Chapter 312

Chapter 312

Submerged in the cold, clear waters of the Azure Sea, I yield to the gentle currents as I ponder the mysteries of the universe. The sun shines brightly overhead on this fair Central morning, illuminating the waters for kilometres in all directions. Keeping close to the shore, a fleet of massive boats make their way in and out of Nan Ping with maximum efficiency, carrying soldiers and supplies from both northern and southern provinces to take part in this First Imperial Grand Conference. Dozens of meters below my feet, colourful reefs and mossy rocks dot the sea floor, covered in a light dusting of sandy soil brought here by the currents. Fish, crustaceans, and other sea life can be seen scrambling for cover from the horde of voracious quins swimming about, though it does them little good as the furry omnivores devour everything in their path. The younger quins follow in Ping Pings wake, entertaining themselves with all manner of aquatic acrobatics while the giant turtle soars through the currents, looking happy as a lipless, shelled lizard can.

While enjoying their antics and the stunning view of Nan Pings bay, I cant help but wonder if Im wasting my time. Originally, we ventured out to find the Spiritual Plant which almost lured Mama Bun to a watery grave, but after days of aimlessly floating around, weve yet to narrow down a general location. Im not sure if its because Mama Bun is too easily distracted or because shes just really, really dumb, but she seems physically unable to pick a direction and stick to it, moving from one side of the boat to the other in random fashion. Neither Taduk nor Guard Leader are willing to give up yet so Ping Ping, Guan Suo and I are all stuck along for the ride.

Needless to say, Ping Ping does not share my reservations. The big girl loves being out in the water and I can see why. On land, shes a hulking, ponderous creature, and even though shes more agile than she looks, its nothing compared to how she moves out here. A flick of her legs propels her through the water in a graceful display of sheer joy and wonder as she twists, flips, and spirals about, though how she shifts her bulk so easily is beyond my comprehension. Unable to match her speed, the quins tumble and somersault in the aftermath of her passing, helped along by Ping Pings invisible and effortless mastery over water.

Right... thats why Im here, to figure out how she manipulates water with Chi, not to quin-watch.

After days of intense study, Im still no closer than I was when I started, though I am getting better at holding my breath-

-Fuck fuck fuck cant breathe need air fuck.

Acutely aware of my burning lungs and light-headed dizziness, I feebly claw my way back to the surface. The rope connected to my makeshift harness goes slack and the weight drags me down, adding torturous fractions of a second to my sluggish climb and a frantic voice in my brain screams to cut myself loose from the restrictive harness. Resisting the urge to panic, scream, and give up, I commit to reaching the surface and nothing else as the world slowly dims around me. Upon reaching the surface, I gulp down a lungful of sweet, life-giving air and flip onto my back to steady my breath, feeling my head spin and heart pound as I try to stay calm and not think about how close I came to panic-drowning.

All is well and good until I think about breathing, then things go downhill from there.

Humans arent made for the sea, not like turtles, quins, and fishies. Theres no flailing of limbs or screaming and shouting when youre about to drown; if your body is lacking in oxygen, all that would do is waste your strength. No, the instinctive response to drowning is to panic and flap your arms like a bird, so you can lift your nose and mouth up for air. Not exactly the most effective swimming technique but these are our survival instincts. If youve been deprived of air for as long as I was, your muscles are already working without oxygen and soon enough, your brain decides its time to shut down and conserve what little strength you still have, a life-saving mechanism which spells death even when just meters below the waters surface.

Like I said, were not built for the sea. No matter how strong a swimmer you are, if youre a human and stuck in the water, then youre out of your element.

Well done Rain my boy. Taduks enthusiastic encouragement shakes me out of my post-panic self-review. Nineteen minutes and twenty seven seconds, a new record!

Still breathless and drained, I smile and offer a thumbs up in reply while dragging myself back to the skiff using my safety rope. Too busy smoking his pipe to lend a hand, Guan Suo fills the air around him with dense, lingering clouds of chalky, caustic smoke. Lazily holding the other end of the rope in two listless fingers, he pays no attention to my plight or dirty glares, instead staring off into the distance at the southern shore of the bay. This old dude has problems; he dresses from head to toe in dirty rags but smokes from an absurdly extravagant polished-silver pipe, ornately carved with a plethora of adorable red pandas. About as thick as a thumb and longer than my arm, the long-stemmed pipe lends an air of mystery to the otherwise scruffy hidden expert, who holds it like a dignified nobleman whos fallen on hard times and is trying to puff away his woes.

Well? Taduk asks, reaching over to pat my soggy hair, still treating me like an anxious child. Not that Im complaining, its not the worst thing in the universe. Any new developments?

Mm, nothing yet but Im close, I think. Feeling well enough to move, I sit up, bend my knees at ninety-degree angles, and rotate them in opposite timing to keep my upper body above the waters surface. No one taught me this, and considering I named it the eggbeater kick but cant really say what an eggbeater is, Ive concluded that this is the first, personally useful piece of information I transmigrated with.

Woo. Success. Im relevant!

Come come, you know the drill my boy, speak your thoughts.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Bored by Mama Buns lack of success, Taduks taken to helping me understand the mysteries of the Dao. Keeping with the spirit of the Bekhai, he never outright explains anything, only listening to my thought process and asking important questions to help steer me towards the correct answer. As much as I hate it when people respond to a question with a question, its actually kinda helpful now that I have some idea of what Im doing.

Gathering my thoughts from this latest expedition, I paddle over to play with Mama Bun, who stands at the skiffs side to stare deep into the water with her expressive blue eyes. Wearing a grumpy bunny frown, Mama Bun pounds her little paws and thumps her feet, utterly frustrated after days of failure. Visibly calming as my loving Aura envelopes her, she hops into my arms and I laugh as twenty kilos of hairy rabbit lands squarely on my chest to snuggle with me, the big dummy wholly trusting me to keep her safe in the water. Weve come a long way since we first met and this floppy-eared bicorn bunny is now as affectionate as Aurie.

Leaning back to get Mama Buns belly wet and wash away the milky residue, I smile at my conflicted Teacher and say, I was looking the different ways things move in the water. Quins sorta wiggle up and down from head to tail, while most fish shimmy from side to side and use their fins to steer. Ping Ping sort of glides through the water using her arms as giant oars and her tail as a rudder, but I think she cheats using Chi, which is why shes so damned fast.

Yes, yes, and what does this tell you?

Massaging Mama Buns chubby cheeks, I shrug and answer, I dunno... Dont upset the giant, water-manipulating turtle? She looks like shes having tonnes of fun though, so I guess Ive been forgiven.

Panic takes over as I race for the surface, aiming for the boats dark bottom to warn my teacher while cursing my stupidity for leaving both weapons with the cowardly Mafu. My ears pop and muscles ache as I make my way closer, painfully slow compared to the encroaching horde of gnashing teeth and flailing fins. Close enough now to make out individual creatures, I calmly note the massive discrepancies in size among them, with the smallest about half the size of a quin and the largest easily exceeding Ping Ping in girth and length. Despite this, they all share the same basic physical characteristics, long, sleek bodies with forward facing eyes and sharp, cutting fins on three sides. Moving in an undulating side to side motion which lets them swim at ridiculous speeds, their distinctive dorsal fin is like the sail on a ship, a warning to those in their path. Combine this with their giant mouths filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth, and what I presume to be thick, bite-resistant skin, I easily identify the creatures despite never having seen one in this life, but my mind refuses to accept the obvious conclusion.

I mean... In what hell-hole of a world do dozens of giant fucking sharks have to work together? Cmon! Thats not even fair!

The dark mass stretches out as the forerunners race towards their next meal. Still long seconds from the boat and relative safety, I might as well be kilometres away as my vision fills with the sight of a gaping, cavernous maw and glittering teeth. A powerful spray of water blinds me and my harness digs into my skin, forcing the remaining air out of my lungs. When my vision clears I see a rapidly shrinking shark as Im pulled to safety, its tail firmly clamped between Ping Pings beak. With a twist of her neck, the turtle rips the shark in half and sends the upper half into a spinning frenzy of motion. A mist of impossibly bright-red blood billows out from the dead shark as Ping Ping rockets backwards, her arms and legs tucked as best she can to guard against her toothy foes, the last sight I see of her before bursting out of the water.

Landing neatly in the skiff, a hand reaches out to steady me as I gasp for air and choke out, Ping Ping. Trouble.

Stepping off of the skiff, Guan Suo immediately sinks out of sight. Wrapping an arm around my midriff, Taduk pays no mind to my sopping wet body and leaps tens of meters away, carrying me to safety even as a second shark rips the skiff to pieces. Impressive and herculean as the jump was, I fear for our safety as we soar through the air and back down to the waters surface, knowing a frenzied school of starving sharks lays ready to tear us apart the moment we land.

Stop wiggling about, Rain my boy, Taduk says, his voice tinged with amusement as he steps on empty air and leaps back towards the scattered remains of our skiff. Im not as young as I once was and youre much heavier than you used to be. Spare your aging teachers back and Lighten yourself a little, would you?

Gaping like a fish on land, my eyes threaten to pop out of their sockets as Taduk hopscotches about in the air, carrying me under one arm and Mama Bun in the other. His words finally register and I reach for Balance on instinct, Lightening myself to less than half my orignal weight. Good, Taduk says while adjusting his grip around my hips. Now, keep your hands and feet close my boy, I need to land for bit.

Land? Where? Were in the middle of the bay!

Before I can point out the obvious, Taduk descends upon a stray piece of wood which used to be part of our ship. In my downward-facing position, Im treated to yet another front-row view of the insides of a shark's mouth as it surges up to devour the driftwood were standing on, but were already well and away when the jaws snap shut. Leaping even higher than before, we reach an astounding height of four or five stories high, and I pray were high enough that the sharks cant reach. Heart pumping with a mix of fear and adrenaline, I scream wordlessly at the ferocious predators lurking below us, revelling in my two near-death escapes in just as many minutes.

Nerves sufficiently calmed after a bout of wordless release, I ask, How?

Double-jumping in the air like its nothing, Taduk scoffs and replies, Dont you remember? Your illustrious teachers lineage belongs to that of the regal king of the skies, a Cloud Chaser Hare. For one such as I, this is no different from taking a stroll along the beach.

Well... now I know how he made it to Yo Lings island and back so quickly. Teacher, I ask, trying my best not to hyperventilate or squirm, Are you secretly strong?

Rain my boy, I am a Medical Saint. You think the title so easy to get? If it were, then why doesnt that good-for-nothing Tokta have the title? Even though I cant see his face, I can hear the sneer in his voice, which fades as he sheepishly adds, Its not like I kept my skills hidden, you just never asked.

Shelving the unimportant questions like why was I walking everywhere instead of taking the CCH express, I watch the battle unfold below us. Standing atop two broken wooden boards, Guard Leader proves herself a peak expert of the Bekhai as she skates across the surface in a less impressive yet still gravity-defying feat. Though unable to see how she attacks, clouds of shark blood bloom in her wake as she moves across the water, keeping to the outer perimeter as best she can. One particularly clever and enormous shark leaps into the air on a head-on collision course with Guard Leader, but the enigmatic warrior woman shows no fear as she charges headfirst into the abyss. My heart skips a beat as she disappears into the gaping maw, only to resume once more after she emerges out the other end in an explosion of blood and cartilage.

Holy hell... I cant believe I once tried to fight her...

The darkening smog of blood obscures my vision as I desperately search for Ping Ping. The sweet turtle could have gotten away with the quins but she stayed behind to keep me safe. Im sorry Ping Ping, Ill never judge another animal by its looks again, you affectionate, radiant creature. Just shrink back into your shell and hide away until Guard Leader cleans things up. Fat lot of good Guan Suo is, the dude swims like a rock. He didnt even have a weapon, what the fuck did he think he was gonna-

Without warning, a massive geyser of water and white clouds shoots out into the air and forces Taduk to leap away. Airborne bodies of sharks both dead and living fly out in all directions as the booming explosion literally shakes the earth around us. Blood and water rain down and once the ringing in my ears stills, so too does the surface of Nan Pings bay, calm and tranquil as can be. The muddled waters clear and all I can see are dozens of dead or dying creatures, be they sharks or fish, floating belly up to the waters surface. Bringing me off to one side, Taduk exclaims, Look my boy, no need to fret. Safe and sound as can be.

At the bottom of the sea floor, Ping Pings shell sits flush against the dirt, protecting her exposed belly from the sharks' powerful jaws as she does her best impression of a rock. After peering about to make sure all is fine, Ping Ping shoots to the waters surface and squeaks in delight, craning her neck to watch me as Taduk brings us down on her shell. Standing to one side with a disgruntled frown, Guan Suo repeatedly taps his pipe against his boot, grumbling the whole time about a clog and ruined leaves. Idly picking shark remains out of her clothes, Guard Leader barely looks any worse for wear as she joins us in silence while my teacher lays down on Ping Pings shell for a quick nap. Unperturbed as always, Mama Bun wanders around on her own to explore these new surroundings like a curious little child.

Traumatized and overwhelmed by recent events, I plop down on Ping Pings shell and stroke the closest spike as she brings us back to shore. Good girl, I mutter, unable to find any other words as Mama Bun hops into my lap. Good girl.

Judging by the strength displayed by the other three passengers with me, it appears like I have a long way to go before my life becomes unfettered and free.

Hmm... which would be easier: creating an explosive powerful enough to destroy an entire province, or reaching the peak of Martial Strength?

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