The Vermilion Bird Boat came to a stop on the drill grounds of Northern Garrison Pass. Zhou Tieshan led the soldiers in wiping down its hull.
The vermilion bird patterns on the prow had been dulled by the wind and sand of the Northern Frontier. He used a cloth soaked in tung oil to wipe them again and again, until the patterns shone once more.
Lu Chen stood before the boat. The tail at his lower back was pressed tightly beneath his clothes, its three tailbones folded atop one another, completely invisible from the outside.
But sitting was still a problem—he had tried sitting in the cabin seat of the Vermilion Bird Boat, and the instant his tailbones were pressed down, his entire spine went numb.
Yun Qingyue found a soft cushion in the cabin and tossed it onto the seat. A hole had been cut into the middle of it.
"Give it a try."
Lu Chen sat down. His tailbones passed through the hole and hung behind the backrest. They were no longer being pressed down. He leaned back slightly, and his tail gave a faint swish outside the chair back.
"How did you know to cut a hole?"
"It's recorded in the archives of Medicine King Valley. The founding valley master had a junior brother who underwent dragon transformation to the Tail Growth stage. He sewed himself a pair of crotchless trousers and was laughed at by his fellow disciples for three years." Yun Qingyue set the medicine case by her feet. "Later, he became the strongest person in Medicine King Valley."
"What happened later?"
"Later, he went to Return to Ruins. He never came back."
Lu Chen said nothing.
The cabin wall of the Vermilion Bird Boat cast a slanting shadow in the sunlight, its edge falling