The common joke about Sleeping Ruin Pass was that it was named by anyone who listened to a historian trying to describe the region’s history. Countless cities and people had come and gone from the mountain, building villages, towns, and even cities, before they faded away like mist in the morning. Wooden ruins rotted away over the centuries, but the fragments of stone survived the millennia.

  The trail was well-traveled, winding as it did between broken forums, passing statues and pillars that stood like pale trees in the forest. The river flowed down from the mountains gentle and cold, and the bottom was littered with tiles and masonry, fired clay, and marble.

  Chen Ai bathed in a slow-moving bend in the river, leaning upon a fallen pillar as though it were a bench in a spa. She cared not for the history of the place, nor the ghosts of people past, and thought of the traces as a mere makeup of the world, rather than a reminder of entropy and inevitability.

  After all, she was a cultivator. Why fear the death she knew she would escape?

  Some birds napped in the trees overhanging the water, but there was nobody else around. Even the man she traveled with had walked further upstream to give her privacy. Though with how easily he could vanish from her spirit senses, he could be standing in the water behind her, and she wouldn’t even notice.

  Not that she would mind… not entirely… a smiling face combined with saving her life tended to boost her opinion of someone, even when they insisted on acting all enigmatic.

  He even refused to tell her his name!

  Oh well. Everyone was entitled to their mystery, she supposed. It was honor, not curiosity, that compelled her to follow him.

  She scrubbed away the worst filth from skinning the snake with handfuls of river sand, before swallowing a small pink beauty pill from a vial in her pack. Her qi quickly broke down the pill and passed the complicated essence through her body. Within moments, dead skin, split ends, chipped nails, and blood stains floated downriver, leaving her feeling and smelling as fresh as new grass shoots.

  Rejuvenated, she floated in the water for a moment, not quite meditating, not quite cultivating, but reaching out with her spirit senses into the forest surrounding the river. She felt the mountain’s breath passing through the trees and the odd whistle as it passed through the statues eroded into flutes. Her eyes closed, as fish swam beneath her, and a lazy cloud drifted slowly overhead.

  Whatever moment she found herself in, passed, and she waded over to where her robes hung drying from a low branch overhanging the river.

  The snakeskin was cleaned and wrapped in a bale around the snake’s fangs. Twine kept it from falling apart, but even when packed tightly, the bundle was almost larger than her. It was surprisingly light enough to carry, though her Ox Bloodline made many things light, and her eyes practically flashed with the thought of how much money it would make her. Definitely enough to replace her threadbare robes.

  Maybe enough to buy a storage ring.

  Beside the snakeskin were her shoes, her sword, and her overstuffed traveling pack.

  She pulled a pouch from her pack and took a handful of spirit grass. The two-star herb practically vibrated with qi, and she shoved it into her mouth and started chewing. Practice helped her form a thick cud as her Ox Bloodline drew the wood qi from the spirit grass and condensed it into her dantian.

  She had recently broken through to the 7th Stage of Qi Gathering, and while it would take a lot more grass than what she possessed to reach the next rank — and to bridge the chasm that was breaking through to Foundation Establishment — she knew she was filling her dantian at an acceptable rate.

  A week ago, she would have said she was cultivating at an exceptional rate. Just turned twenty-four and almost at the peak of Qi Gathering without the backing of a sect or a clan… but after her effortless defeat at the hands of the Flawless Blade, her almost death in the belly of a snake, and encountering a Blessed Physique… she barely felt adequate enough to call herself a cultivator.

  With a sigh, she dressed herself and secured her jian to her hip. Her hand trembled above the hilt. The injury across her chest and shoulder still felt tight, but the small pink pill and her robust cultivation had almost completely healed the wound.

  There was a slight tightness to her muscles, but it was fading, and she could move without fear of reopening. This was a perfect opportunity to work through some sword forms… but even when she forced herself to grip the handle, she couldn’t pull the blade from the sheath. After a few deep breaths, she abandoned the effort. When her injury was fully healed and the tightness was gone, that’s when she’d resume her practice of the sword.

  Securing the snakeskin bale onto her pack and lifting the whole affair onto her back, she hiked upstream to meet up with her mysterious traveling companion.

  ###

  As Chen Ai neared a thicket of bushes, she heard her traveling companion muttering to himself.

  “I know, I know… “ he said.

  Actually, that didn’t sound like he was talking to himself. Who else was there? Her curiosity taking over, Chen Ai set down her pack and crept forward. With her qi wrapped as tightly around her body as possible, she even stopped chewing the spirit grass cud, her entire being radiating silence as she snuck up to the bushes to peek through.

  The mysterious man stood half-naked as his black robes dried on a nearby branch. Sunlight lit the lean muscles on his body. He wasn’t particularly tall or handsome, but his body looked as though he had broken it down to base essentials and rebuilt it into a weapon. Not a shred of fat on him as he moved through a moveset of a style she didn’t recognize.

  Punches and kicks moved in a circular pattern, and though he shifted his feet, he wasn’t advancing. It was a strange combination of offensive attacks and stalled momentum, as though he were rooted in place.

  “This doesn’t feel right,” he muttered as he shook his limbs, before starting again. "How am I supposed to be two things when I'm only one?"

  She couldn't help but repeat that mysterious statement to herself. Did he know she was here and so deliberately spoke to mislead her? Spying on another's techniques was the height of intrusion, but if she owed this man a life debt, then it was only fitting that she knew more about him. After all, even oxen examine the grass before they graze.

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  He repeated the moveset again and again. Though she didn’t know the end goal, she could tell he was getting closer to whatever it was he strived for. Often, he would frown before moving over and crouching in front of the cabbage, finding some form of enlightenment from that vegetable. He whispered to it, but even her Qi-enhanced hearing couldn’t pick up what he said. Every time he rose, there was a look of renewed determination in his eyes.

  What was with him and the cabbage?

  He paused at one point and looked around, his eyes passing over the bush where she sat, and she froze. If he saw her, he didn’t acknowledge her at all.

  “It’s all wrong,” he murmured to himself. “I know what I’m meant to do, but my body doesn’t work like that.”

  She was familiar with spiritual herbs and was almost certain that the cabbage wasn’t one. Could he be studying the decay? There was certainly an aspect of decay in the style he was practicing.

  It wasn’t defensive. When she tried to imagine him using it in a fight, he was so full of openings it was as though he wanted people to land hits on him… but that was insane. Who would practice such a suicidal style?

  But, it was undeniable that he defeated the serpent that had swallowed her so fast she couldn’t even draw her sword. There must be something to his style that she was missing, but what?

  The sun passed its zenith, and she felt guilty about wasting time, but this was too interesting. She kept watching, telling herself she wasn’t intruding and was simply collecting information on the person who had rescued her.

  The last time he performed the moveset finally paid off her curiosity. This time, he truly moved. His muscles swelled until she could see the grain beneath his skin, the blood pumping so fast it was like iron heating in a forge. Sweat steamed from his skin as he rushed through the moveset, dancing in a circle. Suddenly, the suicidal openings looked like traps. He didn’t move faster than she could follow, and she was sure that she could match his speed if she pushed her cultivation… perhaps he knew she was there, and so didn’t reveal the full extent of his speed?

  With a final punch into the air, he let his stance fall and shook them off before wading into the river. As he washed off his glistening muscles, Chen Ai realized what had bothered her the whole time.

  Not once had his breathing grown heavier. Not once had the exertion strained him. It was unnatural. Who was he?

  He started to put on his robes, and she decided that she’d snooped enough. Resolving to bury her questions, she snuck back to her pack, before returning with heavy footsteps to announce her presence.

  ###

  Despite my inability to feel pain, my body felt sore after training in Cabbagy's Style. Though there was clearly a method to his instructions, I was sure that the human body wasn't meant to work like that. The fact that I could feel myself approaching the technique was sort of worrying. I didn't want to think I wasn't human, but I suppose it made sense that blood manipulation could cross such gaps.

  Chen Ai, Cabbagy, and I continued our hike up the Sleeping Ruin Pass, and the path led to a treeless combe filled with wildflowers. The sun was high in the clear sky, but the afternoon heat was bearable as we climbed ever higher. As we passed ancient shrines and flower-choked ruins, we stopped and gazed out at the land stretched beyond the mountain. With the air so clear, we could see until the world curved away on the horizon.

  The sight reminded me of my time traveling with my father’s caravan, but the nostalgia was gentle this time. It was enough to wash away my frustrations with trying to learn Cabbagy Style.

  Cabbagy had pointed out Chen Ai watching, and I’d hoped she might have some pointers for me, but she held her tongue, and since she didn’t bring it up, neither did I. Cultivators must all have their secrets, which was something I would have to keep in mind if I was going to pretend to be one.

  Chen Ai proved her worth every time we found a crossroads or a fork in the road. Despite the presence of spirit beasts, there were far more hunting lodges and small hamlets on the mountain than I’d expected. Every time, she knew the way to go, and so we continued climbing higher, crossing ravines and rivers with bridges constructed over the centuries.

  I found Chen Ai to be a delightful traveling companion when she wasn’t needling me for information. Though the first day we spent together had been largely questions and veiled accusations, we’d settled into a mostly silent routine. Even Cabbagy mostly just rested in his position tied to the top of Chen Ai’s towering pack.

  It was nice not to carry him.

  My concerns that traveling with a cultivator might result in her detecting the demonic presence in my body and trying to kill me had mostly faded.

  “It’s weird how you don’t talk,” she said as we crossed a rope bridge over a steep ravine.

  I rolled my eyes. So much for peaceful silence.

  “I talk,” I said.

  “Hmmm.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  We left the rope bridge and continued up a trail. Though I tried to keep silent, I eventually broke.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Oh? Talking now?”

  “I talk!”

  “Ok,” she said with a grin. “Sure.”

  “What are you insinuating?”

  “I think it’s all fake,” she said as she poked me in the chest. “I think you’re just pretending to be all mysterious so that you can impress nobles into giving you gifts. I bet you’re not even a Core Formation cultivator.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m not a Core Formation cultivator.”

  “Exactly!” she cried out. “Which means you’re… damn, I still can’t tell. What level is your qi?”

  “I’m not telling.”

  She stomped the ground hard enough that I felt it shake.

  “You can’t do that! You can’t act mysterious after I call you out on it!”

  I shrugged and suppressed a smile. There was a familiarity to this banter, as though I’d had a similar conversation with someone long ago.

  “I think I can? Hmmm, yes, I certainly can. Come on, let’s keep walking.”

  “At least tell me your name.”

  I sighed.

  “I told you, I don’t remember.”

  “But I don’t even know what to call you!”

  “Sounds like a you problem.”

  I couldn’t help grinning as she groaned behind me.

  We made good time up the rest of the pass, and as the whisper of evening settled into the sky, we approached a settlement of tents, rough wooden shacks, and wagons. There was a hastily erected fence protecting horses, mules, and oxen. People milled about cooking fires or talking to each other; most of them looked at us as we approached with mixed expressions of hope, disdain, or appraisal.

  “What is all this?” I asked Chen Ai. “I didn’t think there was a town at this point of the pass.”

  She frowned as she took it all in.

  “There isn’t,” Chen Ai replied. “These are all merchants and travelers, you can tell by their wagons. This is where they wait.”

  “Wait?”

  “They’re stuck here until someone defeats the Flawless Blade.”

  Now I frowned as I looked at the mess of people. Delays for a merchant could become ruinous. Chen Ai had only told me a little bit about the swordsman causing all this trouble. Apparently, his blade was so sharp that people didn’t even realize they were sliced in half until they slid apart.

  Showing off your skills was no reason to delay people who were trying to live their lives.

  I could feel a cool anger rising.

  “This won’t do,” I said. “I need to get to the Great Northern Mountain.”

  “Then you’ll need to defeat the Flawless Blade,” Chen Ai said with a shrug, though there was poorly disguised discomfort in her eyes.

  Her expression sent my anger branching through my brain like frost across glass.

  “Fine,” I said. “Where is he?”

  A fat merchant approached us.

  “Oh?” he said. “Are you a new challenger?”

  “Sure,” I said. “Can you point me in the right direction?”

  The merchant was a fat man with a long beard and rich yellow robes. He held onto his belly as he chuckled, as though worried it might roll down the mountain.

  “Not so fast, my friend,” he said with a smile. “We must place bets! How else can a poor, starving merchant such as myself eke out any profit in this trying situation?”

  Chen Ai scoffed.

  “Starving? Really?”

  I didn’t have time for this, so I cupped my hands around my mouth.

  “Oi! Flawless Blade! I’m here to kick your ass! Hurry up and show yourself if you’re not too busy eating soup and wiping your nose!”

  Everyone around us froze as my words echoed out. Chen Ai and the merchant stared at me with pale-faced horror. Cabbagy grinned.

  “That’s the spirit, kid!” Cabbagy said with a grin. “Fuck him up!”

  “My friend, " said the merchant as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Why would you say that?”

  I shrugged.

  “To get his attention.”

  “But why would he be wiping his nose?” Chen Ai asked me.

  Before I could reply, a wind rippled through the camp. The mortals paled and collapsed to the ground while their livestock brayed and stomped. Even Chen Ai looked weak in the knees, but I held out a hand to keep her upright.

  She leaned against me gratefully as ominous footsteps approached through the now silent camp.

  “I think you got his attention.”

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