Qi and Jiu (Part 1)
“Leader!” Hong Jiu woke up as though he had to continue chasing someone who escaped from his dreams, bloodlust bursting at the seams.
“What happened?” Master Qi woke up as a result of Hong Jiu’s bloodlust and promptly scanned the surroundings for hostiles.
The duo shook off their pursuers following a night-long run. Despite the risk, they caught some shuteye underneath a large banyan tree due to the accumulated fatigue. That being said, they remained vigilant on a subconscious level to a degree.
“What happened to you? You’re soaked in sweat. Did you suffer internal damage? You just yelled, uh… leader?”
“Right, right, Leader.” Hong Jiu wiped his forehead perspiration. “I’ve been finding it hard to focus as something seemed suspicious to me. Now that I think about it, Leader might be in trouble.”
“He certainly does look prone to danger.” From Master Qi’s point of view, though Ming Feizhen did have the physique of a martial artist, he was rather too lanky, had a weird sense of fashion, didn’t look trustworthy and had a face that roused the urge to hit it.
Hong Jiu wagged his hand as if he wasn’t going to let the words of the ignorant get to him. “My leader is almighty. He fears no man.”
“And yet you’re worried about him.”
“As his brother, it’s only right I be worried about him. It’s one thing for him to be invincible, safe and sound, but I must worry about him!”
“You always want to have the last word, don’t you?!”
Hong Jiu tried to shake his doubt out of his head.
Leader must’ve kept some alternatives in mind. His Majesty also supports him, so the imperial court shouldn’t target him, but…
Gazing at the moon, Master Qi remarked, “It’ll be daybreak in two hours. How about thinking about where to next?”
“What for?” Hong Jiu yawned absentmindedly.
“You likely gave away our location with your burst of bloodlust. If you don’t figure out where to run next, it may be too late to regret.”
“Uh… I’m reporting back to the capital. I’m going back to see my leader, so I’m heading in the direction of the capital.”
“Return to the capital? With the fiend army around, even if we took a detour, they’d catch up in less than half a day. I could dive if nobody is monitoring the water, but Hai Yecha now has surveillance on the waterway. Unlike the Lake Spirit and Ocean Monster suits, Water Fiend isn’t designed for combat. If we encounter Hai Yecha’s group, we’re history in the water. Plus, even if I can escape, you wouldn’t be able to.”
Hong Jiu scrubbed his head. “I’ll just roll with the punches.”
“How many can you roll? I can’t turn a blind eye to your safety when you got dragged into this because you saved me.”
Hong Jiu would’ve loved to fight the legendary adepts. He, however, wasn’t interested at the moment for Ming Feizhen needed protection. If he was incapacitated from injuries, then he couldn’t protect his brother once he was back in the capital.
Aware of Hong Jiu’s dilemma, Master Qi dimpled. “I have an idea.” She picked up a tree branch to scribble a simple map on the ground. “There’s a town thirty kilometres west from here.”
“Oh, you’re suggesting that we…”
“Go the opposite way they’re going. They’ll travel east since they believe we want to regroup with His Highness in the capital, so I’ll go west.”
***
Melodically, droplets of rain gently landed onto the water surface. The lukewarm rain slowed the pace of those briskly walking under their umbrellas. Perhaps they wanted to take in the scenery; perhaps the rain eased their nerves.
“Waiter, one pot of tea and a few small dishes. Give this gentleman a quality jug of wine.” Ever since they entered the town, Master Qi changed into female clothing and stopped speaking with her fake accent.
Accompanying Master Qi on the second floor of an eatery by the lakeside was Hong Jiu. He assumed she’d be down in their predicament given she was too young to have experienced many setbacks, but she impressed him with her quick and decisive thinking.
Usually, sects that left their original sect to form a new one wouldn’t be respected by their former cohorts. In contrast to this norm, Kunlun respected Mount Tian despite the latter breaking off from them; Kunlun and Mount Tian were virtually one big family.
Kunlun’s patriarch was the person who established Mount Tian. While he wasn’t a pushover, he didn’t shine as a martial artist. Typically, an ordinary leader couldn’t produce excellent disciples. That was why it often took two generations before sects expanded to a degree that received recognition. For that reason, people expected Kunlun to be dormant for decades; nobody thought their patriarch would be the “late bloomer” type.
At fifty years of age, Kunlun’s patriarch decided to pass on leadership and go train on Mount Tian. For the next twenty years, he had a breakthrough in his swordplay while on the snowy mountain. He left the mountain at seventy years of age and wiped the floor with numerous big names, establishing himself as a superstar prior to establishing Mount Tian as a sect.
Kunlun categorised disciples into six branches: Plumflower Snap, Hundred Flowers, Dark Rain, Desolate Domain, Descending Moon and Snow Storage. Every decade, they would send their best disciples among the six to study at Mount Tian.
Because Mount Tian’s discipline concentrated on comprehension, they produced plenty of young, capable individuals. One of Snow Storage’s disciple, Glacial Sword Empress, rose to fame sixteen years ago and took up sect leadership at the tender age of twenty. Upon drawing “Glacial Water” sword from a crack at Mount Tian’s summit, she rose to even greater heights.
Glacial Sword Empress’ swordplay prowess was said to have already surpassed Emei’s Abbess Bailou’s and rivalled Zi Wutong’s. Contrary to Zi Wutong’s active nature, though, Glacial Sword Empress preferred peace and quiet, adding a layer of mystery to her.
Watching Hong Jiu space out, Master Qi giggled. “We’ve shaken them off.”
“Your idea is sound. Only problem is that we can’t return to the capital for some time now.”
Master Qi quietly asked, “I’ve taken that into consideration. Did you ever wonder why they would go so far to capture me?”
“I don’t even know why they’re after you in the first place.”
“It’s because…”
“Waiter, give me the biggest and best table! You have a VIP guest!”
Hong Jiu and Master Qi frowned upon hearing the loud voice downstairs.
The biggest and best table? Isn’t that our table?
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