Chapter 17 #3
Ya Ling wrung her hands, pinning him with her gaze.
“I had feared the worst, Alex. We all did. But Linnea was so desperate to explore the rifts, even though everyone knows that there’s only the tiniest chance that any delver’s explorations could possibly link with any other.
But since she was a part of your gestalt, she said she could sense you, Alex.
Even when the rest of us had feared the worst, she swore that you weren’t dead! ”
Alex couldn’t help chuckling as a trembling Linnea squeezed him as tightly as she could, his weapon already stored away as he gently returned the hug.
“You’re alive, Alex! I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t die on us! You’re too strong. Too vital. You’re story’s too important!” Beautiful emerald eyes peered deeply into his own. “And you’ve only grown stronger. So much stronger, in just a handful of days.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex whispered to his friend, surprised and humbled to realize how much he had missed both her bright chipper smile and quirky mannerisms. He was grateful to see that she was healthy and hale and, he was quite certain, had recently ranked up herself.
Equally, he was relieved that Ya Ling’s earlier ambivalence, where warmth and gratitude had been tainted by fear, had been replaced with heartfelt concern when they had all feared the worst.
“It’s um… good to see you in one piece, Alex,” Ya Ling said with the softest of smiles, a slight flush coming to her cheeks as she turned to gaze at the fallen shadow puma larger than any earthbound tiger had ever been.
She shuddered at the sight. “And your timing is impeccable. As always, now that I think about it.”
Alex grinned. “It’s good to see you too, Ya Ling. It’s good to see you both. Are you all right?”
“Now I am,” she assured, before giving a rueful chuckle. “Though I’m not looking forward to another four hours of wandering through this endless jungle to get out of here. But at least the fruit’s exquisite and I get to do it in the company of someone I had feared lost to me forever.”
Alex winked. “All’s well that ends well, isn’t it?”
Her features grew solemn. She inhaled as if compelled by her heart to speak. “Alex, there’s something I need to—”
“But the good news is that you won’t have to backtrack for four hours,” he said, casually holding out his hand as a warmly rustling branch dropped a cluster of lychees that he happily shared with his friends. “The door out of here’s just a few feet away.”
Both girls gave him a strange look.
Alex exchanged smiles with Nili. “And a certain boon companion is with me as well. Which means your timing is perfect! We’re right about to get to the crux of another adventure. Another city to save!”
Linnea and Ya Ling exchanged a confused look.
“Alex, what are you talking about?”
“He means that you’re not in Liushi at all,” Nili said.
“Welcome to Wanshi, children. We’re currently under siege by a powerful contingent of Silvers and thousands of soldiers, our city warded by nothing more than a dying Water core that will soon spell utter doom for us all.
” She flashed the pair of stunned girls a rueful smile.
“Whether folly or the Fox’s fortune, you both certainly have a knack for popping up at the most interesting of times. ”
Alex winked when it looked like Ya Ling was about to burst into tears. “But the good news is that we’re about to secure another Water core at Wanshi’s ritual site. And once that’s complete, the city’s water supplies will be secure.”
Nili nodded. “Water supplies and wards both will be reinforced. It won’t make us impervious, of course.
But Golds are beyond rare, and with the tactical advantages of unlimited water and the steep caldera slopes, this will vastly improve the city’s odds of surviving any conflict.
If fortune truly favors us, our foes will leave under pretexts of having only come this far to establish favorable trade relations with our city.
And our prince is a practical man. He has absolutely no problems establishing trade relations or even paying token tribute to our would-be conquerors.
But we shall keep our hard-fought sovereignty, no matter what else happens.
For so long as we draw breath, our flag shall fly free of anyone else’s banner. ”
“Ooh, this is so exciting, Alex! Another city to save and more experience to earn! What if we level up again? With the potency of an entire city paying us spiritual tribute if we can pull off a second win… that could be two entire levels!”
Alex couldn’t help but chuckle at Linnea’s enthusiasm.
“I see you still enjoy walking the Path of Peril,” Alex noted, giving his friend a warm kiss on her forehead.
“Honestly, after being hounded by a shadow puma that I’m betting only your Infravision and fires kept at bay, I’m surprised you don’t want to rest.”
“Well, of course I’d love to rest, Alex,” Linnea huffed. “Preferably with you in my arms. But earning potency while playing the hero is a thrill like no other!”
“She’s right about that,” Ya Ling said with a rueful smile.
“I grew more by your side, Alex, perilous as it was, than I ever have before or since. And as much as I’ve learned to truly savor the desert night when all is peaceful and quiet, sometimes the heart craves more.
” Warm amber eyes met his own. “Far more than even desert sands can deliver. And when Fate finds you flying headfirst into the arms of a beloved adventuring companion with a neighboring city hanging in the balance, how can any delver who took even a single step along Peril’s Path say no to an adventure as grand as that? ”
Nili’s eyes widened, genuinely surprised by their answers. Then her lips curved in an approving grin. “Wonderful. Because all three of you are about to sign up for the afternoon delve hosted by the Spring clan.”
Ya Ling paled only slightly, realizing that what she had perhaps meant in the abstract was about to take place here and now. “Another delve,” she said softly, yet Linnea’s eyes were all but twinkling with excitement.
“Ooh. So the Spring clan won, this year. That’s wonderful! They offer the best rates to Ruidians out of all the seasonal clans of Wanshi. At least, that’s what Uncle used to say.”
She turned to give her friend’s hand an enthusiastic squeeze.
“You’ll love it, Ya Ling. It’s basically four delves all at one site!
You branch off inside, and you can enter Winter’s icy wasteland, Summer’s dry desert, Spring’s lush jungles—though maybe we can skip that one, ha ha—or Autumn’s rich forest of widely spaced fruit groves, and that’s where most of the spirit fruit they eat here comes from!
Too bad it’s not practical to feed a hundred thousand hungry people with the limited amount of produce that a handful of delvers can pluck before they grow sick with Waste Qi, but my uncle’s pretty sure they unlocked exotic techniques for getting rid of that buildup, far beyond Liushi’s techniques that basically amount to baking yourself in the sun.
Not that I’m supposed to know, but delvers might safely dare the rifts every five or six weeks here, instead of every two months! ”
Linnea’s eyes widened at that. “That’s both remarkable—so remarkable that I’m surprised Liushi hasn’t paid a fortune to acquire that technique for themselves—and sadly not nearly enough of an improvement to make that much of a difference.”
“I can answer that question, dears,” Nili said as they left the warehouse, Alex giving the doors a friendly pat that would ensure they would open for no one below Rank 5 Silver Strength, lest they burn or chop through it over what would be a very, very long and painful day.
“The techniques will indeed shave multiple weeks from the idealized recovery time of two months that it takes most of those who dare caldera rifts. It will even allow one to push harder, as is needed all too often in these desperate times, delving every month, perhaps even twice a month, for an extended period with much less risk of permanent damage to one’s foundation than one might suffer using the sun alone as your balm.
Even if you must spend half a year or longer recuperating when the peril has passed.
But the price of learning those techniques is becoming a member of one of the four sects and declaring Wanshi your home.
” She flashed a sad smile. “There’s no other way to learn them without breaking multiple Cultivator’s Oaths, I’m afraid. ”
Nili’s smile then turned into a frown of concern. “Alex…”
“Don’t worry. The far side of the portal’s now covered in copperthorn vines and is very thoroughly shut. Also, there’s no way any shadow puma’s slipping past those doors. At least, not if their attributes aren’t higher than mine.”
Nili gazed at Alex as they made their way along the central boulevard. “Alex, if you actually built what I think you built…”
Alex shrugged. “It wasn’t really me, Nili. I was just responding to the grove.”
She blinked, shaking her head. “Truly a wonder.”
“Oh, he is. He totally is,” Linnea assured with a pleased grin.
“Ooh, look. They’re selling my favorite treat!
” She then raced to the nearest stand with the happy owner filling a large frond with a bounty of smoked figs and nuts sprinkled with salt and honey that looked absolutely decadent, a treat Alex hadn’t even seen in the lower part of the city at all.
Within moments, Linnea was cheerfully bouncing back and more than happy to share her bounty.
Alex couldn’t help smiling at the taste of salty sweet cashews and figs, even if it cost twice as many copper feathers as the equivalent might have in Liushi.
“Not cheap, but after so many hours traipsing around a hot, steamy jungle, it’s worth every copper!” Linnea happily declared before taking a sip from Alex’s water flask, her friends nodding in agreement.