Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 1018: You Can Go Now

The Frostmire realm grew even colder as the sun dipped below the distant tree line. A thick gray fog rolled across the frozen marshland and swallowed the twisted roots of the cypress trees. The damp air carried a biting chill that sought to seep into the bones of any traveler foolish enough to wander the wetlands after dark.He pulled a heavy flank of deer meat from his spatial ring and skewered it on a thick wooden branch. He rested the meat over the flames and allowed the fire to roast the rich cut while enjoying the amazing amora it gave off. The fat sizzled as it dripped onto the glowing embers below. He retrieved a few small pouches of spices and sprinkled them over the roasting meat. The savory aroma began to really fill the clearing and provided a sharp contrast to the stale scent of the swamp.

Li Yu sat on a flat stone near the fire and watched the flames dance. He felt relaxed for the first time since arriving in this hostile region. The sudden dismissal from the Ye family estate had left a sour taste in his mouth but he refused to let their situation ruin his evening. He had survived much worse than a slammed door and he genuinely enjoyed the rugged simplicity of camping out in the wild.

A faint sound suddenly broke the quiet ambiance of the swamp. It was the soft crunch of a boot stepping onto frozen grass.

Li Yu did not flinch or reach for his glaive which was resting against the stone beside him. His senses had already picked up a subtle shift in the ambient Qi long before the footstep occurred. His instincts told him the approaching presence was guarded but it did not carry the sharp sting of immediate killing intent. He slowly turned the wooden spit to ensure the meat cooked evenly and waited for the visitor to reveal themselves.

A woman stepped out from the dense fog and paused at the edge of the firelight. She wore dark leather armor that blended seamlessly with the shadows of the swamp and a heavy gray cloak draped over her shoulders to ward off the chill. Her dark hair was tied back in a practical braid and her eyes were sharp as they scanned the campsite. She kept her hands resting casually near her waist where the hilts of twin blades were visible.

She looked at Li Yu sitting calmly by the fire and then looked at the roasting meat.

"The wind carries the scent of your food for miles," the woman spoke. Her voice was smooth but carried a rough edge forged by a life of combat. "It is a bold choice to cook so openly in a place like this. Do you mind if I share your fire and some of that food?"

Li Yu assessed her posture and the steady rhythm of her breathing. She was a seasoned warrior who knew how to hide her true cultivation level but he could feel a dangerous weight hidden beneath her calm exterior. Still, his instincts insisted that sharing a meal would not result in a fight tonight.

"There is plenty of warmth and more than enough meat to go around," Li Yu replied with a welcoming gesture toward a fallen log on the opposite side of the fire. "Please take a seat."

The woman nodded in silent gratitude and stepped fully into the light. She moved with a fluid grace that spoke of intense martial training. She sat down on the log and extended her hands toward the flames to chase the numbness from her fingers. As she leaned forward, the light illuminated the front of his robes. Her sharp eyes immediately caught sight of the emblem stitched on his robe.

"You wear the crest of the Zhan Clan," the woman commented right away as she tilted her head to study his face. "That is a heavy symbol to carry around the Myriad Realms. I did not expect to find a member sitting alone in the mud of the Frostmire swamp."

"I am indeed from the Zhan Clan," Li Yu confirmed with a polite nod. He pulled a knife from his ring and sliced a thick portion of the cooked meat. He placed it on a clean wooden plate and handed it across the fire to her. "I was out here handling a specific mission. The assignment concluded a bit earlier than I anticipated."

He did not say anything more about the Ye family or the stolen guardian beast. He preferred to keep his business to himself and he knew a stranger in the woods had no need for the details of his work.

The woman accepted the plate and took a slow bite of the spiced meat and a flicker of appreciation crossed her guarded features as she chewed.

"This is very good," she praised before swallowing. She looked back at him over the dancing flames. "But your choice of lodging is questionable. It is not really safe here. The deeper sections of this swamp are crawling with predators and not all of them walk on four legs."

"I did not plan to be out here tonight," Li Yu admitted as he cut a slice of meat for himself. "I had expected to be elsewhere but things happened and the situation ended here. I decided to make the best of it and camp here for tonight. I will leave after eating and sleeping through the night. Believe it or not but I enjoy camping and I have not done it in quite a while."

The woman let out a soft scoff and took another bite of her food. She chewed slowly and kept her eyes locked on his relaxed posture.

"Enjoying the scenery is a luxury for those who do not value their breathing," the woman warned with a serious tone. "It is really not safe to be out here alone. People die like this all the time in these wetlands. A warm fire in the dark is a beacon for desperate and cutthroats looking for an easy score. You should really be more careful about how you present yourself."

She pointed a finger at the crest on his chest. "Your Zhan Clan emblem is impressive but it will not stop someone from slitting your throat in the dark and running off with your spatial ring. A symbol only protects you when there are witnesses around to fear the retaliation."

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Li Yu took a sip from a leather flask and swallowed the warm drink. He understood the brutal logic behind her words, the cultivation world was a ruthless place where reputation often meant nothing to a starving bandit or a greedy assassin. However, he was not a helpless young master relying on his family name to survive.

"I am not counting on the emblem to save my life," Li Yu stated with a calm and even voice.

He did not elaborate more and simply let the statement hang in the cold air.

The woman paused her eating and looked at him carefully. She tried to probe his aura with a subtle thread of her own divine sense. She wanted to gauge the depth of his power to see if his confidence was earned or merely the arrogance of a sheltered youth. The woman also kept touching the necklace that she had on as well.

However, her probing sense hit an immovable wall. Li Yu had naturally contained his energy so flawlessly that he felt like a deep and placid lake. There were no ripples of leaking Qi and no fluctuations in his heartbeat. He felt like a mortal man sitting by a fire, yet his physical presence carried the undeniable fact that he was not so simple.

The contradiction unnerved her slightly but she maintained her neutral expression. She kept probing him with subtle questions for a bit longer. She asked about the roads he took to get here and inquired about how the Zhan Clan was doing. Li Yu answered her questions with polite but vague responses. He offered no actionable intelligence and gave her no reason to view him as an immediate threat either.

Ultimately, the tense interrogation produced nothing of value for her. The conversation slowed to a halt as they both focused on finishing the meal. The crackling of the burning wood and the distant croak of swamp frogs filled the silence between them. The woman finally finished the last piece of meat and set the wooden plate down on the log as she wiped her mouth with the back of her leather glove and stood up from her seat.

"I appreciate the meal and the warmth," the woman said as she adjusted her heavy cloak.

She reached into her belt and pulled out a small dagger. The weapon was forged from a sleek dark metal that absorbed the light rather than reflecting it. The blade was thin and curved, meant for slipping past armor and delivering a lethal strike in the dark. It was the weapon of an assassin.

She held the dagger out toward him across the fire.

"Take this," she offered. "Consider it payment for the food. Perhaps keeping a sharp blade hidden on you will prove more useful in saving your life than that shiny emblem of yours."

The offer carried a subtle layer of challenge, it was a test that she was giving. Li Yu looked at the sleek dagger and smiled warmly but he did not reach out to take it.

"I thank you for the generous offer," Li Yu said with a polite bow of his head. "But you can keep the dagger. You likely need it more than I do out here."

He then tapped his own crest. "The warriors of the Zhan Clan are not really used to using such delicate weapons. We prefer to handle our problems with a bit more weight."

The woman slowly lowered her hand and slid the dagger back into its hidden sheath. She looked at him carefully as if trying to analyze the hidden depths of his character one last time while touching her necklace. She saw no fear in his eyes and no hesitation in his posture. He was a young man sitting in the middle of a danger zone but he also felt like the most dangerous thing here.

"Suit yourself, Zhan," the woman said softly.

She turned away from the fire and stepped back into the freezing fog. Her dark cloak blended with the shadows and her quiet footsteps faded into the ambient noise of the swamp. The woman vanished just as mysteriously as she had arrived, the only thing showing that she was even real was the meat she had eaten.

Li Yu did not react much to her sudden departure though, she wasn’t exactly good company to begin with. He remained seated on the flat stone and went about his business. He used a handful of dirt to extinguish the outer edges of the fire to conserve the wood and gathered his empty wooden plate to clean it.

The clearing felt quiet but Li Yu knew he was not alone, he had known this for a long time now. His refined senses had picked up several hidden figures lingering in the darkness beyond the tree line. They had arrived shortly after the woman and had remained perfectly still throughout the entire meal. Most likely they were her subordinates waiting for a signal to strike or retreat.

Li Yu finished cleaning his plate and set it aside. He looked out into the dense wall of gray fog and raised his voice just enough to carry through the cold air.

"Didn't you hear your leader?" Li Yu asked the darkness with a casual and conversational tone. "She said emblems will not save you and this place is dangerous. Move along now before you lose your lives."

He spoke the warning without a trace of malice, it was a simple statement of fact. If they stepped forward with weapons drawn, he would unleash his full power and crush them into the frozen mud.

There was no noise or any kind of verbal response from the trees though. The swamp remained eerily silent, the hidden figures were disciplined and refused to betray their positions.However, after a bit of time passed, Li Yu felt the subtle tension in the air evaporate.

The faint signatures he had been tracking slowly faded as the hidden group retreated deeper into the wetlands, following the path their leader had taken. They had decided the lone camper was not worth the unknown risk.

Li Yu smiled and continued to eat a few leftover pieces of meat. He leaned back against the sturdy stone and retrieved a fresh leather flask from his ring. He took a long drink of sweet spring water and let out a relaxed sigh. The encounter was over and he had successfully avoided unnecessary bloodshed.

Li Yu stared up at the few stars visible through the canopy of the cypress trees and the isolation of the swamp was peaceful but it felt a bit hollow tonight. He found himself thinking about Gongsun Lian and the moments they had shared in the past.

He wished Lian was here to enjoy this serene atmosphere with him. She would have appreciated the stark beauty of the frosted trees and the warmth of the roaring fire, most likely anyways. Sharing a meal with her would have been a joy instead of an exchange of veiled threats with unpleasant people.

The orange flames continued to crackle and pop as the night deepened. The freezing fog pressed against the edges of the light but the heat of his natal fire kept the damp chill away. The spirit would probably spit blood and round over if he saw Li Yu using his natal fire in such a way.

Li Yu closed his eyes and allowed his breathing to slow into a meditative rhythm as the wild beasts of the Frostmire realm kept their distance and the mysterious mercenaries did not return to test his patience. The rest of the long night passed by uneventfully as he rested securely in the heart of the swamp.