"Premonition? Something bad is going to happen?" Li Qi frowned, then asked, "Are your premonitions accurate?"
"Not... not very accurate, but I have a strong feeling that something significant is about to occur. Before I crippled my cultivation, I was at the Fifth Rank, so my intuition has some merit," Shen Shuibei said timidly.
Fifth Rank!
Li Qi was left speechless.
Well... just who was Lady Luo Fu? Even her servant was at the Fifth Rank.
One day, I'll also reach the Fifth Rank!
Li Qi gritted his teeth and returned to normal. After a moment of thought, he responded, "Better safe than sorry. Let's go; we shouldn't stay here."
Although he had been building good relations with the villagers all day to secure a place to stay for the night rather than sleeping in the mountains, if there was real danger, it might be safer in the mountains.
Li Qi was decisive by nature. Saying they should leave, he immediately led the old horse and Shen Shuibei, bid farewell to the villagers, and set off.
The old horse didn't say anything either. Although he was very weak, he showed no hesitation when it was time to move, nudging Li Qi affectionately.
"The old horse asks if you want him to carry the load and travel faster. Though he can't run far, he can still run quickly," Shen Shuibei translated immediately.
Li Qi pondered briefly and nodded, "That would be best. The old horse can take us two hundred miles away from here, find a quiet spot near water to rest."
The old horse neighed and squatted down, allowing Shen Shuibei and Li Qi to mount.
Holding his backpack, Li Qi sat in front. Without a saddle or stirrups, the old horse adjusted his gait to minimize jolts, making the ride comfortable and safe.
They couldn't use the backpack because Shen Shuibei needed to sit behind. Despite once being a Fifth Rank expert, she was now physically weak. Unable to maintain a stable stance on the horse, she could only sit in the back, holding onto Li Qi's back.
With everything arranged, one person, one rabbit, and one horse set off.
Despite being old, injured, and frail, the dragon steed still moved swiftly, generating clouds beneath his hooves. It was more like flying than running.
Though the clouds were thin and weak, they allowed the horse to glide lightly, which greatly impressed Li Qi.
What a fast horse! And when flying, the clouds shielded them from wind, making the ride smooth without needing flat ground. The old horse could leap over ten zhang (approximately thirty meters), easily crossing ordinary ravines.
Except for occasional stops to rest, the journey was peaceful. Starting at sunset, they covered 180 miles before nightfall, finding a small pond.
"Alright, let's stop here," Li Qi observed the surroundings and chose their campsite for the night.
The old horse carefully lowered them off, panting heavily.
It was clear that the horse was exhausted, sweating profusely and almost sticking out his tongue.
Forcing him to carry two people for 180 miles was indeed too much for his aged and injured body.
Seeing this, Li Qi took his pot used for cooking rice cakes, filled it with water from the pond, and splashed two pots of water over the horse to cool him down.
Then, he prepared three to four catties of beans in the pot, sprinkled some coarse salt, mixed it with water, and placed it in front of the lying-down horse. "Eat up, replenish your strength. Oh, don't spit into the pot; I'll need it later, and I eat from it too!"
The old horse neighed softly, nodding repeatedly, rubbing his face against Li Qi before starting to eat the beans.
Li Qi watched for a while, seeing him eat the beans alternately with fresh grass, seemingly enjoying himself. Assuming the salt was properly seasoned, he turned to Shen Shuibei.
"Miss Shen, do you still have that premonition?" he asked cautiously.
The old horse was already exhausted from running straight for over a hundred miles on such terrain. If the premonition persisted, they'd need to make other preparations.
"It's much weaker now. We seem to have avoided it," Shen Shuibei closed her eyes, sensing for a moment, then said.
Li Qi nodded, "Good."
With this assurance, though still somewhat uneasy, he waited for the old horse to finish eating. He planned to retrieve the pot, cook some rice cakes, and then continue studying the Book of Divination in his mind.
"Yesterday, I read about identifying cloud formations. Conveniently, the old horse produced clouds under his hooves earlier. Let me see... the book says..." Li Qi reviewed the Book of Divination in his mind.
According to the book, "Use the five types of clouds to distinguish auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, observe water levels, droughts, abundance or famine, and examine the twelve winds to discern harmony between heaven and earth, as well as signs of misfortune."
Based on this...
"During solstices and equinoxes, observe the color of clouds: blue indicates pests, white signifies death, red means war and famine, black indicates water, yellow represents abundance..." Li Qi recited the recorded knowledge, attempting to observe the sky.
He looked towards the sun.
After observing for a while, nothing seemed particularly noteworthy.
Could diviners really predict fortune based on cloud colors?
Perhaps... it's just my perspective?
Thinking this, Li Qi activated his ability to perceive qi.
Suddenly, his vision became clear!
Tai Chi swirling, primordial qi refining, earthly qi rising, heavenly qi intertwining, floods above, mists below, toxic fumes permeating!
In these mountains, he hadn't noticed before.
There were actually poisonous miasmas and toxic gases!
"Have they entered my body?" Li Qi checked his own body.
He saw that within his body, qi flowed vigorously, forming a barrier that repelled external toxins and miasmas.
These various forms of qi—vital qi, nutritive qi, defensive qi, blood qi—formed a wall-like structure, firmly blocking external elements.
"Immunity? Or what?" This was the first time Li Qi noticed these things.
Why hadn't he seen them before?
What caused this?
As he pondered, he continued observing his body.
He realized that although most toxins and miasmas were repelled, some still managed to penetrate.
Li Qi carefully identified those he couldn't resist, combining his observations with the book's knowledge. With great effort, he finally distinguished them as cold and heat qi.
Cold and heat qi...
So, perceiving cold and warmth leading to illnesses like heatstroke or catching a cold was due to these?
Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered something.
He looked at the nearby squatting rabbit, Shen Shuibei.
"Indeed..." he sighed.
This rabbit, besides the faint nutritive and defensive qi around her, he saw nothing else.
All forms of qi—heat, cold, toxins, and miasmas—were completely blocked outside.
Shen Shuibei, immune to both heat and cold, untouched by poisons...?