Chapter 19: Someone Ahead May Die

Chapter 19: Someone Ahead May Die

Paike recovered from his ordeal rather quickly. Perhaps that was the nature of physical cultivation. Whatever it was, he was grateful for his increased healing after having awoken. But some of the other oddities took him a little longer to get used to.

The biggest so far was having no hair. He really hoped it would grow back. When he lost all his hair from the awakening, he also lost his eyebrows, which felt pretty unnerving. Luckily, he didn’t seem to sweat anymore. Still, the light drizzle from the skies was more annoying than usual because it kept running into his eyes. The bald ridges of his brow were not enough to redirect the water away completely. He supposed he would get used to it, but still, it would be better if he didn’t have to. He wished he had thought to tie a cloth around his temples before they had left.

Absent-mindedly, he rubbed his head with his hand, barely feeling the odd triangular-shaped bits of subdermal armor that had developed. He could only count it among his blessings that they were not visible, making him look like some lizard descendant. That would have just been too much.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as he and Guan Li walked through the sect compound towards the training field where physical cultivation class was held. They joined the stream of people also heading to the classes. The majority didn’t attend, but enough of the population of disciples did that it created significant foot traffic. Luckily, they were all cultivators, so the pace was more that of a mortal’s light jog than a crowded city’s streets.

When they got there, Liming and a girl Paike recognized from around the class approached them. Liming stood in front of him, looking up with her head slightly cocked. She reached up and poked him in the nose—quickly, too quickly for him to react. Out of sheer surprise, he froze.

From his side, he heard Guan Li stifle a laugh. Liming ignored him and studied Paike’s face. He wasn’t sure how to react to it, so he just stared back impassively.

“Yep,” she said, “That’s you. You know, you don’t look half-bad bald, brother. Almost like a monk.” She snickered slightly while the girl standing next to her grimaced awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. His handful of a sister remembered her presence and turned slightly, the angle of her shoulders including her in the conversation.

“Brother,” Liming said, regaining her composure, “I don’t think you’ve met my roommate. This is Xin Yixin.”

Paike greeted her with a bow, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Xin.”

Liming continued, “This is my brother, Kong Paike.”

“Mister Kong, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” Xin said, mirroring his bow. She was short, much shorter than his sister, with black hair that tickled her jawline. Her almond-shaped eyes were a honeyed hazel, and she studied his face with an intense inquisitiveness. Already, he could see why she got along with his sister. Liming liked people she could put off guard with her antics, but they also needed to be quick enough to keep up with her wit. Xin seemed to be able to.

He studied her right back. Paike could sense that she was spiritually in the Early Ruby stage, like most around her. That was expected, but she had also physically awoken. Now that he looked more carefully, he realized that his sister and Guan Li had also physically awoken. He felt a little embarrassed for not noticing earlier. It took some observation because, physically, she hadn’t changed much. Was that because she was still growing, or was she simply so close to the ideal she held of her own body? It was hard to say.

“Congratulations on your physical awakening,” Xin Yixin said with a smile.

“Yeah… um, I was cutting it a little close,” Paike said, rubbing his bald head. “It was…. troubling. Congratulations on yours as well,” he added politely.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She gave a soft smile but didn’t respond.

“Anyways, I think the elder is ready for us to assemble,” Liming said, and the four of them moved to form a row at the back of the class. Most of the disciples had gathered already, though a few stragglers hurried in, taking their places just before the hour struck.

Elder Ji looked over the class. “For many of you, this is our last day together,” he said. “Many of you have made me proud. Others… I hope you have learned to improve your work ethic.”

Several of those who had not yet awoken looked highly uncomfortable at these words. Paike could understand, even though he had awoken. But his thoughts were interrupted as the elder called out a name.

“Li Feng, come to the front.”

The number one ranked disciple in the outer sect stood up and walked with precise steps to the front of the class, coming to a stop before the altar.