Chapter 395 Hidden Paradise
Long Qingquan’s little cottage turned out to be a simple one. Everything was hewn or carved from stone – stone cottage, stone stools, and even the walls surrounding the yard were built of stones too.
They stepped into Long Qingquan’s yard to find a few other elderly men already there.
Chu Xun knew that their gnarly and old outlooks belied their strong health and great powers.
“This is Chu Xun. It was he who had saved young Qi and the children,” Long Qingquan presented him to the others.
The elderly men thanked him again.
They sat down around the stone table and Long Qingquan made everyone tea.
“Speaking the truth, Chu Xun. It’s been ages since this village had seen any stranger,” said one of the elderly men suddenly to find out where Chu Xun had come from.
Chu Xun said nothing. Instead, he quietly took out the stone that Emperor Ao gave him. The one that allowed him to walk through the enchantment unhindered.
“Ah, a stone bewitched to undo enchantments,” observed Long Qingquan.
There was not a hint of surprise in his voice. Without it, no one would have been able to come in.
“I’ll be frank too. I’m here to look for the Silver Dragon Guard,” admitted Chu Xun.
That managed to surprise Long Qingquan and his companions, albeit but a little as they did their best to keep their faces plain as they shared reticent and furtive looks before recovering themselves.
“The Silver Dragon Guard? Who pointed you this way, if I may ask?” asked another old man.
“An ancient worm,” said Chu Xun.
That left Long Qingquan and his companions stunned.
“Are you referring to the Dragon Deity, Chu Xun?!” breathed the old man reverently in a hushed voice as if afraid of being overheard.
Chu Xun nodded.
Suddenly, every one of the elderly men stood up in unison. Their faces shone with respectful pride and they fell to their knees.
“You are the herald to the Dragon Deity!”
That shocked Chu Xun. He sprang up to his feet and lifted the old men up with a burst of his powers discharged from both his hands, causing them to straighten up involuntarily.
“You misunderstand me. I’m not a herald to the Dragon Deity or anything remotely close. I’m only here to seek out the Silver Dragon Guard. Ao told me that I’m in charge of this unit now.”
With so easily a gesture, Chu Xun magically stopped them from bending down and this filled the older men with astonishment as they struggled to comprehend Chu Xun’s powers.
Although they could not help feeling annoyed by Chu Xun’s addressing of the Dragon Deity by calling him “ancient worm” and “Ao”.
But this also showed that Chu Xun shared a unique relationship.
“Did the Dragon Deity not come with you, if you don’t mind me asking?” said Long Qingquan politely.
“Nope,” Chu Xun muttered grumpily, “That old thing left me outside and slipped away.”
“Great is the Dragon Deity. It has been centuries since we’ve last seen him,” breathed Long Qingquan, his eyes deep with memories and melancholy.
“No point reminiscing about him. He’s living the life – other than eating, sleeping, and having fun, he’s hardly doing anything serious and proper,” grumbled Chu Xun.
Cough cough! Long Qingquan nearly choked on his tea.
Only a handful of others in Silver Dragonsville had ever seen Emperor Ao before. Long Qingquan being one of them, although it had been a long, long time ago.
“So this is Emperor Ao here, the supreme deity to the people of Silver Dragonsville,” Chu Xun mused.
“Who is the Dragon Deity to you, Chu Xun?” asked another elderly man, no longer being able to rein in his curiosity at the way Chu Xun regarded Emperor Ao.
“Friends, I guess?” said Chu Xun, pondering the question himself. He had never thought about it before and never knew how to. Both he and Emperor Ao seem more like friends than the usual teacher-student relationship and their silly jokes and banter made them more the former than the latter.
The older men stirred uneasily. “This young man is a friend of the deity they worshipped?! As if that’s not too ludicrous for words?!”
“Can I sit down?” asked Chu Xun.
“Of course, of course,” muttered the group of old men profusely, “Come have a seat, Master Chu.” Chu Xun noticed their addressing of him had changed.
He sat down to find the elderly men still standing and he felt awkward. “Come on, sit down too, all of you.”
“We’re good, we’re good,” mumbled the old men, waving their hands.
Chu Xun was no fool. He could see that the old men had become fidgety and nervous since Chu Xun mentioned his friendship with Emperor Ao.
“Come on, just sit down. I’m not Ao. It’ll be fine.”
At Chu Xun’s insistence, the group of elderly men shuffled reluctantly to the stone stools and sat down. Even so, it was hilarious enough seeing them trying to keep their backsides from actually sitting down.
It was all Chu Xun could do from bursting out in laughter. But he realized how Emperor Ao had thrived by the mysticism that these subjects of his feared and respected him so greatly. “Perhaps I should ask him for a lesson or two,” mused Chu Xun quietly. “It’s time he needed to do something about the impertinence that Yan Chong and the others were showing him from time to time.”
“Please carry on. I’ll be off to arrange dinner,” said an old man suddenly, rising up from his chair and bending into an unmistakable bow before slipping away.
“Good Heavens,” Chu Xun stared with his jaws hanging. “Seriously?! Do these people really fear Ao so much?!”
“Where is the Silver Dragon Guard, sir? I need to see them?” said Chu Xun, voicing out the main purpose of his visit and the only agenda he was interested in.
“Everyone in Silver Dragonsville is part of the Silver Dragon Guard,” said Long Qingquan respectfully.
Chu Xun gasped quietly, staring with disbelief at the village head. Then he panned his gaze at the group of elderly men.
“Are you all Silver Dragon Guards too?”
Every single old man there nodded their head, including Long Qingquan.
Deep inside, Chu Xun groaned. These old men might wield great powers, but surely he can’t expect them to go to war with him?!
The burly men just now looked ideal, but as husbands and fathers to their families, Chu Xun could not bear to tear them away from their loved ones to go with him. It was simply too cruel.
Qi and the other children might be young, but they still lacked power and strength. They would only serve as cannon fodder in battle.
“Do you have any men younger than you?” Chu Xun asked sheepishly.
“I see you’ve mistaken us, Master Chu Xun,” said Long Qingquan, “The old men you see here are the veterans of the Silver Dragon Guard. The true members of the Silver Dragon Guard that I believe you might be seeking are at Lake Dragonspring. You’ll find that the men now settling there are the present generation of the Silver Dragon Guard.”
“What are their ages?” asked a curious Chu Xun.
Long Qingquan blushed. He had spoken too quickly, realizing so when he discovered Chu Xun’s bone age to only be a little more than thirty years. He hesitated before finally disclosing, “They’re all beyond a hundred, close to two hundred.”
But Chu Xun was relieved to hear that. The age group sounded just right to him.
“Bring me to them,” he said.
“I’m afraid it’s already late now, Master Chu,” said Long Qingquan, “How about tomorrow?”
Chu Xun nodded, realizing himself to be too impulsive because of his dogged interest in the Silver Dragon Guard.
The more they talked, the more Chu Xun knew more about this isolated hamlet. Apparently, Silver Dragonsville had existed for tens of million years. Their forebears were rescued by Emperor Ao during the calamities epochs before and relocated here. He imparted to them knowledge and magic and gave them the name Silver Dragonsville while keeping them safe from the dangers and intrusion from the outside world.
Through the years and generations, they swore allegiance only to Emperor Ao and worshipped him as their god. It had become a tradition and custom that they and their progenies had adopted and embodied to this day.
And here they lived, foraged, and multiplied for generations without any contact with the outside world in isolation and bliss.
“Were you informed about my purpose for summoning the Silver Dragon Guard, sir?” Chu Xun asked the village head.
Long Qingquan shook his head. “Our people have been kept and provided by the Dragon Deity since the early ages. If he wishes us to emerge, then so we will. Whatever his reasons are, we shall follow without qualm or query.”
Chu Xun sighed and told the elders of the village what was going on in the outside world.
“Anomalies have begun ravaging Earth and alien races from nowhere have begun emerging out of hiding. Battles there have been and more will come in the future. I’m afraid the worst is yet to come; a worst that even the scourge of the early epochs would pale in comparison. Death is certain. For years your village has enjoyed peace and prosperity and I hate to drag all of you and this hidden paradise into these horrors,” said Chu Xun grimly.
For ages, the people of Silver Dragonsville had been kept protected from the turbulences ravaging the world outside, making them a hidden paradise untainted and unblighted from the grotesqueries of strive and war. They might wield incredible strength and power, but without their minds steeled with fortitude and resolve, Chu Xun doubted they would survive the harsh realities of war.
Long Qingquan immediately realized Chu Xun’s concern, so did the rest of the elderly men.
“Master Chu Xun,” said Long Qingquan firmly, “I would not dare make brash promises. But trust me when I say this: every generation of Silver Dragonsville has lived anticipating summons from the Dragon Deity himself. We have been, we are, and we will always be ready to go to war in the Dragon Deity’s name. It is an honor to fly his standard in battle.”
Before Chu Xun could say anything else, the elderly man who had slipped off before came back, announcing dinner.
“Come, Master Chu. Dinner is waiting,” beckoned Long Qingquan.
Nodding his head, Chu Xun relented and followed the elderly men out of the yard.
“Where are we off to?” he asked
“The whole village is grateful for your gesture in rescuing the children, Master Chu. Today’s dinner is a feast prepared by every family in the village. There might be a crowd, so I hope you won’t mind,” said the old man.
“It’s fine. The more the merrier, they say,” chuckled Chu Xun.
At the clearing at the entrance of the village, the villagers had set a stone slab as a table and around it numerous stone stools. A huge bonfire raged several meters into the air, lighting up the darkness with glowing embers rising up to join the star-studded night sky.
The villagers numbered more than a hundred people.
“I hope you won’t mind the food here bland and simple like the world outside, Master Chu Xun?” said Long Qingquan.
Only, the food was hardly simple and bland, at least not the almost-one-hundred-kilogram joints of wild beast flesh now roasting over the fires on spits. The stone table was laid full with produce fresh from their own farms.
“I’ve been at war for many years. It’s the first time I’ve been so relaxed,” Chu Xun giggled, “I rather like it here.”
Strangely, it rang true. Chu Xun had never once been able to recuperate from his ongoing battles everywhere, rushing from hither to thither only to hurl himself into a new fight after another. His never-ending struggles had deprived him of even the time to talk to his parents, leaving almost right after he had only just met them every time.
With great power comes great responsibility. As Emperor Ao had mentioned before, his was a life destined to long years of hard work and labor. Perhaps he might be true after all.
Chu Xun waved a hand and retrieved a slab of Peacock meat from his Storage Ring. The slab of meat glistened with juice and wafted with an invigorating aroma.
“Wow… This piece of meat looks fresh and tasty!” cried Qi, drawing near. Chu Xun’s attendance made him very happy.
“What meat is this, Master Chu Xun?” asked Long Qingquan. He had never seen meat like this where he could practically feel the rich nourishing energies permeating from it.
“Peacock meat,” chuckled Chu Xun. This piece of meat Chu Xun had carved off Kong Yiming’s twenty-meter-long carcass at the Sanctuary of Tetrarchy then. He originally wanted to present it to his parents.
Long Qingquan stared at his fellow elderlies and they too looked back at him uneasily. Their ancient codices archived various historical facts about the early epochs, including excerpts that described the Peacock race as a dangerous and deadly race.
“You there!” Long Qingquan waved a man over, “Come take this meat and roast it!”
“Allow me,” smiled Chu Xun, “Surely I should help out as well.” He began preparing the meat to be roasted over the fire.
“Let me help you, Big Brother,” said Qi, joined by more of his friends. The children had grown fond of Chu Xun.
Various delicacies filled every space on the table in no time.
Long Qingquan even called for his self-produced liquor – the Dragon Mulberry Liquor – to be served. It tasted sweet and mellow, unlike most other liquor Chu Xun had tasted before.
The night’s breeze blew over the crackling bonfire, whisking the sweet aroma of the sizzling meat everywhere and the sweetness of the liquor only made the whole experience all the more exquisite. Every adult took turns toasting Chu Xun, who never declined anyone’s offer that night.
The children sat around him and he regaled them with tales of the outside world. Some of them managed to steal some of the liquor and the inebriating beverage left them drunk and feverish. Their cheeks burned a bright shade of red as they wobbled between their silly giggles.
Even the tamed wild beasts that the villagers reared prowled demurely around, enjoying the night’s feast as villagers fed them with scraps and even drinks from the table.
This night, Chu Xun was truly stoned.
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