"Shanyun, do you... do you blame me? Blame me for not saving you back then?" Qi Hong asked cautiously. When Shanyun was sacrificed, he had resisted, but the patriarch, Shanyun's father, had chosen to accept fate. He lacked the courage to contend with the Serpent God, and could only watch as Shanyun was sacrificed.
Shanyun simply smiled, "It's getting dark, hurry up and go back. It's not safe in the mountains after dark."
Qi Hong watched Shanyun get up to chase Xiao Man, a flicker of melancholy flashed in his eyes. He sighed and got up to follow.
The people of the Desolate Tribe, under Xiao Man's treatment, gradually recovered. The tribesmen began to regard Xiao Man as one of their own, showing her kindness.
Xiao Man also took advantage of her free time to wander around, searching for traces of others. Since arriving in this inexplicable place, she hadn't seen any sign of Nangong Yu, Mo Mo, or even Feng Moran. Her resolve to kill Feng Moran, however, had only grown stronger.
Shanda, immensely grateful to Xiao Man for saving his tribesmen, invited her for a walk when he saw her alone.
"Goddess, thank you for saving my tribesmen and my daughter," Shanda's voice was filled with an inexpressible relief. When the Serpent God was killed, he was truly terrified, yet truly relieved. As a father, his own daughter had been chosen as a sacrifice, and as the patriarch, he could not show favoritism. Xiao Man's appearance had left him with extremely complex emotions.
"Patriarch, you can call me Xiao Qin. I just did what I should have done," Xiao Man said calmly. "By the way, Patriarch, can you tell me where this place is?"
Shanda looked at Xiao Man in surprise. "You don't know where this is?"
Xiao Man shook her head. "I only remember being plotted against by an enemy and intending to take them down with me. When I opened my eyes, I was here with you."
"This is the Cang Xuan Continent, the Desolate Tribe," Shanda said after a moment of silence, then began to explain. "Do you know why it's called Desolate?"
"Please enlighten me, Patriarch."
"Because this is the place with the weakest spiritual energy and the harshest environment on the Cang Xuan Continent. The people here can only live here their entire lives, fighting fierce beasts, battling the harsh weather and environment, just to survive."
"Why not leave here?" Xiao Man asked, confused. If the environment was so harsh, why didn't they leave?
Shanda gestured for Xiao Man to follow him. He led her to a sheer cliff face. The wall was smooth and steep, with some plants growing in the crevices. Even so, it was difficult for ordinary people to climb, and even the warriors of the Desolate Tribe could only ascend about thirty feet before being unable to go any further.
"Why can you only climb up to ten zhang?" Xiao Man inquired.
"Because the higher you go, the harder it becomes to climb, and it's full of various dangers. If you slip, you'll be crushed to death." Shanda pointed to the piles of white bones on the ground. "These are the remains of those who attempted to climb this ten-thousand-zhang cliff."
Xiao Man ignored the piles of white bones on the ground. Instead, she looked at the steep cliff, stretched her limbs, and leaped. She ascended three zhang in an instant, using small trees growing in the crevices as footholds, and propelled herself upwards again, disappearing from view in the blink of an eye.
Shanda's face showed shock. He took a step back, sighing with a mix of regret and helplessness. Climbing up so impulsively, she would surely be crushed to death when she fell. This Xiao Qin was truly too rash.
Shanda began counting in his mind. At most, in thirty counts, the audacious woman would fall from above and be smashed to pieces. Since she had saved his people, he would stay here to collect her body.
However, Shanda counted to a thousand, and no one fell. An impossible thought began to form in his mind. Could that woman have made it to the top?
No, it was impossible. This cliff was ten thousand zhang high. Unless one could fly, it was simply impossible to ascend, let alone encounter various dangers during the climb. Even if that woman knew some strange arts, she couldn't possibly climb this ten-thousand-zhang cliff. Just wait, she would surely fall.
Shanda sat down cross-legged to wait. He wanted to see when Xiao Man would fall. By noon, when Shanyun came to look for them to go back for dinner, Xiao Man had still not come down.
"Father, where did Xiao Qin go?"
Shanda looked up at the sky. Shanyun followed his gaze. They could see nothing but the ten-thousand-zhang cliff piercing the clouds and thick mist. "Xiao Qin went up?"
"Yes, she went up. She's been up for several hours."
Shanyun sounded a little anxious. "How could Xiao Qin be so reckless? This cliff is ten thousand zhang high and full of dangers. If she falls by mistake, the consequences will be utter annihilation."
"I told her, but she doesn't seem to listen."
Shanyun cast a reproachful glance at her father. "Father, why didn't you stop her?"
Shanda's face felt a little guilty under his daughter's gaze. "I wanted to stop her, but before I could finish speaking, she had already leaped three zhang high and disappeared in an instant. This small place called Desolate probably can't hold her."
"But, to recklessly climb a ten-thousand-zhang cliff..." Shanyun's eyes were full of concern. She looked up at the towering cliff that reached into the clouds, its end unseen. As her neck began to ache from looking up, she saw a shadow falling rapidly, headfirst!
"Ah!" Shanyun screamed and covered her eyes, unable to watch.
Shanda quickly stood up. He watched the dark shadow plummeting from high above. He wanted to turn his head away but couldn't move his eyes. The falling shadow, in mid-air, strangely changed direction. It kicked off the wall and, like a swallow, soared upwards again. It shot up a short distance, grabbed a protruding small tree to unload some of its momentum, then released its grip and continued to descend. In an instant, it landed safely on the ground.
Xiao Man flicked her fingers and tapped the forehead of the shrieking Shanyun. "Are you done screaming?"
Shanyun lifted a slit in her fingers. Seeing Xiao Man standing before her, unharmed, she immediately grabbed Xiao Man and examined her from head to toe, confirming she had no injuries. Then she said with joy, "Xiao Qin, you're alright, that's wonderful."
Shanda looked at this impossibly strange woman, his expression a mixture of shock and distortion. It was the first time he had ever seen someone fall from such a height and remain completely unharmed!
"Patriarch, are there any other tribes nearby?" Xiao Man looked at Shanda. "I have a few friends who were with me, but I haven't found any trace of them."