Jack doesn't open his eyes as he continues to circulate the qi around his body, but his back has a cold sweat trickling down it. A sense of pressure presses down on his mind from this information, but he's glad to hear about this now.

"There are people that have multiple types of qi innately, right?"

"Of course. Nearly all the strongest people can use two or three qi. One of my old teachers could even use 4. The headmaster was rumoured to have over 6 types, but no one has seen them fight in a long, long time."

"Why aren't they hunted down?"

"Are you worried?" she smirks at Jack before continuing, "They have the backing of larger entities. The most common being kingdoms and sects with the occasional Empire, but no one could forget the schools too... It doesn't matter if you are the strongest person in the universe. If no one knows who you are with, then you are just a juicy target for everyone else to gang up on."

"It's like with my training school. Ever since the rumours spread of the Headmaster having 6 qi types, you would think people are attacking it endlessly right? That's not the case. The other teachers form an incredibly strong backing for the school. Everyone knows this and stays away."

Jack nods along with this and agrees with it. It's something that he has neglected to see himself.

He might be strong compared to the average player now, but the countless saint realm cultivators within this region... a single one of them could probably wipe out the entire village with a wave of their hand.

So far he has thought he'd be able to avoid trouble by just hiding away, but faced with the truly powerful people, he is less than an ant.

"Ahh, I miss being able to talk with Professor Huang. I could freely talk to any of the professors on campus... That's what was so great about it. The ancient and powerful beings aren't uncommon, but they're usually either shut off from the world or in some training. That's why it was so great. Now… I'm stuck here with you… ah, I wonder how my friends are doing. I can't believe I've gotten myself involved with someone like you… A being from the outer reaches…." A sharp glint crosses her eyes.

"So what exactly are you? Your blood… How was it able to bind with everything so perfectly? Are you really from the outer reaches?"

Jack doesn't open his eyes, his divine sense is watching her closely. She's trustworthy so far, and Jack can't fault her for asking a question he too would like to ask someone. There is just a remote possibility she knows a way out of the contract and will use this information against him.

"You'll have to find out."

Jack grunts out and returns to cultivating and experimenting with the moon qi that seems to have no battle properties.

"Fine, then if I'm to act as your alchemy peon then will I have access to a lab? A workplace with enough resources to research as I like? Uh—

She suddenly yells out in anguish. "Ahhhh, what am I going to do? I can't grow them without the moon, most of my refinement skills work with the moon qi and… and…"

"And?"

"How am I going to do anything? The qi needs to be freely flowing in the air and without it there…" Jack can see some tears form in her eyes as she continues to speak, "Without the moon qi present most of my skill will be sealed. I'll truly be stuck with what's left in these rings"

Her fingers twiddle with the storage rings adorned on them, "What did you do with all those seeds you took? I doubt you know what any of them are. Why did you take them?"

"Is that after you sent me down to the dungeon? Why did you jump at me naked?"

Her back suddenly stiffens. She brings the dagger up to her mouth, holding it like a fan trying to hide her face but failing. Finally, she turns her head away while her face blushes. This all happens incredibly quickly. She darts her eyes at Jack now and then to ensure he still has his eyes closed.

"You're the one…" her breath turns whisper quiet before going silent.

"What?"

"You're the one that showed me such a disgusting sight. H-h-how did you show me that scene? Why did you show me that stuff?"

"What are you talking about?"

"How can you try to get this Princess to say such vile things? I asked you first, so answer my question. What did you do with all those seeds? If you have some way of growing them, then tell me." She points the dagger at Jack. She takes a moment to notice what she is doing, meekly put the dagger down.

Jack frowns, "Why is it so important?"

"They can't grow without moon qi in the atmosphere. There's literally none. Nothing here… Maybe he blocked them off when he sealed the barrier…"

Jack's eyes have a rainbow glint in them as a small zap comes out of his body but a larger one happens outside causing a slight fright for the two people inside the barren carriage. Jack shudders from the loud noise while Lunamarie jumps up in fright.

"Does that always happen?" she stammers before leaning out the rear of the wagon, seemingly not caring about what she's wearing. Jack takes in an eye full of her exposed backside before leaning out the rear of the wagon too.

High in the sky, a golden crack in the barrier overhead draws awe in the night sky illuminated only by the blood-red moon.

"The lightning happens sometimes, but the crack is new. Can you tell me more about moon qi? Can you tell me if this is moon qi?" Jack draws out the moon qi onto his palm and shows it to the bunny girl.

She quickly grabs his hand, scrutinizing it. Her body glows with those strange geometric shapes as the energy flows out of his body, the moon shadow qi battles for control against Jack with the outpouring of the moon qi. Jack withdraws his hand as he internally restores balance with the reserves.

"You have 3 types of qi? Ehh? Why do you have that qi? No one outside the Imperial Moon race can get that qi. Is that why I felt something so familiar on you when I first saw you?"

"You aren't allowed to leak this out and I only just acquired this from you… I think, or possibly the dagger. Can I look at the dagger? That thing has been bugging me ever since you stabbed me with it."

Lunamarie looks at Jack but unwilling to meet his eyes. "You'll give it back, right?" she asks while passing the dagger to him. He nods his head where she releases it allowing him to look at it properly.

The beautiful white blade looks delicate, made of some unknown metal that feels light and cool to the touch. The system information pops up, bringing Jack a moment of relief as he reads it.

[Tear of the Moon's Thorn]: Grade: (?????) Stats: Strength +20, Intelligence +20, Agility +15, Constitution +16, Description: A dagger carefully whittled from a single thorn from a plant called the Moon's Maiden. This weapon contains a spiritual entity. <s111sss33333aaaaag>

The bunny girl moves quickly, hiding the dagger from his view.

"Let me guess, you can't explain?"

"We all have our secrets?" the bunny girl turns away to look intently at something in the distance. Jack copies what she does and can see the strange circles are appearing on the surface in the distance.

"The underground and sky are both bathing the earth in demonic qi... Why is it so horrible out here?"

"Not sure. So can you tell me about using moon qi?" Jack sits back down, ignoring the sights outside.

The crack in the barrier overhead is disturbing, but there's nothing he can do about it. The soldiers will send out the alarm if they need to call upon him to take care of anything during this trip. The bunny girl watches for a few more moments before also sitting back down, removing the exposed backside from before the young man.

"Moon qi... umm... Most of us learn to refine with it..."

Lunamarie explains as the rhythmic clip clopping of the horse's hooves and the shuddering of the wagon over bumps continues. She explains that the qi isn't used for battles, nor does it have any battle skills. She only knows how to use it in refinement and alchemy, so as Jack shows her the qi within his palm again. She's just as shocked as she was the first time.

The duo experiment with the qi for hours trying to work out how Jack can use the moon qi, yet all that happens is Lunamarie stealing several rounds of qi from him.

"Why are you taking the qi from me? How am I meant to practise using it when you keep taking it away?"

"I need it more than you! Why don't you perfect the dragon qi before you practise another type?"

This conversation has happened several times with Lunamarie standing her ground each time, butting heads with Jack.

They come to ahead once again with neither of them talking, Jack looks down at his arm where the pink and tender regenerated flesh contrasts with the rest of his skin. A new question comes to mind upon looking at this.

"What kind of qi did that person shoot at me? The moon qi seemed to interact with it in a strange way."

"I'm not sure..."

'It was a type of space qi. A high level space qi. It should have been able to penetrate through anything, but your moon qi stopped it somehow.'

"Why would it get stopped by moon qi?" Jack mutters while asking Xueli.

"The sun rages high in the heavens, the earth is suppressed under the sun but always eternal, the moon stays constant."

"What?"

"An old saying..."

Jack looks at Lunamarie with a raised eyebrow but she doesn't say anymore. He has been enjoying their time together so far even if she is rather annoying in the 'Princess' mode as he likes to call it now. The alchemy and refining information is useful, even if it's not relevant to his immediate interests.

The question about moon qi and space qi will frustrate him to no end, but there's no simple way to answer that without experimenting or finding someone to answer the question for him. Xueli might know more, but she's being abnormally quiet while Lunamarie is more interested in stealing his qi than helping him experiment with it.

The two become familiar with each other as they talk, Jack alternates between cultivating to replenish his stolen qi and talking to Lunamarie about his life and the world that he came from. She seems disinterested in hearing about it, but when talking about the fashion and entertainment available, she perks up.

Jack spends the rest of the time talking to her about the fashion and recently released movies before moving onto the more classic movies. She wants to learn more about the fashion trends, but Jack honestly cannot talk much about them.

"Lord, we require your assistance!" A yell from one of the soldiers interrupts their conversation. Jack is thankful for the break from talking about clothing as he leans out the front of the carriage where the driver is controlling the horses.

The carriage in front is slowing down while the mounted soldiers gather. The soldiers peeking out of the rear of the other carriage look nervous as they hold their holy element weapons in preparation to use them at any moment.

"What's going on?"

"The scouts up ahead have reported a squad of the faceless demons have appeared across the roadway. General Laoshe has given us instructions to follow but the very first instruction is, 'If the Lord is around then request him to monitor the situation'. I am sorry to disturb your return trip for this minor matter."

"Got it. It's no problem. Do I need a horse or is it nearby?"

"Lord, sorry but I do not know please speak to the convoy leader on the first carriage. I am just a driver."

"Ok thanks" Jack ducks back into the curtain and turns toward Lunamarie. He would like nothing more than to stay within the carriage and continue talking/looking at the almost naked bunny girl, but this requires his attention.

"Did you hear that?" Jack asks Lunamarie. She nods her head.

"Do you feel safe enough inside this carriage or would you like to move to the other one?"

"Ha, you think this Princess fears some little faceless demons? I mean sure this place is scary, especially in the dark, but she won't be scared of this little thing. If you want scary, you should see fourth stage demons..." She smirks, but Jack can see some worry beneath her eyes.

"Stay inside the carriage then. I'll be back soon"

"O..Ok"

Jack ignores her response and leaves the carriage. If she witnessed the fight, then that might relieve her worries about the life and death restriction in the contract, but he will not force her. The carriages have slowed down, allowing him to 'Bunny Dash' across to the other carriage.

He makes three jumps before appearing on the driver's bench where the convoy leader is talking to a few others.

"Lord, we are sorry to disturb your trip but thought it'd be better to defer to your decision."

"That's no problem, General Laoshe has instructions there for a reason. How far away is the blockade?"

"Lord, it's not really a blockade. The scouts have reported two of the circles have appeared near the road where approximately 30 of them are gathering on the road itself. 2 kilometres straight ahead"

Jack gathers the information he can from the convoy leader before taking an appropriate weapon and instructing them to guard the rear carriage to ensure the safety of the bunny girl, but also to ensure she doesn't sneak off for no reason.

He rushes forward using 'Bunny Dash'. The soldiers are left far behind, but this doesn't concern Jack as they are also guarding the carriages.

Two scouts standing by the side of the road delineate the perimeter. Jack stops by them while catching his breath from the quick dashes.

"Lord, they're just up ahead. No second forms have been spotted." One of the bunny scouts motions up ahead.

Jack takes a moment to look at this bunny scout, he too has the fine layer of fur covering his skin giving Jack another clue as to how they are different.

"Good work, the convoy will be along shortly."

Jack leaves these words with the scouts and dashes forward, the holy spear in his hand and the subtle golden glow of his body give him a majestic aura as he stops dashing and looks around in the middle of the road.

There are two circles on either side of the road, double from what he heard earlier but no slimes have shown up.

*SCHHHHHH*

Jack hears a familiar screeching sound as he looks around, the little faceless demons are rushing after him with their strange clawed body.

Jack is quietly thankful none of the circles appear to have that strange mask-like face as he brings down the spear on the first demon.

*POOOF*

The demon explodes in a puff of smoke as the spear contacts it.

Jack doesn't have time to react as more demons are quickly approaching.

The faceless demons are almost in a straight line as they rush at him, about 10 of them this time.

Jack positions the spear and calls out, "Second Motion!".

*SCCHCHHCHCH*

The demons respond with their screeching upon Jack speaking, but it's quickly replaced with the sound of many demons exploding into a puff of smoke.

*POOF POOF POOF*

The 10 demons all explode at nearly the same moment as Jack's spear is quickly piercing through the air.

The next lot of demons are still several metres away, but he's enjoying this too much. He can feel his stresses and worries just disappear as the fight continues.

He uses 'Bunny Dash' to appear near the next lot of demons as he uses the 'Second Motion' again.

*POOF POOF*

Another 8 demons are rapidly exploded.

'Bunny Dash'

He reappears by the next lot of small faceless demons and exploding this next lot of 5 demons, but he's careless this time as he jumps to the next lot of demons.

'Bunny Dash'

He reappears between the remaining 15 or so demons, but instead of appearing within spear range, he has accidentally jumped in the middle of them.

*SCHCHCH*

The demons all react instantly as he appears in the middle of them, turning around and lunging at him.

Jack tries to jump away quickly but a piercing feeling hits hit leg but without time to react, he desperately uses the second motion.

*POOF POOF POOF*

The demons quickly explode from Jack's desperate usage of the second motion just now, deploying it twice on two sides, rapidly killing all the demons in what felt like a single motion but was just several incredibly quick movements.

*SCHCH*

Screeching is heard from the circles yet again, Jack turns to look but can see the slimes have appeared and are taking care of the newly spawned demons from the circles.

Jack breathes a sigh of relief as he looks down at his leg. It's covered by his pants, but strangely there's no blood running down his leg. Quickly pulling up the pant leg, he's able to see the grey qi hovering over his skin like some protective barrier, but that's not all.

There is a visible wound on his leg under the grey qi, but it's not bleeding.

Jack deploys his divine sense to see what's going on and it's he can't make sense of it, it's like the wound is there but it's not?

"Xueli, what is this moon qi doing on my leg? I can't make sense of it."

'Thats... weird. It's maintaining your wound? It's not healing it but it's not getting any worse. Does it feel painful?'

"No. I can't feel anything wrong with it."

'What happens when you stop the flow of qi?'

Jack concentrates, using the limited understanding of his cultivation realm, stopping the flow of moon qi coming out of his leg. The grey protective barrier disappears.

A wave of pain washes over his body as the wound quickly bleeds as he hisses out through clenched teeth. He rubs some medicant on it while Xueli speaks to him.

'It seems like it was maintaining your wound in some stasis. I've never seen that or heard of that before, not even in my recovered memories. I wonder why that is... is it something to do with time qi?'

"It's not harmful is it?"

'Nooo, no. It's actually amazing. So amazing that it might save your life countless numbers of times in the future. You should really thank the bunny girl'

Jack finishes with the medicant and wrapping the wound up.

"Why don't you talk to her about it or are you still too shy to speak to her?"

Xueli doesn't respond while Jack returns to where the scouts are waiting where they greet him in unison.

"Excellent work, Lord!" they announce quietly.

Jack smiles at them and waits with them for the carriages to pass by. It only takes a few minutes for the clopping of hooves to sound nearby. The first carriage passes by with many soldiers standing alert with weapons while most of the mounted soldiers are surrounding the second carriage.

Jack nods at the soldiers as they pass by, wasting no time to remount the carriage. As he enters the flap, he can see the shimmer of the white blade in her hand, but her expression is one of fear and worry.

Lunamarie lunges at Jack, but it strangely turns into a hug as he disarms her.

Their eyes meet at this proximity. Their breath tickles each other's face as they both develop a blush.

Jack releases her, she flops down on the seat while Jack sits down too.

"You should learn some dagger skills if you're going to keep using it"

"You should learn to knock before entering a young ladies chambers"

Jack laughs, "You want these to be your chambers? What am I going to knock on? The sheet?"

Lunamarie's face flushes red, she harrumphs and turns away.

Jack laughs again at this reaction and tends to his wounds while the trip continues.