Immortal Connections - Chapter 41 preview

Author Note: Preview chapters are rough/first drafts. These chapters have not been edited, expect that there may be errors - however, feel free to point out consistency issues!

Chapter 41 - Wu Ying

Landing on the mountaintop near a clear and flat cliffface, Wu Ying channeled the winds to sweep the area clear. An explosion of dirt rolled outwards, throwing accumulated pollen, leaves and dirt away before he landed lightly on the sparsely vegetated cliff face. Beside him, the roll of cloth landed, beginning to unwrap itself and display the contents even as Wu Ying surveyed his surroundings. 

The mountain peak itself was a short walk - if one could walk vertically  - from his position. Sharp angles showed that this was not an easily accessible location, with nary an access pathway that would have suited a mountain goat. From below, Wu Ying could smell their leavings, the freshness and iron of a mountain spring that formed much further below, trickling down and capturing other rivulets of water as it ran down the mountain.

The constant whisper of the winds surrounded Wu Ying, the cry of a far-off eagle as it sought its dinner and the flapping of his robes were the only other noises, beyond that of the huffing bow as he landed eventually beside the Ascendant.

“Tired, already?” Wu Ying asked.

“Not all of us fly that much.” The boy coughed, breathing hard as he sucked in immortal chi from all around. “Or are as strong as you are.”

“Tell me about that,” Wu Ying said. “Surely you are all immortals.”

“We are natives of this realm,” the boy snapped, his fist tightening on the club. “We might be immortals by birth, but we have not your advantages.”

“Advantages?”

“Cultivation techniques, methods of progression, enchanted items…” 

“Mine are breaking down, if it helps you feel any better.” He allowed his spiritual sense to keep an eye on the boy as he knelt beside his haul, sorting through the various items to create categories of loot. Here were all the jewelry, there the coins with their eight sided nature and punched out square center and taels, made from spirit stones of mortal beasts rather than metal. It said something about the economy that they could afford to make the currency out of items so desperately sought after in the Middle Kingdom.

Weapons had their own category, the type and variety and quality all over the place. Some were no better than the stick the boy so desperately gripped, wood infused with immortal chi and thus sturdier than a simple stick; but not much better. Others were formerly pristine weapons, left to rust and chipped from abuse, no care or concern taken for their conditions. However, amongst all that, Wu Ying spotted some few items that were of decent quality at a glance.

More interesting, to him, were the various miscellaneous gewgaws that were found – snuff boxes, perfumes, a makeup box of high quality creams and powders were among those things he found, along with various books, letters and miscellaneous items one required and desired for living a rough life.

“No storage rings?” Wu Ying muttered to himself, extending his senses over the entire hoard and not finding any indication of a spatial or time dao – the minimum requirement for making a storage ring. After all, it was only those who understood the concept of space on an intrinsic level that could create such an enchanted object which formed a pocket dimension to store other objects. It was also the reason his current rings were breaking down, as the incomplete understanding of mortal cultivators interacted with the immortal air all around.

“Damn Ascendants,” the boy groused. “Your bandits all rich back in the Middle Kingdom too?”

Wu Ying had a momentary sense of disorientation as he stared at the boy, carefully asking. “Do you think, we’re rich? All of us below?”

“Richer than us, for sure.” He snorted. “Coming in, parading all your gear. All your skills. Acting all high and mighty, enforcing the laws and taking our hard earned coins.”

“Oh…” Wu Ying hesitated, then felt forced to clarify. “You do understand that those of us who Ascend are literally the rarest of our kind? That we are, by virtue of achieving Nascent Soul if not half-Immortality, reached the peak of the Middle Kingdom.”

“So?”

“It means we’re the richest members of our world. In all senses of the word,” he gestured down the mountain, out into the rolling hills and forests that stretched for li without end. “Surely you have those who are rich and gifted in your world too.”

“The clans, yeah.” A spit to the side off the mountain. An errant wind caught the loogie, splattering it against his clothes which the boy ignored. Idly, Wu Ying noted the boy wore the traditional duan da of the commoner, a robe that crossed over from the left to right and was then tied off by a wide hemp belt that farming instruments and pouches could be tied. Beneath the robe was a coarse woven pair of trousers, made of hemp that were roughly woven but extremely tough. Familiar clothing, for Wu Ying had worn similar items for many years as a farmer himself. “They keep to themselves in the cities mostly.”

“Well, if we’re lucky, we won’t have to bother with them.” Picking up the books and scrolls, he scanned through them, finding them mostly consisting of fictional stories or in two repetitions, just annotated versions of the classics. He kept the books of fiction and offered the classics to the boy who took them gingerly. Ignoring his actions, Wu Ying continued his perusal of his loot, pocketing the various valuables in a pouch and eventually coming to the weapons.

Ignoring the current state of the weapons, he checked them over carefully for quality of the materials and make. Some were of obviously poor quality – loose handles, poor metal that left the swords bent and hatchets flaky and broken. A few were well cared for, though only serviceable. The knives that the knife user were particularly of that quality, decently built but nothing special. Finally, there were only a few weapons – a sword breaker, a dao and the spearhead – which were of better than average quality.

Those, Wu Ying set aside, noting he would need to spend some time caring for the weapons later. At the very least, oiling them down so that they would not rust further. All of the metal in the weapons radiated a minor quality of the world, only noticeable because Wu Ying had only recently ascended. A minor radiation of immortal chi that encompassed the world and all that was within it, except you know, his own items that he had brought all the way from the Middle Kingdom.

“You can take any of these, if you prefer it over your club,” Wu Ying said, gesturing at the lousy weapons. 

“Please. At least mine won’t break randomly.”

“Smart boy.”

“I’m not a boy. My name’s Teng Ze Mu.”

“Ze Mu?” Wu Ying said. “Interesting name. Simply dutiful?”

“No, reverently dutiful.”

Wu Ying waited to see if the boy would acknowledge the irony of that name and their circumstances but if the boy noticed it, he ignored the matter. Eventually, Wu Ying moved on, unrolling the document that the other immortal had intentionally concealed to stare at the map.

It was a map of the surroundings, though like most was more of a general indicator with landmarks and concepts of areas around – a series of peaks to indicate the mountain range and a single marked peak, the one he assumed he was on – the lake and more importantly, tiny buildings, circled with walls or not, to indicate settlements. 

“The walls indicate larger cities?” Wu Ying said, just to confirm. Unfortunately there were no singular legend of how maps were made, and while it might seem clear enough to him, he was cognizant that he was in a new realm.

“Yes. Larger cities or towns. The number of walls indicate the size,” Ze Mu replied. 

Eyes drifting across the scroll, Wu Ying quickly noted the three walled city far above to the northwest of the map. Tapping the city, he asked. “Capital?”

“No, that’s much further away,” Ze Mu said. “That’s the regional tradehub.”

Wu Ying inclined his head. “Tell me about the realm. How is it set-up?”

“You should know, no?” At the look Wu Ying gave him, Ze Mu shrugged. “It’s the same everywhere. The Jade Palace,” and this time he sneered as he said those words, “rules all, sending down their governors to watch over us. They live in the capitals, with regional magistrates living at various provincial cities throughout the realm.” Reaching forward, he poked a city not too far from the center of the map. “That’s where he lives, if you’re intending to report in.”

“Not really.” Glancing between the trade hub and the two walled, municipal city, he had to ask. “Why the difference?”

“Some idiot bureaucrat chose Jinan to be the capital centuries ago but they’d never actually visited the region. No surprise, with the way the roads and rivers and fields are that Jining grew up to be larger.”

“So that’s where if I wanted to trade, I’d find what I need?”

“If you want anything, Jining is the place to go.”

Wu Ying nodded, letting his aura unfurl further and exploring the surroundings. There was a lot to do, not least of all time for him to actively test his own skills in this new realm. After all, all the book learning in the world was nothing before the real world.

It was time to see, exactly how much of his skills would transfer.

Glancing down at the gathered loot, a wry smile tugged his lips upwards as he wrapped everything up, handing the roll of cloth to the boy. 

Well, beyond his ability to kill.