Should I go with the mask or the veil?

Wu Meiying stood with her arms crossed and stared at the two objects sitting on her desk. One was a simple white mask with no adorning features… at least if they looked on the outside. The inside was covered in complex seals. The other object was a veil. It was made from a thick white cloth that, nevertheless, shimmered as though made of satin. It was an expensive item created from threads of unicorn hair. Like the mask, it, too, was covered in seals.

They mask will cover more of my face and thereby ensure my safety better… but the veil is more mysterious and won’t hamper my vision… also, people wearing a mask look more suspicious.

Her enemies already knew where she was. They wouldn’t make a move yet, so she was technically safe even if she didn’t wear something to cover her face, but she didn’t want to invite anymore trouble onto herself. Even if her enemies didn’t attack her, there were plenty of young masters who would covet her appearance. She had neither the time nor the inclination to deal with them, so covering her face was essential.

I’m sure Wu Jian will be there. If I wear the mask, he might just think I’m some random masked weirdo! I don’t want that. A veil would be better, in that case. But would he recognize me? It’s been so long, he might not recognize who I am if I wear a veil either…

Wu Meiying paced back and forth as she debated with herself, the chain from her necklace jangling as the pendant bounced against her skin. She knew she was being silly. It wasn’t like the decision to wear a mask or a veil mattered. She needed a distraction, however, because if she didn’t think of sillier, more mundane issues, her mind would take a dark turn.

As much as she wanted to see him, as much as her heart longed for him, she was afraid of meeting Wu Jian again. How could she face him after what happened to his family? She was the reason his family was dead. Could she really just come up to him like nothing happened? Even her skin wasn’t that thick.

Wu Meiying closed her eyes as memories washed over her. She shuddered in fear. What would she do if they met and Wu Jian said he hated her? Could she deal with that again? Wu Meiying was certain she would die of heartache if that happened. Of course, she was prepared to cut all ties with Wu Jian if that was what he wanted, but she dreaded him wanting that more than anything in the world. She would rather die than live in a world where Wu Jian hated her.

Perhaps it was fortune that someone arrived before she could delve too deep into her worries.

“Little Sister Meiying, are you ready?”

Wu Meiying hesitated before grabbing the veil and walking toward the door. She was already dressed in an elegant hanfu ruqun. It was white with darker blue accents and light blue sleeves that trailed to the ground. The fabric around her waist and legs was thicker than her sleeves, which were semi-translucent. While the outfit did expose a little of her chest, she had done her best to choose something modest to wear.

She walked outside and found two people standing there. Both young men were quite handsome. Wu Meiying was certain many girls were pining after the pair. The one near the front had dark hair tied into a ponytail, ice blue eyes, and feminine features. He was the definition of a pretty boy. The other had equally long hair, but his features were a bit more masculine, with sharp eyebrows, dark eyes, and pale skin. He still possessed the girly features so many women seemed to love. Wu Meiying personally preferred men who were a bit manlier.

Wu Jian always had just the right amount of masculine and feminine charm.

She greeted the pair with a graceful martial bow. “Elder Brother Zhe Fēnglì. Little Brother Húndàn Wang. It’s a pleasure to see you. Why have you come upon my mountain? Is it already time to leave?”

The pair bowed to her in return.

“Well met, Little Sister Meiying. You are correct, it is nearly time to go, so I came to get you,” said Zhe Fēnglì.

“I’m honored that someone who was just recently promoted to martial hall instructor would come all this way just to get me. Thank you,” Wu Meiying said.

Zhe Fēnglì waved her off with a smile. “It is nothing. I merely wanted to see you.”

Wu Meiying withheld her twitch. This man still hadn’t given up on her. No matter how many times she rebuffed him, he continued to chase her. He wasn’t a bad man, per se, but she had no feelings for him, and his constant attempts at spending time with her were annoying. She wondered if maybe she should be ruder to him? Would that get him off her back? But no, he was the sect master’s son. She couldn’t just treat him like dirt. She still needed the Heavenly Sword Sect, after all.

“Thank you. I am ready,” she said.

They took off through the sky, traveling toward Heavenly Sword Village. That was where most of the disciples stayed. During their flight, Húndàn Wang kept glancing in her direction, but she ignored him. He seemed to be content just admiring her, so she’d let him be.

After landing, they walked through the crowd of disciples, all of whom parted for them. She caught the tail end of their whispered words.

“Hey! Hey! Isn’t that Lady Meiying?!”

“It is! It’s gotta be!”

“Wow! She’s even more gorgeous in person!”

“What a beauty!”

“Think I’ve got a chance with her?”

“She wouldn’t give you the time of day even in your dreams, ugly.”

“Look who’s talking!”

And this is why I wear a veil, she thought with a sigh.

They eventually reached a large docking bay for their airships. Several massive ships were moored in the sky, gently floating there like clouds buffeted by a gentle zephyr. One of the airships currently had people scurrying to and fro across its deck. It was the largest amongst the airships present and far more ostentatious to boot.

Zhe Dāozhe was already there. He was a refined man with a scholarly appearance. His black hair had not a speck of gray despite his age, the heroic shape of his jaw and nose lent him the appearance of a renowned hero, and his sharp eyes were complimented by sword-shaped eyebrows. He turned when they walked up and smiled.

“Sect Master,” all three of them said with a martial bow.

“I see you’re all here. We are just about ready to depart. My Lady Oracle, I’ll have a servant show you to your private room.”

“You have my gratitude, Sect Master. In that case, I’ll be in my room, medidating,” Wu Meiying gave him another bow.

“Very well,” Zhe Dāozhe said with a smile.

She was soon shown to her room, which was large and comfortable, with rich decorations and furniture that felt like you were sitting on a cloud. After slipping off her shoes, Wu Meiying padded over to the bed and sank onto it. She closed her eyes.

What will I do when I finally see you again? What will you do when you see me? Will you still love me? Will you hate me?

No answer was forthcoming, not that she expected one.

Alone in her room, Wu Meiying pondered and worried.

***

Wu Jian stood before Hua Xue with barely a chih separating them. His dominant foot was touching the outer part of her foot. Neither of them were wearing shoes, so he could feel both the coarse wood of the airship and the soft skin of her foot. Their knees were both bent and they kept one hand behind their backs. The other hand was raised before them, the dorsal side of their hands touching.

Mei Xilan, Yu Chenguang, and his wives were also present. They stood off to the side, watching. None of them said a word, however, and the silence was almost stifling. Wu Jian felt like a bowstring being drawn so taut he was liable to snap. A small trickle of sweat ran down his scalp as he stared into the calm, collected eyes of his adversary.

“Are you ready?” asked Hua Xue.

He took a deep breath. “I am. Let’s do this.”

“Try to keep up.”

Seconds after the words left her lips, Hua Xue lashed out with a swift hand thrust. Wu Jian gnashed his teeth behind closed lips as he tilted his torso to the side, swept out with his hand, and knocked hers away. The loud sound of flesh clapping flesh echoed around them. Hua Xue was undeterred. She attacked again, this time grabbing his arm and attempting to throw him. Wu Jian struggled to keep his feet planted firmly on the ground as he twisted his arm out of her grip.

The game they were playing was called arm wrestling. It was both a game and a method of training young disciples on how to attack, defend, and use their center of gravity to avoid being thrown. This game had simple rules. Both opponents stood with their outer dominant foot touching, and they used one hand to both attack and defend themselves from their opponent. If your foot left the ground, you lost. If you were knocked off balance, you lost. It was a game that required swift reflexes, a keen mind, and instinctive knowledge on how to use your center of gravity to your advantage.

Because they were on an airship and couldn’t risk destroying it, Hua Xue had suggested they use this method to sharpen their minds and train their body. Both he and Mei Xilan had been sparring with her like this for the past several days. It was a real workout too. She had defeated them within seconds the first two days they had done this. Hua Xue’s movements were so crisp and sharp, and she was so fast, that they could barely even see her attacks coming. They had improved, however. Now Wu Jian could last for several minutes before she defeated him.

It happened when she feinted a hand chop. He braced himself and prepared to swat her attack away, but then she thrust her hand forward, grabbed his shirt, and pulled. Wu Jian squawked as he was flung off the ground and into the air. He quickly oriented himself and landed on his feet, but the battle was already decided.

He sighed. “You really don’t go easy on anyone, do you?”

Hua Xue shrugged. “I do not know what you’re talking about. I am going easy on you. Were I to use my actual strength, you wouldn’t last for even a second… but that would defeat the purpose of this training.”

“I guess so…”

He wondered if that was true. He knew Hua Xue’s true power was currently sealed, and that she could temporarily bring it out, but right now, her cultivation was sitting within the Deva Realm. That meant she technically shouldn’t be that much stronger than him. Wu Jian was confident in his ability to beat any Deva Realm cultivator despite being an entire realm lower.

His cultivation hadn’t risen much during his journey--not that he expected it to. He had gained some insight into the Dao of Space, but it wasn’t enough to increase his cultivation. The pills he was using were also proving ineffective. He would need higher grade pills if he wanted to absorb more chi. Wu Jian wasn’t too concerned. He had learned during his journey to the Zhou Kingdom that rushing his cultivation wouldn’t avail him anything. Even if he did increase his cultivation swiftly, it wouldn’t grant him the strength he wanted. A stable cultivation base at a lower realm was better than a higher realm with an unstable base.

“How much longer will it take to reach Heavenly Chengshi?” he asked Yu Chenguang.

Yu Chenguang placed a hand on his chin and pondered. “Not much longer. We past Heavenly Sword Mountain a little while ago. Actually, you should already be able to see Heavenly Chengshi if you look out the starboard side.”

Reaching Heavenly Chengshi, capital of the Xia Dynasty, involved traveling around the Saintly Sword Mountain Range, passing through the Zhou Kingdom, and heading south. Once they traveled through the Xia Dynasty’s borders, they would go past Heavenly Sword Mountain, all the way to Chengshi Lake. Heavenly Chengshi was a city built atop this lake.

Wu Jian wandered over to the starboard side of the ship and cupped a hand over his eyes. Just as Yu Chenguang said, he could indeed see the city. He could tell it was massive even from this distance. The gigantic lake had numerous streams flowing into it. He couldn’t even begin to judge its size, and sitting atop it was a city so large it put Shang Imperial City to shame. Towers and pagodas rose into the sky like spears peircing the heavens. In the middle of it all was a palace of such magnitude that it stole Wu Jian’s breath away.

“This is quite the magnificent city for a lower world,” Hua Xue said as she came up beside him. Mei Xilan walked onto his other side and tried to grab his arm, but he deftly manuvered out of it. He wasn’t about to play her game.

“Are cities in the Nine Heavens like this?” he asked.

“They are much bigger. The Nine Heavens is vast, and their cities incomprehensibly massive. There are even some cities that are the size of your Shang Kingdom.”

“I can’t imagine a city that big,” Wu Jian confessed.

“It is hard to picture, even for me,” Hua Xue added.

“We should explore the city when we arrive,” Mei Xilan said.

“I’ll think about it,” said Wu Jian.

He ignored Mei Xilan’s pout.