The young boy ran his hands alongside the snake's scales, softly whispering to it. “Look, a dirty mutt alongside a peasant.”

The snake whispered back, and the boy nodded. His eyes narrowed on Chen Hao, observing his appearance. Meanwhile, the snake was doing the same to Jun.

‘What the hell? We haven’t even done anything yet. At least get into an argument with Chen Hao before plotting his demise!’

His thoughts were interrupted by the immortal loudly coughing, drawing the attention of everyone on board.

“This is the last of the villages we’ll be stopping by. It’s time to head back to the sect.”

With that said, he approached the two disciples by Jun’s side.

“I wasn’t able to disclose much information previously, but let me amend that. My name is Huang Jie.” He waved his arms around like a director of an orchestra in some sort of greeting, smiling at them.

“There’s a certain persona you have to maintain when dealing with mortals. Trust me, I am much different in the sect.”

The two of them blankly nodded and shied away. Perhaps the previous intimidation was a tad too much for kids.

“Welcome to the Abyss Treading sect. There should be unoccupied cabins below the deck. Make yourselves comfortable.”

Chen Hao bowed, and Sun Ping remained as expressionless as before. The immortal sighed before taking a step back. As he raised his arms, the ship began to glow, golden runes swirling through the air. Jun felt a lurch, and then they were rapidly ascending above the clouds.

Jun joined Chen Hao by the edge of the ship, looking down at the lands below. The clouds turned transparent as if they did not dare obstruct the vision of those on the ship. Villages dotted the plains like little stars, lanterns being lit as the sun set beyond the horizon. Thick forests, like great beasts, spread throughout the land, housing beasts not too dissimilar to Earth’s. Far, far ahead, a gigantic city with palaces and towers shone like a crown jewel.

Above, the three moons peeked through the night sky, dancing amidst a sea of stars. They were much clearer here, where light pollution was still minimal. Jun wondered if his home was out there. He missed it, but he had long since squashed any desire to return. Immortality appealed to him much, much more. Besides, with infinite time, anything was possible.

Chen Hao was much more moved by the sight. It made sense that someone who had never flown a plane or seen an image from above would cherish the memory. Jun let the boy enjoy himself, scanning his surroundings instead. Several small groups had formed among the future disciples, and the more they talked, the more they smelled of stress and worry.

For now, they didn’t matter much. Some would reveal themselves to be geniuses in the upcoming months, getting a proper chance at the spotlight. Instead, Jun turned to the two “young masters.”

The girl had moved near the edge of the ship, staring down at the villages below. Her smile faded, a melancholic look in her eyes. In comparison, the boy was calm, but upon further inspection, his eyes seemed to be darting between all the disciples, brimming with hate. It was especially intense when he looked at the girl. Jun shuddered, recognizing it as a special kind of hate for when someone truly and utterly despised another. The snake was still staring at Jun, the scent of a predator becoming stronger every minute.

‘Well, fuck you too.’

After a few minutes of boredom, a plan slowly pieced itself together in his head.

“Watch this, brat. Grandpa Jun is about to bestow upon you the chance of a lifetime”

Jun “said” a few words to Chen Hao to draw his attention, and then slowly waddled in the direction of the girl. He curiously sniffed around her, and when he was sure he had her attention, he sat on his haunches and looked up.

Widening his eyes to be as round as possible, he squeezed out the tiniest tear just to make them look extra watery. Then, he cutely stuck out his tongue and smiled. It was truly a performance worthy of an award. If she remained unaffected, then Jun would throw himself off this airship.

A huge smile broke out on her face as she kneeled down, vigorously petting his head. “You’re sooooo cute,” she said as he started wagging his tail. Jun had to admit, getting scratched behind his ear was triggering all of his dog instincts.

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‘I’m better than this. I can resist it. I don’t like getting petted and scratched,’ he chanted the words like a mantra in his head despite his tail moving at supersonic speeds.

Finally, after a long wait, Chen Hao ran up to the pair, mortified at the dog’s actions.

“Stop! Come here,” he yelled to no avail. Jun stayed in his spot, smugly looking back.

The young girl giggled, continuing to pet the golden retriever. “What’s his name?”

Chen Hao looked at the girl and instantly flushed red. His eyes darted between her and Jun, and several seconds passed before he could gather a response.

“He’s Jun. I’m sorry about his behaviour.”

“Sorry about what? He’s done nothing wrong, and last I checked, being cute wasn’t a crime,” she laughed, turning her attention to the young boy before her.

“H-he doesn’t typically like strangers,” he said, not meeting her gaze.

‘Boy’s never seen a girl this pretty. He’s never even been outside his village.’ Jun sagely thought.

“Well, maybe he sensed something special about me. My mom always said that an animal is the best judge of character,” she replied, turning back to Jun.

Several seconds passed in awkward silence, and when it seemed like she wouldn’t say anything else, the boy finally gathered his courage.

“My name is Chen Hao. What’s yours?”

“Li Xia,” she said, looking at him with eyes that sparkled like diamonds. A few more seconds passed, and Jun sensed her focus shift from petting to Chen Hao. Perhaps she enjoyed seeing him awkwardly struggle.

“It’s a nice ship that we have. Never seen anything like it. The view below is really pretty as well,” he said, his eyes focusing on the floor.

‘Absolute moron. A god-given chance, and this is what you say?’ Jun wanted to curse.

Her voice rang out like a wind chime as she laughed, drawing the attention of others on board. She ignored them all, focusing on Chen Hao.

“It sure is. Tell me, is Jun a magical beast? His fur is too luscious not to be.”

‘Uhh,” Chen Hao’s brain worked overtime. “Yeah. Totally. He’s the smartest dog I know, and let me tell you, Jun’s parents and grandparents have been protecting the village since it was founded.”

‘Absolute bullshit. Old man Wei found me washed up by the river.’

“Really? That’s amazing,” she said, playing along.

“Y-yeah. And that’s not it. One time, our village got attacked by bandits...”

It looked like Chen Hao regained his courage as he fabricated an unbelievable tale of friendship, adventure, treachery, and love. Jun slipped between Li Xia’s legs somewhere halfway along the story, neither of them noticing him gone.

‘Good luck, soldier.’ He mentally waved at Chen Hao, knowing nothing important would be said during this time. Still, at least the two of them were talking—Chen Hao would never have approached her on his own. Just like the other peasants, he likely thought she was “too important.”

Instead, Jun made his way towards a silent corner of the ship. The noise of conversation faded, and all other sound from the outside was blocked by the barrier of runes, preventing anything else from disturbing the lonely figure. In the corner sat Sun Ping, her knees drawn up to her chest, practically curled up like a ball. Her tears had long faded, but Jun had smelled her sadness even on the other side of the ship.

He had never gotten to know Sun Ping as well as the other children. She didn’t seem to have any other friends, and she left Teacher Li’s house immediately after the lessons, heading back to her family. Her mother was the local seamstress, and from time to time, he saw the two of them working together, either repairing or making something anew. Still, she was from his village, and a child at that. How could Jun let her suffer alone?

He walked next to her, but she didn’t lift her head. Jun wished he could speak, to tell her what he knew of the cultivation world, to reassure her that everything would be fine. Instead, he stood beside her and slowly licked her cheek. It was salty, and his inner self protested at the action, but this was how his dog consoled him when he was young.

Sun Ping looked up, her eyes red and her stare blank. He nuzzled her cheek until she pushed his head away, but he didn’t stop. Eventually, despite her protests and emotions, she let out a laugh.

“Stop... It tickles,” she said, once again pushing his head away, but Jun wouldn’t budge. Instead, he jumped, awkwardly landing on her knees, his fur covering her entire face.

‘Tactical manoeuvre! Dog in the face!’

“Bleh,” she coughed and spat out fur, her knees buckling from the weight. That was the moment Jun was waiting for. He plopped down on her lap, pinning her legs with all of his weight.

‘I wanted to sit down, but you were in the way. How unfortunate.’

As it turned out, having a dog lay on you was a miracle cure for many things. Although her sadness didn’t completely disappear, she was now focused on petting the golden retriever instead of silently brooding.

“I don’t want to be an immortal. Give this stupid “spirit root” to someone else,” she vented, not expecting a reply.

“It was all going so well... We had our own house, and Mom would be properly able to retire after I finished learning all the lessons. I didn’t tell anyone, but she has a baby on the way. Now, I’ll miss it all due to something stupid.”

There Jun lay, listening, and from time to time, he turned his head to look at Sun Ping, flashing her a reassuring smile.

‘It’s tough being the good guy.’ He sighed, curling up on her lap.