30 Chapter 29: Return Journey (1/2)
”Thank you for everything.”
I bowed deeply toward the villagers who were sending me off. They had all gathered, from Hu Shi and her son Hu Hai, to Old Man Yi, Lu Shun, the children and their parents. A crowd of significantly healthier-looking villagers were standing at the edge of the village to see me off.
”No, no. we should be the ones thanking you!”
Lu Shun was grasping my hands and thanking my profusely, making me feel all embarrassed.
”If you ever have the chance, come visit Chun Xiang Village again.” Old Man Yi stepped forward and offered me a hand.
”Thank you. I'll be happy to come again.”
Yi smiled broadly. ”I'm honored to hear that.”
I turned to Hu Shi and bowed again. ”Thanks for taking care of me all this while.”
”It was nothing.” Hu Shi shook her head. ”In fact, all of us are very grateful to you for helping us. Thanks to you, we won't be starving through the winter.”
The meat that we had collected from the three Wild Boars that I slew in Sen Lin Forest had been properly refrigerated and stored in a massive shed at the back of the village. Even though the qi generator was old, it still worked, providing enough power to turn the shed into a temporary freezer. It had been a week since then but barely one-tenth of the meat supplies had been taken. Already the children were looking a little rounder and ruddier.
I was glad.
”Are you really leaving, Big Brother?” Hu Hai asked solemnly. The kids had warmed up to me during my brief stay here, but I suspected it was more because I had brought delicious meat back to the village.
I nodded. ”Yeah, I've to go home. My family is probably worried about me.”
”Martial City is in that direction.” Lu Shun pointed vaguely, but I didn't have to worry because he had already given me a map and a qi compass to guide my way home. ”A week's journey on foot. You sure you don't want to wait until spring? There will be a few delivery trucks passing by the village in spring. I'll ask one of the drivers to give you a ride.”
”Yeah,” Yi agreed. ”You aren't imposing on us at all. You should stay a bit longer, at least until winter ends.”
I shook my head. ”I don't want to worry my family any more than I already have. And besides, I have things I must do when I return to Martial City.” Not just revenge on Qi Fu Ren, but I needed access to more resources now that I had learned Heaven and Earth Formula. I wanted to progress and advance my martial arts as soon as possible.
I needed the resources that Wu Ling Academy provided, especially since I was right on the brink of restoring Heaven and Earth Formula.
No forms and rituals, huh…I have to come up with my own…meaning, I'll need to do more research and find more techniques to incorporate into it.
”…I see. Well, then we won't keep you then.” Yi nodded. ”Just make sure you come back to visit once in a while.”
”I will try.” I smiled warmly. ”And when I do, I'll bring back some meat.”
The children cheered. I waved at them indulgently, then turned away while hefting my satchel that was made from Silverback Wolf pelt over my shoulder and left Chun Xiang Village. Stepping into Sen Lin Forest, I produced the qi compass and headed in the direction that the arrow was pointing in.
*
It was only my third day in Sen Lin Forest when I finally ran into some familiar figures.
To be honest, it was a complete coincidence. I had no idea that Wu Ling Academy continued to send students on practical training missions even after my supposed demise. Well, obviously…I wasn't around to hear about that, after all.
So I completely did not anticipate running into my classmates so soon after leaving Chun Xiang Village.
I had been warily trekking through the forest and keeping an eye out for magical beasts, but so far the residents of this region of the forest had grown wise enough to avoid me. It was only natural, I was still in the shallow or superficial regions of the forest. The space I was in right now was mostly populated by relatively weak magical beasts such as a Horned Rabbit or something equivalent. They were not very powerful and dangerous, so they wouldn't threaten anyone who was at the peak of the Qi Gathering Stage and above. A Rockbill Ostrich, a Venomous Vermin, a Silkfur Squirrel or a Silvergrass Serpent were all fair game and easy to defeat when encountered.
Even so, I was careful not to underestimate my opponents. Even the weakest magical beasts could kill a Qi Fusion Stage practitioner if it caught him off guard and went for his jugular. I had learned too much to not be complacent.
Unfortunately, I was so focused on keeping an eye out for magical beasts that I nearly missed out on the human element.
”Fei Wu?!”
”Is that you?!”
”It really is Fei Wu!”
At first I thought I was hallucinating, having spent the last three days alone in the forest. Steeling myself, I watched my surroundings carefully, making sure it was not a trap. There were certain magical beasts such as the Illusion Flower who could spread spores and cause their victims to hallucinate. While trapped within half-dreams and illusions, the victims wouldn't be aware of the thorny tendrils that the Illusion Flowers wrapped around them, and by the time they snapped out of their illusions and found themselves in the acid-filled stomachs of the carnivorous flower, it would be too late. In fact, many probably didn't even wake up from their hallucinations even as they were being digested.
However, I wasn't hallucinating.
Tong Xue barreled out of a tree and landed in front of me, gaping in disbelief. He grabbed my face, squeezed my cheeks and peered exaggeratedly.
”Y…you are Fei Wu, aren't you?”
”Yeah.” I tilted my head. ”You're Tong Xue, aren't you?”
”That sarcasm…it really is you!” Tong Xue let go of me and waved to the trees. ”Hey, guys! Look at who I found!”
”Whoa! You're alive!”
Ban Zhang also emerged from the forest, breathless. He had evidently run from wherever he had been to catch up to me. One of the voices I heard earlier belonged to him, so I wasn't surprised at his presence.
”You're not a ghost, are you?!”
This time, it was Feng Tian Yong. Like a shadow, he had soundlessly flipped through the branches and silently landed next to me without causing any disturbance. He squinted at me, or so it seemed, but I could tell that he was checking out my qi signature. Only one's qi signature was foolproof in confirming one's identity, as illusion and shapeshifting martial arts were pretty common. After a few moments, Feng Tian Yong nodded, satisfied.
”It's really him, guys! There's no mistaking this qi signature!”
”Even if you say that, there's something slightly different about him.” Ban Zhang looked a little hesitant. He must have noticed the demonic qi mixed into my qi, and the huge changes to both my physical and spiritual constitution.
”Oh…you've gotten a lot stronger…” Tong Xue sounded surprised. Feng Tian Yong snorted at that.
”Why wouldn't he? That's the only reason how he survived that fall, and how he survived in Sen Lin Forest for this long. Of course he would have changed a lot.” He then peered at me. ”But man, I can't believe it. We all thought you were dead!”
”How did you survive?” Tong Xue demanded, his eyes wide. ”The last time we saw you, you were falling into the abyss with the Behemoth!”
Obviously I couldn't tell them the whole truth, so I abbreviated it.
”I fell into a river, and got washed away. I don't know what happened to the Behemoth, but it probably fell somewhere else. After that, I climbed ashore, tried my best to hide from the magical beasts, and slowly made my way toward Martial City. But I got a little…lost.”
”Whoa…”
Tong Xue was staring at me, wide-eyed. Ban Zhang still looked skeptical and mired in disbelief, while Feng Tian Yong was nodding, impressed.
”But honestly, this is a miracle!” the red-haired Red Phoenix Sect disciple exclaimed.
”Ha ha, yeah…you can say that again.”
I chuckled as I scratched my head. Then I glanced around, noting that they were the only three classmates in the vicinity.
”Where's the rest? What are you guys doing here?”
I wasn't arrogant enough to think they were here to search for me. I was gone for almost two months. Even if they believe that I had somehow survived the fall, there was no way they would have conducted a search for a period any longer than a month.
”Training. For more combat experience.”
It was Ban Zhang who gave the answer. Feng Tian Yong chuckled.
”Even so, I bet there's no one in our cohort who has more combat experience than you!” he squeezed my shoulder. ”Wow, you've changed so much!”
”Nah, not that much.” I was feeling embarrassed at being stared at so much by the trio. Still, it was good to see them again. It meant that my return to Wu Ling Academy would be a lot easier, especially if I traveled with them. Looking around, I realized someone was missing. ”Where's Zhu Jiao?”
”We split up.” Ban Zhang glanced around the trees. ”For this exercise, the first year students were divided into individual missions. Each one of us is to collect a Rank 3 magical beast monster core and bring it back to the teachers in order to pass this exercise.”
”A Rank 3 magical beast, huh?”
Even though I vaguely remembered the ranks the encyclopedias classified the magical beasts, I wasn't sure if I took them seriously. But yeah, I guessed the Horned Rabbit and other magical beasts I had encountered so far in this area were Rank 3 and below. It shouldn't be that much of a challenge. For me, anyway.
”Zhu Jiao probably went ahead.”
”Yeah, for some of us, it's easier for us to hunt the magical beasts by ourselves.”
”I see.” I nodded. That made sense.
”But wow, this is great news.” Tong Xue was gaping at me. ”We didn't think you'll be alive…didn't think we would run into you here!”
”Well, stranger things have happened,” I muttered. Tong Xue laughed at that.
”True.”
”In any case, I'll bring you back to the teachers. We've to inform Teacher Jiao.”
Ban Zhang reached out and gestured for me to follow him. I nodded.
”Yeah. Where's Teacher Jiao?”
”Over there. Follow me.” Ban Zhang turned and began running through the forest. I hesitated a little.
”Go ahead.” Tong Xue gave me a little shove. ”Don't worry about us.”
”Yeah,” Feng Tian Yong assured me. ”We'll be continuing on with our test.” He glanced at his cellphone. What?! I thought we weren't allowed to bring cellphones along during training lessons. Feng Tian Yong must have smuggled it in. ”We don't have much time left. An hour at most.”
”Eh!? Ban Zhang, will you be all right?”
”Don't worry about it!” Ban Zhang had stopped to wait for me to catch up. He grinned. ”It's more important to escort you back to the teachers! How can I leave you alone and run off to complete my test? Besides, it's not as if I would fail it. I'll just continue after I escort you back to Teacher Jiao. And I'll just take it again.” he jabbed a finger at me. ”And you'll probably be taking it with me, given how many lessons you've missed!”
”Ugh…don't remind me.”
Still, I felt a huge sense of relief, and I followed him closely. However, we didn't get very far before the forest air trembled violently.
”GUUUOOOOOOOR!”
Wham!
I skidded to a stop when I heard the two deafening noises that echoed throughout the forest. Accompanying those noises were two massive bursts of qi. My eyes flew wide open and I hastily sped up, running toward the source.
”Whoa!”
I skidded to a stop at an amazing sight.
In front of me, the familiar silver-haired figure of Du Lang was battling a Rank 4 Ironback Wolf one-on-one.
He's fighting on par with a Rank 4 magical beast?!
Rank 3 magical beasts were probably weaker than Level 9 Qi Gathering Stage practitioner, but a Rank 4 magical beast required someone to at least be Level 5 of Qi Essence Stage and above to slay it. Apparently. I had no idea how they differentiated or measure these weird levels and stages, or why they had so many different levels within the same stage.
In any case, the Ironback Wolf was stronger than a Silverback Wolf, the same ones we fought when we first came to Sen Lin Forest.
Yet, even though Du Lang wasn't using any elemental techniques, he was fighting the ferocious monster with his bare fists and brute strength alone.
Pow!
”Grr…!”
As the Ironback Wolf lunged at him, Du Lang smashed it to the side with his fist, his punch connecting with the creature's face and sending it spinning. In retaliation, the Ironback Wolf lashed out with its claws, but Du Lang deftly jumped back, flipping his body in midair, and then kicked its head again. The Ironback Wolf yelped in pain as it was sent crashing into an undignified heap on the ground.
”Grr…!”
More enraged from its humiliation than frightened, the Ironback Wolf rose to its haunches and bared its teeth. With a howl, it pounced on Du Lang with outstretched claws.
”Hmph.”
Du Lang waited until the last moment before he kicked Du Lang in the jaws, shutting it up and halting it dead in its tracks. As the massive wolf's body jolted, the creature startled by an attack from an opponent five times smaller than it, Du Lang spun around and kicked it, snapping its neck. The Ironback Wolf toppled over lifelessly, its head bent in an unnatural angle.
Cool.
Normally, I would be impressed by the sight of a classmate defeating a Rank 4 magical beast all by himself, but I had been through hell. I had survived packs of Silverback Wolves, kicks from Lunar Rabbits, tangled with a Hellfire Badger and escaped from a Hydra. The sight of Du Lang slaying an Ironback Wolf didn't faze me.