บท 11: The secret compagnon
Disciple Moss and disciple Lauren were not aware of it, but their group was now composed of three members. Casually lying on a high branch, Elehago waited for them to wake up.
He always kept a hundred meters of distance between him and the group. He also erased his presence and used his wood related skills to cover his body. Directly looking at them was not needed. He could well perceive their presence and hear their conversations in a two hundred meters radius.
As for them waking up, that was a figure of speech. The little princess was well asleep but the old man had not dozed in the entire night. Even though he had consumed the twin head moon sceptre, that certainly impressed Elehago. That spiritual plant was not to be looked down upon. On a global scale it could be considered the best of the worst. Very strong for a common man. Like higher tier stealth related spiritual herbs, this one could hide its life force from cultivators. That alone illustrated the gap that separated it from its lower peers.
In fact, spiritual plants were the vegetal counterpart of cultivators. They honed their own skills to survive and improve. Typical evolutions paths gave birth to typical forms and thus spiritual plants were categorized and ranked.
Regarding this stealth capacity, one bitter truth was that Moss had spotted the sceptre before his supervisor. Elehago was not interested in moon and stealth related plants so it was only a matter of face. He had no right to pick anything on this lower parts anyway.
Truly, this old man was impressive. His body handled training better than his most optimistic estimations. The amount of spiritual plants he had swallowed in one time was also substantial, even for young and strong fellow. That had almost led the commoner to suffer a critical overload. Had it come to this, his life would have been forfeited. He was fine however. And in excellent shape. Who knew what fate the heavens had bestowed upon this old man.
But the most intriguing thing about him was that dream he had talked about last morning. A dream where a scholar named Wei had warned him against superior wolfs. Those animals were the guardians of the lower parts of the mountains when no trial took place. Normally this old disciple should have had absolutely no way of knowing something about them. Moreover, when he had stated that he had learned it from a dream, none of his physiological signs showed hints of him lying. But Elehago had arrived at the beginning of the night and he had not noticed anything that suggested that he had been under mental invasion. He had not felt the presence of any external entity either. How mysterious, he thought.
Then he listened as Moss added final touches to newly confectioned bows and started to sharpen a stack of arrows. The peasant also seemed to take care not to make too much noises. Surely that was meant to preserve the little princess's sleep.
The young man reported his attention on her. She was waking up. Eventually she rubbed her eyes and stretched a bit. The young cultivator discretely imitated her. He had passed the night balancing on a branch after all.
Soon after, the two disciples greeted each other with some kind words and took on their morning tasks. Elehago heard the peasant walk away. His priority was to monitor the princess so he stood still. This little sister's technique was the three mind seals. He looked out for her mind signature. The spiritual plants and her diligent practice seemed to have started to yield results. By instants her signature gave a light shake and even extended a bit. Elehago considered that he would soon have to step up his efforts to escape her attention. Maybe in three or four days ? If her partner managed to keep his excellent spiritual plant gathering rate, that was. Else it would be much longer.
The old man did not disappoint. He brought back two moon related herbs and one for the sister. This ratio was not surprising. The land here was less favourable for mind seals related plants. Lauren ate hers immediately. That made Elehago want to grind his teeth. It was more optimal to consume before a meditation than after. He thought that he could send her light mental suggestion about it the next time she would practice. That would clearly be against his orders but such waste was unbearable to look at.
Eventually they left the ruined building and resumed their walk on the ancient road. Elehago knew where that path led and was pretty excited about it. The old roads had been used to connect the lower sects to the common realms. Obviously cultivators did not need such infrastructures when they had more effective means of transportations. This stretched back to the old days, when the one hundred sects mountain range stood divided.
In this world cultivators often maintained significant relations with normal peoples. Those relations could take any form, from friendship to mutual hostility. As human prowess did not exclusively express themself trough cultivation it was common to see skilled craftsmen, musicians, architects, erudite and many other professions be invited to contribute in a sect for some time. Cultivators were not free from wordly needs either and heavily relied on their external relations to provide for them. Their payment capacity was generally earned through the exploitation of new disciples and services like protection or whatever help cultivators could happen to sell to common people.
That was how things worked for neutral sects. It also applied to some righteous or demonic sects, but only to a certain degree. The flip side of this was hostile relations. If cultivators were strong, they were by far inferior in number. And cultivation did not make one invincible. In fact, a well shot arrow could kill most cultivators if they did not defend against it properly. The history was full of wars that had erupted between sects and their mortal neighbours.
This was the reason why the security of the princess was such a crucial matter for the one hundred sects mountain range. Feyhan shared the northern borders of the sect. The arrival of the princess was a way for both organisations to consolidate their relations. But should this little sister die, the exact opposite would be achieved. The worst scenario would be war.
As Elehago's mind wandered like that, they walked on and on. The end of the road approached, he knew. In two hours or so, they would reach the quarters of what had been the fiery flower sect. The young man was eager to see what they would make of things that were still there. That would also give them a roof for the night.
Suddenly, he noticed a shake of the princess's mind signature. That took him unaware. The only explanation he could think of was that the girl still exercised herself over the three mind seals while walking. And that she managed results. That much was enough to call her a gifted person. The young cultivator immediately included that in his report. He also remembered what he had resolved to do earlier. Suggest her to eat spiritual herbs before she meditated. Well, if she was able to do mental practice while walking then he guessed that it was not relevant any more. I got worried for nothing, he thought.
Ironically, at this precise moment, a long and harrowing cry rang in the forest.
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