The rhythmic sound of the clip-clop was the only sound heard in the carriage after the outburst of Feng Yan. No one had uttered a word. They had become so accustomed to the sound of horse's hooves, that they immediately sensed the carriage coming to a halt.
"From here on we will proceed on foot."
Feng Yan called from outside.
The Kids sighed in relief and quickly jumped out of the carriage. Ikasa and Xin Ruo had to collect their luggage before deboarding.
"Do you see that hill to your right? Our destination is beyond that hillock."
Feng Yan was pointing the route to the kids. When Ikasa gazed in the direction of his finger, he gasped.
Feng Yan noticed the reaction. He looked at him questioningly.
"I have been here. Isn't there a ruin beyond that hill?"
Ikasa counter questioned Feng Yan.
"You know of the ruins? This makes my job easier."
"But those ruins are dangerous!"
Feng Yan narrowed his gaze at him. Taking a step closer, he asked, "And who says so?"
"The last time I was here…"
He didn't let Ikasa finish. Instead, Feng Yan dismissed his worries with a wave of his hand.
"The fact a weakling like you was able to survive and remain unharmed proves this place is not dangerous."
Ikasa felt extremely insulted at Feng Yan's loathful tone. But he had to endure for some more time. The day he breaks through to Sense Realm is the day he will pay back Feng Yan for all the humiliation.
While they walked on the narrow footpath, Feng Yan was explaining the popular information about these ruins to the kids.
"There are two different kinds of ruins in this world. Some were excavated, and hence can be traced in the history of this world. But some ruins, like this one, appeared out of nowhere."
He looked at the gazes of adoration on the kids' faces with satisfaction. But he didn't have any more information that would let him act cool. So he changed the topic.
"Anyways I am not a scholar so I don't care about the origin of the ruins. All I care about are treasures within. This ruin's outer area has been explored and it is safe."
He directed the last part at Ikasa and Xin Ruo who had been acting anxiously since he mentioned ruins.
"Recently, a group of monkeys has taken residence in this outer area. And as part of the training, you kids will fight against those monkeys."
While talking, the group had already reached the top of the hill. They had a clear view of the ruins. When Ikasa got an aerial view of the ruins, he was astonished by what he saw.
There were two huge triangular areas with a circular area in the middle. The outer areas looked like arrows' tail ends, just a bit more rounded.
'Doesn't that look like a Hexagon shaped Starship?'
It would be too much to call it a starship when it was clearly built with stone and not Metal.
Meanwhile, Feng Yan continued to explain.
"You see those two triangular-shaped areas? Those are the outer areas and the rest of the area is the inner area. We are going to the one on the right, where the monkeys are."
The group set off once again. Throughout the journey, Feng Yan was explaining the weaknesses and strengths of the Monkeys. He told them about the things to watch out for as well as the general mischievous nature of Monkeys.
"Do you know why I chose monkeys to train you against?"
The kids shook their heads.
"Because they possess almost human-like intelligence and they will improve during the battle. So if you don't improve and beat them overwhelmingly, they will continue to bother you."
Then Feng Yan looked towards the setting sun and muttered under his breath, "Just Like humans."
Taking a deep breath, he released a sigh. Turning towards the kids, he gave a toothy grin.
"So, who would like to go first?"
The kids looked at each other in trepidation. Feng Yan's grave tone had spooked them. And his toothy grin was downright vicious. Even after a few minutes had passed, no one had volunteered.
Seeing the kids dilly-dallying even after a few minutes, Feng Yan gave Xin Ruo a disapproving glare; As if she was the reason for the lack of courage in these kids.
Hei Ying saw this exchange and stepped forward to save Xin Ruo from further embarrassment.
Feng Yan smiled at her approvingly. He threw a disdainful glance at the three boys in the group and then at Ikasa. Without saying a word, he led Hei Ying to the gates of the outer area.
The Outer Area was a relatively open area with few built-up structures. There were a few half-broken pillars but their shape was triangular instead of circular.
The Monkeys had taken residence in the watchtower rooms on the walls of these ruins. There were plenty of fruit trees inside and outside of the ruins.
And most importantly, the young and old of the group were safe from predators like Pythons.
Feng Yan brought Hei Ying to a relatively dark and deserted corner near the inner area.
"Wait here. I'll be back." And Feng Yan disappeared.
Soon Ikasa and the rest of the gang also arrived near Hei Ying. They found a safe corner to hide and watch the training process. Minutes later, they heard a ruckus on the walls. It died down as suddenly as it had started.
Feng Yan returned as the shrieks of monkeys were dying down. He was holding a large monkey by his neck. He threw the monkey a few meters away from Hei Ying and stood by to watch out for accidents.
"Don't treat that monkey as a sparring partner; Treat it like it is a deathly foe."
And then Feng Yan threw a pinch of red powder on the monkey's face.
The monkey, who was watching the two humans warily, suddenly turned aggressive. He jumped towards Hei Ying, trying to scratch her face.
She panicked and retreated in fear while shielding her face. The primate continued its furious onslaught by trying to grab her hand. His bared canines suggested he was about to bite and break her arms.
And it almost succeeded. Just as it was about to sink its teeth in her arms, Feng Yan grabbed the monkey by its scruff and pulled it back.
The monkey flailed and shrieked, trying to break free of his grasp. But to no avail. His hold was perfect. The Monkey's arms couldn't even reach Feng Yan to inflict any damage on him.
After he had subdued the Monkey, he turned to Hei Ying. His face showed his obvious displeasure.
"What were you doing? Did you learn my Punching routine only to practice in the morning? Did you learn the Movement technique just to run faster on the streets? What about Gazelle Punch? I didn't even see you try to execute it!"
Feng Yan went on a tirade about the obvious mistakes Hei Ying had made. After giving her an earful, he once again unleashed the beast and disappeared from its sight.
Hei Ying was ready this time. She dodged to the side as the monkey leaped towards her. She executed the side punches in her punching routine, hitting the monkey's right shoulder.
After the first few punches had landed, Monkey avoided the rest by creating distance between them. It seemed as if it was about to escape.
Feng Yan once again threw a pinch of the red powder on the monkey's face. As soon as he inhaled it, it went into a frenzy. It stopped trying to escape and charged toward Hei Ying.
Since the monkey was on its four limbs, Hei Ying judged she would have to punch low. But when it reached her it once again stood up on its hind legs. Its forelimbs were raised high as it brought them down to smash Hei Ying's shoulders.
The punch she had prepared did hit Monkey in its stomach but it didn't do much damage to it. She backed away, trying to reduce the damage from the smashing attack. But she was too late.
The monkey's forelimbs connected with her shoulders, sending a wave of pain through her arms. The numbness that followed made it difficult for her to block another similar attack.
Ikasa and the gang had grown complacent as they watched Hei Ying faceoff against the monkey. Since Feng Yan had saved her the first time, they were assured of her safety.
But suddenly, the monkey grew even more enraged and landed two consecutive hits on her. And Feng Yan had still not stepped in to stop the fight.
The Monkey had changed its stance and it was once again about to scratch her face. Ikasa expected Feng Yan to once again jump in before things became ugly, but he didn't move an inch.
Ikasa watched with horror as the monkey scratched the right cheek of Hei Ying, leaving three deep gashes. Drops of blood trickled down through the gap of her hand that was covering the wound.
Pain and fear registered in her mind as she looked at her blood-soaked hand. She backed away quickly trying to get away from the monster that had harmed her. In her haste, she stumbled and fell giving the beast a chance to attack once more.
"Nooo!" She cried loudly as she covered her face and curled up to protect her vitals.
Only now did Feng Yan move to protect the vulnerable form of Hei Ying.