Bao Feng responded to his recounting of his tales, consisting of his abrupt introduction into this new world, which Bao told him went by the name of Weida, the discovery of an inhabitable home, and-
At this point, Bao butted in. “That is intriguing, it is unusual for grass to become spirit grass, even in this type of environment,” he commented. “The stalagmite creating a water pool is happily coincidental, almost too coincidental.”
Ace shot him a confused look. “Too coincidental? You think the System intentionally placed me near that place, betting on me going there? And I guess spirit grass is just grass that has taken on some Ice Qi, or other types of Qi.”
The snow crunched beneath their feet as Bao thought for a moment. “That guess would be correct. The System, however, is a complicated entity that most don’t know much about and the people that do know aren’t exactly at liberty to share. As for the reason for this, I cannot tell you, so do not even bother asking,” he continued. “But, yes, I think there is a high likelihood you were placed there on purpose. Who knows if it was even the System,” He said, meaningfully glancing at Ace.
Unsure of what to think about what he said and his ending body language that pointed toward a hidden answer. Ace moved on and finished regaling Bao Feng with his tale. He didn’t skip anything, even his stats, aside from the question marks next to his race.
The other cultivator offered inputs, either negative or positive, here and there, also muttering something about. “Damn shrews, they're literally everywhere.”
After he was done, Bao summarized his thoughts on the matter. “You did a great job with what you had. The fight with the shrew was impressive considering it was your first true battle with a magical beast, if barely one at all. Your ability to learn the fundamentals of magic is incredible and your aptitude with darkness is at the very least exceptional because you heard the Voice of Darkness," He scrutinized Ace. “All your affinities must be analyzed at the nearest city. That is, if you are willing to travel with me? I won’t be on duty for a while yet, if at all, having shattered my core, which you usually do not survive from. So, what do you say, young Ace?”
Ace mulled over the offer, before casually responding. “Yeah, sure, I’ll travel with you as long as you want me to. Unless I find a way to make it home, a way to make money, which I assume I will need here, that involves us separating, or an alternative reason to not continue on with you, I will stick it out with you. I need some new friends here, anyway.”
Bao Feng nodded, seemingly pleased with the outcome. “Great, it has been a while since I wasn’t constrained by the wants and needs of the military, too long. Once I report my unfortunate happenings, they will either grant me extensive leave or let me go entirely,” He sighed. “I’m leaning toward the latter happening, though. And as for money, I have a proposal you might be curious about.”
“Adventuring!” He blurted out, failing to contain his excitement.
Bao’s eyes widened. “Yes, how did you-”
“It’s kind of a… dream that people have back in my world,” Ace explained sheepishly.
To his surprise, Bao rolled his eyes. “Of course, even across worlds and galaxies, people still desire to put their lives on the line in the pursuit of fame, riches, and power. So silly.”
“Life on the line?” Ace asked concernedly.
“Ah, don’t even worry about it. The dangers are always exaggerated,” Bao Feng waved it off.
“But-”
“Anyway, the weather’s quite nice today. Right?”
----------------------------------------
The sun had begun its descent as the view of the mountainside village entered their lines of sight. At the edge of the Desolate Mountains, as it was called, he could make out the images of tall, hardy, spruce trees, steadfastly withstanding the frigid temperatures. Ace got his first taste of snow once he had neared the end of the mountain's terrain. He did find it odd that the entire time it had not snowed, so he asked Bao why that was.
“Hm? Oh, the snow is all being devoured by the Imperial Frost Wyvern sitting atop the highest peak in the Desolate Mountains. It feeds on the inherent Ice Qi that is inside the snow. The only reason why there is snow here at all is that when the wyvern goes dormant, blizzards reign supreme in the region, at that stage, even the sky islands are covered in layers of ice and snow. “
“Ah, of course, as expected,” Ace sarcastically said. “Still can’t believe the islands belong to some mystical cultivator sect.”
Bao Feng laughed. “They are hardly mystical, they’re merely one of the powerhouse sects in the kingdom, although I will admit that it is one of the most eye-catching.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
As they finally made their way out of the mountains, he could spot a gate in the distance. It stood at least 20 feet high and seemed sturdy enough to hold off a determined force for a little bit. Once closer, engravings of wolves and other beasts were set into the stone, sticking out against the plainer stone. Looming over the village walls was a rustic-looking clocktower that had a traditional way of engraving time just without the numbers. The larger hour points had two more than back on Earth. Making it 28 hours in a day, instead of the Earth 24. Everything was topped off with a healthy dose of snow and icicles.
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Eventually, they reached the guarded gate, manned by two unmoving soldiers on top of the battlements that had adorned chainmail armor and two matching spears with insignias of ancient dragons spiraling along the shaft of the equipment. Once they approached close enough, the women on the left side of the gate locked eyes with Bao and Ace and shouted. “Halt, state your business!”
Bao Feng chuckled. “Really?”
The woman scratched the back of her neck, a little stumped. “It’s only protocol, sir. How did the expedition go? Is your battalion arriving later?”
Ace visibly noticed his companion’s back tense up at the reminder of what had occurred. “It’s fine. Protocol should be adhered too. As for my soldiers, they… did not manage to make it out,” He tersely replied. “It was a threat like no other, but I managed to annihilate it by… well, I’m sure you could figure out how,” He bitterly stated.
The other stationed guard spoke up. “I’m sorry for your loss Colonel. You have my condolences. Would you like us to send word to the headquarters in Dongyin of the events that transpired there? We must converse later this evening for the specifics if the matter is as urgent as you make it seem.” The lady echoed the sentiment.
Bao Feng nodded. “Thank you for your grievances. I’m planning to head to Dongyin anyway with my companion here to report in person, but we should send word as soon as possible, so I will meet with you in the central office this evening. As for my partner, he is new to this world and helped me out in the aftermath of the battle. I trust and value him highly, so I expect you to bring him to the Leaky Tavern to rest and recuperate.”
“So it shall be, I wish the stars well upon you, Colonel,” The woman said, not caring that Ace was from another world.
“And as do I to you,” Bao looked toward him. “Ace, I will see you later. Potentially in the morning, this discussion might take a while. Bendan will guide you to the tavern.”
The gate slowly creaked upon its hinges, pushed open by a bear-sized man on the other side, he scrunched his face as if he was trying hard to find something, his eyes lit up once he landed on Ace. “There you are. Didn’t see ya there, come on in young buck,” Then he turned around, strutting off into the open road into town.
Ace followed suit. What a unique individual. He ran to catch up with the man. Every step Bendan took was in strides of three of his own.
“So, Bendan, nice to meet you. How's life here?” Ace asked.
Bendan beamed. “Oh, it’s great, not a smudge of any garbage in here, people are nice, the mayors’ alright, and the economy is booming,” His demeanor morphed into something a little more serious. “Only thing is, the pesky Northmen occasionally decide to seek refuge here, so we gotta be ready for that, ya know.”
“Yeah, yeah, I can see that,” Ace muttered. Seek refuge? What is this guy smoking?
The architecture of the place was truly magnificent. It had the historical and wondrous vibe of a city like Paris, except the buildings were caked in snow and made of dark spruce wood. Buildings jutted out all over the place, creating a wild character within the town. The road was nicely cleared of large amounts of snow and people in medieval winterproof clothes were bustling around in the early night.
It would have been the perfect, quaint little cozy village atmosphere, if not for a list of things. The cleanliness was not nearly as spotless as Bendan thought it was. Piles of glass, parchment, and rotten food littered the edges of the houses and businesses. Signs hung up on the doorways condemning the mayor and their governance of the city, and old rickety houses were intermingled with the wealthier homes.
One thing Bendan wasn’t wrong about was the preparedness of the civilians. Men, women, and children could all be seen loosely carrying knives and weapons as if they were just common playthings. Additionally, they were not as friendly as he had proclaimed. The people glared at Ace as he walked through the place. Some even barred their teeth at him or made provocative hand gestures.
Ah yes, the town where all dreams come true, Bitchville.
“Annnnnnnd, here we are, The Leaky Tavern,” Bendan grinned at Ace. “Head on in. Just say you’re with Mr. Bao Feng, and they’ll fix you right up with a bath and bed to sleep in.”
Bendan held open the door for him and Ace walked into the crazy place. Men with beer bellies larger than a small child sloshed their drinks around, hollering and laughing like madmen. The smell of beer and vomit filled the establishment. I am not of age for this yet… but here I am, I think.
The matron of the tavern noticed him, screaming across the room. “Come're.”
Ace reached the counter and spoke. “Hello, madam. I am with Colonel Bao Feng who will be paying for two of your finest rooms tonight. I have been told to arrange accommodations for him.”
Instantly after he was done talking, the lady went dead silent, pale as a ghost. She snapped out of it a few seconds later, yelling yet again. “Tommy,” A middle-aged man entered the main tavern from behind a backdoor. “Take this fine soldier to two of our most luxurious rooms. Bao Feng will stay with us for the night and has booked the accommodations.”
Tommy grabbed two keys from underneath the counter and straightened up, motioning for Ace to tag along with him. “Right this way, sir.”
That was way too easy. No verification of the facts or anything. Are people that afraid to lie about being with the military? I’m taking it, though.
The servant or butler, whichever one it was, dropped Ace off at the rooms he had booked, and luxurious didn’t even begin to describe the place. A massive, twin-sized bed sat in the corner of the identical rooms with a nightstand. The bathroom was luckily featured in the room, and he was actually shocked to see that it had a pretty large tub for bathing.
Tonight’s going to be a good night. Ace washed up, stripped into just his pants and tunic, placed his sword on the bed stand, and went to bed, falling asleep quickly, even with an empty stomach.