Chapter 67: Accord
The boat left the central area of the Outer Sect. The mountains turned into islands, rivers taking the places of valleys. After twenty minutes, they disembarked at a stone pier. The crab waited for them there, waving its claws left and right.
Other than their group of four, three more passengers got off: a woman with a fish in a bucket, a portly middle-aged man carrying a bag full of letters and scrolls, and a boisterous tall youth trying to chat up the Bucket Woman.
"I'm telling ya, sis," the youth said, "the fish ain't worth so many stones. It ain't even a carp! How can it pass the dragon's gate? Better to trade it with these formation papers. I made them myself!"
The woman briskly walked away without lending an ear.
"Che," the young man spat. “Doesn’t know what’s good for her.”
The middle-aged man bid the boatsman farewell, and the boat left the pier soon after to continue its journey.
This was the Heavenly Friendship Mountain, hosting the Heavenly Friendship Palace. Up above, Yu Han saw a tall wooden structure peeking through the canopy. A stone stairway led there, two shrines depicting a dragon and a phoenix flanking the steps. Huang Niuniu lit two incense sticks, then clapped a prayer.
The stone steps wound through serene, forested groves, their leaves rustling in the breeze. Yu Han's legs burned from the climb, sweat dampening his collar despite the cool morning air. His physique had improved a lot after his grueling practice, but there was something about climbing stairs that put the capital C in “Cardio.”
The crab would climb up ahead of them, then scuttle backwards until it was near Yu Han again. It would gurgle, click, then race ahead once more.