A Thousand Li: the First Stop: A Xanxia Cultivation Series

by Tao Wong

  “Trouble,” Wu Ying said, moments before he spotted the steaming, baking hopping vampires. As Wu Ying turned, he realized that the jiangshi had surrounded the cultivators while they had been busy clearing out the last grave.

  “Six, seven, eight,” Tou He finished counting their adversaries, his eyes tight with worry as the eight hopping vampires converged. One hand spun the staff as the ex-monk eyed their opponents.

  “But they’re slower. And cooking,” Wu Ying pointed out. “We can do this.” Tou He hesitated and Wu Ying grinned, inspiration striking him. “Whoever takes the most buys the other dinner. As much meat as they want.”

  “Demon beast?”

  “Sure.” Wu Ying said.

  The moment Wu Ying agreed, Tou He took off running, his staff already spinning.

  “Cheater!”

  Not to be outdone, Wu Ying ran, the initial joviality fading away as the cultivator got serious. Slow as the monsters were, the vampires were dangerous, with their supernatural strength and ability to drain chi. As he closed in on them, Wu Ying felt a touch on his aura, as if something was attempting to invade it, pulling at the membrane he had painstakingly built. Reflexively, Wu Ying pulled the aura tighter, surprised that the jiangshi’s chi draining effects were so strong. A matter of numbers or a greater pull due to the vampires’ lack of chi?

  In the end, Wu Ying could not tell, nor did it matter. Since the closest pair of monsters were within lunging distance, Wu Ying launched himself at them. This time around, he did not commit to a full lunge, instead using Dragon turns while Slumbering to lop off a reaching hand. In short order, Wu Ying had positioned the jiangshi in front of its friend and stepped forward, throwing a precise strike that entered the vampire’s right eye. As the creature slumped, Wu Ying grunted as his wooden jian stuck in its hardened, dead skull.

  As Wu Ying struggled to free the jian, his second opponent hopped around the corpse of its brethren, hands reaching for Wu Ying’s throat. Wu Ying leaned backward as the jian popped free, and he executed Wind Steps. The quick, circular steps gave Wu Ying a chance to move away before he executed Falling rocks in a Rainstorm, the drop step and roundhouse kick to the vampire’s body doing nothing other than hurting Wu Ying’s shin. Hopping around, the vampire lurched forward, forcing Wu Ying to execute a quick flip backward out of the way.

  Even as Wu Ying landed, another vampire reached for his side, forcing Wu Ying into a defensive stance. The next few moments were tense and hectic as Wu Ying desperately fended off his attackers with his wooden sword, the sharpened blade leaving smoking lines and ripping apart rotten flesh. Yet the jian that Wu Ying favored was not meant to deal with undead attackers, being meant to slip between the gaps in armor or to finish off an opponent with a flourish. A broader dao would have suited Wu Ying’s situation better, but that was a regret for another time as he backpedaled and cut.

  Wu Ying ducked another hopping lunge. This time, Wu Ying had nowhere to back up too, forcing Wu Ying to crouch low. All around, Wu Ying felt the jiangshi crowding him.

  “Huài dàn!” Wu Ying cursed.

  Out of options, Wu Ying dropped his sword and pulled his hands close to his body. He channeled his chi into both hands even as clawed fingers tore at his scalp and shoulders. Exploding from his crouch, Wu Ying threw both hands outward, directing his punches into the torsos of his attackers. The explosive motion, combined with his chi, threw the hopping vampires backward but also left Wu Ying reeling from the sudden expansion of his chi.

  From the corner of Wu Ying’s eye, he saw Tou He was doing better as his long, blunt quarterstaff beat the monsters aside and shattered bones. Supernatural monsters or not, the vampires suffered from the punishing blows that left them limping on cracked bones. Rather than attempting to finish off the jiangshi with his attacks, Tou He focused on disabling the creatures in a safe manner. Even so, as Wu Ying watched, the staff shot forward from Tou He’s hip, twisting in mid-air as it drilled into the skull of a hopping jiangshi. Caught in mid-air, it took the full strike in its face without defense, shattering the nose and skull before it collapsed bonelessly.

  Breathing deeply, Wu Ying refilled his meridians from his dantian. Refreshed somewhat, the cultivator kicked at the ground and snatched his jian from the air just in time to block one of the hopping vampires that had been pushed back. The impact pushed Wu Ying’s feet deep into the earth, forming a small, muddy furrow as his bones creaked under the strain. With the vampire’s initial impetus stopped, Wu Ying lashed out, slicing off fingers then using the return false edge strike to tear open a throat. As more chi leaked out of the wounded hopping vampire, Wu Ying turned to meet his next assailant.

  Difficult perhaps. But they could do this.

  Wu Ying prodded at the wounds on his side, frowning at the displaced slip of flesh that hung from his torn sect robes. For the life of him, he could not recall being hit that low by the jiangshi. Wounds across his scalp, his arms, and even his neck, he could understand. Heck, his legs had been torn up when he threw a kick that was caught by a jiangshi’s long claws. Those all made sense. This. This he had no recollection of.

  “All accounted for?” Tou He asked.

  “Yes,” Wu Ying said, the last dregs of adrenaline finally leaving his body. He staggered to a nearby gravestone and sat down hard, wincing at the impact and making note to provide a proper offering to the grave owner before he left.

  “Tired?”

  “No. Full of energy,” Wu Ying said without any heat.

  “Well, the dinner you’re buying will give you back some strength.”

  Wu Ying snorted, reaching into his robes to pull out a square of cloth. He laboriously cleaned his wooden sword, eyeing the still-smoldering corpses around him. After a time, he spoke up. “We should finish the sweep. And then wait until after nightfall to make sure they’re all gone.”

  Once the pair had rested and bandaged their wounds, they piled the bodies on Tou He’s useful bonfire. Afterward, they continued their sweep of the graveyard, tapping against gravestones and leaving incense sticks and bundles of tied off and burning paper money[18] in front of each grave.

  At one of those graves, Wu Ying stopped, staring at a particular purple flower.

  Tou He paused beside him, eyeing the flower before he shrugged and looked at Wu Ying. “What is it?”

  “A flower.”

  “Yes, I can see that.”

  “It’s winter.”

  “Oh. Oh!” Tou He said, realization dawning. “Is it special?”

  “I think so?” Wu Ying said. Then he looked around the graveyard before he shrugged. “We might as well take it with us. It’s not really meant to be here.”

  Tou He nodded and reached for the flower, hand splayed wide to grab the stem. Wu Ying darted forward and smacked Tou He’s hand, making his friend jerk his hand away and glare at Wu Ying. “What was that for?”

  “I should ask you. What were you doing?”

  “Taking the flower.”

  “Like that?”

  “Yes?” Tou He paused. “Isn’t that how you pluck flowers?”

  “No! Also, we want the plant. Otherwise, by the time we arrive, it’ll be all dried out.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I don’t know. But better to have the plant alive than dead, no?” Wu Ying said.

  Tou He scratched his head in amusement. “I guess you know how to do this?”

  “Not exactly, but I can guess.” Plants required soil, sunlight, and water. Exactly how much care, the amount of soil, and the extent the roots could be disturbed varied. Wu Ying could at least give it a shot, using his prior experience. “Watch the area?”

  “Of course.”

  Bending next to the plant, Wu Ying gently prodded it with a nearby and convenient stick. Seeing that the flower did not react adversely to the stick, Wu Ying slid on a pair of gloves and took out his utility knife to dig around the plant. Unsure of how deep or extensive the root system of this plant was, Wu Ying took care to dig carefu
lly.

  Once Wu Ying had located the root system and determined that the plant mainly used a single major root with a few smaller off-shoots, he dug around the plant and uprooted the entire thing into a waiting piece of waterproof cloth. He wrapped the newly freed roots and soil in the cloth before adding some water to the plant. Having determined he had done as much as he could, Wu Ying took the plant back to their temporary camp.

  “Are we done?” Tou He asked once Wu Ying had set the plant in the shade of their luggage.

  “Yes,” Wu Ying said. “It should keep. Let’s keep looking.”

  Together, the pair went to finish their check of the graveyard. Every time they located another plant, Wu Ying repeated his actions in transplanting the unusual flowering plant, curious to see if they would survive the journey. Perhaps they could get something more for this trip than the base contribution points.

  Chapter 11

  The remainder of the assignment passed without incident. Concerned that his uprooted plants would not survive long, Wu Ying elected to skip the celebration and take off for the sect directly, leaving Tou He to collect the remainder of their belongings and report on the successful completion of the mission. In the light of the morning sun, Wu Ying ran with a wide open, li-eating gait that he could keep up for hours on end. In fact, with the addition of his cultivation, Wu Ying doubted he would need to stop for more than a meal or two during the day.

  Days later, Wu Ying stumbled to a stop right in front of the paifang that marked the border of the sect grounds. Elder Lu, in his thin robe, was seated in his usual place, sprawled out with his pipe and smoking away. At his cultivation level, Wu Ying was not surprised the Elder did not feel the cold.

  “Elder Lu. Long Wu Ying returning from his assignment,” Wu Ying said as he offered the Elder his permission token.

  “Where is the monk?” Xi Qi said as he took the token and pushed a touch of his chi into the token to acknowledge Wu Ying’s return to the sect.

  “Coming after. He went to inform the village head. I wanted to bring these back first,” Wu Ying said, gesturing at the makeshift tray where the plants swayed.

  “Go in then. You know that you cannot mark the assignment complete without the village elder’s token, yes?” Xi Qi said.

  “Yes, Elder.” Wu Ying said, swaying on his feet.

  Due to the short winter days, Wu Ying had made the choice to run through the night, using a small lantern to light the way. Since the roads leading between settlements were well maintained, running through the night was not a big concern for Wu Ying—other than potentially attracting a Demon Beast. Using his previous experience as a guide, Wu Ying had allowed his aura to leak while he ran, warning off any beast that wanted to challenge him. It was a calculated risk, since the leaked chi might attract stronger predators. But it was a risk that had paid off, with Wu Ying arriving unmolested.

  “Then go.”

  Wu Ying took off once more, at a slower pace, up the mountain. His destination was the pill refiner’s apothecary hall, since that was where he could sell his items. Briefly, Wu Ying considered finding Liu Tsong to verify what he carried but discarded the idea. It was unlikely he would be cheated if he sold the plants directly to the sect itself.

  Unlike the line that sold products to sect members, the line for those selling herbs, fungi, and other crafting materials to the sect was nearly non-existent. When Wu Ying made his way to the desk, the bored attendant that manned the table was hiding a yawn. He sat up in surprise as Wu Ying placed the still-living plants on his desk.

  “Long Wu Ying. Looking to sell to the sect,” Wu Ying announced while presenting his sect token.

  “Interesting. You’re not one of Elder Li’s people, are you?” the attendant said, placing a finger in the soil of one plant before he moved to inspect the remainder of the plants. “Night Blossom. Four alive in poor condition. One in very poor condition.”

  Wu Ying winced at the man’s blunt assessment of the plants. Watered or not, cared for as best he could or not, the plants had begun to wither after he had taken them out of the graveyard. It was the main reason why Wu Ying had decided to run through the nights.

  “Do you want this in contribution points or taels?” the attendant asked.

  “Can I get a combination?”

  “Half-and-half is the maximum. Unless you want something less?”

  “Half is fine,” Wu Ying said.

  The attendant turned away, waving down one of the gophers, who took the plants while the attendant opened his book and jotted down the details of the sale. Once he was done, he tapped Wu Ying’s seal on his jade tablet, transferring the contribution points. Then he counted out four tael and three hundred coins before pushing it all over to Wu Ying, whose eyes widened in surprise.

  “Four tael?” Wu Ying squeaked.

  “Yes. And four hundred sixty contribution points.”

  “That much?” Wu Ying said. The mission they had completed was worth slightly over eight hundred contribution points, but the total had to be split between the pair. On the other hand, an inner sect member was required to contribute at least two hundred contribution points a month.

  “Yes. Live plants are always worth more,” the attendant said. “Well. Almost always. Properly dried Spotted Ear Moon fungus sells for three times the fresh ones. And Green Cow Eared blossoms are only taken dried. Too poisonous to transfer otherwise. And… well, you can study the rest.”

  Wu Ying flashed the attendant a grateful smile as he finished putting away the coin. He would have to split the profits with Tou He when he arrived, but this amount would be a decent amount of savings for additional equipment. Right now, outside of his sword, Wu Ying lacked any real equipment. Admittedly, that was due to his rising standards—he no longer wanted mortal equipment but cultivator equipment. Equipment that would either aid his cultivation or, at the least, last him while he was in the Energy Storage stage.

  Almost whistling as he left, Wu Ying skipped out of the building, his earlier exhaustion held at bay by the unexpected bounty. Rather than waiting for his exhaustion to catch him, Wu Ying headed directly for his residence.

  “Long Wu Ying.”

  Wu Ying adjusted his robes, wincing as he bowed and greeted his unexpected visitor. The Elder had just turned up, without an invitation or calling card, later the day Wu Ying had returned. The sole thing keeping Wu Ying awake was the rush of adrenaline that had shot through his body when Ah Yee mentioned an Elder had come visiting.

  “Elder.” Wu Ying desperately wished he could remember her name, but the older woman with the cane had only introduced herself once. And his sleep-addled brain refused to function.

  The old woman’s eyes crinkled, perhaps realizing that Wu Ying could not recall her name. Ah Yee stepped forward, refilling the Elder’s tea and turning her head so that she could meet Wu Ying’s eyes. As she did so, she mouthed the Elder’s name.

  Memory triggered, Wu Ying quickly added. “Elder Li. May I know what brings you to visit me?”

  Shooting a suspicious glance at Ah Yee, the Elder leaned back in the hard-backed visiting chair. “I was informed you brought back four sets of Night Blossoms. Still alive.”

  “Yes, Elder.”

  “Poorly taken care of. But still alive,” Elder Li said, tapping her cane. “Did you know you could have sold the location information instead?”

  “I did not know that,” Wu Ying said. “I’m sorry, Elder. I will stop bringing back the plants.”

  “Did I tell you to stop?” Elder Li said waspishly, smacking the top of Wu Ying’s bent head with her cane. He winced but did not move to rub his head. “You brought back four Night Blossoms alive. That’s better than some of my recent recruits.”

  “Thank you, Elder.”

  “They were in poor condition, mind you. Take us at least a month to care for them. Where did you learn to care for plants?”

  “I was a rice farmer before, Elder. I also helped my mother with the family vegetable garden.”
r />   “A farmer with a small gift, it seems,” Elder Li said, tapping her cane on the ground. She stared at Wu Ying before she pushed herself to her feet with the help of the cane. “Very well. Make your way to my residence tomorrow.”

  “Elder?”

  Rather than answer, Elder Li walked out of the house, swinging her cane in what Wu Ying could almost describe as a jaunty manner. When he turned to Ah Yee, who had begun to pack up the tea and snacks laid out for the Elder, Wu Ying only received a shrug.

  “Would it hurt them to actually answer questions sometimes?” Wu Ying said with a sigh. At least he was not expected in class tomorrow.

  To Wu Ying’s surprise, Elder Li’s residence was not above the inner sect members’ residences but situated among them. The residence itself was quite small, at least a quarter of the size of Elder Hsu’s and Elder Cheng’s residences. What it had that the other Elders did not was an extremely large greenhouse next to it, along with garden plots situated around the residence. The total grounds of the residence itself, when these garden plots and the greenhouse were taken into account, was at least thrice the size of the other Elders’.

  At a glance, Wu Ying could tell many of the plants in the garden were not usual vegetation. The gardens consisted of spiritual herbs and uncommon variants of rarer plants. Even in the chill of the early winter morning, sect members moved among the garden, working on the plants with the aid of lanterns.

  Wu Ying hesitated before approaching the actual residence, knocking on the door and being shown in by the servant. A short while later, Elder Li clumped out to greet Wu Ying. This time around, Wu Ying noticed the dirt under her fingernails and the mud stuck to the edges of her cloth shoes. This was an Elder who worked the dirt─who got her hands dirty.

  “Elder Li,” Wu Ying greeted the Elder, straightening from his bow.

  “You’re early.”

  “Elder requested I come in the morning,” Wu Ying said. “I assumed the Elder meant a farmer’s morning.”