Chapter 43: This Young Master Arrives At The Exams
It had been quiet ever since they picked a fight at the Lan family's tavern. Not that things were quiet on the Lan family's end but Lan Fen at least stuck to the manor and prepared herself, advancing to the Sixth-Layer ahead of the Exam.
Chen Haoran continued to train in Harmonization, bits of connection coming in fits and spurts. It was more progress than he had previously made and he was satisfied with it. He was beginning to see why Lan Fen had said higher rank techniques had more to Harmonize with. While he didn't have a technique weak enough to compare, those brief bits of Harmony he achieved with the Canyon Carving Sword revealed something far larger than himself in its essence.
Cultivation wise he saw just as much progress. It wasn't just his low-grade spirit roots slowing him down, it was his cultivation method as well. It was obvious in hindsight but higher quality qi took more effort to create than the qi of a lower rank technique. It explained why his predecessor only had a Profound-rank method despite coming from such a powerful family. If he wanted to advance at a reasonable pace he had to practice a method easier on his spirit roots, not that his predecessor seemed interested in practicing at all.
It had taken stacking enhanced meridians, the qi pool's cleansing, and the high-rank elixirs he'd been eating to create his previous quick cultivation pace despite the obstacles holding him back. The advantages would wane however as he advanced further and the gaps between layers became wider. Not that Chen Haoran would think of giving up the Yellow Dragon River Refinement. He had benefited too much from it to switch at this point. He had to admit though the thought of advancing quickly, perhaps even to the Liquid Meridian realm, was a tempting one. He had to find more treasures that enhanced cultivation speed, though that was easier said than done. Chen Haoran had to admit that the ones he did have were chanced upon more by luck than anything else.
Lacking results in his Harmonization and cultivation training he focused on combat instead, much to Song Yuelin's sadistic delight. While he took inordinate joy in slapping Chen Haoran around the training field he had a killer's eye for errors and was quick to correct every flaw.
Xie Jin had also hung around. Chen Haoran took daily trips out of the manor to make sure he was fed and that the Lan family hadn't shanked him and left him dead in a ditch somewhere. It was the least he could do for someone who so readily fought with him and Xie Jin was pleasant, if violently inclined, company to be around.
Xie Jin was a man of simple pleasures, he liked eating and winning and as it turned out could scarcely afford both. It had come as a surprise to Chen Haoran that Xie Jin's reputation for losing hadn't been an exaggeration. He had yet to see him win a single bout in the arenas, it was to the point that he was surprised Xie Jin was able to beat Lan Jia at all. He had to have some card up his sleeve at least, for all that he was quick to pick a fight Xie Jin didn't strike him as the reckless type. Or perhaps that impression was from the sheer confidence Xie Jin radiated, even if it was undue.
Chen Haoran wished him luck with the Palace Exams nevertheless.
After all, they wouldn't go as he expected.
The day of the Palace Exams was like any other, sunny and warm, with just a bit of humidity in the air. The exam site was to be held deep within the Clearsprings Mountains, the exact location only being released the day before. It was apparently standard procedure to have the Exams in wilderness areas where examinees would have to stay for up to three days. It sounded more like a survival course than a test to select future government officials but considering what the City Lord was dealing with in Clearsprings City it was perhaps relevant.
They set off early in the morning as a group. Xie Jin had been invited to go with them and Song Yuelin would of course never miss out. With Lan Fen and Song Yuelin around it was guaranteed that nothing bad would happen to them on the way to the exam site. They did have to scare off a few of the braver monsters though. Song Yuelin just had to release his qi for them to take the hint but being the bastard that he was he let the beasts get dangerously close before he drove them off.
Chen Haoran was thankful they didn't run into any Liquid Meridian realm monsters like the last time he traveled this deep into the mountains. He did wonder how other cultivators handled traveling to the exam site. He got his answer when they passed a group of cultivators a hundred-strong.
"This group was organized a while ago to travel to the exam site together," Xie Jin explained after they went around the mass. "It's easier to ward off potential attacks and conserve energy with greater numbers. If you didn't invite me I would have been traveling with them."
There were three different types of groups traveling to the exam. The first were protected by more powerful cultivators like Chen Haoran's group. The next were cultivators who decided their own strength was enough to guarantee their safety. Whether or not they reached the exam site would prove the accuracy of their assumption. The last were large groups like the one they just passed that relied on getting as many bodies together as possible. This type typically consisted of cultivators of a lower background who didn't have more experienced family members to escort them. Chen Haoran stole of few glances back at the group, the fact that they had to resort to this just to travel to take a test was crazy.
Song Yuelin saw him looking back. "This could be considered the first test of the exam," he said. Seeing that he had all their attention he continued. "If a test taker can't even reach the exam area then naturally the Palace School won't be interested in them."
It made a twisted sort of sense if one that he didn't agree with. "That sounds ripe for abuse," Chen Haoran said.
"Indeed it is," Song Yuelin agreed. "Disputes are common." His statement was punctuated by an explosion behind them. "Like that." He smiled. "So long as it isn't taken too far the Exam official will typically ignore it."
"What are the odds of us being ambushed by the Lan family then?" Chen Haoran asked. He glanced at Lan Fen. She held his gaze with a calm look and he let himself relax. With her sensing skills they'd know ahead of time, if she was still calm then there was nothing to worry about.
"I certainly hope they ambush us!" Song Yuelin chirped.
They left the sound of fighting behind them and before long a large wooden pavilion came into view. Just one of the many things the City Lord prepared in advance for the Exam Official. He was also responsible for cordoning off the Exam site and preparing whatever specific ideas they had for the Exam itself. It was honestly no wonder that the City Lord was so obsessed with making sure the Exams went off without a hitch.
A crowd of earlier arrivals had already formed around the pavilion, and more poured in from various directions. Some casually followed their Elders, others arrived in various states of disarray having had poor luck in the mountains. Chen Haoran frowned, he wouldn't be surprised if some who set out to take the exams never made it back. It all just seemed unnecessarily deadly.
"My time has come," Xie Jin said, putting on an arrogant look.
"To get your ass kicked?" Chen Haoran asked.
"To win, you bastard," Xie Jin harrumphed.
"I've yet to see you win once," Chen Haoran replied. "I'm starting to think beating Lan Jia was a fluke too."
"That's it though!" Xie Jin excitedly said. "Lan Jia can pass the exam for sure and since I beat her once I just need to beat her again and take her place!"
"If it's that simple then maybe I should join the Exam too," Chen Haoran mused.
"Don't even joke about that Young Master Chen," Song Yuelin interrupted with uncharacteristic seriousness.
"I was kidding, I'm not interested in government work," Chen Haoran laughed. He filed away Song Yuelin's reaction in the back of his mind. "Speaking of Lan Jia, I don't see the Lan family anywhere."
"I am sure they are around," Lan Fen said. She frowned and looked at the pavilion. "There seems to be a situation."
Chen Haoran could feel the agitated energy of the crowd as they arrived at the pavilion. A single guard clad in heavy metal armor blocked the steps leading into the structure. He held a long spear in one hand and in the other a scroll. Chen Haoran stretched out his sense, Ninth-Layer.
"He serves under the City Lord," Lan Fen informed them, her brows furrowed in thought.
Before the stand-off could develop any further the guard unfurled the scroll and cleared his throat. "By decree of the City Lord, all participants in the Palace Exams are to turn back." He raised the scroll high and presented it to the cultivators of Clearsprings City as if it were a warding talisman.
"Hear the decree and turn back!"
Chapter 44: This Young Master Turned Back
"Who are you to turn us back?" growled a bushy-haired elder.
Chen Haoran silently thanked the man for asking the question on his mind. Others chimed in with outraged disbelief. Xie Jin rushed up to add his own. Song Yuelin and Lan Fen were calmer about it, but from the way they furrowed their brows, he could tell they were just as confused.
"Turn back," repeated the guard. His voice was monotonous but Chen Haoran could see him start to sweat. His Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation put him well within the upper echelons of power within Clearsprings City but the pressure put out by an angry crowd of cultivators would cow anyone. Especially with Liquid Meridian Realms present.
The bushy-haired elder angrily closed in on the guard. "We are here so that our juniors may partake in the Palace Exams, just what does your lord mean by interfering?" His qi rose and Chen Haoran felt the familiar weight of the higher realm once again, though the poor guard was getting the brunt of it.
The guard's shoulders shook but he admirably kept his voice steady. "If you have any questions then you may present them at the City Lord's manor."
"Do you think we would run like dogs to him just because of a single guard?" the elder demanded. "I would like to see what the Exam Official has to say about this deliberate sabotage."
"The Exam Official is at the City Lord's manor," the guard reported.
The elder hadn't been expecting that and looked at the guard in surprise. Nobody else had either going by the murmured whispering other seniors were exchanging.
"Turn back please," the guard said a final time.
"This is ridiculous," Xie Jin groaned. "What's going on."
Chen Haoran turned to Song Yuelin. "Is this some kind of test?"
"No," Song Yuelin frowned. "They would have separated the participants from their escorts if that were the case. Doing it this way risks offending too many of the local elite."
"Maybe they're just a dick?" Chen Haoran reasoned.
"Nobody is that petty."
Chen Haoran stared.
"What?" Song Yuelin asked, nonplussed. "I'm not petty."
Chen Haoran was about to argue the point with him when they were interrupted.
"You seem to be in good health, Lan Fen."
An elder appeared in front of Lan Fen, white of hair and beard. Chen Haoran almost mistook his coloring to come from age were it not for the three other heads of white hair behind him. Two of them were even familiar, Lan Yao and Lan Jia.
"Hello Great Uncle," Lan Fen neutrally responded. Her eyes narrowed to slits when she saw Lan Yao and a small, superior smile crossed her face.
Lan Yao looked infuriated.
Chen Haoran frowned and stretched out his sense toward the Lan Elder, he had been around enough powerful cultivators lately that he was not burned when he did so for the man was a proper Liquid Meridian realm. Lan Fen's Great Uncle looked at him as well, briefly furrowing when he saw Song Yuelin, before returning his gaze to Lan Fen.
"I must say I'm surprised you recovered. I was led to believe your condition was permanent."
"I was simply fortunate."
"I would like to hear more of it back at the estate then," The Lan Elder said. "Perhaps over some tea?"
"I am afraid we will have to do that another time, Great Uncle."
"We do have quite the trip back through the mountains ahead of us," he smiled. "More than enough time to reconsider."
Chen Haoran froze as he processed the words. There was plenty of wilderness between here and the city for the Lan family to ambush them. Thankfully they had Song Yuelin.
Song Yuelin noticed his gaze and smiled. He motioned his eyes toward the Lan Elder, winked, and mouthed out two words.
Not. Deal.
Chen Haoran paled.
Song Yuelin nodded.
He made a mistake, the deal with Song Yuelin was only to make sure the Earth-rank techniques stayed as Chen family property. Unless the Lan Elder tried interrogating him for it Song Yuelin wouldn't make a move. He probably wouldn't even if the Lan Elder killed them all right now.
His thoughts raced, they were still okay for now so long as Lan Fen's Great Uncle was wary of Song Yuelin. As soon as he tried fighting though they'd be exposed. He looked around, they couldn't leave alone-
"Is this the time to pursue personal grievances, Lan Xishen?" interrupted the bushy-haired Elder.
"There's always time for you not to get involved in my personal grievances, Yan Qi," the Lan elder, Lan Xishen, snorted.
"Not when we have more pressing matters," Yan Qi said. He waved behind them to the other cultivators. "We will all be going to the City Lord to seek answers for this ridiculous charade."
"And I will join you, I too desire answers."
"We will all go," Yan Qi repeated with deliberate emphasis.
Lan Xishen frowned and looked behind him to the other cultivators who were patiently watching. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned around. Lan Yao gave Lan Fen a poisonous look as they left.
"Thank you, Senior Yan," Lan Fen said, clasping her hands in a bow.
"I am only looking at the greater picture," Yan Qi blandly replied before he too left.
Chen Haoran let out a sigh of relief. He didn't fully understand why Yan Qi had helped them but it probably had to do with politics. They were the ones to expose the Lan family's secrets, he probably wanted to keep them around as a thorn in the Lan family's side for the time being. Chen Haoran couldn't help but think his last words were a warning though.
They didn't say much else as they joined the group while Yan Qi and the other Liquid Meridian realms organized the journey back to Clearsprings City. The Lan family thankfully left them alone and placed themselves on the opposite side. Along the way, they absorbed other groups of examinees and ballooned to over two hundred in size. As they approached Clearsprings City and marched through its gates the elders barked orders at their younger generations to peel off and inform the families what had happened. The streets quickly cleared as people, both cultivators and civilians, made to avoid their small army on its way to the City Lord's palace.
"Isn't this pretty dangerous?" Chen Haoran asked aloud as they reached the palace. A squarish thing built solidly out of large stones and painted bright red. The building reminded him of his manor, except grander, design-wise. There was a significant amount of interests involved here about to enter the seat of the local government. If tensions ran over what was the guarantee it wouldn't devolve into fighting?
"I for one am interested in seeing what the City Lord is planning," Song Yuelin said.
Of course he would be. If the City Lord was acting strange then the Chen family would want to be the first to know. At least with his status as a hostage, he could count on being kept safe. Whatever was going on this time should be some kind of spat between the City Lord and the major families.
The guards immediately made way upon seeing them and they passed under the entrance gate, wide enough to allow them all through at once and still have space left on either side.
Right as they entered the entrance hall Lan Fen hunched her shoulders. Her golden eyes narrowed into an intense glare, her previous calm confusion transforming into sharp wariness. "Husband," Lan Fen whispered, reaching out her hand.
Chills crawled down his spine. He grabbed her hand in a white knuckle grip and stood shoulder to shoulder with her. Song Yuelin and Xie Jin looked at them in confusion. Chen Haoran flicked his eyes to every corner and curtain and past every guard and servant. It was a futile effort, whatever could panic Lan Fen to this extent would be beyond his ability to discover.
The palace entrance hall opened up into a public court, at the head of which sat a long table and ornate throne perched on a dais from which the City Lord would conduct government business and hear petitions. The City Lord stood to the left of the throne, to the right was a tall woman dressed in a robe the color of bloody crimson. A dragon embroidered with silver-white thread wrapped around the robe with its head stopping at her shoulder, its one-clawed arm stretched to her neck as if to grasp it. Both dispassionately watched the Liquid Meridian realms line up in front.
"She should be the Exam Official," Song Yuelin whispered. "Crystal Transformation realm."
Yan Qi, the selected spokesperson, regally stepped forward and bowed towards the Exam Official first, then much more shallowly to the City Lord. "As loyal citizens of the Empire, we presented our juniors to the testing of the Palace Exam so that they may serve as righteous officials," he bellowed. "City Lord, a guard dispatched from this palace and bearing your symbol has interfered with our participation in clear violation of the law. We ask for an explanation, may the Exam Official provide us justice."
Yan Qi bowed once again at the end of his speech and the other elders bowed and echoed him. The City Lord and the Exam official remained silent. Chen Haoran's unease grew. The elders waited and did not speak.
Why was the City Lord not sitting on his throne?
Loud footsteps echoed from behind the dais. Doors leading deeper into the palace were pushed open and a young man entered the hall. Song Yuelin immediately pulled Chen Haoran behind him, his jovial smile replaced with stone-like seriousness. Chen Haoran watched Yan Qi and Lan Xishen pale as if they had seen a ghost.
Ghost was a good way to describe the man who entered. He looked as if someone took a member of the Lan family and washed them out even further, his skin paler than snow with bone-white hair to match. His crimson robe, equal to the one the Exam official wore save that his dragon had four claws instead, only served to highlight his lack of color. Except for his eyes. Two bloody irises, a deeper red than his robes, seemed to burn out at them from his skull.
The young man nonchalantly sat upon the throne.
The City Lord puffed his chest and pitched his voice with qi in a thunderous proclamation that beat in Chen Haoran's chest. "Presenting His Highness Prince Shen Jianyu!"
"Fuck," Song Yuelin whispered.
Chapter 45: This Young Master Meets A Peacock
The bluster of the Elders was strangled and they scrambled to be the first to bow after Shen Jianyu's appearance. Lan Fen dragged him to bow so low he couldn't even raise his eyes to see the prince. The rest of the crowd quickly followed suit. Praises and hails rang through the air and he trembled beneath the weight of them.
Chen Haoran's mind raced seeing Song Yuelin's reaction. He hadn't been this worried even when the City Lord was threatening to kill them. Lan Fen panicked before entering the palace and then a prince of the Empire appeared. Song Yuelin panicked, the prince being here was bad for them. Why? Was it because of the deal the Chen family had with the City Lord? They had hidden it from the various forces in the City, were they hiding it from the Empire too? Was it something the Empire shouldn't know period?
"You may rise," Shen Jianyu said. He did not pitch his voice with qi. It did not matter. Every cultivator here would strain their ears to not miss a word. "You must be wondering why you were told to come here." He smiled. Chen Haoran heard more than one breath hitch. "I was in the area and heard it was playing host to a Palace Exam." He nodded to the Exam Official.
Was he really here for the exams? Were there going to be some additional tests added? What was so special about them that royalty would get involved?
"I heard that the exam was rather important to the people here," Shen Jianyu continued. "So I canceled them."
What?
A wave passed through the crowd, the sheer disbelief almost manifesting into something physical. Lan Xishen shuddered, Lan Yao widened her eyes, Lan Fen pressed her lips into a tight line, Song Yuelin was carefully blank-faced, Xie Jin openly gaped. The City Lord and Exam Official seemed just as surprised as they were.
"You're welcome," Shen Jianyu said.
"Your Highness I must protest," the Exam Official said. "This is unprecedented!"
"What is so unprecedented about me using my royal authority to decide on matters established by royal authority?"
"This is an overreach, your Highness."
"Send a memorial to the court then. Let me know when you find someone who cares."
The Exam Official's face pinched into something ugly but she ultimately stood down. Shen Jianyu looked down at the gathered elite of Clearsprings City with boredom. It started to dawn that he was serious, the exam would indeed be canceled.
"Is this it?" Shen Jianyu asked the City Lord.
"This should be the majority of the participants Your Highness," the City Lord bowed and answered.
"Perhaps I'm doing the Palace School a favor then. I canceled the Exams because everyone was trash, that would be a good enough excuse don't you think?"
The City Lord bowed even lower. "As you say."
Had the prince really canceled the exams on a whim? Just to be a dick?
Shen Jianyu chuckled. "Are you annoyed with me?"
"Never!" the City Lord squawked.
"This Exam would have been good for your record though. I would hate to mar your sterling reputation." Shen Jianyu snapped his fingers. "It would waste too much time to send them back to the Exam site. How about we hold the Exam here instead?"
The City Lord paled. "There is no need Your Highness! None here are fit for the Palace School. It's only by the Empire's grace that they are allowed a chance at all."
"We'll do as you say then," Shen Jianyu said.
Their conversation didn't go over well. Chen Haoran could see Lan Xishen grit his teeth, the other elders didn't look better. The youth were even worse, he saw more than a few veins popping as they held in their anger. It was understandable, their opportunity for advancement was stolen from them and they were forced to stand and listen to their rulers insult them. They remained silent however, they all did. This was the power of the Empire, that just a single prince could change the fate of Clearsprings City on a whim.
This wasn't going to do the City Lord any favors however, the situation in the city was already delicate and Shen Jianyu would not stay here forever. The people here would remember the City Lord's words and take them back to their families. Perhaps that was the prince's intention? To drive a wedge between the City Lord and the major powers of the city.
Chen Haoran gripped Lan Fen's hand tighter. That didn't bode well for him if the prince was really here for the City Lord. If the Chen family's deal with him was exposed then Chen Haoran would be the first to suffer the consequences.
"Alright," Shen Jianyu sighed. "This has been rather boring." He casually waved them away. "You all may leave, if you have any complaints then send a memorial to the Palace."
They bowed once more to the prince and turned on their heels. The anger that had carried them into the city had been punctured and they left deflated and defeated. Song Yuelin dragged Chen Haoran and Lan Fen away as soon as they exited the palace. Xie Jin hesitated whether to follow them or not but a single glare from Song Yuelin rooted him in place. Chen Haoran looked at him apologetically but couldn't say more in the face of Song Yuelin's urgency.
"Who was that?" Chen Haoran demanded as they sped through the streets.
"Shen Jianyu, thirteenth prince of the Empire, " Song Yuelin tightly replied. "A dangerous, insane bastard."
"Is that bad for us? Is he here for us?"
"I don't know," Song Yuelin snapped. He grabbed Chen Haoran and Lan Fen's wrists and ducked into an alley. Liquid shadow bubbled out from his sleeves and draped over them like a cloak. Chen Haoran had no time to adjust to the sudden blindness when Song Yuelin suddenly accelerated.
He could only liken the experience to being whipped around on a roller coaster through a dark tunnel. He couldn't tell if his feet were planted on the ground or if Song Yuelin was dragging him through the air like some sort of trailing flag. The shadows cloaking him blocked the wind force of the no doubt ludicrous speed Song Yuelin was going at, just as it blocked sight, feeling, or any sense of being anywhere. The only things Chen Haoran could feel were his thoughts and the yellow qi coursing through him, qi and mind. In Song Yuelin's shadow he was just a skeleton of meridians and the shaking mind within it, waiting for the darkness to recede so he could put his skin back on again.
He felt sick.
The shadows receded and Chen Haoran was a man again. His knees gave out, the sudden halt of motion combined with the blinding assault of light stunned him. He reached for his qi to clear away the pains, but his stomach roiled and he bent over and vomited. He blinked away the tears in his eyes as his senses returned to him and spit out the sour in his stinging throat before sitting up.
They were in an alley, one of the city gates was in view outside its entrance. It was the same gate Chen Haoran used for all his trips into the Clearsprings Mountains. Song Yuelin and Lan Fen stood before him. Lan Fen looked fine despite being just as unprepared as he was, and a bitter part of his mind was not surprised.
"I apologize for the discomfort Young Master Chen but the situation called for it," Song Yuelin said. He reached out a hand but Chen Haoran slapped it away and shakily rose by himself.
"What situation?" Chen Haoran hissed. "You haven't explained anything! You don't even know what's going on!"
"Whatever the reason for Shen Jianyu to appear here is, it won't be good for us if we catch his attention," Song Yuelin patiently explained.
"If he were here for us he would have done something when we were in the City Lord's palace," Chen Haoran retorted. "He's probably here for the City Lord, you saw how he was fucking with the guy."
"Yes," Song Yuelin agreed. "And how much confidence do you have in the City Lord that he won't expose us if pressed?"
"He's a Crystal-" Chen Haoran began but his words died as realization came over him. Nothing that had been said about the City Lord painted him as reliable. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Would the Chen family really make a deal with such a flaky bastard?"
Song Yuelin was grim. "An Imperial prince personally appearing in the region was beyond our expectations." He sighed. "We may yet be safe but it's better to be cautious and lay low for the time being."
Chen Haoran frowned and looked at the gates. "Why did you not bring us to the manor?"
"We will be leaving Clearsprings City until the situation either blows over or blows up," Song Yuelin answered.
A harsh screeching filled the air and they looked over to Lan Fen dragging her nails across the alley wall and leaving long white marks on the brick
She folded her arms and looked at Song Yuelin calmly. "When did I agree to leave with you?"
Chapter 46: This Young Master Leaves The City
"This is no time for quibbling Lady Fen," Song Yuelin frowned. "I am saying this for your benefit."
"Your good intentions run counter to my goals, Manager Song," Lan Fen replied.
Song Yuelin scoffed. "Need I remind you that you are Young Master Chen's legal wife? Any issue that affects the Chen family affects you in turn."
A stormy look appeared on Lan Fen's face. "You overestimate my connection and underestimate my means to avoid detection. I will not be leaving the city."
"Okay stop!" Chen Haoran stepped between them and held out his hands. He turned to Song Yuelin. "Is leaving the city really our only option?"
"We don't have the means to properly hide within the city if our identities are exposed," Song Yuelin said. "Putting as much distance between ourselves and Shen Jianyu is the safest option."
It was a reasonable plan, and Chen Haoran certainly agreed with it, at least in principle. The issue was that being alone with Song Yuelin in the wilderness for an extended period was the last thing he wanted to do. He couldn't just convince Lan Fen to leave though, with her sensing and pocket space she was the best equipped to hide and evade attention. It was a waste for her to camp out in the mountains. Not that they could let Song Yuelin know that.
"How about we split up? Lan Fen and I will-"
"Impossible." Song Yuelin immediately struck the idea down. Chen Haoran clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Don't accommodate her Young Master Chen, it was the Chen family she married into and it is the Chen family she will obey."
He frowned, that was taking it too far. "It was only a temporary arrangement that we both agreed on, don't be a dick."
"Were you thinking about that when you taught her the Canyon Carving Sword?" Song Yuelin sharply asked.
Chen Haoran was startled. "What does that have to do with this?"
"You gave the technique over to the Chen family, naturally the only ones allowed to use it are those connected to the family."
"Just for that reason?" Chen Haoran said, dumbfounded. "You saw me write that annulment paper, you stamped your seal on it! Why are you only saying this now?"
"It is my duty," Song Yuelin grimly answered. "I assisted you because I didn't believe she would use it."
"You fucker-"
Lan Fen placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. "Do not mind it," she said, glaring daggers at Song Yuelin. "I expected this when you originally came to me with the idea."
"Why didn't you say anything then?" he demanded. "Why didn't you say anything…" his words petered out. Pieces clicked in his head. He locked eyes with Lan Fen, burning gold looked back at him. "Is that why you haven't turned in the annulment papers?" Chen Haoran whispered. Whatever Lan Fen saw in his face must have been something to behold because she looked away first.
Lan Fen never looked away.
"I had some hope," he said, he could scarcely hear his voice. "Every day you didn't turn in the letter I had a little more."
That they had bonded over the circumstances. That there was something shared between them. That their sham of a marriage had a chance to be something other than fake.
"Chen Haoran-"
He held up a hand and rubbed his eyes. "Is there any more I need to do Lan Fen?"
"The Lan family's destruction is assured now," she said, her lips set in a thin line. "I will handle the rest."
"Okay," he quietly replied. He turned to his other problem. "Song Yuelin, we're leaving," he commanded.
Song Yuelin raised an eyebrow. "I have not heard a satisfactory reason to leave Lady Fen here."
"Here's your reason," Chen Haoran said, raising his palm toward Song Yuelin. "I can't hurt you but I swear if you test me one more time the next thing I do will alert every powerful cultivator in the city."
"A bluff only works on people who don't know any better, Young Master Chen."
"I'm sure you know a whole lot," Chen Haoran bitterly laughed.
Song Yuelin studied him and for a moment he thought would finally drop his charade. Instead, his loyal servant sighed. "Fine. Do as you wish."
"Let's go then." He brushed past Lan Fen and stepped out of the alley with Song Yuelin in tow.
"Chen Haoran!" Lan Fen called after him. She clasped her hands and dipped into a low bow. "Thank you. I will never forget what you have done for me."
"Make sure you turn in those annulment papers," he tiredly said.
Song Yuelin placed a hand on his shoulder and darkness covered him.
When Song Yuelin released him from his shadow they were well into the Clearsprings Mountains. Thankfully Chen Haoran managed to keep both his feet and his stomach this time. Song Yuelin silently observed him get his bearings. Chen Haoran silently ignored him. They silently stood there until Song Yuelin turned around and shot off deeper into the mountains. Chen Haoran cycled qi to his legs and followed him.
Song Yuelin set a brutal pace through the trees. Much like he did on the way to the Palace Exams he scared away any monster in the way with short bursts of qi. Those too slow in getting out of the way were slapped away without him breaking stride. The scenery around him twigged Chen Haoran as familiar, it wasn't until they broke into an unnaturally circular clearing dominated by a single large tree and the skeleton of an even larger snake that he realized why. He slowed for just a moment in recognition of his first real victory.
"Don't fall behind," Song Yuelin called over his shoulder.
Chen Haoran gritted his teeth and doubled his efforts, coming just up to Song Yuelin's side. "Where are we even going?"
Song Yuelin didn't look at him, he was intently staring at a rectangular block of green jade in his hand. Golden words much like those he could see through the Gifting power flashed and disappeared across it too fast for him to see. "The port, we can monitor the situation from there and, if need be, quickly leave the territory."
Port? He rocked his memories, let alone ports there weren't even any other cities beyond Clearsprings City, they were going in the wrong direction for that. Did Song Yuelin plan to double back? It took two days of traveling for Chen Haoran to admit he was wrong. Song Yuelin really wanted them to go through the mountains. He knew that the ocean was on the other side but there was no port in Clearsprings City's territory.
That he knew of. What about one he didn't? A port where the maps said there were no ports, where they could keep tabs on the city and safely escape. A port that Song Yuelin knew about. A Chen family port. Was that their deal with the City Lord? The coastline was also technically his territory, did they come to him to establish a secret port? It sounded illegal at least but it didn't explain why Song Yuelin was so panicked seeing Shen Jianyu. He couldn't even guess, he knew too little about the Chen family to come up with anything reasonable.
It was sunset on the third day that Song Yuelin slowed down from blisteringly fast to somewhat speedy. "Young Master Chen, I know you're not in the best of moods but not speaking to me for two whole days is a bit much."
"Whose fault," he gasped, "is that?"
Song Yuelin abruptly slowed down into a walk and Chen Haoran dug his heels into the earth and skidded to a stop in front of him. "What now?"
"I simply wish to talk," Song Yuelin said, walking past him.
"Is there anything to say?"
"I understand you and Lady Fen were close but that's no excuse for your behavior, Young Master Chen."
"I don't need to justify myself to you."
"I know that it's been years since you've returned but I advise you to not bring that attitude back to the family."
Chen Haoran snorted. Of course, going to the Chen family was exactly what he wanted to do. He would rather take his chances in Clearsprings City if that were the case. He had no illusions about his odds of escaping Song Yuelin however if the Chen family wanted him returned then it was only a matter of which knot Song Yuelin tied him with.
"Has the family ordered you to bring me back then?" he asked, sneering.
"Not quite yet, although I expect it to come soon. The City Lord drawing a prince's attention doesn't bode well for our future operations in the region."
Chen Haoran watched the sun dip under the horizon. It felt remarkably appropriate right now. "Tell it to me straight," he said, avoiding looking at Song Yuelin. "Will I be going as the Young Master or will I be going in chains."
"What are you saying?"
Chen Haoran clenched his fist and whirled around. Song Yuelin was frowning. Chen Haoran felt annoyance well up in him. "You can at least tell me this, or are you the same as Lan Fen? Did whatever bond we have only go so far?"
"Young Master Chen I'm not sure what you mean, of course you wouldn't return to the family in chains. Why would you think that?"
"Are you really asking that?" Chen Haoran laughed, the sheer gall of the man overwhelming him. "You," he spat. "My father sends an assassin to investigate me and you ask why I think going back will end poorly for me."
Song Yuelin held out his hands placatingly. "There seems to be a misunderstanding, Young Master Chen."
"And what would that be?" He ground out. "The fact that the Chen family has been investigating me is obvious."
"Your family isn't investigating you, for starters."
Chapter 47: This Young Master Makes A Break
Chen Haoran thought he had heard wrong. "What did you say?"
"There is no investigation," Song Yuelin repeated.
"Do you expect me to believe that?" he laughed. Inside though he was feeling sick with emotion. All the stress and negativity was bundling up into an angry core that Chen Haoran struggled to keep down.
"I understand why you would think so but it is the truth Young Master Chen."
"Manager Lin reported me to the Chen family," Chen Haoran said, shaking his head. "I know he did, it's why you came here. It's why you were so obsessed with staying by my side."
"Manager Lin did send a report," Song Yuelin said, nodding. "I was the only one who read it."
The ball of feelings that had been building up in Chen Haoran sputtered and fizzled out. "What?"
"I was the only one who saw the report."
"Are you telling me this whole time the Chen family has had no idea what's been going on?"
"That is correct."
Chen Haoran took a step back, then another. "What are you doing here?"
"As I told the City Lord, I came here on my own accord."
"Am I supposed to believe that from my father's personal assassin?"
"Even dogs are allowed to rest, Young Master Chen."
"You're avoiding the question." He took another step back.
Song Yuelin sighed. "What is there to avoid? I came here on a whim because I thought you were doing something interesting." He humorlessly smiled. "And I was right."
A storm whirled in his mind. Was Song Yuelin here for the source of his changes? Did he desire it? He hadn't wanted to be alone with Song Yuelin but he didn't think he'd be so quick to turn on him. Chen Haoran stepped back again and breathed. His paranoia was threatening to overwhelm him. He'd already made so many misjudgments because of ignorance, he couldn't rush into another because of panic.
Song Yuelin was still not telling him everything, that much could be seen. He doubted he would get a straight answer out of the man. Did he want one though? What would he do with it? What would it change?
Nothing.
The thought sprung like clear water through his murky mind. Nothing would change. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. He looked around the mountains. Were they always this big? The air was damp, the foliage around them a lush green, high above them obscured by a blanket of clouds were towering peaks. His ears pricked, sweet bird song and the distant roars of beasts filled the air. Underneath it all was a low, constant rumbling.
"Did you have fun?" Chen Haoran asked.
"Excuse me?"
He smiled. "Fucking around with me. I asked if you enjoyed it."
"Young Master Chen-"
Chen Haoran spun on his foot and raced off.
Song Yuelin was by his side in an instant. "Why are you running Young Master Chen?"
"Because fuck you that's why." He cycled qi to his legs and accelerated faster than when he had been following Song Yuelin. The forest around him was a blur of green. He focused on his qi and sped it to the limits his meridians would allow.
Song Yuelin crossed his arms behind his back and effortlessly matched Chen Haoran's top speed. Looking as if he were taking an idle stroll instead. "You know you can't outrun me Young Master Chen. Let's just talk."
"Now you want to talk," he huffed, he didn't stop running.
Now, when he finally had enough of his bullshit. As if he would actually feel safe if they started talking now. As if it would be enough to trust Song Yuelin after all this.
"It will be more effective than whatever this is," Song Yuelin said, as if he was the reasonable one in this situation.
"I hated myself for thinking you were my friend."
"What?" Song Yuelin faltered and Chen Haoran pulled ahead for a brief moment until he recovered and quickly caught up.
"Surprised," Chen Haoran viciously smiled. "You really almost had me. Even with all the stress you put me through."
Even when he thought the Chen family would find out he was a fake and drop the hammer on him he thought kindly of Song Yuelin. The qi pool, the training, the jokes, even now when Shen Jianyu appeared in the city. He was becoming friends with the man who would kill him.
Except he wasn't because Song Yuelin had apparently come here to just screw around.
The rumbling in the distance grew louder.
Everything had changed since Song Yuelin appeared. If it weren't for him he would have never gotten involved in Lan Fen's revenge. She had a plan to deal with her family, all he had to do was sit back and watch her do her work. He didn't need to fight or expose himself, but with the threat Song Yuelin represented he needed the guarantee of safety her pocket space provided.
He wanted his peace of mind back. He wanted to take back all the stress and worry. The looking over his back and the second-guessing. He wanted to take back exposing himself to the city and the Lan family. He wanted everything he had before Song Yuelin arrived, back.
Something white-hot started burning in his chest. "This is all your fault," he whispered.
If he left with Song Yuelin he wouldn't get anything.
Chen Haoran broke through the trees and stopped. In front of him was a raging waterfall larger than the skyscrapers of his old life. Its white water thundered down into a deep valley cut into the mountain. He looked over the edge and saw the river plunge further into the valley before going out of sight. There was nowhere to go.
"Oh look, a dead end." Song Yuelin shook his head. "The perils of running forward blindly."
Chen Haoran madly grinned. "I for one think Lady Luck is smiling at me."
"Will you cease this childishness now? I understand you are angry but I am willing to sit and discuss this with you."
"You make that sound like a privilege you're giving me," Chen Haoran snorted.
"There aren't many who would give you this much face Young Master Chen."
"Let's talk then." Chen Haoran reached into his storage bag and brushed his hand against smooth, cold metal. A pulse of qi left his fingers and sank into it, when Chen Haoran pulled his hand out of the storage bag it was followed by multiple blue-gray metal pieces floating under a strange power. He waved his hand and the metal wrapped around him, unerringly fitting together and locking into place. The helmet was last, opening up like a flower in bloom and closing around his head seamlessly.
"I've never seen you use that before," Song Yuelin said.
"I bought it before I met you," Chen Haoran replied, clenching his hands and testing the feel of the Wintersteel Essence Plate Armor. It fit snugly and surrounded him in a pleasantly cool sensation. He had only played around with it once after he purchased it from the auction and never used it again out of fear after Song Yuelin arrived. He stretched his arms and legs and, satisfied with the range of motion, pulled out his sword in one flowing move. "Shall we dance?"
Song Yuelin sighed. "Will you be satisfied after chopping me to pieces?"
"You think I could?" His sword glowed blue.
"Then why do you insist on continuing with this farce?"
Canyon Carving Sword
Blue sword energy cut like a river through the air. Liquid shadow spilled from Song Yuelin's sleeve and the sword energy disappeared in its depths.
"Would you even be hurt if that hit you?" Chen Haoran asked while cycling qi to his legs and rocketing forward.
"I would live," Song Yuelin answered, covering his hand in liquid shadow and batting away Chen Haoran's blade. "If you were to reach my level then you wouldn't have a scratch." He sidestepped an overhead slash and slapped the side of Chen Haoran's helmet. "Did your hardiness come from a spirit herb? I know you came into contact with a powerful one."
His Profound-rank armor proved its worth and absorbed the stunning blow, he fell with the force and stabbed at Song Yuelin's leg. "You even found out about that?" He rolled out of the way as Song Yuelin jumped over his sword and brought his leg down where his head used to be, his foot sinking into the earth.
"The whole training ground stank of it, I spent the whole night cleaning its traces" Song Yuelin yanked his foot out of the ground.
"So that's what you were doing in the outer training ground." That cleared up another mystery at least. He paced backward until he felt the back of his heel hit open air. "I thought it would air out on its own."
"You can't be careless with resources of that magnitude," Song Yuelin chided. "Are we done now?"
Chen Haoran balanced on the edge of the drop, the waterfall rumbled behind him. "I don't really want to go anywhere with you. I'm tired of walking on eggshells and I don't need whatever crap the Chen family will give me."
"It won't be that bad Young Master Chen." Song Yuelin casually approached.
"I'll fall if you take another step," Chen Haoran warned him.
"What did I say about bluffing?" Song Yuelin shook his head.
Chen Haoran tipped over the edge and felt the brief thrill of freefall. Song Yuelin instantly arrived and grasped him by his sword arm, halting his fall.
"Some of the stuff you've done makes some more sense now," Chen Haoran mused.
"For what it's worth Young Master Chen I enjoyed our time together as well." Song Yuelin almost looked sad as he said it.
"This sucks," Chen Haoran sighed.
"Are you finished?"
"Not until I see you squirm."
"You shouldn't ask for the impossible, Young Master Chen."
Chen Haoran madly grinned and placed his hand on Song Yuelin's chest. "Everything about me is impossible."
Ever since he came to this world he'd been constantly lacking in both power and knowledge. When it came to money, however, he had more than he knew what to do with.
In a space far too small to hold it bloomed the golden glint of 100 million gold taels. It erupted into existence as if from some invisible geyser. Song Yuelin could scarcely look down in shock before he was swept away in the avalanche of metal. The rush of gold carried Chen Haoran off the edge and down into the river below.
Wind whistled in his ears and he laughed as he fell. His sword glowed blue. Above him, liquid shadow erupted and swept away the rain of taels. Song Yuelin hurtled out of its curtain like a diving falcon.
Right into a volleyball-sized brown core that radiated power. The Liquid Meridian realm bear core that Song Yuelin had given him, improved a hundred times over. Song Yuelin's eyes widened.
Canyon Carving Sword
A river of sword energy arced up and split the core. A light flashed and Chen Haoran closed his eyes and braced for impact. The shockwave was hot on his back as he hit the water.
Liquid darkness claimed him.
Chapter 48: This Young Master Goes Spelunking
In the depths of nowhere a dark river was coursing. Out of those depths emerged an arm that blindly groped against slick cave stone. Eventually, a grip was found and Chen Haoran heaved himself out of the cold waters. He gasped and took in greedy mouthfuls of turbid air. A sharp pain ached in his ribs and he gently tested his bones, hissing in pain all the while. Not broken thankfully, but banged up. He had bet on the Wintersteel Essence Plate Armor combined with his enhanced durability to survive the fall, he had to ditch the armor however lest he drowned from being weighed down. The coursing currents had then carried him away and slammed him on what seemed to be every rock on the way down. His sword had been lost in the rush as well. Thankfully his storage bag was still securely strapped to his waist.
He looked around his new surroundings. He wasn't sure where the river had dumped him, whether this was where it led to from above or if he was somehow swept into another tunnel in the aftermath of the explosion. Gingerly he stood up and felt around in the darkness. There was room for him to stand and he felt empty air on either side of him. A cavern then? If it was this wide then that hopefully meant there were other ways out, otherwise he would have to take another chance in the river. Either way, he couldn't stay here for long. There was no telling how long it would be before Song Yuelin tracked him down. Jackass he may have been but Chen Haoran didn't believe for a second his little trap was enough to kill the man.
Not like he intended to kill him. He felt a guilty twinge as the thought struck him. He wanted to get away. It was only natural. Whatever Song Yuelin said, whatever his intentions were, he still obeyed the Chen family completely. The fact that he so faithfully acted in their interests despite ostensibly being here on a whim was proof of that. Song Yuelin had sealed the deal really when he said he hadn't been reporting to the family. A Chen family that had already heard about Chen Haoran's changes was much different than one that abruptly learned about them when he showed up at their door. Not to mention whatever it was that Song Yuelin wanted out of him. He couldn't risk that. So he risked getting away instead.
'Even dogs need rest Young Master Chen.'
He quirked his lips in mockery. Perhaps Song Yuelin would understand why he ran off.
He too needed to rest.
With all the grand powers Chen Haoran had both seen and used it was still the subtle applications of qi that struck him the most. Qi gently cycled to his head and gathered near his nose and ears, sharpening his senses such that he could make his way through the cavern he found himself in. He picked a direction directly opposite from the river till he reached a wall. Placing a hand on the wall he followed its length until he grasped nothing but air.
He bent down and picked up a loose stone and with a brief spike of qi threw it through the space. He counted the seconds in his head, stopping at 20 when he heard the stone clatter along the ground. He didn't hear it hit a wall.
He placed his hand along the wall of this new passage and followed it down, throwing stones every so often to gauge its dimensions. It was only when he rounded a bend that he saw a soft blue light glowing in the distance. He slowed his pace and crept forward. As he came closer to the light, hot, damp air blasted his face, and the wall he was leaning on felt wet to the touch.
A cavernous sauna greeted him at the end of the passage. The blue light he had seen was a glowing moss that covered the roof and ground. It illuminated an even larger cavern that Chen Haoran couldn't see the end of even with qi-enhanced vision. Not helping was the steam wafting through the air that rose from the heated pools that littered the area. He approached one and dipped a finger in its water. He frowned as he felt the qi contained within it. This had to be one of Clearsprings Mountains' famous spiritual pools. He looked around and spied hundreds of similar pools just within his field of vision alone. Assuming all the pools here were like this one then this place was a treasure indeed.
Which meant danger.
As if hearing his thoughts a body suddenly crashed into the pool in front of him. Chen Haoran cursed and jumped back as he was soaked by the hot water. The expected attack never came, however. Instead floating in the pool was… a sloth. It looked like a sloth at least, with its long arms and longer claws. Its back was coated in glowing moss. It burbled at him from the water with a glowing blue tongue and proceeded to doggy paddle around the pool. He stretched out his sense, Qi Realm Fourth-Layer. Chen Haoran looked up and saw more sloths. They stretched from stalactite to stalactite and chewed on the glowing moss that grew on them. When they lacked a stalactite to cling to they sank their claws deep into the stone and crawled along the roof.
He shuddered and took a step back from the pool and its swimming sloth. Even if it was a sloth it was still a cultivating beast, there was no telling if it would suddenly sprint over and split him open. At the same time, he wondered just how a sloth would get underground. Was it qi that let them adapt to the foreign environment? Why would they even need to stick to the ceiling anyway with so much moss on the ground?
The swimming sloth squealed and Chen Haoran ducked as something shot over his head and landed opposite him. A chittering dog-sized cricket from hell stared at him with its orb-like eyes. It rubbed its long spiny legs together in a noise that sounded like rock on a chalkboard.
"Oh hell no."
The monster cricket flexed its leg and shot toward him, reaching out with spike-covered arms. Chen Haoran held out his hands and two curved scimitars appeared in them. He planted his feet and slashed out at the cricket, splitting it in half down the middle. He quickly hopped back from the gooey corpse in disgust and stretched out his sense. The scimitars were like wind in his hands as he crossed them together and cleaved another ambushing cricket into three pieces. He focused his sense and relaxed his guard when he didn't detect anything.
He whipped off the bug guts from the blades and admired how light they felt in his hands. The Canyon Carving Sword was meant to be used through a single sword so he never bothered to pull out the paired blades before. The ease with which it carved through the crickets however showed how the Profound-rank weapon really was in a league of its own compared to the Mysterious Watersteel Sword.
Water splashed behind him and he whirled around to find another cricket had tried to attack the sloth in the confusion. Emphasis on tried. The claws that he had seen so easily pierce stone now stabbed through the cricket's head. The sloth was struggling to wrench its claws free while also keeping afloat. While it might be able to free itself there were equal odds that it would drown before it could do so.
Chen Haoran sighed. "I'm only helping you because you warned me." He waded into the pool and grabbed one end of the cricket. He carefully tried to grab the sloth's arm and was rewarded by it attempting to swing its other arm over. "Easy you little shit," he warned the squealing sloth. "I don't want you to drown." Whether it got the message or not it stopped struggling for a brief moment. Chen Haoran quickly grabbed the sloth's arm and ripped off the cricket corpse with a flex of qi before jumping out of reach.
Thankfully the sloth was more content with paddling around the pool than trying to turn his insides into outsides. Chen Haoran watched it splash around and huffed a laugh. "Qi can make anything viable I guess." Giant killer crickets and fast sloths. Truly they were monstrosities only this world could create.
Above them, the band of sloths called down to their fallen companion. The swimming sloth happily squealed back up at them, then looked at Chen Haoran.
He shook his head. "I draw the line at helping you get back up there."
The sloth cocked its head and squealed at him.
Then it floated out of the water.
Chen Haoran watched in stupefied awe as the sloth defied gravity and flipped upside down before rising all the way back to the cavern roof and wrapping its limbs around a stalactite.
He stood there in silence as the band of sloths squealed at each other. Water dripped down from the wet sloth onto his head.
"What the hell is this place?"
Chapter 49: This Young Master Is A Bachelor
The Spa Cavern, as he had taken to calling this place, had provided no answers as to its nature. All Chen Haoran knew was that it was very large and very easy to get lost in. The heavy steam from the heated spiritual pools obscured both his vision and his qi sense. It made traversing it much harder, not helped by the fact that so much of the ground was broken up by the numerous pools. Of which some, as Chen Haoran had unluckily found out, were quite literally too hot for him to handle.
The denizens of the Spa Cavern weren't making things any easier. The cave sloths were fine, they kept to themselves up on the cavern roof and were more focused on eating moss than bothering him. The crickets though were a menace. Their senses were better adapted to this place than his own and whenever they were in the area they seemed to unerringly home in on him. They were vicious things always bent on fighting and devouring whether that be him and the sloths or their fellow crickets. Once when they had thankfully ignored him he watched them target the sloths instead, leaping to the roof and grasping them with powerful legs and arms before dragging the screaming sloths down to be torn to pieces. He hated their raucous chirping the most. At least normal cricket sounds could be considered beautiful. These things on the other hand were hell-bent on being an assault on all five senses. The only saving grace was that they were all far weaker than him, he had yet to see one at the Fifth-Layer or higher.
He had a feeling that wouldn't last. Despite all this spiritual water around him he had yet to see a proper aquatic beast. He wasn't looking forward to when he did because for all that he complained about the cavern there was one thing that made all his troubles worth it.
Cultivation.
He wasn't sure if it was because of the pools themselves or if the natural qi here was inclined that way but this place was a haven for a water attribute spiritual root. Every pool he had found was infused with qi in some type of way. That qi-infused water then turned into qi-infused steam. That qi-infused steam was then easily absorbed and leeched of its water-aspected energy by Chen Haoran. This place was unlike anywhere he had cultivated before. Even if he could find a way out it would be a waste not to take advantage of it.
He really did need to find an exit though.
Chen Haoran yawned and pushed aside the boulder that sealed the entrance to his temporary home. He had carved out a little hole for himself in the cavern wall with a careful application of the Canyon Carving Sword. Fortunately, he had the foresight to stuff his storage bag with food and camping supplies in the event he had to bug out. Admittedly he had been preparing with Lan Fen's pocket space in mind but it served well enough here.
He stripped out of his sweaty clothes and jumped into a nearby pool. He felt its soothing energies ebb and flow through his body like an ocean tide. He had chosen to make his home here because the heat of the pools were perfectly in the Goldilocks zone. Hot enough to push him but not so hot that he couldn't handle it.
Chen Haoran breathed in deeply the qi-infused steam in the air and felt it sit heavy in his lungs. Cycling the Yellow Dragon River refinement he felt the steam dissipate into energy and soak into his meridians. The yellow dragon danced faster than it ever had before as if it had returned to its natural environment. It felt like he had little rivers flowing through his body being endlessly fed by a deep spring. The energy of the spiritual pool stole away the stress placed on his already enhanced meridians allowing him to cultivate for far longer than he could before. Chen Haoran watched the yellow dragon dance for what felt like hours before the exhaustion began to creep in. With the dancing came the expansion of his qi, he was seeing visible progress at a rate comparable to when he devoured greater cultivation supplements by the pound. It was a shame he didn't have anymore, he could scarcely imagine how fast he could cultivate in this place with the proper resources.
Slowly he came out of his meditative state, the yellow dragon sounding off a final satisfied roar. He opened his eyes and smiled at yet another successful cultivation session.
Then a sloth cannonballed from the ceiling into the pool.
Chen Haoran spat out water and directed an unamused glare at the swimming sloth. "You're doing this on purpose aren't you?"
The sloth burbled at him and happily paddled around the pool.
Perhaps because he had helped it before, perhaps because he was new and non-threatening, whatever the case this sloth had been consistently bothering him ever since. It would have been a nice, movie-worthy bonding of animal and man if the little beast didn't constantly swan dive into whatever pool he was currently occupying.
"Go on," he waved. "Shoo."
The sloth ignored him, lost in its own world.
"I don't even like sloths."
"So then he's like 'I came here on a whim' and he expects me to accept that?" Chen Haoran leaned back against the edge of the pool, an arm crossed over his eyes. The other hand ripped off a patch of glowing green moss growing around the pool and fed it to the waiting sloth. "He invades my privacy, acts like a prick, investigates everything I do, then wants me to wander off into the wilderness to some secret port and I'm supposed to follow him?" The sloth grunted and he fed it another patch of moss. "The worst part is he's helped me a lot too and I just don't know what he wants in exchange for that. Should I have really stuck around and waited till he dropped whatever favor he wanted on me?"
The sloth squealed.
"That's what I thought," Chen Haoran sighed. "Still, this is nice." He sank lower in the pool. Away from plots and politics, hidden dangers and overhanging threats. No Song Yuelin, no City Lord, no prince of the Empire. Here he didn't have to constantly worry about his fraud being exposed and getting a knife in the back for it. It would have been nice if he could have woken up in a place like this. Where no one knew who he was and he didn't have to pretend to understand what he didn't.
There was a soft skittering of carapace on rock. Chen Haoran didn't move as the monster cricket lunged at him. On his ears, two golden earrings set with orange-black tiger eyes shone with dark light. An invisible wave of qi spread out and the cricket froze. In his mind's eye he could picture what the cricket saw, a giant tiger sitting above Chen Haoran's head preparing to pounce. The tiger roared. The cricket sped off. The sloth splashed him for more moss.
"Needy little shit," Chen Haoran grunted. He ripped off more moss.
There was a sudden feeling of glass shattering. Chen Haroan shot up much to the disgruntlement of the disturbed sloth. He clutched his chest and looked around with wild eyes in search of where that feeling had come from. Eventually, his gaze roamed up to the burning words floating in the air.
Everlasting Hundred Blessings Charitable Prosperity
Lan Fen's name had disappeared. He probed the Gifting power with his mind in search of her slot. Instead, he found the metaphysical equivalent of empty space.
He sank back down into the pool with a sigh. Lan Fen must have finally turned in the annulment papers. Chen Haoran didn't know what he felt in his chest. On the one hand he was relieved that his guess had been accurate, the marriage was indeed the basis of their connection. He was also happy that breaking the connection hadn't led to any adverse effects on the Gifting power. On the other hand… "I'm crazy," he laughed and shook his head.
The sloth angrily squealed at him.
Chen Haoran laughed again. "Guess I'm divorced," he told his sloth friend. That did lead to the problem of him finding a new connection though. He had to choose carefully lest he ran into the same problems he did with Lan Fen.
The sloth squealed again. "I don't suppose you want to marry me?" he asked, forking over more moss to appease its anger. Idly he checked his connection with the beast.
Connection: Negative
He froze. He hadn't expected it to work on an animal. Could there be a chance he could actually form a connection with something not human? His mind raced. Why couldn't it work? It's not like the connection being negative meant it was permanent, he just had to create the right relationship for it to be positive. Lan Fen had been negative before their marriage after all.
Chen Haoran shot out of the water again much to the sloth's displeasure. He pointed his finger. "You will become my pet."
The sloth squealed at him and floated away.
"Come back!"
Chapter 50: This Young Master Is Small
"Lil Float."
The sloth ignored him.
"Slakoth."
It coughed.
"Karn."
The sloth hacked and threw up.
"That name was pretty disgusting, sorry."
Chen Haoran sighed as the sloth disregarded his attempts to name it and floated away once again. He was stuck facing a philosophical reality. What was a pet? How did an animal become a pet? He couldn't just buy the sloth, nor could he just adopt it and claim it. Was a sloth, much less a cultivating one, even something he could domesticate? Did he have to domesticate it for it to become a pet?
Chen Haoran stewed over these questions as he once more submerged himself in a pool and cultivated. Or rather, gave the appearance that he was cultivating. His distraction hindered any real progress and he instead silently counted down. With warning from his sense he braced himself for the sloth dropping back down into the pool with a loud splash.
No matter how many times he annoyed it into floating off the sloth always dropped down into whatever pool he was occupying. It was an annoying habit but one that he'd tolerate in order to have more opportunities to win it over. Besides, it was at least polite enough to wait for him to finish cultivating before soaking him.
He ripped off a piece of moss and handed it over to the sloth. Its glowing blue tongue tickled his hand as it ate. It squealed at him, its previous annoyance long forgotten, then proceeded to paddle around the pool.
"I think I'll call you Phelps," Chen Haoran nodded to himself. It felt right. "Seeing that you like swimming so much." Unless it was a girl. He frowned, how did one tell a sloth's sex anyway?
"Come here Phelps," he cooed.
Phelps snorted and floated away. Chen Haoran looked on enviously. It would be nice if he could learn how to float like that or, better yet, fly. Of course, it would be best if he could find a technique to do that and gift it to someone. He frowned. He couldn't really gift a technique to a sloth now, could he? Was it even intelligent enough to accept gifts? Chen Haoran didn't think his power would let him make a connection to something he couldn't give gifts to. Or perhaps it would? It wasn't like this was some kind of video game.
He sighed and rose out of the pool. Trying to make a pet his connection would limit what he could gift it. It's not like a sloth had any use for weapons or scrolls after all. On the other hand, he didn't have to worry about it not accepting gifts because of pride nor did he have to be circumspect around it lest he revealed something about his power. It also helped that Phelps was weaker than he was.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to try to connect with an animal.
Not every spiritual pool in the Space Cavern was the same. While the majority held fatigue-removing properties, they were all on a spectrum of effectiveness that Chen Haoran could only tell through feeling. He did discover that it was better to alternate his use of the pools between cultivation sessions, for whatever reason it kept up the efficiency of his practice. Perhaps it was a quirk from their creation?
Chen Haoran toed his way around a frothy, bubbling pool. Droplets of burning water sizzled on his skin. A cricket burst out of the thicket of steam and he casually slapped it into the water and watched it melt.
How this cavern came to be was a mystery. Water gathering underground like this was normal. What could be heating it though? He didn't smell any sulfur and the Clearsprings Mountains weren't volcanic. Walking away from the boiling hot pool he knelt at the edge of the one right next to it and dipped his hands in. It was warm. He scooped up the water with his hands and drank. It was hot but fresh, with no metallic taste. Not only was the distribution of heat so radically different between nearby pools there was also none of the minerals so common to the hot springs back on earth.
Where did all the water even come from? All these independent pools but no source to feed them? Under all this heat?
He drank several handfuls till he had his fill, marked the stones nearby for future reference, then continued on. Using the Swiftwind sword as a walking stick to check for sudden drops. Although he wasn't any closer to finding an exit he was slowly mapping out the area around his camp.
Chen Haoran sighed. It would be nice if he could find anything other than crickets, sloths, and moss. Idly he pinched some moss and rubbed it between his fingers. What would he get if he connected to Phelps and gave him this moss? Perhaps Phelps could float because of his diet? Chen Haoran sniffed the glowing moss but, through the incredible power of common sense, resisted the urge to eat it.
Deciding that this exploration was a lost cause he turned around and made his way back to camp. He pulled out a small biscuit from his storage bag and chewed it as he went. He had enough food for a month at least. He either had to find a way out before then or get a taste for cricket. Chen Haoran shuddered at the thought and wiped away the cold sweat that prickled on the back of his neck.
He froze. Cold?
Chen Haoran did not move and cycled his qi. He felt a small chill on the back of his neck. The chill grew till he could feel it with his back. He looked down at his steam-covered legs. It undulated around him as it always did but the pattern of it was clear.
It was flowing away from him.
Chen Haoran whirled around and the first blast of steam hit him in the face. It was rushing now, a wall of steam that was growing ever denser and hotter. The sheer heat burned his skin and overwhelmed the protection provided by his qi. He cursed and quickly jumped into a pool and dove deep. Above him, the water roiled and the blue light of the cavern shone brighter before the water unnaturally stilled and the light became filtered.
Chen Haoran waited till his lungs burned before swimming up. He flexed his qi and broke past the ice covering the pool and entered a new world.
"What the fuck?"
His first thought was that it was cold. It shocked the heat from him and gooseflesh pimpled across his arms. Every mouthful of air was followed by a misty cloud. The pools around him were frozen with only the hottest still bubbling away. Frost covered the rocks and the glowing moss looked practically crystallized, their light dull.
His second thought was that he could see. The steam was gone, it had risen to the roof of the cave in an endless sea of clouds. What it revealed was a dark landscape of rocks and frozen pools that stretched farther than the eye could see. With frozen moss below and covered moss above the cavern was terrifyingly dim. Ahead of him was an outcropping of rock that stood high above the ground. With teeth chattering Chen Haoran rushed for it, cycling his qi so that he could dig his fingers into the icy stone and climb up. At its highest point, he stared wide-eyed back from where he came then to the endless expanse ahead. Instead of pools he saw lakes, both boiling and frozen, stalactites the size of towers hung from the ceilings and equally large stalagmites rose from below to meet them. Skyscraper-sized columns of stone separated the roof and cavern floor.
Chen Haoran shivered, whether from cold or from fear he did not know. This place… was far bigger than he could have ever imagined. Blue lightning flashed from the clouds and shattered a stalagmite. The echoing thunder hammered in his chest. Chen Haoran slowly climbed down under flashing blue clouds, mindful of the target he made. The thunder that beat down on him threatened his grip far more than the ice did.
"I'm a cultivator, what the fuck am I doing?" He steeled his resolve and jumped down rather than continue making a fool of himself. He landed heavily on the ground, qi absorbing the shock. Chen Haoran shook out his knees more out of instinct than need. He didn't need to fear a fall like that. He had power now.
The clouds rumbled and rain fell down in heavy sheets. It pounded on his head and shoulders and Chen Haoran bent under the force. Rain and thunder filled the cavern in one long, unceasing roar. Hunched over and cowed he slowly made his way back to his shelter.
What was a cultivator in the face of nature?