The Third Realm - Chapter 11 preview

For all his preparations, his leaving was pre-empted by the flow of life and politics. Chief Pan found him working in the fields, finishing up the planting of the rice that they village required. They did not have extensive fields, not like his own village. The tea leaves that covered the hills took up most of their time, but still – no village would be without rice.

Stretching his back, feeling the flow of wind across his body; Wu Ying smiled at the Chief as he neared. Then, his smile faded, seeing the other man’s demeanor. He shifted position, leaping lightly onto the earth embankment around the sunken, water logged field and walking over to greet the other, offering the man a courteous bow as he neared.

“You truly are – were – a rice farmer,” Pan Hai, following along the Chief, said.

“I am.” Wu Ying said. “But I fear that was not what you were here to speak of.”

“No,” Chief Pan said, his gaze heavy and regretful. “You must leave. Now.”

“Trouble?” Wu Ying said, his hand falling to his side where his sword would normally be. Finding it empty, he turned and opened his hand, the wind working to his commands and casting the sword into his hand from where it rested.

“Not the kind that can be solved with a blade,” Chief Pan replied. “The government has sent a representative. To discuss the events at the tournament. It would be… simpler… if you were not here to speak with them.

“If you were never here.”

Wu Ying arced an eyebrow at the blatant lie but nodded. “So be it.” He flexed his aura, pushing it outwards from his skin. It was the latest trick he had picked up, and as he did so, the mud that clung to his legs, to his pants shifted and dropped to the ground. It did not clear the water soaked into his pants, nor the earth ground into the cloth shoes.

“Thank you,” Chief Pan murmured, bowing to Wu Ying. “I regret the circumstances of our parting. I had hoped…”

Wu Ying shook his head, cutting the Chief off. “You have given me more than enough with the hospitality shown to me and the companionship.” Offering the man one last bow, he turned and kicked off the ground, flitting through the air quickly. He chose not to go too high, staying just above the ground but moving much faster as he cut a direct line to the village and his temporary abode.

There was no discussion of where he would go now. Such questions were dangerous – both for the Chief who might be forced to lie and be caught in doing so – and for Wu Ying if they chose to chase him.

Packing was a simple matter, with only a few scrolls, articles of clothing and a couple of swords to be swept into his spirit rings. He regarded his temporary residence, eyeing the place for something he missed. A few keepsakes had been offered to him before, but those he had stored already – the small, simple things that marked an individual’s regard and thought than the depth of their wallet. A wooden carving of a horse by a child, a string of garlands, the detailed instructions to replicate a family recipe of stewed, soya sauce pork belly.

One last look, as he took in the abode, knowing he would never see it again. He picked up his backpack, the one he used to store spirit herbs and other, mundane items and slung it over his back, settling the weight with an easy shrug.

Done, he walked outside, ready to depart the village. Only to come up short, as a gaggle of youngsters stood before him, arms crossed.

“Trying to run without saying goodbye?” Pan Shui said, looking affronted. “Who thought you those manners?”

“My parents. But they would happily tell you that I bring them shame for such things all the time, anyway,” Wu Ying replied with a smile. “But it is good to see you all.”

“Father sent word,” Pan Yin said, bowing to Wu Ying. “We wished to bid you farewell. We too will be departing soon, for the mystic realm.”

“Oh?”

“I’m inconvenient,” Pan Shui muttered disconsolately. “I made too much of a splash, winning. Now, they’ll want to talk to me.”

“And I’m forced to follow her.” Pan Mui, silent so far, harumphed after speaking.

Pan Yin waved her sisters down, her gaze somber. “If it is suitable…”

“Suitable?” Wu Ying said, a tremor of anticipation running through him.

“She wants your permission to say we’re going with you,” Pan Shui replied, waving at herself and Liu Ping. “When they ask.”

“But you won’t be,” Wu Ying said, with just a hint of a question at the end.

“No,” Liu Ping spoke up, looking conflicted. She stared at him from under her lashes, letting out a little growl after a moment. “You’re not going to take the main roads, after all. Where you go… it’s not a place for the rest of us, is it?”

Wu Ying hesitated, knowing that she was asking in an indirect way if she could join him. Instinctively, he wanted to reject her request. Yet, before he spoke, he chose to consider his reaction and the why’s of it. Did he dislike her? No. She was a little foolhardy and with her new awakened bloodline, perhaps a little dangerous. She still grieved for her brother, though the long months of convalescence and training had seen her grief lessen.

More, she was a good friend. Reliable in a fight. She could be useful, perhaps…

But she was not wrong, in that where he travelled, where he intended ot travel, bringing someone not even at the Core Formation level would be a liability. Nor was her control of her aura sufficient even for the normal regions he traversed, the edges of the deep, deep wilderness.

Bringing another with him…

“It would be your death. And mine too,” Wu Ying said, putting words to his thoughts.

“I thought as much.” Liu Ping bowed to Wu Ying. “Thank you. For saving me. For guiding me to a new location. And for showing me a path, higher.”

“You would look to ascend?” Wu Ying said, surprised.

“I would.” Liu Ping shrugged a broad shoulder. “He will be born again, one day. And perhaps if I’m stronger then, perhaps I could save him.”

There was no need to ask which him she meant. The group fell silent in shared memory and recollection, only for Pan Chen; patient till now to step forward. The child looked up at Wu Ying, offering him a rolled up scroll in both hands.

Wu Ying received the scroll with both hands, bowing to the boy even as he spoke. “I wrote some thoughts. About your attack. The one you used, against the snake.” He hesitated, blushing a little. “I’m sorry it took so long. I had… well, it took me a while to remember everything properly.”

“I was not aware you were even conscious,” Wu Ying admitted.

Pan Chen shrugged, emberassed and stepped back. Then, just as suddenly, he lunged forward and wrapped Wu Ying in a hug, burying his face in his robes. His words, murmured around the fabric were muffled and filled with emotion. “Come back, Tai Kor, promise? These others, they are all lousy with the blade.”

Wu Ying blinked, then returned the hug to the child. The child’s tone of voice, the way he held him tight. It brought back memories of his own childhood, a time when he too had felt alone a little, for hours when he had wanted to spend playing had been taken up by the sword by his father. He had been lonely, a little, without brother or sister, without a friend who understood. And he, at least, had time to play with others.

How much worse was it for Pan Cheng, who had no peers among his own age group. Whose joy came in an art that none others could understand. Even Wu Ying could barely glimpse the heights the child would climb. His heart ached for the child, for the realization.

So he spoke, offering what little assurance he could. “One day. I promise. It might not be for many years…” Wu Ying trailed off, as the winds tickled his face, murmuring their promises of distant lands and further adventures. “But I’ll return. One day.”

Now, his eyes twinkled. “And you best have progressed your cultivation. Otherwise, it won’t be a challenge for me to beat “you.”

“You know that expertise beats strength anytime, right, senior?” Pan Cheng said, withdrawing from his hug.

Wu Ying let him go, smiling back at the teasing tone. “We shall see.”

“Do we have your agreement?” Pan Yin said, speaking up again.

“Your father never mentioned this,” Wu Ying remarked.

“He would never ask. It would be too much of an imposition for him to do so.” Pan Yin said.

Now, Wu Ying understood. It was more politick, easier for him to turn Pan Yin down. Though, eyeing the woman, he wondered if this plan was hers entirely. Unmentioned to her father, to safeguard the village. Again and again, Pan Yin had chosen to put the village ahead of herself, a village that had already chosen to bypass her. All for her lack of cultivation success.

What a foolish world, where wisdom and duty were cast aside for strength.

“I wish you the best, Cultivator Pan. In ascension and all your wishes,” Wu Ying replied. At her frown, he gestured idly. “If you find it necessary, you may do so. I doubt it will inconvenience me greatly.”

“Thank you, again, Expert Long. We are – I am – in your debt,” Pan Yin said.

“Among friends, there are no debts.”

“And friends, that is what we are?” she said.

Before Wu Ying could reply, Pan Shui inched ahead and added. “Or more than friends?” She smirked suggestively, only to let out a yelp as Pan Mui grabbed hold of her younger sister and yanked her back. Pan Cheng, watching the entire incident, just looked confused.

Liu Ping on the other hand muttered. “Too late, eh? I should have marked him…”

Wu Ying glared at Liu Ping. He was not a piece of meat to be traded. Or a tree to be climbed. However, before he could reply, Pan Hai appeared, looking upset.

“Elder Pan?” Wu Ying turned to the other.

“I… see you’re still here.”

“My apologies. I was just saying goodbye.”

“None required. But the envoy will be here in less than an hour. And it will take some time to remove your chi presence from the environment.” Elder Pan said, leadingly.

“Thank you, again, Expert Long.” Pan Yin repeated herself, bowing low. This time around, there were no interruptions as the others copied her actions.

Wu Ying bowed back, nodded goodbye to Elder Pan and turned, departing quickly. Knowing they wanted him gone, he triggered the Twelve Gales, using the movement technique to pass him by the group, up the hill into the surroundings in short order.

South and east, the wind howled, taking him with it as he gusted to the north. Leaving behind friends and memories. And though he lamented the parting, a part of him soared at the idea of new lands, new horizons and new people to meet.

***

A day and dozens of li, travelling through rolling hills and the burgeoning forests, heading deeper as he danced upon the Twelve Gales. He moved, faster than ever, yet careful not to overuse his chi. For the firsttime, he would have a chance to test the full extent of his Core whilst traveling, unburdened by others. He would take it slowly, as was appropriate.

Signs of civilization gave way, as formerly tilled and farmed lands were abandoned, civilization pulling back. He came across the ruins of a village, a days ride from the Zhuang clan’s. Perhaps a branch village, perhaps just a competing one. It mattered not, for decades of wear had seen houses crumbled, walls fallen and roads overgrown.

Beast spoor, large and infused with chi, spoke of traveling Demonic Spirits. He paused then, judging size and volume, noting the variety and quantity – a sounder of demonic boars as this seemed could be dangerous. He considered hunting them, for their cores, for the safety of the village. For the exercise.

Wu Ying drew a deep breath, prodded at the refuse. He touched his rings which were a little empty, for he had not gathered for months now. And whilst his World Spirit Ring saw a continued growth, it wa better to let most such herbs grow.

And anyway… he recalled the first ever Demonic Beast he had fought. He remembered the fight, the danger, his fear. He considered it for a moment, and then he chose to move.

Finding the trail was simple, following it even simpler. A sounder of demonic boars were not the most subtle of creatures travelling through the surroundings, defecating and tearing up the ground whenever some bush or herb caught their attention. Or in a few cases, some unfortunate creature was located, their bodies torn apart and mostly consumed. Splotches of blood, refuse and hardened horns or hooves the only indication of their presence.

Two hours of travel, flitting through the rolling plains of grass and shrubbery and he found them. The wind warned him long before he saw them, and a simple flexing of his Core and a beckoning of the winds took him to the sky.

The sounder was nearly a score in size, two third of them adults while younger piglets, each of which were the size of a normal, unaltered boar ran between the creatures. The demonic boars were each about the size and width of a peasant’s house, the entire group a moving calamity. The largest Demonic Boar radiated the power of a peak-Energy Storage creature, on the verge of breaking through to Core.

Even with Wu Ying’s presence hidden, his aura retracted and the winds certain to keep his scent away; the lead boar noticed him. It turned its massive head, its tusks glowing with a dark yellow-green malevolent light that set Wu Ying’s hair standing on end.

“Now, how’d you sense me?” Wu Ying wondered aloud.

His opponent offered no answer, instead unleashing out a triumphant and challenging snort. It reared a little on its back legs, unleashing a loud huff from its mouth. Noxious fumes rolled out from its mouth, the sickly gas matching the colour of its horn. As it struck the ground, the greenery around its feet sickened and died, only the other members of its sounder seemingly unaffected.

“Demon in truth.” Wu Ying gestured with his hand, energy pouring into the winds around him. It swirled around the sounder, containing the beasts and the noxious gasses. That would ensure their battle would be contained.

Next, he drew his Saint-jian. Powerful though he might have been, he did not have the strength to kill the monsters with just his command of the wind. Not without wasting too much of his chi, leaving him tired and vulnerable to other potential threats.

In the wild, such actions would be foolish in the extreme.

Anyway, he had his new blade and his understanding of the weapon. It was time to test it. First, he cast a series of sword light, striking the air as he sent blade intent at the demonic animals. The first few strikes, aimed at the largest monster were blocked by the creature’s tusks. They shattered, breaking apart without harming the powerful creature.

On the other hand, his attacks were much more successful upon the younger embers of the sounder. Children were split apart, and the youngest and weakest members of the parties either were killed or seriously injured.

Not content to be left alone, a group of the older demonic boars grouped together, forming a killing release of chi that flew directly at Wu Ying. Sensing a mild level of danger, he swung his own sword and projected both blade and killing intent, turning the strength of his cultivation upon the attack.

The formed energy was a crescent of white light, with flickering, shifting edges of wind chi at the edges. It struck the beam of yellow-light, tearing through the center with barely any hesitation before splitting the energy apart and continuing until it struck the gathered nexus point of energy and the boars forming it.

The group trotted backwards, backlash from the attack leaving the group injured and in pain.

In the meantime, seeing that it’s brethrens attempts had done little to Wu Ying and its own initial attack contained, the lead boar bent its stubby legs and exploded forwards. Yellow-green energy spun around its body as it flew through the air, headed directly for Wu Ying.

“Well, that’s a surprise. You can fly.” Wu Ying muttered to himself. “Or is that a leap?”

Yet, he was still not worried. The attack was more dangerous than the previous chi beam, but it was insufficient to concern him. Rather than dodge the clumsy leaping strike, he chose to meet it head on, calling the wind to his back and throwing himself with his sword extended head-on.

The boar twisted its head at the last second, seeking to interpose its natural weapon against Wu Ying’s own sword. Parrying the attack, the pair unleashed their own energies, chi surging backwards and forwards. However unlike Wu Ying who was held aloft by the winds and his own chi techniques, the boar had no way to combat the call of the earth.

Momentum stopped dead, gravity called the boar towards the ground and it slipped downwards, arcing back and away from Wu Ying as the cultivator let out another surge of energy. The blade strike was blocked by the tusk, the beleaguered horn cracking and breaking away even as the boar was redicted into its brethren.

The fall revibrated through the hills, bodies crushed and injured and dying boars squealing as the body rolled over and over. Even shocked by the attack, the beast managed to push itself upwards, long lacerations from where the tusks of its own sound criss-crossing its body.

High above, Wu Ying had stabilized his flight and had taken his sword in his other hand, shaking his arm out. “Strong, but not that strong. I need at least another layer or two to my Core before I can just power my way through.”

Chuckling to himself as the boars beneath him snorted and growled their anger, he idly dodged a few lashes and thrown clods of earth as the boars attempted to reach him in the sky.

“I best stop acting like a Metal or Earth affinitied individual…” he muttered to himself, taking his sword back in hand. Still, strength and intent had been tested. Which left…

“Forms.” Wu Ying shot downwards, moving faster than ever. He crossed by the smaller boars, ignoring them as he struck at the largest beast. He danced through the air, dodging attacks by inches as his blade carved into the monster, sword light extending his weapon to tear through tough exterior skin.

Noxious yellow-green gas boiled up from the monster’s mouth, but Wu Ying kept a bubble of clean air surrounding him at all times as he fought, robbing the monster of its greatest weapon. In short order, he left the injured and dying monster on its last legs – literally – and landed amongst the rest of the sound.

Raising his sword to his forehead, he gestured at the monsters.

“Come.”

As though they understood his words, the demonic beasts charged him. Dancing in their midst, Wu Ying ran through his forms, extending his blade and sword intent as he fought through them. He restricted himself to the first three forms, content to sense the difference in the Heart of the Sword.

It was minor in external appearance. Such improvements were always slight. But the sharpening of his killing intent by a small margin was more than sufficient to make his sword a razor that cut through the toughest skin. Dodging a blow by milimeters still meant that one had dodged it, while altering the course of an attack by inches meant that when it reached one’s torso, it had veered away by feet.

Positioning, strength, sharpness, leverage. Everything had improved, by the slightest margin. More than that, Wu Ying instinctively knew which form to take now, which would benefit him in the swirling cloud of dust, in the battling scrum.

He did not drag the fight out further. He struck to maim and then kill, moving with a hunter’s swiftness. Though nature might be cruel in its efficiency, humanity could be swift in its mercy. In less than a minute, the last of the demonic boars were slain.

Leaving Wu Ying to disperse the poisons high into the sky and with the corpses and their treasures for him to acquire.

Messy business though that might be.