Chapter 55: Arc 4: Chapter 4

Normally, the river that passed through the area was rather quiet. There was little of note around it, and few wished to trade through it rather than the Heart Lake at the centre of the whole region. Some did opt to travel by it and within it rather than elsewhere.

The few that even went near it were typically using it when the skies and stars were difficult to observe thanks to the thick canopy of the forest, or those that were not willing to bother with such things when they were escorting two people that lacked any knowledge of the local geography or much of anything, for that matter.

In other words, it included Xue Yaling when she was leading Bianca and Song Ming through the forest.

She had planned to bring them through with no major incidents, perhaps leading them towards some more hungry nests on purpose to test out the effects of Bianca’s energy again, but she’d bring them past the river successfully. What she clearly hadn’t taken into account, perhaps foolishly, was the presence of a large boat travelling upstream, propelled along with some kind of planar skill. There were no sails, so it wasn’t a vessel used by non-cultivators for sure.

Normally, such things could be ignored, since it wasn’t uncommon for travellers to run into one another at least once on their journeys, since the world wasn’t exceptionally large for cultivators or even ordinary people.

The issue was that she and the people on the boat spotted one another at the same time, and both of them recognised one another.

‘Shit.’

“Hey, Xue Yaling! We’ve been looking for you!” a man standing at the front of the boat spotted her right away, and he called out to her in such a manner that half the continent likely heard him. Any ideas that the kitsune had about running away had to be thrown right out of the proverbial window, so she quickly turned to the two behind her.

They were, as usual, a little slow on the uptake, so she cautioned them, “Don’t say anything to them unless you have to, and definitely don’t reveal anything that might be even a little interesting. As far as they’re concerned, we’ve just been walking without any fun for the past few weeks.”

“Wha-”

“Shut the fuck up,” she repeated, then turned to the people on the boat and presented a far more confident smile, “You lot should’ve known where to find me. More importantly, what’s Long Shiyi doing these days?”

“Wait, does she-” Bianca’s voice was, fortunately, cut off by the travellers on the boat.

“We’re gathering those who could be of use to her, and that includes you. You’re among the stronger kitsune, and unlike your sister, you’ve not sided with that monster in the south. While your realm is low, there is much you can do to assist the fight, so since you’re here, get on board. If those two are with you, then bring them as well.”

“… Fine, I’ll check in. Mind bringing the boat closer to shore?” she shouted back, then turned to the other two and lowered her voice significantly, “If you really, really want to ask questions, do so once we’re in a room with a shut door, so that I can block off all sound with my energy.”

“O-okay…”

She let out a sigh as she realised that she may have gotten a little too far too quickly with them, especially after pretending to grow closer with them, so she added, “These people are dangerous, and connected with Long Shiyi. The weakest among them in in the third realm. On their own, I might be able to beat them, but their combined strength is enough to turn me into a bloody mist before I get a word of complaint out. You two stand even less of a chance, and if you exhibit certain features, you’ll be caught and used however they wish.”

“Y-Yeah, we got it,” Bianca stuttered, although her terrified eyes certainly told a different story, “We’ll be quiet.”

“Good.”

In the time it took for her to get through that, going at the fastest pace she could without slurring words – while under the protection of her energy, of course – the boat had drawn close to the shore, and some of the sailors on board brought out a board to bridge the gap from land to river-faring vessel.

It wasn’t the widest piece of wood out there, only giving enough room for one of them to go up comfortable at a time, but from what boats Xue Yaling had previously seen, this was already rather luxurious. Apparently, that lot did consider her to be of some importance, even if her realm was nothing much.

‘I do have quite a few connections, but I had assumed at least some were kept hidden… As long as it’s not obvious I’m close to Li Cheng, things should be safe for the moment,’ the kitsune thought, letting the other two climb aboard first just in face they decided to abandon them once she went on.

That might have been a safe decision to make, since the ship did immediately pull away from the shore as soon as she set foot on it. The direction of the vessel also changed quickly, with any forward momentum it had being turned into backward motion, allowing the water of the river to carry it back. Most ships meant to be used by cultivators on the rivers of the continent were designed to function just fine in either direction, since appropriate movement skills were more than enough to drive a ship so long as it wasn’t simply pushing against all the water around it.

Thus, they were nearly symmetrical, save for things like the quarters on the inside, with the captain of most vessels residing on one end, the cargo being scattered on the sides to maintain balance when transporting heavier loads, and additional quarters and a cell or two on larger ships for when hostages or prisoners needed to be taken.

Even then, it was more convenient to label the front as being in whichever direction they were heading, and then deem board and starboard to be relative to that.

‘Of course, things are different on vessels in the ocean, but I’ve yet to be on one. Not sure I’d ever wish to, either,’ the kitsune followed the people on board to the far side of the vessel from where they boarded, ‘There is more than enough here for me to spend my entire life on. The things beyond would get rather excessive soon after I involve myself with them, I imagine.’

“So, have you gotten yourself more slaves, Xue Yaling? What are these two good at?”

“These two? Well…” she contemplated her response for a moment, since any longer would seem blatantly unnatural, “I was testing out some manuals I’ve found out in the world on them. You should remember my ambitions to finally step outside of simple ghostflame, so I thought it would be best to truly test some of my ideas.”

“Ah, that explains why they have such… odd forms of energy. How are your tests going? Can we expect you to write up something after that… first attempt?”

‘A Guide to Cultivation by Master Xue Yaling… a terrible mistake to mention my own name, and try to make myself sound like someone far, far more important than I really am, or was. And, of course, it’s the one thing that ends up being remembered by the world,’ the kitsune struggled to keep in a loud and lengthy sigh, “If I actually determine something of value from this, then perhaps. I know that I had made a number of mistakes in that work.”

“A few mistakes my ass…” some guy muttered, but a single glare from Xue Yaling was enough to get him to pretend not to have said anything.

“Well, not everyone might agree with me, but I do wish you luck,” the man that had shouted to her initially claimed, “I had happened upon your book when I was just beginning my cultivation, and while I was promptly told off, I found your explanations to be better than that of my teachers… Don’t tell them I said that, though.”

She would’ve deemed this as empty flattery if not for that needlessly personal story, so she decided to ask, “What is your name? I don’t believe you’ve ever properly introduced yourself.”

The man smiled and straightened his back, assuming a proud posture, “I am Mo Yu, of the Golden Painter Troupe. As you may be able to imagine-”

“Ah, a troupe. That would explain the teaching methods you described. After all, for those that are willing to gather into such dedicated groups, explaining things simply is entirely beyond their imagining. In comparison, I had been in the first or second realm at the time, and so my explanations were targeted at those in similar realms, even if my regular reading had gone beyond that at that point,” Xue Yaling recalled, her recollection confirmed quickly by Mo Yu’s profuse nodding, “I’m glad that my writing had been of some use, though even I would not advise sticking to it too closely.”

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“I will keep that in mind. Thank you for your guidance, and do not worry – my teachers have made sure that I don’t,” the man replied, giving her a slight bow while also providing her with the opportunity to finally pay attention to his appearance.

He was a tall man garbed in a scholar’s robe, with a number of paintbrushes hanging from his belt. The hair on his head was shaved to less than a centimetre in length, and he had no hint of a beard at all, with the lower half of his face instead adorned by thin lines formed by some kind of paint, which was more likely than the use of permanent tattoos. After all, a painter troupe using anything other than paint simply wouldn’t do.

“Painting archetype, right?”

“Of course.”

“Would you mind going into some detail regarding its principles? It might do quite a bit to advance my own research, and, well… maybe there’ll be a second edition of my book after all. This time, from first realm to fourth realm, and maybe even beyond.”

“Hah, at the current rate, I’ll far outpace you. I think I’m the one that’ll need to be writing a manual for you instead!” the man replied with a laugh, though that didn’t stop him from continuing, “The main medium of your skills – which I’ll not share, forgive me – is the brush, and the paintings are your meridians. Of course, this requires the second realm and higher to perform, but…”

 

‘What the fuck are they on about?’ Bianca glanced to Song Ming, who shrugged in reply, ‘Well, at least they seem to know one another, so that’s… something. I’d ask if it was alright for me to talk, but I get the suspicion that even now, it still won’t be safe… Let’s hope this goes better than the last two… last three times.’

She had to focus to keep herself from doing anything stupid, though it also seemed to distract from any seasickness that she might’ve experienced. Bianca didn’t recall ever being on a boat before, so whether she even suffered from such a thing was uncertain. Nevertheless, she wasn’t eager to make a poor impression, so she avoided even taking the risk. She even attempted to memorise everything being said, though it proved rather challenging to keep such ideas in her head. Whether they talked about painting, cultivation in general, or even the significance of the dragon and phoenix within traditional painting skills, it all slipped into one ear and only barely waited before dropping out the other.

After enough time passed, she completely lost track of things, and felt as if time itself has sped up several times, with the sun moving through the skies at a visibly great speed.

It was only when the evening came that Xue Yaling finally moved on, having already spoken with several of the people present at the very least. From what little Bianca did remember, it appeared that after seeing her speaking with Mo Yu so earnestly and for such a long time, the others were inspired to share their experiences as well. After she took a moment to think about it for a moment longer, she recalled that the kitsune seemed to bring up some things as well, which must’ve been what they were most interested in.

For whatever reason, Xue Yaling did seem to know more than most, so perhaps once they concluded that whatever book she’d written was an exception to the rule, they felt the need to join in and get what benefits they could.

‘If only I could comprehend any of this. I’m sure I could do something useful with it, perhaps break away from the Demonic Tyrant… though I doubt it would let me,’ she followed the kitsune and sighed as she went, “… Um-”

“Do be a little more patient. We’ll be begin the experiments soon enough,” Xue Yaling responded with the same tone she had begun using with the people at the deck of the boat, which promptly made Bianca stop her attempts at questions until they got into a cabin and shut the door.

Even then, she waited for a little longer, and witnessed faint greenish-blue flames appear on the walls, floor and ceiling, with the brightest flames manifesting in between the door and the frame around it.

“Alright, now we can talk. It’s not uncommon to want privacy even when one has nothing to hide, so most won’t peek at us, but if they do, note that my flames can’t stop their spiritual perception. At best, I can hold back those in the third realm, but for those in the fourth and fifth realms, the best bet is to notice their observation and simply play the part we’re meant to until they stop looking. Bianca, do you need to know how to figure this out?”

“Y-Yes, please.”

“Watch the flames. They’ll flicker, ripple and shift if something passes through them. I’m not confident at perceiving the spiritual perception of someone in the sixth realm, or the divine sense of those in the seventh realm and above, but my own observation aside, there’s no good reason for anyone at that realm to be nearby… Furthermore, they’d already know that we’re going to be keeping something quiet, so it would be pointless to try and hide it from them.”

All three of them looked around, carefully checking whether any part of the ghostflame barrier was flickering. Several moments later, none of them spotted anything, so they were able to relax a little.

“I guess people like that don’t leave anyone around them with any privacy,” Bianca muttered to herself, glancing at the kitsune as she recalled that one of her hobbies was to constantly peek at everyone with spiritual perception.

“It’s no different from simply eavesdropping on another, whether deliberately or not. Of course, it’s on a far greater scale, since that’s how planar energy tends to apply to everything. Farmers working on a plot of land can end up caring for vast regions all on their lonesome, soldiers can devastate armies with a wave of their hand, and those with interest in what others do and say can spy on whole cities without much effort…” Xue Yaling shrugged, “That’s the beauty of planar energy. It makes everything so… interesting.”

“Interesting… is a word, yes… So, what is happening?” Bianca asked, “What is this ship, how is it- never mind, and what are we doing? Where are we going?”

“Well, the way it’s moving is-”

“I deliberately stopped myself!” she exclaimed, lowering her head, “I know I won’t understand it, and more importantly, it won’t really help even if I understood it perfectly, so, let’s just focus on the important things.”

“This ship is of a type made for rivers. However, I know that’s what you meant, so stop pouting,” the kitsune waved her hand dismissively, “This ship is owned by people in Long Shiyi’s faction. I happen to have some acquaintance with them and with the dragon herself, so they’re bringing me along to a meeting of sorts meant to discuss the upcoming war with the Exarch. We’re going along with them since it is best not to provoke a dragon, even if it might be an ancient one long past her prime.”

“And the place we’re going… is Long Shiyi’s base of operations, so to speak?”

“Yes, more or less. It is the place where she publicly resides, though I imagine treasuries and other things best kept hidden will be elsewhere. For someone like Long Shiyi, whether a dragon or simply high realm cultivator, travelling a little to pick up something of value poses almost no trouble at all,” Xue Yaling nodded.

That made enough sense, and, more importantly, Bianca spotted a teapot, some cups and some things that looked like they may be suitable for the making of tea. She also realised that she was rather thirsty, having not had much to drink for much longer than she would’ve liked. The addition of her cock constantly trying to rise up at the slightest glimpse of something attractive certainly didn’t help her thirst – although it was more of a different kind of thirst – so any distraction was immediately appreciated.

“Um, can we have some tea? Would be nice to… you know, have a drink of any kind.”

“Sure, I can provide such a thing for you. That being said, I think you’ll need to take care of Song Ming for a while. Might as well do it while I occupy myself with this.”

“Hm?” Bianca turned and saw Song Ming looking rather pale, her gaze unfocused and clearly distracted from the conversation, “Are you okay? Wait, let me guess… is it the boat? Are you getting seasick? Riversick? That’s not a thing, is it…”

“… Y-Yeah, I think so. I’m not… used to this.”

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