Kingdom Of The Weak

"What I did?" Lem Yan… err… Remian... blinked.

"Grab a torch, and carry some oil with you." Hou instructed. "If a giant vine tries to grab you burn it! If burning it a little isn"t enough, throw the oil on and burn it even more!"

"Uh… right." Remian didn"t want to tell them that it wasn"t oil that made his fire flare up and all. Actually, come to think of it, what Hou was saying was exactly what he should have done. His instructions were not wrong.

Hou"s instructions in general were sound. In terms of command and tactical thinking, he was actually clearer minded than the others, an In-Charge sort while the others were more of Charge-In types. Too bad he was a greedy, murderous lecher.

It was the morning after the night ambush. The group had collected fifteen gourds full of Trapvine sap and were now about to track their attacker back to its lair.

They found it easily enough. It was a shallow pit filled with vines, many of whom started moving as they arrived, but so slowly, Remian could avoid them all just by walking.

"All right. Let"s start gathering them. Cut the tendrils, and stash the cores." Hou instructed.

"You guys, I"m going out on patrol." Wushuang offered.

"I"ll come with." Big Li added.

"Then, me too!" Little Li jumped.

"And I will accompany you also…" Zhao Feng added.

"Hie! We can"t all go!" Hou said, looking rather grumpy. [It should be me going out with Big Li alone! Why is everyone wanting to go along?!] "Somebody needs to stay and keep watch!"

Big Li hesitated, exchanging glances with Wushuang, then grimaced and said, "Very well, I will keep watch."

"As will I." Zhao Feng said smoothly. Too smoothly.

"And of course, I will supervise." Hou added, glancing at him darkly.

This set Xue Wushuang and Xue Meili (Little Li) to go out on patrol, leaving Big Li and her two suitors to keep watch and oversee the workers. Remian himself hesitated.

"Uh… I don"t think I"ll be of much use here. I think my abilities are better put to use on patrol." He offered.

"You can stay here and keep watch. It would be tiring for someone in your condition to walk around on patrol." Big Li offered.

Both Zhao Feng and Mu Hou shot dark looks at Remian. Their eyes stared daggers.

"Uh… no, it"s okay. I"ll… go patrol…" Remian hastily bade a quick retreat.

Yet it seemed going on patrol presented problems on its own.

[This is going to be troublesome.] Wushuang thought as they headed out. [How are we going to reach the treasure with Lem Yan tagging along?]

For a moment there, there was a flash of killing intent. Dead men tell no tales.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Remian slowed down, and then stopped entirely

"What"s wrong?" Wushuang asked him in a casual tone. Too casual.

"I…" Remian grimaced. [I don"t want to die!] "I think you guys better go ahead. I"ll just… wait here."

"Aww. Poor Lem Yan, tired already?" Little Li scoffed.

But Wushuang just nodded. "Fine. You wait here. Get some rest." [Good. Now we can get to the treasure without him causing problems.]

Remian sat down just around the corner from where Big Li was having a very intense and playful conversation with both Zhao Feng and Mu Hou. He tried his best not to hear their thoughts and voices, but a lot of those drifted by nonetheless.

Trying not to pry on their romantic/murderous entanglement, he focused on keeping tabs on Wushuang and Little Li as they darted through the forest, totally not on patrol, always heading directly towards the very thickest part of the Red Mist.

"So that"s it!" Remian snapped his fingers. "That"s how they find their way around! They"re using the density of the Red Mist itself as a compa.s.s. Everyone here practices martial arts with enhanced perceptions. All of them can tell which way is the densest Red Mists easily."

And in the case of Wushuang and Little Li"s "patrol", they were making a beeline straight for the thickest parts. There, Remian guessed, lay the Treasure that the Xue Clan was so secretive about.

A particularly strong thought from Hou wafted over. [I"ve decided! I will use my great wealth in the auction to win Li-er"s affections! It will be costly, but once I have her, I will easily gain control over the Xue Clan, and quickly profit from my investment!]

Meanwhile, Zhao Feng was going [What is she hiding? I must press harder! What is she really up to?!]

While Big Li thought, [Why is Feng-feng suddenly being so pushy? He"s jealous, isn"t he? It"s because Hou promised to buy me so many things in the auction. Maybe now he"ll finally relent and ask his family for support! Feng-feng on his own can"t afford much, but the Zhao family, that"s a different story! This could be very, very beneficial for me!]

Half-cringing, Remian steered his attention as far away from their thoughts as he could, focusing on Wushuang, following her Psionically, though he stayed right where he was physically.

He could almost see her running ahead of him, brushing past thorns and bush and leaving frosted plants to the left and right…

A thought floated up. [That berry looks juicy. Can I eat it?]

Eh? Wait, no that"s not Wushuang"s thoughts! That"s… Little Li!

Then the sight of Wushuang running through the forest is… what Little Li was seeing? [I"m seeing Wushuang through Little Li"s eyes!]

Remian felt a stab of surprise and wonder at how his Psionic abilities were growing. It was like ever since they started on this expedition, his Psionic senses and strength had been improving at a rapid pace. Was it just practice, since he was using it so much? Or was there something more going on?

He glanced at Death questioningly.

[I didn"t do anything.] Death shrugged. [It"s got nothing to do with me. But if I had to guess, I"d say it has to do with where you are.]

[Where I am? In a different world…? Or…] Remian glanced around at the Red Mist. [The Red Mist Forest?]

Death didn"t elaborate further, but Remian frowned and peered at the Red Mists with narrowed eyes.

What was this Red Mist? Why was it red? Why was it mist? Did it affect him somehow?

Then a burst of joy from both Wushuang and Little Li drew his attention.

They had found it! The Treasure that the Xue Clan kept secret was in front of their eyes! Remian saw it as they saw it, gleaming metal in the sunlight…

Wait. What? This… this was…!

Remian found himself looking at a fallen airship.

No, wait. That wasn"t right. It looked like an extremely powerful airship, but for some reason, Remian was feeling something more from it. His Psionic senses were detecting vibes and reverberations from it that told him a secret.

This ship indeed flew through the skies, but it was unlike the kinds of airships Mindy built, the kind Remian was familiar with, the kind that used lighter-than-air containment for buoyancy. This was like the heavy military-grade airships used by the largest militaries, the kind that used pure power and immense amounts of mana to fly through the air. On top of that, the vibes coming from the ship told him that keeping the ship airtight was essential, absolutely vital.
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There was a reason why the hull was meant to be airtight. There was a reason why this ship ran on pure power rather than lighter-than-air containment.

The reason was because this was a ship meant to sail through the air, or upon the waters. This was a ship meant to sail the void between the stars.

[This is the wreck of a s.p.a.ceship.] Remian gulped. [And it"s where all the Red Mist is coming from.]