[Month of Harvest, Haschou Village, Maplegrounds]
The first thing that came to Rizen's mind while hearing Cirika speaking was,
"A W-WYVERN?!"
Rizen's eyes popped out. For a single moment, they resemble sparkling diamonds instead of a viscous organ.
His fists were swinging up and down in front of his chest, fast and explosive, like shaking a cocktail mixer.
Panting and huffing, perhaps a slight drool even adorned the corner of his mouth as his white teeth are showing ear to ear.
"L-leading a bunch of Swallow Beaks?! That's so weird but it's so..... SO COOOOOOL!!!"
And thus, the rest of Cirika's explanation became more or less a white noise in his ears.
A wyvern is a mythical beast alright, supposedly extinct in their timeline.
No one knows exactly what a wyvern looks like, they only have those lizards etched as stick drawings in some old textbooks.
But just now, this long deceased phantomesque noble figure of Haschou Village mentioned the wyvern just like that, casually.
In this godforsaken mythical memory land, the lesser dragon is going to make its appearance.
A chance to a mythical encounter, a fight against a wyvern!
And perhaps, as the doven dancer Runara said, a chance to taste genuine Wyvern flesh!
Dream or not, surely this is something too good to pass on for a thrill seeker such as Rizen.
"O-of course we will accept this request, right guys?! T-the villagers are in need of our help! Eheheh!"
Rizen tried to suppress his jubilation by sounding stern and sympathetic for the villagers, but alas his uncontrollable smile showed up at the end.
With that very smile still displayed on his innocent face, Rizen steppd up and replied Cirika's introduction with one of himself,
"My name is Rizen...!"
It was but an instant moment yet it feels like an eternity. Rizen's mind stopped for a split second as he tried to introduce himself.
"My name is Rizen, Rizen of Jiaojing Wushu"? What even is a Jiaojing Wushu? Surely it has not existed in this timeline?
Would saying his name affect the flow of history? Would it perhaps, erase the current Jiaojing Wushu that he know of?
The one that has been handed down generation after generation from Swordmaster Lee?
Wait..... Swordmaster Lee...?
"Rizen the wanderer!"
The split second ends as Rizen decided on a nickname.
His monk name is already an unusual name by itself, a nickname or two would perhaps not change a thing.
Afterwards however, his mind worked in overdrive.
Scrambling fast, he struggled to recover the little pieces he heard of Cirika's information before.
With a slight wince, he continued on after his introduction,
"Just now, lady Cirika, you mentioned... A Monster Hunter named Lee...?"
It dawned on Rizen, the tale of Swordmaster Lee and his brave ventures saving villages from monster attacks.
The founder of his Wushu school. Perhaps this is the very same person? Is this the correct period?
Has it really been hundreds of years from this timeline to that of Rizen's?
And the name Lee is quite common for that of a Shang descent, what are the odds?
Rizen and his friends were thrown into this wacky adventure in the netherworld, with wyverns and faceless people abound.
Historical people who were supposed to be dead are now in front of him, in flesh.
Time is repeating like a groundhog day-loop, magically, without any explanation.
Surely a monster hunter named Lee would not just be any random Lee?
It certainly doesn't hurt to know more of this person,
"I-I want to see this man! Do you know of his whereabouts now?! H-have you heard of him recently?!"
Jiaojing Lee Wushu. The core of Rizen's martial arts, the very foundation of his life.
Perhaps this is the missing link he needed to discover to perfect his techniques, perhaps this is the reason why he is here.
Not only a wyvern but now he might have a miraculous chance to witness the real Lee Wushu.
A chance to meet with the legendary Swordmaster Lee himself in flesh, unknown to the rest of the world!