Down the Hill

Qin Ran and his disciple went out, coming to the grassy area outside, and only then suddenly realized a very important problem...

"Master, as we go to forge a sword, should we fly there or walk there?" Li Shiyin asked.

This question stumped Qin Ran immediately, and he stood still, not knowing how to answer.

In order to forge a good enough sword of mastery for Li Shiyin, he had made many plans, but... he seemed to have not thought about this matter yet.

He was afraid of heights, did not dare to fly too high, and preferred to use the godly steps to run on the ground, but his silly disciple did not know the godly steps yet, she could only fly.

Imagining that scene, he running on the ground, the silly disciple flying in the sky, he was like a sheep, the silly disciple was the sheepdog, heavens, that scene would be too beautiful.

After thinking about it for a while, although he felt embarrassed, Qin Ran still said: "Let's go down the mountain first, at the mountain gate there are people selling immortal spirit horses, we can ride horses there."

"Okay!" Li Shiyin nodded, and asked again, "Then how do we get down the mountain?"

Qin Ran opened his mouth and said, "I will use the godly steps, you can fly down with your sword."

Thus, Li Shiyin summoned the Qingxing Sword and nimbly jumped on it, circulating inner power within her body.

Standing on the sword, she turned back and smiled at Qin Ran, "Master, then I'll go first! Wait for you at the mountain gate..."

After saying that, without waiting for Qin Ran to respond, she yelled "Wuhu!", flew up into the sky, the light of stellar power around her body flashed brightly, she drew an arc, like a shooting star flying down the mountain.

"Be caref..." The word "ful" had not left Qin Ran's mouth when Li Shiyin had already disappeared from sight. He sighed, such a wild child, his heart felt so tired.

He turned back and called into the house: "Chasing the Wind, watch the house, we'll be back in a few days."

He didn't know why, but Chasing the Wind didn't even come out to see them off. Now that Qin Ran had called out, Chasing the Wind only responded with a "Meow", the voice vague, as if its mouth was full of something.

Another one hard to watch over, Qin Ran was suspicious, for this family, might the most dangerous one be Chasing the Wind...

But now leaving, he didn't want to go back and check again.

"My heart is tired!!"

Qin Ran looked up to the sky and sighed deeply, then immediately used the godly steps, going down the mountain along the stone path.

The Dao Sword Sect had five mountain peaks, all surrounded by a great protective array. In front of these five mountain peaks, the protective array revealed a small hole as the gate of the Dao Sword Sect.

Although for high level cultivators, the mountain gate was just a formality, they liked flying high up and down, always entering and exiting from some place in the sky using their identity tokens, or some people like Qin Ran who sneakily entered and exited from some unnoticed place. It seemed the gate of the immortal sect was like pants for farting, not very necessary, but in fact, high level cultivators and sneaky people were very few in number. For a large sect like the Dao Sword Sect, most were ordinary disciples, entering and exiting through the mountain gate was the daily routine.

The Dao Sword Sect's mountain gate always had people coming in and out at all times, with many people gathered and lingering inside and outside the mountain gate.

Disciples might be chatting together leisurely, or hurrying back and forth, or arguing over grudges and grievances, or going in and out the mountain gate. Anyway, inside and outside the mountain gate was a lively scene.

Outer disciple Wang Ren had just gone through the trials last month and was accepted into the Dao Sword Sect, fortunate to be able to embark on the immortal path.

At this time, he was discussing with his fellow disciples about how to get around that damned bird and steal that spiritual medicine plant. As he spoke, he happened to glance up and suddenly saw a stream of light flying swiftly from inside the mountain gate towards this direction.

"Flying on a sword! Inner disciple senior brother?" Wang Ren's eyes were quite envious.

To be able to fly on a sword required cultivation level, skills, and a treasure sword, lacking any one of them would not work.

He, Wang Ren, had joined the Dao Sword Sect for over a month now, and had not even found his qi sensation... This trip to gather medicine was to ingratiate himself with his master, so that his master could teach him more of the dao, and allow him to find his qi sensation sooner.

As for flying on a sword, when could he accomplish that?

"It would probably take decades of time..." Wang Ren thought, "That sword flying person is just someone who joined the sect decades earlier than me."

The light in the distant sky drew an arc and landed on the nearby ground. The dreamy stellar power dispersed, revealing the tall figure of a woman.

The woman had long white hair, a tall and graceful figure, a cold temperament like a lotus, standing on the stars, backed by the Milky Way, truly a fairy-like beauty.

She raised her hand and the long sword flew back into her hand like a fish. With the sword returned to its sheath, she stood still, like a lonely green lotus, waiting for something.

What was she waiting for? Wang Ren wondered, subconsciously feeling that there was probably nothing in this world that was worth her waiting for.

He secretly sized up her face:

That cold and charming face...

Wait!

Wang Ren was suddenly stunned. Looking closely at that face again, he felt it was familiar. That... that was, that seemed to be, that was Li Shiyin who attended the disciple acceptance ceremony with him last month!

"Ah... ya!" He let out a meaningless moan, his gaze retracted as if pricked by a needle.

He recalled that at the disciple acceptance ceremony, when he was certain he had been accepted by the Dao Sword Sect, he thought his future would be bright, and he would soon become immortal and attain the dao.

Among those who came to apprentice at the same time, Li Shiyin and Tian Wenjin were the most beautiful. He had thought about whether to take Li Shiyin or Tian Wenjin as his dao companion, or perhaps, if they begged him, he could reluctantly accept both.

But now...

"What's wrong with you?" His senior fellow disciple asked him.

"Nothing." He shook his head.

"Do you know that inner disciple senior sister?"

"Don't know her!"

"I see..." his senior disciple said, "How could you possibly know such a figure, she's probably not an inner disciple, but a direct disciple."

"Direct disciple?" Wang Ren was completely stunned.

Li Shiyin landed, put away her sword, swept her eyes through the passing crowd, didn't recognize anyone, felt bored, and sighed inwardly: "Master is too slow!"

Her master was clearly very strong, yet couldn't fly. She had to think of a way to cure his fear of heights.

She was scheming inwardly when Qin Ran finally ran over. She waved eagerly to indicate her position and called out: "Master!"

Qin Ran slowly walked towards her.

"Master, you're so slow!" She complained.

Qin Ran gave her a look, but did not answer.

Wang Ren was not far away, still secretly paying attention to Li Shiyin. When he saw Li Shiyin's cold image instantly turn eager, and looked at Qin Ran's youthful appearance, he couldn't help but curse inwardly: "No wonder able to fly the sword so quickly, turns out to be a cheap flatterer fawning over inner disciple senior brother! Disgusting!!"

However, no one in the crowd noticed him.

Qin Ran brought Li Shiyin through the crowd, out of the mountain gate, and bought two immortal spirit horses at the small market outside the mountain gate.

Where there were people, there was the jianghu. Where there was demand, there was supply. Where there was trade, there was exploitation.

Places like outside the mountain gate, with many people coming and going, there would be specialized vendors selling travel tools, pills, artifacts, talismans and such that people needed when going out.

When people came back, there would be specialized buyers purchasing demon beast cores, refining materials, skills, herbs and more that people wanted to sell.

Some sects cared about face and kept such places far away, some sects didn't care and had such places right at the mountain gate. But there would always be such places.

The two immortal spirit horses cost over a hundred spirit stones. Qin Ran and Li Shiyin each led one horse, passed through the market, and came onto the main road outside, where Li Shiyin stroked the snowy white fur of the immortal spirit horse and laughed: "So pretty!"

As she spoke and laughed, she nimbly leapt onto the horse.

Seeing Li Shiyin get on her horse, Qin Ran suddenly realized something else, and casually asked Li Shiyin: "Do you know how to ride a horse?"

"Hehe! Master, I grew up on horseback, adept in archery and horsemanship..." Li Shiyin was rather proud, "Just in horsemanship, even Li Shiwen may not be as good as me!"

Of course the young miss of a prominent clan would know how to ride a horse! Qin Ran was panicking a bit immediately.

After Li Shiyin finished speaking, she also reacted. She looked at Qin Ran and her big eyes curved into crescent moons as she laughed and asked: "Master, could it be you don't know how to ride a horse?!"

"Cough!" Qin Ran didn't answer, imitating Li Shiyin's posture earlier to nimbly leap onto the horse. He thought to himself, with his physical fitness, a small immortal spirit horse would be easy to control. How could riding a horse possibly be difficult for him!

He steadied himself and said: "What's so hard about riding a horse? How could I not know how?"

"Master, there are many techniques to riding a horse..." Li Shiyin blinked her big eyes, kindly reminding him. However, with her look, it seemed anything but well-intentioned, and more mischievous.

"Hmph!" Qin Ran scoffed coldly.

"Master..." Li Shiyin skillfully rode her horse around Qin Ran in circles, seemingly showing off. She grinned wickedly, "Do you want me to teach you?"

"Hmph! No need!"

I, Qin Ran, have dignity. Even if I never learn to ride a horse in my life, fall off and die in the wilderness, I don't need my apprentice to teach me how to ride a horse...