’’Ropes and sickles for climbing?’’

’’Check!’’ Zhang Cai shouted and pushed them inside the spatial pouch.

’’Underwater breathing pills?’’

’’Check!’’ He put the metallic box inside as well.

’’The blankets? Tents? Swords? The breads and the butter? The preserved dry meat? Spare pair of shoes and sandals? Fire breathing pills? Whetstone? Spare clothing? The extra...’’

Though the order came at random, Zhang Cai checked each and every one of the listed things and placed them inside the spatial pouch. Once he filled it, he took the other one and put them inside it. After filling three bags, each distributed equally in the gear and the supplies, Li Bo nodded with satisfaction.

They had long left the outpost, bidding farewell to the staff there. Zhang Cai bowed and asked for forgiveness from each one, and they responded in kind. The Li siblings had nothing much to say except telling them to take care of the businesses. So now they stood on a patch of long grass spanning towards the horizon high and wide, where they could stay a little safe from the blinding Sun.

’’This is the third check?’’ Zhang Cai asked.

’’Fourth. Now it should be enough.’’ Li Bo replied.

’’Then let’s get going!’’

’’Let us,’’ Li Bo said, or corrected, and they each wore one of the spatial pouches on their waists. They strapped them on scale belts made of Xian skin, and also sheathed their black blades on a dark green sheath hanging from the same belt. The color of their robes as well were closer to pitch-black, and they wore straw hats that they painted dark.

Since he had a little experience hiding from Xian, Zhang Cai knew the reason for such thorough camouflage.

’’Have you checked your map, junior brother?’’

Zhang Cai nodded. He kept it rolled up in a spare pouch of his robe. And the martial art books of his master were in another, both near his chest.

’’Then we do need to hurry as well.’’ He nodded. ’’We are almost in November. The Xian and the Spirit beasts will probably wake up one last time to prepare for the slumber. It is important that we hurry and avoid them.’’

Zhang Cai nodded, agreeing likewise. Li Huan did not seem to care much. She had cut down a tall fiber of grass, held in her hand. She swung it around left and right like a blade until Li Bo overtook them and started dashing.

Uttering no word, they followed.

*********

The trio kept this inhumane pace for hours. They dashed and ran inside the forest of tall grass, acting like shadows sliding through the hills and plains until the Sun set and the sky fell its last light on a mountain to their back. The steep and the low slopes all came and went by them, flashing as if the entire terrain was a flowing river of green and chestnut and dry yellow. Their eyes did pick up visual cues, and they felt the earth whenever they stepped down; and when they did they stepped up again for meters to not land.

Around midnight Li Bo led them beside a small hill covered by taller grass, where he pitched the large tent coloured black from its top-scarf to the nails holding it down. He and Li Huan went first, and after an hour Li Bo came back to let him sleep. And after an hour’s sleep he woke up and saw Li Bo beside him, and Li Huan outside. He let her inside and she slept another hour. Then Li Bo woke her up and they gathered everything they had, and then before the first lights even arrived they departed under the cold and harsh breeze of dawn.

The same terrain followed them everywhere, days and nights went by and the one thing that did change was the frigid air itself. The further north they came and closer to the great forest of Il-Ich, the weather squeezed every bit of moisture from the world to rain them down. And storms kept appearing.

Air currents were visible, and at times they had to dig holes on the ground and support the ceiling with the steel rods forged by the frontier’s blacksmith. In those cases they slept little, as quickly the hole would fill. They did not put up the tent for they could not waste the fabric of it or let it tear from the wind. When the storm bore over and rain shot rapidly, they climbed out and ran to seek more suitable dwellings. But there were no caves here, nor mountains. And the forest still a week’s worth of travel away, they did not have any choice but to brave through it.

Their bones chilled. Zhang Cai saw Li Huan freeze like him. They both shivered and rubbed their hands for constant warmth. Their blade gloves did not cover the fingers. The skin cracked and turned blue.

Li Bo cast on them both a surge of small Qi, perhaps a quarter of Zhang Cai’s Pull, and created them a ball of fire that flashed golden red. Condensed, round, it felt warm to the touch but did not burn. They kept these in their hands, rubbed on them, and thanked him. But there was none in Li Bo’s hands. He did not even shake or tremble. He seemed immune to the cold, and were it not for his long wet hair splashing on his robes, Zhang Cai would have doubted he even faced rain.

’’There it is.’’ Li Bo said on the fifteenth day of their journey. The forest of Il-ich’s first trees appeared on the horizon, towering dozens of meters. They had twisting branches, large enough to be picked apart this far away, and did not even sway and shake from the storms striking at the earth.

’’Once we get into the forest, the natural Qi currents should calm down. But do not make a hasty mistake and let your guard down. All we do is get into another kind of danger. Understood?’’

Seeing his calm smile stained wet, Zhang Cai nodded. The further north they went, the stronger Qi currents would be. Though stronger Qi currents would help them cultivate and store energy faster, it also caused the weather and nature to change in ridiculous ways. The intense cold of this storm was but one example; though a Glassmade still, Zhang Cai and Li Huan were cultivators still. They had reinforced skin and bones, and would only feel the cold of the mountain peaks where air blew coldest in the world.

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Yet here, they shivered under droplets of water.

In accordance with this law, the great forest of Il-ich was another making of the stronger natural Qi. No forest down south had such long trees, nor as wide. And those sturdy roots, which made them unfazed against the striking storm. They would be safe from the elements, but who knew what monsters it reared in its bosom? Even the mice that grew in one such forest would be strong enough to fight with a teenager .

Careful! Careful! Careful! Zhang Cai repeated in his heart. Clutching the belt that housed the dark blade, he rushed with greater speed to follow Li Bo. Soon, stepping away from the marsh-turned mud field before the forest, they leaped towards a few branches in sight.

’’Haah!’’ Zhang Cai took a deep breath. Li Bo and Li Huan shook their heads, sending droplets flying around with each turn. The cold they felt turned warmer. Even the smell; wet earth was their staple for the past two weeks, and now the fresh wild of the forest overtook it by a single second. This kind of instantaneous change was a first for Zhang Cai.

’’Let us rest here for a while.’’ Li Bo said. He snapped his fingers and a head-sized fireball lashed into existence. ’’Dry your clothes and hair and warm for some time.’’

Obliging, and doing as he himself said, the trio sat on the thick branch cross-legged, hugging the flames between them. All hands on it, steam rising from their skin and robes and hair, they watched for hours themselves and the terrain.

Like the night sky outside, the forest had no light. No, the light did not reach here. Partly, Zhang Cai thought, was because of the storm. But mostly because of the trees themselves. Shaped like dove-trees, lacking the beauty of a poisonous flower crowning their tops, the main trunk climbed to the sky with no end in sight. And each and every one of them were the same, some longer, some a little shorter. And the ground had too many roots going around to walk properly.

If they were to go here, they had to light it up themselves.

’’How long does the forest go?’’ He asked Li Bo.

Li Bo gathered his sleeves and flapped them around. ’’I am not sure of the specific range. But it will take three weeks to go through, if we keep the same pace. Then another four or six weeks to Li Family Estate through the crossroads and borders if we encounter no great trouble.’’

’’I see. But what borders? I did not see any drawn on my master’s map.’’

Li Bo, though smiling, cast a stern frown. ’’Do not talk about your map’s contents. I have said this enough times.’’

’’Not to anyone, you said, Li Bro.’’

Li Bo shrugged, gave a soft sigh, helpless at something Zhang Cai did not grasp. ’’That means your master does not care if you go through either way. The areas that are mapped are likely where goes, I assume?’’

Zhang Cai, unsure, took out his map.

’’Oh damn!’’

The outer scroll was faded. The paper thin, and even wet, he unfurled it before the fire.

’’Phew!’’ The contents seemed safe. But the outer-layer half-gone, Zhang Cai felt regret. How could he forget his master’s belonging? What would he have done if it had been destroyed completely? Would it end his quest, since he could not even guard a legacy of his master? How would he find his way?

But he was reluctant to put it in that bag of holding. The spatial pouch as well, he did not feel it safe. Only on him, near his chest, where he could protect either way, would be the best.

’’You do no need to keep it all the time.’’ Li Bo advised. ‘’And that martial arts of yours as well.’’

Zhang Cai understood, but he still did not feel it safe. He checked the martial arts books, and their worn-out orange covers did not seem wet. He put it back in his chest, unfurled the map in his other hand and gazed at the contents.

His position seemed still fine, flashing red, while his master had turned blue, which meant halted. He seemed near a port-town at the North-east, beside an archipelago named Farstone Holding.

’’How far is Farstone Holding?’’ He asked.

’’You missed the point, as always.’’

’’Huh? Ah, right!’’ One quick look at the names he remembered: Slingerwhale Castle, Blue Lotus Sect, Seven Stone Peaks, Glassrock Temple, Seven Mantra School...

Most were what he saw his master at. And they had defined borders, and somewhat apparent terrain. His master drew half a circle through the continent, and was about to leave the eastern side to enter the west.

’’Indeed, it is as you said Li Bro.’’ With that out of the way, he smiled. ’’So, how far is Farstone Holding?’’

’’Around a year and a half worth of travel.’’

How did that old hag walk there so fast?

’’I am starting to doubt the legitimacy of this...’’

’’Why so?’’ Li Bo asked.

Zhang Cai rolled up the scroll and placed it inside his chest pocket. He patted it twice, felt it secure, and put his arms around the fire again. He then noticed Li Huan sleeping, her head resting on Li Bo’s knees.

’’The time discrepancy in that space...’’ He whispered. ’’I don’t know how much time I lost, even...and I fell asleep when I could not do willingly from the pain.’’

’’Being knocked out cold is a rare thing for cultivators. You must have spent the last bits of your Qi resisting the pain, even if you were not aware of it.’’

’’That might be the case for the latter. But those Xians, I don’t know.’’

’’In that regard, I forgot to inform you.’’ Li Bo replied in a softer voice. ’’When we alerted the Frontier Officials, they took a look at there. They did not find the hole you went through, but there seemed to be remnants of a Xian Hold inside the mountain. An entire basin formed through...Qi slaves.’’

’’Qi slaves? But I did not see any humans there.’’

’’According to them there were bones of men and women.’’

Li Bo patted his sister’s hair through the straw hat. ’’Even children...’’

’’How is it possible...but...it was also empty?’’

’’If what you have experienced is true, then the time dilation must be at an extreme. You spent in there mere moments, but outside more than a few months had already passed. Such spaces where time flow is disoriented are designed as apocalypse shelters. Or experiments.’’

’’So...anything relevant to that?’’

’’None. Whether they were hiding from something, or experimenting on another is unclear. Successful or not at their endeavor, the entire population vanished at once, no traces of the Xian alone. There was nothing else. Claw marks or Qi signatures or egg baskets...they must have left sometime we were not aware.’’

Zhang Cai looked down at his knees. His thoughts wandered for a while, watching the fire crackle like the campfires he made at that rotten city.

Li Bo bumped his fist on Zhang Cai’s shoulder ’’Don’t think too deeply on it. We had no control over what it was, and you certainly did not have anything you could do except deliver the news.’’

This manner of casual speech warmed his heart up. He nodded, and looked into the dark countenance of the forest.

’’When do we go in?’’

’’When she wakes up.’’