Tak.Tak.Tak.Tak.Tak.Tak.
The footsteps of the horses made a rhythmic sound that was pleasing to the ears. They would occasionally snort a little and continue to walk steadily.
The two rode two horses and each were pulling one more. Rick was surprised that Xinxin knew how to ride a horse, it turns out that her grandpa taught her. She was relaxed on a foreign horse and her movements were practiced.
"I'm impressed! When I was your age, I was out there bullying some kids." Rick joked. He really felt guilty doing what he did earlier. He knew that she was too young to see such experience and he tried to comfort her. But she told him she was okay, and her memories were just triggered causing her to remember the incident on ther village. She told him that what happened there was more brutal than what happened earlier.
She proceeded to tell him that she saw all of the people die. She saw her fellow villagers get tortured by the bandits led by the immortal. Since young, she had not seen or knew who her parents were, it was the village and her grandpa that raised her.
It was the village that showered her with love and kindness. So it was natural that she had no sympathy towards bandits.
He could see that Xinxin was tired. Her emotions were in turmoil and she needed time to keep it in check.
As for the four bandits that he shot earlier, their corpses probably attracted beast and are already eaten.
...
"There it is." Rick and Xinxin pulled the reins and the horses stopped. Infront of them was a carriage, camouflaged by the leaves and trunks of trees.
The both jumped down from their horses and proceeded to uncover the carriage. They were done in a short time and Rick then connected the ropes so that the horses will be able to carry them again.
Inside the carriage were a dozen of boxes, when Rick opened one, he was shocked to find shining gold coins. Excited, he opened onther box and found that they were all full of gold coins.
With a wave of his hand, the crates of gold entered his inventory.
'Sir, the system has detected a possible item that could be converted to dollars, would you like to convert them?'
'Jessie, calculate the value of a single gold coin in dollars.' While he was conversing with Jessie, he bought 2 foams the size of the seat of the carriage. And another wider one for it's floor. He knew that Xinxin needed a rest.
'Sir, the value of a single gold coin is 10 dollars.'
'Oh, that's good. How many gold coins doI have now?' Rick was relieved that the gold was at least expensive. With 12 crates on his inventory, it should be quite a haul, right?
'Sir, you currently have 12,107 gold coins. Would you like to convert them?'
'Leave 2,000 gold coins and convert the rest.'
'Converting Complete. Sir, you now have a total of 102,456 dollars.'
'That's good. I won't have to worry about money for now.' Rick heaved a sigh. He considered buying a Jeep Wrangler but they already have a carriage, and leaving the horses would be a waste. Who knows, he might even encounter other people ahead, that would attract another trouble.
"Come, you can sleep here if you want to." Rick beckoned for her. It seems that when her emotions are unstable, she would return to her silent state.
She nodded. And climbed the carriage and immediately laid on the comfy foam and her soft pillow.
"Do you want your blanket?" Asked Rick. At this time, he was already familiar with Xinxin. He knew that he only needed to ask, and she would either nod or shake her head to answer.
Nod.
He gave Xinxin her thin blanket and she immediately covered her whole body with it like a cocoon in hibernation.
...
Rick then proceeded to commandeer the horses and they set out for the road ahead. It did not take long for them to reach the road and the bump lessened.
The road was wide, and it would be perfect for a dirt bike. If he was alone, he would have bought and sped through the distance. But since he had Xinxin, he could only hold back his urge to do so.
'I will do it next time.' He said in his mind.
He maintained the speed to the horses walking speed, but it was still faster than them walking. The road was also there so they had no need to navigate.
3 hours passed and it was time for lunch. He halted the horse beside the road under the shade and began cooking. He already got everything he needed in his inventory, and withing 25 minutes, he finished preparing their meal. Just as he was about to go and wake up Xinxin, she walked down from the carriage.
'This foodie.' Rick thought with a smile. Indeed, Xinxin woke up from the smell of the food.
"Come wash your hands, the food is ready." Rick said while smiling.
"Big brother, what did you make today?" Xinxin asked peacefully. It seems like the sleep worked. She was back again to her normal self.
"Just grilled meat and some fruits." Xinxin was not disappointed, they ate lunch and after an hour, they resumed their journey until the sun was setting.
They again stopped and ate their dinner. Xinxin's mood was returning to her usual self, and Rick was happy about it.
As usual, they began cultivating after eating. They both sat cross legged 20 meter away form each other.
Rick wore a resolute expression as he prepared himself to finally clear the meridian in his head.
The meridian in the head was slightly different from the rest. It had many twists and turns more than the other, that made it a little more complicated.
His dantian spun and he easily but painfully cleared the meridian until it reach the neck part. With great caution and concentration, he slowly drove his Qi and started the purge.
Splitting headache spread throughout his head but he did not want to stop. He knew that he was weak. And guns were not enough to protect them. A stronger and smarter opponent could easily dodge and kill him. A smart man could easily find the weakness of guns.
The bullet travels straight, you need to aim, and you have to pull the trigger. So it was not really that reliable in close combat. They were entering the capital, and the capital is filled with people.
Sweat trickled down on his body, he felt like he spent hours, but in reality, only short time passed.
Urg! As his Qi went deeper, the pain would multiply causing him to 'moan', every now and then. His face was twisted from the pain, and he felt that his head might explode any minute now.
"FuCK! I give up!" Rick cursed. He did not even reach half way, and the pain he experienced was many times that of the other meridian. He did not know the reason, but he did not care.
He collapsed on the ground and started breathing heavily.
Xinxin also noticed his behavior. She hurriedly went and checked on him.
"Big brother, whats wrong? You look pale!" she asked with worry.
"Nothing. Didn't I tell you that something is wrong with my body? It is this. I have to clear my meridians because they are clogged by impurities. That is why my cultivation cannot advance." Rick explained.
"Why would they be blocked? Mine's not clogged, how come that you only have it?!" Xinxin asked incredulously.
"I consumed a pill called the Death Pill. And it led to many circumstances. I lost my original cultivation and I had to start over again. Right now, I am the same level as you. When I finish clearing the meridian in my head, I should be able to breakthrough." Rick explained.
"The problem is, it is extremely painful to clear them. I am stil have through the meridian in my head, and it already hurts like hell, man, I don't want to continue anymore. It's so unbearable." he sulked. He wanted to cry but tears wouldn't come out.
"Big Brother, I am sure you can do it!" Xinxin said while encouragement shone in her eyes. She believed that Rick could do it.
"Of course I can! I am just resting. Now, go, continue meditating." he sent her off with a shoo. He felt like he was being looked down by the child. Of course she wasn't looking down on him.
"Ok. Ok!" She returned to her spot with a pout. She continued to meditate and circulate her Qi. In order to breakthrough, they must practice the breathing technique to lay down the strong foundation. And breaking through is actually very easy, you just need enough Qi in your dantian to forcefully break it's limits. Of course, that is if your body could bear the force, ahah.
Qi Condensation stage is the stage where you strengthen,widen and toughen your meridians. All you have to do is practice a good breathing technique that can let you absorb Spiritual Energy. As long as you keep circulating the Qi that you absorbed in your meridians, you should be able to toughen it up. Strengthening the meridians is the most crucial part in cultivation. If you breakthrough withouth strengthening them, then it would become fragile. A sudden surge of your Qi could tear and burst them apart, and you would become a cripple, that's why you need to toughen them.
Breaking through would also widen your dantian, which means you will have more Qi, and that is also why you need to widen them. A fragile and narrow meridian would not be able to take the Qi and burst apart. Just like a trailer traveling in a narrow road.
In Cultivation, your body is the most important treasure. You cultivate them all, external or internal.
...
After resting for about half an hour, Rick again sat cross legged and started his self torture. He would occasionally grunt and frown from the pain. If it wasn't because Little Xin was there, he would have screamed on top of his lungs. Sometimes, a pride of a man could be devastating.
If he could not bear it any longer, he would take a rest for half an hour and then continue. The cycle continued and he forgot the time, he did not know but he fell asleep on the ground. When he finally noticed, it was already morning. There was a blanket over him, he knew Xinxin covered him.
He saw Xinxin in her jogging outfit. She just finished Jogging and was shadow boxing. She was proficient in her movements, you could tell she practiced hard for it.
"Oh Big brother! I was just finishing my my morning routine. You were having a good time sleeping and drooling. I did not want to wake you up, hehe." Little Xin giggled while teasing him.
"Back to what you're doing, you little brat!" Rick spat. But he wasn't really angry, he was just glad that she was again back to her usual self. He was also happy that he succeeded on clearing all of his meridian.
He closed his eyes and controlled his Qi. Right after, he could feel his Qi active to their fullest. Although he was controlling the to move slower as to avoid pain, he could still feel their excitement.
His dantian also spun a lot faster and everything was harmonious.
He was relieved that he won't experience the pain ever again. What a great start for the day!