"What family are you from, Brother?" The youth stared at the churning mist, then turned as if remembering something.
Han Li already knew from their walk that the cultivation world held not only sects and clans but also many rogue cultivators — descendants of fallen houses, accidental inheritors like himself, or orphans of dying lineages. Most lingered forever at the low reaches of Qi Refining, looked down upon by the great families as a rich house looks down on a ruined one.
"I belong to no family," Han Li said after a moment's thought. Pretending to be of some clan would be exposed within sentences. "I have cultivated alone."
"You are a rogue cultivator!" Wan Xiaoshan blurted in surprise, but without a trace of contempt. Instead his eyes lit up. He circled Han Li as if examining a rare beast.
"You said clans look down on rogues — why are you pleased?" Han Li asked, bemused.
"They are they. Do not confuse my Wan family with those others! We have always been friendly to rogues!" The boy lifted his chin proudly. "Our ancestor was himself a rogue cultivator who by great fortune entered Giant Sword Sect as a formal disciple. That is how the Wan house began. Our house rule forbids despising rogues."
"Not only we Wans," he went on, wagging his head. "A few other houses also came from rogues, so they bear no malice either — only they are too few, so the reputation of clans in general is what you heard."
Hearing that his identity brought no scorn — even warmth — Han Li's guard toward the youth softened further.
"But Brother, you asked so many things every cultivator should know — are you newly emerged as well?" The boy's eyes narrowed shrewdly.
Han Li smiled and clapped his shoulder. "I did not mean to deceive you, Little Mountain. I only entered the cultivation world not long ago, so I am cautious."
"No matter! I do not mind! But you must tell me your name now. And just call me Little Mountain henceforth!" Wan Xiaoshan was the sort who made friends in an instant.
"Han Li. I have indeed just stepped onto this path. I will rely on Brother Little Mountain for guidance."
"No problem — ask whatever you want! Heh — I never thought I would get to teach someone!"
"What do you wish to see at Tailan Valley?" Han Li steered them slowly toward the strange slope he had already scouted several times. It lay north of the mountain, veiled year-round.
"So much! I want to see other families' arts and secret techniques, and exchange for things I like," the boy said frankly.
"Oh?" Han Li's heart shifted. From the tone, Tailan Valley was presently crowded — some great matter afoot.
Yet for the moment Tailan Valley's crowd was a mystery. There was no time to press further, for the boy had already fallen silent to stare at the mist.
Wan Xiaoshan fumbled in his robe and produced a slip of yellow paper. He gestured over it, muttered an incantation, and tossed it skyward. It became a spark of fire and plunged into the white wall, vanishing.
"Wait a moment, Brother Han. I have sent a Voice-Transmission Talisman. Those inside will open the formation to receive us," he explained when he saw Han Li watching.
"Hm." Han Li nodded.
"Brother Han, did you bring much to exchange? Let me tell you mine first — don't be shy!" Without waiting, Wan Xiaoshan began to count on his fingers, chattering effusively. "A stack of blank low-grade talisman paper, two low-grade invisibility talismans and two earth-escape talismans, one middle low-grade Chain Pearl Lightning talisman, a stack of low-grade Ice Shot talismans, a lump of refined iron essence, a bottle of cinnabar, a bundle of whiskers from the demon beast Three-Tailed Cat, some spirit herbs —"
Han Li turned wooden.
"Now it is Brother Han's turn! Huh? Your face is pale —"
"Must one bring things to enter Tailan Valley?" Han Li managed.
"Not by rule!" Wan Xiaoshan answered readily.
Han Li's color improved.
"But since this is the time of the Tailan Assembly, who would come without bringing something? This is the great little fair held every five years for juniors like us in Lan Province! And with the Ascension Assembly to open in this same province in a month, even more people have come to join the Tailan Assembly along the way. Are you not here for the Tailan Assembly, Brother?" The youth stared in disbelief.
Han Li gave a bitter smile. "Brother Little Mountain, I truly did not know a Tailan Assembly was convening. I only learned that cultivators dwelt here and wished to make acquaintances. I prepared nothing."
"What a pity! You will waste a fine opportunity. Chances to obtain needed materials do not come often," Wan Xiaoshan sighed in genuine regret.
"Nor can I say I have absolutely nothing — at least I have two talismans," Han Li thought wryly.
Even as he thought it, the dense fog before them surged and parted. A path wide enough for two abreast was cut through it, as if by an invisible blade, its far end lost in depth.
"Let us go!" Waving, the youth darted onto it and disappeared into the lane.
Han Li examined the opening with cool indifference, then stepped forward steadily, unhurried and even.
The lane seemed long, yet after only a short walk they reached its end. Light burst upon them. A green valley carpeted with strange flowers and exotic grasses opened before their eyes. On three sides mountains embraced it; the only entrance was the mist-sealed slope behind them.
The valley covered well over a hundred mu. At its center rose a complex of pavilions and halls with carved rails and jade steps, where figures in curious dress passed in and out. Before the buildings lay a broad plaza of blue brick. Around its perimeter many had spread small stalls like peddlers. Buyers drifted from stall to stall, pausing to look, asking prices in low voices; few concluded a deal on the spot.
Han Li drew in a breath. This was the cultivation world. All these people were cultivators. To see so many at once made even his steady mind waver for an instant.
He shook his head to clear it, reminding himself: this was a world he had never imagined; anyone here might extinguish him with ease. He must be cautious and keep a low profile.
He glanced back — the way he had come had vanished entirely — then stepped toward the plaza.