When Wan Qiang left Xue Wei and Hei Gou, the duo found that no others appeared to cause problems for them. 

The forbidden zone they were heading to was called Goat Mountain, due to the mountain’s goat-like shape, and a dense forest connected to the foot of the mountain from every direction.

The mountain was an unmapped territory. It belonged solely to the Primordial Beasts that resided within the danger zone, and no human would enter too deep into the forest out of fear for retaliation from its occupants. 

According to the map that Wan Qiang had given Xue Wei, the formation that only let youngsters enter was at the foot of the mountain. Although it could not be considered the most forbidden area, it was still not easy to get that deep into the forest without encountering some old monsters. 

Fortunately, neither Xue Wei nor Hei Gou attracted any beasts. Fierce Beasts were all instinctively afraid of Hei Gou, and for some reason, they stayed away from Xue Wei as well. 

The trip to Goat Mountain would take a month each way if they did not get interrupted by anyone. 

Most bandits in the Skyward Empire were Sky Warriors in strength. If they were Heavenly Warriors, they would not become bandits as they could get better jobs in the cities. 

Since the majority of the bandits were Sky Warriors, none of them posed any threat to either Xue Wei or Hei Gou. 

They decimated a few intrepid bandits on the way, but their trip was much more leisurely than it had been last time. Their recent meteoric rise in strength heavily deterred the bandits they encountered, so many of them simply let the two pa.s.s by without finding trouble for them.

Xue Wei continued to cultivate as they were moving, his cultivation slowly climbing towards the bottleneck of the fifth layer of the Sky Warrior rank, while Hei Gou was trying to steady the sixth layer he had broken into recently. 

In this fas.h.i.+on, two weeks had gone by in a flash. The duo had been traveling at a rapid pace as they had little need for rest at their cultivation level, but this day they had decided to rest at an inn where they could buy food and restock on supplies.

"Young masters, are you new in town?" a middle-aged man with a burly physique, asked after noting that Hei Gou and Xue Wei were both dressed in fine clothes made of Fierce Beast Silk. It was impossible to buy such high quality clothes in a small village like theirs, so these two had to have come from far away.

At the same time, many eyes were cast on the two trying to determine their level of strength. When one displayed their wealth like Hei Gou and Xue Wei were doing, then it was obvious they would attract unwanted attention, but both were indifferent. Wearing the clothes that could provide them benefits in a life and death battle was worth it, since they had been close to death’s door quite a few times before. Fierce Beast Silk was many times st.u.r.dier than other fabrics, and it provided an increase in fighting strength when woven into clothes through resistances and possibly even a unique skill.

 "We are indeed pa.s.sing through," Hei Gou said with a smile on his handsome face. He was so handsome that it stunned women when they looked at him, but men, on the other hand, had an urge to hit him hard. In the middle of his face. 

The individual Hei Gou was speaking to at the moment was a man, and Xue Wei felt like shaking his head when he saw how friendly Hei Gou was acting. 

Hei Gou was of the opinion that it would be a shame not to show off his handsome appearance. Also, he knew that Xue Wei hated talking to strangers, so he gladly took the job of conversing with these people who wanted information. 

"I a.s.sume you are here for the sake of the Goat Mountain," the man continued. His face had changed to one of awkwardness when he saw the brilliant smile that Hei Gou flashed at him. 

"We are," Hei Gou nodded his head. It was no secret that they were going to the Goat Mountain, and they needed to get as much information about the place as they possibly could. They also needed to know the state of things in this region. If there were many other experts, then the Seven Star Nightflower might have been picked by someone else. 

After talking a bit with the man, they realized that this village, although not very big, was rather frequently visited by experts going to the Goat Mountain. 

Because of this, it was also the best place to get rumors and information about the Goat Mountains. 

"Are there many experts, experts beneath the age of forty-five, pa.s.sing through this place?" Xue Wei suddenly asked. He needed to know what the situation further ahead looked like in order to prepare for the worst. 

"Not many," was the man’s answer. He also seemed a bit puzzled as to why Xue Wei would ask that. Was he trying to find a group of youngsters? Seeing the man’s puzzled expression, Xue Wei felt relieved. It seemed that their destination was still reasonably well-hidden. 

"We had a young woman come by a few days ago. Her name was w.a.n.g Xiaoyun," he said while looking dreamily into the distance. "She said she was hunting Primordial Beasts, but she was quite weak to pull off something like that, only a Heavenly Warrior. Most of our Primordial Beast Hunters are Ordinary Knights."

"What did you say she was called?!" Xue Wei lost his cool in that instant. His eyes widened in surprise and he felt his heart beating rapidly. 

"w.a.n.g Xiaoyun. She was clearly a Wayfarer, but it seems that she was traveling on her own," the man answered, clearly not noticing the shock and bewilderment on Xue Wei's face. 

"When did she leave the village?" he asked. "Two days ago," the man answered.

"I remember it clearly. She was very popular, and all the young men in the village went to say goodbye to her, though she claimed that she already had a sweetheart and was very adamant about not wanting him to feel lonely."

Xue Wei instantly changed his mind about staying in the village. After tossing some silver coins at the man for his information, he rushed out of the village with Hei Gou following closely behind. 

Hei Gou and Xue Wei knew everything about one another. It was impossible for Hei Gou not to know about w.a.n.g Xiaoyun, so he understood how important it was for Xue Wei to rush to her side. 

He had suppressed his worries for a long time now. He had heard about a Wayfarer caravan being eradicated by the Ice Harpy and had feared that it had been hers. Now she appeared here without any other wayfarers by her side. It was clear that something had happened. 

Although w.a.n.g Xiaoyun had left two days ahead of Xue Wei and Hei Gou, it was easy for them to catch up to her. She was going at a steady pace as she had nothing to rush for, but Xue Wei and Hei Gou were giving it their all to catch up to her. 

When they saw the thicket that indicated the beginning of the forest, they nodded at each other and entered without a second of hesitation. So far, no beasts had troubled them, and they were certain that it would be the same this time, but at the same time they also wished to use the beasts to locate w.a.n.g Xiaoyun. 

If they just rushed through the forest mindlessly, it was likely they would end up wasting time. 

Xue Wei had his spiritual energy spread as far as he could, and observed everything in the vicinity down to minute details. He found multiple experts fighting Fierce Beasts, but no matter how much he searched, he could not find w.a.n.g Xiaoyun. 

"She couldn’t have headed straight for the foot of the mountain in search of Primordial Beasts, right?" Xue Wei muttered when they had traveled around the forest for a full day. 

"She is traveling alone, so it is clear that something has happened to her family," Hei Gou commented. Xue Wei nodded his head. "It is likely her tribe we heard about before," he agreed. 

"But I don't know how she survived. And even if she did survive, she probably hates Primordial Beasts more than anything else."

Xue Wei looked with worry at Hei Gou. Hei Gou was his good friend, but w.a.n.g Xiaoyun was his sweetheart. He wanted the two of them to get along, but he had a feeling that they would be like fire and ice. 

"Don't worry about me," Hei Gou grinned. "I understand her hatred, and I can handle her harsh words if she throws them at me," he said amiably. 

For Xue Wei's happiness, Hei Gou could handle being berated if it came to that, but Xue Wei paused and shook his head. They did not know how w.a.n.g Xiaoyun would react when she met them, and even less how she would behave towards Hei Gou, but Xue Wei was not willing to let his friend become the target of her hatred. 

Hei Gou had done all he could for Xue Wei. He deserved to be treated properly. But Xue Wei said nothing. He sincerely hoped that w.a.n.g Xiaoyun would not be too hostile towards Primordial Beasts as a whole. 

The two friends moved further and further into the depths of the forest. Xue Wei's spiritual energy sensed fewer and fewer battles and humans, but the amount of Fierce Beasts multiplied many times over, and most of them were of Heavenly Warrior-level strength. 

As always, these Fierce Beasts fled at the first sign of Xue Wei’s presence as soon as they could. They seemed fearful as if they were mortals and a G.o.d was descending upon them. 

This made their travel through the forest simple and straightforward. They soon reached the innermost regions of the forest and all traces of humans had long since vanished. 

They continued a bit further inside until Xue Wei suddenly sensed movement with his spiritual energy. 

He recognized the person instantly. It was w.a.n.g Xiaoyun, who was busy engaging in a battle with a Cloud Leopard. Both seemed to be holding nothing back, but neither held the upper hand. 

"Found her!" Xue Wei exclaimed and leaped in the direction of where he could sense her, closely followed by Hei Gou. 

When they arrived, the Cloud Leopard sensed Xue Wei and tried to escape. It was fearful, but it was also alert. Unfortunately, a few moments of inattentiveness caused it to die at the hands of w.a.n.g Xiaoyun. 

w.a.n.g Xiaoyun could also sense that someone was approaching, so she did not relax her taut body. Instead, a dense killing intent spread out from her body. 

When Xue Wei looked at her, he was shocked. A long scar was engraved on her face, and it was clear that it had been done intentionally. Not only that, one of her eyes were blind. 

Only then did Xue Wei realize why she had survived. Chu Huiyin had heard about their relations.h.i.+p, and she had used it to torment w.a.n.g Xiaoyun. 

Her beautiful appearance was now wretched; only one eye was now bright and clear, while the other was dim and lifeless. Xue Wei’s heart was aching when he thought of what she had been forced to go through because of him, and he could not help but wonder how he could ever face her again, having changed and destroyed her life the way he had.

But when she saw Xue Wei a face she had not seen for years, she froze in place. The tension in her body vanished, and her single remaining eye started to widen the more she saw of him. The living, breathing image of the one she had kept in her heart ever since that tragedy. And then a smile, ear to ear. Her eye did not channel resentment - on the contrary, there was relief and joy in her one-eyed gaze.

"Finally I found you again!" she exclaimed with a voice that sounded as soft as he remembered it. She timidly stepped towards Xue Wei. A gentle blush appeared on her cheeks, and the smile that had spread on her lips was constantly growing larger. In her eye were only Xue Wei and she felt so much relief seeing him again.

"I have missed you." Xue Wei smiled when he saw her undisguised happiness. No matter how she looked, she would always be his sweetheart. 

"Do you not mind my wretched appearance?" she asked, in truth stunned at heart. Xue Wei just shook his head. "To me, you will always be w.a.n.g Xiaoyun. I might have fallen for you because of your appearance, but the days I spent with you taught me that you are so much more than that!" 

"Also, beauty is easy to restore. I am sure that we will be able to find a pill that a.s.sists you in getting rid of the scar, and something that will one day let you see again. I feel guilty…" he said with a sigh. w.a.n.g Xiaoyun shook her head. "You did not do it," she said, "but that you are okay with me looking like this is surprising. I truly did not pick the wrong man!" 

Having said this, she frowned as she turned around and looked at Hei Gou with alert eyes. 

"Who is he?" she asked, her frown deepening. She had never seen him before.