Chapter 41 - An alternative route?

Xin was dead tired, despite his bracer invigorating him.

"Can't the others also help?" He asked Murong Zhan and Tu Qiang. 

"Well, we are the only people without serious injuries, and Xiaoyun is taking care of the wounded." 

"Fuck, I just wish there was a way to bail out of this. But it was my comment that did this to us." 

An hour ago, Xin made a comment about the plant monsters. He said that the hag that attacked them could probably come back and reanimate them, and that it probably used the slain people and horses to raise an army of these things. Thus, Xie Taowei concluded that it was only logical to deny her material and burn the corpses. 

The only way to burn so many things at once was to get all the furniture and fabric, like rugs and tablecloth, inside of one of the smaller houses (since the outside wood was soaking wet), and try and burn everything at once. 

"Phew. That's the last one. I am so fucking done." Xin was swearing more than usual, the post-battle mental exhaustion was making him tense. As the opponent got away, there was no relief in this victory. 

"Let's bring master Lu in, too." Tu Qiang was grim. 

"Is there truly no other way?" Murong Zhan didn't like this. He was used to dignified noble burials. 

"You want someone to dig him up later? Burning it is. We'll pray for him." For the past two hours, Xin was bossing the other disciples around. Surprisingly, everyone listened. It probably made them feel more at ease, Xin guessed. 

Several minutes later, master Lu's corpse was laid on top of a pile of plant monster corpses. Xin used a mix of lamp oils, dry herbs, firewood and cloth to cover the pile, then lit it up. 

Ten minutes later, Xin entered the inn. He could still feel a disgusting mix of burnt body and plant smells assaulting his nose. 

As he entered, everyone looked up at him. He nodded and performed a martial gesture.

"Xin, Wu Xiaoyun was just telling me how you saved her and Su Xing." Lei was holding his broken arm, now splinted, with his wooden arm. 

"What? I abandoned them, and ran back into the house. The burning thing is done, by the way."

 "Brother Xin, you did the right thing. You gave me an edge with that technique of yours, then ran inside, hoping to save master Lu. No hard feelings, I swear." Su Xing smiled, but his eyes looked very tired. 

"How's Yao Nang?" Xin looked at the girl, who was unconscious near the fireplace. It gently cracked, creating a cozy atmosphere, which contrasted heavily with their circumstances. 

"Gave her a sleeping concoction," Wu Xiaoyun said. "That rose thorn thing that the plant shot, it cut her stomach deeply. She is very strong, and regenerates fast. She'll be fine." 

"Good. What about you?" 

"Am I strong? Will I be fine? Frankly, I don't know, Xin..." She blushed. 

"I was asking you if you are injured. Are you injured?" He rolled his eyes, annoyed.

 "I... No. Sorry." 

"What are you saying sorry for, sister?" Su Xing chuckled. "Where did that ice queen attitude of yours go?"

 "I am sorry for not being useful enough. I had no methods to damage these creatures, my spear was pretty useless. My leaf style hand-to-hand attacks wouldn't be of any use, either. Oh, how I want to break through already. I feel like I'll be another person once I do."

Rui Ming was rocking on his chair near the fireplace as he polished the blade.

"I feel the same after my breakthrough, though. Temper your expectations."

"Yeah, you are the same and your wind is unsplit. The fuck did that goofy poem even mean?" Lei teased Rui Ming. 

"I don't know, it just came to me. Had an urge to proclaim this. I know my poetry is not the best, but I was sincere with you. Hope you don't bash it too hard." 

"No-no, it was beautiful, brother Ming. What's important is that you opened your heart to us. Even if you don't know what it meant just yet. It's a matter of time, one day you will." Wu Xiaoyun was very supportive. Xin appreciated the atmosphere she created, even if he didn't show it. 

"I think I know what it meant. It's a reference to an ancient poem about the different types of winds." Xin guessed. "The last line meant that Rui Ming is the same, no matter what wind befalls him. He's got a wind inside of him, which is carrying him in his own direction. Am I right?" 

"Kind of. But it still doesn't fully click." Rui Ming stopped polishing his blade and looked into the fire. 

"You know what else I thought about? The Four Winds, and their master, Tempest. You broke through in the middle of a tempest, there might be some connection." 

"That's a stretch." Lei sighed. "I'm glad master Taowei is holding guard outside. And I am glad we can chat about this bullshit. So, what do we do next? I assume you'll lead the party now, Xin?" 

"I am in charge of scouting, but each of my decisions will have to be approved by master Taowei. And frankly, I don't have first-hand knowledge of these lands. All I have is my prep notes and a map. Biggest problem is, we were supposed to get horses here, and we didn't. This will slow us down significantly." 

"The supplies, too. We'll grab some here, but I don't know if the cabbages can sustain our party for long." Tu Qiang looked upset. "We might have to forage as we go, and the nomads could swarm us easily. I wonder if it would be wiser to turn back." 

"I still don't know what exactly the mission is, and how important it is, to be frank. Tried asking Xie Taowei, he didn't budge. Says it's a regular delivery mission, there is no twist or secret material, but he's still not supposed to reveal more." 

"One thing I don't get, why not just give master Taowei a flying sword and let him pick up the stuff by himself?" Lei kept playing the same tune. 

"A flying sword is not a panacea. Even as mortals, we'll contribute, freeing the rank two masters to do something more important. It's also a test for the future, I assume." 

Xin said this, but frowned inside. He felt like it's not an elaborate plan, or a secret mission with an important delivery. The sect is probably stretched thin, and has to resort to putting its seeds on caravan duty. 

Whatever. 

Firewood. Water. Clothes. Food. That's what's important right now. 

Xin went out and opened an old barn. Most of the firewood was soaked, and the floor was somewhat flooded, both through the door and through the roof. He picked up two logs worth of firewood into a big bag, and laid it all around the fireplace to dry. The people sitting around were drying their shirts and boots using the heat, but Xin found their approach too lazy. 

"I need everyone to dry everything you're wearing. Underwear, bags, pants, whatever. As the firewood dries, add more to the fire. We need much stronger heat to pull it off. Xiaoyun, please undress Yao Nang and dry her clothing. You can use my plaid to warm her up if she gets cold. Someone will have to replace Zhan and master Qiang on guard duty, you have to have a dry set of clothing to dress into when your guard duty ends. Rotate sleep, everyone has to grab at least a nap. Questions?" 

"No questions, baws." Lei laughed. "We were waiting for you to return with the firewood to do exactly what you just said, you think us stupid?" 

"I'd rather bother you with all these little details and make sure everything is done properly. I've seen many examples of incompetence in my life. Wait, I'll go check the well. Get to the business." 

"Yes, outrider Xin!" 

"Get fucked, Lei." Xin went outside. He looked at the burning house, it was now a half-collapsed building with no visible fire outside, but with lots of smoke coming from the inside. Lots of embers, the weakened rain isn't strong enough to put out such a fire in an hour. 

Xin avoided looking at the ruins any further, and went back to the well with the collapsed roof. Rui Ming broke the foundation pillars and the roof, but at least the winch was intact, lying nearby. He remounted it onto a makeshift foundation, which took him some time, then grabbed a bucket and collected some water from the well. 

The water level had significantly risen. Well, the underwater streams are more potent due to the rain, and the collapsed roof let some rainwater drop inside as well. Very WELL, Xin thought. He then laughed nervously and looked at the contents of the bucket. 

He sniffed the water and tried a drop of it on his tongue. It had a slightly metallic and a slightly earthy taste. This water quality is subpar. The plant monster cultivator probably used some water from the well in that alchemy she used to raise the plant creatures, what if she poisoned the water, intentionally or collaterally? Xin looked at master Taowei, standing guard under the canopy on top of the homestead's gates, and wanted to chat with him, but decided against it. What would we even speak about?

 Xin entered the inn with a bucket of water. 

"Oh, let me refill my flask. I've lost a lot of water with my technique." Su Xing's lips were dry.

 "Not so fast. Wait. "Xin procured his alchemical ingredient pouch from his bag, and pulled out some orange powder. 

"What's that?" 

"That's a basic multitest powder. It reacts to almost everything, except water, secreting a coloration of different colors." 

"Oh, that thing. Looks useful. Think the water is poisoned?" 

"Let's see." Xin mixed some water and powder in a glass cup with his spoon. "See that oily secretion? Very subtle. I'd say the water is indeed slightly poisoned. Let me perform another test." 

Wu Xiaoyun was also an alchemist, so she was naturally interested in what Xin was doing, and sat closer. Her herbal smell contrasted with Su Xing, who smelled like a stray dog. 

"Now I'll heat this a bit." He held the alchemical cup near the fire.

He took out an alkali mix, and another one with an acidic crystal powder. 

"Let's see." He added the crystal powder first. The oily subtance turned orange and started producing small bubbles. "See how it reacts? You'd have meteorism for days if this water contacted your stomach acid."

Su Xing was excited like a puppy. 

"It's so cool when the alchemy has a practical use, I wish we had more lab experiments and demonstrations during our classes." 

"I agree, the teaching methods in our sect are often subpar. Especially since our most talented teachers love fucking around." Xin added a drop of alkaline powder and shook the cup again. He could see small sand-like grains gather on the bottom of the cup." 

"That your materials or was it already in the water?" 

"A mix of both. The water is fucked, she poisoned it intentionally. And somewhat subtly. Let's mark the well as dangerous, and collect rainwater while we still can instead. I think we still need to boil and cool it, those rainwater barrels aren't exactly clean. We'll need lots of water, so someone has to take care of it." 

"There was a cauldron and a fireplace in the house on the other end of the homestead. I could do it, just bring me the water and the firewood. I'll go grab a trough in the stables and clean it up. It will store the boiled water." Xiaoyun offered her help.

"Good. Does anyone still need medical help?" 

"Not anything immediate. Do you need me to do anything else?" Wu Xiaoyun was still blaming herself for her poor performance, and was eager to redeem herself.

 "Nah, you've already done enough. I'll get the guys to bring you water." 

"Thanks. I'll get going then." She dressed in her coat and left. Xin looked at everyone's armour in the corner. What if we got attacked again? Well, we could barricade inside of the house, giving us enough time, and then... Fuck, I am tired. Xin sighed out. 

"You alright, brother? When I woke you up, you already looked like you were having nightmares." Lei had a caring expression. 

"Nightmares? Nah, just some weird dreams. Look, it's you who is injured, not me. But I'll get back to sleep, if no one minds. Wake me up if you need anything." 

"Why don't you grab your bedroll and go to the second house with sister Xiaoyun? You could sleep near the fire, there isn't much space left here, with everyone drying their clothing. I don't think she'd mind." Lei's smile was quite snide. 

"I am fine here." Xin rolled his eyes, then looked at Su Xing. "Are you alright?"

"With you going after sister Xiaoyun? Why wouldn't I be?" 

"Are you all fucking retarded? I am asking you about your injury." 

"Yes, I am doing better. Why get so agitated?"

 "I don't like Lei starting stupid rumours, I've got too much stuff to handle to deal with this childishness now." Xin brought his sleeping bag from the second floor, and fell asleep in the corner of the room, which was previously occupied by master Lu. He was slightly embarrassed about it, but it took him only several moments to shoo these thoughts away. And one more minute to fall asleep. 

In the morning, he was woken up by Tu Qiang. 

"Disciple Xin, it's time to make the final preparations. Master Taowei is waiting for you outside, under the canopy." 

Xin crawled out of his bedroll, and noticed that he was covered by Lei's plaid. He probably went for a night duty and decided to cover him up. Thanks, I guess. 

"Alright, Tu Qiang. Just let me go for a leak first. Did master Taowei even sleep?" 

"Master Qiang for you, disciple." His voice didn't sound angry, but he decided to remind Xin about his status. Young hunter's bossy attitude probably grated him. "Yes, he slept, two hours or so. I know what you're thinking. I also wish he rested more, but he feels responsible." 

"If he doesn't regenerate properly, his concerns might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'll go tell him." 

Tu Qiang smirked. 

After taking a leak, Xin approached master Taowei. 

"Disciple Xin, what's your plan?" 

"I've looked at the map, we've only got two real options. One is a standard caravan route, a steppe trail. Thing is, there is a huge risk of being raided by the nomads, and we've got no horses." 

"We could also pay tribute, but it's not very reliable. Option two?" 

"Well, since the routes are unsafe, we could make an arc and go through the Yellow Pine forest. It will take more time, but there is an abandoned mine there, pretty straightforward, too."

"It makes sense. The area around the bastion has plenty of cavalrymen patrolling it. Should be safer. And the route from there to Zadana is also a bit safer than the open steppe. But you understand the risks, right?"

Yellow Pine forest is quite a qi dense area, and even if they won't have to be there for long, it's still a risk. 

"Of course. But the insect attack might not have been random, according to master Lu. Then this demonic cultivator ambushed us and killed our outrider. Could be a coincidence, could be a conspiracy. What I am saying is, there's a chance our intel was leaked to demonic cultivators and we're being stalked. Who says the nomads aren't expecting us, too? In this case, if we go into the steppe horseless, we're signing our death warrant."

"Well, the Yellow Pine forest's depths aren't safe, either. Jiangshi, ghosts, whatever the fuck else. Our caravans took some losses going through that forest before. Are you considering this?" 

"Yes, master, of course. Except, if the mine is unoccupied, we'd emerge right outside of General's Recluse bastion after going through it. I'm speaking based on my limited knowledge. Would it be acceptable to humbly request the mission details so that I can see the full picture when giving my opinion?" 

"Hmmm. I knew this one was coming. Listen, we've got to reach Zadana, some rare materials to reinforce our secondary formations are waiting for us there. It's crucial that these are delivered, we'll be able to reinforce our mortal-level fighters much better. If you think about all those that will die without this delivery, you'll see why I am so determined. I'm speaking hundreds of people. At least."

Xin was wide-eyed.

"I understand what you're saying, why does it seem like the fact that the war will happen is already decided upon? Are we going to attack?" 

"Look, kid. It's inevitable. I don't know who'll make the first move, genuinely. But occupying Tealstone and aligning with the Divine Sword sect is a power move, we'll have to respond eventually. I don't see how this war can be prevented, so let's just hope the capital sends some bureaucrats to regulate the process. We just need to do our part." 

Xin frowned and stared at his feet. So, there is an invasion coming from another dimension, and the realm must stand united, but the Xuanwu/FETS coalition are about to fight the Divine Sword and Fist sects? 

Xin toyed with the thought of "what if we actually conceded something in the name of peace?", but realised that this would just embolden the Divine Sword sect to push even deeper into the North. Truly, it seems like the only choice is to fight. 

"You wanted to say something, disciple?" 

"I... Was overwhelmed with thoughts, master."

 "And what do you think?"

"I think that the Fist Sect is playing a stupid game, and it will win some stupid prizes. If they can't act in the interests of the common good, willing to be used as proxies of the Divine Sword sect for personal gain, ignoring the rules that the Edict had set up, we'll have to wipe them out. I'm ready." 

"I like your determination, kid. Now deliver upon it with something concrete. If you want to lead us through Yellow Pine forest, I am expecting a plan." 

"Yes, master." Xin's totem purred.