The Fourth Wall - Chapter 7 preview (Patreon)

Time passed quickly. Agonizingly painful in some ways, as Wu Ying struggled with the new burdens his weakened body and soul placed upon him, but also with some gratifying improvements. His sense of the wind returned in a week, allowing him to whisper requests to them once more. His control and ability to manipulate it had weakened significantly, such that he was uncertain if he could conjure up a cyclone as before; but every day his sense of the world around him had expanded. 

Along with it, came the firming up of his aura. The Dragon's Breath technique, that had once allowed him to pull wind chi from li away no longer worked; not as it stood. He had to make adjustments to it, tighten the widened scope and mix the technique with his own understanding of the Yellow Emperor's technique such that unaspected chi could come to him now.

Perhaps that was the greatest change; that he no longer cultivated wind chi alone. It was necessary, of course, to pull in some degree of wind-aspected chi; to consume foods that improved his wind body and take medicinal baths to leach out impurities. But the energy he cultivated, that he filled his dantian within; that was unaspected chi. 

It was a precaution, and though it weakened him and his control, it was also; in its balanced state, less likely to disrupt the balance of soul and body. It would not chip away at the buffer that had been created, or at least, at a lesser pace than utilizing only wind chi. And that was, obviously, important.

Other techniques, Wu Ying found himself altering, adjusting to his new state. Wind steps in their original form were brought back, the modified movement technique discarded. He would have to modify the technique once again, if he wished to achieve the same degree of speed as before; but it was just one matter admist a long line of chores.

His sword techniques and training at least had not been affected. Oh, he had to train to readjust himself to his slower body, the decrease in flexibility and the removal of techniques and methods that he he had before. That was, however, not unusual after all. He had done much the same - if in the opposite direction - over and over again as he progressed. Now, he was but remembering where had been. 

If anything, he was realising that the battle with the kingdom of Cai had grown his understanding of the blade. Not that he had made use of it much; but his experience watching all the other fighters and their styles had progressed his own training. He had seen different portions of the weapons, the way the sole remaining survivor of the Three Blades of Iron Gorge had wielded his weapon, the enlightenment and style he had used.

He was still no closer to finding the soul of the jian, of course, at least not on the thousand li long journey there he might have been considered to have taken a few steps. To reach the end, he figured, it was not a matter of hardwork but an intuitive leap in understanding that would take him to the end.

Something, perhaps, he might never find.

Training, meditation, healing. Days passed, as he found himself progressing by leaps and bounds. Yet, that period of consolidation came to an end soon enough, the continual progress slowing down. At the same time, his hosts began to drop hints, about finding new accomadation, of beginning his journey to finding his dao.

It was understandable. To aid his healing, to reduce the likelihood of further injury, they had shut the inn and shop down for months on end. Now, even though he was better; their weakness and their own recovery, their loss of precious materials and formations had left them vulnerable. He overheard more than one conversation, felt the occassional flicker of pressure of those hovering on the edges of the inn, making their presence known.

It was time, for the pair to reopen the Platinum Inn, for Wu Ying to move on. He had read over the letters passed to him by Tou He well enough, gleaned perhaps a little understanding from them; though the path that his friend had undertaken and his own were vastly different. What he grasped, most of all, was the degree of insight and wisdom shown in those letters.

It was clear that if there was a path, if it was somewhat in tune with the teachings of the monastery; this would be his next best step. More importantly, if he could make use of their spiritiual instrument, he might find a pathway forward even if he could not utilize their particular insights.

It was with that in mind that Wu Ying and the rest of the group got together three weeks after his healing session, their bags packed and stored away in their storage rings. They had said their goodbyes to the parents, Yang Mu sharing a hug with her mother and a stiff nod from her father, Wu Ying getting in two formal bows to the pair. Tou He's own leaving was warmer, but then again, the man had a way of ingratiating himself. Perhaps it was the simple aura of warmth and calm that he exuded that saw to that.

Then, it was over and the trio were sitting upon the steeds that they would be using for the majority of the travel. Wu Ying could fly, though like many of his cultivation techniques, doing so put a strain on his cultivation base and form. Rather than wear it away, the trio had chosen to ride rather than fly. In any case, neither Tou He nor Yang Mu were suited for long flights like Wu Ying had been, the constant drain on chi an issue for both. 

If he still had his control of the winds...

Once again, Wu Ying pushed the thought aside, shifting a little in his seat and grounding himself in the present. He was doing better and learning to focus, to situate himself in the now than regretting the past; but it was still a problem; a lesson that he had to continually practise. Like prodding an open wound, it would never heal if he did not stop doing so.

Anyway, there was something nostalgic about riding across a nation, crossing hundreds of li in a slow and regular manner. When he voiced that thought to his friends, it was Tou He who laughed a little.

"If you really wanted to recreate the past, you should get off the horse and run," Tou He said, turning a little so that he could see Wu Ying who was riding behind him beside Yang Mu.

"Run?" Yang Mu asked.

"Mmm, yes. He hated riding when he was younger. Doesn't like it when he isn't good at anything."

"But why run?" she said, confused. "Wouldn't he be left behind?"

"No, because he would also cultivate and use that energy to keep himself fresh," Tou He said. "Of course, that meant he was dusty and stinky; but he never cared about that. Or about those of us who had to sleep next to him." A slight roll of his eyes. "Some people."

"I washed!" Wu Ying said. "Or at least, wiped myself down well enough that it would not matter." 

"Mmmhmmm..." 

Wu Ying considered reaching over to smack his friend. He wouldn't of course - not least because Tou He could easily avoid him. 

"So you thought it was better to run than learn how to ride a horse?" Yang Mu said, ill-concealed amusement in her voice.

"It was good training," Wu Ying said. He tilted his head upwards, indicating the slow moving morass of chi above them; though it was no longer even mildly noticeable. Switching to unaspected chi and pulling from a wider area meant that only nearby him did it seem like the world was shifting to his needs, energy drained away as he cultivated. And it was only noticeable as it stood because of the amounts he needed to refill his dantian. "I learnt a lot from it."

"And that's my Ying. Always finding something to improve himself." Yang Mu reached over and squeezed his arm, before she tapped the small pendant that had been laid beside her saddle. There were identical pendants on each of their saddles, the twisted dao of space and time within them affecting their horses. "Though, I would not have agreed to us riding and not using other means if we had not access to the Day's Passing Saddles."

"Impressive use of the dao of time and space," Wu Ying said, shaking his head. "It's a pity it needs to recharge regularly though. And is so hard to make."

"A twinned dao of time and space, it's rare. Even when you have two crafters witht he appropriate daos, having them work together so closely is nearly unprecedented," Yang Mu said. "But it would make things much easier, would it not; if such works could be replicated?" 

"Most things of power require a significant investment and understanding of a dao," Tou He said, shifting to stare at the pair. "It's what I believe is a rule by the heavens - or perhaps it is just a necessity of the greater Dao -  to create a balance."

"What balance?" Wu Ying said, curiously. 

"If these never broke down, or could be somewhat easily created; can you imagine the changes it would force? Everyone would be able to cross nations in days and weeks."

"And that's bad?" Wu Ying said, staring at the undergrowth, the dry trees and their wilted leaves. There had been rain, of course; just not enough for anything to flourish. It was not a desert that they lived in, where a single drop was a marvel; just a time of reduced rainfall. "We could move food from kingdoms that needed it to another, we could have farmers selling their rice in towns directly or with fewer middlemen, getting better dollars. We could get fresh fish and food from afar."

"We could have nobles and their guards watching over a larger area, have armies appearing before cities within a day of being staged, entire wars waged and finished in a week or two," Tou He said. "Right now, only powerful cultivators have access to these items, or similar things. Only those with strength can fly, or travel across kingdoms. If they cause issues, they will be dealt with by others of their strength. And they can weather the dangers of the road, with ease. 

"Can a merchant? Will the increased traffic be allowed to pass through unmolested? Will it not rile up the demonic beasts and the spirit beasts that lie behind? How many would die, before kingdoms chose to send in armies, to peel back the forests and kill such creatures, destroying the natural beauty of the world?"

Wu Ying considered the matter. He knew why the talk of powerful beasts was coming up. He could sense, in the distance, lying in wait, spirit beasts watching them. Most were harmless, a stronger magpie, a massive spider lying in its web, a prowling lynx. Most of them were in the deep Energy Storage stage, maybe a few on the border of Core Formation. He could not, unfortunately, tell as well as he used to and the boundaries for beasts were different than mortals; so the differences were often arbitrary anyway.

Still...

None of them dared approach the trio. Though Wu Ying knew many of those creatures could sense his injury, it was the injruty of a powerful and dangerous beast. Something to be wary about, to be tested and preyed upon only in dire need - or if one was particularly daring. Some of the sapient demons that prowled the deeper parts of the wilds might choose such a fight, those who were enemies of mankind, but the majority of the spirit and demonic beasts would avoid him.

Nevermind the fact that he had two other, powerful, cultivators beside him. They were radiating their strength outwards, subtly guiding away any creatures that might choose to attempt the group. It was, as usual, safer to do that than take part in actual battle. It would not work,necessarily, in the deep wilds but that was the other reason they were riding.

Using the Day's Passing Saddle, they would cover three to four times the distance they would normally. It would only be usable for a few days before it required recharging, but by that point, they would have come to the river where even the fastest horse had trouble keeping up. Not to forget that there were cultivators and other enchantments that were easier to manage stationed on the fastest such ships, allowing the group to cross distances swiftly.

"Why aren't boats and their enchanted sails and water cultivators considered a problem then?" Wu Ying said. "So many cities are on the shores of the river or a lake after all."

"Because they don't cover all of a kingdom, and blocking a river or a canal is simple enough if necessary," Yang Mu answered the question. "We also regularly clear the rivers as it stands, but the cost of building ships is significant. A saddle on the other hand, if they were cheap as we were discussing, would be significantly less."

"Of course." Wu Ying fell silent, letting the movement of his horse carry him forwards, his body rocking back and forth gently as he did so, regaining that sense of movement that was necessary. It was a good workout in the core and hips and legs, though normally he would not have been affected at all. As it stood, he could only wonder if he would feel that old ache or if his strength had transfered over.

In the meantime, they covered ground, the Day's Passage Saddles twisting time and space. To the trio, and those they passed by on the road occasionally, it never seemed as though they were moving quickly.Not like the Thousand Stride Boots or other enchantments that sped up passage, transporting individuals across hundreds of feet in each movement. Instead, they just moved along normally; but every couple of strides of the creature was a little longer, the amount of distance covered a bit more, time a touch slower. It compressed and lengthened distance and time, all in a subtle manner that carried them on.

They ate lunch in the saddle, only stopping once in a while to rest their horses and stretch before they got on once again. In this way, by the time the evening came to an end; they were over a hundred li from the Platinum Inn.

It was when they were riding off to their resting place for the night, a simple travelers inn by the roadside, that Tou He asked the question that had preyed upon their mind the whole day.

"What do we do about our tails, then?"