Временные трудности / Temporary hardships: Глава 20

Chapter 20, in which the hero learns the value of all the sailors' tales.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:38

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Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:36

If there was one thing that could be said about sailing on a huge turtle, even if there was only one shell left of the turtle, it was the word "turmoil." First, Xing used his qi to push the shell as far away from the shore as possible, as there was nothing more foolish than to leave so smugly, only to be caught up by a chase.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:56

Then, when the shore was completely out of sight, he had to attend to the contents of his own house. And here he was in for a lot of very unpleasant surprises. Few things could withstand being turned upside down and falling from a great height. Many things fell bulkheads broke, test tubes shattered, and in the upper room, which had once been a warehouse, everything was jumbled and mixed up. It took a few days just to put everything back in order. With the help of the Wood element, all the bulkheads had to be spliced and repaired, Earth and Fire had to be used to join and make the broken glass whole again, and Water had to be used constantly to eliminate the consequences of multiple leaks.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 21:04

Worst of all, the turtle shell's seaworthiness was poor: it was churning like a splinter in a whirlpool or like some other substance that some peasants liked to float down the river as a good joke. Fortunately, Xing, who was constantly groping the path of his qi, discovered a sandbank. From there, he picked up enough sand to not only add ballast to the shell but also to make new windows out of glass, which was called "portholes" for some reason in the sailors' strange jargon, like the walls they called "bulkheads." Still, it was impossible to eliminate the consequences, and most of the food and alchemical ingredients for the restaurant were spoiled by the seawater, for the Xing's qi only protected them from rotting.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 21:06

Having finished salvaging the house and transformed some of the wooden bulkheads into a large rudder that now protruded from the back of the turtle, Xing added an extra touch by creating talismans from the last few cuts of silk to pump out the water seeping into the hold. All that remained was the question of seaworthiness. While it would not be difficult to splice the wood together to make a mast, Xing had no suitable fabric, so he would not be able to set sail. However, he could not sail, so the absence of a sail would not make much difference. So he had to use the only resource he had - his qi.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 21:12

"There's a sailor floating down the river. You can't catch him," Xing hummed to himself, swaying in time with the hull of his turtle shell ship.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 20:32

He'd heard enough stories and nautical tales in the Shell to know that sailors walked, but only shit floated, but he didn't care about such subtleties. Besides, he himself knew how to walk on water, unlike those who were so fond of puffing up their cheeks about it.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 20:37

"He won't get to land. He just eats and eats and eats fish," he continued.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 20:38

How to find dry land, he really didn't know. The ocean spread out all around with waves, winds, and currents carrying the turtle shell. Neither food nor water was a problem. He made the seawater drinkable, which took some work until he learned to use the elements of Water and Earth to remove excess sea salt. Food, on the other hand, was much worse. No, it wasn't that he was starving. On the contrary, he ate plenty, but the food consisted only of fish, various sea creatures, and seaweed. Unfortunately, the stock of rice was also spoiled, and attempts to purify their qi did not bring the desired result.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 20:41

If only he had a space ring! He'd put enough delicious food in it to last him for months. No, even years! Enough to go all the way to the end of the world or even further!

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 20:45

Xing had heard that sailors had some sort of "compass," but he had no idea what it was or how to make it with qi. So he had to navigate only by the sun during the day and the stars and moons at night, trying to stick to the only randomly chosen direction. He composed silly songs, caught fish, silenced sharks with his fists, ran on the water, and then pulled his turtle ship onto a tugboat, then, sitting on the "deck," guided it forward with the help of qi.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 20:46

At first, Xing tried to save his strength for the unexpected, but he soon changed his mind. The shell was still blocking his qi, so it was still very hard to make it swim, and if it wasn't for more than three years of constant training, Xing wouldn't have been able to move it a single step. Not only did he buy ingredients in Mogao, but he also obtained some of the rarities himself by swimming in the ocean and diving to depths unseen in Duojia. He had learned how to channel qi even there in the depths, amid the abyss full of life and energy flows, so now that torment had paid off many times over. He was able to push his ship forward in both calm and stormy conditions, preventing the currents from dissipating and dissolving into the surrounding water.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 20:48

So now, controlling the shell, he continued his hard training, each day increasing the strength and control of his qi, getting closer, if not to the shore, then at least to his goal of surpassing his master!

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 21:02

"I won't go back to Mogao, and I won't marry Xifeng," Xing song, adjusting his wide-brimmed conical hat made of seaweed.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 21:02

A sparkle of qi gleamed in the sky, and he put his tanned hand to his eyes out of habit from his old life. The sun was at its zenith, and it was blinding, but he soon found the owner of the life energy, a large white bird with black feathers on its tail and wing tips.

Camrad_RIP 24.01.24 в 21:04

"Either there's a shore somewhere," he murmured, "or it's a bird that can fly across the seas. I wish I could catch one!"

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 08:46

Catch it and learn to fly on it, as not only many heroes of crystals did, but also villains, various heads of sects, leaders of alliances, and just powerful cultivators. Well, if it doesn't work, poultry is meat, especially breast, no worse than chicken! Fish, even sharks and octopuses, are deadly boring.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 08:47

Xing caught himself swatting and drooling, so he shook his head, clearing his mind.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 08:48

"Besides, I can fly on a sword, like a real hero!" he decided. "But I have to learn it first!"

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 08:49

Xing pulled out his trusty flail, twirled it in his hands, scratched the back of his head, and put it back behind his belt. No, flying on a flail probably wouldn't be that heroic. Nothing! It wouldn't be long now! He would get to the shore, find the right iron, and forge a special sword that would not only cut through his enemies and cut off the head of his bastard master but also cleave the heavens with it!

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 08:55

Xing decided to follow the bird. He had no good ideas anyway, and birds always fly near the shore. Unless, of course, he came across some special bird that preferred to fly over the ocean. With his luck, when he had had to run away from two out of three mentors (and from the first one by reincarnation), that might well have happened. Even though he had been promoted to Master Smith when the Imperial Courier Service had found him in the restaurant, handing him a jade plaque with Master Buntao's qi imprint and a short letter with a single word: "Thank you!" it was still an escape!

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 08:58

The bird was flying away, so Xing went to the stern, as he called the back of the turtle, grabbed the steering oar, and with all his might, chased after the bird. He could not only feel everything inside the turtle's shell, not only feel the surrounding space but even look into the depths of the ocean, no matter how heavy and impossible it seemed before.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 08:59

He had noticed something wrong beforehand. He just couldn't figure out what it was. The large sphere, two or three times the size of a turtle, was invisible to the ordinary eye, but in his qi vision, it felt very strange. The streams of life flowing through the surrounding space were distorted, fractured, and flowed unpredictably and chaotically. Xing could have easily taken a detour, going around this strange place in a wide arc, but then the bird he had been chasing for half a day would finally fly away. So he made a decision - to change direction only slightly, to pass close by and continue the chase. Xing had never seen anything like it in any of his lives, so he wanted to get a closer look at this strange thing.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 09:00

It didn't take long before he cursed his curiosity: the ocean water remained calm, but some force with the flavor of a completely unfamiliar chi picked up the ship and pulled it inside the sphere.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:16

Xing reacted quickly. He jumped inside the ship, picking up the flail that had nearly fallen off his belt, and closed (in nautical parlance, it was called "sealing") all the doors and windows. Of course, it didn't help. Soon, all the glasses cracked and crumbled, and the wood crackled and began to turn into smaller and smaller splinters. Xing embraced the turtle with his qi, trying to stop the destruction. But the force squeezing the ship was so great that it didn't even notice his efforts. He absorbed the qi and protected his body to the limit, even curling up in a ball, clutching at the flail as if it were his only means of survival.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:18

The turtle's shell, strong and able to withstand the attacks of any enemy, groaned as if it still contained the remnants of life and cracked. Finally, unable to withstand it, it too gave up. Shards of bone segments flew in all directions, some hitting his body without causing any harm. A terrible squeezing and twisting force, no longer held back by any defense, fell upon Xing. He clenched his teeth, gripped the flail tighter, and strengthened his qi to the utmost.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:20

He felt as if he were an egg yolk that an eccentric cook was trying to force through a tin funnel, propping it up with a finger to make sure. He was whirled around when the same cook tried to whip the yolk with a whisk made of particularly stiff feathers and thrown away. His body flew with the speed of a slingshot, so he bounced on the water's surface like a flat pebble thrown by a child's skillful hand.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:22

Inexplicably, blocks of stone with sharp, jagged edges came from nowhere, and Xing clenched even tighter, not only strengthening his body but covering it with a layer of qi. The stone spikes tried to pierce through his defenses, the ledges tried to collapse on his head, and the rocks tried to grind him into a fine, bloody mess.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:23

Xing tried to spread out his qi to latch onto the rocks and water, to stop the movement so he could then just stand up and walk on the water, looking around to see where he had gone. But the water and rocks were so strongly filled with energy that it was necessary to let go of the defense for even a moment, and that meant instant death.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:26

//"Here's another training opportunity!" - A stray thought flashed, and Xing smirked despite the danger. Even in this situation, he was thinking like a true hero! Survival was required first, and then he would definitely train here! After all, if it wasn't for all these years of training, Xing would have long ago been turned into a mosh jock from a tadpole in blood-red sauce!

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:27

Another new blow shook his body as hard as if a giant foot had kicked him. He was carried forward straight into a huge rock, which, to Xing's delight, was at the water's edge, near the real shore! He squeezed even harder, straining his muscles and qi to the limit. There was a loud cracking sound, and shards of rocks flew in all directions. The movement stopped, and a violent impact was heard. The water swept up Xing once again, but now that the danger was over, he held on to it, and releasing his qi, he rose to the surface, jumping over the still surging waves.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:44

Xing turned around and saw that such a large rock of solid volcanic stone was no longer there. The collision had blown it away, leaving only a broken base and the top of the cliff collapsing into the water nearby. Finally getting a respite, he was able to look around. He found himself in a quiet, calm pool of water that would have seemed peaceful if it weren't for the broken bones of the huge fish, exuding remnants of strong qi like a now ruined turtle shell.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:45

Xing sighed. He wasn't too attached to things, but there were quite a few supplies stored in the destroyed shiphouse. Weapons and elixir ingredients, money, and clothes. Xing had kept almost all of it in a bank, so he hadn't lost much, but now it was completely inaccessible.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 10:47

He examined himself carefully. //"A body fortified with qi is stronger than a stone wall," the mocking voice of the bastard master rang out in his head, "especially if it has a hard-headed head like yours, you tadpole!" The body did indeed survive the collision, but Xing was not at all pleased with the result.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:15

His clothes were in pathetic shreds, and his forearms were crisscrossed by several scratches that were being healed by the qi of the heart dantian right before his eyes. He ran his hand over his head. The hair that was previously tied into a bundle with a simple leather cord was now disheveled and disheveled. One of his fingers had broken off the tip of a nail that had grown back during the journey.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:16

Xing sighed quietly, angry at himself and his helplessness. If he had been a hero of the crystal - not the newfangled ones, but a real one! - he would have ridden on the crest of such a wave, conquered the elements, and would not have had to shake off even a speck of dust from his snow-white robes. There is nothing to say about the bastard master. He would simply crush everything around him and then make the rocks and waves take a dabu stand, threatening with a bamboo stick and making them melt and boil with his boring moralizing.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:17

"Earth!" Xing exclaimed, trying to find some good in the situation.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:18

He looked around, deciding he should have been glad for the dry land beneath his feet, and focused on the positives. He had finally reached land! The kind of permanent and stable land that he didn't have to stick to with qi. Land that holds something edible, and it's not fish! There is soft sand on the shore. A little farther away is a dense thicket full of life. Shrieking, carefree, so delicious and appetizing life, seemingly not even knowing what a human is or why it should be feared. Qi showed he was on an island, a very large one.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:20

"Earth," he repeated in a dropped voice.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:20

Before he'd gotten here, there hadn't been any land as far as the horizon. He wouldn't have missed an island like this for anything in the world, even if it was hidden by some barrier or masking technique. One had to accept that he was inside the mysterious sphere, which meant that it was much, many, many times larger on the inside than it was on the outside. The concentration of qi here far exceeded even that of the Forest of a Dozen Steps, which meant that the creatures here were stronger and more ferocious. The fact that he couldn't sense anything other than mere beasts and birds didn't make him feel any better. First of all, several sources of the strangely distorted chi made up the sphere or barrier or whatever it was. Secondly, if he couldn't sense powerful monsters capable of snapping giant turtles like nuts, it meant that those monsters had excelled in the art of disguise! Xing clutched the so strong, so soothing forearm in his palm.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:22

"The plan is very simple," Xing said to the shore and the shattered rock, "find the main villain, hit him on the nose with a flail, kill all the servants, henchmen, and tame beasts, rescue and rescue the beauty. And then, when I'm the most important person here, I'll think how to get out of here!"

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:23

Xing shook his head. Even now, in mortal danger, he was still thinking about women. After his separation from Xifeng, he did not let go of these thoughts, even during the voyage. Now, he understood the sailors who even agreed to meet a mermaid, despite the scales and fishtails, if the scrolls and books were to be believed. What was he thinking? What women, what mermaids? This is a dangerous island, and he is not the hero of a crystal or an adventure scroll!

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:24

He wasn't a hero from a scroll or a crystal, but he was still a hero. So, instead of hiding in a corner and trembling, he should have gone into danger. After all, as the Indomitable Dragon Martial Strategies said, "When attacking a tiger, a warrior with a spear may fall, but when not attacking, he would fall." Xing gathered his courage, waved his flail a couple of times to calm himself down, and headed into the interior of the island, where he could feel the greatest concentration of energy. As he looked at the giant trees, he thought he could take them down, use the Tree element to create a ship, and get away. No, he couldn't build a real ship. The best he could do was a raft. If there were any big birds here, he should have thought about catching and training them to fly away. Or find some rare iron, forge a special sword like in the stories from crystals, and fly without birds. He shook his head. He didn't need any ships to sail. The problem was that strange suction barrier that had destroyed his turtle shell. No wonder he'd never heard of such an island. Everyone who got here died before reaching the shore!

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:52

The animals raced and raged, shrieking and snapping, and Xing waded through the thicket, looking around for an imminent attack. As he walked, he plucked a pair of oblong, bent fruits from a strange broad-leaved tree and tasted them. Beneath the green skin that slid off like bark from a young tree branch was a tart but sweet pulp. There was no poison in the fruit. Even if there was, Xing could easily cure himself with the qi of the heart dantian, so he greedily devoured the fruit and swallowed it in the blink of an eye. The fruit seemed to be the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. After all, it didn't have the slightest taste of fish! After this trip, Xing was tempted to slaughter birds, insects, beasts, or even monsters and then stuff his stomach with all the non-fish until he couldn't eat a single bite.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:55

"It's nothing, it's just a temporary hardshipы," he reassured his growling stomach. And then he was angry at himself because of that nasty saying, which stuck with him even in the next life.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:47

As he approached the center of the island, the place where particularly strong energy was gathered, Xing doubled his caution, strengthening his concealment and hiding qi to the utmost.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:47

He crept through the bushes and carefully pushed the branches apart, peering out into the gap.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:44

It seemed that he had been sailing on the sea for too long, had been alone for too long, or maybe he had hit his head on the rocks too hard during the turtle crash. His inflamed consciousness was clearly playing back all this time in the sea because he dreamed not only of a round lake with a soft sandy shore and bright blue water but also of a beautiful girl swimming in the lake completely naked.

Camrad_RIP 22.01.24 в 19:46

Xing shook his head and increased the circulation of qi, trying to clear his mind and shake off the obsession caused by the memory of long and varied fun with Xifeng, long loneliness, and hitting the rocks. Nothing had changed. The girl hadn't turned into a seal, hadn't disappeared into a myriad of sparks, and hadn't even lost her beauty like Aunt Zu's girls the morning after her moonshine.

Camrad_RIP 25.01.24 в 11:25