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4.2 - A Short Trip South
🕑 Added 2024-07-31 22:00:02 +0000 UTCSeveral days later, He Yu found a note from Zhang Lifen. It had arrived in the night while he’d been cultivating, delivered by one of the carved heron statuettes she used to send messages. Unfurling the crisp roll of paper, he saw more or less what he’d expected. She would be absent on sect business for at least the next week, postponing their further training.
That didn’t mean a reprieve, however. The routine he’d developed since reaching Golden Core had him cycling between training sessions with Zhang Lifen, and then leaving him to his own devices when she was called away. Usually on sect business, or her own cultivation. When not working with Zhang Lifen directly, He Yu would cultivate, take on sect jobs, or train with his friends.
Although he still frequently trained with Li Heng, he sought out Tan Xiaoling with increasing frequency. She had stepped fully into the Fourth Realm shortly after he had. As much as he enjoyed his time with Li Heng, he had to admit he didn’t really get much out of their training together. While He Yu had no problem helping him, it was a bit of a pain that he had to keep his cultivation suppressed to late Body Refining.
If the shift in their dynamic bothered Li Heng—and He Yu was almost certain that it did—he hid it well. Li Heng was unfailingly polite, as always, and at least seemed to appreciate that He Yu was helping him. For his part, He Yu had meant it when he’d told Li Heng that he’d drag him up the realms with him if he had to. He wouldn’t leave anyone behind, let alone his first real friend.
So on that first day he sought the Li scion, intending to get some sparring in, and then maybe a trip to a nearby peak—Li Heng was fond of cultivating there because of the year-round snow and ice. He soon learned fthat Li Heng had left the sect to take on a job several days prior, and wouldn't return for at least another week.
He Yu supposed he may as well do the same. His funds were running awfully low, after all. As fantastic for his advancement as training with Zhang Lifen was, it was also expensive. Because of how hard she pushed him, He Yu frequently took restorative pills during their training sessions. Then he needed to take another elixir when he returned home to cultivate each night. By morning, he’d restored what he’d spent the previous day, but during their intense bouts he couldn’t hardly increase his cultivation base.
As a result, he was burning through his resources far faster than he gained them. Adding to his financial troubles, he was constantly subjected to duels. They were mostly informal affairs, to test his capabilities and establish the rough pecking order of the inner sect. Occasionally, someone challenged him formally for a ranked duel. In either case, he lost about as often as he won.
He bounced around the high five hundreds, at least never dipping back into the six hundreds. Heaven had granted him some fortune there. If he fell into the six hundreds again, his stipend from the sect would decrease. With the stipend and the occasional resources from informal duels, he barely scraped by to fund his cultivation. Or more accurately, he ensured the drain on his resources was a mere trickle, rather than a steady stream. Which meant that eventually, he’d go broke.
After arriving at the inner sect’s assignment hall, he spent a few moments looking over the assignments. There were a scant few of them, as competition for jobs among the Fourth Realm disciples was fierce even in the best of times. Of the three jobs appropriate for an early Fourth Realm disciple, there was really only one worth taking as far as he was concerned. The one that paid out the most.
A village at the southern edge of the sect’s administrative territory had reported a disturbing number of disappearances. A formation expert had examined their barrier stones and found them intact. The disciple concluded the cause was most likely an advanced spirit, or possibly demonic activity. The sect determined that an early-stage Golden Core would be appropriate. He Yu would investigate the cause of the disappearances and eliminate if possible, or deliver a report so that appropriate resources could be dispatched.
The contribution points the job rewarded would go a long way to shoring up He Yu’s funds. The trip to the south would be a welcome relief from the last of winter’s grip in the Shrouded Peaks. It was, all things considered, the perfect job. He Yu accepted the assignment and left the hall. It didn’t take him long to gather the supplies he’d need, and he left the inner sect mountain early in the day.
On his way down to Xu Xiang, the sect town nestled at the base of the mountains that housed the Shrouded Peaks Sect, he had to pass through the outer sect. It was always a strange experience. Although he kept his spirit restrained, he stood out like a beacon among the outer disciples. The most talented of them—mostly early Body Refining, with the odd late stage disciple—had developed some measure of a presence. But they were all weak and diffuse compared to even the lowest-ranked among the inner sect.
As he drew near, the outer disciples would stop whatever it was they were doing and salute, bowing deeply over a fist cupped in their palm. He Yu had quickly learned that returning the salutes meant it would take him the better part of half a day to make it through the outer sect. So he ended up doing what most of the other inner disciples did and ignored them. He supposed it probably made him seem aloof or arrogant, but he didn’t want to waste his time if he didn’t have to.
He also tried not to let the whispers that trailed in his wake go to his head.
“That’s Senior Brother He,” they said, once they thought him far enough away that he’d no longer hear.
“Senior Brother He is the youngest Golden Core the Shrouded Peaks Sect has seen in nine generations.”
“Senior Brother He very nearly beat Princess Tan of the Jade Kingdom in the sect tournament a year ago.”
“He’s Senior Sister Zhang’s disciple. They say he has even more talent than she does. He’ll be a core disciple before the end of a sixty-year cycle.”
He Yu wasn’t so sure about that last bit. Him? A core disciple before he’d reached his sixtieth year? Then again, Zhang Lifen supposedly received her rank as the sixth core disciple when she was only about thirty years old. But that meant he would have to surpass her. He couldn’t really see that happening. Especially not before his first sixty-year cycle.
Still, it made a self-congratulatory smile to crack his lips when he heard it. He’s always wanted to be a legend, and what was the first step to becoming a legend, if not having a reputation? And one that apparently cast him as a once-in-a-generation talent. He’d take it, that was certain.
Once he’d reached the path leading down to Xu Xiang and passed through the formation gate, he finally released his grip on his cultivation base. A storm rolled out from his core. Black clouds gathered over a vast land. Heavenly fury flickered and flashed deep within those clouds as the rain broke over the land below. Wind howled. Thunder rolled. The sky churned.
The surrounding air grew heavy, and the mists on the path seemed to thicken and grow dark. Those chittering shadows that had caused him so much trouble on his first ascent now fled before him. His presence alone was enough to keep the path clear. Not that he would need it. A bunch of First Realm spirits that fed on fear were hardly a threat to him now.
He Yu activated the Empyrean Ninefold Body Tempering. The three pillars of his body art shone in his spiritual sight. Heaven qi crackled and arced between his Golden Core and the pillars as he cycled the art. His meridians surged with wind and heaven as he leaped into the sky, above the mists.
He activated the Sky Dragon’s Flight. The winds wrapped around him, and he shot off to the south, wind tugging at his robes and heaven sparking around him. Although his movement technique still wasn’t advanced enough to grant him the true flight its name promised, it was closer than it had ever been. The ground rushed by beneath him. He fell, as the law of earth was relentless in its grip, but he was moving fast enough that he covered more than a week’s journey by foot for a mortal. It had taken him moments.
Another activation of the Sky Dragon’s Flight caught him just before he slammed into the earth. He released the technique, and gently touched down. A group of soldiers escorting a palanquin looked at him warily as he landed. He had to commend their bravery—he hadn’t bothered to hide himself, or suppress his cultivation as he landed. They were at the strongest late Foundation. If he had attacked them, he could have killed them all with a wave of his hand. He Yu cupped a fist and gave a shallow bow, and the soldiers relaxed. The passenger, a young mortal woman of maybe twenty years old, peered out from inside with a mixture of fear, awe, and respect.
With another flex of his spirit and his legs, He Yu leaped into the sky. Once again, he caught himself with the wind, and blasted to the south, carrying the scent of lightning and rain along with him. For the rest of the day, he traveled in this manner. Between his massively expanded cultivation base, the advancement of his arts, and the not inconsiderable boost from the robes Yongnian had gifted him, he could use his movement technique more freely than he’d ever been able to before.
The terrain flew by beneath him. His presence rolled over the land as he half-flew ever southward. Spirits, beasts, and even the odd lower realm cultivator fled before his coming. A part of him felt a little bad about that. He wasn’t trying to scare anyone, and he certainly wasn’t a threat. At least not to anyone who wasn’t deserving. He supposed that was simply something that came with the territory. Not everyone could be as subtle with their presence as Zhang Lifen, after all.
It was late afternoon, approaching evening, when he reached his destination. A twinge of homesickness tugged at his heart as he took it in. The town was very much like Shulin, in that it hugged the edge of the great expanse of the southern forest. Unwalled, and relatively defenseless without its formation stones, it struck him just how vulnerable these mortal settlements were. This town wouldn’t even have a self-proclaimed “cultivation expert” like that charlatan Dong Wei.
He Yu touched down well outside the town and pulled back his presence. These people were all mortals, after all. If he didn’t restrain himself, he might kill the weaker among them without meaning to.
Folding his hands within the sleeves of his robes, He Yu lifted his chin and projected the sort of air he thought expected of him. He was an inner disciple of the Shrouded Peaks Sect here on official business, after all. As he walked towards the village, he saw a gathering of mortals at the edge of the formation stones.
The first thing that stood out to him was just how fragile they all looked. Like a strong breeze could knock them over. Not to mention the storm He Yu carried with his spirit. He made an extra effort to tamp down his presence, just in case. As he drew near, a wizened old man with snow white hair and a matching beard stepped forward.
He Yu hadn’t really known what to expect from his reception, but it certainly hadn’t been the village elder throwing himself to the ground in kowtow.
“Lord Immortal,” the elder said, his voice firm despite his age. “This one is called Dai Shoushan. This one is the elder of this humble village. All we ask is that you spare our lives despite the meager hospitality we offer.”
He Yu wasn’t entirely sure what to say. This was, after all, the first time he’d really dealt with mortals after entering the sect. Other than the ones in Xu Xiang, of course. The inhabitants of the sect town were used to cultivators, though.
He remained silent for a moment while he gathered his thoughts. No doubt his lack of response terrified the kowtowing old man before him, but he needed the space to think.
“I am He Yu, inner disciple of the Shrouded Peaks Sect. I have come to this village in response to your troubles. Stand, so that we may speak.” That seemed like the right thing to say. At least, he hoped it was.
Although he did so more slowly than He Yu would have preferred, Dai Shoushan stood as he’d been bid. “Lord He, this Dai Shoushan will offer prayers for our good fortune. The Shrouded Peaks Sect is most merciful to send one of your august personage to assist this humble, worthless village.”
He Yu waved a hand, giving his best impression of someone like Zhang Lifen. “Speak freely, Uncle Dai,” he said, opting to show respect. “I am here to help your village, not to lord over you. Speak plainly so that I can best do so.”
The last of the Dai Shoushan’s apprehension drained away, and he did as he’d been bid. At first he didn’t tell He Yu anything he’d not already learned from the job description. There had been a rash of disappearances in the village of late. It had started small, and there’d been no reason to suspect anything was amiss. Chickens and pigs disappearing this close to the southern forest could be explained just as easily by one getting loose and wandering off as it could by an unawakened fox sneaking into the pen.
However, the disappearances of livestock soon turned to people, and when the second villager went missing, they sent word to the sect. It was soon clear to He Yu that the initial investigation’s conclusion that there were spirits at work was likely correct. He assured Dai Shoushan that he would begin his investigation in the morning, once he’d a chance to restore himself after his journey. The village elder practically fell over himself trying to express his thanks.
Comments
Henry Johnston
Also I goofed an you got the chapter a day early. Next update is on Sat, as usual.
James Faulkner
Tftc!
