by Tao Wong
“Core Cultivators are amazing,” Wu Ying said.
“Yes. But the xing tian have their own,” Chao Kun said. “They have not come out yet.”
“Why not?” Tou He asked.
“I do not know. They are holding back, far behind the cliffs. It is almost as if…” Chao Kun said.
“As if?” Wu Ying said.
“As if they fear angering what is on the other side of the cliff,” Elder Po said, overhearing their conversation.
His words silenced Wu Ying and the other cultivators until Elder Li finished forming the green earth bridge. The silent group crossed the bridge one, Elder Wei sauntering across at the back. The dying embers of the fire beneath the cauldron sputtered and stopped, the smoke fading away. As Elder Wei walked across, the bridge crumbled behind her feet.
As if outraged by Elder Wei’s slow saunter, a xing tian rushed the gap and leaped forward. Cries of shock erupted from the cultivators’ mouths. Only to be silenced by Elder Wei’s mocking smile as her pill cauldron flew from behind the creature and struck it in the back, sending the monster careening into the depths of the canyon.
Elder Wei turned around then, the cauldron hovering in front of her. She stood there, mocking the demons for long seconds before she tossed her head, black hair billowing behind her. A graceful turn of her heel saw the Elder face the cultivators before she strode forward. As she placed her feet on their side of the canyon, the remainder of the bridge finished crumbling, separating cultivator and xing tian.
“Showoff,” Elder Li complained, the old woman pounding her cane on the ground. “You, porters. And Wu Ying. Help set up camp. We’ll rest here tonight.”
The groaning porters stood back up, pulling out tents and other equipment. Wu Ying staggered over to help them, wincing at the congealed blood on his chest and wondering how many they’d lost in that desperate fight. Too many, most likely.
Chapter 19
The group stayed for a single day, resting and treating their accumulated injuries. At least, most did. Ru Ping roused Wu Ying late that evening and dragged the injured and tired cultivator on a harvesting trip along the cliff face. Hanging off the cliff edge, held in place by a pair of ropes, Wu Ying and Ru Ping swung back and forth, occasionally adjusting their height as they harvested plants from the sheer cliff faces. A third line clipped to their side held the collection bags which were pulled up at intervals as they were filled. And filled they were, for the pair found numerous rare and uncommon herbs that only grew in such locations.
When Wu Ying finally crawled out of his bedroll the next morning to join the expedition group as they ate breakfast, Li Yao asked, “What time did you get back?”
“Late.” Wu Ying had no idea how long they had worked. After the third time Wu Ying suggested they stop and Ru Ping’s strenuously objected, he gave up.
“Will you be able to keep up?” Li Yao said.
“Ru Ping said the expedition will be going slower,” Wu Ying replied as he got his breakfast. He made a face as he ran a tongue along his teeth, debating between pulling out his horsehair toothbrush before breakfast or after. As his stomach rumbled, Wu Ying discarded the idea and focused instead on sating his hunger.
In short order, the group had packed up and was ready to go. True to Ru Ping’s word, the expedition moved at a slower pace, allowing the injured cultivators and those still exhausted from the fight to keep up. Once again, the guards spread out to scout the surroundings, leaving Wu Ying and the other non-combatants to plod along on the trail.
Hours passed, with a break for a leisurely lunch, before tension crept into the group again. As Wu Ying jogged by a nearby fallen tree, his lips curled down. Along the edges of the trunk, Wu Ying spotted the deep gouges left by a claw the size of his wrist. The broken portion of the trunk showcased the rest of the claw gouges, conducted with such strength the entire tree had broken.
“Cat,” Wu Ying said to Li Yao, who jogged beside him.
“Or something with a feline body,” Li Yao corrected.
“Or something with a feline body,” Wu Ying agreed.
He did wonder what it meant for so many creatures to be mixtures of others. Demonic blood gone wrong? A certain heavenly mandate that creatures could only have so many forms? After all, even Sun Wukong[26], that master of shapeshifting, could never get rid of his tail. Idle thoughts to pass the hours as he ran and cultivated, thoughts which required or provided no answer.
On and on, the group ran. When night arrived, Wu Ying went out once more to harvest. Days passed without incident, a factor that made the entire expedition ever more concerned. Eventually, as they neared their destination, words of warning were passed back. The group slowed down as they entered a clearing.
Before them, standing as tall as a building and as wide as one too, a pixiu stared at the trespassers. The pixiu was a creature with the body of a lion that had long antlered horns jutting from its head and soft, downy wings furled up along its torso. Tawny golden fur with bright streaks of red and lighter yellow ran along the monster’s body. As first the creature stared at the group in silence, until Elder Po strode forth with Elder Li.
“Greetings, honored pixiu,” Elder Po said, bowing low. “And our deepest apologies. We had not known this was your demesne.”
“Good that you acknowledge your mistakes.” The pixiu’s voice was a low, throaty growl, feline and yet cultured. “Turn around and I will only eat one of you.”
“We cannot do that, honored pixiu,” Elder Po said. As the pixiu bristled, Elder Po waved and a simple wooden table appeared, followed by silk-wrapped packages. A half-dozen packages appeared on the table as Elder Po bowed low. “We beg you to allow us to continue our journey through your lands. We are not far from where we need be—a meadow high above on the mountain with three rings.”
“I know the place. It is outside my grounds,” the pixiu said.
It prowled forward to sniff at the packages and its feline face wrinkled, giant paws rising to claw apart the packaging and release the contents. The smell of smoked and marinated demon boar strips erupted from the first package. From the next, roast spirit duck, soaked in rice wine. Each package held a different delicacy, their aromas making Wu Ying’s mouth water and his stomach growl.
“I’ve never tasted any of those,” Tou He said jealously. “Not prepared like that.”
“I doubt most of us have,” Wu Ying replied. “I recognize the packaging. It’s from the Jade Garden restaurant.”
“Mmmhmmm…” Li Yao audibly swallowed overflowing saliva.
The pixiu bent its head forward, biting into each offered package and sampling the food. It let out a happy roar before it stuffed its face, rumbles of contentment erupting from its chest as it ate. The pixiu finished consuming half of the contents before it turned to the waiting Elders. “This is sufficient for your trespass thus far. Another dozen to let you go farther. And the same for the return. And the five Core demon cores you collected from the xing tian.”
Wu Ying could not help but wince at the declaration, even as the Elders bowed low to the creature. The cost of the meal offered was in the hundreds of taels. Add in the demon cores and the additional meals and the cost of passage would be in the thousands of taels. On the other hand, Wu Ying stretched his senses out again then retracted them immediately, the burning sensation in his perception making him wince as he encountered the pixiu’s aura. The pixiu glowed from the suppressed power it contained.
“What is it?” Wu Ying asked Li Yao, jerking his head toward the creature. “I’ve never felt something so powerful before.”
“The pixiu is a Nascent Soul Primary beast. It has ascended to the most basic level of immortality,” Li Yao whispered.
“Nascent soul? But—”
“Pixiu are descendants of the original long[27]. They carry the bloodline of dragons in them. Of course they are strong,” Tou He remarked. “For them, achieving immortality is as easy as breathing for us. Only time bars their way.”
T
he Elders took their leave of the feasting creature, regrouping to have a quick discussion. In short order, Elder Po returned to the pixiu with a storage ring. The pixiu levitated the ring toward itself with the skillful use of chi, sliding the ring around its antler, where it joined two others.
“Go. But be careful,” the pixiu said. “There is something wrong with the mountain.”
“Something, honored pixiu?”
“Something.” The pixiu chuffed out loud. “My instincts tell me not to near it. Nor does it hold anything of interest to me.”
After letting out a wide yawn, the pixiu swallowed the last of the delicacies and lay down next to the table before Elder Po made it disappear into his ring. Stretching out lazily in the clearing, the pixiu basked in the sun, no longer interested in the humans or their expedition.
“Come quickly. And make sure to thank the honored pixiu,” Chao Kun ordered the rest of the party.
The party moved past the resting pixiu, bowing low as they traversed the clearing. The line of bobbing sect members was of no interest to the creature.
Until Wu Ying. A single slitted eye, brilliant gold, cracked open as Wu Ying passed by. It regarded Wu Ying with predatory consideration, freezing Wu Ying in a half-bow.
“You. You smell familiar.”
“Honored elder?” Wu Ying said.
“Your name.”
“Long Wu Ying, honored elder,” Wu Ying said.
“Ah. That is why.” The eye drifted closed, Wu Ying dismissed as its curiosity was assuaged.
Wu Ying stayed bent over till he decided the pixiu was no longer interested in him. Together, Wu Ying and the expedition group left the clearing, the pixiu still basking in the sunlight and reveling in the delicacies it had eaten. Wu Ying’s last glimpse of the pixiu was of the golden-furred creature, eyes closed, relaxing in the sunlight. Content only the way a cat could be.
When the group had left the lazy creature a distance behind, Wu Ying was accosted by his friends and Chao Kun.
“What did it mean, you smell familiar?” Chao Kun started.
“I don’t know, Senior.”
“Do you have the blood of dragons in you?” Tou He asked.
“No.”
“Have you met dragons before?” Li Yao said.
“No.”
“Then why would it say ‘that is why’?” Chao Kun said.
“I don’t know!”
“Can I have some of your blood?” Liu Tsong said.
“No!”
“I just want to test it,” Liu Tsong tried again, batting long eyelashes at him.
Li Yao frowned at Liu Tsong when she did this.
“No!”
“Fine, fine,” Liu Tsong said. “But if you have a dragon’s blood, your family would be due a significant amount of support. Bloodlines, even weakened bloodlines, are precious resources for the kingdom.”
“We don’t!” Wu Ying snapped at them as the uncertainty the creature had engendered in him and the persistent questions broke through his calm. He raised his voice, knowing the Elders were listening too, even if they were not making a show of it. “If we did, don’t you think we’d be more than a peasant family? That we’d make use of it so we wouldn’t ever have to count the number of cups of rice till the end of winter? Share a single piece of meat, boiled in the soup till it is tasteless, among all three of us? Do you think we like being poor?”
After the silence dragged on, broken by the thump of feet on the ground, Li Yao said, “Sorry.”
In the distance, the Elders shifted their attention away, content to leave the matter alone.
“It’s fine. I really do not know why the pixiu said what it did.” Wu Ying scratched his head as embarrassment at his outburst caught up with him.
“No harm done,” Chao Kun said.
The group ran in silence for a time before Tou He spoke up. “He does have a dragon’s temper… owww! Damn it, Wu Ying, you didn’t have to hit… owww!”
The remainder of the journey to the base camp was filled with no surprises. In fact, things became routine and almost boring. As there were no further dangers, Wu Ying was forced to spend hours harvesting what herbs and spirit plants they could find. Even as the expedition decreased the volume of area they harvested in, the lack of civilization ensured the harvesters always had something to pick. When everyone else had time to rest, eat a proper lunch, and sleep a full night, Wu Ying had to scarf down his food then harvest until short hours before the dawn sun rose. Even if the guards accompanied the harvesters, at least they could rotate shifts. By the time they reached the clearing from which they intended to operate, even Ru Ping was feeling the strain of the unending work.
If there was one advantage to all this work, it was how the constant running and fighting had provided Wu Ying further impetus to reinforce his cultivation. As Wu Ying slumped by the beginnings of the cooking fire, he felt his eyelids drift closed, and his breathing deepening. Only to be interrupted by a slap on his back.
“Wake up. No cultivating yet,” Tou He said as he sat by Wu Ying.
“I wasn’t cultivating,” Wu Ying said.
“I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt,” Tou He said.
Wu Ying shook his head, looking around the buzzing encampment. The porters were already at work, one of them tending the burgeoning fire. The other porter was setting up the expeditions’ tents from the backpacks they had borne all this way. As this was intended to be their base camp for the next week, the porters were taking greater pains in the set up.
Even the other members of the expedition were taking part in this activity for once. Liu Tsong was beside Elder Wei, carefully clearing the ground in the spot they deemed worthy of their time. Elder Dong was walking the encampment with his compass, judging the lay of the land as he planned the layout of their defensive and spirit-gathering formations. While Elder Dong was just of the second ring as a formation master, his formations were sufficient to protect and alert the group against most threats if he had sufficient time to set them up. Outside of these groups, a few of the guards were being directed by Elder Po himself as they cleared a few saplings around the base.
The only people who were not doing anything, Wu Ying realized, were himself, Ru Ping, and a couple of guards. When Wu Ying located Ru Ping lounging under a convenient tree, the senior cultivator gestured for Wu Ying to stay seated.
“Should I help out?” Wu Ying muttered.
“No,” Tou He said firmly. “You’ll likely have to do some harvesting soon. But it seems like there is no rush, since we will be here for a while.”
“How about you?” Wu Ying said, curious as to why Tou He was not forced to help.
“Elder Li is concerned the flower might have blossomed already,” Tou He said. “As such, once we’ve rested, a small group will be traveling to view the flower.”
“And you’ve been chosen,” Wu Ying said.
“Along with Senior Ge,” Tou He acknowledged. “We’re taking the majority of the guards.”
Wu Ying frowned, wondering if he would be forced to go, thus Ru Ping’s gesture. Then again, no one had spoken to him about the trip. After a moment, Wu Ying shrugged and left the matter alone. He had no desire to volunteer for more work.
In a short twenty minutes, Ru Ping walked over, glancing at Tou He. “Did your friend speak of what we are doing?”
“Yes,” Wu Ying said. “Am I coming?”
“No. The two of us are sufficient,” Ru Ping said. “We’ll take you there eventually, but it is unlikely you will be needed. Rest for now. Maybe take a shower.”
In short order, the guards and Elder Li assembled and took off, heading farther west. Wu Ying eyed the group, knowing they intended to head not toward the peak but to a clearing just below it. Even as Wu Ying watched, the smaller group disappeared into the undergrowth, the dense vegetation swallowing them with nary a sign of their passing.
Wu Ying sighed and closed his eyes to relax. For the first time in a while, the cultivator cou
ld rest without concern. At least until the group returned in a few hours.
Later that day, when Wu Ying woke from his short but restful nap, he found the camp abuzz with activity. A pot hung over the cooking fire before him, the smell of well-cooked porridge wafting to Wu Ying’s nose and waking his rumbling stomach. Around him, groups of cultivators walked, talked, or cultivated, most murmuring softly to one another. As Wu Ying looked up, he was surprised to see it was late in the day, the edges of the sun peeking out from the mountain peak.
“Awake at last?” Liu Tsong said as she came to sit beside him. Wu Ying could not help but notice she automatically took a seat upwind, another reminder he had yet to shower since today’s earlier cultivation-inspired run.
“Yes,” Wu Ying said, then decided washing could wait. He conjured a bowl from his spatial ring and ladled the porridge into his bowl, then he pulled out a spoon and stirred the rice porridge to cool it faster. “I’m surprised no one woke me earlier.”
“There’s no point.” Liu Tsong gestured to where Elder Wei continued to fuss over her pill cauldron. Beside the Elder stood an inner sect member with cleaning pads, an urn of spring water, and infinite patience. Liu Tsong’s movement then shifted, encompassing Elder Dong, who continued to walk the perimeter, marking out locations for formation flags. “No one has work for you to do. Until the formations are complete, we do not want to attract any further attention.”
That made sense. Though he was surprised Elder Li had let him rest this long, even if it was sensible. Turning his head to where her tent was located, he was surprised to see it dark and empty, as was Ru Ping’s. A quick scan showed the encampment was busy but lacking in bodies.
“Are they not back yet?” Wu Ying said.
“No. Elder Li mentioned to Elder Wei she might delay returning in order to spend the time modifying the environment,” Liu Tsong said. “You should be able to sleep well tonight.”
Wu Ying smiled at the truth of the statement. There was little use in harvesting material when it would have to sit and wait for Elder Li’s return to be properly stored. Wu Ying shook aside a flicker of misgivings, focusing instead on the fact he could, at last, rest. The time spent running and cultivating had stretched his dantian, putting him closer than ever to his next breakthrough, but it had also wearied him more than ever.