xiv

"No, I can't !" Lan categorically declared as he stood with his arms folded over his chest.

He and Liwei had managed to escape the village safely, they were now in the middle of nowhere. It was a mountain path, with seemingly no living things, if not for trees and plants. Lan thought they were lost, but Liwei seemed to know where they were.

And as of now, she had just asked if he would like to ride a sword. It wasn't like Lan didn't want to try it, but two issues were presenting themselves to him : first, he didn't have a single clue of how to ride, and second, he had a terrible fear of heights. He wouldn't even survive two meters above the ground !

"I figured you'd be hesitant." she said.

"I'm not hesitant ! I'm completely, entirely, undoubtedly against the idea ! I didn't escape to die anyway !"

Liwei smiled, amused by his behavior. "As long as you're with me, you won't die."

She said it in a confident tone, and Lan secretly found her really cool. Still, it wouldn't make him change his mind !

"Can you be so certain about death ?" he scoffed.

He didn't expect a real answer, he had asked simply to prove that his fear was rational. After all it was true, death was unpredictable and illogical, right ?

But Liwei's smile unnoticeably stretched, as she turned her face away from Lan.

"Who cares about death ? As long as I can be certain about life, then it's fine."

Lan was speechless. What she said seemed to make sense in his mind, but he couldn't fully grasp the meaning of her words. He pondered over it for a while, as they continued to walk forward. Every time he felt like he finally understood the statement, his mind backtracked and he was left confused.

After walking for about an hour, Lan had already moved on from it. He was too busy looking at the beautiful scenery all around him. Plains and mountains surrounded them, some so high that they pierced the clouds.

"Where is this leading ?" he asked.

"It's leading to Lingshi Town. It's a big, commercial city. It doesn't have any involvement with anything magical and is close to the sea. It's the perfect destination for us !"

"Why's the sea listed as the reason of a 'perfect destination' ?"

"Because if anything happens before we leave Lingshi, we can quickly get there. The safe place I know and want to bring you to is actually an island."

"An island ? Why are you so sure about it ?"

"Because I know most people that live there and I trust them. I think we'll be safer there than anywhere else."

"You know better than me I guess."

Liwei simply nodded, not adding anything.

"But tell me," Lan started again, after a few steps taken, "how long did you say it'd take to get to Lingshi ? I mean, we've already been on the way for two days."

"If we continue at this pace, it should take us about fifteen days."

"Fifteen ?!" he yelled.

Man, a car really would have been helpful right now !, he complained.

"It's good enough. I know of another town near the sea that could have been safe, but traveling there walking would take us at least a month —and that's considering we're going fast."

"It's too far !"

"Of course it is. It would have been faster to go by horse or carriage but I don't have any, and buying or renting one would leave a trace of us behind. It's too risky."

"So the only option really was the sword..." he sighed. "How long would it take traveling with it ?"

"Like... half of the time. Maybe just a few days, even."

A few days ? It was definitely more pleasing to hear the fifteen days ! But what was Lan supposed to do ? What if he fell off the sword —or worst ! What if he puked from up there ?

He shook his head at the thought. That would be too embarrassing !

"If you really don't want to ride it then I won't force you, but I don't think it will be hard for you. I know you can't cast spells yet but riding a sword may be easier to re-learn."

It wasn't a spell even though it required spiritual powers as well. But just like lighting up a flame, it was only a little amount. When learning, kids could master this faster than the flame spell --even though one factor was that they thought it was cooler.

"Was I really good at riding the sword before ?"

"You were good at everything involving a sword."

"I don't think I kept the skills then."

"How would you know ? You can't judge after two days. Besides, not just anyone would unroot and destroy a spiritual tree so easily after a year of not using any power."

"Wait, you're talking about me, so that tree in your backyard... it was spiritual ? I'm so sorry !"

"Yes it was, but don't mind it. It's nothing much, it was actually a regular tree but I used so much power around that it absorbed it and cultivated into a spiritual tree."

"What does a spiritual tree does anyway ?"

"It depends. The one I have —well, to begin, once it's destroyed it can fix and plant itself back within ten days, so don't worry anymore about destroying it."

"Wow, uh, okay."

"It's a peach tree, so not only does it produce fruits all year long, they help spiritual power flow better in the meridians. Oh, and it can protect itself from anyone that isn't me."

"That's a really nice tree. I'm glad it can fix itself, it'd be a shame to lose it."

"It's fine anyway. I could always acquire another one."

"Doesn't it take time ?"

"Yes. And it's only possible with plants that already grew in an area where they were exposed to spiritual energy."

"So not any tree then."

"Can you imagine the mess if it was any tree ?"

Lan chuckled, "Yes, so I was a bit worried."

If it was any tree, then people could turn a whole forest into spiritual trees ! What would happen then ? Although Liwei's tree didn't do much, Lan could guess on his own that others could cultivate their trees to do evil. To list another issue, how would mortals survive if they couldn't cut trees ? Wood was essential !

"Anyways, if there's something else : plants only listen to a limited group of people, so no matter how much someone tries, they might never be able to cultivate a tree into a spiritual one."

This statement piqued Lan's interest. "Really ? So for example, even if I find a tree that grew surrounded by spiritual energy, and use a lot of power around it, it would never turn into a spiritual tree ?"

"That's right."

"That's too bad. What kind of people can do it ?"

"People that are linked to nature."

"Linked with nature ? How does one is linked with nature ?"

She shrugged, "There isn't really anything to it. They're just born and... happen to resonate with it."

"Oh, I see."

Lan didn't understand too well but he didn't push it. He was still ignorant about how most things worked, but he knew that the more time he spent in this world, the more he'd learn and would be able to understand without having to question anyone.

"Anyways, we reached this topic while talking about riding a sword," he remembered. "Let's get back on this."

"Are you changing your mind ?"

"I might. I'm willing to try to uh... re-learn the skill, but if I can't do it, I'll give up for now."

"No problem. Remember that you can't use your sword though, so we'll use mine."

"Can I do that ?"

"Do what ?"

"I mean, can someone else's sword work with me ?"

"If I order it to listen to you, then it will." she shrugged.

"Okay, let's try."

A translucent, sparkling red light emerged from between her hands. It shaped into a sword, before materializing in her hand.

The sword hilt was dark red, and a pattern like a dark wine snaked around it until a shining red stone engraved at the end of it, where the blade emerged. Speaking of the blade, it was long and thin, glowing, and looking incredibly sharp. It was silver, but the light of the stone seemed to stretch in the middle until the tip, making it glow bloody red.

It was a very beautiful sword, and Lan found himself unable to look away from it, as his lips parted slightly.

He then looked up at Liwei, who was examining her own weapon as well.

"Your sword looks great." he said.

She lifted her head toward him. "You think ?"

"Yes ! Where did you get it ?"

"I had it made. I designed it, and I brought the material to a swordsmith and he forged it for me."

"It's not surprising, it doesn't look like the kind of sword you'd find everywhere."

She smiled. "I agree."

"Then what's the name ?"

"Guang Xie." [1].

"Guang Xie ? Is it taken from 'glowing blood' or something ?" [2]

"Exactly. I think it fits perfectly, both the way it looks like and its utility."

"It's a bit worrying when you say it like that."

"Oh ? I thought it was cool."

Well, it was. But Lan seemed to have forgotten the type of world he was in, and the real utility of a sword. People fought in close combat with swords, they hurt and killed each other, they spilled blood.

The fact that Liwei did that too never crossed his mind. Putting her sarcastic side aside, she was nice and... even cute. Even when she mentioned having a sword, he didn't think she used it to kill. He was really surprised, both at her and him for looking past the obvious.

If he thought of Wen Li doing it, it wouldn't shock him. But Liwei was the same as her after all —they both were Immortals. He should have thought about it.

"Uh, I... guess."

"It's fine if you don't like it, you know."

Clearly, she didn't know the real reason. It was indeed cool, both the sword and its name —but he felt weird about it.

"No no, it's not that. It's just..." he looked at her, but quickly averted his gaze. "I didn't think you were the kind to use swords like that."

He didn't know why he admitted it, it felt dumb, but he already said it anyway, so dwelling on it was useless. But he did want to know what kind of person she was.

It had been a bit more than two weeks already, but he could never pinpoint her exact personality. If he should judge on how she was with him and how she was with someone else, it was two different persons. With others, it was like her evil twin took over.

She was also very indifferent when Lan had killed the villager when he was still a snake. He may have been harassing her, but could anyone be so calm about killing ?

By inquiring about her killing, Lan could have a new piece of her personality unveiled.

"Like 'that' ? You mean you didn't know I used it to kill ?"

"Yes."

"Why else would I have a sword ? And it's not like I kill just anyone."

"Not just anyone ? Then who ?"

"Those who provoke me, or someone I care about, first. It could be a ghost from the deepest part of hell, but if they leaves me alone then I'll leave them alone. Or it could be a God, and if they provoke me, I'll fight them. As simple as that."

Liwei wasn't blind and had seen the frown on Lan's face. She understood he might be conflicted about her personality, but she couldn't blame him. She knew she wasn't the nicest person.

"I see. I'm still unsure about killing anyone, but..."

But what ? But as long as you're not evil and killing whoever, then it's fine ? Was it ever fine to kill ?

Once again, Lan had to remind himself that this was the kind of world he was in. He couldn't try to reason her with principles from his own world, they wouldn't make sense here !

In a way, this reminder helped him feel better about the situation. And if he had to be honest, he didn't want to be mad or upset at her. No matter what, she was good to him and he appreciated his friendship with her.

"It's fine if you're against it now. But I can't tell you I won't kill anymore. Do you think I would still be alive if I hadn't ?"

"I-" he got cut off as something startled him.

He was about to answer 'I guess not', but Liwei suddenly leaped in front of him, holding her sword up. The sound of metal clanging against each other resonated in his ears. His eyes opened wide.

What had just happened ?

"Trying to attack sneakily ?" Liwei harshly asked. "Not only cowardly but foolish too."

~

[1] : guang (光) ; xie (血).

[2] : 辉光 (hui guang) : glowing / 血液 (xie ye) : blood. by combining two characters, it makes the name 光血 given to the sword.