The Third Realm - Chapter 36 preview (Patreon)

“He did not look happy,” Wu Ying observed, staring down from the tower he had been provided to the courtyard below. Beside him, Captain Ren Fei laughed a little before clutching his stomach, the minor motion enough to send paroxysms of pain through his body.

“I would not think so. One could almost believe that they had been hoping that we might fail,” Ren Fei said. “But who would weaken the kingdom like that? Or lure a Spirit Beast to our oyster fields?”

Wu Ying glanced over at the man before he shook his head, refusing to be drawn in. Once the octopus had been killed, Wu Ying and the remaining divers had gone into the water to extract the creature’s Spirit Stone as well as much of the body as they could have.

In the depths, without a timer, Wu Ying also managed to sweep up a number of other treasures among the sunken ships, only to find a series of formation flags sunk deep into the earth. Extracting them had destroyed the still functioning formation, though Captain Ren believed them to be lures of some kind.

In the end, it was not a matter that Wu Ying wanted to concern himself with. Whilst he had been allowed to keep both the short sword he had located and the Nascent Soul spirit beast core of the octopus, much of the other treasures had been taken from him.

That had left Wu Ying feeling a little aggrieved, though their negotiation had not included the looting of the wrecks. In the end, he understood that the Viscount would need all the resources they could acquire to train a new gatherer in the future for their next delivery in seven years. Still, it had left Wu Ying somewhat dissatisfied, even if he was leaving with significantly greater resources, gear and knowledge than he had arrived.

Perhaps he was just growing greedy.

Or perhaps, he still bled in his heart for the destruction experienced by his orchards and fields in his World Spirit Ring. The forced expulsion of air had done significant damage to the still recovering ring, tearing apart fields, destroying embedded formations and ruining carefully tended plants. It would take months, if not years, to set all the work aright, especially after the losses from his prolonged period in the north.

“Where does the wind take you next, Cultivator Long?” Captain Ren asked, cocking his head to the side.

“I know not. Perhaps I’ll stay, for a little while longer,” Wu Ying said, a small smile on his lips.

The Captain said nothing, refusing to rise to the bait.

Giving in to his failure, Wu Ying shrugged. “I mean to explore the eastern coast for a while longer. See a few provinces, visit some villages. Perhaps spend some time on the ocean itself.”

“Really?” the Captain said, surprised. “Not that one who controls the wind like yourself would ever be unwanted, but I had not expected you to join the fishing fleets.”

Wu Ying smiled a little at the man’s surprise, before deciding to clarify. “I was thinking more than the fleets. I heard rumor of lands farther afield. Not just the land of the immortals, but lands where other races live. To the east and to the south.”

“Ah, the far merchants,” Captain Ren said, nodding in understanding. “We do not cater to them much, for our harbor has not the depth needed for those vessels.” Wu Ying nodded, having come to some understanding about the junks that plied the waters. Bigger ships, deeper keels, were more stable on the high seas which were important when one ventured far from sight of land. “Be careful though, Cultivator Long.” He grinned. “Some say that once the sea has taken your heart, no land will ever truly satisfy you.”

Wu Ying turned away from the courtyard to stare at the ocean. His lips curled upwards a little, before he shook his head. “It is beautiful, and quiet, and lonely. But I think, my heart will always be where my feet can touch the earth.”

“Understandable. At least, for a landlover, you have some appreciation of the true mistress of our hearts,” Captain Ren pushed off from the railing, nodding to Wu Ying. “I should inform the Viscount of your intentions then. I’m sure arrangements will be made to see you off in proper fashion.”

Wu Ying grimaced but nodded. After all he had done, it would be unkind and unbecoming of him to slip away in the middle of the day. The celebration tonight, for successful providing their tithe would be long and raucous. Tomorrow was more than early enough, for him to leave.

After all, there was still much to be seen, in this land.

***

Strange how things turned. From being feted at a Viscount’s table to working the nets for a meal and a bed in a fisherman’s hut. Hauling up the nets cast over the side of the boat, Wu Ying eyed the half-empty net as he dropped the contents into the boat. His companion worked quickly, grabbing and tossing certain fish and other bycatch aside that he did not want, leaving the bottom of the boat filled with only what he desired.

Whilst he did that, Wu Ying was rolling the net up, getting it out of the way and storing it, careful not to let the hooks and the net’s weights catch on his skin. Like the fisherman, he was wearing a simple sleeveless cross-tied tunic; stained with blood and guts from other fish they had gutted and cleaned.

“That’s the last,” the fisherman said, eyeing the bottom of the boat with distaste. “You sure you’re not bad luck?”

Wu Ying chuckled a little weakly, offering a little shrug.

The fisherman snorted and gestured to the oars. Wu Ying took them hastily and then paused for a moment before dipping the oars into the water and pulling. He did not exert his full strength – or even a portion of it – since neither the oar nor the boat would handle that well. It also had a tendency to scare the fish, which the fisherman had pointed out to Wu Ying rather loudly the first time.

Running a thumb along the wood of the left oar, newly carved with just a hint of sap left in the wood, Wu Ying guided the boat back to the small inlet they had left from earlier in the day. As they coasted in, the fisherman worked on gutting and cleaning the fish, his fingers nimble and experienced as he wielded the gutting knife. Each gutted fish was dropped into a clear pail of water, washed quickly before stored in another wooden basket for later.

“Maybe you’re not all bad luck,” Liu Ping, the fisherman muttered as he held up one of the largest oceanic catfish Wu Ying had seen. The fisherman’s hand exited the body cavity, a small demonic stone held in his fist before he dropped the catfish into the water. “I can sell those to foolish cultivators, for some good money.”

“Foolish?” Wu Ying murmured.

“Always hurrying, always rushing. They buy it all, grind it up, make pills and then eat it;” Goh Ping said, wrinkling his nose. “Makes them strong, makes them sick, helps them grow more powerful. Rushing around, getting money and cores and favors and risking their lives, all to be ‘better’.”

Wu Ying inclined his head, remembering another conversation with another heretic. Except, this time, the old man before him continued with a scoffing addition, offering Wu Ying a sidelong glance as he does so.

“Then they travel the world and come sit by my side, hauling nets. Might as well just stayed and hauled nets in the first place.”

Wu Ying snorted. “Maybe I just want to become a better fisherman. Uncle Goh is quite skilled.”

“I am, but there are better.” Goh Ping paused, staring at the fish in hand before depositing it in the tank beside him. “But really, I think you just want me to show you my wife’s manual.”

“That obvious, eh?” Wu Ying said.

“You’re not the first cultivator to come learn from her. Used to have quite a few come by when she was alive.” Goh Ping looked sad then, his head turned away to stare at the lapping water beside the boat. “Fewer now. And you’re not very good at hiding your strength.”

Wu Ying looked down at the broken oar, then found himself smiling a little. He was so used to hiding from spirit and demonic beasts, that he forgot that there were other things, other tells that a mortal could use to read him. Especially when he had progressed so far along the path, gaining strength from Body Cultivation aspects that imbued themselves in his body.

“I guess I’m not,” Wu Ying said.

“My wife used to say, a gatherer who can’t control their presence is a lousy gatherer,” Goh Ping said. “And I certainly have no intention of giving her work to an incompetent.”

Wu Ying chose not to answer the man directly, instead dipping the oars into the water and pulling. He eyed the crab trap buoy they passed, the little flutter of color that showed on the top indicating that they were coming up on the beach. Turning his head, he judged the distance expertly and dipped the oars into the water once more to allow them to glide in.

“Switch,” he announced after finishing that pull and offering the oars to Goh Ping. Once the ends were taken, Wu Ying stood and waited, watching as the boat glided to the beach. As it crunched on the sand, sliding upwards, Wu Ying jumped off.

This time around, he poured chi into his footing, standing on the water rather than letting himself sink as he skipped to the front of the boat. Gripping it with one hand, he lifted the boat a little off the ground as he slid the entire vessel up the beach, far enough for it to be grounded properly.

Goh Ping watched without a word, before he stepped out, water lapping at his sandals and toes. He bent low, grabbing one of the baskets and hauling it to his shoulders before gesturing up the beach to where the wooden dry dock awaited.

“Well, if you’re done hiding, put the boat on the dock and clean it,” the man growled before stomping off, calling over his shoulder additional instructions. “And take care of the guts properly.”

Wu Ying snorted, lifting the boat higher with one hand before he reached under and lifted it over his shoulder, balanced the boat in the middle. He stalked over to the wooden stands, placing the boat as instructed before grabbing at the metallic scraper resting beside.

Obviously, winning the man’s approval was going to take longer than Wu Ying had expected. Turning his head upwards, as the eastern wind played with his hair, he listened to it before shaking his head. Whether the book that lay in the man’s hut was the real thing or not, Wu Ying would not take without permission. That was not his way.

“Hurry up, boy. The fish isn’t going to walk itself to market!” The shout from Goh Ping made Wu Ying sigh, but he got to work. Moving faster, with swifter and more certain movements than anyone but a cultivator could replicate, he scraped the bottom of the boat. If the mussels and other debris that had accumulated on the boat was shaved off with the slightest hint of blade intent, well…

A blade was used for many things, not just killing.

***

“Ah, Cultivator Long, you still with that old grouch?” Merchant Chu said, leaning against the side of her wagon in the village. She was one of many traders who took the village’s afternoon catch to the nearby city the next day, travelling through the night to bring it to the city the next morning, then turning back around and coming back in the afternoon to do it all over again. Mild enchantments and a lot of salt kept the catch from spoiling in the summer heat, though haste was always desirable.

“It would seem so,” Wu Ying replied, hefting the basket and placing it on the side of the wagon. The nerchant’s sons took to weighing and counting the fish, moving with quick efficient motions while she led him a little way away. Not too far that he could not watch their proceedings, but such that they were no longer directly beside the wagon.

“You’ve lasted longer than most, but you know he won’t let you see it, no matter how much fish you haul for him,” Merchant Chu said. “He just likes to hold it over you cultivator’s heads.”

Wu Ying nodded in acknowledgement. Somehow, he was not surprised that even she had figured out his true origins. “Yet, many try.”

“Of course. Auntie Goh had even the king sending his own Gatherer applicants to her to learn,” Merchant Chu said, holding her head up. Wu Ying chose not to correct her, knowing that it was not the king but the Viscount. Still, the difference for one like her was marginal.

“It’s surprising she never passed it on,” Wu Ying murmured. “Beyond the Gatherers she trained, that is.”

“Ah…” Auntie Goh cocked her head to the side. “That’s why you’re so stubborn. You don’t know.” At Wu Ying’s blank stare, she continued. “She did. Auntie and Uncle had three children. The men went into fishing at first, with Uncle. The first was lost to a typhoon, the second to the wasting sickness.”

Wu Ying winced at the last words. That kind of illness was known to strike down anyone not in the Core Formation level at the least, their bodies unable to bear the burden. It was worse for cultivators in fact, for it borrowed the chi within a cultivator’s body and turned it on them. Entire provinces had been quarantined to stop the spread of such diseases before.

“It was a small outbreak, just unlucky.” She sighed. “The daughter trained with the mother, alongside the cultivators who came. And then, one day, another beautiful cultivator came along and well…” Auntie Goh lowered her voice, causing Wu Ying to lean in a little. “They fell in love. But Uncle Goh was always a stickler for tradition. He would not hear of it.”

“What happened?” Wu Ying asked. Sadly, such circumstances were all too common. Whereas some might not care – like the Pan’s, or even his own sect – other kingdoms and villages, worried about inheritances and the passing on of family names and heritages banned such practices outright. He had not, Wu Ying had to admit, checked into the local customs or laws.

“They left. Both of them,” Auntie Goh said. “She came back, a full cultivator like you, at her mother’s death. But Uncle Goh would not even see her and chased her away. Wouldn’t give her her mother’s book either.”

“So he takes out his anger on us cultivators, making us work for him. Humbling us,” Wu Ying said, drawing the conclusion she obviously had led him to.

The Auntie nodded then gestured to the cart where her children had finished counting and marked down the amount owed. “We can send the money onward, if you wish.” At Wu Ying’s silence, she continued. “No one will cheat Uncle Goh here. It wouldn’t be worth my reputation.” A nod to the surrounding fishermen and women who stood about, waiting their turn.

Already, the boys were working on another haul, sorting and weighing, though the youngest was perched, casting glances at Wu Ying. It was clear which son would be sent on that errand.

“Thank you, but no.” Wu Ying stepped towards the wagon and when Merchant Chu stepped with him, he picked up the pace. “I’ll take it back.”

“It’s good to finish what you start,” the Merchant said, smiling. “And you, of course, have things to pick up.”

“Oh, I’m not leaving. Not yet,” Wu Ying said. Surprise flashed across the Merchant’s face. When she did not ask, but obviously wanted to, Wu Ying took pity on her. “It’s not time to move on.”

“And when will it?”

“When the wind wills.” It amused Wu Ying a little, that there was a similar saying among the fishermen here.

“So you’ll do all his scutwork and errands?” Merchant Chu said, incredulously. “Knowing there’s no reward?”

“No one promises you a reward, not in this life. Not at the end of it or even when hauling up your nets.” Wu Ying shrugged. “We can only sow our seeds and do the work. If the gods will it, the harvest will be plentiful. And if not, the work itself can be reward enough.” A slight twinkle in Wu Ying’s eye at the end. “So long as one has enough to feed oneself, at least.”

His words gained a few approving nods from the fishermen though the Merchant just rolled her eyes. She dropped the coins that was owed into Wu Ying in his outstretched hand and waved him off, turning to the next customer.

Smiling a little, Wu Ying walked off, his aura still tightly constrained. Eyeing the village and the night sky, he made a decision to do a little more shopping. Perhaps Uncle Goh might enjoy fish without many vegetables and a meager ration of salt and rice, but Wu Ying was a cultivator with a cultivator’s appetite.

And if he was no longer trying to hide his status – even if none knew the extent of his strength – then he might as well spend like a cultivator too. Humming to himself, Wu Ying made his way to the shops, already putting together tonight’s dinner in his mind.