Volcanic Age

Chapter 20: Zhuge Clan (1)

A few days later, the group arrived at Kaiyang.

Kaiyang was a decently-sized town.

The Guizhou province was split into north and south, with Guiyang City, the provincial capital, at the center. The north belonged to the Orthodox Faction while the south was the domain of the Evil Faction.

Kaiyang was a town near Guiyang City, so it was in the front lines. As such, there were a lot of cultivators from the Orthodox Faction.

"Oh my lord. Looking at your esteemed visages, you must be the great heroes of the Orthodox Faction. This small merchant is not able to hide my agitation after seeing you walk so boldly from far away."

There were solicitors when they entered Kaiyang Town. Someone who called himself a small merchant came over and fawned over them.

"What is this?" Zhang Hong found the small merchant's behavior absurd.

Too much flattery would have adverse effects. This small merchant's solicitations went way beyond acceptable levels.

"Haha."

"We will not be unpacking in an inn, so don't bother guiding us around, but guide us to the Kaiyang branch of the Martial Alliance. If you try to pull off anything funny, I will not stand still, so bear that in mind."

"My, but of course! Great hero!"

The merchant snatched the coin with both hands and bowed. He was overly humble to the point his head looked like it was about to touch the ground.

When that happened, nearby solicitors backed off, disappointed at missing a customer.

Only then did Zhang Hong seem to realize what had happened and nodded with an aha.

"Whenever you arrive in another place, many people will solicit you like this. When that happens, you just need to give them some money and ask them to guide you to the place you want."

Although it was trivial, his tips were definitely helpful in roaming around the world. Zhou Xuchuan would have committed them to memory if he didn't already know.

"Whoa, I can't believe this branch of the Martial Alliance provides lodging and food!" The merchant acted surprised.

The various branches of the Martial Alliance weren't small, even in remote places. Any one of them could easily handle housing and food for a hundred people.

However, not just anyone could stay. Visitors had to have business and permission if they wanted to stay. Third and Second-Class martial artists without any affiliations were usually chased out. However, receiving accommodation and food from a branch of the Martial Alliance meant that they weren't ordinary cultivators.

However, the merchant's exaggerated reaction was unnecessary, clearly aimed at fawning over them.

"If it's not too rude of me, may I ask for your names?"

The merchant was blatantly and shamelessly fawning.

"I'm Qiu Feng from Mount Hua. You really are quite passionate."

"Whoa! The Fourteenth Sword Hero! No wonder I found you extraordinary from afar. You were members of the great Mount Hua sect!"

The merchant's eyes widened and he raised his voice.

Bigshots!

Qiu Feng, the Fourteenth Sword Hero, was a renowned expert in the martial world. The merchant knew that this man was an expert since he was acting as the guardian of some little brats who seemed like they were experiencing the world for the first time, but he didn't know that he was such a big shot.

To merchants, connections were very important, especially if that connection was to a bigshot.

The merchant wagged his invisible tail and fawned over Qiu Feng excessively.

"Quiet already," Zhang Hong said, unable to hold back. His eyes contained contempt. "Do you not have any pride?"

Zhang Hong looked at the merchant like he was pathetic.

When he did, the merchant lightly smiled in apology, wisely refraining from further comments.

"Zhang Hong, mind your words? As a man of the Orthodox Faction, watch your tongue. It's not that I don't understand where you're coming from, but you need to be soft with your words," Qiu Feng reprimanded him.

"I'm sorry, Senior Uncle."

Qiu Feng no longer reprimanded Zhang Hong when he lowered his head. He was just about getting fed up with the merchant's flattery as well.

"It seems I have ruined the mood somewhat. As compensation, allow me to treat you at a later time. Please come this way. We'll reach the branch in a moment."

Zhang Xuen was about to say something but refrained from doing so. Their relationship would end once they were to get to the Martial Alliance branch after all.

"It's this place. If you need guidance to any other place, please visit…"

"That's enough. Thank you," Qiu Feng interrupted with a bitter smile. He was indirectly telling the merchant to stop bothering them.

"My word, you must be the first people to be so kind to a mere guide. I will definitely pay you back for this, so call me anytime! Hehehe!"

The merchant smiled slyly before leaving.

*

They arrived at the Martial Alliance branch and registered their names in the guestbook. When the person responsible for guests saw their names, he received them warmly and guided them.

"Tch, he told us to wait too," muttered one of the visitors waiting for guidance nearby.

"Shush. Watch your words. I glimpsed at them just now, and they seem to be from the Mount Hua sect."

"Whoa, the Mount Hua sect? I almost got into trouble. Thank you."

The visitors quickly hid, worried their conversation was overheard.

"They aren't cultivators, so they wouldn't know that we heard them, right?" Zhang Xuen muttered with a strange expression on her face. "What do you think, apprentice-brother?"

"What do you mean?" Zhou Xuchuan replied when she called out to him.

"How we're being treated by the branch."

Hearing those words, Zhou Xuchuan kept quiet for a while before replying honestly.

"Life was and is never fair. People will treat you differently depending on where you're from. No, even aside from your origins, your own capabilities will change that as well. Isn't that just how reality works?"

Zhou Xuchuan had faced discrimination in both his previous life and the life he lived after regression.

In his previous life, he had been treated decently because of his affiliations, but as an ordinary cultivator, he was often the target of discrimination regardless.

Now, within Mount Hua, he faced mockery and discrimination with the title All Bite, No Bark.

"Discrimination can be seen wherever you go. Even within the sect, the Lotus Pavilion is…"

Zhou Xuchuan paused, realizing the gazes around him. He almost revealed too much of his thoughts.

What he said didn't suit a twelve-year-old. Zhou Xuchuan looked around and sweated profusely.

"Haha. They say you're All Bite, No Bark, and you definitely have a lot inside you. You sure picked up a lot of things here and there!"

Zhang Hong didn't think much of what Zhou Xuchuan said. To him, Zhou Xuchuan was All Bite, No Bark, an incompetent apprentice brother who barely managed to join the Lotus Pavilion through luck and weird actions.

Zhang Xuen also looked at him curiously, but it didn't look like she was thinking much of what he said.

"Hm."

But Qiu Feng was different. He looked at Zhou Xuchuan with interest and fell into thought.

'There's the incident in the Yangtze River too. It seems that Zhou Xuchuan is much more mature than those his age. If his qualities were okay, he could've aimed for the Plum Blossom Swordsmen. What a pity.'

However, his assessment of Zhou Xuchuan had only slightly improved. He didn't consider Zhou Xuchuan amazing or anything.

Phew, gotta be careful. Zhou Xuchuan inwardly sighed in relief.

Due to his frustrations of not being able to speak what he wanted to in his previous life, he had the habit of blurting out whatever was on his mind.

Of course, he intended to live the way he wanted in his new life, but there were times he had to hold back.

"I'm Shen Tujun, and I'm the leader of the Kaiyang branch. It's my honor to meet the Fourteenth Sword Hero," Shen Tujun greeted, showing his white teeth.

"Likewise, it's my honor to meet the leader of the Kaiyang branch commanding the front lines in Guizhou," Qiu Feng replied to Shen Tujun's greeting with a smile.

Shen Tujun seemed pleased when someone of Fourteenth Sword Hero's caliber put him on a pedestal, and smiled.

"I have already arranged for your lodging and meals, so you'll be guided once you leave this room."

"For the leader of the branch to look out for us like this, I am deeply grateful."

"It's only natural. But pray tell, are these young ones behind you members of the Lotus Pavilion?"

The three of them nodded.

The Lotus Pavilion was just as famous as the Martial Dragon Hall of the Wudang Sect, boasting an illustrious history.

As such, they drew quite an attention whenever they were to leave for the world before the age of adulthood under the protection of an expert. They were children from Mount Hua who couldn't even be considered adults. They had an Absolute Realm expert protecting them, so they were quite eye-catching.

"I am glad to see the future experts who will become pillars of the sect one day. Maybe being the branch leader of the Kaiyang branch was worth it."

This wasn't the first time members of the Lotus Pavilion were visiting Kaiyang Town. Many members of the Lotus Pavilion had visited this place for generations.

The fact that Guizhou province was the front lines meant that there were a lot of enemies, but it also meant that there was an abundance of experts from the Martial Alliance.

That meant that these children could gain experience under the protection of the experts as long as they were cautious.

Aside from organizations meant for young prodigies like the Lotus Pavilion, many of the younger generations of the Orthodox Faction visited this place frequently to gain experience and try to make a name for themselves.

The guardian from Mount Hua changed every year, so this was the first time Qiu Feng and the branch leader had met each other.

From Shen Tujun's perspective, the visit from the Lotus Pavilion was an annual event.

"Whatever mission you give us, we promise we'll fulfill it under the name of Mount Hua."

Missions for gaining experience fell under the jurisdiction of the Kaiyang branch leader, the most well-versed in the situation of the battle in Guizhou.

"Hahaha, you're very heroic, as expected of the Fourteenth Sword Hero. I shall send the mission your way soon."

Shen Tujun smiled softly.

"Ah, currently, the Zhuge Family is residing in the Kaiyang branch. You will probably be carrying out the mission with them, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to interact with them beforehand."

Qiu Feng nodded, seemingly expecting this.

As mentioned earlier, Guizhou province was a place where people came to gain experience or try to make a name for themselves. Aside from Mount Hua, there were many other organizations visiting.

Most of the time, those organizations visited once a year, but there were some exceptions.

One such exception was the Zhuge Family.

The Zhuge Family was located in the Hubei province, but they frequently sent clan members to battle to come up with strategies and to scout out the situation.

It didn't really matter to them that much since they rarely fought in the front lines.

The Zhuge Family!

Zhou Xuchuan became agitated when he heard the mention of the Zhuge Family.

I'm not sure if this is the right time, but maybe…