76 Second Skin

Jack led the Immortals' Lament to the patch of land between the White River Outpost and the hut town. A lot of people already waited there, but the large thirty-seven person company still drew gazes.

They decided to encamp fifty meters away from the rest of the traders and adventurers for a little privacy. Once everyone settled in, Jack gathered them around himself and instructed "Remember to not go anywhere on your own in the White River Outpost. Especially if you're not a cultivator; you have to have at least one cultivator with you at all times."

Most of the rookies gave him serious nods, but one raised her hand in the air and waited for Jack to call her.

He chuckled on the inside as he thought 'Looks like Bindun's teaching them well.', but on the outside, he just looked at her and asked "Do you have a question?"

The girl didn't seem uncomfortable from the stares that the others gave her as she kept her hand in the air and inquired "Does that count for when we have to go relieve ourselves?"

Jack glanced at the hand that still stood straight in the air and thought 'We'll have to work on that.' On the outside, he nodded his head and said "Yes it does. Consider the White River Outpost as hostile ground, we do nothing alone."

The teen lowered her hand and gave the cultivators in the company a suspicious look, but she didn't say anything to argue against Jack's instructions. All of the women in the company looked at the male cultivators as if seeing wolves for the first time, but none of them complained.

Once Jack saw that the others didn't have additional questions, he declared "You have the day off, spend it either practicing your techniques, studying with Yin Ping, or resting, but don't leave the camp. Our ship sails in six days and I don't want any accidents until then."

The rest of the day passed in relative calm. A few people from the other larger camps came to greet them and chat so old Long and Jack had to spend some time with them, but nothing out of the ordinary happened.

On the next day, during breakfast, trumpet noises blared out from the walls of the White River Outpost.

Just as everyone started getting up to get ready, Jack called out "Stop and finish your breakfast. It doesn't matter if we go in first or last." As he continued chewing his food, Jack thought 'We didn't hear any trumpets on the inside, and here we couldn't hear the voice that announced the opening of the gates. How do they isolate the sounds?' He figured that they used some kind of spell, but it still interested him.

A few people looked around at the other gathered groups that rushed to the front of the line with confusion, but they shrugged after a few seconds and continued their meal.

When the Immortals' Lament camp started packing up, the golden platforms started bursting out of the White River. Jack had everyone stop what they were doing and led his people to the edge of the canyon to look at these marvels of cultivator technology. Only when the main gate of the White River Outpost opened did he lead them back to finish packing.

Just as the column of men, carts, and wagons from the White River Outpost finished crossing the bridge, Jack and his company joined in with the people waiting on their side.

He didn't try to act like a saint and used old Long's cultivation to move up in the line. Not rushing their meal when they didn't have to was one thing, but he didn't want to stand in a line any longer than he had to.

Once old Long paid the entrance fee for all of them, the people that entered into the White River Outpost for the first time couldn't help themselves and gawked at the golden splendor around them.

Even Jack took a couple of extra looks, but he only gave them a few seconds before he made them all move forward.

Large groups like theirs weren't common in the White River Outpost, but they came by often enough to not draw too many stares if they didn't cause a scene.

Old Long led the group straight towards the large inn where they stayed during their last visit.

Once everyone got assigned a room, Jack gathered them all in the still empty dining hall and declared "Do not step one foot out of this inn. If you need anything ask either Furui or me, and remember to stay together. We just need to wait for five more days and then we leave this place."

A few of the younger members of the company looked a little disappointed that they wouldn't get to see the beautiful city while they stayed in it, but after a serious look from Jack, they lost their building rebellious attitude.

Jack told them all to go settle into their rooms, while he held the grade four people and old Long back for a meeting in the hall.

He looked at Shi Furui and said "Furui, you're going to have to keep an eye on them while I'm away. You have to make sure that they don't leave the inn."

Shi Furui looked crestfallen, but after a second he gave Jack a nod of agreement.

Jack thanked him and turned to Yin Ping and Ma Ruiman to say "You two help him out. Make sure to keep an eye on the door at all times."

Yin Ping nodded his head without complaint, while Ma Ruiman glanced at the few barmaids that still cleaned the hall and gave a nod of his own.

Jack shook his head and turned to old Long, Kuang Bindun, and Bai Maolong to declare "The rest of us will go and visit the Wu Armor Store."

Once they left their jealous friends behind, old Long turned to Jack and asked "Do you not trust your men to do as you say?"

Jack didn't hesitate to answer with "I trust them, it's just… They're too young and inexperienced. I don't want something to happen to them when I can prevent it."

Old Long stared at him for a few seconds before he said "You are young and inexperienced too, boy."

Jack's gaze snapped to old Long. He held it for a second before he sighed and agreed "Indeed, I am, old man."

Old Long snorted his derision at Jack and they continued walking down the street.

A few minutes later, they reached the Wu Armor Store but didn't see Wu Angrui anywhere among the displayed wares.

Jack frowned and called out "Wu Angrui, are you there?"

They waited for a minute without a response, so Jack shrugged and walked into the room where they held the best displays.

Once more he called out "Wu Angrui, it's Jack, are you here?"

A few seconds later, they heard a *thud* from somewhere inside the house and Wu Angrui's voice yelled out "I will be right there!" A minute later, they heard rapid steps as someone ran down a set of stairs.

The door that connected the store with the rest of the house opened, and a ruffled Wu Angrui passed through them. Her shoulder-length hair had numerous tangles in it, and she had dark circles under her eyes.

When she saw Jack she gave him a crooked smile and said through her teeth "You came right on time."

Jack's brows rose in surprise as he asked "Did we wake you up?"

Wu Angrui shook her head in denial as she blushed and answered "Not at all, I just had to do a few finishing touches on your armor and forgot about the time."

Jack glanced over his shoulder as he thought 'Did she forget to close the store overnight?', but when he turned back to look at Wu Angrui he didn't let any of his suspicions show on his face as he asked "Does that mean that you finished it?"

Wu Angrui nodded her head while pride shone in her eyes as she said "I sure did, wait here and I will get it." With that, she turned around and ran back into the house.

Jack and his men exchanged looks, but no one said a word while they waited.

A couple of minutes later, Wu Angrui returned to the store with a shining white coat folded over her left hand.

With one move, Wu Angrui laid the white coat down on the table that stood between her and Jack. She gave it a satisfied glance and looked up at her customer to judge his reaction.

Jack looked down at the long coat and chuckled inwardly as he thought 'She couldn't let go of some of the local traditions, but damn, it does look good.'

Wu Angrui had replaced his button design for buttoning up the coat with a traditional interloop one and had made the sleeves a bit wider than what he drew in his design. Other than that, the coat looked exactly like he imagined it.

Jack ran the tips of his fingers over it and felt surprised at the supple softness of the Haechi leather. He looked up at Wu Angrui and asked "Do you mind if I test it out?"

She shook her head at his question, so Jack motioned Kuang Bindun up and gave him a knife to try a few slashes and stabs.

Kuang Bindun did as Jack told him and attacked the coat. He didn't use his full fighting strength, but even with half, he couldn't see any damage done to the coat.

Jack stopped him after a dozen attempts and passed his hand over the coat once again. He could only feel a couple of spots where Kuang Bindun tried to stab the knife through, and they didn't even go as deep as a millimeter. In the half a centimeter thick coat it didn't mean much.

He gave a wide grin to Wu Angrui and said "It's perfect."

She gave him a strange look and responded with "Put it on first, then tell me what you think."

Jack chuckled, but he listened to her and put the coat on. It felt like he put on an extra layer of thick skin. After he laced up the interlooping laces he moved his arms and legs around a bit and felt that he didn't suffer a loss of motion.

When Jack looked up, he saw the stunned faces of his men and Wu Angrui. He smirked at them, took half a step forward with his left leg, and asked "How do I look?"

After a second of silence, old Long snorted and said "Like the most expensive prostitute in a brothel."

Bai Maolong and Kuang Bindun started roaring in laughter, while Wu Angrui covered her mouth in an attempt to hold her laughter back.

Jack's shoulders slumped as he sighed, but a second later he looked at Wu Angrui with eyes full of joy as he said "Thank you for this excellent work, Wu Angrui, I love it. I hope this coat is just the beginning of our long business relationship."

Wu Angrui looked a little taken aback by the praise, but she nodded her head and declared "I did not like the design at first, but now I can see why you wanted it to look like this. I will work on it some more and when next we see each other I might even surprise you with something new."

Jack chuckled as he said "I am sure that you will. Thank you once more." He started to take off the coat as he continued "Please make sure to mention our desire for collaboration to your father when he comes back."

Wu Angrui gave Jack a distracted nod as she watched his movements and asked "You are not going to wear it outside?"

Jack took off the coat and folded it neatly on the table, before putting it in his Star Bag. He looked up at Wu Angrui and answered "This is a special treasure that has to be used carefully. I cannot just let anyone out there see it. It will have its time to shine on the other side of the River."

With that, they said their goodbyes to Wu Angrui and returned to the inn.