Five days later.
The sky gradually darkened. Heavy clouds spread across the entire sky, obscuring the last rays of the setting sun and promising an approaching storm. Even the air had grown noticeably damper.
"It looks like it's going to rain. Let's take shelter in that temple up ahead."
Akali looked up at the sky. The weather had changed without warning, and before long, all three of them would probably be soaked to the bone.
Fortunately, they were in luck. There was an abandoned temple not far ahead. It looked old and dilapidated even from a distance, but it would be more than enough to shelter them from the rain.
The temple had clearly gone untended for a very long time. Cobwebs hung from the walls, and some of the roof tiles had fallen away. The interior was relatively clean, however, and a pile of dry firewood had been stacked in one corner. Travelers apparently stopped here from time to time to spend the night.
When Luke and the others entered, they found the temple empty and pervaded by a desolate atmosphere.
Once they lit a fire, however, the warmth it radiated gradually dispelled that feeling.
Drip. Drip.
Raindrops as large as beans began falling outside. Some struck the roof tiles overhead, creating an uneven rhythm as the downpour steadily intensified.
"We were pretty lucky. If we'd arrived even a little later, we would've been drenched," Akali said, relieved as she watched the rain outside.
"We were." Ahri nodded in agreement. She watched the raindrops burst against the ground and sighed softly. "I don't really like rain."
"Neither do I," Akali said. "Drying my hair after getting soaked is such a pain, and everything feels wet and uncomfortable."
Her reason for disliking the rain was much the same as Ahri's.
Ahri also found cleaning herself after getting soaked troublesome, especially her tails. They took forever to dry.
"I actually like it. Don't you think falling asleep to the sound of rain is relaxing?"
Luke stretched, made himself a simple backrest, and reclined comfortably against it.
Closing his eyes and listening to the rain gave him an incomparable sense of peace.
"Not at all," Akali said. "I think it's noisy."
"Rain like this makes me feel especially lonely," Ahri added.
"All right."
Clearly, neither of them could appreciate the pleasure of sleeping on a rainy day, so Luke fell silent.
The voices of the two girls chatting blended with the sound of the rain, leaving him feeling remarkably peaceful.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Then new footsteps sounded through the rain.
Two cloaked figures entered the temple. Both were soaked from head to toe, clearly having been caught in the downpour for quite some time.
"Pardon our intrusion. We were passing through when the rain became too heavy, so we hoped to take shelter here. You three don't mind, do you?"
One of them spoke in an exceptionally calm and even voice. Despite being thoroughly soaked, he remained completely unhurried.
"Of course not," Akali replied. "We're only travelers sheltering from the rain as well. Make yourselves comfortable."
The speaker nodded gently and gave the three of them a cursory glance.
When his gaze landed on Luke, however, he froze.
His mind, which had been as calm as still water, was instantly disturbed.
The Seven Lenses of Insight had never reacted so powerfully to anyone before. At the same moment, he sensed something emanating from the man before him.
His eyes widened slightly.
Could this man possess an innate Wuju constitution?
Luke, who had been dozing, also sensed something and opened his eyes, looking toward the cloaked man.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and light a fire so we can dry our clothes."
A sharp voice rang out.
The other cloaked figure removed his cloak, revealing a narrow, monkeylike face surrounded by thick fur.
He was a vastaya.
All three noticed immediately.
He resembled a monkey, but Akali was not unfamiliar with his kind. She had once read records about a vastayan tribe known as the Shimon, and this man was clearly one of them.
The other traveler returned to his senses and slowly removed his cloak. A strange set of goggles covered his face, giving him an unusual and extraordinary appearance.
He was not particularly tall, and his outward bearing seemed no different from that of an ordinary person. Even so, both Akali and Ahri could sense that he was anything but ordinary.
The same was true of the Shimon.
The man removed his goggles, revealing long hair tied behind his head and a lengthy beard beneath his chin. His expression was serene, while his eyes were exceptionally bright and alert.
Recognition flashed through Luke's eyes, and he was somewhat surprised.
They were Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman, and his disciple, Wukong.
Of course, this was not the Monkey King from ancient legends, but an Ionian vastaya. Nevertheless, he was far from ordinary.
Running into these two here was truly unexpected.
After a moment of thought, Luke spoke first. "You're welcome to use our firewood."
"Thank you. Our fire-starting supplies were soaked through as well."
Wukong approached with a cheerful smile. As he thanked them, he used the burning wood to start another fire.
Master Yi withdrew his gaze, but he still found the situation strange.
He had never seen the Seven Lenses of Insight react like that before. More importantly, what was that peculiar sensation coming from the young man?
Could someone truly be born with an innate Wuju constitution?
What other explanation could there be for the emotions disturbing his usually tranquil mind?
Several droplets of water suddenly splashed onto him. Wukong was shaking the rain from his cloak in Yi's direction.
"What's gotten into you today?" Wukong asked curiously. "You're not acting like yourself."
"Something unexpected happened," Yi answered as he slowly regained his composure.
"What happened?" Wukong asked, immediately intrigued.
Yi considered the question for a moment, but his gaze eventually returned to Luke.
"Unless my senses are mistaken, you possess Wuju sword intent. May I ask where you acquired it?"
The young man before him was remarkably handsome, but his presence seemed completely unexceptional. No matter how Yi examined him, he appeared to be an ordinary person.
Yet Yi was certain that he was anything but ordinary.
The instant Yi saw him, his own Wuju sword intent had reacted as if encountering something that resonated with it. The two were extraordinarily similar. That sensation could not possibly be false.
More precisely, Yi trusted his instincts.
Combined with what he had seen through the Seven Lenses of Insight, Yi knew that he had encountered the most unusual situation of his entire life.
The goggles had been personally crafted by one of the greatest masters in the history of the Wuju School and possessed numerous extraordinary functions. One of those functions allowed the wearer to determine whether someone had the aptitude to learn Wuju.
Whenever the goggles detected such aptitude, green light would burn within their lenses. The stronger the flames, the greater the person's potential.
The instant Yi saw Luke, all seven lenses had erupted with vigorous green flames that almost seemed to surge into the sky.
Yi had never witnessed anything like it. Even when he had used the goggles to examine the masters of his own school, they had never produced such a reaction.
If the Seven Lenses of Insight were not broken, then this man...
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