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Chapter 121 – Fashion Choices and a Slinking Dog
🕑 Added 2024-10-27 22:23:10 +0000 UTCYang Ru’s heart pounded as he topped the hill, and his possible fiancé came into view. She was … pretty. Her face and form were pleasing. And he guessed he liked her well enough. Besides the one spar, they hadn’t interacted all that much.
With the girls back home, he’d at least grown up with them. Kang Lin was a complete unknown, a member of a large and prestigious sect. Who knew what her expectations for a husband were?
He and his sister approached the group of Poison Claw Sect cultivators, and he cupped his hands and bowed respectfully, mainly to Kang Lin, the highest ranked of the group at Foundation Establishment.
Beside him, his sister mirrored his actions but not bowing quite so lowly since she and Kang Lin were in the same realm.
After the rest of the group acted in kind, there was a bit of an awkward silence. Master and his sister were hiding grins as they watched the interaction between Yang Ru and Kang Lin.
He really wished he could have been alone for the meeting. Honestly, though, such an encounter would probably have been even more awkward.
Pan Jiang, of all people, was the one who saved the day, stepping forward with a hardy greeting. “Senior Brother Yang Ru, this lowly one isn’t quite ready to spar with you yet but soon. Soon.”
Yang Ru grinned. The guy had been a bit of a pain at their first meeting, but he wasn’t that bad once you got to know him.
“I look forward to it, Brother Pan Jiang.”
“With the greetings out of the way,” Master said, “I need to get back soon. I can transport you directly to the village or to the Wood, where a lot of my disciples are cultivating.”
“You’ll want to go to the Wood, Sister,” Yang Xiu said. “The qi density is quite good there.”
Kang Lin cupped her hands. “We will accede to Sister’s wise advice.”
“Great,” Master said. “I can take two at a time. Who’s first?”
As Kang Lin and Pan Jiang decided on the order—the two of them last—Yang Ru studied the girl. She kept sneaking glances at him. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
Should he talk to her? He felt like he should talk to her. But what should he say?
His sister would surely mock him later no matter what he did. If only he and Kang Lin were alone.
That would be … bad. But maybe good. He didn’t know.
The important thing was to ensure that she and his sister were never together without him being present. That would be a disaster.
###
Kang Lin watched as two of her sect members disappeared with the Esteemed Master Cultivator. One second, they were all taking a step together, and the next instant, they were just gone.
She’d never seen anyone below Golden Core move like he did. None of the Poison Claw Sect elders could take members with them as they transformed into qi. The sight was further proof that Esteemed Master Cultivator Chao Su had at least reached the Nascent Soul realm.
Well, not quite. An alternate explanation might be that he used a qi aspect that allowed teleportation. Such an aspect was rare but not completely unknown.
She wondered if he would answer if she asked.
The other thing that didn’t escape her notice was that the siblings were wearing matching outfits, silver robes with blue streaks and red accents that had an emblem depicting a spear crossed with a bow on the shoulders. It could be that they just liked dressing alike, but the robes sure looked like uniforms, especially considering that the Esteemed Master Cultivator wore matching colors with the blue dominant to the silver.
As quickly as he disappeared, he came back and took the next two.
Then, it was her turn. She and Pan Jiang each grabbed on to one of the Esteemed Master Cultivator’s hands. Which was a little weird. She wasn’t used to making skin to skin contact with anyone.
“On three,” Esteemed Master Cultivator said. “Simply take a step. I’ll do the rest. One. Two. Three.”
She stepped.
And from one instant to the next, the scenery changed. It was the weirdest, most interesting thing that had ever happened to her. She wanted to do that herself.
One day, she’d be able to transform herself into lightning. It would be decades before she could do such a thing, but one day…
Kang Lin found herself in the middle of a clearing with dozens of people wearing identical blue robes cultivating. All of them with the exception of the Esteemed Master Cultivator had color accents on the sleeves and sashes, and some had emblems on their shoulders like the siblings.
All together, they really looked like a sect.
He let go of their hands. “Be right back.”
A moment later, he returned with the siblings.
“Pardon me, Esteemed Master Cultivator,” Kang Lin said. “This lowly one couldn’t help but notice that, with all the matching and coordinated robes, that it appears a new sect has been created?”
Part of her thought it was a bad idea to make such an accusation, but he had to know she’d be thinking it. Besides, she and her group had been invited. If he expected to keep it a secret, he was doing a horrible job.
“Yes! Thank you for noticing. Do you like our robes? I think the colors are quite striking.”
“This lowly one agrees that the colors are quite lovely, Esteemed Master Cultivator.” She hesitated, considering if she should just let the matter rest. “Will the three sects think the same, though?”
“Well, anyone who isn’t colorblind should like the robes just fine, I would think.” He paused. “Though, I guess tastes do vary. An outfit that one person sees as absolutely amazing might be seen as garish or outdated by another. There’s no accounting for taste. But I really think that, given what I saw of the fashions in Sixth Flawless Flowing City, the other sects will dig our new robes.”
The slightly infuriating thing was that she knew he knew exactly what she meant and that he was just playing with her. She didn’t think there was any malice in it, though. As far as she could tell, he just found acting in such a manner to be amusing.
“This lowly one agrees, Esteemed Master Cultivator. In fact, one might say that the robes resemble greatly what the Righteous Rain Sect wore. One might even think that the new sect was trying to replace the styles of the old one.”
There. That was blunt while being quite diplomatic. Grandfather would be proud.
He laughed. “So they would, so they would. Truthfully, though, I told your grandfather that I feared a beast tide and that I’d be teaching the villagers to cultivate, which is the primary focus of our new sect. I even called us the Rising Tide Sect despite there not being a water aspected cultivator among us.”
She nodded. That made sense. If grandfather was already aware, perhaps it was not as big of a matter as she had thought.
With her mind at ease, she turned her attention to the next order of business. She had hoped the other involved party, Yang Ru, would take the lead in dealing with the situation, but he appeared to be reluctant to even speak.
Kang Lin said, “Esteemed Master Cultivator, would it be possible for this lowly one and your disciple, Yang Ru, to take a walk. Grandfather suggested that the two of us should get to know each other.”
The Esteemed Master Cultivator grinned. “You’d like some privacy for that, would you?”
She cupped her hands. “If it pleases the Esteemed Master Cultivator.”
“Actually, there is a minor problem. Yang Ru hasn’t broken through to Foundation Establishment yet, and I haven’t yet seen how well you’ve learned your new techniques. I was thinking that I could take you and Yang Xiu out hunting rank four beasts. That way, the two of you can get used to each other’s skills, and I can, hopefully, become comfortable in the knowledge that you can handle yourself. Assuming that to be the case, you can then take that walk. Does that work?”
“Of course, Esteemed Master Cultivator.”
She glanced at the siblings. Yang Xiu was quite pleased, but Yang Ru looked stricken.
Kang Lin immediately understood the problem. How embarrassing it must be for him to be left behind while his sister and potential fiancé gain the glory from hunting beasts.
There was nothing that she could do about it, however. The sect leader had spoken.
###
Yang Ru couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Kang Lin and Yang Xiu together hunting? That would be a disaster for him. Who knew what embarrassing things his sister would say.
If he didn’t stop them, his chances of preserving any good impression Kang Lin might have had of him were over.
“Master, may this one please go with them?” Yang Ru said.
“Sorry, my disciple, but this particular mini-expedition is for Foundation Establishment cultivators only.” Master stared knowingly at Yang Ru. “Maybe if one had been more diligent, he’d already have reached that realm and would be going with us.”
Master was right.
Yang Ru hung his head. He had been … distracted the last few days, and his cultivation had suffered because of it.
“I understand, Master. I’ll go cultivate.”
Feeling like a dog who had just been kicked, he slunk off into the woods to find a quiet spot to meditate.
Comments
RedFaux
Poor Ru.
