Wu Ying shook his head. Someone whose elemental aspects were dual aligned was rare. Not because the cultivation methods to achieve dual alignment were particularly secret but because aligning oneself to more than one element required the cultivator’s personality to fit both elements. After all, cultivation was about finding the right path—or face a deadlock later on.
In addition, dual element cultivation was much, much slower. Like choosing one’s dao, an elemental alignment was restrictive in what one could eventually achieve. Choosing to focus on two different alignments restricted one’s eventual dao even further. It was because of that that most people did not dual align their chi element unless they had no choice.
“Understand that the Deception Formation will only work against those in the Body Cultivation stage and lower. This will, of course, include the equivalent strength Spirit and Demonic Beasts you might encounter. I know that you are very strong and have no fear of them yourself.” Wu Ying’s eyes narrowed at the hint of mocking in Elder Wen’s tone, but it was so faint, he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination. “However, such a large group is a concern. This entire formation will contain and protect a thirty-foot diameter.”
Wu Ying made a mental note of the flags, knowing he would have to purchase them. Even if it wasn’t useful for this assignment, having something like that would be useful in the future.
Elder Wen grabbed the next item on the table and showed it to him. It was highly familiar to Wu Ying, the talismans having been shown to him the previous round. Next was a thrice-enlarged storage satchel. Then enchanted bandages that would slow down bleeding and enhance healing.
None of the items Elder Wen showed was particularly impressive, almost mundane in form. Most barely qualified as Spirit level enchantments. However, Wu Ying saw that they were all quite useful, in the right circumstances.
The next item Elder Wen picked up and handed to him was a surprise. A simple scalemail undergarment. It was thin enough that Wu Ying could wear it underneath his robes, though no matter how he peered at it and checked it over, he could not find any indications of an enchantment.
“Is this…?”
“Enchanted? No. Not all good equipment need be enchanted.” Elder Wen said. “I’d normally offer you the Azure Thunder Robes, but your refusal has been noted. This will work for your most vulnerable regions and is significantly cheaper.”
Wu Ying winced as Elder Wen basically called him cheap. It wasn’t really his fault… he just had a lot of demands on his contribution points.
“Now, who do you think will be your most likely enemy? Other cultivators or plain bandits?”
Wu Ying sighed as he realized the answer.
“Exactly.” Elder Wen smirked. “And if you get caught in the war, most of those you’ll be facing are just plain soldiers. When you are surrounded, no matter how well you wield your sword, you will be struck. This is just another line of protection.”
Wu Ying turned the scalemail undershirt around, tapping the scales and hefting it again. It was well made, and he noted light felt at each of the edges, helping to keep the noise down. Worn under his robes, it would be mostly hidden.
After that, it was just a matter of making decisions of what else to purchase, keeping in mind his limited number of points left. Eventually, Wu Ying pointed out the items he wanted to purchase—among them, the Bag of Never-Ending Water.
With his equipment purchased and his bureaucratic duties taken care of, Wu Ying was done with his preparations. All he needed now was Li Yao to return. Soon, he hoped.
Chapter 8
Li Yao did not return the next day. That thread of concern within Wu Ying’s chest grew. He started doing the math, trying to figure out how long he could afford to wait for her. There were two calculations he needed to do.
First was deducing when the first clash between the kingdoms would occur and from there, the time it would take for the armies to threaten his village. From Wu Ying’s recollections of past years and the previous year, it would take the State of Wei nearly half the fighting season before they would near the village. But that was based on previous years, when the kingdoms had posed more than fought, when armies had maneuvered around one another and been hesitant to do battle. Depending on the general in charge and how aggressive the State of Wei intended to be, it could be as quick as a two-week forced march from the border to his village. Of course, it was unlikely they would send the entire army after his village, but the army wasn’t the real threat anyway. The raiding parties that took from the villagers would be more dangerous than any actual army. They were the ones who stole all the goods, conducted the massacres, and captured children to be slaves.
Assuming the kingdoms were beginning the spring campaign as soon as possible, they would begin within the next week. If that was the case, Wu Ying needed to work out how long it would take for the armies to reach the border.
In short order, he had the map of the surrounding regions open and the locations of where the armies had gathered to train up new recruits and collect supplies for the campaign. The map was centered around the Sect, having been purchased from the Sect store itself.
From there, Wu Ying traced his finger east and south, down the river, then almost directly east again to reach his village. From his home, a straight line met the river Li, which created the natural border that the kingdoms had fought from over the last few hundred years. Of course, every few decades a few villages traded hands, but eventually, the natural impediment of the river reasserted itself.
Once Wu Ying had the map, it was a simple matter of using his abacus[8] to make some quick calculations. Thankfully, details like how fast an army moved on roads was part of the classic works that everyone had been forced to memorize, so the calculation was easy. In the end, he tapped his top lip with the end of his brush. Two weeks. Give or take a few days.
Assuming they did not have to fight and could cross the river that formed the natural barrier between the states, it would be another two weeks to his village for the army. That meant a month from now might see his village burn. Of course, that was an extremely pessimistic view and unlikely to come true. Then again, it would be the height of irony if Wu Ying did all this only to be too late. Better to be safe. Four weeks it was.
The next calculation was how long it would take him to reach his village and convince Lord Wen. Luckily, the lord was only a small rural nobleman, so his residence was close to the village. In fact, the distance between the lord’s residence and his village was negligible, which was of course why Yin Xue had been able to study in their village. All in, Wu Ying figured it would take them about two weeks to arrive, using a mixture of ship and horse. Give or take three or four days, depending on the weather.
And that was the biggest question of all. It was still spring, which meant that spring rains and the resulting muddy roads were in play. On the other hand, if it was muddy and messy for them, it would be the same for the army. In theory. Barring strange weather patterns a few hundred li away.
If he took all that into account, then Wu Ying could only afford to wait another day or two for Li Yao. He could only hope that she was fine and would return soon. If not, he would have to leave without her.
Sitting back, Wu Ying stared at the map, willing it to offer more clues, to make the harsh math of travel times different. When his wishes offered little succor, he put it all away and walked into his courtyard. If he had to leave soon, then it was time to focus on his cultivation and stop with the exercises. The middle of a war was not the time to be running low on chi.