Search for Sef (5)

"Shui-"

After Serina noticed Shui, she was about to call out to him to beg for help, but with a pat on the head she began to calm down.

"It's okay, he'll be fine. He's just sleeping at the moment."

"That's, great."

After hearing Shui's assurance, she wiped her tears and looked down at Fatty again. He was back to his usual fat self and the burn wounds had begun to fade so there didn't seem to be any reason to fear for his health. However, Shui had a different concern. 

"Still, I should probably wake him up."

"Wait! Shouldn't we let him rest?" Serina asked in worry and confusion.

"Even though your brother could be in danger at this very moment?"

Serina paused after hearing that. It was true that she was worried for Fatty, but Shui told her that Fatty would be fine and she believed him. On the other hand, if there were so many people waiting to attack her brother, then it wasn't hard to imagine that some of them had gone after him too. She thought about leaving Fatty somewhere safe, but they would have to turn back to do that and she didn't want to waste any time.

"He's fine, right?"

"That's right. Watch."

As Serina's mind started to lean towards his idea, Shui used a spell to splash cold water on Fatty's face. 

"Huh?!"

Fatty felt jolted awake and franticly looked around, but soon calmed down once he saw Shui and Serina nearby. 

"Sorry Boss. Looks like I picked the wrong time to take a nap."

"It's okay, you did well. How are your injuries?"

While standing up, Fatty looked himself over before responding.

"I'm fine for the most part. A change of clothes would be nice though."

"If you can change while running at full speed then go ahead."

Fatty showed a wry smile at Shui's comment before turning to look at Serina.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes... Um, I'm sorry, and, thank you."

Fatty's expression brightened at Serina's anxious gratitude.

"Don't mention it. Let's go save your brother!"

"Yes!"

With the eager two behind him, Shui led the way to Sef's location. Even for cultivators like them, paths in the mountains were difficult to traverse since they still had to keep their feet on the ground. Nonetheless, thanks to their high speed and Shui swiftly eliminating any creature that got in their way, they reached the mountain that Sef had climbed before the sun set. Shui saw the line of fate go below the mountain, but it was obvious that Sef hadn't dung his way there. 

'There must be some sort of entrance.'

With his spiritual sense, Shui examined the mountain and was able to find a few caves that went into it, but only one of them went deep enough to be a match. Finding the entry point was a good thing, but its location made things a little difficult. The cave was near the top of the mountain, but the path that Sef had likely used was gone. By using earth attribute spells it would simple to create a new path, but since there was something strange about this mountain Shui didn't want to transform it thoughtlessly. Therefore, he came up with a way for them to reach the cave in a short time without using an earth attribute spell.

"Uh, are you sure about this Boss?"

"If I wasn't sure, why would I suggest it? Do you have a better idea?"

"Well, no but..."

"Then stop dragging your feet. If Serina hasn't complained then why should you?"

As Shui said, Serina seemed okay with the idea he came up with, but considering that she was worried for her brother, this wasn't too surprising since Shui's idea would indeed get them to the cave quickly. Seeing that he couldn't expect any reinforcements, Fatty resigned himself to his fate. 

Once he saw that Fatty had given up, Shui used the Four Elements Technique to manipulate the earth. As water became solid at a cold enough temperature and iron could be melted by fire, Shui believed that all things were mutable. For his manifestation of the earth, he viewed all substances as part of the earth that existed in different states, so he could make air and liquid turn into solid without going through the trouble of altering the temperature. However, the more effort it would take to change the substance to solid state, the more energy and focus he would need. However, in this case he stuck with a simpler transmutation.

Parts of the ground grew upwards like miniature towers before changing into dark metal stakes. Shui plucked these metals stakes and then threw them at the mountain face. The stakes had equal vertical distances between them and seemed to fuse into the mountain once they were stuck in it. 

"That should do. I'll go up first so pay close attention to my movements."

If it wasn't already obvious, Shui's plan was to climb the mountain to reach the cave rather than walk to it. Though it would be more dangerous since it would leave them open to attack and a bad fall could still leave them severely wounded or dead, it would allow them to reach the cave quickly. They didn't have any special tools, but as they were all in the Soul Realm, Shui believed that it would be possible for the other two to manage this feat.

He started by jumping to the lowest stake, and then continuously leapt to the stake above. Leaping to the top of the mountain in one jump would be simple, but that wouldn't be a good demonstration as the other two wouldn't be able to imitate him. Once he reached in front of the cave, Shui probed it with the Sage God Eyes instead of his spiritual sense. He immediately discovered traces of three three auras and recognized the faintest one.

"So two of them are chasing him. I hope he can stay ahead of them."

It was still difficult to peer at Sef's exact location, but fortunately, the two pursuers appeared to be lost in the cave labyrinth so they wouldn't be a threat to him. Once he had a basic grasp of the situation inside the cave, Shui looked down at the two at the foot of the mountain.

"Okay, Fatty, you're next."

When Fatty heard this, he tensed up. Shui made it look simple, but Fatty knew better than to use him as an accurate reference. Even so, he knew he had to at least make an attempt before he could complain, especially with Serina here. After a deep breath, he carefully walked up to the mountain face and placed a foot on the lowest stake. He pushed down on it to ensure that it could take his weight before climbing unto it. 

"So far so good, I guess."

He was able to stand on a stake, but Fatty knew that the next step was the crucial one. It would be easier if the next stake was within reach, but Shui naturally wouldn't leave a handicap like that. Knowing that he had to jump, Fatty braced himself and then leapt towards the next stake. As for the result,

"Ouch."

He had managed to land on the stake, but his balance had been horrible so he fell off soon after. 

"One more time."

Fatty hastily got up and tried again, but the result was the same.

"Fatty."

As Shui began to give him a cold gaze, Fatty held back a flinch before trying again.