Chapter 59 - Stone Forest
Chapter 59 – Stone Forest
On her way to the next destination, she spent her time training and practicing her swordsmanship. The words and moves that the caretaker of the Yu Family showed had captivated her. It seemed natural and yet not natural, somehow unrestricted by laws of the world.
To treat the sword as if it was a part of the body.
Focusing on the immaterial rather than the material.
How could she achieve this?
The way she moved with the Parting Sun Blade felt natural to her. She was accustomed to the size and weight. But she and the sword were two separate entities, it was her tool and she was its owner. Ming Yue did not understand Caretaker Jian's advice, maybe her skill was too low or she was not smart enough.
"I should stop for today. I'm sure it will come to me sooner or later", she thought, "I should check out those rings instead."
She remembered seeing Hei Yue sleeping for several days straight before waking up but there was no discernible difference from before he ate those bones. Taking out the rings, she sent a wisp of power into them before taking everything out. Within the first ring were some books as well as a small dagger. The second had some gold coins as well as another dagger identical to the one before. The books were just collections of stories, these would help entertain her for a bit. The two dagger were a bit strange, The handle and sheath was made of a leather and wood, they resembled ordinary weapons. But pulling them out, she was surprised by the blade. Blood red in color and a jagged edge, it seemed like a weapon meant to cause pain. Not to mention, a faint but vicious aura poured out from the blades and the smell of blood began to spread throughout the air.
"What ominous blades!" she thought, quickly sheathing them.
Multiple thoughts ran through her mind before she examined the daggers again. She noticed some symbols engraved on the pommel, a pair of wings. What was the purpose of these blades? Were they used for some nefarious plan? Ming Yue put them away along with everything else into her spatial ring. She would have to show these to Elder Yin later, she might know the truth of these daggers.
Ming Yue could not fall asleep that night and decided to just travel under the stars.
Several days later, she finally reached the Stone Forest, now she had to hunt the Blood Edge Swallow, a rank 2 beast. It was swift creature and its small size make it quite hard to catch. Its crimson claws were quite valuable. Durable and sharp, they were perfect materials to make fist weapons like claws and gauntlets.
The Stone Forest was named so because of its stone formations. Numerous towering rocks came out of the ground. Their rough edges and thin frame resembled trees but with so many of these tree-like rocks, it felt more like a maze than a forest.
Entering the Stone Forest, she surveyed her surroundings. It was quiet, only the sound of the whistling wind traveled through the air. She did a fair bit of reading about the Stone Forest and the Blood Edge Swallow. It was a mysterious place, home to many birds and flying beasts. No one knows for sure how this so called forest came to be. Some believe it could've been natural, born from the earth. Others say that it was originally a mountain, destroyed to smithereens from some epic battle.
She searched all day, unable to find the swallow. This went on for several days and Ming Yue started to become a little impatient. She had seen a glimpse of it once or twice but the little creature would disappear before she could even follow it. Even Hei Yue was unable to catch up with it and Xiao Yin couldn't even react. Eventually, the owl flew onto one of the rocks, showing that she had given up on chasing it. However, Hei Yue thought it was fun and turned it into a challenge for himself.
"We have to catch it when it is the most vulnerable", she thought, "If I cannot chase it the I will have to trap it."
After several more days of looking, the three of them finally found the Blood Edge Swallow, perched upon one of the stones. But at this moment, Ming Yue was not sure as to how she would trap it, she did not know what it ate or what would catch its attention. A normal trap would not work but she had no knowledge or experience with formations. Could it be that she had no options but to give up?
While pondering her dilemma, the Blood Edge Swallow was feeling a little bored, it was one of the greatest birds in this forest and yet he did not have a woman. No one to marvel at his beauty and strength. It looked around, checking to see it anyone was around him. Then he laid his eyes on another bird several meters away, a cute owl with beautiful silver eyes.
"What a beauty!", he thought, "I must make my move before anyone else gets her."
He flew to her, sitting next to the little owl, who was none other than Xiao Yin. He was in for a rude awakening with this bird. Trying his best to show off, he chirped incessantly, bragging about his speed and power. His valiant stories of killing numerous humans and monster alike, telling Xiao Yin that she was lucky to have met him and that he had chosen her as his mate. But she was anything but happy. Perfectly enjoying her little spot on the stone, her happiness was quickly ruined by this stupid swallow. Unable to handle anymore of this annoying bird, she did what Ming Yue would have done, she swung out her wing, knocking him into a daze.
The Blood Edge Swallow was completely unguarded easily falling for Xiao Yin's attack. It fell to the ground, right in front of Ming Yue, who saw the entire affair happen.
"This…", she could not help but speak. She could not believe what had just happened, a swallow faster than the eye could see, known for its sharp claws, had just been knocked out by Xiao Yin. Just like that, Ming Yue had captured the Blood Edge Swallow. This was just too unbelievable. She could only count her good fortunes that this had happened otherwise she would not know how to complete this mission.
She used her dagger that she received as a reward from defending Luan City to kill the swallow and drain its blood. The space within the forest was too narrow for her to use the Parting Sun Blade. She put the carcass into a bag before sending it into her spatial ring. There was not much space left in it. She would most likely use one of the spatial rings that she took from before or get a better one at the city.
"The second mission is done, onto the last one", she thought.
Suddenly, she lunged to the right, dodging an arrow that flew by her. If she was even a second late, it would've pierced her heart.
"Little friend, I hope that you are willing to give that swallow to me", a young woman's voice echoed throughout the area.
Ming Yue looked at the direction from where the arrow came from but found no one.
"It's no use trying to find me, now are you willing to hand over the swallow?" the voice said.
She weighed the consequences in her mind before making a decision. Ming Yue ran off as quickly as possible. It was likely that this stranger had been waiting for her to catch just so she could take it from her. She would not have guessed that Ming Yue would not give up.
"Shit", the stranger chased after her, a shadow through the forest.