Chapter 85: The Familiar Sound of Hammers
When Yun Che opened his eyes, he did not know where he was.
That realization came before everything else.
Before the aching weakness in his limbs. Before the dryness scraping the inside of his throat. Before the dull pain beneath his ribs. Before he even properly saw the wooden ceiling above him, his body had already reacted. His breath caught. His fingers seized the blanket. His eyes snapped from the ceiling to the unfamiliar walls, then to the window, the closed door, the little table beside the bed, searching so quickly that none of the objects had time to become ordinary things. A shadow beneath the chair looked too dark. The curtains moved in the breeze and his heart lurched. Somewhere below, something heavy struck wood and Yun Che jerked hard enough that pain stabbed through his chest.
Then he saw Lin Xia.
She was sitting beside the window with a thick book spread across her lap, three smaller books stacked on the floor beside her and a notebook balanced against one knee. Her measuring ribbon was looped loosely around her neck. Several sheets covered in half-finished rune structures had been tucked between the pages, though Yun Che noticed that she had been staring at the same paragraph for some time.
Lin Xia had discovered during the previous day that reading was one of the few things that stopped her mind from returning to the mountain.
The wyvern.
The stampede.
The beam.
The barriers disappearing one after another.
Yun Che vanishing inside the light.
She had slept perhaps two hours.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she heard that roar again.
So she read.
Rune interactions were safe. Rune structures behaved according to rules. If an attraction rune conflicted with a repulsion rune, there was a reason. If a barrier failed, one could study why. Problems had solutions written somewhere, or at least solutions waiting to be discovered.
Wyverns did not.
Neither did watching someone you had known since childhood nearly die.
She wanted Goldriver City now more than she had at any point during the journey. She wanted streets crowded with merchants and strange clothes. She wanted shops. She wanted to complain about prices. She wanted to see the great river and the ships and spend an entire afternoon studying fabrics she had never seen before. She wanted something boring enough that nobody bled.
A movement from the bed caught her eye.
The book nearly fell from her hands.
"Yun Che?"
His eyes found her.
Something changed immediately.
His shoulders dropped by a fraction. His grip on the blanket loosened.
"Lin... Xia?"
His voice sounded dreadful.
Lin Xia put the book aside and moved closer. "Yes. I'm here."
Yun Che looked around again.
"Where?"
"An inn. We're safe."
Safe.
The word should have helped.
Instead, his eyes went to the door.
"Where is everyone?"
"Downstairs. Some are outside. The guards are around the inn." Lin Xia reached for the cup beside the bed. "Elder Ruan is here. Elder Liang is here. Jin Wei is here. Everyone is nearby."
She poured water.
Yun Che watched.
Lin Xia held the cup toward him.
He did not take it.
His eyes remained on the water.
For several seconds neither of them moved.
Lin Xia understood.
Elder Liang had warned them.
Don't argue with him if he behaves strangely. Don't tell him there is nothing to fear. His mind knows that. His body doesn't.
She placed the cup on the table instead.
"I poured it from that jug. It's been here since Shen Rui brought it."
Yun Che stared at it for another moment.
Then he reached out.
His hand shook badly enough that water spilled over his fingers.
Lin Xia pretended not to notice.
He drank cautiously at first. A sip. A pause. Another sip. Then thirst overwhelmed suspicion and he emptied half the cup.
Lin Xia finally got a proper look at him.
He looked terrible.
His cheeks seemed thinner. His skin was pale beneath the bruising. His eyes had sunk slightly into their sockets, surrounded by dark shadows that made him appear ill rather than merely tired. His hair was damp with old sweat despite having been cleaned twice. The healers had repaired most of the internal damage, but his body had spent hours repeatedly breaking itself apart.
"You need food," she said.
Yun Che nodded.
"I'll get—"
His hand shot out.
Lin Xia stopped.
Yun Che had caught her sleeve.
He seemed surprised by his own movement.
For an instant embarrassment appeared on his face.
Then fear swallowed it.
"Don't."
It was barely audible.
Lin Xia looked at his hand.
Yun Che released her immediately.
"Sorry."
"You don't need to apologize."
"I just..."
He looked toward the door.
Lin Xia understood the unfinished sentence.
She raised her voice.
"Shen Rui!"
Footsteps answered almost immediately.
The door opened and Shen Rui appeared with one hand already near his weapon. He looked first at Lin Xia, then at Yun Che.
His expression softened.
"You're awake."
Yun Che nodded.
"He needs food," Lin Xia said.
Shen Rui understood the rest without being told.
"I'll bring it."
He disappeared downstairs.
Yun Che watched until the door closed.
Then watched the door for several seconds more.
Lin Xia picked her book back up.
She did not read.
Neither spoke.
For now, sitting there was enough.
Food helped.
Not dramatically.
Yun Che did not suddenly become himself after eating a bowl of medicinal rice porridge, eggs and shredded monster meat. But some color returned to his face, and the shaking in his hands weakened. Auntie's cooking had been deliberately heavy with restorative ingredients, and Yun Che's Foundation Realm body absorbed them greedily.
He was halfway through the bowl when the door flew open.
"YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Yun Che nearly threw the bowl.
Jin Wei froze.
Lin Xia slowly turned toward him.
Lei Zhenyu, standing behind Jin Wei, closed his eyes.
Shen Rui muttered something unpleasant.
Jin Wei raised both hands.
"Poor choice of entrance."
Yun Che stared at him, breathing hard.
"Yes."
"Very poor."
"Yes."
"I apologize."
"Please do."
Jin Wei entered much more carefully.
Lei followed him.
For a moment the swordsman simply looked at Yun Che. Relief passed across his normally controlled expression before disappearing again.
"You look terrible."
Yun Che stared at him.
Jin Wei pointed accusingly. "And somehow that was considered the appropriate greeting?"
"It is accurate."
"You don't say accurate things to sick people."
"What should I say?"
"That he looks better."
Lei looked at Yun Che.
Then at Jin Wei.
"He does not."
Lin Xia covered her mouth.
A small sound escaped her.
It took Yun Che a moment to realize she was laughing.
Something inside his chest loosened.
Jin Wei dragged a chair over. "You're getting out of this room."
Lin Xia frowned. "He just woke up."
"And sitting here staring at four walls will make him worse."
"I wasn't staring," Yun Che muttered.
"You were unconscious. That is advanced staring."
Yun Che almost smiled.
Almost.
Jin Wei noticed and wisely did not point it out.
"We're in a town," he continued. "Not a particularly impressive one. Lots of trees. Nice people. No giant murderous wyverns currently visible."
"Jin Wei."
"What? That last part matters."
It did.
More than Jin Wei knew.
Yun Che looked toward the window.
Outside existed people.
Strangers.
Things he could not predict.
His stomach tightened.
Lei noticed.
"We don't need to go far."
Yun Che hesitated.
Then nodded.
He did not want to.
That was precisely why some stubborn remnant inside him decided he should.
Walking through town was harder than Yun Che expected.
The town itself was harmless.
That almost made it worse.
There were no monsters prowling the streets. No sect cultivators hunting him. No thunderstorm. No stampede. No enormous shadow circling overhead. There were ordinary houses of timber and stone, gardens wet from recent rain, shopkeepers calling to customers and children running through narrow lanes. Herbs hung drying beneath awnings. An old woman argued with a vegetable merchant. Someone had left several chickens wandering freely across the road.
Yun Che knew none of it was dangerous.
Then a cart wheel struck a stone.
Crack.
Yun Che spun.
His hand went for a sword that wasn't there.
Nothing.
Just a cart.
He forced himself to continue.
A dog barked behind a fence.
He flinched.
A man came around a corner too quickly.
Yun Che stepped sideways and almost activated Ki.
The man walked past without looking at him.
A shadow crossed overhead.
Yun Che looked up so violently his neck hurt.
Bird.
Only a bird.
He lowered his head.
Nobody commented.
That somehow made him more embarrassed.
He knew what was happening.
That was the maddening part.
He could identify every reaction. Hypervigilance. Fear conditioning. Paranoia strengthened by the Abyss Seed. His mind was interpreting uncertainty as danger because danger had nearly killed him.
Knowing did absolutely nothing.
His heart still raced.
His palms still sweated.
He still checked every cup before drinking.
He still counted the people walking behind them.
He still wanted to know where Elder Ruan was.
Then Jin Wei stopped.
Yun Che nearly walked into him.
"What?"
Jin Wei pointed.
A sign hung above an open building.
Beneath it came a sound.
Clang.
Pause.
Clang.
Clang.
A hammer striking steel.
Yun Che stared.
Jin Wei smiled slightly.
"I know you."
The smithy was nothing special.
That was what made it perfect.
It smelled of coal, hot iron, oil and sweat.
The moment Yun Che stepped through the entrance, something inside him settled.
Not completely.
But noticeably.
There was a forge along the back wall. A water trough beside it. Tool racks. Two anvils. Several unfinished farming implements. A rack containing swords that were functional rather than beautiful. Iron ingots sat beside baskets of charcoal. An apprentice worked the bellows while an older blacksmith hammered a glowing piece of metal into shape.
Normal.
Predictable.
The hammer rose.
The hammer fell.
Metal moved beneath force.
Heat softened it.
Water hardened it.
Everything had rules.
Yun Che breathed.
For the first time since waking, he took a full breath without consciously forcing himself.
The blacksmith noticed the group.
"Need something repaired?"
Yun Che looked at the workpiece.
"Your edge is thinning too quickly."
The blacksmith stopped.
"What?"
Yun Che pointed.
"You're drawing it from the center too early. The spine will become uneven."
The man looked at his work.
Then at Yun Che.
"You're a smith?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Mistforge."
That changed things.
The man's eyebrows rose.
"Mistforge?"
Yun Che nodded.
"Yun family forge."
The blacksmith immediately shifted aside.
"Then come tell me what I'm apparently doing wrong."
Twenty minutes later, Yun Che was holding a hammer.
An hour later, he was arguing about quenching temperatures.
The change was remarkable.
His shoulders were no longer hunched. His eyes had stopped jumping toward every movement near the entrance. He spoke clearly. He examined tools. He asked about local ores. When the blacksmith showed him a cracked spearhead brought in by a hunter, Yun Che forgot entirely that he was supposed to be recovering and began explaining three possible repair methods.
Lin Xia watched from near the entrance.
"There he is."
Jin Wei nodded.
Lei Zhenyu observed Yun Che with quiet interest.
"He seems normal."
"Smithy," Jin Wei said. "His natural habitat."
They had been standing there for some time when Lin Xia glanced outside.
"We should probably let him enjoy this."
Jin Wei nodded. "Food?"
"Yes."
Lei turned.
Yun Che heard the movement.
His hammer stopped.
He looked around.
"Where are you going?"
The question came too quickly.
Jin Wei paused.
"Just outside."
Yun Che stared at him.
Something changed in his face.
The smithy remained the same.
The fire still burned.
The blacksmith still stood beside him.
But these were strangers.
Lin Xia understood immediately.
"We're not leaving you."
Yun Che looked down at the hammer.
"I didn't say—"
"You didn't have to."
Embarrassment crossed his face.
Jin Wei returned to the wall and sat down.
"I'll stay."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
That answer prevented Yun Che from arguing.
Lin Xia and Lei left.
Jin Wei remained.
Only then did Yun Che return to the spearhead.
His hands stopped shaking again.
Across the street, Elder Ruan Zhentian. watched from beneath the shade of a tea-house awning.
Beside him stood Elder Liang Wen.
Neither had spoken for some time.
They had already decided the caravan would remain in town for the day. Too many people were injured. Equipment needed repairs. Several staff members had only recently awakened. Mirage still required treatment. The loss of a Mountain Charger team alone had complicated everything.
They had intended to leave tomorrow.
Now Ruan was reconsidering.
"He isn't ready."
Liang watched through the smithy's open entrance.
"No."
"We could remain another day."
"We should."
Ruan frowned.
"We've already lost time."
"I would rather lose another day than have him panic when a carriage wheel breaks."
Ruan could not argue with that.
"He has to overcome it."
"He does."
"He's a warrior."
"Yes."
"A hunter."
"Yes."
"Lord Shen has taken an interest in him."
Liang finally looked at his friend.
"And none of those things make him immune to fear."
Ruan grunted.
"I didn't say they did."
"I know."
They watched Yun Che begin hammering again.
The sound traveled across the street.
Regular.
Measured.
Comforting.
Liang's expression became distant.
He had seen inside Yun Che's mind.
That knowledge had created questions he had no intention of asking the boy while he remained in this state.
Two lives.
There could be little doubt about it.
Reincarnation.
It was rare, but not mythical.
Every major power possessed records of it. Spirit Transformation experts occasionally reincarnated after catastrophic injuries to the soul. Some used forbidden arts deliberately. Others simply awakened decades or centuries later with memories belonging to someone who should have been dead.
There were even legends of Sage Realm cultivators returning after entire dynasties had disappeared.
Yun Che was different.
Liang had seen no great cultivator's palace inside those memories.
No ancient sect.
No Immortal battlefield.
He had seen impossible cities.
Metal towers reaching toward the clouds.
Roads covered in machines.
Flying constructs without obvious formations.
Devices whose purpose he could not understand.
An entire civilization built according to principles foreign to him.
That bothered Liang.
The obvious conclusion was that Yun Che had belonged to an ancient civilization.
This world was old.
Far older than any kingdom.
Civilizations had risen and disappeared repeatedly. There were ruins beneath mountains that predated recorded history. Entire technological systems had been lost during calamities. Beast tides had erased nations. World-ending creatures had destroyed continents. Spatial catastrophes had swallowed cities.
Perhaps Yun Che had lived during one of them.
Perhaps his people had disappeared so completely that even their architecture had been forgotten.
Liang could not know.
There was another question.
Whose reincarnation are you?
He watched Yun Che laugh faintly at something the local blacksmith said.
Fourteen years old.
A blacksmith.
A hunter.
A frightened boy who had nearly died yesterday.
And somewhere beneath all of that, the memories of a grown man from a civilization Elder Liang did not recognize.
Liang folded his arms.
He would not ask.
Not yet.
Yun Che had enough things tearing at his identity without an old psychic cultivator walking over and demanding answers about a previous life.
Ruan glanced at him.
"You're thinking too much."
"Occupational problem."
"What did you see in there?"
Liang remained silent for several seconds.
"Enough to understand him better."
Ruan waited.
Liang gave him nothing more.
Some things belonged to Yun Che.
Even Lord Shen did not automatically deserve them.
Across the street, Yun Che raised the hammer again.
Clang.
The sound rang through the smithy.
Clang.
Again.
Clang.
Yun Che concentrated on the glowing metal beneath his hands.
For now there was no wyvern.
No Abyss Seed.
No mysterious death.
No hunters.
No impossible future waiting beyond Goldriver.
There was hot steel.
There was a hammer.
There was Jin Wei sitting ten paces away pretending he had remained because the smithy's stool was particularly comfortable.
And there was a problem in front of Yun Che that he understood how to solve.
For today, that was enough.