Going Back
Going Back
"Humans?! Alongside a Twin-Tailed Mao and two beasts whom I've never seen before. And this is what you lot were secretly working on?"
He suddenly turned, looking at Ao Qin, Ruishi Lei, and those who were in on it. His gaze had a fury to them like no other.
"Bringing a human along with us? I... I can't even fathom how or where or even what this is now!"
Lao Yang's voice was loud but it wasn't angry, in fact, he has brimming with excitement! The old goat looked back at Ming Yue with curiosity.
"How did you even get into contact with one another? Have you always been in these lands? Where did you come from? Who are you?!"
With each question, the fiery curiosity grew even more just as the other two scholars looked at him.
"Ah, there he goes again", one of them said.
Jin Nao watched as the one she was supposed to guard was now fearlessly walking up to these unknown figures.
On the other hand, Ming Yue found things slightly awkward at the moment. After all, she had just boarded a ship filled with strangers. Having them stare at her was just a tad unsettling, especially when it came to Lao Yang, who didn't quite seem to care at this point.
He was curious and needed to learn more about her.
"Ah, what an opportunity to have! Two humans right in front of me! Even though we're headed for the Human Continent, for two humans to be here, there must be an interesting reason behind it. Not to mention, what sort of connection they have with some of our members here", he muttered to himself.
Ming Yue lowered her head to greet everyone before speaking.
"I apologize for this sudden appearance but I am here because you are all headed back to the Human Continent. I'd rather not have to force my way through when I can leave quietly through the ship", she told them.
"Hm but that would mean that you came here at some point", Lao Yang pointed out.
The young cultivator nodded before pointing at Bai Sheng.
"Yes, I came here nearly a year or two ago. I was gravely injured but Bai Sheng and her son had found me and nursed me back to life."
"I see, I see, hm."
The goat-kin rubbed his little beard quietly and before he could ask more, Bai Sheng interrupted him.
"Why don't we all find a place to sit, drink some tea and perhaps answer a few of your questions?" she asked aloud.
"I... I suppose that would be a good idea", said Zhu Xie, "It says here that the ship will be hovering around this area for a bit so I don't need to watch it. Besides, I'm feeling a bit hungry at the moment."
The boar-kin patted his stomach before leaving the ship controls alone.
"Right, right, I think a meal would do us nicely. What do we have in our storage? I'm sure we have something our guests can eat", Ao Qin said aloud, looking towards a different part of the ship.
"If possible, I do have a bit of my own. I don't quite know what some of them are but hopefully, they are usable."
Ming Yue then pointed her spatial ring outward before releasing a pile of beast corpses.
"O- oh, in that case, let's see what you have then. Is this all of it?" Zhu Xie asked.
The young woman nodded her head.
"I've been here for quite some time and the beasts here are quite ferocious. Even if I don't go hunting, they come to me. Not to mention, these three hunt on their own from time to time."
She glanced up at Liang Wei and the other two beasts
"In that case, we can go to the storage room and see what you've caught."
The boar-kin turned and led everyone to the back where Ming Yue proceeded to release a practical mountain of beasts.
Even Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei were shocked by the number of them.
"Girl, I know that you're strong but this is too much!" the dragon-kin exclaimed.
"I couldn't exactly let it go to waste." she replied, "I still have more but I'd rather not place a larger burden on the ship."
"You have more?"
There was a look of exasperation on his face before ultimately letting the matter go.
"Alright, let's just have a meal and discuss things. Now that it's come to this, some things need to be said."
Some time after, everyone was seated around a large table below the deck of the ship. There, Zhu Xie placed the last of the dishes before joining everyone.
"All right, my own special course just for tonight! Please enjoy!" He spoke proudly before digging in.
Ming Yue looked around watching them all eat with their hands. The food was somewhat different, a mix of skewers and sliced meats alongside a few sauces and platters of bread. She watched them make little sandwiches with the various meats and whatnot. And after a bit, she joined in, making her own sandwiches.
"Oh, this is delicious", she thought to herself.
A slice or two of meat as well as some vegetables sandwiched between a fluffy, white piece of bread and drizzled with a sweet and savory sauce made for a very satisfying bite. And because they were small, it was easy to make more, mixing and matching different things.
Hongyu was eating with a bit of joy, happily making all kinds of sandwiches and eating them. Xiao Yin and the others were all eating behind them, munching down on some slabs of meat that had been butchered by the boar-kin.
"How is everything?"
Ming Yue looked up to see Zhu Xie looking at her with some anticipation.
"It's very good. I've never had something like this before", she answered.
The boar-kin let out a wide smile, looking happy with himself.
"That's very good to hear! I wasn't quite sure if these would taste good to a human. This is a style of cooking that my tribe uses and usually most guests find it amazing! Even more so with some of the ingredients that you've provided!" he said.
"It was the least that I could do", the young woman replied.
Then Lao Yang spoke up.
"So then, I do believe that we are in need of an explanation for... whatever is happening right now."
The somewhat happy mood that had been building was washed out by the reality of their circumstances. Ming Yue had one more sandwich before cleaning her mouth.
"In that case, we should start from the beginning. I am Ming Yue, a cultivator from the Human Continent. This is Hongyu and those three are Xiao Yin, Hei Yue, and Liang Wei", she quickly introduced everyone, making sure that they knew who was who.
"Alright then, Ming Yue, how did you get here? And What sort of connections do you have with the few of us here?" Lao Yang asked.
From there, Ming Yue slowly answered the goat-kin's questions one by one.
Soon enough, everyone knew how she had been found by Bai Sheng and her son, who nursed her back to health. She had stayed while they left because of the encroaching danger of the Savage Lands. From there, she had met with the Four Claws, helping them with one of their expeditions. After that, Ao Qin had found her but the Byakko Tribe had sent their forces to investigate. Thus, the dragon-kin chose to take the blame for her.
"Ah, so the reason why the Byakko Tribe doesn't like you! You took the blame for knocking them out!" Lao Yang gave Ao Qin some side-eye as he chuckled.
"Yes, now go back to listening to her", the dragon-kin looked at him slightly annoyed.
"Right, right, what happened afterwards?"