by Tao Wong
“A little too wise for you, isn’t it?”
“Did I say it was mine?” Tou He flashed a smile. “I did live in a monastery most of my life.”
Wu Ying offered his friend a wan smile then flexed his bloody hands once more. With a shake of his head, he stood. “I should clean up. And give Elder Li the harvest.”
“Of course. Be careful.”
***
The next few days were quiet, the group continuing their harvest even under the protests of the guards. The number of members in the harvesting group increased again, but finally decreased when Elder Po declared the creature had stopped stalking them.
“That’s good,” Wu Ying remarked to Liu Tsong as they jogged through the spirit lands. Even if Wu Ying had spent his days training, the constant exercise over the last week or so had increased his physical fitness even further, allowing Wu Ying to take occasional moments to just run.
“Not necessarily,” Liu Tsong said. “Demon beasts that stalk and hunt their prey will leave for only a few reasons. I do not think we injured it enough to scare it away. Which means we have likely entered the hunting grounds of a predator the demon beast fears.”
Wu Ying stumbled on an upturned root, his attention on the implications of her rather distressing news. As he recovered, Wu Ying sighed and offered his friend a tight smile. If they were facing ever more danger, then he needed to expand his meager cultivation. After he’d relayed that, Liu Tsong made a face and waved goodbye before taking a position upwind of the cultivator.
Ignoring her actions, Wu Ying deepened his breathing and focused within, sensing the chi coursing through the environment. He pulled it toward his dantian, cleansing it and making the chi his own even as he used a portion of the chi to aid his stamina. As he inhaled, Wu Ying drew in the wild ambient chi, and as he exhaled, he sent the dregs, elements, and impurities out of his body.
Hour after hour, Wu Ying’s feet pounded the earth as he cultivated. All to get strong.
***
A day later, Wu Ying was jolted out of his run when the group ahead slowed and stopped. Wu Ying frowned, relaxing his cultivation as he settled his chi. As Wu Ying gained full control of his senses, he realized the guards had spread out across the tiny clearing they had stopped in.
In front of the line of guards and Elders, a group of xing tian stood, barring the way. In one hand, each headless, eight-foot-tall creature held an axe, and in the other, a wicker shield. The score of xing tian stared at the cultivators with rage, shaking their axes, as the eyes where their nipples should be switched from target to target and the mouths in the creatures’ stomach-regions wordlessly screamed.
“Stay back,” Liu Tsong warned Wu Ying as she fell back to join him. “Let the guards and Elders fight.”
Wu Ying knew she was saying that for his sake. Even from this distance, Wu Ying felt the pressure of the monsters’ cultivation, the way they warped the ambient chi with their presence. At the least, a pair of those xing tian were in the Core cultivation stage, while the others were all in the Energy Storage stage. Their innate bloodlines made the monsters more powerful by default, though they would struggle to grow in cultivation as they reached the extent of their bloodlines’ strength.
As Wu Ying drew his jian, he eyed the Elders confronting the Core cultivation monsters. Elder Li stood, back bent, cane in hand as she faced them. Beside her, Elder Wei stood before a glowing pill cauldron, the spinning cauldron controlled by her chi. Elder Po was bare-fisted at the front of the group, his body gaining a metallic golden sheen that covered him from head-to-toe as he channeled his metal-aspected chi. And beside Elder Po, Elder Dong was armed with a pair of axes that glowed red.
The battle began with the lesser xing tian charging the cultivators. The guards intercepted the monsters as the Elders watched the pair of Core-level monsters. Upon meeting one another, the two combatant groups exchanged blows of compressed and aspected chi from swords, axes, fists, and feet. In the clash of conflicting chi, the air stirred and gusted, blown apart by the conflicting chi. The gusts of wind brushed against Wu Ying’s face and brought with it the sting of burning earth and the stink of corrupted demonic chi.
In one corner, Chao Kun fought a pair of xing tian alone, his fists flying and striking like departing meteorites. Each impact against their wooden shields resounded through the clearing. So powerful was each of his blows, the monsters he faced were forced to fight on their back feet and stay on the defense.
In another portion of the battlefield, Li Yao and Tou He fought together, their spear and quarterstaff combination upsetting and tripping a trio of demon beasts. Close by the pair, a group of five dao-wielding martial specialists suppressed a half dozen xing tian of higher cultivation, providing defense and safety to each other as they fought.
As the battle heated up, the two Core cultivation xing tian roared and made their move. As if they had planned it, the pair combined their attacks and lashed out with their axes, sending a shrieking lash of compressed fire- and metal-aspected chi toward the Elders. The chi was intercepted by Elder Po, his robes tearing under the assault, but his golden metal body left unscarred. Elder Po rushed the pair as the other Elders completed their preparations.
Elder Li muttered and tapped her cane against the ground, the rhythm sending small thrums of power rushing up the soles of Wu Ying’s feet. As Elder Li’s attack built, Elder Dong joined Elder Po in his charge, only to be overtaken by a swirling, lit cauldron. One of the xing tian attempted to block the cauldron with its shield before it was forced back. As the pair of charging Elders reached the xing tian, the resounding impact of cauldron and shield shook Wu Ying’s chest.
As the battle increased in fervor, more and more dust was kicked up. Cold snowflakes gathered in one corner, thanks to Li Yao. As a water-aspected cultivator, she brought the chill of winter and the cold of the depths of the ocean to her attacks, forming snow as she fought. As the snowflakes mixed with the sudden gouts of flame and smoke from other cultivators and the scattered earth, Wu Ying quickly lost full view of the battle. Unconsciously, Wu Ying stepped forward but was held back by Liu Tsong.
“Wait. We’re here as reinforcements. And to ensure we are not attacked in the back,” Liu Tsong reminded Wu Ying.
Wu Ying bit his lip in frustration but stepped back to scan their surroundings, seeing no reinforcements as yet.
As the noise of the battle reached a crescendo, a creaking roar, as if a thousand rocks had cracked, erupted from the clearing. As Wu Ying’s patience was about to end, the wind swirled once more with purpose and carried away the loose dirt, floating ice crystals, and smoke to reveal the remnants of the battle.
Surrounding the corpses of a quarter of the xing tian was fresh earth that gripped their feet and thighs. Many of those monsters showcased defensive wounds, injuries which had been dealt after they were trapped. Even one of the Core xing tian had been caught, though it had freed one foot before its chest had been caved in by a flying cauldron. Even now, the cauldron spun lazily around the dead monster.
The second Core xing tian lay a short distance away, an arm displaced, its legs broken, and where its neck would be was a deep depression from a kick. Numerous cauterized cuts crossed its body, deep wounds from Elder Dong’s paired axes.
All around were the signs of the xing tians’ desperate fight. Wu Ying walked forward, staring at the corpses of the once-imposing monsters. Creatures without a head, their torsos and limbs were crushed, cut, and burned. As Wu Ying watched, the other cultivators were digging into the bodies, extracting spirit stones and handing them to the Elders.
“Be quick about this. We do not want to be here too long,” Elder Po said. “This must be the xing tians’ hunting grounds. If they have established themselves, there will be more.”
At Elder Po’s warning, the cultivators sped up their actions. None wanted to repeat this fight. Even if they had won it with relative ease, it was only because they had outnumbered the xing tian. The result of the battle could easily change if
the expedition group were outnumbered. Better to hurry out of the xing tians’ hunting grounds and, hopefully, enter a safer location.
***
The group ran, barely stopping long enough to eat. No more cooked meals, just pre-wrapped food, sometimes heated by those with fire-aspected chi but more often eaten cold. The guards spread out, keeping an eye on the flanks and their rear, while the Elders watched for problems in front.
By the time sunlight completely left the forest they traversed, the group had covered over thirty li. As they set up for the evening, the guards took even further precautions, laying out warding talismans and temporary traps. Elder Dong created a low-level security formation, one meant to disorient and hide, rather than injure potential attackers. Dinner was cold rations again—leftover, stale porridge and gummy, dried, salted sausages.
Rather than sit with the others and assault them with his stench, Wu Ying sat downwind, near the edges of the wards and behind the sole tent. To Wu Ying’s surprise, as he chewed on his stale meal, he found he could overhear the conversation being held within the tent.
“There were no xing tian here seven years ago,” Elder Li insisted. “Just like there were none ten years ago when Po passed through.”
“You say that, but the signs show a considerable-sized clan,” Elder Dong said.
“They could have been pushed here from another location,” Elder Po said.
“Does it matter?” Elder Wei said. “We still need to leave their hunting grounds as quickly as we can.”
“It matters if they have been pushed aside. Any demonic or spirit beast that could drive them away might be too strong for us to win against,” Elder Po said. “This expedition has grown more dangerous.”
“Do you want to return?” Elder Li asked, her voice a challenge.
“No. But we should be aware of the increased dangers.” Elder Po lowered his voice even further. Wu Ying had to strain to catch his next words. “We are likely to see more deaths before this is over.”
Someone sniffed.
Then Elder Wei’s voice came, cold and merciless. “Only among the unimportant. I’m sure you all have your contingencies, as I do.”
“And they don’t matter?” Elder Dong said, anger tingeing his voice. “I thought you brought one of your direct disciples, Ye Fan.”
“My least-promising direct disciple, ” Elder Wei replied. “Though it would be a pity to lose her and Chao Kun. They have some minor talent.”
Wu Ying winced, wondering how Liu Tsong would feel if she heard her Master so casually dismiss her potential death. A moment later, Wu Ying realized his own life had not even merited a mention. As his face flushed with anger, Wu Ying bit into his tongue by accident, and he released a little yelp. The arguing voices in the tent stilled, and Wu Ying scrambled to his feet as Elder Dong poked his head out of the tent.
“You there. What are you doing here? What was that noise?” Elder Dong asked.
“Uhh… cleaning my bowl, Elder,” Wu Ying hastily replied and bowed. “I bit my tongue while eating and walking. I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
“You can’t even move and eat. Idiot.” Elder Dong sniffed. “You’re the smelly one, aren’t you? Go clean the bowl and yourself. And do not come near this tent again.”
“Yes, Elder! My apologies Elder,” Wu Ying said, bowing again before he scrambled away.
When he was a distance away, Wu Ying tenderly probed his bit tongue and breathed a sigh of relief. Getting caught eavesdropping was unlikely to do him any additional favors.
Still, Wu Ying could not shake the memory of the conversation. And how casually the Elders, Elders who were meant to look after them, had dismissed their lives.
***
The next day, the expedition began running at first light. Hours passed before they met the first scouting party. Unlike before, the xing tian pulled back rather than clash with the cultivators and trailed the group at a distance. As the group ran, they heard the clash of axe against shield punctuating the silent forest.
“Why are they doing that?” Tou He growled as the second hour of the xing tian trailing them passed.
“Can’t you tell?” Wu Ying said, tilting his head to where the last clash came from. “Can’t you sense it?”
“Sense what?” Tou He said.
“The increase in demonic chi. They’re drawing in more of their people,” Wu Ying said.
As the xing tian were currently mute, the clash of axe and shield must be their way of signaling for more of their clan.
“We should kill them then.”
“And how are you intending to catch them?” Li Yao said as she swung around from where she ran. “They are at least at the Energy Storage, maybe Core stage. Once you leave the group, they will flee from you. Senior Ge and the Elders might be able to catch them, but that would give the xing tian a chance to catch them alone. And if they leave, who protects us?”
Tou He jumped over a knee-high root, landing lightly, while Wu Ying swung around the root. As Wu Ying ran, he felt his chi churn, pushing through his meridians. If there was one advantage to all this running and constant re-use of his chi, it was how clean his opened meridians were. It did nothing for the uncleared meridians that were still clogged with impurities, but he found the stench others complained of had reduced significantly. If they kept this up for the next couple of weeks, he might be able to move and cultivate without becoming so rank, maybe even break through to the next stage.
“So, what do we do?” Tou He said after the group had run for another hundred feet.
“Run. We run and hope to leave their hunting grounds,” Li Yao said.
“Won’t it allow them to gather their people? If we all head in the same direction and fight them…” Wu Ying offered.
“I’m sure the Elders have a plan,” Li Yao said.
Wu Ying frowned, recalling the overheard conversation from last night. Perhaps the Elders did have a plan, but as he looked back to where the injured cultivator flagged and the porters struggled, Wu Ying wondered if the plan was to leave bait behind. He shook his head, discarding the thought. He would worry about that when it happened. If it happened. It was not as if he could do much to stop them.
On and on they ran. In time, even the least sensitive of the cultivators could feel the ominous presence of the demonic chi in the distance, surrounding their group. Twice, the expedition group moved so fast, they overtook the xing tian deployed ahead of them and clashed with the scouting groups. Each battle was fast and furious, the entirety of the expedition group taking part in the attack.
“We won, didn’t we?” Tou He asked blithely after the second fight, looking forward to where the Elders were speaking in soft tones. “Why do they look even more worried?”
“Numbers,” Wu Ying panted. He had been of little use in the fights, barely contributing to the demise of a single Energy Storage-level xing tian. And even then, he had to pierce it with a bracer-reinforced attack while it had been distracted by his friend. Now, Wu Ying was finding it hard to keep up, his breathing ragged, his chi stores dropping precipitously.
“I don’t understand,” Tou He complained.
“He means there are too many xing tian. We have defeated over twenty, but there are still more. How large a clan have we found?” Chao Kun said as he dropped back to speak with them. The senior martial specialist had been shifting position along the line as they ran, ensuring no one had been left behind.
“Oh. Ohhh… Buddha’s tears,” Tou He said as he looked around at the foreboding surroundings. He gulped and clutched his tong fas tighter, the pair of half-T short sticks a polished burgundy wood. “We should run faster.”
“Trying,” Wu Ying said then shut up, saving his breath.
***
Hours. Lunch was eaten on the run, passed from one cultivator to another. The pieces of meat and congealed, glutinous rice were wrapped in green leaves for freshness. The food tasted strange, having been stored and reconstituted from the enchanted storage ring
s, but in these circumstances, it was the perfect supplement. Eventually, as Wu Ying and the other lower-level cultivators trailed farther and farther behind the group, Chao Kun made another appearance with bottles of pills.
“These are chi restoration pills,” Chao Kun said. “Place under your tongue. Do not chew. Let it dissolve slowly and pull the energy into you. There are three pills in each bottle. Only use them when you are low.”
“Thank you, Senior,” Wu Ying and the other cultivators chorused.
“No need. This is from Elder Wei.”
Wu Ying hesitated, but after seeing how the other cultivators perked up the moment they placed the pills under their tongue, he took one out and used it. The first thing that struck him as he closed his mouth was how bitter the concoction was, making his face pucker up. The next was the surprising fruity fragrance that filled his mouth. As Chao Kun urged them onward, Wu Ying took off running, breathing through his nose and drawing forth the chi the pill released into his body. The chi from the pill was unaspected, ensuring all of them could make full use of it. Wu Ying knew the aspected cultivators would make less optimal use of the pills than he did, but then again, they were of higher cultivation level. So, it probably all balanced out.
Given a second wind, the group sped up, leaving their surprised pursuers behind for an hour, but soon, the clash of weapon and shield surrounded the group once more. This time around, the tempo of the shieldbeat had increased and synchronized. Each clashing filled the forest, pushing at Wu Ying’s chest with the force of their impact.
“Get ready,” Li Yao, who had taken her turn running beside the slowest of the group, warned the cultivators. “They’ll be coming soon.”
Wu Ying nodded, his jaw clenching tightly. All around, he saw the guards pulling in close to the expedition group.
“Hurry up. We’re nearly there!” Elder Po’s voice came from the front, drawing their attention.
When Wu Ying mouthed “Where?” to Li Yao, the cultivator shrugged.
