Night without Borders

Chapter 64 Chance Encounter
Under the cover of night, a huge, scarlet exotic bird circled and descended, stirring up gusts of wind that blew away a large amount of snow on the ground.

"Thank you, Senior Chi Peng, for seeing me off!" After Cui Hong jumped to the ground, he was very polite to the giant bird with a red body and saluted as an elder.

The young man in gorgeous clothes was named Cui Chongyi. He also saluted and watched the red roc fly away.

"Uncle Hong, is this where Chonghe is staying? It's too desolate. The fire spring in the town ahead is of very low level and it's hard to produce any spiritual objects. Why don't you arrange a better place for him?"

"Young master, don't call me Uncle Hong. I can't bear the responsibility." Cui Hong hurriedly stopped him. He looked to be in his thirties, and his arms looked very long due to practicing Tongtian Kung.

His face was as sharp as a knife, and his eyes were extremely sharp. He first looked around cautiously, then sighed and said, "I am also following orders."

Cui Chongyi nodded when he heard this, but didn't say anything more about this matter.

He was less than 20 years old, with a teardrop mole on the left corner of his eye, but he didn't look sentimental. He was more talkative. He said, "Uncle Hong, when you're out, there's no need to be so particular. I need to be out there for some time, and I'll need you to look after me. Let's not be so formal."

Cui Hong didn't force him and took him towards Yinteng Town.

"Why is no one living in this house?" Cui Hong stood at the entrance of the town and his face changed immediately. The house, which was not small, was already empty.

He asked people nearby and was finally relieved to find out that the family did not move out of Yinteng Town, but simply moved to a bigger house in the town center.

The two asked along the way and finally found the place.

"A suspicious target has been spotted." In Yinteng Town, a chirping bird flapped its wings and flew away.

Not long after, Cui Hong's voice was heard from the mansion in the center of the town: "I gave you a lot of money back then, is this how you do things? Then forget about living!"

Cui Chongyi also stood up suddenly, smashed the coffee table with a slap, and looked very ugly.

"It's not my fault. After he woke up, he suddenly covered his head and growled like crazy, then ran away. I didn't dare... get close to him, and when I turned around to look for him, he was gone." A man in his early forties responded with a pale face.

Cui Hong's eyes were frightening, like two golden lamps lighting up, emitting almost material beams of light. A long, powerful arm stretched out and quickly grabbed the man.

The middle-aged man's face suddenly lost all color, and he hurriedly explained: "He should be fine. I...saw him on the street a few days ago. He looked very energetic."

"Huh?" This surprised Cui Hong and Cui Chongyi. Their hearts had sunk, thinking that something had gone wrong, but they never expected that there would be a turn for the better in the end.

The middle-aged man said quickly: "I saw him and an old man visit the Wu family. He looked very energetic and his illness should be completely cured."

"What is the background of the Wu family?" Cui Chongyi asked.

"The ancestors were very powerful, known for their mastery of spears and arrows. They once fought all over our area without any rivals, but now they have fallen into decline. I guess the young man may have to go to the Wu family to learn new skills."

Cui Hong let him go, his expression changing again and again, and he muttered to himself: "Has he been reborn in this remote place? I...Alas!"

He frowned. The majestic middle-aged man of the Cui family had ordered that Cui Chonghe should live an ordinary life here.

"Let's find Chonghe first." Cui Chongyi said.

Cui Hong visited the Wu family to learn about the situation.

Cui Chongyi did not go in, but stood on the street of Yinteng Town, wanting to feel the customs and culture of this remote place.

He did not go far, but went to a shop less than a hundred meters outside the Wu family's gate to ask about the prices of local specialties.

"Can birds in remote areas be so brave? They almost hit me." Cui Chongyi quickly turned his head, and a small black bird flew past his head.

Not far away, on a tall locust tree, a white owl squinted its eyes and looked down, muttering to itself, "Not only does it have the accent of the aristocratic city, but judging by its reaction, its strength may also be very consistent. I'm sorry, young man, if I catch the wrong person, it's not my fault. I'll use you to help calm down the fire first, to prove that I'm doing my best."

……

Outside Shuangshu Village, Old Man Liu did not feel reluctant to leave. He had experienced everything at his age, and he just came to see Qin Ming off.

"If you can't make it out there, come back early and spend your old age with me."

"You really don't know how to talk, old man. I haven't set out on my journey yet, can't you say something nice?" Qin Ming said, looking back at Shuangshu Village. Under the night sky, the black and white trees looked quite extraordinary under the reflection of the fire spring.

Old Man Liu said, "Don't take Black and White Mountain lightly. It was a desperate place in the past, which made all parties feel suffocated. Sooner or later, there will be a storm here again!"

Qin Ming looked at the mountains and felt a little reluctant to leave. After all, he had lived here for two years.

"I'm leaving now. Do you have any advice from experience?"

Old Man Liu said, "After all, there are more good people in this world, but you should be on guard against others. I think you are quite mature, so I don't need to remind you of this. You just need to pay attention to the people in the city. I will mention two types of people that are commonly seen outside the city, and you should pay attention to them."

Qin Ming just mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect that he would actually say something.

"First, the elderly traveling merchants. No matter how strong they are, don't underestimate them. To dare to travel around in the land shrouded in eternal night, one must have some special abilities to travel for decades. You don't even know the true identity of some of these traveling merchants. Are they doing business or looking for something?"

After hearing this, Qin Ming nodded seriously, indicating that he had learned his lesson. Today he was going to travel far away with a group of traveling merchants.

"There are mountain patrollers everywhere. Anyone who has lived safely for over a hundred years and still frequently goes in and out of the dark mountains should not be easily provoked, because you don't know what he is."

Qin Ming nodded seriously and said goodbye to Old Man Liu.

"The team led by the traveling merchant you chose for me is setting out from Emei Town. Do you want me to go into the mountains to help you kill that nest of monkeys when we pass by there, so as to vent the anger you suffered when you were young?" He was talking about something irrelevant.

"You should leave quickly!"

"Haha..." Qin Ming walked away with loud laughter and disappeared in the vast snow.

...Qin Ming joined the group of traveling merchants in Emei Town and unexpectedly found an acquaintance. When he went to Wu's house to read the secret book, the young man in front of him had brought tea to him and Old Man Liu.

"You are... Qin Ming?" Wu Zheng was surprised, and then showed joy, thinking it was a blessing to travel with an acquaintance.

"Are you going to Chixia City too?" Qin Ming asked him.

The seventeen-year-old boy Wu Zheng nodded and said, "Yes, I want to see the world. Everyone in my Wu family who has achieved something has been to Chixia City to gain knowledge."

Qin Ming wanted to say that Old Wu had also been there, and was dazzled by the flowers. He dared to spend two gold coins in one night. After living there for a while, he made the Wu family completely ruined.

“Stay true to yourself and know what you’re going to do there.”

"I want to become the new generation of an expert in both guns and arrows!" The boy is seventeen years old, already reborn. With dreams and visions for the future, he wants to go far away to fight.

The traveling merchant who led the team was in his early thirties and was not the old traveling merchant that Old Man Liu had mentioned, which made Qin Ming feel more at ease.

Moreover, this traveling merchant named Xu Sheng has a good reputation in the local area. He often travels between Chixia City and this remote area. In addition to selling goods and doing business, he also leads teams for payment, taking people back and forth between the two areas.

"I'm telling you, there's a desert ahead, stretching across the land. It's absolutely dark there, without a single light. Once you fall into it, you'll definitely die, and you'll never be able to get out. No one is allowed to wander around, you must follow me closely, and keep to the road at the foot of the mountain. Remember, don't talk nonsense at the edge of the desert, otherwise, something bad may happen!"

On the second day of departure, Xu Sheng was very serious and gave many instructions as they approached the desert.

There are no fire springs in the desert, and it is dead silent. Even if a so-called great master were trapped in it, he would be in danger of death. He would not be able to see anything in it and would soon be completely lost.

At this time, they were traveling across a plain. There was only night and snow between the sky and the earth. Because they were close to the desert, vegetation was hardly visible.

Although it is still early evening, this plain area is already approaching late at night, as if there is a huge abyss ahead that is swallowing everything.

"What's in the desert that can't even talk casually?"

Xu Sheng said, "Even high-level exotic birds dare not cross the desert, or they will die. Don't you understand how dangerous it is? In addition, any newborn who has no respect for the desert will be doomed to disaster. This is not a joke. Some deserts in various places are like this."

"What's going on?" someone asked persistently.

"Do you still want to delve into this? There are dozens of theories, and any one of them will make you give up. According to the explanation of some esoteric religions, the desert is related to important rituals of some gods. If you dare to act recklessly near it, you will naturally be punished lightly."

Suddenly, the team fell silent. If they were to receive a light punishment, they would lose their lives. What would happen if they received a severe punishment?

"Don't they say that gods are just some powerful creatures?"

"To you, that's God. Shut up right now, or you'll get out of the team!"

……

At this time, Cui Hong was sitting in the forest, confronting an old white elephant and listening to its chattering.

Yesterday, Cui Chongyi was carried away by a big bird, which made Cui Hong extremely anxious. He chased the bird all the way and finally got some clues after going deep into the mountains. He realized that the bird was taken away by a powerful purple lightning beast that thought it was a suspect. The bird is not in danger for the moment.

Cui Hong found this place all the way and met a mysterious old elephant. The elephant was sitting cross-legged in the forest, looking like a master. The most important thing was that it had four snow-white tusks.

Cui Hong was overwhelmed and stunned.

It was not until the old elephant, who was sitting cross-legged in the forest, accidentally knocked off a huge tusk due to carelessness, that Cui Hong realized that two of the tusks were false teeth that were temporarily installed.

He was furious. He had wasted so much time for nothing that he actually thought he had met the descendants of the six-tusked white elephant.

boom!
A great battle broke out in the woods.

……

On the third day after the team set out, Qin Ming witnessed the darkness of the desert. Ordinary freshmen would get lost immediately if they entered it, as it was pitch dark there.

Even though he had sharp eyes and ears and a strong sense of perception, he still felt uneasy when he saw it.

Fortunately, they were moving along the mountains at the edge of the desert. With the mountains as a reference, they could pass smoothly as long as they didn't walk around randomly.

As for traveling through the mountains, that is too difficult. There are territories of various alien species everywhere, and the mountains are extremely tall and difficult to pass through.

Boom!

Suddenly, a huge noise erupted in front. On one side of the road, the noise coming from the mountains was so loud that all kinds of huge rocks rolled down and almost hit the front few people in the team.

"Retreat quickly!" shouted the traveling merchant Xu Sheng.

Then, people saw a glowing snow-white old elephant, standing upright and fighting with a human. It swung its trunk and continuously chopped out dazzling sword lights.

In addition, apart from the two tusks in its mouth, its upper limbs are as flexible as human arms, with two tusks as white as jade attached to them, as if it were holding two swords, constantly slashing at its opponents.

Qin Ming's pupils contracted. Even in this dark place, he could clearly see the man who was fighting with the old elephant.

The white elephant was glowing, illuminating the man clearly.

"The man with very long arms, in his early thirties, with sharp features, looks very similar to the man in the two people I have been gradually recalling recently!"

He was somewhat surprised that he met one of the two people who saved him in such a place.

Cui Hong was a very perceptive expert. After being stared at for a long time, he felt something in his heart. He looked towards the caravan and his heart suddenly started beating wildly. He actually found the person he was looking for.

(End of this chapter)