CHAPTER-4

DEPARTURE

When Tang Jian walked out of the door, he saw Zhang Huan and his father sitting on the same table that he had been sitting on a moment earlier. Zhang Huan was just sipping some tea with his eyes closed while his father just sat there with a blank look on his face, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, his tea on the table untouched.

What exactly did the old man tell father.

“Father”, Tang Jian called, but Tang Song didn’t seem to hear him.

“Father”, Tang Jian called again patting his shoulder.

“Huh, yes.”, Tang Song came out his trance and looked at his son.

“Jian”, he called his son’s name looking at him but didn’t know what to say next. He closed his eyes to calm the storm of distress in his mind, and when he opened them again, one could see that he had resolved to send his son away.

“You have always longed to live an adventurous life.”, he said with a smile on his face, but his eyes contained the sadness of parting with his only child, visible to anyone who could see. One could feel the lump in his throat just by looking at him.

“But don’t just fool around, and you must study well under senior Zhang’s guidance.”, he continued, ”And most importantly, don’t get lost.”, he said with a chuckle.

“Father, can you promise me something?”, Tang Jian asked, interrupting his father.

“What is it?”, Tang Song asked., wondering what his son would ask at a moment like this.

“Father, you’re still young. After I’m gone, it’ll be just you alone. I don’t want you to be lonely. Father, promise me that you’ll marry someone and start a family.”

Tang Jian had always known why his father had never married after his mother’s passing. He had always felt some guilt towards his father.

“When did you get so mature?”, Tang Song realized at this moment that his son was no longer an innocent child.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”, Tang Song said, putting his hands on his son’s shoulders.

“Take care of yourself, son”, he said, tightening his hold on Tang Jian’s shoulder for a moment before letting go.

He turned to Zhang Huan, cupped his hands and bowed deeply; “Please look after my son.”, he said, his voice filled with emotions.

“Hmm”, Zhang Huan simply nodded, his eyes still closed.

After that, Tang Song just turned around and went back in the house, closing the door. He did not even glance at his son because this time he didn’t want his son to look at his crying face. He did not want it to be Tang Jian’s last memory before parting.

Tang Jian just silently looked at his father’s retreating back, tears on his cheek. Zhang Huan just sat there without saying a word and letting Tang Jian cry in silence.

After some time, once he had calmed down, he turned to Zhang Huan and said, “I’m ready.”

Zhang Huan again waved his hand and the table and chair were gone replace by a golden carriage and four horses. Tang Jian looked at the carriage and noticed that this one was much larger and seemed more luxurious than Chen Wei’s. Zhang Huan’s carriage had more details in the carvings of the exterior, and in some places it was studded with jewels like diamonds and rubies and many others that Tang Jian couldn’t recognize. The seats were cushioned and seemed like they were made out of some expensive materiel. It looked very comfortable to sit on.

Tang Jian moved his eyes away from the carriage and focused on the four horses. Similar to the carriage, the horses as well were much larger and more majestic than Chen Wei’s horse. All four of them were black as the night. In sharp contrast to that black, the flames on their manes and tails were bright yellow. Their eyes also shone with bright yellow shine, and from a distance it looked like a pair of fireflies.

That Chen Wei’s horse was like a mule compared to these fine ones.

He approached the one closest to him, his hand stretched out as if to pat the horse, but the horse neighed angrily as if to warn him. Tang Jian immediately stopped and stepped away, a little scared of it, and went to stand near Zhang Huan as if to tell the horse that they were all in the same team.

Zhang Huan just stood there and looked on in amusement. “Done with the inspection?”, he said in a sarcastic tone.

“Yes, yes. Everything is safe, senior.”, Tang Jian said in a serious tone, ignoring the sarcasm.

Zhang Huan just humphed and climbed in the carriage. Tang Jian followed in behind him, making himself comfortable in the seat beside Zhang Huan’s

“Hmm, it’s quite comfortable.”, Tang Jian said, closing his eyes and sinking into his seat.

“Don’t get used it.”, Zhang Huan said, rousing Tang Jian from his reverie as the horses took flight and pulling the carriage in the air. Tang Jian felt his body jerk as the chariot took flight. He moved away from the edge of the carriage towards the center and tightly clung to his seat, scared of falling down. This, however, brought him closer to Zhang Huan.

“You won’t fall down; there’s an invisible barrier around the carriage. Now get away from me.”, Zhang Huan said, a little annoyed. He bumped his shoulder into Tang Jian beside him and shoved him into the wall of the carriage.

Tang Jian rubbed his bruised shoulder and decided to test out what Zhang Huan had just told him. He very carefully stretched a hand outside. He immediately felt a wall around the carriage. It was actually quite soft to the touch, so if one actually bumped into it, it wouldn’t hurt at all. Feeling the wall, Tang Jian sighed in relief.

It was quite late in the night when everyone in the village would be asleep, but there were always some people who would be awake. Some liked hunting in the night, some simply couldn’t sleep.

There was a group of about half a dozen people returning to the village after a night of hunting.

“What do you guys think about that burned region in the woods?”, one of them asked the others. ”It seemed like the fire died down only moments before we got there. It didn’t look like a wildfire.”

“Who cares about the damn fire.”, someone said angrily. “It scared away all the animals in the surroundings. We couldn’t even find a squirrel.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find some-” someone was saying but suddenly stopped halfway.

The others noticed that the man had stopped walking and looked at him and saw that he was looking at the sky with his jaw hanging.

“Did you swallow a fly or something?”, someone joked.

But the man just pointed in the sky.

The others turned to look at what he was pointing at, and their jaws hung open as well.

They saw Zhang Huan’s flying golden carriage and the four majestic horses galloping in the starry sky.

“What is that!?”, someone shouted.

It was at this moment when Tang Jian was testing the barrier and the hunters below saw him.

“Is that Tang Song’s boy!?”

“It is him. Is he about to get lost in the sky this time?”

The commotion woke up a lot of people from their sleep. When they came out of their houses to see what was happening, they were just as shocked as the group of hunters.

“That’s Tang Jian! He’s in the sky!”

“Someone tell Tang Song. His son is in trouble!”

A few people ran to Tang Song’s house to tell him. But when they got there, they saw that Tang Song was just sitting by his door, reclining on his chair, calmly gazing at the carriage.

“Tang Song, what are you doing just sitting there? Your son is in that carriage.”, someone shouted.

Tang Song just calmly said, ”I know.”

I hope you can gain enough strength before your crisis strikes, son. He spoke a silent prayer.

Tang Jian up in the carriage also noticed the commotion down in the village.

“Hey everyone,”, he shouted, “I’m leaving the village to go on an adventure. Old man Kui Ah, you were not lying. Everyone can see that now. I am actually sitting next to an Immortal Cultivator right now. Look-”

He was about to lean to his side to make Zhang Huan visible to everyone but was pulled back to his seat by the old man, “Just sit back down.”, Zhang Huan said angrily, “Embarrass me like that again and I’ll throw you down back to your village.”

Tang Jian immediately shut his mouth and sat back in his seat.

Down on the ground a few people were looking at Old man Kui Ah, who just like everyone had been awoken by the commotion and was standing outside his house and looking in the sky with everyone.

“That little devil.”, he said as his eyes moistened.

“Humph, at least he won’t come bothering me again.”, he said as the tears escaped his eyes.

The truth was that even if didn’t say anything, it had actually bothered him a lot that the villagers did not believe his story. But now Tang Jian who had troubled him so many times actually ended up proving that he was telling the truth.

And that was how Tang Jian’s departure was concluded. With the villagers staring at him leaving in a flying carriage and him with excitement in his eyes for what was about to come.