Chapter 49- Clearing The Mountain Gate

Tian and Hong gathered on the road to the Monastery after breakfast.

“You look better. Less… I don’t know. Despairing. Moody.” Hong nodded approvingly.

“Since when am I moody? I’m a cheery, optimistic youth full of good feelings about people and the world.” Tian declared.

Hong just looked at him. The seconds dragged on. Tian eventually rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.

“The very best things about Ancient Crane Monastery are the Outer Courts, and the very best of them are here in West Town. My brothers looked after me. It felt good to be able to return some of their kindness. It’s not about balancing scales, it’s about…” Tian struggled to put it into words.

“About being part of something healthy. Something that doesn’t just flow in one direction.” Hong smiled.

“You are looking better too. Less brittle.” Tian smiled back.

“Yeah. Less brittle is a good way to put it. Sometimes I wonder if it’s your blood and qi affecting me.”

Tian blinked. “I like to think I’m a positive influence on you.”

“Heavens save me from midgets. Speaking of, where is the crane?”

Tian flicked a finger upward. The crane was lazily circling, looking for a promising pond or riverbank.

“Next stop Mountain Gate City.” Tian rolled his shoulders. “Lovely day for a stroll.”

It was not. Heavy rainclouds were steadily rolling towards the mountain. A solid wall of grey, coming in faster than a galloping horse. Peasants shouted and raced for their homes. A bare few did last minute checks on irrigation gates, the state of dams and walls, whether they had left out their cattle or chickens, before they, too, raced home.

It was something innate in humans, running before the storm. The countryside emptied quickly around them.

The rain would land like hammers of water at first, before slowing into a steady, inexorable, pressure thickened by cruel humidity. It never really got cold in the Broadsky Kingdom, but there were definitely more and less pleasant seasons. As far as Tian was concerned, the rainy season was the worst of them. Wet or dry, it felt like drowning. He had a powerful urge to turn around and dive into his cozy cell. The notion of running through the misery all the way to the mountain did not appeal.

Hong didn’t look much more enthused about the rain than he did. “Race you to Mountain Gate City.”

Tian’s eyes went wide. A race? Since when did they race? He felt a laugh bubbling up in him. Apparently, since today. “Alright, you are on!”

The two young immortals raced towards the mountain, pounding their stray thoughts into the dirt. They both had light body arts, and while they weren’t exquisite, they were well honed. Each step landed like thunder and propelled them forward like lighting. Around them, peasants scrambled through their doors, slammed shutters closed, frantically herded their chickens back into their coops. The ducks were left to fend for themselves, and why not? They would be just as happy in the wet as the dry.

Merchants plied their whips, driving their heavy draft horses to rolling canters. That was the best they could do, hauling heavy wagons. The horses could smell the rain and they didn’t like it either. They could go much faster if it wasn’t for the wagons, of course, but that didn’t suit the men with the whips.

Men who inexplicably found themselves without whips as something too fast to properly see raced past them.

“Really? REALLY?” Hong yelled.

“Really. If they want to go faster, they should get out and pull too.” Tian yelled back, his grin brilliant under the darkening sky.

The two immortals, close as brother and sister could be, ran up the wide stone-paved road, alongside the irrigation ditches and way markers. The country was running towards the sky, foothills rising, then falling, but always rising again.

The wagons appeared closer together, carrying flags of merchant houses, or painted with the colors and name of great clans. So many of them, it looked like they were flocking birds, or ants carrying food back to the nest.

“They can’t all be headed to the city!” Tian yelled.

“Bet?” Hong shook her head. She had taken off her wide hat. It would have blown away at the speed they were running, and besides, the dark clouds were blocking the sun.

“I thought only the Inner Court and their family could go into the city?”

“Only the Inner Court and their families can live there. These merchants won’t go past the city walls. There are big depots and warehouses just below the city, handling distribution. Local haulers bring things from the depot into the city if that’s the final destination. Otherwise, they are just shipped onward.”

Up the hills, moving steadily closer to the mountain. “Horses die when they see the mountains.” Tian had heard that expression from some of the wanderers on the rivers and lakes, but had never understood it. He did now. Ancient Crane Mountain looked close enough to touch, but no matter how far they ran, they never seemed to reach it. How many had exhausted their horses, whipping them on “Just a little bit further, we are almost there?”

Their clothes whipped around them, blue robes fluttering in the wind, snapping and yanking at them as the silk caught the air. Hong swore a blue streak when she saw Tian tying up his sleeves and taking a small lead. It was a strictly temporary setback. She had her own sleeves tied up barely a minute later, and quickly made up the ground.

Tian wanted to be back on the boat so badly, he could taste the river water. He could smell the marshes and reedy banks. He would build a little awning over the middle of the boat like some of the fishermen did, and he would hide under there as Liren poled them along.

The mountain still seemed far away, but the rains were on them now. You could watch the shivering wall of water roll across the countryside, fast as the wind could drive it. There was no gentle transition- you were dry, then you were soaked. Cool rain fell, turning cold with the speed they were running. The fine silk robes of an immortal cultivator might be unstained by dust or water, but they certainly weren’t waterproof. Tian felt his long hair soaking up the rain, the bun suddenly a heavy weight on the top of his head. He imagined Liren must be chilly, given how short her hair was.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He would warm her up with a nice cup of tea when they arrived.

The mountain was on them as suddenly as the rain. They had been running up a slope, and the slope kept going up. It flattened and dipped slightly, but the trend was up, up, and up. Rising over the foothills and the floodplain, threading its way into the cooler air.

The wagons labored against the mountain now. No longer thinking they could race to a warm stables and an inn, they were focused on safely navigating the road. It was a wide road, immaculately maintained and well drained. It was the only thing keeping it passable in the downpour. The road ran alongside steep drops. It would be easy for a horse to slip or a wheel to slide. Then you would never worry about being wet again.

Liren accelerated into a sprint. This time it was Tian’s turn to swear, scrambling to catch up.

“Liren lived around here until she was six. Her granny still lives here. She must know how far we are from the city. Cheating! Blatant lack of martial virtue! I must scold her as soon as I win.”

He could see the city walls now, though no guards walked them. They had no crenelations either, nor watchtowers. What use would they be, when the only people who could threaten the city could fly over any wall?