Book 2 Chapter 80

Muxue crouched at the edge of the Shanay-Timpishka River and dipped her hand into its boiling waters.

Steam immediately curled around her wrist, rising in wispy tendrils before being swallowed by the immense cloud hanging over the river. She lifted her hand slowly, watching the water bead on her skin before spilling between her fingers and trailing down her arm. "This would be a great place to build a hot spring," she said, gazing dreamily at the steaming river. "Just imagine how nice it would feel after a long journey. We could soak here, drink some tea, and let the heat ease all the aches from our bones."

Taking in the vast curtain of steam that covered the sky like an enormous white wall, Mo Jian gave her a flat look. "We could sell tickets to the bathhouse at two for one," he said dryly. "Come rest your aching joints and enjoy a relaxing soak while serving as a meal to the rank nine beast living in the river. Who wouldn't be tempted?"

Muxue's dreamy expression vanished. Without a word, she scooped up a handful of boiling water and flung it at him. Mo Jian reacted instantly. An azure qi barrier sprang up around his body, and the water splashed harmlessly against it before cascading to the ground in a cloud of steam. It wasn't that he needed the protection; boiling water posed no threat to a cultivator of his strength. He could plunge into lava and come out without so much as a blister. He simply didn't want his robes wet. He put on a superior expression, raising one eyebrow at Muxue.

Nearby, Bai Ning paid them no attention. She had already lost interest in their argument and was leaning over the riverbank, peering into the murky depths. A faint glow shone from her eyes as she circulated her qi, allowing her vision to pierce through the layers of steam and mineral rich water. "Where exactly does the Yakumama reside?" she asked. "The river isn't very long, so I wonder if we'll run into it."

Rather than sounding concerned about encountering a rank nine beast, she sounded almost eager.

Li Kang was peering into the river beside her. His face was unusually serious, but after a moment, a strange smile crept across his lips. "I've heard it is as long as the river itself," he said ominously. "It stretches along the riverbed from the mouth all the way to the foot. They say it has a particular fondness for eyes."

Bai Ning's gaze shifted toward him.

Li Kang lowered his voice. "It uses the steam to cook them first. Then it slurps out the jelly inside and-"

Thwack! Chen Zhuhe's palm connected squarely with the back of his head. Li Kang stumbled forward, nearly pitching face-first into the steaming river.

"That's nonsense," Chen Zhuhe said, lowering his hand. "Eyes simply boil first, that's all. Any beast that falls into the river becomes a cooked corpse soon enough. Quit making up tall tales."

Li Kang rubbed the back of his head, looking deeply offended. "I was trying to make the story more interesting."

Wei Shentong cleared his throat. "Enough of this. Have you all forgotten what I told you? Urud Khan may still be lingering near his city, keeping himself hidden, and his patrols are expanding their range every day. Let's not dally."

Beside him, Liu Rushi had extended her natal artifact – the Yinfrost Needle – into the boiling water. Her disciple, Yue Shuangyi, watched her teacher intently, her eyes fixed on the needle as it disappeared beneath the steaming surface. Liu Rushi withdrew it and frowned as the droplets clinging to its icy surface continued to boil. "Senior Wei is right. Duan Cheng and I also heard reports of increased patrols as we were leaving the city. Besides…" A hint of irony crept into her voice. "Any place where the qi is so dense that even my natal artifact can't cool it down is somewhere I'd prefer to avoid. We'd best be on our way before our luck turns."

"By all means." Muxue said, straightening up from where she had been crouching beside the river. She stretched her neck, trying to see past the immense wall of steam blocking their path. "And speaking of luck…" Her gaze shifted meaningfully toward Duan Cheng, who stood at the edge of the group, as far from the others as possible, idly fiddling with a die between his fingers.

He bowed in her direction. "I have done all I can, Your Celestial Highness. This is the luckiest crossing point available to us, and we should remain undiscovered for as long as I can manage." He paused, his expression turning somewhat wry. "However, there are powers within our group that I cannot influence, just as our enemies possess powers beyond my reach. My aid is limited."

Muxue studied him for a moment before turning her attention back to the river. "Limited, huh? No matter. What luck cannot grant, skill and determination will. Let's go."

They departed shortly afterward, once again boarding their designated driver – no, reliable ally – Wei Shentong's flying jade boat. Judging by the glare Wei Shentong shot him, Mo Jian suspected his thoughts had been rather more obvious than he'd intended. The jade boat rose into the sky before plunging straight into the curtain of steam. A qi barrier sprang up around the hull, keeping the worst of the heat and moisture at bay, but even through it, warmth seeped onto the deck. The air smelled strongly of sulfur, salt, and something faintly metallic, while every breath carried the damp heaviness of a place where water had been boiling for centuries.

Outside the barrier, vapor streamed past in thick, roiling currents. It boiled and twisted around the boat, sometimes thinning enough to reveal the river far below, only to close again a heartbeat later. Whenever the steam parted, Mo Jian caught fleeting glimpses of the water. The river was enormous, its surface stretching away into the white haze, dark and bronze beneath the boiling froth, with entire patches of water trembling and rolling as though something beneath them were stirring. Here and there, bubbles the size of houses swelled from the depths before bursting with a muffled boom. Scalding water erupted upward in brief geysers, showering the river around them and filling the air with fresh clouds of vapor.

Visibility had vanished completely. The dense qi within the mist was even more troublesome. It clung to everything, saturating the air until spiritual sense met resistance almost immediately. Mo Jian extended his senses as far as he could, probing through the vapor, but the further he reached, the more indistinct everything became. He frowned; his senses were the sharpest among them all. If this was all he could perceive, the others were practically flying blind. Even sound behaved strangely. The roar of the river was constant, but the steam swallowed and distorted it. A distant eruption might sound as though it were happening beside the boat, while something striking the water nearby could seem impossibly far away.

Their own voices felt muffled, as if the vapor had wrapped the entire world in layers of wool, as became obvious when Bai Ning spoke. "How wide does the river stretch?" She had taken the opportunity to lean over the boat's railing, gazing cheerfully into the mist as though it concealed some magnificent vista rather than a wall of boiling vapor.

"Two hundred and twenty four li," Muxue answered distractedly. She was standing a short distance away, attempting to use the Truth Tolling Bell to examine their surroundings, though even its abilities seemed severely hampered by the dense mist. "It's one of the widest rivers in the Steppes, though it pales in both length and width compared to the Red Dragon Rush or the River of Sorrows in the Empire. Not to mention the Celestial River, which stretches for more than ten thousand li at its widest when it floods." She paused. "Though scholars still debate whether it should be called a river at all, rather than an estuary."

"I couldn't care less what it's called, so long as we get out of here without any trouble," Mo Jian muttered to himself.

For once, the heavens seemed inclined to grant him his wish. The boat sailed onward for nearly half an hour without encountering anything more troublesome than the occasional burst of boiling water. The mist remained oppressive, but the turbulence gradually weakened. The great eruptions became less frequent, and the river below settled into a steady, ominous rumble.

The change was so gradual that Mo Jian almost failed to notice it at first. The constant hiss of escaping steam had begun to fade. The violent shuddering of the water below grew less frequent, and the jade boat no longer needed to weave constantly around geysers erupting from the river. Even the oppressive heat seemed to have diminished by a fraction. It was still unbearably warm, but the air no longer felt as though it had been drawn directly from a furnace.

Then, when they were only a couple of minutes from finishing the crossing, a massive boom rolled beneath them. The entire jade boat lurched. Wei Shentong reacted instantly, pouring qi into the flying construct, forcing its bow upward while the deck tilted sharply to one side. Several people staggered. Yue Shuangyi caught Li Kang by the arm before he could go tumbling over the railing, while Muxue grabbed the nearest support with one hand and the Truth Tolling Bell with the other.

"What was that?" Chen Zhuhe demanded.

"Something hit us," Yue Shuangyi said, bracing herself as the boat slowly righted itself.

"No." Bai Ning stood perfectly still, her eyes were glowing faintly, her gaze fixed on the boiling water below. She leaned farther over the railing, seemingly oblivious to the spray of hot moisture striking her face. "Something passed underneath us."

Mo Jian was already moving. He crossed the deck in a few strides and gripped the railing, peering into the steam. At first, there was nothing to see. Only white vapor twisting past the boat and the dark, roiling surface of the river far below. Then the water rose, the entire surface beneath them seemingly swelling upward. A long, immense ridge rolled through the river, displacing an enormous volume of water as something moved beneath it. Boiling waves climbed over the creature's unseen back and spilled down its sides. For several heartbeats, Mo Jian could only stare.

His spiritual sense plunged into the river, but the dense qi and scalding water scattered his perception before he could grasp more than the vaguest impression. He sensed flesh, or perhaps something harder, something layered with scales, moving with slow, tremendous strength through the depths. Another boom followed, but this time, the boat barely shook. Whatever lay beneath them had already passed on.

Mo Jian sucked in a breath. "Keep us moving," he hissed.

Wei Shentong did not ask questions. He immediately pushed more qi into the jade boat, and its speed increased.

"Is it-?" Bai Ning asked. Her voice carried an unmistakable mixture of eagerness and concern.

Mo Jian glanced at her and nodded. He could not see the creature clearly, but there was little else that could have produced such a disturbance in the Shanay-Timpishka apart from the Yakumama. For several tense moments, nobody spoke in favor of watching the river. The enormous disturbance gradually disappeared into the mist, leaving only widening rings of violently steaming water behind. The river returned to its usual restless motion, as though nothing had happened at all.

Mo Jian slowly released the breath he had been holding. "Thankfully," he muttered, "it seems to have better things to do than eat us."

"Or it hasn't noticed us," Chen Zhuhe said.

Mo Jian gave him a sideways look but didn't comment. He preferred his own explanation.

Thankfully, the wall of steam ahead of them was no longer quite as featureless as before. Light started to shine through it. At first it was only a faint brightness, barely distinguishable from the pale vapor. Then it grew stronger. The white haze ahead began to take on a golden tint, and thin shafts of sunlight pierced the mist in scattered beams. The jade boat pressed onward, its bow disappearing into the brightest portion of the vapor. For a moment, the world became nothing but white. Steam rushed around them in thick, turbulent currents, streaming across the deck and scattering against the qi barrier. The heat intensified one final time, wrapping around them like the breath of some enormous furnace.

Then the boat burst through and sunlight flooded the deck.

For several breaths, nobody moved. After nearly an hour trapped beneath that immense canopy of steam, the open sky seemed almost unreal. Blue stretched endlessly overhead, clear and brilliant, with only a few thin clouds drifting lazily across it. Warm sunlight spilled over the jade boat, glinting from its polished surfaces and turning the lingering droplets of condensation into tiny sparks. A cool breeze swept across Mo Jian's face and he inhaled, feeling it fill his lungs. It carried the scent of wet earth, crushed grass, pine resin, and flowers warmed by the sun.

Behind them, the curtain of steam continued to boil upward. From this side, the Shanay-Timpishka looked almost impossible. A colossal white wall stretched across the horizon, rising from the river and climbing into the sky until its upper reaches dissolved into cloud. Bands of vapor twisted through one another within it, some moving slowly while others curled and spiraled upward in great columns. Occasionally, a darker patch appeared where the river could be glimpsed through a momentary thinning in the steam, but it vanished almost immediately.

The bank beneath them was not particularly inviting. The vegetation nearest the water had suffered badly. The ground was dark and slick with moisture, and pale mineral deposits crusted the stones and roots exposed along the shoreline. Much of the grass had withered into yellow-brown tangles, while the few plants stubborn enough to grow there were stunted and twisted. Water streamed sluggishly through shallow channels in the mud, carrying a faint haze of steam away from the river.

But only a few dozen paces inland, the world changed. Green spread across the land in every direction. Grass covered the gentle slopes in thick, wind-rippled carpets, their blades bright beneath the afternoon sun. Small hills rose and fell across the landscape, their rounded backs broken by shallow dips and narrow valleys. Hardy oaks gathered in shaded copses, their broad crowns casting cool patches across the ground, while tall pines stood farther apart like sentinels overlooking the plains. Wildflowers bloomed wherever they could find a patch of undisturbed soil. Purple, yellow, white, and red blossoms swayed among the grass, some growing in scattered clusters and others forming entire patches of color. Bees hummed lazily between them. Tiny insects danced above the reeds near a shallow stream, their wings flashing whenever they caught the sunlight.

Birdsong drifted through the trees from several directions at once, overlapping in a lively chorus. Something small rustled through the tall grass nearby before darting away with a rapid series of clicks. Farther off, a larger animal crashed briefly through a thicket, sending a flutter of startled birds into the air before the woods fell quiet again. Somewhere among the low hills, Mo Jian could hear the faint, soothing burble of running water.

Muxue stepped toward the railing and closed her eyes. A cool breeze lifted strands of her hair and carried the sweet scent of honeysuckle across the deck. She breathed it in deeply, openly savoring the clean air after the stifling heat and mineral-laden steam of the Shanay-Timpishka. When she opened her eyes again, much of the tension that had lingered in her expression since they entered the river had finally faded. "Now this," she said softly, looking out across the green hills, "is more like it."

She turned back toward the others. "Let's take a moment before we head for the Hoofprints. We can also make the last of our preparations. The coming negotiations will depend heavily on Lords Wei Shentong and Mo Jian."

No one disagreed. They were all aware of the importance of what lay ahead. The flying boat banked low, its shadow sweeping across the grass, before descending onto one of the larger, flatter hills overlooking the surrounding countryside. Its hull settled gently onto the ground, and the group began disembarking. After the oppressive crossing, there was something almost restorative about simply standing beneath the open sky. The warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, and the ordinary sounds of birds and animals felt strangely precious after the boiling silence of the river.

They had crossed the Shanay-Timpishka. Now, only the Hoofprints of Nezha stood between them and the heart of the Steppes.

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It took them nearly half a day of flying before they spotted the first Hoofprint.

At first, Mo Jian thought it was simply a valley. A broad depression stretched across the grasslands ahead, its edges so distant that the opposite rim was little more than a dark line beneath the horizon. Herds moved along its slopes, appearing from this height as scattered flecks of black and brown. Thin trails of smoke rose from somewhere within its depths, while what looked like a river wound through the basin before disappearing behind a ridge.

Then the jade boat drew closer and revealed the depression for what it was: a hoofprint. It brought to mind the legends he had studied before coming to the Steppes – the Yuan held, a colossal being, or deity, had walked across this land, crossing tens of thousands of li with every step. The oldest accounts described it as something between an antelope and a horse, its body covered in scales like a dragon's and its enormous antlers so vast that they pierced the clouds as it walked. Some legends claimed it had been kin to the immortal qilin, while others called it the qilin itself.

Still others insisted the two had been enemies, and that the creature had crossed the Steppes in pursuit of its celestial rival. The stories disagreed about almost everything, except wherever the creature had walked, its hooves had left their impressions upon the earth. Those impressions were enormous. The first time Mo Jian had read the descriptions, he had imagined something comparable to a large lake, however the reality was considerably more impressive. Each Hoofprint was a landscape unto itself.

Some stretched for more than ten li. The largest were said to approach several hundred. Their depths varied enormously as well. In places, the ancient impact had gouged hundreds of meters into the earth, leaving steep ridges along the edges. In others, centuries of erosion had softened the walls until the prints resembled immense natural basins. Generations had made use of them. Water collected in their lowest reaches, while soil carried down from the surrounding hills settled into the depressions, forming unusually fertile ground. In certain Hoofprints, the remnants of whatever power had once belonged to Nezha still lingered in the earth, nourishing vegetation or creating pockets of strangely concentrated qi.

And so people had come, which in turn had attracted more and more people to come. Tribes had settled within the prints, followed by wandering cultivators, refugees, bandits, and eventually entire communities that had never known any other home. Some Hoofprints contained only a handful of tribes. Others had grown into miniature Hordes. The wealthier ones had roads, markets, stables, permanent camps, and garrisons. Rival tribes sometimes occupied opposite sides of the same ancient depression, each claiming the water, pasture, and fertile soil between them. The more valuable Hoofprints had been fought over for generations.

The first hoofprint – the one they were at now – was almost twelve li from heel to toe and nearly seven li across at its widest point. It was large enough to swallow a small city. Roads crossed the enormous basin, some little more than dirt tracks winding between grazing grounds, others broad enough for caravans to travel several wagons abreast. Tents clustered along the lower slopes, their conical packed tightly together around wells and fields. Larger settlements occupied the flatter portions of the print, protected by crude walls and watchtowers. Smoke rose from dozens of hearths. Farther away, he could make out what appeared to be a fortified camp, its perimeter marked by sharpened stakes and tall wooden palisades. Beyond it, another settlement had been built against the opposite slope, its banners fluttering in the wind.

And between them lay open ground. Hundreds – perhaps thousands – of Yuan moved across it. Even from the sky, the Hoofprint seemed alive. Herds of shaggy spirit cattle and Thousand Mile horses grazed across patches of green. Lines of four legged warriors traveled between settlements. Traders led carriages along the roads, while small clusters of tents had sprung up around springs and patches of unusually lush grass. There were even fields. Someone had carved terraces into the lower slopes, turning the ancient impression of a divine hoof into farmland.

The jade boat continued descending, and the details below became clearer. What he had mistaken for scattered tents were entire compounds surrounded by low fences. What looked like trails from above were well-traveled roads worn deep into the earth by generations of hooves and wagon wheels. Herds moved around the settlements in carefully controlled patterns, while riders patrolled the higher slopes.

There were people everywhere.

Thankfully, none of them had noticed the approaching jade boat.

Muxue stepped forward. "I had heard that the first Hoofprint is one of the busiest, but it really is almost an entire city onto itself. I suppose we should be grateful."

The others glanced at her, but it was Wei Shentong, still guiding the boat down, who snorted. "The more people there are, the less remarkable our arrival becomes. But we still need to depend upon the disguises."

Muxue nodded. "We have enough left for a day and half, but only you and Mo Jian should use them. The fights here will be simple for you, and two Khans – as they will see it – passing through will not be questioned. Seen as odd, yes, but not stopped."

Mo Jian nodded. Time for him to take the stage by storm. He even had a name picked out – Mergen Khan.

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AN:As always, there are 15 extra chapters over on Patreon - please check them out if interested in reading ahead!