Mage's Cultivation Journey 21

“Wake up,” I called even as I broke out of my meditative state, my hand already gathering the books and other critical items. As for pots and other disposable items, I didn’t touch them.

Yu Xing jumped to his feet immediately. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Something is wrong. We’re retreating to the mountain,” I said. Su Mi looked surprised at my declaration, but she said nothing, watching warily.

“Should we … do something?” Yu Xing asked.

I looked at him with a deadpan gaze. It seemed that the illusion of power we had cultivated warped his thinking somewhat, actually believing that we had such ability. “Can you defeat a hundred soldiers by yourself?” Yu Xing flinched, but he shook his head.

“Then, move,” I said, then turned to the girl, who was watching us warily. I wanted her to come with us, but not to the point of dragging her with us if she didn’t want to. “You can come with us, or you can try leaving on your own. Either way, decide immediately.”

“I … I will come with you,” she said.

“Excellent,” I declared. “That’s all we’re packing. Move.”

Yu Xing gestured at our equipment, which included the pots and sundries. “How about them?”

”Leave them,” I said, already walking. “You need to be ready to carry her if we face a problem.”

“How about you—” he started.

I cut him off. “You don’t have to worry about that!” I said. He wasn’t aware of the passive upgrade my body had undergone by observing purified internal energy. I didn’t suddenly turn into a master like I faked, but I should be able to move faster than a brisk pace, like I did in the first part of our trip.

But, the moment we moved, the thing that I feared happened. Several figures that had been observing us chose to split from the rest, and started to follow us. Though, there was a silver lining. Their numbers weren’t as great as I feared.

Whatever was happening at the camp was enough to scare some of them. I needed a weapon. I pulled next to Yu Xing, reached the bag he was carrying, and pulled out a bottle and a case. The bottle contained the essence pills we had, while the case had the silver needles.

The use of the former was obvious, though the letter was trickier. I had tried to practice with the silver needles one time during our stay, enough to learn their general function. It channeled internal energy, acting as an efficient conduit.

Unfortunately, that had been the extent of my test, as using them meant I had to actively use my internal energy, which could be sensed by the others, risking unraveling our fake identity.

I took them, because it was better to have them and not use them than the alternative. At least, I could use them as a threat.

The first moments of our trip went smoothly despite having several people following us, yet none dared to close in. I didn’t call them out. Now that they acted, I suspected they wouldn’t be stopped by a bluff.

Considering three of our followers were at Skin Refinement, it wasn’t a challenge I wanted to take. Instead, we continued eastward, away from Dongxi and the problems at the Western passage alike. The road we used was one of the neglected side roads, only fitting for traveling on foot, near enough to the mountains for us to return to them if we encountered anything unexpected.

Yet, I didn’t cut a direct path to the mountains, afraid it would embolden those Skin Refinement observers to act. Their fear of the unknown was still the only thing that was keeping them away.

Yu Xing kept to the front, holding the hand of Su Mi, half assisting, half protecting. Though, the girl surprised me once more. She clearly lacked the physical strength, but she moved with a silent fortitude, making me wonder about her roots once more.

That would have been all, if it weren’t for the sudden addition of a group of cavalry, numbering around fifty, taking the same path, moving desperately, some of them wounded. Six of them were at Skin Refinement, while about half of the remaining ones were at Muscle Reinforcement. Not a weak group by any measure.

I hoped that they would pass us, but someone shouted. “Boss Duan. It’s them! The ones that disrespected you.”

I wanted to shout in frustration. I avoided the main road to prevent exactly that, but I still ended up in the midst of danger.

“They were the ones who purchased all those pills and martial arts manuals from the market, right? Perfect. Fate smiles at us. First, we survived the ambush of those cowardly Liao family, now a fortune walked into our feet,” he shouted, his greed apparent in his tone. It seemed the value of our purchases had been exaggerated while we camped. Worse, from the way he spoke, it was obvious that it wasn’t their fear of us that kept them back, but they had been afraid of pushing the Liao family too much.

Not that it seemed to help them. As he shouted in delight, the others who followed us started to retreat, putting some distance between us. “Where are you going? Leave everything you have on, and apologize for blocking our path before leaving.”

Yu Xing watched them, carefully. “Ignore the waste,” I said, my tone deliberately light, like the situation wasn’t even worthy enough for me to care. The situation itself was dangerous, but that was more reason to continue acting confident.

Even though I doubted so-called Boss Duan would catch it. I suspected that his martial ascendance had been recent, likely with some external assistance; the sudden increase of strength giving him delusions of power.

A stupid opponent, but a dangerous one.

Even as I looked confident, I caught Yu Xing’s gaze, and pointed at a nearby bridge, a thin stone construct that had weathered many seasons without maintenance. It was half a mile away, with a river passing underneath. It wasn’t a decisive advantage, but at this point, I would take any advantage.

While Duan and the rest of his gang were focusing on the three Skin Refinement artists who had been chasing us, we continued moving. “Master, how about cooperating?” asked one of them.

I threw a half-glance in his direction. “Are you worthy?” I asked, doing my best to copy the attitude of my spoiled noble peers back in the academy. Our observers didn’t react to it, still on the fence about the situation.

The gang didn’t react well to my attitude, lost in their warped perspective to consider the situation. It was ironic that their careless attitude was allowing them to accidentally have a better view of the situation … but that was the risk of playing the game I played. It didn’t matter how carefully the details of an identity were created, with layers and layers of subterfuge.

All it took was a reckless idiot to unravel everything. Now, it was time to pay the piper.

With that, I turned my back once more and started walking, leaving my back open… The perfect bait.

I had managed to improve significantly during the week, my physical capabilities almost doubling in many meaningful dimensions. I was faster and stronger, with a decent boost to my endurance. But, none of those aspects were enough to have a fair fight against someone in Skin Refinement Stage, let alone multiple of them. If they were serious, they would kill me before I had a chance to pull a trick.

To be honest, I doubted I could even defeat another Initiate without relying on my tricks.

Everything depended on my plan. If it worked, it worked.

If not… well, hopefully the kid could get away.