The next morning, they set off in the Sleeping Lady, now fully repaired. Its hull gleamed as they cut across the bay, alighting the river from underneath with a mystical glow as the scripts inscribed on the bottom activated, propelling it across the water. It was a matter of moments to reach the main water stream, leaving the quiet bay behind as they began their voyage to the yellow river.
The vessel was wholly theirs, now that Elder Ming had forcibly destroyed any connection the pirate still had with it, and the ship had been turned over into Sun Yuan’s hands. Under the Elder’s supervision the young man had pressed a bloody palm to the mast, and using some incantation, bound it to his own soul.
Yu Chen didn’t mind. The ship moved like a dream under his hand, and it would take him wherever he needed to go.
Besides, the death of Sun Yuan’s father hadn’t been the only thing driving the boy to despair, the loss of the ship had played a role as well. It turned out that for the navigators of the yellow river, a spirit vessel was necessary for their cultivation. Without one, they would only stagnate, their path forward forever cut off.
Yu Chen couldn’t help but recall what Xiao Huang had told him before and consider how the various paths of cultivation differed. A navigator’s reality was one that was intimately tied to the river, discovering the paths it took, teasing out its hidden currents and secret ways. Without a vessel to carry them along, they truly couldn’t move an inch.
He walked up, standing beside Sun Yuan as he helmed the wheel, carving a path deeper into the waters of the yellow river. Looking over, he couldn’t help but notice the changes in his face.
Just this brief time back on the river had an effect. He appeared closer to what Yu Chen imagined his true self to be, the sullen look he’d had before disappearing, and for the first time since he’d met the young man, a hint of desire lurked within. It was as though the broken parts of him had slowly been pulled back together, and while he wasn’t the same man he once was, he was something better, his experiences having reshaped him into something new.
“How are you doing?” Yu Chen asked softly, turning his gaze away to look into the distance. They’d left the coast behind, and there was nothing but water surrounding them on all sides, stretching out endlessly until they merged into the horizon.
“Better.” Sun Yuan said, but his hand trembled slightly where it gripped the wheel.
Yu Chen didn’t reply, standing beside the young man in silence.
A stiff breeze rose up, causing his robes to billow around him. Sun Yuan gestured, and Yu Chen looked up, watching in interest as the fine sails bound to the mast unfurled, the ship speeding up as they caught the wind.
“There are enchantments on the sails as well, you know.” Sun Yuan said, breaking the silence.
Yu Chen turned, looking at him, but the young man didn’t meet his eyes as he continued to speak.
“If no wind is present, you can activate them, and they’ll spin one up for you. Useful when you have to be somewhere in a hurry.” He paused, before letting out a soft chuckle. “Terribly expensive though.”
“I grew up on this ship,” he said suddenly, turning to meet Yu Chen’s eyes. “Spent my whole life here, clambering across the rigging and standing beside my father as he carried us from port to port.”
Yu Chen nodded, but he didn’t say anything, letting the man speak his peace.
“I never knew my mother. Never even knew what happened to her really, my father never would speak of it. That was ok though, It was still the best life a boy could ask for. Besides, I never felt the loss. I grew up surrounded by aunts and uncles more than willing to show me the ropes.”
“Literally in fact.” There was fondness in his voice as he spoke, and his eyes left Yu Chen’s, roaming around the ship.
“You might think The Sleeping Lady is just another ship, but to me she is everything. I never thought I’d see her again.”
“Thank you.” He said, looking back towards Yu Chen, his eyes watering with gratitude, but deep within lay something more, a resolve to shake the heavens. “Whatever you need, I’ll be there. I owe you my life.”
Yu Chen didn’t reply, what was there to say? He simply gripped Sun Yuan’s shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze.
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The next few days passed in relative peace, and the three boys fell into a routine. Yu Chen found life on the river to be a simple and relaxed affair.
He’d spend his mornings on the deck alone, practicing his Martial Forms. He began with the Diamond ones, where he’d focus on compressing his qi before releasing it in quick violent movements, inching closer and closer towards perfection. It was not an easy task. He’d become faster and stronger, and he only had a split second to condense his qi before he struck.
Still, he made progress, and even though he hadn’t approached mastery his blows blasted forth with a tremendous amount of force.
Afterwards he’d run through the strange forms he’d received from the Flowing Eternity Sect. The techniques they’d provided moved his qi through strange patterns that seemed almost contradictory at first, avoiding the straight lines the Diamond Forms and others he used had. Instead, they’d loop back on themselves, oftentimes feeding backwards from the intended direction.
The end result was almost similar to compression in some ways, but it produced all sorts of strange and contradictory results Yu Chen couldn’t fully comprehend. He assumed it was because he lacked any understanding of the Concepts forming the basis of the teachings. At times his fists seemed to cut through the intervening space without any motion at all, while alternatively his strike would slow down as he punched, far from the sharp movements he was used to.
They were a total mess, but he resolved to keep practicing them, paying close attention to the qi patterns in particular, as he sought out an understanding behind what they were intended to do.
Despite that, he had no luck as the days passed, and disgruntled, he could only determine to keep at it.
A fair amount of the day was spent locked inside his cabin, where he engaged in seated meditation. His reserves were fairly full, but the elder had made it clear that he’d have to reach Foundation Establishment if he wished to compete in the upcoming tournament, so he continuously pushed himself towards the boundaries of the next realm, accumulating as much qi as he could. The spiritual energy in the air only grew denser the deeper into the river they ran, but he still tossed out the ancient bones he’d found before, using them to enhance his cultivation.
His new breathing technique was truly marvelous, allowing not even a wisp of spiritual energy to escape the room, the dark hole in the pit of dantian ruthlessly seizing and absorbing everything around.
The rest of the day was spent engaged in various activities - reading through his collection of books and expanding his knowledge or meditating on the concepts he’d already learned.
Concepts were something he was still parsing, as every successive conversation with Xiao Huang expanded his vision. Originally, he’d assumed they were just an understanding regarding the natural laws of the world, as one came to understand the truths that lay behind the word.
They still were something like that, but that wasn’t all they were. In some sense they were malleable, creative, and to step onto the world stage he’d have to figure out what he wanted the world to be.
But that wasn’t an issue he’d resolve so quickly.
He’d also check in on the other two, taking time out of his day to meet with the two boys he shared the ship with. They’d formed a habit of having their meals together, and even Lan She would make an appearance, eating the food they placed out.
Everyone had their own patterns.
Yan Ziqi for instance, spent most of his time in the small workshop belowdecks, containing all the accouterments he needed to pursue his craft. He rarely left, not even to his own cabin, often spending days and nights locked away.
Yu Chen would often stop by to talk while he was within, watching as he tooled about, working on his latest project.
Although the space was somewhat humble it lacked nothing. A long table divided the room, and a compact forge took up a corner of the space, emitting a shocking amount of heat. It was one and the same as the furnace that fed the mast, a true work of art that fulfilled many roles aboard the ship.
Besides which, a number of storage containers filled the rest of the space. Tool racks hung across the walls, mostly empty, while a number of storage chests had been bolted to the floor. The chests were compartmentalized, featuring dozens of odd drawers filled with who knew what.
Sun Yuan on the other hand never left the wheel, even in his sleep, as though he were afraid the ship would disappear if he stepped away. Even when a light rain arose, he hadn’t left the deck, standing there with his eyes fixed on the horizon as his robes blew around him.
The young man did grow more talkative as the days went by, and Yu Chen could see the stress of the past leaving his body. It appeared in the way he stood, in the way he talked, the way he occasionally grinned when they hit a hard swell, and the nose of the craft went up, water breaking across the deck.
Even Yu Chen felt the healing effect of the river. He still carried a lot of feelings for the people he’d left behind, and hoped to one day be able to return, to perhaps see his family and check on the sect he’d left behind.
And to get revenge on the reavers, who only left the dead in their wake. That grudge hadn’t been forgotten, and one day Yu Chen would return to repay matters in full.
Likewise, he wondered how Cang Wuji had fared, and if he’d managed to escape the danger. They’d only spent a few days together, but Yu Chen considered the boy a friend, one he hoped had managed to survive.
However, the more time he spent on the river the more he came to realize that Xiao Huang was right. His future lay before him, a thought shared by all three of the young men aboard as they sailed away, leaving the past behind.