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Chapter 63 – Yang Mu

It was the next morning that they began to traverse the town itself. Followed closely by pathfinder Yu Ag, the pair of immortals walked through the town drawing gazes with their upright posture and their clear skin amongst the glittering array of florid designs about them. Though she had never considered herself modest – too much like a boy, compared to her late-sister who had the effeminate grace and had been the apple of her mother’s eye in that sense – for the first time, Yang Mu felt somewhat prudish with her robes.

Especially with the way that Wu Ying’s gaze drifted, over bodies and exposed skin with frank admiration before shifting away, as though he recalled her presence. She did not blame him – she looked too, between women and men whose body came in a variety of elongated, taut and colorful forms. But still…

“Perhaps I should dress like them, hmmm?” Yang Mu said, drifting over to a tailor and running her fingers across the light, colourful and sheer cloth.

“What? No, of course not. Why would you…?” Wu Ying siad, startled.

“One must learn to blend with the local custom to get the best deals,” Yang Mu said.

“I would think learning the language is more important…”

“So is blending in.” She sighed. “Yu Ag says that the average time to our destination is five months. If we were to hurry, it might be as short as three. Because there are no canals or rivers to cut across, at least not in the direction of travel, caravans are the most appropriate way.”

“Can we not just buy what we need at the last stop? Move faster and then only later, acquire what we need?” Wu Ying said.

“It’s not possible.” She pointed to a small glowing turtle shell that lay next to the store owner. “These mark where each individual has been, what deals they have undertaken. It creates a web of commerce, and is linked to the demon’s own aura. It cannot be stolen, it cannot be falsified.” A hesitation, before she tilted her head to the side. “At least, not by you and me. It is a marker of trustworthiness. That is what we require.”

“To get access to a portal to another realm?” Wu Ying said, frustrated. “Why?”

“To maybe get access, yes. Because liulingxia, where we will go through is even more strict about access. Only the most trusted from baixia - this realm - may enter.” Yang Mu glanced back to where Yu Ag stood who nodded in confirmation of her words. “We cannot just burst through the portal, we will be turned back on the other side.”

“Could we not…” Wu Ying’s words drifted off, as Yang Mu gave him the look. “I’m just worried about Tou He.”

“I know.” Having stayed too long at the stall, and having made up her mind, she picked up a couple of the dresses and paid for them before drifting on. Normally she would have bargained, but this was a personal purchase and the look on Ying’s face was payment enough.

She might not be daring enough to wear such clothing in public, but perhaps in private another time…

“There has to be another way. A way to mark ourselves as people they want…” Wu Ying said, frustrated as he drifted alongside Yang Mu. They were headed for the merchant’s quarters, the portion of town where real business – in wholesale amounts – was done.

In truth, Yang Mu preferred working in smaller quantities. In delicate and luxurious goods, in high-priced exclusive items rather than bulk products. Yet, with the timeframe that they were working within, it was likely better to go with bulk products.

All the while, her attention was fully extended. Drifting over and touching upon the wares of those around, her presence so light that none of these demons even noticed. Only the pathfinder behind them and the clan head that lurked in the distance, supping on a sweet tea that she seemed to prefer might have had a chance to recognize what she was doing.

It was almost unfair, really. Her dao allowed to see connections, to tease apart the relations between individuals. So much so that she had already located a couple of good deals, master craftsmen whose work were highly regarded – if not they themselves. Journeymen, on the verge of breaking through to the higher level, whose work was undervalued. A merchant, desperate to get rid of his wares, to pay off a debt.

These demons had no protection, not against someone at her level.

Which was why she had to be careful about what action she took.

“You’re frowning,” Wu Ying said, interrupting her musings.

“Just… I feel like I’m failing.”

“Don’t be.” Wu Ying laughed, softly. “If it was me, by myself, I would have just run through. And probably end up in a fight at the other end. Or visit the other demonic portal.”

“You’re still thinking of it?”

“A little.” At the tinkling shudder from behind, Wu Ying added. “I understand the creature is strong, but I do not need to defeat it to use the portal. Sneaking by, or holding it off long enough…”

“Invite disaster,” Yu Ag said.

“Always.”

“Not you.” Frustrated, she waved her hand around. “Us. Disaster for us.”

Wu Ying’s eyes widened, as realization of what she meant. He pursed his lips, then ducked his head in acknowledgement. Like her own ravaging of this market, if he were to rouse the monster and leave it alive – or even if he had killed it – the consequences of his actions would be longstanding.

And not one that necessarily impacted him alone.

A sudden shadow fell over the group, causing Yang Mu to look up. Ascending in a flurry of wing beats that struck the surroundings like a powerfully struck drum, a circling and fast-rising white bird, similar in shape to a crane with its wide wings, long neck and long bill rose. White feathers with pink endings gave the creature a blended coloration that twisted and faded as it turned and turned again, rising in a fast spiraling arc as the wind rose and brought it upwards.

Her companion rose too, his feet leaving the floor without meaning to as he was swept upwards by the joyous winds. It was Yu Ag who grabbed hold of his robes first, though Yang Mu was not far behind. Head tilted, Ying did not seem to notice anything happening around him.

Merchants and passerbys were sheltering in place, grabbing at rooted wooden poles or flipping wooden covers over their goods and sliding locks into slots to hold down the shutters. Any garbage on the grounds and a wide swirl of dust was caught in the rising tide, lifting upwards and taken into the whirlwind as shutters rattled, little cries of wonder and adult grumblings mixing as the immortals watched the creature ascend, its massive shadow slowly diminishing as it rose.

As suddenly as it began, the whirlwind stopped. Though it might be carried further upwards, the spiraling energy was gone, leaving merchants to open shutters and covers once more and for passerbys to slowly emerge from where they had stood, under cover.

“What was that?” Yang Mu said.

“The great peng[1],” Yu Ag replied.

“There were boxes on the peng,” Wu Ying said, floating back down to touch down on the earth gracefully. There was a flicker of something on his face, not just wonder but regret there too. “And de- people.”

“Make deal with peng.”

“Really now…” Yang Mu eyes trailed over the surroundings, her mind spinning. A wide grin blossomed, as a solution came to her. “Ying, can you…?”

“I can ask.”

“I’ll start making deals.”

Looking between the pair, Yu Ag stood, confused. Even more so when Wu Ying and her broke apart, he headed in the direction from which the peng emerged and she into the trading quarters. Caught between, the demon hesitated before Yang Mu’s voice came, again.

“The next largest city, a month away yes. Tell me about its climate again.”

[1] For once, I’m not drawing from the Creatures of Mountains and Lakes but the Zhuangzhi, a classic Daoist work that speaks of the peng that transforms from the kun (a giant fish).