Chapter 46: On impulse

“You have a premonition? Something bad is going to happen?” Li Qi frowned, then he asked, “Is your premonition accurate?”

“No… not very accurate, it’s just a sudden feeling, but I think it must be signifying something. I was a Fifth Grade before I crippled my cultivation, so my premonitions usually have some basis,” Shen Shuibi said weakly.

Fifth Grade!

Li Qi was choked speechless.

Goodness… what kind of person is Empress Luofu? Even a maid under her is a Fifth Grade.

One day, I’ll also be a Fifth Grade!

Li Qi gritted his teeth, then returned to normal.

He pondered for a moment, then replied, “Better safe than sorry. Let’s go, we won’t stop here.”

Although he had been trying to build good relations all day just to be able to stay in the village for a night and avoid sleeping in the mountains in the cold, if there was real danger, then sleeping in the mountains was better.

Li Qi had always been a decisive person; when he said go, he went. He immediately led the old horse, took Shen Shuibi, bid farewell to the villagers, and set off on the road.

The old horse didn't say anything. Although he was already very weak, he didn't hesitate when told to set off, and he actively nudged Li Qi.

“The old horse is asking you if he should carry your things and travel. Although he can’t run very far, he runs fast,” Shen Shuibi immediately translated from the side.

Li Qi pondered for a moment and nodded, “That’s best. Old horse, take us about two hundred li away from here, find a quiet place near water to rest.”

The old horse neighed, immediately squatted down, and allowed Shen Shuibi and Li Qi to get on.

Li Qi held the back basket and sat in front. Although there was no saddle or stirrups, the old horse knew how to adjust for bumps, making it easy to ride and preventing falls.

The reason he didn't carry it on his back was because Shen Shuibi had to sit behind. Although she was once a Fifth Grade expert, her cultivation was completely lost at this moment, making her no different from a delicate young lady. She couldn't maintain a stable stance, was short, and couldn't hold onto his neck if she sat in front, so she could only sit in the back and hold Li Qi's back.

After some arrangements, one person, one rabbit, and one horse set off.

The old horse was old and frail, and his injuries had not yet healed, but he was a Dragon Steed after all. Carrying two people plus luggage, he was still as swift as a flying bird, with clouds of Qi rising from beneath his hooves. It was less like running and more like flying.

However, the cloud Qi was light and weak, only enough to lighten his body, not to allow him to fly directly.

But it still opened Li Qi's eyes.

What a fast horse! And when he flew, the cloud Qi obscured him, so there was no wind at all, no bumps, and he didn't need flat ground. The old horse could leap ten zhang, and ordinary mountain ravines couldn't stop him at all.

Aside from the old horse stopping occasionally to rest, the journey was very peaceful. The old horse's speed was quite fast. They had set off when the sun was setting, but before it even got dark, they had already traveled over one hundred eighty li and found a pond.

“Alright, let’s stop here,” Li Qi observed the surrounding terrain and decided on their resting place for the night.

The old horse quickly let them down, panting heavily.

It was clear that the old horse was covered in sweat from exhaustion, his body temperature had risen, and he was almost sticking his tongue out.

Under these circumstances, making him carry two people and gallop continuously for one hundred eighty li was indeed a bit difficult for him.

Seeing this, Li Qi picked up the pot he usually used to cook rice cakes, fetched a basin of water from the pond, and poured two basins over him, which finally brought the old horse's body temperature down.

Then, Li Qi filled the pot with three to four catties of beans, sprinkled in some coarse salt, mixed it with water, and placed it in front of the old horse, who was lying on the ground: “Eat up, replenish your strength. Oh, don’t spit in it, I’ll still need this pot later, I eat from it too!”

The old horse neighed, nodded repeatedly, rubbed his face against Li Qi, and buried his head to start gnawing on the beans.

Li Qi stood and watched for a while, seeing him eating beans and fresh wild grass with great delight, presumably because he had put in the right amount of salt. He then turned and walked over to Shen Shuibi.

“Shen Guniang, do you still have that premonition?” he asked cautiously.

The old horse could no longer run. Running in a straight line for over a hundred li on such mountain roads was already his limit for his aged and injured body.

If that feeling persisted, other preparations would be necessary.

“It’s much weaker, so we should have avoided it,” Shen Shuibi closed her eyes, sensed for a moment, and then said.

Li Qi nodded, “That’s good then.”

Having received a definite answer, although he was still a bit uneasy, it was getting late. After the old horse finished eating, he planned to retrieve the pot, cook some rice cakes, and after eating, continue studying the “Zhu” book in his mind.

“Yesterday, I read about discerning cloud Qi. Perfect, the cloud Qi under the old horse’s hooves earlier was also cloud Qi. Let me see… the book says…” Li Qi flipped through the “Zhu” book in his mind.

The book stated: “Discern auspiciousness and misfortune from the five colors of clouds, observe drought and flood, portents of abundance or desolation, gaze upon the twelve winds, discern the harmony and destiny of heaven and earth, and the omens of deviation and abnormality.”

According to this statement…

“Observe cloud colors during the two solstices and two equinoxes: green for insects, white for mourning, red for war and famine, black for water, yellow for abundance…” Li Qi recited what was recorded in the book, while also combining it with reality, wanting to observe the celestial phenomena.

He looked towards the sun.

He looked for a long, long time.

It didn't seem particularly special.

Can a Diviner really distinguish good and bad fortune based on the color of clouds?

Perhaps… his perspective was wrong?

Thinking this, Li Qi activated his Qi observation perspective.

Then, his vision suddenly cleared!

Taiji was chaotic, Origin Qi was refined, Earth Qi was emerging, Heaven Qi was entangled, low-lying areas had mist, and poisonous Qi was steaming!

In this vast mountain, he hadn't noticed it before.

There was actually miasma and poisonous Qi!

“Did it enter my body?” Li Qi looked at his own body.

Then, he could see that within his body, there was surging Qi, isolating the external poisonous Qi and miasma.

These Qi were diverse: some were Life Qi, some were营气, some were卫气, and some were blood Qi.

But these things formed a wall-like existence, firmly resisting external elements.

“Immunity? Or something else?” Li Qi noticed these things for the first time.

Why hadn't he seen them before?

What was the reason for this?

While wondering, he continued to focus on his body.

He found that although the poisonous Qi and miasma were resisted, some could not be resisted.

Li Qi carefully distinguished those he couldn't resist, combining them with the knowledge from the book, and after a great deal of effort, he finally figured out that they were actually cold Qi and heat Qi.

Cold Qi and heat Qi…

In other words, his perception of cold and warmth, and thus getting sick, suffering from heatstroke, or catching a cold from cold Qi entering his body, was because of these?

At this thought, something suddenly occurred to him.

He then looked at Shen Shuibi, the rabbit squatting not far away.

“Sure enough…” he sighed.

This rabbit, besides the faint营气 and卫气 on its body, he couldn't see anything else.

But all other Qi, such as heat Qi, cold Qi, poisonous Qi, and miasma, were all completely isolated outside.

Shen Shuibi, impervious to heat and cold, immune to all poisons…?