“I found it by chance. Haha, I can use it to trade for some nice things.”
“Quick! Let me see!” Wuyang said.
Lei Xinfeng took out a piece of his Purple Crystal. Among all the people present, he had the highest number of high-quality Purple Crystals. Even if he took some out, he still had plenty left.
Wuyang examined it and smiled. “How many do you have? Ten?” he asked.
Lei Xinfeng nodded. “I do. I managed to get quite a bit.”
“Then take them out,” Wuyang said, laughing.
Lei Xinfeng had no reason to disobey. He had no idea how powerful this Founder was, who lived for who knows how long. In fact, he couldn’t comply fast enough. Without hesitation, he took out fifteen Purple Crystals. “Ten isn’t enough, right? I have a lot here. Please accept them, Founder. If you need more, I can take some more out.”
Wuyang couldn’t help but hold his forehead. “You’re too generous. Do you know how various this is? I have no idea where you got so many of these Purple Crystals.”
“We picked them out of a magma flow. Our luck was good, so we got quite a bit.”
Wuyang looked at him and nodded. “Hm. I have enough now. You’ve been gone for so long, so you must be tired. Go rest.”
Xin Zhaolun looked at Lei Xinfeng with envy. He must be cast in such a good light in the Founder’s eyes from that act alone.
As they dispersed, the chamberlains of each of their houses came to pick them up, including Lei Xinfeng’s.
Ai Shan’er smiled at him. “I had the carriage wait at the door. Please take the carriage home, young master,” he said.
When Lei Xinfeng got onto the carriage, Fengying, Shihu, and Jin Daya followed on foot. Jin Daya’s heart was pounding. It wasn’t strange: he saw Wuyang as soon as he exited the Gate, and he knew it was someone extremely powerful. Wuyang only had to give him a sideways glance to send chills down his spine. He knew it was the pressure that came with the difference in power. Even if Wuyang only revealed a small bit of his strength through his demeanor, it was enough.
Ai Shan’er led the way in front and quickly took Lei Xinfeng to his residence.
Lei Xinfeng began the introductions. “Ai Shan’er, this is Jin Daya, a bodyguard I took in. Please register him as my head bodyguard.”
Ai Shan’er was surprised, though he didn’t show it. The head bodyguard of someone like Lei Xinfeng was a position with extreme prestige and power within the secret sect. He nodded. “I will take care of that in a moment.”
“Also, Uncle Ying and Uncle Hu both ascended to Ninth Ring. Please treat them the same as you would a head bodyguard.”
Ai Shan’er had know those two for a long time and immediately offered his congratulations. He knew how long they had been stuck at Eighth Ring, and how much this ascension was worth to them. To guards like they, Ninth Ring was the highest they could go. However, in Lei Xinfeng’s residence, they would be treated the best someone in their position could expect.
When Lei Xinfeng returned to his room, he fell asleep as soon as he reached his bed. Although he gained much on that trip, he was also bone-tired and weary. He decided to sleep like he’d never slept, and follow up with a big meal.
He slept like a log for three days and three nights. When he woke up, he felt like a different person, completely relaxed. He felt so great that if he were to take on two Monarchs, he’d still win. Of course, he knew it was just an illusion.
When he came to the dining hall, the table was already filled with various delicacies and giant bowls of rice. He quickly asked someone to call Jin Daya, Fengying, and Shihu. They were the three people closest to him here, so of course he’d have them join.
When Jin Daya came, he laughed. “I have a distant relative who is quite the gourmet. The food he makes is better than this!”
“Great! Can you bring him here? I like good food too! What’s his name?”
“Jin Dapan,” Jin Daya replied.
Lei Xinfeng was momentarily speechless. “What? Jin Dapa? A person from the western continent?”
“You know him?” Jin Daya asked, shocked.
Lei Xinfeng began laughing. “Of course I know him! Heh, when I was still a Milun Master, he joined us on a trip to the Stellar Night Fortress. Yes, let him come!”
“That’s not a problem; I’ll bring him here. He couldn’t have run far. Heh heh, he’s already a First Ring Sage!”
Lei Xinfeng was surprised. “Did you give him Lun rings?”
Jin Daya nodded. “It was completely by chance. I didn’t know what we had such a descendant in our family. When I ate some of his food, it was carved into my mind. It was so good that I gave him some Lun rings, and with those rings, he managed to ascend to First Ring Sage.”
As his thoughts went to his time spent with Jin Dapan, it continued back until he thought of the people at Tiger Cliff Castle. He wondered if he should bring some people here. The life here was much better than life back at Tiger Cliff. Life was too hard there.
“I’ll go after this meal,” Jin Daya said.
“I’m also going out, so let’s go together,” Lei Xinfeng said. “Uncle Ying and Uncle Hu should come too.” He was already used to having Fengying and Shihu accompany him. It made him feel uneasy when they’re not at his side.
Fengying and Shihu both agreed. Lei Xinfeng was their master after all, and they wouldn’t reject any of his requests.
After the meal, Lei Xinfeng called Ai Shan’er over. “You’re going out, and we won’t be back for maybe a month.”
Ai Shan’er nodded, smiling. “No problem.”
The four of them came out of the Lun Passage. It was Lei Xinfeng’s first time coming back since he left Tiger Cliff Castle years ago.
“Where is this?” Fengying asked.
Lei Xinfeng answered, “Hundred Village. It’s part of Hong Tong’s sphere of influence.”
“Hong Tong? Is it powerful?” Shihu mused.
Lei Xinfeng shook his head. At first, Hong Tong was an extremely powerful entity to him. Now, it wasn’t even worth mentioning. There was four of them present, and if any one of them decided that they wanted to raze Hong Tong to the ground, there was little stopping them.
He thought back to when Du Hongchen first brought his disciples to attack, and almost destroy Tiger Cliff. When he thought about it, they weren’t even a threat anymore. He and Du Hongchen were incomparable. He realized that his position in the world has grown.
When Shihu saw Lei Xinfeng shake his head, he lost all interest instantly.
Lei Xinfeng held a glimmer of hope in his heart. Maybe Grandpa had returned to Tiger Cliff. If he did, then Lei Xinfeng wouldn’t have to look everywhere for him.
He didn’t visit Hong Tong first. With his power now, he didn’t need to curry favor and pay respects. After leaving Hundred Village, he took to the skies along with his three bodyguards. He flew in front to lead the way, flying in Tiger Cliff’s direction. Soon, he could see the shape of the sheer cliffs that defended his old home.
When he lived at Tiger Cliff, he thought that Hundred Village was a far place, but when he flew between them, he thought it was extremely close. He only need to fly some dozen minutes. He sighed. His world view was truly limited.
Lei Xinfeng landed directly on top of the cliff. There was a small fortress there. If someone wanted to leave or enter Tiger Cliff, they needed to take the basket. It was guarded year round.
By the time the other three landed, an alarm had already been sounded in the castle, because they saw clearly that people landed from the skies.
Lei Xinfeng could still clearly recognize the people that came out. “Uncle Ke, Uncle Nanshan, why are you on shift?” he asked excitedly. He finally saw familiar faces.
Uncle Ke and Uncle Dashan couldn’t believe it was really Lei Xinfeng. The youth they knew had left for many years and came back all grown. No matter if its demeanour or appearance, it all changed. He’d even became a Seventh Ring Sage, and the way he carried himself showed it.
Lei Xinfeng felt limitless gratitude toward Ke Dashan and Ke Nanshan, especially when Lei Bao arrived with a little girl and a little boy while heavily wounded. It was with everyone’s help that the three of them managed to survive. He could never repay that debt, so when he was able to come back to see them, Lei Xinfeng was really happy.
When Lei Xinfeng saw their confusion, he reminded himself that he changed. “Uncle Ke, Uncle Nanshan, it’s me, Ah Feng!”
Dashan showed a look of disbelief. “Ah Feng? Ah, you’re really Ah Feng! You really grew! And…you…came from the sky…”
Nanshan was really happy. He’d always been closer to Lei Xinfeng, and seeing that Lei Xinfeng had come back after almost ten year, he felt as if he was going to cry. “Ah Feng, it’s really you! Ah Feng came back!”
Lei Xinfeng nodded. “I’m back.”
Dashan immediately blew his whistle, notifying everyone in Tiger Cliff that an honored guest arrived.
When Lei Xinfeng heard that whistle, he felt for an instant that he was back in his childhood, those hard months that made him who he was.
When the whistle sounded, a bunch of people came out, each with a questioning look on their faces. The whistle that announced honored guests was rarely used, but if it did sound, it meant someone really important came by.
They formed a crowd and ran toward the side of the cliff, most of them hunters, and even the Elder Hu Cangya came.
It only took a while, and everyone was asking, “Who is it? Who came?”
Lei Xinfeng saw their faces, he couldn’t help smiling. “Uncle Shi, it’s been a really long time! It’s me, Ah Feng!”
Ke Shi couldn’t believe it at first since Lei Xinfeng changed too much, but when he saw Dashan and Nanshan’s happy faces, he realized that it really was Lei Xinfeng. Back years ago, the four of them made up a hunting party.
“Ah Feng, you’re really back, haha! How have you been these past years?”
“It’s been great. What about you, Uncle Shi?” Lei Xinfeng asked.
“Great, great!” Ke Shi said, nodding.
As the people increased, the faces that Lei Xinfeng recognized also increased, like Hu Daniu, Hu Baitou, Hu Xiaohu, Ke Dao, Hu Yi, Hu San, Ke Zizhong. They were all hunters, and he even saw the white haired village chief Hu Cangya.
It must be nice to be a practitioner. Too much fat? Cultivate it off!
Also, I’m happy to be back here, out of that damn Hanya Castle, but now I have to look up terminology in previous chapters (T-T).
BlackSheep help meee, correct what I get wrong and send me a list pretty please.
This was a touching chapter. Sorry if my translation couldn’t convey the emotions accurately.