Chapter 34: Pear City Part 4

Wu Yingzong: “I’ve only… I’ve only known him for less than three months. Many words I just can’t say.”

Wu Yingzong had begun to realize his own feelings, which made him quite flustered for a moment. He subconsciously wanted to hide them, but he truly couldn’t conceal this bit of sentiment.

The Chrysanthemum Bird began chirping, wanting to perform a song for A Huang. It also spread its wings to display the feathers on its chest and belly, only to get slapped by A Huang’s wing.

“Too noisy!” A Huang said rudely. “Keep it down! Don’t wake people up!”

The Chrysanthemum Bird wasn’t upset at all. It started spinning in circles like it was courting, and Wu Yingzong watched for a while before drowsiness overtook him. He leaned against the campfire and fell asleep.

Unknowingly, he entered a dream:

Demonic Qi erupted. Xiang Xian held the Wisdom Sword and shuttled through the sky with Xiao Kun, who burst with blue light.

Amid heaven and earth, a massive Black Giant Tree emitted endless Demonic Qi.

He transformed into his Ape Body and shouted, “Chaosheng! Chaosheng—!”

Chaosheng was covered in blood and held in the arms of a strange young man who was not Hulü Guang.

Chaosheng was on the verge of death but still reached his hand toward the Black Giant Tree.

The strange youth anxiously shouted something at Wu Yingzong. The White Ape held a massive staff and charged toward the Black Giant Tree erupting with Demonic Qi without hesitation.

He roared and grabbed the cracks in the Black Giant Tree’s trunk with both palms. Expending his entire Cultivation Base, he tore it open.

The tree’s branches shot out heavily, piercing the White Ape’s chest. His Inner Elixir exploded, blasting a hole in the trunk. Chaosheng’s eyes widened as chaotic flows surged.

“Leave it… to you,” Wu Yingzong said. “Take good care… of him.”

The strange youth said, “Go, Ape Immortal. You have achieved Merit Accomplished.”

“No! No—!” Chaosheng grabbed the Tree Seed flickering with black light amid the energy hurricane. The moment his fingers touched the Tree Seed, green light erupted like a vast ocean, sweeping away countless memories and regrets into the river of time.

Wu Yingzong abruptly opened his eyes. The morning light was dim; dawn had broken.

A Huang: “?”

Wu Yingzong hurriedly got up. “Oh no, I fell asleep.”

A Huang: “I kept watch for you all night. Now go make breakfast. I want to sleep.”

The next day, they set off again. With the Sweat-Blood Treasure Horses, the distance between cities shrank dramatically, cutting travel time by more than half. When they reached the Korla region, Hulü Guang went to buy them pears again.

Korla was called “Licheng” by Silk Road merchants. Though it wasn’t pear season, last year’s autumn pears could be stored until the third or fourth month.

“Buy less stuff,” Xiao Kun said. “Let’s get moving quickly. We’ve delayed too long on the road.”

Xiao Kun had initially been eager to find clues about the Heart Lamp, but ever since meeting Xiang Xian, the guy had been sightseeing all the way, paying no heed to Shuhu’s Prophecy. After Chaosheng joined, the dawdling peaked—any random village or town could waste half a day. If not for Xiao Kun’s constant urging, they might have traveled less than an hour each day.

“Why is mine sour?” Xiang Xian took a bite of pear, his face twisting. He leaned over and said, “Let me taste yours. Yours looks sweet.”

Xiao Kun was peeling his pear with a Dagger, slicing and eating neatly. He didn’t want to gnaw messily like Xiang Xian and ruin his image. He deftly dodged and said, “I don’t want to share my pear with you.”

Xiang Xian was stunned at first, then burst into laughter and walked away.

Xiao Kun watched Xiang Xian’s back and smiled too.

“Lord Xiao, Master, shall we go into Yanqi to have a look?” Wu Yingzong said.

“Not now.” Xiao Kun truly had no time to spare. At his urging, everyone mounted up and departed again.

On the road from Korla to Aksu, they traveled along the Southern Tianshan. The distant Tianshan Mountains were magnificent and grand, the heavens vast and open. The plains were filled with low pear trees. In this spring season, snow-white pear blossoms bloomed, piled like soft snow. The wind carried the fragrance of pear blossoms, evoking the grand scene of Cen Shen’s ancient Tang poem: “A thousand trees, ten thousand trees of pear blossoms in bloom.”

That evening, they camped between Korla and Aksu. After leaving Korla and entering the Aksu region, the scenery turned barren again—rust-red stone mountains and rock layers everywhere. This was because the Gumo area had abundant copper mines since ancient times.

Vegetation began to appear sporadically, and as they headed west, farmland slowly came into view.

“Gumo has arrived,” Hulü Guang said.

A massive dark-yellow city appeared in the distance. Gumo had been Kucha Kingdom territory during Tang times and was famous for the world’s best musicians. Originally built by Xiongnu People, it differed vastly in style from Gaochang. During the Great Tang’s Zhenguan era, the Heavenly Khan established the Anxi Protectorate in Gumo.

“The Tang borders actually extended this far,” Xiang Xian couldn’t help but marvel.

Reminded by this, Xiao Kun recalled it too. In that case, the Great Tang’s frontiers had reached the very ends of the world. All known lands were under the Heavenly Khan’s domain—a truly unparalleled feat for eternity.

Gumo City was built beside the Kucha oasis. Xiao Kun said, “We need to find lodging in the city and establish a base. Tomorrow, we’ll head to Kizil to investigate.”

Upon arriving in the city, everyone was visibly exhausted.

It had been nearly three months since they left Kaifeng, crossing half of Shenzhou to reach this place. They had finally arrived at their destination.

“I’ll go to the City Lord’s Mansion to deliver the documents,” Xiao Kun said to Xiang Xian, “and inquire about news while I’m at it.”

“I’ll arrange the inn,” Xiang Xian said. “Be careful.”

The group also had a task from Gaochang King Bilage: to take the head of Grand Vizier Lierful. Of course, Xiao Kun wouldn’t kill upon arrival—that would only complicate their primary mission.