I'm really not the Saviour! (我唔係救主囖!) [danmei/BL xuanhuan]

18 - Training montage

In a forest in the south of Sek'syun, deeply shaded by cork oak and dzeui leut, a man was hanging upside-down in a tree.

The hunters who owned the trap in which he was caught stared up at him.

A young man, in cultivator robes, with a jade-hilted sword?

"Great Jade Exorcist! We'll get you down straight away!"

"... Don't."

Uh, what did you say?

"I'm fishing."

... What did you say?

"Um... Very well, Great Master..." The hunters wandered away, trying to hide their expressions. Who understood how the minds of great cultivators worked?

Gaam Yuk Ying, upside down three metres from the ground, crossed his arms.

And waited.

His silvery eyes scanned the vegetation ceaselessly, although he seemed half-asleep with his lids almost closed. Shapes sprang up with great clarity – thrumming dragonflies skimming over small pools of water on the forest floor, the slow, deliberate slink of a tree viper in a tree ten metres away, a flurry of wings from a male redstart by the edge of the forest.

Other than the retreating hunters, there was no sign of any other human life.

After another hour of nothing Gaam Yuk Ying cut himself free with a single careless swing of Lo Fu Ngaa and twisted to land feet-first on the forest floor.

Hm. Next location.

He headed north, finding the Jade Road and opting to race through the vegetation beside it, keeping out of sight of any travellers on the road itself. His eyes caught the details of every person he passed.

Nothing.

Reaching Mount Faa, he followed the side trail off the Jade Road up the mountain, covering the steep distance with effortless leaps. However, he chose not to go inside, instead circling the schools from the surrounding mountain.

The disciples were faithfully following their routines, although the Way of the Mountain School was looking a little slacker than usual. They would probably face an irate Wong Tang when she returned.

Surprisingly, the Clear Sight School was hard at work too. Rather than the Fire Master Jing Fo's usual practice of throwing some unclear instructions at his disciples and telling them to get on with it, he was standing and watching them as they did they morning practices. It seemed to Gaam Yuk Ying that he even looked a little nervous.

Ah.

A familiar aura tickled the edge of his senses as he drew close to the Reflective Arts School. He hopped down amongst the surprised disciples, midway through the eight steps of the Flashing Sword, and proceeded directly into the Master's quarters, which had long been empty. Gaam Bing frowned at him over a pair of spectacles. It was quite a sight, seeing how the big man made everything in the room – the table, the papers in his hands, the writing brush – seem tiny.

"... Yuk Ying."

"... Master."

"Well?"

"Teem Djeung Baak cannot be found."

"I see. She hasn't been near here."

"I though not. The other..."

"Dzap Ming is here too."

"I will look elsewhere then."

"Go on."

"Yes, Master."