William Anderson
Stories
6
Chapters
2,147
Words
340.2 K
Comments
0
Reading
1 d, 4 h
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Muchen put away his feelings of triumph as he faced down this new challenge. His heart was racing from the excitement and adrenaline rush, but he did his best to focus and decide on the best course of action. He'd managed to kill one wolf with a single decisive strike, but that didn't mean that finishing off two wolves was just a matter of swinging his knife twice. The beasts he was facing only bore a superficial similarity to any wolf he had seen back on Earth. On the Qianzhan Continent, humans weren't…-
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Muchen forced himself through the second half of the practice session. He might not be advancing his cultivation by leaps and bounds, but he was already reaping some benefits of practice. While he was sore, tired, and fuzzy-headed, his body still moved into an appropriate attacking stance, and even his spiritual energy was moving more or less correctly as he lashed out with the knife. That wasn't to say that he was doing everything perfectly. Far from it. He still got more corrective swats with the willow…
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The next day dawned cold and clear. It was getting to be the time of year that Muchen would ordinarily be planning his trip south for the winter. A traveling merchant couldn't stay at an inn every day, and camping outside in the snow was a terrible experience. Especially since he didn't have access to any kind of modern camping gear. He did have access to cultivation-fueled superhuman feats, though, which opened up some options. With Xinyi's help Muchen had already surpassed an ordinary mortal's tolerance…
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Muchen spent a moment admiring the beautifully deadly weaponry on display. It was a pity that he had to focus on more practical ways to make money. He shook his head before making his way to the counter. "I'd like to take a look at your cookware." The old man nodded before disappearing into the back room. Weapons and armor were the show pieces that smithies relied on to impress customers with their ability, but most of the metal by weight would be used on more practical things. It didn't take long for…
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The blacksmiths' district was located a short walk away from his inn. Muchen was halfway there when a woman fell into step beside him. He was startled at first before he recognized Xinyi from the mottled greens and browns of her dress. He'd caught a glimpse of her before from a distance, enough that her features looked familiar, but it was only now that he could see her up close in the light of day that he could truly appreciate her appearance. She stood a head shorter than him, not counting the cowlick…
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Muchen froze in shock. His terror fell by more than half when he saw the rise and fall of the captive's chest. Whatever Xinyi had done, at least she hadn't killed anybody. Xinyi hopped off of the body. With a gesture of her flipper an unseen force caused it to rise into the air and flip over. Much to Muchen's surprise, he recognized the man's face when it came into view. It was the waiter who had served them last night, the man he had bribed in order to get an introduction to the Hidden Fragrance…
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Muchen finally figured that he was as comfortable as he was going to get in his dress robes. He still fiddled with the collar one last time before heading out. One nice thing about staying at a decent inn was that both of the restaurants were within easy walking distance. He stopped by the Plum Blossom Kitchen first. Not to eat, but to scout out the menu. As he'd expected, the dishes made with spirit rice were the most expensive available. Actually, the premium being charged was even more than he'd…
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It was late in the afternoon when they reached a town. The place was hardly a bustling metropolis, but compared to the tiny villages that they had passed on the way in it at least had a market street and two different inns to choose from. Muchen arranged for lodging at the slightly nicer of the inns, happily paying a few extra wen to have a warm bath sent up to his room. He double checked to make sure that his cart was locked up securely before he made his way upstairs. He tossed his travel pack on the…
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Muchen turned back just in time to see a curly head of hair pop up from between a pair of burlap sacks. He'd been worried that some sort of murderous crime against nature had smuggled its way onto his cart, so it was a relief to see a young woman clambering her way out from under his cargo. Although, to be fair, in the Qianzhan Continent there were plenty of dangerous beasts that could adopt an innocent appearance. She didn't look particularly murderous, at least, as she stood triumphantly atop the pile…
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Life was cheap in this world, but it wasn't free. Cultivators wielded great power to reshape the world around them, but at the end of the day they did live in a society. Most cultivators could get through the day without indulging in a murder spree. There were plenty of cultivators out there who got away with murder, of course. Muchen just counted himself lucky that the Qianzhan Continent at least wasn't the sort of place where any random cultivator might slaughter a whole city if one of the locals…
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