Chapter 36

With sparkles in her eyes, Fu Yilan turned around to see a smiling woman clapping behind her, obviously having seen her display. A quick glance at her robes showed the colors of the Golden Fang Sect, white and yellow with gold accents stitched in, as well as some beast’s fur, possibly a tiger, judging by the stripes, sewn into the right shoulder, obviously part of the outfit.

“Well done!” she said, voice warm, loud, and enthusiastic. She radiated a special confidence from her hair bound in a tight ponytail on the top of her head. She was a head taller than Fu Yilan and a good bit wider, pure muscle even visible from under her robes. The smiling face with soft cheeks and sparkling eyes didn’t match her body though and Fu Yilan couldn’t suppress a smile as she bowed in gratitude.

“Thank you. My name is Fu Yilan, I am a wandering cultivator, currently staying here in hopes of purchasing a blade.”

“Well then, it’s perfect that you’ve met me, Cao Qingzhao! Because we’ve brought your blade along. A soft blade, wasn’t it? Come, we took it to Old Man Chen of the weapon hall.” She swiftly turned and walked off, clearly sure that Fu Yilan would follow. “Please, call me Sister Cao. It’s so nice having another girl to talk to while traveling with all those men.” She shook her head, clearly annoyed.

“Gladly,” Fu Yilan responded with a smile. “Then call me Sister Fu as well. There truly are too few of us.” Sister Cao nodded vigorously, her blonde ponytail shaking with each nod. She had long, straight hair that was clearly taken care of, falling all the way to the small of her back. Fu Yilan liked it, she felt like it suited her. Similar to her bearing, it radiated control. Not even a single hair would do as it pleased. Fu Yilan moved up, walking next to Cao Qingzhao.

“And my congratulations were in earnest. What you did is usually only done by those old guys at the ninth or tenth stage, after at least a century studying their cultivation arts. Doing it at the sixth stage is very impressive.” Fu Yilan smiled shyly. It felt odd, being praised like this, for her martial prowess. Odd, though not in a bad way. “We should spar tomorrow, when you’ve replenished your qi reserves. Try and solidify your advances. And I would love to test myself against the pretty genius I stumbled upon.”

“I’d love that. Though I’m no genius, trust me. The arts are just fairly close together in meaning.”

“Haha sure, whatever you say. It truly is that simple, they just need to be close. Why has no one else ever realized.” Fu Yilan laughed at that and could hear the smile in Sister Cao’s voice as well.

“How have your travels been so far?”

“Wise, changing the topic. You can’t change my mind on that.” Sighing slightly, she continued on. “The travels were boring as usual. No bandits to kill, no demonic cultivators to best. Ugh, so boring.”

“Though boring should be good, right?” Fu Yilan grinned. Of course, boring and peaceful were better, but she’s experienced boredom during her travels with the merchants as well. And even though she hadn’t had a sword at that time, she still wanted some bandits to come and attack. Sister Cao only replied with a snort and a roll of her eyes. Fu Yilan’s grin widened a bit.

When they reached the weapon hall master, Old Man Chen had a sourly look on his face. He had been enjoying their daily sessions, and now that the sword had been delivered, his time was up. Fu Yilan had to admit that she’d enjoyed fucking him as well, but there were men she’d rather sleep with than the old, misogynistic man.

“Ah yes, have come for the sword, have you? Then right this way.” He got up, begrudgingly, and opened the solid iron door as though it weighed nothing.

“Someone piss in his wine? He’s even grumpier than usual.” Fu Yilan barely suppressed a snort at that comment.

At the beginning, Fu Yilan had felt a bit self-conscious. She was in high-heels, wearing a dress, body soft and curvy. Everything about her was optimized to cater to the lust of men. Meanwhile, Sister Cao had followed a more honest cultivator path, pursuing strength that her muscles showed proudly. Fu Yilan felt weak, as though she had decided to bend to the male-dominated cultivator world’s wishes, instead of standing up to it. The feeling had faded to the background due to Sister Cao’s pleasant company, but it was still in the background, dark and slowly festering. She would have to meditate on that, she knew, before it grew into a heart demon.

The weapon hall was smaller than the strength of its stage seven guardian would make one believe. Still, at least two hundred weapons were neatly arranged. Not as many spears and swords as she would have expected, but a myriad of fist weapons were available. Gauntlets with metal spikes above the knuckles, claws, and ones that looked like straps with spikes that Fu Yilan was unsure about how they’d even be used. Still, she walked past all of them, steps slightly hurried as she came towards a low table with a straight blade wrapped in cloth sitting on top.

“May I?” she asked as her hands was already reaching out and wrapping around the handle. She only got a chuckle in response. The sword drooped slightly as it lifted from the table. The cloth covering fell away and she marveled at the gleaming steel, reflecting the soft lighting of the room. Flames were dancing in small glass spheres, their light licking along the polished blade.

“It’s beautiful… Two-Twenty, right?” Her attention was on the sword entirely. She was feeling the blade in a way she’d never done before, its weight and heft more clearly felt than she remembered. The sword snapped up when she poured her qi in, suddenly rigid, before writhing like a snake in her grasp.

“Not bad.” The weapon hall master pulled some air in between his teeth, whistling in appreciation. “But take it outside. No demonstrations in here. And pay up, girl.”

Fu Yilan took her pouch from her belt and started pouring spirit stones on the small table her sword had been on. Quickly counting them, it didn’t take long before she had the two hundred and twenty spirit stones counted out in a small pile. Now it was Sister Cao’s turn to whistle.

“Seems like being a wandering cultivator pays better than I thought.” Fu Yilan just nodded and headed back out, up to the sparring courts, mind focused on the new sword.

She immediately took the starting stance and began weaving the movements of the Floating Petal Sword. Graceful movements let the sword glide through the air, cutting through it with a level of precision two steps above what Fu Yilan would have managed previously. It was exhilarating, finally having a soft sword in her hand again. Still, her qi reserves were nearing depletion, so she decided to stop for the day.

The old man had kept his word and gotten her a truly fine blade. She could tell that it was better than her previous one. It was balanced more nicely, and either the material was treated differently or the smith was more skillful, because her qi flowed through the blade with far more ease and more efficiency, less being wasted. Like an old friend it wrapped around her waist, settling in a spot that had been bare far too long. With a smile, she turned to Sister Cao.

“Hah, you have no idea how good that felt.”

“The look on your face gave me a few hints, don’t worry.” Fu Yilan blushed slightly. She truly had been entranced by the sword. “Now, let’s grab a bite to eat. I’m tasked with patrolling this route fairly regularly, so I know a few good food spots in the city.”

And Cao Qingzhao didn’t disappoint. The food truly was incredible. They chatted until late into the night, sharing a few bottles of wine. Fu Yilan went to bed happy, a smile not leaving her face even when dreams took a hold of her.

A loud knock pulled her from her slumber. Within moments, Fu Yilan had her sword in hand, even before she’d fully gotten out of bed.

“What is it?” she asked, voice wary.

“Let’s spar!” Qingzhao was slowly opening the door as she said it, a big grin on her face. “You should be well rested and ready to go, right?”

They had decided to call each other by their first name last night. Fu Yilan couldn’t help but smile at the thought. This might be what it felt like to have a real friend.

“Yes, yes, give me a moment. I’ll be right there.”

She grinned at the enthusiasm of her friend. Friend. She tasted the word on her lips, the unfamiliarity of it both exiting and slightly scary. She decided she liked it though. Nodding once, she put on her plain clothes instead of the dress, that she felt was more and more over the top. High heels, cleavage, slits in the sides instead of Qingzhao’s regular sect attire. She followed her… friend outside. Qingzhao was already prepared, feet bare and two gauntlets strapped to her fists that reached all the way up to the elbow. She was bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet, bursting with energy.

Fu Yilan stepped onto the white sands opposite her. She could hear clashes coming from the other sparring area, maybe Qingzhao’s travel companions. Both women got into their stances. They held eye contact for a moment, gauging each other. Qingzhao wasn’t one for waiting around though, and she flung herself at Fu Yilan with a high-pitched laugh.

“Finally! I’ve been looking forward to fighting you all night!” Fu Yilan wanted to reply, but the pressure that was being mounted on her right from the beginning was already significant. Punches rained down around her, and it took a moment to get accustomed to the speed and strength Qingzhao loaded every single one with.

Fu Yilan wasn’t that used to fighting cultivators, especially not those at her level of strength. While she practiced diligently, fighting someone else using weapons one had not yet encountered in a fight was very challenging. Swapping between her movement art and the Floating Petal Sword in quick bursts, she managed to keep out of Qingzhao’s striking range, at least for a while. She hadn’t yet figured out how to combine her sword art and her movement art yet, so using both was not yet feasible.

“Not used to fighting strong cultivators, are you, friend?” Qingzhao pressed forward, now mixing in some kicks with her punches as well. She kept marching forward with brutal efficiency, pressuring Fu Yilan at all times.

She couldn’t block the punches, because the gauntlets made the force behind each of them too threatening. Instead, she let the impact push her back, each one giving energy to little hops that let Fu Yilan increase the distance.

A kick hit the floor and sand flew up, momentarily blocking Fu Yilan’s view. Suddenly, a spike of sand shot through the spot she’d just been standing in a moment ago. By the time the sand was on the floor again, Qingzhao had a spike of sand on each fist, ready to punch them in her direction. Now it was clear that she was earth-aligned. Not entirely unfavorable though. Water could carve its way through a mountain with enough time and pressure.

“Not bad,” Fu Yilan admitted, the first signs of perspiration letting little beads of sweat appear on her forehead.

“Thanks. You’ve been keeping up quite well yourself.”

“Debatable,” she replied, and Qingzhao snorted at that. Her ponytail danced behind her as she cracked her neck with a smile. Then she charged.