When the first ray of morning light shone upon their humble house, Hong Wei, with Seren standing quietly beside him, looked at his mother and Shan Mei and said softly, "Mother, I'll be going now. Please take care of yourself while I'm away."
Xue Yiran remained silent for a moment as she gazed at her son, her only child, who was about to begin a journey that could last a month or even longer.
Everything had come too suddenly for her. Just yesterday, he had abruptly declared that he was going out, and then began preparing food and supplies as though it was already settled. Her heart still hadn't fully come to terms with the parting.
In the end, seeing that he would not be alone, he had a cultivator beside him, and seeing the light in his eyes, the excitement he tried to conceal but could not, she couldn't bring herself to stop him. Instead, she gave him her blessing.
Looking at him now, waiting for her response with quiet patience, Xue Yiran stepped forward. She pulled him into a long, tight hug, holding on for as long as she could, before finally letting go. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Come back safely."
Hong Wei gave her a warm, gentle smile.
Then, after a small bow of respect, he turned to Shan Mei, whispered a few quiet words, knowing she had actually wanted to follow him, and finally turned and walked away with Seren.
It was still very early in the morning, and the world outside remained dark. The road was empty, not even the earliest workers had begun to stir.
As he walked through the quiet town, Hong Wei found his thoughts wandering. He wondered, when he returned, how much he would have changed, and what kind of person he would be by then.
Eventually, he reached the outskirts of town.
It was there that Seren suddenly stopped and turned to face him. Her cheeks were slightly red, and in a quiet, almost flustered voice, she said, "Master… I should take it from here."
What she meant was clear… she wanted him to come closer, so she could carry him in flight. But she couldn't bring herself to say it outright.
Fortunately, Hong Wei, though a little embarrassed himself, understood her meaning. Without a word, he gently wrapped his arms around her neck.
He felt her soft, warm body press against him. She was wearing the clothes he had brought her, not her usual battle dress, and he couldn't help but notice how unexpectedly comfortable she was to hold.
"Master… you need to hold on tighter," Seren said, her voice light and delicate, almost like a whisper carried by the wind.
And when she noticed his grip grow firmer, she finally wrapped her arms around his back.
Her body began to rise slowly, steadily, her movement as fluid as water lifting into the sky.
After conjuring a thin but sturdy protective barrier around Hong Wei's body to guard against wind pressure and spiritual turbulence, she finally took off, flying straight toward the direction of the tomb.
At first, Hong Wei tried to maintain some restraint. Even though he had to hug her, he didn't want to cling too tightly, worried it might make her uncomfortable. But the moment his feet left the ground and he saw the familiar town slowly shrinking beneath him, its buildings becoming small and distant, swallowed by the morning mist, he instinctively tightened his grip, holding on to Seren with all the strength he could muster.
He didn't fear heights in particular, and he had no irrational phobias. But when there was nothing beneath his feet and only sky in every direction, the awareness that a single mistake could send him falling to his death… it made his heart pound.
But that wasn't the worst part.
As Seren's speed began to increase, slowly at first, then steadily more and more, his senses began to struggle. The world around him blurred, the trees below stretching into green lines, the clouds above streaking past like misty ghosts.
Even though Seren had carefully shielded him from the air pressure, and her warm body was something he could lean into, it didn't make the ride easy. The sheer velocity, the constant acceleration, and the unfamiliar sensation of weightless momentum began to wear him down.
His arms and legs slowly grew numb, as if his body had started to forget gravity.
So this… was what it felt like to fly?
It wasn't just majestic or thrilling… it was overwhelming. Dizzying.
That was when the real journey began… not peaceful or graceful, but stiff, tense, and exhausting for Hong Wei.
…
Time passed, and eventually, night fell.
Seren, noticing a naturally-formed cave nestled into a cliffside below, descended and gently landed before diving into its shelter.
Hong Wei lay there, slumped against the stone wall, resting. After more than ten hours of continuous flight, his entire body felt drained, even though he hadn't done anything besides hold on.
Apparently, Seren hadn't even used half of her full speed. That was hard for him to believe.
Still, he didn't complain. It had been his own decision to travel this way, and he intended to endure it without regrets.
Taking the food they had prepared in advance, he quietly nibbled at it while holding a book in his other hand… a cultivation manual that recorded the Basic Qi Gathering Method.
He sat near the fire Seren had prepared, its warmth cutting through the cold night air inside the cave, and let his mind settle into the pages.
Even though he hadn't started cultivating yet, he had already read through the four techniques in his possession. It was only a matter of time before he began. So now, on this journey, hopefully he would find the opportunity, the means, and the way, to truly begin cultivating.
And for that, he had to be ready.