Aimless Ascension



The script formation needed more of his time than Gale had imagined. The hole that those assassins created destabilised the adjacent formations too, making them lose more power, as scripts were supposed to have a clear energy circulation path in a symmetrical way.

So instead of one, Gale had to repair three parts of the formation. Well, thankfully, only one of them required a complete re-establishment.

After a few hours of constant scribing, Gale was down with the hole. Now he just had some tending to do with the other ones. In the meantime, a few wild animals came to try their luck, but Gale just scared them away, flaring his Qi.

Oddly enough, the torture of his spirit let him have better control of spirit resonance.

Gale was halfway done with the work when Wang Li came, trays of food in her arms. She didn't meet his gaze, working to avoid as much as she could.

"Thank you," Gale said, biting the sandwich he taught her.

Wang Li nodded and was ready to leave, but Gale caught her palm before she could do so.

"Wait," he said. "I have something to say to you."

Wang Li didn't turn to meet his gaze, shuddering.

"I know I made a grave blunder the other night," Gale said, "but I hope you'll give me a chance."

"Please let me go. You don't have to explain anything."

Gale didn't let her go. He moved to face her, even though Wang Li was staring down on the earth.

"I said I'll take responsibility," Gale whispered softly, "Give me a chance."

He closed the distance between them and touched her chin to make her meet his gaze. Wang Li bit her lips, her lips quivering, uncomfortable with the conversation.

He pressed his palm on her cheek as she closed her eyes, quivering. Wang Li shuddered to his touch, her legs weakening.

"Give me a chance," Gale whispered.

Abruptly, at that right moment, a cursed beast crashed into the formation Gale just repaired. Although it hadn't managed to damage the formation, the disturbance brought both of them out of the moment they were having.

"I'll go," Wang Li said, breaking off from his touch. "You deal with the beasts."

She sprinted away from there, Gale watching her back as he sighed. 'Slow and steady steps,' he told himself and got back to work.

***

Gale spent the day after mostly resting, though he figured he couldn't really rest completely without getting out of this space. Still, some time in the bath along with a quality sleep, he was mostly himself again.

In the last two days, he barely met Wang Li as she seemed to be deliberately avoiding him, fearing that their conversation would take a weird turn she wouldn't like. This left Gale mostly in unrest.

Thankfully, he had plenty of work to do to keep himself busy.

The first came was making some divination through Ai. Oddly enough, he didn't have to remind the blind girl of that, as she came to him when he was practising his new power on the couch after her fortune was replenished.

"Let's go, I don't think wasting time idly is the right move."

Gale narrowed his eyes at her. It seemed much of her confidence was related to the amount of fortune she had. "Do you know where we are supposed to go?" he asked, perking his eyebrows.

"To the dungeon, right?" Ai said. "Of course, I don't know the way, which is why I had to depend on."

Gale nodded as he stood up.

"Can I come along?" Wang Li asked.

Gale was considering answering when the blind girl took his place to give her the answer she would like to hear.

"Yes, your presence is much required," Ai said. "I'm afraid you won't be able to see Xiaolin for a long time if you didn't come along with us."

Gale narrowed his eyes, unsure what to say. He found Wang Li looking at him, as if asking for his approval. He nodded as she sighed in relief.

"Hey, what about me?" Fen asked. In the two days, much of her injuries had been healed, though she wasn't in her 100%.

"Sister Fen, your help would be always welcome, but I think it isn't right for me to ask too much of you," Ai said, turning her head to the injured woman. "Besides, I think the four of us will be fine with this job."

"Four of you?" Fen perked her brows.

Ai turned her head to gesture right at where Vale was sitting.

"Oh I forgot," Fen cursed under her breath, "Weird place, weird people and weird dog."

"Thanks for all your help, sister Fen," Ai told the injured woman. "You owe nothing to my master anymore."

"Is that right?" Fen face's brightened somehow upon hearing that.

Ai nodded. "You rest, you'll be safe here." She then turned her head to Gale. "Sir Gale, you might want to give her an access key, temporarily one will do, take that as a payment for my services."

Gale smiled as he nodded. He very much liked this confident side of her.

After being done taking care of everything, the four of them got out of the farmhouse.

"Alright, the travel by foot will have some inconvenience, I would much prefer if we travel fast," Gale suggested. "I can carry one in flight, while Vale can carry another on the ground."

Gale looked at Wang Li, wanting to carry her for the journey, but the woman moved away towards Vale, understanding.

"I'll be with Vale then," Wang Li said, caressing the hound as Vale licked her. "Ai, you have fun in the air."

Gale spread his wings on his back, damaging the new tunic he wore, as Wang Li gave him a look. She was curious about where he got the wings from, but not in a position to ask.

Gale shook his head and moved to Ai. "This will be a bit awkward for you, but latch onto me with everything you have."

With that, he pulled the blind girl into his embrace, his arms on her back and waist. Ai blushed as she listened to Gale, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Then Gale vanished from the spot. Wang Li stared at where she stood until Vale nudged her, asking her to mount him.