters could hear was the little girl’s crisp, jubilant cries, “Ahhhhhhhhhhh… I can fly, I can fly…”

That was the beginning of the tale of the Mirror Lake Peak celestial.

……

Despite its name, Floating Dust Sea was not an actual sea. It was a sea of floating sand and dust.

For whatever reason, the sand and dust of this place floated in the air all year long even when there was no wind. From the ground, it looked like a sea of floating sand and dust. Hence the name.

Even better, the Floating Dust Sea wasn’t affixed to one location. It was constantly moving and engulfing other locations in sand and dust all the time. As a result, it became quite the infamous Anomaly in Yan.

That’s right. The Floating Dust Sea was no natural disaster. It was an Anomaly.

No one knew how or when the Floating Dust Sea came to be. They only knew that it was impossible to suppress, much less eliminate. Those unfortunate enough to run into it could only run and hide.

Right now, hundreds of kilometers to the east of Mirror Lake City, a sea of floating sand and dust was leisurely swimming toward heavens-know-where. It blotted out the sky and cast dark shadows on the ground. It was none other than the Floating Dust Sea.

Beyond the Floating Dust Sea, countless people carrying children and many belongings were in the middle of a migration.

There used to be a town where the Floating Dust Sea was currently afflicting, and it was blessed with a fresh water source and plenty of greeneries. Unfortunately, the arrival of the Floating Dust Sea meant that the town, the water, and the plants were buried under a never-ending assault of sand and dust.

Naturally, they had no choice but to leave their hometown and migrate elsewhere.

The good news was that the Floating Dust Sea moved very slowly. It was quite obvious when it appeared as well. They had just enough time to gather their belongings and migrate.

Suddenly, the group of people noticed something strange. Everyone was moving away from the Floating Dust Sea, but a young man was conspicuously moving toward it.

“Where are you going, young man?” An old man could not help but call out after noticing his strange behavior.

“I’m going to the Floating Dust Sea!” The young man answered.

“Excuse me? Are you suicidal, young man?” the old man couldn’t help but blurt out in shock.

“Of course not. I am young and hale. Why would I be suicidal?” The young man responded with a warm, affable smile.

“If you’re not suicidal, then why are you headed for the Floating Dust Sea? That is no place for anyone to be!” The old man frowned.

“Who says that those who enter the Floating Dust Sea must die?” The young man countered.

“Who says? Foolish child, is there anyone in Yan who doesn’t know that the Floating Dust Sea is beyond dangerous? It is a walking disaster that engulfs thousands and thousands of kilometers of land in yellow sand, and neither human nor beast can survive its wrath for long.”

A man standing next to the old man looked him up and down. “Yeah. Where are you from, young man? There is no way a citizen of Yan would not know about this.”

The old man himself examined the young man for a moment before saying, “Now that I look at you, you look like a warrior. But if you think you are invincible just because you’ve practiced the art for a few years, then you cannot be any more wrong. Not even warriors are spared from the Floating Dust Sea’s wrath.”

“Have you heard of the famous ‘Falling Snow Sword’, Fang Tingchuan? He thought himself skilled and tried to challenge the Floating Dust Sea himself. He never returned.”

“‘Falling Snow Sword’ is not its only victim. Elites such as the Seven Soulchasing Heroes, the Tiger Leopard Monk, and the Wilting Green also perished there.”

Another person chimed in, “A man must know his limits, and you should too, young man. It is not worth losing your life over a moment’s arrogance!”

“Don’t worry. I am not them.”

But the young man shot them a confident smile and declared, “Just because they died doesn’t mean I will.”

“Are you listening to a word we’re saying, young man?” The old man couldn’t help but be astonished.

“I am,” the young man replied.

“Then why do you still insist on entering the Floating Dust Sea?” The old man just could not understand. “Are you suicidal after all?”

“I can hardly believe that we waste all that breath for nothing!”

“We’re not trying to scare you! The Floating Dust Sea really is quite dangerous. Please don’t be stupid, young man!”

Many people tried to persuade the young man to see reason.

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