Path Of The Dragon (A Dark Fantasy Cultivation Wuxia Xianxia Progression Series)

Chapter 85 Chance Meeting

"So where are we going next?" Jie asked as they raced across the snow.

The trees had started to thin out a while ago, but she continued scanning with both her eyes and spirit sense. She particularly focused her spirit sense under the snow itself as she hated how they'd been caught off guard by the droguth.

"See that mountain up ahead?" Pan Tian asked.

Jie looked at the mountain that seemed to swallow the entire horizon and a good deal of the sky as it loomed high above them, the top lost in clouds.

"Wow," Jie said dryly, "I completely missed that."

"You're soooo funny," Pan Tian said, "anyway, there's a monastery up there we need to check for a plaque. The climb is a pain, but we can handle it. Just make sure you don't kill any of the yetis or they'll get extremely angry with us and their elders could kill us."

"There are yetis there?" Jie asked, "What are they like?"

"They don't like outsiders, but it's usually only the younger ones that fight anyone from the Crimson Academy. Just don't disturb their prayers, keep quiet, and don't kill any of the younger ones if they start anything. Oh, and be respectful and try not to sound so cold and deadly like you normally do," Pan Tian said.

"The yetis pray?" Jie asked.

"Of course," Pan Tian said, "I told you, it's a monastery."

Jie spotted figures in the distance, heading right for them. They were little more than specks, but they were running toward Jie and her friends.

"There's something ahead of us," Jie said.

"I see it," Pan Tian said, "can you tell what it is?"

"It looks like... other students... wait... I think that's your brother?" Jie said.

"Oooh! I wonder how many plaques he's done so far," Pan Tian said.

She picked up the pace and they raced toward the other group. Though, as they neared, Jie noticed that Pan Zhanshi and the others in his group had torn robes and looked like they'd had some brutal fights. But, as Jie looked at herself and her friends, she saw that they didn't look all that great either. Their robes still had plants growing on them.

Pan Zhanshi looked better off than the others, but he still had a split lip and a nasty bruise on one side of his face. Oddly, Pan Zhanshi and his group changed course slightly as though trying to avoid Jie and her friends but then veered back on path toward them.

"Hmm... Jie, remember that he's still your friend and he needs to do well in this hunt too," Pan Tian said.

"Why are you telling me?" Jie asked.

"Well... your culture is a bit strange sometimes, and I didn't want you breaking anyone from his group. He's still the same person, but just... remember he has to make certain... changes for them," Pan Tian said.

"That's ominous," Jie said, "and I'm insulted. I don't randomly attack people."

"This one thought that was how you two met?" Ithilix asked.

"Well... yes but... ugh. I'll stop talking now," Jie said.

They neared the other group and Pan Tian smiled brightly. "Brother!" she said with a cheerful voice.

"Hey," Pan Zhanshi said coldly as snow flurried around them in dancing swirls.

The others in his group also seemed to look down on Pan Tian for some reason.

Pan Tian gave him a hug, which he looked extremely uncomfortable with despite the fact he'd always seemed affectionate with his sister before... though that tended to be when they were more private, Jie realized.