~~~

As the days pass, the rolling hills give way to tall, lush trees. There are so many trees around them, it looks like they could swallow the narrow road at any moment. Along the way, Liu Jin and Xiao Nan talk about a variety of subjects. Liu Jin tells Xiao Nan of amusing anecdotes that happened at the clinic and things Old Jiang has put him through. Xiao Nan tells Liu Jin of things that happen in the Xiao Sect and uses the opportunity to teach him about the balance of powers between the various factions in the Empire.

Like that, they reach the fifth day of their journey.

“Elder Brother,” Liu Jin starts, “is there anything special I should know about the situation in New Moon Town? I do not want my ignorance to inconvenience you.”

Xiao Nan is quick to wave his concerns away. “There is nothing to worry about, Little Brother. This visit is more of a formality than anything else. New Moon Town is not a significant place. As such, our branch there is no big deal. The founder of the New Moon branch is a cousin of Uncle who was never all that good at cultivation by the standards of the main branch. We’re giving them plenty of face just by having me be the one to visit.”

“Even so, the town was deemed significant enough to open a branch there, wasn’t it? Surely, there must be something to it.”

It would be foolish of the Xiao Sect to open branches without rhyme or reason. Sects open branches in order to expand their influence. In other words, a place where a Sect opens a branch must either provide a valuable resource or offer an advantageous location. For example, Eastern Port City’s closeness to Poison Fang Canyon is a boon to the Xiao Sect as it lets them harvest the canyon’s resources with relative ease.

If the Xiao Sect decided to open a branch in New Moon Town, then surely there must be something of worth there.

“Well, you are not exactly wrong, Little Brother. Right now, we are in the Whispering Woods.” Xiao Nan gestures to the many trees around them. “This area is rich in Steel-Skinned Trees. They provide very durable wood, useful for construction and certain weapons. Our Xiao Sect harvests them and sells them in other cities across the Empire.”

Liu Jin nods as he digests the information.

“However, Steel-Skinned Trees are not a high-priority resource for us. As big as the Whispering Woods are, there are bigger forests with greater resources across the Empire. For those reasons, our New Moon Town branch is not all that important. Our Xiao Sect just happened to notice an opportunity here and opened a branch. In fact, beyond our Xiao Sect, New Moon Town only has two other major powers: The Hu and Lun Clans.”

“Are they important?” Liu Jin asks. Xiao Nan snorts.

“How could they be?” Xiao Nan shrugs his shoulders. “They are simply the two major clans of a small town. Compared to our Xiao Sect, they might as well not exist. Originally, they were the ones who controlled the harvest of Steel-Skinned Trees in this area, but then our Xiao Sect moved in. Little Brother can imagine what happened next.”

Two clans of a small town cannot possibly compare to a Sect that is ranked among the Top 100 of the Empire. Liu Jin understands Xiao Nan’s meaning quite clearly. The Xiao Sect had come to New Moon Town and quickly established itself as the dominant power.

“Elder Brother seems to know a lot about the situation already,” Liu Jin says with some admiration. Though Xiao Nan treats this visit as unimportant, his knowledge is certainly not lacking.

Xiao Nan scratches his cheek. “Since I am someone who is going to become an Elder one day, I am expected to know these things.” He sighs. “If I had my way, I would focus only on cultivation, but Uncle would pull me by the ears if I skipped my lessons. Having too much responsibility is a tragic thing, Little Brother.”

Liu Jin chuckles as he imagines Xiao Nan being pulled by the ears by Xiao Zheng. Before he can reply, however, Xiao Nan lets out an excited cry.

“Finally!” The teen says as he looks out into the distance. “I almost thought we were out of luck for a moment there. What a waste this trip would have been, if so.”

“Elder Brother?”

“Look!” Xiao Nan points to the road ahead. Liu Jin squints but can see nothing but the road and the trees. There is not even a small animal to be seen. Liu Jin is about to say this to Xiao Nan when he notices it.

A glint. A tiny flicker in the distance.

It is coming towards them, Liu Jin realizes. No, he corrects himself, it is flying towards them. As it grows closer, Liu Jin is able to discern its shape. It’s a bird, a very small one, probably no bigger than one of his fingers. However, that is not the most remarkable thing about it.

The bird is completely transparent as well as devoid of any color, giving it a glass-like look.

Liu Jin watches as Xiao Nan extends his hand and the bird lands on the tip of his finger. It lets out a happy chirp.

“Good boy,” Xiao Nan says, gently petting the glass-like bird with one finger. “Now, let’s see what you found.”

Before Liu Jin’s eyes, the bird shrinks and is absorbed into Xiao Nan’s body. The child’s eyes widen at the sight. Xiao Nan closes his eyes and hums thoughtfully.

“Hm, so that’s how it is.”

After a moment, he opens his eyes and is met by Liu Jin’s stunned face.

“Elder Brother, what was that?”

“Could it be Little Brother has not learned about this yet?” Xiao Nan asks, puzzled. “Well, since your training is mostly focused on the medical arts, I suppose it makes sense. It is something you will learn eventually anyway, so there is no point in rushing it.”

Seeing Liu Jin is still staring at him, Xiao Nan decides to elaborate.

“This,” Xiao Nan says making the glass-like bird appear on the tip of his finger once more, “is a piece of my soul.”

“Your soul?”

Xiao Nan nods. “Once you reach a certain level of cultivation, you will realize the soul is a lot more malleable than you may think. By shaving off a piece of my soul and giving it will, I am able to create this bird. I am not yet at the level where it can do much, but it is useful for simple tasks. This is something any high-level cultivator can do.”

Liu Jin supposes he should not be surprised. High-level cultivators can supposedly do all sort of things. As one keeps climbing higher, the body is cleaned of all impurities. This leads to longer lifespans, but it does not stop there. One stops being just human and becomes more than just physical, more than just spiritual. One becomes eternal.

A True Immortal.

Yes, Liu Jin should not be surprised, but he is. Knowing is one thing. Seeing something like this so plainly displayed before him is another.

However, Liu Jin has never once seen Old Jiang do such a thing. Why?

No, that’s not a question that needs to be asked. When Nine-Headed Snake God talked about his master’s condition and when his master revealed it to Liu Jin, they both said the same thing. The problem with Old Jiang is not limited to his flesh and blood.

They always mentioned it, didn’t they? His soul.

His soul is what’s rotting.

“You will begin to feel it when you reach the Nascent Realm, but this type of technique is something you will only be capable of once you reach the Earth Realm,” Xiao Nan adds.

“I see.” Liu Jin hides his fist under his sleeve and clenches it tight to calm himself down. Luckily, Xiao Nan does not seem to notice. “You said it can only do simple tasks. What did you make it do, Elder Brother? You seemed happy it came back.”

“Ah, yes, that. I send the little one out the day we left Eastern Port City. The orders I gave it were simple. It was to come back if it saw a group of people waiting to ambush us.”

Eastern Port City is a peaceful place due to the presence of the Xiao and Yun Sects. No bandit would dare try his luck there. However, the world outside the city is a different matter. Many groups of bandits roam the Empire. Liu Jin is not unaware of this. Travelers who are not strong enough are always at risk. It is good of Xiao Nan to be so careful about their safety.

“Wait.” Liu Jin lifts his head and looks at Xiao Nan. “Elder Brother, if the Soul Bird came back…”

“That means there is a group of bandits lying in wait,” Xiao Nan finishes for him, a big smile on his face. “I saw the memories of the Soul Bird once it rejoined me. It is a group of about twelve. Swords, knives, and a few spears, but not much in the way of armor.”

“Elder Brother, you seem awfully happy about this.”

“Should I not be? I feared this might not happen. For my Little Brother to miss his chance to fight some bandits would be a great tragedy.”

Liu Jin stares at Xiao Nan who looks all too proud of himself.

“Elder Brother, your thoughts are evidently too complex for this one to understand,” Liu Jin says in the politest tone of voice he can muster. “Would you care to share your wisdom with this one?”

Xian Nan laughs.

“It is fine, Little Brother. It is fine. You could even say fighting bandits is half the reason I took you on this trip. Trust your Elder Brother. You will understand once we see them.”

Somehow, Liu Jin doubts it.

~~~

Liu Jin understands perfectly.

As expected, a group of bandits was lying in wait. They quickly surrounded them and demanded that they give up all their valuables. Even now, Xiao Nan and the leader of the bandits, a large bearded man, are exchanging insults.

Exchanging insults and taunts, Xiao Nan tells him, is an essential part of the bandit experience. It is important to get the verbal upper hand before the actual conflict starts. Liu Jin cannot say he understands that. He is also not really paying attention to the words being exchanged. His focus is on the bandits themselves.

He can’t believe it.

There are twelve of them, just as Xiao Nan said. Most of them have swords or knives. A few, including their leader, have spears. Just as Xiao Nan said. Some of them have armor, but it is minimal. Even their leader does not have much compared to what Liu Jin has seen the city guards of Eastern Port City wear. Again, it is all just as Xiao Nan said.

What Xiao Nan did not say was that they would be so weak!

Inner Realm, Third Level.

Inner Realm, First Level.

Foundational Realm, Seventh Level!

Liu Jin can feel the bandits’ Qi quite clearly. They are not even bothering to hide it, the opposite in fact. They flare it as though it were a muscle to flex, trying to be intimidating, somehow thinking their meager level is worthy of respect. However, before them stands Xiao Nan. It is like watching a mouse trying to intimidate a tiger.

Liu Jin does not understand.

In front of him are grown men. Even the younger ones look to be well over twenty. The oldest one is probably close to forty. Certainly, Eastern Port City has some adults who are still in the Inner Realm, but those are fully aware of their weakness. In the Xiao Sect, someone who has not left the Inner Realm before seeing eighteen springs is worthy of scorn. A grown man who is still at the Foundational Realm? That is completely unacceptable.

Of the twelve bandits, only their leader is at the Nascent Realm.

How is this possible?

In the Xiao Sect, there are people in their teens who are already in the Nascent Realm. Even in the rest of Eastern Port City, there are some who reach the Nascent Realm while in their twenties. How can there be a bandit leader who is only at the Nascent Realm? If he is going to be taking people’s belongings by force, shouldn’t he at least have the strength to back it up?

Are the people around here truly so weak that this man is able to live as a bandit? So weak the men before them are counted as a threat?

Seeing Liu Jin’s confusion, Xiao Nan gives him a knowing grin. “Little Brother, I do believe you are starting to understand my wisdom.”

Liu Jin blinks. A smile forms on his face. “I do believe I am, Elder Brother.”

“What’s this?” The leader of the bandits bellows. “Two brats who reek of their mother’s milk dare think they can ignore the Fifth Commander of the Black Bear Group!”

“Now Little Brother, these men here are fully prepared to steal from us. I do believe some turnabout is fair play. If something catches your eye, be sure to let your Elder Brother know.”

“You dare ignore me!”

Liu Jin looks at the bandit leader. A judgment is instantly made.

“I like his scarf.”

~~~