Above The Sky Chapter 4

"Ah…I can't do that! I need water!" Xie Yao sprawled on the mule and said weakly.

They were in an unknown mountain in the north of Flower City. They've got ident.i.ty certification, clothes and a lot of food in the north market. When they left the official road, most of their time was spent in wild so there's no doubt that they need food. Unfortunately, however, Xie Yao forgot about water. They walked for a whole day. Although Yun Qing did not express any pain, Xie Yao was unable to stand it.

Yun Qing thought for a while and took the tea pot which was sent by that strange old man form A Mang's neck. He said, "I hear the sound of water. There should be some stream. We can get water for you with this."

Xie Yao was a little embarra.s.sed. As a man nearly 20 years old, he need to be taken care of by a boy. Yun Qing did not show any uncomfortable expression all the way, while he, who asked for this trip, was the trouble maker.

"Pa.s.s the pot to me. May I do that?" Xie Yao asked. Then he was surprised to find that he was asking for Yun Qing's decision.

"A Mang," Yun Qing nodded, "Go with him."

A Mang stared at Xie Mang without moving his foot.

Xie Yao felt pressure under A Mang's eyesight and said, "No need! I can go alone. It is not safe for you to stay alone here."

"A Mang." Yun Qing called again. His voice was peaceful but A Mang cried painfully and put Yun Qing down from his shoulder gently. Then A Mang carried Xie Yao and went to the direction of water.

Yun Qing stood in the shadow of trees, his hair covering some of his face.

"Come out." He said to somewhere in the wood.

Nothing happened. It was quiet and dark in the forest at dusk. There's only the sound of wind and branches.

Yun Qing sighed, "A Mang is not here. We can talk face to face."

"Limitless Inch." An ethereal voice echoed in the forest.

Suddenly, all sounds were gone, not only the sound of whirling branch, but also the sound of stream and any other sound in the world.

It's like this land was cut off from the nature.

"I will spare you if you give it back!" The voice became clearer. The owner of the voice was a man in white robe.

"Can you fly?" Yun Qing asked suddenly.

"I will spare you if you give it back!" The man in white just repeated this sentence like a machine.

"I heard that all great cultivators can fly." Yun Qing faced the man with his eyes closed, "If you can take me to see what is above the sky, I will give you that."

The man in robe seemed to pause for a while and said, "I can get it if I kill you."

Yun Qing sighed, "Why do you guys from the Million Mountain so boring?"

The man in white stopped talking and rose like a leaf in wind. His great power dispersed in the tiny world.

"Pay with your life!" His voice came from all direction and his figure disappeared. Several white dazzling lights s.h.i.+ning around Yun Qing, the man attacked him under the cover of those lights.

"Ai…" Yun Qing did not move, sighing.

However, the seemingly easy attack did not succeed. What the man in white saw last was the boy's black eyes without pupil.

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After a while, A Mang and Xie Yao came back.

Yun Qing sat under the tree tiredly, playing with a gla.s.s cup.

"Pour some water in, please." Yun Qing handed the gla.s.s cup.

Xie Yao was curious about how Yun Qing can distinguish them. He poured some water in the cup. The water reflected some delicate light which danced with the pattern on the cup and formed two ancient characters that seemed alive.

"Fang Cun…?" Xie Yao read the two characters aloud, "It's the same as that on the tea pot. I saw them when I was was.h.i.+ng the pot."

"Yes. The Inch Cup and the World Pot are a set of instrument." Yun Qing took a sip of water and nodded with smile.

"It's so exquisite that it does not belong to the secular world." Xie Yao complemented.

"Someone sent me this…haihai…" Yun Qing coughed and finished the topic, "Let's find somewhere to stay first…"

Xie Yao did not consider more and thought he choked on the water. He led the mule to the mountainside where most hunters' houses were built.

A Mang held Yun Qing in his arms, and then he saw the blood in Yun Qing' hand. He seemed anxious.

"Don't worry. They can't hurt me with the Inch Cup." Yun Qing wanted to comfort A Mang by tapping him on his head. But more blood flowed out of his mouth.

A Mang was more nervous. Yun Qing stopped him before he cried out.

"I am fine. Don't worry, A Mang…haihai…" Yun Qing's expression and voice were as peaceful as usual, "I have not absorbed the G.o.d's Book yet, so I must be connected with the nature…I was affected when the Inch Cup isolate the tiny world."

"I need to find the way to Dao, or I will not only be blind…"

"Can you understand it, A Mang?" Yun Qing was out of breath after talking.

A Mang tore out a piece of the animal skin and wiped the blood around Yun Qing's mouth.

"Thank you." Yun Qing said gently, with his eyes closed.

"Here! We are already here! It's closer than I expected…" Xie Yao, who walked before them, shouted excitedly.

He pointed at a wooden hut and said, "This is hunter's house. Maybe we can find some meat here."

"Check whether there are traps around first…" Yun Qing sounded sleepy.

Xie Yao remembered that most hunters would set a lot of traps. He is very likely to be caught if he rushed to the house. Suddenly, a feeling of awe arose in his heart. He explored the ground with a poke and found several steel traps and pits under the leaves.

He cleaned a safe path to the house and reset those traps after A Mang and Yun Qing entered the house. Once the door was open, a smell of rotten wood blew against their face.

"Hai…hai…" Yun Qing coughed like he is going to spit out his lungs, being stimulated by the dust.

Xie Yao was worried and waved his sleeves to get rid of the dust.

"Spray water…haihai…" Yun Qing p.r.o.nounced a few words unclearly, pointing at the pot on A Mang's neck.

Xie Yao quickly took the pot off and sprayed the water on the floor. After the dust settled, he found the wooden hut weird.

The house was empty, without any bed, table or chair in it. There was a huge stove in the center, above which stood a black cauldron. Some wooden pallets were stick to the wall. Four dirty candles were placed in the four corners of the room, blackening the wall. The rotten smell dispersed in the house, making it oppressive.

"It's a little cold." Yun Qing frowned.

The indoor temperature is lower than the outside forest. Chilly air came from all directions.

"Let's light up the stove and leave at dawn." Xie Yao felt strange about the hut but they had nowhere to go in such a forest.

"Get some wood, A Mang. We need a place to sleep."

A Mang was unwilling to leave but he had to. He put Yun Qing beside the stove so that he could get warmer when the stove was lighted.

Xie Yao failed to find a poker in the hut. Then he wanted to use the candlestick in the corner as a poker but he found the candlestick was nailed to the ground. Who would nail a candlestick to the ground?

Xie Yao believed the uncanny candlestick was used for some strange purpose, but he had no choice because Yun Qing was so weak in the cold air. He must light the stove. He pulled the candlestick and shook it with great force. After a while, he managed to pull it out.

"Chi…!" the sound of flame jets came from his back.

Xie Yao turned around at a loss, holding the candlestick.

Dark blue flame shone in the stove which was dead for hundreds of years.