“Should we have stayed?” said Edward, craning his head to look around Felix’s larger form. He stared along the road in the general direction of Pale Hill city, its mighty walls long gone from view. “I mean, we are on the side of the City lord, right? Between him and the Yang Family patriarch, we shouldn’t have needed to fear being overpowered. We could have even been the ones to capture the traitors and earn the rewards.”

“He’s right,” said Yang Mei. “Let us not forget that they also attacked us and sided with the empire, making them the alliance’s enemies. Maybe if we helped in the capture, the Martial Alliance would reward us. We could have reaped double the rewards.”

“And what would we even accomplish?” said Felix with a sigh. “Sure we were able to deal with a few of the Yang Family members near the end there, but they were probably just some low-rank nobodies. Besides, we are still somewhat injured from that ambush. Daiyu can’t even use her arm properly for goodness sake.”

“He’s right Sister Mei, besides, the waters are too muddy.” Said Cixi. “We don’t know if the Yang patriarch was really innocent or shifting blame to save his clan. Either way, we are out of our depth if we stay.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Said Yang Mei. “I still don’t feel good about it.”

She wrapped her arms under her chest, her posture ending the conversation. Cixi took out her book again and Daiyu as always was silent.

So much happened in so little. Lives changed so drastically in a moment. It was sort of exciting in a way.

Reaching around Edward, he patted the back of his mount. The bear’s skin had mostly returned to the water form since their exit from the city, but he could still feel the patches correlating to the other three seasons.

I want to bring these boys through the winter section of the formation when we return to the sect. This wispy hair feels so weird.

After a few more rounds of pats, the bear returned a huff of annoyance and he stopped.

I also found out how ferocious these guys can be. Wait, is it a boy? The one Yang Mei is riding is definitely a boy… Whatever. These bears are a reminder that you can’t judge a book by its cover, or I suppose their actions. They just act so indifferently most of the time that I begin to think of them as Cows. Happy to just chill.

He just let his hand lay on the bear’s back and it gave no additional sign of complaint.

…I suppose I might as well try sorting through the memories again. The ‘smooth’ one has been very useful, and maybe I can find similar uses for the comparably powerful ‘voices’.

Felix allowed himself to drift through them, trying to organize them until an elbow jabbed his side. Rubbing the aching spot, he glared down at Edward.

Ow… I'm pretty sure that hit a kidney you little bastard. Ha! He hurt his elbow. Body cultivation wins again!

“I finally have your attention,” said Edward, giving his numb arm a shake. “I swear you zone out at the drop of a hat.”

“Well? What did you want to say?” said Felix.

“We need to stop,” said Edward.

“Why?” said Yang Mei. “do you need another bathroom break? You have very little self-control for someone at the essence condensing stage. Just cultivate if you’re bored.”

“That’s a waste of time,” said Edward.

“How did you ever achieve essence condensing two if it’s a waste of time?” replied Yang Mei.

“…hard work? Still, we need a break. I don’t know how you’ve put up with this Felix but sleeping on these damn bears isn’t easy, much less healthy. We put a few days between us and Pale Hill city, at least let us rest on a nonmoving object for a single night.” said Edward.

“We aren’t much further from… whatever the town at the mouth of the serpent path is called. I wish we had spent a moment to look over that map.” Said Cixi. “Just bear with it until then and stop complaining. There are much worse things in life than a little discomfort.”

“How close is close?” said Edward.

“…at least three days of riding.” Said Cixi.

“Come on! I bet that includes riding through the night. You people are crazy. Felix, you can’t let them convince you that this is normal,” Said Edward.

Felix sighed.

“I think Edward is right.” Said Felix. “We could use a stretch of our legs.”

“Shouldn’t we avoid wasting time?” said Cixi. “Some of us can’t afford it if we are serious about cultivating.”

“True, but a break every now and then isn’t the worse thing. Have you taken a real break since you’ve joined the sect Cixi?.”

“No, I have not.” Said Cixi.

“Well, then one night won’t hurt us. Sound good?” said Felix.

Felix leaned back, watching the crackling fire. It danced and ebbed, changing shape as the balance between air and fuel changed.

It is nice to see that a bonfire acts like what a bonfire should. I’m once again questioning the physics of this world. Some of the books relating to fire techniques from Tolo’s library don’t make sense. Maybe it is just because they come at the phenomenon from a different direction?

Felix gave the fire a few pokes with a stick, the sparks spraying into the air as he dug rows in the coals. He looked up, to see some of the sparks taking longer to fade, performing complex patterns backdropped by the stars shining through the trees.

There are just so many of them up there. I never really took a moment to reflect on that first night. So strange.

Despite the thickness of the canopy blocking much of the light, the density of the stars above assured that every hole to the sky above sparkled.

Are the immortal worlds up there amongst the stars or somewhere else? If not, then what are all those other stars up there. There are so many more than I remember from Earth.

Elder Zhenzhen did say that the elemental causeways can be used to travel between higher and lower worlds. Yet I see no great tendrils connecting the stars above. Maybe they are invisible? If not, then other worlds are literally in a different realm and it likely means the earth is also in a different realm. Divided from home then by more than just distance but… Layers of space? Space walls? There is probably an official term for it.

A slight shifting in which stars were visible above snapped him from his thoughts. Felix barely caught sight of a white mask before it disappeared.

So uncanny those Onooka. Thought Felix with a smile. I feel both safer and annoyed with her looming up there… Ha! Now I can’t stop wondering what’s behind her mask again instead of pondering the mysteries of the universe. What a human feeling.

“Shouldn’t you be reading?” Said Cixi.

Felix turned away from the canopy above to meet Cixi’s eyes. The girl sat cross-legged on a stump of her own. A messy pile of conquered books lay on her left while those destined to the same fate were stacked neatly to her left. Her current victim laid open on her lap.

“Trust me Cixi, I’ve been reading every chance I can get. Sometimes you just need time to think. Let your thoughts work themselves out, you know?”

“I believe you said that before. You can’t let life go by like that, Felix. At some point, it will all be taken from you if you don’t act. Things may seem like an immortal’s dreams but then birds of prey descend. There are good people out there, but the average cultivator is not so kind. They take what they need and damn the consequences to others. Even if they don’t lift the blade themselves, they will not stop the axe descending and feel justified to feast on the aftermath.”

I suppose she’s right. I’ve seen how quickly things can change and how cruel people can be. But I disagree that every moment must be taken in the pursuit of cultivation. At least… Wait a moment.

“Cixi… why do you feel so strongly about this?”

Cixi opened and closed her mouth. Finally, she looked back to her book as if he hadn’t said anything.

Strange, I had assumed that being a merchant’s daughters she would have grown up somewhat ignorant of such things. At best an enlightened rich girl, and at worst a spoiled brat… She did come alone, which is weird. I suppose we all have our circumstances.

He watched her face for a little longer until she finally brought her book up to block his stare.

I suppose I’m being rude now.

Felix leaned back allowing the campfire light to be hidden from his eyes, looking back up at that too starry sky.

Maybe those stars above aren’t even the balls of gas we believe they are on earth. Not that that truth is false back on earth but something else could be going on here. I hope they are though. I suppose this may seem crazy to someone without the right perspective but the idea of reaching a cultivation level where I can stride on the surface of such objects seems… truly badass.

Absently he bent further back, his body bending as he stared into the underbrush behind him. Two silver orbs met his own.

“Fuck!”

Felix launched himself from his seat, spinning so fast he ached from the whiplash. He landed on his feet and stared at the bushes.

“Felix, what happened? Did you see something?” said Yang Mei.

“I don’t know.” Said Felix, slowly scanning the foliage. “But I believe I saw two eyes that seemed to glow silver, whether by their own light or reflecting the fire. Daiyu! Did you notice anything?”

A familiar tapping of chalk on board sounded right next to him. Felix forced himself to react slow, turning to see Daiyu standing right next to him.

“You know, you probably should give me a heads up if you are going to do that.”

She cocked her head.

“I mean.” Said Felix. “Most people make some sign or indication that they come by. With you Onooka, I can almost never tell. What will happen if I suddenly strike at you.”

She leaned her head to the other side.

“Don’t worry, you are too slow so I should be fine.” Wrote Daiyu, adding a smiley face.

“Daiyu, focus!” Said Cixi.

“Apologies,” wrote Daiyu. “No, I did not sense anything, which is most disturbing. Either whatever saw us is far stronger than us or has a gift in going undetected. The gifts of spirit beasts can be most impressive.”

“Cixi… can you light our way with you chakrams?” said Felix.

“They are not meant for that! It is an advanced technique meant for attacking from any direction. I have barely scratched the surface of what it can do,” said Cixi.

“Please?” said Felix.

“…fine,” said Cixi.

Under two burning chakrams that hovered over them like halos, Felix and Daiyu searched the ground. Pawprints, larger than Felix’s hands, were scattered all around. They were uniformed in shape and size. Despite that, there were a lot of them.

“Does anyone recognize these? Whatever this was, walked around at the edge of the firelight for a while before I saw it.” Said Felix. He looked back to still see the other three near the fire. “Well, are any of you brave enough to help us?”

Cixi finally came over and stared down at the print.

“I actually think I know what it is.” Wrote Daiyu. “This spirit beast was likely a wolf.”

“Oh… so what does that tell us?” Said Felix.

“Not much.” wrote Daiyu. “wolves are known to live all over the continent, with a sizeable portion in the Endless wilderness. However… there are many different types within the wolf species. Some spirit beast species are very homogenous in their abilities, but wolves are not one of those. They can be aligned with many different elements, but such mono element spirit beasts tend to stay in regions that help them cultivate.”

“Oh,” said Felix. “Then this could be just some random beast. We are still in the central region, so it shouldn’t be too strong, right?”

“There is a potential issue that comes to mind,” interjected Cixi.

“…How so?” Said Felix.

“Well… There is one part of the Endless Wilderness that has an official name. The Beasts Claw. In fact, it is the portion of the wilds that juts out and separates the central region from the empire. It is known to be dominated by wolves. However, they are normally a non-entity abroad because they are even more reclusive than those spirit beasts in the endless wilderness. They suffer no incursion but make no move to exit their domain.”

“But Daiyu just told us that wolves are all over the continent. This could be any one of them, right?”

“True… and I would agree with you normally. However, I remember my father made a cryptic comment about ‘the wolves being more united than most think’. Maybe it’s nothing but it always stuck with me. I just it is worth thinking about.” Said Cixi. “We also aren’t that far from Beast Claw as a Nascent Soul flies.”

“With our luck, you may be right.” Said Felix. “Well, I was going to get some sleep, but I think I would rather get back on the road. Edward, do you still want to stay the night? ...Edward?”

Felix turned to find Edward standing in one of the prints, both his child-size feet fitting inside.

“You know what, I’m happy with a bear bed,” said Edward.

I couldn’t sleep a wink, but we’re here!

Through the grogginess, Felix beheld Beast Watch. The terrain had transitioned from sporadically wooden hills to a rocky desert with only the occasional dash of green. Even those little splashes of colors dwindled as they went, until they found the city rising up amongst a sea of brown hues. Despite being smaller than Pale Hill City, the city’s walls were built for a harsher kind of conflict. Great gashes decorated the walls and scores of men patrolled the top.

Whatever that wolf was doing, it won’t bother us here. God, I almost wish I hadn’t even seen that wolf now. If it attacked, at least I could have died well-rested.

“So, this is Beast watch,” said Edward. “Why is it called beast watch? If I remember correctly, the woods in front of us technical wasn’t a part of the Beast’s Claw?”

“I don’t know.” Said Cixi, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “People name things for weird reasons. We are by the endless wilderness. A place literally full of spirit beasts. Plenty of potential circumstances could have led to such a generic name. Now come on, let’s get off the road.”