Another World Trip: Journey with My Cat and an Otaku Loli Goddess Chapter 356 - How Tempered Are You?

As of now, there was only one thing that was on his mind and that was the place where the Ren’duans resided, the Ren’duan dwelling.

He took the first step that formally had him enter this place, and it was… different from what he was expecting.

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Long Di inspected the Ren'duan Dwelling with a curious eye. Though the place appeared run down, old and decrepit, it was oddly… clean.

It didn’t smell off-putting, and it was oddly quiet except for the melodious clanking of metal upon metal that could be heard every now and again.

Cultivators could be seen entering and exiting different shacks and houses with their materials in hand.

Some stood outside and didn’t date enter other places, creating a smaller crowd around these locations.

Many of them cupped their fist towards the Gatekeeper, who proceeded to ignore them before they then cupped them at three of the Five Nobles in Long Di’s group.

For the ones who knew who Qin Ling was, simply stared at her, dumbstruck, as she made her way past them.

“That’s odd, it seems… emptier,” Violet Flame Noble said under his breath.

Long Di naturally heard this. “Really?”

Violet Flame Noble nodded. “Yeah, it’s normally–”

Suddenly, the Gatekeeper stopped and stared off into space before he released an audible sigh followed by him rubbing his nose bridge in slight frustration.

“Hahahahahahahahaha! Free! Finally free! Suck it, you old Gatekeeper! You can kiss the darker parts of my ass! Hahahahahahaha!!!!”

A wild laughter erupted behind Long Di and the others and they all looked back to see a young Ren'duan in an old tattered loincloth of all things running towards the entrance they were just coming from.

Long Di raised a brow at this young Ren'duan’s attire. “There are darker parts of his ass?”

All the girls barring Qin Ling furiously blushed, while Violet Flame Noble thought about what was said for a hot minute.

“How is that your interest?” Pebbles stood up on Long Di’s head while physically (not figuratively, mind you) looking down at him.

Long Di began to explain, “Well, referencing my old world, these things are darker than society’s future–”

“So pitch black, got it,” Pebbles nodded in understanding.

“Right,” Long Di nodded to indicate this was so before he went on. “So I find it hard to indicate there are darker parts of his ass… well that’s unless we’re talking about his–”

“That little…” The Gatekeeper obviously wasn’t pleased with whatever was happening.

“Well, I wasn’t about to attach adjectives to it. But hey whatever floats your boat he who walks the path of the Chad.”

“Too much,” Pebbles said to Long Di with a gesture of his paw.

Long Di grew confused. “Wait, how did you make that gesture without a thumb and index–?”

“You’re not going for him?” Violet Flame Noble asked the Gatekeeper. He left Long Di and Pebbles to continue their own conversation, as he didn’t see that leading anywhere good.

The Gatekeeper shook his head. “No need.”

Bang!

Just as he said this, a loud blast rang out and everybody could see a shadow flying through the air towards them.

Shen Ling, Xiannu Liang, and Long Di felt the weirdest sense of déjà vu. They all looked at the flying shadow before their gazes landed on Lord Whiskers.

“Meow?”

Did this thing happen pretty often in the cultivation world?

Bam!

The shadow landed with a bang and a small crater for good measure. Once the dust cleared, it was obviously the same Ren'duan from before.

This one was clearly different from the Gatekeeper. For one, he was much smaller, which wasn’t that much of a difference to everyone else, since he was still a head or two taller than Long Di.

He also shared the same skin colour with it being black, but the caged forge that made up his midsection flickered with a flame of a different colour. It was white instead of an intense yellowish-orange like the elder Ren'duan.

On the note of its action, it was truly a flicker and nothing else. It didn’t roar and rage within the space of his midsection like the Gatekeeper’s did.

Instead, it hid within the crevices and just below the surface of whatever made up the uneven base of the space in his midsection. It was extremely similar to coals in that regard. They glowed beautifully in the darkness, but that was all there was to it.

Long Di wondered if the other Ren'duans were all different in this aspect or if between these two, one or more of them was an outlier.

The Gatekeeper shook his head and picked up the young Ren'duan by his loincloth, which was… less than flattering to say the least.

Shen Ling and the others turned their heads quickly when they realised what this careless action revealed.

Pebbles the Wondercat’s whiskers trembled. “As I live and breathe.”

“There are darker parts of his ass,” Long Di nodded since his wayward curiosity was sated.

“Stop it!” Shen Ling cried out before she beat on Long Di’s chest with crimson cheeks.

“Did you really think that I would leave no one manning the entrance?” the Gatekeeper said to the younger Ren'duan.

“I’ll get out of here one day!” The younger Ren'duan cried out in righteous indignation.

“Sure you will,” the Gatekeeper said with a small smirk. He then changed the way he held the young Ren'duan, assuming a method that Long Di found quite familiar.

“I hope Yaomu Shou is okay,” he said to himself after seeing that the Gatekeeper carried this young Ren'duan with him under his arm. The glistening curious red eyes of this Ren'duan scanned the group in an instant.

“What is this!? More humans… wait… not all humans, but goodness you’re all boring! Especially you!” He pointed at Long Di as if the latter just committed a great sin.

“I thought the outside was fun, but you all look like you have a stick in your butt. I’m talking to you more than the others,” he said before directing his last line at Qin Ling.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he shivered while the embers of his midsection dimmed.

The Gatekeeper stopped and glared at her, causing her to put a stop to her actions.

“Don’t think that just because you’re from Ice Phoenix Hall you can do whatever you want here,” declared the Gatekeeper grimly. “Here, you must tuck your tail between your legs and behave. Anyone who harms a Ren'duan is permanently banned, them and their sect and family, no exceptions!”

Qin Ling quietly nodded. She was well aware that the Ren’duans were not intimidated by any of the Ten Great Sects.

He then snorted and went on his way. The young Ren'duan looked at them with a smirk before he stuck his tongue out at them.

His expression made everyone here hold a great urge to beat the ever-living shit out of him.

“You can take this time to look throughout the city,” the Gatekeeper turned around to address every one of them.

“I will need to have a word with this one, alone,” he said after pointing at Long Di.

Violet Flame Noble cupped his fist and led Shen Ling, Mina, and Xiannu Liang away. Pebbles then leapt from Log Di’s head and landed on Lord Whiskers Furryback the First’s head before he went to sleep.

Long Di noticed that the Gatekeeper’s eyes lingered on Shen Ling for a moment, which induced a strange feeling within him.

‘He knows,’ Long Di realised. He wondered why he didn’t say anything about it.

Heavenly Sun Noble went her own way as she did have a task here that needed to be completed.

Qin Ling and Wei Yun did the same and went their own way for now.

They all realised that the Gatekeeper had something to say to Long Di. They would do what they intended to do here before reconvening at the entrance.

The Gatekeeper watched all of them leave with his eyes before he had Long Di follow him a little way more.

The two eventually came across a building that was larger than the surrounding ones. It was a story taller than the others, but it appeared ill-cared for and gave off the feeling that it couldn’t even protect against the wind and rain.

The Gatekeeper didn’t care for this though and directly went in followed by Long Di.

The only things present were an old cot, a coal stove and a forge.

Shu!

The Gatekeeper raised his fist, and the flames within his midsection flared up. His coal-like body warmed and took on a soft orange hue of glowing fire.

The young Ren'duan saw this and began struggling once again.

“L-Let me go you stinking old piece of crap! I spit on you! Tu!” The young Ren'duan spit something on the elder Ren'duan that he called spit, but it evaporated into steam to mark its passage.

The orange hue of the Gatekeeper travelled through his body before it reached his fist and he waved it towards the forge instantly setting it alight.

Whoosh!

Long Di felt the temperature sharply rising in the room and he would be lying if he said it didn’t affect him.

“Now get in there and properly cultivate!” The Gatekeeper then flung the young Ren'duan into the forge while the latter let loose a spiel of curses along the way.

“I curse you! I spit on you! Tu! I pray for your death! I–”

Bam!

After he flew in, the door to the forge shut, cutting off whatever else the young Ren'duan was about to say.

Long Di felt the most trauma-inducing sense of déjà vu. He actually felt a little sorry for the young Ren'duan.

After the Gatekeeper was finished, he settled his gaze on Long Di.

The latter stared back in silence, challenging the Gatekeeper to speak first.

“How tempered are you?”