Hours later, Wu Ying was awoken from his cultivation and gently pried away from the formation flag. Too tired to walk away, Wu Ying rolled to the side and lay spread-eagled on the ground, his body soaked.
“If you would leave, that would be great,” the cultivator who had taken his place grumbled before he shut his eyes. Hands cupped together loosely, the cultivator deepened his breathing and took over the reinforcement of the formation.
Wu Ying ignored the cultivator, too tired to speak as he focused on recovering his energy. Eventually, Wu Ying managed to stagger to his feet and find a somewhat private location to wipe himself down, change his clothes, and comb his hair. Finally presentable, the cultivator strode over to join the small fire where a filling meal stewed.
“How long was I at the formation?” Wu Ying muttered as he noted both Li Yao and Liu Tsong still in their places in the formation.
“About four hours,” Tou He said from behind Wu Ying.
“Tou He!” Wu Ying exclaimed as he spun and hugged his friend. He stepped back when Tou He expressed his displeasure and detached from his friend. “You are looking better.”
“We’ve been taking turns on the formation as best we can. But”—Tou He shrugged—“it is hard. I do not have the same amount of chi as the others.”
“How long did you last?”
“About three hours at a time,” Tou He said. “We had to meditate and regain our chi as fast as we could before the next person failed.”
Wu Ying could not help but feel a flush of warmth at the idea of beating his friend at something. Then he mentally kicked himself for the thought. “You were injured?”
“A cracked rib and a sprained wrist,” Tou He said, holding up his left hand. Wu Ying could tell the inflammation had mostly disappeared, leaving a slight discoloration on the wrist itself. As for Tou He’s chest, Wu Ying saw the remnants of the bruises. “I was far away from the taotei when it arrived. Barely got a hit in myself. It still shattered my tong fa.”
Before he could ask additional questions, Wu Ying’s stomach rumbled, reminding him of his initial plans. In short order, the pair were seated a short distance away with bowls full of stewed meat, yams, wild mushrooms, and cabbage.
“We must have just missed speaking to each other earlier,” Wu Ying commented after he had finished half his bowl.
“Probably.”
“This taotei. How bad is it?” Wu Ying said, dropping his voice so as not to disturb the others.
Tou He gained a haunted expression. The ex-monk ran a hand across his bald head, pausing as he felt the beginning of scruff on it before he repeated the motion. “Bad. It’s strong. Fast. But most of all, it’s hungry.”
“How is that bad?”
“It wants you. Your chi. Your soul. It looks at you and you know it wants to eat you. To tear you apart and consume you. It frightens me,” Tou He confessed.
Wu Ying frowned, still not understanding, but fell silent as Tou He did not seem to desire to speak further. After spooning in a mouthful of stew, Wu Ying chewed and thought of another topic. Or at least, a related topic. “Did the Elders decide what we’re going to do?”
“Nothing,” Tou He said.
“Pardon?”
“We are to wait here, enforcing the formation until the flowers bloom. At that time, Elder Li will harvest the flower and Elder Wei will make the pills as planned.”
“But the taotei—”
“Cannot get in so long as the formation holds. With your reinforcements, the Elders believe we can hold on long enough for the kurinji flower to bloom. When the Elders have consumed the pills, they will grow even stronger and will take on the demon then,” Tou He said.
Wu Ying looked at the frowning face of his normally happy friend. “You sound worried.”
“I am. It is at least six more days before it’s expected to bloom. Maybe longer,” Tou He said. “And we’re already tired. What if we cannot hold the formation?”
“Then we all die,” Elder Wei’s cold voice crackled through the night air. The old pill refiner looked at Wu Ying then Tou He, sniffing. “Are you not a Buddhist?”
“Yes—”
“Then what are you concerned about? You will reincarnate. Or are you concerned all that meat you have eaten will make you a meal too?” Elder Wei cackled after she spoke. “There are no guarantees in cultivation.”
“Yes, Elder,” the pair chorused together.
“Do you think a fight between us and the monster would not be harmful? How many of these flowers would be damaged? What if it damages the one we need?” Elder Wei said with disdain. “If we lost the flower, would not all this be a waste?”
Tou He said, “But if we die—”
“We die.”
Tou He clamped his mouth shut while Wu Ying looked between the two. Elder Wei looked at Wu Ying, her eyes boring into the cultivator. He offered her a respectful nod. Whatever he thought, Wu Ying understood the necessities that drove the decision. Neither choice was optimal. And since the decision had been made, he could not change it. All he could do…
“Better eat up, Tou He,” Wu Ying said, bumping his friend with his shoulder. “We’re going to need the energy.”
Elder Wei nodded curtly at Wu Ying before walking off, making the rounds around their small encampment. As Wu Ying watched, she stopped by Chao Kun, unwrapped his arm, applied a salve, and rewrapped the damaged limb before moving on.
Together, Wu Ying and Tou He exhaled in resignation and got more food. The next few days would be long and tiring.
Chapter 21
A hand landed on Wu Ying’s shoulder, jolting him from his cultivation. Four days later, the entire process had become automated for Wu Ying. Sit down, channel chi at the bare minimum required to ensure the formation did not break. When you feel the hand on your shoulder, move aside and allow the next person to take over. Rest, eat. Cultivate to restore your chi levels. Rest more. Take over when it was your turn.
Simple. But not easy. Wu Ying rolled out of the way with a surge of energy then lay on the ground beside the cultivator who had taken his place. This time, to Wu Ying’s surprise, it was Li Yao. The female martial specialist was too tired to speak, though she flashed him a quick smile. All of them were too tired.
Each rotation, the cultivators entered the formation anchor points a little more exhausted. Each time, they struggled to stay focused, to keep the chi to the right amount without wasting. Even as they all gained greater experience and practice, exhausted minds and souls slipped. When the formation nearly failed when Tou He collapsed on the third day, the Elders had started rotating in. The addition of the Elders helped stabilize the formation and allow the cultivators more time to rest, as the Elders’ greater chi amounts allowed them to stay in the formation longer.
Twice, the taotei had attempted to breach the formation. Each time, its presence had forced a significant and painful increase in chi expenditure. Each time it tested the formation, the cultivators exhausted themselves even faster. If not for the taotei’s greed and impatience, coupled with its lack of tactical thinking, the formation would have fallen long ago.
As Wu Ying pushed himself to his feet, he stumbled, the sudden motion sending his head spinning. He tottered unsteadily till he regained his balance and stumbled over to the unending cooking fire. Once he spooned food into his bowl from the seemingly bottomless pot of stew and rice, he sat down hard. Bleary eyes traced the simple fire-aspected demon stone Elder Wei had donated to make the cookfire, the poor peasant within him marveling at the waste of taels. The exhausted cultivator who ruled his body quieted the whining peasant within with a mouthful of food.