Chapter 134
The journey continued in somber silence, the only sounds piercing the stillness being the whispers of the passing wind and the rhythmic thud of the horses' hooves against the hard-packed dirt road as they marched steadily onward.
Inside the gently swaying carriage, not a single word was uttered between its two occupants, the air thick and stifling with unspoken tension as Ji Wuye and Song Jia remained lost in their own turbulent thoughts.
'What should I say?' Song Jia's mind raced wildly, a knot of anxiety coiling in her stomach. This was the first time she had ever found herself sharing such close quarters with a man besides her Master.
Though her eyes remained fixated on the passing scenery visible through the carriage window, she maintained a hyper-aware vigil, studying Ji Wuye's peaceful countenance and relaxed demeanor through her peripheral vision.
'Should I ask him why he changed our destination?' she pondered, worrying her lower lip. Logically, she knew she should question his unilateral decision, seeing as how it was a selfish choice made without her input.
But just as she felt the burning words rising in her throat, a second, sobering thought reminded her that she was merely a tagalong on this journey, having all but begged Ji Wuye to allow her to join him.
Suddenly recalling all the dismissive times in the past when he had abruptly left her presence without a word or blithely ignored her attempts at conversation, Song Jia felt a vein beginning to throb at her temple.
"Brother Ji," she began in a tone edged with prickling annoyance, but the words died on her lips as she realized he still had his eyes serenely closed, face tilted up to bask in the calming caresses of the warm breeze.
"The thing I said before...I meant that I wish to spar with you," Song Jia pressed on, feeling her irritation mounting as Ji Wuye continued to either ignore her words or simply not hear them over the rhythmic clop of the horses' hooves and creak of the swaying carriage.
She was clearly struggling to make conversation, to break through this stifling awkward silence. Yet he not only seemed content to casually nap the journey away, but also dismissed her attempts to engage him with indifferent disregard.
"I know," Ji Wuye calmly replied at last, his crimson eyes still resolutely closed against the world. Somehow, this small acknowledgment only further stoked the fires of Song Jia's rapidly fraying temper.
But in that moment, her complex thoughts about how best to act and what to say around this strange young man abruptly scattered like ashes on the wind.
"Speaking of that, why do you need contribution points so badly?" she asked in a tone that bordered on accusatory, recalling how he had demanded she turn over any points earned on this mission solely to him.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, Song Jia felt a flare of self-conscious embarrassment, realizing just how stupid her question really was. 'Ah! Of course he desperately needs as many contribution points as he can get. He only has two years left before...'
Seeing him still and silent, his lack of response somehow implying that he could read the very thoughts running through her mind, only served to ratchet her irritation up another notch.
"Speak! At least!" Song Jia snapped, reaching over to slap the back of her hand against Ji Wuye's with a sharp crack.
His brows furrowed in a flash of annoyance as those crimson eyes snapped open, narrowing dangerously at her outburst.
Somehow, that small demonstration of real emotion, of seeing the suppressed fire that clearly smoldered behind his typically aloof facade, came as an immense relief to Song Jia, refreshing her like a cool rain after a sweltering drought.
But she had no intention of backing down so easily now that she had finally provoked a reaction.
"Now we're even!" she jabbed, holding his pointed stare without flinching. "You need my help, and you know full well what I want in return."
But once again, her words were met with stony silence, Ji Wuye's jaw setting in a tight line as he simply turned away, resolutely refusing to acknowledge her demand with so much as a terse reply.
"Don't bother me then, or else I won't help you achieve the Rising Gale," Ji Wuye replied.
Hearing his respones, Song Jia's eyes widening in disbelief as her angry ultimatum seemingly washed over him without even a ripple of concern.
With a disdainful snort of disgust, she whipped her head away from him, pointedly staring out the window as she refused to so much as spare him another glance.
'This guy is utterly infuriating!' she inwardly fumed, steam all but visibly venting from her ears as the palpable awkwardness settled back over the carriage in a thick, choking miasma.
…
From the remote Kunlun Qiuxiu Village to the neighboring Tianji Village is a journey of only about twenty li, less than two hours' ride. However, their path today led them towards the more distant Tianmu Village, a trek that would normally consume two to three hard days of travel.
Now, the crimson morning sun had gradually crested the horizon, its brilliant rays slicing through the dense forest canopy ahead to bathe Ji Wuye's carriage in a warm amber glow after they bypassed the outskirts of Tianji Village.
But suddenly, the carriage jerked to an abrupt halt with a hoarse whinny as the coachman hauled back firmly on the reins. The unexpected stop made Song Jia, who had been lazily gazing out the window at the passing scenery, narrow her eyes in alert suspicion.
Her muscles coiled tightly as she tensed her body, hand instinctively dropping to the hilt of her jian. "An enemy?" she questioned tersely, the metallic rasp of her blade clearing its sheath shattering the tranquil meditation in which Ji Wuye had been immersed.
Ji Wuye's eyes fluttered open, revealing piercing crimson irises that scanned their surroundings with calculated calm, noticing the dense shadows of the looming trees threatening to engulf them from the front.
"It's merely a rest stop," he concluded evenly. At that same moment, the dull thump of a fist rapping against the wooden partition separating the driver's compartment from the passenger cabin reached their ears.
"Esteemed heroes, please accept a moment's rest while this humble old man tends to the horses," the coachman's reedy voice implored politely. As Ji Wuye made to stand, Song Jia exhaled a tight breath and resheathed her jian, falling into step behind him.
Pushing open the carriage door, Ji Wuye was greeted by the vast, glittering expanse of a long creek winding its way down from the misty peaks of the Kunlun Mountains.
The stream flowed in a lazy meandering path through the vast sea of nodding grassland before disappearing into the dense forest ahead.
Beside the carriage, the horses gratefully dipped their muzzles into the proffered feed bags, vigorously tearing off tufts of hay as the coachman patted their sweat-darkened flanks and sipped from a clay jug of fresh, ice-cold stream water.
He tore off a hunk from a cloth-wrapped bundle with his teeth, chewing slowly on the dense, nutty-sweet rice cake.
While the coachman busied himself with his simple roadside repast, Ji Wuye found a flat sun-warmed boulder near the stream's edge and lowered himself into a cross-legged seated position, beginning to breathe deeply.
He could feel the natural energy of the world, entering his body through his opened meridians before pooling in a concentrated whirl within his Dantians.
Though he had settled into a meditative repose with the intention of merely relaxing his mind, Ji Wuye's crimson eyes soon fluttered open, his senses prickling as they were drawn to Song Jia.
She stood tall and poised on the opposite bank of thestream, her lithe form motionless save for the gentle undulations of her martial robes in the faint breeze. Her slender fingers gripped the hilt of her jian in a two-handed grip, her brow furrowed in intense focus as she narrowed her piercing gaze.
With no other preamble, Song Jia suddenly burst into fluid motion, the dance of her sword form beginning with a slashing upward strike. She pivoted gracefully on the balls of her feet, the tall grasses around her flattening in concentric rings from the shockwaves generated by the very air being split by her blade.
In the next instant, under the scrutinizing glow of Ji Wuye's crimson eyes, Song Jia began channeling her Qi, the Qi flowing like liquid from her Lower Dantian.
Faint bluish looking Qi emanated outwards from her, soon enveloping her entire body in a shimmering membrane.
Her knees bent deeply as she gathered herself, then exploded upwards in an explosive burst of movement, slashing her sword in a steep upward arc as her slender waist slowly revolved. Soon her entire body was whirling in a cyclone of motion as she executed the next part of her form.
Pulse of the Blade: Second Move, Rising Gale!
[>>[PULSE OF BLADE SWORD ART(??)]<<]
Your understanding of Pulse of Blade Sword Art has slightly increased!
[>>[PULSE OF BLADE SWORD ART(??)]<<]
Your understanding of Pulse of Blade Sword Art has slightly increased!
[>>[PULSE OF BLADE SWORD ART(??)]<<]
Your understanding of Pulse of Blade Sword Art has slightly increased!
Transparent screens flashing graphical displays inexplicably appeared in Ji Wuye's vision. He had been casually observing Song Jia's practice with his Quick Adaptation skill, but now found himself left speechless as the full force of her whirling attack was suddenly directed straight at him.
The surrounding cyclonic gale supported and accelerated Song Jia's dizzying rotation as she came hurtling at Ji Wuye with devastating force.
But the he didn't so much as flinch, calmly unsheathing his own jian in one smooth motion and angling it vertically before him in a defensive guard.
CLANG-!
The resounding peal of clashing metal rang out like a thunderclap, the shockwaves from the violent collision rippling outwards in all directions. Even the coachman, tending to the winded horse, nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden eruption of violence between the two Kunlun heroes.
In the aftermath of the jarring impact, lingering shockwaves pushed at the surrounding grasses, bending the tough stalks nearly to their breaking point as concentric rings of disturbance radiated outwards across the placid surface of the stream in a series of expanding ripples.
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[!] Your passive skill, Deflecting Blows (E), has been triggered!
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"U-umm, esteemed heroes?" the thoroughly rattled coachman inquired tentatively, his expression one of barely-concealed bewilderment as he took in the scene of Ji Wuye, unmoved from his seated cross-legged position yet holding his sword aloft to deflect the slash that Song Jia's spiraling attack had become.
For her part, Song Jia's eyes had blown wide in an expression of stunned surprise, her lips parted in a small 'o' of shock.
"Be at peace, Uncle," Ji Wuye responded with a faint, reassuring smile, his tone mild. "This is merely a bit of sparring between friends."
As he spoke, he casually exerted force through his sword, disrupting the stalemate and pushing Song Jia's blade aside as he fluidly rose to his feet in one smooth motion.
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