Chapter 151 - Pale Mare.

Xin took a short break to recover some more, then returned to his favourite activity.

Looting.

He ventured deeper into the hag's orchard, avoiding traps with his Celestial Vigil and natural senses. He triggered a root trap once, yet nothing came of it — even dulled, his sword quickly dispatched it in one Woodcutter's Downswing. There was no hag to alert this time.

Following the qi flow, he soon found a secluded inner garden — this was where the demoness planted a part of her realm, splitting its materials into fertile ground for qi active plants to propagate.

A few hours later, Xin had half a bagful of medicinal plants on his hands. Unfortunately, the qi-fruit-bearing trees had long since been harvested — it was late autumn, and he'd have to wait until spring for the next yield. That is, if the orchard was still standing by then.

Xin buried the hag's body in a shallow grave — in his mind, it was already more than she deserved. He'd leave her for the wolves to gorge on, for all the suffering she had inflicted throughout her dogged existence, yet a rank two was a rank two, and their soul wasn't that of a normal person. Just like they buried the Young Mantis in a humble stone grave, he had to give the hag at least token respects — people didn't often linger as ghosts inside the Emperor's formation, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The root traps were the only threat he encountered — an occasional bellflower plant would rise up and stare at him sometimes as he was retreating from the demoness' domain, but it was harmless without a master. An hour later, Xin was already on the edge of the forest's qi active area. Yet it wasn't time to leave just yet.

He approached the crimson lake, scattered with Maiden Blood lilies. His first love had once worn a dress of this colour, she — had looked so sweet and innocent the day she rejected him… 

And then she perished in the beast tide. And months later, Xin splattered her best friend's brains onto a wall. 

Shit, I need to focus. Are these plants affecting my psyche, or am I losing my mind again? Xin chased the thoughts away and started cutting the lilies. Just like with all lilies, it wasn't the beautiful flowers but the root and the bulb that were of true value. He had only heard this plant's name before, and didn't know its true properties, yet knew they were valuable, so he plucked all he could and left.

Better not get caught with blood path materials. Whatever. In most cities, it's easier to find a blood path dealer than it is to find a good restaurant. Or good people, for that matter. Xin sighed and prepared to leave.

"Fuck!" He leapt back, almost slipping into water, then took up a counter-attacking pose.

Resonance Palms!

A tall figure stood just thirty steps away, a hulking monstrosity that looked twice familiar. It's that bloody boar I helped heal!

Looking into its ugly beady eyes, Xin remembered Tealstone in just a flash. Is my mercy going to bite me in my stupid ass? How did this geezer sneak up on me, for fucks sake?

The boar stared at Xin with an empty expression, and Xin quickly averted his gaze. Better not agitate it. Its body was covered in thick furrowed scars, each deep enough to kill an adult man three times over. Whoever these mantises that attacked it were, they were stronger than the yaoguai's. By far.

A painful silence ensued, when suddenly the boar slapped its thigh with its brush-like tail.

"Huh?" Xin was confused. Is the boar about to charge, or was this gesture meaningless? "Are you hitting on me, you slut?" He asked in a gentle voice, to soothe the beast, then walked aside without turning his back to the creature. "Pal, you just want to drink, am I right? Live and let live, then. I'm leaving." He raised his arms and side-tracked, then disappeared behind the bushes.

The boar acted as if he had never been there, stepping to the lake to drink. Xin watched from afar.

Right. These crimson waters are excellent for healing injuries — but if the beast drank too much too often, wouldn't it mutate?

ell, it won't be my problem, anyway. Xin left the forest, relieved. 

***

Two days later, having made a wide arc to avoid the four-eyed owl's hunting grounds, Xin walked through the familiar terrain of the Yellow Pine forest, piercing into its western depths. His goal: an old mine passage leading to the Northern Border Guard's central fort. Bai Du's fort lay much further north, and its resources were pitiful — if he wanted real help, he had to bypass bureaucracy and head straight for headquarters. And he and the fort's captain were on speaking terms. Kind of

No undead attacked Xin this time — it wasn't hard to avoid ominous areas with the use of Celestial Vigil from the vantage point, and there were no insect swarms either. Still, something was bound to eventually fill the void the Young Mantis's death left, so Xin remained vigilant.

For nothing, this time. He reached the mine passage without incident, and great relief washed over him once he entered — his qi was no longer drained, and he was safe to recover.

Xin went into the side tunnel they once hid from the yaoguai's swarm in — he saw this place in his nightmares a dozen times, yet this time, it meant safety. He scouted all the inner passages just to make sure he was alone, then collected the leftover ingredients remaining here — he was now strong and equipped enough to collect and preserve all the lava crystals in the room Wu Lei broke through in. Coupled with all the toxic mushrooms and rare moss scattered around, that was some solid loot. 

Tired yet satisfied, Xin cooked himself a soup made of dried meat, forest mushrooms, spices, steppe herbs, and wild vegetables. Objectively subpar in taste, it was, without exaggeration, the best meal of his life, tasting like relief and victory. His belly and soul warmed, he fell asleep by the fading campfire.

When he woke, he went to check on the graves of the mantis yaoguai and Master Taowei. Master's body had been retrieved by the Border Guard per Xin's request, but the yaoguai's body was also gone — the guardsmen refined it for parts, perhaps? Shameless, but practical.

A curious sight remained where the bodies once lay — this room was now filled with vines and moss, entwined around stone, and under his dim lantern's light, Xin saw swarms of tiny insects crawling about — something that wasn't present here when they first came. Among the cockroaches and bark beetles, he even noticed a few grasshoppers. Of non-cannibal, non-giant variety, to his great relief.

Wait. Who's this critter?

Xin crouched, barely believing his eyes. A mantis. A mundane, non-qi-active, green mantis, feasting on a beetle's carcass. He sat back on a stone, a faint smile on his lips. Life truly was ironic. In death, the yaoguai had spawned an ecosystem. And even if it was filled with insects feeding on each other and was far from elegant, Xin still found this heartwarming.

He glanced down. The stone he sat on was coated in black crystal. Similar to Master Xiaodan's coffin. Similar to Master Taowei's mallet. Of course. I dumped the remnants of his core in this room, too.

Xin laughed heartily. Life isn't just ironic, it's outright absurd! Two enemies have formed an ecosystem in their death! The black crystal covered stone collected liquid from the wall nearby, which fed a small colony of mushrooms on its bottom in turn — and this only bolstered the yaoguai core's little garden. The young hunter smiled somberly and stared at his feet, deep in thought.

A few hours later, he left the mine passage and headed towards the Border Guard fort. This area was regularly patrolled, and nomad presence here was insignificant. He finally felt safe.

Eventually, he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. Border guard?

Finally, some relief. This adventure is over. Xin stood in place and scanned the area, preparing to greet the riders. Still, their silhouettes obscured by the trees, Xin didn't see the people advancing.

Better stay vigilant. He rested a hand on his blade. 

Human figures soon emerged, all mounted, seven total, travelling in a wide vedge. Riders and mounts both covered in scale armour, these horsemen carried long spears and tipped helmets with "horse tails", just like Xin's, yet the bows across their shoulders were all curved, and a person in the middle had an apron thrown on top, and had a drum strapped where others had sheaths.

Wait, what the fuck?! Nomads?! Xin jumped up and assumed a combat stance. I've got no proper ranged weapon, they can just pepper me with arrows until I run out of qi! It's an open field, what do I do, what do I do…?

The figures quickly advanced towards him, silent. 

They know who they're looking for! This one in the middle is a shaman, and he somehow detected me! They're probably hostile!

Xin severed his connection to his dao shards, pocketing them, then started producing the new ones.

Barkskin dao shard, rank one! Xin started attuning to it, exerting his spirit to speed up the process. The riders approached too rapidly for his liking.

"What do you people want?!" He bellowed as he pulled out the hag's thorn arm dao shard, rank two.

"Horqin hatonge matan! Re bandu manim!" The shaman rasped in response, his voice filled with disdain. Xin scowled.

Rank two dao shards were possible to use for a rank one cultivators, yet they required immense concentration and qi control, not even speaking about their massive qi cost.

Xin tried to hastily scramble a battle plan. His barkskin would likely resist any arrow, even if it was launched by a qi active mortal. Anything stronger would be a gamble. His thorn arm was devastating, and even if he failed half the activations, he'd still unleash a shower of thorns, each strong enough to fell a horse. These thorns were quite inaccurate, though, and he'd have to bait the nomads into getting closer to utilise them fully.

Once that was done, his best bet would be to sever the connection with his current dao shards, pick up a dead nomad's bow and start unleashing a shower of qi infused arrows, using the carcass of a fallen horse as a shield…

Will this be enough? It's seven of them, and the shaman is a soul cultivator, no doubt about that!

The riders all halted forty paces away from Xin, surrounding him and pointing their drawn bows at him, howling menacingly.

Come on, come on! Xin dripped with sweat, activating a new dao shard in the middle of attuning to another one was no joke!

Barkskin dao shard! Failure.

Barkskin dao shard! Xin activated it with his own qi, this time successfully.

"Do you speak Imperial?" He shouted out, more to win time than to chat. Thorn launch dao shard, rank two! Come on, I almost attuned!

 "You no speak Skyfolk! Weapon down! Armour off! You arrest! Chief see you!" The shaman pointed at him. "I count two, you drop sword or we kill you!"

"No one's arresting me, you mortal cunts!" Xin roared. Attuned! Now to channel its activation! "Turn back, or I'll gut your corpses and feed them to dogs, then build a pyramid out of your heads! Come, shoot me, losers! I'm fucking invincible!" Xin spread his arms, then pointed his sword at the riders and started walking towards them. Would be embarrassing if they had a strong ranged method and just peppered me with arrows after my little speech, he thought.

"You make me no have choice! Manuda! Hatorgu!" He pointed at Xin. "Ahhhh!" The man suddenly grabbed his head, his voice breaking. Is this spiritual possession? Not good, he's likely invoking his clan spirit!

"Huh?" The rider closest to him backed off instead of charging. By his reaction, Xin concluded that shaman's behaviour wasn't a part of his combat plan. What's going on?

"Maaa! Tama! Fung Morin! Fung Morin! Tama!" The shaman pointed at the cloudy sky.

Channeling complete! Thorn arm dao shard, rank two!

One by one, Xin protruded a dozen little spikes, hidden under his armguard. He wasted a lot of the dao shard's power with his unskilled move, yet now he wielded a serious ranged weapon. Better not shoot just yet, who knows what will happen?

The riders all gathered around the shaman, concerned, forgetting about Xin. This makes no sense, they come out of nowhere and threaten, then completely ignore me? 

An opportunity is an opportunity, a gifted nag is still a horse! Xin slowly backed off, preparing to open fire on the clustered together nomads.

A thick fog cloud drifted in, filling the air with a sweet yet nauseating stench of rotten meat. The soldiers pointed their drawn bows at it, and in a flash, their arrows lit up in subtle orange light. Some sort of clan magic, Xin concluded. Let's hope it's not strong enough to break through my barkskin. What's going on, though?

Master, do you also feel this?

Huh? With his totem's assistance, Xin attuned to the spiritual flow around, and in an instant, his eyes teared up and he felt an urge to vomit. The Skyfolk shaman opposite of him moaned, pressing his arms on his temples, then cried out in pain.

Bang! A silhouette descended from the sky, in just a flash, coated in smoke and fumes, as large as that bear carcass in the hag's lair. It was shaped like a horse, its legs bony and skinless, mane withered and thinned, body covered in festering cuts. Xin didn't see its face, only its back, yet he heard its shrieky neigh…

The soldiers released their bows, and all hit with great precision. Some aimed at the creature's heart, some at its neck, one its face, yet the results were all the same — the scorching arrow tips bounced off its potent, visible aura. 

Then the horse moved. It shifted its position, floating as if it was standing on its two, akin to a human.

Shriek! It neighed once again, its visage twisting, exuding noxious fumes. Its chest burst open, and its ribs spread akin to pus-covered wings, and a black fume flew out towards a stunned enemy shaman. 

Xin finally recomposed and started running.

"Aaaagh!" A few moments later, Xin heard a pathetic shout of a man in excruciating pain, and turned his head briefly. He saw the shaman's head explode in a shower of green liquid, his eyes bursting out of his sockets. His horse just stood there, as if petrified.

Fuck.

"Matone! Fung Morin! Fung Morin!" The riders fled, scattering in all directions, hoping that it would give at least some of them a chance to survive.

And it did. The horse spirit floated, motionless, its ribcage folding back into place before vanishing.

Snap! A few moments later, it popped into being in front of Xin, in all of its terrifying glory. There was a human-like twist to its face, a huge hole in its chest, its teats those of a feeding she-mare, yet covered in pus, dangling. Its eyes were washy, clouded in milky film, yet its eyelashes were long and lush.

Xin instinctively stepped back. It just keeps getting worse, doesn't it? Resigned to whatever fate might befall him, he activated Justice Claws and Celestial Vigil, then looked straight at the spirit, resolute.

The mare twisted its head at an angle, just like the four-eyed owl did, before finally locking gazes with the young master. Xin's eyes teared up, the creature's aura was too nauseating to stare at directly. Yet a cold, gentle wind of heavenly qi also stirred from it — quite surprising for someone who looked so monstrous.

"What now?" Xin endured the discomfort and stared directly at the creature. It circled around him, its visage twisting as if its torso was that of a bone centipede, its skin stretching and sewing itself back.

"Child…" The spirit rasped in Imperial. Xin tensed. "Child… Child!" Its eyes protruded from its eyeballs, and then the spirit's form shifted as it leaned forward, floating towards Xin's face.

Get ready to strike, master!

It's pointless, Baihu. Whatever happens, happens. Xin sighed and dispelled his Justice Claws — in his view, he was an ant in front of this creature, and to antagonize it would seal his doom. 

The creature stopped right in front of his face, its eyes still locked with his, its breathing stifled and eerily humanlike. Is this the Plague itself, come to claim me? At least I'll finally get some rest.

The horse spirit did not move. It only stared.

Xin felt himself drowning in its presence, his mind and body overtaken by its aura — until, from the depths of his being, a single word escaped his lips. And from the horse's.

"Pain…" They whispered in unison. Following an impulse rising from within, Xin reached for the spirit's mane with his hand.

Swoosh! Xin was blown away and tripped as he landed face down. Once he raised his head, the horse was already gone, and he was left to lie on the ground, struggling for breath, his heart aching from how fast it was beating.