A Thousand Li Book 11 - Chapter 2 preview (Patreon)

“Do you never get tired of soaking in those?” Tou He asked, head tilting to the side. Light glinted off the smooth, shaved top of his head, his aura suffusing the environment and warming the bathhouse further. He sat across from the circular bathtub that Wu Ying lounged within on a raised dias to view his friend as the smell of soaking herbs and plants permeated the air.

“This should be the last time,” Wu Ying said, a little gleefully. The pain from the caustic substances within were old companions, a shadow of the damage wrought on him a few hours ago. Even now, his skin, burnt and blackened peeled off and flaked away into the bath itself as the impressive regeneration of a half-step Immortal cleansed him.

“Until you get injured again.” Yang Mu made a face as she skimmed skin and muscle off the top of the bath into a bucket utilizing a thin net, nose wrinkled a little as she caught a whiff of the herbs within.

“You have such a poor view of my future,” Wu Ying said.

“I am just cognizant of your past,” she replied.

“I haven’t done anything in the last ten plus years!” he protested. “Ask Tou He!”

“Oh, beyond joining in the battle against the demonic sect, taking part in the fight against the Nascent Soul renyu and helping to stem the flood just last year?” Tou He chuckled darkly. “A flood that I recall you being part of the cause.”

“The flood wasn’t my fault!” Wu Ying said, arms crossed. “Sect Hean Yan asked me to help him gather the clouds after the drought. If not for the interference, the waters would have collected behind the dam without issue.”

Tou He grimaced a little, but inclined his head in acceptance. The last four years had the Shen kingdom experiencing a period of extreme dryness during the initial portions of the year. The drought was occasionally relieved by a sprinkling of rain in the first few years but the third year had been a bone dry period. If not for the stores set aside for such calamities and increased trade from the northernmost provinces and kingdoms, widespread famine would have occurred.

As it stood, the various sects and the kingdom’s guards had been stretched thin dealing with bandits and rogue cultivators. While the kingdom required nobles to store food for such events, what should be done conflicted with the reality of what was done in some cases. In those provinces, noble heads might roll or be sent into exile; but farmers and the common folk starved.

Or took to other, better off provinces.

Then, of course, with the extreme dryness came the locust swarms. Tou He had taken part in the eradication of those creatures in the east while Wu Ying had been tasked with managing a wildfire blaze further west. It had been a busy few years, culminatin with an Imperial request for aid.

It had started well, the calling of clouds from distant lands. But somewhere along the way in the multi-week procedure, an invasive dao had entered the clouds. When the cloud banks finally arrived, it came in great quantities and entirely chaotic; unwilling to be bent by either Wu Ying or Sect Head Yan without great effort.

The following deluge had flooded the rivers and the land, bringing with it further tragedy and washing away buildings, infrastructure and people alike. For nearly a week it had rained before finally the enemy working was destroyed, leaving behind great tragedy and a thoroughly soaked land.

Wu Ying was just grateful that Sect Head Yan had gone to the Imperial Palace himself to deal with the resulting politics and blame. Even now, the Sect Head stayed in the Imperial capital, forced to treat with the king.

“Ah Ying?” Softly, Yang Mu spoke, placing a hand on his arm to bring his attention to the present. “What is it?”

“Just memories.” Standing on a clifftop, hands held aloft. His meridians aching as chi thrummed through them, his form wavering as it threatened to join the howling winds. Struggling for control even as he ever present smell of blood and metal filled his nostrils. “And speculation.”

“On?”

“The Sect Head has been gone for the entire fall and winter.” With it nearly being spring now, this would mark the longest period of absence from the sect Wu Ying could recall. Or that many others could recall. “I wonder what holds him to the capital.”

“Imperial designs,” Tou He said. “They are probably just ensuring he knows who truly rules this land.”

Wu Ying grunted. It was likely just that. Keeping the Sect Head in the capital, refusing to release him to return was a small power play. About the level he would expect really, for their failure – after public apologies, of course.

After all, the Verdant Green Waters sect held a strange position in the imperial governance. It was too powerful, too vital to be ignored. Yet, it did not – could not – be chained down by mortal bureaucracy. As such, its presence and standing always a matter of contestation.

“Anyway.” Wu Ying waved a hand, watching water trail down and drop into the bath as he spoke. “I wasn’t really injured in any of those incidents. Just strained my body which was damaged. Now that I’m fixed, it won’t happen again.”

“And you are? Fixed that is.” Yang Mu asked, again.

“I am.” He grabbed the scrub and wiped himself down against, reaching underneath. Yang Mu looked away, not interested in watching that as further portions of broken skin tore free and floated upwards. She could not help but smile a little as she noted Tou He did the same too, reveling a little at his discomfort. After all, this was supposed tob e private time.

“Are you done yet?” Tou He said after a time when the splashing had fallen silent.

“Just about.” Focusing, the wind cultivator let himself pull apart and flow over to the modestry screen set in a corner. He reformed on the other side, the sudden splashing and sloshing of the bath accompanying Yang Mu’s snort of derision at his casual use of power.

“Ah He. Can you…?” Yang Mu asked.

Wu Ying could not see what was happening as he dressed himself, but the sudden spike in temperature gave him some understanding. The cackle of flames and the cloud of water that arose from the other side were other clues. With a flexing of his will, he cast a window open and circulated the heavy moisture outside as he finished belting the robe and stepped around the screen.

When he did so, he could see the flames dancing within the garbage pail and the bath, burning away all traces of his flesh and blood, cleansing the area. The flesh and blood of a half-Immortal could be utilized for a number of unsavory pills and practices and leaving such things lying around, even in a secure location like the sect, was the height of foolishness.

“Are you going to play with your new abilities from now on?” Yang Mu said, eyebrow rising.

Wu Ying grinned, stretching a little as he floated over to her. “Well, I need to get used to it, shouldn’t I?” He slowly waved his hand in front of him, turning it over and over, watching as the wind flowed around it and interacted with his aura. A slight shift and he watched as his hand shimmered out of existence into wind, becoming part of it before it disappeared again. “I’ve not had access to my full strength after all.”

“If that’s the case…” Tou He focused, pouring even more energy into his aura around the bathtub and the pail. He flash fried the contents, leaving only ash behind. “then let me. It’s been ages since we had a chance to fight together without restraint.”

Yang Mu looked between the pair, spotting the gleam in Wu Ying’s eyes. “Oh, very well. Both of you go and play.” She took hold of Wu Ying’s arm that continued moving, gripping it tight and squeezing it. “Find me tonight.” A beat, then she added more strenuously. “Tonight.”

“Yes, dear.” Wu Ying lowered his hand, smiling a little indulgently as she released his hand and exited the bathhouse. Through his extended spiritual sense, she could feel her joining his other friends and speaking with them, the trio of women leaving soon afterwards. He stopped following them consciously afterwards, turning his attention to Tou He as he floated over his storage rings. “So, shall we?”

Tou He snorted. “I’ll handle the bureaucracy. You…” He frowned, then shrugged. “you get ready.”

“Then, I’ll see you there.” Extending himself again, Wu Ying located the arena at the top of the Verdant Green Water’s complex. He felt the edges of his aura permeating the space, bypassing the protective formations with a gentle push and sidestep before he let himself come apart.

A flicker of energy, transporting himself like the wind through the intervening space. The maximum form of his modified Wind Steps methodology; combining his Wind Body, his aura control and the sped up movement of his qinggong techniques, to allow him to effectively transport himself over hundreds of li within an eyeblink.

He reformed in the arena, not a single flash of pain as he did so. For a moment, Wu Ying reveled in the lack of pain, the freedom of movement that he exhibited. Though he was not a full Immortal yet, not having faced the ire of the Heavens and its final tribulation, he was as close as he could get to without taking that final step.

Now, to test exactly what that meant.