The Fourth Wall - Chapter 21 preview (Patreon)

Author Note: Preview chapters are rough/first drafts. These chapters have not been edited, expect that there may be errors - however, feel free to point out consistency issues!

Tou He caught up with them a kingdom and a half over. By changing their robes and downplaying their auras, the pair managed to escape notice from those above. While it was not impossible to hide their cultivation base entirely, it was often not worth the effort. Certain social and governmental constraints – like the need for travel passes – were waved for cultivators. After all, there was always work that was needed to be done that was less than desirable – from cleaning sewers and moving of night soil to dealing with lepers and dead bodies. The prison population was often detailed to such tasks, and so, guards were wont to sweep those without the proper passes into such roles.

Even as wandering cultivators, there was always some degree of bureaucracy required for the pair. The registration of their presence and their intentions was at a minimum required, as no magistrate was comfortable with the free passage of such deadly individuals. 

Too many gathering at one time could easily cause significant trouble for a city – their prickly egos, competing daos and increased demands on local goods could lead to conflict that the mortal guard was ill-trained and equipped to handle. Even the local sects – or their equivalent – might not be able to handle too many such individuals, which was, of course the reason why keeping track of the movement of wandering cultivators was important. And, the occasional pointed conversation about overstaying ones welcome might need to be had.

Of course, as a gatherer, Wu Ying’s own arrival at various outposts, especially after his long trips through the wilderness had received a rather different reception. It was, in many ways, similar to Yang Mu’s own arrival, for they both carried with them goods for trade – or the promise of future trade. At least, normally it would.

“It’s lucky I knew which direction you two were intending to travel,” Tou He said, as he leaned on the table. A slight push of his own aura ensured no one would be able to listen to their conversation even as the inn grew increasingly crowded that evening. “Why the change of names?”

“You went through Sanshui?” Yang Mu said. He nodded. “Then you know of the Jin clan.”

“Yes. They wanted to host a dinner for me. I stayed for one night, because they had some dishes that they said they prepared for some ungrateful cultivators-” Eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“It was us. We had to sneak out, because they kept plying us with meals and drinks and challenges,” Wu Ying said. “They refused to take no – in any form – as an answer but would circle back when they thought we were ready to hear them.”

“I saw nothing of that sort,” Tou He said, gently.

“You’re still a little more intimidating than the two of us,” Wu Ying muttered, gesturing down at their own robes. While he was happy to dress down all the way to peasant clothing – even if the underlayers might be a little better cut than before – Yang Mu was obviously not. As such, he had chosen to upgrade his usual wardrobe to match hers, especially after being mistaken for her servant the first time.

Tou He glanced down at the sect robes he was still wearing. Both the delicate dye job, all of the same colour with none of the wear and dirtiness of travel showing, as well as the quality of the silk used for the robes themselves and the cut of it, was a marked difference from those worn by the pair. 

“Should I change too?” Tou He asked.

“It might help to avoid drawing attention,” Yang Mu said. “Though I’d work on your aura control further. It is good, but you still have momentary lapses.”

That made the Nascent Soul cultivator grimace. He had yet to fully stabilize his cultivation, bursts of uncontrolled energy as portions of soul and body merged or clashed flickering through his defenses. While the process of merging between the two was easier and less painful; mortal body being overridden and replaced by immortal soul; it was still a stage fraught with hidden pitfalls. The process of the merging, subsuming and over-riding was always dangerous and the methodologies involved all ranged from direct substitution to integration to destruction and replacement.

“I shall do so tonight,” Tou He said, eventually. As the waiter came by with the bowl of rice and soup for the cultivator, Tou He relaxed the aura to allow the passage of the waiter and allow the hubbub to filter in once more. As he did so, Wu Ying listened to the wind, ignoring the slight whining they conducted as they had been shut out by the other cultivator as well. 

Nothing of note was brought to his attention by the winds, the continual flow of air through the quiet town that lay in a slight rise in an otherwise peaceful forested land bringing a small smile to his face.

“So you ran away from a busybody clan. And changed your robes and names, and aren’t plying your trades anymore.” Tou He said, eventually, bringing the topic back to the start as he picked up a piece of jiggling, fatty stewed pork and regarded it with a small, self-satisfied smile. He laid the piece of fatty pork on his rice, used some of the cabbage inside the claypot to help scoop up more of the sauce and added it all to his dish before consuming the combined meal.

“Yes.” Wu Ying sighed. “We were losing too much time, talking to those who wanted more from us than we could give.” He reached out and gripped Yang Mu’s hand, giving it a squeeze as he continued. “The smaller villages were fine. But these large towns and cities, the clans are all demanding. And I know it is impacting your dao-”

“It’s not...” she protested.

“- but I do need to get to our destination sometime this year.”

“It’s not.” She said again, after she was sure that he was done speaking. “I already told you. My dao is not so fragile, that missing out on speaking to others would impact it.” A lip twitched as she continued. “There is even something to be said, about making contacts and connections with those who are not cultivators. As you might be realising...”

Wu Ying bowed his head a little. “It is not so much that, for I’ve always spoken with all those I meet. It’s just... better to see the world, in a different way.”

“So there is a change,” Tou He said around a mouthful of rice and meat. He swallowed when the pair glared at him, grinned as he sipped on the tea and waved to the waiter to bring another helping of the claypot pork before he continued. “I thought I sensed the alteration in you.”

“It’s not much,” Wu Ying said, modestly. “Just a small realisation. A way to stop myself from... conflicting.”

“With the heavens?” Tou He asked.

“With myself.”

“And that’s our Ah Ying,” the man said, mock morosely as he picked at the claypot again. “Only he could pick a fight with himself.”

“You know, there are other dishes other than the pork,” Wu Ying said, picking up the bok choy and waving it at his friend. “It might balance you out, if you ate some vegetables.”

“But I do!” Tou He muttered around his food. “There’s cabbage in the claypot!”

Wu Ying snorted. The group grew quiet as they ate the meal, though a minor battle occurred over the stewed pork as it was, without doubt, the best dish. It was good to have his friend back. Funny, how he had spent a decade traveling by himself and rarely feeling alone, and yet, after another decade and a bit with the sect; even a short period without his friend had felt strange.

People were such fickle creatures.

***

They left the next morning, Tou He leaving via the front door, attempting to ignore the clamoring envoys who had arrived at the crack of dawn to speak with him, invitations and gifts clutched in their arms. He strode right pass them, his aura constrained and in different robes but could not hide his lack of follicular development or his martial bearing.

While he was busy being accosted, Wu Ying and Yang Mu snuck out from the back door, managing to make it out of the gates before the Nascent Soul cultivator finally gave in to expedience and just left the group behind. 

Unfortunately, they were only a couple of li from the town when they noticed the pavilion at the side of the road, numerous attendants and cooks and guards awaiting their arrival. In the center, their aura unfurled and unguarded, a pair of cultivators sat.

“It seems we have been unable to extract ourselves as we wished,” Yang Mu said, mildly. “If someone had not been so obvious, it should have been possible.”

“I already said I’m sorry,” Tou He grumped. “It’s not as though I could expect you two were not intending to be seen.” He hesitated, then added. “We could ignore them too.”

“Not these two,” Wu Ying said, softly. He was listening to the wind, the central wind in particular murmuring about the pair, their extended family and their connections through the kingdom all the way to the court. This was not the largest of nations they would visit, but it would still take the trio at least another month to travel through at their current pace. 

“Intentions?” Yang Mu asked, curiously.

Wu Ying shook his head. The wind was offering him no news, their passive ability to gather information curtailed significantly by his drop in cultivation. Partly because he was no longer as close, as sympathetic to them as before. Partly because they required additional strength from him to pull disparate conversations and memories together, if he wished it.

He did not, knowing that such an action would leave him further injured.

“The pair are dual cultivators, at the peak or close to it of Core Formation,” Tou He said, quietly. “Old though, so I do not believe they will stepping into the next realm. Head of the clan and parents to at least three of those around and grandparents to…” Tou He trailed off, shaking his head. There was only so much that family resemblance could provide.

“The father has eight children surviving, the mother has six. Only three here though,” Yang Mu murmured, her eyes roaming the air and reading off a canvas that only she could see. “Eight grandchildren, the weakest barely worth calling a cultivator. The strongest a prodigy on the edge of entering Core Formation.”

“Prodigy indeed,” Wu Ying eyes had noted the lady, for the flow and pulse of dao and chi was marked. She was, also, seated beside her grandparents in a place of honor, next to two others of her elders. The third hung out behind the pavilion, chivying along the servants and guards. 

By the time they covered the remainder of the ground on their plodding mares, the trio had hashed out the details of the welcoming party and their own plans. As such, when they dismounted, it was Wu Ying who hung back as Tou He strode over with Yang Mu a step behind.

His own aura suppressed to that of the middle of Energy Storage, Wu Ying made to hobble and then curry their mares, expecting that it would be a while before they were able to leave. Keeping a half-ear out for the conversation, he nodded agreeably to the servants who scurried over, refusing to hand over the job to them. Even their gentle insistence did not budge his own ministrations, and eventually, unwilling to be rude to the cultivator, they fell back, leaving him to finish his work while supplying a series of simple stands for him to place the saddles upon.

He was grateful for that, allowing saddle pads to cool and dry in the sun and the slight breeze he conjured, currying the mares and letting them cool as he checked them over for stones and burrs. Wu Ying cared little for their equine conveyance, generally preferring his own feet but he refused to do a bad job just because he found the creatures smelly, slow and skittish.

“We do have servants for this.” The speaker walked up to him, wide eyed and young. Oh, so, young. She was doing something with her eyes, a little fluttering as she leaned a little to the side in a way that accentuated her hips. “There’s no need for you to engage in this. Someone as esteemed as yourself should be resting.” 

“I do not mind.” Wu Ying checked under the horse where the girth went, grimaced to feel how it was matting up with sweat already. Summer was never a great time for these creatures, even if they had already shed their winter coats. “It is already my task.”

“At least take a drink first.” He froze then, as a hand, delicate and small but surprisingly firm landed on his sword arm. Head turning from where he had been crouched, he saw her smile as she tugged on his robe. “Please. You’re our guest and having you do this, it shames us.” Lowered her voice, did that thing with her eyes and added. “Shames me. If my parents hear that we let you do this, I’ll be punished.”

He doubted it, but curiosity and the fact that she was not letting go of his sleeves drew him up. Wu Ying handed the brush over to the groomsman and followed the young lady to the seat.

“This one is Wu Er Hui, Honored Elder.” A slight bow as she stood up, handing him the cup of tea she had poured. No true artistry in her skillset there, though the tea was still better boiled and cared for than what he could have done. 

He took the cup from her, noted how she shifted her hands a little so that their fingers touched. She offered him that brilliant smile again, even as he introduced himself.

“And you are a student of one of the esteemed cultivators? Or just a fellow traveler?” she asked, curiously.

“Student?” he shook his head. “No, nor an apprentice. Just a friend.”

“Ah.” Her gaze flicked to the horses, to the inside of the open pavilion where the others spoke but their conversations were blocked by aura and formations alike. He could see Er Hui draw conclusions from it all. “And you’ve been with them long?”

“Many years. I’ve watched their rise with great pleasure,” Wu Ying said.

“I am certain it was enlightening.” Another small smile. “Yet it seems strange, to have a trio of such disparate and powerful cultivators traveling together.” She glanced down at his hands, up at his face, and then continued. “Do you wander then, or is there something specific that you seek?”

“A destination far to the west,” Wu Ying said, curious where she was fishing for.

“Ah…” She nodded. “For their progress or yours, then.” When Wu Ying only sipped at his tea, neither confirming nor disagreeing with her assumptions, she only nodded. “While the Wu family might not have the armor of the Duke of Qiu, we do have a number of contacts. And libraries. Perhaps, if we had more details, we could help…” She trailed off as Wu Ying shook her head. Immediately, she abandoned that line of attack and continued. “Nonetheless, we would be happy to host you and your… friends.”

“Not necessary. We have far to go.”

“They do, of course.” She sighed, tugged a little at her robe. Showcasing a flash of collarbone, opening it a little wider. “It is warm, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Wu Ying said, mildly. “I rather like it.”

“As do I…” A finger on her collar, then she moved it aside, leaving that same gap. “My father, he always complains about growing old and how tired he is, how his bones ache in the winter and throbs in the summer. He has his servants always changing the temperature, opening and closing windows and the like.”

Internally, Wu Ying could not help but laugh. Her attempts at manipulation and seduction were so blatant to him, and worse; her mentioning her father would have banished any desire he might have had for her. Being reminded of his old age did little for his ardor.

Though, perhaps some others might find it exciting.

 “Must be nice,” Wu Ying said simply, nodding in thanks as she refilled his teacup.

“It is. And I get the most of it, you know,” Er Hui complained. “All my other sisters have married, so now it’s just me. Of course, I can’t just marry anyone. They have to be of sufficient quality and cultivation strength. Even better if they have something to offer the clan…”

She’d dropped her voice then, made it grow a little husky. Somehow, managed to lean forward in such a way that the folds of her robe dropped open a little It didn’t reveal that much – the inner robes managed to hide anything too scandalous, but it was still a degree of flesh that was inappropriate.

“It must be hard.” He leaned back, rubbing his chin and continued. “If you have, perhaps a document, perhaps a portrait or two… we could carry some letters for you. Make some recommendations.”

“I...” Thrown off her thoughts, she peered at Wu Ying, attempting to judge his words. After a moment, the very first genuine smile bloomed on her face. “Really? I don’t have a potrait on me, but I could send for something. And a spirit crystal, perhaps? I don’t... this...” she looked down at her robes, adjusted them, touched her lips. Growing flustered, as she continued. “I think, yes, we could. If you didn’t mind...”