End of the month
It was morning, and a light rain fell from the sky. In this weather, a lone cultivator slowly trudged through the swamp. With every step he took, splashes of water wet his clothes, while the terrain made his feet sink deeper in the mud.
However, the man didn't care. Instead, he stared at the gray sky. A month had passed since he had seen a blue sky, and now he had started to miss the sun.
This man was Yun Qiang; he had already received his weekly quest: another scouting mission. However, he didn't go where he was supposed to; instead, he was slowly traveling towards the familiar bog in Area 17.
As he watched the black clouds in the sky, last night's dream resurfaced in his mind. Yes, last night he had one of his dreams/visions. However, this time he hadn't been forced to fight against monks; instead, he had only spectated a small conversation.
The rhythmic sound of rain started to transform into voices while the surroundings changed, bringing him back to that dream.
The dream started in a small room; the walls were decorated with wooden clouds, while the floor was made of marble. The only furniture present in the room were some chairs and a metal desk at the center of the room.
"And this is how I got injured." Dream Yun Qiang was standing in front of the desk; his eyes were low, he didn't dare to look his master in the eyes.
A few weeks had passed since his fight with the monks; however, some of his injuries hadn't healed yet. This showed how serious his wounds were before he managed to return to the sect and receive healing.
"Qiang, what was your mistake?" The old man's voice sounded tired; the large amount of books on the desk and the bags under his eyes made it clear that he had spent more than one night studying and reading these manuals.
"I disobeyed your orders and didn't return after seeing my family. I also provoked another sect and lost, bringing shame to the 'Thousands Cloud Sect'."
The master paused for a moment before he let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"You are wrong. There is no shame in losing, and the reason you disobeyed makes sense. Few people would stand idle and watch when a family member was kidnapped."
"However, you weren't careful. You have extraordinary talent, and the sect values you. You could have asked for help. Now the sect has a small problem that we have to resolve. I already talked to the sect master, and he told me to resolve everything by the end of the decade."
The man threw a token at him.
"As a punishment, you must spend the next six years in isolation in the Cloudious Mountain. You can leave it only once every three years to see your family, and you aren't allowed to interact with other disciples until you reach perfection and obtain the High Cloud Body."
Dream Yun Qiang's pupils shrank before he bowed towards his master. His voice was filled with gratitude.
"Thank you for this opportunity, master. Once I end my training, I will resolve the problems that I caused to the sect"
After these words fell, the dream ended, letting Yun Qiang rest for the rest of the night.
To tell the truth, he had felt a little disappointed by the content of this dream. In it, he didn't find any new knowledge of Dream Yun Qiang's position or new techniques that could help him in his current situation. This dream was only the continuation of Dream Yun Qiang's story.
He shook his head; he didn't have any kind of control over his dreams, he had no reason to be angry about it. Besides, he envied his dream version a bit. By the looks of it, his dream version wasn't being punished for his misdeeds; instead, he was given an opportunity to become stronger and take revenge.
He let out a small sigh.
It must be good to have a master like that.
The image of Voss's serious face came to his mind. Bitterness filled his heart; in that moment, he realized how lonely he felt today.
More than a year had passed since his recruitment in the Border Guard. During this period, he had fought in a large number of battles, skirmishes, chases, and other kinds of fights. However, he had never felt alone; Voss and his teammates had always been there for him. Even when the enemies cut him off from the rest of his team or isolated him on the battlefield, he didn't feel lonely because he knew that his friends were close by, fighting other battles.
He let out a small murmur.
"Is this how you felt, Voss?"
He wondered if his captain felt the same way in the past, fighting with no one to cover for you, with no one to rely on, and no way to retreat without losing something important.
Yun Qiang started to understand why so many people that fought on the battlefield became heartless and cold. It was the easy way out.
If you are cold, you won't care for the lives of your subordinates, and if you are heartless, you can sacrifice others at will.
If you are heartless, you will never feel the sadness of losing someone important, and if you are cold, you will never become attached to others.
However, Yun Qiang wasn't heartless or cold.
The loneliness he felt wasn't a sign of weakness or a bad omen. It was a sign that he cared for his teammates. Lee and Sun weren't sacrificial pawns that he could move at will; they were people he could trust as friends and companions. He had even grown attached to the seven mortals he had taught how to cultivate; after a few months, he had grown closer to them and had started to see them as his students and not like manual laborers or living bait.
Finally, at noon, he arrived at the center of Area 17, where he usually cultivated. This was the place where he intended to wait for Lee Sheng.
Once the bog came into view, he slowly walked towards the center while taking in huge breaths of air. His bitter smile was gone, replaced by a serious expression; his gaze was extremely focused and filled with killing intent.
His perception of the world changed completely; the rhythmic sound of the rain became background noise, the black clouds above him were just an obstacle that reduced his visibility.
He slowly moved into a battle stance and started scanning the surroundings.
He was ready to fight.