Chapter 800

Vast Coiled Dragon Mountain stretches endlessly, like a black long dragon flying toward the horizon; mountains overlap, peaks pile up, like ocean waves surging, huge waves clearing the sky. Here thousands of mountains stand tall, each distinct: some have perilous peaks majestic and towering, others have clear and exquisite lofty peaks.

As they approached the mountain, sunlight was blocked by the mountain, temperature seemed to drop suddenly; the valley's opposing ridges cast shadows, the mountain path grew dim, a chilling yin wind blew from the misty gray-dark valley, the path narrowed further; looking up, towering rocks rose on both sides, cliffs connected, revealing only a narrow strip of sky, the blazing sun disappeared at some point, rolling dark clouds like waves surged above, making the deep valley seem even more perilous.

As the road became harder to travel, Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan both dismounted and went on foot; Xiao Hei and Xiao Hui followed one after another, head to tail.

Hu Xiaotian took out the Jade Auspicious Beast, seeing countless speckled cloud-like fluff grow inside it, he said to Huo Shengnan: 'Looks like it's going to rain; should we first find a place to shelter?'

Huo Shengnan looked around; there was no place to shelter from the rain nearby. She said softly: 'In the mountains it's like this—rain comes in showers. Since we're already wet, whether we shelter or not doesn't matter much; let's first walk to a flat place and then decide.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded, and they continued onward. After walking a little more than a li, a torrential downpour fell from the sky. They led their horses to a large rock; although the stone was huge enough to shelter both them and the horses, the mountain wind blew the rain sideways inside, and beneath the rock there was no escape from the wind and rain's sweep. The clothes they had just dried a bit on their bodies immediately became soaked again. Fortunately, the rain did not last long; after half an hour it stopped completely, the clouds cleared and the mist dispersed, and the sky above returned to a pure azure blue.

They took advantage of this moment to continue on their way. The recent rain had completely changed the surrounding scenery; waterfalls and springs could be seen everywhere on the cliffs beside them, and a stream rushed and leapt beneath their feet.

Following the stream, they left the narrow mountain path ahead; a gray massive rock appeared, shaped like a giant bear. Thus Grey Bear Valley got its name.

The sun reappeared in the sky; after going around that gray boulder, the view opened up. Countless streams flowed down from the surrounding hills, converging into a valley stream called the Silver Whip Stream, which winds and twists through the entirety of Grey Bear Valley.

Hu Xiaotian looked ahead. He saw the road ahead beginning to level out, with chestnut trees and wild jujube trees growing everywhere, and the vegetation near the water was even more lush.

The time was approaching noon, so they decided to rest briefly in the wide, flat area ahead and meanwhile dry their clothes.

Their dry rations had been soaked by the rain. Hu Xiaotian volunteered to go pick some wild fruit.

Huo Shengnan found a flat boulder, stood on it, and first observed the surroundings; the view here was good. Everything within about half a li radius was visible, so she need not fear enemies hiding nearby. In fact, as the border drew near, Huo Shengnan's mood relaxed considerably; once they crossed the border, their days of hiding would end.

The two horses grazed by the stream, and Huo Shengnan smiled at the scene before her. She opened her arms, basking in the sunlight; the post‑rain sunshine on her body felt extraordinarily comfortable, as if an invisible pair of hands were massaging her.

Huo Shengnan blissfully closed her eyes, when suddenly she heard the urgent whinny of the horses. She looked up, and the sight before her made her want to disappear from shame: Xiao Hui had climbed from behind onto Xiao Hei's back. The two horses, having traveled together all along, had already developed affection; out in the wild with the sunshine just right, their nature was suddenly stirred, and the beasts began to mate. No matter how spirited Xiao Hui was, it was still livestock, and having a need it knew no shame before others, nor any sense of propriety, righteousness, integrity, or honor. Its two front hooves climbed onto Xiao Hei's back, and right there in broad daylight, before Huo Shengnan's eyes, they engaged in their illicit act.

Huo Shengnan's face flushed and her heart raced; she covered her eyes with both hands. 'These beasts are truly shameless,' she thought, picking up a stone to throw at them, but raising her hand she lowered it again. Now she saw even more clearly, biting her lip. Fortunately Hu Xiaotian wasn't here; if he discovered she had witnessed this, she didn't know how he would tease her.

In fact, how could Hu Xiaotian not hear such a commotion from the horses? He had just entered the woods, heard the horses' nonstop whinnying and thought something serious had happened, hurried to the forest edge to look, and only then realized Xiao Hui had taken advantage of his absence to mount Xiao Hei. Actually, it was the livestock breeding season, so this was quite ordinary. Hu Xiaotian, sheltered by the trees, glanced at Huo Shengnan and saw her with one hand covering half her face, the other gripping a stone as if to strike, though she ultimately did not throw it. Hu Xiaotian secretly amused, thinking Huo Shengnan was now thoroughly embarrassed; if he showed up now, she would likely die of shame. Of course Hu Xiaotian would not do anything to humiliate her; he smiled, withdrew his gaze, but saw Huo Shengnan put the stone down, cover her face and turn away. After a while she sneakily turned back to glance at Xiao Hui and Xiao Hei—could it be that General Huo also enjoys watching such a scene?

Hu Xiaotian secretly rejoiced, 'Xiao Hui, Xiao Hui, you really give me face—you're giving General Huo a lecture on knowledge.'

The two horses fooled around for a while then finally settled down. Huo Shengnan lowered her hand, looked at them, saw the horses grazing again by the river—'warmth and satiety breed lust,' after satisfaction they started eating again. Huo Shengnan truly regretted it; had she known, she would not have chosen this mare, but she never expected the two horses to perform such an act before her eyes. Fortunately Hu Xiaotian wasn't there!

Just as she was thinking of Hu Xiaotian, he emerged from the woods, carrying a bag of wild fruit and having also caught a rabbit. He smiled at Huo Shengnan and said, 'Not a bad haul—we'll eat this rabbit tonight; let's fill our stomachs and continue on the road.'

Huo Shengnan's face was still feverish, but Hu Xiaotian had disguised himself well, seeming not to have noticed what just happened; she took the wild fruit and washed it at the waterside, and Hu Xiaotian came over and said, "Let's go; there might be more rain later."

Huo Shengnan nodded, the two led their horses, and Hu Xiaotian walked ahead, deliberately saying, "Little Gray, Little Gray, how could you be tired after just this little distance? Your legs are soft, your ears drooping—this isn't like you! You couldn't be sick, could you?" He turned his head and said to Huo Shengnan, "Could it have eaten something unclean?"

Huo Shengnan hastily shook her head and said, "No... I don't know..."

Hu Xiaotian felt delighted inside; he never thought that the female general Huo Shengnan, a woman who matches men in valor, would also have moments of being absent-minded.

The jade pixiu's prediction was accurate; at dusk, rain began to fall again in the sky. Although the rain wasn't as heavy as before, the bleak wind and bitter rain in the valley were still extremely tormenting.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Let's find a place to shelter from the rain and camp."

Huo Shengnan nodded; the earlier risqué scene kept replaying in her mind, and along the way she seemed absent-minded.

The road ahead became slightly wider; the black horse quickly caught up to the gray horse, walking side by side, and the two horses appeared very close.

Hu Xiaotian slowed his pace to walk alongside Huo Shengnan, deliberately saying, "Those two seem very friendly."

Huo Shengnan said, "I couldn't tell; they've always been like that."

Hu Xiaotian said, "After traveling together for so long, it's inevitable they'd develop feelings; in your opinion, is it that the two horses have a good relationship, or that our relationship is closer?"

Huo Shengnan's face flushed and her heart raced; she shook her head and said, "I won't compare myself to beasts."

Hu Xiaotian hit a snag, secretly amused; you first peeked at my body, then you peeked at Little Gray and Little Black mating, and now you're still pretending nothing happened—you're quite the pretender. Just then, faint cries drifted on the wind and rain.

Hu Xiaotian's hearing was extremely sharp; he immediately identified it as a child's crying.

Huo Shengnan saw him stop, her expression full of alertness, realizing something might have happened, but her hearing hadn't reached Hu Xiaotian's level, and she whispered, "What's wrong?"

"There's a child's crying." Hu Xiaotian said softly.

Huo Shengnan said, "In these desolate mountains, how could there be a child crying?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It could also be a baby fish." He glanced at the nearby stream, not knowing whether there were baby fish here.

The two walked a bit farther forward, and now even Huo Shengnan could hear it: "It really is a child's crying."

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "That's right, it sounds like it's still calling for mother and father!"

Huo Shengnan secretly admired Hu Xiaotian's hearing; although they had fought side by side only a few times, each time Hu Xiaotian's progress amazed her—from initially only knowing how to flee, to later releasing sword qi, to later actually defeating the Black and White Twin Corpses; recalling the strange phenomenon that occurred when Hu Xiaotian practiced his cultivation the previous night, perhaps his martial arts had improved considerably during this period.

Both were very alert, after all, in these desolate mountains where few people tread, a sudden child's crying was certainly out of the ordinary.

As they approached the source of the sound, Huo Shengnan could also clearly hear the child's pitiful wailing.

"Father... Mother... you died so miserably..."

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan exchanged a glance, each sensing the other's wariness from their eyes, and Hu Xiaotian lowered his voice: "We must be extremely careful."

Huo Shengnan drew an arrow from behind her back; the two left Little Gray and Little Black temporarily in place and quietly approached. Shielded by the grasses and trees, they looked ahead and saw beneath a large tree an ancient grave, overgrown with weeds, its tombstone broken, offerings scattered before it, and on the ground lay a man and a woman, both covered in blood, while a child lay upon the woman's body, wailing loudly: "Mother! Father! You don't want me anymore, leaving me all alone—how am I to live?"

Extra chapter five delivered! (To be continued~^~)