Xie Yi and Shi Yue left the group shortly after they were out of the vicinity of the sect. Those that knew the plan had sent them off with short bows or pats on the shoulder, and the sect leader himself had given them a hug.
“Everyone will meet at the canyon”, Shi Yue explained. “We are all moving at the same time. All people above a certain rank.”
Xie Yi nodded. He hadn’t seen Sheng Mu and the others in the group that left, most likely because they were still too weak and would act as basic defense for the sect.
The image of a figure popped into Xie Yi’s mind. “What about the prince?”
“He has to watch over his family and the castle, but he’s informed. They’ll have the military watch over the common people and try to protect them as best as possible if necessary.” Shi Yue shook his head. “I wish there was more we could do, but…”
“Let’s hope we will distract the whole Demonic Sect”, his disciple tried to cheer him up. “They won’t have that much time to care about others.”
Shi Yue gave a nod.
They avoided flying on Shi Yue’s sword and stayed low on the ground, where it would be harder to see them, but where it was also harder to move.
“It’s actually only about three weeks to the Demonic Sect’s place”, Xie Yi awkwardly commented. “That’s also why I could visit you so often during my last life. It was nearby.”
“It’s weird that we have never noticed them, considering they’re basically our neighbors.” Shi Yue frowned. “I was out of it when they brought me there in the last life, so I didn’t see much.”
“Well”, Xie Yi awkwardly coughed. “The sect is built into the mountain and mostly covered. In addition to that, it’s a desolate area and it’s covered in illusion arrays. You’re not likely to find the entrance unless you know where to go, or you randomly climb up the mountain. And if you tried that, you’d run into the guards who would kill you.”
“But you know the main entrance?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“I do. There won’t be many guards around there either, because it’s used by the upper ranks and they hate being watched. The mechanism sucks to learn, so they have never been worried about someone breaking in.” Xie Yi paused. “Did I ever tell you that? The sect grounds aren’t built by the sect. It’s an old, well, castle that they found, including a number of mechanisms.”
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“So how will we get inside?”
“As amazingly tempted as I am to use the front door… We will use one of the paths that are more hidden. It should already exist at this time.” The cultivator smirked. He liked the thought of blowing up that nest of vermin.
It was easier to focus on his thoughts of vengeance than the discomfort of entering his former… lair. He did not want to call it home.
“How much time will we have? I mean, how much time can everyone else buy us?”
Shi Yue looked around as he talked, memorizing the path. “This isn’t a small fight. It will take time until everyone reaches the canyon, and it might take days or weeks until the actual fight is over. The ones fighting will be switched out, or one side gets pushed back and retreats for a bit, or both sides are forced to pause due to other circumstances.”
“I never participated in long fights. I came, razed everything I could to the ground and left. If I was exhausted, that’d be when I left, so I don’t know how it goes.”
“It might sound stupid to pause a war, but it has as many advantages as it has disadvantages. You can rest and plan, and so can your enemy.” The Grandmaster pursed his lips and frowned deeply. “It’s a very human thing to have rules for wars. Normally, both sides would retreat at the same times, for example at night. I know that the Demonic Sect likes using these exact times for sneak attacks.”
“Aah… That, it’s good if your enemy is tense all the time. It saps their strength”, his disciple uncomfortably explained.
“I know. We all know. It’s merely hard to avoid.” Shi Yue slowed for a moment as he heard the sound of a river. “We’re going the right way?”
“Yes. You know the mountain ridge we are approaching anyway.”
“But not the exact corner.”
“I’m sorry I can’t describe it. I’ve gone this way many times to visit the sect, so I have it memorized. I could walk it blindly.”
Shi Yue gave him a wry smile. “You had terrible ideas of how to woo someone.”
“To my defense”, Xie Yi said with a sheepish smile in return, “I was neither aware I was trying to woo you nor were the ideas mine. My ideas now are better, right?”
“Much better.” Shi Yue laughed and touched the pendant on his waist. A little love token.
The two talked about whatever they could think of – whether that was the war, or a lesson on tactics, or the environment. The reason was simple; too many animals had fled the vicinity of the sects and the canyon, and those that were here were wary and quiet. The forest was creepily reminding Xie Yi of the silence the cultivators had had as they walked off to risk their lives.
With their voices filling the air, both felt better. It wasn’t as if not talking would do them any good, anyone who would hear them talk without them noticing the approach was bound to hear them move as well.
And so they relied on each other’s voice to fill in the emptiness and grant each other a bit of peace.
Whenever they did have to rest, they’d rest in turns, always sitting bundled up together. They’d lean their heads on each other’s shoulder and share a bit of warmth.
“I just realized…”, Xie Yi muttered as he looked up at the stars and took a sip of water. Shi Yue made a questioning hum on his shoulder. “Before MingMing was with me, I’d travel for weeks on my own. Leaving behind death and destruction with the worst kind of silence. I don’t even remember what I was thinking during those times… But maybe I can’t remember because I wasn’t thinking at all.”
“A life not lived”, Shi Yue whispered back tiredly. “Mistakes not made and time not passed. Maybe it all was a dream to warn you of what would happen if. I’ll say that every time.”
“Hmm.”
“Ah Yi, don’t worry so much. We will kill them all, everyone we see.”
“Afterwards, can we build a house for me? Or rebuild yours?”
Shi Yue smiled. “Of course. What do you want? A little dragon cave with treasures protected by traps?”
“Doesn’t sound bad. Can I have it?”
“Whatever you want.”
“I’ve been thinking if there’s anything from the Demonic Sect I want to take along.” Xie Yi took another sip of his water before putting it away. Another three days to the next source of fresh water. “Then I realized, I don’t know where the old men would hide their most precious stuff.”
“How likely is it that we will meet one of them?” Shi Yue opened up his violet eyes and peered into the night.
“They’re wary and suspicious. They’re not my enemies if I meet them, or yours. They will be leaving if there isn’t enough protection in the sect, so it’s all a matter of luck and timing whether we can catch them. I do hope they will be there, though.”
“Any damage done is good damage.” Shi Yue closed his eyes again and moved a bit to make himself comfortable.
He wasn’t sure he liked that the rusty scent of blood was beginning to smell nice to him simply because it was so close to what Xie Yi’s inherent scent was. That would be a weird connection to make during a fight.
“Good night”, Xie Yi gingerly said and rubbed his cheek against Shi Yue’s hair.
The calm before the storm