The scent of Mei’s wounds lingered in the air to provoke further danger from the surrounding wilds, and at the end of a second day of travel, Fu’s strength was beginning to flag.

  What few hours sleep he had stolen while Hushi maintained a vigil over the pair had barely diminished the aches in his muscles, or the dryness in his eyes that he had held open for far too long.

  At the gully’s end, Fu kicked the corpse of another [Spirit Beast] over the edge, watching as the [Water Qi] aligned hawk smashed off the harsh protrusions of rock on its way to the bottom. Like others, its corpse was not swept into the waters, now painted on the rocks to stay there evermore.

  “Hushi, are you well?” he asked, placing a crimson-soaked core into his brimming pouch and wringing his hands free of filth for all the good it would do.

  The octopus, swollen with Qi, bobbed in affirmation. Currently, he was guarding Mei, placed to his rear by the trunk of a mighty, overhanging tree.

  Fu puffed out a sigh, winding his chain around his arm as he saw that nothing else lurked nearby. “Mei, we must move on again. These bodies will only attract more beasts, and they are already frenzied from your injuries.”

  “Yes, Master Fu,” she replied, weakly.

  He supported her to stand, only letting go of her arms when he was certain that she could bear her own weight. Some manner of infection had laid claim to her leg, and in his limited knowledge of herbs and their properties, the spirit grasses he had given her seemed to be doing little to stem the tide of it.

  Pussy, yellow bile surrounded the gashes down her thigh and ankle, causing her pain with every step.

  “I have told you before, I am only Fu,” he chided, something he reminded her every time that she woke from her bouts of fitful sleep. “Now, let us go, a safer place must exist ahead.”

  They walked with much difficulty, and it was a slow procession along the gully’s edge. She was in no state for conversation, saving all of her energy and concentration for the half-steps she took forward. But Fu did not mind, his own focus directed on the woods that began to thin ahead of them.

  Soon, the trees grew so sparse that Fu could see beyond them, and the gully widened into an enormous valley of bright flowers.

  The [Paifang] stood on the furthest edge of his sight.

  We are in mid-season, and I long to return to my family. To see my goal before me fills me with joy.

  He allowed himself a smile, one that simmered quickly as Mei let out a gasp of pain, dropping to the ground.

  Fu rushed to steady her at the shoulders before her face struck rock. “Mei, we cannot continue like this. You must form a Bond, it is the only way to heal your injuries.”

  “You have said it is…” The girl was wracked with a barrage of coughing, agony clear upon her face as it twisted and screwed.

  Fu hushed her, withdrawing the [Spirit Core] that she had fled with from his pouch. A tangerine marble that was safer on his person than her ragged state. “True safety cannot be found in this [Mystic Realm]. We can wait no longer, if you do not do it now you will die before we reach a place to begin.”

  She couldn’t respond, wheezing in place of words.

  “Hushi,” called Fu, and the octopus took the core he offered. “I will rely on you. How is this done?”

  His Bond quickly handed the core back, his expression as vacant as always.

  I do not doubt that he understands. Though it must be different to do it with another. The way to bond must be like breathing to him, not a thing that can be explained.

  Fu looked at the girl, clueless. Qi swirled around the core, an affinity of Fire, if he had to guess from the slight warmth that radiated through his fingertips. Information that would do little good at the moment.

  Hushi moved past him, urging a sense of warning. This brought a curse to Fu’s lips, and he flicked his vision to distant shapes around the sparse trees that they had not long travelled through. A handful of minutes away, should something be hunting them.

  With the [Spirit Core] in hand, and with a void of knowledge concerning such things, Fu simply pressed it to Mei’s body. The closest part being her forehead. She groaned, yet no reaction was sparked from the marble.

  He felt at the Qi there, unable to do more than sense its presence. “Take this, if you can,” he said, thinking that perhaps it had to be her that started the process.

  Nothing happened as she mutely, and weakly, pressed the core to her forehead. Her mouth made to open, but just hung ajar with no energy remaining to form words.

  It is a miracle that she has survived this long.

  [Intent] rose from the trees behind, shallow, but present.

  Fu held one hand to brace Mei, turning to face the shapes. A pair of two [Spirit Beasts] prowled through the woods, canine, yet smaller than the wolves he had previously faced. With noses upturned, they felt at the air, tasting at Mei’s scent.

  Fu felt his heart quicken in retaliation.

  They were exposed here, with nothing but the gully at their back, and no trees to cover their presence save for those lone few every twenty or so paces in separate directions. “Hushi, I will take these alone,” he said. “Protect…” Fu trailed off, seeing that his Bond had snaked several arms within his pouch.

  He felt the contents shift, a slight clink as the dozen cores within touched, though that is not what the octopus produced.

  A common weed emerged in his grasp, and was bundled among many others with more spectacular colours. This was a mild yellow, a dandelion imbued with a Qi type that Fu had yet to deduce. With a tightening of his arm’s-end, Hushi crumbled it, and scattered the petals into Mei’s mouth.

  His feelings then surged, impressing a need for haste upon Fu.

  Caught with his vision between the beasts and his ward, Fu was not gentle as he forced her mouth closed. “Eat this, quickly,” he urged.

  Mei’s awareness was slipping, but her jaw moved around. Dry, and unpleasant, no doubt, however necessary. The [Intent] grew nearer, and with it, the canines slowed to regard him.

  Teeth bore no further than the closest tree.

  Fu released Mei, having Hushi keep her steady as he rushed the pair of them.

  White cast from their hides as they lowered, shed off in small, pulsing waves. Both of the canine’s jaws set to snapping, and to Fu’s surprise, they paced back at his approach.

  He unfurled his chain, and began his opening salvo with an overhead swing to the right. The head hammered down, pushing the pair closer together. Their fur further radiated with white, the dim glow rising in brightness to reach a crescendo that flashed so sharp that Fu might have thought he had glared at the sun.

  Blotches filled his vision, even in the midday-sun, and he rolled in anticipation of an incoming attack. Which came swiftly. The first canine could not touch him, yet the second tore through his ankle with a well-placed bite.

  Fu winced at the pain, feeling the missing flesh, despite how shallow his [Resilience] had made the attack.

  It was simply another injury to add to his mounting pile. Screaming through the air, his chain swept in several large arcs, and he was forced to chase the pair as his eyes recovered.

  The blotches replaced their frames, and he cursed when his weapon’s head hit only open air.

  Another of the canines took a bite, and this time it was from his wrist. It clamped down, pushing him back with a cry of surprise and no small amount of pain. He could feel its teeth grinding, shredding his skin with a constant cycle of gnashes.

  However, the foolish beast was now in his reach, and he used this to his advantage. Fighting through the agony, Fu wrenched his arm closer to his chest, using the free hand to bind the creature to him.

  Slobber and blood then moved from his wrist, closer to his neck, but only until he squeezed. A litany of scrapes drew welts from his neck, his chin and his face, the beast’s teeth feebly grasping at anything to regain control.

  Yet it was over when Fu heard its ribs fold, breaking under his might, and he dropped it dead where he stood.

  One remains.

  His next step saw him sway. A weakness of foot in which he had to right himself before proceeding. Behind the blotches still with his vision, the world seemed distant. Blurred, perhaps.

  His hand found his forehead, and an oppressive pain throbbed within.

  I have pushed myself for too long now.

  A low grumble sounded to his front, and the second [Spirit Beast] paced beneath a blurred annoyance of spreading white. He circulated the whip out, more a wild thrash to keep it at bay, and was successful for a series of heartbeats.

  Until it flashed again. Its Qi scoured the remnants of his vision, and with wide-open eyes, all that came back was white. A screen of impassable distortion.

  Fu cried out now, impressing his need for Hushi and hoping his Bond would react. A fear gripped him as he stood, blinded.

  Perspiration mounted on his brow, a salty sting as it trailed to mingle with his cuts. The rear of his foot touched on loose stone as he stole back, creating distance from the snarling and sharp snaps of the advancing foe. Immediately, his mind went to the gulley’s edge, though reason told him that he was nowhere close.

  With nothing else to do, he lashed out with his chain. Once, twice, and then again.

  I must keep it at bay until Hushi comes.

  Fu entered the movements he had practised, his simplistic, looping strikes. As he could not see, he found comfort in this.

  The canine leapt to the left, and he followed with it, guided only by sound. It retreated as his weapon’s head struck nearby, and Fu’s motions went with it. The [Air Qi] around him circulated, and strangely, it urged him to form a different pattern. His chain lashed out, and in turn the Qi it moved through felt… wrong.

  Minor adjustments, as though the flow did not agree with his placement. So he adjusted, and lashed, and stepped. In moments he was walking, and whipping. Minute movements, yet this set seemed to be in agreeance with the ambient Qi around him.

  To his great surprise, he felt the head connect, producing a horrid crack as it impacted into the canine, and then a final whimper.

  By the Heavens.

  Fu panted out a breath, overtaken by equal parts surprise and glee. “That…” He did not know why he spoke, nor what he was going to say, but the gentle heat rising in his [Ink] removed any notion of either.

  And Mei’s voice further removed that from his mind entirely. “Master Fu,” she exclaimed, followed by the sound of rushing feet.

  He tilted his head in his assumption of her direction, nodding. “Mei, I fear I must trouble you for help. My eyes are… I am glad you are well. Please, lead on, if you can.”

  ??

  Mei had described the narrow cave’s entrance to him upon their approach, and how where they walked was a border to the meadow and a shallow river on its far side. In their hour of travel, much of his sight had returned, counteracted only by his injuries, and the throbbing pain that occurred each time he had tried to hold his eyes open for more than a count of several seconds.

  Suffice it to say, sleep had come swiftly,

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Upon waking, he could confirm that they were indeed within a cave, and one far more sizable than where he and Hushi had first bonded. Above, a slanted recess extended far back into a soggy wall of collapsed rocks, far deeper than it was wide.

  Dark, if not for the glowing beast by Mei’s side.

  Fu rubbed at his eyes. He was in no way healed, and faint outlines still crowded his sight, yet not with enough solidity to block what lay before him.

  At his rising, Mei had dropped to her knees, her head bowed. In mimicry, the small, tangerine skinned lizard had done the same. “Master Fu,” she said. “This junior thanks you for saving her. I am pleased that you are awake.”

  “Remember, Mei. It is only Fu. I am master to none.”

  Mei shook her head most profusely. “Not only did you save me from those foul brigands, but to allow me to bond with my [Spirit Beast] and not take the core you so rightly deserve. Master Fu’s generosity knows no bounds.”

  There was a knot in the pit of Fu’s stomach that twisted to be addressed as such. Gratitude was one thing, and a thing he appreciated. But to go further than that, he was unworthy.

  “Think nothing of it. I am only glad that you are still alive.” He edged closer to her beast, and Hushi peered out from the brim of his douli, passing along curiosity through their link. “We have a strange circumstance. Our meeting.”

  “The cultivator that destroyed Thousand Shore City. All of this is strange to me, Master,” she said, her voice quavering. “Much… much…” Mei bit down on her lip, and Fu saw that she was trying to hold some projection of respect throughout this.

  Fu pressed a hand to her shoulder, and a sob followed. “We have all lost much, Mei. Our home and our peace.” He could offer her nothing more than that. Not an answer or solution, or even an assurance that what came next would be easy or joyful. For he did not know himself. Only holding the truth within him that his efforts in the [Mystic Realm] would see his family free. “I was never a rich man, not in tael or power. But I am rich in love, and this thought carries me through what we both now face. Do you have family to return to? A betrothed?”

  “My mother was in the camp by the [Reliquary]... before I left. When… she…” Her fingers tightened upon her knees, digging in, and dried filth ground beneath the tips. “The refugees there, the citizens of the Lower City… they are scum, Master Fu. What transpires there is of great shame.”

  The Lower City? She speaks as one not from there.

  Fu crossed his legs, pondering on this for a moment, processing her words. “Your mother yet lives?”

  “There is no living there. Only cruelty and violence. The Azure Shoal Sect is no more, and the guards of Thousand Shore City were not allowed passage. A [Mortal Grade Spirit Realm] only allows entry to mortals, after all. We cannot turn to any for help, and there are no powers here to stop the… injustices that carry on. The weak are caught between [Spirit Beasts] and immoral cultivators, forced to do their bidding or suffer their wrath. The last I saw of my mother was-” Mei’s fingers tightened again, and she pushed out a series of slow breaths. “There was an attack on the camp, a beast far greater in strength than the [Foundation] realm, and we were scattered.”

  Of her words, Fu wished to know the meaning of almost all.

  Resonant Qi held a lingering vibration at each of these terms she uttered, and a confidence, or perhaps simply an educated cadence broke through the further she spoke. As did guilt break through in him.

  A time and a place for all things, to ask would only lessen her hardship.

  “You have survived. It is not unthinkable that your mother has too.”

  “She will not have been graced by the kindness of a passing cultivator, Master Fu. Any there would sooner strip the rags from her back than help her wounds. When I ran… when I left her to those villains to save my own hide, I think she knew that she would not survive. Few could survive such a tragedy.” The [Spirit Lizard] swiftly zipped to her forearm, and Fu saw its tail coil around her finger as if for comfort. “None save for Master himself, of course.”

  She thinks too much of me.

  Being as he was, Fu found it mattered very little how Mei regarded him. He was always of the perception that acts were a far better judge of character than station, and allowing her to think he was some form of sect member did not sit right in his gut.

  At least as far as her address had led him to believe.

  “Mei, I am no Master to any but those younger,” he started. “My journey in this strange world of cultivation spans only days longer than your own.”

  She fixed him with a strange look at these words, and her Bond reacted in kind. It inverted itself on her wrist, widening the spread of its limbs to appear slightly bigger. “You are too humble, Master Fu. Your robes, and your weapon speak otherwise. The deftness of how the [Spirit Beasts] have fallen to you. By the grace of my mother’s duties I have lived in the Azure Shoal Sect since the day I was born, I would recognize a senior cultivator.”

  There was an extension of silence between them, and during this Mei’s eyes roamed about his visage. From cuts and scores, to his unkempt, near feral hair and features. In these seconds, her uncertainty crept forward, quite plain to see.

  “These are not the colours of the Azure Shoal Sect,” she finally said, gesturing to his robes.

  Fu stared blankly, unsure what to say. “Chance, or the Heavens led me to these. I am too less a man to know which. In Thousand Shore City I am a fisherman and a father, little else. Cast aside any notions you hold of me, Mei, as they are likely false.”

  “A fisherman…”

  He tilted his head to the side, almost apologetically. Not in regards to his vocation, for in that he held no shame, but in that he was not what she was searching for.

  Whatever that might be.

  “You saved me, all the same,” she said after several seconds, dipping her head once more. “A feat none others were willing to do. Gratitude, senior Fu. But I must ask why? If you are as you say you are, then-”

  Waving away the comment, Fu exchanged a slight smile. “My children. You have a bearing of them. Or you had when first we met. Now, I feel as though you are far older. At the very least you speak as one much older.”

  “They are within the [Mystic Realm]? Would your attention not be better spent searching for their whereabouts?”

  Fu shook his head. “I believe they are safe outside the [Paifang]. But I truly do not know. All of this is beyond me in so many ways. The Cloudy Serpent Sect, and their leader, Nu Wa, we-”

  “These are the villains? How do you know their names?” Mei leaned in intently, unapologetic for the interruption. Her [Spirit Lizard] was flung from her wrist in whatever form of excitement her arms presented, flying up above her head.

  The light outside the cave showed that there were many hours left in the day. A sight that Fu turned his attention to before replying. “How long do you intend to stay in this cave, Mei? If you are open to it, perhaps I would share my tale. And in turn, you might yours? My wounds need time to mend, and I feel conversation might hasten the process.”

  Sharing his look to the cave’s entrance, Mei then readjusted herself, making herself as comfortable as one might on a hard, stone floor.

  ??

  While his was not a long tale, the questions that surfaced during its retelling brought the pair well into the night. The night that Nu Wa and her Cloudy Serpent Sect invaded Thousand Shore City was as fresh in Fu’s mind as the moment it happened, and he surprised himself with the accuracy of what he could recall.

  Mei had proved to be an inquisitive sort, and had lingered on details that he himself had thought insignificant. In turn, she had told him of her life in the Azure Shoal Sect, describing her position as the Head Librarian’s aide’s daughter, and the benefits that it afforded her. As well as the challenges that remaining there as less than an outer disciple presented.

  “Is that truly what the lower-city citizenry believe?” she retorted, their conversation far more wayward and casual than when they had first begun.

  Fu settled Hushi’s flapping arms, stirred from slumber by the volume of Mei’s cry. “The difference between people such as us, and those in the sect. It is the difference between Heaven and Earth. We can only dream of what goes on there, and to hear your words… My mind is still set.”

  “Make no mistake Fu, the world of cultivation is far harsher than the reality of simple, honest work. It is a bloodthirsty, brutal competition, mired with hardship. The life of a trial disciple is a path set with ruthless competition for resources, beset by politics and violence. I speak from both outside it, and within, and it is not a future I would wish upon my children. Not for the benefit of three certain meals a day.”

  “You are jaded in your eighteen moons, Mei. Forgive me, but return when a further twenty have passed with emptied plates and many a [Winter] has chilled your family to the bone. I thank you for your insight,” he said. “But the Sect is where my children’s futures will be secure.” Fu rubbed at his jaw then, forgetting the fresh wounds the two canines had inflicted upon him.

  When his eyes widened after the wince it drew, Mei held a concerned look upon her face. “If you wish to cultivate to mend your wounds, Fu, I would be curious to see it. [Air Qi] is not in abundance here, yet it should be sufficient to heal you at what you told me to be your current stage.”

  “In abundance?” he asked. “I am poor at it, but I can feel the Qi here. Why do you say it is not plentiful?” To him, the cave felt thick, almost humid with the surrounding energy. No different from anywhere he had travelled in the [Mystic Realm].

  “If you do not mind me saying, each passing moment you impress me further. The disparity between knowledge…” She caught herself, as she had multiple times during their talk, returning to a manner of speaking that Fu thought she believed to be more neutral. Blunt, as he had come to know of her, but tinged with less insult. “You know so very little, Fu. Were we not in this situation, I might think the Heavens smile upon you for surviving this long.”

  The fisherman nodded, unashamed of his shortcomings. “A fall into a ditch will make you wiser.”

  “If you wish, Fu, I might help you avoid the next. I owe you a life debt, I believe it is the least I may do.”

  “You owe me no such thing,” he said, sighing. The thought of such a thing was revolting to Fu, yet a part of him immediately regretted his words.

  A greater understanding of cultivation would bring me closer to home, no matter how it churns my gut to think of such a debt.

  “If you could teach me, Mei, then I would consider our debt fulfilled.”

  When Mei ignored his first comment and started to speak, the tension in Fu’s shoulders slackened, if only by a mite. “Hushi is a [Spirit Beast] with an affinity of [Air], much as my own Bond has an affinity of [Sun]. We are both Bonded to only one, and as such our [Dantians] may only draw from the single [Qi] type that matches our beasts. It is the same for a [Water] aligned beast or [Earth] or any of the myriad types. My own is different, yet that is a topic for a later discussion.”

  “And you say that [Air Qi] is not abundant here?” he asked.

  “It is not. What you feel are the ambient energies of mingling [Qi] types. The emission that is present from each surrounding element, mineral or living thing. I cannot name the specific affinities in this cave, yet at a guess I would say [Water], [Earth], [Metal], and [Darkness], and these are among the most basic. The air here is stagnant and sparse. To begin cultivation here, Hushi would draw very little, and the overflowing energy from your [Dantian] would likely be insufficient to speed your recovery to the rate that you require it to.”

  She paused then, likely waiting to ensure that Fu had processed all she had said.

  “Overflowing? Only once have I felt such a thing, when taking the [Qi] stored with the [Spirit Core] of a wolf. My wounds mended within… it felt as though only a few moments had passed. If this is all I must do to heal then I will use another now.” As his fingers went to the pouch on his belt, Mei swiftly shook her head.

  “Not if you have done so recently. While absorbing a [Spirit Core] supplies an abundance of [Qi] depending on the cultivation realm of the beast it was taken from, it is a dangerous method and not to be done frivolously. Such expansion of your [Channels] is liable to burn them, doing irreversible damage to your future cultivation.” She relaxed as his fingers drew back, settling upon his knees. “To look upon your [Ink], you are a [Body Cultivator], and early in the path. Know that the more resilient your body grows, the harder it will be to repair the wounds you suffer. For now, this plays in your favour, as your [Resilience] has not outpaced the resources you have at your disposal.”

  Prickles rose on Fu’s skin, the cold sting of realisation. He had come close to using another multiple times in the last span of days, and only his frugality had saved him. Knowing the influx of Qi to be great, he had endeavoured to save his remaining cores for a truly desperate moment.

  My path might have ended swiftly, had I not encountered Mei. Saving her was truly a fortuitous meeting.

  “I fear that every time you open your mouth, ten more questions rise in me,” he said. “What of the Qi in my [Dantian] already? Can this not be used to heal my wounds?”

  “You have never emptied it fully, have you? In text it is described to leave a cultivator far weaker than they are, and from conversations I have overhead amongst outer disciples it is a pain like no other. No different than were you to drain most of the blood from your body. An act best reserved for places of safety.”

  “Yet it can be done?” he confirmed.

  “Many outer disciples have rid themselves of their [Inner Qi] during sparring matches, overextending themselves when performing their [Arts], or by amplifying their strength far longer than their reserves would allow.” Mei smiled knowingly then, and Fu wondered if he should make more of an effort to keep his facial expressions in check. “This I am surprised at. Is the Azure Shoal Sect’s [Surging Shoal Arts] not the pride of Thousand Shore City? Do the common folk not speak in reverence of the mystical techniques taught within the Sect’s halls?”

  “To spare your feelings, Mei, I will remind you that my days were spent upon the water, and my attention on the fish beneath.”

  Mei frowned at that, her eyes now distant. “Few will know the techniques now. A handful of wandering cultivators beyond the [Paifang]. Centuries of history, removed in an instant. A legacy wiped and soon to be forgotten. I…”

  “You are a cultivator now, Mei. It is not unthinkable that you might salvage some part of it. All may not be lost. Once we leave this place-”

  A surge of anger flocked across Mei’s face, and she slammed her hands atop her knees in protest to his words. Her Bond, docile until now, rounded her shoulder to show its shared aggravation, hissing in Fu’s direction.

  “I wish for your simplicity, Fu,” she snapped. “Are we to bypass the masses of refugees that surround the [Reliquary]? Are we to dodge the [Spirit Beasts] and violent cultivators that gather there, holding any who approach hostage? We are doomed to stay here, no matter this current break of levity. Our conversation is pleasant, and distracting, but you are a foo-”

  Fu’s face was unchanged, as in truth, he did not blame her for her outburst.

  She is weary, and young. That she has lasted until now is a show of her character. Ah, how she reminds me of Yuling. Resilient until they are not.

  Her rage simmered like a cooling wok, only with the occasional hiss. Perhaps it was his neutrality that calmed her, though all he knew was that in the space of a minute Mei’s colour had returned from its red flush.

  “I must apologise for my outburst,” she said, the tinge of rage becoming one of embarrassment. “An unfitting repayment and towards one so undeserving of it.” Mei then continued without pause. “How many questions rise now? Another ten?”

  “They number more than I could count,” Fu replied, granting a forced smile. “With all I do not know, you could fill a- You could fill a book.” Quite forgotten until now, he undid the second clasp upon his belt, withdrawing the wooden tome that Luo had left for him, passing it over.

  Much of his dealings with the hidden Alchemist had gone unspoken, and without such explanation, Mei’s eyes widened.

  More so when she peeled back the pages within. “A compendium, and a manual in one. I see now why you have faith on reaching the [Paifang], Fu.”

  “Oh? In truth, Mei, I had no reason to open it until now. Mark this as another ditch, though one I have always remained in.“

  Mei reversed the cover, where diagrams of poses and characters were interred within. “A ditch that I would be honoured to aid you in leaving.”