by Wong, Tao
“This is not what you told me before,” Fa Yuan said disapprovingly.
“Well, it has become a bit more of a problem, you know…” Magistrate Song said, wringing his hands. “We’re calling a tribunal of other Elders—from the orthodox sects—to look into the matter. I have reported the entire matter upward and the Provincial Magistrate is sending his own investigator.”
“Really,” Fa Yuan said.
“Yes. And because of that, well…” He coughed, glancing back at the captain.
“You will stay in jail until the trial,” the captain growled.
Wu Ying bristled, his hands clenching on the jail cell bars. He wanted to say something but knew that doing so would cause just as many problems. Instead, he listened in growing angry silence.
“And you intend to keep me here? In this room?” Fa Yuan’s eyes flicked around the cell with contempt. Wu Ying knew with a little exertion of strength, she could break out.
The guard captain probably knew too, for he puffed out his chest. “Not here. We’re not entirely unused to handling ornery Elders.”
“Please, please, there’s no need for all this.” The magistrate wiped his head, the silk handkerchief he was using damp from accumulated fear. Wu Ying’s nose wrinkled a little, catching a whiff of the acrid smell of fear the man was pouring out, mixing with his own uncontrolled expulsion of chi. “We just ask you for your patience. And in turn, we can release your expedition members now. While we don’t allow fighting in public, all indications are that they were attacked first.”
“And my quest?”
The magistrate looked uncomfortable, wringing his hands. Fa Yuan glared at the group, at the guard captain who stood there uncaring, before she jerked a single nod.
“Fine. Let them out. I will need to speak with my martial brother.” When the guard captain shifted, she added in a clipped tone, “Alone.”
The magistrate let out a relieved sigh and cut off the guard captain, gesturing for Wu Ying and his friends to be released. Quick words were passed between Wu Ying and the team, arrangements made for them to meet up at their residence. And then, Wu Ying made his way over to his martial sister’s cell.
“It seems you’ll have to finish this quest alone,” Fa Yuan said.
When Wu Ying was close, she reached forward and placed a hand over his own. He frowned when he felt a heavy presence in his hands that she’d extracted from her spirit ring. Eyes wide, Wu Ying looked at a familiar bag. “Is that…?”
“Yes. I took it from his corpse.”
Wu Ying quickly deposited the spirit stone of the Ben in his ring before Fa Yuan composed her thoughts and spoke. Mostly, she outlined the major steps Wu Ying needed to take, the actions that were left. With only one of the three materials they needed located, Wu Ying had much to do. Still, at least in this case, Wu Ying knew most of what she had to say since he had been party to the expedition from the start. Their conversation was filled with half-spoken sentence fragments, portions of ideas that did not need to be completed.
A short forty minutes later, the pair were done and Wu Ying walked out the jail—only to find the hirsute guard captain glaring at him.
To Wu Ying’s surprise, rather than being belligerent like before, he softened his tone. “Will she stay?”
Wu Ying nodded.
“Good. It would have been difficult to control her if not.”
“Why did you act so… so…”
“Hard-headed?” The guard captain grinned, and Wu Ying was surprised to note he had a missing front tooth. “If I hadn’t, the magistrate was going to call for more help. And the closest help are other sect Elders.”
Wu Ying frowned. Considering what they suspected about the dark sect’s infiltration…
“This way, he’ll let us guard her.” A hand clapped down on Wu Ying’s shoulder, making the smaller cultivator stumble. “The magistrate and your Elder have told me of your concerns. Whether it’s a child’s fairy tale or not, I will not allow her to be damaged while in my custody. But I wouldn’t take too long on your journey. And you might want to contact your sect.”
Wu Ying nodded, rubbing his shoulder. “Why are you helping us?”
“I’m not. I’m helping myself,” the guard captain said. “I didn’t retire to be a guard captain just to fight more Core cultivators.”
Wu Ying snorted, then his eyes narrowed. Thinking quickly, he spoke up. “The people we fought, you’re still holding them?”
“We are.” The guard captain sounded wary.
“They might have friends who might be unhappy with us,” Wu Ying said. An innocuous statement on the surface. And true too.
“My lieutenants—Zhong Shei among them—and the other guards are keeping an eye on the remaining cultivators. We won’t have another such incident in my city.”
Wu Ying could only hope the man was true to his word. At the least, Fa Yuan had told him that they had let her keep her spirit ring, which contained her weapons. She was not entirely unarmed if things went badly. As for themselves, he was not so naïve as to think the other cultivators were the only ones being watched.
“Then thank you.” Wu Ying said. He made sure to offer the necessary and polite farewells before he hurried away. There was much to do if he was to take advantage of the captain’s largesse.
Once back in his room, he penned a note to the Sect on the spirit messenger paper Fa Yuan had passed to him. All he had to do was write on the paper before folding the message into a paper crane, then the spirit paper took on a life of its own and flew out of his hands. The message would take days to arrive, compared to the weeks a normal message would take, but he sent a pair of mundane messages too, just in case.
After that, the team had much to do to get ready. Hopefully they had already begun the necessary preparations. Because they still had two material pieces to deal with. And active opposition to handle.
Chapter 27
“Is this a good idea?” Yu Kun asked Wu Ying as he kicked his horse to catch up with the cultivator.
On the dusty road that led out of Hinma, they rode their horses at a decent clop in the early morning. They passed the farmers who pulled their morning produce to the city in the dawn’s light, headed for the bridge that spanned over the eastern river.
“Leaving?” Wu Ying nodded. “We’ve finished our preparations.”
Every time they had left the inn, they had been trailed—subtly and not so subtly—by the guards in the city. Luckily, they had few enough preparations to complete, what with spirit rings and the sect’s lone branch member in the city working to supply their needs.
“In broad daylight.”
Wu Ying shrugged. “Did you think we could sneak out? Or that our departure would have long been hidden?” He shook his head, running a hand down the side of his horse’s neck to calm it when it tossed his head at his motions. “Better to leave early and get a move on the day.”
The frown Yu Kun shot told Wu Ying he did not agree. But Wu Ying was in charge now that Fa Yuan was no longer with them. And so, Yu Kun let his horse fall back. The ex-farmer did notice, when he looked back later, that Yu Kun had taken the time to put a bow and a quiver of arrows on his saddle. Added to Wang Min’s repeating crossbow, Wu Ying could not help but be happy at the ranged attacks they had gained. He even had his own crossbow in his ring, but in a surprise attack, his ability to project sword intent would be faster and more flexible.
The team rode for hours, crossing the covered bridge that spanned the western river, continuing on the road that would lead them farther west and into the wilderness. Their initial stated goal to the branch member was a particularly large lake known to host the Ben when they came south. At their current pace, Wu Ying knew it would take them just over four days to arrive at the lake, two of them on the road and two more cutting through the forest itself.
By this point, they were nearing the edges of farmed civilization, the rice fields that had dominated the surroundings giving way to clumps of forested land. These clumps grew in
size as they journeyed, finally ending in an unbroken stretch of trees that denoted the start of the lowland forest that bordered this part of the county. The team had their senses fully extended, wary of an ambush or attacks by demon beasts drawn to the thoroughfare for easy meals.
Wu Ying pulsed his aura, pushing it out with a rush of chi, allowing him to extend his senses. Not sensing any human contact within his expanded range other than his team, Wu Ying held his hand up and called a halt to the expedition.
“We will be dismounting here and journeying north through the forest from this point.” Wu Ying suited action to words, slinging his feet off the beast. “Yu Kun, please take the back. We will be relying on you to cover our path. Lei Hou, you mentioned a dust you have that might aid Yu Kun.”
At first, the group looked puzzled, but soon broke out into grins.
“We’ll talk later. Let’s move quickly now,” Wu Ying added.
Together, they led their horses through the thick undergrowth, pushing aside brush as they took themselves out of sight of the road. Wu Ying could only hope that Yu Kun could cover their tracks well enough. His experience as a wandering cultivator would be important now, as would the powder Lei Hui provided. It would disperse signs of their passing while enhancing the growth of vegetation in their wake.
Of course, all that predicated upon the fact that someone was looking for them. And that that someone would follow their tracks in a mundane manner, rather than guessing at their destination and trying to meet them there directly or using another enchanted object. If that was the case, there was little Wu Ying could do, other than choose a different destination. Unfortunately, his options were limited to some extent.
An hour and a half later, they broke into a small clearing and Wu Ying called for their first halt since they had left the road. As the team worked to care for their mounts, brushing out burrs and checking hooves, while feeding and watering the animals, Wu Ying spoke.
“We will be looking to locate and harvest the Sun Lotus first, avoiding the marshlands to the northwest. While the swamp in the northwest is well known to contain a number of Chan Chu, finding one with a sufficiently large heart might be difficult. It is also the most obvious option for us to journey to, after visiting the lake,” Wu Ying said.
“Won’t the Sun Lotus location be obvious too?” Lei Hui asked.
“Perhaps. The first location we are journeying to was marked by Master Li. I saw no reference to it in other, more widely distributed records,” Wu Ying said. All that time in the libraries had not been for nothing, at least Wu Ying hoped. “I’m trusting that they do not know of this location, allowing us to pick the Sun Lotus without issue.”
“Then what? Is there another location for the Chan Chu close by afterward?” Tou Hei asked.
Wu Ying nodded. “Yes. Three, two old, one with relatively recent indications of their habitat. We will check them all out if necessary.”
“And the Ben?” Yu Kun said.
“We have that one already,” Wu Ying said grimly.
“How…” Wang Min shook her head. “Of course. Taken off his corpse?”
Wu Ying nodded. “We’ll search for the Chan Chu once we harvest the Sun Lotus. All but Lei Hui.”
Lei Hui started, his head rising from where he’d been stroking his mare. “Why not me?”
“Because I want to send you back to the Sect with both ingredients once we collect them.” Wu Ying rubbed his chin before he added, “I’ll contact my martial sister to join you on the way back if she is released in time. Once we know which city you’ll be headed towards, we’ll make arrangements then.” The last portion, he had hesitated on. Taking on the Chan Chu would be difficult, especially without Elder Yang. On the other hand, it would be a waste if they lost the materials.
“But why send me away?”
“Security. With two of the three materials, we have a much better chance of acquiring support within the Sect to finish the cure. Having you make it on hand was always going to be the last choice,” Wu Ying said. Of course, Lei Hui had known that—it had been explained to him on hiring. But Wu Ying and Fa Yuan had wanted an apothecarist with them, just in case.
“But we only have one spirit stone,” protested Lei Hui. “What if I’m found? What if those people attack me?”
Wu Ying’s eyes narrowed as he realized there was a slight whiteness to Lei Hui’s lips as he pressed them together after speaking. He noted how Lei Hui’s hands clenched and released again and again, as if no one could see the twitch. Realization hit that fear drove Lei Hui’s protests as much as anything else. “We’ll make sure that you are hidden before you break off. If anything, our attackers will come for us.”
“But what if they don’t?”
“Then you’ll survive,” Wang Min said, riding closer to Lei Hui and placing her hand on his clenching fists. She smiled at the apothecarist. “I know you can do it. You’re a lot stronger than I thought. Than you think.”
Lei Hui glanced at the hand covering his own. He licked his lips then straightened his back as he replied. “You’re right. And I’ve got a number of pills and potions to hide my tracks. I could even cook up a face-changing potion.” He touched his own face with his uncovered hand. “Though it would be a shame to alter this handsome face.”
A round of coughing broke out from around Lei Hui, and even Wang Min cracked a small smile.
Lei Hui glared at the amused group before he smiled too. “You’re risking a lot, sending away the only spirit stone.”
Wu Ying shook his head. “The Ben are flying down at this time. Their spirit stones should start flooding the market soon enough. With the Sect’s resources, if we can get them the other components, we should be fine. And anyway, it’s not a risk. I trust you.”
As much as Wang Min’s feminine encouragements, his words made Lei Hui puff up in pride. The blunt, irascible apothecarist grinned before the group fell silent.
And Wu Ying had to admit, if only to himself, that what they sought from the Chan Chu was dangerous. If he could send the two materials away, even if they failed, his Master would have a chance.
***
Once the group had rested sufficiently, they resumed their trek north. Toward the end of the night, Wu Ying dropped backward, extracting small yellow talismans from his bag to place across their pathway. After half the day, they had stopped covering their tracks directly. The dense undergrowth, combined with the time taken to do so, forced that decision. Hopefully, by that point, they had lost their pursuers, if any. They had taken other precautions as well, even going so far as to ride their horses through shallow streams and cross rocky regions when they found them in a bid to obscure their tracks. But now, Wu Ying took one additional precaution.
The talismans he used were simple warning talismans. Strung across the trail, the talismans formed an invisible net, one made of air chi. Gossamer webs of chi expanded from each talisman, connecting with the next in line, and covered the trail, invisible to the naked eye. Even with Wu Ying’s extended aura senses and his breathing exercise while knowing what he was looking for, he could still not pick out the threads with ease.
Of course, he knew that he was limited by his cultivation and experience. It was quite possible that their enemies might have someone specialized in tracking or of a higher cultivation level. Still, it was the best he could do. Once he finished the job, he returned to the group, which had ridden ahead of him, clutching the last talisman of the set.
If their enemies were tracking them, when they passed through the net, his talisman would burn up and warn them. It was the best option they had, beyond leaving Yu Kun a little behind to watch for their enemies. But that would only work if they had not gained a significant lead on their enemies.
Precautions taken, the group headed deeper into the woods. They kept their senses peeled, for the spirit and demon beasts around them were increasing in strength the deeper they went.
Three days later, they had their first major encounter. The yellow-thr
oated marten—its beast core in the high Energy Storage stage—had slunk close, its belly low to the ground before it attacked. Its low-slung but overly large body had managed to hide it as it crept close, its instinctive use of wood chi aiding the demon beast. When it burst from hiding, it took Tou Hei by surprise, forcing the cultivator to block with his arm.
Together, the pair tumbled off Tou Hei’s horse and crashed into the undergrowth in a rolling ball of fur and cultivator. In retaliation for the scratches and bites he accumulated, Tou Hei reacted by flaring his chi, wreathing his body and hands in flame. The marten let out a shrill eek, its body twisting away as it disengaged.
A final kick sent the burning, wood-based demon beast into a nearby tree, its fur smoking and the unmistakeable smell of burning flesh and ash filling the air. As the lengthy creature twisted back to its feet, a trio of bolts sprouted from its fur as Wang Min unloaded her repeating crossbow into the monster. The creature continued flailing, desperate to escape and put out the fire, before Wu Ying finished it.
Beheaded, the monster lay on the ground, burning, muscles still spasming as Tou Hei clambered to his feet. A grasping and clenching motion with his hand brought the fire chi he’d released back into his hands, leaving the fur smoking but no longer burning.
“Are you okay?” Yu Kun called to Tou Hei.
“I have some injuries, but nothing grievous,” Tou Hei replied. He touched the bleeding wounds on his arm where the creature had bitten him and along his sides, where he’d been scratched.
Lei Hui unseated himself from the horse and bandaged the ex-monk, passing the man a healing pill to consume. In the meantime, Yu Kun stripped the marten, muttering about wasted fur as he did so. Wu Ying ignored the trio, working with Wang Min to watch for additional trouble. Breathing deeply, he focused, trying to locate additional problems. Thankfully, that marten had focused its initial attack on the most incompatible cultivator, and thus doomed itself from the start. Their next encounter might not be so fortunate.