Chapter 408: Stories of the Past
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ridge Lodgings was only a normal looking house. From the outside, no one would have guessed that it was a building under May's Night Ridge, the Sacred Place of Alchemy. A normal looking brick wall ran along the building's perimeter, reaching seven meters tall, so that outsiders could not see within. Poisonous vines grew along the walls to discourage intruders.
This seemingly normal place was of course not easily recognized by the common people. However, an alchemist would definitely keep a wide berth. The surroundings of the building was littered with all kinds of traps. These traps were devised from plants, and they could be toxic, hallucination inducing, numbing, or harmful in many other ways. They were so many that Ye Chong felt overwhelmed just looking at them. The way the traps were designed were also impressive.
As expected of the territory of May's Night Ridge! Ye Chong grew thoughtful. Perhaps only May's Night Ridge could afford such methods. Up until now, Lunatic Guan was the most powerful alchemist Ye Chong had ever met. May's Night Ridge, Lunatic Guan's hometown, was even more interesting due to the fact that his teacher came from this place. Many times he had wondered if May's Night Ridge was the zenith of alchemy.
"You have the smoke pearl, so most of these traps are useless against you. However, it's better to err on the side of caution. There are some traps here that would be troublesome even for members of the Ridge," Guan Qingheng warned with concern. As a resident of May's Night Ridge, he recognized the smoke pearl on Ye Chong's hand immediately.
Guan Qingheng understood that the Guan Family's future would very likely depend on this young man.
They slowly made their way across, avoiding the traps. Ye Chong and Guan Qingheng reached the house about 10 minutes later. Inside the house was an entirely different scenery. Unlike the dangerous terrain outside, the courtyard inside was like a large garden. Flowers bloomed freely, and the air was thick with the scent of flowers.
In between the flowers, many gardeners were tending to the plants with care. These people ignored Ye Chong and Guan Qingheng completely, not even lifting their heads in acknowledgement.
The green environment did not exactly lifted Ye Chong's spirits. On the contrary, he was secretly cautious. He could recognize most of the plants here, and they were largely famous for their harmful qualities or rarity.
Guan Qingheng led Ye Chong to a room, which was fitted with all the essential sundries and items for a comfortable stay. The materials used were well selected, and the craftsmanship was outstanding. However, the room did not feel extravagant at all.
"This is the guest room. Please stay here for now. Once the Ridge Council approves your entrance, we will return home. I believe that the Tribe Leader must be anxious to see you," Guan Qingheng said with a smile.
"Tribe Leader?" Ye Chong raised his brows in confusion. "Why would he want to see me?"
Guan Qingheng was taken aback by the question, but smiled as he said, "You must be unaware of what's happening right now. The Eldest Young Miss is always like that, hehe, she must have kept you in the dark."
"Eldest Young Miss?" Ye Chong asked.
"Yes. Do you know your teacher's name?" Guan Qingheng asked.
Ye Chong shook his head and answered firmly, "I don't." Ye Chong had only ever knew her as Lunatic Guan, and nothing else.
"As I suspected!" Guan Qingheng laughed wryly and mumbled to himself, "The Eldest Young Miss is still as the same as before." He noticed Ye Chong's confusion, however, and described the Eldest Young Miss to him.
Based on Guan Qingheng's description of Lunatic Guan's looks, they appeared to the same person. However, they had very different personalities. According to Guan Qingheng, Lunatic Guan was a extremely hardworking woman. However, Ye Chong remembered her as a lazy drunkard, a bad influence overall.
Nonetheless, since she appeared roughly as Guan Qingheng described, Ye Chong was ready to believe that Lunatic Guan was the Eldest Young Miss that Guan Qingheng was talking about.
As Guan Qingheng explained patiently, Ye Chong began to understand his teacher more.
"The Tribe Leader is busy with administrative matters that there was not much time left for alchemy. The Eldest Young Miss was quick to take up leadership in our Tribe's research efforts. Back then, the Eldest Young Miss was extremely talented, and no one in the Ridge can outmatch her. That was a good time for our Guan Family. The Bilayer Liquid Tempering Technique was the invention of the Eldest Young Miss when she was 14 years old. When people in the Ridge heard of the news, they knew immediately that the Guan Family was gifted with a prodigy," he spoke softly with deep pride.
"Almost everyone in the Ridge believed then that the Guan Family's position in the Ridge would be secure for at least five decades to come. However, an incident occured unexpectedly two years later. That year, the Youngest Young Miss went missing." Guan Qingheng's open expression turned grim. He spoke through gritted teeth, "Those d*mned child abductors, they should all be killed! In fact, they suffered heavily after. Humph. How could we allow the Ridge's power to be challenged? Back then, elites from all 14 families of the Ridge were deployed. All the Abductor's bases of operation on Guang Hua planet were cleansed with the child abductors' blood."
Ye Chong was no stranger to bloodshed, but as he could not help but shuddered inside as he listened to Guan Qingheng. He could imagine just how horrible a scene it was back then.
"Unfortunately, we still did not find the Youngest Young Miss. You should know that the Eldest Young Miss loved the Youngest Young Miss very much. Soon after the mass attacks, the Eldest Young Miss left the Ridge quietly to find the Youngest Young Miss."
The Youngest Young Miss that Guan Qingheng was talking about must be Zhu Ling. Ye Chong now understood Lunatic Guan's background better. This meant that Zhu Ling's hometown was also May's Night Ridge.
Regrettably, Zhu Ling, Mu,Shang and the rest were lost to him. Ye Chong said nothing, and continued listening to Guan Qingheng.
"After the Eldest Young Miss left, our Tribe almost went stagnant with progress. Since almost all the huge projects were related to the Eldest Young Miss, her departure caused us to halt most of these projects. Everyone in the Tribe tried their best, but we did not achieve much progress. The Guan Family's status in the Ridge took a nosedive, and we have now reached a critical situation!"
Guan Qingheng stole a glance at Ye Chong. Ye Chong was still calm as ever. The truth was, he could understand roughly why Lunatic Guan asked him to visit the planet of Guang Hua. However, Lunatic Guan must not have put too much hope in him. After all, Guang Hua was a planet in the free space zone. It was no guarantee that he could make it here.
Perhaps, her leaving this chip behind was only an act of desperation, clinging onto her last bit of hope!
As though the idea had hit a soft spot in him, Ye Chong's icy cold heart thawed a little.
Guan Qingheng grew frantic when he saw Ye Chong's indifference, and said, "You are the student of the Eldest Young Miss, please do not just ignore the Tribe's crisis!" For the moment, he did not speak as respectfully as he was earlier, pleading to this young man.
"Dear God! Please, please, don't let him be as irresponsible as the Eldest Young Miss!" Guan Qingheng prayed inside, but quickly recalled then that Ye Chong's teacher was a very irresponsible person by nature. He felt a sense of foreboding.
Ye Chong did not answer Guan Qingheng, but asked a question of his own, "Who was the woman just now?"
"Are you talking about Shi Mingbei?" Guan Qingheng was taken aback by the question, but quickly resumed his respectful behavior, hoping to win the young man's favor. "She is of the Shi Family."
"Shi Family?"
"Yes. There are 14 families in the Ridge. The Shi Family has been accepted to enter the Ridge in the last Ridge Council meeting. Their members are generally more active." Guan Qingheng sounded disapproving of them.
"Why did she attack me?" Ye Chong was curious. He could figure out her motives.
Guan Qingheng explained, "You have never been in the Ridge, so you're not familiar with our internal affairs. No information from within the Ridge must be known to outsiders. This law is absolute. However, the Ridge cannot avoid contact with the outside world, hence it was inevitable that some outsiders would find out details of the Ridge without meaning to. Members of the Ridge are divided when it comes to the policy against these outsiders. On the one hand, some believe that a warning is good enough. Most of the older members of the Ridge, like our Tribe, are on this side. On the other hand, some believe that information about the Ridge must never be known to outsiders, and will take drastic measures to ensure this. Supporters of this view are mostly the newer families and tribes, and the Shi Family is one of them. There is no official decision on the right policy, however, so both sides have decided to not interfere with each other."
"I see," Ye Chong replied without expression.
"Don't worry too much about it. It's only a small matter. Once the Ridge Council approves of your entry, it won't be an issue anymore. Then, if you're looking for pay back later, there are many ways to go about it. The Ridge usually does not care for such matters," Guan Qingheng offered his advice, with a touch of sadness in his eyes.
The crux of the matter was, will the Ridge Council approve of Ye Chong? In the past few years, the Ridge had been receiving new blood faster than ever before, and the situation within the Ridge had grown more complicated. Guan Qingheng was uncertain about the final outcome.