Chapter 89: This Young Master Has A Vivid Imagination
Chen Haoran left the Ever Spring Pavilion with a whistle and a spring in his step. An easy one hundred thousand taels would do that to a man.
"Have a nice day, honored customer," Chanchu said from behind him. "I'll have your purchases delivered to your address as soon as possible. We look forward to you purchasing with us in the future. "
Chen Haoran would have almost believed the merchant was saying it out of the kindness in his heart if it weren't for the beaming smile on his face that he couldn't seem to control. Chen Haoran and Phelps waved at Chanchu simultaneously. He looked at the sloth, the sloth looked at him and squealed. Chen Haoran couldn't help the burst of laughter that followed.
"Pardon me if I'm being presumptuous, sir," Chanchu said, his smile replaced with a mask of professionalism. He leaned in to whisper. "It's not uncommon for a cultivator to spend 20 thousand taels in one transaction here in Daqing. However, there aren't nearly as many who would do so for their animal companions."
Chen Haoran blinked. He looked at Chanchu with new eyes. The man was more perceptive than he thought. "I appreciate you telling me that. I look forward to doing business with you again."
He meant it too.
He returned home after purchasing some groceries and other essentials. Despite the detour, he still arrived far quicker than he had originally anticipated. The Ever Spring Pavilion really saved him quite a bit of time.
Phelps squealed.
Chen Haoran scratched the sloth's chin. "Don't worry. You'll be eating as much as you want later." He grabbed Phelps by the scruff of his neck and felt him loosen his grip. "Fly."
He threw Phelps off his back and into the air. Phelps canceled the force with his floating power and rolled his way through the air to the willow tree in the corner of the yard. He grasped a branch and flipped until he was hanging underneath it.
"For a cave boy, you sure adjusted to trees quickly, huh?" Chen Haoran asked.
Phelps squealed before pulling another branch close to him to snack on its leaves.
"Don't eat too much now." Chen Haoran called behind him as he placed today's purchases inside. "I'm going to feel bad if you give yourself a stomachache later."
Phelps seemed content to ignore his warning. Oh well. He would learn.
Chen Haoran stepped to the center of the courtyard and pulled off his robes. He paused before he cast the white silk to the ground and observed it in his hand. It was clean; at least he could give it that much credit. He ran his hand down one sleeve, felt its texture rougher than he remembered, and pulled at a loose thread hanging from the end of the cuff. In the stitching around the armpit, there was a small hole. It had seen better days, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it was the last one to survive the worst days. Between surviving in the Spa Caverns and journeying to Zumulu, he was lucky to have this much left.
Chen Haoran sighed and rubbed his eyes. How foolish of him. He was about to settle for less. "I came for a mansion. Not a hut." A wardrobe. Not a change of clothes.
He neatly folded the robes and placed them to the side, then retrieved from his storage bag an inconspicuous scroll. Faded green words were painted along its length.
Scattering Petal Palm
Chen Haoran rolled open the scroll and began to learn.
Water. Among the five elements, it was collected by Metal and nourished Wood. It extinguished Fire and was obstructed by Earth. As a Water Attribute Spirit Root, Chen Haoran could wield the energies of Metal and Wood through the elements' beneficial relationship.
That did not mean it was easy to do, however.
Under the hot sun of Zumulu, Chen Haoran attempted to cycle his qi in the way demanded by the scroll while moving his body in accordance with the martial forms depicted within it. Practicing the Scattering Petal Palm required visualizing one's hands becoming countless petals drifting along the wind. Everything he did now was an attempt to feel that visualization with his entire body. It was so much like his attempts at practicing the Canyon Carving Sword and so unlike it simultaneously.
For starters, his predecessor's body had experience with practicing the Stone Carving Sword for all that he didn't remember it. Despite what he thought, he hadn't been starting from zero like he was now. Sharing the same element as the technique was just icing on the cake at that point.
He ceased his useless motions and staggered over to the willow tree. Phelps squealed at him from the branches. He rested his palm against the tree's trunk and cast his sense out, hoping to glean some secret of Wood energy through the bark.
He felt a smidgen of qi. That was it. Chen Haoran sighed and slumped against the trunk.
He was tempted to pull out his scimitar to try and feel Metal energy through the White Tyrant's Harmonization. It was only a temptation, however. The obvious collateral damage that would occur killed the idea as soon as he had it. It most likely wouldn't have been that helpful anyway. Metal chopped Wood, he'd be going even further away from the feeling he was trying to emulate if he did that.
Feeling.
It was interesting to think about now that he had experience trying to achieve Harmonization. Every technique and method he'd used so far required him to visualize something as part of the learning process. When he tried to Harmonize with the Canyon Carving Sword, it essentially was the same, just… harder? With more feeling? Something in that vein. It had some interesting implications that cultivation involved training to emulate things, as Xie Jin had put it, greater than themselves. Scattering petals was Profound-rank. A river dragon and a canyon river were Earth-rank. From where he stood, it looked like the greater the visualization, the greater the rank. The difficulty of comprehension obviously rose with the increase in rank.
So why couldn't he, a man with a dragon racing through his veins and a god's image in his sword, mimic flower petals?
Chen Haoran shot up with renewed energy and assumed the form of the Scattering Petal Palm. He would master at least the barest trace of it today, or he would collapse. He would accept nothing less. The image of scattering petals in his mind was a vague one. What kind of petals? A strong wind blowing off a daisy's petals? A rain of rose petals in the wake of a marriage? How did they fall? In what way? What pattern? Who would even remember something like that even if they did observe it? Not him. Perhaps that was why he was struggling. The visual was the foundation, and his was as weak as it came. He needed a stronger one, something he could feel with his whole body.
A more personal image, then.
Imaginary petals became palms glowing green. Instead of wind, they flew with the relentless force of qi. Behind the storm, he saw the flower they fell from. Lan Yao stared at him with death in her eyes. A long bloody line was carved across her chest.
A figment of his imagination that she was, her palms still left his body echoing with phantom pain where they struck. It was the single most vicious beating he had received in his life and one he would not soon forget. His own palms rose in turn as he tried to mirror her strikes, hitting one palm for every five blows she landed on him.
Chen Haoran wasn't sure if he was faithfully remembering Lan Yao or selling himself short.
"Merely a reflection of reality," the phantom Lan Yao said. "Even conjured as I am by your thoughts, I am superior. Accept it."
"This is the most fucked up game of patty cake I've ever played." He was even making up dialogue now.
Lan Yao sent a flurry of palms into his chest, and despite himself, he stepped back. "No less ridiculous than trying to steal my family's legacy by trying to mimic me."
"It's working." He could feel it in his qi. The water was churning.
Lan Yao scoffed. "You are not my equal." As if to prove her point, she deftly twisted her palms and left him hitting air. The feeling weakened.
"You're right," he replied. He turned his palm into a hook to Lan Yao's temple. "I won, after all."
She guided the strike away in a motion he wasn't able to track. "I stood. You knelt. No amount of lucky epiphanies will ever change that fact."
"I'm alive. You're dead."
"That can always change."
Lan Yao's voice suddenly became deeper. Her delicate palm reached out to grasp his neck; as it did, it grew larger and rougher. The qi behind it ballooned to a Liquid Meridan's overwhelming force. A man's hand clutched Chen Haoran's throat, and he watched in horror as Lan Yao's proud beauty wilted into Elder Lan Qianbei's pitiless gold eyes.
Before Lan Qianbei could speak, a single leaf fell. The sudden intrusion of reality broke the spell over Chen Haoran. What he did next was part instinctual and all cathartic.
He swung out his hand toward the leaf, catching it in his palm, and slapped Lan Qianbei in the face.
The elder looked at him in shock as if the very idea that Chen Haoran would do such a thing was unbelievable. More leaves fell down, and Chen Haoran didn't stop. His palms followed each falling leaf and inevitably struck Lan Qianbei. The specter raised glowing green hands to protect himself. When Chen Haoran slapped those palms away, Lan Yao stood before him again.
"No," she growled. "No!"
Her palms became a whirlwind, and Chen Haoran matched her blow for blow. There was a pressure building in his hands. His qi twisted and churned with every palm strike, the force of the blows crushing it further until the pressure finally gave way. In each hand, a seed of green qi was formed. His water qi immediately rushed into the green qi, and the seed sprouted. The green qi grew and spread throughout his hands like branching roots, stretching across his palms and up through his fingers.
His palms glowed blue-green.
"Damn you!" Lan Yao roared.
Chen Haoran smiled. "Go whine in hell."
He lashed out like a rain of falling leaves, and Lan Yao's phantom body broke apart in a scattering of orchid petals. The light in his palms went out as soon as she disappeared, and Chen Haoran returned to reality. His body was soaked in sweat, and his lungs burned with every breath he took.
He looked up.
Phelps was still hanging in the willow tree, gorging himself on leaves. He pulled the branch closer, knocking loose more leaves that fell and landed in Chen Haoran's hair.
Chen Haoran wanted to laugh, but his lungs wouldn't let him. He fell to the ground instead.
"Never lose that appetite, Phelps," he said in a raspy voice.
Because he would make sure the sloth could eat anything he ever wanted and then some.
Chapter 90: This Young Master Doesn't Vibe With The Elderly
Chen Haoran made good on his promise.
Received Hundred-Fold: Qi Congregation Pill
Received Hundred-Fold: River King Grass
Received Hundred-Fold: Jade Maiden Bellflower
Received Hundred-Fold: Three Gorge Pill
When given the choice, Phelps's preferences leaned toward resources with a water element to them. It made sense considering the nature of his home. It did leave Chen Haoran wondering about the nature of a beast's cultivation. Did they have elemental affinities the same way humans did? Did they have spirit roots at all? From what he had been told, cultivation was something a beast did instinctively. They went through the same Layers as a human cultivator but without needing a cultivation method. What greater scenery did they try to emulate then?
Chen Haoran watched Phelps gorge himself among the materials the Ever Spring Pavilion delivered. It wasn't as big of a pile as he imagined for 20 thousand taels, but it was enough.
He crouched over Phelps and stroked his fur. "Whenever I get beast materials as a reward, it changes the beast but never the realm. Is that it, then? Bloodlines? Is there some greater beast they try to become?" Phelps, feeling his hand on his back, looked up and squealed. "I wonder what kind of sloth you'll grow into."
Phelps stared into his eyes. Chen Haoran scratched his chin and stared back. Was that shine he saw in the sloth's eye's qi or something else?
Phelps hacked a cough and threw up in his hand.
"I knew you'd regret those willow leaves, you little shit!"
As if to make up for its lack of nightlife, Stonebridge seemed to pack as much activity as it could into the evening. Not to say it wasn't bustling the rest of the day, but the crowds took on new life when the sun flipped its arc from east to west and spared a few cool degrees on the city's baking bricks.
Chen Haoran wasn't the only person walking along the riverfront without bones. Stonebridge was thankfully multicultural enough that he didn't stick out like a sore thumb, although he was clearly not local. Phelps had been left back home to work through the results of his poor choices. Every so often, however Chen Haoran would receive another notification of reward. It seemed even an upset stomach couldn't completely halt Phelps's gluttony. However, he couldn't discount the possibility of Phelps going the way of the Romans and vomiting in order to eat more.
Received Hundred-Fold: Qi Congregation Pill
Chen Haoran shook his head in exasperation. He would have to bring back ginger ale or the equivalent before he returned.
Unlike the White Ridge City, whose docks were tucked between the Mountain General's massive stone fingers, the docks of Stonebridge lined the river on both sides from wall to wall. Markets big and small were dotted in plazas and fountain squares close to the river. People, both cultivators and non, rubbed shoulders and hawked their wares. An elderly man cooked bowls of glass noodles next to a young cultivator of the Fifth-Layer displaying fur pelts. A troop of girls in pastel dresses with bells dangling from bone bangles elegantly danced and offered baskets of spirit flowers and creams. A Ninth-Layer surrounded by his compatriots stood tall upon a wooden box and accepted bids for the massive monitor lizard corpse behind him.
Chen Haoran pushed his way through and waded through the stalls. Selling off his rewards by the handful and purchasing whatever curio caught his eye. Nothing truly helpful for his cultivation, but it would serve to brighten the house. It was a passing distraction. The real money was to be made in the bigger, more established shops. He wanted to familiarize himself more with the city before he started getting down to business. Moments to relax had been coming few and far between for him as of late.
He stopped in front of a stall- no. Calling it a stall was too much. An elderly woman had laid out a faded carpet in a corner of the plaza and piled carved bone ornaments and figures onto it with seemingly little care. Bracelets, armbands, and rings were stacked atop each other, some were unadorned, and others were carved with intricate images of battle or beasts. Tigers lounged around herds of elephants. Dragonflies with near-transparent wings huddled together while a troop of praying mantises and spiders were arrayed around them as if hunting. Buttons shaped into fish were scattered between larger statuettes of fish in leap and snakes specially carved such that they seemed to sway like the real thing.
Chen Haoran wouldn't say he had an eye for quality, but from the way, the woman deftly wielded her knife to shear off slivers from the bone she was holding in her wrinkled hands, he didn't think it was a stretch to say she made all these herself. The single spot of black amid the white bones had really brought him over here. A black bone dragon coiled before the woman, its head raised to the sky in a defiant roar. He could practically see the arrogance contained within its glossy black eyes.
He pointed to the dragon. "How do you sell this?"
The old woman harrumphed and didn't bother looking up. "I don't sell to the likes of you."
"Excuse me?"
"Must I repeat myself?"
Chen Haoran was left speechless. He cast out his sense. No cultivation. She was as normal as normal came.
The brave woman sliced off a particularly large piece from her bone. "Are you just going to stand there?"
Was this the shoe being on the other foot? He shook his head and turned to leave.
"Pah," the elderly woman spat. "Leaving with your tail between your legs just because of some mean words. A Zumulu youth could never."
Chen Haoran stopped. "Are you going to sell me something then?"
"Of course not."
He snorted and walked away from the rude woman.
What was it with old people having no chill?
"We thank you for your business. Please feel free to come again, sir!" The attendant bowed and said to Chen Haoran as he left the shop.
Sitting in his storage bag now was a bundle of gold-colored paper. He'd made his 20 thousand taels back, and Phelps hadn't even finished eating everything he bought from the Ever Spring Pavilion yet. A few more transactions like this, and he'd have something resembling real funds saved up before the Golden Lily Association auction. Any annoyance he had felt regarding the rude old woman was long gone. It was a shame he couldn't get his hands on the dragon sculpture, though it would have made a nice gift for Xie Jin. Or maybe he could have given it to the Machu River? He wasn't sure what the preferences of a sentient body of water were, but it seemed to be of the sort that was easily pleased.
Now all he had to do was pick up some stomach remedies for Phelps and—
"How many times do we gotta teach you this lesson, old woman?"
Chen Haoran frowned. When he searched for the abrasive voice, he found three men surrounding the rude old lady from before. A quick cast of his sense marked them as Third-Layer and below. Nothing particularly threatening to him but way beyond what a non-cultivator could handle.
"My ears aren't what they used to be, you'll have to speak up, boy."
Of course, that didn't seem to dissuade the crazy lady.
Chen Haoran considered for a moment whether he should intervene. It wasn't any of his business, and there was no reason to go out of his way to help a rude person like her. His gaze inadvertently fell on the black dragon carving once more.
Maybe he could get a discount?
"You bitc—" the Third-Layer's curse was cut short when Chen Haoran bumped past him and sent him sprawling to the ground.
"Were these the youths of Zumulu you were telling me about, ma'am?" Chen Haoran put himself between the old lady and the thugs.
"Bastard," growled the Third-Layer as he picked himself up. "What the hell do you think you're doing—"
Chen Haoran spiked his qi.
"Sir…" the Third-Layer weakly added. All three paled as they realized just how far out of their depth they were.
"What youth?" The old woman snorted. "All I see are washed-up has-beens."
"Excuse us, sir," the Third-Layer said, mustering up his courage. "We have some business with this woman."
Chen Haoran lifted an eyebrow. "As do I." He shooed them away. "Get in line."
The men took the hint and scattered without looking back. The old woman scoffed as they fled.
"Can I buy that carving now?" Chen Haoran asked.
"Of course not."
He frowned. Was she really going to be this obstinate?
The old woman waved her knife at him. In her other hand, the bone she'd been working on had an impressively detailed tree carved in relief on its surface. "Are you just going to keep standing there?"
"This again? Really?" He couldn't believe this. At least a thank you would be nice.
"Look down, you fool."
Confused, Chen Haoran lowered his gaze and found he had stepped onto her carpet. Bone splinters surrounded his foot. He lifted his leg and winced when he heard a cracking sound. The shattered remains of what had once been a bone beetle stared up at him.
Oh…fuck.
Chapter 91: This Young Master Meets Some Familiar Faces
"Next time you try to play hero, try to avoid damaging anything, will you?"
"I said I was sorry."
Chen Haoran and the old woman wandered down various streets and alleys of Stonebridge. Chen Haoran had the woman's carpet thrown over his shoulder like a sack. From within came the clicking and clacking of her bone wares. He thought it was the end of it when the old woman extorted him out of a gold tael for a sculpture he was positive wasn't worth that much. The old woman still wasn't satisfied and had him help pack up her goods and carry them home for her.
"Bah, will your apology cut it if what you stepped on started bleeding instead of breaking?"
He felt his eye twitch. "You know I can just drop your stuff and leave, right?"
The old woman scoffed. "Go ahead. Prove me right that you foreigners aren't worth a damn."
"I don't actually care about upholding anyone's image." He really didn't. It's not like he was actually from this world, let alone any of the nations here. "How do you even know I'm not from here anyway? You haven't looked at me once." It took him a bit to notice, but it was true. She hadn't lifted her gaze at all when he met her or when the thugs were bothering her. Even now, when he was walking her home, he still didn't know what her face looked like.
The old woman sniffed. "I can smell the Peacock's water on you, boy."
Chen Haoran frowned and sensed her again. Still mortal. But was that true? Lan Fen could hide her cultivation level after all, or rather, the White Tyrant helped her hide it. Xie Jin could seemingly smell the Peachwine River on the Reservoir Town cultivators as well. With how connected his cultivation method was to the Machu River, it wouldn't be strange if someone could recognize it on him the same way. "Really?" he asked, just to be sure.
"Of course not." The old woman said. The disdain in her voice was clear. "Do you really think I can do something like that? It's your accent, you fool. Do you think you sound like my home?"
Chen Haoran was glad the woman wasn't looking at him. Otherwise, she would see him flush red. Right, why twist himself in knots of doubt when the obvious answer was there?
The sun began dipping beneath the horizon, and the last rays of purple sunset reflected off the time-polished stones of Stonebridge. Around them, people closed up shops and made their way home ahead of the curfew. They were heading away from the river and deep into the city. Father Time had lovingly worn smooth the bricks of the houses surrounding them and draped them with curtains of crawling moss. The canals thinned out into twisting gulleys that wrapped around the roads and homes like snakes. The water of the Skyspear they carried stole the darkening sky's reflection and burbled black, purple, and gold.
"It's a beautiful city no matter what the time is," Chen Haoran said.
The old woman hummed. "At least you can appreciate art." She ran a liver-spotted hand along a smooth wall as they walked. "Oldest continuously inhabited city on the continent. Even when the Snake King poured the coffers of an empire into the city, its age still showed through no matter how new the material."
The old woman led him to an unlit street. A chorus of crickets chirped in tune from one house to the next. Rising and falling like a conducted orchestra. It was far more pleasant music compared to the monstrous hunting screeches of the Spa Cavern crickets.
The old woman sighed. "If you're going to steal the dragon, now is the time to do it."
Chen Haoran was brought up short. "Excuse me?"
"I recommend not to try killing me here, however. I still have some louts I'm playing host for. Heaven forbid I let them try to use my kitchen."
"Ma'am, I'm not sure what you're saying."
"You're a cultivator, a decent one, I imagine. Why else would you let an old mortal coot take advantage of you like this? That piece of crap wasn't worth this much."
Oh. Well, he could imagine it looked quite bad from her point of view. Still, he couldn't help but ask. "If you knew all that, why go out of your way to be so rude? From what I've seen, cultivators aren't above killing for a slight."
The old woman scoffed. "I'm old, boy. What do I have to fear that isn't already coming for me?"
"Crazy lady." Chen Haoran shook his head, laughing. "I'm going to have to disappoint you. I'm not here to rob you or kill you."
"Then why?" He could hear the stern confusion in her tone.
"Asking for hundreds of gold taels would be taking advantage of me. Asking me to fight someone for you would be taking advantage of me. A single gold tael and helping you carry your things home are pretty insignificant for me compared to what I can actually do. Why not lend a hand then?" He cocked his head in thought. "Well, you were pretty rude. That's enough reason not to help. Let's just say I'm a nice guy."
The old woman was silent all the way up till they stopped in front of a small house with a vivid red door. A trio of worms were patterned all along the door frame.
"You want me to carry this inside or just leave it here?" he asked.
"Come inside," she finally said. "I'll make you a bowl."
"Oh no, I'm fine-"
The old woman whipped out her hand and slapped his arm. "None of that," she scolded. "No one leaves my home without eating anything. This granny will spit blood and die before that happens." She still didn't look at him.
Oho? Was she coming around to him, perhaps? Chen Haoran smirked. "If you insist. How about that dragon statue while we're at it?"
"Business is closed," came her blunt reply. She placed her hand on the brass door handle. "I swear. Young men these days are just the strangest sort."
The door swung open and revealed a single-room. It reminded him of a smaller version of Sister Jia's home. A roaring fire sent up smoke up through a hole in the ceiling. The light illuminated a table where dinner was already underway.
Chen Haoran stopped.
The two, unfortunately, familiar faces at the table froze.
Wang Xiao let his noodles slip from his mouth. Jiang Lei paused midway through a sip from his teacup.
Wang Xiao and Chen Haoran spoke at the same time. "Fuck."
He dropped his bowl and pointed an accusing finger at Chen Haoran. "You!"
The old woman kicked him in the shin.
Wang Xiao bit back his curse and glared at the woman.
"Has no one ever taught you pointing is rude? And what kind of language is that? And where did you get this food? Are you trying to say my cooking isn't good enough? What-"
On and on her tirade went. Wang Xiao's glare didn't go away but he visibly shrunk under the verbal barrage. Having once also been on the receiving end of an elder's disapproval, Chen Haoran almost felt sympathy for him.
Almost.
It was his senior brother who came to his rescue. "Our apologies, elder. We did not mean to insult your food. We simply didn't wish to continue taking advantage of your cooking."
The old woman coldly snorted, and she imperiously motioned to the table. "Clear away that garbage. I'll have some real food ready in a few minutes." She looked back at Chen Haoran for the first time. Cloudy white eyes locked gaze with his own. "Shut the door and come sit."
She was blind? And she led him to her home without him noticing that? He shook the extraneous thoughts out of his head. There were more immediate issues. He looked at the smiling Jiang Lei and the angry Wang Xiao. "Actually, I have a sloth waiting for me at home, so I'm just gonna go now-."
"In," came her clipped command.
"We would be honored to have you join us, Master Chen," Jiang Lei unhelpfully added.
He didn't have much choice, it seemed. Joy.
Chen Haoran set down the old woman's goods with a sigh and considered his options. Does he sit next to the Liquid Meridian Realm or the guy who hates him?
"Please feel free," Jiang Lei said, patting the cushion beside him.
With another sigh, he sat beside the last person he expected to see again. Xie Jin lied to him. Zumulu wasn't a big place at all.
"I cannot say I expected to meet again this soon." Jiang Lei was relentlessly positive.
Neither did he.
"Likewise," he weakly said. "How's it hanging, guys?"
Wang Xiao slapped the table. "I demand a duel!"
Right. What did he expect?
Chapter 92: This Young Master Has Bad Reflexes
A wooden ladle slammed onto Wang Xiao's head. "Not in my house, you won't," the old woman said.
Wang Xiao clicked his tongue but reined in his anger after a warning look from his senior brother.
The old woman placed bowls of steaming pork broth in front of them. In the center of the table, she laid out a massive platter of noodles, small cuts of meat, leafy greens, and thin-sliced mushrooms.
"Thank you for the meal," Chen Haoran said.
Jiang Lei clasped his hands and gave his own thanks. Wang Xiao remained stubbornly silent.
The old woman waved them off and seated herself. "Eat."
Jiang Lei caught Chen Haoran's eye and graciously nodded his head toward the platter. Left with no other choice, Chen Haoran awkwardly used his chopsticks to fill his bowl and eat.
His first bite was one of surprise. His second was one of need. Such were the laws of unexpectedly good food. The pork broth was full of flavor, and the noodles absorbed every bit of that flavor in a combination that punched him in the mouth like the wild pigs of the Clearsprings Mountains. It was by far the best meal he'd had since entering Zumulu.
"It's delicious," he said.
"Agreed." Jiang Lei echoed the sentiment. "You used a milder flavor this time, Elder."
The old woman paid their compliments no mind and deftly picked out a mushroom from the platter. "The foreigner can't handle real heat."
Chen Haoran frowned. "How did you know I don't like spicy food? I never mentioned that."
He flinched when the woman unerringly locked a blind eye on him. "I can see the weakness in your soul," she intoned.
Chen Haoran likened his current feeling to that of a deer caught in headlights. "You're… talking about spice," he hesitantly said. "…right?"
She pointed her chopsticks at his bowl, and part of his mind went wild trying to figure out how she did. "Eat."
Chen Haoaran didn't. He placed his chopsticks down. "I don't believe I ever learned your name, ma'am."
"You can't learn what you were never taught," the old woman said. She grabbed more noodles from the platter and dumped them in Wang Xiao's bowl. "You can call me Granny Jiang."
Jiang. His eyes involuntarily shifted right to Jiang Lei. Had this been a setup? Had the Liquid Meridian tracked him down and laid out a bait that he waltzed into? Or was this Granny Jiang the one really pulling the strings? None of it made sense, though. He gripped the table.
"I met a man named Jiang, actually," he said, far calmer than he felt. "Old Jiang, a ferry captain."
The old woman snorted. "No wonder then."
What? No wonder what?
"Jiang is a common surname," Jiang Lei patiently explained. "It's a coincidence that this elder and I share it in common."
"Names are the least of the things people have taken from the rivers," Granny Jiang added.
Chen Haoran hummed a noise of understanding and turned back to his food to disguise the relief he felt. Despite this, he was sure Jiang Lei picked up on what he was feeling. He still wouldn't say he felt safe, but there were too many inconsistencies for them to be out to get him.
"How did you end up meeting Granny Jiang?" he asked.
Jiang Lei laughed. "I dare say it probably was not much different from how you did. When we arrived in the city, we were looking for accommodation when her wares struck my eye. I believe she took pity on us and invited us as guests." Something flashed in his eyes as he looked between Granny Jiang and Chen Haoran. "Meeting you like this was quite the surprise."
Chen Haoran watched Jiang Lei and Wang Xiao with wary eyes. Xie Jin had been endlessly suspicious of the duo when they first met. It was perhaps a good thing that his fiance dragged him out of the city because Chen Haoran couldn't imagine him taking meeting them again any better than he did. He couldn't help but mirror Xie Jin's suspicion. While he had yet to look at a map of Zumulu, he at least knew Stonebridge was even further away from Reservoir Town than Snake's End was. What reason did they have to travel out so far when they could have remained home to cultivate by the Peachwine?
He thought back to their first meeting. Wang Xiao had said their purpose was to do good and protect order. To that end, they were hunting criminals and capturing them alive. That in itself was a clue. Jiang Lei could have killed those poachers but didn't. He reprimanded Wang Xiao for his behavior at the inn. Being seen doing good and maintaining a good reputation was important to them.
Chen Haoran finished off the rest of his broth and sighed in contentment. He put aside his theorizing. What they wanted to do was none of his business, and he had no interest in pursuing the matter. In any case, he didn't know enough about Zumulu to make a call one way or the other. So long as Jiang Lei and Wang Xiao didn't bother him any further— Chen Haoran paused. He glanced at Wang Xiao, who was stiffly eating the noodles Granny Jiang had dropped into his bowl. When he saw Chen Haoran looking at him, he glared, the fire clear in his eyes. Chen Haoran amended his thought: So long as Jiang Lei didn't bother him any further, he had no reason to go out of his way and investigate them.
He pushed away from the table and stood up. "Thank you for the meal, Granny Jiang." Despite the fact she was blind, he still clasped his hands and bowed. "Unfortunately, I really must go now. My friends-" he emphasized "-are still waiting for me."
Granny Jiang casually waved him off. "Begone with you then." Wang Xiao stood up after him, but Granny Jiang pulled at his sleeve. "Where do you think you're going? You need to eat. You make every rumor about Southerners being skeletons look true."
"I have business-" Wang Xiao began, only for his other sleeve to be grabbed by Jiang Lei.
"Come now, Junior Brother," he said as he stuffed Wang Xiao's mouth with another slice of meat. "I have to agree with Elder Jiang." He looked over his shoulder at Chen Haoran and winked.
Taking the help for what it was, Chen Haoran quickly fled out the door and escaped. Leaving Jiang Lei's laughter, Granny Jiang's scolding, and Wang Xiao's muffled shouting far behind him.
The next time he met any of them would be too soon.
As he raced back home, Chen Haoran only had one thought in his mind.
He had to start getting his banknotes in smaller denominations.
While it was not quite yet curfew, it was close enough that Chen Haoran ran into more than one infuriating patrolling team of guards who decided to be an asshole about it. Thankfully his cultivation was high enough that he wasn't so easy to bully. Even luckier was that money seemed to be a universal weakness among the guards who felt his cultivation and still came to press their luck.
Unfortunately, he seemed to run into a Catch-22. He'd get stopped and waste his time speaking with and paying off the guards before he could continue on his way, only to then get stopped by another team of guards much later into curfew and repeat the process. It was clearly a racket, but he couldn't be sure if it were deliberately arranged by the security forces of the city to extort as much money as they could or if he was just unlucky.
There was only so much he could do to avoid them without looking like he was deliberately hiding from the guards. Being accused of being a thief or a sneak would open up an entirely different can of worms that he'd rather not deal with. He was thus left with relying on his sense and sight and hoping he got lucky enough to turn onto a different path before running into a guard team. He was met with varying levels of success. If he could see the guards, then they were just as likely to spot him as well. His sense wasn't yet powerful enough to outdistance sight.
It was a time like this when he missed Lan Fen's, more accurately, the White Tyrant's, sensing ability. How convenient she had it to have all the goings-on of an area basically at her fingertips. Having to deal with the White Tyrant's personality would have been worth it for that alone.
He sighed. "I should've had Song Yuelin teach me a stealth technique." Having something that'd let him hide and avoid a cultivator's sense would be incredibly convenient right about now.
Chen Haoran's skin prickled, and he laid his hand on the hilt of his scimitar for reassurance.
How many times had Song Yuelin observed him with him none the wiser? How many times did the White Tyrant? They were both so far above him, not just in realm but in skill. How could an ant realize it was being stared at by something far larger than it in scope?
When it was being obvious.
Chen Haoran drew his scimitar and slashed behind him. White light flashed and cut away the night. Long marks were scored into the stone bricks beneath him. His sword was stopped, but the image of a split sky continued on.
Peach-colored liquid qi covered the street and buildings and shielded them from the effects of the White Tyrant's Harmonization. Jiang Lei, having failed in sneaking up on Chen Haoran, caught his scimitar with his hands. Liquid qi battled with the white cutting energy, and blood leaked freely from Jiang Lei's hands.
"Well," Jiang Lei said with no small shock. "That's twice today I've been surprised."
Chapter 93: This Young Master And His Stalker
Jiang Lei caught his scimitar with his hands. Chen Haoran's whole being thrummed with the White Tyrant's image, yet Jiang Lei caught his sword despite that. It was not a mark against the power of the Harmonization. It was Chen Haoran who was the issue. Could he even call it Harmonizing when his half made the White Tyrant's so much less?
Even so. The White Tyrant would bite his head off if he learned he let someone just catch his sword.
His scimitar flashed bright white as if bolstered by his imagining of the White Tyrant's anger. Jiang Lei's eyebrows rose high, and he quickly let go of the sword. Chen Haoran could hear the metal of his weapon scream as swung to recreate an image he wasn't worthy of. Jiang Lei's peach-colored liquid qi split like clouds, and the cobblestone street parted beneath them as if they were making way for a royal procession. Even as a memory, the White Tyrant would accept nothing less.
Despite this, Jiang Lei was not affected. His liquid qi fell off the buildings in a large wave, swallowing Chen Haoran whole. The peach qi burned his skin, and he immediately wielded his Harmonization to cut himself out. Jiang Lei suddenly appeared at that moment and placed his hand on Chen Haoran's chest. The next thing he knew was whiplash as Jiang Lei sped up far faster than he could perceive.
The world became streaks of grey and black until it abruptly stood still. Chen Haoran's back slammed into the ground, and the air was knocked out of his lungs. A galaxy of stars in the night sky was put in sharp relief, and he admired them until his wits returned. He tried to roll, but Jiang Lei was there again, kicking his scimitar out of his hand so hard he could hear the bones crack.
The scimitar flew away, and Chen Haoran's Harmonization flew with it. He completed his roll and stood up, but he might as well not have moved. He'd forcefully been turned back into himself and was left all the worse for it. His eyes flicked to where his scimitar fell and sank blade first into the earth. The thought of sprinting for it arrived quickly and was just as quickly discarded. Jiang Lei would not let him grab it again, he'd lost as soon as he let go. He quickly looked around the area for any potential escape and found none. Jiang Lei had brought him to an empty park. Even if he caused a commotion, he'd be dead before any help could arrive.
Chen Haoran's palm glowed green as he assumed the Scattering Petal Palm's stance. He ignored the shooting pains in his left hand. This was it then. His last stand.
Jiang Lei held up his hands. "My apologies for startling you. This isn't how I intended for this to go."
"Come," Chen Haoran tersely said. He did not leave his stance.
Jiang Lei sighed. "I admire your determination, but do you really think you could change anything by fighting right now?"
"No." He had nothing left to resist a Liquid Meridian Realm. He was dead. Even so, he would at least die standing. "There's someone who'll avenge me. I'll see you in hell, bastard."
"The Black Bone Shaman, right? Don't you think that's a good reason for me not to kill you?"
Chen Haoran still didn't know what a Black Bone Shaman really was, but even if he did, it wasn't Xie Jin's face that appeared in his mind. He dared to say they were friends, but he couldn't with confidence say Xie Jin would seek vengeance for him. It was Lan Fen he thought of. She would hunt Jiang Lei and kill him. He knew she would. The White Tyrant would do the same because he'd be offended that someone got the better of his Harmonization. A vicious smile crossed his face at the thought.
"Kill me if you dare," he taunted.
"I feel like we're having two different conversations here," Jiang Lei said.
"What do you expect me to believe when you attack me at night?" Chen Haoran demanded. "Can I really expect to survive once you've gotten whatever it is you want from me?"
"Not with that attitude, you won't," Jiang Lei grumbled. He sighed in aggravation when Chen Haoran tightened his stance further. "No, I didn't mean it like that; I-" he sighed again and sat down on the ground. "I just wanted to talk to you. We couldn't really have a conversation with my Junior Brother staring daggers at you."
"And so you sneak up on me?"
"My apologies. When you advance in strength, a world of advantages is opened up. When something is effortless to do, one doesn't normally think twice about doing it." Jiang Lei grimaced. "Even if that effortless action can negatively affect someone else." He placed his hands on his knees and bowed his head. "I am sorry. It hasn't been that long since I ascended to the Liquid Meridian Realm myself, and yet it seems I've already forgotten what it was like to be powerless."
Chen Haoran stared at Jiang Lei. It… didn't seem like he was lying? Bowing like that wasn't easy for any cultivator, particularly for those in higher realms. He was reminded of Lan Fen again, this time for different reasons. His eyes flicked one more to his scimitar.
"You can pick it up if that will ease you," Jiang Lei said. "I apologize for knocking it away so forcefully. I couldn't manage your power nearly as well as I believed I could and wanted to avoid further destruction within the city."
Keeping Jiang Lei in sight, he slowly backed over to his scimitar and picked it up. The blade flashed white, and Chen Haoran sheathed it before his Harmonization could do more than cut marks into the ground. Even though it would make no difference to the end result, he still felt safer in front of Jiang Lei with the sword in hand.
With his hand firmly clenched on the hilt, he gave Jiang Lei a hard look. "What do you want?"
"Would you believe me if I said I wanted to be friends?"
"Not a chance in hell."
"Right. I'd say I've ruined my first impression rather thoroughly."
Chen Haoran had to wonder what world Jiang Lei was living in if he thought his initial impression was at all good to begin with.
"How did you even notice I was behind you?" Jiang Lei asked.
Chen Haoran was wondering that himself. He couldn't say it was anything he did or realized in the moment. Just…
"You suck."
If Song Yuelin was a shadow on the wall and the White Tyrant a spy satellite, then Jiang Lei was the equivalent of breathing down someone's neck. It would be stranger if Chen Haoran didn't notice him.
Jiang Lei seemed to be slapped in the face by Chen Haoran's words, as if he hadn't expected that it was his lack of skill that was the issue. "Ah, I seem to have overestimated my abilities in that case."
"If you're going to beat around the bush and not tell me what you want, then let me go and leave me in peace," Chen Haoran said.
"I really did want to get to know you better." Jiang Lei nodded to his scimitar. "Even more so now. I've never seen anything like it, but that's Harmonization, no?"
"What business is it to you?"
"Simple curiosity and a desire to learn. Perhaps I could improve my own Harmonization by observing yours."
Chen Haoran remembered what Xie Jin said. Jiang Lei must have noticed something off about him before when he first fought Wang Xiao. Did that mean he would believe him? No. If Jiang Lei really wanted to compare notes, he would have offered it when they first met. It wasn't his Harmonization that had the Liquid Meridian follow him tonight, that was for sure. He doubted he'd get a clear answer either. Still, the fact that he didn't kill him or kidnap him meant it wasn't something immediately detrimental to his safety.
"If you've observed enough, I'll be going now."
"Wait, wait, wait," Jiang Lei said, holding up his hand. "I don't do one-sided transactions. Perhaps I could give you something in return?"
He frowned. "Like what?"
"A sparring partner, perhaps? And some advice." He tapped the sky-blue scabbard of his own sword. "You don't prefer using single-edged blades like what you've got now, am I right?"
"You saw that?"
Jiang Lei smiled. "I may not be the strongest swordsman in the city right now, but if I called myself second in skill, no one else could claim first."
Chen Haoran lifted a brow. "That's some arrogance."
"Unlike most, I am prepared to back up my words if need be. Your Harmonization is strong, but if it weren't for my liquid qi blunting its effects, there would have been plenty of collateral damage tonight. While I don't know how you came to develop it, I know it shouldn't be running out of control like that."
Chen Haoran was torn. On the one hand, he could recognize the attempt to stick close to him for what it was. On the other hand, Jiang Lei was right. His Harmonization should have become a main part of his combat style. Instead, it was a last resort because of its destructiveness.
He observed Jiang Lei's earnest look and sighed. If not this, then something else. "As long as you're better at teaching than you are at stealth," he said.
"Brilliant!" Jiang Lei said with a bright smile. "With that out of the way, we should probably run now."
"Excuse me?"
Chen Haoran got his answer when several flares shot into the sky and turned night into day.
Chapter 94: This Young Master's Pet Stinks
Perhaps unsurprisingly, no matter how extortionate the city guards were, causing property damage had them rushing to do their jobs. What was very surprising was that Jiang Lei was much better at running away than he was at sneaking up on someone. After the guards turned night into day with their flares, he bundled up Chen Haoran with his liquid qi and sped off.
Despite being carried on marginally better terms now, Jiang Lei's liquid qi was just still just as caustic to his skin and left him feeling as if he'd been scrubbed raw with steel wool. Chen Haoran chalked it up to being a property of Jiang Lei's cultivation method. Xie Jin did mention the Peachwine River was poisonous, and given its coloring and peach scent, he'd bet dollars to donuts that Jiang Lei's cultivation method was based on the river. It was still better than when Song Yuelin had carried him. At least this time, he was aware of his surroundings outside the liquid qi, even if it stung. He'd take pain over sensory deprivation any day. At least it smelled nice.
Thankfully Jiang Lei soon put him down. Chen Haoran breathed deeply of the fresh air. Even if he liked the smell of peaches, there was such a thing as too much.
"I'm quite thankful that my liquid qi doesn't bother you," Jiang Lei said. "This would be a mite more difficult if it did."
"I wouldn't say I'm not bothered," Chen Haoran said, coughing.
Jiang Lei shrugged. "If you're not suffering burns, then you're fine."
He wasn't sure if being so casual about terrible wounds was a cultivator thing or something unique to Jiang Lei.
"Are we safe now?" he asked.
"Well, the guards will keep searching for a few hours. So long as we don't cause any more trouble, they'll give it up. We only tore up a street, after all. They're not going to invest too much energy. "
"What are we waiting for then?"
"I don't know where you're staying."
Chen Haoran stared at him. "Why would I tell you that?"
"If you'd like to try getting back by yourself, I won't stop you. With the search going on though, you'd be pulled in for questioning if you get caught. I would assume you'd like to keep the rest of your money."
"You make it sound like I can't avoid the guards."
"In a word: You suck."
Chen Haoran grimaced. He had a point there. "Would they really take the rest of my money?"
Jiang Lei raised an eyebrow. "Can you prove your money wasn't going to commit a crime?"
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."
"Considering our reset relationship, I don't believe we're close enough to joke quite yet."
"We were never close enough," Chen Haoran corrected. He sighed. It wouldn't be a complete loss if he lost all the money on him. He still had Gift rewards he could sell. Spending time in the cultivator version of lockup didn't sound like his idea of a good time, though. Who knew how long it would take for him to get out? There was no helping it. "I'm in the north."
Jiang Lei smiled. "Perfect. Hold on."
Miracle of miracles. They safely returned to his house and only had to knock out six guards on the way. When they landed in his courtyard, they were assaulted by a foul smell that had not been there when he'd left.
"Ah," Jiang Lei said, pinching his nose. "And this is why I don't have pets."
Phelps, the little trooper that he was, finished the entire pile of pills and spirit herbs while Chen Haoran had been away. After completing his monumental task, he'd promptly rolled over and, true to his nature as a sloth, didn't move from that spot for the rest of the day.
Even to use the bathroom.
Chen Haoran gagged. "Come on, Phelps. This is nasty."
Jiang Lei looked green. "Well, I was going to ask to stay for the night, but I think I'll take my chances getting arrested instead."
"Get out of here already."
"I'll be off then." Jiang Lei jumped over the courtyard wall. Chen Haoran stared at where he had left. Jiang Lei's head popped over the wall. "I'll be seeing you for training tomorrow Chen Haoran." Thus finished, he disappeared again, only to pop back up a moment later. "Also, I'll be bringing my Junior Brother along with me." He ducked down again. Then popped up once more. "Oh, and—"
"Go before you bring the cops here," Chen Haoran demanded.
"Alright, alright. Good night, Chen Haoran."
"Good night."
Jiang Lei left for what was hopefully the last time. Chen Haoran searched for his presence with his sense and found nothing.
He sighed in relief and held a hand to his head. "What a night," he groaned.
There was a sound like hissing air behind him, and Chen Haoran soon discovered how much qi could enhance gas.
He carefully pushed down his nausea and leveled a glare at his snoring pet biohazard.
First. Potty Training.
Jiang Lei made good on his promise and showed up bright and early at his front door the next day with Wang Xiao in tow.
"Good morning!" Jiang Lei cheerfully said. Wang Xiao scowled at Chen Haoran from behind him.
"Did you really have to bring this guy to my house?" Chen Haoran asked.
"I did say I was bringing him," Jiang Lei pointed out.
"I would have figured you'd had enough sense not to bring him here."
Wang Xiao bristled. "You dare?"
Jiang Lei held a hand before him. "At ease, Junior Brother."
"You expect me to hold myself back when he insults you to your face."
"This is what friends do," Jiang Lei said. "Chen Haoran and I are friends now."
"I object," Wang Xiao and Chen Haoran said at the same time. They shared a look. Wang Xiao pursed his lips in displeasure as if the mere act of agreeing with Chen Haoran on anything was painful to him.
Chen Haoran couldn't help but agree. He looked out past Annoying Things 1 and 2 at the street. A few pedestrians and neighbors were looking their way. They weren't doing anything suspicious, but a Liquid Meridian Realm would always attract attention. He doubted they'd put two and two together and report them to the guards for last night's disturbance, but there was no reason to chance it. He held the door open. "Come in before you draw more attention."
"Thank you, Friend Chen."
Now that he thought about it, Xie Jin was also like this when they first met. Was it something in the water in Zumulu?
The courtyard was far more decent now compared to last night. Every bit of waste and detritus was judiciously gathered up and eradicated from existence. It was a good thing the White Tyrant wasn't here. He was sure the ghost would strangle him for using his Harmonization to clean up shit. Unfortunately, the smell wasn't so easily gotten rid of.
Jiang Lei wrinkled his nose and waved his hand. A thin layer of peach-colored qi swept out from his feet and swept over the courtyard in a thin film. The smell of peaches wafted through the air. Jiang Lei waved his hand again and recalled his qi. "Much better."
"Thank you."
"Of course! What are friends for?"
Chen Haoran wasn't really sure about that. He had less annoying air fresheners.
Wang Xiao looked around the courtyard with narrowed eyes. "Where is the shaman?"
Chen Haoran deliberately did not reach for his scimitar. "He's out." That was all they would get from him. He would have preferred to hide that Xie Jin wasn't here, but he could have only kept up the pretense for so long.
"And your pet?" Jiang Lei asked. "I don't see it anywhere."
Chen Haoran pointed to the corner of the yard at a shoddily made outhouse. It was so poorly done that he'd accidentally broken the latch when trying to open it before. As if on cue, the door creaked open thanks to the lack of lock and revealed a grumpy Phelps sitting hunched over inside. He took one look at the gathered people and squealed unhappily.
"What a responsible owner," Jiang Lei said.
"Enough of that." Chen Haoran said. "You promised me training. What's the plan."
"First—"
"I challenge you to a duel!" Wang Xiao demanded.
Jiang Lei brought his fist down on Wang Xiao's head.
"Senior Brother!"
"No interruptions," Jiang Lei chided. "I've learned much from Elder Jiang. Do not make me use it."
"But—"
"No buts."
Wang Xiao bit his tongue and snarled at once again being denied his duel. Jiang Lei looked at him approvingly as if Wang Xiao looking like a kettle ready to boil over, was a settlement of the issue and turned back to Chen Haoran.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." He placed a hand on Wang Xiao's back and waved his other hand over him as if he were presenting an exhibition.
"First, you duel."
Chapter 95: This Young Master Has A Duel
If they had decided to fight then and there, Chen Haoran would be the first to object. He'd already paid the house rent for a year. Even if Jiang Lei put a sword to his neck, he wasn't going to waste his deposit by wrecking the place.
Fortunately, Jiang Lei defied his expectations and reasonably led him and Wang Xiao outside the city and into the jungle. It was a bit of a risk to leave the safety of the city given what he knew and, more concerningly, didn't know about Jiang Lei. Granted, if the Liquid Meridian wanted to do something to him, he would have done so already. Being in the city or outside didn't make much of a difference in that case. It was times like these that he missed Song Yuelin. While that snooping bastard was infuriating on a good day, his presence was still useful in warding off other Liquid Meridians.
They traveled into the jungle and away from the main roads until they entered a clearing shaded from the sky by a dense layer of branches. It was far enough away that their training wouldn't disturb anyone with their training but close enough that one could still see the city if they jumped above the trees. Phelps wasted no time in flying off his back and exploring the new trees. Chen Haoran let him do as he pleased, although his heart did leap into his throat when one of the tree branches revealed itself to be a snake that twisted and struck at Phelps. He was worried for naught when the snake had its head speared through by Phelps's claws. The sloth's cultivation had taken another huge leap forward with how well he'd been eating. It was only a matter of time before Phelps entered the Ninth-Layer.
Jiang Lei tracked Phelps with interest as he floated up to the tree and whistled in appreciation upon seeing him practice self-defense. "I can see why you keep him around now. That's quite the interesting pet you have."
He didn't know half of it.
Jiang Lei clapped his hands. "Alright. I hope you two are ready."
Wang Xiao had turned his back to them and was kneeling on the ground with his sword across his lap. At Jiang Lei's words, he awoke from whatever pre-duel ritual he was doing and spun to face Chen Haoran with a flourish.
"You do know this is a bad idea, right?" Chen Haoran asked.
"Don't worry," Jiang Lei cheerfully said. "He's tough enough that I can save his life with little issue. Feel free to go all out."
Chen Haoran shrugged. If he was that confident, then there was no reason to refuse. Besides, he would be lying if he said he didn't want to properly beat down Wang Xiao for what happened last time. Now that he had an excuse?
"You caught me off guard last time," Wang Xiao said, sneering. "I'll properly educate you of the difference in our standings."
Oh, he was going to enjoy this.
Chen Haoran raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you wait until after you lose to start making excuses?"
Wang Xiao scowled. "Senior Brother, start the duel."
"Let's have a productive and educational spar now," Jiang Lei said. He raised his hand in the air.
Wang Xiao fell into a stance. Chen Haoran twitched his hands. He considered using the Scattering Petal Palms. He looked at Wang Xiao's tight grip on his sword and decided against it. Facts had proven Wang Xiao could cut him. There was no need to risk losing his fingers by fighting him barehanded. He grabbed the hilt of his scimitar.
Jiang Lei's hand fell. "Begin."
Water-like ripples spread from Wang Xiao's feet, and he skated forward. He drew his sword in the same motion. Chen Haoran pulled out his scimitar in full, and the ground split beneath his feet. He slashed the blade, and Wang Xiao's face morphed into shock. He immediately turned, and dove out of the way as white energy tore through his water ripples like tissue paper.
"I warned you not to underestimate him," Jiang Lei said. A careening blade of white energy flew over to Phelp's tree. Jiang Lei placed himself in its way and protected the tree with a wall of liquid qi.
Wang Xiao's shocked expression quickly gave way to a scowl. He stomped on the ground, and the water ripples spread from his feet like a wave. He shot off faster this time. Chen Haoran stood in place and sent slice after slice of white energy at him and everything around him. He was less aiming and more deciding everything in a certain direction deserved to be cut. Large gashes were opened in the earth, small cuts appeared on Wang Xiao's robes, and trees fell in mass and scattered their leaves in the air. Wang Xiao quickly adapted and used the fallen trees to try and interrupt his attacks. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't get close to Chen Haoran. On the flip side, Chen Haoran couldn't hit him.
"It looks like you don't have a movement technique," Jiang Lei said. "I'm a bit surprised you don't. You struck me as someone who had a power behind them."
Chen Haoran frowned. That explained what that ripple technique was. He was wondering why he didn't have something like that. Surely a movement technique wasn't beyond the Chen Family's means to acquire. Was his predecessor so useless he didn't even attempt to practice something so useful?
Absorbed by his thoughts, he stopped waving his scimitar. While the white energy didn't completely disappear and continued to emanate from the blade, it had grown weak enough that Wang Xiao found an opportunity to break through.
"Fall!" Wang Xiao roared. His sword thrummed with qi.
Chen Haoran raised his scimitar in an almost puppet-like motion. A feeling that was both deeply personal and extremely unfamiliar came over him. In his mind, the image of the White Tyrant using the Canyon Carving Sword perfectly overlapped with his current pose. No matter how flawless his mimicry, the result was so much lesser than what he witnessed that day. His Harmonization was a spark compared to the sun. The scales were so hilariously different that comparing them was a hopeless endeavor.
Nevertheless, even a spark from the sun was enough to burn a forest to ash.
Wang Xiao's eyes widened, and a peach glow spread across his sword. Chen Haoran swung his scimitar down with cloud-splitting force. Jiang Lei suddenly appeared, grabbing Wang Xiao's head and throwing him face-first to the dirt. The peach qi along his sword dissipated. A white beam of metal white energy passed five feet away from them, parting the earth beneath it with its presence alone and flying into the jungle. Trees fell like dominoes and broke apart in a rain of wood. Birds and insects madly fled into the air while the slow ones were turned into blood mist. The destruction continued for fifty feet before abruptly ceasing.
Chen Haoran warily observed Jiang Lei as he stood over Wang Xiao. While he tried to his best avoid aiming directly at Wang Xiao, he wasn't surprised Jiang Lei decided to intervene. Except, Jiang Lei didn't bother carrying Wang Xiao to safety at all.
Wang Xiao lifted himself up, spitting dirt. "Senior Brother-"
"You're testing my patience, Junior Brother," Jiang Lei quietly said.
Wang Xiao froze.
"Senior-"
"Just dodge, you fool. Or better yet, just get hit and die." Jiang Lei crouched and cupped his Junior Brother's cheek. "Is this you rebelling? Did you ask me for permission first?"
Chen Haoran shivered. He couldn't see Jiang Lei's face from where he stood, and that made his calm admonishments even more unsettling. Judging by how pale Wang Xiao had gone, it was perhaps a good thing he couldn't see. He silently took a step back.
Wang Xiao, for the first time since Chen Haoran had met him, had a look of real fear on his face. "I- I'm sorry, Senior Brother. I was not thinking."
"Oh, you were thinking alright. Perhaps too much." He patted Wang Xiao's cheek and stood up. "Go freshen yourself up. You're filthy."
"Yes, Senior Brother. Right away." Wang Xiao shot up and scurried away, disappearing into the jungle.
Chen Haoran watched him go. What had happened? It was Jiang Lei's idea to have the duel, yet he ended it just like that. It clearly had nothing to do with safety, at least not Wang Xiao's. Was it for him? He could only think of the peach glow on Wang Xiao's sword. Was it dangerous? Did Wang Xiao plan to kill him? It hadn't seemed that dangerous to him at the time. He narrowed his eyes. It didn't make sense. If Wang Xiao were truly that strong, he wouldn't have panicked so much seeing Chen Haoran's Harmonization. There was nothing else he could think of; however, Jiang Lei only intervened once Wang Xiao started using whatever that technique was.
Jiang Lei turned around, and Chen Haoran banished his thoughts. He lacked the context to make a real guess at this time.
"Apologies for that," Jiang Lei said. He softly smiled and motioned over to Phelp's tree. "Let's discuss the issues of your Harmonization now."
Chapter 96: This Young Master Gets A Cryptic Lesson
"I have no idea what the issue is," Jiang Lei said.
Chen Haoran looked at him. He squinted and tried to find any sign of falsehood in his face. He drummed his fingers as he pondered over his observation and came to the conclusion that no, Jiang Lei was not lying to him.
That, in all honesty, made it worse.
"Didn't you say you could help me?" Chen Haoran asked. "Something about being the second-best swordsman in the city?"
"Actually, I was humbly calling myself the best. In any case, that's for swords, not Harmonization. If you wanted an easy answer, then maybe you should have considered having a less complicated problem."
"Are you victim-blaming me?" He asked in disbelief.
"I'm not quite sure how you're a victim in this situation." Jiang Lei ruffled his hair and sighed. "I originally wanted to help you by dropping some cryptic hints that would lead you to solve your issue on your own."
Chen Haoran put aside his immediate question of why that, of all things, was Jiang Lei's first idea. "What's the plan now, then?"
Jiang Lei stood up and drew his sword, three feet of narrow, double-edged steel. "Now we have to actually work for enlightenment. Draw your blade, Chen Haoran."
Chen Haoran sighed but obliged him. His scimitar flashed white as he pulled it out. Jiang Lei swept his sword and casually brushed away the white energy that flew his way. Above them in the tree came Phelps's encouraging squeals.
Chen Haoran lightly swung his sword, and white energy flashed through the air like rain. Jiang Lei had a measured look as he parried the energy with his sword.
"So it varies between dispersed energy blades and a single beam, defaulting to energy blades when you're not concentrating." He hummed. "Was the last attack you used on my Junior Brother your maximum range?"
"About fifty feet, yes."
"And whenever you draw your scimitar, it releases cutting energy?"
"Yes." Chen Haoran had a good guess as to why as well. With how much lip the White Tyrant had given to Lan Fen for even the most basic of assistance, he wasn't surprised the Harmonization based on him wouldn't deign to be casually used. Chen Haoran was half-afraid that if the Harmonization stopped causing problems, it would stop working entirely.
"Okay." Jiang Lei tapped his chin in thought even as he was waving his sword around. It honestly rankled Chen Haoran a little bit to see how casually the strongest tool in his arsenal was being treated. "Right. Here's what you should do."
Chen Haoran pricked his ears up and gave Jiang Lei his full attention. Despite his eccentricities, Jiang Lei was still a Liquid Meridian Realm cultivator. His experience far exceeded his own.
"Just stop letting it do that."
Chen Haoran blinked. "Stop what?"
Jiang Lei pointed at the white scimitar. "That. Stop doing that."
He looked at Jiang Le with confusion and proceeded to sheathe his blade.
"Why are you putting it away?" Jiang Lei asked, looking equally confused.
"You told me to stop it?"
"You have to learn to control your blade when it's drawn. Not while it's sheathed."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"I told you. You have to just stop it?"
"Are you fucking with me? I thought you said you weren't doing the cryptic advice thing?"
Jiang Lei cocked his head. "Was that cryptic? I can't make it any simpler, though."
"You do understand how unhelpful that is, correct?" Chen Haoran swung with some force, and a particularly large crescent of energy scythed out.
"That was my best advice, though?" Jiang Lei batted it away with his sword, and the crescent careened into the jungle and sliced vertically through a tree.
Chen Haoran sheathed his scimitar. The annoyance that had slowly been building within him since the beginning of this conversation peaked. "If this is the best you can do, then there's no point continuing. I agreed to this because I thought you could actually help me."
"You have a Water Spirit Root. You only learned how to wield a sword this year. Your sword instructor was a Metal Spirit Root."
"What—?" The sudden onslaught of information caught Chen Haoran off guard.
Jiang Lei raised an eyebrow. "Have I proven my ability?"
Chen Haoran clicked his tongue but conceded the point. "How did you even figure that out?"
"By how you wield your sword, of course. For sword masters, crossing blades is the truest expression of oneself."
"Really?"
"No, but don't you think it's poetic?"
Jiang Lei motioned for Chen Haoran to sit down and crossed his hands behind his back. Phelps floated down from the treetops and landed in Chen Haoran's lap. The sloth patted around his pants legs like a cat before curling up and yawning.
"I wasn't being entirely facetious." Jiang Lei paced in front of them, his chest out and his shoulders raised high. It was an instructor's pose, yet he looked more like he was copying it from memory than assuming it naturally. "A Spirit Root is an integral part of our bodies. Their elemental alignment thus makes that element an integral part of our bodies as well. Theoretically, at least. Our affinities are useless without the correct technique, but they shine through in minor ways."
"Like through swords," Chen Haoran said.
"Through all weapons, really. It's almost instinctual. When you were fighting, I could see the same fluidity in your movements as in my own."
Chen Haoran nodded. That made sense, and given Jiang Lei's superior experience, Chen Haoran could even believe him figuring out how long he'd been using a sword. "That doesn't explain how you figured out my teacher's spirit root."
Jiang Lei shrugged. "It's the same principle. You learned your movements from them, and that's reflected in your swordsmanship. I imagine they're the same ones who taught you that ridiculous technique of yours. I almost pegged you for a Metal attribute with how well you copy them. I believe that's where the crux of the issue lies."
"That my Harmonization doesn't match my element? I was told different affinities are only a problem for cultivation methods, not techniques."
"Yes and no," Jiang Lei said. "It all comes down to the name. Harmony. Between cultivator and technique, there is an imbalance. To Harmonize requires one to equalize these two forces." He looked at Chen Haoran with incredulous eyes. "In your case, you clearly haven't done that but Harmonized anyway. I don't suppose you'd tell me how you did that?"
"Not a chance." It was a wild enough story that he wasn't sure he'd be believed anyway.
Jiang Lei chuckled. "I figured. In any case, going back to what I said before, the simplest method to control your Harmonization is just that. Control it."
Chen Haoran sighed. "I'll respect your knowledge but doing that isn't as easy as you make it sound."
"I said it was simple, not easy." Jiang Lei held his sword straight and assumed a stance. "Observe."
At this moment, Chen Haoran realized he had yet to see any hint of Harmonization from Jiang Lei. Right as this thought occurred to him, Jiang Lei's aura changed. He was just as casual and relaxed as before, but this time his sword gracefully flowed through the air with an ease Chen Haoran would be hard-pressed to replicate. As Jiang Lei shifted from one form to the next, Chen Haoran was reminded of sparring with Lan Fen after she Harmonized. They both shared the same water-like movement, but where the Canyon Carving Sword sought to open a path no matter the obstacle Jiang Lei's sword gave the impression of dancing on the water. Just as suddenly as he began, he stopped, and his Harmonization vanished. Chen Haoran squinted and stretched out his sense, but he couldn't detect any trace of it even though Jiang Lei still held his sword.
"I thought Harmonization was supposed to be a part of you. How did you turn it off?" If he could learn how to do that, he could at least wield a sword normally again.
"If you're not in harmony with your technique, can you use Harmonization?" Jiang Lei rhetorically asked. "I intentionally introduced an element of disharmony, and so I was no longer Harmonized." Jiang Lei's Harmonization appeared again. "And just as easily, I can Harmonize again."
"How, though?" Chen Haoran eagerly leaned forward, as if getting closer would help him divine the secret behind the method.
Jiang Lei held his sword across his shoulders and smiled."Just do it." He held out his hand to forestall Chen Haoran's objections. "Harmonization is a matter of the mind and will. I know what I'm saying frustrates you, but please look at it from my perspective. How am I supposed to tell you how to breathe? Or how to open and close your hands?"
Chen Haoran let out a long sigh and stood up. Phelps grumbled but obliged and floated in the air beside him. "So what you're saying is that this is gonna be a huge pain in the ass."
Jiang Lei laughed. "I did say we'd have to work for enlightenment. Now, all we can do is have you use your Harmonization enough until it truly becomes your hands and feet. Currently, too much of its power is dispersed and can't show its full potential. When it does…" Jiang Lei's eagerness was clear in his voice and infectious. Chen Haoran found himself drawn by the energy and couldn't help the rush of anticipation. "…well, who knows."
There went his anticipation. "You're a killjoy, you know that?"
Jiang Lei shrugged. "I am what I am. In any case, the day is still young." He pointed his sword at Chen Haoran. "Attend."