Chapter Six- Patriarch Crimson Demon

The Sect Leader no longer paid attention to Zeng Xiaoyu, he picked up the old man's body and headed to the highest mountain. This mountain was the only one that was bare. It wasn't always like this. It would be covered in crops during the growing season, but at this time of year, they were harvested. Cultivators didn't need to eat, so the sect would distribute them to the neighboring mortal countries. This was a tradition put up by the Ancestor.

The Sect Leader headed towards the very top. There was an old-fashioned hut made of straw and bonded together with ropes. It looked fragile but was sturdy enough to stand the wind up at this altitude. The Sect Leader entered the hut and got on his knees. There was food all over the place, and an old man munching on it. He turned his head to the entrance and saw the Sect Leader kneeling.

"Junior greets Patriarch Crimson Demon," said the Sect Leader.

The old man chuckled and gestured to the Sect Leader, implying that he should get to business. The Sect Leader waved his sleeve and the body of the old man came inside the hut. The Patriarch's smile faded and was replaced with a gloomy face. The Sect Leader was about to open his mouth to state something when the Patriarch started, "Hou Liang, oh, Hou Liang. May your soul peacefully find its way to reincarnation."

After a long sigh, he continued, "Hou Liang reminds me of him. He was simple and true to his ideals. He was there for us when we were at our worst. When it was our turn, we turned on him instead. We broke his Dao Heart… He perished with a smile on his face. All of our eyes were flowing, and so were his. He puffed up his cheeks and said that we all owed him, he wanted us to pay it off by living the rest of our lives to the fullest. It was childish, but it was so him. It hurts me, as his biological brother. Hahaha, Hou Liang's burial shall happen in five days."

The Sect Leader bowed and left with the old man's body. The patriarch was once again left alone in the hut. He went to one particular wall and looked through the gaps in the straw. There was a ginormous statue of a youth seemingly in his early twenties. People of the sect thought it was him when he was younger. Only he knew who it really was. The Sect Leader had probably guessed too.

Far away from the mountain range was a tree. A boy leaned against it, and a middle-aged man was walking around it. This boy and man were none other than Wei Chao and his father.

"Has it stopped yet? I can't take the light."

"Father, why is it that you seem to not be surprised by the glowing at all?"

"Whenever your mother touched it, it would glow just like this. I've gotten pretty used to it. Haha. She never really explained why, but I think it's the same for you as you have her blood running in you."

When the glowing stopped Wei Chao asked, "Why can't we go to your teacher's house again? Didn't he say that his doors would always be open for you last time he came?"

His father returned a distorted look and said, "I guess I really have no other choice… Hahaha, old man, it's been a while."

With that, they got up and started walking towards the gate of the village. They went through it and looked back. They had lived in this village for many years, and this could be their last time seeing it. They both looked at each other and proceeded to walk away from the village. The path was poorly managed and weeds were growing here and there. It was as if they were passing through endless grasslands. After a few hours, Wei Chao asked, "Father, how much longer will it take if we keep up at this pace."

"Maybe four more hours, tired? We can take a break here if you want. I know where to get water and food, I've been through this area countless times," his father replied.

Wei Chao said that he could go on all day, his father chuckled and they kept walking. About an hour later, they stopped under a large tree to rest for a while. Wei Chao sat leaning against the tree while his father was walking about looking for berries and other such fruits.

They sat down together and started eating, and Wei Chao's father noticed that Wei Chao was not eating much. He was about to ask when a rustling noise came from nearby bushes. Wei Chao's father pulled Wei Chao closer to him and held up a finger to his lips signaling Wei Chao to not make noise. Brown fur could be seen through the bushes. Seeing its size Wei Chao started trembling. He had always been in the safety of the village, never encountering wild animals.

Then another coat of brown fur came into view and another. Until there were a total of about five bears. Four of them were considerably smaller than the first one. They were likely cubs of the mother. Wei Chao was shaking and so was his father. Though he had seen bears, he had never seen a group of them. He would take out his saw and threaten the bear. This was how he traversed the grasslands without a carriage. However, now he didn't have a saw and it probably wouldn't be enough to scare off five bears anyway.

They started backing up but just bumped into the tree. Wei Chao lost his balance and fell over. His father quickly bent down to help him up. When the cubs saw the moment of weakness they all raced to pounce on the two people. Wei Chao's father jumped up and shouted, "Chao'er, I once watched a play. Based on how smart you are, you probably know where I am going with this. Haha, son, learn some tai-chi from your father."

He ripped off his shirt and threw it high up in the air. He attempted to intimidate the bears further by growling. He lifted one foot off the ground and held out his arms in a crane position. Wei Chao was stupefied by what his father had just said. He didn't know his father was such a reckless and childish man until now. However, he still couldn't get any words out of his mouth.

The bears slowed down seeing Wei Chao's father's presentation of 'tai-chi'. When the mother saw this, she let out a growl and led the charge. Wei Chao's father got serious and picked up the branch of the tree that was lying on the ground right next to his feet. Wei Chao hadn't noticed the branch until now. His appreciation for his father grew, seeing his cunningness. However, his father too just noticed the branch when he put his elevated foot down.

He swung the branch at the charging mother. She was in the air with saliva dripping out from her mouth. Her mouth with razor-sharp teeth snarled at Wei Chao's father. It was truly a ferocious sight. The branch hit her right in the head. She toppled over and landed a few meters away.

The cubs saw this and were enraged. They charged at faster speeds than before. Wei Chao's father was quickly overwhelmed and jumped back to where Wei Chao was standing. Wei Chao wasn't able to move at all during the past few seconds. He was frightened and in awe. He looked at his father with glittering eyes.

He looked down at Wei Chao and said, "Those eyes are just like your mother's…"

He threw the branch at the incoming cubs. The cubs stopped where they were a bit scared of Wei Chao's father. A few meters away, the mother came back to her senses and stood up. The first thing she did was look for her cubs when she spotted them; she rushed over to them. They turned to her and licked her face which now had a mark on it. However, two of them quickly turned back to Wei Chao and his father, seemingly scared of them running away.

Wei Chao's father gazed at the bears and continued, "Her name was Zeng Xifeng. Chao'er, it wasn't that she didn't love you. No mother could possibly not love her child with all her heart. She had her problems at the time. I hope you don't blame her."

Wei Chao looked at his father and then the bears. He was freaking out but there wasn't much he could do. He tried climbing the tree but failed. His father laughed and told him that even if he managed to climb the tree, the bears would shake him off. Wei Chao wanted to run away, but he knew that would alert the bears and there wasn't a chance he could outrun them. Then he remembered that maybe there was a chance he could outrun them. He looked to his father and was about to talk when he realized that he might be able to outrun them but his father could not. He gloomily looked down again.

The bears got up and once again stared down at the duo. The mother took to the air and blasted towards them followed by the cubs. Wei Chao's father got in his 'tai-chi' position, but it did not affect the bears this time. Wei Chao was about to run off in the opposite direction, he grasped his father's hand planning on dragging him along. That was when something on his chest glowed with a blinding light. It was the Jade Identity token. He took it out and broke the string that kept it on his neck. He pointed the jade towards the bears, hoping it would scare them away giving time for him to escape. However, the bears continued like they couldn't see the shimmering light. Wei Chao and his father were surprised. They could see it clearly, or well it made them not see clearly.

The bears were too close to evade now, Wei Chao gave up running and got into the same 'tai-chi' stance his father was in. As the bears jumped another light shined from right in front of Wei Chao. It was much brighter than the one the jade token gave off. If Wei Chao and his father didn't lose their eyes they would probably be left blind. The light flashed behind the bears and back to its former location in a blink of an eye. Though neither the bears nor the duo saw this, they felt the force of air being displaced push on them. A voice that replicated thunder boomed out, "You didn't think of fighting the bears with that silly stance now, did you?"

The light faded and a person appeared in its place. This youth seemed to be in his late teens and looked exceptionally handsome. Wei Chao and his father opened their eyes. They noticed the man standing before them wearing white robes and also that the bears were now gone.

"Don't be scared, I don't look like a bandit do I? Anyways, my name is Zeng Xiaoyu. You might have heard of me from your mother."