Two hundred years ago.
"Just how many layers do you intend to wear? You really need all this?"
Kaolin placed a bundle on top of the growing pile Wei Lan now reluctantly carried. "Just in case."
Wei Lan, perplexed, "Just in case, what?"
Kaolin placed another bag on top of the pile.
"Just in case we're staying longer than we need to."
"What's that supposed to mean? I thought the Cultivators' Night lasted no more than two weeks? Hey! I'm talking to you, aren't I!?"
At last, Kaolin met his desperate gaze. "I've heard a rumour."
"What rumour? C'mon! Out with it!"
"Seems like Immortal Lord Zhenhai will be there, too. He's expected to join on the third day or the sixth. But we two shall be there already on the first day and stay the whole week."
"You seriously believe the Tuos will let you stay that long once they find out who you are?"
Kaolin smiled upon hearing this, waving his finger and beckoning the other to come closer. Wei Lan leaned in reluctantly.
"You think Immortal Lord Zhenhai is there for no reason after all these years?"
Wei Lan frowned, placing the pile of bags on the floor to focus on the conversation. "Are you saying the rumours about his health are… true? That he's severely ill?"
"I'm not sure. But once he comes, I'll know."
"What then? Do we strike or just…?"
"We'll cross that bridge once we get to Yueluo Gu. Until then, no one and nothing shall be harmed. If we're lucky, we might not even need to lift a finger."
Wei Lan raised a brow. "We're not the only ones, then,right? Coming for Immortal Lord Zhenhai's life?"
Kaolin observed the subtle change in Wei Lan's expression before replying. "Don't you know the saying 'tread on a worm and it will turn'? Whatever happens to Immortal Lord Zhenhai once he arrives at Yueluo Gu, we don't interfere unless we have to. We must keep a low profile at all times."
"Killing Immortal Lord Zhenhai isn't our objective? Then why are we even—"
"I told you, my grudge against Jinlian spans several thousand years. But I have no right to judge or seek vengeance against their descendants. What I'm looking for is… someone who stabbed me in the back and conspired with the Jinlian Sect. Whether Immortal Lord Zhenhai dies or not, I couldn't care less."
"That person," Wei Lan paused briefly before gathering enough courage to speak again. "Why are you even looking for him? You said your grudge against the members of Jinlian was only for the past, but why is your grudge against that person still intact?"
Kaolin looked away, refusing to meet the other's desperate gaze, before answering with a hushed voice tinged with unspeakable grief.
"Because I need answers... only that person can give me."
Wei Lan observed Kaolin as he slowly exited, watching him in silence until the double doors slammed shut and left him all alone in the dark guestroom they had booked for the night. Now that he looked closer, Kaolin not only looked weighed down by untold burdens, but also profound loneliness, one he could not lift from the other's shoulders no matter what he did and how many times he tried.
Although they had known one another for over a thousand years by now, there had never been a single instance where he could truly say he was Kaolin's friend. He had built walls so high around himself that not even the heavens could tear them down. Perhaps it was this peculiar loneliness that made Kaolin capable of cultivating the Forbidden Arts, for no mortal or immortal were supposed to be alive for so long associating themselves with such dark forces.
Shaking off these bleak thoughts, he quickly picked up the pile of bags and joined Kaolin in the barracks. After loading up everything on their stallions, they set off to Yueluo Gu outside of Huan-Yue.
Known for their martial skills, the Tuos brought up and trained several great commanders for generations. Their great-great Grandmaster had even created a martial technique called the Gateway of Greatness, which fused divine and demonic power to bring great harm to whoever was unfortunate enough to be subjected to such immense skills.
"Took you long enough," Kaolin said as he settled up on his stallion and turned it facing northwest.
Wei Lan followed suit and tossed him a rugged gourd flask filled with plum wine to the brim that had seen better days, before downing his own flask in such haste that half of it trickled down his attire. When he came to and wiped his mouth, Kaolin threw the gourd flask back to him.
"You keep it."
"Well, I'm not complaining. You're sure?"
Kaolin shook his head with a bemused smile, disapproving or perhaps just in disbelief at how happy the other sounded, before twisting the reins and commanding the stallion to gallop down the road ahead. Wei Lan returned his smile belatedly, taking another quick sip, only to follow shortly after.
They rode without respite for two days straight, and despite that, they missed the Cultivators' Night's opening. Once they arrived at Yueluo Gu in the witching hour, the gate was locked tight, protected by charms, and nobody was around to let them in.
"What now?" Wei Lan said. "You think they'll send someone down here sooner or later?"
"At this hour? I don't think so."
"So?"
"So, what?"
Wei Lan disembarked from his stallion, too tired to ride it any more than he already had during these two days, slapping his inner thighs to get the blood to circulate. Kaolin, on the other hand, remained seated.
"My legs are dying! I told you we should just stay the night at that temple we saw in the woods. Why do you never listen to me?"
But Kaolin was too caught up in examining the gates to listen to his complaints. It was also at this point that Wei Lan noticed him staring at the protective arrays with a weird look on his face and realised something was amiss.
"Hey, what are you doing? Kaolin?"
"Don't you hear it? That sound…"
Wei Lan crept as close to the bewitched gates as he could tolerate before his eyes widened, and he locked eyes with Kaolin. "I hear it! But I'm not sure what I'm hearing? It almost sounds like a… like a…"
"Wolves. Several. But not just any kind of wolves."
Wei Lan's eyes flung open.
"The Bai Lang Clan! Wait! Why aretheyhere?"
Kaolin's expression hardened. It was easy to tell he was just as surprised by this insight as was Wei Lan himself. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes lit up with something, another insight, and he quickly sought Wei Lan's eyes to confirm something. "With how many days did we miss the inauguration?"
"Two, or maybe three days. Why?"
Kaolin, without warning, breached through the charms protecting the gates from trespass with a swift move and rode right through them. Wei Lan, who had disembarked from his horse, lost sight of him just as he managed to saddle up once more and start for the gates.
"Hey, wait for me—" His voice trailed off as he suddenly found himself all alone, frantically looking around for a trace of his master. "—Kaolin?"
That was when he caught those strange sounds once more and followed them further uphill, and minutes later, strayed off the main trail leading to the Tuo household, and set off to the forested area instead, expecting the unexpected, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.