Interlude: The Silkworm II

Interlude: The Silkworm II

The first principle of a shaman is responsibility. Their duty is sacred, and their roles are many, from serving as the spiritual guides of the tribes and bringing prosperity to expelling poisonous insects from homes. A shaman is responsible for all that and more. The act of rearing and controlling Gu demanded no less.

Xie Jin kept reminding himself of this principle as he trawled through the jungle with Ren and Bao Si. He knew why his grandfather had assigned him to this task with these people, but that didnt mean he was pleased with it.

Chen Haoran had been left back at the village. While Xie Jin would have enjoyed his company, his presence would have just created more traces theyd have to erase. Xie Jin wasnt quite comfortable with leaving Chen Haoran alone while those Peach River bastards were still there, but there was no helping it. Grandfather wouldnt let anything happen anyway.

Xie Jin abruptly shook his head. Why did he have to worry about Brother Chen? He was a Liquid Meridian Realm now, while Xie Jin was still only on the Eighth-Layer of the Qi Realm. He knew Brother Chen had been near the peak of the Ninth-Layer before, but hed only been in Zumulu for barely two months. What had he missed while he was gone? While Brother Chen had explained it, he wasnt a very good storyteller, and Xie Jin mourned the lack of details.

Jin, Bao Sis melodic, poisonous voice drifted to his ears. Why did you have to pull me away so quickly? I didnt even have the time to greet Chen Haoran.

Grandfathers orders, Xie Jin tersely replied.

Oh well. Ill meet him when we return. I have to repay him for the Moon Moth Silk after all.

Dont play any tricks, Xie Jin warned.

Bao Sis infuriating giggle was the only answer he received.

Ren, who had been silently trailing behind them, suddenly spoke. Cousin, what is the background of your friend?Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)

Xie Jin very nearly stumbled over a tree root. His relationship with Ren was, in some ways, an even more complicated issue than Bao Sis. Even so, he knew his taciturn cousin well enough to recognize how out of character such a question was for him. Ren didnt take interest in people. Period.

Hes from the Chen Family. He was living on his own when I first met him, though.

Like the pirates? Ren asked.

I dont think so. I met him in Clearsprings, after all. Xie Jin narrowed his eyes. You dont still think hes suspicious, do you? A note of warning came into his tone. Hed vouched for Brother Chen. To doubt him was to doubt Xie Jin.

Ren shook his head. When I sensed him, there was something staring back.

What? Xie Jin quickly recalled their meeting. Brother Chens qi was vast and filled with vitality to his sense like hed taken a piece of the Machu River and replaced his qi with it. His Gu felt it even more finely. Its instincts warning Xie Jin of the threatening aura lurking within the depths of his qi. He couldnt recall any sort of feeling of being watched, however. He didnt discount Rens words; however, whatever his opinions, his cousin was a responsible and dutiful warrior. Perhaps it was something only a Liquid Meridian Realm could observe. While a Gu was finely tuned for tracking even the barest of traces, it did not mean their sensory abilities were superior overall to a cultivators.

How interesting, Bao Si cut in, her voice dripping with curiosity. Your trip to Clearsprings seems to have been worth it since you came back with such a friend, Jin. Wed all dearly like to know how your trip around Zumulu turned into an adventure abroad. Tell us the story sometime.

Xie Jin grimaced. Pick up the pace. We need to get this done before more scouts are sent.

His Beetle Gu and Bao Sis Centipede Gu quickly picked up on the path Brother Chen and the Peach River Bastards took. From there, it was simple to retrace their steps and erase all the tracks they left as they traveled. Not that there were that many left. For better or for worse, Xie Jin had to admit those Peach River bastards were pretty good at erasing their tracks. Just because there werent many, however, didnt mean there were none. While the jungle did its part in obscuring the remainder, that only meant their Gu had to spend a moment to find traces rather than an instant.

Scent was the obvious one. Among all the beings between Heaven and Earth, it would be easier to list ones that didnt have some kind of smell. In this, a cultivator and a non-cultivator had no differences. One didnt even need a Gu to track something by smell. While Gu were the best at it, there were other spirit beasts and even cultivators who could do the same. This ubiquity also meant there were just as many ways to obscure those scents. In the spirit of thoroughness, they used both miasma and specially prepared herb satchels to erase and scatter any scent markers left behind.

Xie Jin frowned as he watched his Gu spit out the energy and transmit a feeling of rejection. Before he could do anything, the white qi folded over, cut itself in half, and disappeared. As if by some cue, the rest of the white qi did the same and vanished entirely to his Gus senses.

Brother Chen, what the fuck.

Xie Jin was finally struck with the realization that he knew far less about Chen Haoran than he would have perhaps liked. Just as soon as the thought came, he squashed it. Some things a Qi Realm couldnt ask, even if they were friends.

First Ren, then Bao Si, now Brother Chen. Xie Jin balled his hands into fists.

He was being left behind.

Thankfully an outlet to vent his frustration revealed itself. A Dragonfly Gu awkwardly flew into view. Or rather, two halves of it did. Seeing such a sight wasnt strange to Xie Jin. A Gus unique physiology let them survive such extreme damage. The strange thing was why it hadnt healed.

His Gu passed on a feeling of familiar sharp qi.

Ive never seen such wounds on a Gu before, Ren noted.

It must have lingered in the area after it realized it couldnt heal, Bao Si said. How interesting. I really must lay down and speak with Chen Haoran.

Get in line, Xie Jin said.

Bao Si smiled sweetly. Go suck a snakes fangs, Jin.

Xie Jin snorted. Ill take the left half. You take the right.

What a gentleman.

As one, their Gu shot out. The Dragonfly Gu burst out with green miasma, but even if it were whole, it paled compared to true hunters. The Centipede Gu unnaturally extended and pierced through the miasma, clenched its mandibles through the right halfs thorax, and ripped it away. The left half stumbled at the sudden separation and was brought to the ground by the Beetle Gu. A thick purple miasma quickly overwhelmed the Dragonfly Gu, and it released an unnatural scream as it was consumed.

The purple miasma collapsed and was absorbed by his Beetle Gu. A purple aurora flashed across its black carapace, and Xie Jin could feel thrumming satisfaction through their bond. His Gu slowly flew back over and spat a dense cloud of miasma over him. Xie Jin closed his eyes and breathed in. The miasma seeped through his skin and entered his meridians, where it was seamlessly absorbed by more gaseous purple qi. A storm was set off within his meridians as his qi expanded and touched an invisible ceiling.

Xie Jin breathed out.

The ceiling broke, and his qi spiked as it spilled over its prior limits.

Qi Realm Ninth-Layer.

Quiet clapping accompanied his rise. He opened his eyes and saw Bao Si had roped Ren into joining her clapping. Her Centipede Gu was draped over her shoulders, flashing purple.

Xie Jin rolled his eyes and raised his middle finger. Back to work, you bastards.