Book 2: Chapter 48: Illusions and Mentals |
“Is this for me?” Zhong Da said. He looked down at the softly glowing arm and then back at Yin Hu. “Are you sure? This… seems unbefitting–”
Wu Xui elbowed his side and gave him a stern look. “Thank you, Patriarch Yin.”
The couple bowed to Yin Hu and rushed away, back into the pavilion he had gifted them. He could already imagine the lady cussing her husband out for trying to reject the gift on the basis of being unworthy. The two of them had a bad habit of running back to privacy whenever they faced anything.
He felt like rubbing his face. Another person that needed work on that was part of his crew.
Though he was going to give them time to recover from what they had just experienced. Almost dying tended to be horrific and traumatising for most people. Something that lingered for years and years, changing entire lives and ways of life. Thankfully, this was a cultivation world and had cultivation world peoples within it. They would be better in a week at most.
Less time if worked properly.
Then he could start his training regimen and put them, the girls, and even Rong through the ringer as he had done with the initial development of Jun and Shui. It would be easier overall considering the couple had been speedrun through the process and the little boy was a slime that had no contamination if the system was correct.
Yet, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to give the couple new mutations like he planned for Rong.
There needed to be a differentiation between his inner court and the outer court or what would be the point in separating them.
Man. It’s good to have them back.
Zhong Da had just brewed him a cup of tea when they woke up, right before Yin Hu gifted him the new arm prosthetic. Rhythm had been restored within his camp. No longer would he need to make his own drink and no longer would he need to suffer making another bowl of rice. Even if the only thing he had ever done was put water and the grains into a bowl and set them on top of a fire.
Maybe it would have been different had there been more options. Alas, there wasn’t.
It was rice and nothing else.
Yin Hu waved toward Rong, who had been preparing to go on another scouting mission around the area. “Get everyone ready. We leave camp and start heading toward the edge of the forest. No rest until Shui needs it again.”
Rong nodded and hurried to gather everyone, including the couple.
It hadn’t taken long for everyone to gather their things, camp broken down, and the party lined up before him ready to head out. The dragons rested on the Warg’s back after being exhausted by Shui and Rong. Zhong Da struggled to get comfortable with the new arm that was now attached at the shoulder. Everyone else waited patiently.
Yin Hu had to make a decision. Whether he wanted to head in the direction Zhong Da had been nearly killed or going in a wide looping path that kept them far away. Having the girls meant there was an increased need to be unnecessarily cautious even with Rong in the party. Plus the additions of a new and improved Zhong Da and Wu Xui made their party more powerful.
He had to consider their propensity to being magnets for dangerous situations and loads of trouble. That wasn’t even mentioning the dragon hatchlings.
“Master,” Rong approached him away from the group as Yin Hu stared into the forest. “Are you considering our new path?”
Yin Hu nodded.
“I… know that you wish to hide your power. I assure you there is nothing in that direction that could initiate even the start of an interaction unless you wished to. If anything, I doubt there is another Spirit Beast that would want to fight against me.”
Yin Hu stared at Rong for a few seconds, thinking about his options.
Rong had been scouting ahead for the past week or so. If there was anyone that knew what the forest had to offer, it would be the Spirit they found living in said forest. Yes, Zhong Da and Wu Xui were nearly killed, but they were by their lonesome.
As long as they didn’t fight something he couldn’t physically hit, they had a much better chance than the couple.
Even Rong seemed a tad slow compared to his speed and slightly weaker as well.
Yet, more important than that, was the need to trust his First Elder in difficult situations and tough decisions. If he couldn’t do it with something as simple as this, then would he ever trust him with the girls’ lives when he wasn’t around? Would he trust anyone?
“I trust you. Let’s do it.”
Him agreeing didn’t mean complete, blind, and naive faith. No. Yin Hu would take all necessary precautions as well. He felt his perception skill come to life and roam the entire area, going over drive to notice anything at all. Then he summoned his DragonsWrath, using it like a walking staff.
“Zhong Da,” Yin Hu called for his outer court member. “Lead us in the direction you had gone.”
The man jumped to his feet and moved, his wife following closely to him the entire time.
Yin Hu and the rest of the party trailed a few feet behind as they broke through the camp and back into the thicket and foliage that covered the Bleak Forests. Moving together as their pace picked up into an enhanced sprint as fast as Shui could go comfortably being the slowest in their group. He could have had her riding the Warg, but Yin Hu didn’t want her to grow complacent. It was the perfect recipe to turn her into a Young Master type, but making her work hard would reset that meter.
He hoped at least.
They continued at their pace until the couple slowed down, reaching a pathway that appeared out of nowhere. It was made of wide blocks of stone that looked like tile, but had to be a few feet thick underneath all of the dirt. Each one was smooth to the touch and perfectly placed even with the natural outgrowth in between and surrounding each one.
Nothing had been capable of shifting them.
“This here is the road we spoke about. No creature wanted to fight or step onto it as long as we stayed there except the White Demon. Even the dragon had refused to feast upon us,” Zhong Da said as he stepped onto the road.
Everyone followed quietly as they walked through the initial areas of when all the nightmares started for the couple.
Their stories still reverberated within the minds of the entire party.
Yet, something strange itched at the back of Yin Hu’s mind as he stood a step away from crossing onto the road. As though something or someone was trying to get his attention. Or divert his attention? He wasn’t sure what that feeling was.
Yin Hu hid the frown on his face and stepped onto the road. Immediately his perception skill blinked and a tiny blip appeared in the distance. Within his vision a dozen stones appeared like the fog around the road, markers and indicators of ancient places. The stones looked more vibrant. That strange feeling disappeared, shattered quicker than it could take hold onto his mind.
It was obvious without having to search, even if everyone else ignored the signs and acted like they couldn’t see the stone blocks that lined the edges of the road.
This wasn’t just a random pathway.
This was a main thoroughfare of what had to be a large city. One that tried to hide itself from everyone’s senses, everyone except him at least.
Yin Hu stepped off the road in between the stones and the blip weakened, trying its best to vanish from his perception skill. It failed to escape him now that he knew what to look for when searching for it. The vague feeling of where it was and how his senses reacted when he brushed past it.
Should I go that way?
He hadn’t received anything like the blip before except once with Jun and Shao Yating. He wasn’t sure if it was something or someone that couldn’t hide their Qi like everyone else or they were strong enough for him to pick up. Though it didn’t really matter. Zhong Da and Wu Xui had gained a large power boost, Jun unlocked whatever it was that made her so happy, Rong was the strongest one here, and Da Ruis could… haunt people?
He wasn’t sure what the old ghost was capable of really.
“Do you sense it?” he turned to Rong.
The Spirit blinked its large innocent eyes. “Sense what?”
“Does anyone else sense it?” Yin Hu went through everyone's expressions one by one. “Shui? Jun? Da Ruis?” He found nothing when they all shook their heads.
Isn't that curious… Should we go toward it? The potential for trouble always increases when curious things happen.
Yet, Yin Hu couldn’t deny that all the benefits he had gained so far were from these curious situations. Starting from the very first one when he met Shui and finally decided to fake his persona as her ancestor without knowing what the hell was going on.
Yin Hu pointed toward the east. “That way.”