Chapter 11: Sunset and Sunrise, Danger in the Wolf King’s Cave

Things in the world are indeed strange sometimes—what you think is least likely to happen often turns out to happen just the same. (Gu Long)
……
“Are you leaving for Shenmen now, Fairy Shui?” Liu Yi asked.
Shui nodded and said, “We should part ways here. You’re going to Western Shu, while I’m heading to the western region of Kunlun. Our paths diverge.”
Liu Yi nodded. “I see. Then I must thank Fairy Shui for your help. Let’s part here then.”
Shui nodded and smiled sweetly. “I still don’t know your names.”
Liu Yi bowed and said, “My surname is Liu, and my name is Yi. I’m from the south of the Yangtze River.” He pointed at Shi Jieyi and said, “This is my brother, Shi Jieyi. You can just call him Shi Yi.”
After saying that, Liu Yi thought to himself—how frustrating! After spending so many days together, he still didn’t know his own name. Was it her who was foolish, or was he a failure as a person?
Shui looked at Liu Yi with a curious gaze and said in her sweet voice, “Oh… I get it. You must be that scholar from the south. Everyone says you’re a great talent. My master even has a painting of you. That old man treats it like a treasure and won’t let me even take a peek.”
Liu Yi smiled and shook his head. “What’s there to be proud of about being a scholar? Scholars are utterly useless!”
Shui still smiled. “Well, a scholar is a term relative to this martial world! You can pass exams to gain status, or you can learn martial arts.”
Liu Yi shook his head. “No. I hate those martial arts. Once you learn them, you fight, and fighting leads to death. It’s not fun.”
Seeing Liu Yi’s strange expression, Shui couldn’t help but laugh. “Silly boy! Knowing martial arts can also save people. What’s the difference between saving and causing trouble? It’s about helping the weak and punishing the strong. You’re supposed to be someone who reads the classics!”
Liu Yi shook his head firmly. “I just won’t learn them.”
Seeing his determination, Shui said, “This martial world is extremely dangerous. If you say the wrong thing, your head could be cut off. Don’t you want to learn something to protect yourself?”
Liu Yi continued to shake his head. “First, I don’t want to. Second, I see no need. I have someone as skilled as Shi Yi by my side. Why would I learn anything else?”
Realizing it was pointless to argue with Liu Yi, Shui also shook her head. “There are always those better than us! Sooner or later, you’ll suffer. Well, I should go. I’ll leave now. Until we meet again.”
Liu Yi bowed as well. “Until we meet again.”
Shui turned to look at Shi Jieyi, who already had a horse, and said, “Brother Shi Yi, thank you for your horse. I’m leaving now.”
Shi Yi grinned foolishly and bowed. “Take care, Shui.”
Shui smiled, leaving behind a last beautiful image before gradually disappearing into the dust.
“None of the beauties in the six palaces can compare to her. A single smile of hers is full of charm.” Liu Yi watched Shui disappear and shook his head in sigh.
Shi Jieyi and Da Dao Wang approached Liu Yi. Shi Jieyi said, “Boss, we need to head to Shu. We have to cross the Shu Road. That old guy said it will take at least half a month.”
Hearing that, Liu Yi thought—half a month. Adding the time already lost, it was already a month. So there were still two months left. No, they needed to hurry.

Liu Yi looked at the Great Sword King and asked, “I heard it’s extremely difficult to traverse the Shu Road to reach the heavens. Is it really that hard?”
The Great Sword King nodded and said, “Actually, it’s not that difficult. The Shu Road is much easier to walk on now; there are already paths available.”
Liu Yi nodded and said, “Then fine, let’s hurry up. I wonder if the Wanjin Tower has any news about the Ninth Princess!”
The Great Sword King said confidently, “Yes, definitely. The owner of Wanjin Tower has a crystal ball with magical powers. It’s said to be the dragon eye of the dragon race from the heavens. That thing can show both the past and the future. As long as you have money, it can find you not just a girl, but even an ant.”
A surprised expression appeared on Liu Yi’s face as he asked, “Is that really true?”
The Great Sword King looked at Liu Yi and said, “No wonder Miss Shui said you’re a fool. There are many strange things in the martial world. You don’t know anything yet—just learn slowly.”
“Bang!” Shi Jieyi, who wasn’t in a good mood, punched the Great Sword King and said, “Old man, how dare you say my boss knows little? My boss told me that the books he’s read cover everything—things like jade, golden houses… Do you understand any of that…?”
The Great Sword King shook his head at Shi Jieyi and said, “I don’t understand. Let’s hurry up and keep going.” Without caring about Liu Yi or Shi Jieyi, he rushed forward straight ahead.
Liu Yi and Shi Jieyi followed behind the Great Sword King.
After several days of rapid travel on horseback, the three arrived at the foot of the Shu Road. The terrain here was rugged and bumpy, making it impossible to ride horses. It seemed they had no choice but to walk uphill.
The Great Sword King jumped off his horse and said, “This is the Shu Road. If we cross these mountains, we’ll reach the Shu region.”
Liu Yi took a look and exclaimed, “Good heavens, it’s so steep! There’s a real risk of getting crushed to pieces.” He said gloomily, “Brother Great Sword, is there any other way? Isn’t this place a bit dangerous?”
The Great Sword King shook his head and said, “There is another path, but it’s even steeper than this one. Since it’s used by those who are skilled in martial arts, it’s only taken by experts in the martial world.” As he spoke, he continued walking forward.
Liu Yi had no choice but to follow behind and asked, “Why can only martial arts experts use that path?”
The Great Sword King shook his head as he walked and said, “Are you really from the countryside? Those highly skilled martial artists are beyond our imagination. For example, in the human world, there’s the Sword Gate. They can fly on swords atop those steep cliffs. In the heavens, they can use magical artifacts they’ve created to cross the Shu Road. The martial arts of the demon race are even more mysterious—they can fly using their own cultivation. These strange things are beyond our understanding as ordinary people.”
Liu Yi seemed stunned after hearing the Great Sword King’s words. There was another even more wonderful world outside his own world—that was the martial world… Before, Liu Yi had hated the so-called martial world and all its fighting and violence. But after hearing the Great Sword King’s words, he seemed to begin to yearn for such extraordinary abilities.
Shi Jieyi was also deep in thought. When the Great Sword King finished speaking, his eyes held an indescribable longing.
And so, the three of them didn’t know how long they had been walking. All they knew was that the sun had set and the moon risen—another hour had passed—yet they were still wandering along the Shu Road.

The Great Sword King pointed to a cave ahead and said, “Bosses, it’s already dark. Let’s rest in that cave over there.”
Liu Yi glanced at the bright moon in the sky and nodded. “That’s good. I’m also very tired. Let’s rest in that cave today. We can continue on our journey when it gets light tomorrow.”
Of course, Liu Yi was truly tired. He was just a scholar who had never learned any martial arts. The reason he could walk along this mountain path for a whole day alongside the Top Ten Heroes and the Great Sword King was solely due to A Jiu’s pressure. Otherwise, how could an ordinary person walk on such steep cliffs all day?
The three of them climbed up to the cave. When the Top Ten Heroes saw the three characters written above the cave, they read, “Wolf King Cave.”
The Top Ten Heroes asked, “Why does this cave have a name? Who wrote it?”
Upon hearing this, the Great Sword King also looked at the three characters. When he saw “Wolf King Cave,” his expression changed, and he said, “It’s over. Our luck is so bad!”
Liu Yi, noticing the Great Sword King’s expression, asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”
The Great Sword King replied, “You’re not from the martial world, so you might not know a few rhyming verses that circulate among warriors.”
Hearing it was a poem, Liu Yi became interested and asked, “What poem?”
The Great Sword King thought for a moment before reciting, “Wolf, tiger, dragon, phoenix, qilin cave. Cold Sword, Defying Heaven, Divine Thirteen. Sad Dream, Flowing Clouds, Stunning Spear. Ten Swords, Three Demons, Nine Clouds Heaven.”
After listening for a while without understanding, Liu Yi asked, “What do you mean by this?”
The Great Sword King explained, “The first seven characters refer to the six great divine beasts of today: wolf, tiger, dragon, phoenix, qilin, and lin. The following part mentions three reclusive masters and three peerless divine weapons. The last seven characters refer to twenty-two new generation masters across the three realms.”
Liu Yi then asked, “So what does this have to do with this cave?”
The Great Sword King shook his head and said, “Young master, you don’t know. The Wolf King is one of the six guardians. Legend has it that the Wolf King hides in this mountain path, and few people have ever seen him appear.”
Before Liu Yi could respond, the Top Ten Heroes seemed to understand what the Great Sword King meant and said, “Are you saying… that the legendary guardian beast might live inside this cave?”
The Great Sword King nodded without saying anything.
The Top Ten Heroes, however, became very excited and said, “So you mean we don’t need to eat dried food at night? We can have meat, right?”
The Great Sword King gave the Top Ten Heroes a strange look and said, “What are you talking about? The six great divine beasts are the leaders of all strange and extraordinary creatures in the three realms. Their power is terrifying. Do you still want to eat their meat?”
Just as the three of them were discussing whether there really was a Wolf King in the cave, a mournful howl of a wolf finally calmed them down. They looked in the direction from where the sound came—toward the Wolf King Cave…