The Second Expedition (A Thousand Li #4)

The compressed earth path up the mountain was wide and well trampled, countless feet having worn away
any greenery. Clad in dark-colored cloth shoes, the two martial artists hiked up the winding trail, shaded from
the late evening sun by the towering dove trees with their heart-shaped leaves on either side of the bare trail.
Wisps of clouds occasionally covered the sun as a light breeze rustled dried leaves and brought the scents of
blooming flowers and fresh flowing water to the pair of immortal cultivators.

As they climbed, the occasional whistle of birds chirping to one another filtered through the undergrowth,
breaking through the on-going argument between the pair.

“Did you really have to carry all that?” Tou He said, exasperation clear in his voice as he strolled alongside
his friend, his wooden staff over one muscular shoulder.
“It’s not hard. And I need the contribution points,” Wu Ying, the other cultivator, said defensively.

He glanced at his bald friend, clad at last in the pale green and blue robes of the inner sect. Sometime after
their return last autumn, Tou He had stopped wearing his signature orange monk robes and had begun
wearing the inner sect attire of the Verdant Green Waters Sect. He had continued to keep his head shaved
and his prayer beads around his neck though, unwilling to give up all aspects of his past.

“But all of it?” Tou He said, pointing at the burden Wu Ying carried. “Shouldn’t you leave something for
the others?”

Wu Ying made a face as his feet dug into the ground again, the multiple rice bags strapped together
shifting precariously on his back. He shifted his weight sideways, keeping balanced the entire makeshift-
backpack that was twice his height and three times his weight. The motion was automatic, his breathing only
hitching a little. Doing so was no more difficult than the strength training they regularly practiced in the inner
sect. Feats of such strength and endurance were nothing, not for a pair of Energy Storage cultivators.

“This isn’t all! There’s a ton more to take.” Wu Ying protested. “There’s still beans, fish, tofu, and more. I
even saw a ship coming in on the river from Shazi Po. I bet that has the new sect robes.”

Tou He shook his head. “Still, how many points is this? Ten? Twelve?”

“Seven.” Wu Ying exhaled before taking the next step, feeling the ground beneath his feet give way and
compress under the added weight. Once more, he made a note to himself to practice his qinggong exercises.

Of all the aspects he was working on, the “light foot” exercises had been the most difficult to grasp since his
ascension to the Energy Storage realm. “They lowered the amount last month.”

“Did they?” Tou He frowned then shrugged, letting the matter go.

For the ex-Buddhist monk, the struggle for contribution points had never been a concern. The tea master
had always had more than he needed. The materials for tea ceremonies – at his level—didn’t require much in terms of contribution points. And as an honorary martial specialist, Tou He had more than sufficient opportunities to earn sect contribution points by dealing with wandering spirits and demonic beasts.

Wu Ying sighed as he exhaled, then he wiped the dirt off his tanned face, pushing aside long hair that had
come loose from its ties as he took the next step. He felt a flash of jealousy rising up and squashed it,
knowing it had nothing to do with his friend.
His own desperate need for contribution points was no fault of Tou He’s. The ex-monk had smartly
chosen not to set up an entire displaced village. He also didn’t have a secondary occupation as a budding
apothecarist, an occupation that was known to eat contribution points and materials like a taotei 1 .

Between those two factors, Wu Ying had spent the entirety of his spring and summer running Sect quests,
trying to rebuild his bank of contribution points. With what he owed the Sect, and with the village only
beginning to get on its feet, the last few months had left him little time for practice. He’d only managed to
consolidate his gains, ensuring that his cultivation base and his meridians were thoroughly cleansed.

“Yeah. We took in more outer sect members than usual. It seems the villages are looking to dump as
many as they can to us and the other sects,” Wu Ying said.

That was no surprise if one considered things. Which, Wu Ying had to admit, was not something he’d
thought of until lately.

Release Date: October 1, 2020

Pages: 395

Genre: Cultivation Fantasy

eBook ISBN: 9781989994092

Language: English

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