by Tao Wong
After long hours of running, the expedition finally came to a clearing. The porters broke away to the clearing center to set up a cooking fire and begin meal preparations. The Elders took seats away from the others, quietly conversing or cultivating. As Wu Ying caught his breath, Ru Ping walked up to the cultivator with a smile. One which changed as he closed on Wu Ying.
“Cultivating?” Ru Ping said, wrinkling his nose.
“Only way to keep up.” Wu Ying exhaled noisily through his nose. “You’re fast.”
“Well, of course.” Ru Ping shook his head. “Make sure to bathe each day.”
“Of course, Senior,” Wu Ying said, eyes narrowing. What kind of statement was that?
“Come. Elder Li wants us to take a quick survey of the forest. There might be something worth harvesting,” Ru Ping said, gesturing around them.
Wu Ying frowned. “Already?”
“Yes. Don’t worry, we’ll have protection,” Ru Ping said, indicating Chao Kun, who stood nearby.
“Very well.” Wu Ying sighed but followed. This was the reason he had come along, after all.
Forty minutes later, the pair returned, a few plants and some cuttings in hand. Elder Li inspected the plants then waved over them, making the lot disappear. She proceeded to do the same with the cuttings before sending the pair off to eat.
“I thought it was not possible to store live plants in storage rings?” Wu Ying said to Ru Ping as they collected the toasted bread.
“It’s not normally,” Ru Ping said. “But Elder Li has a mobile herb garden. That is where those plants are sent.”
Wu Ying’s jaw dropped. “A mobile garden? But doesn’t she still have to plant the herbs?”
Ru Ping shrugged, as uncertain about the peculiarities of the garden as Wu Ying. Rather than attempting to answer questions to which he had no answer, Ru Ping directed Wu Ying to finish his meal. “We have a long way to go.”
***
True to Ru Ping’s words, the expedition continued late into the day. Hours went by at a jog, punctuated by the occasional stops to deal with aggressive beasts. The first time it happened, Wu Ying did not even learn of the attack until he came across Tou He, bent over the corpse of their demon beast attackers, skinning and gutting the creatures.
By the time the group made camp that night, the expedition had had to deal with four fights, including one which involved all members of the expedition as they were attacked by giant flying ants. The creatures, arisen from a disturbed ant nest, had swarmed the expedition in search of biomass. Luckily, Elder Dong had launched a series of fire chi palm strikes, burning and destroying the ants’ delicate wings and allowing the hard-pressed expedition to deal with their attackers without significant injury.
Late that night, as Wu Ying returned from the temporary shower the group had created, Ru Ping intercepted the young cultivator. “There you are. Be ready in ten minutes. We should harvest additional herbs before the night grows too dark.”
“Are we going to do this every night?” Wu Ying said, frowning. Thus far, they had acquired some uncommon and rare herbs, but nothing of great value like their target.
“Of course. How do you think Elder Li intends to pay for this expedition?” Ru Ping said. “If you’re here, we might as well make full use of you.”
“Is this the reason you wanted me along? To harvest what we find as we travel?” Wu Ying said.
“Mostly,” Ru Ping said. “Elder Li will require a second pair of hands when she harvests the kurinji flowers. I will aid her, of course, but if there is an accident, it is best to have a spare.”
Wu Ying made a face he quickly hid from Ru Ping. To think, he had been threatened and abused because they needed a spare. Even after all this time, even to someone he thought was a friend, he was nothing more than an extra pair of convenient hands.
Ru Ping, either ignoring Wu Ying’s dissatisfaction or not seeing it, reiterated their timeline before walking off.
In short order, as Wu Ying sat near a fire, Li Yao arrived and sat beside him, offering Wu Ying a bowl of roasted peanuts.
“Thank you.” Wu Ying took the bowl and chewed on its contents.
“Why are you making such a sour face? Did you suck on something distasteful?”
Wu Ying flashed a smile at Li Yao before he sighed. “I’m just frustrated. It seems I’m here as nothing more than a mobile harvester.”
“And?” Li Yao said with a frown. “We’re being paid a princely sum in contribution points to be here.”
“It’s dangerous,” Wu Ying said, looking around.
“Bah. Big Winged Wood Ants are nothing,” Li Yao said, shaking her head. “And Senior Ge is here, as are the Elders. This is the safest expedition into these lands the sect has launched in years.”
“Still…”
“Cultivation—”
“Is not a safe activity,” Wu Ying finished the common saying. “I know. But this is the second year I’ve been in the sect, and the second year I’ve left it.”
“Don’t act as if you aren’t enjoying the run. Or the harvesting,” Li Yao said. “I saw your face on the journey. You were smiling and relaxed, more than I’ve ever seen you. Well, except when we’re not in the sect.”
“That’s because…” Wu Ying clamped his mouth shut. What he’d been about to say would be insulting to Li Yao. He was more relaxed because out here, there were no nobles. Or fewer. No random social constraints or rules he did not know. No snobby rich kids showing off the latest gift from their parents. Or jumping ahead in their cultivation because they had managed to buy the latest pill. No. Out here, even with the expedition, Wu Ying did not have to worry about those things.
“Because?”
“Nothing,” Wu Ying said.
Li Yao narrowed her eyes at Wu Ying, but he smiled back at her. She sniffed and stood, muttering something that sounded very much like a curse as she left Wu Ying alone with his nuts. Wu Ying rubbed his greasy fingers for a second, feeling the salt the peanuts had left, and watched Li Yao flounce away.
Still, Wu Ying had to admit, the snack and Li Yao’s reminder that he was out of the sect brightened his mood. Even if he was here, facing more danger than he would have liked, Wu Ying was still enjoying himself and earning a large number of contribution points.
Perhaps, as with all things, Wu Ying needed to adjust his mindset. And, he had to admit, probably get over himself. Even on the farm, there were often times he’d had to do things he disliked.
***
“Those are Purple Night Glow Mushrooms,” Ru Ping said as Wu Ying eyed the aptly-named fungus. Joined by Tou He and another pair of cultivators as guards, the harvesters were making their way through the surrounding forest. “Very poisonous if ingested. The frills under the cap are where the poison rests.”
“Are we harvesting it?” Wu Ying had never done so before, but he knew the basics and was already reaching for his gloves.
“In a way. Get a container, cut the mushrooms free, and scrape the frills completely. Be careful to not inhale any when you do so,” Ru Ping informed Wu Ying. “Leave the rest. The pill refiners have little use for the poison, but the physicians occasionally use it to burn off infections.”
Wu Ying bobbed his head before he pulled a cloth from his storage ring, wet it, and wrapped it around his face. As Ru Ping moved away to harvest other flora, Wu Ying eyed the mushrooms and gauged the size of container he would need.
“Dangerous work,” Tou He said, having stayed by Wu Ying’s side. The monk had exchanged his quarterstaff for a pair of tong fas, preferring the shorter weapons for use in the forest.
“It can be,” Wu Ying admitted. Not surprisingly, many spiritual herbs had defense mechanisms. Sometimes, it was as simple as large and aggressive thorns. Most had more elaborate and dangerous protections. “Please back off. You don’t want to breath this in accidentally.”
“Yes, sir.” Tou He chuckled and moved away, letting his gaze roam over the surroundings.
Under the n
ew moon and a cloudless sky, their greatest source of illumination were the lamps the group had brought. Of course, the illumination reduced their ability to notice potential threats, but the light was necessary for the harvesters to undertake their delicate work.
Harvesting knife in hand, Wu Ying sliced the stems of the mushrooms, pulling them off the dead tree they had grown upon. Wu Ying’s movements were slow but assured, each mushroom plucked and placed on the brown wax paper he had arranged before him. Wu Ying took the time to clear all the mushrooms before he moved to the next step. With a small metallic oval wire tool, Wu Ying positioned the mushrooms on the wax paper and scraped the frills clean before discarding the cleaned fungi. In short order, Wu Ying had a pile of yellow-green remnants which he deposited in a clay bottle with the aid of a wax paper funnel. Once he had capped the bottle, Wu Ying breathed easily at last.
“Now what?” Tou He said.
“We find Ru Ping and see what else he wants us to harvest,” Wu Ying said. For now, he would store the harvested material outside of his storage ring.
Together, the pair headed in the direction the other harvester had left in, Wu Ying’s head turning as he searched for more spirit herbs to collect.
Chapter 18
Late on the fourth night in the spirit lands, Wu Ying and the guards were harvesting herbs, as had fast become the routine. In the deep darkness of an overcast night, Wu Ying grimaced as he held up the lantern and shone it across the ground. Still seeing nothing, he turned to Ru Ping.
“Senior, we seem to have traveled farther from the camp than normal,” Wu Ying said.
“We have. The Yu Fire Exploding Cucumber[53] can send its seeds up to two hundred feet away,” Ru Ping said. “If you had taken better care, we would not be looking for them. Now, keep shining the light. They will glow when the seeds encounter the light.”
“I’m sorry. My hand slipped,” Wu Ying said.
The darkness, an errant wind, and exhaustion meant that the back of Wu Ying’s hand had brushed against the cucumber pod, making the plant explode and send its seeds flying. Wu Ying had managed to catch a few, but a few was insufficient for Ru Ping, which led to them traversing the undergrowth, searching for the fire-aspected seeds.
“Each of those seeds is worth a hundred taels,” Ru Ping said.
“A hundred taels! Liu, you could even—” one of the three guards exclaimed. He turned to where his friend had been, only to realize his friend was missing. “Liu? Liu!”
“Quiet,” Li Yao snapped as she shifted her spear closer to her body. She looked around cautiously and moved to where they’d last seen the guard, crouching low as she spotted something. “Light!”
Wu Ying complied, shifting the beam of light to where Li Yao looked. The light reflected off a dark wetness.
Li Yao touched the spot, her finger sinking into the deep red before she raised her stained finger and rubbed it with her thumb. “Blood.”
Wu Ying felt the dread that had taken root in his stomach clench harder. As he watched, another drop fell onto the spot. Li Yao hissed, jerking backward and raising her head to stare at the dense foliage above. Seeing nothing, she gestured for more light, but she never completed the action as Wu Ying was already moving.
In the branches of the tree, the remains of the missing guard lay. His body was torn apart, half-eaten. To Wu Ying’s surprise, there was little blood, even as intestines and other innards spilled from the figure. Wu Ying frowned and drew a deeper breath, realizing the smell of charred and cauterized meat came not from the distant cooking fires but from the corpse.
“What could have done that?” Wu Ying said softly.
Li Yao, much more practical, gestured for the team to pull in close, directing the guards to shine their lights into the branches as well. However, whatever creature had managed to abduct, kill, and eat their friend right above them was nowhere to be seen.
As Li Yao guided the team back to the encampment, Wu Ying shuddered at the martial cultivator’s ignoble death. From what Wu Ying could recall, the cultivator had been in the lower end of the Energy Storage stage and had still died without a sound. If it had been him, Wu Ying could not imagine he would have fared any better.
The danger in the spirit lands was not to be underestimated.
***
Over the next few days, their monstrous attacker stalked the team. More than once, the guards or Elders caught a glimpse of the creature’s silhouette as the day darkened. Each time, it was a glimpse of black fur and a creature that moved on all fours as it prowled the tops of the trees, stalking the expedition.
Even under the increased threat, Elder Li insisted they harvest as they traveled. While no one had spotted the creature during the day, no one could guarantee the creature only hunted at night. As such, even during the day, Wu Ying found the number of guards who joined them on the gathering expeditions increased. Moving in the cordon of wary sentries, Wu Ying found himself making more mistakes.
“Stop worrying about the demon beast,” Ru Ping chided Wu Ying later in the encampment.
“Demon?”
“Of course. Did you think a normal spirit beast would hunt us like this?” Ru Ping shook his head. “It must be a demon beast. But that is beside the point.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just… hard,” Wu Ying said.
“It is not your job to be on guard,” Ru Ping said. “Your job is to harvest the herbs competently. It is your job to help ensure Elder Li can pay for this expedition.”
“We can’t pay for it?” Wu Ying said, horrified.
Ru Ping’s eyes widened and he sliced his hand parallel to the ground, as if he was chopping his words apart. “No, no. We can pay for the expedition. We already have. But we want to make a profit on this expedition, not break even. Do you understand?”
Wu Ying’s eyes narrowed, but he chose to say nothing. The profitability, or lack of it, of the expedition was not his problem. “I’ll do better.”
“Make sure you do.”
As the expedition traveled deeper into the spirit lands, the number of spirit herbs grew more plentiful. For the first time, Ru Ping became selective of what they harvested. As they traversed the undergrowth, shining light on the surroundings, the guards warily watched for their unseen predator.
Two hours of tense foraging ended with the group returning to the encampment and the defense of the hastily constructed formation flags. As they neared the flags, the cultivators relaxed—a touch too early. The demon beast launched itself from a tree outside the boundary created by the formation flags, targeting the second guard in line.
As it fell, Wu Ying caught his first clear glimpse of the creature. A feline presence, larger than any he had ever seen before. Short black fur and a cropped ear flashed by as it slammed into the guard, its sharp claws piercing the cultivator’s armor. Wu Ying, who was directly behind the man, had stepped aside as the creature bore its prey to the ground, his hand falling to his sheathed jian.
The Dragon unsheathes its Claws.
The cut caught the demon cat along its back, tearing at wiry fur. Yet the monster ignored the attack as it clamped its jaws around the cultivator’s throat. Legs bunched and released as the creature bounded forward, carrying the guard, the cultivator’s lifeblood falling on the ground.
Wu Ying threw another cut, the jian skipping along the monster’s hindquarters as it left. Ahead of the demon beast, Senior Ge forsook his weapon and threw a fist strike at the monster. The attack forced the monster to jerk away, the sudden movement tearing open the cultivator’s wounds even further. A follow-up punch glanced off the beast’s body, forcing its jaws open. A spear strike from the side caught the creature along its chest before it gave up its prey, disappearing into the dark.
The entire attack had happened in seconds, so quickly finished that the cultivators within the encampment had no time to react. Senior Ge snarled, facing the direction the monster left, while Ru Ping dropped to his knees and pressed bandages on the guard’s wounds. Wu Ying hurr
ied over as he sheathed his jian, scrambling for bandages too.
“I’ve got it. You there!” Ru Ping called to another guard, who had just fumbled his dao out. “Help us carry your friend in.”
As they lifted the body, the lights in the encampment increased, bobbing lanterns and torches moving toward the harvesting group. Wu Ying and the dao-wielding guard carried the injured cultivator into the camp, where they were met by Elder Li. Directed by the old woman’s cane, they deposited the bleeding man near the fire, where another cultivator readied boiled water. Elder Li barked orders at Ru Ping, who removed his hands from the wounds and fished out needles and thread for the Elder. Together, the pair worked on cleaning and sewing the wounds of the dying guard.
Long minutes of desperate work, supplemented by a powerful healing pill, paid off as the cultivator stabilized. His once-pale face grew rosy, the torn wounds in his throat and chest clotting. Satisfied, Elder Li left the cultivator alone, her bloody hands held before her. Ru Ping gestured for additional help in completing the man’s cleaning and bandaging. Wu Ying found himself breathing easier when he realized the guard would survive, and he walked a short a distance away to sit, his feet giving way as he lowered himself.
“Close,” Tou He said as he joined his friend.
“Yes.” Wu Ying turned his hands over in front of him, crusted blood flaking off his skin as he flexed his fingers. “If I had been ahead…”
“If, if, if,” Tou He said, shaking his head. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”