Chapter 1
Prologue
The place was of this world, and yet it was like another world entirely.
A shabby tavern in a place where one should never be.
Before the sun had risen, while mist still blanketed the Mountain Sea Tavern, an early morning guest arrived.
An unusual guest in an unusual place.
Jingle, jingle.
"Agong, I'll need to take plenty of food and wine today."
The guest appeared with the sound of the bell at the entrance.
He was a man who looked to be from the West, with pointed ears and blue eyes.
At the voice of the man, who appeared to be nearing forty, a young man emerged, looking disheveled.
"You've come early this time, haven't you?"
Though the guest had arrived at the crack of dawn, the young man called Agong seemed unfazed as he gathered the food and wine the man had ordered.
While Agong was gone, the man seemed to have taken a look around the tavern's surroundings.
"The Old Ancestor isn't showing himself."
Agong scratched his head at the man's question, which was delivered with a warm smile.
"He stepped out for a moment."
Their casual conversation suggested they were already acquainted.
Agong handed the man a roughly tied bundle, but the man seemed more interested in other things than the food and wine Agong offered.
"I don't think I saw him ten days ago either. Wasn't he just out for a moment then too?"
"I suppose his business is taking longer than expected."
Agong replied as if it were nothing.
Though their conversation was mundane, a strange current flowed between their words.
"Next time, please try to avoid the crack of dawn. You usually only come at night, so what brings you here so early?"
The man's visits, once every fortnight and always late at night near midnight, were not particularly welcome to Agong, who handled the tavern's service.
"You said the Old Ancestor was away ten days ago as well, didn't you?"
He asked again, not taking the food.
The man's face still wore a smile.
"He had just stepped out then, too. If you have urgent business, I can pass on a message for you."
Agong placed the food on the table and returned to his spot, responding to the man's casual, yet slightly persistent, inquiries about the tavern's master, Hongjun Laozu [Hongjun Old Ancestor].
The man stroked his chin. Watching Agong's back, he calmly added another word.
"Should I leave a message about my business?"
"You're acting strange today. I'm just saying I'll pass on the message since he hasn't returned yet."
A flash of white teeth was dazzling.
A voice as chilling as the man's pale skin was heard.
"There's no need for that... I've never known the Old Ancestor to be away from the tavern for ten whole days."
Agong quickly shut his mouth. He had deliberately tried to change the subject, but he had fallen beautifully for the leading question.
The warmth on the man's smiling face instantly turned to a chilling cold.
The man's suspicion had already turned into certainty.
"Hongjun, that man is not in the tavern."
It couldn't have been kept a secret forever, but even so, this was too soon.
There must have been a reason for his grandfather's warning.
He must have anticipated a situation like this would arise when he was away.
The man, with a grim smile, crouched down and shot up towards the sky in a single breath.
Crash!
He had burst through the tavern roof in one go and soared into the sky.
"Damn it! If you break it, who's going to fix it?!"
Agong let out a scream and leaped onto the roof after the man.
"Hongjun has disappeared!"
It was a powerful lion's roar that shook the heavens and the earth.
When Agong got onto the roof and looked up at the sky, the man, floating at least thirty feet above him, was looking down at Agong with an expression completely different from before.
It was truly the face of a Yaksha [a type of nature spirit, often depicted as fierce].
The man, looking like a demon unrecognizable from moments before, floated in the sky.
"Mister! Don't misunderstand, just come down! And why are you shouting so loud at the crack of dawn!"
Agong urgently tried to grab the man.
But in an instant, Agong's body was crushed by an unprecedented force.
Incomprehensible murmurs echoed high in the sky.
The words flowing from the man's mouth were unintelligible, but their effect was tremendous.
The area around the tavern, once shrouded in dawn mist, became as bright as midday, dazzling the eyes.
Agong felt hot air on the bridge of his nose.
His lips became parched, and his clothes felt crisp.
It was as if he were standing in a scorching desert; his breath caught, and his skin dried out.
He could see with his own two eyes the heat haze rising in the air.
The air, torn to shreds by the impending disaster, was screaming.
"Stop it!"
His tongue felt rough as it scraped against the roof of his mouth, which had been drained of moisture.
Dry saliva went down Agong's burning throat.
It felt as if not only the moisture in the air but every drop of water in his body had evaporated.
"Damn it, I told you it's not true!"
Hellfire!
Instead of an answer, flames poured down on Agong in an instant.
The heat was so intense that a flash of light, like lightning, spread out from the tavern.
The heat created a whirlwind, soaring high into the sky with the flames.
KABOOM!
Shards of flame scattered in all directions like a shattered porcelain vase.
In the wake of the inferno, a hot wind remained, beginning to surge.
If there was a hell of fire, it would be like this.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
High in the hot sky, the man's laughter gradually faded into the distance.
Fwoosh!
As the man disappeared, the remaining flames began to flicker here and there.
The massive flames coiled and moved, pulled and drawn as if by someone's will.
The sight was like that of a giant fire dragon.
Swoosh!
The flames that shot into the air suddenly headed for a lake not far from the tavern.
Tssssssss!
When the lake, struck by a bolt from the blue, met the fire, steam rose thickly.
And then, from the place that was once a lake, the figure of a red person emerged.
"I'm dead."
More than the burns all over his body, the first things Agong saw were the pit that used to be a lake where fish played and the tavern, now completely turned to charcoal.
The lake was a beloved fishing spot of the Tongtian Elder, and the tavern was where not only his grandfather but also the other old men lived.
He had even broken his promise to Grandfather Hongjun, who had so earnestly warned him not to reveal his absence.
"I really should have run for my life back then, even if it meant dying."
Thinking of the disaster to come, he couldn't help but regret the past, years ago, when he had been stuck here.
That fateful moment he had regretted dozens of times.
1.
"You'll have to guide us."
One day in the cold winds of November, they suddenly appeared before the boy.
"No."
The Kunlun Mountains here were rugged and the fog was thick, so occasionally, mountain climbers would hire mountain folk as guides.
But it was unlikely that their purpose was simply to climb the mountain.
Their massive frames, murderous gazes, and the swords at their waists.
Martial artists.
The boy instinctively felt that getting involved with them would lead to no good.
"Can a brat like this even guide us properly to the Hermit's Valley? Let's find someone else, Leader."
"Even better. If it's the Hermit's Valley, I wouldn't go even if you paid me my weight in gold."
The boy talked back, not missing a single beat.
The one who exuded the most intimidating aura among the men spoke.
"I heard you're the only one who has been to the Hermit's Valley."
"I just went to the entrance and ran away, I didn't actually go in."
The Kunlun Mountains were so rugged and the fog so thick that even experienced mountain folk didn't dare to trek them easily.
If you followed the mountain range deep into the mountains, you would find a demonic realm where fog was thick all year round, causing hallucinations, and even grass-eating deer and rabbits would attack people on sight.
That's why not only mountain folk but also martial artists, who were said to fly through the sky and kill people with their fingers, stayed far away.
In other words, the Hermit's Valley they were talking about was a forbidden zone among forbidden zones, a place even beasts and birds avoided.
"If you guide us well, I'll pay you more than enough."
"What good is money when crows will peck out my eyes and my corpse will be food for beasts?"
"I am Zhao Wei, the leader of the Slender Moon Squad."
"And I'm Agong, from Xiaolun Village."
"Do you know what it means that we are the Slender Moon Squad?"
"No."
"It means that whether you want to or not, you will serve as our guide."
Zhao Wei, the leader of the Slender Moon Squad, drew his chillingly sharp sword.
He thought that threatening a child who didn't even come up to his waist would tarnish the reputation of the Slender Moon Squad, but as someone carrying out a mission, he had to endure such disgrace.
The fist is closer than the law.
Agong had heard that even if the law were close, martial artists didn't care about such things.
"I've never been that far in."
"You just need to guide us to the path."
Although Agong was being stubborn, it was nearly impossible even for an adult to hold out in front of a drawn sword.
"Fine..."
"Get ready to leave immediately. We don't have much time."
From the beginning, Agong's only possessions were his own two hands and feet.
His preparations amounted to nothing more than a little food for the journey.
Agong stepped out of his house into the chilly wind.
Xiaolun Village was not a large village.
As Agong looked around the village, Zhao Wei, who was ahead, quietly said a word.
"If you had refused, they all would have died."
Agong saw their dark backs.
He was now accompanying the gods of death.
* * *
Gasp... Gasp...
The sound of rough breathing could be heard in the overgrown mountains.
It was the sound of Agong, who had been forced to guide them under the threat of the Slender Moon Squad.
The path to the Hermit's Valley was so rugged and deep that it seemed as if Agong was deliberately leading them on a difficult route.
And behind him, the three men in black, the Slender Moon Squad, followed silently.
Agong thought they were truly like ghosts.
The mountain was high, making him short of breath, and the path was rough, making it twice as tiring as walking on flat ground.
He had guided caravans before, but even the escorts then couldn't hide their fatigue.
It was natural for even those accustomed to such treks to find it difficult, but they showed no signs of exhaustion.
During the three-day trek to the Hermit's Valley, Agong had learned a few things about them.
The leader, Zhao Wei, gave almost all the orders for this Slender Moon Squad.
Their purpose was unknown, but they were moving to meet someone in the Hermit's Valley.
A person in the Hermit's Valley!
At first, Agong doubted his own ears.
He had only unintentionally overheard their conversation, but if they hadn't been martial artists, he would have surely dismissed it as nonsensical babble.
In any case, judging by their cautious behavior, this matter seemed very important and also secret to them.
And that was precisely the problem.
"We'll rest here."
The leader, Zhao Wei, had a clear grasp of Agong's limits.
During the three-day trek, he had an uncanny ability to pick the right time to rest, even without Agong saying anything first.
The sun was setting, and it seemed night would soon fall.
Agong discreetly sat down in a spot not too close to them, but not too far away either.
Although he was used to mountain trekking, he was still a young boy, and his companions were all able-bodied martial artists.
It was impossible for him to keep pace with them from the start.
The group quickly lit a fire and each found a comfortable spot around the campfire.
Agong leaned his tired body against a large tree.
"How much further do we have to go?"
At Zhao Wei's question, Agong, who had been shifting his body, carefully searched his memory.
"If we hurry, we should be able to reach the entrance by tomorrow."
"I see. Then I'll pay you when we arrive."
"Can I go back home?"
Agong, feeling the cool touch of the ground, blurted out a word without realizing it.
Zhao Wei did not answer Agong's question.
But contrary to his expressionless face, he was quite surprised inside.
Unfortunately for Agong, he had no intention of letting him live.
This mission was important enough to risk their lives for. And as such, it must never be leaked to the outside world.
That was why he had spoken freely with his squad members about the mission without worrying about Agong's eyes.
By now, at the hands of the rear guard, not a single blade of grass would be left in Xiaolun Village where Agong lived.
Unfortunately, Agong had no home to return to.
"If you're going to pay me, then please let me live."
"This mission must never leave the sect."
"Then you can just take me in. I'm an orphan with nowhere to go anyway. You said you'd pay me, didn't you, sir?"
The child had guts and was quite bright.
Although it would be difficult for him to achieve greatness in martial arts due to his age, if this mission succeeded, considering his contribution, he was worth taking in.
"This brat!"
The Slender Moon Squad members, who had been listening quietly, emitted a menacing killing intent.
"When we reach the Hermit's Valley, you will become a member of the Slender Moon Squad."
Under the night sky, Zhao Wei answered briefly.
(End of Chapter)