Legends of Runeterra

The path under my feet gradually became muddy and rugged. If sporadic footprints could be seen before, now there was almost no sign that anyone had been there. All that was left were dense bushes swaying in the summer breeze.

"Master... have you walked this road before?"

"Well, I walk this route every four seasons. Two or three times, your master Hu Rong accompanied me."

"My master?" Yi Lue recalled: "I've never heard him talk about it?"

"I will..." Dolan waved his hand, as if deliberately avoiding the topic. From his noticeably quickened pace, it was hard to tell that he was a man in his sixties—he was much lighter than a mud crab.

Besides, his master had traveled with him before, and perhaps there were other Wuji swordsmen as well. Did he need bodyguards? Perhaps this was "cultivation"? A "test" to see how well he could wield the bladeless sword? This thought gave Yi some renewed anticipation.

"Have you ever encountered any danger on this road before?"

"Not at all." Dolan nodded with a smile. "...But you still have to hold on to your sword, boy. Even if I have walked this road a thousand times, it has nothing to do with you. Just because I have never encountered danger doesn't mean you won't either."

As if in response to Dolan's words, a sharp cry came from far away and flashed across the sky above the mountains and forests. Yi raised his bladeless longsword to his chest and placed his right hand on the hilt.

That should be the cry of a raptor - this kind of bird of prey usually lives in the deep forest where few people go. Yi held his breath and concentrated, slowly scanning the trees not far away that were swaying in the breeze.

Duolan noticed Yi's nervousness and gestured forward: "Do you see that mountain?"

Directly in front of the two of them was a stretch of hills - not very high, but occupying almost the entire field of vision, it seemed impossible to get around them no matter how hard you looked.

After the birdsong faded away, the forest returned to peace. Yi slowly put down his sword and asked:

"Are we going hiking?"

"You're from Barue," Dolan patted Yi's chest with the back of his hand. "Are you afraid of climbing a mountain?"

Yi looked up at the sky. The golden sun was hanging high in the cloudless blue sky... It was really a good day for hiking.

Yi sighed quietly and continued on his way.

After passing a small forest and wading through a stream, it was obvious that this place was already quite a distance away from Wuji Village - far beyond the range "suggested" by the elders. Even so, Dolan still had no intention of slowing down.

When they finally reached the foot of the mountain, Yi discovered stone steps paved along the ridge. These steps, broken into sections by weeds and dirt, each consisting of only three or four steps, were dilapidated. But this showed that at least many years ago, there had been a mountain path here—a path the villagers had never mentioned.

At a steep cliff about three people tall, the intermittent stone steps came to an abrupt end. Yi looked around, but there was no way forward. Before he could ask, Duolan reached up, grabbed a ledge on the cliff, and began to climb. Duolan's movements were very steady, and he scaled the cliff in a few steps. He turned around and looked at Yi with an expression that said, "What are you waiting for?"

For Yi, or any young person who grew up in Wuji Village, rock climbing at this height is a piece of cake. However, before today, he had never done such a thing with a load - as expected, the difficulty increased a lot. When he finally reached the top of the cliff, he took several breaths before he recovered.

Yi stood up straight, brushed off his trouser legs, and immediately saw the stone tablet in front of him:

"'Mist Coming'..."

The ancient Ionian text above was already blurred and almost unrecognizable. Yi muttered softly while trying to recall where he had heard this place name before... No, he was sure not.

"There's still enough time," Dolan sat down next to the stone tablet, raised his kettle and took a sip. "Let's rest first."

He pulled out a rice cake from somewhere and began to gnaw on it. Halfway through, he seemed to remember something and handed the rice cake to Yi, who was still studying the stone tablet. Yi glanced at the crooked tooth marks on the cake and shook his head.

"Master, when you said 'there's still enough time'... you were referring to our practice, right?"

Duolan chewed the rice cake and patted his knees. "Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. Boy, if you are really anxious to practice, I advise you to rest here first."

When Yi saw Duolan take out the second rice cake and start to chew it, he sighed helplessly and looked around patiently.

Besides the stone tablet inscribed with the words "Wu Lin", there are several ancient ruins on the cliff, covered by vines and weeds. Although they are just broken walls, their majestic and rugged style is completely different from the current Barue architecture.

"There used to be a temple on this mountain, dedicated to a god who fell long before you and I were born." Dolan pointed to the ruins. "No one knows its name, nor where the believers have gone. All that remains are these meaningless broken stones."

"'Flowers fade, people grow old; the morning star eventually returns to its night-time state'..." Yi murmured another line from Bush's poem and pointed to the ancient text on the stone tablet. "Did they also come up with the name 'Wulin'?"

"The monument was erected by later generations. As for the name..." Dolan pointed to the other side of the cliff: "Look over there, you'll understand at a glance."

Yi walked to the edge of the cliff and carefully leaned over to look out - at his feet was a valley shrouded in clouds and mist, and in the distance were mountain ranges that connected to the blue sky, stretching from one end of his vision to the other.

The valley wasn't very large. From this angle, it looked like a lake, but instead of water, it was filled with white mist. A path led downhill from the edge of the cliff, plunging deep into the sea of ​​fog.

"See?" Dolan continued, "That's where we're going."

"Where... where?" Yi glanced down at his feet again: "Into the valley?!"

"Correct."

After going through the hardships of climbing over mountains and crossing rivers, Yi was no longer satisfied with this vague answer. He hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke:

"Master, can you tell me what today's practice is all about?"

"I can only say that the road is difficult to walk on, so I asked you to have a good rest."

Yi became more and more suspicious about the purpose of this trip, but realizing that Dolan had no intention of explaining, he carefully unloaded the bamboo basket and sat cross-legged on a stone platform directly opposite the old blacksmith - not to mention resting, this was actually a good place to practice meditation.

He adjusted his mood and took a deep breath. Perhaps because the environment was too unfamiliar, it took him a little longer than usual to enter a state of meditation.