The Third Cut - Chapter 22 preview (Patreon)

The rest of the day passed in relative peace – if you called warding off intrusive personal questions from Minh Trac peaceful. The man seemed to not understand why anyone would be unwilling to provide personal details, muttering about the lack of accuracy in his fortune telling without such information. Be Long had no choice, and Tou He was content to provide his own details with only the mildest of prompts, but neither Yang Mu or Wu Ying cared to indulge the man.

In fact, it had gotten so bad that Wu Ying had discarded his horse to be led by Yang Mu while he took to scouting ahead of the entire group, flitting from tree to tree and branch to ground with ease, the wind swirling around him.

Dinh Don followed along gamely, the scout only staying a bare couple hundred of feet ahead of the rest of the team. Wu Ying understood that his reluctance to travel too far, for the dense woods cut down the distance that a spiritual aura sense could extend. What use was a scout that could not report back?

On the other hand, Wu Ying cared little for that matter. The entire group were slow moving on their horses, even if Bich Trang seemed to exude a low-grade wood aura whose focus was less on plants but creatures, benefiting the steeds they rode upon such that they were able to travel without slowing.

Even suppressed, the combined auras of the group exerted a subtle pressure upon the world. External chi swirled, drawn in by Wu Ying’s Never Empty Wine Pot method and, on a more localized basis, the studious bookworm Phuong Vy. He had been surprised when he recognized the gentle touch of a fellow moving cultivator in play, though her method seemed more localized, the chi she drew upon more general. Unlike his own technique that drew upon wind chi exclusively, she took in everything but strained it through her meridians to alter it to suit her own needs.

That was not the only surprise the army unit had brought with it. It had taken Wu Ying nearly the entire day before he noticed the bird that had been watching them high above. It was because of its constant presence that Wu Ying finally noticed it, gliding as it was high above them. No bigger than a small dot in the beginning, it was as the creature came to land at night that its true size was apparent.

Wings flaring wide, the bird – a raptor of some form, Wu Ying assumed from the turn of its beak – flared its massive wings, landing on a nearby fallen tree trunk gently as the group prepped for the night in their chosen clearing. Seated with its wings folded, it looked only half the size of one of their horses, though its wingspan easily dwarfed the beast. In fact, if not for the gentle pull and pulse of the Colonel’s aura, their steeds would have bolted already at the presence of the bird.

“Yours?” Tou He asked curiously as Bich Trang approached the bird, a hand fishing in a storage pouch by her side to extract strips of meat for it.

“Yes. My bonded beast companion,” Bich Trang said. “As I told you before. We do not rely on a single point of failure.”

“Beasts…” Wu Ying shook his head, walking closer. The bird turned its head, slow blinking eyes regarding him with a predatory gaze that set the hairs on the back of his neck alight. “I understand only a little about them. They’re not common among my sect or kingdom.”

“Raising a spirit beast requires a significant amounts of beast meat on the regular along with access to beast cores. Worse, tamed spirit beast meat isn’t sufficient in itself, or is required in very large quantities. It’s very expensive and difficult for those without our resources,” Bich Trang said. “Even then, the numbers are limited in availability here. Maybe one in a fifty cultivators are able to have a beast, and then few of those ever ascend.”

Yang Mu walked up, crouching down to stare the raptor in the eye. It returned her regard with that placcid calm of a predator, as though its consideration for swallowing her whole was just a small facet of its life.

“On the other hand, Nanyue has been raising spirit beast for so long they have quite the variety in the upper echelons. They slow down even more significantly in their aging process than mortal man does, do they not?” Yang Mu said.

“We do. They are a strategic reserve, one of the pillars of our kingdom’s independence. Families from all across the country pass on the bond as needed,” Bich Trang replied. “Sao Choi is one of mine.”

“Nascent Soul bird,” Wu Ying said, understanding at last what he had been feeling for so long and not been able to grasp. It controlled not the wind but something close to it, a higher concept. Air in itself, instead of wind perhaps, or a portion of that air. He could not understand it, not really. “They are rare. They’re more fragile in the early stages. Dragons can be touchy about sharing the skies. Even more so when it’s a creature they see as lesser to begin with.”

“Yes,” the Colonel smiled as she stroked the bird. “We are fortunate to have managed to raise Sao Choi as well as we have.”

“How do you pass on the bond?” Wu Ying asked curiously. “I understand such bonds, between spirit beast and cultivator is one of the most important aspects. Too lax a control, and the beast will consume the cultivator. Too strong, and they will flee. And such bonds must be rebuilt each new owner.”

“You understand well, for one who has not trained in the arts,” Bich Trang said.

Wu Ying shrugged, waiting for an answer.

“It requires significant time and training. We begin the bonding process at a young age, designating heirs by family line. In this way the bond is like steel when the time comes for such a change,” Bich Trang replied, offering a genial smile at Sao Choi even as it continued to eat.

Tou He chuckled. “Almost makes us seem superfluous then, having a Nascent Soul spirit beast with you.”

“So I said, and yet you all insisted.”

Yang Mu shot the ex-monk a glare, to which the man just shrugged before turning away to wander back towards the center of their clearing. He began the process of digging into the earth, striking it a few times quickly to stamp down the loose ground and forming a small pit. A couple of metal rods were withdrawn from his ring, allowing him to set posts next to the soon-to-be fireplace.

“What are we eating?” Tou He asked. “And did we discuss cooking rotations? Because I think we should discuss cooking rotations. And dinner.”

Dinh Don wandered over, armfuls of wood in hand that he deposited next to Tou He. “I completely agree. We should discuss dinner. But I’ll be cooking.”

“Are you a good cook then?” Tou He said. “Because Wu Ying really isn’t.”

“Hey!” Wu Ying protested. “You haven’t seen me in ten years. I could have gotten better.” Then, frowning, he added. “I’m not a bad cook either!”

“You’re not a good one though.” Tou He lowered his head and faux-whispered to Dinh Don. “He uses the same five spices all the time. The only thing he varies is his vegetables, and even then, with access to the whole forest, he falls back on his own favourites.”

“I like what I like,” Wu Ying said, crossing his arms. It hadn’t been that bad – and it was not as though they had much time to do cooking, or he had been relegated to that role solely. So what if he wanted to go back to the meals that he enjoyed regularly?

“See? I bet he hasn’t changed in ten years,” Tou He said. “For the wind, Wu Ying can be quite steadfast at times.”

Turning his attention back to the bird and the Colonel, he watched as the creature tore into the massive carcasss that Bich Trang had taken from her ring, watching the creature fondly. Now that he looked more closely and with more context, he realised that she looked less like one who watched a pet and more a familiar granduncle.

With a shake of her head, Bich Trang turned away from the creature as it consumed the meal and focused upon the group. “The monk is correct. We should speak more about our daily duties and go over the plan again.”

Yang Mu let out an unhappy groan, having left to finish putting up her tent when Sao Choi had begun to feed. Still, the group gathered around the makeshift campfire, lit already by the simple expedience of Tou He using a touch of his fire chi and began the discussion, the Colonel taking the lead on the matter.

Wu Ying stayed a little behind, to listen, to watch and, of course, to learn.

***

It took them three days before they ran into trouble they could not avoid. The group had agreed to stay away from any demonic beasts they could, as constant battles would do little for their goals. Every night, the two formation masters interlayed new formation flags around them to help cleanse the bodies of the cultivators from lingering taints, hide their presence and also cleanse the corpses of creatures they killed for Shao Choi to consume.

Dinh Don had reined his horse in along the deer track they had been following, waiting for the group to arrive before he lowered his head to speak with the others. Wu Ying had drifted back not long before the rest of the group arrived, having sensed the scout’s intentions through the wind.

“We’re being stalked,” Dinh Don said without preamble.

“Who and how many?” Bich Trang asked.

Be Long, near the back flinched a little. Wu Ying had noted his growing unease as they had delved deeper into the wilds. Yang Mu, recognizing the same discomfort that she too had experienced when she first travelled with Wu Ying had taken to riding beside the city dweller, engaging him with conversation as a distraction. Too often, as far as Wu Ying was concerned. He would not learn to handle the wild if he was distracted by the woman.

“I’ve spotted five figures so far but I expect there to be more,” Dinh Don hesitated, then looked at Wu Ying for confirmation.

“Seven in total. There might be one more, whose ability eludes me; but I believe it is a beast companion instead. One deeply steeped in the dao of shadows,” Wu Ying said. “They are all earth-aligned.”

“What are they?” Bich Trang asked.

“Earth-creature. Unusual looking, front legs of a bird, back legs of a cat and a simian face,” Dinh Don added. “I have not seen their like before. Something from the deep wilds.”

“Then what are they doing out here?” Be Long frowned, the Captain of the guard sounding entirely unhappy. “Driven out this way by the corruption?”

“Or sent.” Minh Trac muttered. “The corruption is causing fortunes to change on a constant basis. Clouding the future, hiding our futures from the sight of the heavens.”

“Sight of heavens? Is not everything part of the Dao?” Wu Ying said.

“The heavens are not the Dao, they are just part of it. And though the greatest of them might see the Dao in its entirety, my ability to perceive what they see is also limited,” Minh Trac replied.

“In other words, foretelling the future is useless,” Yang Mu said. “A waste of time when one can spend more time perfecting their craft.”

“Understanding the flow of time is important to understand the proper placement of flags in a formation! How can one build proper formations that will last the centuries if one does not understand the changes brought about by the passing of the ages!” Minh Trac replied to Yang Mu, glaring at her.

“You…”

“Enough!” Bich Trang cut the pair off before the conversation could devolve into another argument. The entire party has listened to them argue more than enough as it stood after all. “We have a fight to ready ourselves for.”

“What is there to ready? Five or six beasts, it is the same,” Thien Giang said, swinging her guan dao down with one motion, slicing through a branch and letting it crash down. “They come, I’ll kill them all.”

“And attract more attention,” Wu Ying said. “Not a good thing, if we want to sneak up on the corruption.”

“A tear does not care if we stride in or sneak, it is still broken and unthinking,” Thien Giang said.

“We don’t know it’s a tear. Or who made it,” Wu Ying replied.

The polearm wielder snorted, shaking her head under her heavy helm. Again, Bich Trang cut-in before another argument could continue. “I agree with the wind cultivator. We should attempt to finish the fight quickly. If they stalk us, we should pick the battle and end it fast. I see no point in additional risk.”

Her words forced a slow nod from the group.

“Now, here’s what we’re going to do.”

***

Wu Ying floated high above the group, eyeing the bird that held position with the occasional flap of its wings. He could almost feel it mocking him, with the way it moved for Sao Choi needed no physical aid to fly. It controlled the very air itself and its position in it with but with an innate flexing of its will. In the meantime, Wu Ying’s own understanding of the dao was neither as deep nor as broad as the bird, requiring him to float and spin about in small degrees as the wind bore him aloft.

From their position above, the pair could sense the movements of the grounded. The way the Earth-chimeras had shifted away, leaving the group alone as they sensed a change in pattern. Hanging back just far enough that they could continue the tracking, but allowing them to watch the special unit as they trudged forward.

Or would have been, if Dinh Don was not masking the true movements of the team while paper talisman figurines took the place of the group. The simple talismans had been supplied by Yang Mu, shaped to copy the chi flows of the group even as the paper bait sat upon their horses and picked their way forward. Without a direct connection to the earth below, the paper bait could easily trick the earth-chimeras.

It helped, of course, that not all of the team had left for the fight. Tou He, the bookish Phuong Vy and the captain of the guard, Be Long stayed behind, imbuing the surroundings with their own aura to further mess with the distant chi signatures.

In the meantime, the other group intended to narrow the distance and strike at their stalkers, taking them by surprise. Once the group was engaged, Wu Ying and Sao Choi were to swoop down and finish the battle and deal with any that tried to run.

A simple plan. It should have been of no issue for this to be finished.

If not for the danger he sensed coming towards him. He had spoken of how rare it was for a single bird to rise to Nascent Soul stage, but one concern was not the single raptor but the flock. A flock of spirit beasts taking to the sky could easily chase away or tear down a single, powerful fighter.

“Everything’s complicated,” Wu Ying muttered. He raised his hand a little, calling the wind to him and sending it towards the incoming flock. He poured a touch of his chi into the wind, forcing it to blow harder and force the creatures to take more time and expand more energy to approach the pair. At the same time, he pulled the wind as it left the flock from behind, forcing it to circle back towards him the long way on both ends such that he might smell their intentions.

A squawk by the side, one that made Wu Ying regard the bird. He was not sure how smart Sao Choi was, but that it had a name, and its cultivation stage leant credence to the idea that the bird was no less intelligent than any human cultivator.

Dangerous to treat it otherwise, even as it was dangerous to assign entirely human motivations to it.

“We can drop into the trees before they arrive,” Wu Ying said outloud. Avoid the coming fight. Another squawk. “Yeah, I know you can win. I might be able to too.” He certainly could unless there were a few Core Formation cultivators among that group, and he doubted there was. They probably did not even realise the threat they truly faced, not as distant as the pair truly were. “But we’re supposed to be keeping a low profile. Even hanging up here with you…”

The bird shuddered, raised its beak and let out one long flap of its wings. Then, turning its gaze to the struggling flock and then back down to the monsters below, it seemed to make up its mind. Wings tucked in, as it tilted its body downwards and dove. Leaving a startled wind cultivator alone in the skies as it sheared through the air, heading for the Earth elementals by itself.

“That’s not the plan, damn it!” Wu Ying let out another yelp of surprise, as he felt his control of the wind holding him aloft slip out of his control as Sao Choi dove. The creature pulled the air along with it, building up the strike and yanking the wind cultivator along behind him. On purpose or not, Wu Ying was uncertain as he fought to control his own fall and not shatter himself against wooden obstacles ahead.

Dropping like a stone, no, faster than a stone; the pair descended upon the monsters. Wooden trees in the way were blasted apart by the wind spear that the raptor had formed ahead of itself, the shards of wood and broken branches pelting the monsters below.

Hardened earth defenses met the initial attack, reflexive use of chi forming to protect the group. Sufficient to save them from dire injury, insufficient to stop Sao Choi as it flared its wings and snatched up one of its victims, wings flaring as it crushed and rose.

Wu Ying, right behind had drawn his own sword. He guided the wind at the last moment, letting himself skim along the ground even as he rolled over, slicing sideways at two of the figures he passed by. The attack cracked through the first defense, drawing blood and lopping off a limb but was deflected on the second stone bulwark.

Then, he was forced to pull up, rolling himself around and tucking his feet behind him as he impacted, the tree’s trunk creaking and breaking beneath his feet and the entire assembly breaking free of the earth and tilting precariously as earth were torn free.

A beak twisted, shattering arm swung at it and piercing into flesh. Snapping head backwards, even as mouth closed, it tore a chunk of chest free even as Sao Choi’s legs freed itself of the monster corpse beneath it. As the earth bubbled upwards to grab at it, Sao Choi floated directly upwards, ignoring the need of its wing to dodge the attack contemptuously.

Wu Ying pushed off the dangerously tilting tree, exploding forwards as he cut with his new weapon. No fancy enchantments, no special techniques. Just a blade whose heart, whose very being was embodied with a single idea.

Cut.

Sword intent tore through muscular, furred arm into bone and chest beneath. It kept going, bisecting the monster beneath and two trees behind.

Voices and movement, the flow of chi as the team on the way chose to hurry up to reach Wu Ying and Sao Choi.

Too late.

By the time they arrived, the monsters were dead; even the shadow creature that had attempted to slink away caught in a bubble of constricting air, its own control of the Dao subsumed under the heaving pressure of the raptor.

Bich Trang snarled as she stalked up to Wu Ying, sheathing her sword once she had judged the danger had passed. “What was that? We had a plan, Verdant Gatherer. Disobeying orders is grounds for punishment and dismissal from this party!”

Wu Ying accepted the rebuke, waiting for her to end her tirade before he nodded to Sao Choi. “Speak to your companion, Colonel. I was but drawn along, unwillingly when it chose to attack.”

The group, as one, turned to regard the Nascent Soul bird which had taken to tearing into the meat it had captured. The tainted meat of the chimeras.

“Should it be eating that?” Yang Mu asked, hesitantly.

“No,” Thien Giang said.

“Right. I thought so.” She hesitated, then looked at Bich Trang. “Should you not stop it?”

“You do it,” Bich Trang said, wryly. For all the lightness in her tone, there was worry in her eyes as she watched Sao Choi consume the tainted meat. “No? Then let’s find the cores from the ones Cultivator Long killed.” Lowering his voice a little, he added to Wu Ying. “Put the ones you killed away before Sao Choi eats those too.”

“Yes, Colonel.” Wu Ying muttered, sheathing his sword and regarding the impetuous bird once more. It seemed the control Bich Trang had mentioned might not be as strong as she had implied.