Chapter Fifteen - Cold Swim

Nie Ruyi

https://i.imgur.com/xzisjky.png [https://i.imgur.com/xzisjky.png]

As promised, a week later Liang Lanlan arrived. Dressed in close-fitting sleeves and pants beneath the flowing skirt of her robes, she also carried a bow on her back and a haughty expression on her heart-shaped face. Nie Ruyi, who had dressed in the only type of clothing she had, felt deeply over-dressed. Her own Hanfu was long and flowy, like something a Chinese noblewoman might wear. She looked at herself and let out a sigh.

"If you give me but a moment, I can change into something more suitable." She'd have to wear the training uniform she'd been given, which was still sort of flowy when compared to the gym clothes she used to use when working out. She missed her bike shorts and tank tops.

"It doesn't matter what you wear." Liang Lanlan dismissed, "What matters more is, what is he doing here?"

Her manicured finger pointed to Lao Xiaojun, who was standing next to the door Nie Ruyi had just exited. He raised an eyebrow at her, and Nie Ruyi could see how unimpressed he was with the little mistress.

"Ah, Lao-Shixiong acts as my bodyguard until I'm able to defend myself. Lao-Zhangmen has ordered it for my safety." Nie Ruyi turned her head to smile at Lao Xiaojun, the brush of her curled hair tickling along her shoulders. A-Rong had made strange intricate loops with her hair, and placed flowers in a sort of -half crown over the back mound of it. It had looked positively ethereal when she'd seen it in the brass mirror this morning.

He ignored her, "Sect Heir Liang." Another stiff bow, before he lifted his head, "Where are we going?"

"...Seifeng Forest. There's a hidden grotto within that the Furtive Jade Sect has laid claim to." Liang Lanlan lifted her head as if to make herself taller than Lao Xiaojun. This was emphatically not the case, as he literally looked down his nose at her.

"Those are contested lands." He murmured, his own voice frosty. Nie Ruyi carefully didn't look at either of them, feeling her shoulders tense. She felt really aggrieved here, standing between two titans fighting, without even Song Fengling to cast glances at. (The boy had been putting off some duties outside the sect compound while taking care of her, so she'd told him to go since she'd be with Lao Xiaojun anyway.)

"We are not here to argue geographical lines." Liang Lanlan stated, and wow, Nie Ruyi was almost impressed at that political maneuvering. "We are here to reward Nie Ruyi for her assistance in the Dragon Mess."

"Then get on with it." Lao Xiaojun declared. His sword was, once again, tossed carelessly towards the ground, where it hovered over it. He held out a hand to Nie Ruyi, who upon realizing he meant her to stick her hand there, did so. He used it to pull her up into his arms, which sent a little Pavlovian thrill through her, as she remembered what it was like to fly last time.

Giddiness took over as their swords rose into the air. Nie Ruyi clung to where Lao Xiaojun's hands crossed over her middle, gripping his wrists tight, as she leaned forward into the wind. He held her strong and safe, and she laughed. The ground slipped beneath them the same way silk would slide off a bed, fast and faster.

Finally, they lowered through a canopy of trees, and into a clearing. Nie Ruyi considered pouting when Lao Xiaojun moved to set her on the ground but decided against it. She wasn't sure she could stand the idea of them thinking she was childish. She turned to Liang Lanlan as she dismounted her own sword, sheathing it in a careful flourish around her wrist.

"It's just a quarter-shichen's hike from here." Liang Lanlan declared and began walking. Nie Ruyi felt phantom pain sent to her by future-Ruyi who was suffering because her outfit had included silk-slippers. These were not shoes meant for hiking, ah!

She was ever so grateful that Lao Xiaojun stayed close. During the hike, she tripped no less than four times. Each time, he caught her by the shoulder and pulled her up.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"Ah, thanks." She'd say, and he'd grunt in reply. This continued until they finally arrived where Liang Lanlan was leading them. Nie Ruyi sucked in a gasp as the trees parted to reveal a deep, clear lake. It reminded her of a picture she'd seen on the internet, of a lake so clear that everything at the bottom looked super close, despite it being miles below.

"It's beautiful..." She breathed, and then took a deep breath in, her eyes sliding shut. The flowers here tinged the air in a sweet scent, and Nie Ruyi felt suddenly as if she were at peace. "Thank you for bringing me here, Liang-Guniang."

"We're not there yet." Liang Lanlan declared, raising an eyebrow. "Here's where Lao-qianbei stays. We have to swim after this, and there is no way I'm allowing Lao-qianbei to see me all wet and disheveled. Don't you think it's better he stays here, Nie-Wanbei?"

Lao Xiaojun's thunderous expression made Nie Ruyi feel a little like she'd just been put in the crossfire as a human shield. "Ahhhh, I don't... I mean... I'm not too worried about it? It's not as if I need to protect my virtue or anything?"

That got a startled look from both of the feuding cultivators. "What does Nie-Wanbei mean?" Liang Lanlan asked, confusion clear on her pretty face.

"Well, I just mean, I only intend to marry if I find someone who doesn't care that I've had partners before. I can't help that I have, because where I come from it's fine for young men and women to experiment and find pleasure. But, I know that isn't the case here. So, I'm not too worried about protecting my virtue, since I don't really have any, to begin with." Nie Ruyi shrugged. She wasn't going to play the game of "has she been soiled" or not. Since, after all, if she was going to marry, it had to be someone she loved, and someone she loved wouldn't care about that.

Liang Lanlan looked scandalized, her face pink and a hand coming up to cover her lips. Nie Ruyi snuck a glance at Lao Xiaojun's face as well, and while she could see his brow drawn in, she couldn't be sure if it was frustration because they were still lollygagging, or if it was because of what she said.

"Really, I don't mind. But I can't swim in something this flowy. I'll drown." Nie Ruyi explained further. "So, I do need to strip down quite a bit, to swim. Is that going to be an issue?"

"S-See!" Liang Lanlan latched onto that as if it proved her point. "We'll be indecent! Lao-Qianbei, if you'll stay here, we'll be back soon."

Nie Ruyi stumbled as Liang Lanlan grabbed her hand and dragged her behind some bushes. The older woman sighed a little, as Liang Lanlan stripped off her bow and arrows, setting them behind the bush as well. Getting to work dismantling the dress she'd been put in, Nie Ruyi stripped down to the strange bib-like bra of this time, and the odd shorts that counted as underwear in this world.

"You'll have to help me put my hanfu back on when we get done." She warned Liang Lanlan. "I don't know how to do so by myself."

"You don-" Liang Lanlan blinked, an incredulous note to her voice. "What have you been wearing all your life?"

"Clothes in my wo-homeland are very different than they are here." She almost slipped, correcting herself before she said the wrong thing. "I'm still learning. Are you ready?"

Liang Lanlan was much more dressed, and Nie Ruyi had to wonder if she was going to drown, or if she was just that strong a swimmer. The water, once they stepped into it, was cold, colder than the air, and Nie Ruyi just knew she was going to get a cold from this. "A-Are we sure th-this is n-necessary?" She asked, just to be certain.

"Yes." Liang Lanlan snapped back, snatching Nie Ruyi's hand and yanking her into the freezing cold. Nie Ruyi shrieked from how cold it was, but let Liang Lanlan lead her deeper into the clear, rippling water. Sure enough, after a certain point, the floor of the lake fell out from under her and seemed to only stop miles below. Liang Lanlan tread water there and gentled her breathing. Nie Ruyi’s eyes sought out the still column that was Lao Xiaojun on the shore, nerves rising.

"You'll need to take a deep breath. I'll tow you down and get you to the grotto. But you need to hold your breath the entire time. There are a lot of twists and turns."

"Wha-" Water snapped her face, getting in her mouth. She spit it out and tried again, "How deep down?"

"Quite a ways." Liang Lanlan was looking at the swim, and Nie Ruyi guessed she might be lining up the route she was going to take. "Take a breath."

Nie Ruyi didn't ask why, the girl was abrupt as it was, and she had no doubt she'd pull her under with no breath held. So she took as deep a breath as she could and held it.

Sure enough, without a second warning, she was pulled under the surface of the water. Soon, the two of them were diving. Nie Ruyi had no practice keeping her eyes open underwater, and it stung badly when she tried, but eventually, she got them open.

The deeper down they went, the darker everything got. However, she could see where they were headed because of the glow emanating from the cave mouth that Liang Lanlan had them angled towards. She kicked alongside her co-swimmer and eventually, the two entered the cave.

Liang Lanlan fumbled with a pouch on her belt, opening it and pulling forth a ball the size of her palm. Nie Ruyi did a double take since the opening of the pouch wasn't big enough to yield such a thing. Then she remembered Cultivators had those ridiculous qiankun pouches, the ones that were bigger on the inside.

Liang Lanlan's little ball lit up the entire cave as they passed through, and sure enough, there were twists and turns all throughout the path. Luckily she had Liang Lanlan's guidance. The dark and the cold were stealing away her calm, as the water pressed in on her. Liang Lanlan’s hand tugged incessantly and her lungs burned and for a moment, it felt like she wasn’t going to make it.

https://i.imgur.com/xzisjky.png [https://i.imgur.com/xzisjky.png]