Chapter 17: A small fight

They reached the town "Sove " as the light was going. It was larger than the "minor cloud town" , real walls with a gate still open and lamps being lit along the main street.

The smell of fried oil and wet stone hung in the air. A few cultivators in plain outer robes moved through the crowd without hurry, the kind of people who had already passed some small test and were waiting for the real one !

Some had swords , some had magic wands and some empty handed , though In this world, empty handed cultivators can burn their qi essence in the dantian and produce inhuman powers.

Su Qingxue kept close to Lin Tian’s side as they entered, because the dual thread pulled tighter in the denser energy of the place, warm under her skin.

"We should find an inn first before anything else, then we can worry about food, and after that ,

"we won’t go back outside unless we really have to. There are too many eyes here and some of them actually know what they’re looking at."

Now we’re talking in riddles? Haah ..I want to breakthrough again...In the selection ground, what techniques I should show? My previous techniques are useless now... not that I remember.

This ’average bastard ’ hasn’t even mastered the first step of his clan’s technique..Tsk

"Agreed, let’s do it that way."Lin Tian agreed .

The first inn was full. The second only had a shared dormitory left and she shook her head before the innkeeper even finished speaking.

The third was a narrow place near the south side of town with a faded sign "Heavenly night’s" , and it still had one room left on the upper floor.

’heh. , what’s wrong with these names ’

The innkeeper looked at their clothes, at the way they stood near each other, and named a price without comment. Su Qingxue paid, and the dual core turned once when her fingers brushed Lin Tian’s as she took the key.

"Up the stairs at the end of the hall . Don’t trouble us after dark , the selection crowd is already filling every bed in town."

"Yeah sure, We’ll be ’ quiet ’don’t worry."

The room was small. One window facing a quiet alley, one bed, a wash basin with a crack along the rim. The same shape as the rooms before, only cleaner, with a thin blanket that still smelled faintly of soap.

She set the bag down and stood looking at the bed for a second longer than she needed to.

"I’ll go get some food for us, you just rest your arm for now and don’t open the door for anyone except me, okay?"

"Qingxue, listen."

"What is it now ?"

"You see , be careful out there. If anyone asks you about mixed energy , you just don’t know anything, you haven’t seen anything."

"I’m not that stupid , you know."

"I know you’re not, still, please be careful for me."

She left with a smile ...Lin Tian sat on the edge of the bed and started to circulate. The Foundation energy had settled much cleaner since the dual cultivation, the dual core quiet but not asleep.

Through the thread he could feel her moving downstairs, then out into the street, a thin ’bright point of awareness’ that should have felt strange but instead felt completely natural. He tracked her as far as the thread would allow, then pulled his attention back before it turned into worry.

She came back with two bowls of noodles and a small pot of tea. They ate sitting on the bed because the table was too low and too far from the lamp, their knees touching, neither of them moving away.

"I heard at the stall that the selection starts the day after tomorrow. The outer grounds open at dawn, "spirit root test first", then a simple "combat" round for anyone who passes."

They are apparently taking more outer disciples this year than usual ! something about a shortage after the last secret realm took too many lives."

"That’s actually good for us, more spots means more chance."

"Maybe it’s good, or maybe it just means more competition , there were at least three groups in full practice robes at the market today, one of them had a clan badge I didn’t even recognize, ’silver cloud on blue’, and they looked at everyone who walked past like they were already sorting who belonged there and who was just wasting their time , those bastards "

"A girl near the herb stall said Azure Cloud even sent two outer court supervisors into town early just to keep the peace, though I didn’t see them anywhere."

"Let them sort whoever they want, we are not here for their approval anyway."

"We are literally here for the sect’s approval, Tian-ge."She muttered looking at him .

"Same difference until we are inside , after that we make our own place, we don’t need them to like us."

She gave him a flat look that was almost fond. "You get absolutely impossible to deal with when you are confident like this, do you know that?"

" Yes " ’and you are the one who made me this confident in the first place.’.

The dual thread pulsed between them. She felt it, he saw it in the way her hand stilled on the blanket, and for a moment the air in the small room felt warm.

She stood up and went to the window. The alley below was empty, a single lamp across the way throwing a yellow square on the opposite wall. Somewhere further down the street a group of young cultivators laughed too loud and were told to quiet down by a woman’s voice.

"Tian-ge, can I tell you something honestly?"

"Mm, you can tell me anything."

"When we dual cultivated, after the first time, when it stopped hurting and started feeling different... I kept thinking I should feel ashamed about wanting it, but I didn’t.

"I still don’t, and that’s the part that stays with me on the path , not the pain, but the fact that I actually wanted to be close to you even when I could barely think straight.

" I’m saying this because if we share a bed again tonight, I’m not going to pretend I only want to sleep."

Lin Tian stood and crossed the room, stopping behind her , she could feel his warmth without him even touching her.

"I’m never going to ask you to lie about what you feel, and I’m also not going to push you into anything just because the energy is loud tonight. If you want to be close to me, just say it , I’m not going anywhere."

She turned around then, their faces very close, the dual core turning hard once, "gold and violet" flickering faintly under his skin where her gaze landed .Her soft voice echoed in the room ,

"I don’t want to walk into those grounds tomorrow still pretending, this is only a thread, a memory from one morning. I want to be close to you again, properly !."

He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering at her jaw.

"And ...I am sure, completely sure, so don’t make me say it a third time." She stepped forward and murmured.

The dual thread surged the moment their lips met, pure Yin spilling toward him in a thick willing stream, and his good arm pulled her flush against him. The bag on the floor, the empty bowls, the selection grounds waiting at dawn, all of it fell away for a few breaths.

Then someone knocked hard on the door.

They broke apart, both breathing uneven, the dual core still spinning loud. .

"Knock knock knock.." Who the fuck

"Open up innkeeper said two travelers from the east road took this room. We have some questions about mixed energy on the road two days back."

Lin Tian met her eyes, the dual thread still humming unfinished between them.

...

Lin Tian put Su Qingxue behind him and opened the door just a hand’s width.

Two men stood in the hall. This time it was not the same pair from the road . This pair had cleaner clothes, probably the kind of people who asked questions for someone else and expected answers.

"Lin Tian, and the girl. Mixed Yin-Yang energy reported on the east road two days back, a fight, a dual light. Our employer wants confirmation."

"Hello, I think , you’ve got the wrong room," Lin Tian said calmly.

" I’m Duan Zhao , we’re informants of an orthodox clan , gathering intel about mixed physique . It’s nothing serious. "

" the Innkeeper matched the description. Young man, recovering arm, and a young woman, pure Yin strong enough to taste in the corridor " The man’s eyes flicked past him to Su Qingxue. "We’re not here to drag you anywhere, answer a few questions and we’ll leave."

’Questions? What are you gonna ask me ’and which informants reveal their identity this easily?? I’m not an idiot..uh I’m for Qingxue . And do you really think I’ll answer honestly?’Lin thought for a second before saying"What kind of questions?"

"Where the dual energy comes from, whether it’s a technique or a physique, whether the girl is a partner or a furnace."

Su Qingxue’s voice came from behind him , a little cold. "I’m standing right here. Don’t talk about me like I’m furniture."

The second man with a scar on his forehead grinned, "Feisty...Boss might like that."

Lin Tian’s dual core turned cold.

"If you’re done talking...leave now."

"Or what? You’re Foundation Establishment at best, even fresh. Two of us against one half-healed boy and a girl who hasn’t even formed a proper core...."

Su Qingxue stepped up beside Lin Tian, and the dual thread flared. Pure Yin sharpened around her like a drawn line.

"Try it and see what happens "

The first smart man with bronze colour skin hesitated, just for a second, and that second was enough.

Lin Tian moved , although he didn’t have the full strength of this "average body" yet, but he had enough. He hit the first man in the throat with the heel of his good hand, and drove him back into the opposite wall.

The second reached for a short blade...his hand swung vertically downwards , Qingxue took a side step , then slammed the door into his wrist .

"Aahhh! .... " Lin Tian finished it with a knee to the stomach. Both men went down hard in the narrow hall, one choking, one clutching his middle.

"Tell your employer the mixed energy has a name" Lin Tian declared , breathing rough.

He shut the door and barred it, listening until the cursing and uneven footsteps faded down the stairs.

"What was that noise ? Did you hear that?" Someone below asked no one answered though.

Su Qingxue’s hands were shaking , he took them in his. "Are you all right? Did they touch you?"

"I’m all right, I’m just shaken." She let out a long breath. "They are going to come back, or they will send worse..."

"I know that that’s why we need a Sect’s protection.. we’ll leave for the grounds at first light. Once we are inside Azure Cloud’s outer perimeter they can’t just drag people off the street without the sect noticing."

"What if.....what if the sect is the one who sent them to test us?"

"Then we’ll find out when we are standing in front of an elder instead of two men in a hallway." He squeezed her fingers gently.

She looked at him for a long moment. The dual thread was still hot from the almost-fight and the kiss they had to break when the knocking started.

"Tonight is still ours , if you still want it to be."