Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 870: Feathers and Pride

Li Yu slipped away into the deep shadows of the canyon, leaving the valley of death and the victorious Tempest Tiger far behind. He traveled at a steady and measured pace, keeping his aura tightly suppressed to avoid drawing any further attention from the aggressive predators that ruled this rugged landscape.He journeyed for several hours as the terrain slowly shifted. The harsh jagged rocks and dry riverbeds gave way to softer soil and lush green vegetation. He heard the faint sound of rushing water echoing through the trees.

Following the sound, Li Yu emerged into a serene clearing. A vibrant stream cascaded down a short rock face, feeding into a tranquil lake surrounded by weeping willow trees. The water was crystal clear and reflected the soft light of the twin moons hanging in the night sky. It seemed to be a rare pocket of calm in a realm governed by relentless violence.

Li Yu decided this was a good place to stop. He gathered a few fallen branches and set up a modest camp near the edge of the lake. Li Yu decided not to light a fire, preferring to rely on his own cultivation to ward off the evening chill and to also keep from drawing attention to himself. He sat down on a smooth stone and closed his eyes to meditate, letting the sound of the waterfall wash away the lingering tension of the day.

A sudden splash broke the quiet rhythm of the lake.

Li Yu opened his eyes at the sudden sound. He had forgotten to scan the surroundings of the peaceful looking area when he had come here. Ripples spread across the surface of the water near the center of the lake. A figure emerged from the depths, rising slowly into the moonlight.

It was a woman, or at least a humanoid figure with feminine proportions. However, she was covered from head to toe in sleek silver and blue feathers besides in some places where the feathers were damaged. She possessed the distinct head of an avian beast, complete with a sharp curved beak and expressive glowing eyes. Folded tightly against her back were two large feathered wings but one was damaged.

She waded toward the shore, water cascading off her metallic feathers. As she stepped into the shallow water, her sharp eyes locked onto Li Yu sitting quietly by his unlit camp.

Her feathers immediately puffed up in alarm.

"Pervert!" The bird woman shrieked. Her voice carried a startling resonance that cracked like a whip of thunder. "You dare to peek at me while I bathe? Spying on a maiden in the water, you shameless flesh creature!"

Li Yu looked at her in genuine confusion but he did not move from his stone. He scanned her form from top to bottom and then again from bottom to top. She was covered in a thick, impenetrable layer of feathers. There was not a single inch of exposed skin or anything resembling bare anatomy visible on her body.

"I am not spying." Li Yu said calmly in his confusion. He turned his body around to face the forest out of basic courtesy, presenting his back to the lake. "And there is nothing to peek at. You are covered in feathers."

His pragmatic response only seemed to infuriate her further along with the movement of his eyes earlier.

"You deny your crime and insult my honor?" She yelled, splashing loudly out of the water and onto the grassy shore. "To my kind, this is not covered up! Feathers are a part of my body. Being without my garments is being exposed, you ignorant voyeur!"

Li Yu sighed softly to himself. The cultural differences in this realm were vast and baffling. To a human cultivator, a thick coat of animal feathers was essentially a natural suit of armor. To an avian humanoid, standing without woven cloth was a severe breach of modesty.

He listened as she hastily rustled through a spatial pouch she had left near the shoreline. A moment later, the sound of fabric snapping into place signaled she had dressed.

"You may turn around, you scoundrel." She hissed.

Li Yu turned back to her. The bird woman was now wearing a set of vibrant, colorful martial robes. The fabric was a brilliant mix of fiery reds, deep golds and vivid purples, standing in stark contrast to her silver and blue feathers. The robes were tailored to accommodate her large wings and her bird-like head, giving her a regal and imposing appearance.

Despite her humanoid shape and her colorful garments, Li Yu easily recognized the distinct silver feathers and the lingering scent of ozone. He noted a massive tear in the fabric of her new robes near her chest, revealing a patch of charred and lacerated flesh where feathers had been violently sheared away.

She was the large thunderbird from the valley. She had managed to survive the Tempest Tiger's wind blade and had taken a humanoid form to hide and wash her wounds in the lake. Perhaps she was treating her wounds down there as well.

"Prepare yourself." The thunderbird woman snarled. She raised a feathered hand and a dangerous arc of blue lightning crackled between her talons. "I will not let this insult pass. I will fry your eyes for your insolence."

She stepped forward to launch her attack.

Before the lightning could even leave her hand, a spasm of raw agony twisted her avian features. She coughed violently, spraying a mist of blue blood into the air. The massive injuries she had sustained from the crimson dragon and the wind tiger were simply too severe. Her legs buckled beneath her before she could even begin to attack.

The bird woman collapsed onto the soft grass and passed out instantly, the lightning fading from her fingertips. Li Yu shook his head at the turn of events and walked over to her unconscious body. He knelt beside her and extended his spiritual sense to check her condition.

Her internal meridians were in chaos. The wind elemental Qi from the tiger was still ravaging her pathways, fighting against her natural lightning Qi. If left in such a state she would die.

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Li Yu did not want to just leave her to rot on the shore as he had no hatred towards her. He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a high grade healing pill. He carefully opened her beak and placed the pill inside, using a gentle pulse of his own energy to guide the medicine down her throat.

The pill dissolved quickly and a warm, soothing glow spread across her chest, stabilizing her erratic breathing and halting the internal damage. It would not completely cure her but it would at least stabilize her body so her own foundation can start the healing process.

She needed time to rest and digest the medicinal energy. Li Yu stood up and looked at the tranquil lake. He decided he would stay here for a few days while watching over her. It was a peaceful spot and if he left now, a wandering scavenger would surely eat the unconscious bird.

He walked into the nearby woods, found a sturdy branch and began to carve a simple fishing pole. He had his own fishing rod but it felt better to create one with the materials around the actual lake he would fish at.

Deep within Li Yu's inner soul space, the environment remained calm and serene. On the large floating island, Elysia wiped the sweat from her brow. She was tending to a neat row of spiritual crops she had planted near a small wooden hut.

Elysia paused her work and looked up at the sky of the soul space. She had tried to project a sliver of her consciousness outside of the inner world to see where Li Yu had traveled to but she had met an impenetrable wall of pressure. It was a cosmic rejection force that pushed back against her soul with terrifying weight.

After a bit of time she knew exactly what that pressure meant. She could not leave the soul space because she did not belong in the era Li Yu was currently walking through. Elysia realized that Li Yu had traveled backward through the grand river of time like his half soul had done.

She leaned against her farming hoe and fell into deep thought. If this was the past and it was rejecting her, then the younger version of her was currently alive and waging war somewhere in the cosmos. She wondered where she was at this exact moment in history. More importantly, she wondered if her past self was currently allied with Li Yu's other half soul yet.

Elysia shook her head and pushed those heavy thoughts to the back of her mind. She could see the human half soul tending to the fields not far from her. Whenever Li Yu's main consciousness was focused on the outside world, the half soul roamed freely here, keeping her company in this quiet sanctuary.

She smiled warmly. The past was the past and the future would sort itself out. Right now, she was safe in this place and she decided to simply enjoy her time tending her fields and being near the one she cherished. She picked up her hoe and went back to work without much further thoughts.

Two days passed quietly by the side of the lake.

Li Yu sat on his smooth stone and was holding his carved wooden pole over the clear water. He had caught several plump fish and roasted them over a small fire he had eventually decided to build. The days were peaceful, broken only by the sound of the waterfall and the occasional rustle of the wind through the willow trees.

Behind him, the thunderbird woman finally stirred.

She groaned softly and slowly pushed herself up from the grass. Her colorful martial robes were rumpled but the massive tear over her chest revealed that the jagged wound had closed, leaving behind a smooth patch of new pink skin.

She blinked her glowing eyes and looked around. She saw the lake, the trees and the human sitting near the water with a fishing pole. Memory rushed back to her of what she was doing before she had passed out.

She gasped and immediately checked her body. She patted down her vibrant robes, inspected her feathered wings and circulated her lightning Qi. Finding her clothes intact, her cultivation stable and her body free of any foul play, she let out a long breath of relief.

She stood up and walked over to where Li Yu was sitting. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at him with a complex expression.

"You healed me." She stated, her voice still carrying that sharp avian resonance.

"I simply gave you a pill." Li Yu replied without looking away from the water. "You were dying from wind Qi corruption."

The bird woman shifted her weight awkwardly. Her pride was a massive barrier but the laws of her kind demanded she acknowledge a debt. It was the way of the people of these lands. Strength and honor were respected and valued traits.

"I suppose I must thank you for taking care of me." She said stiffly, lifting her beak into the air. "You saved my life, flesh creature. However, my flock was decimated. I need to get back to my own people to report the loss of the hunting grounds and gather reinforcements."

She waited for his response. From the stories she had been told, strangers who offered life saving medicine always demanded something in return. They demanded servitude, rare treasures or an oath of loyalty. She braced herself for an argument, ready to refuse whatever steep price he was about to name because she would never accept such terms.

Li Yu felt a tug on his line and he quickly jerked the wooden pole upward, pulling a struggling fish out of the water. He unhooked the fish and tossed it into a woven basket beside him.

"Alright." Li Yu said calmly after catching the fish. He set the pole down and stood up to look at her. "Safe travels."

The thunderbird woman stared at him. She blinked her large eyes several times, waiting for the rest of his sentence. When he simply turned around and began to pack up his small camp, her beak dropped open in disbelief.

"That is it?" She demanded, her voice rising in pitch. "You are just going to let me go?"

Li Yu paused and looked at her. "You just said you needed to get back to your people. Should I stop you?"

"No!" She squawked indignantly, her silver feathers puffing up around her neck. "But I am still recovering! I am a warrior of the noble avian lineage. You did not even offer your help to escort me, nor did you try to demand a reward to test my honor. You are just dismissing me like a common sparrow!"

Li Yu was genuinely confused by her shifting logic. He stared at the angry bird woman in silence. First she had yelled at him for standing near a lake, then she had tried to attack him and now she was furious because he was respecting her stated desire to leave.

He had met many strange cultivators across the cosmos but he had never dealt with someone quite like this before. Her fierce pride demanded friction and his total lack of interest was deeply insulting to her ego.

"I have my own path to walk." Li Yu said, deciding it was best not to engage with her erratic temper. He secured his spatial ring and brushed the dirt from his robes. "I do not need a reward and you do not need my escort. Goodbye."

He gave her a polite nod, turned his back and walked away into the dense tree line.

The thunderbird woman stood by the edge of the crystal clear lake. She watched his robes disappear into the shadows of the forest and her wings fluttered in agitation as she stomped her clawed foot against the dirt.

"Insolent, confusing flesh creature!" She yelled at the empty trees, her pride thoroughly bruised by his casual departure.

She stood there fuming for several minutes, angry at him for leaving, angry at herself for caring and angry at the strange twist of fate that had brought them together.