A white dragon flew across the deep blue sky.
Although it appeared as small as a fingernail due to the great distance, it was clearly not a re bird.
It looked like a serpent swimming through the water.
The sky above the Tibetan Plateau was as blue as a lake, making it stand out even more.
Each ti the ‘dragon’ twisted its body, white powder-like particles sparkled and scattered.
「Is it… a dragon?」 Bodhidharma murmured faintly.
Yi-gang suddenly understood why Bodhidharma seed to admire the existence of a dragon.
The massive imoogi coiled around the mountain peak was indeed overwhelming, but it lacked freedom.
An imoogi bound for a thousand years to a damp, dark valley upon the earth.
And a white dragon, freely dancing in the azure sky.
The contrast was so vivid that Bodhidharma remained silent for a long while.
The dragon danced in the sky for a mont longer before descending back to the ground.
It seed to have gone beyond the hill, out of sight.
“…Shall we go take a look?”
When Yi-gang spoke, the entire group snapped back to their senses.
As they prepared to leave on horseback, the bandits hurriedly tried to stop them.
“W-wait, could you please free us before you go?”
Yi-gang glanced down at the bandits and, with the tip of his foot, released the pressure point of one of the bandit underlings nearby.
“Go and give your leader and comrades a good massage. The pressure points will be released after that.”
“R-really?”
“Yes.”
He then shifted his gaze toward the bandit leader.
“If we et again, I won’t let you live next ti.”
“W-wait, couldn’t you free too…?!”
Yi-gang did not bother to answer and spurred his horse forward.
Surprisingly, the bandits’ horses were quite docile, so riding them posed no problem.
Although Yi-gang had released one of the bandit underlings, it was essentially aningless.
Massaging the body would not release the pressure points. Since he had adjusted the energy flow, it would naturally be released after two hours or so.
His words were rely ant to instill more fear in the bandits.
However, the situation seed entirely different to the bandit leader who remained behind.
The released bandit underling soon realized that he was the only one among the fifteen comrades who could move.
He stood there blankly, looking around.
And then, his eyes t those of the bandit leader.
“Hey, Duheon!”
The leader frowned deeply.
Of all people, Yi-gang had released the pressure point of the dumbest underling in the entire group.
The leader disliked that particular underling so much that he beat him almost daily.
“What are you doing, you bastard?! Get over here and start massaging first!”
Thinking the fool was once again dawdling, he yelled at him furiously.
However, Duheon didn’t co running as expected; instead, he smirked.
“You were hurting a lot this morning, weren’t you?”
“W-what did you say?”
“You filthy dog. You beat up just because you bit your tongue while eating breakfast?”
The underling, who used to laugh stupidly even when beaten, suddenly drew his sword with a sharp glare.
The bandit leader quickly realized his predicant.
“W-wait, l-let’s calm down and talk this out…”
“Talk? Sure, talking is great! Let’s have a conversation—with swords.”
As the underling licked the blade of his sword, the other bandits who had bullied him trembled in fear.
anwhile, Yi-gang continued riding his horse.
He went over the details he had heard from the bandit leader.
The place where the dragon resided was a small lake atop the mountain, called Dragon Pond.
Though farming was difficult on this plateau, there were people who raised barley—resilient to the cold—and herded sheep.
When the weather stayed dry, the grass for the sheep would wither, and farming would beco even harder.
At such tis, the villagers would go to the dragon, bow before it, and pray.
They would hold a ritual, a rain-praying ritual, to call for rain.
Then, the dragon would graciously send down rain.
Thanks to this, the village prospered.
「It makes sense. Dragons are beings that control water.」
Bodhidharma seed genuinely pleased.
Yi-gang agreed as well.
‘It’s far better than using the fire of a fire dragon to clear fields.’
This ti, it seed like there would be sothing truly special.
Not only that, but they had seen it with their own eyes—
The existence of the dragon.
It was just under a day of riding when it happened.
Yi-gang, leading the group, suddenly halted his horse.
“What… is this…?”
Yi-gang looked flustered.
The Tibetan Plateau and the mountain ranges of Sichuan were entirely different places.
Yet, sohow, similar events kept occurring.
They stopped after discovering a child on the road.
A young girl, dressed in the traditional attire of the Ijok tribe, stood there sucking her finger.
It was just around the ti when the distant village began to co into view.
It would take at least half a day to walk there. Why would a child, who seed to be around seven years old, be alone in such a place?
The girl, who had been sucking her finger, wiped her hand on her skirt and asked, “Who are you?”
“…And who might you be?”
“I’m Tsering.”
An exotic na—Tsering.
Her slightly tanned face was flushed bright red on the cheeks.
With a runny nose and a shy expression, she was an adorably charming child.
“I’m Yi-gang.”
“Yi-gang? What does that an?”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
Yi-gang pondered whether there was any special aning behind his own na.
The child nad Tsering answered questions that hadn’t even been asked.
“Tsering ans ‘to live long.’”
“That’s a very nice na. I should have chosen a na like that for myself.”
A na aning longevity—truly a wonderful aning.
“Nas are given by mothers and fathers.”
“Now that you ntion it, that’s true.”
Only vagabonds can choose their own nas.
Since parents had co up in conversation, Yi-gang decided to ask, “Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?”
“They’re dead.”
Yi-gang froze.
For a rare mont, he showed visible embarrassnt.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“…Well, I guess there’s no reason for to be sorry.”
“Yes.”
As Yi-gang stood still, his companions gathered around him.
Although the child had seed fearless and calm, she looked a bit intimidated now that so many people had gathered.
Tsering subtly took a step or two back.
At that mont, the sound of bleating echoed.
“Baaa—”
Startled, the girl rushed behind a rock and hugged a hidden mountain goat.
“You have to stay quiet.”
“Baaa—”
What she brought out was a baby mountain goat.
The kid goat did not struggle and rested calmly in the girl’s arms.
Tsering remained slightly wary.
“This little one ran away.”
“Oh, I see. So our little shepherd girl ca out to find the runaway kid goat.”
The Divine Monk smiled broadly, his wrinkled face lighting up.
Though it wasn’t exactly a gentle smile, it seed to ease the girl’s tension a little.
“What’s the na of the village you live in?”
“Rangachen…”
“So you’re Tsering from Rangachen. Want sothing to eat?”
The Divine Monk took out sothing black from his robe.
“It’s candy made from licorice, very sweet and delicious.”
“It looks like poop.”
“Hehehe.”
Tsering hesitated for a mont while holding the licorice that the Divine Monk had given her, then finally put it in her mouth.
Her eyes widened instantly, and her ears perked up.
Her hair even stood on end slightly, making her look like a startled cat.
“It’s sweet.”
“Tasty, right?”
She was so surprised that she hugged the baby mountain goat tightly.
The kid goat squird in her arms.
“We’re heading to your village, Rangachen. Would you like to co with us?”
“Yeah, but my legs hurt.”
The Divine Monk glanced at Tsering’s legs.
Her feet were swollen. It seed she had chased the runaway mountain goat all the way here.
“There’s nothing to worry about. Yi-gang, co here.”
“Yes?”
“Give her a ride.”
“…Understood.”
Fortunately, Yi-gang wasn’t very large, and the horse carrying him was strong and big enough.
Tsering hesitated for a mont before stepping in front of Yi-gang.
Then, she raised both hands high.
Yi-gang sighed and lifted her onto the horse.
He was skilled at dealing with successors, but handling a child like this wasn’t so easy.
Yi-gang seated Tsering in front of him, while Tsering held the mountain goat in her arms.
It was a scene straight out of a storybook, causing Gal Dong-tak to chuckle.
“Hehehe, Yi-gang.”
Because of his large build, Gal Dong-tak rode his horse alone.
Showing off, he rode in a circle in front of Tsering.
“You look silly.”
Tsering pointed at him and said, “Zhu Bajie.”
Gal Dong-tak gloomily fell to the back of the group.
Yi-gang gently patted Tsering’s head.
‘Has she read Journey to the West?’ he wondered. The people of the Western Regions did seem familiar with Buddhist culture.
Since they were carrying a child, they couldn’t gallop quickly.
The group slowed their pace to a brisk walk.
Clip-clop—clip-clop—
Only the sound of horse hooves echoed quietly.
Though Yi-gang wasn’t soone who typically struggled with silence, he felt awkward for so reason and spoke up, “Won’t soone at ho be worried if you’re late?”
“I don’t have a ho.”
Yi-gang nearly bit his tongue.
「Ha-ha.」
Bodhidharma also scoffed.
Hadn’t they just heard her ntion that her parents had passed away?
As Yi-gang was briefly blaming himself, he realized sothing odd and asked, “Even if your parents aren’t around, you must have a place to stay, right?”
“…I live at the village chief’s house.”
“A relative?”
“No. All the kids whose parents died live at the chief’s house.”
It was not uncommon for a village chief to take responsibility for orphans.
While they might not be raised like biological children, it was still a better situation than starving to death as an orphan.
“That’s a good thing.”
Tsering pressed her lips together.
Then, sitting as if leaning into Yi-gang, she glanced back.
“Hey… did you co from that way?”
She was referring to the direction opposite the village.
Yi-gang nodded.
“What’s over there?”
Perhaps it was just a child’s curiosity about the world beyond her village.
Yi-gang answered, “There’s nothing there.”
“I see…”
Bodhidharma’s reproach echoed in his mind.
「How cold you are to a child.」
‘Well, it’s true anyway.’
For days, there was nothing but mountains, rocks, and sky.
Of course, if one traveled even further, crossing multiple mountain ranges, they would eventually reach the Central Plains and Sichuan.
However, that path wasn’t sothing an ordinary person could traverse.
Only because Yi-gang and his group were Supre Peak masters could they overco such treacherous terrain.
Would a little child like Tsering ever leave the Tibetan Plateau in her lifeti?
Tsering seed sowhat disheartened.
Yi-gang considered offering words of comfort but eventually chose to stay silent.
It wasn’t until dusk that the group finally arrived at the village.
As expected, there were no soldiers guarding the village and no walls surrounding it.
Only a single shepherd, upon seeing the group approach on horseback, watched them cautiously.
However, he soon recognized Tsering, who was sitting in Yi-gang’s arms.
“Tsering! Isn’t that you, Tsering?!”
For so reason, Tsering turned her head away with a sulky expression instead of greeting him.
Instead, Yi-gang spoke up, “We are travelers. Would it be possible for us to stay in the village for a while?”
“Y-yes… Should I take you to the village chief?”
This was a place where proper inns or guesthouses didn’t exist.
In such cases, visitors typically stayed at the largest house in the village.
Usually, that would be the house of the village chief, where they would offer so money in exchange for lodging.
“That sounds good. Please, lead the way.”
Coincidentally, Tsering had ntioned that she lived at the village chief’s house.
Following the shepherd’s guidance, the Divine Monk and the group proceeded.
Rangachen Village was small but pleasant.
It was a hundred tis better than Wangjia Village.
The villagers’ faces were full of life, and smoke rose from the chimneys of the stone houses.
A savory aroma of lamb drifted through the air, and the village chief’s house was no exception.
Unlike the chief of Wangjia Village, this village chief had a hearty appearance, likely due to eating well.
“Of course, you’re welco here. Please, co inside.”
With a smile, he led Yi-gang’s group into the house.
Yi-gang was about to tie up his horse and enter the house when Tsering hesitated.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
Then, as if hiding behind Yi-gang, she followed him inside.
The house was filled with a warm and cozy atmosphere.
At that mont, a plump woman strode over and grabbed Tsering’s wrist firmly.
“You little rascal!”
Then, after forcefully turning her arm, she began spanking her repeatedly.
Yi-gang started to intervene but stopped.
“What were you thinking, going so far without telling anyone? We searched for you all day!”
“Hiiing, I-I’m sorry!”
It was appropriate discipline.
As Tsering t Yi-gang’s gaze, she suddenly shouted, “Help !”
Hearing that, the woman disciplining her turned sharply to look at Yi-gang.
Yi-gang lowered his head slightly and stepped further into the room.
Tsering cried out, wailing, “Yi-gang is an!”
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