Chapter 118 - Martial Demon Town
Chapter 118– Martial Demon Town
A carriage advanced quickly.
Amid the monotonous scenery flying by, the narrow road gradually widened.
“I can already see… Martial Demon Realm.”
The cloth of the carriage was lifted, and a lovely round face protruded into the carriage from the driver’s seat.
The level bangs are touching the eyebrows, the immature red cheeks look lovely, and the big watery eyes resemble the timid eyes of a small animal who has seen humans.
“We arrived?”
Hearing Gong Tianqing’s words, Xue Qilin sleeping in the back of the carriage woke up immediately.
Martial Demon Realm is quite far away from Merak Temple. Additionally, this is a group trip. Merak Temple’s caravan consists of 5 carriages. In order to give consideration to everyone, the caravan naturally cannot advance at full speed.
In this way, the caravan spent more than 15 days to cross the distance. Xue Qilin who dislikes long-distance travel has long since been vexed and bored, and so fell into a state of lethargy. If it wasn’t for Qi Qiqi, Shui Yun’er, and Gong Tianqing accompanying her, unable to bear this form of torture, she might have long since escaped back to Merak Temple.
Thus she even jumped up in excitement.
“Ouch!”
Since she didn’t control her strength properly, she bumped into the roof of the carriage with a “bang”, and tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
“Boo… it hurts!”
Xue Qilin clasped the place that she hit herself and crouched down. Gong Tianqing who seems to feel her pain curled up.
“Really, are you okay?”
“Young Teacher, are you okay?”
Qi Qiqi and Shui Yun’er held out a hand at the same time, intending to help Xue Qilin rub the place that she hit herself. But when they found out that the both of them extended a hand, they looked at one another, and then immediately retracted their hand and looked away, embarrassed.
At this time, Xue Qilin who had already finished expressing her pain, impatiently stuck a greater part of her body out of the carriage’s window. She didn’t notice that her dress is lifted up.
“Hey, be careful!”
Seeing Xue Qilin rocking back and forth, Qi Qiqi grabbed the back of her dress.
After the carriage finally left the narrow road, the field of vision suddenly widened.
“Hey, really! I see it! Is it there?”
The verdant green filling the field of vision extends to the other end of the horizon, as if it were the entrance to another world.
It is a forest, a vast forest that stretches for tens of thousands of li [1].
Suddenly discovering a strange object in her peripheral, Xue Qilin moved her gaze to pursuit it.
“Hey, there’s a town?”
With endless verdant green as the background, there’s a town extending along the edge of the forest. The town isn’t large, but there are many auras of martial practitioners emitting from it. They should be people of the other sects.
“Hmm?”
Qi Qiqi stuck her head out above Xue Qilin and looked in the same direction as the lass. If it wasn’t because she has to show her identity as Merak Temple’s Temple Master and thus specially changed into the Temple Master’s clothing – a blue and white long dress, she might have ended up like the less underneath her, with her dress lifted up.
“Ah, that’s Martial Demon Town!”
Qi Qiqi continued in a low voice: “I haven’t been here in a long time…”
It seems that this is not the first time she has come to Martial Demon Realm.
“Martial Demon Town? Is it full of martial demons?”
“Young Teacher, it’s nothing the like. It’s purely because it is adjacent to Martial Demon Realm that it is called Martial Demon Town.”
Shui Yun’er grabbed the dresses of Xue Qilin and Qi Qiqi to prevent them from falling off while explaining with a smile.
“That so? But why are there so many carriages?”
Looking over at the town’s gate, you can see countless people and carriages coming and going.
“Those are merchants. Martial Demon Realm is rich in unique natural resources, including wood, ore, and animal and plant resources. Some are very rare even in this place. For these profit-oriented merchants, they all shine like gold, silver and jewelry.”
“Younger Sister Shui is right. That is our destination.”
“We aren’t go into Martial Demon Realm directly?”
This question was blurted out without thinking.
“Can your head only come up with strange things? We have to stay there for the night and prepare some necessities.”
“Necessities? Rations and so on?”
Taking over the task of explaining, Shui Yun’er answered Xue Qilin in Qi Qiqi’s stead.
“Although Martial Demon Realm is rich in resources, and many things can be sourced locally, but because the topography is quite complex and the risk of danger is high, it is very important to prepare in advance, or else it will be troublesome if something unexpected happens. At least water and foodstuff need to be brought as much as possible.”
“I see!”
Xue Qilin snapped her fingers.
In short, it is similar to the preparations done before camping!
“As you can see, Younger Sister Shui has done her homework. But what about you? You’re not only foolish, but also very lazy! Anyway, as a senior of Merak Temple, can you be a little conscientious? You’re throwing Merak Temple’s face away by saying whatever comes to your head! I don’t expect you to be a virtuous saint, but at least act a bit like an ancestor. Stop acting like a child…”
Probably dissatisfied with Xue Qilin’s complete ignorance regarding Martial Demon Realm’s circumstances, Qi Qiqi gave Xue Qilin a sermon.
“Huh, the signal is bad, I can’t hear you clearly. Hello? I’m hanging up!”
Xue Qilin covered her ears with both hands and stopped leaning out the window, bored.
However, Qi Qiqi who also stopped leaning out the window doesn’t look like she is going to let her off. She grabbed the lass’s ear.
“I haven’t finished yet!”
“Stop, it hurts!”
Xue Qilin hurriedly begged for mercy, and then looked at Shui Yun’er who is full of smiles.
Little Yun is enjoying this! Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose.
Next Xue Qilin was caught in Qi Qiqi’s sermon bombardment. Although she adopted a vexed expression, but Xue Qilin just listened to it perfunctorily, in one ear and out the other.
During this period, Xue Qilin repeatedly cast a look of requesting support at Shui Yun’er, but the other party deftly overlooked it. This made Xue Qilin so angry that she crooked her mouth.
After the caravan passed through the gate of Martial Demon Town, Xue Qilin could no longer bear the mental torture from Qi Qiqi.
“Oh, so cool! It seems a lot of fun!”
She squeezed through between Gong Tianqing and Qian Duoduo sitting in the driver’s seat and jumped off the carriage.
At the same time, the black cat that has been curled up on Shui Yun’er’s lap surprisingly spoke in human language, saying “Don’t leave me behind!”, and rushed out of the carriage. Moving its four limbs rapidly, it caught up with Xue Qilin, jumped on her shoulder, and then climbed up a ponytail and lied on top of the lass’s head.
In response, Qi Qiqi lifted the curtain and looked out.
“Qilin, where are you going?”
“I’m going for a stroll!”
Qi Qiqi promptly cupped her hands in front of her mouth to amplify her voice.
“Leisure Inn! Do you hear me? We’re staying there!”
Xue Qilin raised her right hand and made a gesture – the thumb and the index finger form a circle and the other three fingers stand erect. After a moment of thought, Qi Qiqi remembered that it means “okay”. The petite lass quickly walked into the crowd.
Seeing Xue Qilin escape and vanish like a hare running away from some fierce beast, Qi Qiqi humphed.
She originally wanted to chase after her, but unlike the petite lass, if she tried to copy her, she would surely have to squeeze out from between Gong Tianqing and Qian Duoduo to alight the carriage. If someone accidentally saw her the noble Merak Temple’s Temple Master not paying attention to her bearing, it would lead to gossip.
“To escape so quickly, this scoundrel should have been born in the Year of the Rat!”
“Older Sister Qi, it’s about time you let Young Teacher off.”
Shui Yun’er who watched the whole drama unfold finally spoke in a soft tone in order to help Xue Qilin to smooth things over.
“She is a typical example of spare the rod, ruin the child! Younger Sister Shui, don’t spoil her too much!”
Qi Qiqi stated angrily, but her tone faintly contains a kind of pampering.
“Yes, I understand.”
Shui Yun’er smiled and replied softly.
Qi Qiqi raised her eyebrows – did she really listen? She thinks that Shui Yun’er and Luo Qing are very similar in their attitude towards Xue Qilin, both adopt a tolerance policy – this is probably because Shui Yun’er and Luo Qing are similar to some degree. If you have to draw a distinction between the two, then the former doesn’t let Xue Qilin off the hook right away like the later; she likes to spectate for a while.
She’s a bit mischievous. Qi Qiqi mused
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of an inn.
This compound called Leisure Inn is where everyone from Merak Temple is going to stay the night.
It has to be mentioned that although it is called an inn, but Leisure Inn is only open during Martial Demon Realm Trial by Fire. It is a place that specially caters to the various parties who are participating in the trial by fire. Since it is an asset of Leisure Manor, it is proof that Leisure Manor who likes to meddle in Martial World’s activities is indirectly participating.
The accommodation here isn’t free, but its price-quality ratio is far better than that of other inns in the town. So in general, all the sects choose to stay here.