Warren Moran rode his stag forward, shaking his head. "Old folks are always a handful."
Quinn Shepherd asked in surprise, "Yours too?"
Warren nodded. "Little Jade Capital Sect has thirteen old men like that, plus a new old Daoist and old monk—now there are fifteen."
Quinn laughed. "Our village only has eight and a half. I guess I'm luckier."
Warren said, "At least Senior Sister Cindy Mu and Senior Brother Ronnie Long help share the burden."
Quinn's face darkened. He was the only young person in his village—Granny Sue was technically young, but always liked to play the old crone.
The two walked on at a leisurely pace, waiting for Cindy Mu to retrieve Ronnie Long. Soon enough, Cindy dragged Ronnie back—a disheveled young master, stripped down to his underwear, running wild through the capital, singing, dancing, and raving.
Cindy had slapped her senior brother two or three times to bring him back to his senses. Ronnie coughed up several mouthfuls of blood-flecked, heart-bewitching phlegm, then followed her, dejected, to catch up with Quinn.
Warren let the two sit on the stag's back. Ronnie, though no longer crazed, was still listless.
Quinn laughed. "Senior Brother Ronnie, does knowing how high or thick the sky is really make any difference? The sky is there, whether you know or not. Keep a calm heart, cultivate hard, and one day break through this sky to see what's outside—that's what matters."
Ronnie said gloomily, "I understand everything the Human Emperor says. It's just, knowing it's all fake, I can't help but lose my will to fight."
Quinn understood this feeling well—not everyone could recover from the shadow as quickly as Dao Heir Lucas Lin.
The revelation that the heavens were fake hit Dao Heir Lucas Lin hardest, but he managed to pull himself together. Ronnie didn't have Lucas Lin's status or the experience of bearing heavy burdens from youth, so his resilience was a bit lacking.
But given some time, Ronnie would come out of the shadow.
"Since Senior Brother Ronnie's here, let's hurry on our way."
At Warren's command, the stag summoned clouds under its hooves and soared into the sky. Quinn urged Dragon-Qilin to follow, and the beast hurried after them. The stag glanced back with a look of disdain, then sped up.
Dragon-Qilin was furious and did his best to keep up, running over a hundred li before gasping for breath and rolling his eyes. "Why am I competing with a stupid deer? Cult Master, don't you think so? We're not racing for speed, but endurance!"
Quinn replied with a dark expression, "Mm."
Dragon-Qilin slowed his pace, watching as the stag carried Warren and the others out of sight.
Dragon-Qilin ran five thousand li, utterly exhausted and clamoring for a break. Quinn let him stop, built a fire, and cooked a meal. Dragon-Qilin sprawled nearby, snoring away.