Demonic Tribulations - Chapter 41 preview (Patreon)

Chapter 41 – Tou He

They moved fast, once the decision to leave was made. The trio of demons and sold cultivator left the city of _______, moving east towards the mountain range immediately. They did not travel on the main road, though it might have been more convenient to do so, but chose to instead run across the land.

It mattered little, of course, in the dusty plains that they journeyed across. The road, such as it was, was but a beaten track across clay baked earth, the constant dust of the grey and purple lands around them sweeping over it. There was no point to placing paving stones on the ground, for the land itself was dry most days and even the occasional thunderstorm that swept through these parched lands was quickly over. The earth soaked up what water there was, hungrily, leaving behind not a trace but at the oasis.

Outside of direction markers for the merchants and indicators for the next rest stop – often by oasis, or places where the land ran low enough that a deep well might draw forth life giving water – the roads were no different than any other passage.

For the strange group that raced across the land, utilizing the most basic of navigation aids, the avoidance of the major thoroughfare also allowed them to avoid unwanted entanglements. The trio were powerful, much more so than the majority of demons, and required only the most minimal of aids in their passage. Provisions were carried in storage rings and their methods of transport, unique.

Biamin, of course, rode her wolf. The white wolf carried the light, white-skinned, multi-eyed demon with ease, its body reinforced through centuries of cultivation. Paired together by bonds of friendship and spirit links, the pair loped at the front, scouting for the small team.

Minsci, on the other hand, rolled forward in a strange, spherical contraption that held him on the inside. Hunched over, one arm laid by his side on the tiny interior that never moved, held aloft and disengaged from the movement of the sphere, he worked on his tiny contraptions, cursing quietly at the tools and occasionally, looking up to request Tou He to acquire some material or another from the surroundings.

Tou He’s mode of transport was the strangest, for he floated along behind Minsci, utilizing the excess chi of the contraption’s movement as his means of transportation. It required little energy on his part, as he drifted along like a leaf on the wind. Only when he had to depart the wake of the sphere did Tou He utilize his own energy, pushing off the air or ground occasionally to acquire the resources that the one-eyed demon demanded.

Though these items-  a particularly darkly colored rock, glowing striations dancing along its edges; a dashing horned bunny or a cactus that loosed its needles at Tou He as he neared amongst the number – glowed with the inner flame of demonic chi, their use was often counter to the cultivator’s expectations.

The rock was crushed, broken up, boiled and sifted over and over again, till metals were pulled from it. Thimblefuls of precious metal, stored in glass vials. The cactus was stripped of its needles, the outer portion of the rough skin stripped and set to dry on the outside of the sphere while the water within the liquid, used to cool the metal. The horned bunny was placed, carefully in a cage and fed a strict diet, its dung collected afterwards.

“Crafting is a complex process,” Tou He muttered, but Minsci had little desire to explain. Instead, he stayed focused on his work.

It suited Tou He for the most part. He took the time to take in the world around him, drift away from the pair to take in the life that abounded in the gray plains. For the cultivator, the demonic plain was a revelation of life – from the small, scuttling six legged insects to the lurking snakes, the dessert plains were bursting with life if  one but looked.

High above, raptors and vultures soared, picking at the prey that scampered between dugouts in the ground and the bare shade of jutting rocks and the occasional shrug. They hung in the air, lazily, allowing thermals and demonic chi to hoist them aloft.

“Did you know, there’s an ant colony that has a Nascent Soul queen not far from here? Just over thirty li,” Tou He excitedly reported, days into the travel. “A Nascent Soul ant queen! I do not think even my friend has met one yet. Do you think we could visit them?”

“Are you truly that suicidal?” Minsci said, jaw dropped. “Are you looking to get rid of us that badly by allowing those creatures to eat us?”

“Of course not.”

“Then you’ve managed to achieve communication with the ant queen?”

“Not as such,” Tou He said, slowly. “But…”

“You know that the red soldier ant colonies of this plain will strip the body of a living demon in hours, if they fall asleep in the wrong place. Their bites inject a poison that paralyses their prey, and a swarm of them can add enough to drop most adults.” Biamin trotting back, added. “Even the ___ will stay away from them, fearing the normal nests. An ascended nest?” She shuddered.

“I’m sure I could talk to them…” Tou He said protested. “Surely they would not…”

“You’re safe with your flames. They probably fear you just as much as we fear them, but neither Minsci nor myself have protection against those creatures. Nor can we reroute to pursue your explorations,” Biamin said, firmly. “Anyway, why are you pursuing knowledge of such creatures?”

“Why not?” Tou He said. “The world is vast, and the demonic realms strange. I have not much to do, while we travel and as we avoid other demons, but to watch. These ants seem to be quite organized, intelligent and pursuing the Dao too.”

“What could an ant have to say about the Dao?” Minsci said.

“I do not know. That is the point!” Tou He said, excitedly. “All creatures, great and small, understand the Dao in their own way. That such small creatures have managed to achieve an understanding in themselves, pursuing full realization and ascension is marvelous. What mysteries have they solved, that we, constrained by our size and our preconceptions might have missed?”

“We are not here to advance your understanding of the Dao,” Minsci said, coolly. “We are on a suicide mission into the heartland of the Twisted Lotus Eaters, intent on dealing with their Emperor and his susanoo. If we do not, the slaughter of thousands of demons will continue as sacrifice for his development.”

“I know that,” Tou He said. “But can you not see the relations?”

“Between ants and demons?” Biamin said coolly. “No. Tell us.”

Sensing the danger in her tone, Tou He did his best to contain his bubbling excitement while answering her question. “It’s not what makes you similar, but how ants themselves function. Do you know that their queen is the one that commands them all? The ants all serve the queen, whose existence is necessary. Without her, the nest itself would crumble for no larva could be born. Yet, the queen is often unable to leave their nest, relying on the rest of the nest to care for them. Yet, that is what is normal in the Middle Kingdom. Is this true here? In this realm?”

Neither party could answer him, not having spent any time studying the creatures. Tou He himself might not have known this, if not for his friendship with Wu Ying and the gatherers.

“Can you not see how the forms of government in the Middle Kingdom, with nobles and farmers and scholars, all are similar? There is a similarity that cannot be discounted, a repetition of themes that must be part of the Dao. Surely, if it is similar there, then something of the same form is happening here, in the demonic realms. And if we were to learn what they do, perhaps we could find a new way forth for your people?”

The pair of demons exchanged long looks, where a myriad of conversations occurred. In the end, it was Biamin, being the closer of the two who spoke to him.

“Cultivator Liu. It is not that we do not believe there might be some truth to what you say, but that such a departure is dangerous. Surely the niuquhue are on their way, intent on taking revenge. To study these creatures that you, yourself, have indicated you are unable to speak with would be foolish. Watch them, as we travel past them, certainly.” Biamin raised a finger. “But do not divert us from our goal.”

“And here I thought you’d prefer to take your time before we entered their lands.”

“We’d prefer to make it less suicidal,” Minsci rumbled. “And speed, now, is what is necessary.”

With a long sigh, Tou He acceded to their demands. He would watch the ants, perhaps attempt communication with the Nascent Soul ant. It was a pity they seemed unable to speak, or that his very presence seemed to alarm them.

He truly did believe there was something to be learnt here, but he had naught but his instincts to rely upon to convince his allies. And that, unfortunately, was insufficient. Perhaps in another time…