The trio finally returned to the autumn region that they called home just before sundown laden with storage bags. Hu Fang was as usual, mighty, domineering and seemingly aloof. Her son Hu Meng meanwhile, was completely the opposite. Full of energy and excitement from the many emotional ups and downs of the day. Yin Xiu in comparison, looked exhausted. His feet dragging through the leaves after such a long day of fighting and traversing the forest.
Yin Xiu's entire person no longer looked like the handsome young man he had presented himself as when he first entered the forest. His hair was in disarray, his hands calloused from continuous practice with his needles, and not to mention his robes, which were even more indescribable. Its original spotless white having been soaked in blood from various fights, and torn during his dangerous chase through the forest after the last remaining baboon. He unloaded the storage bags in his possession, and made his way wearily over to his makeshift bed. Laying down with a huff he turned his gaze to the Heavens. The tranquil night accompanied by the ever-present gentle breeze which was playing a melody with the rustling leaves. His eyelids slowly drifted downward as sleep was about to overtake him.
Unfortunately, a still overexcited black tiger didn't notice his friends exhaustion and shouted next to his ear. "Yin Xiu!! We get to leave the forest to explore tomorrow!" Yin Xiu's eyes snapped open with a clear helplessness in his blood colored pupils. "I know Hu Meng." he sighed before resolving himself to have a short conversation to ease his friends excitement resignedly.
"I've never been outside the forest in my entire life. I don't know what to expect." Hu Meng rambled excitedly, "What should I buy while we're outside? New kinds of meat I haven't tried? Cultivation techniques? I should definitely get mother a gift." The words were unending as Yin Xiu exhaustedly tried to comprehend the myriad questions that kept leaving the tiger's mouth. "Well, we'll shop around the market and see what exactly they have. Don't expect to find anything too outstanding in a city controlled by Qi refining cultivators though. I'm sure Senior Hu Fang will not give us very high-level goods to sell either while our strength is still not up to par. Especially since my strength is so low, and I will be the one making the transactions on your all's behalf."
Hu Meng nodded thoughtfully before asking curiously. "Yin Xiu what is the first thing you want to do when we get there?" Yin Xiu barely thought about it before replying, "To buy new robes and take a bath. I doubt anyone will give us a fair price if I try to bargain with them with my current appearance." The black tiger looked at him in confusion before replying "But, you always look like this?" Yin Xiu felt a vein throb in his forehead, as he forcibly held back the curse he was about let out in response to Hu Meng's unintentional mockery.
"Alright Hu Meng, let me get some sleep so we can leave on time in the morning. I'm exhausted from the fighting today." Hu Meng finally understanding Yin Xiu's dilemma let him sleep at last, leaving only a cheerful goodnight before he went who knows where to release the pent up excitement coursing through his veins.
'It's finally quiet... Hu Meng is so strong that I sometimes forget he's only a ten year old child.' Yin Xiu sighed, conveniantly forgetting that he himself is only a few years older. "A city huh?" he mumbled half-consciously as he drifted away into sleep. The words disappearing into the night without a ripple, as the forest returned to calm.
The hours passed quickly as the moon traversed the skies, bathing the land in its serene beauty. The moon eventually fell below the horizon, and the stars disappeared into the night before the Sun shined across the land once more, awakening Yin Xiu who calmly got up to do his daily routine of tidying up as best as he could. 'I definitely need to buy a bed of some sort, and a washbasin. I can't let myself look like this all the time if I can't help it.' He internally added more items to his shopping list.
Looking around he noticed Hu Meng looking at him from a few meters away. He was perched on a limb while looking down at Yin Xiu quietly, his golden eyes aflame with excitement. Noticing Yin Xiu's gaze, he leapt from the tree, and bounded over in a hurry. "Yin Xiu, mother wanted me to tell you to come to the cave when you were up!"
Yin Xiu smiled back "Well, let's not keep the senior waiting too long." The duo then started the short climb to the cave residence of the tigers where Hu Fang was waiting patiently near the entrance. Nodding to the two as they approached, she gave Yin Xiu two storage bags, then pointing her paw to the one on the left she said "This one contains a supply of spirit stones that you can use for whatever needs you two might have while you're away." Pointing to the other she continued, "That is the first of the bags I wish you to sell. The majority are unranked materials while there are three Qi refining materials inside as well. The goods you'll take this time is decidedly less valuable due to your poor strength, but this amount of higher attributed materials will be enough to get you started. I've also placed a paper inside detailing the amount I expect to receive from each material."
Yin Xiu asked Hu Meng to open the seal on the bag and perused the marked paper. He read it with difficulty, but just before he was about to make a remark about the poor penmanship, his survival sense triggered a harsh warning. Goosebumps appearing along his arms as a cold sweat broke out all over his body. He stiffly looked into the huge golden eyes of Hu Fang, who was looking at him while radiating a dangerous feeling. Swallowing back his words he calmly returned the paper back into the bag. 'I'll figure it out later...' he glanced up furtively to find Hu Fang's aura was no longer so lethal. In relief he listened to her continue her lecture.
"I would recommend finding a hooded robe and possibly a mask as well. Your features will assuredly attract attention. Definitely, don't sell any high level materials without also changing your robes each time as well." Yin Xiu hurriedly nodded in understanding before the large white tiger turned her attention to Hu Meng.
"As for you, don't show even a whisker to the human cultivators there unless you absolutely have to. As in, Yin Xiu needs help defending himself from an attack. Even then, I want you to make sure there are no witnesses afterwards. Understood?" Hu Meng nodded quickly in response, not daring to contradict his mother in the slightest. A few seconds later he timidly asked "Can I explore on my own if I ensure that I only stay in the shadows?" Hu Fang nodded after pondering for a while. "Only at night when Yin Xiu is resting."
Hu Meng visibly perked up at this, his tail swaying back and forth clearly expressing his mood. Hu Fang shook her head helplessly while retrieving the map and handing it over to Yin Xiu. "This is the last thing I have for you, I'll leave the navigation to you." Yin Xiu accepted the map carefully, and bowed to Hu Fang. "Senior, we'll start making our way then."
She nodded in response before the man and tiger took off down the mountain, she watched them until their backs disappeared into the trees. A deep worry hidden in the depths of her eyes, as she watched her child venture out without her protection for the first time. Steeling her nerves she turned around into the cave. Constantly reassuring herself that they would be fine.
Meanwhile the duo were blissfully unaware of Hu Fang's worries. Hu Meng in particular was practically bouncing around in excitement. "So, the plan is to follow the direction that you took through the forest when you fled from the bear attack?"
"That seems to be the easiest way." Yin Xiu replied much more calmly than Hu Meng, even though his steps were noticeably lighter as the made their way closer to humanity. "I at least know for sure that there is a road that will save us a ton of time. If we're lucky we might even manage to hitch a ride on a caravan for a small fee. I still have some coins that were luckily stored securely during my dash through the forest."
Hu Meng's eyes glinted with excitement at the thought "I've never even seen a caravan, that would be exciting." Yin Xiu chuckled in amusement as he offhandedly tossed a needle up and down in his hand. "I promise its not that exciting, but it will surely be a novel experience for you." He assured with a smile, before hurling the needle into the bushes ten meters away. A painful hiss escaped from the bush with a few rustling sounds before the movement stopped. Walking over with curiosity the pair looked at the scorpion nailed to the ground by the needle.
"Another three-tailed wood scorpion huh?" Yin Xiu said nonchalantly as he placed it into his storage bag with help from Hu Meng. "How did you notice it so quickly? I had no idea it was even there." Hu Meng asked slightly dumbfounded. "Well anything toxic glows in my vision, so it was quite obvious to me." Yin Xiu laughed casually.
"You're really the nemesis of all poison related spirit beasts huh?" Hu Meng joked back.
"Well, I guess so, I think it is similar to your ability to hide in the shadows. It makes you a predator adapt at surprise attacks. Maybe my prey is just venomous spirit beasts." Yin Xiu said after a brief pause. Hu Meng nodded thoughtfully before they continued on as if nothing had happened.
The seasons changed a myriad of times in just a short half a day. The two observed the changing scenery while laughing at each others antics. Occasionally eliminating aggressive beasts that didn't sense the danger, and Yin Xiu would occasionally stop to collect any poisons they encountered on the path, none were high level, but he had a feeling they would be useful later on. They continued on in a relaxed manner until the trees ahead thinned, and a dirt road entered their vision.