Chapter 90: The Desert Emperor Returns, Master and Disciple Farewell on the Ancient Road

Roar--

Talia, who was picking up stones in the woods, suddenly heard a terrifying roar.

She turned around in panic.

——It was a majestic Ionian snow lion.

The beast was nearly twice her height, and it was staring at her.

After a moment, it put down the two fresh rabbits in its mouth, stretched out its tongue, which was thicker than her forearm, and licked the blood in its mouth.

Talia felt a strong sense of oppression, but she forced herself to suppress the fear in her heart.

"Go away!"

She swung the stone and hit it on the neck.

However, the beast's thick mane offset the impact of the stone.

The snow lion growled and slowly approached her.

Taliyah's heart began to beat faster and cold sweat began to seep out of her forehead.

She threw out another handful of stones.

"Keep yelling!" She summoned up her courage and shouted, "I told you to get out of here!"

The snow lion took another step forward, and its terrifying size and bloody fangs made Taliyah's chest tremble.

She reached into her pocket in panic, but there were no stones left for her to use as weapons.

Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably, both from the cold and from fear.

In times of despair.

She closed her eyes.

Waiting for death to come.

But at this moment, the man's words reappeared in her mind.

Just sit there and wait for death?
Do not!
No, they are still waiting for me!
this moment.

She had completely forgotten her impending death, and the lingering loneliness faded away, replaced by the last dance she had performed on the sand dunes.

She saw her mother, father, companions, and the entire tribe gathered around her.
“I’ve left so much behind.”

"you--"

"There's no way that I can be stopped."

As if she had realized some secret of her talent, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked directly into the beast's eyes.

Then, the stone beneath my feet began to meander, forming a graceful crescent shape.

She jumped high, and a huge rumbling sound came from under her feet, drowning out the snow lion's roar.

It wants to step back.

But, it's already too late.

The ground between its feet began to crack, gushing out a huge stream of gravel.

Then, with a roar and a wail, it was pierced through the body by a huge stream of rubble and fell into a deep cliff.

The earth gradually calmed down, and the air currents gently lifted Talia up into the air, while the rock beneath her had shattered into millions of gravels.

"You said before that you wanted to knock down this mountain. I thought you were joking, little sparrow."

At this time, a man's figure slowly walked out from the darkness of the woods behind.

Taliyah turned to look at him.

Laughed.

Unable to suppress laughter.

"Now I finally understand why the desert is always flat."

“Finally I understand!”

"That's great, Talia."

“Another cheater.”

"Her ability is a bit like elemental magic, I wonder if it is."

"Earth Style: Sand Dance!"

"Rather than saying that Yasuo is a master, it's better to say that he is a mentor, who guides her to overcome her inner demons through teachings."

"Haha, I see. There is no example, only words."

"After that day, I formally became his disciple."

"We didn't have the title of master and apprentice before, but he taught me subtly. "

""It's a shame.""

“I never noticed it.”

"When I truly awakened my innate power, he also taught me the way of elemental magic."

“I am amazed at his extensive knowledge and grateful for his selfless sharing.”

"In the days that followed, we talked about everything, learned from each other, and grew together. "

""until--""

"The day we parted."

The night is deep.

There were still a few tables of guests in the hotel.

Talia squirmed excitedly in her seat, her eyes darting around.

After staying in the mountains for a long time, I finally got out and couldn't help feeling excited.

She looked at her grim-faced teacher, who had insisted on her sitting in this dark corner.

Thinking back, when she suggested having dinner at this remote little restaurant, he refused to agree no matter what.

But he couldn't prevail against her in the end.

The man at this moment frowned, not caring about their friendship at all, and said nothing.

He finally relaxed a little when he confirmed that no one in the store knew him.

Sit down firmly with your back against the wall.

He picked up the bamboo cup and drank some water, then looked at Talia, who was not very well behaved.

"You should be more decisive."

Talia stared at the tea leaves swirling in the cup in a trance. Today's lessons were a bit difficult and were not going very smoothly.

In the end, both of them were standing among the rubble, covered in dust and dirt.

"I still hurt others easily." Talia looked frustrated.

"Without destruction, there is no construction. Control comes from long-term practice. Your potential is limitless." The man said slowly, "You should know that you have made a lot of progress."

"But what if I fail?"

At this time, the door of the hotel was pushed open.

The man glanced over and saw two men dressed as traveling merchants stomping into the hotel.

The innkeeper gestured to the two of them that the table next to Talia and the others was empty.

One of them walked straight over, while the other waited near the bar.

"Everyone fails." The man ignored them and continued talking to Talia.

“But it’s just a phase in life and you have to move on and it will pass.”

The businessman sat down, looking Talia up and down.

He noticed the plain lavender of her dress, the gold and stones in her hair.

“Is that Shurima stuff, girl?”

Talia did her best to pretend she didn't see it.

Her teacher gave her a warning look, but the merchant laughed it off.

"It wasn't common in the past." He went on to himself.

The girl stared at her palms without saying a word.

"Now people are saying everywhere that your city is rising again."

Taliyah looked up sharply. "What?"

"It is said that the river water has started to flow backwards." The businessman waved his hand with a look of contempt on his face.

In his eyes, the people in remote areas were just simple-minded fools.

"It's all because that bird-headed emperor crawled out of his grave."

“Whatever he is, he’s ruining our business,” another merchant joined the conversation. “They say he’s determined to summon all Shurima, slaves and all.”

"Girl, you're much better off here than there," the first person added.

The second man turned his eyes away from his drink and noticed Talia's companion.

"You look familiar. I've seen you before."

At this time, the door of the hotel was pushed open again.

A group of guards came in, looking at everyone with sharp eyes. The captain in the middle stared at Talia and his teacher.

Taliyah sensed an ominous atmosphere rising in the inn. Several guests stood up and hurried away, and the two businessmen also shrewdly slipped out.

The captain of the guards pulled aside a few chairs that were blocking his way, walked closer, and stood a sword's length away from them.

"Murderer, you are hiding here."

"Drink up your wine. It's your last one anyway."

The sound of the steel blade being unsheathed gave Taliyah a startle. She stood up and looked at her teacher holding the long sword and looking down at the room full of guards.

"This person is called Yasuo."

"He is accused of murdering an elder. He deserves death. He should be killed on sight."

One of the guards had a cross on his forearm, while the other held a longbow as tall as her and also had a feathered arrow nocked on it.

“Kill me?” Yasuo asked. “Go ahead and try.”

"Wait." Talia called.

But before she could finish her words, she heard the sound of a mechanism and the longbow vibrated rapidly.

In just a heartbeat, a strong wind blew up around the teacher, and the dishes on the table fell to the ground.

The wind blew the arrow halfway into the air, and in the blink of an eye it broke into pieces and fell to the ground.

More guards filed in with swords and knives.

Talia summoned a sharp piece of stone from the ground, which shot out through the ground and shot towards the door, blocking them outside.

Yasuo shuttled back and forth among the crowd, the reflection of the metal in his hand like a spitting lightning.

The guards swung their weapons wildly, trying in vain to parry the swift swords.

But it was too late.

Yasuo's sword flashed among the crowd and disappeared, leaving only a waterfall of scarlet blood and a gust of wind.

All the guards fell to the ground, and Yasuo stood still, breathing heavily.

"careful!"

Talia hurriedly held up a warning hand.

Behind him, the captain of the guards climbed to his feet, his eyes glowing and a cruel smile on his lips.

He grasped the blood-stained hilt with both hands.

“Stay away from him!” Taliyah screamed, and the cobblestone ground suddenly rose up, lifting the captain of the guards into the air.

Before he even landed, Yasuo took action.

"Soria hurts!!"

The cold blade faced the captain's chest and in a blink of an eye, it made three consecutive cuts in mid-air.

The body fell to the ground and there was no more movement.

There were more shouts and screams coming from outside.

"We should go!" Yasuo looked at Taliyah. "You can do it. Don't hesitate."

Talia nodded.

The ground began to shake, shaking the walls until the thatched roof began to vibrate as well.

She struggled to control the growing power deep underground. The ground beneath the inn rose, and the ring of stones rolled forward, carrying her into the night.

The wind blew violently behind her, and Yasuo followed closely behind her.

"Great cooperation!"

"No wonder Yasuo was so cautious before. It turns out it's because he's not safe anywhere."

"I wonder how those guards found him. How could they catch him?"

"Wait, Shurima is rebuilding again?"

"What the hell is the Bird-Head Emperor?"

"I remember it was destroyed during the Aatrox era."

"It depends on the timeline of this story. Su Dada didn't say."

"Is it time to say goodbye?"

"At dawn, the ancient road outside the mountain."

“They know you,” Taliyah whispered. “Your name is Yasuo.”

“We have to keep moving forward.”

"They want you dead."

Yasuo exhaled. “Many people want me dead. Now they don’t want you to live either. They can always find a pretext to accuse someone of something.”

"I know."

Yasuo had never told her his real name, but it didn't matter now.

She never asked about his past experiences. In fact, she never asked any extra questions except what he handed over to her.

“Where are you going? Shurima is to the west,” she asked, confused.

Yasuo had his back to her and didn't look back.

"I'm not going to Shurima, and in fact, neither are you. The time has not come yet." His voice was cold and cautious.

"You heard what those merchants said. The lost city has revived." Taliyah said.

“That’s just a legend used to scare the peddlers so that Shuriman linen can be sold at a high price.”

"The Emperor of the Desert has returned." Taliyah shook her head.

"You don't understand what that means. He will take back everything he has lost, including the people who once served him, and the tribe."

Talia couldn't control her tone, she had come so far just to protect them.

But when her loved ones needed her, she was so far away from them.

"He would enslave my family."

"I have to protect them, don't you understand?"

A gust of wind rose up, ruffling the gravel on the ground and Yasuo's black hair.

"Protect them?" His voice was like a whisper. "Won't the Mother Weaver you worship take care of them?"

He said this almost through gritting his teeth.

The man, her respected teacher, turned to face his only student, anger flashing in his dark eyes.

"Your lessons aren't over yet, and you're risking your life by returning to them."

She looked at him unyieldingly, "My life originally belonged to them."

The wind howled around them, but Taliyah remained motionless.

Yasuo sighed, then looked towards the east again. A ray of dawn appeared at the end of the dark blue night.

"Come with me," she suggested.

His stern jaw relaxed. "I heard that the mead in the desert is delicious."

The breeze brushed the girl's cheek, but only for a short moment, and he fell into the pain of memories again, "But my work in Ionia is not over yet."

Talia stared at him, then pulled out a bunch of thin silk threads from her clothes.

She handed him the hand-spun wool and he had a skeptical look on his face.

“It’s our way of saying thank you.”

Taliyah said calmly, "Giving something to someone will keep it in your memory."

The man took it carefully and tied it to his braid. He carefully considered his words, "Follow this road to the next valley, and then you can walk along the river to the sea."

He pointed to a path and said, "You'll meet a fisherwoman there. Tell her you want to go to the Freljord, and give her this."

He untied a belt from his waist, took out a dried maple seed and pressed it into her palm.

"In the tundra of the north, there is a group of people who are resisting Noxus. Perhaps they can help you find a way home."

"Freljord? What's that?"

“There’s a lot of ice, and there’s a lot of rock.”

He winked at her and it was her turn to laugh.

"You will soar over the mountains, using your power to create or destroy, embracing it without reservation."

"Your wings will make you unstoppable, and even carry you back home."

"I trust that you will strike the right balance."

"Have a safe trip, little sparrow."

Talia looked at her teacher again, but he had disappeared down the road.

Only a few rustling blades of grass swayed in the morning breeze.

"I believe that the Mother Weaver has already made arrangements for you." Talia carefully put the maple seeds into her coat pocket and began to head towards the valley.

Gravel jumped up along the way.

Pay her respects.

(End of this chapter)