Chapter 393: The Blood Queen’s Five-Star Tourism Service

About an hour later, Cassandra finally returned.

Before she even reached the group, both Ren and Aiko stiffened.

A terrifying wave of bloodlust rolled off her body, mixed with the unmistakable scent of fresh blood.

Aiko unconsciously took half a step back. "She... she really went there alone and killed them all?"

Ren quickly reached out and steadied his sister, keeping her from stumbling as he stared at Cassandra in disbelief.

Cassandra walked toward the group with a satisfied expression, casually wiping a trace of blood from the corner of her mouth.

Damian looked up from where he was sitting. "Done?"

Cassandra grinned. "Of course."

She dropped into the seat beside him and sighed dramatically. "Too bad they tasted terrible."

Ren and Aiko both froze, not entirely sure what she meant.

Cassandra leaned closer to Damian, one fang showing. "I’d still rather drink yours."

Damian immediately frowned. "Not now."

Cassandra’s grin widened. "Hehe... later, then."

Damian ignored her and turned toward Ren and Aiko, waving one hand in front of them. "Hey. Wake up, both of you."

Ren finally snapped out of it. "Right..."

Damian continued, "Since the other merchants already moved on, how about you two come with us?"

Aiko tilted her head. "As guides?"

"Exactly." Damian nodded. "You know the roads, local clans, cities, customs, and whatever else we’re going to run into before Sakura territory."

Ren and Aiko exchanged a glance.

Honestly, after what they had just seen, traveling with Damian’s group suddenly seemed far safer than traveling alone.

Ren slowly nodded. "Fine. We can guide you."

Aiko smiled. "I don’t mind either."

Ren hesitated for a moment before glancing toward Cassandra. "Then... what happened to the bandits and the Hoshikawa branch?"

Cassandra answered casually, "Dead. All of them."

Ren’s eyes widened. "How could that be? They’re still members of the Hoshikawa Clan."

Cassandra turned toward him and snorted. "Strong? Are you sure?"

Her lips curled into a mocking grin. "To me, they were ridiculously weak. I didn’t even need to get serious."

Ren and Aiko simply stared at her for several long seconds before slowly exhaling.

At that point, both of them seemed to reach the same conclusion.

Asking any more questions probably wasn’t good for their mental health.

And possibly their safety.

---

They soon resumed their journey, but before setting out, Ren glanced toward Damian and raised two fingers. "There are two routes from here. Do you want the regular route or the fast route?"

Damian raised an eyebrow. "You mean the safe route and the dangerous route, right? You don’t need to make it sound nicer."

Aiko looked slightly embarrassed, but Ren simply nodded. "Fine. The dangerous route cuts several days off the journey. But if you choose it, then please make sure we don’t die."

Damian laughed. "Don’t worry. We’re strong enough. You’ve already seen how strong this woman is."

Cassandra grinned beside him. "Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe."

Her grin widened. "But if something attacks us along the way, that would be even better."

Ren decided to ignore Cassandra’s last comment and simply nodded. "Alright. Then the next major area we’ll pass through is Thunder God Valley, or what we usually call Raijin no Tani."

Damian rolled his eyes. He had already expected a name like that but still asked, "Alright. What’s so interesting and dangerous about this valley?"

Aiko answered this time. "There’s an ancient thunder shrine inside the valley, and that’s why the storms there are so dangerous."

She raised one finger. "But for lightning-element cultivators, the place is practically a holy land. And that’s where the dangerous part comes in."

Damian raised an eyebrow.

Aiko sighed. "A lot of powerful cultivators gather there, and most of them are complete strangers to each other. You understand what that means, right?"

Damian immediately nodded.

Of course he understood.

This world was never particularly peaceful. Put enough powerful cultivators in one place, especially when treasures and cultivation opportunities were involved, and even a small disagreement could turn into a fight.

Still, the moment Damian heard that the valley was a holy land for thunder cultivators, one particular woman naturally came to mind.

A shameless grin slowly crept across his face.

"Come to think of it... I don’t actually have a proper thunder cultivator in the harem yet. Hehe... Raika really would be the perfect addition."

Cassandra glanced sideways at Damian and immediately noticed the shameless grin creeping across his face. "Why are you smiling like that?"

Damian’s expression stiffened for half a second before he coughed and looked away. "No reason."

Miona narrowed her eyes at him. "Bullshit. Every time you make that face, you’re thinking about something stupid."

Damian kept walking as though he hadn’t heard her. "Beautiful weather today."

Miona looked up at the thunderclouds gathering in the distance, then back at him with a deadpan expression. "There’s a damn storm ahead."

Damian nodded seriously. "Exactly. Very beautiful."

Cassandra chuckled softly, clearly already guessing what was going through his head.

Damian ignored both of them and continued down the road.

A few hours later, the group finally arrived at the entrance of the valley.

Massive cliffs rose on both sides, forming a deep natural corridor beneath dark storm clouds.

Lightning constantly flashed overhead, illuminating the valley in brief bursts of white-blue light.

RUMBLE!

A bolt crashed into one of the distant mountain walls.

Damian stared for a moment before slowly nodding. "Alright... this place definitely deserves the word ’valley’ in its name."

He then turned toward Ren. "Since it’s literally called Raijin no Tani, there has to be some legend behind it, right?"

Ren frowned thoughtfully.

Damian leaned closer. "Hidden treasure? Ancient inheritance? Dead thunder expert? Sealed weapon?"

Ren rubbed his chin. "There are... a few old stories I could tell you about."

Damian grinned. "Then how about sharing some of them?"

Aiko immediately stepped forward. "Let me do it. I’m better at telling stories than my brother."

Ren gave her a flat look but didn’t argue.

Damian nodded. "Alright, then. Aiko, tell us what you know about the legends of Raijin no Tani."