TM CH12

Chapter 12 Building Fences As Walls

After a brief rest, the two continued on their way. They walked and paused intermittently for several hours before finally reaching their destination. Rong Qi found an open patch of ground, set down the crippled man he was carrying, and pointed at the cliff wall ahead. “How about that?”

Just as Rong Qi had described, the cliff slanted inward at the bottom, forming a triangular recess large enough for two people to huddle inside. If the rain wasn’t heavy, sheltering under the cliff would keep them relatively dry. Unfortunately, the island was often hit by strong winds. Unless they were lucky, the rain would likely be blown in.

Gu Yunxing said, “Not bad. As long as we build a wall to block the wind, the rain won’t blow in.”

In front of the cliff was a clearing, surrounded on three sides by forest. A few steps to the west was a small stream, making it convenient to fetch water.

Rong Qi glanced at the sky. “It’s almost noon. Since this place is decent, why don’t you go ahead and show off your skills, Sect Master Gu?”

Gu Yunxing: “……”

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither making a move.

Rong Qi said warily, “This venerable one has no idea how to build a house.”

Gu Yunxing: “I figured.”

Rong Qi: “Then why are you staring at me?”

Gu Yunxing: “First, we need wood.” He looked toward the patch of dead trees around them and suggested, “Why don’t we start by gathering materials?”

The two fell silent again, then finally decided to head into the forest together.

Whether it was the Lord Right Protector or the Tianji Sect Master, neither had ever seriously chopped down a tree before. They circled a large tree, each sizing it up with a serious expression, as if trying to decide where to begin.

At some point, a dagger had appeared in Gu Yunxing’s hand. He suddenly slashed it sideways at the trunk. The blade, sharp enough to kill with a single cut, now struggled to scrape through the rough bark, producing a dull, grating sound.

Rong Qi turned to stare at Gu Yunxing and said coolly, “That looks like this venerable one’s dagger.”

Gu Yunxing replied, “A fine weapon.”

“It’s been with this venerable one for eight years. It’s called cilin,” Rong Qi added. “Lin as in scale plate of armor.” Not as in forest!

Gu Yunxing’s hand paused. “A good name.”

Rong Qi felt his teeth itch in frustration. No matter how sharp a dagger was, it couldn’t withstand that kind of abuse. Gu Yunxing was clearly wasting a perfectly good weapon! He had already been annoyed at how Gu Yunxing had claimed the dagger as his own. Now, seeing his beloved dagger suffer like this, he could no longer hold back. He reached out and said, “Give it back.”

Gu Yunxing lowered his gaze to Rong Qi’s open palm, stared at it for a moment, then silently placed the dagger onto it.

The moment the blade touched his palm, Rong Qi closed his fingers around it and tucked it into his robes without delay.

Gu Yunxing: “……”

“This is the brilliant idea you came up with, Sect Master Gu?” Rong Qi didn’t believe for a second that this man was actually foolish enough to try chopping trees with a dagger.

“This humble Gu merely wanted to use the cilin to test the wood,” Gu Yunxing said calmly. “If even a blade like this can’t pierce it, then the tree must be sturdy enough.”

Rong Qi looked skeptical. “Testing the wood… is that really how it’s done?”

He was pretty sure Gu Yunxing was making things up.

Instead of answering, Gu Yunxing asked in return, “Does Right Protector Rong have a better method for gathering materials?”

Rong Qi didn’t have an opinion, but he did have a method.

He motioned for Gu Yunxing to step aside, walked a circle around the tree, then stopped and struck the trunk with a palm strike. A surge of powerful inner force shot into the tree. With a loud crack, the large tree collapsed with a crash.

Rong Qi gave Gu Yunxing a smug glance, but then, as if remembering something, his expression soured. After all, when he’d trained so hard in martial arts, cutting down trees had never been part of the plan.

Both of them were top experts of their time. Felling trees with bare hands was no challenge at all.

In no time, seven or eight trees lay felled on the ground. Hauling them back took quite a bit of effort, and by the end of it, both of them were a mess.

Tugging at his robes, Rong Qi raised a hand to sniff it, then scowled deeply. “I’ll be back.”

Gu Yunxing was measuring a piece of wood against the cliff wall when he heard that. “You’ve only just recovered. The mountain stream is cold, better to hold off for a few days.”

Rong Qi raised a brow. “This venerable one will decide what’s appropriate. There’s no need for your concern.”

About half a stick of incense later, Rong Qi returned.

He stood draped in a loose outer robe, the hem parting just enough to reveal the faint glimpse of slender legs beneath. His wet hair hung down his back. Freshly bathed and refreshed, he was in quite a good mood. Even Gu Yunxing seemed less irritating to the eye.

At some point, a fire had been built in front of the cliff, and it was burning steadily.

Rong Qi walked over and sat by the fire. As he ran his fingers through his damp hair, he turned to observe Gu Yunxing’s progress.

The trees had already been split into logs by palm strikes, and Gu Yunxing was now driving them into the ground with forceful blows. While Rong Qi had been bathing, he had already hammered down dozens of logs in a row. At a glance, the line of posts somewhat resembled a ‘wooden wall.’ Rong Qi also noticed that there were gaps of varying sizes between each log, which probably wouldn’t block the wind very well. Still, Gu Yunxing had buried them quite deep, and they looked quite sturdy.

Watching with interest, Rong Qi couldn’t help but think that Gu Yunxing’s haphazard method might actually work.

He gave a rare word of praise. “Sect Master Gu does have some skill after all.”

With his back to him, Gu Yunxing replied, “The Lord Right Protector’s praise is too generous.”

Rong Qi watched for a while longer, then quietly built a simple rack and hung his wet clothes on it to dry.

Gu Yunxing had been fully focused on building the wall and hadn’t been distracted when Rong Qi returned. But now, hearing a constant rustling behind him, he finally turned to look, and his expression shifted slightly. “You…”

“I haven’t changed clothes in over half a month, so I figured I might as well wash everything,” Rong Qi said as he warmed himself by the fire. Meeting Gu Yunxing’s gaze, he tugged his robe a little tighter, looking slightly uneasy. He knew he was in the wrong. The other person was busy working hard, while he was idly warming himself by the fire, looking exactly like an unscrupulous slacker trying to shirk his responsibilities.

Gu Yunxing’s gaze lowered and landed on a pair of bare feet resting on the rocks. He wasn’t even wearing shoes or socks.

“Where are your shoes and socks?”

Rong Qi paused. “I washed them too.”

Gu Yunxing: “…You just recovered from a serious illness. Aren’t you worried about catching cold again?”

At that, Rong Qi reflexively curled his toes. A sharp pain shot through the soles of his feet. He frowned and let out a hiss. “Look, I carried you all morning and ended up with blisters.”

Gu Yunxing stared at the feet dangling in his line of sight, falling into silent thought.

Now that he’d figured out how to justify things, Right Protector Rong’s attitude underwent a complete transformation. He sat securely in his spot, as steady as Mount Tai. Seeing Gu Yunxing remain silent, he urged him to hurry up and get to work, all the while taking out the leftover berries from the morning and leisurely starting to eat them.

Gu Yunxing: “……” Just how many berries had he picked for this demon? Why had he been eating them it all day and still not run out?