Luo He stepped out from the laboratory first the cold night air brushing lightly against his robes. as the shuttle followed behind him.
Jin Mulan followed close behind still thinking about the strange craft he had following him. With a soft click Luo He locked the laboratory doors behind them before casually turning the key once around his finger.
Then without warning he jumped. Not normally either. His body twisted sharply through the air in a smooth spinning motion before landing perfectly atop the floating shuttle with one foot near the center groove.
The blackwood board dipped slightly beneath his weight before stabilizing again hovering a few feet above the stone courtyard.
The golden engravings along its sides glowed faintly beneath the moonlight while the crimson copper beneath reflected dim reddish hues across the ground. Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes immediately.
"You practiced that entrance specifically for tonight, didn't you?" Luo He looked offended. "Yes. I practised the move but not only for you though." Luo He said. "You absolutely do like a show. Don't you." She chucked.
He ignored her completely. Instead he guided the floating board lowering it toward the ground until it hovered just above the stone floor before extending his hand toward her with a relaxed smile.
"Come on." He said confidently.
Jin Mulan looked at the strange craft carefully again her crimson hair shifting softly in the night wind. "It actually feels stable," she admitted.
"Of course honey it's stable," Luo He replied proudly. "I built it myself." He said. "That statement does not increase my confidence." She said. He laughed. Then leaned slightly closer while lowering his voice dramatically.
"We're not going to need Fei's horse after all." He said. Jin Mulan raised a brow. "Oh you touched the poor thing for nothing? How cruel of you!"
Luo He nodded toward the night sky above them without talking offense. Maybe he did and that's why he didn't defend him self.
"If you can tolerate the freezing wind up there we can reach the Wu Kingdom in only a few hours." He said confidently.
Even Jin Mulan looked surprised hearing that.
"A few hours?" She asked suprised. "Mhm. And that's including the breakes."
The board floated slightly higher again as Luo He casually balanced atop it with impossible ease.
"We could arrive back before the Yue escort even reaches the border." Then his grin widened mischievously. "We can attend both the engagement ceremony and the wedding itself as honored freeloaders of the Wu Kingdom."
Jin Mulan sighed. "You make political infiltration sound like a vacation." She said with indifference. "It is a vacation," Luo He corrected immediately.
"A dangerous vacation with rich emperors paying for our meals." Then he added thoughtfully. "Alternatively…"
The board rotated lazily in the air beneath him.
"We could even join the Yue Kingdom's royal escort instead. Eat their food for free. Pretend to behave respectfully for a few days. Then return home in an hour or two once everyone becomes annoying."
Jin Mulan stared at him silently for several moments. "You really planned all this." What am I saying. "Obviously you did." She sighed. "But what if this thing fails midair?"
Luo He smiled brightly. "Then we die romantically together falling from the heavens." Jin Mulan immediately slapped his arm. "Not funny." She said annoyed.
"At least it should be a little funny." He laughed. "No. Not at all." She said. He laughed again before extending his hand toward her once more this time more gently.
The glowing golden veins across the blackwood reflected softly in his eyes while the night wind swept through the courtyard around them. "Trust me," he said calmly. Jin Mulan looked at him quietly. Then finally placed her hand into his.
Luo He caught her hand firmly and pulled her smoothly onto the floating shuttle beneath him. The moment her feet settled against the textured black wooden surface the board dipped slightly before stabilizing once more beneath their combined weight.
The golden engravings along the dark surface glowed faintly beneath the moonlight while streams of spiritual force flowed invisibly around the craft. Luo He spread one arm dramatically toward the night sky.
"Welcome aboard the Dark Cloud Shuttle," he announced proudly. "We will be accepting absolutely no complaints during this journey." Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes immediately.
"That sounds incredibly unsafe." She said. "It is incredibly unsafe you will see." Luo He reassured her. "That does not help." She said. "Exactly." Luo He only grinned wider.
Then before she could continue arguing.
The shuttle exploded upward. The courtyard vanished beneath them instantly as the blackwood craft shot into the night sky with terrifying acceleration.
Wind howled violently around them while the rooftops of the Jin estate blurred into streaks below. Jin Mulan immediately grabbed onto Luo He's robes with both hands. Hard. Very hard.
Luo He burst out laughing over the roaring air currents. "Don't cling to me like a chicken being dragged to slaughter!" The lamina tilted sharply again before surging even faster toward the upper clouds.
Despite the horrifying speed Jin Mulan quickly realized something strange.
The wind never truly struck her. The crushing force from acceleration never reached her body either.
A faint transparent distortion surrounded the lamina like an invisible sphere. Luo He noticed her expression instantly.
"The shuttle space is enclosed within a mental force barrier," he explained proudly while controlling the craft entirely through thought.
"I'm spreading spiritual pressure around us to redirect airflow and stabilize movement." The glowing golden engravings beneath their feet brightened slightly as invisible waves of force spread outward around the craft.
"You won't fall," Luo He continued casually. "Unless I lose concentration."
Jin Mulan slowly looked up at him.
"That sentence was not reassuring." She said.
"It's fine," he said confidently. "I'm incredibly talented in keeping my women afloat." The blackwood lamina pierced through layers of drifting night clouds afterward scattering mist around them in silver waves beneath the moonlight.
Below the world shrank rapidly. Forests became dark stains across the earth.
Rivers transformed into silver threads.
Entire villages disappeared beneath blankets of clouds.
Jin Mulan's crimson hair whipped wildly behind her despite the barrier while her robes fluttered around her legs from the pressure currents surrounding the craft.
Even she could not fully suppress the awe slowly appearing in her eyes.
Because this was not riding a horse.
Nor sailing a ship. This was flight.
True flight. The heavens themselves stretched endlessly around them while moonlight reflected across the blackwood beneath their feet like flowing water.
Luo He stood calmly at the front of the lamina one hand behind his back while controlling the entire craft through sheer mental force alone. The golden dragon engravings shimmered around him like living veins of light.
The dark cloud shuttle slowed gradually before coming to a complete stop nearly two thousand feet above the world below.
Then Luo He released part of the spiritual pressure surrounding the craft.
The protective barrier weakened just enough for the real night wind to pour through around them. Cold. Sharp.
Alive. Jin Mulan's crimson hair immediately scattered wildly behind her.
The loose sleeves of her robes fluttered violently in the open skies. The floating lamina no longer moved forward now. It simply hovered there silently among the drifting clouds beneath the moon.
Weightless as though the two of them had stepped outside the world itself.
Far below the mountains looked ancient and distant. The rivers reflected silver moonlight like flowing strands of glass.
Entire forests swayed softly beneath the night winds.
And above them only stars remained.
Luo He turned slightly toward her before reaching up and brushing several strands of crimson hair away from her face carefully.
"One day," he said quietly, "when I become far more confident with this things," A faint grin appeared at the corner of his mouth. "We can do much more in the skies."
Jin Mulan immediately narrowed her eyes. "That sentence sounds dangerous. But it was romantic." she said to him in a loving voice. "It sounded dangerous pretending to be romantic." Luo He said.
Luo He laughed softly before leaning closer and kissing her gently beneath the cold moonlight one hand resting lightly against her cheek while the freezing winds rushed around them high above the world.
Then he lowered his forehead against hers briefly. "Imagine how lucky you are," he murmured with quiet amusement. "No other man could bring his woman this up."