“Just guard him,” Ji Wuye stood up. He crossed the gently flowing waters with ease, carefully positioning each step on the slicked stones that rose above the surface like stepping stones.
On the far side, Ji Wuye pushed through a dense thicket of tall bamboo stalks. The woody stems rattled and swayed as he parted them, revealing the main road beyond.
There, a small rat lay motionless, its body tightly bound with rough twine secured by a crudely hammered wooden nail. Its beady eyes blinked rapidly in distress.
Ji Wuye's crimson eyes, flickering with an otherworldly scarlet light, scanned the surroundings with calculated intensity.
At first, only inky blackness greeted his gaze, the shadows of the dense forest utterly impenetrable to normal sight.
But then the world appeared to slowly bleed back into focus as his supernatural Quick Adaptation skill took effect. The vague, ghostly silhouette of the ceramic vessel he had emerged from materialized in the near distance, its pale curves now distinct against the darkness.
Despite his preternatural vision affording him an unobstructed view in every direction, there were no signs of movement, no subtle disturbances in the underbrush to indicate anyone fleeing or lying in wait.
A slight furrow creased Ji Wuye's brow as he contemplated this strange discovery. After a moment's pause, he bent down with a practiced ease and gently grasped the struggling rat, careful not to loosen the bindings as he lifted it.
Secured to the rodent's back with that same wooden nail was a large, tightly furled sheet of parchment, its weight and bulky form nearly obscuring the small creature beneath it.
As Ji Wuye delicately unfurled the scroll with one hand, holding it horizontally before him.
The inked characters were meticulous yet urgently scrawled, as if the writer's hand could scarcely keep pace with the gravity of the words:
- "The celestial pale jade is obscured by ominous clouds, the river of souls laments." (The peace is threatened by evil sects, causing suffering among the people.)
- "The imperial dragon's coils entangle, ensnared by the western desert fox and the southern marsh serpents." (The Song Dynasty is besieged, facing threats from the cunning Western Xia and the insidious Luo Dynasty.)
- "White bone spirits summon thunderous tempests, the demonic gate's malice swells." (Sinister forces of the Evil Sect are amassing terrible power.)
- "A maze of blades without egress, the realm's center spins in disarray." (The situation is a dangerous labyrinth with no clear escape, the lands plunged into chaos.)
With each metaphoric portrayal of the escalating threats facing the Song Dynasty, Ji Wuye's countenance grew more severe, his piercing gaze hardening into an inscrutable mask of grim determination.
"So, the Great Song is facing trouble, and their military strength will eventually decline," he muttered in a low rumble, more to himself than anyone else.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Ji Wuye's eyebrows drew together in a pensive frown as he finished reading the parchment's dire contents. As he carefully rolled the scroll back into a tight cylinder, he noticed with faint surprise that the ink appeared to be fading, the urgently scrawled characters slowly dissolving into nothingness until the parchment lay blank in his hands.
"In conclusion, the Evil sects are still active within the Song Dynasty territory," he murmured, his deep voice a low rumble that blended with the tranquil nighttime chorus of crickets and peeper frogs.
His crimson gaze fell upon the rat, now fleeing into the underbrush, its small form swallowed by the shadowed forest. Ji Wuye watched it disappear with an inscrutable expression, the creature's frantic scurrying reminiscent of how the elusive Evil sects would scatter and burrow back into hiding upon confronting a formidable force.
The Western Xia empire ruled the distant Qinghai region where the powerful Kunlun Sect was headquartered.
Though currently no overt conflict simmered between Xia and the Song Dynasty that controlled Henan and central Jianghu, if the Beggar Sect's information proved accurate, the Western Xia would eventually invade the Song Dynasty, which would disrupt the Evil Sect's plan and the first reason why the Evil Sect attacked Kunlun in the previous timeline.
....
Eventually Ji Wuye turned and retraced his steps, deftly parting the thick bamboo wall with one hand to rejoin the others at camp.
The crackle of the low campfire greeted him, its flickering amber light casting dancing shadows across Song Jia's familiar form where she leaned against the gnarled trunk of tree. She appeared to be helping the still-pallid coachman sip a shallow bowl of steaming broth.
He crossed the shallow creek once more with easy, practiced strides, picking his way across the mossy stones with a faint smile and his hands clasped casually behind his back.
"Good evening, Uncle," Ji Wuye said, his rich baritone carrying an unexpected warmth as he greeted.
"T-thank you very much, esteemed hero," the coachman stammered, clutching the bowl with trembling hands. He made as if to struggle upright in a show of respect, but Ji Wuye waved a dismissive hand.
"Please, Uncle, you just recovered. It was a small thing." Ji Wuye offered the man a courteous nod of acknowledgment before shifting his intense scarlet gaze to Song Jia.
She met his stare with an impassive expression, though her eyes glinted with mild curiosity.
"So, what is that?" Her tone was casual, almost bored, but Ji Wuye could detect the undercurrent of genuine interest beneath the nonchalant query.
Song Jia straightened to her full height with a slight groan, stretching her arms high above her head before turning to face the distant roar of the nearby waterfall.
"Nothing, just a rat passing by," Ji Wuye replied evenly, his calm features betraying no hint of deceit.
His eyes briefly raked over Song Jia's familiar form, surprisingly, she appeared generally unharmed despite the dried bloodstains still marring the white silk of her martial robe. She seemed utterly at ease staring out over the moonlit tableau of the rushing cascade, perhaps lost in thought.
Not even a minute had passed before the soft snores of the coachman filled the comfortable silence, leaving Ji Wuye and Song Jia the sole remaining sentinels awake to stand guard through the night.
"This is the perfect time; let's spar, Brother Ji," Song Jia suddenly piped up, her eyes sparkling with eager anticipation as if she had been awaiting this very moment. She pivoted on her heel to face him directly, posture tense and lively.
Ji Wuye remained utterly still and silent where he sat cross-legged before the crackling campfire. He made no acknowledgment of her words, his intense crimson stare fixed unseeingly on the mesmerizing dance of the golden flames as he methodically chewed a piece of dried meat.
Song Jia's expectant expression gradually wilted into a slight frown at his lack of response. The only sounds were the husky snores of the slumbering coachman and the conversational crackle and pop of the firewood as Ji Wuye stoked it absently with a branches, causing the fire to flare up brighter.
Still, he did not deign to answer her challenge, and Song Jia felt a flicker of annoyance.
She had joined this mission accompanying Ji Wuye for one singular purpose - to seek his guidance in mastering the second moveset of her Master's sword art.
But then she realized...
Ji Wuye had agreed only to allow her to travel with him in exchange for her contribution points, not to actually teach or train her. The realization left her feeling suddenly helpless and frustrated.
Song Jia's lips pressed into a taut line as she glared at the maddeningly inscrutable Ji Wuye, jealous of his apparent calm in the face of her growing agitation.
When it became clear her silent treatment was having absolutely no effect, she clicked her tongue in vexation and chose to resettle herself on the opposite side of the low-burning campfire.
From this new vantage, she fixed Ji Wuye with an insistent stare, her eyes catching the flickering ruby gleam of his as the firelight cast its undulating shadows across his chiseled features.
"Please? I hav--" she began in a tone halfway between pleading and demanding.
"Sure," Ji Wuye agreed easily, his rich baritone cutting through her words before she could make her case.
Song Jia's face instantly transformed, the frown lines vanishing as a look of pure, unrestrained delight bloomed across her delicate features. She beamed at him with shining eyes, the previous creases of frustration melting away into an expression of admiration and gratitude.
"Are you sure? Let's go then!" She sprang back up, practically vibrating with eagerness.
Observing her girlish excitement, Ji Wuye could not help but be faintly amused by her refreshingly simple.
'Well, she had been nagging about wanting to spar since before they even departed, ' he supposed.
As Ji Wuye studied her beautiful, deceptively innocent visage, he found the jarring dichotomy between her pure, maidenly appearance and her thirst for martial mayhem perplexing, even faintly troubling.
‘The heavens truly have been blinded,’ he mused.