The Cloud Eating Tiger Aaron had killed was a magic beast at the fourth stage of the Rising Mind realm. This was equivalent to a human at the fourth stage of the Essence Harmonization realm. This was the realm where a beast’s intelligence rose to human levels. Aaron realistically should never have been able to defeat such a creature. Luckily for them both, the beast's core would be worth a great deal. Moreover, Aaron had killed the beast with his bare hands, leaving the pelt completely intact. The value of the beast’s carcass would leave them both set for several months. They would have to get to Silver Crest City first to sell it.
Deng Fang insisted that Aaron learn how to veil his cultivation base before they set out. Otherwise his energy leakage would attract beasts to them, beasts stronger than they could fight. The mercenary taught Aaron how to draw a thin, shifting coating of essence tight around his body. This would both capture any leaking energy and shield his strength from outside observation.
Deng Fang spoke of the geography of the world as Aaron practiced his veiling. They were currently on the Myriad Mountains Continent in the mortal cultivation world of Lanura. The Myriad Mountains Continent was roughly 10 million kilometers from north to south and just over twice that east to west. The continent was home to some 100 billions humans. These humans were spread throughout half a dozen large empires and nearly two dozen small to medium sized kingdoms and queendoms. Half a dozen mountain ranges sectioned out the continent, making up ten percent of its surface area. These mountains contained their own nations, made up of mighty beasts, each as intelligent as a human.
They were currently in the Great Eastern Wood, within the Azure Stone Empire. This woodland stretched 5 million kilometers north to south and half a million kilometers from east to west at its thickest point. The wood hugged the continent's eastern coast and was contained by mountain ranges to the north and south. These mountain ranges moved southwest and northwest respectively, coming to a large valley that marked the border of the Azure Stone Empire. The wood was known for being filled with highly dangerous numbers of powerful beasts. Luckily the wood also guarded the empire from the Chaotic Wave Ocean, and the impossibly mighty beasts that called it home. Silver Crest City sat at the western edge of the Great Eastern Wood, the city containing over 10 million souls. It would be a four day trek from their current campsite, through forests filled with beasts.
They set out for the city the next morning, leaving their protected campsite for the dangers of the beast ridden woods. The first half of day one of traveling went by without issue. Things took a turn for the worse just after their midday meal of cold travel rations. Loud screeches broke out as they readied to continue on their way.
Looking up in the trees revealed a group of about twenty screaming monkeys. These beasts were about half the size of a man, with rusty red fur across most of their bodies. Their stomachs, however, were covered in bright yellow fur. They had bright yellow eyes and mouths full of sharp fangs coated in viscous saliva which shot out with each screeching call.
“Gold Bellied Monkeys, typically around the third to fifth stages of the Bestial Power realm” Deng Fang said as he placed his back against Aaron’s ”Individually quite weak, but they are still dangerous as they move in packs.”
Aaron now knew the Bestial Power realm to be equivalent to the human Body Tempering realm. He was only at the first stage of the Body Tempering realm, making this battle especially perilous for him. There was no more time for talking as several of the monkeys flung themselves from the trees.
Aaron stepped forward and to the left, avoiding one of the monkeys leaping for him. His arm snapped out, seizing the second leaping monkey by the throat. The monkey’s small size allowed him to lift it one handed with his enhanced strength. He dragged the monkey down while bringing his right knee up into the beast's side. He felt the creature’s ribs crumple under the applied force. He then flung the beast aside, hearing a pleasing crack as its head slammed against a nearby tree trunk. He heard a noise and immediately stepped to the right, avoiding the lunge of the remaining monkey. He seized the beast’s right leg as it passed by, arresting its momentum and slamming it to the ground before him. His ears were filled with another snapping sound as his foot drove down onto the back of the monkey's neck. Having dealt with the current threats, he looked up to see another set of monkeys dive toward him.
This time two monkeys came from the front, while he could feel another in the air behind him. Aaron dove into an backwards roll, passing just beneath a flying monkey. He came to his feet with all three monkeys before him, turning his way. He ran towards the beasts, watching as two split to either side of him. He dove as the front monkey went to bite at his gut. He began a flip, gripping the monkey under its outstretched arms as he passed over its body. The monkey was dragged along by the force of the flip, its skull being slammed into the ground as he landed. He spun up and to the left, slinging the dead monkey into its companion on that side. Aaron then charged the remaining free monkey as it’s fellow wrestled with the corpse. This beast attempted a swipe as it came into range, which he blocked at the wrist with his forearm, receiving only a small wound to his left arm. He then struck the monkey's face with his right arm, causing it to stumble back with a screech. He then struck the beast in its left shoulder as he moved forward, causing the off balance beast to spin. He seized both sides of the beast’s skull before wrenching to the side, snapping the creature’s neck. Aaron turned to face his last opponent as it finished shoving the body away from itself. He ran toward the charging monkey, rapidly stepping to the left as he came into range. The monkey’s claws caught only air, before Aarons kick caught the beast on the side of it’s head. The beast stumbled backwards, holding its head, while he brought his foot up. He took a short moment to marvel at his new body as his leg rose higher than it ever had before. Bringing his mind back to the battle, he brought his foot down in a powerful axe kick, striking the crown of the beast's head. He felt the beast’s skull crack under his heel before the creature slumped to the ground.
Taking a moment to catch his breath after the short but brutal fight, Aaron realized that the clearing was silent. He looked up to see that Deng Fang had slain the remaining fifteen monkeys. Their corpses were scattered around the mercenary, some missing limbs, all bearing the tell tale wounds from the strike of the man’s sword. Deng Fang stood for a moment, recovering, before turning to Aaron. The mercenary seemed surprised to see that he bore no more than a slight cut on his arm.
“Is something wrong?” Aaron inquired, still slightly out of breath from the battle.
“Not necessarily, no.” Deng Fang said, still seeming confused, “But by all accounts, those beasts are stronger than you individually, so logically you should have far more wounds from fighting groups of them.”
“Really, these monkeys honestly seemed somewhat slow.” Aaron said, now confused as well, “They did not seem terribly strong either.”
The men quickly collected the carcasses, before setting off once more. Despite conversing quietly for the next several hours, the two men still could not come to an answer. Aaron appeared to be much stronger than his cultivation would otherwise indicate. The two men considered in silence as they set up camp for the night next to a small river. The next couple of days passed mostly without issue, containing only three attacks, each from the weakest of the forest’s beasts. Around noon on the fourth day of their journey, the two men finally exited the forest.
Aaron stopped for a moment to stare at the city in the distance. The city was quite large, surrounded by walls that had to be at least a hundred feet tall. He could see rivers of people flowing through the thirty foot tall gates, both coming and going. Massive pagoda-esque buildings soared above the walls, some of which had to be five hundred feet tall. A quick question revealed that the walls existed because large groupings of beasts occasionally exited the Great Eastern Wood for various reasons. The two men set out for the city which was still miles distant. It was well into the evening before they reached the city, the sun already sinking towards the horizon.
Deng Fang recommended that Aaron store his spatial ring in a pocket before they reached the city. It was clearly high quality, and would draw the wrong kind of attention. It was also recommended that he change into a set of robes, as the clothes from his world would stand out far too much. His presence with the mercenary, who usually worked alone, would already raise questions.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
The two went into the city, mixing in with the flowing crowd, which contained both mercenaries in armor, and regular citizens in robes. They passed through with ease, walking onto streets filled with people. The streets were also filled with the sounds of thousands of conversations and the scents of a city; food, wood fires, thousands of people in close quarters, and more.
Deng Fang led him towards an inn he frequented when in the city. The mercenary said that the proprietor was a dear friend and had been for many years. Deng Fang swore the inn keep would allow them to stay on tab to be paid tomorrow after selling their beast carcasses. They walked into the inn, named the Weeping Crane, which was filled mostly with mercenary folk. It was easy to identify them by manner alone, facing death on a daily basis had sharpened these people. This gave them a deadly air, even when resting or celebrating. The inn keep was an older man, gray creeping in at his temples, he was clearly rough around the edges, his eyes watching the taproom like a hawk waiting to strike. The two men walked up to the bar and the inn keep’s weathered face instantly split into a smile.
“Fang, how did the trip go, my friend?” The older man said, still grinning as he leaned on the bar.
“It went well Jiayi, thanks in large part to my new companion here” Deng Fang said while motioning to Aaron.
“Oh, it is not like you to work with others, Fang.” Hou Jiayi said as a glimmer of curiosity sparked in his eyes.
“Yes well, this was more a pairing of convenience after a chance meeting in the wood” Deng Fang said, scratching the back of his head. “Regardless, we will both need rooms for the night, unfortunately neither my companion or I will have sufficient funds until tomorrow.”
“Again with this Fang?” Hou Jiayi said as his eyes narrowed, before he heaved a sigh. “You really are terrible with money, my friend.”
Hou Jiayi reached below the counter and came back with two keys ”Rooms five and six, end of the second floor, either side of the hall” the old man spoke as he handed us the keys “You owe me as soon as you get paid, do you understand?”
“Yes old friend, as soon as I get my coin” Deng Fang confirmed “Come along, my friend, time to sleep on a real bed”
Aaron snorted with amusement, thinking of the mattress he had stored in his spatial ring. Deng Fang led the way to their rooms before leaving Aaron with a key with the rindan character for five inscribed on it. He entered the room, finding it minimally furnished, but clean and reasonably comfortable. The bed was a bit scratchy for his tastes, so he removed his personal mattress from his spatial ring and laid it over the current bedding.
Aaron awoke the next morning to someone knocking gently upon the door. He got up, stored his mattress, changed into a new set of robes, and then moved to the door. Opening the door revealed Deng Fang standing in the hall, wearing far more casual clothes, lacking any of the armor he wore in the forest.
“Come, my friend, let us eat before we head to the market.” Deng Fang said, motioning down the hall before turning to walk away. Aaron accompanied the mercenary down to the taproom, mostly empty in the early morning light. The two men ate a simple but hearty breakfast before heading back out into the city. Deng Fang led him quickly through the streets, eventually arriving at a bustling market surrounding the city’s southern gate. At his request, Deng Fang related to him the strength of various people they passed on the streets. This allowed Aaron to learn how the brightness of an individual’s Dantian related to their cultivation level.
The market was alive with the motion of massive crowds, flowing like water between the temporary stalls and the more permanent storefronts. The air rang with the sound of thousands of merchants and customers haggling over nearly every type of goods imaginable. Aaron’s nose wrinkled at the unavoidable scents that came with so many people packed in under the pounding sun.
Deng Fang led him to a massive warehouse sized building with a small door set in the right corner, facing the marketplace. Over the door hung a stretched out hide with a fang and a bone drawn on it with what appeared to be long dried blood. The mercenary explained this to be an establishment specializing in the butchering of beasts. The two men walked around the right side of the building, all the way to a back entrance.
This entrance consisted of two massive barn style doors which were currently wide open. The unmistakable scent of blood and offal flowed forth from the interior space. Upon walking inside, the two men were met with a large internal space with unusually high ceilings. The majority of the room was separated from the two men by a wide, thick stone counter. Several men and women in thick leather aprons stood behind the counter, each speaking with one of the small scattering of customers present. Before each of the employees sat the carcass of some sort of beast, each in varying states of damage.
Deng Fang motioned to a currently unoccupied individual at the far left of the room. The two men walked to the free space to speak with the employee, a tall broad shouldered woman with deeply tanned skin. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a basic ponytail, while her slate gray eyes took in the two men with a profound boredom.
“Alright, what have you got for me?” the woman spoke in a brusque, no nonsense tone.
“Firstly, the bodies of twenty Gold Bellied Monkeys.” Deng Fang’s tone changed to match. The mercenary carefully laid out all of the corpses across their section of the counter, pairing the severed limbs with their respective carcasses. The woman slowly went over each of the bodies, checking their quality and presumably determining a price. She then separated the bodies into three separate piles behind the counter.
“The monkeys with the missing limbs are worth the least. Between the damage to the bones and the ruined pelts, I can only do one square per body.” The woman motioned to the first pile of nine beast bodies.
“These ones with the cuts are better, only the pelts are really damaged. I can do 3 squares per body.” The woman indicated the second pile of six as she spoke again.
“Now the last set is high quality. Minimal bone damage, no meaningful harm to the pelt. I can do seven squares for these ones.” The woman motioned to the third pile with a glimmer in her eyes.
“Excellent, sixty two squares total then, forty paid in marks, twelve in chips.” Deng Fang said, smiling slightly. The woman nodded and handed the mercenary four circular golden coins, ten square silver coins, and what appeared to be over one hundred triangular copper coins. Each of the coins shined with an white luster. The copper coins only had a fleck of white essence in the center, while the gold coins had a gentle glow that covered the entire coin.
“Next we have this to sell” Deng Fang grinned as he spoke, before lifting his hand and laying the Cloud Eating Tiger corpse onto the counter. The woman gasped audibly, drawing the attention of the nearby customers and workers. They reacted with a similar level of shock drawing ever more eyes to their side of the room.
“A Cloud Eating Tiger, and almost totally intact, how did you even?” The woman muttered with something like awe in her voice. Her hands ran almost reverently over the carcass.
“I’ve never seen one in such fine condition” The woman looked up again as she spoke. “I’ll go for Twenty marks.”
Deng Fang seemed deeply surprised by the amount, his eyes visibly widening.
“Ten in squares if you would.” The mercenary's voice shook slightly as he spoke. The woman paid out the appropriate coinage. Deng Fang then separated the coins into two equal piles on the counter. He swiped his hand over one pile, while Aaron collected the other into one of his lower quality spatial rings, which he had donned while changing that morning.
Their money collected, Deng Fang led the way to a store which bought herbs. Aaron received another five squares and thirty chips. Deng Fang explained the coinage in a low voice as they walked through the market. Copper chips were the lowest form of coin, used mostly for day to day purchases, food, lodging, and so on. Ten chips were equal to a silver square, mostly used for purchasing mounts, rent on shops, and such. Ten squares were equal to a gold mark, used for large purchases such as buying a house or a plot of land. One hundred marks were equal to a platinum plate, though only the wealthiest individuals ever saw a plate in their lives. Each coin contained some amount of essence, infused into the coin through a method known only to certain individuals. These individuals worked exclusively for the various empires and kingdoms. Spiritual observation of a coin could reveal what nation made it, if you knew what to look for.
Suddenly, Aaron felt a familiar tingle at the base of his skull, his Dantian also reacting with the warmth he recognized
“Are you alright? you lost focus for a moment there.” Aaron was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Deng Fang's voice.
“Yes, I'm alright. I’ve just thought of something I need to check on. You head back to the Weeping Crane, and kindly tell Hou Jiayi to hold my room, and I will pay when I return” After speaking to Deng Fang for a moment, Aaron began to focus in on that familiar feeling. He could tell that the mercenary did not really believe him, and was concerned for his safety, but in the end, Deng Fang accepted his words and headed back to the inn.
Aaron spent the next two hours following the feeling through alleyways and down streets. It grew ever more powerful until he found himself outside of a small courtyard pressed up against the southeastern portion of the city wall. Hesitating for only a moment, he knocked on the door to the courtyard.
“Come in, Aaron, we have much to talk about.” The voice of a elderly woman called out from within.