"Why aren't we flying anymore?" I asked, mostly because I hadn't had enough of being held.
"Because this is the underworld..." Xie Bi'an rolled her eyes at me. I couldn't fly here.
"You're an underworld envoy, so you can't fly in the underworld, but you can in the mortal realm, right?" I ventured.
Xie Bi'an nodded and blew a whistle into the woods.
Activating my qi sensing technique, I spotted an animal hiding in the trees, running towards us. It was probably her horse.
"Following that logic, I'm a mortal realm envoy in the underworld, so I can't fly in the mortal realm. Does that mean I *can* fly in the underworld?" I asked, playing with the idea of double negatives cancelling out.
Xie Bi'an scratched her head. "Would it be like that?"
"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you."
"Then try it?" Xie Bi'an actually believed me. I was only teasing her.
"How do I try?" I asked with a smile.
"Jifeng Jue, you don't know it?"
I shook my head. I'd heard of Jifeng Bu and Jifeng Chuan, but never Jifeng Jue.
"This is a spell from your mortal realm. I thought Mu Jige would know it." Xie Bi'an grabbed my left hand. It was the first time she had taken the initiative to hold my hand, making my heart pound uncontrollably. It was mainly her hand; it was way too cold!
"Like this," Xie Bi'an said, bending my fingers into a strange shape. My little finger rested on my ring finger, my ring finger on my middle finger, my middle finger on my index finger, and my index finger on my thumb. Then, I tried to curl my thumb inward towards my palm, touching the base of my little finger, forming a closed loop.
My finger flexibility hadn't been developed, and this hand gesture felt awkward and painful, like I couldn't hold it for long.
"Hey, hey, don't let go!" Xie Bi'an grabbed me. "Remember one thing, if you let go halfway, you'll suddenly decelerate. Inertia, you should understand that better than I do."
I quickly forced my fingers back into position. I understood perfectly. Her speed was faster than a high-speed train. If she lost momentum, the inertia would be far more devastating than a high-speed train collision!
But the question was, could I really fly?
"Then what?" I asked, holding my left hand with my right.
"Recite the incantation with me, or silently," Xie Bi'an instructed.
I nodded.
"Jifeng zhi jing cao."
"Luan shi shi zhong chen?" I added.
"Don't mess around... Jifeng zhi jing cao... what was it? Ah, Qianli bu liu xing! Try it."
Honestly, those two lines sounded quite smooth together.
"Jifeng zhi jing cao, qianli bu liu xi-xi-xi-xi-xi-xi..."
It wasn't me giggling; the last syllable of "xing" hadn't even fully left my mouth before my body was already propelled forward, launching me ahead. The speed was so great that the wind kept my mouth open, stuck in the "xi" sound!
"Xi-xi-xi-xi..." Damn it, how do I stop this? I was about to hit a mountain!
No need to 'see' it, I'd already hit it. Fortunately, my body automatically leaned back, continuing to run up the mountainside. In seconds, I reached a summit thousands of meters high. Ahead was a cliff. I expected to fall, but I didn't. My feet remained on the mountain, my body almost in a "prone" position, as I ran along the mountain face. Fortunately, there was a vast plain ahead, where I could run freely and ponder how to stop.
Xie Bi'an had warned me earlier: don't loosen the finger grip, or I'd be killed by the impact. So, there had to be another way to stop.
After much effort, I managed to close my mouth first. Then, I tried shouting "Stop," "Halt," or "Just dou ma dai," but none of them worked. Later, I suddenly realized that since the activation incantation was in ancient language, the stopping command might also be in ancient language. Stopping was unlikely to be a complex phrase, probably just a single word.
Stop... Zhi?
"Zhi!" I shouted.
The surrounding scenery snapped into focus, and my speed visibly decreased. I was decelerating at a rate my heart could withstand, the rate of deceleration changing in milliseconds.
About five seconds later, I finally returned to normal running speed. This was manageable. I applied the brakes, then took two more steps forward, successfully stopping.