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Chapter 8: Soaring

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At the wild lake of the outer area, the water was clear and still like always.

The sun hung at his mightiest point in the sky, but the burning rays were blocked and filtered by the dense foliage. As these gentler sunrays fell on the water's surface, the lake sparkled and radiated light like a precious and pure jewel.

Not far from the shore, a cat stood still in the water, not creating any ripples.

This was Kyu Cao.

He'd just taken a short bath after practicing martial arts, but now he was just enjoying the sensation of cold water caressing his fur and tickling his skin.

Even this close to the shore, the depth of the lake was enough to reach above his navel.

Suddenly, he dove inside the lake, letting his whole body experience the coldness.

Two weeks had gone by.

After what happened, Kyu Cao tried to be more conscious of his own capabilities as a Cultivator.

He believed, had he immediately tried to climb the cliff with his own paws like that rat youth, he wouldn't have lost in acquiring the spirit herb.

Losing the spirit herb so pathetically, it'd been truly a bitter experience.

It was clear that he no longer knew his own limits, which now were greater than ever before.

He needed to know himself better.

Having had enough, Kyu Cao resurfaced from the water.

"Aah!"

A sweet and panicked cry of surprise flew to his ears.

Surprised himself, Kyu Cao turned his eyes to the edge of the lake. There, a few new visitors had appeared.

Wonlai stared incredulously at the scene in front of him.

He found it ridiculous, that here in the dangerous Backdoor's Forest, there was someone relaxed enough to take a dip in the lake. Even if this was the so called safe area, how carefree had someone to be to do this?

And completely nude!

The other two males had similar expressions.

As for the female snake, Li Ling, she had her back turned right now, the tip of her tail nervously quivering in embarrassment.

Being a soldier did not mean that she was not a pure girl.

She wouldn't have been this flustered if she had only seen the cat's bare torso. But the lake's water was so transparent, that below the surface a plump appendage was clearly noticeable.

"... Ah, it's them," realized Kyu Cao. He'd only caught a glimpse of them, but how could he forget the group which snatched away the spirit herb? Particularly, the group's composition of races was quite characteristic.

What sort of luck it was, for the first group of theriopes he meets in the Backdoor's Forest, to be this exact group.

He didn't harbor any hate or resentment against them. It was entirely his fault that he lost the spirit herb. But as the losing side, it would be a lie if he said he was comfortable meeting them.

After all, who would be happy for the person who stroke rich with the gold one found? Only a saint or someone with sinister intentions would. And Kyu Cao was neither of those.

Of course, nothing of this showed on his face.

Both sides stared at each other silently.

The group of disposed three didn't speak because they were still too dumbfounded to act. And Kyu Cao didn't speak because, according to his rearing, it was improper of his status to say the first word to the party of lower standing

Finally, it was Wonlai who broke the silence.

"What a surprise to find someone here. Might I ask, who you might be?" Probingly, his tone was a tad polite. This was because he could discern something not entirely ordinary in the way the cat held himself. For it to be evident from only the way he stood, it had to be something ingrained to the bones. Thus, he decided to play it cautious.

However, the cat youth didn't speak, and only regarded him with an inscrutable stare, and an expressionless face.

This made the corners of his lips twitch, but he tried again.

"My name is Bloodstripe Wonlai. What would be yours?"

"... Cao," a nice, but flat voice came out of the cat's maw.

The corners of his lips twitched again. Dammit, this will be difficult.

Before the young tiger could speak again, Kyu Cao began to move toward the shore. The sound of water being stirred echoed in the quiet forest.

Once again, the group of three was left speechless.

The cat came out of the lake unabashedly, with the dignity of a king that didn't mind the stares of his subjects. The damp fur outlined and emphasized the tight and firm muscles, silkily clinging to his shape and falling flowingly like orange and cream liquid.

He was not imposingly tall, but he exuded a regal and mesmerizing aura. His lack of expression only looked to be as if he had detached himself from the world; but those fiery blue eyes seemed unfathomably deep, and still sparkled with a natural curiosity.

Even as fellow males, they felt their breath halt.

Mister, aren't you a little too handsome?

"...? Is something wrong?" Asked Kyu Cao, noticing their strange expressions. Since the first word had been spoken, he could talk more freely now.

Wonlai was instantly shaken awake, and couldn't help but cough twice. Glancing to his companions, he found that they too looked somewhat uncomfortable right now.

"No, it's nothing," he spoke in behalf of the three.

Kyu Cao didn't mind it, and walked toward his clothes. He'd better dress, otherwise, the snake girl would never turn around.

Wonlai and the other two saw this and decided to silently wait, though they averted their eyes for various reasons.

A brief moment later, they were facing each other again. Li Ling seemed to be having a slightly hard time looking at the cat to the face though.

"Again, my name is Wonlai," Wonlai introduced himself again. "You are... Cao, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. These are Ti Ping, Bi Gong, and Li Ling," he motioned toward the rat youth, bull, and snake, respectively. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

Wonlai could only think of one reason for a young theriope for being in the Backdoor's Forest. But seeing this cat youth's behavior, maybe there could be another reason.

He thought this especially after seeing his clothes.

The cat wore long formal robes with wide, long sleeves that fell over the paw. The fabric and cut was simply exquisite, but for something like training in the forest it looked extremely cumbersome.

"Looking for herbs," Kyu Cao responded without pause.

"I see," nodded the tiger understandingly, if still a bit unconvinced. As for Ti Ping, his expression turned wary.

Looking at their responses, Kyu Cao was inwardly satisfied.

Sooner or later, he was bound to meet with others in this forest. They might recognize him, they might not. Such ambiguous response was open to many interpretations. It was fine of they didn't completely believed him. It only mattered what they concluded from his words.

And if one considered the circumstances, there were only two highly certain outcomes.

The first one, if the other party didn't know him, they would think that he was another army trainee trying his luck looking for spirit herbs.

The second one, those who could recognize him and had some knowledge about him, would interpret his words as looking for common herbs.

Another conclusion was not possible. Because, in the military clan that was his home, the label of non-Cultivator was branded on his name as if with hot iron.

He didn't think it was a clever scheme, but it should be effective. It mostly relied on the fact that no one would mind him enough to probe too deeply, which he believed would be the case.

The clan couldn't know of his activities by now. But he didn't receive any notice, nor was he banned from the forest. This proved that they still didn't care, while at the same they still believed that he wouldn't be stupid enough as to get himself killed.

So Kyu Cao had some confidence, that as long as he didn't excessively reveal his abilities, he could gain sufficient time to lay himself a good groundwork.

"Are you really looking for herbs here?" Questioned Ti Ping with narrowed eyes. The rat was not buying such answer.

"Un," Kyu Cao nodded earnestly.

"Well, we really cannot say anything, Ti Ping. We just found one spirit herb around here not too long ago," Wonlai wanted to smooth things over, but as soon as these words came out of his maw his expression froze, together with the other's.

That Sun Drenched Red Herb that they'd found, it was because someone else had discovered first, but was careless enough to leave evidence, which enabled them to find it, then take it.

They'd only told the Treasury Vault Head where they had found it.

For someone to be looking for spirit herbs in the outer region of the forest, so close to where the Sun Drenched Red Herb had been... It couldn't be, right?

"Anyways, Fellow Brother, are you alone?"

"... I am." It was also not convenient for Kyu Cao to follow that topic, so he didn't react to the abrupt deviation of the conversation.

"Good! Then might Fellow Brother be interested in coming with us?"

Hearing this, Ti Ping and Bi Gong threw questioning glances to the tiger. Only Li Ling seemed to understand the young master's intent.

She had a good eye after all. And she could conclude that anyone that could be so relaxed as to take a bath in the middle of this forest, and carry on with such clothes, couldn't be simple.

It was worth to try and befriend this theriope.

"With you?" Kyu Cao blinked with honest surprise. This invitation was not something he'd ever expected. He paused for a moment, before opening his maw, "what are you going to do?"

Wonlai was inwardly glad that he hadn't refused immediately. "We will go the first ring of the forest. We improved our strength just recently, so we want to test it out against a strong opponent. Of course, we'll be also looking out for any treasure. Is Fellow Brother interested? I can assure you that we'll split the benefits fairly."

Although an unexpected event, Kyu Cao seriously considered the proposal.

Because, it actually could be a good opportunity.

However briefly, the idea of eventually braving further into the forest, and attempting to fight a martial beast had indeed crossed his mind.

He knew that he would eventually need to temper his abilities. That was because, even if he had a high Cultivation level, or mastered his martial arts, if these were not refined through combat, his strength would actually be shallow, just a fancy display without substance.

His level was far from braving the first ring alone, but maybe accompanying a group, he could enter now. He could also learn various things from them.

Especially, it would be much easier to escape if they cooperated, in case things went awry.

That they were the same group that snatched the spirit herb was a bizarre coincidence, but nothing to take to heart.

Wonlai and the others just stared at the pensive cat, who seemed to be considering their invitation.

Maybe.

They were actually a bit helpless right now.

This cat's expression barely showed any changes, remaining perpetually neutral. It was almost impossible to tell what he was thinking. They could only guide themselves by his eyes, which looked away in contemplation, and his tail, that coiled and uncoiled rhythmically behind him.

Finally, he looked up toward them.

"I am interested."

"Good! Then follow us, Fellow Brother Cao. We already have a place in mind."

With a huge smile that perked his ears, Wonlai turned toward the direction which led to the first ring and began to walk. Kyu Cao followed immediately behind, followed by the others.

While Ti Ping was a little dissatisfied, he couldn't be rude toward a guest of the young master, so he obediently gave up his usual spot.

They silently walked for a while, before coming to face with the cliff that separated the outer and inner regions.

Of course, it was not the same place where the Sun Drenched Red Herb had been.

Kyu Cao beheld the tall, seemingly insurmountable wall of solid rock with a fixed stare. He'd trained and practiced seriously these last few days, but this was the true test.

He stared so raptly, that the others halted their steps and looked at him puzzled.

A long moment silently passed.

"Young Master," whispered Ti Ping to the tiger.

Wonlai nodded, understanding what he wanted to say. He still couldn't ascertain this cat's identity, thus he was being polite, but daytime was burning and they had to move.

"Fellow Brother Cao, we must hurry. The place we're going is not far, but if we want to return before night falls then we must go." They came today only to test out their new strength, so they didn't have plans to stay the night in the forest.

"Yes, do not mind me."

Do not mind you? Mister, we are trying be considerate of you, how could we not mind you?

Ti Ping was starting to get impatient, so he decided to humor the cat. "Well then, I'll go ahead, Young Master. I'll scout the top." His cover was reasonable.

Wonlai understood well, and actually signaled the bull to go too.

The two didn't make any fancy preparations, and began to climb up with their bare hands. Ti Ping seemed to slither upwards like a lizard, while Bi Gong's manner was crude and powerful.

Kyu Cao's attention was now on those two. He observed each movement and action, studying the method how they climbed.

"Did he want to see our skill?" Asked himself Wonlai. It seemed the both of them were trying to probe the other.

That wasn't Kyu Cao's intention though. He was simply curious about how others would climb this tall wall of rock.

As far as he could see, the strength that the rat and the bull youths were using wasn't anything beyond him. He should be able to do the same then.

But then... maybe, he could try something else.

If something he'd learned from the spirit herb incident, it was that opportunities wouldn't simply wait for him to prepare himself. There would be times, when he would need to be more decisive and daring, even reckless.

Maybe he could start now.

Under the curious stares of the pair of tiger and snake, Kyu Cao admired the tall cliff a last time with a deep gaze.

Then, he stepped forward.

They were normal steps at first, but then it became a run. He ran straight ahead and only with increasing speed, it seemed as if he wanted to impact head on with the cliff.

But that didn't happen.

What happened next was something that greatly astonished Wonlai and Li Ling.

Instead of jumping, Kyu Cao put a foot on the rock, and continued to run upwards without decreasing his speed. He began to ascend, moving not much different from running on horizontal terrain.

It was a mix of long steps and small jumps; the cat's feet sometimes landed on obvious protrusions, and sometimes on smooth surfaces that not even a paw would be able to grasp. It was swift, regal and imposing.

"Movement Skill!" Both Wonlai and Li Ling shouted in their hearts.

For them, there actually was nothing unusual about the young cat having a movement skill.

But such overwhelming movement skill, that allowed a theriope to climb up the face of a cliff as if running on flat ground, just what grade could it be? And what level of expertise must this Cao have, to do it so nonchalantly.

Kyu Cao's speed was faster than Ti Ping and Bi Gong's. Not long after, he overtook the two, leaving them behind with agape mouths.

Kyu Cao could only see the grayish face of the cliff at the lower part of his vision, while above it was only the blue sky.

The way ahead appeared to be even longer from this angle, but then it shortened and shortened.

Finally, he reached the top.

He landed with a small jump to dissipate his momentum, and stood straight, his eyes looking ahead to the forest area that continued on.

He was panting a little, but this was not because of exertion.

It was emotion.

"I did it..." he muttered. Honestly, he was prepared for the possibility of him failing. Because practice was truly different to the real.

Just like when he studied pellet confection. He studied, he practiced, he visualized; but still, he failed many times in front of the cauldron, before finally succeeding.

And for Kyu Cao, climbing this cliff of stone the height of ten trees seemed a hundred times more difficult than concocting a medicinal pellet.

Yet, he did it, successfully and flawlessly.

He found it hard to control his pants.

The cold winds blew over the edge of the cliff, and made his long robe flutter, like the waves in dancing in the ocean. His spirits seemed to rise with them, carried up toward the limitless skies.

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You know, one of my biggest problems when writing was that I was too hung on being realistic to do things like exaggerate and over-emphasize a character, either positively or negatively. This genre is originally rich in such things, so I hope to loosen up with this project. Next will be ridiculousness and far-fetchedness... and fantasy. Yep, I tended to take out the "fantasy" from fantasy.