Starblood Province.

Yin Long and his group tumbled through space for far longer than any of their previous teleportations, even the eight-minute teleportation to reach Sunsong Capital paled in comparison to the length of their current teleportation. Their hastiness in activating the array resulted in their positions being somewhat unstable when it started, their bodies spinning around as they flew through the spatial tunnel.

Jin Wang looked rather uncomfortable due to the spinning and the heavy pressure of the spatial tunnel pressing down on him, but Lan Yun looked nearly ecstatic with her arms wrapped tightly around Yin Long's neck. Her lower body was dangling rather loosely so Yin Long wrapped an arm around her waist, an action that only caused her blooming smile to grow even wider.

But her enjoyment was forced to come to an end after only a short hour, the blinding light around them vanishing as they arrived at their destination. With the light vanishing, Yin Long saw that they were currently standing within a surprisingly small earthen plaza filled with blooming plum trees. The plaza was full of people, but it was quite lacking compared to the bustling scene of Sunsong Capital.

The buildings around them were mostly made of dark wood and had a very cosy feel to them, giving the entire area a somewhat warm atmosphere. Yin Long pried open Lan Yun's arms and cracked his neck, his gaze sweeping through the surrounding area for a short minute before he addressed Lan Yun.

"Looking at the size and splendour we should have arrived within a village rather than a city, do you see anything you recognize?"

He turned his head to look at Lan Yun as he spoke and waited for her reply, but her eyes were practically filled with hearts as she looked straight at Yin Long. She was clearly still entranced by the earlier events so Yin Long rolled his eyes and gave her forehead a heavy flick to return her to reality. His senses didn't pick up any strange movements or soldiers in the area so it seemed like news of his actions in Sunsong Capital had yet to reach here. That, or the people here simply didn't care, it wasn't like the various provinces were all friendly with each other.

Lan Yun's brown eyes were forced to regain their usual clarity when Yin Long flicked her forehead, a short and cute yelp involuntarily escaping her lips. She used one hand to softly rub her forehead, grinning at Yin Long and using her other hand to give his chest a few pokes.

"Nope, can't really see anything. But enough about that, let's talk about what you just did. Did you get angry when he touched me, did it piss you off when he spoke badly of me? Did it light a fire in your belly when you imagined me with him, did it? Did you get furious for my sake, did you?"

Swift, fierce, and violent, these were things Yin Long was whenever it came to anything to do with those closest to him, there was no limit to the things he would do to keep them safe. This was a fact Lan Yun knew far too well, especially after seeing Yin Long smilingly arrange his own death just to secure the position of his sister. So to her, being able to unleash that side of Yin Long was a joyous thing, it meant that he considered her to be truly dear to him. Yin Long rolled his eyes again, his gaze drifting down to the two rings she wore on her left hand.

"Of course I'd get angry when someone speaks like that about my friend, I'd be trash otherwise. So, wanna tell me why you still wear those rings, especially like that?"

Lan Yun had worn those rings like that ever since Yin Long first met her so he hadn't thought much about it, they hadn't even registered in his mind until the old man pointed it out. But now that he noticed them he felt that it was a good idea to change them, or at least how she wore them, otherwise, there was no telling how many people would try to buy a few hours with such a beautiful girl. He didn't feel like losing his temper each time someone mistook her for a prostitute and got as pushy as the old man, especially since he felt like it might become a weekly or even daily occurrence.

Lan Yun's smile dimmed slightly as she raised her left hand slightly while lowering her head to look at the two rings, a beautiful golden one engraved with ocean-blue orchids and a much simpler and plain silver one. Her slightly dim smile still carried a soft warmth, but it was also a bit desolate and forlorn, her voice a bit low.

"There's not much to say about it, really. These rings were gifted to me by your mother, they were the first gift I ever received and a sign of my worth. They were just given to me as a mark to never make me forget my position as Lan Yun, the hidden prostitute of the Lang clan, but I still can't bring myself to do anything with them."

As a child who had no one else to lean on, how could Lan Yun not treasure the things given to her by the person who picked her up from the streets? They might serve as a reminder of what she was, but they were still her's, a gift just for her. Yin Long was silent for a short moment as he looked at Lan Yun inspecting the ring, both of his hands eventually reaching out.

"Lan Yun, the hidden prostitute of the Lang clan, you have already died and vanished. You took your own life the day after the great sinner of the Lang clan lost his own life in a duel with his sister. Right now you are no more or less than Lan Yun, the friend of Yin Long the wandering swordsman. So stop looking down and raise your head, we have skulked in the darkness already, now it is our turn to bleed and grow in the light, with our heads raised with pride."

Yin Long's left hand touched Lan Yun's chin and tilted her head upwards, his right hand removing the rings from her left hand. He moved the rings over to her right hand, placing one on her index finger and the other on her ring finger. They had both died, one of them figuratively and the other one literally, and left the Lang clan. They no longer had to prowl around in the shadows for the clan, now they could live for themself in the light.

Yin Long had voluntarily descended into the darkness for his sisters, but that didn't change the fact that he had been freed from the darkness, by one of the very sisters he descended into the darkness for no less. All traces of desolation vanished from Lan Yun's expression as her gaze was forcefully raised and met Yin Long's.

Within those pitch-black and soul-stealing eyes, she saw the gentle care he always directed towards his sisters, as well as the sharp and boundless pride that was tucked away in his soul. He was Yin Long, the man who would one day wield even a universe as his blade, and she was someone he considered one of his dearest friends, it was a heavy title that did not allow her to lower her head.

As the desolation vanished from her expression, a burning splendour replaced it, the corners of her mouth pulling up even further. She wasn't content with just being considered a friend, she wanted to be the one to carry the title of his one and only lover. But that was a title that was even heavier than the title of dearest friend, and even if she detested to admit it, she had to honestly say that just the title of dearest friend was almost too heavy for her to bear.

She would have to improve her everything if she wanted to bear an even heavier title, not to mention that she had to find a way to change the mind of a man who was even more stubborn than a mule. But even though she faced a task higher than the heavens, she couldn't help but let out a giddy giggle while grinning at Yin Long.

"You're a bad man, you know that? How am I supposed to not fall for you even more if you say those things while acting like that? You have to make sure you don't go around saying things like that to others in the future, otherwise, you'll end up creating competition for me everywhere we go."

Yin Long rolled his eyes once again at Lan Yun's giggling, pulling back his arms as he had finished what he wanted to do. Lan Yun opened her mouth again, but a low growl from Jin Wang drew both her and Yin Long's attention. Jin Wang was standing at Yin Long's side and was growling at a man carrying a large backpack that had several different types of dried herbs hanging on its side.

The man wasn't a threat or the like, his cultivation had only reached the 3rd Mortal Door, nearly three door's lower than Yin Long. But Jin Wang didn't growl at him since he was a threat, he growled at the man to warn him that he wasn't worthy of getting closer to Yin Long. Jin Wang honestly admitted his inferiority to Yin Long, a man fit to be called a dragon.

And as he was a dragon, it meant that only worthy beings could get close, all others were unfit and should stay back on bent knees, that was the pride and arrogance of Jin Wang. But sadly for him, Yin Long did not share his thoughts, reaching down with his arm to pat Jin Wang on the head while addressing the peddler.

"Don't mind him, his body is a bit small but his heart is higher than the heavens. We aren't interested in buying anything, but would you mind telling us exactly where we are? Ah, I mean both which village, which territory, and which province, we didn't really check where we were going before we left."

The middle-aged and slightly wrinkled peddler maintained a bit of distance from Yin Long's group, Jin Wang's sharp teeth were more than enough to make his heart jump slightly. He found it strange to not check their destination when travelling, but he had realized that Yin Long's group probably wasn't something he was qualified to question so he cupped his hands and responded in a polite tone.

"Please do not worry about it, not everyone can be interested in everything that's being sold. As for where we are, this is Hundred Herb Village of the Jyushi clan that is located within the Bloodgrass territory of the Starblood province. If you are looking for more detailed information then I would suggest checking out the branch of the Heaven's Secrets Company that you can find in Starfall city, the home of the Jyushi clan, they deal in just about everything."

Yin Long turned his head slightly to glance at Lan Yun after the peddler finished his polite explanation. He knew about the Heaven's Secrets Company, they didn't have much presence in Wolfsoul city but did have a branch in Sunsong Capital, they were merchants and mercenaries that dealt with just about everything from killing beasts to selling information and rare items.

But that was the only familiar name within the peddler's explanation, the rest of the names were unfamiliar to him, so he turned to Lan Yun to see if she knew anything. Lan Yun knew what Yin Long was thinking, her eyes rolling for a bit as she went through her memories, her smile eventually gaining an additional shade of amusement and astonishment.

"You wanted to go as far away as possible, right? Well, we've accomplished that beautifully. I don't know about the Bloodgrass territory or the Jyushi clan, but I know a touch about the Starblood province. It's located about as far from the Sunsong province as possible, it's literally on the other side of the planet. So yeah, we've gotten so far away from the Sunson province that the only way to put more distance between us is to hop over to a different planet."