Transcendent

Chapter VI: Proposal

A mountainous area surrounded by wilderness, shadows of the giant hills cast upon the towns scattered down below. The air was sometimes fresh, sometimes humid; the scent of dew and soil wafting wherever one goes. Out of the forest where hundreds of years old trees stood tall as if reaching the heavens, a barren field of rocks and dust was laid surrounded by the jungle. And at the end of the desolate ground, a mighty fortress glared at those walking below like a titan looking down on trivial ants at its feet. The crest of a beast was embedded at the top, powerful and intimidating, watching over every single soul approaching its gigantic gate.

Such is the face of the Unclean Realm, residence of the Forest Rulers, a powerful line of demons who control the earth, the Qinghe Nie Clan.

"The young master has returned! Open the gate!"

A shout from the watchtower at the top of the fortress greeted their arrival. Soon enough, the giant gate rumbled; its sturdy structure made of the strongest wood and iron lifted from the ground. A line of forest and mountain demons, soldiers of the Qinghe Nie Clan, stood in formation beyond the gate. In perfect unison, they turned to face the incoming entourage, bowing in respect.

"Welcome back, Young Master!" they said.

"Ah, come here, come here all of you," Nie Huaisang urged them to move closer, "Help my friends to the guest room. Quickly now, they're wounded."

The soldiers looked at Wei Wuxian, then Lan Wangji. An obvious perplexity arose to their expressions upon laying their eyes on the young cultivator. Naturally, since it was not everyday they would encounter a human, let alone one so distinguished like this Second Young Master Lan. Even if they might not recognize who he was, the young jade was not someone they could forget easily. Although wounded and his robe dirtied, the air of ice and frost on his handsome face was uncanny, his silent visage alone was enough to bore a lasting impression to those who saw him, regardless of men or women, humans or demons. Nevertheless, the soldiers asked no question and faithfully followed their young master's command, assisting the two unusual guests to their chamber as directed by Nie Huaisang.

"Here, here. Wei-xiong, umm, Second Young Master Lan, please have a seat," the earth demon gestured them towards the room prepared by the servants. As Lan Wangji settled down on the bed, Wei Wuxian chose to sit on a long chair nearby. Nie Huaisang turned towards one of the female servants. "Ah, you over there. Bring some tea for our guests."

"Nie-xiong, it's fine. You don't have to trouble yourself so much. Won't you get scolded by your brother?" Wei Wuxian said.

"Eeh, how could this be trouble? Wei-xiong, we've been friends for a long time. If I don't help you when you're in a difficult situation like this, Da-ge will beat me up for being irresponsible towards my friends."

"Well then... If you say so, I suppose we'll indulge ourselves in Young Master Nie's generosity."

The two young demons shared a hearty laugh. Lan Wangji, in the meantime, remained watching from the side; an unreadable expression painted on his face. Nie Huaisang noticed this and quickly scooted closer to his friend.

"Erm, Wei-xiong, this..." whispering in a small voice, he covered part of his face with the fan he was holding, "This...Second Young Master Lan... How could you... How did you end up together with him in that cave?"

"It's a really long story, Nie-xiong," Wei Wuxian patted his shoulder, "Actually, I also would like to ask what you were doing with a small troop in a deserted place like that."

"Aiyah, as deserted as it looks, that place is still part of our territory," replied the young forest demon, "Since two days ago, we've been receiving reports from our people living near the forest. They said there was a small earthquake and suddenly the population of snakes spiked up, they even entered the villages, disturbing their peace. Of course, as our territory is mostly mountains and forests, snakes are not an unusual sight, but we've never seen these types of snakes before. And what's more? They are dangerously venomous. Even a full grown, healthy cow could die within minutes after it was bitten by one of these snakes."