The Heavenly Dragon's Beginning in the Journey Through the Heavens

Zuo Zimu glanced down at his injuries and silently assessed the situation:

With an injury like that, I should be able to hold on for a few days without any problem!

After a moment of contemplation, he turned to Zhong Ling, who was standing to the side, and asked:

"May I ask where you live, young lady? How long will it take to pick up the medicine?"

Zhong Ling answered truthfully:

"My home is in Wanjie Valley. It should take about two days to go there and back."

Upon hearing that Zhong Ling's family was in Wanjie Valley, Zuo Zimu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As a fellow power within Dali, he had some understanding of Wanjie Valley.

It's only a little over 100 li from here to Wuliang Mountain. If you're fast enough, you can definitely make a round trip in two days.

However, there was one thing that was troubling him at that moment.

If he let all these people go, he wasn't sure if they would keep their promise and actually bring back the antidote.

But if he doesn't release him, given Ling Feng's unfathomable strength, he has no chance of forcibly keeping him here!

But if he were to bring his own men with them, even though the Divine Dragon Gang had temporarily retreated, he couldn't guarantee when they might attack again. If it happened to be during his absence, then the Boundless Sword Sect would be unable to resist.

But if he sent someone along, he was afraid that something might go wrong on the way back. In that case, the Wuliang Sword Sect might be doomed, but he himself would be finished first.

Zuo Zimu was caught in a dilemma. When he turned his head, he saw Duan Yu standing to the side. An idea immediately came to his mind. After all, he had noticed that the people in front of him did not seem to know each other before.

“Young hero, how about this: you go with this young lady to fetch the medicine, while this young master stays at our Wuliang Sword Sect as a guest for a few days. Of course, I will treat him as an honored guest.”

Duan Yu, who was being pointed at, looked astonished. He never expected that he would become a hostage in an instant.

He was initially delighted to set out on his travels, but now he finds himself unable to leave.

At this moment, the image of the beautiful woman was no longer on his mind, after all, his life was in danger, but he did not speak, because it seemed that he had no right to speak at this moment.

Ling Feng looked at the astonished Duan Yu beside him, and he had actually made the same plan in his heart.

If Duan Yu were to travel with him after leaving this place, how would he possibly strike up a conversation with a beautiful woman?

So after thinking for only 0.01 seconds, Ling Feng nodded in agreement.

Another reason is that Ling Feng knows that the Wuliang Sword Sect still has an opportunity, and it would be a real pity to let it go.

That was the legendary King of All Capital, the "Manggu Pearl Clam," which could make one immune to all poisons. It was an excellent weapon for traveling the world, and Ling Feng naturally did not want to miss it.

Of course, Ling Feng couldn't say these things outright.

Since Ling Feng had already agreed, Zuo Zimu naturally released Zhong Ling and Duan Yu.

Actually, he was also conflicted because he could tell that the three people opposite him did not know each other, and he did not know whether it was feasible to use Duan Yu as a hostage.

But he had no other good options at the moment, and doing so risked offending Ling Feng, but fortunately the result seemed to be quite good.

Now that the matter had been agreed upon, Ling Feng turned to Duan Yu, who was still in a daze, and said:

"In that case, we would be grateful if you could stay here for a couple of days. We will deliver the antidote in two days."

"Thank you for your trouble, brother. My name is Duan Yu. May I ask your esteemed name?"

Duan Yu has also given up. Since he has no say in anything, he might as well just give up.

When Zuo Zimu heard that Duan Yu's surname was Duan, he immediately felt uneasy, since there weren't many people with the surname Duan in Dali.

But he didn't show anything unusual. After all, if his guess was true, he couldn't afford to offend the one who stayed behind, so he could only pretend to be calm!

Seeing that Duan Yu was the first to introduce himself, Ling Feng calmly said:

"It's alright. My name is Ling Feng. I'm just traveling around. I'll need Brother Duan to stay here for a couple more days."

"Thank you for your help, Brother Ling."

After introducing themselves, Ling Feng didn't say much to Duan Yu. He turned to Zhong Ling, who had been quiet all along, and asked gently:

"My name is Ling Feng, from Suzhou. I don't know your name yet, young lady?"

"Thank you for saving me, Young Master Ling. My name is Zhong Ling."

Ling Feng showed a bit more gentleness towards the beautiful woman, after all, beautiful women should receive some preferential treatment everywhere.

“Miss Zhong, since that’s the case, let’s go now. Let’s hurry back so we can deliver the antidote as soon as possible.”

"Yes, I'll do whatever Young Master Ling says."

Zhong Ling has now transformed from a mischievous and clever girl into a gentle and refined young lady. After all, she still needs to appear gentle in front of the person she admires.

Ling Feng then greeted Zuo Zimu and Duan Yu before leaving the Wuliang Sword Sect with Zhong Ling.

Duan Yu and Zuo Zimu watched the two leave together. Although they each had their own thoughts, their ideas coincided.

Duan Yu, caught in a predicament, felt a sense of loss, but he had no time to worry about that. He only hoped that Ling Feng and the other man would keep their promise, otherwise his situation would become extremely difficult.

Zuo Zimu also hoped that the two would not break their promise, otherwise his life would be in danger.

After leaving the Wuliang Sword Sect, Ling Feng looked at Zhong Ling beside him and asked curiously:

Why did Miss Zhong come here alone?

When Ling Feng asked her questions, Zhong Ling tried her best to show her gentle side.

"I was bored staying at home, so I decided to go out for a walk. I never expected that meddling in other people's business would almost get me into trouble."

Ling Feng listened to her words and thought to himself that neither Duan Yu nor Zhong Ling understood the dangers of the martial world, nor had they experienced the hardships of society; otherwise, they would not have been so nosy.

It's important to understand that meddling in other people's business requires the right skills; otherwise, you'll just be a lamb delivered to their door.

Of course, Ling Feng wouldn't say it outright, after all, he was still thinking about picking up girls, and if it weren't for their recklessness, he wouldn't have had the chance to be a hero and save the damsels in distress!

"Hehe, those who live the life of a chivalrous person will draw their swords to help those in need; this is true nature."

"Sigh, having learned my lesson this time, I dare not meddle in other people's business so easily again. By the way, Young Master Ling, why did you come all the way from Suzhou to Dali?"

Having learned her lesson, she will likely not act so impulsively again, since she won't always be so lucky.

“I had previously traveled far from home, heading west from Suzhou, and before I knew it, I had arrived in Dali.”

Ling Feng naturally wouldn't tell the truth, after all, sometimes the truth isn't pleasant. After a moment, as if remembering something, he asked:

"I just heard that it was Miss Zhong's pet that bit the Left Sect Leader. Why haven't I seen Miss Zhong's pet yet?"

"The Lightning Sable is nowhere to be found by now, so there's no need to worry about it; it will find its way back on its own."

Ling Feng thought to himself that it probably couldn't go back. In the original story, this Lightning Sable died at the hands of the Manggu Pearl Clam, otherwise Duan Yu would not have been able to enjoy this king of ten thousand poisons.

As they talked, the two arrived at the town at the foot of the mountain. Ling Feng led Zhong Ling straight to the inn where he had previously stayed.

His reason for coming here was to retrieve a horse. Running this hundred-plus miles on foot wouldn't be difficult, but he was a little tired.

Ling Feng was unwilling to suffer this hardship, and besides, there was only one horse, so there might be some unexpected surprises at that time.

Before long, the innkeeper led out the horses. Ling Feng took the reins, looked at Zhong Ling beside him, and asked, feigning ignorance:

"Miss Zhong, where are your horses? Let's go get them together."

Zhong Ling was unaware of Ling Feng's inner thoughts and answered honestly:

“I had only come here for sightseeing and had never ridden a horse.”

"This……"

Ling Feng looked troubled. He knew that a hunter couldn't be too aggressive, or he would scare away small animals.

After a slight hesitation, Ling Feng continued:

"But there are no horses for sale in this town. What should we do? It's more than a hundred miles from your home. If you walk there, it may take two days to deliver the antidote."

"Isn't Young Master Duan in great danger? What should we do?"

After hesitating for a long time, Zhong Ling finally said shyly:

"Why don't we ride together? That way we can make sure the antidote gets here within two days."

After she finished speaking, Zhong Ling's face turned bright red instantly.

However, Ling Feng, standing to the side, was somewhat bewildered. He realized that he might not be the hunter; perhaps he was also the prey.

Despite his thoughts, he wasn't going to suffer a loss, so he didn't refuse. Instead, he said righteously:

"It seems that this is the only way, but I'm afraid it might offend you, young lady."

"Never mind, the most urgent task is to save Young Master Duan."

Zhong Ling blushed and lowered her head in silence after speaking.

Ling Feng took in Zhong Ling's expression and knew he should stop while he was ahead; if he scared this little rabbit away, it would be a loss.

Ling Feng leaped onto his horse and extended an invitation to Zhong Ling:

"Miss Zhong, please come up."

Zhong Ling didn't say anything, but responded with actions. She lightly touched the ground with her toes and leaped onto the horse's back.

Zhong Ling did not sit in front of Ling Feng, but chose to sit behind him.

Once Zhong Ling was seated, Ling Feng gently reminded her:

"Miss Zhong, please sit down."

Zhong Ling naturally understood Ling Feng's meaning and immediately reached out to grab the sides of Ling Feng's clothes.

Feeling his clothes being grabbed on both sides, Ling Feng no longer hesitated. He immediately gripped the horse's flanks, raised the reins, and spurred the horse to run.