A Swaying Blue Sky

On their final day, Xilutaiya told Kemiya and Kailun that they could do as they pleased and didn't need to stay with her. "Today, I plan to take a walk around the village and ask the local farmers about their farming practices." "Not picking any more mushrooms today?" "We've already combed the nearby woods, and heading deeper wouldn't be safe." The young girl shook her head slightly. She had nothing to fear on her own, but it was a different matter for Kemiya and Kailun. "Fair point." Kemiya thought it over and agreed. "In that case, Kailun and I are going fishing!" Her high spirits quickly returned. After saying goodbye to the pair, Xilutaiya headed out with a dainty basket holding her notebooks, a loaf of bread for lunch, and a small bottle of water. Just as she had told Kemiya, she first inquired about farming conditions from the local villagers, then crouched down to examine the composition of the soil with her fingers. She remembered that on the day they arrived in Goldenrain Village, Teacher Haide had mentioned that the wheat yield here was around sixty jin per mu—roughly sowing six jin of wheat seed to harvest sixty jin of grain. Compared to the rest of the Raygas Principality, such a yield was considered exceptional; in certain barren regions, it was said that sowing six jin of wheat seed produced barely twenty jin. When Xilutaiya first heard that figure, she had found it hard to believe. In her memory, hadn't wheat easily yielded several hundred jin per mu, or even a thousand jin? As she chatted and asked questions of the villagers, the underlying situation gradually became clear. A complete lack of fertilizer, an enforced rotation of fallow fields, insufficient irrigation, poor crop varieties, and pest damage—these factors contributed directly to the abysmal yields. It seemed improving crop production would be a long road. After sorting through the basics, she realized that transforming the current situation would require teaching villagers to apply fertilizer, digging irrigation canals, introducing superior seed varieties, controlling pests and blight, and more. None of this could be achieved in a day or two. For now, she could only jot it down in her notes and experiment later when she had the time and resources. Having satisfied her curiosity, Xilutaiya carried her basket toward the woods near the edge of the village. Today, the sun shone brightly, and the grass was dry and crisp. Setting down her basket, she picked up a wooden branch and practiced the swordsmanship she had neglected for several days. First came the fundamentals. Recalling what she had seen and analyzed during the recent tournament, she refined and smoothed out several subtle details of her movements, bringing power and technique into a wonderful balance. ('Basic Swordsmanship' proficiency +2, Basic Swordsmanship Lv.4, progress: 856/1,200) Her swordsmanship had gradually reached a bottleneck. It was only thanks to observing the tournament that she had managed a small breakthrough; otherwise, relying purely on routine practice would have yielded little progress. *Should I take a walk in the forest?* she thought, glancing at the stick in her hand before shaking her head. She would at least need a real weapon. Wondering if she had enough time to head back for her sword, Xilutaiya began packing her things. Just as she prepared to return, the faint rustle of leaves from deeper in the woods made her look up. Her eyes blinked, and she soon spotted a youth leaning against the trees on the distant slope, struggling to walk. It was Mick. She recognized the youth with the slightly fierce eyes. He seemed injured, limping heavily on one leg. After a moment's thought, Xilutaiya picked up her basket and walked toward him. *** *Huff, puff...* Mick gasped for breath, feeling a slight relief as he looked down at the village nestled at the foot of the hill. *Almost there,* he told himself, once again dragging his agonizing left foot forward with great difficulty. Most of the students hadn't gone up the mountain today, but he had come anyway, determined to bag more game so he could save enough money to repay Brother Jieluo. Lately, while studying under Scholar Haide, he had virtually no income, and his previous savings were nearly drained. Had Brother Jieluo not helped him with living expenses, he would have been forced to drop out long ago. *I'm sorry, Brother Jieluo. I couldn't place in the tournament...* If he had placed in that contest, he would have received the prize offered by the viscount. A piece of gear like that could be sold on the market for a gold coin, enough to wipe out his debt to Brother Jieluo all at once. Money was important—critically important, especially for the poor and the commoners. So often, an illness or injury wasn't incurable; people simply lacked the money to buy medicine or visit a physician. Or they fell sick in the first place because they had no money and had to eat rotten, spoiled food. He had to become a powerful adventurer. Only then could he earn real money. The adventuring profession was wonderful; a single month of work could match half a year's wages—or even a full year's—for an ordinary laborer. Mick had always dreamed of becoming an adventurer as formidable as Jieluo. Yet, compared to seasoned veterans, Mick was still far too green. Hunting had gone smoothly over the past two days, inflating his confidence, but an accident had caught him off guard today. While chasing a fox, his foot had slipped, sending him sliding down a steep slope. Though he had reacted swiftly and tried to recover, his foot had wedged straight into a crevice concealed by fallen leaves. The momentum of his entire body weight had violently twisted his left ankle, likely fracturing it. The mountains were perilous. If an adventurer could not save themselves, they might never walk out alive. Clutching the mossy trunk of a tree, he forced himself to lift his right foot and take another step, dragging his agonizing left leg along. Sweat rolled down his face in fat beads, and the coarse bark left small scrapes on his palms. One step, then another. The village was just ahead. He kept urging himself forward. Perhaps out of sheer exhaustion or blurred vision, he failed to watch his footing. His right foot caught on a stone, sending him tumbling to the ground once more, his arm slamming into a sharp rock that scraped open a fiery, stinging wound. At least his head hadn't hit anything. He lay sprawled on the ground, panting for a moment, before forcing himself back up to inch forward again. Trying not to think about how long it would take, Mick clung to a single thought to keep moving: *Reach the village.* Sweat stung his eyes and clouded his vision until, through the haze, he saw a figure in a black dress with dark hair standing before him. *Who is that...?* His consciousness was already slipping. Xilutaiya looked at the boy collapsed in front of her and bent down with concern to check on him. He seemed to have heatstroke, and his leg was injured as well. Autumn in the Rising Wind Season still carried the fierce heat of midsummer. The rain a few days ago had offered some respite, but the weather had grown sweltering again over the past two days. Recalling the local climate, Xilutaiya retrieved the small bottle of water from her basket. The clay bottle had been prepared by Kailun that morning, and she hadn't touched it yet. Xilutaiya uncorked it, trickled water into the unconscious boy's mouth, and then dragged him into the shade of a tree. About ten minutes later, Mick slowly stirred, his senses returning. He glanced around and saw the young girl sitting in the shade nearby, quietly reading a book. Only then did he realize he had passed out. "Thank you," he croaked weakly. "Don't mention it. You're not looking so good, though." Xilutaiya stepped over and brought her hand to his forehead once more. It was burning hot—whether from a fever or lingering heatstroke, she couldn't be sure. It was said that prolonged exposure to the blazing sun during the Rising Wind Season made it easy to fall under the influence of the Blazing Sun attribute, causing one's body temperature to spike uncontrollably until fever took their life. Fortunately, this was the ninth year of the Rising Wind Season, when the Blazing Sun attribute was waning past its harshest peak. Xilutaiya blinked, inspecting the boy's status. Name: Mick Race: Human (Mortal Body) Status: Healthy (Injured, Fractured, Heatstroke) Talent: Blood Activation [Good Grade]: Active blood pulse, making it easy to perceive and cultivate abilities related to the 'Blood Law' Destiny Card: [Mountain Youth] (Rank: None) 'A child of the mountains, nimble and full of wild spirit' Ability Cards: [Breathing Method Lv.2] [Empty Slot] [Empty Slot] Skills: [Basic Swordsmanship Lv.3], [Wilderness Survival Lv.1] ———— Relieved to see it wasn't a sickbed fever but merely heatstroke, Xilutaiya pulled her hand back. Feeling the cool, soft palm against his forehead at such close range, and catching the faint fragrance drifting from the girl, Mick was momentarily dazed. For the first time in his life, his mind was utterly consumed by something other than hunting, earning money, and training. Watching her stand and step back, he felt a fleeting twinge of reluctance and regret, wondering whether she might have stayed beside him a little longer if his condition had been worse. Such a bizarre thought was quickly extinguished by what little reason he had left, yet he remained astonished by his own vulnerability and the flutter in his heart. Even when facing the eye-catching blonde daughter of a noble house among the students, his heart had never stirred like this. Did pain truly make a person so fragile? His feverish head spun, clouded by heatstroke. "I can't carry you on my own. Can you wait here for a bit?" Xilutaiya's gentle voice struck straight to the depths of his chest once again. "I'm... fine..." A last shred of masculine pride made him feel he shouldn't show weakness in front of this girl. "Just rest here a little while. I've checked the area, and no animals are around. I'll fetch help right away." Xilutaiya leaned down to reassure him, then stood and jogged briskly down the slope. Through his hazy vision, Mick watched her figure head down the hillside until she vanished from sight, at which point his exhausted eyelids finally gave out, and he drifted off to sleep. Half an hour later, guided by Xilutaiya, Suolin and several others arrived on the hill and found the unconscious Mick. Each taking an arm or a leg, they lifted him up. The jostling along the way roused Mick once more. Seeing him awake, the others began to tease him. "Haha, you're one lucky bastard. If Tiya hadn't spotted you, we wouldn't have come looking until nightfall." "That's what you get for going off on your own." "Lone wolves don't survive, idiot." "I..." Mick tried to explain, but lacked the strength to speak. He opened his eyes to gaze at the azure expanse above. His body swayed like a rudderless skiff adrift on open water, battered by fatigue. It should have been a miserable state to be in, yet the banter ringing in his ears and the arms supporting him brought a quiet sense of comfort and gratitude. Things, it seemed, weren't so bad after all.