The Scum Is A ***

"Hah! Hah…" the stall owner heavily breathed and he fell on his knees. He knew, he shouldn't trick people. Now, he regrets it like a dog. He glanced at Cheng Sheng walking in front of him with his two hands behind him. He now realized, he had kicked an iron plate. 

He never expected that seemingly ignorant person who asked him before is actually a demon! 

"Walk." Fei Yin spoke behind him and walked past him. 

The stall owner fell on his hands and knees, his hands and knees buried in the sand. He looked at the back of Fei Yin filled with grievance. He realized that Fei Yin is in love with the demon. And, he also realized that Fei Yin is also a demon! Birds of the same feather flocks together, indeed! 

He watched as his sweat dropped to the sand beneath him and dried up because of the terrible heat. "You… you gentlemen…" he spoke politely. "You've crossed the desert under this temperature?" he asked. He felt he is inside the furnace being burned alive to be refined. 

"We are cultivators." Wu Yuan spoke and helped him up. 

The stall owner uttered words of thanks and turned to him. He had also realized that answer after he asked. "Where did you come from?" he asked as he patted off the sand that stuck on his body. 

"They're from the East." Wu Yuan answered as he grabbed the stall owner's arm and helped him walk. 

The stall owner's jaw dropped. East?! So far! "Then… then how about you?" he asked. 

"West." Wu Yuan answered. 

The stall owner's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he stared at Wu Yuan in disbelief. "Isn't… isn't that where the Wuran King's stronghold is?!" he exclaimed in shock. He remembered that the demonic cultivators talked about the Youxiwang Sect was being occupied by their king, Wu Ran. 

Wu Yuan calmly turned at him. The stall owner shut up. Now, he knew why the three of them are going Southmost. It is to find the root of the evil, literally. "The two righteous cultivators before…" he said. 

"My father Wu Fan and my uncle Chen Jing." Wu Yuan answered. Then, he paused to think. "The former sect leader and the Chen patriarch." He added. 

The stall owner almost fell to his knees when he felt they became weak. "F-former sect leader… and the Ch-Chen… Chen p-patriarch…" he muttered as he stared at Wu Yuan in disbelief. "T-then you… y-you…" he said. 

"Wu Yuan, the Youxiwang Sect's leader." Wu Yuan said. He didn't notice the stall owner's tension. 

The stall owner almost fainted. "A-and them?" he asked. 

Wu Yuan turned to Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin. "Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin, the Xinfaxian Sect's disciples." He answered. 

The stall owner also has heard about the Xinfaxian Sect, this small sect, from the passing cultivators before because they have made a name in the Intersect Competition. However, what made the thunder roar in his ears is that the name 'Cheng Sheng'. "Cheng Sheng… he's that genius alchemist?! The youngest alchemist a master in five areas?!" he exclaimed and looked at Cheng Sheng's back in shock. 

Wu Yuan nodded. "That's right." He answered, a faint smile of pride on his face. After Wu Fan and Chen Jing got together, Cheng Sheng can be considered as his younger brother. 

The stall owner wanted to stuff sand in his mouth. Then… then that 'seemingly ignorant' person whom he tried to trick is Cheng Sheng?! That scum Cheng Sheng?! I've really met a demon! He thought and cried without tears. If I knew, even if I have ten lives, I wouldn't dare play smart against a scum! 

Wu Yuan didn't notice the stall owner's regrets and he dragged him with him to continue walking. Cheng Sheng who can obviously hear Wu Yuan and the stall owner's conversation smiled. It's as if he can also hear the stall owner's internal cries. 

"Sheng." Fei Yin called, his voice sound helpless. It wasn't the stall owner that played tricks to Cheng Sheng, but it's the other way around! A scum is forever a scum no matter when or where. 

"What?" Cheng Sheng asked, his eyes curved into crescents. 

Fei Yin's words were stuck in his throat when he saw the familiar mischievous smile on his beloved's face. After a second and the corner of his lips curled up. His hand snaked inside Cheng Sheng's sleeve and he intertwined their fingers. Then, they continued to walk hand in hand. 

The stall owner who saw them almost choked on his saliva. Meanwhile, Wu Yuan acted as if he didn't see anything. The stall owner saw Wu Yuan's reaction and he followed him. See no evil, hear no evil. 

Night. 

Cheng Sheng rested his head on Fei Yin's shoulder and sighed contentedly as he felt the warmth coming from the fire. They camped tonight on the first mountain they passed by. If it was just them three traveling, they would continue to walk. However, they have an ordinary person with them now. 

What Cheng Sheng said before about the stall owner's words that might not be credible is because he doesn't trust anyone they meet along their way. The current era is filled with peril. Who knows who is their ally, and enemies pretending to be their allies? Thus, he decided to take the stall owner with them to prove his words, and also to act as their guide. 

"Ni Lai…" he muttered as he opened his eyes and stared at the flames dancing before him. The orange glow surrounding their body, and the fire is flickering in their bright pupils. "Is this written on the plot?" he asked Fei Yin. 

Fei Yin shook his head. "The Devourer devoured all the worlds except this, thus the balance of this world was affected. Added to the fact that Zuo Zhe accidentally integrated this world with your world…" he said. "But, it was fortunate that Zuo Zhe did, since it halted the Devourer from devouring this world. However, the conflicts of the two forces affected this world, thus the data of this world was badly damaged, resulting in the cracks in this dimension in the form of different spaces. The one that we went into during the Intersect Competition is one of those spaces." He explained. 

Cheng Sheng sighed. What Fei Yin meant, a lot of data was destroyed, and some part of the plot was lost. "We can only continue to blindly search, then." He said and looked at the stall owner who arrived after gathering some dried branches. The stall owner is one of those that is part of the plot which was lost. They don't know what kind of character is the stall owner, and what is his exact role in the plot. How much would affect the plot? What is his origin? 

"Ah ah ah ah!" the stall owner cried and immediately withdrew his hands when it was burned by the fire. "The desert is so hot during the day, but so cold at night!" he exclaimed. 

"Isn't this a common knowledge?" Cheng Sheng glanced at him. 

"Right, right, right. You're right." The stall owner flatteringly smiled at Cheng Sheng, in which Fei Yin immediately covered Cheng Sheng's eyes to keep Cheng Sheng from seeing another man's smile. The stall owner's smile immediately stiffened and he sat on the sand, crossing his legs as he prodded the branches to increase the fire to make their area warmer, as well as to make the food cook faster. 

Even though Cheng Sheng has the Sundry Branches, but he wouldn't carelessly use it in times like this. Sundry Branches are rare items. You have to use it in extreme situations. Thus, they have to find dry branches for their fire. 

"Where is your hometown?" Fei Yin asked after a while. Wu Yuan is sitting still on the side, meditating, while Cheng Sheng is taking a nap. 

"The North." The stall owner answered. 

Fei Yin's brows knitted. "It is at the other end of the continent. Why did you travel so far?" he asked. 

The stall owner faintly smiled. "I am from a side branch of the family. The clan head is very arrogant, and in order to avoid having competitors in the family, he kicked our family away." He answered. 

"So, your family wandered until you reached the Southmost Region?" Fei Yin said. 

The stall owner nodded. "Although this place is barely livable, but it was once peaceful." He said. 

Fei Yin fell silent. Indeed, because the climate condition of the Southmost Region is undesirable, there are less people travelling to it. But, less isn't none. That's how the citizens of the Southmost Region survived. And it is peaceful, until the demonic cultivators resurfaced. "Work hard." He told him. 

"En." The stall owner smiled. 

Fei Yin heard Cheng Sheng groaned and he adjusted Cheng Sheng's head resting on his shoulder. "Oh, right." He said when he remembered something. He looked at the stall owner. "We still haven't asked for your name." he told him. 

"Sha Yan." The stall owner answered. "'sha' is the surname the people in this region adopted after they decided to settle here. It also serves as the start of a new life for us."