Wu Ying left the pill bottle on the table. “This… thank you for your offers. And your kind thoughts. But I fear, I cannot take either request on board. I need to arrive before the twenty-third of this month at Hinma city.”
“The twenty-third?” Yi Ru said slowly as he leaned back, a frown tightening on his face. He looked at Wu Ying then sighed, standing. “Well, enjoy the wine. It is a pity. It would have made the trip safer with a cultivator of your ability, but I will not be traveling to Hinma till later.”
“Of course. Thank you for the wine,” Wu Ying said with a bow. The action also allowed him to hide the slight quirk of his lips as the merchant abandoned the conversation. Yi Ru was obviously not one to pursue losing conversations.
“Har. Yi Ru is always like that,” Xi Rang said as he watched the man walk away. He smirked, shaking his head before he turned back to Wu Ying. “Keep the pill. You saved my life and my servants. It is the least that I can offer.”
Wu Ying paused, then nodded and kept the bottle. Rather than insult the man and open it now, he stored it away to check on the contents later. “Thank you then. It seems you and Yi Ru are well acquainted.”
“We work the same circuits,” Xi Rang said. “Though lately it has grown significantly more dangerous. My wife kept pestering me to hire more guards, but I never got around to it. Remember, always listen to your wife!” Wu Ying offered the older man a strained smile while Xi Rang continued. “As for the ones we hired, they all left, the damn rat bastards, when the rumors started that Ji Ang and his people had stopped raiding the river.”
“They did?” Wu Ying said. That was not what he had heard.
“Ever since the merchants started running convoys, the pickings have been slim. Of course it was only a rumor till now,” Xi Rang said. “Now all of us on the road will either have to risk running with fewer guards and being attacked or turning around.”
Wu Ying winced slightly, sipping on the cup of wine as a tinge of guilt flashed through him. Not that he could protect all the merchants. And if he tried, he would definitely be late. The merchants would travel at the slowest pace. Once again, Wu Ying felt the helplessness of his position, of his inability to alter the world or choose what his heart desired. Once again, he was forced to choose between his own future and the well-being of others.
“Do not worry, young man,” Xi Rang said, clapping Wu Ying on the shoulder. “Some things we can only leave to our fate.”
Wu Ying looked at the smiling man then nodded. Too true. Some things only the heavens could dictate. It was not his place to choose for Xi Rang or any of the merchants. He could only live the life he had, doing the best he could. To cut short his own journey now for others would be a betrayal of his destiny.
“Come. Let us drink, rejoice at new friends, fateful encounters, and a brighter future tomorrow!” Xi Rang said, waving to the barkeep. “I will order us some good wine.”
Dismissing the deep thoughts, Wu Ying gratefully accepted Xi Rang’s words. Yes. Drink now, worry tomorrow.
Wu Ying set off early the next morning, intent on making up for the lost time yesterday. A part of him worried as well that the bandits would find their boss. Even if he had progressed to another tier in his cultivation, Wu Ying had to admit that his actual martial arts proficiency was not up to par. Only time and practice would take him to the next stage. For a moment, Wu Ying lamented his inability to be a genius—an individual who could glance at a single performance of a form and grasp its fine points. No, Wu Ying was a plodder, someone who could only develop through repetition and hard work.
As he ran, Wu Ying touched the pouch inside his robe. That morning, in the privacy of his room, Wu Ying had had the time to view what he had received from Xi Rang last night. The simple seal that denoted Xi Rang’s favor had been quickly viewed and put away. In the future, it might be of use if Wu Ying ever needed the merchant’s help. The pill, on the other hand, was surprisingly another Marrow Cleansing pill. This one brought less of a refreshing fragrance, a simple indicator that its quality was lower than the previous one. Of course, Wu Ying knew the real pill-makers, the alchemists, would have better ways of telling the quality. But that was another area of study he had no access to.
Even then, the fact stood that the pill was free—a gift. And a single pill would have cost at least a month’s contribution points if Wu Ying had purchased it. Even if the efficacy of the pill was not as high, he would need to consider carefully how best to use it. After further thought and more li, Wu Ying came to a simple conclusion—use it later. The hardest time for a cultivator to progress was not in the beginning but during the process of breaking through to another level. The cleansing process required sufficient chi within an individual’s body. However, the process of breaking through was wasteful and spent the gathered chi within a cultivator’s dantian like water in a dry field. Rather than use it now, Wu Ying would wait until he was ready to attempt another breakthrough. In that way, he would guarantee his progress and make full use of the gift.
Pill issue settled, Wu Ying settled more comfortably into his run. The only concern for him now was to cover the missed distance, which meant he needed to run one and a half times farther than before this day. That way, he would be able to find a place to camp during the night, letting him skip the expense of staying at a rest stop. Thankfully, the increase in his cultivation had led to a corresponding increase in his physical strength and endurance. As such, the harder pace he was setting was viable.
Once he’d settled into his new running pace Wu Ying turned his attention to his aura. While having a reduced presence had some disadvantages, Wu Ying still felt that practicing the cultivation exercise was important. As he studied the cultivation exercise, Wu Ying further understood some of the implications of its ability. Being able to suppress all information about one’s cultivation could provide significant benefits during a fight. Of course, there was some slight concern that such activity could be considered inappropriate for a martial artist—after all, at the apex level, the goal was a complete suppression of his aura, making him effectively invisible to spiritual senses. That was something only an assassin would do.
Then again, Wu Ying chuckled to himself, the idea that he could ever achieve an apex understanding of any cultivation method was inconceivable. He was but a rice farmer from a small village. That kind of training, of ability, was something only the heroes, the geniuses, and the carefully guided members of sage clans could expect.
But at least, Wu Ying thought, he had one thing and that was the discipline, the earth-deep stubbornness that made up the caretakers of the land. Drought, flood, pestilence, and sun, you worked the earth. Day in and day out, because there was no other choice. And so, Wu Ying worked the exercise, trained himself as he ran. Even if he only was half, a quarter as gifted as those heaven-blessed individuals, he could still move forward. And that, in itself, was sufficient.
Day. Then night. Then day again. Wu Ying ran, covering li after li of ground, his feet pounding flattened earth, worn cobblestones, and sometimes even wooden planks as he crossed the numerous streams and rivers that dotted the countryside. He covered the ground he needed and made up the lost time. That moment of enlightenment and a single good deed had done wonders for Wu Ying. It would almost make up for the trouble it brought to him right now.
“This the one?” The bandit who asked the question was, surprisingly, small. Barely over five feet tall, he moved with a limber litheness and a predatory grace that set Wu Ying’s teeth on edge. Wu Ying also noted that he wielded a jian, as well as the deference the bandit group showed him.
“Yes, leader,” a familiar-looking bandit said as he eyed Wu Ying. The last time Wu Ying had seen the bandit, it had been holding on to the merchant’s horses. The bandit ex-ambusher sneered at Wu Ying, his lip curling up as his mustache trembled. “He’s the one who killed our men.”