“Argh!” Xiao-Kai groaned.

“Down! Relax! Stop being so tense!” Mengjun demanded. “It’s too tight.”

Xiao-Kai felt a sturdy hand push against his lower back, forcing him to bend over more. The pain in his lower half made him tense up his muscles.

“Argh!!!”

“Relax!” 

Xiao-Kai clamped his eyes shut. The pain shook through his entire body. A rush of boiling blood torrented up through his back and into his head. His cheeks burned. Beads of sweat continuously seeped out from his body and drenched his clothes. He gritted his teeth shut and poured his focus on his own breathing.

“In…out…in…out…” He thought to himself, steadying his breath. But even with slower breaths, the pain was still nearly unbearable and Mengjun pushed him even further.

“That’s good! Maintain it!” Mengjun exclaimed, gradually exerting more force.

Xiao-Kai moaned. He thought that now that Mengjun had become his second teacher, he would have easier lessons. But who knew that the first thing Mengjun taught him was to stretch out his tendons? 

“Three…two…one! Up!” Mengjun released his hand from Xiao-Kai.

The moment Mengjun had lifted his hand, Xiao-Kai felt as if the world had instantly become paradise. After suffering the burning of the tendons, the air no longer felt hot and damp like the southern rainforests, but cool and refreshing to his skin. It cooled him down, both body and mind.

His legs felt like it had a thousand ants crawling all over it, especially his toes. Xiao-Kai didn’t dare to move his legs an inch, lest he wanted the numbing feeling to increase. 

“Now stand up and kick,” Mengjun said calmly.

Xiao-Kai’s heart sank. “Ki-kick?”

The teen’s teacher stood above him with his arms crossed. Mengjun looked down at the teen, “Well? Are you getting up?” his expression told him. 

Xiao-Kai gulped. “Well, here goes nothing,” he thought to himself.

Supporting himself with his arms, he quickly stood up from the forest grounds. He clenched his fists and prepared for more ants crawling on his legs. But to his surprise, nothing. At least, not yet.

Xiao-Kai looked at his legs like they were a miracle given by Heaven. He quickly remembered what he had to do and began to kick his legs to dynamically stretch out his tendons. And that’s when the numbness came back, tenfold.

Yuelong was leaning against a tree when he saw the teen clumsily take one step and instantly collapsed face down on the floor. His eyes widened at the accident and he bit on his upper lip, desperately trying not to die from laughing.

“Are you alright?” Mengjun asked Xiao-Kai, helping him up with one hand.

The teen’s face was contorted into that of a crying puppy. “Yeah… my feet are just numb. Hehehe.”

Mengjun smiled. “So you’re doing fine?”

The teen smiled and nodded, which he instantly regretted.

“Then stand up and kick, before your tendons shrink back to their original state.”

The smile on Xiao-Kai’s face instantly faded. “Oh dear Heavens, what did I do to deserve this?”

After the stretching session with Mengjun, the trio continued their journey northwards. It had been a week since Yuelong had agreed to let Mengjun help train Xiao-Kai. And over the course of these couple days, Yuelong had also learned to gradually let go of his jealousy towards Mengjun. The last remaining piece of envy instantly vaporized after he saw the terrified look on Xiao-Kai’s face when Mengjun said, “Another round”.

Yuelong smiled at the memory of what happened on Xiao-Kai’s first stretching lesson. It was definitely something he would never forget.

“How long do we have to travel until we see Sifei?” Questioned Xiao-Kai, weary of his travels.

“Soon,” Replied Yuelong. “The town and river should be up ahead.”

“Past the shady willow trees, a bright village lies ahead,” Mengjun assured, patting Xiao-Kai’s back. “A comfortable bed and warm food lies ahead as well.”

The moment the word “food” left Mengjun’s mouth, Xiao-Kai felt a rush of adrenaline through his body. Motivated, he started to pick up his pace and took the lead of the party.

Yuelong looked at Mengjun and whispered, “What kind of drug did you feed him?” 

The two teachers looked at their student racing further and further ahead of them.

Mengjun laughed. Just as he was about to say something, Xiao-Kai called from ahead.

“I see it! I see it! The village!”

Past the forest, a river snaked its way around multiple islands and peninsulas, the waters were like the roots of a tree, forking its way into the land. Each of the small rivers and creeks flowed back together in a giant lake. Settlements and farms were built on each and every one of those islands and peninsulas. The biggest island, which was also at the center of the islands, was where the town was the biggest. It was also the only place which had a boat leading to Huajing Shuizhuang, or the Palace of the Lishui Sect.

The trio journeyed down to the edge of the river. The river was navy in colour and flowed with a feeling of serenity. In this city consisted mainly of rivers and creeks, the only effective transportation were boats or rafts. And docked at the edge of the river was a small boat with an aged giant stone, with words carved on to it. The boat had a little room on it, enough to fit six people, and the opening was covered by a beige coloured cloth. 

“Lishui River, linking worlds beyond worlds,” Mengjun read aloud. “Interesting… Does this river actually link to other worlds?”

“That’s what legends say, but it’s been too long since those legends were considered real history,” explained Yuelong. “But, I would still be careful.”

“Dear boatman!” called Mengjun. “We are travelers hoping to go into the city, can you give us a ride?”

A sound of metal banging against wood came from inside the boat. In a few moments, an old man stumbled out of the little room. 

“Ah! Customers!” His voice boomed. “Come on in!”

The three hopped on to the wooden boat and sat inside the little room. The room was lit from a lantern hanging down from the ceiling, curtains of tapestry hung down from the sides. It was definitely not what they were expecting judging from the exterior. 

“Wait, that’s not a candle?” Xiao-Kai pointed to the lantern.

Mengjun looked closely at the lantern. “He’s right! That’s not a fire that’s lighting it up, it's a floating crystal of some sort. 

Yuelong sat there quietly, his face expressionless. 

The old man popped his head in, “I see you met our old friend!”

“Old friend?” Mengjun and Xiao-Kai said in unison. 

Yuelong smiled slightly on the side, feeling the satisfaction that he knew what the old boatman was talking about. 

“Yeah! It’s like what Buddhism says, everything has a life to it!” The old man continued. “That crystal which lights up the boat, is the boat.”

“What?”

“What the elder meant is that this crystal is the spiritual core of this boat.” Yuelong described. 

“Yes! Yes! What this young man said! Hahaha, excuse my language, I was not educated you see.” The old boatman laughed.

“But I thought boats were made of wood and can’t be alive?” Questioned Xiao-Kai.

“Just like the elder said, in Buddhism, they believe that everything has a life to it. And so, naturally, this boat is also alive, and its spiritual core is lighting up the interior of the boat.” Yuelong explained. Inside, he felt a fluttering feeling of being the intelligent one out of the three. 

“Oh, I see,” Mengjun nodded.

A slight vibration came from the walls of the boat. The old man popped his head inside again and said, “The boat likes you guys!”

Mengjun smiled nervously. The thought that he was inside of a boat unsettled him. Being inside of a beast was never a good place, less alone one that was literally unpredictable. 

“That’s so cool!” Xiao-Kai shouted out. Another vibration shook through the wood, this time in even rhythms. It felt like the sound of deep laughter.

The curtains on each side of the boat lifted by itself, revealing the splendors of the city they were venturing into. Each of the islands were well lit and were swarming with business. Though the day was already setting, there were still plenty of people roaming around. Different from cities from the south, the people from the north were built slightly larger, their facial features were sharper in shape. Many of them wore winter cloaks or robes made out of animal fur. But their attire, no matter the material, looked refined and clean. 

“Here we are, my friends!” The old man announced. “Thank you for coming!”

The three stepped out from the boat and on to the docks of the main city. The three bowed to the old man and stepped forth into the buzzing streets. Remembering that he hadn’t paid the boatman, Mengjung turned around only to find the boat had vanished into thin air. 

Just as he was pondering where the boat went, the old boatman walked past him.

“Something off about this one indeed,” the old man muttered.

Mengjun whisked around only to see the old man disappearing into the crowd.

“Come on, Meng-ge!” Xiao-Kai called out. “Let’s get moving on!”

“Coming!” Mengjun called back. His palms were slightly wet from perspiration. Did that old man figure out something? That old man isn’t as simple as I thought… Mengjun shrugged his shoulders and ran into the crowd, catching up with Yuelong and Xiao-Kai. 

“Why were you staying back there?” Yuelong asked.

“Oh, I was giving money to the old boatman.” Mengjun replied.

Yuelong shook his head. “You still didn’t get what the old man said about boats being alive?”

Mengjun replied with a puzzled look.

“The old man is the boat. The boat is his true body, his true form. The old man was the human manifestation of the boat’s spirit.”

Mengjun’s puzzled face shifted into one of shock. “What!???”

“That’s why something as precious as the boat’s spiritual core was openly available to customers. Did you think the boat was vulnerable to attacks and people with malicious intent?” Yuelong said.

Mengjun laughed nervously. “Of course not!”

“Hmm,” Yuelong responded. “Come, let’s go to the Lishui Sect.”

“Where is it?” Xiao-Kai asked.

“Down below.”

“In the ground?” asked Xiao-Kai.

“No, under the waves and in the depths.”