Tian had gotten very used to seamlessly switching between his combat arts. Everything below the Heavenly Person level may be the arts of ants, but at least they were nimble, uncomplicated ants. He kept moving to the side of the… whatever it was, letting Light Body Heavy Hands move him like a drifting feather. The rope dart spun considerably faster, becoming a dull blur over his head. He took a short lunge forward and let the rope dart snap out, the weight suddenly returning to normal as the heavy dart reached the long needles covering the creature.
The needles didn’t resist the dart at all. They softly bent out of the way as the dart smashed through and into the fleshy side of the beast. There was a firmness to it, but the resistance wasn’t anything much. He had stabbed into much harder things. The dart had fully buried itself into whatever the creature was. He ripped the dart out in a spray of a yellow liquid. The liquid coated the long needles, making them more visible and more sinister. There were even more of the hair-like needles than he had thought.
The flying needles had come from the front, and it had to contort its body to launch them. Tian kept a close eye on the side of the beast, but it didn’t seem to be getting ready to launch anything. Instead, it was turning to face Hong. Tian punched the dart into it again, then wound up for a third shot when he saw the tail end of the beast sweeping towards him like a wall of spears. He lept back out of reach. The distortion in the air didn’t seem quite right for the end of the… thing. Was it going to launch again? Tian jumped away, tumbled and jumped again.
There was a familiar hissing noise, and once again the sand grew needle-like hairs.
He retaliated with a rush and a heavy smack with the dart, but it seemed to have no effect. Only stabbing it with the dart did much. He could try forcing his dart into a spear again, but the striking power might not even be as good as what he could do normally. What was Hong-
The creature raised itself up. He could suddenly see its underside- leathery but seemingly soft, a faint white-tan color, a dozen legs on each side. It seemed faintly familiar, though he was sure he had never seen anything like it before. Hong was stabbing up into the beast, her spear ripping great holes in it. There was some sort of lingering damage to the wound. Tian had cultivated keen eyes, and he would swear the wounds widened after her spear withdrew.
Tian loved Snake Head Vine Body dearly, but he had to admit, whatever art Hong Liren was practicing, it was more lethal. That thought tickled something in him, and despite being in the middle of battle, he wanted to laugh. It was like her boxing- direct, violent, lethal. No need for his complicated methods, just directly kill. Perhaps he had something to learn from her.
There was some kind of face up there- he could see mandibles. The legs terminated in cones with alarming points, somewhere between a claw and a foot. The mandibles spread, and yellow bile sprayed out from between them. Hong and Tian both dodged, but some splashed onto their robes. Tian could smell something acrid. Whatever the bile was, it could dissolve their protective suits.
But equally, whatever the bile was, it wasn’t this creature’s blood. At least his rope dart didn’t have any of it. Tian rushed in, going directly for the belly of the beast. His dart lashed out and plunged deeper into one of the holes Hong had made. With a flex of his vital energy, the dart bent down into a hook, and the rope turned rigid. Barbs jutted out from the rope.
The claw-tipped legs stabbed at Tian. That was fine. He didn’t mind dodging. Every time he shifted around, the fifteen foot long saw he was holding ripped the wound wider and wider. He got as close as he dared to the creature’s belly. It was unlikely to spit corrosive bile into its own wounds. This time, the most dangerous place was actually the safest place.
For her part, Hong helped by poking additional holes in the creature. She might not be able to saw, but she could auger. In what must have been a fit of spite, she quickly punched a line of six holes in the giant thing so close together that they were nearly touching. Then the corrosive effect spread and a long rip opened up.
Tian swore internally, then sharply turned and dashed to the sided.
“Where are you-” Hong’s yell was cut off with a yelp as she scrambled back. The thing couldn’t scream, it seemed, but they had hurt it badly. It slammed downward, its pointy legs jabbing wildly in the dirt.
Then it spun around and ran away. The two cultivators shared a look. Could… could the wasteland monsters do that? Was that allowed?
Tian had the urge to chase after it, but it was faster than them to begin with. If it could shoot those needle-hairs from its rear end as well, wouldn’t that be just looking for death?
“Caterpillar! That’s what it reminds me of, a fuzzy caterpillar.” Tian thought. Then swore again, because it really was too damn frustrating. Their suits were shredded, they were forced to fight, to jump around to dodge caustic bile, all for what, exactly? And even if they had killed it, Tian didn’t know of any use for a twenty foot long caterpillar.
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Didn’t caterpillars eat leaves? What was a caterpillar doing in the middle of a barren desert? It definitely didn’t get that big eating lichen. He frowned, following up that thought.
“Giant insects.”
“Yes, Brother Tian, I just about managed to figure that out. It was a giant insect. Well done. Very well done. I’d offer you a cookie, but I’m all out.”
“I’m not talking about your incompetent packing, Sister Hong. I’m wondering how come there are so many giant insects here in the wastes.”
“Because this is where they live. Obviously.”
“Oh, it’s obvious?”
“Yes. The things we keep running into where they live and hunt, live and hunt there. The logic is a little complex, but give it time and you will be able to follow it.” Hong’s voice was very kind.
“Oh good. So, Sister, how much food does a thirty foot long caterpillar need to eat, given that a two inch one can eat a leaf bigger than itself really, really fast?”
“I don’t know. A lot?” She shrugged.
“We found the animal where it lives and hunts, Sister Hong.” Tian was using his most reasonable voice. “Clearly it lives and hunts here, so it must be hunting something. What? What could be here that it could eat enough of to stay alive?”
“There are giant demonized birds.” Hong looked thoughtful. “But those are regular sized birds that ate something demonic.”
“Right. And the insects mostly aren’t demonized.”
“But this must be normal, or our seniors would have said something.” Hong kept thinking it through.
“Yes. My brothers specifically told me that there is very little in the way of plants in the desert. So if the big predator birds are eating the big insects, what are the big insects eating? And if that’s a caterpillar, what kind of butterfly does it turn into? What kind of flowers does it drink from?”
Hong looked thoughtful, but made no reply. The two just watched the blurred shape of the caterpillar vanish into the desert haze.
They collected the needle hairs before they left, of course. They agreed that if the crafters couldn’t make something useful out of them, they should go be farmers instead.
It took five days to get back to the base. To Tian’s quiet surprise, it was a lot slower with fewer people. They had to move much more cautiously, and make wide detours around threats that would have avoided a twenty person party. Hong started smelling again, and though she would occasionally reduce the stink at night in her tent, she got increasingly cranky about it. And about the fact that Tian smelled like lotuses. She could accept giant scorpions lunging out from under shady rocks, but a self perfuming dullard was simply more than she could endure.
Their return to Depot Four wasn’t particularly warm. The two youngest, weakest people in the party were the only ones to make it back alive? They were whisked immediately to separate interrogation cells and given a very thorough debriefing. One that immediately turned more friendly when the interrogators discovered that Martial Uncle Ku was still alive and in pursuit of the presumably badly wounded Heartbreak Worm Zhu. They bordered on friendly when he explained that scrupulous accounting was done of the loot recovered, and it was all being submitted to the Treasure Weighing Magistrate.
Tian carefully noted it all down. Things he hadn’t understood in the Temple were becoming very clear. When his brothers said that everyone below the Heavenly Person Realm was an ant, they weren’t being modest. They were letting him know exactly how things were. Which did raise the question- beyond helping with the staffing shortage, just what the hell was he doing on the front line? What was he doing here in the wasteland at all?
The thought settled around him, a different sort of ugly, sticky feeling that both paired and contrasted with the tarry hate that wrapped his heart. He had been, if not happy to be here, not willing to stay behind as his brothers went charging into danger. He still wasn’t willing. Willing or not, he was Level Five of the Earthly Person Realm while even Heavenly Person Realm cultivators were fighting for their lives and dying.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t gained things here. Grandpa Jun sounded quite satisfied. But it was only a few months ago that he was happy, warm and safe with his brothers. Trading misery for power didn’t seem like a good trade to Tian. Life was a nasty, ugly, brutal thing if you didn’t fight it. Why cultivate if you weren’t going to make your life better?
It’s a suffering world out there. Needs saving. And I think you know the rest of what I would say from here. You’ve had a lousy couple of weeks. You have more than earned your rest.
Tian shook his head. There wasn’t a good way to talk to Grandpa, especially sprawled in his cot in the barracks.
Actually, if you focus carefully on your thoughts, I can probably hear you now. The level of spiritualization your body has reached is really decent, given your level and realm. It’s pretty fascinating what this sutra is doing for you. You are simultaneously becoming more “earthly” and material, while your spirit is getting more and more ethereal. The two are balancing each other, almost dancing with each other. It’s beautiful to watch. At least from this old ghost's perspective.
“Grandpa?”
Hello, good grandson.
Tian smiled. He couldn’t help it. Having to sneak around to talk to Grandpa had been frustrating. This was going to be so much better.
He was trying to figure out what to ask Grandpa when Brother Su came stumbling into the barracks. He didn’t look hurt, but he looked exhausted. He smiled when he saw Tian, then rolled into bed.
“You look troubled, little Brother.” Su was kicking off his shoes and shucking off his outer robes with the force of long habit. He still managed to flash Tian his usual brilliant smile, though Tian could hear in his voice that he was already mostly asleep.
“I’m wondering why the sect deployed a Level Five to the battlefield. We can’t possibly be that short staffed.”
“We can. And are. But that’s not it.”
“Why then?”
The only reply was a gentle breath. Brother Su was so exhausted, he was asleep before his head rested on his pillow.