Chapter 853

As agreed upon the group left once Yang had finished her morning routine. They stepped out onto the mountains and started to make their way over rocky terrain. Kat quickly decided it was better to just fly. She was able to glide down in a fairly straight line while those ground bound cultivators had to bother with climbing up and down the rocky surfaces or making risky jumps to keep up their speed.

This was perfectly fine for the first two hours, but Yang happened to look back, just to check that Kat was still around and noticed the demon in question flying instead of running. “Hey what the heck?” shouted Yang. Luckily for Kat, she was far enough away the instinctive yelling of Yang sounded almost normal. Almost.

“What do you mean?” asked Kat making sure to project her voice.

“Why the heck are you flying? Too good to walk on the ground like us mortals?” grumbled Yang. Despite the complaints though she didn’t actually stop moving. Kat was willing to give some reluctant credit for that. Yang might have been annoyed, and she was calling Kat out for it, unlike Xiang who had glanced back more regularly and said nothing. Still it wasn’t technically getting in the way of the mission.

“It’s just simpler,” explained Kat. “Up here I can just turn my mind off and follow you both automatically. I don’t have to worry about footing or changing speed drastically to keep up or slow down if our chosen paths are a bit too different time wise. We’re all travelling quite fast but this isn’t my maximum speed. So... choosing between needing to pay attention to my footwork constantly or just keeping an eye on you both and following along... well the choice is easy,”

Yang huffed at that and didn’t say anything else. It was clear she wasn’t exactly happy with Kat’s answer but apparently she wasn’t willing to waste her breath complaining while running. Probably for the best. Slowing down to catch her breath would be a notable delay and despite Yang’s desire to complain apparently she wasn’t willing to waste time. Well, not now that they’ve started.

Time passed after that without any issue. Lily didn’t even bother waking up for the conversation. In fact, Lily didn’t react until they stopped on a particularly large rock for lunch. Xiang pulled out some dried fruits, hard bread, and a bit of jerky. Lily woke up after smelling the food and popped into her human form to take a bite.

.....

Yang just stood there shell-shocked as she stared at Lily. It took a good thirty seconds for her brain to reboot before she jumped backwards club outstretched, “WHO THE HECK IS THIS?”

“I’m Lily, Kat’s girlfriend. I’ve been in my Memphis form for a while but I transformed yesterday. You just didn’t really pay any attention when it happened. Completely ignored me,” said Lily trying to play up the offence. Perhaps it would knock Yang down a peg or two.

It was a false hope. “Why in the name of cultivation does she get to bring her girlfriend along on this journey? This is a serious rescue mission and we can’t have team members that don’t even announce their presence!”

Lily listened carefully and was ready with an easy counter, “Ah, but you see I’m exactly what you need. My abilities make me fairly good at stealth. Most people don’t look twice at a small animal, even if I do look a little unusual.”

“That’s all well and good but if we can’t rely on you for combat when things go bad what’s the point of a stealth expert?” asked Yang, simply assuming Lily couldn’t fight because it wasn’t mentioned. She was right in that guess, but it was still rude to assume.

“Not getting into a fight in the first place?” said Lily confused. “Are you saying you want to fight your way to Xuena, giving the enemy a chance to take her as a more active hostage? Or perhaps just kill her so we can’t free her? The best way to get her out will be stealth and planning. Barging in will do no one any good.”

“Well is there anything else you can do?” asked Yang.

Lily sighed, “While I don’t think I NEED to do anything else I am currently trying to practice my paper magic.”

“You’re a paper cultivator?” asked Yang confused. She was so confused she actually lowered her voice for once.

“No, I’m a paper mage. It’s a bit different,” said Lily.

Yang frowned heavily at the correction, “But magic isn’t real. It’s just little tricks or cultivators pretending to be someone from the stories. Magic isn’t real!” insisted Yang.

*Wait. So even in a world with cultivation some people believe magic isn’t real? Is this more or less silly then it not existing on Earth?*

[I guess it depends. On the one hand, they have what’s nearly magic and technically isn’t. So I guess it depends on what they mean by magic. The fact that we know Mana and Qi are different things is pretty strange in a universal sense. I think. Anyway... my point is. They have proof Qi exists and we have fairly conclusive proof neither exist. So I’d say it’s probably about as reasonable in both cases.]

“Mana isn’t really something your world produces. Other worlds do though and it’s the higher energy type I use. Did you think demons all used Qi?” asked Lily.

“Well of course they use Qi! It’s what empowers every cultivator!” said Yang firmly.

Lily sighed, “That’s what I’m saying. You are cultivators because you have Qi. I’m a mage because I use mana and Kat’s a demon and so she uses demonic energy,” explained Lily.

“So what? I can become a demon just by using demonic energy?” asked Yang.

“No.” said Lily firmly. “No you cannot. I was careful to say that you are a cultivator and I am a mage BECAUSE we use those energy types but it’s the other way around with demons. They are demons, and as such the type of higher energy they use is different.”

“Well why can’t I cultivate with demonic energy? Is that what makes them so powerful?” asked Yang with a huff.

Kat and Lily rapidly shook their heads. “It’s a horrible idea to cultivate with demonic energy,” said Lily.

Kat picked up straight after and added, “It’ll warp you horribly and then you’ll die a short time later. Your mind doesn’t really survive the transition and your body only continues on for a little bit afterwards anyway. It’s exceptionally poisoned power. Do NOT attempt it.”

“Hmph. What would you know? You’re a demon and I bet you just want to keep that sort of power to yourself,” said Yang.

Kat sighed. “Ok Yang, even if that was true, which it isn’t. Demonic energy isn’t exactly easy to get your hands on in most dimensions. Furthermore I actually HAVE seen what happens when non-demons cultivate demonic energy. I saw a mage corrupted by it who started spawning a horde of demonic rats. She was disgusting and insane. I would not recommend.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Why should I believe you?” questioned Yang.

“I literally can’t lie,” said Kat.

“Oh really? Why not say something false?” asked Yang.

Kat rolled her eyes and Lily hopped in. “She literally can’t. It’s a demon thing not a ‘I don’t lie’ thing. It is physically impossible for Kat to say something she believes to be false.”

Yang was about to argue, but Xiang stepped in and said, “Lily’s correct. Demons are incapable of lying. They can still trick you in other ways, and many of them are excellent at it. However, there isn’t really a way to dismiss the whole ‘your mind and body don’t survive the transition’. I don’t really see how else that can be interpreted,”

[Well... considering if we want to get technical. When I gained demonic energy I lost my body, and my body lost my mind. So an argument could be made.]

*Lily. Don’t give them ideas. Let them think you were always a cat-girl. It’s so much easier and less likely to give them sever trust issues.*

[Oh I know. It’s just funny to think about.]

Kat pursed her lips but didn’t say anything else mentally. Lily probably wasn’t planning on telling anyone, not after it was pointed out anyway. Lily did however like to share her thoughts, especially when she found interesting ones. Very appropriate to share with your best friend. Less so to share in the middle of class with whoever happens to be seated nearby.

Yang of course just huffed and turned away, swiping a large portion of the dried fruit and not looking at anyway as she ate. Kat let Lily and Xiang eat their fill before taking her own portion. It consisted of a single strip of meat as well as a few slices worth of bread. She didn’t really mind. The food wasn’t necessary right this moment, she could deal with not eating... but considering they were certainly going to be on the road for some time Kat thought it was worth eating when she could.