Exciting Encounters
Zu Bing's arms shook from the strain of holding her quarterstaff in the stance instructed by her new art. Sweat dripped down her hair and into her eyes, stinging until she blinked the sweat away. She could feel the flows of qi through her body and in the quarterstaff, she knew that the metal qi was supposed to be molding the quarterstaff to her will, allowing a greater degree of control in fights and scuffles, but she also knew that nothing seemed to be happening. No great change was occurring, no new insight into how to warp and mold her quarterstaff, nothing. Even her qi seemed to agree with her, sluggishly moving in the patterns she directed, but not really doing anything.
"Zu Bing!"
Turning her head, Zu Bing saw Ling Biyu jogging towards her from the road with a blazing smile in place. What did she want now?
With an aggrieved sigh, Zu Bing shouted back, "Ling Biyu, what brings you all the way out here?"
"To enlist the help of my friend and roommate of course! I want to go on a bit of tour through the forests of the Outer Sect and I thought that you might enjoy some time away from the practice grounds you seem so dedicated to."
"Yes, well the reason that I am so dedicated about spending time at the practicing grounds is that I'm practicing and need the practice. That concept shouldn't be too hard for you. Perhaps another time?"
"Really Zu Bing? Are you sure you don't want to spend some time away from this specific training ground for the next… oh… three or so hours?"
That… was oddly specific. Troublingly specific. "And why, Ling Biyu, should I want to spend time away from this specific training ground for the next three or so hours?"
"Well," Ling Biyu began with a sly smile, "a little bird told me that Chen Wao has finally deduced that this training ground must be where you are training and is coming up here within the next couple of hours."
Revulsion rippled down Zu Bing's spine like earthworms through the dirt. That pig-faced arrogant bastard was coming up here!? How did he know she was up here?
"You told him, didn't you Ling Biyu," Zu Bing growled. "You were the only person who knew I was up here and nobody else has been around here in the past week!"
Ling Biyu's perpetual smile sharply turned into a frown. "Of course I didn't tell him Zu Bing! That is outrageous! Why in the world would I betray a friend's confidence like that? No, Chen Wao just staked out all of the other commonly visited training grounds for the past week and eventually figured out about this one from an older student. He has been very dedicated in his pursuit of you. Although…" Ling Biyu began tapping her chin, "he could have spent that wealth of his he's been throwing around to entice some of the poorer students to tail you. That would have been a much better use of his time. He isn't really as smart as he boasts, is he?"
"No shit Ling Biyu," Zu Bing groaned, "He can't even understand what the word 'No' means."
"Yes," Ling Biyu snorted, "his grasp of language in that regard seems spectacularly lacking. Now, back on topic! Do you want to come with me on a very long journey through the forests which will, by sheer happenstance, completely avoid Chen Wao?"
"You know what Ling Biyu, I suddenly feel a very strong desire to be anywhere but here. Lead the way, and, hopefully, we can find something useful."
Without further ado, and a skip in her step, Ling Biyu began walking into the forests, and Zu Bing followed after. It was a companionable silence that descended upon them as they walked deeper and deeper into the forest. Dappled light streamed down from the noon-day sun, creating shifting patterns as the crowns of the trees swayed in the whispering wind. Every so often as they meandered through the forest, Ling Biyu would hold out a treat for a small little bird, which would linger ever so slightly too long on her hand. And every time the bird flew away, Ling Biyu would start going in a slightly different direction.
"So, Ling Biyu, I've always wondered this, but why do you spend so much time exploring the grounds of the sect?"
"Hmmm? What do you mean?"
"Well, it seems like as much as I practice in the training grounds, you are off galavanting through the woods. Are you looking for something specific, like a trial or something?"
"No, nothing specific. More for the experience if anything."
"The experience?"
"Yeah! You know how there is the Argent Military where you will be stationed unless you are able to buy off your debt, right? Well, I'm going to try and get into the Spiritual Affairs Department of the Argent Sect. So, to get a head start on that goal, I'm hoping to see exactly how the Argent Sect handles spirits and get some experience engaging with the spirits around here myself.
"You're going to make the Argent Sect your career?"
"We'll see, if I enjoy it enough perhaps, but mainly I want to work with spirits and spirit beasts and this is one of the better ways to go about doing that safely."
"So, what, you are just wandering around the forests of the Outer Sect hoping to meet friendly powerful spirits? That doesn't seem like it would be that productive."
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm 'wandering around', that implies there is no direction. I do have direction, by talking to the little spirits of the forest I can find out where stronger spirits operate and then repeat the process with the stronger spirits until I find a strong enough spirit to practice with."
"Practice what exactly? Supplication?"
Ling Biyu snorted, "No, not specifically supplication. I have arts that better equip me to talk to spirits as well as spirit beasts and they also help me make various bargains with them, but those arts don't do very much if I can't practice them."
"Isn't that, dangerous?"
"Only if you don't know what you are doing, or bite off more than you can chew, or find a powerful spirit in a bad mood. So yes, a little dangerous, but what is cultivation without a little danger to get your heart racing and qi flowing!"
"Stable, calm, and safe."
Ling Biyu looked at her askance, "You're not going to get very far along the path of cultivation if you don't take measured risks, you know."
"And I am perfectly fine with that."
Ling Biyu looked at her like she had grown a third head, rolled her eyes, and let the conversation drop.
They were approaching the darker parts of the woods now, where light barely seeped in through the choking boughs above them. Even the bird calls had grown scarce, and it felt as though the forest was holding its breath here.
With a sharp motion downward, Ling Biyu dropped into a crouch, and Zu Bing followed suit. Down by a small babbling stream stood a deer in the third realm, gently drinking the clear water.
Quietly whispering, Zu Bing asked Ling Biyu, "Is this the spirit you wanted to talk to?"
Nodding, Ling Biyu began to slowly rise as she motioned Zu Bing to keep crouched and out of sight. A deer treat materialized in Ling Biyu's hand and she began to slowly make her way to the spirit. Suddenly, the deer's head jerked in their direction, its eyes widened in alarm, and it darted over the creek and away from them in blinding speed.
"Well, that was anti-climatic," Ling Biyu began as she turned around, "Want to head bac…"
Zu Bing could see Ling Biyu's eyes widen and her arms tremble. Then Zu Bing heard a deep snort and a blast of air on the nape of her neck. Slowly turning around, she saw the head of a massive deer within inches of her face. Jumping backward to Ling Biyu, Zu Bing got a better look at the spirit. Black furred and standing six meters tall at the shoulder, the stag had antlers consisting of many, many sharp points. But the qi of the creature, it was a match for Guan Zhi who had done the physical instructions for the first couple months here at the Sect.
Ling Biyu was already bowing low, and Zu Bing quickly followed suit.
"Our apologizes," Ling Biyu began, voice trembling and holding out the deer treat cupped in her hands, "great protector of the forest. We did not mean to disturb your vigil. Please take this humble offering and allow these contrite students of the Argent Sect safe passage back to their abodes."
In the space of a blink, the deer treat disappeared from Ling Biyu's hands, and yet the deer didn't even seem to move. Gazing at both of them, the deer snorted again and gestured with his head to follow. And follow the deer they did. Zu Bing trying her hardest to remain quiet and not disturb the forest and Ling Biyu's normal cheer replaced with a nervous smile and trembling hands. There was no sound from the forest on their journey, as if nothing, not animal or tree, wanted to disturb the deer.
Eventually, though, the unusual party reached a clearing in the woods which seemed to separate the dark and oppressive woods from the more generously spaced forest. It was here that the deer left them and melded back into the dark woods. The oppressive silence which had followed them broke and the noises of wildlife flooded into the clearing in a cacophony of sound.
"Well," Ling Biyu began nervously, "now I know that if I want to meet cyan level spirits, all I have to do is explore when Chen Wao is out looking for you."
"Ling Biyu, that was ridiculous. Next time, you go out to explore, see if you can avoid the powerful spirits who could kill us with a breath, alright? I don't think my heart can take the strain of doing something like this again."
A/N:
@yrsillar another make for the omake throne!
