Chapter 68

Seeing Old Man Kai start to walk away with nothing but his wet clothes and cane. Hisashi simply stood there, cautious and assessing what the old man said and what to do. Since he has already left, Hisashi wears his wet clothes back on and takes his safe bag.

Based on his location, three days to get to Xin Yan isn't that hard, he can even do that in one day. But that's because of his strong endurance and trained body. No normal person can travel more than 2000 kilometers in three days.

'This Qin is testing me. I hate this shit.' Hisashi thought to himself as he was reminded of Ryuya.

'Based on everything that was said by the old man, Mai knows the Qin, or at least someone from the capital, and told on me. And if that's the case, he probably wants to know me and my intention, something he thinks that I hid from Mai.'

'Since I matched her in strength, the three days' time was probably scaled from what she can travel by herself, which the old man gauged from the town's distance. Now, if I didn't show up, he will put some warning up in towns to warn them about me, making me easier to find.

If I arrive on time, it'll confirm that I'm cautious and probably hiding something from them. If I arrive later than three days, it shows that I don't care about offending him, raising their guard. And if I arrive in time less than provided, it'll show him my strength. It's not like acting will get through those types of people.'

He thought before he eats his apple. By the time he leaves the area, the rain has stopped and the sun shone again.

…

In Goshu, Jozou was sitting around the table with Ryuya who has Ichika standing behind him. As they sip their tea, the sliding door to the room opened. A huge burly man appears with a big smile on his face. Around his neck is a necklace of mala beads.

"I'm told that someone named Ryuya-san is here!" Daizaemon arrives with a big smile.

"Here!" Ryuya raises his hand with a smile.

"Pleasure to meet you!" The robust monk gives a respectful bow. "I heard that you need my help?" He asks.

"How're ya? Is the trip stressful?" The other replies as a tea-serving doll arrives pouring the monk some tea.

"That's nothing to worry about! Why have you called me here?"

"I'm here to request ya of yer aid! Help me as the famous Seven Ryuzen!"

…

Seeing the flatlands, Hisashi jumps down from the apex of the mountain. He didn't try to glide in the air as it was slower. As he lands, the ground cracks and he immediately took off. He runs through the dry grasslands like a cheetah hunting a gazelle.

It didn't take him long to slow down as the edge of the town was now in sight. He even contemplated whether to remove his hat or not but eventually decided not to.

He walks around the town and even just for 5 minutes, he can see something different for this town. There were a lot more people and they even look more lively. There are also a lot more businesses and happenings compared to those on the border of the country.

Figuring out that he has more time to look around the town later, he asks a civilian about where the house of the Qin is and he was told to go to the tallest house, which was their capital hall. Just like before, it didn't take him long to reach the place despite the town's obvious vaster size compared to the other towns.

What greets him was a wide four-story building with Han country's aesthetic and style – something that has similarities to Hino Country. But the thing that made it stand out more, ironically, is its very little to no decoration. Looking at the simple but elegant door, he expands his ki enough to cover the building.

"Many people are working inside, huh? And they're all normal people. It's that, or the Qin can conceal his presence as I do." He mumbles to himself. That's when he felt someone walking from behind him and sees the old man with a cane.

"Let's go inside." The old man pushes the door and the two came in. As they made their way to the building, the people greet the old man. It was when Hisashi noticed that the old man was barefoot.

"Old man. You're barefoot by choice aren't you?" He asks as they go up the stairs.

"Yes. If you want to know, I can tell you later. But in essence, it's a skill I learned from a country beyond ours." The old man said. "Ki- Chi doesn't function as additional sight. It's more like an additional sense." Hisashi replies as he wonders if he's talking about a country neighboring their continent.

According to books, the Continent of the Orient used to be bigger or has another part connected to it. But due to what happened more than a millennia ago, it was separated and became smaller. Even when the leaders of the countries want to find that missing part and reconnect it to the continent, they were prevented by the large mountain ranges at the border of the Han country.

It wasn't just a normal mountain range, but a mountain range tens to a hundred times larger than normal. Not only that but it was also covered by a fog capable of rendering everyone lost. And no matter who or how much tried, they all get lost and eventually either die or come back to the edge of the Han country. Even their Ki was useless as it didn't even function normally when they entered the mysterious gray fog.

Sailing around didn't also work as there are also mist on the ocean and the worse was the uncontrollable storm. And when they succeeded, they only reached an uninhabited island that they know wasn't a part of the old continent.

Last, but not least, there are dangerous magical and wild beasts in there. Some even speculated that the beast attacks that the Han country was experiencing were coming from there. And the name of the fog was... 'The Death Valley'.

'The old man must be lucky to have survived and even come back.'

"We're here." The old man said as he open the sliding door. Hisashi looks inside as he continues to sense the presence sitting inside, which feels normal. As it opened, Hisashi's eyes knit as he saw the man sitting by the table. What made him knit his eyes, was because the man inside was also looking at him intently, as if trying to gauge him.

"Come in." The Qin said as the old man walks inside. The man looks pretty young, around 25 years of age, by HIsashi's estimation. He has brown hair, a simple red robe, and a yellow undershirt. Around him are papers and behind is what seemed like a wooden bo staff. Even with just a single glance, Hisashi knew how good the weapon is, after being exposed to all kinds of them in the Goshu Dungeon.

His gaze came back to the Qin who was stopped his work and clasped his hands.

"You're looking for something, aren't you?" The Qin said, almost making Hisashi move to grab his sword.