777: Chapter 508_2 777: Chapter 508_2 Cai Xiangxiang had long known what was on her mind, yearning for her family but unable to return home—her money was likely being controlled within that Sect.
Later, she followed her, believing that she couldn’t protect her without causing trouble.
When she had brought her family back to the base, the heavy-hearted look on Cai Xiangxiang’s face had already hinted at her longing for them.
“Senior Brother, if there’s no urgent task, then let’s go!”
Ye Tian nodded indifferently, and then asked Cai Xiangxiang for the direction and address of her hometown.
All these details needed to be entered into the flying artifact, which would then automatically fly to the designated address.
Cai Xiangxiang mentioned the direction of her hometown, which was in a poor mountainous area in the north.
There were many mountains there and it was home to a minority ethnic group, where the customs and daily habits were different from those outside.
She had been taken away by that bad person when she was very young, to the Immortal Sect.
She often cried in the Sect, and when she missed her family, she could only practice her cultivation even harder.
Later, as more brothers joined the Sect and the master took in more disciples, she spent her time either cultivating or learning spells.
In front of the others, she could no longer cry.
If she did, she would be beaten.
That bad person, her master, had a terrible temper.
Once, she made a mistake during her practice and was scolded terribly; when she cried, she was hit by him again.
Cai Xiangxiang reminisced about her childhood, the time she was taken to the Immortal Sect by that bad person, and how her life there was far from good—she was very afraid of him.
Her childhood was spent in such an environment.
Going back to her hometown, although poor and short of food and warmth, there was the love of her parents.
Ye Tian set the direction towards the north.
The air there was different from the south, and by this time, it was very cold, with snow starting to fall.
The closer they got to the northern regions, the colder it felt, but being cultivators, they channeled their Qi to fend off the harsh cold.
High up in the air, aboard the flying ship, they could feel the snowflakes drifting, and through the windows, they could see the sky outside covered in a flurry of snow.
In the sky filled with swirling snowflakes, the flying ship operated normally, unaffected by the air currents and atmosphere.
“It’s so cold, is your place always this cold?” Yan Weiwei asked Cai Xiangxiang.
Yan Weiwei’s parents and family, and the child in her arms, had already added more layers of clothing.
The child had not yet started cultivating; against such cold weather, keeping them warm was a necessity.
Yan Weiwei could only create a special halo for the children to maintain warmth, ensuring they wouldn’t get cold.
Her family and parents had learned cultivation techniques and had reached the point of Spirit Energy Infusion, capable of circulating the techniques.
Seeing them unable to withstand the cold, Ye Tian increased the temperature inside the flying artifact to match that of the south, so they wouldn’t be affected by the cold air for the time being.
Cai Xiangxiang’s gaze swept over the landscape below; mountains and the ground were blanketed in snow, a vast expanse of white, the place she spoke of as home.
Having been away for so many years, she did not actually know which was their northern home—the mountain, the river that belonged to their village.
“Yes, in the south it is still autumn, but my hometown should already be covered in heavy snow.
When I was little, we used to warm ourselves by the fire at home.
Our hometown is very poor and is located deep in the mountains.
We can only harvest one crop a year, and when winter comes, there’s nothing to do.
In winter, we’re hungrier, with no vegetables to eat.”
Cai Xiangxiang had mentioned bits of her life in her hometown to Yan Weiwei, but Yan Weiwei’s family didn’t know about it.
Yan Weiwei and her family were born in the south.
They could grow crops all year round.
Though they were also poor in the countryside, compared to the single harvest mentioned by Cai Xiangxiang, they indeed had it much tougher.
For those from the south who had never been to the north, the plain of white snow seemed beautiful.
Facing such cold weather, they felt it would be hard to adapt to living in such a place.
Unable to endure the freezing weather.
“So at this time, your family is at home warming by the fire.
You left at such a young age and can’t recognize your village.
With the heavy snow covering the mountains and the land, how will you find your family in this weather?”
Yan Weiwei’s question was not without reason, as Cai Xiangxiang gazed intently at the ground below.
She would use her Divine Sense to find the familiar Qi of The Mortal Realm, but such searching was going to be very difficult.
“No worries, once we arrive, I’ll fly the artifact lower, which will make it easier to search.”
Ye Tian said considerately.
“Thank you, son-in-law,” Cai Xiangxiang said with a grateful look in her eye as she glanced at Ye Tian.
Ye Tian nodded his head without speaking any further.
Cai Xiangxiang then turned her attention back to her family, aware that pointing in only one direction meant a vast area to the north.
The place mentioned, ever since she was a child, she had heard from the villagers that their area bordered another country.
Their place was very cold and filled with many big mountains.
In their village, within a hundred li, there was a mountain where on the other side lay another country.
Although there were soldiers guarding the border, they only stayed at the boundary, and people from the neighboring country could come over to market, as could they visit the neighboring country’s market.
In fact, residents from the remote areas of both countries sometimes intermarried, and the two nations were at peace; the only problems in the mountainous border area were the occasional bandits and ne’er-do-wells.
Nevertheless, ordinary people could live without too much concern for their survival, though life was hard, they could rely on their skills to get by.
They lived off the land and water, surviving on some unique local resources.
Cai Xiangxiang explained that their area actually had mining zones, which produced coal.
The coal-producing mines were not far from their village, just over ten li away, and some villagers worked there.
Aside from the crops they farmed, which were not enough to support families, they had no choice but to work for their living.
After cruising on the flying artifact for several hours, they finally saw lights in a place; they had set out in the morning and it was now past noon.
They had already eaten lunch on the artifact when Ye Tian noticed that the flying artifact had designated a place and stopped.
“Cai Xiangxiang, is this the place?”
Cai Xiangxiang looked down but did not see the mountainous terrain or the vast white expanse that was familiar to her.
“I’m not sure, perhaps we haven’t arrived at my homeland yet.”
Of course, Ye Tian understood that, just like in the Imperial City, once you were inside, you would travel hundreds of li from the south gate to the north gate, and hundreds of li from the west gate to any other city gate.
Although Cai Xiangxiang’s home was in a border region, it was also a large area, part of a bigger district.
A district, of course, possessed hundreds of li worth of mountains and fields; it was possible that the place they were at now was still very far from Cai Xiangxiang’s village.
“Then let’s continue searching!”
Ye Tian said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
He lowered the flying artifact a bit, to give everyone a better view from above.
They were just a little higher than the mountains, able to see the snowy peaks and the flat fields, and all the village houses were engulfed in a white blanket.
Ye Tian recalled that Cai Xiangxiang mentioned her hometown was only about a hundred li from the border, so he decided to search according to that distance.
Ye Tian wasn’t opposed to visiting the edge of the territory to see if there were any dangerous areas in this border region.
He also wanted to casually observe whether the neighboring country posed any threats to this area.
With that thought, he didn’t wait for Cai Xiangxiang to find her hometown; he just headed straight toward the border.
Cai Xiangxiang hadn’t yet found a place that felt familiar; she had left home when she was very little and hadn’t traveled far in her youth.
The farthest place she had been to was the town, and after so many years, she didn’t remember the location of her hometown.
She only knew that her home was on the edge of the country, and the neighbors were tall-nosed, blue-eyed foreigners.
Ye Tian piloted the airship for another hour, reaching a small town on the edge of the territory.
As they circled this edge of the land, they found it very peaceful.
In the afternoon, the town was serene; the snow had closed off the roads, but people were still walking.
Those moving around in the daylight were there to trade or buy goods at the town.