REBORN

Book One of the Jade Phoenix Saga, A Xianxia Cultivation LitRPG Series

D. I. FREED

Thanks for checking out Reborn.

We hope you enjoy this latest instalment of Portal Books brand LitRPG/Progression Fantasy goodness, if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up to our mailing list to get access to the Portal Books Story Bundle containing over 80,000 words of FREE content from our authors.

Our story bundle is all NEW never before seen content that you won’t read about in the author’s novels. Whenever we add more, you’ll get the updates too, absolutely free.

https://portal-books.com/sign-up

Feel free to check us out on Facebook too: it’s a great place to stay up to date with future releases. We also regularly run giveaways and promotions that everyone is welcome to participate in.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGPortal/

Happy reading!

Best wishes,

The Portal Books Team

www.portal-books.com

This book is dedicated to my wife and children. Without your support, I never would have been able to realize this crazy dream of becoming an author.

Contents

Prologue

Part One

1. Barn Incident

2. Corrupted Sign

3. Jing Clan

4. Fall and Rise

5. Death and Life

6. Free

Part Two

7. Rescue

8. Secrets

9. Future Planning

10. Visitor

Interlude

Part Three

11. Fear, Doubt, and Failure

12. Grandma Huan

13. Stories and Sects

14. Skin

15. Foundation Building Stage

16. Pain and Truth

17. Skin Mantra

Interlude

Part Four

18. Street Performance

19. Leaving the Firelight

20. Ring

21. First Night

22. Fear and Courage

23. Vine

24. Food

25. Plunge

Interlude

Part Five

26. Feathers

27. Fengbao

28. Thanks

29. Hook Swords

Part Six

30. New Home

31. Fox and Boar

32. Dogs and Hunters

33. Unwelcome

34. Despair

Part Seven

35. Story

36. Sale

37. Bath

38. Burn

Interlude

Part Eight

39. Identity

40. Opening Ceremony

41. First matches

42. Second day

43. Night Before

44. Final Day

45. Honor and Sacrifice

46. Final Matches

47. Prizes

Interlude

Part Nine

48. Review

49. Party

50. Friends

51. Sects

52. Target

53. Good Trade

54. Compensation

55. Discoveries

Interlude

Part Ten

56. Senses

57. Smell

58. Plot

59. Punishment

60. Show

61. Elder

62. Challenge

63. Next

Interlude

Part Eleven

64. Introduction

65. Energy

66. First Meridian

67. Additions

Interlude

Part Twelve

68. Skill Scroll

69. Fire Skills

70. Uncle Gen

71. Lightning and Darkness

72. Blood

73. Bai

74. Story

75. Preparations

76. Goodbyes

Epilogue

Afterword

Portal Books - Newsletter and Group

Enjoyed Reborn? More Cultivation from Portal Books

More LitRPG from Portal Books

Join the Group

Prologue

Main hall, City Lord’s Palace of Fei Shu City, Xiao Weili Prefecture, Xing Nation, Gui Empire:

Fenghuang Da paced across the worn wooden floor with a scowl on his bearded face. One particularly sharp turn caused the marbled red seams of his otherwise black hanfu to whip out and then stream behind him, fluttering about his legs. Out of his left eye, he saw a single long black hair that had escaped from his topknot. It bothered him that it exposed a sign of imperfection in the otherwise refined clan leader’s visage he allowed the public to see. As the lord of the city and Patriarch of the city’s strongest clan, he felt he should show no weakness. Even at a moment such as this.

“What could be taking so long?” His clenched fists and stomping gait revealed his agitation, despite his best efforts.

“Brother, be calm,” pled Fenghuang Gen. Da’s middle brother continued to enjoy meals more than physical training, so he was thicker around the middle than cultivators who focused on combat. But as a healer, it was not unexpected. Most of them behaved that way. He wore a green qipao with blue vines adorning the chest and cuffs. Still, his gentle appearance did not lessen the power and prestige he wielded as a powerful master of his craft.

Gen raised his hands in an appeasing gesture and spoke again. “These things take time. There is nothing you can do.”

A laugh sounded in response to the comment. Da looked over at Fenghuang Zhao. His youngest brother leaned against a nearby pillar, his hands crossed over his chest. Still young by cultivator standards, he was shorter and thinner than both his elder brothers. Dressed in a black qipao highlighted by silver clouds, he laughed again and clapped his hands to his thighs.

In a mocking, but not unkind, tone he said, “My dear eldest and fiercest brother, general of the mighty Xing Army, esteemed Patriarch of the Fenghuang Clan, bringer of peace to the Xiao Weili prefecture and mightiest cultivator for a hundred thousand li in any direction, finally brought low by the birth of a child. And not even your first.”

More teasing laughter from Zhao and even a few chuckles from Gen followed this statement. Da finally paused his march to turn swiftly and glare at his most irritating brother.

“If you ever loved a woman, Zhao, you might be lucky enough to worry for her as I do my Meixiu and her sister-wives.” Da returned to his pacing with even more fervor than before, each echoing step causing the ether lamps hanging throughout the palace room to sway and the light to shimmer against the gold and silver designs. Fenghuang Da didn’t care. Let them fall, he thought to himself.

Zhao offered a sly smile and responded cheekily, “Brother, I love many women. And often.”

Da huffed and shook his head but ceased his pacing.

Gen stepped up to Da and said, “Zhao, boorish as he is, is correct. At least in that you must calm yourself.”

He held up his right hand and it glowed for a moment, illuminating the room with the color of the forest. A green square with black writing and a blue border on it appeared before him. “Do you see, brother?”

Name: Da

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: Patriarch

Qi Type: Aura

Qi Affinity: Fire, Metal

Cultivation Stage: {Blocked}

Status: Agitated, elevated heart rate

Health Assessment: Lack of Qi control may result in harm to self, nearby individuals, or objects and structures.

Fenghuang Da glanced at it, waved his arm dismissively, and huffed again. “I do not require your insight, Gen. If I lost control, this—”

His statement was interrupted by the howling cry of a baby.

One of his second wife’s maids approached with her head lowered, carrying a bundle of crying newborn. Seeing his child for the first time, the clan chief summoned his Qi and rushed to the woman.

He knew it would appear as though he had vanished and reappeared in less than the time it took to blink an eye, but he did not care at that moment. And it suited his purposes anyway.

Da let go of the Qi of the Heavens and Earth as he stopped in front of the meek woman. She lowered herself to her knees, still holding the child.

“Speak!” he bellowed, anxious to hear of his second wife’s condition. The child’s crying immediately ceased upon hearing the echoing roar.

The servant’s timid, shaky voice was low but heard by all in the silence. “My lord. Your lady wife is well and is expected to return to full health in a day or less. I have been ordered to present to you your young daughter, Fenghuang Yu.”

Da restrained himself from raising his voice again. Losing control of his emotions like that was unbecoming of a leader, especially before a mortal.

In a much softer but no less commanding tone, Da ordered, “Stand and hand my child to me.”

The terrified woman rose slowly and then extended her arms, which held the pink-skinned child bundled in wool and violet silk.

Da knew his reputation. In fact, he worked hard to maintain the fear that most in this country had of him. In a world where power was the only true currency, fear was a commodity of incalculable value.

Da reached under and lifted his youngest child. Despite this being his fifth child, it still amazed him how small and vulnerable they were. His scarred warrior’s hands dwarfed the small swaddled form. He turned, ignoring the woman as she bowed low and backed out of the room. With as much gentleness as possible, he pulled down the cloth with a finger so that he could gaze upon the face of his only daughter.

Da felt his two brothers appear on either side of his shoulders and stare down at the tiny form. Gen reached his hand out and held it over the child.

It glowed green and he said, “She is healthy. Obviously I can tell no more until she is tested at the stone in ten days. She barely made it in time.”

Despite being the most talented healer of his generation in the nation, not even Gen had the ability to use the God Sign to assess a human until they had first been declared by the gods.

“She’s so small and wrinkly,” muttered Zhao, his face alight with both awe and bewilderment.

Not taking his eyes off his daughter, Da heard Gen chuckle lightly behind him. “She is a baby, brother. You looked much the same when you showed. I remember.”

The younger of Da’s two brothers had been born one hundred and seventy-two years after Gen, making him the baby of the family. This of course meant he had been spoiled rotten and had thus developed a blasé attitude toward the future and his responsibilities. That did not mean he was weak or timid or unable to fight. In fact, he served a critical purpose for the family with his Darkness affinity Qi. Da was thankful for the abilities of both his middle and younger brother. The clan would be far less without them.

Gen continued his description of Zhao’s birth. “But you cried more and smelled much worse than this little gem. Yu…” Then in more of a whisper, “Jade indeed.”

Da straightened and turned his head to look at his brother in surprise. “You know the translation, then? It is obscure, even for the ancient tongue.”

Gen shrugged and said blandly, “Don’t pretend that isn’t why you and Meixiu picked the name, or that you won’t make your daughter study it just as hard as we had to. It’s a tradition in our family that you have kept with your other children. It is a shame that most families name their offspring with little thought for the old translations. In fact, few remember much of the ancient tongue at all. Except us. Although this one did take me some time digging in the scrolls. Only you and Meixiu would choose such an auspicious name.”

“True,” Da responded, with a nod. Then he turned back to his tiny daughter and, with the gravity of a Patriarch, shook his head and said, “Either way, our clan will benefit from her, as we do from all Fenghuang children. If she can cultivate, then she will become an Aura-, Mana- or Ether-wielder, adding power to our forces. Knowing her mother and myself, she will likely be a power to rival the three of us.”

Fenghuang Gen asked, “And if she cannot?”

“She will be valued and will eventually allow us to arrange an alliance through marriage. The clan must always come first.”

Ten days later, the one hundred and three most senior members of the Fenghuang Clan stood in a ceremonial room large enough to fit one hundred and fifty comfortably. Its red walls were adorned with large birds in flight, each plumed in a single color of the rainbow, except for a few black, white, silver, and gold birds shown sporadically in between.

The decadence was not something Da personally appreciated, but it was necessary to show the clan’s prestige. Oftentimes a show of wealth was as effective as a show of physical strength.

Sitting at the front of the room on a raised dais, he allowed a little of his power to leak out, knowing they would feel the pressure. It would… encourage all to remember he was the Patriarch. Not that his position was easily mistakable. His seat of rank was a tall ornate chair of dark wood with a carved phoenix, its wings spread in flight, cresting just over his head.

To his left and right and slightly behind sat two similar but smaller and less ornate chairs. On the left was Caretaker Bo. The old man was rubbing his long white beard and laughing lightly as he spoke to an obese middle-aged man who was also chuckling, each laugh causing his bulging stomach to bounce under his blue qipao.

To the Patriarch’s right was a stunningly beautiful woman in a violet hanfu, her hair long and purple like the silk wrapped around her, but worn up in ornate curls held at the top by a pair of long crossed silver rods. Meixiu’s head was tilted as she listened to a young woman whispering in her ear. Her beauty still captivated Da, even after more than a century. She was also the only one of his wives permitted to be present, the other two being neither clan elders nor strong enough in their cultivation.

Da sat with no expression on his face, as was proper for one of his position, simply watching his clan’s various factions building alliances or enmity as they willed. He would not lower himself to get involved in such drivel unless the clan was put at risk. And they all knew better than to get the clan chief involved – that almost always resulted in both sides losing face and power. And sometimes blood.

A child snuck his way around the outside of the room, staying low and silent. Da’s eyes flicked to the child, but he made no other motion, despite his desire to grin at his precocious second son. That boy’s affinity was strong and rare, like his uncles’ – he would make a great warrior for the clan one day. Perhaps even his heir. There was no harm in him watching the ceremony. Which reminded Da…

With a glance around the room, he watched as his clan members’ calm conversations began to slow and emotions began to rise. None had eaten or drunk anything since the sunrise of the previous day as a supplication to the gods. That rule was not technically required to be followed for the ceremony, but it had become a tradition to the point of causing a significant loss of face to anyone who might breach it.

Allowing just a bit more of his power to spill out, Da stood and the room slowly became silent.

“Welcome to the Declaration Ceremony of our newest additions,” he intoned. “As is the tradition of the Fenghuang Clan, we hold this ceremony on the shortest and longest days of the year, as then we are closest to the gods who grant us our God Sign and the gifts of Qi and cultivation.”

Every person in the room – save the two seated to his left and right – bowed their head and spoke in unison, “Clan chief.”

His second wife and mother to his only daughter, Long Meixiu, stood and called out in a captivating voice that resounded through the room, “Bring the Eye.”

The red-painted double doors at the other end of the hall opened and four trusted family guards, strong cultivators all, entered carrying a table made of the same dark wood as the Patriarch’s throne. The table appeared to be simple, with slats and four legs; but upon its top, numerous circles and swirls were carved. These were runes and designs that only the greatest of Ether-wielders could understand or create.

Atop the table were eleven items: ten were perfectly distributed in a circle around the eleventh, and were of similar size and shape but different colors. Each was a beast core, a concentrated form of untamed Qi taken from the corpse of a demonic beast. They were of different affinities, and partially pressed into the enchanted wood. The affinities were Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Metal, Ice, Wood, Lightning, Light, and Darkness. There were more affinities in the world, but cores of those were nearly impossible to acquire.

The final item, placed in the center of the circle of cores, was a tripod made from a single piece of nearly black steel, its legs also covered in mysterious runes and whirling designs. Where the three legs met at the top was a perfect circle of steel, within which an equally flawless, clear crystal was inlaid. At one handspan across and three tall, the crystal showed the perfect symmetry of two stretched pyramids stacked upon each other.

The crystal’s clarity was immaculate, but a rainbow of swirling colors appeared to be swimming within it, almost alive.

No matter how many times he had seen it, Da still marveled at the sight of the Eye of the Gods, the complex creation that could peer into the truth of humans. Of course, he did not let that show.

Others were not so restrained. Every single one of the strongest cultivators of the Fenghuang Clan watched as the most valuable object in the clan’s possession was brought before them. Some gawked. Others showed reverence. And a few even showed greed. Da mentally marked the latter down in his mind and decided he would have Zhao watch them.

Not that the reactions were a surprise. The Eye’s value would be enough to buy the entire city of Fei Shu and every clan in it. It was gifted to the Fenghuang Clan many generations ago for services rendered to the kingdom and his majesty, the king at the time, through saving him and his family from the deadly demonic beasts that rule the wild lands of the Xing Nation.

The guards placed the table which held the crystal on a spot marked on the stone floor in the exact middle of the room, then turned their backs to it and stood guard. After standing at attention, they then removed their sabers from their back scabbards and stood ready to protect the clan’s most valuable asset.

Caretaker Bo stood. “Bring the children!” he called loudly through a wrinkled smile.

A stream of nineteen women in identical white hanfu with a single small flaming bird stitched into the top right of their fronts stepped in from an ornately painted archway to the left, each holding a child. The last walked to Da’s second wife and handed Meixiu their daughter.

Da and Meixiu had first met on the battlefield and had nearly ended each other in a fierce and chaotic battle before realizing they were fighting on the same side. Recognizing each other’s strength, they became sparring partners, friends, and, not long after, lovers. After many years of this, she agreed to become his wife, and, years later, they had their first child together. It had only been a few days prior that their Jade Phoenix, Fenghuang Yu, had joined their family and clan.

Da watched impassively as the nineteen mothers created a crescent-shaped line four paces from the table. Meixiu stepped beside the last woman, creating a striking contrast with her purple against the white of the others. The sounds of shuffling and whispers started to pick up in the background as the women formed up. Da watched the room carefully, observing which clan members smiled at, sneered at, greeted or derided which of the women. He found none foolish enough to act that way toward his own wife and daughter, though. At least not in his presence.

Da called, “Caretaker Bo, are your charges prepared?” (As the individual responsible for the children’s supervision, education, and preparation, Elder Bo received a unique title in the clan, “Caretaker.”)

The smiling old man bowed his head and said, “They are prepared, clan chief.”

Da then looked upward toward one of the two round windows near the roof of the building, and all heads in the room followed. A few moments later, streams of sunlight filtered through the glass and made contact with the crystal. It glowed gold, a color representing the only affinity no human could wield: heavenly power.

The room fell silent and stayed like that for thirty breaths until the sunlight passed, and the golden glow was absorbed into the center of the crystal. Then, like golden fluid, it flowed down the runes on the circlet holding it, then down the legs of the steel tripod, and downward again.

When the gold faded from the steel, the tabletop flared with light, and all the runes and designs glowed. It was so bright that many of the weaker cultivators in the room had to turn away or squint.

Da did not even twitch, standing like a statue. With so many eyes upon him, he would show no weakness, even at such a display of power. When the glow faded, only the beast cores’ subtle radiance reminded those present of the power of the device before them.

The Caretaker turned toward the first woman in white and said in a gentle tone, “Fenghuang Chen, approach.”

As was tradition, he was speaking to the woman but stating the name of the baby in her arms.

She walked forward to the table and stopped before the guards. “I ask leave to near the Eye of the Gods so my child’s future may be determined.”

The guards took a single step to the side and the woman walked to the table. She placed her son, Fenghuang Chen, inside the tripod and directly under the large crystal. She then took one step back. The room was silent except for the sound of the cultivators breathing in anticipation.

Nothing happened for just short of a minute until the crystal in the middle flashed black once, and then the beast core to the right of the baby’s tiny head glowed noticeably brighter and then dimmed.

Caretaker Bo turned to Da and said, “Clan chief, the gods have smiled upon the Fenghuang Clan. A new Fire Warrior is born.”

Giving the emotionless response expected of him, Da nodded once. As for those present, the clan’s elders applauded politely, pleased but not impressed.

The core had lit up only dimly, showing what would be a slightly below-average affinity strength.

To conclude the child’s Determination Ceremony, Fenghuang Da said, “Show this child’s God Sign.”

Elder Bo touched the glowing red crystal and the baby’s God Sign appeared in deep red with white writing for all to bear witness.

Name: Chen

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: None

Qi Type: Aura

Qi Affinity: Fire

Cultivation Stage: None

Status: None

There was much more to a cultivator’s God Sign, but only this broad information would be shared publicly. One’s personal information was only shared with those one trusted absolutely. To do otherwise put the cultivator at risk.

Chen’s mother stepped forward with a broad smile, picked up her son, and walked to the other side of the room. She stood in one of the designated places for future clan cultivators.

This process was repeated with the next woman and baby. However, this time there was no flash nor change of brightness of any of the beast cores. Unlike the previous applause, there was disappointed muttering and head-shaking.

Elder Bo said, “Clan chief, this child cannot form a dantian and will not cultivate.”

That meant the child would not be able to form the organ that holds Qi.

As expected, Da thought to himself. He knew that branch family, and they had produced no cultivators in more than five centuries. Thus, the family would gain no prestige from this child. He would become a mundane member of their society and add value to the clan as an ordinary laborer.

Of course, he did not allow any emotion to cross his face as he again nodded once. The downtrodden mother took her child and walked to a separate area of the room, away from the rest.

The process proceeded as usual for the subsequent six children. Three were average Aura cultivators of Fire, Fire, and Earth affinity respectively, the most common in this prefecture. The other three were not able to cultivate.

The next child caused something of a stir when the center crystal flashed white instead of black, and the black beast core glowed brightly. It actually sucked the light from around it, causing it to appear lighter, but that is semantics.

The Caretaker spoke excitedly when he called out, “Clan chief, the gods have truly smiled upon the Fenghuang Clan today. A new Darkness Mage is born.”

Raucous applause broke out in the room. Da mentally rolled his eyes as a whoop came from his little brother. While nearly everyone in the room was cheering because they saw a Mage and a rare affinity, Da knew better. Zhao would have the twenty-third member of his small intelligence and assassination squad in just a handful of years.

The Shadow Phoenixes, as he called them, were one of the Fenghuang Clan’s best-kept secrets. Few knew that this small squad was one of the key reasons the clan had stayed strong and grown in power and reputation over the generations.

The clan Patriarch from four generations ago had initiated the program and begun arranging for the gathering and breeding of Darkness affinity family members. The clan was usually able to create one every thirty or so years, which was stunning considering the rarity of cultivators of that affinity.

On the other hand, that cultivators of even moderate strength could live to nearly a thousand years of age made breeding for specific desired traits plausible – if controlled and encouraged properly, at least. That lifetime might seem like a lot of opportunity to mortals, but cultivators tended not to reproduce often unless they were of an excessively wealthy noble status. This was due to the outrageous amount of resources required to raise a strong cultivator. It was generally a better investment to put more resources toward fewer cultivators – or even a single one – than spread resources among many, so that each had less.

Returning his mind to the matter at hand, Da started planning how to manage this child’s potential value to the clan. It would be many years before he could defend himself. Until then, he would need resources, training, and, most importantly, protection. At least until he could use Qi outside his body, which usually happened between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. It was rare, but cultivation geniuses could actually start using external Qi a year or two earlier.

Obviously, the earlier, the better because that offered the children more time to perfect their bodies as they grew. This was a superior option to changing them after they had already developed, which was arduous, exceedingly resource-intensive, and much of the time painful.

Fenghuang Cho’s black God Sign and white writing confirmed that his clan had another powerful asset on the rise.

Name: Cho

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: None

Qi Type: Mana

Qi Affinity: Darkness

Cultivation Stage: None

Status: None

By the end, Da was pleased that it had turned out to be a good harvest for the Fenghuang Clan that cycle. As he waited for his daughter's turn, he saw that all the remaining girls and boys would become cultivators of one type or another.

There was even another Wood affinity healer, which excited Gen. She would be a valuable asset as well. Healer Mages with Wood or Water affinity were rare in their city, although less so than those with Darkness. Of those that did attain a healer’s affinity, almost none had both Water and Wood – Gen was nearly unique in that respect. Da was almost positive no other in Xing Nation had them both.

As expected, none of the children would be able to wield Ether. Ether-wielders were the rarest of all cultivators and were usually sent to various sects or colleges for specific training immediately upon being able to process sufficient Qi in their bodies to open meridians.

Interrupting his musings, Da watched as Fenghuang Yu was finally brought forth by Meixiu. The room was filled with a murmuring of the expectation that had been placed on the tiny shoulders of the only child of the two strongest cultivators in the city.

It was widely known that potential was passed down. When two powerful parents had a child, the child was almost always as strong or stronger than those who created them. Da and Meixiu had discussed this at length in the days prior to the ceremony. Together they had decided how to treat the child in the case of her either having good cultivation talent or none.

Da watched as his beautiful and brilliant second wife placed their daughter on the table the same as the others and took a step back. Nothing happened for a moment, but then a yell was heard from outside which was loud enough to be audible through the thick wooden walls and doors. Da and the others in the room all turned toward that sound with disapproving looks. Everyone knew not to disturb the Declaration Ceremony.

Immediately after the first yell dissipated, another followed. And then another. Then there was a booming sound, and the entire building shook with the vibrations of it. Then came another, and this time the earth lifted and slammed down beneath their feet. All but the strongest cultivators lost their footing and ended up on either their knees or backsides.

“Yu!”

Da turned with a start to see his wife lunging toward their child, who had blood oozing from a wound somewhere. The guards were still mostly steady on their feet and doing their job, securing the Eye of the Gods so that it would come to no harm. They extended hidden flaps from under the table and began to close it just as Meixiu grabbed her daughter before running to her husband.

“Is she all right?” Da asked quickly.

“She is unconscious but alive,” Meixiu replied. “I will bring her to the healers and we will know more. You must go.”

She gently kissed his cheek and began a steady run to the healers’ area of the city lord’s estate, followed closely by Gen.

A palace guard, bleeding profusely from an arm which Da saw was mostly missing, pushed open the door with his other shoulder, tumbled in and weakly said, “Under attack.” He then fell over, never to move again.

The vibrating sound of an explosion echoed throughout the shaking building as the guards staggered slightly but continued to secure the precious device. Without an Eye of the Gods, the Fenghuang Clan would have to use another larger clan’s or bring their clan members to a public ceremony supported by the empire instead. This would be deadly – exposing so many new cultivators to the public every year would put a target on them all. Their clan’s true strength was known only to a few inside or outside the clan, and Da wished to keep it that way.

He watched the guards as they concluded the sealing process, letting out a sigh of relief as the flash of the Ether enchantments took hold. He knew it would require someone much more powerful than him to break the protections on the table.

His body burst into flame as he ordered, “Secure it and continue your duty,” and then strode past the guards into whatever battle awaited him outside.

Bo Fang stood perfectly erect in the dim clan audience hall. He had been the Matriarch’s personal guard for nearly two centuries. She had saved him as a youth, and in exchange, he had sworn his body, Qi, and soul to her service until he died. Over that time, he had watched as she led her already dominant clan to even greater heights of might and wealth.

Her powers were strange, yet their effectiveness was undeniable. Fang had witnessed her give seemingly random orders that resulted in the ruin of individuals, families – even entire clans. She would deliver nonsensical commands which would result in the devastation of reputations. And just as casually, she would release information nobody could possibly know, resulting in the deaths of thousands.

Only one hundred and twenty years ago, he had delivered a missive with nearly a million silver to a small unknown clan. It had seemed innocuous enough, but had resulted in the clan’s rise to power. That clan had dominated their province until, forty-five years ago, another letter with almost as much silver was sent to a different clan, resulting in a bloody war. Both clans had been almost mutually annihilated when a third had come along and exploited their war-weakened states.

Bo Fang later witnessed the Matriarch speaking to one of her mysterious agents about that event. “The boy is dead, as you intended,” the spy had said.

His Matriarch had nodded and responded, “Fine. It’s a shame about the investment in those clans, but that child would have been a significant threat, so it was worth the loss.”

Despite it all, he had rarely seen her show much interest or emotion regarding her own actions. She didn’t seem to find any particular joy in victories, nor anger at whatever behavior led to the actions she took. Occasionally the family would cause her consternation, but beyond some minor annoyance, he had not seen his Matriarch show much beyond minor satisfaction.

That was until ten days ago. He still shivered at the memory of it. The entire palace had shaken from her power and rage.

He had been eating in one of the large clan dining halls when they had felt it. Whether cultivator or mundane, guard or servant, noble or peasant, every single living being had fallen to their knees. The world itself had seemed to fear her terrible power as reality bent and stretched around the palace.

However long he lived, Bo Fang would never forget the scene he had witnessed when he had finally arrived at his mistress’s chambers. Her face had been filled with such fury that the fear had almost stopped him from noticing the two irregular lines of blood that traced down from the corners of her eyes onto her cheeks.

Cultivators and servants had been bowing and scrambling to follow the orders she was yelling at them. She had turned her head to Fang and had ordered him to retrieve scrolls from the archive of a sect in the Gui Empire. She had handed him a rolled parchment and a round jade badge with the symbol of a dragon carved into it. Additionally, his Matriarch had given him a set of orders about whom to speak to, and when, and about what to say at what point. Everything had been detailed out in precision and, as always, he had followed her orders precisely and without question.

He was watching his mistress read one of those scrolls now in the large central clan audience chamber as he stood guard, ten days after that terrible event. Suddenly, and for no reason he could identify, she closed her light-brown eyes. Her long silver hair slowly rose and floated away from her pale, wrinkled face and the white silk shawl embroidered with silver characters draped over her shoulders.

She showed no outward change as her eyes opened and her hair fell. She called out “Let them in” to the pair of guards standing in front of the ornate black-painted bamboo doors. Bo Fang watched how the embedded ornate silver swirls glittered in the dim room when the double doors, twice as tall as a man, swung inward.

Two cultivators of such power that he felt pressure simply from being in their presence approached his guard position. He glanced at his mistress and she waved him away. As instructed, he turned and took one full step backward, into the deeper shadows of the audience chamber.

The male and female were nearly alike, with their long dark hair in matching brown ponytails. They were both covered from top to bottom in wrapped black cloth so that only their nostrils, mouths, and deep brown eyes could be seen. They lowered themselves to their knees in front of her and pressed their foreheads to the floor slowly.

The Matriarch looked down upon them from her raised dais and said nothing. The female cultivator then spoke in a high-pitched voice that surprised Fang with its youthful sound. “It is done, Matriarch.”

“You followed my instructions?” the old woman asked.

The male responded this time. “Exactly as you ordered.”

“Good.”

Fang’s mistress actually smiled for a brief moment before her face returned to its usual stoic countenance. She closed her eyes and once again the world seemed to waver and bend, although this time nobody could feel the pressure.

It was over as suddenly as it had started, and she nodded.

“Good,” the old woman repeated. “It is critical that child be ruined but not dead. She has a part to play. I will call on you occasionally to go back there. As that foolish boy says, there are many strings still to be plucked, and we must do so at the right time and in the right way. You may go for now.”

Without looking at the Matriarch, the pair rose to their feet and left the hall. When the doors closed behind them, the old woman returned to the scrolls. She looked down at them intently and muttered two sentences. Bo Fang didn’t know if he was supposed to hear them or not – it was impossible to tell with his mistress. Either way, he did.

And they terrified him.

Part One

CORRUPTED

Eons before humanity, four heavenly beasts brought together all the different types of power in the universe. A great act of forming took place and our world was born.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

ONE

Barn Incident

Thirteen years later (early spring) – A dilapidated barn in Fei Shu City:

Fenghuang Yu retched onto the floor of the barn. She spit up blood and vomit into the hay and grass that was scratching her bare legs and arms. She was prone on the filthy floor, trying to hold her long multicolored hair out of the mess with one arm while also protecting her stomach with the other.

“Mundane girls like you should cover themselves, cousin. You are being indecent, showing so much skin,” Fenghuang Li mocked.

Spitting out the remains of her last meal and more blood, Yu glared up at the three figures who were standing over her slumped form.

Two boys and a girl against a cripple. How brave and honorable.

“Girls that cultivate are allowed to wear the same clothes as boys,” Yu called back with a glare, proud that she heard no trace of fear in her words. She had learned long ago that wearing a cultivator’s attire in her secret training was a risk, but still she wore it.

The sleeveless beast-wool shirt ended at her navel. The leggings stopped halfway down her thighs, and her soft cloth shoes ended just above her ankle. Her garb’s limited covering allowed for flexibility of movement and targeted skin exposure so that students’ bodies could strengthen through Qi absorption.

Unfortunately, the student outfit, while perfect for training, offered little actual protection. Cultivators had their Qi for that. Yu didn’t. Not that it stopped her. In fact, she felt it made for excellent training attire, even without Qi. She wore it because it was functional, and, admittedly, as a small act of defiance.

The fact that it exposed so much skin meant it was only worn by young cultivators, and only when required. Yu was aware she had no right to wear a cultivator’s clothes, but the hypocrisy angered her. She welcomed the anger. It quelled the fear.

Li, the girl who had hit her and shoved her down, let out a braying laugh. She leaned over called sneeringly, “You’re no cultivator.”

Yaozu, the larger boy, stood directly in front of her. He quietly sneered down at her while squeezing his fists so tightly they caused his knuckles to crack. Given his dinner-plate-sized hands, the sound was loud and ominous.

The smaller of the two boys next to her, Chen, added, “Yeah, you’re a freak.”

Yu’s temper flared as she reached behind her back with the hand that had been protecting her stomach. After a moment’s fumbling through the hay, she found one of the two wooden short swords she had been practicing with. They were the best she was permitted, given her… infirmity. She would certainly have never been allowed anything that could cause her to bleed.

Tensing her weak muscles, Yu prayed to the gods that her three assailants were not cycling Qi to protect themselves. She swung the short blade in a sweep in front of her. Her prayers were answered. Her target must have been distracted by jeering at her because the blow miraculously did some actual damage. The thwacking sound of wood on skin and bone surprised all of them, but likely surprised Yaozu the most, as it was his knee she had successfully struck.

His eyes widened, and a sharp yell of pain escaped his mouth as his leg buckled beneath him. Yu swung again, twisting her wrist as her years of relentless practice had taught her. She brought the sword into contact with the boy’s temple, now that his head had fallen within reach.

Despite the pain in her hand from the vibrating wood, she smiled as his body dropped like a bag of rice next to where she lay sprawled in the hay.

The other two shook off their surprise and Li yelled, “What did you do?”

“He should have been cycling,” Yu replied.

Arrogant asses. They took their power for granted. Yu, who had to earn every ounce of strength she had, was better than them. At least when it came to martial skills.

As quickly as she could, she twisted her torso. She held herself upright with one arm and reached out for the other wooden sword that lay behind her, having been discarded on the barn floor when her tormentors had surprised her. Her perfect ambidexterity, one of her only two redeeming features, led her to always utilize dual swords when she practiced melee combat.

Just as her hand closed around the leather-wrapped wooden handle, her feet were grabbed and she was yanked roughly toward her attackers. Her arm no longer supported her, causing her head to jerk downward and her chin to slam into the filthy compacted dirt floor of the barn. The taste of coppery blood once again filled her mouth as she bit her tongue.

She was bleeding again and that meant trouble. Yu needed to get to a healer, and soon.

She tried to spin and swing one of her swords, but her prone position and the grip on her ankles prevented her from getting any leverage and the blow held little force, and certainly not enough to hurt a prepared cultivator – even a young one.

The swords did absolutely no damage when her attacks struck their arms, simply bouncing off their now Qi-enhanced skin. Yu saw movement from her side and looked over just before a fist made contact with her head. All she knew for a short time were flashing lights and ringing ears. Then her vision went dark.

When Yu became aware of her surroundings again, she saw a tall, familiar form towering over her and yelling at the remaining two upright assailants. She saw Li pointing at the now barely stirring body of Yaozu on the hay-covered floor. The ringing finally faded enough for Yu to make out their words.

“—knocked out Fenghuang Yaozu. She deserves to be beaten.”

Yu’s much larger brother, Fenghuang Lei, looked contemptuously down at the two still-conscious cultivators and then over at Yaozu’s prone body. His massive frame put him head and shoulders above the others, causing the offending parties to shuffle back involuntarily and crane their necks to meet his eyes.

With a sneer he said, “That fool was knocked out by a cripple?”

Yu winced at the descriptor she knew was true but still hated. She also knew her brother didn’t mean it; he was trying to get rid of her tormentors peacefully. It would not be honorable for him to take physical action if he had another option. After all, they were as much ants to him as she was to them.

“He deserved it and the lump he’ll have. Go drag his useless ass out of here before you join him unconscious on the floor.”

The two looked like they were going to argue, but her brother released a little of his Qi. The crackling of ice accompanied a cold vapor rising from his fingers.

“You are of a branch family. Don’t press your luck further,” he growled in a threatening tone.

Yu both admired and envied her brother’s strength and rare affinity. The ability to command ice was nearly unheard of in the Xing Nation, and her brother’s strength in it was far above the average. Lei was the most gifted youth in the family and a great hope for the clan’s future. He was also one of the few who didn’t abuse his half-sister.

The two younger cultivators walked over to the slumped Yaozu, leaned down, and grabbed him by his armpits. While their faces were closer to Yu’s own slumped form, the younger boy, Chen, quietly growled out, “This isn’t over, freak.”

The girl followed up with a sneering whisper, “Watch yourself, freak.”

They easily lifted the boy using their Qi-enhanced bodies and dragged him away like he weighed nothing.

Her brother didn’t move until the group was out of sight and Yu could no longer hear their steps. Once it was clear, he turned to his little sister and walked over to where she lay. He held out his hand. Yu spit the blood in her mouth to the side and grabbed it.

Looking like he didn’t even notice her weight – which he likely didn’t – the young man very gently lifted her to her feet and stepped back. A wave of nausea washed through Yu at the sudden motion. She wobbled slightly but eventually was able to stand by leaning on his broad chest.

She saw him checking her up and down for any significant injuries. He grunted when he saw the blood by her mouth. Then he scanned the area and noticed the vomit and blood on the floor. His eyes flashed ice blue, a mist rose from his body, and the ground beneath his feet crackled from the cold. Yu shivered slightly from the sudden drop in temperature.

“Thank you,” Yu mumbled, looking down at her feet. She saw her breath mist as she spoke.

She heard a sigh, and the cold quickly dissipated into the warm spring air.

“Yu’er, what did I tell you?”

He was using her family’s affectionate name for her

She didn’t answer or raise her head. She was angry and embarrassed and exhausted, the combination robbing her of the will to speak. She felt her brother’s hand on her forehead as he pressed it gently up so she had to look at him.

His sad look matched the tone in his voice, “Yu’er?”

She then heard him growl as for the first time he saw her swollen face and the beginnings of the black eye that she knew would be fully formed soon.

She needed to get to a healer immediately. The intensity of her emotions and fatigue was distracting her, though.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I was minding my own business. I wasn’t bothering them,” she whispered.

Another sigh, and then he spoke, “C’mon. Let’s get you to a healer before you can’t walk from the blood loss and I have to carry you. And then I’ll walk you home so you can change before your mother finds you dressed like that and smelling so awful.”

Yu dragged her feet and leaned against her brother for strength. Together they walked out of the isolated barn and toward their home in the city center.

He did end up having to carry her, to her shame and frustration.

Yu kneeled, fully healed, at the far end of the long polished dinner table with her family.

She ate the meal of rice and spicy beef, moving her chopsticks slowly. Her uncles, brothers, and her father and his three wives also sat around the table making quiet and polite conversation.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye toward the opposite side of the table. She saw her father at the head position, his head turned to his left to speak to one of his wives. The first, Ning Huiqing, hated Yu for reasons beyond her understanding. Next to that conniving and vicious woman was Yu’s mother, and next to her was her father’s third wife, Shen Guoling. Yu had little interaction with her and did not know her very well.

Opposite them were Yu’s uncles, Gen and Zhao. Yu enjoyed what little time she had with her uncles. Gen was always gentle and understanding when he healed her. Zhao, on the other hand, was mischievous and joked around all the time. He didn’t seem to care about anything except gambling and women as far as Yu could tell.

She loved them. But at the same time, she hated the looks of pity that always showed on their faces when they interacted with her. In some ways, pity was worse than the abuse she received from others. Physical pain would fade after all, but the looks never stopped, and had not for thirteen years.

Next to them was Lei. He was, of course, her favorite. The eldest brother, Howin, was technically Lei’s senior, but was far less talented. Thus he would have been lower down the table were he present. However, he was off learning how to cultivate at some sect or school somewhere. Yu didn’t know or care for the details.

A seat away from Lei were the identical twin boys who were her primary tormentors. Compared to the large Lei, they looked small. But they were actually average in looks, size, and build. Their short black hair and maroon eyes made them look sinister, in Yu’s opinion. It certainly fit their personalities.

Delun and Deming had never liked her, and not just because of her condition. As with their appearance, they were both barely average cultivators, despite having their father’s Fire affinity. Unfortunately for them, theirs was many times weaker than their father’s. As such, they would not inherit any standing or position beyond that which they could earn for themselves.

Most importantly, however, they felt that Yu was spoiled and received more than them because she was the only child of the strongest wife. The most baffling part of that was that Yu could never figure out why. All they said was that they should have what she did as she didn’t deserve it. That made no sense to her. What did she have other than ridicule and abuse? She would trade positions with them at a moment’s notice were it possible. To be average would be so much better than being what she was.

Focusing back on her meal, Yu ignored the buzz of conversation around her. By ignoring the rest of her family, she hoped to avoid notice, although she did see that the twins were giving her sneering looks throughout the meal. Despite her twin brothers being older than her, third and fourth after Howin and Lei, they rarely acted their age.

A few minutes later, when everyone was finished, her father cleared his throat. “You are dismissed,” he called to the room.

Yu was relieved, thinking nobody had told her father about the barn incident.

But just as Yu was about to get up and hurry away, he continued, “Not you, Yu’er. And Lei, please stay as well.”

Yu’s shoulders slumped. She knew what was coming, and her heart fell in advance. This would be another lecture about her practicing her martial skills. Every time something happened to her that resulted in a healing, a reminder of her constraints would ensue. After all these years of practicing against her parents’ wishes, and the injuries that resulted from that, she was used to it. Not that it hurt any less.

“I would like to stay as well, lord husband,” her mother said.

He nodded at her once and the rest of the family silently started to leave. They all knew Yu was in trouble again. They probably wondered how bad it would be this time, and hoped she wouldn’t disgrace the family too much. All, that is, except the twins and their mother, Ning Huiquing, who lingered behind. Delun and Deming were smirking. They were overjoyed every time their father took Yu to task. On top of that, it appeared that Lei might be involved as well, and that would bring them even more delight.

Huiqing, on the other hand, was glaring. Yu could practically feel the vitriol that woman had for her.

Over the years Yu had learned that it was her, not her twin boys, who came up with most of the torments in Yu’s life. Yu wasn’t sure if the twins were clever enough to come up with more than their favorite game of “hit the freak.” The twins were not subtle, but Yu kept the beatings secret, lest she should look even weaker in her father’s eyes. And they were always smart enough to keep it just short of doing lasting harm.

Huiqing, on the other hand, was the real brains and power behind Yu’s troubles within the clan. Not that she could prove anything.

The twins’ mother used her position and influence to encourage, manipulate, or even force others to cause Yu problems. And her sons were her favorite instruments for this. Not that they were unwilling. In fact, they were likely that woman’s most enthusiastic accomplices. She and they also used their positions to protect any who harassed Yu.

Reluctantly, that woman and her sons also exited the dining hall. Yu and Lei remained, facing her mother and father.

Once all the doors had been slid shut, her father spoke. “Come sit up here so we can speak, Yu’er,” he ordered.

Without lifting her head or looking at anyone, Yu walked to the other end of the table, a position reserved for the strong and important, and knelt on a pillow seat across from her brother and next to her mother.

Looking at her mother, her father said in a casual tone, “I received an interesting report today.”

Yu saw her mother raise her perfect violet eyebrows. “Oh?” she said in a questioning tone.

He nodded. “Indeed. Apparently, a young trainee cultivator – Fenghuang Yaozu I believe is his name – was brought to my brother for healing. He is from one of our largest branch families that manages many of our merchant businesses.”

Yu said nothing as her mother responded.

“I see. And why do you bring that up now, lord husband?” she asked.

“Normally, I’d simply let it go as a normal training incident and ignore it as beneath my notice,” he answered. “However, this boy had a concussion from a blow to the temple. Late into the evening. After the day’s training was complete. Yet the wound was shown to have come from a slim wooden training sword.”

Yu heard his tone getting a little firmer by the end. She winced internally but said nothing. Nobody else spoke either.

Back in his casual tone, her father then said, “You see, his friends brought him in, and when they were asked what took place to cause such an injury, they said it was carelessness and would not happen again. My brother is, of course, a discreet man, and he let it go. But not long after, a certain girl we know also requested a healer. Not Gen, mind you, but another. That healer reported that the girl had a very slight concussion as well. She also sported a lump on her head the size of a dumpling, a black eye, and various bleeds. At least, according to the report.”

Yu kept her head lowered, staring at the table and her folded legs beneath her. She had learned that silence was best. Her tongue had a way of making situations worse.

Still, Yaozu had deserved it. She only wished she could have given the same to the other two.

Nobody said anything for a while. Eventually, her father spoke again.

“I see. Then I will ask the one who brought you to the healer,” he stated with complete neutrality. Looking at her brother, he asked, “Lei, what happened this evening?”

Lei looked their father straight in the eyes when he answered, “I don’t know the whole story.”

Yu knew he was dissembling and appreciated the attempt, even if it was destined to fail. At the same time, she was always astonished at how her brother could look their mighty father directly in the eyes. She wanted to curl into a ball and hide anytime she met his terrifying gaze. Yu always saw anger and disappointment when she mustered the courage to look for longer than a few seconds.

“Tell me what you know,” their father ordered Lei.

Her brother nodded and told the story like he was reporting to a military commander.

“I was assigned mount care duty this evening, and I realized we were running low on some supplies. So, I went to another barn farther into the city to borrow some things for the night. I obviously would have returned them. But when I got close, I heard the sounds of scrabbling and scuffling from one of the stalls. I entered, assuming I’d find a pair of lovers and send them on their way. What I found instead were Yu and three others: two boys and a girl.” He paused for a moment, then continued in the same formal tone.

“The larger of the two boys was unconscious on the floor. The two others were dragging Yu’er out of a stall. She was striking at them with her wooden practice swords, but, of course, it served no purpose against cultivators and was ineffectual. The younger boy punched my sister in the face, and she blacked out for a few seconds.”

Yu could feel her mother shifting in her seat slightly at that last part of the story, but she stayed silent.

Yu’s brother concluded the story with, “I confronted the two upright children and instructed them to leave and take their unconscious friend with them. They did, and I took Yu’er to a healer and then home.”

Yu’s father was silent for a few breaths, likely processing the events that had been related to him.

“How did you knock out the boy?” he inquired of Yu. “He is a cultivator. At the Foundation Building Stage, yes, but I understand he is at the second level, which means his skin and at least some bones would be reinforced. A wooden sword swung by you should have been barely useful.”

Her father was explaining this as though speaking to a child. Yu felt some of her anger begin to bubble back up through the shame. Of course, she understood the stages of cultivation. Just because she wasn’t permitted to join the clan’s cultivation classes did not mean she was completely ignorant.

The foundation stage was the first, and was used to build up and strengthen the body. Its purpose was to prepare the cultivator for the opening and use of meridians in the second stage and beyond. Meridians were the pathways by which cultivators could cycle Qi, in whatever form it took. Of course, Yu could not access Qi, could not prepare her body for meridians, and could not use them even if she could find and open them. She was a crippled freak, and always had been.

“Well?” Her father interrupted her melancholic thoughts with a snapped question.

She flinched and mumbled out an answer. “I surprised him.”

Yu knew nobody would believe her if she didn’t start with a justification for a non-cultivator defeating a cultivator.

“That does not fully answer my question,” her father said in response.

She sighed and explained, “He wasn’t actively cycling at the time, and I struck his knee at the outer ligament, which caused it to spasm and buckle under him. I struck his temple with the flat of the blade while he was distracted by the surprise and pain.”

Silence followed again at the table until her father asked, “And why were you at the barn?”

Yu didn’t know her shoulders could slump any further, but it was apparently possible. “I was practicing my sword forms.”

A moment later he said, not unkindly, “You are not a cultivator, Yu’er. We allow you those swords as a hobby and don’t interfere with your practice because you appear determined to continue regardless of our wishes. But by now you know you cannot fight with your condition. You are too weak. Too fragile.”

Anger flared up within Yu. She knew she was weak. Everything that was wrong with her was because she was weak. Her fury caused her mouth to run without thought.

“I’m better than them. I work harder, remember the forms better, and can use both hands perfectly. I’m a better swordsman and fighter!”

Her tone was much harsher than she had intended it to be, but it was too late at that point, as her mouth continued on its own.

“I know you think I’m a disgrace to this family and only bring dishonor to you, but my martial skills are better than any of those pretenders at less than foundation stage. I can bring value to the clan, even if you refuse to see it.”

Her mother sucked in her breath, and Yu realized what she had done by speaking to her clan leader in such a way. Any other cultivator would be severely disciplined for such impertinence.

She attempted to correct it by bowing and saying, “I am sorry, lord father. I did not mean to disrespect you or the clan.”

Yu deliberated whether she should reference her knowledge of the second stage of cultivation to prove she had learned about it, despite her father’s ban on doing exactly that. The stages, which she learned through reading and eavesdropping, were Foundation Building, Meridian Formation, Consolidation, Qi Manifestation, Qi Shaping, Form Control, and Immortality. Even without official classes, she could learn that much. Not that she didn’t sneak around to eavesdrop on the classes anyway. But either way, it was too late.

After a moment of silence, his only response was a curt, “You are dismissed, Yu’er.”

Yu bowed as low as she could without hitting the table, stood, and left the dining hall. The moment the door slid shut behind her, she ran out of the family hall and to her small rooms.

TWO

Corrupted Sign

Tears were already staining Yu’s face by the time she closed the door to her bedchamber, gasping for breath. She sat on the edge of her small bed and put her face in her hands, feeling like her heart would burst from her chest it was beating so hard. Her body could not support sprinting for more than a few minutes, which was, pathetically, only long enough to cross the palace grounds.

“I can’t believe I said that,” she mumbled into her hands between wheezes.

“Milady, can I help you prepare for bed?” The words of her maid came through the closed door.

Yu wiped her face with the back of her hands. “Yes. Come in, Feng Jie,” she called.

Yu sank back onto the bed, reliving the awfulness that was simply another day in her cursed life.

Staring up at the ceiling from her bed, Yu revisited the fight at the barn. She had had them beaten. She knew she had.

Yu wasn’t lying to her father. She was a better fighter. She knew all thirty-two dual jian forms better than anyone in the palace save her “teacher,” who wasn’t allowed to actively teach her. She just had to secretly watch him and memorize everything as he practiced the forms and taught his real students.

No, the problem wasn’t skill. Yu was just too slow, too small, too feeble. She let out a sigh and whispered to herself, “Too crippled.”

Then she whispered another word and pressed her intent and will into the world, “Sign.”

The God Sign that appeared continued to prove her correct.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ {Corrupted} ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Yu

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: Patriarch’s Child

Age: 13

Meridians: 0/{Corrupted}

Qi Type: {Corrupted}

Qi Affinity: {Corrupted}

Cultivation Stage: None

Body: 2 {Corrupted}* | Mind: {Corrupted} | Spirit: {Corrupted}*

Martial Forms:Tai Chi: (Initiate), Kung Fu: (Novice)

Weapon Capabilities: Jian: (Initiate), Dual Jian: (Novice), Whip: (Novice), Bow: (Novice), Staff: (Novice), Spear: (Novice)

Qi Skills:

Aura: None

Mana: None

Ether: None

Status: {Corrupted}, * = Reserved

Honors: None

Titles: The Corrupted

~~~~~~~~~~~~{Corrupted} ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without even looking at the words, Yu felt it was easy to see how much of an aberration she was. Her God Sign had no color. None. It was totally transparent with simple black writing floating before her.

Everyone had a color to show their affinity because everyone who was a cultivator had an affinity. Except her. She went through the Declaration Ceremony like all the others, but it failed somehow, and she ended up… corrupted.

The only bright spot in Yu’s God Sign was that her martial forms and weapons were able to progress. Sure, training in them was nearly impossible with her body – and the fact that she could die from even a superficial injury was a permanent fear in her heart. But she persevered. Her father called it foolishness, her mother stubbornness, and her brother unnecessary.

Despite it all, Yu proudly saw the Initiate rank next to her two most proficient skills. The pain, the trips to the healers, the abuse from others.

It was all proven worthwhile when the gods rewarded her hard work and suffering.

That was why she never gave into the fear. The despair. She felt it. All the time, she felt it. But it did not control her.

Because, despite her corruption, she knew the gods were watching her. And with that belief, she snuck around the training yards, learning without permission. She studied more than anyone else, practiced more than anyone else. Her memory meant that she only had to read anything once. Hear or see anything once. And most of all, unlike the mundanes in the clan, Yu could fight. The gods had said so.

Using their gift to humanity, the Sign, the gods ranked skills by how proficient they felt you were at them. After some research and practice, a warrior could gain a skill and become a Novice. Then after extensive practice and usually sparring and competitions, the gods decided whether you had gained sufficient skill to rank you up to Initiate, which basically means they see you as having a modicum of competence.

Following that were Adept, Expert, Master, and Grandmaster. Although the specifics of each were a mystery to her, Yu knew the gods increased the difficulty and expertise required for each rank.

And as with all things the gods gave to their world, the God Sign told cultivators how the gods felt they had progressed, granting the opportunity to change, improve, and advance. At least, that was how it worked with martial skills; obviously, Yu had no idea how Qi skills functioned or grew. The books she had access to and the classes she was able to listen in on hadn’t provided much.

In martial skills alone, Yu’s father and mother had shared that they were both Experts in at least two forms and weapons, and Adepts in many more. From the moment she could understand the world, Yu had wanted to be strong and skilled like them, defying what her family and Sign told her was possible. She was determined to make her family proud and be of use to the clan.

Yu had denied the truth that she could barely walk when other children could run. She refused to stop when she couldn’t breathe after finally managing to move at faster than a walk. When her father reminded her of her weakness and her mother told her to stop, Yu did it anyway, away from their eyes.

She ignored the naysayers when she learned to control her body with the precision necessary to use a martial art or, gods forbid, a weapon. Her parents ordered the clan teachers to refuse her, but she watched and learned from any and all of them anyway.

For thirteen years, Yu persevered, both with and without her parents’ knowledge. After every fall during a run, she got back up, determined to strengthen her body. After every collapse from overexertion practicing a form, Yu returned to her position and exemplified the perfect placement of arms and legs, head and torso. Every time her sword fell from her exhausted and torn up hand, she picked the wooden blade back up and tried again, remembering the swirling movements, slashes, and stabs flawlessly.

Yu had never forgotten anything about martial skills. She felt she might even have an innate insight and perception into them, not finding learning them as challenging as others she had seemed to.

Yes, she would become strong enough to make her family proud. If only her body wasn’t in the way.

Placing her hand on the center of her chest, Yu felt for the indent that marked her corruption. Nobody would tell her how she got it, but when she looked in the mirror, she saw the perfect pyramid-shaped hollow the size of an adult’s thumbnail in the center of her thin bony chest.

She reached up and brought a lock of her long straight hair in front of her face. In the dim light, she could barely see the variation of colors, showing off once again how much of a freak she was.

Everyone had some visual clue as to their affinity, at least if it was strong enough. For some it was evident in their hair. For others it could be subtly shown by their nail color. The Fenghuang family was known for their eyes matching the color of their affinities. In fact, the strongest members of her family had eyes that glowed when they channeled their Qi, alerting those around them to their power and prestige. That being said, after years of cultivators intermingling, such attributes were far from definitive. A cultivator with blue hair might have a water affinity, or perhaps their great grandfather had, and instead of inheriting the affinity, all the child received was the coloration.

For Yu, every strand of her hair was a different dull color. It was a grotesque mishmash of disorganized faded tones and drew even further attention to the dishonor she brought her clan by even existing. She was given regular reminders of her flaws, he hair color serving as a lightning rod for ridicule and shaming.

That was the downside of her memory. She remembered everything. Every word, look, and gesture that was aimed at her. The sneers of her brothers as they encouraged others. Every time she was shoved, punched, or kicked, she remembered. She remembered with pristine clarity the pain of every single event in her life. And most of those moments had been of shame, pain, and failure.

But Yu could still fight. The gods said she could. She had proven them right by knocking Yaozu out. Yu knew she could have beaten all three of those fools at the barn. From what she had seen during the practices she had spied on, they were average at best in both skill and Qi. And that was a generous description. She was better, and could have stood above them looking down, instead of the other way around. If only…

That was the phrase that echoed through her mind every night before she fell asleep. If only.

That night those words were accompanied by her father’s, “You are too weak.”

Her tears soaked the pillow as she fell asleep. Just before sleep took her, she swore, as she had done nearly every night, that she would prove herself. She would become strong enough to stand beside her family.

Yet her mind flashed to the blow to her face and the taste of blood in her mouth, and reminded her, as it always did, of her weakness. That day’s events had been a raw, stinging admonition that – no matter how hard she worked, or how proficient she became – it would never be enough.

Fenghuang Yu was corrupted, and nothing would ever change that.

THREE

Jing Clan

The following morning, Yu ate her breakfast alone at the small table in her quarters. She barely tasted the rice, egg, and vegetables as she chewed, lost in thought.

Since she had no real duties to speak of, Yu was mostly left alone. She spent most of her time training, or recovering from training.

After her eidetic memory had been discovered, her mother and Caretaker Bo had stopped making her attend the normal classes and simply given her scrolls and books to read. After the early lessons on the basics of life, just about everything was memorization and understanding. She could and did ask questions when something came up that she couldn’t work out, but beyond that, she was let be.

It had been like this for most of her life. Yu was left to her own devices, ignored by anyone of note beyond when she was harassed.

She did occasionally make plans with Lei, who was generous enough with his time that she was not completely ignorant of the clan’s goings-on. Yu ate important meals with her entire family, although where possible she ate alone to avoid attention. She rarely spoke to her father, and on those rare occasions it was mostly because she was caught in some kind of incident like the one in the barn. Perhaps she could have interacted with him more, but his looks of pity were more than she could bear.

Most of the time Yu, the embarrassing crippled daughter of the clan chief, was invisible. Which was how she preferred it.

Planning out her day, as she always did before heading out, she figured she could go for a slow run to the river to warm up and then spend some time swimming in order to work on strengthening her pathetic body. After that, she could practice forms in the clearing she often went to for isolation and focus… and protection, as she reluctantly admitted to herself. Nobody knew she went there, which allowed her to avoid her most persistent tormentors for a short time. It infuriated her that she had to be such a coward, but there was no avoiding it unless she wanted more encounters like the one in the barn.

At first her father had punished any who harassed her. But his first wife would always use such incidents as an opportunity to remind Da how weak his daughter was, how fragile. Yu did not want the attention, nor could she stomach the pity. So she now did her best to hide any mistreatment. The few incidents that did come to her father’s attention were allowed to slide as being the foolish actions of youth, especially thanks to the incessant whispers of his first wife. That, and her insistence that Yu should receive no special treatment, of course.

Thinking of the barn made her fingers curl around the wooden utensils in her hands, her breakfast forgotten. Fury at her life sang through her blood, flushing her skin a red under its usual unhealthy pale gray. She could have beaten them.

Desire to improve and grow strong flooded her as she thought of her deformity. She demanded more of herself. With a disgusted grunt, she slammed her partially empty bowl onto the table, stood up, and went to change into her exercise clothes.

Panting in quick short breaths, Yu leaned over her knees, sweat dripping onto the grass by the riverbank. Parts of her loose white top and black pants were soaked through with sweat and sticking to her.

Yu had managed to reach her destination without being accosted that day. She had been careful to avoid any other cultivators from the city, whether from her clan or not. They all plagued her the same – it was just that the betrayal of her own hurt more.

The Fenghuang “family,” as she referred to it, was anyone she was directly related to, or anyone to whom her direct relations were directly related. The Fenghuang “Clan” included numerous branch families who were related through marriage, partnership, business, and such.

It was when her own blood and clan attacked her, verbally or physically, that she felt the most angry and guilty.

Yu understood that members of the Chao Clan, the second most influential clan in the city after hers, and the Jing Clan, the third major house, would do what they could to bring her down. Both spoke widely of the dishonor she brought to the Fenghuang family and clan. Anything that brought the highest family down raised up the competition, after all. At least that would be how they saw it.

But all of that was out of Yu’s control. She could only grow stronger to attempt to offset the harm she caused. If she became powerful enough to benefit her clan and the city by hunting beasts, fending off bandits, or even acting as a city guard, they wouldn’t be able to speak negatively of her any longer. Instead, she would bring honor to her family and raise their status. Or at least not lower it.

Finally having caught her breath, Yu stopped thinking about that and reached for the comfort of the swords on her back. The leather-wrapped handles of the dual wooden practice weapons (short swords called jian) that were strapped crossways across her back showed above her shoulders.

Her body size and shape didn’t allow for belt scabbards, so she faced the extra challenge of learning to draw from her back rather than hip. It limited the draw–strike combination moves available to her, but she wasn’t quick enough to utilize those effectively anyway, so it wasn’t a material loss. And for whatever reason, she found the back scabbards more comfortable. As a side benefit, having a free hip left an open spot for her whip, which she was surprised to find resonated with her as much as the jian.

Yu stripped off everything but her tight “cultivation” clothes, laid them down by the side, and waded into the river. The reason she always chose this location was because it was a point in the river that offered a decent but not overwhelming current while still being within the safety area of the city patrols.

They cleared out any beasts from a wide range around the city and about five li into the forest surrounding it.

Once she was deep enough that only her neck was above the water and she could feel the push of the current, Yu crouched into her horse stance and began her exercises, her head sinking into the cool, watery depths. The sting of the icy water helped her focus as she threw straight punches and kicks that would exercise her muscles without too much strain. Because of the fragility of her lungs, she had to raise her head for air after only a few seconds, but she returned to her stance and unrelenting punches and kicks each time.

Frustratingly, she could only withstand this exercise for five minutes or so before her body forced her out of the water, or else she would be swept away by the river. She left the water and lay on the grass, her chest rising and falling as she caught her breath and recovered before the second attempt.

Yu repeated her exercises until her muscles and lungs were unable to endure any more. She climbed out of the freezing water to recover one last time. After a few minutes of frustratingly slow recuperation, she dressed and moved into the forest toward her hidden refuge.

A light jog with occasional breaks finally led Fenghuang Yu to the clearing she claimed as “hers.” Dropping her whip, small skin of water, snacks, and change of clothes, she started her stretches. Following that were her standard acrobatics routines, which included leaping, flipping, spinning, and some limited climbing.

After completing her last spinning backflip she flopped onto the soft grassy ground, panting and soaked with sweat, and once again wearing only her cultivation clothing. Despite her exhaustion, she was pleased with her workout. Of course, it would have been nothing to a cultivator whose body had been strengthened with Qi, but Yu couldn’t compare herself to them. She had seen cultivators exert themselves for hours nonstop, fighting or exercising.

Years ago, before she was as self-aware, Yu remembered she had watched Lei carry a boulder on his back as he jogged around their father’s courtyard. He had been trying to entertain her while getting a workout, which was sweet. What he had not known was that it had only stoked Yu’s envy and determination. That very evening she had ended up nearly dying due to a large stone she had been trying to lift falling on her leg, causing broken bones and internal bleeding.

Shaking her head and returning her focus to the present, Yu ran the prior exercise session through her mind again. She had managed to fall only three times during the last flipping routine, which was a new record for her. She would have bruises, of course, but not bad enough to risk her life. And they could be treated easily with a quick trip to one of the family healers.

Yu reflected how fortunate she was in that way – she didn’t have to pay to see a healer. It was one of the reasons she was thankful for her family. The smaller families and clans in the city didn’t have the luxury of Water or Wood affinity cultivators, and the mundanes certainly couldn’t afford one for anything less than a debilitating injury. They generally went to an apothecary or, if they were on the wealthier side, the Alchemists’ Association.

Such cures paled in comparison to that of cultivation-based healing, though.

She had imagined fleeing many times over the years, in order to save her clan the embarrassment. But reality stopped her, as Yu would almost certainly have died long ago if she had left. Considering her body’s fragility, if she had been born into a family unwilling or unable to provide healers, she almost certainly would have died young – if they had even kept someone like her. She would be a massive expense to keep alive for any family or organization. If a book fell on her, or she tripped the wrong way going up or down stairs…

Her condition was a prison. For both her and her family.

That was at the heart of why she was so determined. She could be useful. She could bring honor. If only she were strong enough. And to get strong enough, she needed to practice and work hard. For Yu, hard work was never a problem.

With that in mind, she climbed back to her feet. Drinking some water and retrieving her wooden swords, she began her forms. Her mind emptied as she conducted the smooth and concise motions. This was when she felt the most free. She wasn’t a cripple when her twin swords moved like hands running along silk. She was graceful like her mother. Tai Chi was all about smooth precision and redirection of force through a tranquil mind and heart.

Her body remembered those movements and flows perfectly. With a sword pointing ahead and with her feet together, she nimbly flowed into a single leg standing and thrust forward while her opposite sword crossed her body. Yu guided her thin body into a spin as she dropped down into a sweep of both swords. Almost at the same moment, she used the leverage from her crouch to leap for a right and left cross-sweep of each blade.

Yu continued her motions all the way through the twelfth form: a retreat, parry, and block. As she finished, a loud clapping startled her from her motions. In reaction, she raised both her swords horizontally in a ready stance, one above the other but on opposite sides and facing the threat. Yu stood on the balls of her feet with her legs shoulder length apart, her left in front and the right behind.

Six teenage cultivators entered her clearing. Each was wearing blue-and-black hanfu, with a patch showing a wooden bow wrapped in a hissing serpent.

She had been discovered. And not by friends. Furious, Yu berated herself. How had she not noticed them? Was she truly so oblivious? If Yu wanted to become a warrior, she would need to do much better.

The young man in the center of the line was taller than the others by a handspan, and was the one who had given away their presence with applause. He spoke with a sneer both on his face and in his voice.

“I see the cripple likes to pretend. Or were you dancing?” he jeered.

The others laughed at this as they continued to walk forward and surround her.

“Please, feel free to dance for me,” the boy continued. “If you weren’t such a scrawny thing you might be nice to look at. Of course, your disgusting hair would turn away most spectators, but we could put a scarf over your head.”

The five others had completed the circle around Yu and were laughing even harder at each word which came from the tallest boy.

“What do you want, Jing Wei?” Yu asked.

Even she knew the second son of the Jing family, supposedly a genius at cultivation at sixteen. Personally, Yu wasn’t impressed by either his reputation or what she saw in front of her. Her brother, Lei, could use Qi externally at the same age, while Jing Wei had still been stuck in the Foundation Building Stage. At least, that was according to the stories Yu had heard at the dinner table.

Jing Wei looked surprised at her use of his name. “You know who I am, then?” The surprise morphed into anger almost immediately. “So, you are a mundane who dares speak the name of her better.”

His voice lowered and his sneer became a glare. “You filth. My name is dishonored merely being uttered by mundane lips. You are a weak, useless freak. You think you can speak to me? You shouldn’t even be looking at me. It makes me feel dirty.”

He shot a look at the two cultivators behind Yu.

“She isn’t worthy to lay eyes upon the second son of the house of Jing. Lower her to her proper station,” he ordered.

Before she could even react, Yu found herself facedown on the ground with two feet pressing her into the grass and dirt.

So fast, Yu thought.

Not wanting to give them the satisfaction, she lifted her head and glared back at Jing Wei.

“You know,” Jing Wei told her as he approached, “they could hold you down with a finger. But then they’d have to touch you with their skin. Perhaps in the future we should wear gloves when dealing with trash.”

He shuddered openly. “You know what? I was wrong about you. Mortals are mortals. Beneath our notice, yes, but it’s not their fault. You, though… you are a cultivator who cannot cultivate. Born to the mighty but weak yourself. Do you know what that makes you? A worthless. Crippled. Freak. At least mundanes have a purpose. You’re useless garbage.”

Yu took the insults while staring Jing Wei directly in the eye. Seeing this, his face contorted with anger as he approached, but he stopped as one of his cronies handed him Yu’s swords. He examined them, smiling widely.

“Toys? You wield toys as weapons?” he mocked. Once again laughter filled the clearing. “Little children train with these.”

He tilted his head sideways and gave her a contemplative gaze. “Now that I think about it, a mundane is not allowed to carry weapons longer than knives in the city. That must mean trash like you shouldn’t be allowed even a stick. As a future leader of the city, I will have to take it upon myself to punish you.”

Yu shuddered involuntarily, being beaten by cycling cultivators would mean death for someone of her fragility. At least none of them should have opened any meridians yet, meaning they could not use their Qi to harm her directly. Had they been able to do so, she likely would not survive even a single strike. Then again, they did not even need that level of power – every Jing present could kill her with ease if they wished to. Hells, they could probably kill her by waving their hand too hard and accidentally striking her with it.

Jing Wei didn’t appear to want her dead, though. Not yet anyway. Yu figured he wanted to see her humiliated.

He spoke to one of the two Jing holding her down. “Her face is still too high for trash. Lower it.”

More laughter followed as her face was pressed into the dirt, her dull multicolored hair sprawled out around her head. Yu heard the crunch of dirt and a whisper in her ear, “You think you still have pride to cling to, yes? That people care for you? Well, let go of such fantasies. I was told you’d be here.”

The voice was soft, venomous. But it held the ring of truth.

Yu froze. What? Who? Surely the few in her family who knew of this location would not stoop so low. And who would care enough about her to partner with a competing clan?

Jing Wei was right, she was useless trash after all. Or maybe that was why. Someone in her family had finally figured out how to get rid of her using others. It was a clever way to wipe her stain clean from their family while also framing a rival for the deed.

Returning to a standing position Jing Wei said casually, “Punishment for a mundane child wielding an illegal weapon is a beating. Let’s begin.”

Yu heard one of the boys holding her down say, “She really is just skin and bones. Disgusting.”

And then dirt entered Yu’s mouth as she screamed from the pain of the thwack her own sword delivered to her back. Another thwack followed and there was more pain.

The agony didn’t end until she was beaten from her ankles to her neck. After the first few hits, Yu had stopped struggling and was barely able to sob weakly into the dirt, growing weaker by the minute. Each strike caused more blood to flood her body, her pitiful form sustaining multiple internal injuries. She could feel herself fading out of consciousness. In the midst of it all, Yu realized these injuries would finally end her.

Did they know of her fragility? Did they care?

Yu could barely make out the words whispered in her ear as Jing Wei leaned down and spoke to her again. “You are a curse upon this world and your family. I would be doing your family and clan a favor by killing you or letting you die. But I do not do favors for the Fenghuang.”

Standing back up, he called over one his compatriots. “Liling, heal her. Not all the way, and only on the inside – just enough that she doesn’t die. I understand the freak is quite vulnerable to such things.”

“I have to touch her?” a high-pitched but lovely voice asked in a disgusted tone.

“I know it’s revolting. I feel the same,” Jing Wei responded sympathetically. “But the Jing Clan will not do the Fenghuang’s work for them. If they wish to keep this filth in their ranks to harm their clan, I will let them. Now, do as I ask.”

Apparently, they did have a cultivator who could use Qi externally after all. Thankfully it was only a healer.

“Fine,” the girl pouted.

A few moments later, Fenghuang Yu’s fading mind started to clear and the pain returned with a vengeance. She squirmed beneath the feet pressing on her shoulder and hip, and the foot holding her face into the dirt, neither person having moved during her… punishment.

A crack of thunder rent the sky and Yu turned her head to see some of the group look up to the dark gray clouds. A storm had gathered in the previously clear heavens. It seemed even the gods refused to witness her shame.

One of the other boys who hadn’t spoken yet said, “We should head back. I don’t want to get soaked.” The others nodded or mumbled agreement and Jing Wei concurred. “Whatever. We did what we came to do.”

One of the two keeping Yu pressed down asked, “What about her?” as he pressed harder for a moment.

“Leave her,” Jing Wei answered. “I feel dirty enough having to speak to her, and I’ve grown bored.”

Battered and broken, her face streaked with mud that was a mixture of dirt and her own tears, Yu heard those last words echo through the clearing. Her captors were bored. She hadn’t even put up enough of a fight to keep their attention.

At that moment, Yu realized all her work, all her perseverance… it was a joke. Jing Wei proved that today. She could never be strong enough to fight a cultivator or a beast. She would never be strong enough to help her clan. They had been right all along. It would be better if she just disappeared into the forest – perhaps she would starve to death from being too weak to catch her own food. Or be eaten by a demonic beast. Maybe her corruption would poison it and she could finally bring some value to her family and city when it succumbed, choking on her tainted flesh.

Just as the group turned to leave, laughing at Yu’s family’s stupidity in keeping her around, a low growling filled the clearing. Yu managed to lift her head to look where the sound had come from.

As if the world were listening to Yu’s thoughts, a tiger more than a head taller than she was stalked into the muddy clearing.

The healer girl squeaked, “A demonic beast!”

FOUR

Fall and Rise

Rain was falling in sheets. The darkening sky flashed with lightning, showing white fangs as long as Yu’s forearm in a mouth large enough to consume her tiny form in one bite. The boom of thunder that followed caused the puddles of water to ripple and her ears to ring.

Forcing herself onto her side, Yu watched the mighty beast stalk forward.

Wait. Something isn’t right with it.

The Jing cultivators were looking at each other, and particularly at Jing Wei, hoping for instructions. Their distraction meant Yu was the first to realize that the beast was limping, a jagged wound lay open on its side, with awful black veins running through it. The wound oozed black blood, staining the beast’s white coat.

Black blood and veins?

One of the group spoke through the falling rain. “It’s huge! It has to be at least grade 4.”

Yu’s mind was still too groggy to work out what that meant.

Another said, “We need to leave. If it goes for the freak first, we can get away.”

A blast of lightning and crack of thunder shook the trees, causing some of the teenagers to stumble where they stood. But it also illuminated the long bleeding gash on the tiger’s side, which exposed white ribs and dark flowing blood.

Jing Wei noticed the wounds for the first time and yelled while pointing, “Look, it’s injured. Badly.”

The others stared as the tiger wobbled slightly on its four massive legs, barely able to stand. “This is too good an opportunity. It can barely stand, never mind fight,” the ambitious young heir said.

“I don’t know, Jing Wei. It is much stronger—” one of the others said nervously.

“Can you imagine the accolades we would receive if we brought that thing’s body back?” Jing Wei spoke over his companion, greed evident in his voice. The group’s ambitious leader did not want to let the chance pass. “The beast core must be worth 50,000 silver by itself!”

Seeing that the others were wavering, Jing Wei carried on. “Think of the rewards my family would share. And the face we would earn! You would instantly gain standing in the clan.”

The same greed began flashing in the eyes of Jing Wei’s cronies, and they began to eye the tiger with ambition instead of fear.

“Jing Wei is right,” said the largest.

One with a spear followed that with, “It’s nearly collapsing.”

Still sprawled on the forest floor, Yu’s mind was barely clear enough to focus on the mighty beast. But somehow, it still drew her gaze. It was beautiful. Might and majesty radiated from its form, despite its wobble and limp.

Yu’s mind was groggy. She knew demonic beasts were dangerous. Cultivators fought them to protect the city. But in her addled state, she felt a kind of kinship with the battered animal. They were both crippled. Both unwanted. She wished she could help it. But there was nothing someone like her could do.

Without thinking of her words, she moaned out, “You can heal it. Like you did me.”

Jing Wei yelled over the rain, “The freak wants to help a beast. She’s a traitor as well as trash. Or maybe she is as crippled in the head as she is in the body.”

Then he looked at the others and ordered, “Circle it. Spears, pin it down at range. When it moves to strike, sword-wielders attack. Cycle the entire time. Just like we practiced.”

The six young teenagers moved forward and attempted to surround the creature, keeping their weapons trained on it the entire time. The tiger attempted to move away to avoid being surrounded, but its condition caused one of its legs to collapse out from under it, almost forcing it to fall before it regained its footing. This gave the group of humans time to surround it, laughing and cheering at its weakness.

The beast straightened and roared in defiance, but the move lacked Qi and thus any true force. Once again, the group of humans rejoiced in their inevitable victory.

“Now!” Jing Wei yelled.

Yu could only watch as three spear-wielders, spread around the tiger in a triangle, thrust their weapons forward. The one closest to the creature’s head stared in shock as his spear was caught in midair and pressed into the earth, snapped in half by a massive front paw.

This distraction, however, granted the other two the opportunity to pierce the beast’s beautiful hide from the side and rear. The steel could barely even make an impression in the robust fur coat, but the spear-wielder on the side hit the vulnerable, wounded area. The beast roared in pain and fury, causing it to step off the remains of the front spear and turn toward the person who had further injured it.

Yu saw that the tiger was fighting a losing battle, much like she had been doing moments before. Like she had done every day of her life. Yu knew she was not thinking straight, but its distress saddened her. That such a mighty creature should be brought low by these awful Jing – it wasn’t right. Yu attempted to struggle to her feet but fell back into the mud.

“Swords, now!” Jing Wei yelled as he and the other two teenagers leaped forward and brought their blades down in a slashing motion. With two flashes of white, the other two teenagers were launched away as – faster than any of them could follow – one front paw swung outward. It sent the healer girl tumbling through the air and into the mud at the edge of the clearing. The other Jing grunted as the air was forcibly propelled from his lungs, and he was also thrown into the distance at the same moment by a rear paw kicking backward and striking him in the chest.

Watching from her position crumpled in the mud, and still struggling to stand, Yu whispered, “Why aren’t you using your claws?”

It made no sense. Beasts were dangerous, they would kill if provoked. Often with great ease. Yet this massive beast seemed to be holding back.

Perhaps it was just Yu’s barely conscious mind playing tricks on her.

Jing Wei was now the only remaining sword-wielder, and his next strike slammed into the creature’s weakened ribs. The tiger roared and stumbled, this time much worse than before, nearly falling. Seeing this, the two remaining spear-users struck again at the creature’s vulnerable wound. Another roar of pain rent the water-logged air. Yu could see that the tiger’s strength was waning. Its injuries and blood loss were preventing it from moving fast enough to avoid its assailants.

Yu realized the creature was about to fall. It wasn’t right. Perhaps she was worthless, but she refused to accept that such a majestic creature would fall to these poor excuses for cultivators. People like them had tormented Yu for her entire life. Yet she had never complained. She had borne the pain and shame because, deep down, she knew she deserved it. Because she was corrupted. Useless. She was a lost cause. But this beast, this mighty, beautiful creature, was not. She had to do something. Anything.

Gathering every meager bit of energy she had, Yu rose to her knees. With a great effort, she raised one leg and pressed down with barely enough force to push herself onto her feet. Then she started her slow plod toward the fight.

Yu saw the tiger swipe a paw and knock a spear-wielding teenager aside. Blinking back tears of pain and exhaustion, she realized only Jing Wei and one other remained standing. She wobbled forward just as they both charged the staggering creature. Jing Wei’s sword was knocked from his hand by a frantic paw. The other youth stabbed his spear into the creature’s torn and weeping injury.

As he did so, the tiger’s strength gave out, although one last wave of its mighty paw sent the last spear-wielding Jing stumbling into the mud. Then the beast itself finally fell, landing on its side in some puddles of pooling rainwater.

Panting and struggling in the deep mud, Jing Wei approached the beast and laughed. He had no weapon, but the beast was prone and vulnerable.

“I will be the heir now!” he cried. “And nobody will speak of me with anything but awe.”

He reached forward and pulled the spear free from the beast’s bleeding wound. The yanking motion caused a whimper from the mighty tiger. The five others who had been knocked down or away were starting to rise and approach. None of them paid attention to the cripple who was slowly making her way toward them.

Lightning struck and thunder boomed as Jing Wei looked at the others and yelled, “The heavens have shown their favor. Mark this moment in your memory!”

He took a single step forward to stand over the creature’s head, lifting the spear high and thrusting downward toward its single visible eye. Yet just before the spear landed its fatal blow, Yu’s tiny muddy form came flying in unseen, and struck the boy in the back of the knees. He collapsed backward into the mud, his limbs flailing and the spear flying from his hand.

Yu’s skin-and-bones body rolled in the mud and came to a stop in front of the beast’s gigantic head. She was gasping for air, having used all her breath and energy to get there in time.

“You fucking little bitch! You freakish cripple! How dare you?!” Jing Wei climbed to his feet, cursing and screaming, a crazy gleam in his eyes. He slipped once in the mud and then managed to stand. He stomped over to Yu, splattering mud with each step.

When he reached her side, he swung his leg back and then kicked her in the ribs. Yu, even through the fog and exhaustion, felt the blazing fire as pain exploded anew. She heard and felt the snap and crunch as her ribs cracked and broke. She coughed up blood, curling onto her side just as another kick struck her stomach. Scrunching herself up around her middle, she tried to cry out, but only blood spewed from her mouth. Everything darkened except for the flashing lights of the storm above as Jing Wei kicked her in the face, breaking her nose and cracking her skull.

“You disgusting filth! I’ll—”

Jing Wei’s threats were cut off as another flash of lightning illuminated the now standing tiger. Its weakness apparently forgotten, the beast stood straight and proud. Its eyes were glowing a deep blue while the rest of its body was glowing a swirling green and brown. It opened its mouth and roared a sound of such might that even the thunder was silenced for a moment, and the young cultivators were all thrown backward. Yu wasn’t affected, but whether intentionally or not she did not know. Perhaps, broken as she was, the beast did not consider her a threat. Her mind was numb, barely able to process the scene. Blood and her head injury obscured her vision.

The young cultivators screamed.

“Shit! It’s using Qi now. Run!”

None of them would survive even a single blow of Qi from a beast this powerful. Even Jing Wei knew that, so he turned around and ran from the clearing, leaving Yu alone with the mighty beast.

Yu simply watched them go. In the floating place beyond pain that her mind had retreated to, she felt slightly annoyed. Her inability to move worked in the Jings’ favor. Like they had said before, if the beast took the time to eat her, they might be able to escape its fury.

FIVE

Death and Life

Yu was still vaguely aware of what was going on as she listened to the sounds of the group fleeing. Blood from her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears was mixing with the rain and mud, creating a puddle which was now half covering her face. Every raindrop that splashed on her caused an explosion of pain.

But despite it all, she felt a sense of peace. She had done it. In saving this beast, she had finally made a difference.

It wasn’t much, yet that was all her body could provide for her. One moment in a lifetime. One single victory.

She pondered simply leaving her face in the growing pool of water and blood and letting herself drown. Jing Wei was right after all – she was a cursed creature who did nothing but bring misery to her family and dishonor to her clan. Better to end things now, with this one small act of defiance. Before life could once again remind her how futile her struggles were.

Then Yu heard a soft growling sound to her left. The tiger. Laughing in her mind and to the fates that caused her to have such a life, she rolled her head to face the creature that was now towering over her.

The great tiger stepped even closer amidst the downpour, the crackle of lightning an almost constant chorus, singing her demise. Maybe in her next life, if the gods granted her one despite her corruption, she would do better. Maybe she would even become a true cultivator, able to accomplish more than this single act of a warrior.

Yu rolled onto her back, groaning at the pain. She looked directly up at the massive head which was now nearly touching hers. As it sniffed her, Yu felt a deep, vibrating growl that was loud enough not to be drowned out by the cacophony of lightning and thunder. The storm had started striking the trees and grass of the clearing, causing earth and wood to fly about.

The tiger looked down at Yu and she saw twin droplets of crystal blue. She felt ashamed that such beauty was staring into her own mundane, dull gray eyes. Resigned to her fate and accepting that she would finally be free from her curse, Yu hoped for better in her next life. She reached up and stroked the fur of the tiger’s enormous muzzle. For some reason, she had lost all fear. All fear of the beast. All fear of death. It was merely her fate.

The tiger’s white fur was softer than the softest cloth she had ever felt, and she luxuriated in it. Touching such beauty while staring into the eyes of majesty was not such a bad way to go. And the burden on her family would finally be lifted.

Yu stroked the face of her death with a smile as she spoke gently in between bloody coughs, “Go ahead. I’m ready.” Another cough. “Please be quick if you can.”

The tiger blinked its enormous crystal eyes and moved its head down to stare at the sign of her corruption, the pyramid indented into her flesh. Yu’s clothing was torn to shreds, and she was oddly relieved because the beast would have less in the way when it eventually bit down.

The tiger sniffed at the center of her chest where the indent was. The sign of her corruption. Could it tell? Was she even too much of a freak to be eaten?

She saw the tiger look toward the heavens and then back down at her.

A nearly simultaneous flash of lightning and crack of thunder echoed through the clearing, and the tiger wobbled and fell into the mud next to Yu. Without thinking, she reached for it and began to pet its massive soft pelt, trying to comfort the failing beast. The agony of moving did not register in her slowly fading consciousness.

The beast whined and was barely able to lift its head enough to lay it on Fenghuang Yu’s chest. The pain of its weight on her broken body had returned, but she found she didn’t care.

She was dying. To do so alongside a beautiful, powerful creature in a storm of might and awe that rang with the thunderous energy of the gods themselves… that was the best someone like her could ask for.

Yu looked up at the dark sky, not flinching from the rain striking her face or the flashes of lightning or the cracks of thunder. She smiled through the pain, never ceasing her rubbing of the mighty beast’s head. She scratched it behind its ears and a rumble vibrated through her as both of their breaths shallowed and darkness approached.

In the end she had not saved the beast. Both of them were fading. Yu supposed it was fitting for one such as herself; that she would not be allowed even this one small victory.

Yu’s hand slowed and stilled as the last of her breath began to leave her. Just as her eyes closed, she thought she might have seen a God Sign, but then everything went dark and she welcomed a world free of the pain and horrors of life.

Behind her closed eyelids, she let out her final breath as a bright flash lit a world she could no longer see. The last thing she heard was the vibrating crack of one last bolt of brilliant light.

In the sky above, a violet bolt of lightning leaped from the clouds and streaked through the air, constantly altering its direction, adjusting back and forth. It knew its purpose and would fulfill the whim of whatever or whoever guided such heavenly creations as itself.

The lightning vaporized any raindrops that dared to be in its way as it reached a destination predetermined by forces beyond even its divine power. The lightning demanded to reach its destination and would destroy any who interfered. It drove downward following the commands placed upon it, even though it did not know why or how or who.

In the blink of an eye, it made its undulating way to the ground and struck the middle of a clearing empty of everything but two creatures of earth. It knew only that it must strike, and it did. The bolt pummeled the clearing with such might that the earth shuddered, and the vibrations could be felt in the city more than three li away.

The pair of creatures the lightning punished for whatever offense it was sent to address flashed into an explosion of color so bright that none – not even the strongest cultivators in the nation – would have been able to peer inside. The brightness increased even more, and a small sun formed in the clearing, expanding to encompass it in its entirety and even further. Out into the tree line it grew, and further yet.

And just as suddenly as it had started, the sun collapsed into itself, releasing a shockwave that blew down trees for nearly a li around its center. When silence and darkness again returned to what was once a clearing and two creatures of earth, all that remained was a crater of dirt becoming mud in the rain, and the body of a girl, naked but for the long silky silver hair splayed about her and a glowing silver crystal embedded into the center of her chest, pulsing like a beating heart.

Back in the city, Long Meixiu was looking through several documents regarding the training of the many youths under her care. She now managed the martial training of both the house guards and the youth of her clan, and surprisingly found herself enjoying the job.

It was not many years ago, at least as cultivators saw time, that she wanted nothing but to do battle and advance her cultivation to the peak of the world. It was when she met and eventually fell in love with her husband that things began to change.

At first, she figured they would grow and battle together forever. And they did… for a while. It was when she found herself pregnant with Yu that her perspective began to change. A child. It was both joyous and terrifying, bringing a life into this world. Theirs was not a peaceful life. Wars between clans, factions, nations, and even empires were waged constantly. And, of course, the perpetual threat of the demonic beasts from the wild forests and mountains was constantly on the mind of all humans. The threat was like a murmuring river – constantly in the background. until it eventually overran its banks and devastated the land as it washed away lives.

Meixiu stood and walked to an open window, watching as rain fell into the private training yard in the back of the City Lord’s Palace. A lightning flash made her Qi want to release and join its brethren. The cultivator settled down her power, and watched the courtyard where she used to see her daughter practice – at least, before she was forced to do so more privately.

Her daughter…

Bringing Yu into this world had been surprise to both her and Da as they both practiced a Qi skill which should have prevented pregnancy. It was an ancient skill and one that had been used successfully for tens of millennia by almost all cultivators. Her husband asked her if she wanted to have the child, and she considered the question long and hard before deciding it was created for a reason, despite all the precautions taken.

All knew of Meixiu’s powerful Lightning affinity. It was widely believed to be the strongest purely offensive capability in the nation. What no one alive but she, her husband, and some in her original family knew was that she had a second gift – an affinity rare in all the world.

Meixiu received visions and feelings from the gods. The gods sometimes told her of the future, and on very rare occasions even used her to send their messages. That had only happened three times in her long life, but when she received such messages she delivered them without fail, and followed any instructions given.

Sharing the idea that their child might be an… intervention by the gods, Da had agreed and Yu’er was born to two of the strongest cultivators in the nation.

She should have been one of the greatest of the family. She should have been learning the might of battle and the harmony of Qi. She should… She should have been whole and healthy and welcoming of love and affection.

Contrary to the belief of many, Yu’er was not cursed. Meixiu’s lightning was a purifying force and would know anything like a curse or evil that demanded purification. No, she was… crippled. The gods had sent them the gift of their beautiful Jade, and those mad fools had ruined her.

Lightning sparked over her clenched fists as she reflected on things she could not speak of. Letting out an angry breath, Meixiu returned to peering out the window, letting go of her anger from a past that could never be changed.

The storm was growing in intensity, and the walls were shaking with it. Her power was demanding escape and she longed to give in to it. But something stopped her. There was a feeling of strangeness to this storm. Something ominous or great, she was not sure which. But definitely something of consequence would come of it.

She watched for a few more minutes and was about to return to her papers when, from the heart of the storm, the largest bolt of lightning the three-century-old cultivator had ever seen struck three or four li into the forest. A moment later, light brilliant enough to turn the darkness of the storm into the brightness of a noon day filled the sky in the distant forest. It kept increasing in brightness, so that she had to turn her head away and cover her eyes with her arm. The room around her rumbled and the teacup she was sipping from vibrated itself to the edge of her desk and crashed to the floor.

Then the light faded and all was back to normal. All that remained was the pattering of rain and the occasional crash of distant thunder. Meixiu turned back to her desk and looked down at the spilled tea. The pool spread on the expensive ornamental rug as she approached the puddle.

It had stopped spreading and was frozen in the shape of a cat, its tail swishing behind it. The shapes and patterns on the now ruined rug gave the cat stripes and made it appear a tiger with its mouth open and mighty jaws roaring for the world to hear. Staring down at it, the world faded around Meixiu as she heard the dominating cry of the ferocious feline in the background noise of the storm.

Meixiu’s power sparkled around her as, in the lightning’s flash, she saw the tea morph into the form of a woman on the back of the tiger. She was wielding two matching straight swords which blurred into oddly shaped blades, and then many-jointed whips, and then again into a bow and arrow. Another crash showed her battling mighty beasts and humans alike and them falling before her. But then she too fell when another shadow came and stabbed a short blade into her back and out her chest.

Another crash of thunder echoed through the room and the vision faded, causing Meixiu to stumble forward and lean on her desk for support. Just as she gathered herself, she heard the familiar stomping footsteps of her husband approaching.

He had always had the canny ability to know when she needed him. Da whipped the door to the side, and his large muscular form stood in the doorway. He saw her unsteadiness and instantly appeared next to her, supporting her body against his.

She hugged him hard and whispered, “We must go to her.”

SIX

Free

Fenghuang Yu opened her eyes to a darkening sky and an unfamiliar God Sign flashing across her vision. She tried to blink it away so she could figure out what was going on. Her brain was scrambled and she could not seem to figure out where she was or how she had gotten there.

She felt gross, covered in mud, and with the taste of blood in her mouth. But no matter what she did, the Sign would not leave her vision, so she sighed in resignation and focused on it. Oddly, the God Sign was in an unfamiliar color: gold. To her knowledge, nobody saw that color.

Supplicant’s appeal for a Heavenly Tribulation has been heard by the gods.

“What the… when did I ask for a tribulation?” she spoke aloud into the night.

Now that she had read the first of the gods’ messages, the rest came and she could not stop herself from reading them.

Heavenly Tribulation has been granted.

Determination has been made. Supplicant must endure a single STRONG heavenly bolt.

Yu could barely think straight, trying to keep up with all the Signs flashing before her. Processing the information seemed to overwhelm her shaken mind and she was forced to just keep reading the gold Signs.

Heavenly Tribulation has begun. Prepare yourself, supplicant.

Supplicant has experienced outside interference with the Heavenly Tribulation.

Due to outside influence, Heavenly Tribulation lightning has increased in strength to GRAND.

Heavenly Tribulation has begun. Prepare yourself, supplicant.

The next Sign was not in gold, but in red. And not the deep red of fire, but a bright, vivid red Yu was unfamiliar with.

Corruption found in supplicant’s Sign. Sufficient energy available. Purifying…

No… It couldn’t be. Yu could barely process what she was seeing when her vision was forced to another message, this one in another unfamiliar color: silver.

Purification complete. All reserved growth has been applied.

Supplemental energy unsupportable. Applying to meridian channels to expel excess…

Sign update complete.

Yu was truly baffled. What in the nine hells did that mean? But once again, she was forced to put thoughts aside as another message appeared before her, once again in gold.

Supplicant has survived her Heavenly Tribulation.

Congratulations supplicant, you have received a blessing of the gods.

And the final four messages appeared in silver.

For surviving a GRAND Tribulation, Sign has assigned an Honor.

Effect: A single random Lightning affinity skill has been granted by the gods.

External energy absorbed. Applying…

Sign updating…

Sign update complete.

After absorbing, if not understanding, the words, Yu’s vision was free of God Signs and she could observe the world around her. Her head was still pounding but she forced herself to move. She lifted her head, and with a glance around she immediately noticed she was at the bottom of a rather large crater. It took up at least the space of the clearing – likely more, if she wasn’t mistaken.

Then Yu’s senses informed her of a bracing cold. Looking down she noticed she was completely naked except for a thick layer of mud covering every speck of her skin. She was confused as to how she had gotten there. Why couldn’t she remember?

Yu was starting to feel overwhelmed. All the confusing God Sign messages. The crater. Yu had never, never had a gap in her memory before. Had she passed out?

“What’s going on?” she asked nobody, but still she hoped for an answer from somewhere.

Not hearing one, she stood and was about to attempt to find a way out but stopped. Looking down, she realized she felt taller.

She was taller.

“What in the—”

She took a closer look at herself and her jaw dropped. Her tiny, scrawny, and bony body was no longer tiny, scrawny, or bony. Her thirteen-year-old form that had looked closer to eight or nine now resembled a girl closer to her actual age.

Her height was hard to judge as she had sunken into the waterlogged mud, but her muscular form was obvious, even though mud-covered. In some ways, it accentuated the definition of her now bulkier body. The lines between her muscles could be seen on her arms, stomach, and legs. She flexed slightly and was impressed with what she saw.

Even more shocking, though, was what she saw when she looked at the center of her chest. She scrambled to scrape away the thick mud and found the inverse pyramid gone. Running her hand over where it used to be, she felt only skin, pale and smooth like the jade of her name.

Blinking confusedly, she looked around again. Thinking back to the God Sign, she hesitantly pressed her will against the world and whispered as a question, “Sign?”

Name: Yu

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: Patriarch’s Child

Age: 13

Meridians: 0/156

Qi Type:

Granted: Ether

Blessed: Aura, Mana

Qi Affinity:

Primary: Spatial

Secondary: Lightning, Earth, Water, Wood

Cultivation Level: None

Body: 14 | Mind: 66 | Spirit: 34

Martial Forms: Tai Chi: (Initiate), Kung Fu: (Novice)

Weapon Capabilities: Jian: (Initiate), Dual Jian: (Novice), Whip: (Novice), Bow: (Novice), Staff: (Novice), Spear: (Novice)

Qi Skills:

Aura: None

Mana: None

Ether: Beast Bonding (Novice), Enchant Lightning* (Novice)

Status: None

Honors: *Tribulation Supplicant

Titles: The Corrupted, The Blessed, Tiger’s Blood

What Yu saw was so foreign to her, she couldn’t make sense of it. Not only did her Sign contain information that baffled her, but it was silver.

Yu shook her head, sending the Sign away. Speaking in a shaky voice, she again called, “Sign.” The same thing appeared before her. She tried again, with the same result. And again.

Yu whispered, “Not possible…”

Looking down at her new body and then back at the Sign again, everything started to get blurry as her eyes watered.

Had she been right? The gods hadn’t abandoned her after all?

She turned her face skyward and stared at the cloud-covered evening sky. She felt the tears that had started to form fall from her eyes.

Yu whispered toward the heavens, “Thank you.” She felt herself smile, and called even louder to the heavens. “Thank you!” And called again, louder yet.

She raised her hands above her head and screamed her thanks. It was a sound of joy and release to the Heavens and Earth that resounded throughout the crater.

Yu blinked. She realized she wasn’t even winded after letting out such full-throated screams. That fact made her want to do it again. So she did… And she could still breathe normally afterwards.

Yu broke out into roaring laughter and collapsed back onto the muddy ground with a splat. She laughed until she cried, and then laughed again.

She had no idea how long it took her, but she was finally able to control the emotions racing through her. She called for and scanned her Sign again while staring at the cloudy heavens.

“Whoa. All those Qi types and affinities.”

The gods never lied. The Sign never lied. But it could be misread or misunderstood.

Maybe she had misinterpreted something. It wasn’t like she was some sort of expert. She needed to talk to her mother.

Scanning again, Yu reflected that she had no idea whether her Body, Mind, and Spirit were good or bad, but they looked great to her. Hells, she was just happy to actually have them.

Taking a breath, she tried to be logical about things. While certainly no expert, Yu had managed to eavesdrop on many classes. Perhaps she could make sense of everything if she focused on that.

Yu remembered learning about attributes in one of the classes she had managed to sneak in on. Closing her eyes and replaying the memory in perfect clarity, Yu saw the white-bearded teacher lecture on what purpose the attributes served.

In his monotone and shaky voice, the old man said, “A cultivator’s attributes are representative of their physical, mental, and spiritual prowess. The body is a physical attribute that represents the overall strength, flexibility, and resilience of the body. It varies from cultivator to cultivator, but most start at between fifteen to twenty when they begin the first level of the Foundation Building Stage of cultivation.

“I’ll come back to the Mind attribute in a moment, as it is the most complex. Now, the Spirit attribute defines how much Qi a cultivator can use, how much they can process through their meridians and how fast they can use it. Generally, most of you will be in the high teens when you start to cultivate your skin. A handful of you will be in the low to mid-twenties. Those of you with higher are at an excellent starting position because you will be able to store more Qi in your dantian, send more into your skin, and thus progress through your cultivation journey faster. It is a very straightforward attribute and will grow as you use Qi and advance in your cultivation journey.

“The Mind attribute, also known colloquially as ‘perception,’ on the other hand, is not nearly as specific or easily understandable. It represents a cultivator’s memory and ability to learn. The benefits cannot truly be quantified. What you have may vary greatly from one to another. You could start lower than ten and struggle greatly with remembering and understanding Qi flows, resulting in slow growth. Or you could be in the thirties and have a deep insight, and thus saturate your body with Qi faster. Additionally, Mind does not grow by itself, the way Spirit does. Improving it requires arduous effort and immense mental fortitude. And results are hard to gauge. As such, it is often a discounted attribute. I know most of you youngsters will ignore my advice, but don’t neglect Mind. Investing in it now can save you many years, decades, even centuries of work. Spend the time exercising your mind. Improve your memory, stretch your awareness. Over the years, it will grow, and you along with it.”

Yu reflected on what she had recalled. “So physically, I’m a little on the weaker side,” she mused out loud to herself. “Not a surprise, really. Spirit is pretty good. No complaints there. But Mind?”

Thinking about it, she figured maybe it made sense. It was probably representative of her eidetic memory. And she had always been able to pick things up quickly.

Moving along her God Sign, she reached her meridian count. Once she focused on it, what she saw caused her to blink and do a double take. From what she had learned using the library, meridians were broken down into twelve major with twelve minor subservient to each major. Qi flowed through the meridians, so the number of meridians a cultivator had access to equated to the amount of Qi that could be applied. The more meridian paths, the more Qi at one time.

Most cultivators could only access between twenty and seventy-five meridians. Yu’s parents had an insane number – something in the high eighties or low nineties, according to the rumors. No sane cultivator would ever openly share such a thing as it was like telling everyone how to compare their strength to yours.

But for Yu… 156 available? That made no sense. Everyone knew the stories of the famous cultivators who had over one hundred meridians. They were legends. The king of the nation was rumored to have access to between one hundred and one hundred and ten, but few believed it.

What Yu was reading made no sense. She added that to her mental list of things to speak to her mother about. She figured she must have been misunderstanding something again.

That Yu had somehow acquired Qi skills was pretty exciting as well. And that they were used through the obscure Ether Qi was even more surprising. Ether users were exceedingly rare. Oddly, Yu found that the knowledge of the skills had suddenly appeared in her mind. Well, more precisely, she felt that the knowledge was there, but she couldn’t access it. It was quite bizarre.

Yu scratched her muddy cheek, wondering why she had received those specific skills with those Qi types. She knew Aura Qi was primarily used for melee combat skills, and Mana Qi was for ranged combat skills. But what was the purpose of Ether? Yet another mystery was added to the list.

Yu was starting to be frustrated by everything she didn’t know.

The first skill on her list, Beast Bonding, was not a mystery, as she knew based on the name what it did. Her father had a beast he had bonded with, but he used Aura Qi so Yu wasn’t sure what that was about. Her understanding was too limited once again. It had never occurred to her to study bonding as she could have neither ridden nor bound a wild creature due to the risk to her health.

The other skill was Enchant Lightning. Enchanting, as she understood it, was the ability to add Qi capabilities to weapons and objects. For example, the lamps that lit her father’s palace were enchanted using Ether Qi. In her case, the skill focused on lightning enchanting. That was great for her mother. Maybe Yu could craft her something special.

Crafters were always rich and snooty, according to her uncles. Well, if Yu could actually enchant, she planned on being rich but not snooty. Okay, maybe snooty to people who deserved it – like Jing Wei.

Her eyes narrowed as she thought of him. Now that she had the ability, she would grow strong enough to pound him into the dirt like he and his cronies had done to her, at least once she started cultivating – at the moment she was barely more than a strong mortal. Well, physically at least.

That thought caused her to reflect on her situation. She was vulnerable right now. A future asset of the clan, sure, but extremely vulnerable until at least the Meridian Formation Stage, where she could wield Qi outside of her body.

Yu needed to talk to her parents in private and get their advice. Her… change must not get out, or she would almost certainly be dead. Someone would pay someone to poison her, or something similar. Or worse, they might kidnap her and force her to do whatever horrors enslaved cultivators went through.

And now that her life was set to improve dramatically, she was definitely planning on not dying – at least for a few centuries. She could cultivate and she would, but she needed time.

Looking once again toward the heavens, Yu thought, The gods granted me this opportunity, and I will absolutely not squander it.

Taking a breath, she looked around. “Okay,” she said to nobody. “So, step one, get the hells out of this damn mudhole.”

Part Two

HOMECOMING SURPRISE

The four heavenly beasts used the powers saturating our newly formed world to create lesser creatures. They decided they would teach their creations to also wield this power so that they may maintain the world’s balance. And then they could move onto other worlds where they might share their strength and wisdom once again.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

SEVEN

Rescue

One hour later – A muddy crater in the forest outside of Fei Shu City:

A frustrated Fenghuang Yu slid down the muddy crater wall, only to tumble into an awkward roll and flop onto her face in the center of the depression. Again.

“Gah!” She slapped at the mud. Her hair, colored brown by its caking of dried mud, flapped around and smacked her in the face. “Hells!” She swiped her hair away until it slapped against her bare muddy back and disappeared from her view.

“How the hells am I supposed to get out of here?” she exclaimed furiously.

No matter how many times she tried to climb up the crater, the slippery mud just dropped her right back on her butt down there in the center. If only she had her weapons. Or even just claws like the tiger. Wait… What? What tiger? When had there been a tiger?

Her mind went fuzzy for a moment. She shook it and brought her thoughts back to climbing out. There was no way she would be able to find her weapons again, even if they had survived whatever had made the huge hole in the ground.

What were her options? She stood back up, turned in a circle, and saw… nothing but mud. Mud, mud, and more mud. Yu pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to figure out what to do.

It was at that point she heard people. Voices were calling.

The last thing she remembered was nearly dying thanks to Jing Wei and his cronies, and thus she was afraid it was them returning to finish the job. She looked around frantically and, not seeing a better solution, covered herself with more mud, lying perfectly still, and breathing slowly through the only exposed part of her, her nose.

Wait, is that a familiar voice?

“Yu’er!”

Was that my big brother? Turning her head so an ear was out of the mud, Yu heard his call again. “Yu’er!”

It was definitely him. Yu scrambled up, lifted her head to the sky, funneled her muddy hands around her equally muddy mouth, and called loudly, “Brother! I’m down here.”

She heard scrambling and called again, “I’m here!”

Closer scrambling followed, and then she saw her brother’s head stick over the lip of the crater. He yelled excitedly, “Yu’er!” Then he turned around and called even louder back, “I found her!”

Then Yu remembered she was naked and scrunched down in the mud, her legs up in front of her chest.

A lot of scrambling and crashing sounds echoed down into the crater, and then she saw her uncle Gen and her mother looking down at her.

Her mother screamed “Yu’er!” as she collapsed onto her knees, and her father, who had arrived only a moment after, followed her to the wet ground. He held Yu’s mother while glaring at their daughter in the center of the crater.

Uh-oh… She hoped her explanation would save her from his ire.

More people arrived, and she watched her father’s expression become a neutral mask. Yu winced as she looked up at the edge, where multiple people were staring down at her with various expressions of annoyance. Not her mother and Uncle Gen, though. They were relieved. Her brother and other uncle, Zhao, were clearly amused, much to Yu’s frustration. It wasn’t funny to her!

As if to prove her wrong, Zhao broke out into laughter so hard that he almost couldn’t stand.

Yu sighed, but called up to the group, “Is there any way I can get—” She was about to say ‘a rope,’ as her old stubbornness was kicking in. She had refused to show weakness in front of the clan when she could avoid it. But things being as they were, she changed her mind and completed her request with, “Help? Can anyone help?”

Her favorite brother sighed and said, “I got it.”

His eyes flashed and, with perfect grace and elegance, he slid down the crater wall without getting mud on anything but his boots. Hells, he was good. Yu hid her face behind her bent knees, knowing her smile would show. Reminded of her brother’s strength, she decided that someday she would be that good. Or better.

He slid to a perfect stop in front of her crouched form, knelt down in front of her, and started to speak but stopped. He looked in her eyes and then examined her from top to bottom.

He’d noticed. Yu scrambled in her mind for a way to stop him from giving anything away. He opened his mouth again, and all she could come up with was to plead, “Not now. Please.”

His mouth clicked shut and he nodded. He pulled a blanket from his spatial storage ring – When did he get one of those? – and wrapped her up in it. As he was doing that, he whispered in her ear, “Scrunch up so you don’t look so big.”

Damn, she hadn’t thought of that.

“And close your eyes,” he continued.

Close her… had her eyes changed too?

“Thanks,” she whispered back and followed his advice, crouching lower and slumping her shoulders. Hopefully, it had looked like a scolding to those above. Lei swiftly lifted her into a princess carry, all wrapped up in the blanket, and walked to the edge of the crater. As soon as his feet made contact with the mud, it froze and he walked on it like nothing unusual was going on.

Yu muttered “Show-off,” and closed her eyes. Her brother chuckled.

They reached the top of the crater and Lei put her down. Before she could even steady herself, she was engulfed in a hug by her mother. Yu’s face was plastered in her mother’s chest and she was squeezed so hard that she struggled to breathe. She pushed back, and her mother obligingly loosened her grip slightly. Yu blindly pulled her mother down and the taller woman let herself be guided so Yu could hug her neck and whisper into her ear.

“We need to talk. Alone.”

That request was such a rare occurrence that Yu hoped she would understand it was important.

Her mother didn’t respond, but Yu felt herself being lifted the same way Lei had lifted her, and then felt her mother’s steps as they walked back to the city.

She heard her father call out, “Thank you all for your assistance. We are so relieved to find our Yu’er. Please return and we will have a family feast in the palace courtyard to celebrate her safe return.”

Yu heard a few whoops come from the assembled searchers, and talk of a big meal overtook the snide comments of how the silly cripple had gotten herself stuck in a muddy crater in the middle of the beast-infested forest.

Back in her brother’s arms now, Yu was carried into and through the City Lord’s Palace, where she heard the beginning of the joyous banquet. She could tell it would be a lively occasion of clan members mingling and discussing the future.

Yu had not been to such occasions for many years, aiming to avoid drawing attention to herself. She hadn’t been banned, nor would she be expelled if she attempted to attend; however, she knew that the clan would not welcome her.

Yu could only imagine how gleeful the twins and their mother would be at her trouble. The boys would likely be bad-mouthing her to anyone and everyone who would listen. As the first wife, it would be beneath Ning Huiqing to speak openly of the “disgraceful freak.” But she would still manage to imply this event was further evidence of Yu’s weakness and the dishonor she brings to the clan.

Obviously, Yu’s nonattendance would be expected. She figured that all would assume her too ill or injured to participate. This offered the added benefit of excusing Uncle Gen, who everyone would believe was healing his niece. And of course, her parents would also be by her side, ensuring she was well and properly disciplined for being so foolish as to get herself into such a position.

Yet the truth would prove to be far more complicated. Yu was carried down into the family’s secret meeting room under the palace throne room, which had been warded against eavesdropping and outside Qi generations ago. Yu sat before her father, mother, uncles, and brother, thinking of what to say.

She anticipated an onslaught of questions from them, so the first thing she did was to ask that they hold off until the end. All of them reluctantly agreed, even her father.

Yu then explained what she could remember of her excursion. It frustrated her that she had gaps in her memory, which was a first for her. But she told the story anyway.

Yu shared how it had been a routine training day for her until the Jing had shown up. Then she spoke of how they had held her down and “punished” her for being a weapon-carrying mundane. By the end, she had wet eyes and gritted teeth, working to get through it all. It had been the worst beating she had ever had to endure.

Yu knew that the room was filled with her family. But she stared directly at her brother when she told the story. He was the only one she felt she could be mostly honest with. It was he alone that she had, in the past, spoken with of her shame, frustration, and goals.

All the adult cultivators around her were swearing except Gen who was reaching to touch her. She held up her hand to stop him. “Please don’t, Uncle Gen. Not yet. I’m okay.”

He stopped and looked at Yu’s father who waved him away and ordered, “Continue, Yu’er.”

“It’s all muddled in my mind, and I’m not sure exactly how it happened. I remember being beaten. Jing Wei said he felt insulted by my presence, by my existence even, and wanted to punish me. The beating was… bad. But at some point, I-I think I fought back somehow. Defied him in some way.” She sighed. “I wish I could remember better.” Yu knew her frustration was coming through in her words, but still she continued. “I recall thinking I would die. That I wanted to die.”

Silence reigned in the room. Tears wavered in Yu’s eyes, but she would not let them fall. Not in front of her father. Yu saw his body shudder with what she assumed was anger at the Jing. He was usually quite stoic when she showed up with new injuries, treating her as any other clan member and punishing all parties involved with increased chores or similar. But this was no mere training scuffle or childish spat – this was a premeditated attack. As a clan leader, her father was likely furious at having his authority undermined by a rival family.

Yu continued, “I gave up. Maybe it’s shameful, but I thought perhaps if I were to die there, at least the family would be free of my weakness. It seemed like the more honorable choice. I know the harm my life causes the family. I felt it was perhaps selfish to continue living. I felt I could free the clan of the burden… I believed Jing Wei was right.”

Her father stiffened further. There was a look in his eyes that Yu didn’t recognize. She realized that she should probably not have suggested that a rival family’s opinions could be correct.

She swallowed and spoke of a separate concern to help her gather herself, “I didn’t mention this before, but Jing Wei said he was told I’d be there and that he was sent.” A few gasps filled the room but she continued, “He didn’t say who specifically, but I suspect it was from within the clan, based on what he insinuated.” A crash from near her father caused everyone to look at him, and they all saw that he had crushed his glass of wine. It was then that Yu noticed that the others had drinks in their hands, and realized how thirsty she was. Noticing her glance, her brother handed her a cup of water.

Yu took a sip and said, “Well, it got worse.”

“How in the nine hells could it get worse?” asked Zhao.

Yu let out a deep breath and stared into her brother’s ice-blue eyes again. “I wanted so much to prove I could serve the clan. That was always my goal. To be useful to you and to my clan, and not just a burden.” Yu remembered her shame and guilt, and looked down at her hands. “I felt like an affliction on you all. And I was ready to die. Ready to free you all from my corrupted, crippled existence. I wanted it, even. I wanted… needed release. For you. For myself. From the pain and shame and dishonor I brought to you… to us.”

She then lifted her head and got to the heart of it, whispering through her tears. “I wanted release from the burden that caring for me places on all of you.”

A sob came from her mother, but Yu soldiered on after taking a deep breath and a sip of water. Yu wiped at her traitorous eyes with a corner of the blanket she was still wrapped in, and coughed once. Then she shared the other limited memories that had returned to her in the telling of her story.

“At that point, I think I must have mostly been unconscious, or nearly. I vaguely recall that a beast from the forest wandered into the clearing. I can’t be sure, but I figure it must have smelled my blood and heard my cries before the rainstorm. I don’t remember what it was, or any of the details. Only that I accepted my death. Welcomed it. Asked the gods for another chance in a different life. I—”

Yu choked back a sob and could only shake her head. She knew she could not continue without completely breaking down. She couldn’t tell them of how she had begged the creature, whatever it was, to take her life so she could try again.

Yu finally looked around the room and saw that her entire family had watery eyes or wet cheeks. Even her father’s eyes were wet, which shocked her. She had never seen him show emotion so strongly before. Even when he was angry at her, he moderated his fury. But crying? That entire concept was a revelation.

Were those tears for her? She had only seen disappointment and pity in those hard eyes before… she had thought… And like a fog clearing, a final memory flashed in her mind, and Yu shared it.

“The last thing I remember is a soft caress and everything slowly fading away, then nothing until I woke up in the crater where you found me.”

EIGHT

Secrets

Yu cleared her throat and finished her water.

Her mother spoke through her sobs, “I’m so sorry, Yu’er. We didn’t know that you felt this way. We… I would have done something.”

Yu slumped in the seat and leaned her head back against the wall. Staring at the ceiling, she asked, “Sorry for what? I don’t blame you. You had a crippled child and no way to deal with her. You could have listened to the other clan members and sent me away. Or worse.”

There was a shifting in seats at that statement.

She lowered her head and faced them again. “Yes, I heard they suggested – even demanded – it. But you didn’t do it. I’m grateful for having a home, food, the choice to have a safe life, and access to healers when I choose otherwise and need them. It’s much better than I deserve, better than I’d have gotten elsewhere, being basically a mundane. And a weak and fragile one at that.”

Her father cleared his throat and asked, “When did you get so mature?”

Yu laughed once and said, “Maturity is forced upon the vulnerable, lord father. I was… well, not scared really. Maybe hyperaware of my condition?” Yu found her voice sounded somewhat questioning as she worked through her thoughts and feelings.

Lei, who knew Yu the best, nodded and spoke up. “It is true, lord father. She was so fragile. But at the same time, brave. Determined. All you saw were reports of her healing, but never how careful she was. How purposeful. Yes, she took chances to be as strong as possible, but they were calculated risks. You should have heard her talk about it. She knew exactly how hard to press.”

Her brother leaned forward as if to emphasize the point before continuing. “Imagine it. A fall, a hit, even a swim. Everything was a threat. A wrong word or phrase could lead to a strike that could kill her. The world itself was as much of a threat as if she were still a newborn.” Then he looked into his father’s eyes and said, “And yet she did it anyway. Everything she did was for the family, to make up for her weakness. What tore at her – and me – the most was when our own clan turned on her. She worked so hard, risked so much, and her own family tormented her. The twins especially.”

Her father looked poleaxed at that statement from his son. “What do you mean?” he spluttered. “What about the twins? I gave orders that Yu’er was to be left alone. There were no serious reports. A few squabbles between children, sure… but…”

Yu was surprised. She had assumed he had tacitly approved. Had he simply not known?

Lei helped her understand with his response. “Lord father, I think perhaps there has been a mix of things preventing you from knowing the full extent of Yu’s… difficulties. After all, arguments between juniors are certainly beneath your notice. On top of that, you are busy running a clan of thousands and a city of millions. Those are your priority. As such, you can’t watch everything that goes on in your palace personally. You depend on caretakers and elders to manage the day-to-day things. That said, I’ll tell you this now: the twins have been your daughter’s primary tormentors, although neither she nor I believe they did it on their own. It is surprising that so few reports reached you, even with Yu attempting to cover up the incidents herself. The only reason you heard about the barn was because Gen noticed the potential connection. It sounds like someone is possibly interfering outside of their responsibilities perhaps?”

Yu watched as her father’s face turned from confused to enraged, his tanned complexion brightening to red.

Feeling like she should say something given that Lei’s comments were about her, Yu cleared her throat.

“That’s in the past, now. It’s over and they can’t hurt me anymore.”

“Since this discussion began,” her uncle Zhao said, “you have spoken as if of the past. Another person. What changed, Yu’er, that you feel no longer vulnerable?”

Yu turned her head to Zhao, surprised at his question. She was ready for it, but still surprised it was he who asked. He had always been so aloof.

“Well, I’m still vulnerable, but in a different way now. At least, if what I think is true is actually true.”

Firming her resolve, Yu spoke loud and with determination so that everyone could hear, even though it was unnecessary. She felt it was important for them to understand, plus she figured that if she could not trust those in the room, she might as well be dead anyway.

“Sign.”

The silver square appeared before her, and she mentally turned it around to face the group. They all approached it or leaned closer. Suddenly the room was filled with gasps and matching swear words from Yu’s brother and her uncle Zhao. Looking at them both, Yu wondered if her brother had learned to swear like that from his fellow bad-mouthed family member.

Her father whispered, nearly too silently to hear, “Tribulation…” Then he turned to his wife and whispered, “Spatial…”

Yu nodded. “I need your help interpreting the Sign. There’s a lot I don’t understand.”

Nobody responded for a few breaths, but the silence was broken when her father spoke to the group.

“There is so much here. We need to sit down and discuss it in detail. At this point, no one can know. None of this can leave the room, especially nothing about the Spatial affinity and meridians. Yu’er has become a target. A highly vulnerable one, and we must protect her. There are a few we can trust, but only a few.”

Yu watched the muscles of her father’s jaw flex as he clenched hard. “That includes my other children and wives apparently,” he growled.

Yu knew what it was like not to trust family, and felt sorry for her father.

Zhao spoke up then, in a tone that was unusually somber for him. “She would be assassinated by the Chao and Jing Clans for the enchanting alone.” Shaking his head he continued, “For the rest, they would start a war.”

Yu’s mother had managed to get ahold of herself and added, with only a slight tremble in her voice, “Until she is in a strong sect we trust and under their protection, we must train her entirely in secret. And even when she is there, we must be careful about what is shared.”

That confused Yu even more, but she let it go, figuring an explanation would come.

Zhao stood and started pacing with his hand at his hairless chin. “Yes. The incident tonight will play into our hands. We will say her injuries are severe, and that will be enough. No one cares enough about her to think more of it.”

“The Jing will certainly believe it,” Yu mumbled.

Her father spoke again, this time with an edge to his voice. “That is a separate matter that I will handle.” Then he let out a breath, and his demeanor and tone returned to that of a stoic, commanding clan chief.

“Lady wife, sects are your responsibility – let me know how I can help. Gen, you are to visit Yu’er regularly – both to check on her body and to give the impression of her failing health. For now, return to the party and confirm her… unfortunate condition. Zhao, have one of your people on her whenever none of us are with her. But don’t tell them why.”

Yu scrunched her face up. Her uncle had people?

“Are you sure? You know that each of my Shadows are worth a hundred others, and they have existing missions that will need to be abandoned...” Uncle Zhao said, his voice more serious than usual.

“The lost resource is a sacrifice worth making,” her father continued. “Lei, keep your ear to the ground with your fellow trainees. Someone arranged for that disgrace, and I intend to find out who. If it is an adult, I can track them down. If a student, I will need your assistance. Zhao, meet me in my chambers in twenty minutes. Everyone but Yu is dismissed.”

Yu’s mother opened her mouth to speak, but the clan chief raised his hand. “Not this time, lady wife,” he stated firmly. “I will speak with our daughter alone.”

Yu saw what she thought was a reluctant nod from her mother. She then gave Yu a kiss on her mud-encrusted forehead and left with the rest.

Once the door had closed, Yu’s father turned to her. His posture and voice once again belonged to the clan leader of one of the strongest clans in the nation. At that moment Yu saw not her father, but her Patriarch.

“Yu’er, you are going to be working as hard as you have ever worked. The clan will do what it can to protect you, but you are a fragile lotus blossom at the moment. As clan leader, I fear for you now more than I ever did before. Work hard to bloom into the strong jade I know you can be, and you will provide for our clan and family.”

Yu’er had never heard her father speak to her in that way before. He had spoken to her like she was a true member of the clan. A cultivator. A warrior.

She wasn’t sure how to respond or what was expected of her, so she just said the first thing that came to her mind. “Yes, lord father.”

His body relaxed and he sat down in a seat opposite her, seeming now to take a reprieve from his role as her superior in the clan. “Daughter, you think me strong, don’t you?”

Yu nodded. “Of course, lord father. You are the strongest man in the city and one of the strongest cultivators in the country.”

He nodded to her. “And do you think this city large with its millions of citizens, and the country even larger and mightier?”

Not sure where her father was going with the questions, she only nodded.

His smile was lopsided as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Well, you’re wrong,” he said flatly.

Yu knew the confusion must have shown on her face when she felt the dried mud crackle as she scrunched it up in confusion.

“Our country is one of the smallest and most remote in the Gui Empire. Our city, despite housing nearly three million, is miniscule in comparison to those closer to the center of the empire. We are what those in the more populated areas call ‘on the verge.’ We are on the very edge of humanity’s controlling power, surrounded by a wilderness dominated by demonic beasts – some so mighty they could destroy our entire city and everyone within in just a few breaths of time.”

The surprise Yu felt must have shown because her father looked at her and nodded. “Yes, Yu’er. And while I am strong for this place, I am not strong compared to many. I am not even four centuries old, and while I am strong, within the center of the empire lie cultivators who could quite literally make every human in our entire country disappear with a few waves of their hand.”

Yu could feel her mouth hanging open. She had had no idea. Her father had always been the strongest of the strong to her. That he was weak compared to others was yet another revelation in a night full of them.

But she was still unsure of why he was telling her this. And why now?

“Nobody bothers us out here on the verge because we offer nothing and can endanger nothing. We are irrelevant in the eyes of the truly mighty.”

Her father leaned back then, his shoulders dipping slightly. “I fear for you and for our clan. If word gets out about your potential, this entire city would be razed to ashes just to make sure you do not escape and threaten those greater than us.” Yu’s eyes were wide and scared. He nodded to her and continued, “If what your God Sign shows is what we believe, and if you were to grow as strong as it says you can, you would threaten the rule of emperors, never mind kings.”

Yu found her shoulders slumping again. She had thought she was being given a second chance. But instead of the opportunity to serve her clan, was she becoming a burden once again? Was she a danger to her family and city?

Despite her newfound capabilities, she refused to once again become a weight around the neck of her loved ones. What’s worse, it sounded like she could bring even greater misfortune than before.

“Should I leave?” she asked in a whisper.

Her father’s body jerked straight as he banged his fist on his thigh and exclaimed, “Absolutely not! Our clan is better at keeping secrets than you know. The risk of others finding out is mainly from you and those close to you, which basically means everyone who was in this room, some servants, and your maid. And we need to discuss her, by the way.”

It was Yu’s turn to sit up straight as she declared, “Feng Jie has been with me since I was a babe. She’s my family too.”

Da nodded at her response. “I know,” he said. “I was there when we bought her from the slave merchant. Your mother is speaking to her now and will assess what to do. Remember your priorities, child. If your mother does not believe her trustworthy… well, we can find someone else for her to serve.”

Yu’s back was up now. “And who in the nine hells would we trust if not her? She’s been nothing but loyal to me for thirteen years.”

Her father did not waver as he looked Yu straight in the eye and said, “Someone bound by runes.”

Yu gasped and looked disgusted. She couldn’t believe he had just said that. “That is a horrid punishment, and you and mother have always stated how against it you are.”

He nodded. “Indeed. Widespread use of the practice is a foul stain on the honor of all cultivators. However, some willingly take on the burden. They sell themselves for the safety and security of their families. It is a barbaric practice, but an individual willing to cripple themselves for life to benefit those they love is one I would trust with protecting this clan’s most valuable asset. Or potentially at least.”

He stood before Yu could respond and said, “Now, this discussion is over. Stay wrapped up as you are and head to your mother’s chambers. You will be bathed by those she trusts enough and then sleep as a guest to her until we can determine what to do with you and your servant.”

His orders given with a Patriarch’s confidence that they would be carried out, Yu watched in silence as he turned and left the room.

NINE

Future Planning

Long Meixiu walked into her private bathing chambers to find her daughter floating in a wooden tub of clean water. She watched her only child lying with her head back and eyes closed, most likely trying to process the day’s momentous events. Meixiu herself had had to take some time to come to grips with what she had seen and heard as well.

Hours earlier, after Meixiu had woken from her vision from the spilled tea, she and Da had had servants search the palace to see whether their daughter could be found. When it was confirmed that Yu’er was not in the palace, Meixiu knew her fears were not imaginary.

She and her husband immediately gathered some of the best scouts in the clan and set out on a search for their delicate daughter.

Meixiu thought her heart would stop when Lei had said he’d found her. She thought of how terrified Yu’er must have been, stuck in the beast-controlled wilderness. Meixiu wasn’t blind. She knew her daughter always put on a brave face when around her family and continually insisted on defying their instructions to be safe and just sit behind the palace walls where she could be protected.

But a mother knew. Her daughter was a tiny flower in a garden of mighty plants, unable to survive without the support of a gardener to care for her.

Meixiu’s relief at seeing her daughter alive in the bottom of that crater had caused her to fall to her knees on the muddy ground. She had thanked the gods repeatedly in her mind until her daughter was in her arms and under her protection.

Meixiu had decided at the moment of their embrace that she would put her foot down from that point forward and not allow her daughter outside of the palace again. Who cared what others thought? Yu’er was too vulnerable.

Or at least that was what she had thought… until she had felt the hug that she was receiving being returned. Her daughter had never been strong enough to return a hug that tight before. And then Meixiu had realized Yu was taller. And wider. Even under the blanket, she had felt how her daughter was physically larger than she remembered.

Then she had heard her daughter whisper in her ear that she needed to speak privately. That by itself was rare, as her daughter seldom requested a private audience. She usually only did that when she had questions about lessons or something she couldn’t understand from the library. But the main surprise had been the tone of her daughter’s voice. There had been a confidence and… demand, perhaps? She hadn’t been asking, she had been telling. Meixiu's daughter never demanded anything. Ever.

And then she and the family members whom her husband trusted had heard Yu’er’s story. It was awful, with the Jing and their disgusting behavior toward a child barely thirteen and many times weaker than them. But that wasn’t even the worst of it.

When her daughter had shared how painful her life had been, Meixiu had nearly clawed at her own blind eyes. How had she not known? How had they not known? Sure, Yu never came to them with complaints, but were they truly so ignorant? Was Yu’er that miserable? Had her family truly made her want to die?

Her precious daughter had wanted to die. What was worse was that it was not to end her own pain, but to bring an end to the dishonor she felt she had placed on her clan. On those in the room. Those she should have been most able to depend on. Those that should have protected her. Like her mother.

Meixiu felt like a failure. As a mother, a clan elder, and a leader. She was a failure.

Well, that would change now. Meixiu had already started working to have a special area built in the palace so that Yu’er’s potential could be fulfilled while keeping her safe.

Meixiu knew that her lord husband, the Patriarch of their clan and lord of the city, had different priorities. She would attempt to subtly guide him as much as possible. Before she had died, her mother had taught Meixiu that all wives of powerful men guide their husbands from behind the scenes.

“It is our responsibility to prevent stubborn men from wrecking the world,” she had told Meixiu more than two centuries ago.

And Da was indeed stubborn. Realistically, he was just as stubborn as his daughter, so it might prove something of a challenge. Meixiu figured that Yu’er probably inherited her hardheadedness from him. Maybe she could convince her husband to bring in some outside help. He had occasionally mentioned an old teacher of his that he respected and feared in equal measure.

Either way, his daughter was now a new person. And this was proven once again as Meixiu approached and looked at the figure in the tub. She sat on the stool by her daughter and examined her… new body?

Yu’er’s muscled form was a surprise. From what she recalled, her daughter had been mostly skin and bones, no matter how much she ate. But this creation before her had a beauty that exceeded her own at that age. Sure, she didn’t have a womanly figure yet, but she would.

Meixiu just sat and watched her daughter for a while until clearing her throat. As a result, she stared into two stunning eyes that made her think of liquid silver. Meixiu blinked and realized her daughter’s irises matched her hair, floating in and on the clear water. Yu’er had the eyes of a Fenghuang and the hair of a Long.

Her daughter was an exquisite creature who would bewitch men of all statuses. Oh yes, her daughter would be able to pick from only the best. Just like Meixiu herself had.

She placed her arms on the edge of the tub and told her daughter, “You are going to be a beautiful woman. Men will be falling all over themselves to court you. Soon I will teach you about becoming a woman.”

Meixiu still remembered her own mother’s lecture on the topic of sex. At the time, it had been mortifying. But Meixiu had used that advice not even a year later. Now she would offer the same advice to her daughter, as was her responsibility as a mother.

Meixiu chuckled, thinking about her daughter’s future suitors lining up to fight each other for even a chance to have tea with her.

Yu’er apparently did not find it appealing in the least. Meixiu watched her daughter shudder at even the thought.

“I have no interest in boys beyond their ability to help me train,” Yu told her. “They stink, have prideful attitudes, worry more about face than actually getting anything done, and are generally too dull to be worth my time. Although there are one or two I can speak with for a few minutes in the library without wanting to stab them in the face.”

Meixiu couldn’t help herself. She, the killer of thousands, the slayer of mighty beasts, the second-strongest cultivator in the city, the summoner of lightning and purifier of evil, fell off her stool and onto the floor in fits of hysterical laughter.

Da spent the following days arranging for a private training hall and staff for what would be Yu’s next few years. He had agreed with his second wife’s recommendation and had decided to invest heavily in the training area. Their daughter had too much potential and could offer too much to the clan not to. It was a combined investment for growth and protection.

The newly enclosed area of the city lord’s estate, which used to be set aside for guests, had a training center customized just for his daughter and whomever he and Meixiu assigned to be her instructors, guards, servants, and so forth. Da had walked through the area earlier that morning and found it passable. He was glad that his city was filled with Earth and Wood affinity cultivators, as otherwise the construction would have taken months.

As per his design, the courtyard and garden area was nearly two hundred paces long and one hundred wide. Not that it was all open. In essence, it would be a fully enclosed home, exercise center, meditation grotto, and training area. Yu’er would have a private bedchamber, bathing room, freshwater-fed pond, a section of grass, a section of hardened earth covered by sand, and a small bamboo garden. All the furniture was either bamboo or wood from the forest outside the city.

It was now three days after all the revelations about his daughter had come to light, and Da was sitting at a table in the grassy area of the newly constructed training ground. Around the table with him were four others he trusted, and unsurprisingly, the topic of discussion was his daughter and her future. Currently, they were deliberating over how to approach her training.

Their overall goal was to protect and develop Yu’er until she was old enough and sufficiently advanced in cultivation to apply to a sect where she would be protected. Only utter fools attacked sects, given their powerful elders and leaders. At least that was the idea. But she had to grow enough and survive long enough before they could get her into one.

“She should take up the mantle of an Ether-wielder.” That advice came from Fenghuang Ding, a clan elder whom Da trusted implicitly. He was adopted into the clan, and they had been allies and blood brothers for over two centuries.

“Won’t that put a target on her? I thought we were doing this to protect her,” Lei, Da’s heir apparent, responded to that recommendation. Lei would be assigned a few hours per week to act as both Yu’er’s guard and trainer.

“We are,” Ding said. “Very few in this city know anything about what Ether can do, and thus any slip-ups in her training that might expose her special nature can be assigned to their ignorance of Ether. And we will only release the knowledge when we are ready, or it is forced upon us. Again, that it is Ether is our excuse for hiding it and the inevitable strange happenings.”

“So, we basically keep waving our hands and saying, ‘Oooooh, Ether is mysterious,’” said Lei as he waved his hands while wiggling his fingers.

“Exactly!” Ding exclaimed, pointing at Lei and nodding happily.

Zhao spoke then. “That is actually quite clever. I like it.” He was rubbing his chin, as he tended to do when thinking. “Our city is small and remote enough that few spiritualists of sufficient strength or standing will be likely to come. And when the time comes to release the news about Yu, my people can plant a few seeds here and there in advance.”

Spiritualists were Ether-wielders, the way Warriors were Aura-wielders and Mages were Mana-wielders.

“Fine, that is decided,” Da said with finality. “Now, what cycling technique will Yu’er use? Do we have any that won’t hamper her down the road?”

Da then thought of using this as a learning opportunity, and turned to his son. “Lei, explain for me why this matters,” he ordered.

Lei sat up straighter and answered. “A Qi cycling technique defines how the cultivator takes in Qi gifted from the Heavens and Earth and cycles it through their body. The method is crucial because Qi modifies the body’s structure, which alters its meridians – not the number, but the flow pathways. The wrong technique would result in a flawed meridian structure, which could cause anything from something as harmless as slightly slow Qi flow to something terminal like Qi deviation. For example, if I, a cultivator who uses Aura, had learned a cycling technique for Mana-wielders, that would have hampered or ruined my body and cultivation future. In my sister’s case, she should, if at all possible, use a technique that would not hinder the flow of Aura, Mana, or Ether, nor have any specific affinity bias. And of course it mustn’t have a meridian cap. If something like that even exists.”

Da smiled and nodded once to his son. He was proud of having such a thoughtful heir. Not only did he know the facts, but he could make leaps of logic and come to the correct conclusions.

Ding followed up, pulling Da’s attention back. “Agreed. What we are looking for is something affinity and Qi-type neutral, and as open-ended as possible in regards to meridians.”

Da looked toward a stooped older man with a long pointed white beard that almost reached the ground. “Librarian Shi, do we have anything like that?” he asked.

The oldest cultivator in the family slowly rubbed his beard and closed his wrinkled eyes. A full minute passed before they snapped open again, and he spoke in a voice that sounded like he was perpetually gasping for air.

“I may have something. It is a scripture called the Azure Dragon’s Heart. It was found generations ago by one of our ancestors in the tomb of a long-dead immortal. He nearly died to get it but gave what parts he recovered to the clan before he went into seclusion and vanished. As it is only part of the scripture, there are a great deal of unknowns, and thus risks. And you must understand its cycling structure is utterly bizarre; I have not seen its like in all my centuries. What’s more, it is neutral in all things, meaning it will be a slow path and will take many times as long and be many times as hard as a specialized technique. If you wish to proceed, I will have it brought by tonight. I frankly had no idea why anyone would use such a useless thing until this very moment.”

Da leaned forward on his elbows. “That is our only choice unless we wish to give away information, which we absolutely will not. Lei will retrieve it after the evening meal.” Turning to his son, he said, “I apologize for using you as a messenger but until we have a trustworthy staff…”

Lei bowed his head. “I understand, lord father.”

Scanning the group one member at a time, Da stated in a voice that he hoped would get his message across. “Remember, the clan is our priority, and growing its power our goal. Yu’er is my daughter, yes. But she could also prove herself an unmatched asset for our clan. Imagine what we could accomplish with her enchanting alone – assuming she can – never mind her affinities and combat potential.”

Everyone around him nodded, and he continued, “Now, the next item on the agenda. We will need nominations for the city tournament and to decide on resource provisioning for them. We have no idea if Yu’er will be able or ready to compete in a year, and thus must prepare for both contingencies. Either way, we have many names to talk through.”

Da took multiple pieces of parchment from his spatial ring and laid them on the table for discussion. He picked one up and said, “Let’s start with…”

“Gah! I’m so bored!” Later that evening Yu was pacing on the open grassy area of her new courtyard and waving her arms in frustration. “I need to do something.”

Yu couldn’t remember the last time she had just sat around doing nothing. She was pretty much always either training or recovering from training. Or in the library. And none of those things was an option. She had been forbidden, rather harshly, from training because she wasn’t allowed to use Qi without guidance. And she couldn’t leave to go to the library and risk being seen. In short, she had no idea what to do with herself, and that made her antsy.

It was her brother’s turn to babysit, which in and of itself was insulting and constraining. As a result, he received the brunt of her frustration.

Without taking his eyes off the scroll he was reading while sitting in one of her chairs, Lei responded in a bland tone. “Yu’er, our lord father has forbidden you from doing anything that might expose you to others or to Qi. Which includes pretty much everything except stretching, reading, and playing games.”

“I know!” Yu stomped her foot. “But I’m going to explode if I don’t use some energy.”

While she certainly didn’t want to send the gods any inkling of being ungrateful for their grace in healing her, Yu felt cramped. At least before, when she was ignored, she could pretty much go anywhere as long as she was careful. Now she was stuck with a body that she could actually use, and nobody was allowing her to use it.

“Gah!” Yu called as she stomped her foot again, her arms crossed before her.

Chuckling, Lei said, “It amazes me how sometimes you act your age, and sometimes you seem an adult.”

Yu humphed at him and turned away, resuming her pacing.

With a smile he said, “I’ve been told that the cultivation technique old Librarian Shi found has promise. So hopefully father and mother will finish going over it and you can begin building your foundation.”

Yu bounced on her toes in anticipation of finally beginning her cultivation journey.

“Let’s fight,” she said to him in her excitement.

She wanted to try out her new body. She figured surely one little practice session wouldn’t hurt. Right?

Lei let out a sigh. “No,” was his infuriatingly concise answer.

Yu was about to whine at him again when the palace alarm started to go off. The wincingly loud wail that rose and fell in pitch was caused by specially designed and enchanted towers placed throughout the city.

Lei jerked his head up from his reading. “Wait, that’s not just the palace. That’s the whole city,” he said loud enough to be heard above the claxon.

An alarm sounding throughout the city meant that either an army was approaching or a beast wave was threatening. Thus, all those who could fight were being ordered to assemble at one of their own clan’s predetermined locations, whereas those that could not would be directed to more defensible areas.

These things did happen occasionally, and usually ended with everyone grumbling about the wasted time and silver. But once in a while there were actual threats to the city that called for all the cultivators to defend it in some way. Even the youngest and weakest cultivators were put to work protecting the mundanes, moving objects to function as defenses, or acting as messengers.

One of their father’s personal guards entered hurriedly. He bowed to Yu and Lei politely and stated in a voice without inflection, “The clan chief has ordered Fenghuang Lei to attend him, and Fenghuang Yu to remain here.”

Yu’s face hardened and her fists clenched in frustration. Her father was right of course, but that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it.

Lei stood, placed his scroll on the table next to him, turned to his sister and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Do I need to lecture you on staying here where it’s safe? You do understand your situation, don’t you?”

Yu’s entire body slumped and she mumbled, “Yes, I understand. I’ll stay.” Then she stepped up to her much larger brother and gave him a hug. “Be safe,” she whispered to him.

He patted her head gently, extricating himself from the squeeze. Yu watched as he jogged out to do his duty for his family, clan, and city with the guard close on his heels.

Like she had always dreamed she one day would.

TEN

Visitor

An hour of nervous pacing later, and Yu knew it was a real battle. She had tied her long silver hair in a ponytail behind her and it whipped around each time she spun in her pacing. The sounds of combat could be heard even there in the city lord’s estate in the center of the city.

Explosions, collapsing structures, and screams of rage, victory, and agony echoed throughout the city and her ears despite the distance and the walls of the palace. She was also aware of who the attackers were. Or what they were in this case, as the roar of a mighty beast could be heard, followed by more explosions and collisions.

She had visions of her parents, brother, and uncles fighting for their lives – or gods forbid, fallen and dying in the streets. A few minutes later Yu had worked herself into near hysterics as she ran to the door of her training center and pounded on it with the side of her fist. “Guard!”

The door opened and a young woman said, “Yes, Young Mistress?” Oh for… As she was no longer a cripple, she now had a damn family title. Those were reserved for important people. Like her brother was “Patriarch’s Heir,” she was now “Young Mistress.” There was some level of importance to it, but right now she couldn’t have cared less about any sort of theoretical authority.

The whole point of titles was to emphasize they were high-level nobles in the city. Being a noble granted a certain level of gravitas and authority in both the clan and their society. Yet to Yu, it was mostly just a way for people with wealth and power to laud it over others. But none of that was relevant at the moment.

“Tell me you have some news about my family. Or the city? Anything?” The woman’s face didn’t change, and Yu pleaded with her voice and eyes. “Please? I’m worried. It’s maddening not knowing what’s going on.”

The guard’s face softened, and she said gently, “I have no news, Young Mistress. But I will send a messenger to a command center to ask. All right?”

Yu let out a puff of air, slumped in relief and nodded quickly. “Yes. Thank you.” At least that was something.

The guard closed the door and Yu went back to the sandy area she was doing her stretches in. A “meditation garden,” her father had called it. She decided to sit by the small pond and try to calm down if she could, which she doubted.

Even as Yu sat, the sounds of battle echoed softly through her garden. She closed her eyes to focus, but instead of calming her, visions of her mother being mauled by some giant canine or her brother’s mangled corpse being trampled by a massive armored creature invaded her mind.

“Ugh. I can’t do this. To hells with it. They can yell at me later.”

Yu leaped up from her seated position directly into a handstand… and fell right over, having completely overbalanced. She blinked up at the starry night sky, trying to figure out what had happened. And then she remembered her new body and smiled. Sure, she would need to retrain her body in its old habits, but the reason for doing so would make it totally worthwhile.

With a grin, Yu reached over her head and pressed her hands to the sandy ground. Pushing down with her arms and lifting up with her torso and hips, she flipped upward, only to land on her feet but then tumble forward, once again having used too much strength. She didn’t fall on her head, but it was close. Still, the smile never left her face.

An hour later, Yu was balanced on her hands, legs spread in an upside-down split. She turned on her hands, causing her whole body to spin. After a few breaths of this, she whipped her legs around and swept them under her while a perfectly timed swapping of hands allowed her to keep the momentum and then sweep back up into a solid handstand, her legs straight and toes pointed. The only movement was the rising and falling of her chest.

Her smile grew as she lowered her body by bending her elbows to the point that the tip of her head was just a finger’s width from the sand. There was a barely perceptible shaking in her arms as she held the position for three breaths and then released it as she pushed herself back up. Her body did not tilt or waver in the least.

Yu repeated this until her arms burned, then she let them collapse out from under her and tucked and rolled on the fine sand of the meditation garden. She continued the roll back to her feet, then stumbled to an ungraceful stop as she noticed a large black cat standing just a pace in front of her.

Yu froze perfectly still. The massive feline’s shoulder went up to her neck, and its glowing red eyes were staring straight into her silver ones. Yu realized its eyes were solid red, with no white or black iris. That caused a fuzzy memory to attempt to surface in her mind, but Yu then felt a pain in her head and it faded. She wobbled slightly at the disorientation, but shook it off and looked for any means of escape.

The next thing Yu knew, a black paw flashed into her vision and she was propelled backward, barely able to breathe from the strike to her chest. Yu’s body tumbled and rolled until it splashed into the shallow waters of the pond. Her chest and head were lying on the dry rocks and her stomach, waist, legs, and feet were dangling into the water. Stunned from the blow, Yu was desperately gasping for air. Her torso hurt as she tried to get her chest and diaphragm to work properly. Then in front of her face a massive black paw the size of her head slammed down onto the sand, causing it to fly up in a puff.

Claws that filled Yu’s vision extended out from the paw and then retracted as the cat pressed on her shoulder and flipped her onto her back on the sand. A massive black head stared down at her.

Another strange vision of another large feline head swam into Yu’s mind and then vanished.

Gasping for breath, Yu looked beyond the cat and toward the stars. With as much breath as she could spare, she asked the sky, “Really? I just started living again, and now this?”

A purring female voice sounded in her mind, and grew so loud it causing her to flinch and grab at her head. “Do you now seek forgiveness from the heavens for what you have done?”

A few moments later Yu was able to shake her mind clear. Had a massive demonic beast just spoken to her? Assuming so, Yu asked, “Umm, did you just speak to me? If so, could you lower your voice slightly?”

The cat’s lips pulled back and gigantic fangs showed a hand’s width from Yu’s face.

The voice echoed again, causing Yu’s mind to pound with each word. “Yes, human, I did and I could. And why should I spare you pain when you have caused so much?”

Yu groaned and rolled onto her side, still holding her head in her hands. In a gasping voice she moaned out, “I’ve never hurt anyone.”

“Liar!”

Yu rolled on the ground, her mouth open in a silent scream as the word reverberated in her skull. The cat leaned closer, her fangs the only thing Yu could see.

Panting and groaning, Yu whispered through the tears pouring from her eyes, “I’ve been a cripple my whole life. I couldn’t have hurt anyone, even if I’d wanted to.”

The cat’s head stopped a finger’s width away from Yu, and her lips closed over her fangs. She blinked and tilted her massive head sideways. The beast’s nostrils flared, but she took no other action. A voice slightly less painful spoke again in Yu’s mind, “I smell him on you. You are not injured. I saw you training just now and smell no weakness in you... yet I also scent no lie in your words. How can that be?”

Crystal-blue eyes flashed into Yu’s mind and then once again faded. After an unknown amount of time had passed, Yu blinked her mind clear. She very slowly rolled to the side and sat up, not making any move that the creature could take as aggressive. “I wasn’t a cultivator until just a few days ago.”

Why did she keep having strange visions? And why did she feel a… connection to this terrifying beast? The more they spoke, the less she feared. Why?

Taking a breath she said in a low voice, “If you tell me who you’re looking for, maybe I can help.”

The feline gracefully stepped back and began her own pacing in front of Yu. “My husband and lord. His scent is all over you,” she answered.

Yet another memory flashed across Yu’s vision – of a mighty white tiger with black stripes – and then her head pounded and she fell onto her back again.

The black beast’s nostrils flared and her glowing red eyes widened.

A whispered “No” echoed through Yu’s mind as she recovered from the vision.

The next words from the cat were spoken aloud, but with little force, and they caused no pain. “He chose you? A human?”

Getting back up to a sitting position unsteadily and crossing her legs, Yu rubbed her temples. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I think I know something but I can’t remember. I wish I could help.” And she did want to help. Yu didn’t know why she did, but she absolutely wanted to help this beast. This… protector?

Where had that word come from?

Interrupting her confused thoughts, the voice in her mind came back as a purr. “Child, you did help, or he wouldn’t have chosen you. He placed a block on your mind so you would not remember until the right time. I can smell his power and blood in you.”

Yu mumbled, “Power and blood.” Then her eyes widened and she called out quickly, “Sign. Titles.”

Titles: The Corrupted, The Blessed, Tiger’s Blood

She mumbled, “Tiger’s Blood.”

Turning back to the cat, Yu asked, “Umm, miss. Was your husband a tiger? White and black?” Yu desperately wished she could remember more. It couldn’t be coincidence.

The cat’s massive head moved up and down fluidly as she spoke, “He gifted you a portion of his power.”

She lay down in front of Yu, crossing her massive front paws and laying her head down on them. “What is your name, child?” she asked.

Yu dismissed the God Sign and answered, “Fenghuang Yu. Yu is my given name and means Jade in the ancient language.”

The cat lifted her head. “Jade? Really?”

Yu nodded and the cat lowered her head back down and said, “I wonder if he knew.” It sounded like it was said more to herself than to Yu.

“Miss. Do you have a name? I told you mine.”

A chuffing sound came from the beast and Yu realized that she was laughing. “Wumu is my name. It means ‘ebony.’ I’m pleased you know the elder tongue. It is rare in your kind.”

“My father requires all his children to learn the language. You have a beautiful name. I will call you Ebony from now on, if that’s all right.” Then Yu chuckled. “Ebony and Jade. I wonder if your husband had a thing for beautiful crafts.”

Ebony chuckled too. “He did indeed. His collection is… was the envy of our territory.” Yu saw a large sparkling tear falling from the giant cat’s eye.

Feeling sad for her, Yu said, “I’m sorry for your loss. He sounds like a wonderful husband and… errr… person, I guess?”

Ebony lifted her head and said wistfully, “He will be missed. And now our territory and soon our son will be vulnerable. I am not as strong as he was.”

Feelings of fear and desperation flooded Yu from somewhere, and without thinking she asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

Yu blinked at her own question. But upon reflection she didn’t regret it.

Firming her resolve she continued, “I’m not powerful myself, but maybe I can convince my father or mother to do something. They’re strong.”

Ebony’s red eyes flared as she stared at Yu silently for many breaths. Then she asked, “Will you let me taste your blood, child?”

Taste her blood? And Yu had had a fleeting hope she might survive the night.

The fear must have shown on her face because Ebony chuffed again. “Just a drop or two,” she explained.

Oh. Well, that isn’t so bad. “Um, can I ask why?”

“To answer your question.”

Without another word, Yu held out her bare arm.

Ebony raised her head and stated flatly, “You trust too readily, Jade.”

Yu just shrugged. “I’d be dead already if you wanted it, so what’s the point in not trusting you? Plus, I like you. I can’t explain it, but I feel a… connection. Or that there’s something familiar about you, perhaps.” She shook her head and said, “Go ahead.”

Ebony’s paw extended and a claw the length of Yu’s entire hand pressed out from it. Yu nervously smiled, turned her head away and closed her eyes tight. She felt a slight pressure and pinch, and then it was over.

“Be easy, Jade.”

Yu turned back in time to see Ebony’s giant pink tongue lick the claw and return into Ebony’s mouth before the paw returned to the sand. Once again, the feline’s eyes glowed brightly and then shadows extended around her. Yu was fascinated by the undulating patches of darkness and simply watched them for a time, entranced.

She was broken out of her trance when Ebony spoke again. “I see. He’s there. Along with something else. But also lacking.”

Yu didn’t have a clue what she meant, but before she could ask, the massive cat had stood and taken a single step toward her. Ebony opened her mouth and licked Yu’s neck. Yu froze solid as she felt a slight pinch and the tingle of something entering her and flowing throughout her body. Yu turned her head and shuddered slightly at the sensation.

Ebony stepped back and said, “Like my husband, I have gifted you something that you will need. Once it awakens within you, we will see each other again. I must return to my lands. Something is stirring and I must take my subjects and discover what has happened and why. Please do not speak of me to anyone.”

Then the massive black feline turned around, running her tail’s silky black fur along Yu’s face, and was swallowed by a shadow and vanished.

Yu looked around, still struggling with the tingles spreading throughout her body. She lay back onto the sand. She had not realized it until just then, but the sounds of battle had completely ceased outside the palace.

She hoped that her family was all right. Bringing her arm above her head and the other onto her stomach, Yu stared up at the starry night sky, thinking about her mother, father, and brother… and the beautiful cat. Yu decided to agree to Ebony’s request. She would not tell her family.

Yu suddenly blinked and scrunched up her face in confusion. “Wait. Did she say ‘we’?”

Interlude

Three hours prior – Fenghuang Clan defensive position three (northeast of the city center):

With a crunch, Lei yanked his ice-covered staff from the corpse of a three-pace-long green-scaled amphibian. Blood and gore flew with his pull and splattered the cobblestone street and wooden-walled buildings. Lei kneeled down and examined the corpse. Its scales were inflexible and brittle, it had no spiked protrusions at the joints, and only one row of teeth. Yes, this was just a grade 1 demonic beast.

The grades of demonic beasts were broken into low, mid-, and high grades, and could generally be matched with the human cultivation stages. The range had some overlap because every cultivator is different, but grade 1 and 2 beasts were generally equivalent in strength to a Foundation Building Stage cultivator; grade 2 and 3 beasts to a Meridian Formation Stage cultivator; grade 3 and 4 beasts to a Consolidation cultivator; grade 4 and 5 beasts to a Qi Manifestation cultivator; grade 5 and 6 beasts to a Qi Shaping cultivator; grade 6 and some weaker grade 7 beasts to a Form Control cultivator; and finally, the mightiest beasts of grade 7 were only able to be killed by cultivators at the Immortality Stage (if they could be killed at all).

Seeing no other strong creatures near, he turned towards the battling youngsters ten paces to his left, facing another intersection.

A group of sixteen teenage cultivators wielding a mix of sabers, swords, and spears were battling against a group of territorial carnivorous rodents called Spike-backed Borer Moles. They were only grade 1 beasts and individually weak, but when in swarms they could overwhelm even Meridian Formation Stage cultivators.

The sixteen Fenghuang Clan boys and girls were close to failing in their duty to hold back the horde from defenseless cultivator children and normals under their protection at this defensive position. Lei knew it wasn’t their fault, as they were younger than his seventeen years and less talented. Without his help he knew they would fail shortly.

Glancing behind him quickly, he saw a lovely young woman with long black hair holding her own in a corner against what he thought was a grade 2 canine beast of some sort. Ming Ling was her name and she was the only other Meridian Formation Stage cultivator still alive at their guard position.

But neither he nor his charges could afford for him to be distracted. Lei saw that she was not struggling with the beast, so he turned back to the youths’ battle and jogged closer. As he approached, he saw that their skill with weapons was average at best. He would report this to his father and the elder responsible for youth training, who was incidentally Yu’er’s mother. Seeing these youths battle with their weapons made him think of his little sister. He had seen her wield her jian with a grace and ferocity that none of the older teens could match – and that was before she was cured. Weapon skill showed dedication and discipline that often meant faster progress as a cultivator. Had these few had a fraction of his sister’s ability, they would have held their own. And yet none of that mattered, as he was about to demonstrate.

“Get back!” he called loud enough to be heard over the screams of the humans and screeches of the moles. Summoning his Qi, he watched the cultivators leap backward, away from the beasts. Bending his knees low, he pressed down with sufficient force to crack the cobblestones and then leaped into the air toward the swarm. Raising his staff vertically, he landed slightly off-center and thrust downward, the rounded end slamming into the ground with a crack. Releasing his Qi, Lei loosed one of the three Ice affinity skills he had, Iced Burst. It released an explosion of thin ice spikes from his location. The more Qi and meridians he used, the more spikes. With more experience, he would be able to control the size and distribution of the spikes, but he was nowhere near that point yet.

But even with the lack of control, Lei saw that he had killed three-quarters of the mole swarm. One or two of them had even been frozen and shattered by the power of his affinity.

Against Qi skills, which utilized the power of the Heavens and Earth, all the sword skills in the world were irrelevant. Not that his sister would understand that yet. And that was fine. She’d learn.

Taking a breath, Lei looked at the youths huddling back behind the barricades of dirt and stone which they had set up as a safe place to rest and recover as well as a last defense.

“Finish them off,” he ordered.

Their faces were filled with fear and awe at the use of his external Qi. The ones closest to him were rubbing their arms to stave off the chill, and some even had chattering teeth. He winced as he also saw a few with an occasional cut from his misdirected spikes of ice.

Shaking his head at his own lack of control, he turned away. What he saw when he faced the other intersection was the pretty young Meridian Formation Stage cultivator staring at him with one hand on her hip and the other holding up her long bamboo-and-steel spear. She was wearing a glare that told him his chances of them spending a pleasant evening together were slim. At least for now.

“Would you stop shattering the bodies? Do you have any idea how much those are worth?” she demanded.

Lei winced at the admonition he knew was correct. He just did not have sufficient experience and control to avoid damaging at least some of the bodies. He really needed the silver too. In less than six months, he would be leaving his clan and city and heading to a sect.

Sects were basically schools that ranged in size and specialization, and whose goal was to teach future cultivators all about Qi and how to use it. They were many times more effective and detail-oriented than any clan or family could be, so almost all young cultivators went to one to grow. Even the lowliest sect would be better than none.

But going to a sect cost a lot of silver. The tuition, food, skill scrolls, alchemical products, and the like would drain his and his clan’s coffers. Thus, there was a need to keep the beast carcasses intact for sale to the Alchemists’ Association.

He then remembered that Yu’er’s mother was at that moment single-handedly guarding the Alchemists’ Association. As he looked to the southwest and saw an occasional violet flash, he wondered how she would perform. Knowing her, it would no doubt be terrifying and violent.

Long Meixiu ran her hand along the sparking and crackling feline construct she had created. It had six legs, four eyes, two front canines that ran past its jaw by a hand’s length, and a glowing mane and pelt of violet lightning. And this was only one of five patrolling the large Alchemists’ Association pagoda in the middle of Fei Shu City.

Meixiu looked skyward and walked away from her construct, toward the massive Steel-beaked Falcon that had just started a dive toward the tower’s vulnerable upper floors. Purple lightning cracked along her fingers, hands, and arms as she summoned and circulated her Qi in a particular pattern. Her left hand extended outward, pointing directly at the diving beast, while her right moved up halfway along that arm and then back as if pulling a bow string. The lightning ran along both her arms and off her body, forming a glowing bow of sparkling violet energy. She pulled her right hand back to her cheek and chin, and an arrow formed. Despite the fact that it sparked and popped next to her face, she felt nothing but a pleasant tingle against her skin.

Aligning her left arm and giving the creature a minuscule lead, Meixiu released the fingers of her right hand, and, not an arrow, but a bolt of lightning flew toward the creature at nearly the speed of a natural thunderbolt falling from the heavens. The jagged creation of the heavens’ might struck the falcon on the underside of its head and exploded in a bright light and cascade of sparks.

Meixiu nodded to herself as she saw the demonic beast fall lifelessly to the earth. She looked around and found her constructs doing an admirable job of defending one of the city’s most important buildings. The Alchemists’ Association was an intracontinental organization responsible for purchasing and processing much of the materials used to make nearly all medicines and cultivation enhancers. Additionally, for smaller cities like hers that did not rate highly enough to have their own Enchanters’ Hall, it would often act as a sales and processing center for enchantments or enchanted objects. Either way, it was an absolutely critical asset to any human city, and if it fell the city would be hard pressed to survive. Especially since it would likely not be rebuilt. The Association’s elders did not take kindly to the failure of a city to protect its assets and people.

As such, Meixiu had volunteered to lead its defense against this beast wave. It had become quickly apparent that this wave was almost exclusively grade 3 and lower beasts. As such, she had sent away the others assigned to her team. As the second wife of the Patriarch and the second-strongest cultivator in the clan and city, none of them had dared argue. Which was how it should be.

The ground began shaking beneath her feet and she heard a loud crashing to her left. About twenty paces down one of the wide central city roads, Meixiu saw the ground bulge and lift and then explode into shards. A rat four times as long as she was tall burst from the ground and sniffed the air. It clearly had detected the heavily Qi-saturated contents of the pagoda behind her. That was the downside of guarding this particular building. Its contents were a constant attractant to all demonic beasts.

As soon as she saw the creature she started forming another Lightning Bow, one of her many Qi skills. She loved the bow. It was her favorite weapon, although she was an expert in many. Meixiu remembered how proud she was the day she saw her tiny daughter pick up a bow and try to pull the string with her weak, spindly arms. Her daughter…

Meixiu still felt guilty about how she hadn’t protected her child. Her own flesh and blood had been abused by her family and Meixiu hadn’t even realized it. If Yu’er hadn’t told her to not to, she might have taken action against those two brats of her sister-wife. That woman had always hated Meixiu.

Before she realized it, the arrow against Meixiu’s cheek was sizzling so much that the air around it was wavering. She hadn’t realized that, in her anger, she had pushed so much Qi into the skill. Sighing, she released the bolt of energy. It struck the giant rat on the head, vaporizing it in a flash and leaving only ash and sparks.

What a waste. Grade 3 creatures were rare. Ah well. At least she hadn’t blown up a block of houses like her husband had once done. Hopefully, he was controlling himself amid all the chaos.

But if someone got under his skin, all bets were off.

Burning buildings surrounded Fenghuang Da as he walked through what remained of a small commercial district toward the southeastern area of the city.

“Those damn Jing!” Da spat. “What in the nine hells took them so long? They have a responsibility, just like we and the Chao Clan do.”

Orange and yellow flames flared around Da as his anger rose.

He heard and felt one of his clan’s messengers approach and then kneel on the ash-covered ground just behind him. His question was a demand. “What happened?”

“Clan lord,” the messenger responded. “The Jing Clan failed to arrive at and secure the eastern gate in time.”

Da clenched his fists and nodded. He was furious, but he wouldn’t take it out on anyone but those arrogant…

He sighed. “What a mess.”

His walled city had three gates: to the south, east, and west. There was no northern gate because it was against a mountainside. Each of the three major clans was responsible for one of the gates.

At first Da hadn’t been able to figure out why the eastern quarter of the city had been taking so much damage and had so many demonic beasts causing such destruction, but it had become obvious quickly that the gate had not been fully secured.

“Pass my orders to Elder Ding. Send a pacification force to the eastern gate and shore it up before those fools allow even more damage to be caused.”

His instructions given, Da summoned his Qi and used his flames to propel himself toward where he heard an especially loud battle taking place, a number of blocks to his right. When he arrived, he saw a bright green lizard the size of the surrounding homes with four sets of yellow human-head-sized rolling eyes battling eight cultivators from the Jing Clan. They were attempting to occupy its attention while a group of lightly armed young cultivators guided a large group of mundanes away from the fighting to a safer location deeper in the city.

Frustrated, Da thought, Well, if your fool elders had gotten to the gate in time, you wouldn’t be in this situation.

Sighing, he stepped forward and called loudly, “Step back. I’ll take care of it.”

Seven of the eight Jing cultivators looked over at him, then ignored him and went back to the battle. The only one who responded was the oldest of the group. He was a man who looked to be in his fifties in mortal years with small amounts of gray in his mostly black hair and beard.

“Thank you for your kind offer, Patriarch. But the Jing Clan does not currently require assistance from the Fenghuang.”

Da shook his head. They called him Patriarch instead of city lord and then declined assistance based on his clan. In short, they were being prideful fools. There was no way they could survive a battle against a grade 4 Green-spined Anole.

“I come not as the Fenghuang Clan Patriarch, but as the city lord. Allow me to assist before it is too late. That creature is grade 4 and will kill you when it is done playing around.”

In fact, Da had no idea why it hadn’t killed them all already. None of them were its match, or even close, from what he could see. Their Qi skills, mostly Fire and Earth, were too low power to damage its thick Qi-infused scales.

They didn’t consider his offer to be him attempting to help them. They thought it was an insult and glared at him.

“We don’t need your help! Go find someone else to lord your power over,” called one of the younger ones.

Da looked around, ready to do just that and let them all die to their stupidity and stubbornness. Just as he was turning, though, he saw one of the Foundation Building Stage cultivators carrying a filled basket from the battle. The young lady looked to be around his daughter’s age, and was about her height and build, if perhaps half-a-head taller. But those similarities did not matter as Da’s eyes didn’t stay on the girl. They were on the basket. It was overflowing, and sticking out of the top were round, mottled green fruits.

Swearing, he whipped his head back toward the lizard. He noticed that all of its eight yellow eyes, which had been rolling around seemingly randomly to this point, were now entirely focused on the basket.

Those fruits were Sweet Bulbous Melons, and were something of a narcotic to anoles. When eaten, the lizards – both male and female – would go into a frenzy until they found a mate, often destroying swathes of forest or jungle to do so. They went mad for the things. Entire groups had been found dead after they had all battled to the death for a single fruit.

And now these fools had decided it was a good idea to dangle one before the eyes of one inside the city. Just as Da decided it was time to take action, the demonic beast’s scales began to darken.

“Leave now!” Da bellowed to the cultivators who had previously been keeping the beast busy.

“We don’t need you! Look, it’s already failing!” called the same idiot who had yelled back at him before.

Then the creature opened its long, narrow maw filled with sharp yellowed teeth, and let loose a deep roar. The buildings shook, and the dirt- and pebble-covered ground vibrated with its might. The younger cultivators and mundanes screamed.

Da had seen enough. Generally, he would value higher-stage cultivators more than lesser ones, and certainly more than mortals. But these boneheaded fools had proven their lack of worth. If they were of his clan, he might have attempted to save them. But they were Jing, and his priority was always clan first, then city, then family, then everything else. They had refused him, insulted him and his clan, and endangered his city. His decision was made.

Before the lizard’s spikes got any larger and it was able to let them fly at the cultivators and innocents alike, Da withdrew a spear, crouched, and used three Qi skills in succession. First, flames exploded under his feet and sent him flying into the air, above the creature. Second, he sent Fire Qi into the spear, setting it ablaze. And third, he created a pocket of altered and unstable Qi and injected it into the tip of the spear. Then as he reached the apex of his leap, he threw the weapon down at the center of the anole.

Da ignored the exclamations and accusations from the foolish cultivators below as he manipulated more Qi. With precision he knew few could manage, he exploded flames from his body while in midair and redirected himself toward the group of youths. In a flash of fire, he appeared before them just as the spear struck the demonic beast.

A violent explosion boomed, releasing a flash of blinding orange light and causing the ground to shake. Some of the normals and youngest cultivators behind him lost their footing and fell to the rattling earth. With a wave of his arms, a flaming wall appeared between him and the explosion, protecting them all from the shockwave that was about to hit.

Da knew that the Jing Clan cultivators could not have survived that strike, and that he would be hearing about it from the Jing Patriarch at some point. And he really didn’t care. They had deserved it, as did the whole foolish clan. Which reminded him…

He turned toward the group he had protected. Every single face was looking at him with fear and awe. As they should.

He stood firmly before them and said, “The Fenghuang Clan protects this city. You are safe behind us. You have lost your homes to the foolish pride of others, but fear not. The Fenghuang will help you recover, as is the responsibility of the city lord’s clan. I will give you each a pass to come to the City Lord’s Palace and receive food and shelter until your homes can be rebuilt. Fei Shu City is strong. You are strong. Rebuild and live your lives. The Fenghuang Clan is on watch.”

Part Three

CYCLE

First, they created creatures of earth and sky, fire and water. They filled the world with such creatures and watched. As eons passed, their creations grew in both strength and number. They shared their strengths and grew greater as they killed and consumed, and in turn died and added their strength to others.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

ELEVEN

Fear, Doubt, and Failure

Six days later (early spring) – Private training area, estate of the city lord, Fei Shu City:

Sitting cross-legged on the soft grass of her training center, Yu’s back was facing the rising sun so it could warm her this slightly chilly morning. She had just finished breakfast at a speed that was maybe not entirely healthy, but it didn’t matter to her in the least. At that moment, she was staring at a rolled-up parchment in her hands, and was twitching with excitement.

After the beast wave, Yu had grown increasingly anxious to begin cultivating. She wanted to be out there, defending the city and killing beasts with her family.

She had been provided with a summary of events by a mix of family and trusted guards. She’d heard how her brother had led a team and protected a group of youngsters. He had also mentioned something about a young woman whom he was going to have dinner with. He had always been quite popular with the ladies. Either way, Lei had performed quite well, showing off his skills.

Yu’s mother had apparently been quite a sight to see when she had created storms of lightning and even self-aware constructs that had defended the Alchemists’ Association. She had apparently fought off and killed more beasts than any other cultivator in the city. Most importantly (at least according to her), the Association now felt it owed the clan.

And she had heard of her father. She was told, not by him but by Lei, that the city’s illustrious lord had killed the single strongest demonic beast from the wave. A grade 4 lizard of some sort. Additionally, he had shamed the Jing Clan as eight of their supposedly strong cultivators had been battling it together and lost. Their father had killed the thing in a single strike.

It turned out that the Jings, a clan Yu had a personal grudge against, were primarily responsible for so many beasts entering the city. They had failed to hold a gate, and thus a detachment of Fenghuang Clan cultivators had been forced to assist and retake it. They had done so with losses, but by the time they had managed it, the beasts had started withdrawing back into the forest anyway. From what Yu was told, a fight almost broke out between the Jing and Fenghuang cultivators when her clan began blaming and deriding the other for its failures – and deservedly so, in Yu’s opinion. Elders from both clans arrived barely in time to stop the conflict, although they too shared words.

In the end, despite its personnel losses, the Fenghuang Clan would walk away from this small beast wave with huge gains in face, reputation, favors, and silver. Overall, her clan had showed that it ran the city for a reason. The Jing, on the other hand, had lost much face and would be paying for repairs to the east gate themselves. The Chao Clan had acquitted itself well, but not nearly as well as the Fenghuang.

Yu’s pride had been nearly bursting through her chest when she had heard all the various reports. She felt that one day soon she would be out on the field of battle with her family, fighting beasts and earning face for her clan and family.

And thus, she was vibrating with excitement to start her cultivation journey.

Apparently, she was supposed to “see herself,” or something. According to her brother, everyone saw themselves as something different. He saw himself as a glacier that slowly moved as he improved. When he was young, her father had seen himself as a man of flames that became hotter and brighter as he progressed. Her mother saw a storm that grew in intensity.

But before she saw herself, Yu needed to be calm. In fact, her mother had nagged her repeatedly when she had handed over the Azure Dragon’s Heart scripture. She had told Yu that she needed to be calm and in control when trying to cycle. Especially the first time. Frankly, Yu wasn’t sure how she was supposed to do that. She had been waiting her entire life for this chance. How was she supposed to remain calm?

So with shaking hands, Yu slowly unrolled the Azure Dragon’s Heart scroll and read the first section that was labeled only as “Foundation of the Skin.” The scroll went into a shocking amount of detail as regards how to gather and move Qi through her body. It felt utterly bizarre. The technique instructed her to send Qi to her skin through a truly roundabout method. Yu had had no idea that it was so complicated.

The classes she had snuck into had made it seem so simple. She closed her eyes and remembered a particular class for cultivators who had just been granted permission to begin cultivating and were being provided with their cycling technique. As always, her mind recalled every detail perfectly, as if she were reliving that very moment…

The wrinkled, hunched-over teacher rubbed his long white beard as he instructed the room of nearly thirty youths. “You are here because your bodies and minds are mature enough to cultivate. However, before you begin your cultivation journey, you must understand how the different types of Qi work and how you can use them to enter the first level of the Foundation Building Stage.

“You know there are three types of Qi in our world. First, and most common, is Aura Qi. Which of you are Aura users?”

Yu was hiding just outside the room so she could only see the instructor, but she heard what sounded like a substantial amount of shuffling.

“Yes. Almost all of you. You will find that Aura Qi is thick and strong like dry bamboo. When you cultivate with Aura, it will add a level of robust firmness to your body. In the Foundation Building Stage, you will notice your body become physically tougher, more difficult to damage with blade or staff. As you advance through your cultivation, Aura users will use Qi skills more focused on the physical side of things and will be predisposed to melee combat – at least for the foreseeable future.

“For the three of you that did not raise your hands, you all have access to the far rarer Mana Qi. As I am a Warrior and not a Mage, the clan will be providing a special teacher for you. Perhaps even one of the senior elders, if you are fortunate and skilled enough.”

Yu heard some muttering at that. It sounded like the Warriors-to-be were not thrilled that their Mage compatriots would be receiving specialized instruction.

“That will do,” the old man said with a little bite. “Despite my being a Warrior, I can still instruct you on the basics of Mana Qi. You will find as you absorb Qi into your body that your body gains malleability. You will find you can adapt your body with your will. As you move forward in your cultivation journey, that flexibility will extend outside of your body as you bend the Qi itself to your desires. The world will become more pliant. Your individual instructor will explain in greater detail.

“And finally, Ether Qi, the rarest and most mysterious of all. As none in this class – or in the clan, for that matter – are Spiritualists, I will not get into it.”

After a short and boring question-and-answer session that added nothing to the lesson from Yu’s perspective, the instructor finally got around to the act of cultivating.

“You have all received, or will receive after this lesson, a cycling technique that fits your needs. As most of you are Fire or Earth Warriors, you will likely have access to the same technique manuals provided by the clan. Each manual is of high quality, and you may not remove one from clan property. They will be accessible only within the clan lord’s estate, and we will be checking them in and out for your study and use. Our clan lord spilled much blood, including his own, to acquire and provide the techniques you will use. I hope you appreciate what you have access to and will not squander the opportunity. Any attempt to steal a manual will result in your arrest, trial, and likely execution. There will be no tolerance of this from any clan cultivator of any level of cultivation.

“Moving on, for those of you who are not Fire or Earth Warriors, you will, once again, work with specialists to receive your cycling techniques. The same rules apply, in case you are thinking you are special in some way.

“Cycling techniques are what we use to move Qi through our bodies. In the case of those in the Foundation Building Stage like you, we will give you specific instructions on how to absorb Qi directly into your body and enhance it. The first stage is moving it into your skin and is always rather simple. That said, most of you will find it somewhat challenging to actually pull the Qi into yourselves. At least initially. That is normal. Most find they are able to begin the process within a few days of trying. Some can take as much as a week or two, but some struggle more than others because they fail to follow instructions well or are too lazy to really work hard at it. Or they are less competent, or have a weak affinity. There can be any number of reasons. Generally, it will be overcome in short order with the support of the clan. I assure you, if you are failing, especially due to your own lack of effort, the clan has many ways to… motivate you.

“The clan is investing in you. Will you, in return, be of value? Will you prove yourselves to the clan? Will you add to your clan, or be a burden? Decide. Now, you are dismissed to acquire your technique and begin your cultivation journey in service to those that feed and shelter you. Go.”

Yu opened her eyes and reflected on the old teacher’s final questions. She had, in fact, been a burden for most of her life. She would have died without the shelter of her family and clan. As the instructor had requested, Yu would finally prove their investment worthwhile.

Looking down and reading the first section of the Azure Dragon’s Heart again, Yu closed her eyes and breathed. There was a specific breathing pattern the scripture instructed her to follow, so she did. The pattern seemed a bit complicated to her. It involved breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth in an odd cadence. She had to fill her lungs partially or fully and then empty them again in a similarly bizarre pattern. It was quite odd and challenging. How could she know how much air was half or a quarter of her maximum?

It took Yu until the sun was over halfway across the sky before she felt she had matched the pattern. It was actually a somewhat familiar exercise for her. Constant adjustment based on practice was how she had learned her martial skills, and this was, in a strange way, similar.

It was a surreal moment when Yu finally succeeded and breathed out the last exhalation of the complex pattern. She felt the world fade from around her. Her mind was taken to her past. As with everything she remembered, it was crystal clear in all her senses…

She was wheezing for breath while hiding behind a pillar to escape from a boy of her clan. Her hands, clammy with sweat, pressed into the rough-grained wooden pillar she hoped would be her refuge.

Yu heard his voice echo through the dark, empty hall. She prayed to the gods that he wouldn’t find her.

She shouldn’t have been there at that time. It was empty of adults due to a clan meeting. Yu had had no idea the place would be empty, or she would never have fled there.

“Where’d the freak go?” the familiar voice of one of her brothers echoed through the deserted hall.

“He told us he chased her in here,” came a voice she recognized as some branch family child.

“Freak!” an unfamiliar third voice barked loudly and suddenly enough to make Yu jump. Unfortunately, they heard her movement.

“Over there!” She then heard their footsteps running closer.

Yu ran to the nearest door, knowing she wouldn’t make it. She was too weak and slow.

“Stop there, freak,” called the second voice, frighteningly close. Then she felt the front of her shirt tighten as she was pulled back by her collar.

Yu was held from behind by an arm across her chest as something was pulled over her eyes, and then she was yanked around and felt a slap across her face.

At the memory of the sharp sting on her face, Yu’s eyes snapped open and she gasped. Leaning forward, she put both hands on the grass as she took quick short breaths, her terror tangible. She still felt the tingle on her cheek as she watched a tear fall from her downturned face onto the green grass and brown dirt beneath her.

Yu watched as the drop was absorbed. Eventually, she was able to slow her breathing.

“It was just a memory,” she whispered to herself.

Getting control of herself, Yu sat back and looked up, seeing the sun had shifted another span further. It had taken nearly an hour for her to gain control once again.

Nodding to herself, she got up, went into her quarters, splashed some water on her face, drank one swallow, and returned.

Yu remembered every word of the Azure Dragon’s Heart scripture, but decided to read it again. She tried to read further to see if it spoke of her experience, but failed. It seemed to blur when she attempted to read anything beyond the “Foundation of the Skin” section.

Taking a breath, she put aside the scripture, returned to her seated “lotus” position as described in the scripture, and returned to her breathing.

This time, it took less effort for her to match the technique’s breathing pattern, and once again she faded into a memory. This one was worse than the last. She had been younger and hiding under the floor slats of a building, but had been found by a rodent the size of her torso. She had squealed and scrambled out into the hands of her tormentors.

She once again opened her eyes to tears and shuddering breaths.

What am I doing wrong? she thought to herself.

Once again, she regained control of her emotions and attempted the breathing pattern. Again, she woke in tears and shame. And again she tried. And the memories only got worse.

The sun was low by the time she snapped back to the present for the final time that day, only to vomit from the memory of her near death at the hands of Jing Wei.

All that remained of her initial excitement and anticipation was doubt and fear. As far as Yu could tell, she had not even gotten close to beginning to cultivate. Every attempt had failed before it began.

She stared at the darkening but clear sky, watching the first lights of the heavens appear.

“Why?” she whispered to the gods above, tears streaming down the sides of her face.

Was she fated to spend her life on the precipice of victory, seeing her future on the horizon but never able to reach it? Was she still cursed? Perhaps it wasn’t only her body that held her back. Perhaps her soul was as blighted as her body had been.

That thought filled her mind until the sky was fully dark and the heavens teased her with their lights. Climbing to her feet, Yu prepared to face her family and tell them that she had failed.

TWELVE

Grandma Huan

“Focus, child.”

“I’m trying, instructor,” Yu said out loud, although internally she was thinking, If you’d stop nagging I might get it, you old hag.

The white-haired and wrinkled old bat leaning on a cane in front of Yu was attempting to teach her to cycle her Qi. And she had the uncanny ability to always know what Yu was thinking even when she was totally silent.

It had been four weeks since her first failure to cultivate. Her family had attempted to help her. They had tried simpler methods like instructing her in different ways to sit or lie down, rather than the lotus position. And they had pursued less simple and less… pleasant methods, such as having her cultivate while being held by the ankles and hanging upside down. Or while she was underwater until she almost drowned. Or in motion.

Nothing stopped the memories. Every time she woke, it was to the pain of Jing Wei’s blows.

It had come to the point that she was experiencing them while awake. Even now, holding herself up by a single arm, her legs crossed straight into the air, Yu heard the Jings’ derisive words and mocking laughter.

Whack!

The white bone cane smacked into her exposed ribs. The strike was intended as an admonition and would do little actual harm, but it still stung. It woke her from her memory as well, if only temporarily. It also caused Yu to wobble, forcing her to return all her attention to her “training.”

The idea, as Yu understood it, was that forcing her to focus on only one thing would allow her to draw in the Qi of the Heavens and Earth.

Yu’s parents, finally accepting that something was wrong with her cultivation which they could not solve, had called in an old “friend.” A very old friend. Yu remembered the lecture her father had given her when the old hag had arrived…

Glowering down at Yu, her father demanded, “Listen to me, daughter. Grandma Huan has lived for over nine centuries and was one of my instructors when I was young. While not of shared blood, I consider her family. You will refer to her as ‘Instructor’ or ‘Teacher’ and treat her with the greatest respect. Do not dishonor me or your clan.”

Then he turned around and marched out.

After weeks of failed attempts and constantly reliving her worst memories, Yu was not feeling very generous. Her patience with herself and her family, even with her brother, had worn thin.

She called to the empty room, “That’s it? Just here’s an old fart, go learn?”

Then she too turned around and stomped out.

Apparently that was it, because the next day, Grandma Huan, a white-haired, wrinkly old woman in a ragged brown cloak and leaning over a white bone cane, had shown up in her training center. She had looked Yu up and down, harrumphed, and started ordering her around. The old bat had claimed she would help Yu focus, insisting that it was Yu’s fault she could not concentrate enough on the technique to hear the Qi of the Heavens and Earth.

“Your mind focuses too much on your past. Stop. Apply your thoughts to the present long enough and you will find yourself.”

Whatever that means.

How was she supposed to “find herself” while distracted with all the grueling physical activities she was now doing?

Yet there she was, weeks later, her arm shaking from the strain and trying to focus on the present. More specifically, on not presently falling on her head. She thought the ancient bag of bones probably just wanted to watch Yu suffer for thinking bad thoughts of her.

And with that thought, as if the old woman could read her mind, the cane fell again.

Afternoon light filtered through the courtyard, and the smell of early autumn carried on the wind. Three weeks of sore bones and muscles had passed in the blink of an eye. Throughout the city, citizens would be amidst their final harvests and celebrating before they began preparations for the winter.

But not Yu. And certainly not her crochety old teacher.

Instead, Yu was panting and sweaty, exhausted beyond imagining and pressing her hands into the sand of her garden, attempting to raise her body in a final push-up while Grandma Huan’s cane was pressing into the center of her back and forcing her down. Yu’s arms and chest muscles were shuddering with the effort and her teeth were gritted with the strain of fighting off the old woman’s unfathomable strength. Her eyes stung from the sweat that ran into them, making it nearly impossible to see anything but the blurry sand beneath her.

Finally. Finally, Yu pressed back enough to rise until her elbows were just short of locking, and the pressure vanished. She collapsed onto the sand, gasping for breath and barely able to keep her eyes open. The sand stuck to her sweat-soaked form, and some even entered her mouth as she inhaled greedily. Yu couldn’t have cared less about the sand in her mouth. After hours of physically and mentally draining exercise, she could barely stay conscious.

Yu’s eyelids drifted closed but, just as she began to fade into unconsciousness, a handful of sand splattered against her face. She rolled over and wiped at her mouth and nose, coughing and gagging. A curse exited her mouth and she felt another whack of the bone cane against her flesh that caused her thigh to burn.

Grandma Huan’s cane slammed into the sand a stride from Yu, and then she heard the sugary sweet voice of the old hag say, “If you have energy to swear and play in the sand, you have energy to burn.”

Yu glared up at her “teacher,” but did not speak. She knew by now that talking back was useless, even if only in her mind.

The old woman smiled. “Good. You are learning at last. Now go get some water and then return to this spot and stand at attention. You have one minute.”

One minute later, a drenched and shaky Yu was standing in front of Grandma Huan, her hands by her sides and her back as straight as her sore muscles would allow.

“Tell me child, how do you feel?” her teacher asked.

Yu blinked at the old woman. This was the first time in the weeks they had been together that she had ever spoken anything but orders and instructions.

“Exhausted and sore, instructor.”

Grandma Huan’s wrinkled forehead lowered into a disappointed frown. “Then you are not learning. You annoy me. Remove your outer clothes and stand in the pond up to your waist.”

A groan almost escaped Yu’s mouth, but she just managed to hold it in. Every complaint she let slip only resulted in a longer training session.

“If you have energy to complain, you have energy to burn” was another favorite saying of the old crone.

And that was the general rule Grandma Huan seemed to live by. If Yu had energy to do anything, she must have energy to burn by exercising. Yu imagined that soon she would say that if Yu’s heart had energy to beat then she had energy to burn.

Yu stripped to her smallclothes and waded into the deepest part of the pond, which brought the water to her waist.

“That took too long, child,” her teacher called. “Do it again.”

Growling, Yu splashed back through the water and struggled into her sweat-soaked clothes. Then she stripped quicker and got back in the pond, staring at the old woman.

“Good. Now lower yourself to where your mouth is just above the waterline by bending only your knees. Keep your back perfectly straight.”

Yu did, finding it not too difficult. Leg exercises had always been easier for her than upper body ones, and the water acted as a good buoyancy to reduce the weight of her torso. Yu thought that this exercise might not be so bad. As usual, though, Grandma Huan read her mind and ruined her life.

“Now leap upward and return to the same position when complete.”

Yu did so, and found that the resistance of the water made it far more difficult than if she were on land. When she was back into her submerged crouch she glared at the sadistic old crone, awaiting what she knew would come next.

“Your anger at me is causing you to waste energy, child. Burn it off by repeating that exercise thirty times. Now.”

Another two torturous weeks passed. Day after day, Yu was subjected to the whims of her merciless teacher. She was isolated as well. Nobody was now allowed to see her but Grandma Huan. All prior plans were changed when Yu had failed to cultivate.

All she knew were aching muscles and endless fatigue. Yet still she made no progress in driving away her memories or actually cultivating. If anything, things were now worse. In her exhaustion, Yu’s mind constantly revisited those horrible moments in the clearing.

Yu knew no happiness, no peace. Nothing but memories of fear and failure. Her dreams, her waking hours… her world was nothing but memories of pain that mirrored her physical suffering.

The sun was high in the sky and Yu’s eyes were leaking tears into the sand of her training center. Her muscles shook while she lifted her entire body weight by a single arm. When she reached almost full extension, she attempted to lower herself slowly again, but her exhaustion overwhelmed her and her arm collapsed out from under her.

What she usually would have turned into a controlled fall and roll became a flailing flop as sand flew in all directions. Her nearly naked body was covered in sticky sweat and sand, and her face was submerged enough that she could barely draw sufficient breath.

“Is that all, child?” Yu heard her teacher ask in a mocking tone. “I thought you were strong. Healed. Blessed by the gods.”

The bone cane slammed into the sand in front of Yu’s face. “Well? Is it true? Are you? Or are you still the same crippled child?”

Yu’s mind wavered, her vision blurring and then refocusing again. She was back in the clearing with Jing Wei and his cronies. And then she was back on the sand at home.

“Are you Fenghuang Yu, sick and crippled? Helpless and weak?”

Yu’s mind continued to fade in and out of the memory as the words hit her like no bone cane or wooden sword ever could.

“Who are you?” resounded through her mind in Grandma Huan’s voice.

A blue glow blinded Yu, forcing her to close her eyes. When she opened them again, she found herself back in the clearing. But this time she was not on the ground, but watching as an observer. She stood opposite Jing Wei, above her own prone body.

Yu saw herself being held down, a foot on her head and one on her back. Once again Jing Wei stood above her, her own wooden sword in his hand, raised to strike.

“Who are you?” the voice sounded again.

And then the sword fell. She saw her face contort. Heard her own cry of pain. Yu just stared. She was frozen. She heard only the Jings’ mocking laughter and saw only her own face as she writhed in agony.

The sword raised again.

“Who are you?” came from the voice in her mind.

The sword fell and she could not turn away. She wanted to, but her body wouldn’t obey. Instead, Yu watched, still as a statue, as her own thin and pale face become covered in tears.

“Who are you?” repeated the voice as the sword fell again.

Staring, Yu saw more than her pain. She saw despair. She saw betrayal. She saw… acceptance.

And then the prone girl before her turned her head and looked into Yu’s eyes.

“Is this who you are?” she asked herself in a bland tone.

Suddenly everything went still and the clearing vanished into blackness, leaving only the Jing and Yu’s twin forms in a field of nothingness. Then the circling group of teens vanished too, followed immediately by the two holding her down. And there were only three left: Jing Wei, sneering with his sword poised to strike again; her past self, staring up at her with a tear-streaked face; and her present self, standing and staring at both.

“Will you always be this?” her prone form asked.

The sword fell, and Yu felt the bite on her own back while her past form didn’t flinch. With the pain she moved for the first time since entering the memory. Yu stumbled forward a step, gasping.

“Will you be something more?” her own voice asked, ringing in her ears.

The sword fell again and Yu felt another blow on her own flesh.

“Are you what they say?”

Another blow fell.

“Are you corrupted?” The sword fell. “Do you bring shame?” Whack! “Are you useless?” Whack! “A burden?” Whack! “Cursed?” Whack! “Dishonorable?” Whack!

Now tears covered her own face, and she swapped places with herself. She was now on the ground, beneath Jing Wei. The sword fell again. And again. She felt it all again. Just as before, tears and pain made everything blurry and she heard steps approach. She was ready to hear Jing Wei’s derisive tone in her ear.

Instead she saw a blurry head covered in silver hair.

It asked in her own voice, “Are you still weak? Is this who you are?”

Yu stared up at herself. Was this who she was? Was she still a broken, corrupted girl too weak to defend herself? Had she truly not changed? Was she still the same feeble creature she had spent her life fighting against?

Anger welled up inside of her. She had spent her whole life trying to prove herself, trying to prove to herself that she was more than a cripple. Someone worthy. And now, on the cusp of her victory – on the verge of finally claiming the power she had always wanted, had fought for, bled for, had nearly died for – she could not move forward. She was letting Jing Wei and his family hold her down. Again.

No.

And with that single word, Yu felt strength and determination fill her. She had fought all her life. That was who she was. The beating in the clearing was not shameful because she had been beaten. It was shameful because she had given up.

No more.

She would fight, like she always had. She would become something more.

And for the first time since entering her memory, she spoke to answer the question. “No. I am a warrior. A fighter,” she responded. “I am a cultivator. That is who I am.”

As if in answer, everything faded and she found herself standing again, surrounded by blackness, looking down at her old self. Considering her prior form, Yu saw how truly different she now was. The child before her was short, with bones showing through her grayish skin. Her arms and legs were thin like new bamboo shoots, her hair a multicolored mess and her face filled with sadness.

This was no longer Yu. What she saw was her past.

“I am not you anymore,” she told her younger self.

The corrupted child looked up with hope and asked, “Are we free now?”

Yu looked down at her prior self, tears falling again. “Yes, we are free from our past – but stronger because of everything we have suffered.”

And with a smile Yu added, “Thank you for making me who I am.”

Everything faded and Yu found herself crying into the sand, the blue glow ebbing away. She was more exhausted than she had ever been in her life, and she felt the world slowly fading away.

She vaguely felt a gentle hand stroking her head.

A soft voice whispered, “I’m so sorry, child. And I’m proud of you.”

And Yu fell into a blissful sleep with neither dream nor nightmare.

THIRTEEN

Stories and Sects

Da heard a knock on his study door.

“Enter,” he called, looking up from a parchment reporting on his clan’s financial transactions.

He saw Lei slide the door aside, enter in a single long stride, close it behind him and then stand at attention in front of it. It was an excellent representation of his son’s discipline.

“Sit,” Da ordered.

Lei was trying, and mostly failing, to hide a limp as he moved around the chair in front of his father’s desk and sat down.

With a frown Da asked his son, “Why are you limping?”

Lei straightened his back, as was befitting the Patriarch’s son and presumptive heir. “I was struck in the leg by one of the Horse Lizard mounts while attempting to bond with it. I was heading to a healer when I received your summons, clan chief.”

Da’s eyebrows rose into his forehead at the news. Horse Lizards were difficult mounts to break, even when bred in captivity. They were demon beasts with great power and endurance and made excellent ground-based travel and transport assets. His son apparently believed he could tame and bond with one. Da knew Lei would run out of time to complete the taming before heading to a sect, but it was good practice and Da would not interfere.

All cultivators could bond with a beast, but it took time, effort, discipline, and resources to build a trusting relationship. Ether-using cultivators, on the other hand, could bond through Qi itself, which created a unique shared connection that enhanced the power of both as they grew. If Lei had started the process of bonding with a beast, he had committed himself to a long journey of patience and pain.

Da was proud of his son for taking on such an endeavor. A man who may one day rule the clan should be bold and brave enough to challenge himself with such things. Truthfully, he could have joined a sect half a year ago when he opened his first meridian, but the family had wished to train him in clan leadership beforehand. And those lessons would only help him in the politics of a sect anyway.

As was her responsibility, Meixiu was working to find the right sect that would grow the gifted young man but not cause any political issues when it attempted to force its own priorities onto him. Generally speaking, the larger the sect, the more resources it had, meaning it could support more disciples, leading to more competition within the sect for those resources and causing more growth in its youths. In turn, the stronger its members became, the more political sway it had.

Looking directly into his son’s ice-blue eyes, Da spoke in his no-nonsense voice, “I know we had originally planned otherwise, but you are forbidden from seeing your sister until just before you leave for a sect.”

There was no sound in the room for a few breaths until Lei said, “May I ask why?”

“No. All I will tell you is she cannot be distracted.”

Lei let out a small sigh. “As you say, clan chief.”

Da nodded once and said, “Have you made any progress on your other assignment? Have you found out who sent the Jing after Yu?”

Sitting up straighter, Lei said, “Yes, clan chief, I have made progress. However, I have no evidence, and I’m unwilling to make an accusation without it.”

“I see,” was all Da said, although he was interested in his son’s statement.

Lei raised a fine eyebrow and asked, “Do you also suspect someone?”

“I do,” Da said. “But I too have insufficient proof. Your uncle is watching.”

Lei cleared his throat and asked, “May I speak more freely, clan chief?”

Da looked at his son for a moment, wondering where he was going with that question, and said, “Go ahead.”

Lei leaned back slightly, showing a slight relaxing of his tension. “If you believe you have identified the individual or individuals responsible, I can only feel relieved and glad to be wrong, especially since you stated you would limit your search to adults.”

So his son had found something.

With narrowed eyes Da asked, “If I order you to tell me your suspect, will you?”

“Yes,” Lei answered. “But I do so reluctantly.”

“Good answer. Tell me.”

Slightly shifting in his seat, Lei more hesitantly said, “Based on what I have heard from their friends and allies, I think the twins were involved.”

Da froze. That aligned with what Zhao had found. It all led back to his first wife. With everything that had come to light recently, it wouldn’t surprise him.

“Lord father, if you have another suspect it is possible I am wrong.”

Letting out a frustrated breath, Da said, “There are perhaps more people involved than just your suspects.”

Da did not wish to give away too much to his son as Lei’s focus needed to be on his training.

Lei spoke hesitantly again. “Lord father, I wonder if it might not be wiser to back off completely from them, whoever they are.”

Da leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands in front of him. Not wanting to let slip his own emotions, he asked neutrally, “Oh? What makes you wonder this?”

“You know I love my sister more than most. But I think we should let it go now. A few months have passed since the disgraceful events in the forest, and drawing further attention to what happened there will only draw attention to her. We should appear to let it go as though we don’t care enough about a crippled child who brings dishonor.”

Da smiled at his son and then turned his head to a dark corner of the room. A chuckling sound then emanated from the shadows as Zhao stepped out of the empty-looking corner and into the room. He wore solid matte black shirt, pants, gloves and boots.

“I told you, brother,” he said, clearly pleased.

Da sighed and handed a silver coin to his brother, who accepted it with a grin.

“You were right, Zhao,” Da admitted. “I should have more faith in my children.” Then to his son he said, “All surveillance has been stopped, and all questions ended as of yesterday.”

Lei simply nodded, a neutral expression on his face.

Straightening up in his chair, the clan chief said, “After seeing a healer you are to speak to Long Meixiu about which sects you should choose to apply for entry into, assuming they are accepting applicants at all. You, of course, will be responsible for proving yourself to them.”

“Yes, clan chief.”

“You are dismissed.”

After Lei had closed the door, Da touched the medallion on a chain around his collar to summon the others and he and his brother sat silently for a few minutes until their other brother entered wearing his green-and-blue healer’s hanfu. Gen poured himself a glass of wine and then took the seat that Lei had been using moments before.

Da looked from one brother to the other and asked, “Were you watching her this evening?”

Zhao’s usual playful demeanor changed as he said sadly, “I was there as requested, although I wish I had not. My people spend most of their time and effort looking for external threats and protecting us from them, and so internal conflicts are generally not their responsibility. In the future perhaps we should think about turning our gaze inward more often, though.”

Gen said, “I researched Yu’er’s medical records. They go back many years, and confirm what she and Lei told us. As she often went to others, on the whole I did not see many of the injuries. But now, upon reflection and with the findings from our records, it is plain as day. That is not to say that none of her injuries were training-related, by the way. But, yes, my niece was regularly… mistreated.”

Zhao said, “Agreed. The twins have been very cruel, although I strongly doubt it was they who were the true culprits. They themselves rarely did anything directly, as far as I can tell. But they did direct, encourage, and reward others. If they were not so close to crossing the line from cruel to evil, I would wish they were Darkness affinity. I could use their conniving minds. But I think you may need to take action against them and… well… against your first wife as well. Ning Huiqing and her children have become a problem.”

Da slumped back in his chair, perplexed. He loved all three of his wives, and could not work out what had turned one against another.

“The truth is,” Da said to Zhao, “Yu’er is right. She can no longer be harmed by them. I know they are Fire Warriors, but think on whether you can find a way to use them. That will then keep them occupied, and Huiqing will view it as an honor.”

“Aren’t we here to speak of Yu, and not of those three?” Gen asked angrily before Zhao could respond.

Shifting in his chair and taking a drink of his tea, Da sighed and replied, “Yes. Huan insists she is strong enough to become what we hope. I am not so sure.”

Gen said, “I wonder whether we have all been underestimating her potential the entire time.”

There was a knock on the door, and Da called the person inside.

Meixiu entered wearing a casual red-and-white hanfu. Gen stood to give her his seat, but she declined his offer with a wave of her hand. Meixiu then started to speak as though she had been a part of the conversation from the beginning.

“Our daughter is stronger than you know, lord husband,” she said.

Da finished his tea and asked, “Did you see?”

She shook her head. “I could not. I would have failed to control myself, and my intervention would have harmed her.”

“It is rather widely known she is your only weakness, Meixiu. Be cautious,” Zhao said.

Meixiu huffed in response, and told the brothers, “You three are the ones who have spared the Jing. And as Yu’er requested, I also have moved on, despite my desires. But I will end whoever seriously harms her, consequences be damned.”

“That is also known, lady wife,” Da stated with a stony face.

Meixiu sighed and took a step forward. “Why have you summoned us, lord husband?”

Da straightened himself and spoke in a more commanding tone, “We must now discuss Yu’s future, and not her past. She will join an Ether-wielder sect, yes?”

“Perhaps not,” Meixiu said as she tapped her chin with her finger. “I was going to visit an old… friend. Long Bingwen.”

Silence followed for the next few moments. Gen’s eyes were wide open, and Da’s were narrowed.

Only Zhao showed no expression, and he was also the first to speak. “An interesting choice. The Black Dragon Sect could prove to be exactly what she needs.”

Da couldn’t believe what he had just heard. That after everything, she would still go to the Long Clan. He spoke up, “You know how I feel about that man, and about the Longs in general.”

Once again, his wife sighed. “I know, lord husband. But can you think of a better place for her?”

“Would you trust him and his family with our clan’s future?” Da asked her. “You know… what happened – and what Yu could mean for us.”

“Yes, I know. I would not put our daughter – my daughter – at risk unless I was sure. That is why I said I would visit and speak with him. I do trust him, though, yes. If it is a good day, he will understand what she can bring to his sect. That has always been his priority. I would also note that the Black Dragon Sect could support Lei just as well as Yu’er. In some ways better.”

Da pondered that for a moment. “An interesting idea,” he reluctantly admitted. “She must grow on her own, though. We would need to discuss his involvement in her life there if they both went.”

The conversation moved on to the details of the sect and what Yu would be able to do there while still keeping certain secrets. The more they discussed, the less uncertain Da became. As usual, his lady wife had found an elegant solution to a perplexing problem. After discussing preparations for Meixiu’s departure to the Black Dragon Sect, the conversation wound down.

“How much time does she have?” Gen asked.

“Not as much as we thought. However, that could play into our hands as Huan had an idea about the city’s martial tournament…”

FOURTEEN

Skin

Yu woke and looked around to find herself in her private bedchamber, clean and dressed and surprisingly without pain or exhaustion. In fact, she felt no discomfort at all.

“Welcome back, child,” a familiar voice said from nearby.

In a bamboo chair in the corner of the room sat Grandma Huan, her ever-present white cane leaning against the wall.

Yu scrambled with the covers in an effort to rise and offer the proper deference to her elder and teacher.

“Oh, stop with that nonsense. Just sit up while we speak,” her teacher said, waving a hand.

Yu straightened her clothes and sat up in bed with her legs pulled into her chest. She looked cautiously at the old woman. Yu was unsure what had happened after her… vision? “Memory” seemed inadequate for what she had seen and experienced. Yu was unsure how Grandma Huan would react.

The old woman grabbed her cane and dragged her chair close to Yu’s bed before sitting down again.

“Do you know why you could not cycle, child?”

Yu shook her head. Despite her strange experience and what she hoped was a positive outcome, it had had nothing to do with her cultivation. She had no idea why she could not sense the Qi of the Heavens and Earth.

“I don’t know, teacher. Every time I tried, it didn’t work and all I saw were memories,” Yu explained.

Grandma Huan looked sad as she nodded. “It is because of those memories that you could not progress. You live with a gift and a burden, child. You see the world with such precision and remember with such clarity that every memory for you is like living the past over again. And you had such a challenging childhood – through no fault of your own, I might add – that your memories are filled with adversity.”

Yu thought about that. After a moment of trying to process the information, it seemed the obvious answer. The thing that she had thought was her greatest asset was actually also her greatest liability. Her memory was the only thing that helped her stand out. All her life, she had thought it would be the key to her success.

It was a revelation. She felt… betrayed. Again. First her body had been corrupted, but now was her mind also corrupted? She felt it was the most important part of her.

“But teacher… I used my memory to accomplish what little I have. I need it to train. I remember every error in stance or motion when practicing my martial skills and use that to adjust and get them right. I need it!”

Grandma Huan sighed and asked, “What did you learn from your vision?”

Yu thought carefully on that question. “That my past helped make me who I am now. A fighter.”

The old woman took a wrinkled hand off her cane, reached forward slowly, and patted Yu’s arm.

“Yes. You must understand that you are not just one thing, though. You are not only your memory, any more than you are only your history. Everything about you makes you who and what you are. You were so focused on your struggles, on your past, on a single piece of yourself – your corruption – that you could not reflect on who and what you have become.”

Yu laid her forehead on her arms and thought about that. Reflecting on it, she realized it was absolutely true. Every time she had tried to call on the powers of the Heavens and Earth, all she had seen was a memory of her past corruption. Every time she got close, she felt…

“I was afraid,” she said quietly. Yu lifted her head and asked, “So who am I?”

A beaming smile split the woman’s aged face. “Child, you are Fenghuang Yu. A Jade Phoenix. You are reborn in the fire of a heavenly tribulation into something strong and precious and admired and blessed. Few are so aptly named.”

Yu stared into the dark room but saw nothing as she reflected on the profound words. She had been reborn…

“Reborn,” Yu echoed quietly into the room.

“Now, child,” Grandma Huan said. “It is time. Remember who you are.”

Yu crossed her legs, straightened her back and placed her hands, palms upward, on her knees. She closed her eyes and smoothed her breathing. Almost unconsciously, she followed the breathing pattern. For the first time, she felt like it was natural. Welcoming almost.

Yu reflected on who she was. She was the phoenix who had burned her old body… her old struggles away. She was a new creature of jade. Stronger because of those struggles, but still rough and untamed. Ready to be carved and strengthened by the power of the Heavens and Earth.

The world faded, but instead of falling into a memory, Yu fell into herself. She saw herself floating in an endless black space, and next to her was a model of her body made of a single imperfect clump of white jade. Yu ran her hands lightly along the rough surface. The inside of the jade glowed different colors as her hand ran along it. It felt… familiar. Somehow she knew she had to carve her future self, and to do that would require the power of the gods.

Calling to it, she joined with the rough image of herself. She reached out with her mind, and small streaks of golden power entered her body. Yu welcomed them as a part of her being, helping her become the perfect polished jade that was her potential. The streaks of Qi that entered her varied in their energy and flavor. She realized to her surprise that she could feel their differences. To her it was more of a taste, and she knew immediately what each meant.

One was a stream of energy more solid, with the essence of bread or potato – that was the firmness and strength of Aura. Another was a stream and tasted of a thick, sweet liquid, like a pudding, and this was the fluidity of Mana. The last was the misty stream of Ether and had the faint fragrance of the air when the seasons changed and rain was about to fall.

They all swooped around her, and she welcomed them into her. They dove and swept and plunged around her waist and entered her two finger widths below her navel. Her form began to glow silver. A pleasant fullness and ache formed after they entered, and she called to the energy to move about her body. Reaching within herself, she willed it to follow the odd purifying cycle she had long ago memorized when her parents had presented her with the Azure Dragon’s Heart.

The energy moved in her newly formed Qi center, her dantian, the organ only cultivators could create. She cycled within it, purifying the energy so it was safe to use, and in doing so it also began to glow silver.

After purification, Yu slowly moved it out toward the surface of her body, following the strange swirls of the Azure Dragon’s Heart scripture’s path, which drew it backward to the tailbone, up and around the spine to the first rib and then toward the front of the sternum, then back to the top rib and finally out to the skin. The three forms of Qi finally touched her skin, and the moment they did they slowly spread outward in a swirl like blood mixing with water and slowly flowing down a drain.

She felt the solid energy of Aura enter her skin and harden it so it would protect her from blows that would fell a lesser human. The liquid of Mana flooded that hardened skin and it became flexible, bending to her needs without puncturing or splitting from a piercing or slicing blow. Yu began feeling weak, the energy in her dantian almost gone. But still she pushed what Qi remained through the path, allowing the mist of Ether to enter her skin and make it less solid, allowing for it to flow around an attack and return itself to its original state after.

The Qi Yu had called into her dantian was used up then, and she was too weak to call more so she focused on herself and withdrew from her mind. Opening her eyes, she saw Grandma Huan smiling widely at her. She was holding the head of her cane with both hands and leaning her chin on them.

“Congratulations, child. You are a cultivator,” she told Yu with obvious pleasure.

Those last four words rang through Yu’s mind like bells. After all this time, she was a cultivator. Unable to control herself, Yu quickly straightened her legs and leaned forward to wrap her arms around the old woman. Grandma Huan spread her arms and hugged Yu back.

For the first time in her life, Yu’s tears were those of joy and celebration.

FIFTEEN

Foundation Building Stage

Yu listened in enraptured silence as her teacher spoke on the ins and outs of early cultivation. Yu was sitting on the sand of her training center with Grandma Huan sitting in a chair opposite her.

This lecture was about holding Qi in the body.

“The amount of Qi your dantian can hold will grow as your Spirit does and you advance,” her teacher told her. “I understand you have quite a high Spirit now, is that correct?”

“According to my lessons, it is higher than average for just beginning. Even if that’s true, I still felt faint after only an initial strengthening of my skin, so I’m not sure if that’s really how I look at it.”

Yu flexed her will and said, “Sign. Spirit.”

Spirit: 35

Looking at it, Yu mumbled, “Huh. It rose.” She then turned it to face Grandma Huan.

“Well, that is indeed high,” her teacher said. Then she mumbled, “No wonder,” while rubbing her boney chin.

Yu scrunched her face in curiosity. No wonder what?

“You are in an interesting position, child. You have a very high Spirit, and your dantian can hold more Qi than anyone I have ever heard of at your age. But you also have to support all three types of Qi. I see the confusion on your face. Don’t scrunch it up like that, you’ll get wrinkles.”

And the grumpy old bat was back to normal.

“To answer your obvious question, your dantian can only hold a certain amount, even if it is a bit more than average. The challenge you will face is that the Qi you hold will be withdrawn at three times the usual rate because you have to withdraw all three types from the same pool. This means it will take you two to three times as long to strengthen your body. That is a fascinating conundrum. On top of this, after your foundation is built, you will have more meridians to open and affinities to study than anyone in history, as far as I have heard. You, child, have a long road ahead of you.”

Yu nodded. “I expected that. I’ll just work three times as hard to keep up.”

The old woman huffed. “You will do no such thing!” she snapped while jabbing her finger toward Yu’s chest. “First of all, that doesn’t work. Your dantian cannot hold more Qi just because you wish it. And attempting to force it is how cultivators harm themselves. You will work hard, yes, but not for that reason. Put it aside for now. Let’s not eat the rice before it’s steamed. Hold out your hand.”

Yu did, and Grandma Huan reached out and poked it with a finger.

She humphed. “Your skin shows only small improvement, but it will no doubt be of a higher protection when complete. You are to meditate in this garden for the next few weeks, doing nothing but strengthening your skin. When you feel your skin can hold no more power without bursting, you will contact me before doing anything else. Clear?”

“Yes, teacher,” Yu answered with a bow of her head.

Grandma Huan huffed. “Good. You will also return to practicing your forms. But you absolutely must not attempt to call Qi while doing that. Do you understand? Do not cycle while exercising.”

“I understand, teacher. Others have said that to me. Can you tell me why?”

“Ah!” her teacher exclaimed. “You can ask intelligent questions. Because using Qi in areas of the body not already strengthened in the Foundation Building Stage biases the body. It alters your future meridian structure to be favorable for physical combat. For Aura users that’s fine; but for Mana and Ether users it is generally avoided by anyone with a brain. As for you, until your meridians are opening in the formation stage, you will not attempt it. Tell me the eight levels of the foundation stage in their proper order. Now!” She snapped out that last word.

Yu answered instantaneously. “Skin; bones; muscles, ligaments, and tendons; heart; lungs; viscera; marrow and blood; and brain and nerves.”

“Good,” her teacher said with a single nod. “Obviously, that means you can only enhance your skin for combat when you complete the infusing of it. Fully. So for now, no using Qi at all. In the future you may use Qi to enhance parts of the body already fully strengthened. Never before. If you do, you will ruin all the work I am putting into you, and I tend to make things that waste my time disappear. Am I clear?”

“You are clear, teacher,” Yu responded nervously.

“Well don’t just sit there!” Grandma Huan ordered with a slam of her cane. “I’m too old for you to waste time yapping. Infuse Qi into your skin before I find something else for you to do.”

Not wanting to do some horrid exercise, Yu immediately closed her eyes and began the breathing pattern to cycle. She was able to find herself in the black space, join with her jade form, and call Qi in only a few breaths of time.

As she had the first time, Yu called the golden energy into her center and cycled it, turning it silver. Then she sent the three streams out to her skin. Not as awed by the experience as she had been her first time, Yu was able to pay close attention to the streams themselves. Oddly, she found that the three streams weren’t flowing exactly the same as they had the prior evening. There were tiny variations in the flows which caused them to fluctuate slightly. Sometimes the streams seemed to flow smoother or faster, like a gentle river. At other times the flows moved in a way that seemed to cause fluctuations as though the river had gained stones, causing rapids which slowed or inhibited the flows.

Finding this interesting, Yu made small adjustments to the Qi streams that seemed to be slower – just minor movements in one direction or another that caused them to speed up or slow down. Remembering how the energy had flowed in her first attempt, she now realized how inefficient she had been then.

Before she knew it, Yu had made hundreds of small adjustments. Just as her Qi was emptying, she noticed that her skin had absorbed many times more Qi than on the prior night.

Opening her eyes tiredly, Yu found her training garden empty. Her first instinct was to get up and tell her teacher about her experience, but after a few moments’ consideration, she changed her mind. She’d try again and see if she could further improve the flows. If she really could increase her efficiency each time…

Despite her exhaustion and the soreness in her center, Yu smiled widely in anticipation.

For six days Yu did nothing but eat, sleep, cultivate to strengthen her skin, and practice her forms. Yu learned a number of things during that time, both from her teacher and from her own experience.

The first was when she finally got around to asking what that black space she had entered was. It was apparently known as a cultivator’s “mindscape.” Of course, when she asked about how it worked or what other uses it might have, her teacher told her to stop wasting time asking questions she would get the answer to later and get back to work.

Another key lesson, and this time an unexpected one, was that Yu actually had no issue with not calling for Qi while working on her martial skills. The reason was pretty simple. Her dantian was too sore and tired after each meditation session. After she exited her mindscape having experienced the power of Qi flowing through her body, her abdomen was sore and her body was exhausted.

Moreover, it was not only her body that needed to recuperate. She felt just as mentally drained, if not more. The reason wasn’t because of the cycling, but because of how she trained. She had proven out her theory and was able to improve her Qi string flows with each cycling session. Just like she had always done when training her forms, Yu remembered every adjustment from the prior session and therefore was able to increase the speed in which she infused her skin.

If Yu had thought her new skin was polished and perfect before cultivation, the process of enhancing it with Qi had transformed it into a flawless smooth surface which almost glowed. When she touched her skin, it was like running her hands over one of her mother’s pearls. That certainly started to explain how most cultivators looked so perfect. And it was only the first level of the first stage.

Yu’s teacher also ordered her not to look at her God Sign until after she entered the bone reinforcement step of the Foundation Building Stage. That order caused an odd mix of excitement and frustration which Yu had to battle just about every second of every day. But in the end, she obeyed and didn’t peek.

Sitting on a stone overlooking her pond, Yu watched the sun rise over the wall of her training center. She loved watching sunrises because it reminded her that it was a new day in her new life.

Pushing aside distractions, Yu closed her eyes. She could enter her mindscape and call upon the energy of the Heavens and Earth almost instantly now. She followed the same process as she had every other time she had cycled, finding small areas of potential flow improvement.

However, after a short time, Yu realized something was different. She had a portion of energy left over and her skin didn’t seem to want to accept any more. It gave off an odd feeling of rejection, like a full stomach. Never having experienced that before while cycling, Yu released the energy and it flowed back into her dantian. That didn’t hurt exactly, but it also wasn’t comfortable – like overeating and then standing up only to realize you were stretched inside. Up to that point, the organ had never experienced its own energy returning, only that of having the Qi of the world enter it.

Yu recalled her teacher’s instructions regarding what to do when her skin felt full. She opened her eyes and jogged to the door. After knocking, she asked the familiar female guard to fetch Grandma Huan. After a few moments, Yu realized that her teacher might be quite far away.

To pass the time Yu attempted some whip forms which she hadn’t done in months. The lack of practice showed as Yu felt she was quite sloppy. She hadn’t even made it to the third step, a swapped leg sweep of right arm whip over left, before she stumbled. Her whip would have sliced across her own face if she had been wielding one just then. Her instructor would have been embarrassed. Well, if he had actually been her instructor…

There was only a single teacher of whips in the clan that Yu knew of – Fenghuang Ne. As with her other “instructors,” Yu had spied on him as he practiced. He had of course known about the prohibition on teaching her, as well as the decree that he should do everything he could to prevent her from spying. Despite that, he had supported her as much as he safely could. Early on, he had “accidentally” left out a few parchments with form steps drawn on them and then made sure to practice in open areas where he would be watched. She decided she would have to thank him once she was allowed.

Yu loved the whip almost as much as the sword, which was one of the reasons why she was so annoyed by her performance with it. She had the highest expectations of her jian and whip weapon forms. Her cultivation was new, and Yu knew very little, so she was more tolerant of her failures. And in her other weapons she was something of a novice as well. But with those two – the whip and jian – she demanded of herself both precision and excellence.

Grandma Huan’s call of “What is it, child?” interrupted her terrible practice.

Embarrassed and hoping her teacher hadn’t seen her abysmal performance, Yu spoke quickly. “Teacher, when I attempt to send Qi to my skin it feels like it can’t accept more.”

Grandma Huan’s eyes opened wider and her wrinkled face stretched. “Your skin is saturated?”

Yu jogged to get a towel and water. “I believe so, teacher.” She wiped herself down and took a drink.

“That is quite a bit earlier than I expected. Are you sure?” her teacher asked. “Rushing will only harm you.”

Nervous now, Yu said, “I can try again, but it went as you described. I can send no more Qi to my skin.”

“Interesting. Let’s proceed, then. Strip to your skin.”

Yu was always nervous when the old woman asked that she strip, fearing the harsh attentions of her cane, but she followed the instructions. While she was removing her outer clothing, Grandma Huan gave further instruction. “There are two ways to advance from the skin to the bone level – or to any level, for that matter. The first, which most people do, is to simply send more Qi until it forces the skin to go through something of a change. That is the easiest and least painful method.”

The old woman then did something Yu had never seen her do before, she activated her Qi. The bone cane raised two handspans from the earth and slammed down. A cracking sound came from beneath their feet and a gray stone column twice as wide and tall as Yu rose from the earth in between them, and then all was still again.

Yu had few opportunities to actually see affinities in use. Obviously Grandma Huan was an Earth cultivator, although she could be either Aura or Mana from that display.

“The second way to evolve your body is through another process, which is now mostly forgotten. It is called Wuli Jinhua or ‘evolution through force.’”

Yu looked at the stone column and then at Grandma Huan. She knew by now not to jump into something without having more information.

“What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?” Yu asked.

She received a wrinkled smile. “Excellent question. The advantage of the normal method…” – her voice sounded disgusted by the word “normal” – “…is that it is painless, and so simple even a complete moron could figure it out.” It was pretty obvious what she thought of that method. “The disadvantage is that the change is weak. The skin is less resilient, less flexible, or slower to heal, depending on the Qi.

“Obviously the opposite is true for the second method. It has to be done with exacting precision, and few remain alive that know how. Or at least that know the entirety of it. Luckily for you, I do. When done correctly, the skin becomes a far more powerful asset for the cultivator. As your skin holds the benefits of all three Qi types, this is especially appealing. In particular, you will gain a regenerative capability thanks to having access to Ether Qi. That being said, it is a harsh and cruel method to grow. ‘Evolution through force’ is its name because it involves altering the body through external force alongside Qi, instead of through using Qi alone.”

Shifting her position and straightening her shoulders, Grandma Huan said, “You have a choice, child. Understand that you cannot change your mind once we start, and that if you choose the latter you must persevere until the end. As we all have in life, this is a moment of—”

Yu didn’t hesitate. “I’ll do it.”

What was pain and cruelty to her? She’d experienced that regularly for thirteen years. And beyond that, what was the point of the gods’ healing and blessing if she wouldn’t do whatever it took to grow as strong as she possibly could?

Grandma Huan froze with her mouth open. She harrumphed and said, “You could have at least let me finish. I worked hard on that lecture.”

“Sorry, teacher,” Yu said with a smile. And just because she felt excited at the prospect – and even a little daring – she continued with, “Would you like to finish? I promise to listen to every word.”

The old woman slammed her cane on the ground and harrumphed again, but Yu could see the corner of her mouth twitch as she said grumpily, “Are you being a brat?”

“Of course not, teacher. I would never do such a thing,” Yu responded with a bowed head to hide her own smile.

Yu heard another harrumph and cane slam, but unlike before, there were no words. Instead, she heard a rumble and felt some strange vibrations from beneath her feet. Confused, Yu continued to look down, trying to figure out what was going on.

Without any warning, the grass-covered earth about a pace in front of Yu split open and brown dirt boiled out of the hole. After a few moments of that, the hole closed and Yu opened her mouth, about to ask what was happening. However, then the pile of dirt that had risen began to bubble and move on its own. It seemed to melt and gain a wet sheen, turning into something that Yu could only describe as liquid dirt. It moved around, changing shape into something oddly familiar. A few breaths later, it solidified and Yu gaped at what she saw.

On the now pristine grass lay an odd set of dirt-brown garments. They glistened as though they were shiny like metal, but fluttered in the breeze like silk.

“Put those on,” Grandma Huan ordered.

Yu jumped, distracted by the miraculous show of power and its result.

She replied, “Yes teacher,” and leaned down to pick up the material. As her fingers ran over it, she realized it felt even softer than the silk it appeared to be. Shimmering in the morning light, the mysterious material seemed to shift to shades of brown that were just short of appearing silver.

Hearing another stomp of the cane, Yu quickly did as instructed, finding the cloth oddly stretchy. There were seven pieces to the strange outfit, two of which were large and the others small.

The first was a top which covered her torso from her neck to waist. The second was a matched bottom which ended at the middle of her ankles. The next four pieces covered her hands and feet, including each finger and toe. As she put them on, the edges molded together all by themselves so that not even a sliver of her pale skin could be found.

Yu then examined the final part of the strange outfit. She found she was holding a hooded mask which would cover her head and face. Examining it closer, she found it had a single hole she could fit her ponytail through, but that was all. There were no holes for her nostrils, eyes, or mouth. She looked up at her teacher but the old woman simply stared back, clearly allowing her to make the choice. Taking a breath, she placed it over her head and pulled it down.

Yu was shocked to find that she could see, although everything had a nearly colorless appearance. Everything, including her teacher, showed to her in various shades of brown. She also realized she could breathe normally, but there were no smells except that of freshly turned dirt.

After a few adjustments for her hair, Yu felt her neck and found that the hood had molded itself together with the top. As soon as it completed the process, Yu felt a tingle all along her skin.

“Are you prepared, child?” her teacher asked. “That material increases sensations and the conductivity of momentum. This is your last chance.”

Yu took a deep dirt-scented breath and nodded.

Grandma Huan’s eyes narrowed and then her hands glowed brown before Yu found her arms being yanked out to her sides by bands of liquid stone around her wrists, with her legs being pulled to the earth by similar bands around her ankles.

Another flash of brown and Yu was stretched taut.

“Let’s begin.”

SIXTEEN

Pain and Truth

Yu knew pain. Her life had been filled with it since she could first move, coming as often from external sources as from self-induced trauma. In some ways the pain she was then experiencing was different from in the past, but it was similar in others. It was completely and perfectly controlled by Grandma Huan and offered a familiar sting, but at the same time it felt foreign in that Yu did not fight against it. She did not welcome it so much as accept it.

Yu was confident that most would have not been able to endure such pain. In fact, she saw why most cultivators avoided such methods. Likely they believed their abilities would protect them from pain and suffering. She disgustedly also had to accept that many felt themselves entitled, as cultivators, to avoid the hardships of “mundanes.” Yu was different. She had suffered every moment of her life. What might have been unbearable to others was almost familiar to her.

Despite that, there was a difference.

In the past her pain had been a consequence of her weakness. She had always fought against it. Minimized or ignored it. But this was new. Now she had to open herself to it. Accept that it was part of her growth. Her future. Her power.

Whips of liquid earth would ooze out of the stone block and strike an area of Yu’s body. They could be a solid rod or ball, and would never break through the strange brown cloth on her, but would cause sharp, cold, painful tingles. Then another area nearby would be struck, but never the same spot twice. Yu gritted her teeth and grunted with every strike, but it was many times less painful than what she had felt in the past. And it was only pain. Yu knew pain.

After every area of skin on her arms had been stung red and sensitive, Grandma Huan said, “Rest, child. Your Qi-saturated skin will take a few minutes to accept the stimulation, and then we will begin again on your legs.” The liquid-earth straps holding her relaxed but did not release her. The pressure on her shoulders was gone, so she rolled them while keeping her arms out wide.

“Do you know why we do it this way and not simply have you punch and kick things?” Grandma Huan asked.

Thinking about the answer, Yu said, “Is it because I could not control it as well as you, teacher?”

“Exactly so, child. The key to this process is balance and the even distribution of stimulation. The level of precision is higher than can be accomplished in anything but this type of controlled situation. And this experience is not about combat. This is about accepting the change. Every step of ‘evolution through force’ will require you to simply absorb the metamorphosis. You are turning every single part of your body into a perfect representation of yourself. Combat will distract you from that gain. And of course, no matter how still you attempt to be, you will inevitably move something. Now let’s return to it. You are handling this much better than your father did. You can hold that over him when you are old enough to survive his ire.”

Yu chuckled and returned to her previous position, ready to accept further pain as what she owed to her future self.

Was she now embracing pain? Yu hoped she wasn’t losing her mind. She didn’t think so, but would she really know?

“No, child, you aren’t going mad. You are striving for greatness through pain, not enduring the pain for its own sake.”

After another strike, Yu grunted and asked through gritted teeth, “How do you do that? Always know what I’m thinking, I mean.”

“Your emotions are clear on your face for all to see. We’ll get to that eventually. Yes, I can see your face. Now, be silent and focus on your skin.”

Despite the tears falling down her face, Yu was smiling as the final strike fell on her forehead, right below her hairline. The head and face were the last areas to experience the painful transformation. Yu smiled triumphantly and asked, “Now what?”

Another stomp of the cane was the answer. Immediately after, all of the strange cloth surrounding Yu appeared to liquify and slowly drip off her onto the ground.

Grandma Huan explained, “In a moment you must enter your mindscape and gather as much energy as you can in your dantian. When you do, cycle it to your skin, but not slowly like you would normally. Send it out in a rush, as much as you can, as fast as you can.”

“Yes, teacher. When do I do that?” Yu asked.

“When your skin tells you it is time,” was Grandma Huan’s cryptic answer.

Yu looked at her, confused. How would I—

At that moment every inch of skin on her body began to burn, and her pale appearance flushed red.

“Now,” called Grandma Huan.

Yu entered her mindscape and saw her imperfect self. Everything appeared the same. After the joining, she summoned energy to herself and cycled it until her dantian felt so full that it was just short of bursting. Then, with a deep breath, she shoved the purified Qi out. A deluge of power rushed through Yu, following the scripture’s path into her skin, and even in her mindscape she felt both the path and her skin burn.

The pain intensified and she was expelled from her mindscape, opening her eyes to a silver glow so intense that she had to close them again. The burning was still getting stronger, and the silver glow was now so bright her eyes were burning, even through her scrunched lids. Yu jerked and yelled as a sudden burst of agony coursed through her. She felt as though every blow she had received just moments before was being struck again. Then this was repeated, but the blows were closer together. And then again, but even closer. This process reoccurred over and over, each time with the blows getting closer until finally the strikes fell all at once, compounding into a single moment of untold misery – and then she fell into the blessed relief of darkness.

Grandma Huan watched as Yu closed her eyes to enter her mindscape. The next part would not be pleasant. Cumulative pain absorption was never simple, but it was also just for a blink. Huan knew the child would be fine, as she was stronger than she knew – and stronger than any of the fools in this palace knew, despite having seen her God Sign.

Her student’s skin began to glow silver. She rubbed her wrinkled fingers against her equally wrinkled chin as she said to herself. “So it’s true, Spatial affinity. How interesting.”

Then the glow brightened and continued to do so. Huan looked on in confusion, trying to understand what was going on. That wasn’t what was supposed to happen. To Huan’s surprise the silver brightened further, as the child’s affinity burst from her. Then her student screamed in such agony that Huan winced in sympathetic pain.

But it did not fade in a moment like it was supposed to. The girl’s scream increased in pitch and her eyes shot open, showing silver swirling like liquid. Then Huan saw the oddest thing. For just a moment, the child’s pupils elongated and became vertical like a cat’s. Then the screaming ended abruptly as her student’s mind shielded itself from the pain by drawing her into unconsciousness.

Huan was stunned to stillness. Fury like she hadn’t felt in centuries flooded her. How could they do this to the poor child? She lifted her gaze upward and glared at the heavens.

She is just a child. Why must you lay so much on her shoulders?

Looking back at Yu, Huan released her from the stone, allowing the child to fall into her waiting arms. Gently she carried Yu back to her room and laid her in her bed without dressing her. Her skin would be too sensitive for clothes at first, which was why the sheets had been exchanged for two layers of the smoothest silk available in this backwater city.

Huan’s hands glowed blue as she sent healing energy into the child’s joints and musculature. Knowing what awaited Yu, she ran her hand gently along the child’s silver hair.

“So much weight. Will you stand, or be crushed by what is to come?”

Huan watched Yu for a while and then, making a decision, got up and marched to see someone that might have an answer.

SEVENTEEN

Skin Mantra

Fenghuang Yu woke once again in her now familiar room of dark wood and bamboo. A single ether lamp sat on the bedside table, softly illuminating the room and showing a cup of water and a small ball of rice, which were waiting for her. She shifted her body to grab for the water and gasped at the shockingly strong sensation of her sheets moving against her skin. She froze and tried not to move.

Panicking for a moment, Yu then remembered what had happened and calmed down. Eventually, her excitement overtook her fear. She’d done it! If everything had worked right, then it would all have been worth it. All the patience and the pain.

She had enhanced her skin and passed the first level of the Foundation Building Stage. She lifted her arm slowly and felt the soft silk run along her skin. Everything it touched tingled to the point that it was almost too overwhelming to move.

There was then a knock on the door and the familiar voice of her personal maid, Feng Jie, came through. “Young Mistress, I have been asked to pass some instructions on to you.”

Smiling, Yu called out, “Come in, Feng Jie.”

When the maid entered Yu’s smile widened and she said, “I’m so glad mother and father allowed you to still be with me.”

Feng Jie bowed low and said, “I am as well, Young Mistress.”

Yu sighed and said, “You know, I’m still not comfortable with that title. Can we go back to before when you called me lady, or just Yu?”

“I’m sorry, Young Mistress,” Feng Jie said with a shake of her head, her expression sad. “You are a lady of this house now. Nobody can be seen as viewing you as less. Even with the… fact that you’re currently hidden. We must create good habits for when you can show yourself to the city.”

Yu sighed, knowing she would only lose if she argued further about it. “All right, Feng Jie. You said you had a message?”

“Yes, Young Mistress. Madame Huan has instructed you to drink the water, eat the rice, and then read this.”

She reached into the inside breast folds of her simple but clean and professional servant robes and pulled out a note that had been folded numerous times and sealed in wax.

She held it out to Yu, who said, “Put it on the table next to the food and drink, please. I’m still moving slowly.”

The maid did so silently. “Is there anything else, Young Mistress?” she asked.

“No. Thank you, Feng Jie.”

The woman bowed, left and quietly slid the door closed behind her.

Yu let out a huff, not pleased with what she felt was “lady of the household” foolishness. At least when she was “ill” she had not had to deal with all the nobility nonsense. Being a noble in good standing meant she was considered to be better than just about everyone else in the clan. As the daughter of the clan lord, she even outranked most of the elders, now that she was healthy. Not that anyone knew that. Her improved status meant that she had a title, hence all the “Young Mistress” nonsense. She felt there was probably more to the title than she knew, but she didn’t really care enough to ask. She disliked all the “nobles versus their lessers” garbage. To her it just sounded like an excuse to laud strength over others, and she had had more than enough of that in her life.

Taking a breath, she calmed herself and slowly moved, wincing slightly at the overwhelming feeling of… not pain, but just… feeling. She couldn’t describe it. It was just more. Firming her resolve, Yu was able to shift the sheets, sit up, and consume the food and drink. Then she opened the note, which flashed with a brief burst of Qi, validating the intended recipient as matching the person who had accessed it, and read the note.

Pupil,

By now you have discovered that your skin is too sensitive to function normally. At the end of this note you will find a meditation mantra which can help you control the level of sensation on your skin. Start practicing it in a warm bath, and when you feel able to submerge yourself without wanting to jump out, you are to practice it outside the bath. At that point you will be able to wear your usual cultivation clothes and are to join me at the bamboo garden. I expect you to meet me in less than three days. Every hour past sunup on the third day is a waste which will annoy me and will result in an extra hour of short sprints and water leaps.

You did well accepting the pain. You have chosen a difficult path, or perhaps it has chosen you. In either case, you passed the first level of the Foundation Building Stage. Welcome to the world of cultivation. It is a deeply disturbing and violent world; I hope you are ready for what you have begun. You will now be able to study the second level of the first stage of the Azure Dragon’s Heart and use it to send energy to your skeletal structure while you are not working on the skin mantra. Follow that scripture. I know you will have it memorized in moments and you will do fine.

Once you can survive without wanting to tear your skin off and your bones begin absorbing Qi, you and I are going for a little trip. I know that everyone said you need to stay hidden, and all that nonsense. I don’t care. Nobody will know it's you, and you require something new and different to advance. I will provide all the materials needed, you must simply bring yourself and the clothes on your back.

Your Teacher

Oh, yes. You may look at your Sign when you join me outside, and not until. Do not disappoint me.

The confirmation that Yu had succeeded caused her more elation than she was expecting. It was one last bit of validation that the gods were with her, and an acknowledgment that she could proceed with her cultivation journey.

With a huge grin and fresh motivation, while bouncing in excitement Yu called out, “Feng Jie, prepare a bath!”

A mantra was a set of cultivation instructions in the format of half song and half poem that mixed with Qi to function. A cultivator usually started learning it out loud until it was memorized, and then they could hum it and eventually keep it going in their minds as necessary. The cultivation mindscape was the key to this as it acted as a sort of storage ring to keep the various mantras, skills, and abilities readily available. The Mind attribute of the cultivator defined (among other things) how much could be stored, how quickly things could be stored, and how efficiently what was stored could be accessed.

Yu could obviously memorize easily so it only took her a day, rather than the nearly three days that Grandma Huan had granted, to regain the ability to tolerate clothes. The mantra still took a little focus to access passively, but it was basically absorbed by her mindscape and became permanently available.

The morning after Yu found she was able to tolerate being fully clothed again, she read the bone-reinforcement part of the Azure Dragon’s Heart and then went for a walk. She reached the stone-arched entrance to her miniature bamboo garden, the most beautiful and peaceful part of her training center. Stalks of green bamboo with long green leaves dotted the area, which was surrounded by low stone walls. The wind would often give off a gentle whistling as it ran over and between the hollow stalks. Yu often cycled there because of the serenity it offered.

She entered the garden and walked along the stone pathway, lightly running her hands along the bamboo stalks and listening to the burbling of the brook that fed the pond. She occasionally brushed her arms and legs along the soft green leaves or smooth stalks to test her control of the skin mantra. She found her command of it acceptable, if not perfect. Making small adjustments to her focus as she wandered down the path, Yu felt much better about how she was managing external stimuli against her skin. She soon found herself back at the gray stone-arched entrance, having completed the short looping path. Then she realized that she hadn’t yet run into Grandma Huan.

“Maybe I’m too early and need to have someone fetch her,” she said aloud to herself.

Looking toward the brightening sky and then around the peaceful setting, Yu decided to stop and meditate. Sitting on a stone next to the gently flowing water, she sat in the lotus position and entered her mindscape.

When she entered the blackness of her mindscape, the rough jade image of herself looked almost exactly the same. Upon reflection, though, Yu thought the sharp edges appeared just slightly less jagged. However, she thought it could just be that she was seeing what she wished to, and so she moved past it and merged with her form.

As she had done every time prior, Yu summoned the energy to herself and it entered her dantian. She felt it swirling in the cleansing cycle, building up to a greater amount than she had ever managed before. Her dantian could definitely hold more now, as she had hoped. The organ was supposed to strengthen slightly with each use, and substantially with each level growth. Having never gone up a full stage, she had no idea what would happen with her dantian when she eventually reached the Meridian Formation Stage.

Now full of Qi, her dantian began purifying and expelling its energy. Once again the cycling path designated by the Azure Dragon’s Heart was bizarre in the way it sent Qi through the body. Instead of simply sending energy to the hip bones and using that as a path to reach the rest of her bones, Yu’s unusual scripture forced the energy through a circular path down the right leg, then back up and into the other, up through her left side just past the kidney and toward the lungs, where it touched the spine and moved up to the first vertebra, right below the skull.

The three Qi energies began seeping into the bone, strengthening the fibers and tubules that gave it its rigidity. Even the pores within the bone were filled with the silver glowing Qi of Yu’s refined power. The different energies seemed to balance out and offer the bone an odd balance of increased mass, lightness, and flexibility. The only part of the bone the cycling energy did not enhance was the marrow and blood inside its core, as those related to the second to last level of the Foundation Building Stage.

As with her skin, Yu began to see areas of higher and lower efficiency in the flows, and began making minor adjustments. Thanks to her experience with her skin she was better at it, even though she felt there was still room for improvement.

When the first bone’s structure could absorb no more energy, Yu followed the cycle as it moved to the next bone.

By the time Yu’s dantian had run dry she had followed the scripture until five bones were fully saturated, plus she had begun work on the sixth. Three vertebrae and two ribs had now undergone infusion.

When Yu opened her eyes again she found herself covered in a layer of black filth which absolutely stank – it was like manure and rotten fish mixed together. She almost vomited from the stench. She immediately stripped off all her revolting black-stained clothing, carried them as far from herself as she could and, breathing only through her mouth, ran out of the garden and toward the pond. After dropping her clothes to the ground, she leapt into the water. It was cold that early in the morning, but Yu ignored that and quickly scrubbed the filth off of her. She then climbed out of the pond with chattering teeth, rubbing herself to warm up.

She felt bad about leaving the water so blackened, and thought that perhaps she could help whoever was responsible for it when the time to clean it came around.

A dry cackling laughter sounded throughout the open area as Grandma Huan slowly sauntered closer, banging her cane with each step.

Yu looked at the old woman grumpily and attempted to wring the water out of her long silver hair. “You could have said something.”

Now laughing even louder, the old woman had to stop walking for fear she might fall over from hysterics.

Yu harrumphed and started running on the spot in an effort to fight off the chill of the frigid water.

“Instead of laughing at me, can you tell me what happened?” Yu asked petulantly.

Grandma Huan got ahold of herself, then produced a rocking chair out of thin air and settled herself in it while still chuckling and shaking her head. “Impurities, child.”

Yu blinked at her. “Huh?”

Her teacher slammed her cane down and muttered to herself. Yu couldn’t tell what had upset her, but she seemed grumpy about it.

“During life, child, impurities from food and drink, the environment, and even the air itself build up in the body. No matter what one experienced or how one lived, nothing is as pure as Qi, and part of the body-strengthening process of the Foundation Building Stage leads to the removal of the impurities gained through living. That is why they call it the Foundation Building Stage: the cultivator is building a supposedly strong foundational body for the future power available. It is also why it is considered the most important stage to get right. A poor foundation makes for a poor future.”

That all made sense to Yu, but it also left her concerned. “Teacher, why didn’t I release any impurities when I enhanced my skin? Did they not leave my body?” Even Yu could hear the fear in her own voice.

“I understand your fear, but do not share it,” Grandma Huan said calmly. “I have a theory as to why your skin did not cause an expulsion of impurities but your bones did.”

Grandma Huan was about to continue, but instead stopped and wrinkled her nose. She glared at Yu and then at the pile of filthy clothes that were giving off the horrid stench, then waved her hand. A hole opened up beneath the clothes and they fell to an unknown fate under the dirt and stone. Then she produced a new set of cultivation clothes and underclothes and threw them to Yu, who scrambled to grab them and put them on.

“While I speak, you will do your standing exercises.”

“Yes teacher,” Yu said.

Having dressed herself, Yu began her stretches and listened as the old woman shared her theory.

“Now where was I? Oh yes. You ruined my concentration. When you went through your… experience in the forest, much of your body was changed. Your corruption, as you call it, was released and your previous body was flooded with purifying energy and your stored Qi from your prior thirteen years of life. This affected various parts of your body differently. For example, you must have noticed that your skin was quite different after the purification. My theory is that your skin was, in essence, mostly new and had not built up the impurities of life, and thus you did not release much in terms of impurities. Your bones, however, while changed, were not nearly as new. Some may produce more or less impurity, based on their condition during your purification process. It is my supposition that from now on, your body will experience a mostly normal expulsion process going forward.”

Yu was concluding her lower body stretches and stated, “That means I need to be better prepared to avoid another experience of the impurities ruining my clothes.”

“Just your acknowledgment of that makes you smarter than most of the idiot men I’ve trained. You have no idea how many sets of training clothes your father went through.”

Yu moved to her handstand workout and let out a short laugh. “My lord father probably thought he could glare the impurities away. So, your letter said we were going out?”

“We will be going into the forest. You will be training in how to hunt and survive in areas with wild beasts and lower-level demon beasts. Nothing above a low grade 2.”

A low grade 2 could be the equivalent of a new Meridian Formation Stage cultivator – which was way, way stronger than Yu. She wanted to be strong and challenge herself, not die a pointless death against something she had no chance against. She might as well battle a dragon.

She spoke of her fear nervously, “Teacher, those are far too strong for me. Grade 1 should be okay if I’m well prepared and armed. But a grade 2, even a low grade 2, would turn me into breakfast faster than it takes for a dumpling to hit the floor.”

Grandma Huan slammed her white cane on the ground, resulting in a shaking under Yu’s hands as she balanced on them, causing her to lose her balance and fall over into the sand. Yu released an “oof” but quickly rolled to her feet and began again. Grandma Huan did not tolerate delays from mistakes as simple as falling.

“Who is the teacher here? If I say you fight a beast, you fight a beast. Is that clear, student?”

Yu was still scared of being eaten alive but said, “Yes, teacher.”

At least she wouldn’t be alone. She hoped that the old woman wouldn’t let her be eaten just to prove a point. Not that Yu would put it past her.

Her teacher continued giving orders. “Tomorrow you will meet me here at sunup and we will head into the forest. Bring nothing and do not be late.”

“Yes, teacher.”

Another cane slam followed and Grandma Huan ordered, “You are to spend every moment from now until then alone. You are not to speak to anyone at all. Period. Now, for annoying me, go do twenty-five short sprints and twenty-five water leaps.”

With a sigh Yu said, “Yes, teacher.”

Interlude

The prior evening – The eastern quarter of Fei Shu City, outside the Moonshine Bath House:

Chao Bin and two other men in Chao Clan guard uniforms laughed together as they waited their turn to enter their favorite “bath house.” It wasn’t anything fancy, but the clean wooden walls and well-cared-for doors and sconces showed that it was at least a middle-grade establishment, and not one of the dumps their juniors were forced to use.

“Chao Bin, there is no way you can afford Ms. Minchan. Unless you got promoted and nobody told us!” called the fellow guard to his right, Chao Lingmen, as he gave Bin a shove in the shoulder.

“I’m telling you, I’m going to convince her this time. You just watch,” Bin confidently replied. He knew he’d succeed this time. He had received a bonus for performing well during the beast wave, and now finally had the opportunity to spend it.

On Bin’s left, Chao Ninggong, the other guard, said with a laugh, “Sure you will. And the youngest and most beautiful girl there will ask for me in particular.” He was an ugly man with a pale scar slicing down the right side of his face and neck.

“Whatever,” Bin replied with a wave of his hand. He knew they’d learn. “No matter which poor girl serves you two tonight, remember that you have to be back for our early shift on the city guard tomorrow. Otherwise, we’ll be punished and that hotheaded fool Chao Bongching and his idiot of a patrol partner will get the easy shift.”

Ninggong snorted. “There’s no way I’m losing the cushy early morning shift to those fools. Then we’d be stuck with the afternoon shift, and you know how busy that gets!”

“Then again,” Bin said laughingly, “if I get Ms. Minchan, it might be worth staying up until the morning.”

The other two laughed with him. They continued to verbally needle one another until they were finally allowed in, paying the respective silver for the bath and “massage,” before being told who was available for them. Unfortunately for Bin, Ms. Minchan was not available, or so he was told. He tried to tell them he had extra silver, but they insisted that the beautiful Ms. Minchan was busy. So he and his two companions had to choose from the more mundane options in their usual price range before they were taken into the back.

Twenty minutes later they were out of the bath, wearing only towels, and excitedly waiting to be guided to their private massage rooms. The door slid aside and three alluring dark-haired women entered, dressed in nearly transparent pink robes and nothing else. Their nearly exposed bodies were flawless. Their pale skin and superb proportions shocked Bin into silence. Who are these girls? he thought. He felt sure that there was no way any of them could afford those visions of perfection, and wondered what they were even doing in a middle-grade establishment.

“Gentlemen,” the middle beauty called in a melodious voice. “Please follow us to your rooms.”

Wondering whether he was dreaming, Bin looked over at his companions. A quick glance told him that they also had wide eyes and open mouths.

The beauty on the left walked over to Bin and took his arm in hers. He looked down at her and grinned, then he allowed himself be guided out. Anticipation was already burning within him like a fire.

Gods, whatever I did to deserve this, thank you! he called in his mind as he glanced at the wooden ceiling.

The dark-haired dream led him upstairs, passing rooms that echoed with the noises of others being “massaged,” and to a room that was third from the end. She gently pushed him inside and he didn’t fight her, still being in a sort of pleasant daze. The room was familiar and simple, containing only a bed with a bamboo chest at the end, along with a dresser upon which lay various oils, perfumes, and paints for the body.

Bin turned around as he heard the woman slide the door closed behind him, a massive grin splitting his face. He felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Yet as he turned to her his grin froze. Her beauty was still there, but her smile was now gone, and in its place was a grim frown. But more important than her change of expression was the hand that she was holding palm upward at the level of his face. He was shocked to stillness again as he saw green powder lying on it.

Bin watched her immaculate lips form an “O” as she took a breath and blew the powder into his face. He finally managed to extricate himself from his stunned stupor and leapt backward, but Bin knew almost instantly that it was too late when he opened his mouth to call out. Nothing but a cough exited his lips. He felt his body tingle, and realized he was falling. Sharp pain shot through him as his face hit the ground. He could feel the crunch as his nose broke, then his head lolled to the side.

He couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. Bin knew he was going to die. Just when everything had been going right, he was going to die.

Gods, why?

This woman had killed him. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she lightly stepped back into his vision. He watched as she slipped out of the transparent robe and let it fall to the floor. Black cloth appeared in her hands and Bin watched as she dressed herself.

Prone and paralyzed, he could only observe as two other black-clothed women walked into his line of sight. Then everything started to turn fuzzy as his diaphragm failed to work properly. He felt strangely calm, something about the powder’s effects making him unable to process events properly.

“Done?” his murderer asked.

“Yes, captain,” the pair responded in tandem.

She nodded and said, “We need to report to the Matriarch that things went exactly as she instructed. Their replacements will be active tomorrow.”

He watched in his fading vision as she took out a slip of parchment with blurry characters painted on it. She held it before herself and then threw it into the air between them.

The last thing Bin saw before everything faded to black was a flash of silver light and an empty room.

Part Four

LEARNING TO LEARN

The four heavenly beasts watched and guided. They would interfere with their creations when they felt guidance was needed, and thus directed the world as they saw fit and according to their desires.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

EIGHTEEN

Street Performance

The next day – The streets of Fei Shu City:

It never occurred to Yu that when Grandma Huan had mentioned leaving the city in secret she had meant that they would be walking out in the open, right through the gate of the City Lord’s Palace. She also had not suspected that her teacher was a dual-affinity Mage – Grandma Huan was able to wield both Earth and Water. Most surprising, it turned out that some Water Mages could use the fluidity and reflective ability of water to create illusions.

That ability helped a great deal in their current circumstances. There the two of them were, stepping through the city in plain sight – just two hunched-over old crones wearing tattered cloaks and leaning on walking sticks, slowly making their way to the gate. In the past, Yu had always put great effort into not drawing attention to herself when in the city, but that was by hiding in the shadows and moving from side street to side street. This was hiding in plain sight, and was a completely new experience for her. It also granted her an opportunity she had longed for but not dared attempt – to actually be among the city and its inhabitants.

Most of them were normal people going about their normal day. She saw merchants selling all manner of things. The steam rising from freshly baked breads was accompanied with the clanging of metal ingots being stacked for sale to smiths. The scent of fresh fruits competed with fragrant perfumes of jasmine and lavender. She almost wanted to stop and run her hands along the goods of stalls hung with wool and silks that exploded with color. The air was thick with the cries of street vendors as they tried to tempt passersby with their goods.

Yu was having difficulty not gawking at all the activity and bustle. She had rarely come out during busy times like this, and when she had, she had never let herself be exposed to so much risk. An errant blade, a falling object… She had been forced to hide from all this activity for fear of an injury that would prove fatal to her, but just harmful to even a mundane. Yu shook her hooded head to dispel the desire to interact with the environment. Instead, she continued on her way out of the city, trudging along at the plodding pace of an ancient.

Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a quiet escape came to an unfortunate end when two cultivators in their mid-teens wearing the crossed pikes over a shield emblem of the Chao clan came storming down the street. One wore a saber at his hip and the other a spear across his back. With waves of their arms, they were belligerently knocking away any who didn’t scramble out of their reach in time.

“I can’t believe we got stuck with the boring shift!” the spear-wielder on the right spat as he sent a middle-aged mortal rolling away with a backhand.

“You’re right, Chao Bongching,” declared the saber-wielder next to him. “There’s never any cultivators around in the early mornings. Just some useless mortals doing useless things for other mortals,” he said as he sent a merchant with a basket of vegetables stumbling with a vicious kick. He then punched a young woman who had apparently come too close. “Why in the nine hells were we stuck taking the place of that idiot Chao Bin and his cronies?”

Yu watched as Chao Bongching pulled out his spear from its diagonal back sheath. His face had turned red, and he called out, “Fucking idiot. I’ll fucking kill him for this!”

“Run!” hissed someone in the nearby crowd. “When the guards get like this, they’ll happily cut you down and claim you were ‘disturbing the peace.’ No mortal’s word is worth Stone Dog’s excrement compared to even the lowest cultivator – and they know it. Best to just stay out of their way.”

Others of the crowd nodded and muttered similar sentiments. Many began to push and shove their way out of the marketplace in a rush to be anywhere but there.

Yu heard a muttered oath from Grandma Huan. Instead of stepping in and teaching them a lesson as Yu had expected, the old woman gripped Yu’s arm harder and started dragging her to the side, out of the belligerent guards’ path.

“Teacher, we can’t just—” Yu whispered as she was being hauled away.

Yu felt a bigger yank on her arm. “Yes we can, girl. And—”

But Yu stopped listening as she felt compelled to glance back at the pair of abusive cultivators. What she saw scared her so much that she froze and almost tumbled into her teacher, who had not let up on her urgent pulling. A clearly mortal boy no more than five or six years of age, wearing a dirty brown shirt, blue pants, and carrying a basket of multicolored cloth, stumbled into the road three paces in front of the cultivators. He had been shoved aside by other mortals fleeing the pair of violent guards.

Yu watched, and things seemed to happen in slow motion. The boy tripped and fell, dropping his basket and dumping the clean cloth all over the dirt-covered street. She watched helplessly as the two cultivators, who were supposed to be guarding the public, glared at the child and yelled something Yu was too shocked to make out. She saw a beam of early morning sunlight glint off the spear tip as he pointed it down toward the child.

Yu screamed and reached toward the boy, but he was still more than ten paces away – too far away for her to intervene. She was terrified, and desperate to do something. Anything. But it was too far. Anger and frustration at her impotence surged through her. She wondered what all her cultivation powers were worth if she could not save even one child of her city. She might as well be a cripple again, helpless under her tormentors’ boots. Emotions roiled and raged through Yu in that moment. They coursed through her like fire in her veins, and seemed to explode from within her. And suddenly the world froze. Without realizing what she was doing, Yu was sprinting toward the boy as all movement around her ceased.

Yu made it three steps and immediately felt weak as a babe. Everything then returned to normal speed as the world flashed silver in her eyes. She stumbled and collapsed onto her knees in the middle of the road.

“What was that?” the other cultivator asked while whipping out the saber from his waist.

The spear-wielder lowered his spear and answered, “I don’t know. That was a burst of Qi I didn’t recognize.”

The cultivator with the saber asked, “Is someone targeting us, or…?”

Yu felt exhausted, and there was a throbbing pain in her stomach as she lifted her head. She was relieved to see the boy dragging his basket out of the way, now ignored by the guards. Yu then turned her head and stared into the eyes of the brutal men as she felt Grandma Huan grab her arm and attempt to lift her to her feet.

The Spear cultivator stopped looking around for potential attackers, and focused on them.

“What the fuck are you doing running at us like that, old crone?” he snapped. “Are you in league with the cultivators who would attack us? Don’t you know who we are?” Then he looked around and called out loudly, “We’re Chao Clan cultivators! How dare anyone attack us? Flee or be slaughtered!”

Even to Yu’s muddled mind, his voice rang with as much fear as it did bravado.

Yu heard Grandma Huan sigh next to her ear. “Wonderful. Now these childish buffoons are scared that someone is going to use external Qi on them.” The old woman’s whisper sounded frustrated and impatient.

Her observations were confirmed when the saber-wielder called out in a near panic, “You’re stalling us for those cultivators, aren’t you, you bag of bones? You’re making us an easy target!”

Yu watched as he looked frantically left and right, and even up toward the roofs of buildings. Then he seemed to come to a decision and leaped at the pair of them. Yu’s sudden fatigue and fuzzy mind caused her to panic, and once again came the feeling of something bursting forth from her body. Then a sharp pain ripped through the core of her being and she knew nothing but blackness.

Grandma Huan could not believe that had happened. She hadn’t wanted to get involved with any of the fools in this backwater city. Well except for her final student. And now she’d had to blind everyone on the block, knock out two imbeciles, and then drag her unconscious charge out of the city before anyone noticed they were gone.

She wondered how in the nine hells they had managed to run into such pompous young cretins while just walking in the city. No human city was short of arrogant cultivators, it was the nature of their world. But here, in such a tiny place with so few strong warriors, guards that antagonistic were rare. It was the worst of luck that they had somehow encountered such hostility during their escape. They had left in the early morning for the very reason that it was supposed to be calm!

She was tempted to go over and wipe the entire Chao Clan from the face of the city she was so annoyed.

The foolish child was able to use her affinity before opening her meridians. What in the nine hells was she thinking? Sure, it was her first time actually using Qi, but did she really have to be so naïve? Nearly exposing herself and her affinity for a mere mortal child?

She better not have cracked or broken her dantian. It was a pain in the ass to heal that. Ugh.

Huan was so aggravated she wanted to just crush the whole damn city and go home. She hadn’t come out of retirement for this nonsense. Foolish children doing foolish things.

Pausing time without any meridians. Twice no less! Honestly…

It had taken her an hour to reach the southern gate, holding her student upright as though she too was walking. Thankfully for them, the guards didn’t pay attention to people leaving unless they had trade carts that required their contents to be recorded and reported for tax purposes.

A short time after passing through the gate, and when nobody was in sight, Huan dropped the illusion, lifted her student into a proper carry position nestled in her arms, and leapt into the trees of the forest.

Yu groaned, and the old woman looked down to once more see the pale face of a mere child in her arms. She often forgot how young her student really was. Huan’s eyes then moved to her own wrinkled hand and saw a glint of silver. A small smile grew on her ancient cracked lips. She would have to change her plans, and she knew exactly how to do it.

Grandma Huan whispered, “It’s time to move on my friend.”

NINETEEN

Leaving the Firelight

Yu came to with a splitting headache. Looking around painfully, she found herself on hard packed dirt, surrounded by tall trees and next to a fire. Many hours must have passed, as it was nighttime and she appeared to be in the forest outside the city. Yu had no memory of how she had gotten there. Wincing as she sat up, she saw Grandma Huan across the fire from her, sitting on her rocking chair and rocking slowly.

Wait, is she doing embroidery?

Figuring her head might be broken, Yu said, “Hello, teacher.”

Without taking her eyes off her needlework, Grandma Huan spoke in a familiarly scary but sweet tone, “Hello, student.”

Uh-oh. Yu knew she had done something bad if that tone was being used. “Teacher, are you doing embroidery?”

“Why yes, student. It keeps my hands busy so that they do not find their way around your scrawny little neck.”

Yu shivered. She must have committed some sort of colossal error to receive such a threat. If only she knew what it was.

Yu gulped audibly and responded in a subdued tone, “I’m sorry, teacher. I can’t remember what happened.”

Still not looking up, the old woman said, without changing her ominous tone, “You, being the stupid, foolish, idiot child you are, used Qi outside of your body.”

Yu blinked. That was not possible. “I don’t have meridians yet, teacher. I can’t use Qi except to strengthen my body.”

Grandma Huan looked up for the first time since Yu had woken up and peered at her with narrowed eyes. “Are you questioning me?”

“Absolutely not, teacher,” Yu responded hurriedly while holding her hands up in surrender.

Harrumphing, the old woman returned to her embroidery. “You did not mean to. You felt threatened, or some other fool thing, and used it by instinct. Since your dantian can store energy now, and since it knows how to use it due to passing the first level of the Foundation Building Stage, you were unconsciously able to force the energy out.” Grandma Huan lifted her head and glared again. “You could have cracked or destroyed your dantian. You must know what that means?”

Yu felt the blood drain from her face as she gasped out, “I’d lose my cultivation or die.”

“Yes. You would. And what’s worse, all this time I have been putting into you would have been wasted. Then I would have killed you for the frustration and waste. Demonstrate you have self-control, or I will not teach you.”

Yu bowed deeply. “I’m sorry, teacher. Will you teach me how to use Qi properly?”

“No. But we’ll get to you learning things in a moment. You have a headache, yes?”

Yu nodded and winced.

“Any other pain?”

Yu thought about it and listened to her body, but found nothing else wrong. “No, teacher.”

“Good. That headache will act as a lesson. I healed the minor damage you did to yourself and added a block to stop you from doing it again. It will only stay in place for a few weeks while you become accustomed to using your Qi with intent. This is the only way to avoid further… accidents. After that you are on your own. Doing it again would prove that you are not worth my time.”

Yu bowed deeply and said, “I’m sorry, teacher.”

Grandma Huan humphed and said, “Come over here.”

Yu stood and walked over to the rocking old woman. Once again without disturbing her embroidery, she said, “You may look at your Sign now.”

Yu blinked, then grinned wide and said, “Sign.”

It appeared before her in the now familiar glistening silver.

Name: Yu

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: Young Mistress

Age: 13

Meridians: 0/156

Qi Type:

Granted: Ether

Blessed: Aura, Mana

Qi Affinity:

Primary: Spatial

Secondary: Lightning, Earth, Water, Wood

Cultivation Level:

Stage: Foundation

Level: Bone

Body: 17 | Mind: 66 | Spirit: 39

Martial Forms: Tai Chi: (Initiate), Kung Fu: (Novice)

Weapon Capabilities: Jian: (Initiate), Dual Jian: (Novice), Whip: (Novice), Bow: (Novice), Staff: (Novice), Spear: (Novice)

Qi Skills:

Aura: None

Mana: None

Ether: Beast Bonding (Novice), Enchant Lightning* (Novice)

Status: None

Honors: *Tribulation Supplicant

Titles: The Corrupted, The Blessed, Tiger’s Blood

Seeing her increased Spirit, Yu said softly, “That explains why I can store so much more Qi.”

The old woman nodded. “You are more resilient and can absorb, process, and store more Qi. That is common. Any other gains are likely from the months of strenuous work you underwent. Overall, you are moving faster than I expected. At the risk of allowing a snake to believe itself a dragon, I will tell you that both the rate at which you accomplished full enhancement as well as the substance of what you gained are better than most. That does not mean you should believe your future Foundation Building Stage growth will be equal, though.”

“I understand, teacher. What should I do now?” Yu asked.

“Ah, yes. That is why we are here.” Her embroidery disappeared into a storage ring and one wrinkled hand reached into her robes and then was presented to Yu palm up. On it was a silver ring with strange carvings etched into it.

Astonished, Yu asked, “Is that a spatial storage ring?” She had always wanted to examine one up close. To actually be able to use one was beyond exciting.

“It is. Now stop bouncing, you’ll give me a headache.”

Yu was confused for a moment, before she realized she was indeed springing up and down on her toes. Well, she was about to get her first storage ring. She hoped.

With a sigh, Grandma Huan said, “Take it before I change my mind. But do not put it on.”

Yu accepted it and, holding it in her clenched fist, looked excitedly at her teacher.

“You will spend the rest of your time in the bone level of Foundation Building in this forest. In that ring is everything you will need. You may not access it for the next hour, though. After one hour passes you may put it on, use what is inside, and begin surviving.”

Yu gaped at the old woman.

Is she mad?

Yu wanted to grow stronger, not die in the belly of a demonic beast.

“Oh, stop it,” Grandma Huan said, her voice firm. “You’ll do fine. Now listen carefully. I expect you to return that ring to me with at least ten thousand silver worth of beast parts and cores. There should be plenty of space. If you come back with less, I will leave. If you come back before all two hundred and six of your bones are fully saturated, I will leave. If you ask for assistance from anyone, I will leave.” The old woman scrunched up her eyes, enhancing the wrinkles along her face. “I. Will. Know. I am connected to that ring. Am I clear, child?”

Yu was flabbergasted to find she was supposed to survive out there on her own for however many weeks without any understanding of how.

“Why?” was all that Yu could come up with.

Grandma Huan leaned back in her rocking chair. “The reason, child, is because you are too smart for your own good. If I hadn’t forbidden you from leaving or speaking with someone you would have gotten ahold of some scroll or other and learned all you needed to know about surviving in the beast-infested wilderness.”

That was exactly what Yu had been thinking.

Why is that wrong?

“Despite your memory and understanding, you will experience things in life that you have not prepared for. This is one of them. You must learn how to learn without anyone or anything guiding you. Do not always depend on that impressive memory. It will not always hold the answers.” The old woman must have seen Yu’s terrified expression, because she added in a gentler voice, “Child, I’ve been watching you for months now. Your ability to see and absorb the world is better than almost any, of any age, I’ve known in my long life. But you haven’t been challenged to think. To learn without guidance. You know what to do because you read it and remember it, or because you were told and remembered. You haven’t figured out what to do with nothing but your own mind. You must learn. To. Learn. You will not survive long without that.”

Yu blinked at Grandma Huan, trying to process what she had just heard. Upon reflection, Yu could admit that perhaps it was true, but abandoning her in the beast-filled forest? How would that help?

“Teacher, maybe that’s true, but there has to be a better way,” Yu pled.

The old woman’s wrinkled face smiled. “If you can accept that it is indeed true, then you will succeed. I would not do this if I did not believe in you.” Then she reached forward and patted Yu’s hand. “Go on, then. Fortune go with you, child.”

Following that blessing, Grandma Huan stood up, put her rocking chair in her own ring, and said, “One final piece of advice. Understand before you act.” Then she disappeared in a pop of displaced air.

Yu just stood there, staring at where the old woman had been only a moment ago. Lifting her hand a little, she opened it and saw the ring on her palm. She found that she had been squeezing so hard it had even left an impression in her resilient skin. It was then that the fire went out with a sputter and release of smoke.

Yu felt a single tear fall from each of her eyes. Then she took a deep breath and closed them.

Well, I can stand here and mope, or I can learn and hopefully survive.

She opened her eyes, closed her hand on the ring and snapped her head up. Yu then turned her back to the dead fire and ran forward into the dark unknown of the forest.

TWENTY

Ring

Yu’s past experiences in the forest had all been in areas cleared by the city patrols. While Grandma Huan had not spoken of it, Yu was absolutely sure she was outside of the five-li protection range of the city, as she couldn’t see what the point of the exercise would be if she weren’t.

Yu scanned the area around her constantly, moving her head toward every rustle, every crack of a branch or skittering of feet. Her breathing was fast, despite her barely having been winded by her run from the fire.

“Has it been an hour?” Yu whispered to herself.

If she had had a chance to research, Yu was sure she would have figured out a way to tell time in the forest. After all, she would simply have to read a book about it, and then she’d know for the rest of her life. But that damn old woman wouldn’t let her. “Learn to learn,” she had said.

Great. What in the nine hells does that mean?

Yu heard a cracking sound in the distance to her left. She whipped her head in that direction and tried to see what she could in the dark of the night, but she was close to blind. The limited light that snuck through the forest canopy only illuminated the basic profiles of objects.

In front of her, Yu thought she saw a tree, so she walked forward slowly, crunching loudly on the varied detritus of the forest floor. She reached forward and found what was indeed the rough bark of a tree. Feeling around it, she decided it should be large enough to support her if she could manage to climb it. She had also managed to locate a few branches which she hoped would be thick enough to hold her weight.

Deciding that enough time had passed one way or another, she put the ring on her left index finger, if for no other reason than that she needed both hands to climb. It was pretty much her first time climbing a tree, so she decided she was just going to do what seemed right.

Yu found one of the branches within reach above her head. Gripping it with her hands, she pulled herself up through an effort of will, aided by her now larger arm muscles. Next wrapping her legs around it, she managed to twist around and then sit up, a leg hanging over either side.

The scraping sounds she made while climbing sounded loudly in her ears. She decided that she definitely needed to work on how much noise she made, if she was going to survive this insanity.

Another crack sounded in the distance and she decided she needed to get higher, just in case. She felt around until she located another branch, and once again pulled herself higher. Straddling the branch as she had done with the one below, Yu rested her back against the trunk. Unable to see the ground through the darkness, Yu had no idea how high she was, but guessed based on her climbing that it was around three spans of her height. Hopefully it would be enough protection until she figured out how she was going to survive.

Well, all of her decisions were going to be based on what Grandma Huan had given her in the ring. She had hopes for certain things, but all she could do was check.

And then she realized that she had no idea how to access what was inside it.

Nobody had ever shown her how to use a spatial storage ring before. Yet more crucial preparation she had been denied.

Yu whispered to herself, “Okay, think.”

Flipping through her memory, she recalled a discussion at dinner one night between her Uncle Gen and Lei. Yu had found it interesting, since at the time she had still been hopeful that she would be able to use a spatial treasure one day.

Gen spoke proudly while showing off the bronze ring he wore on his left index finger to her brother. “A spatial ring is an object that only cultivators can use, because it requires access to Qi.”

When Lei asked why he only had one and didn’t wear a bunch, Gen responded, “Well, firstly because they are expensive. Enchanters, pompous bastards that they are, demand a lot of silver for them. And secondly, for some reason only enchanters know, a single cultivator can never wear more than one at a time. He can carry them in a bag or on his person, but only a single spatial ring can be worn on a finger at a time or neither will work. When you get one you’ll understand.”

Yu mumbled, “Access to Qi?”

Yu was confused. It made no sense for her to have to send Qi there because it would require a pathway, and that required a cycling technique. After only a moment of thought Yu realized that the entire concept was absurd – nobody needed a cycling path just to access a storage ring.

But how do I get Qi to the ring?

Yu laid her head back against the tree trunk and looked upward, seeing an occasional star through the small gaps in the thick forest canopy. Just then a single shaft of moonlight forced its way through the leaves and shone down near where Yu was sitting. It was beautiful.

Yu reached out her hand and let it pass through the white glow. As she did that, her ring glimmered in the thin beam of light.

Staring at it, Yu thought that the band really was beautiful. It was pure silver with elegant whirls and strange-looking designs all over it. No other spatial ring that she had seen had had such intricate designs. Grandma Huan really had given her an exquisite piece of work. Yu thought that perhaps if she begged, her teacher would let her keep it. She doubted it, but figured it would be worth a try.

Yu’s eyes shifted from the ring to her skin. She didn’t really care about appearance as much as function, because she didn’t care about impressing anyone with looks. But even she had to admit that her skin and the ring looked lovely together. Her knuckles had no lines or wrinkles, the skin just seemed too elastic to gain them. The purification and empowerment of her skin was rather miraculous. She shuddered slightly at the remembered pain, but moved past it quickly. It had all been worth it, even a little exhilarating. The feeling of flooding herself with Qi was…

Yu then stared at the skin surrounding the ring and her eyes widened. “Oh,” she exclaimed quietly, and smiled to herself.

Thinking further, her smile widened as she thought, That clever old hag.

Yu already knew how to send Qi throughout one portion of her body: her skin. That path already existed, as circuitous as it was. What Yu’s teacher had managed to do by not giving her specific instructions was to force her to think outside of what she knew.

“Understand before you act,” her teacher had said at the end. And Yu realized that was the key. To figure this out, she had to analyze what limited knowledge she had, expound upon that to reflect on her existing capabilities, and then analyze how it might help her solve the problem in front of her. In other words, she had to learn how to learn. Without cheating.

Moreover, Grandma Huan would have known this would be the first problem Yu had to puzzle through, and that it would be relatively harmless. Then Yu realized how she could do it, and that she could perhaps do it again in a less safe setting.

The old bat really is an amazing teacher.

Yu took in a deep breath. “No use letting the epiphany pass unrewarded,” she whispered.

Yu sent a tiny tendril of Qi from her dantian into her skin. She then used what she had learned from the skin mantra to move the Qi throughout her skin. Next was the new part, as she attempted to send the Qi from inside her skin to the outside – to the surface. This was something cultivators did all the time to toughen their skin, and was why her first strike against Yaozu back in the barn should never have worked.

But Grandma Huan had never had a chance to teach her this, because pretty much immediately after Yu had completed the first level of the Foundation Building Stage, she had started on the second.

That was probably entirely intentional on the old hag’s part, too!

If Yu could figure this out, she knew she could use Qi to defend herself, at least at the skin level.

Shaking her head, Yu attempted to push the Qi to the outside of her skin. It was actually quite a smooth and simple process, and it flowed there with no issues at all. In fact, her skin felt great. Pressing her thumb into it, the pale surface barely indented. A huge grin split Yu’s face as she figured that the whole trip might not prove to be as dangerous as she had thought.

That was, until her dantian began to empty.

“Damn!” Yu exclaimed.

Yu reduced the flow of Qi to slow the emptying, and her skin softened. She tried to direct the Qi to just the skin under her ring, using what she had learned from the mantra. She succeeded, but her Qi was draining quickly and she had to stop before accessing the ring. Yu clearly had a lot of practice ahead of her.

It had taken a while for Yu’s dantian to recover enough for her to call in Qi again. She had then spent what seemed to be hours trying to understand how much Qi to send into the skin, how much affected its defenses, how long she could last defending herself and to what level, and finally how much was required to send into the ring to access its contents. The answer to that last had been: just a tendril. The smallest amount she could manipulate was all that had been needed.

Yu stared open-mouthed at what she had found in the ring, and wondered what in the nine hells the old woman had been thinking.

She saw what appeared to be the equivalent of a perfectly cube-shaped room at least as big as the crater she had woken up in all those months ago. And in the massive space there were less than ten items – dual jian in back scabbards, a bow, a thigh quiver with a single arrow, two sets of clothes that matched her current exercise gear (except that they were blue), and a small red stone. And that was it.

Great.

TWENTY-ONE

First Night

Hoping for inspiration or instructions, Yu flexed her will and sent out a trickle of Qi while thinking about the red stone. It appeared in her open palm. Okay, that worked. She now knew how to take things out, which was progress. Yu looked at the stone in the sparse moonlight and saw it was basically a piece of matte red rock the size of a coin. Like you might find on the ground, except deep red. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about it.

Yu let out a huffing breath and banged her head backward against the tree trunk.

Really, Grandma Huan?

Flexing her will and Qi once again, Yu sent the stone back into the ring. She felt it was really quite simple to use, but still wondered what in the nine hells she was supposed to do next.

While she was tired from her experimentation and using so much Qi, Yu thought to herself, I really shouldn’t fall asleep in such a precarious position.

She wondered whether she could stabilize herself so that it would be safe to take a nap, and looked around her. Yet she realized that the shaft of light had departed, and so she just could not see well enough to do anything.

Ugh. At least no beasts have tried to eat me yet.

Realizing her limitations, she laid her head back and closed her eyes. All Yu could do was hope she wouldn’t fall and break her neck while resting.

Yu woke to a strange rumbling sound and a beam of sunlight burning into her eyes. She blinked and jerked her head up, causing her to wobble slightly. By instinct she reached forward and grabbed the branch with her hands and flexed her legs, squeezing them so she didn’t fall off.

Blinking herself into awareness, Yu looked around. It was daytime, and she saw the familiar elements of a forest in the light. Brown- and red-barked trees of all sizes filled her view, and the mostly brown ground was dotted with broken branches and dried leaves.

When Yu looked directly beneath her, her body stiffened at the sight of a creature looking back up at her. It was on four legs and had the body shape and face of a dog, but with gray scales like a lizard instead of fur, and a thin bony spinal protrusion like a fin that started just behind its neck and ended just before its tail. It had yellow eyes, jaws filled with sharp teeth which were bared, sharp claws on the ends of its paws, and a long tail with three bone spikes.

The rumbling sound that had drawn her attention was coming from the creature. To her it was the sound of either anger or hunger. Yu’s fear spiked at seeing the terrifying beast glaring up at her. She started to scramble to her feet on the branch, only to lose her balance in her haste and nearly fall off again. Yu pressed against it, squeezing her arms and legs around the branch and shutting her eyes tightly. Her breathing came in quick pants, and small tears were forming in her eyes.

Amid the fear, somewhere in Yu’s mind was a feeling of anger at herself. She hadn’t lost control of herself to this extent with Ebony, and she had been in way more danger from the massive panther. Or maybe that was the reason. Back then she had felt sure she was going to die, so fear had become easier to manage. In this case, she had thought she was safe and was now terrified at losing the feeling of that security. That made sense.

Okay. Calm down. Think. Understand.

Yu always performed better when she had information to focus on.

In her many hours in the library Yu had read up on demonic beasts, and especially on those in the forest around her home, foolishly hoping she’d help her father to fight them someday. Running through the list of beasts in her memory, she landed on a creature that was usually grade 1 and often found in high numbers in the forest.

Called a Stone Dog, the Earth affinity creature was a pack animal but could occasionally be found alone when sent out to scavenge by a pack leader. It had hard scales and bones which were difficult to stab or slice but were vulnerable to bludgeoning. Its weakest points outside of the standard eye, mouth, and the like were the softer scales on its belly and the back of its leg joints.

Letting out a breath, Yu felt better knowing what was going on, both within herself and with the beast below. Looking at the size of its spikes, she determined it was almost certainly a mid-grade 1.

Okay. I can do this. First thing…

A scabbard appeared in her hand. She pulled on the protruding handle and, with a singing note, the shining steel jian slid out a few finger widths. Yu could see the start of a design on the blade, but put it back. She didn’t have time to waste admiring her weapon. If the Stone Dog got fed up, it might leave and go fetch its pack. She needed to kill it, and soon.

Yu strapped the first scabbard across her shoulders and chest, and then withdrew the other and secured it in the same way going the opposite direction. Just feeling the weapons’ presence gave her comfort and confidence. Slowly, she stood on her branch and the dog, seeing her move, barked once. It was a deep gravelly sound, and made her jump slightly. Shaking her head at herself, she crouched down and grabbed the branch, hooked her legs around it, rolled underneath and then released her legs.

Getting her bearings while dangling by her hands, she dropped the short distance to the lower branch, and crouched again to maintain her balance. The dog was now really growling and barking. It was also crouching as if readying itself to make a leap. Looking down at its back of solid stone scales affirmed Yu’s belief that using a bow then would be a waste of her single arrow.

All of a sudden, the dog released one loud bark and leapt, but not at her. It leapt at the tree trunk, its armored head down. The crunching sound made Yu’s eyes widen with the realization. She felt the tree give a massive shudder, and heard cracking sounds coming from where the dog had collided with it. Yu saw the dog step back with a slight wobble and shake of its head, before she felt gravity change around her, felt a tilt and, with a loud crack and crunch, the tree fell. Yu scrambled to grab onto the trunk, following it on its way down.

Yu’s breath was forced from her lungs when the tree struck the ground and her chest was pressed hard against the downed trunk. Yu scraped along the rough bark as she rolled over and fell off it and onto the packed earth of the forest floor, trying to gasp in some air. Then she heard snuffling sounds, and scrambled on all fours along the trunk and deeper into the foliage. The snuffling intensified, interspersed with growling that grew louder as the demonic beast approached.

She knew it was only a matter of time before it found her.

TWENTY-TWO

Fear and Courage

Yu was surrounded by large raindrop-shaped leaves that ran along her face and pulled at her hair as she leaned against a half-broken branch whose sharp end was jabbing into her side, scanning the area for some means of escape.

Her focus was disrupted by the sound of barking just beyond the foliage that was acting as her rather useless leafy refuge. White caustic breath misting in the cool morning air was the first evidence that the creature had located her. A twitching black nose was soon followed by a snarling muzzle, its peeled-back lips revealing yellow teeth as long as her fingers.

Yu did the only thing she could think of in that moment of fear and survival instinct. She gathered her feet below her, flexed thigh muscles that had been strengthened through many hundreds of water leaps over months of training, and launched her body up and over the downed tree trunk. She heard barking and the scratching of claws against bark as she crashed through thin branches and leaves on the other side of the trunk, rolled on her side and back onto her feet.

Yu sprinted with all her might away from the barking and growling demonic beast. She occasionally had to slow to move around a tree or hop over a downed trunk, but mostly maintained close to a full sprint.

It didn’t help. She could hear the four legs of the beast make better progress as it gained on her. Yu swore she could feel its panting breath on her back as she leapt over a stream and tripped over a hidden root on the other side. She rolled and attempted to get back up, but a gray blur slammed into her and they both went tumbling away. Having been separated during the tumble, Yu wasn’t sure how close the Stone Dog was, but she reacted from training and instinct. She reached up and whipped her jian from their sheaths and stood, her body and weapons in a ready position.

Yu found herself standing four paces away from the creature, staring into its hungry yellow eyes. Both she and the dog’s chests were rising and falling quickly as they caught their breath from the long sprint. The stone dog took the first action and slowly stepped forward. Yu tightened her grips on her swords and crouched lower.

She recognized that it was time to fight. She had tried hiding. She had tried running. Now, either she or the Stone Dog would die.

For some reason, that thought calmed her mind. Yu was able to fully focus on the beast in front of her, forget her fears and put aside all sights and sounds except for the creature and the motions of its body.

Yu watched as it stopped advancing and crouched back on its hind legs. It growled at her but she ignored the sound, staring at it. Seeing no reaction, it barked but she remained as still as a pond on a windless day, her only movements being the rise and fall of her chest from her now slow, steady breaths. Wind whistled through the trees, rustling the thick canopy. A single leaf fell from above, silently passing between them in a slow undulating descent.

In that moment the Stone Dog released the energy in its legs and launched itself at Yu. In response, she followed the principles of Tai Chi and slid to the side, letting the dog pass. Yu could smell the fetid stench of rotting meat from its breath as it passed. As the beast landed, she felt a light sting, and glanced down at her arm to see a drop of blood forming from a small slice just above the elbow. Narrowing her eyes at the hit and berating herself for her failure to dodge, she looked at the dog growling at her, its own eyes narrowed. Yu returned to her ready stance, prepared to do better.

Once again, the demonic beast barked at her and then lunged, this time staying closer to the ground. Yu slid backward and to the left, bringing both swords down at an oblique angle from upper left to bottom right. Sparks flew off its rock-hard scales as she swept the beast’s head away from her. It rolled once and then returned to its feet. Yu was once again in her ready stance, low and steady. The beast bared its teeth and a growl rumbled from deep within its chest, the very air vibrating from its threat.

It took a single step forward and then slightly to the left. Surprised, Yu shifted her feet to match. Her lack of preparedness for a lateral movement made her adjustment less than perfect. The beast seemed to expect this somehow, and it lunged. Caught slightly off-balance, Yu swept her swords straight across in an attempt to redirect it, while leaning forward and putting most of her weight on her left leg and sliding her right around and diagonally behind to provide support.

Unfortunately, Yu’s strength was insufficient to push the heavy beast fully aside, and it reached out with a claw and sliced her leg as it passed, creating three bleeding gashes across her thigh. Blood trickled down onto the forest floor, painting the leaves red. Yu winced, but barely felt the pain in the stress of the battle.

This time as it landed, the dog didn’t keep going. It pressed all four paws into the earth, crouched on them and then leapt up toward her, maw open and aiming for her throat. Yu saw its massive teeth and the darkness inside its mouth, and did what her instincts and years of individual practice with the dual jian had taught her – she followed the forms.

Using stance ten, Yu’s whole body bent backward like the curve of the haft of a bow, using her left hand for support while her right was thrust upward. She heard a yelp and felt her jian yanked from her hand as the stone dog continued past her. Her head upside down, she watched as it fell and slid for a few paces with her sword still embedded in its softer underside.

Yu shakily straightened from the bend and changed stance to a more offensive one-handed form that used her own force rather than her opponent’s. Then she slid forward with a straight lunge for the beast’s exposed neck. She had forgotten about the wound on her leg, however. Just as she was beginning to come out of the combat rush, she was surprised by the intensity of the pain. It caused the leg to collapse out from beneath her, resulting in a stumble which gave the beast time to roll out of the way. Yu heard it whine during the movement, the pain of the sword still embedded into its belly clearly not abating. She adjusted for the stumble, but it was too late and her sword scraped along the stronger stone scales on the beast’s back.

Yu looked down at her leg, which had nearly collapsed out from under her, and was surprised to see so much blood. It had felt like only a surface cut in an annoying location, but apparently it was somewhat deeper than she had originally believed thanks to the distraction of combat. She blinked at it and glared at the beast, furious at both herself for being sloppy and the beast for the blow.

Yu closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and opened them upon exhaling. She straightened her body and limped around to view the underside of the beast. She had no sympathy for the whining creature, as she knew that these beasts killed humans. Had almost killed her. As she made her way around, she found blood pouring from the dog’s stomach wound and its legs weakly scrambling to remove the sword, but unable to reach it.

Yu leaned over using her uninjured leg and yanked the sword out hard while twisting it. A louder yelp was followed by more whining, and Yu sighed. She shouldn’t let it suffer; it was still a living creature, and didn’t deserve that. Lunging forward on her strong leg, she stabbed the beast in the throat with both swords and swept upward. Arterial blood sprayed everywhere, and in less than three breaths, life left the beast’s eyes and it was still.

Yu collapsed onto her knees and dropped her jian onto the grass. Her entire body was shaking and she fell back onto her rear, tears stinging her eyes.

She felt the last of the battle rush ending, and also her calmness fading from the moment of the creature’s last breath. Coming down from something of an emotional overload, Yu lifted her hands, blurrily seeing them red and shaking.

Her first kill. Logically, she knew it had been the right thing to do. Demonic beasts were humanity’s greatest threat. That Stone Dog could one day have killed a clan member. Even a family member. Or even just some stranger from her city. So she had slit its throat and watched as it had taken its final breath.

Yu closed her eyes and attempted to calm herself. This was the future she had chosen. She had decided she would fight for her family, her clan, and her city. She knew she would kill for them again. She would slay as many beasts as she had to, in order to do her duty.

Slowly she soothed her mind with this truth, and her breaths became deeper and steadier. Shortly after, Yu was inhaling and exhaling in deep smooth motions.

Opening her eyes and examining herself, she realized that her thin exercise clothing had been torn in many more places than just on her leg and she had shallow scrapes in all those places, likely from the felled tree and her flight through the forest. Thankfully none were bleeding.

Well, it’s a good thing the old bat gave me a change of clothes.

Beyond the cuts, Yu also realized that her hands, forearms, and legs were splattered in cold, sticky blood which was covered by dirt. Looking down, she saw that her dropped jian were in the same state.

Realizing that her next step needed to be to wash herself to avoid infection, she leaned forward and touched the stone dog’s carcass. Flexing her will and Qi, she sent it into the ring. All that was left were the red stains spread around her.

She looked again at her leg, and was surprised to find it had already stopped bleeding. Then Yu remembered that Grandma Huan had once mentioned about how Yu would have faster regeneration thanks to infusing her skin with Ether Qi. Following that line of logic, Yu gathered a small amount of Qi from her dantian and sent it into her skin, then toward the three slices on her thigh. She had no trouble doing that thanks to her practice with the ring, and right in front of her eyes the wounds began mending further. It was like watching time pass quickly: first, the skin knit itself back together; then it crusted over in a scab; then the scab fell off as new pink skin formed; and finally, the pink faded to her skin’s normal pale pearlescent shine, leaving no evidence at all of the cut.

“Whoa,” she whispered.

She realized that actively using Qi on something that was already infused improved its abilities to enhance her. That led to two questions in Yu’s mind: Would that be true for the rest of the Foundation Building Stage? And how much will the extra enhancement drain my Qi?

With a quick search inside herself, Yu found that the healing had taken a lot of Qi – about a quarter of her total, and all for three relatively small cuts. She figured that when she grew stronger the amount needed to heal such minor injuries would be little to nothing, but for the moment she needed to be cautious about self-healing.

Nevertheless, she felt it had been totally worth it. She poked where the wounds had been with her finger, feeling no pain at all. She was about to reach forward and grab her swords when she froze, looked down at her leg, and felt absolutely livid with herself. Idiot! She had been so focused on survival and reacting to the creature’s attacks that she had not had the presence of mind to harden her skin. Such a novice mistake.

Well, next time would be better. And there would be a next time.

TWENTY-THREE

Vine

Yu returned to the stream she had leapt across during the chase with the stone dog, and lowered herself into the water. She removed her ruined outer clothes and cleaned herself thoroughly. Yu was no healer, but she knew from personal experience about infections, and how one got them and prevented them.

After replacing her exercise clothes with one of the blue ones provided by Grandma Huan, Yu cleaned her swords which she had yet to sheathe. She knew better than to sheathe dirty swords.

Now that she had sunlight and no beasts were near, Yu took the time to examine the blades after she removed their bloody camouflage. They were Yu’s first real weapons, and were absolutely stunning. The steel was thin with slight flex, keeping it light, but had still been strong enough to puncture that creature’s stony hide. On each blade was an intricate design embossed into the metal in a darker matte gray. She had no idea what the designs meant as they just looked like swirls and lines to her, but there was no doubt the blades were beautiful.

Grandma Huan had gifted Yu mighty weapons to help her survive this… adventure. Speaking of, she reflected on what to do next. The old woman had assigned Yu two goals when she had dumped her in the forest.

The first was to gather ten thousand silver worth of beast parts. Having no idea how much that was, she decided she was just going to get a lot. She realized she had better get hunting, but decided to only go for one low-level creature at a time for the present. At least until she was more confident at it.

The second goal was to fully infuse her skeleton with Qi. That meant two hundred and six bones, and if she infused between four and six per cultivation session, that would still mean forty to fifty sessions to complete the task (if everything went perfectly each time). That also meant she needed to be able to wash herself clean of the impurities and recover her strength after each session.

Therefore if she wanted to both hunt demonic beasts and cultivate her bones, she needed to find the right place to do so, with both fresh water and the right density of beasts. She was no more a hunter than a healer, but the fact that her crashingly loud battle with a barking Stone Dog had not attracted other beasts to her location told her she was probably not currently in the right place. That or the dog’s pack chased all the other creatures away. If that was true that pack was too big to handle. Either way she needed to move.

Carefully drying off the swords, she replaced them on her back and decided to follow the stream to see whether it got wider or narrower. She drank some of the water and splashed it on her face, as its cold sting was an effective way to refocus. Thankfully the stream had caused a small break in the forest, so she could see the sun and have some sense of time passing. That was the good news. The bad news was that hours had passed as she walked following the stream’s path, and there was little noticeable change in its width or depth.

Just as it was starting to get dark and Yu was considering which tree she would spend the night in, she heard a rushing sound in the distance, louder than the burbling of the stream.

Is that water?

It was too far away for her to gauge the exact distance or direction, so Yu followed the stream, hoping it would eventually lead her to the source of the sound.

Yu’s decision proved to have been the right one when she reached where the stream joined a river five times as wide as she was tall, and filled with stones and crashing rapids.

“Well, that explains the sound,” she said out loud. With the sounds of the water, she could barely hear her own voice, never mind any nearby threat.

This was a dangerous part of the river, as the rapids would likely crush anything that entered the water against the many jagged stones. Yu doubted whether even grade 2 beasts would survive such a thing, perhaps not even grade 3, although they could use Qi externally so they might have an ability to allow escape. She knew that she certainly wouldn’t survive it.

Shuddering at the idea of drowning in the cold water and her corpse becoming a meal for a demonic beast, she looked around for a place to rest for the night. Thankfully, the river area was rife with tall trees, most seeming to be of sufficient size and strength to allow her to sleep if she could find a way to make sure she wouldn’t fall off and break her neck.

Scanning the area again, she saw something that could offer a potential solution to her problem. A few of the trees had green vines wrapped around them. She stepped closer and discovered that the vines were actually a number of smaller vines braided together. There appeared to be two next to each other on the tree she was looking at, and she moved even closer…

“Oh hells!” she exclaimed, leaping back and withdrawing her jian from her back. She stood ready, staring at the foot of the tree.

The head of a snake the same color and texture as the vine slithered around from behind the tree, hissing and tasting the air with its tongue. It was many times longer than Yu was tall, and was raising itself above the ground so that its head was slightly higher than Yu’s. It faced her, hissing in a way that betrayed either agitation or hunger. Or both.

The snake was far more dangerous than the Stone Dog, even though both were only grade 1. Based on its thickness and the fact that it had only one band of darker green wrapping its scaled body, Yu reckoned the snake to be a high grade 1.

As soon as Yu had seen the braided vine, a memory had raised an alarm in her mind and she had recognized the risk. The snake was appropriately called a Vine Viper and was a Wood affinity creature. The real threat was the venom that, when injected by its perforated fangs, was potent enough to kill a grade 2 demonic beast and weaken a grade 3 one. Any cultivator without specific resistance, or with Wood affinity at less than the Consolidation Stage, would die quickly.

Thankfully, as with all things in the world, the gods had created balance. Beasts like the Vine Viper were quick and deadly when they struck, but quite weak physically. Their individual strength and defense were poor.

Yu knew she had to time her attack perfectly. She watched the snake’s body as it slithered closer, weaving slightly left and right. Its head dove forward toward her in a blink, and she barely raised and crossed her swords fast enough to block its dangerous head.

She was shoved back by the blow, but rolled with it and returned to her feet. Once again Yu stared at the viper, and once again she barely managed to survive its strike, which this time she did by dodging to the side, saving her from a bite to the neck. A drop of the snake’s poison nevertheless fell from one of its fangs and onto her collarbone, soaking into her clothes. However, Yu ignored that, knowing it had to enter her blood to be effective.

Yu’s focus tightened on the creature’s body. She thought she had spotted something important just before the last strike, and stared at the snake to see whether her guess was right.

There!

She dodged another biting attack by twisting and bending at the waist like before, but this time it was both easier and quicker. Yu noticed that right before the viper thrust its head forward, the scales at the base of where its head was being held up contracted. She had seen something vaguely similar happen with the Stone Dog, too: the clenching of muscles at its hips right before a leap.

Yu realized this was actually a fortuitous event. The snake, while an obviously deadly threat, was slower than her when she had warning, was physically weaker, and was alone. The battle with the Stone Dog had proven she needed practice with dodging and anticipation. And so, Yu was going to take this opportunity to practice.

She breathed out and focused on the creature in front of her, testing herself against a demonic beast that she knew could kill her with a single bite. Her mind was calm, and her eyes remained fixed on the creature’s movements.

It would strike and she would bend. It would lunge, and she would twist.

Yu lost track of time as she became engrossed in the battle and the valuable experience being gained.

After many more missed strikes, the serpent was hissing furiously. In response to her movements, it attacked her with more ferocity. The first of the faster lunges caught Yu off guard and almost ended her, but she saw the sign just before it was too late and crossed swords in time to block the bite.

After that, it was easier. Five further missed strikes later, she was again able to spot the motion just as the scales began to shift.

It was at that point that Yu realized that she had learned all she could from the creature, and so, upon its next lunge, she bent out of the way and swept her jian upward, surprising the serpent, which had been on the offensive throughout their entire exchange. It attempted to withdraw before it was struck, but failed to be faster than someone who could see its actions before it took them. Its head tumbled free from its body, its long serpentine form twitched a number of times and spurting blood before stilling in death.

Taking in a deep breath, Yu closed her eyes and absorbed what she had learned. Then she went back into her memory and reflected on the Stone Dog’s motions in their brief battle. She had indeed witnessed similar types of motions in the hindquarters and neck muscles of that creature.

Yu opened her eyes and smiled. She felt like she really might survive after all.

Walking to the river’s edge, Yu carefully washed, dried and sheathed her jian, and then sent the viper’s body and head into the ring.

Wiping her hands on her legs, she thought, Now to get back to what I was doing.

Withdrawing one of her jian, Yu walked back to the vine-covered tree and sliced the winding light-green vine at the base of the trunk. Putting away her sword, she grasped it with both hands and walked around the trunk, unwrapping it and pulling downward. With cracking and rustling, the vine slowly loosened and fell. She had little concern that there would be another snake in the area because demonic beasts were generally quite territorial, according to her reading. Not that she didn’t look around occasionally, as she wasn’t that confident.

By the time the darkness was making it harder to see, Yu had a pile of the vines at her feet. Lifting what she could with a grunt and dragging the rest, she walked over to a tree that looked quite large and healthy. She sat at its foot and began unbraiding the vine.

It took a while, but Yu managed to create a coil of vine made of a single strand which was about as thick as her thumb and about five times her height. She then coiled it round her shoulder before climbing the tree. Unfortunately, the tree had no low branches, so she was forced to use her jian as grips, jamming them into the tree in turn as she ascended.

Eventually Yu made it high enough to feel safe for the night. She was starting to unwind the coil when her stomach growled. She looked down at it. Sighing with the knowledge that she could do nothing about her empty stomach for the moment, Yu unwrapped the vine, tied it around herself and the two branches to her left and right, then settled back and stared up at the stars. She wondered whether the gods were looking down upon her and the rest of the world in the same way that she was looking up.

She whispered to them, “If you’re listening, I know I have a long way to go, but I hope I’m proving worthy of your faith in me. I’ll keep trying either way.”

And then she closed her eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

TWENTY-FOUR

Food

Yu managed to sleep through the night without being woken or attacked by anything; however, when she awoke, she realized she had a sharp ache in her stomach and knew she needed to eat soon or things would get bad. The problem was, she had no idea how to make a fire, and knew that eating demonic beast meat raw was a quick way to join her ancestors.

Running through her memories, she found nothing that could help. Yu had never studied how to cook. Nor had she read about edible vegetation, except that which involved collecting Qi plants. Thus she had no idea what plants were safe to eat and which were not, especially since she had not been allowed in the kitchens, nor had it ever occurred to her that she might someday be forced to fend for herself in the forest.

Unsure what to do, she coiled up the vine and sent it into the ring. Then she climbed down and drank river water until the cramps in her belly eased. It was better than nothing.

Sighing and sitting on the bank of the rushing river, she thought about her situation. Grandma Huan would have known Yu had no idea how to survive in the wilderness. That had to include how to feed herself, and thus how to make a fire to cook her kills. To this point her teacher had provided her with just enough to help her figure things out for herself. Assuming she didn’t want her pupil to starve to death or be poisoned (and Yu wouldn’t put that past her), Yu therefore assumed there must be some level of assistance offered by the items she had been provided. That meant the swords, clothes, bow and quiver, or the stone. As none of the others made sense in the context of making a fire, she figured it must be the stone.

Calling for it, the stone appeared in her hand. Yu examined it once again, this time in the light of morning, and saw… a red rock.

With a sigh, Yu put the stone on top of a pile of vines beside her and stared at it.

Well, it’s red – maybe that means fire. Could it be a stone that causes fire?

Yu reached forward and poked it with her finger. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. Looking around, she leaned over and grabbed a rock which had been washed smooth by the rushing pressure of the river. She then gently tapped it against the red stone. Nothing. She hit it harder. The red rock tumbled down into the center of the pile of vines.

Glaring at the stupid thing, she told it, “Fine. You had better not burn me.”

Yu entered her mindscape and cycled sufficient Qi to fill her dantian. Then she opened her eyes, reached forward with her index finger, and touched the stone. Yu sent Qi through herself, just like she had done with the ring, except this time she did it through the tip of her finger and into the stone. The stone began to glow red.

“Yes!” she exclaimed with a grin.

With a little more Qi, the stone lit up, but Yu didn’t feel any heat coming from it into her finger.

“What the hells, Grandma Huan?” Yu said, frustrated. “A red glowing rock without any—”

But Yu cut off her complaint when she saw smoke rising from the vines that the stone was on. She blinked. She touched the stone with the flat of her fingers and felt no heat.

It doesn’t heat people? Interesting. And useful.

Yu scrabbled to her feet, took out her jian, and started chopping.

Not an hour later, Yu was once again covered in blood, with the brutalized carcass of the Stone Dog in front of her. She had managed to cut into it and get some of what she guessed looked like good meat from its flank and ribs. Those pieces were currently on sticks stuck into the dirt, and cooking over a fire she had created by piling up a lot of branches and leaves and even vines. It was producing a great deal of smoke, which wasn’t great, but Yu did not have a clue as to what made smoke and what did not. She decided she would take the time to test things and learn all about that when her stomach wasn’t cramping so hard that she felt like she could vomit any second. She sent the remains of the mutilated dog carcass back into the ring and washed herself and her swords. Then she touched the meat, which looked gray instead of red, shrugged, and took a bite. It was dry and hard, but edible. Barely.

Yu sighed, realizing that she had been spoiled back home with only the best-tasting foods covered in the best sauces and spices. She was either going to have to figure out how to cook, or get used to bad food. Yu crunched her way through the rest of the dog meat, and her stomach finally stopped feeling like it was rebelling against her.

After that she used river water to put out the fire, sent the remaining vines into her ring and jogged along the bank, following the river’s course. She was looking for an area without a strong current or rapids, so that she could submerge her entire body. She felt gross and needed to wash. Not to mention how she needed to cultivate, and that required water to cleanse off the impurities.

Only a few minutes into her jog, Yu slid to a stop in a circular shallow and muddy area as something caught her attention.

“Well, that’s different,” she said to herself.

What she was staring at was a small island in the middle of the river, about three times as wide and long as she was tall. There was a plant or small tree, no taller than the length of her arm, in the middle of the island. While unusual, that wasn’t what had caught her attention. Yu had stopped her run because on the small tree were four leaves: one was bright yellow, one blue, one green, and one red. It was a Qi plant.

Yu knew that a Qi plant could absorb Qi and offer various enhancements to cultivators (and demonic beasts). She also knew that there were thousands of different kinds of Qi plants, and that their effects, limitations, and side effects could vary widely from plant to plant.

She had read a good deal about Qi plants, so Yu went through her memory to identify this particular colorful tree. Yu’s eyes widened when she realized what she had found. She believed it to be a forty-year-old Prismatic Essence Heart Bush, a Qi plant which grows a single randomly colored leaf every ten years. A cultivator could ingest a single leaf one time only and receive some benefit. Unlike most Qi plants, where the effect is consistent and measurable, the bizarre little bush’s effects were unpredictable and dependent on many factors, most of which had not been detailed in Yu’s reading. All her research told her was that a leaf’s properties could range in potency and effect, depending on the color and the compatibility of the imbiber.

Yu had managed to find two reported stories of these effects. One reported an enhancement which strengthened the cultivator’s dantian walls, allowing the cultivator to increase the Qi she could hold. That was considered a strong and helpful effect. The other was a story of a cultivator who had eaten one and ended up having his hair grow faster for the rest of his life. That was obviously a far less beneficial effect, which had resulted in him receiving some rather unflattering nicknames.

Either way, Yu wanted access to the plant. Once again, she withdrew her jian and attacked a nearby tree.

Less than an hour later Yu was balanced over the rushing river on a thick branch which she had dragged over to use as a makeshift bridge.

With a sigh, Yu grumbled, “Always stuck doing things the hard way.”

If she had completed the third level of the Foundation Building Stage, her musculature would have been strong enough for her to just leap over the water, grab what she wanted, and leap back. Unfortunately for her, she was stuck taking a risk instead. Despite that, there was no way she was leaving something so valuable. It was just not happening. First of all, she needed all the help she could get, and hoped that eating one of the leaves would not prove as unfortunate for her as it had been for the hair-grower. Secondly, every Qi plant was worth a good amount of silver, and she thought that one as rare as that should help her make a decent dent in her goal. She knew it would die in the spatial ring, but also knew that it didn’t need to be alive to have value. Obviously a living plant would be worth more, but she had ten thousand silver to come up with.

Yu’s body control was excellent, and she made it over her makeshift bridge to the island with no problems. As she stepped off the branch, though, her foot sunk up to the top of her ankle in mud.

“More mud,” Yu muttered, remembering her experience in the crater.

She noticed that the opposite side of the island had a calmer current for whatever reason.

Yu squelched her way to the bush, but then, just as she was reaching forward to take a leaf, she stopped in surprise. Underneath the red leaf was a round red fruit about a quarter of the size of her palm. From her reading she knew that the fruit of the Prismatic Essence Heart Bush was many times more potent than just a leaf, and nearly always led to a strong positive effect when consumed. Yu leaned closer and smelled it. It had a sweet fragrance, but it was weak. Based on the descriptions of smells and sizes referenced in her reading, Yu believed it would be less than a week before it was ripe.

Qi plants that grew fruits, vegetables, and nuts did so in particular and regular time frames. It turned out Yu had been wrong when she said it was forty years old. It was more like one hundred or more. Yes, Prismatic Essence Heart Bushes grew a leaf a decade, but also grew one fruit every one hundred years. Blinking, she looked at the fruit and then the leaves, and then back at the fruit. To her, the math didn’t add up. If there was a fruit, that meant there should have been more leaves.

Where are the other six?

As the realization struck her, she quickly withdrew her jian and turned around in a circle.

On the opposite side of the river to where she had crossed was a turtle, its blue glowing eyes narrowed and staring at her. Its diameter was slightly less than the length of Yu’s legs, and it showed a sharp beak, claws, and had spines sticking out of the edges of its shell. Yu then realized that that was where the other leaves had gone: they had been eaten.

Yu had no idea what could have driven or pulled the turtle away from standing guard over its prize, but as its guardian, it would certainly not be happy with her attempted thievery.

And so Yu watched as the seriously large and angry turtle made its slow way into the water and toward her.

“Nope,” Yu said as she reached forward, plucked the red, yellow, blue, and green leaves, turned around and carefully made her way back across the river. Yet just as she was a few steps from the safety of the bank, she heard a crunching behind her, and her bridge wobbled. With a curse she was not proud of, Yu took two running steps on the bridge and leapt to the shore. Just as her feet left the branch, it rolled, turned, and fell into the rapid current before being swept down the river only to strike a stone and be crushed to kindling.

Yu crawled forward, turned around and saw the turtle staring death at her. Thankfully it was less than grade 3, meaning it could not use Qi outside of its body, although she knew that might change if it managed to eat the fruit when it ripened. Despite its anger, the turtle did not leave its little island, limiting itself to simply glaring. There was no way it would leave the fruit vulnerable now that it knew a competitor for the prize was around. That was why Yu had only taken the leaves as she knew she had no chance against a high grade 2. Well, that and taking a fruit before it was ripe would have destroyed its Qi efficacy, and therefore any benefit it could have provided her.

Yu raised her hand and opened her fingers to reveal the four colorful (if now slightly wrinkled) leaves sitting on her palm. A grin spread across her face before she looked back at the turtle and stuck her tongue out at it, then searched the area for a tree to hide in.

During her searching, it occurred to Yu that she needed a pouch of some kind in which to keep things that she either didn’t want to store in the ring or couldn’t put inside it, such as anything she wanted to keep alive. Whatever entered a storage ring died immediately unless it was in a special jade bottle or box that had been enchanted for the purpose. Maybe the dog hide could make a pouch? Not that she had a clue how to do that. Well, perhaps she could figure it out. Too bad Grandma Huan hadn’t given her a knife. The jian were great of course, but they were not meant for carving.

Yu found an appropriate tree, climbed up, secured herself, and looked at the colorful leaves.

Which one?

Like most of the rarer Qi plants, consuming more than one would have no effect. As such, she needed to make a choice. The reading she had done had said that nobody knew the meaning of the colors, and nobody could even guess at the result of eating a leaf. She had to figure it out herself.

Looking down at the vibrant colors lying on her palm, she thought, They could be affinities. Or not. Hells, the effects could be linked to matching eye color, for all I know.

Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and gently rubbed her fingers along the leaves. They were surprisingly smooth, with a thin layer of fuzz.

What’s the right way to choose? What feels the most compatible with me?

She started talking to herself to help think it through.

“Green is the color of jade. But that’s normal jade. My inner self is white jade. I have Wood affinity, and that’s green, but I also have Water affinity, and that’s blue. Yellow represents Wind, and I don’t have Wind affinity, same with Fire affinity and red.” She let out another sigh and asked herself, “Why are you so stressed about this? Just pick.”

But the more she focused on it, the less she wanted to.

“Gah! What’s wrong with me? You know what? Fine! I’ll do it later. Time to mutilate a dog’s hide.”

TWENTY-FIVE

Plunge

It was dark by the time Yu had created what she considered to be an acceptable carrying pouch, so that the leaves could be carried alive. There was little left of the stone dog’s skin, but at least the scales had softened enough to be cut after the creature’s death as it was no longer processing Qi.

Yu had managed to make herself a container from the creature’s flesh which she had cleaned numerous times in the river. She attached the bag to herself, running its strap under one of the chest belts for her back scabbards so that she didn’t have to carry it and lose the use of a hand.

Frustrated, Yu placed the leaves in it. No matter how much she wanted to, she could not make herself eat one. She had even brought the blue one close to her mouth once, but her fingers just wouldn’t let go, and her teeth wouldn’t close round it. Some indefinable feeling inside of her just… felt?... knew? something… that eating the leaf was wrong. Yu couldn’t understand it. She was frustrated, but decided to stop trying to force herself. Whatever the issue was, she felt it could wait, as a leaf could be eaten at any time, and she had weeks ahead of her in the wilderness.

Annoyed that she had spent another day not strengthening her bones, she climbed back up her tree, secured herself, and fell asleep, only to be woken what felt like moments later by the loud roaring and crashing of a fight close by. Climbing down, she tried to be quiet as the ruckus continued.

It quickly became clear that the noise originated at the river. More specifically, it came from where she had found… okay, stolen the leaves. Yu carefully worked her way back to the river’s edge, being sure to move from tree to tree and avoiding exposure to whatever the hells was causing such a tumult.

As she approached, Yu was able to make out a strange new scent in the air, and the closer she got to the commotion, the stronger it was. She soon realized it was the sweet smell of a ripening Qi fruit. It was so much stronger and more delectable than the manuscripts that she had read had been able to impart in words. Her mouth was already watering, especially after her tasteless meal of burnt dog meat the night prior.

Yu finally reached the section of the river where the island was and peered around a tree, being careful to stay hidden. She was surprised to find the familiar monstrous turtle standing on the small island, between the bush and another unusual beast. This one resembled a large blue crayfish which Yu only recognized because it was occasionally served during important feasts.

She knew that when cooked properly with the right spices and sauces, such creatures were a rare delicacy. Their meat was delicious, and they were notoriously difficult to find, let alone catch. It was unusual to see one so large; the enticement of a rare Qi fruit was likely the only motivation that could have dragged it from its home in the deep of the river.

The turtle’s mouth was open wide, and it was hissing at the intruder. The crayfish’s claws were snapping as it moved forward and back. Neither had taken the initiative to attack. Both parties seemed content to threaten and intimidate, rather than fight.

Yu then heard a rustling to her left, and whipped out her jian in response, turning toward the sound. A Vine Viper had slithered its way to the river, but it completely ignored her, heading directly for the pair of combatants and their prize.

Not wanting to let the opportunity of surprising a demonic beast go to waste, Yu sprinted at the snake. Hearing her crunching approach – she really needed to work on stealth – it turned its head toward her, but all it could manage to accomplish was a startled hiss before its head was lopped off. Yu sent the carcass into the ring and returned to her previous spot. Not forty breaths later, another beast, this time a Stone Dog, walked toward the river, but stopped when the hiss of a brown-coated cat distracted it. Taking advantage of the distraction, Yu retreated behind her tree.

She watched from cover as the cat slunk into the stony clearing. The beasts roared and then launched themselves at each other. Fur and blood flew as they bit and clawed, neither able to gain an advantage. The fight ended abruptly when the cat – whom Yu was rooting for because she was biased against Stone Dogs – was driven too close to the river and slipped on a flat wet stone.

The canine didn’t let the opportunity pass. It leaped onto the cat’s back and bit down behind its neck with its long, curved fangs. The cat fought the hold valiantly, attempting to shake the dog off, but its assailant didn’t release its grip. The cat slowed, succumbing to exhaustion. The dog then climbed off the cat’s back and shook the cat so hard that even Yu could hear the snapping sound from the edge of the clearing.

Yu saw her moment. The dog let go and lay down next to the cat, panting and whining. She moved around the tree and sprinted toward the dog. Its whimpering turned to a growl as it attempted to get up, but it also was suffering from exhaustion and the wounds from the cat, causing it to falter. Yu lunged forward as it struggled to rise, and the point of her right jian punctured into and through its eye, into its brain.

Withdrawing and wiping her sword clean on the cat’s pelt, Yu looked down at the pair of creatures. She then heard yet another cracking sound coming from the forest, and a devious smile crossed her face. She now saw the opportunity she had: the scent would only grow stronger and draw yet more beasts, who would battle each other for the fruit. Of course, none of them would notice her… at least, not until it was too late.

This is going to be fun.

Four days later, Yu was panting and covered in blood and gore as she watched her next target from the back of a dead Mud Mole. Without looking, she swung her left jian down, slitting the throat of an injured Stone Dog. Not far from her a wolf as big as Yu herself opened its mouth and bit down on a twenty-pace long python which had just missed its lunge at the turtle that was still stalwartly defending its prize in the middle of the river. The Wind Wolf, which was thankfully only a grade 2, latched on tight to the yellow-and-green Pollen Python, causing it to bring its tail up and around and strike the wolf’s head with a resounding crack. The wolf whined, and then growled, got a better grip with its teeth, and bit harder. Then it started worrying and tearing at the snake, which caused the reptile to tighten its muscles and stiffen its whole body.

At that sight, Yu leaped down from the back of the dead mole and, without breaking stride, touched it and the defeated dog, causing them to vanish into her ring. She ran toward the wolf and python and jumped on the wolf, stepping on its back and flipping over so that her head and, more importantly, her jian faced down. In a flash, she stabbed into the wolf’s eye with her sword. As she landed, Yu crouched and touched the nose of the wolf, sending it into her ring. Then Yu ran along the snake, using it as a bridge to cross the river and reach the muddy island.

The snake relaxed for a moment, likely relieved that at the wolf’s removal. But Yu felt it quickly stiffen, likely noticing her weight running along its body. Just as she reached its head, the snake hissed loudly and jerked upward.

Yu was watching for the telltale sign of the snake tightening its muscles and scales, and seeing it, she leaped off of the snake and landed almost exactly where she had been aiming, the middle of the guardian turtle’s shell. She stumbled and slid forward along the wet and slick carapace, nearly impaling her hand on one of the spikes that edged its body.

Once she had stopped herself, Yu reached across the back of the turtle and over its short spiked tail to grab the now ripe red fruit, which she dropped into her pouch with the leaves. The turtle released a roaring hiss and jerked upward, which Yu used as leverage to jump into the slower-moving side of the river.

Yu swam with the current, listening to the furious roars behind her. After a few minutes, she stabbed her jian into the large tree branch that she had dragged over three days prior when she had come up with this crazy plan. Back then, she had thought the whole thing would be fun.

Climbing out of the freezing river, Yu started running away from the sounds of the very unhappy beasts behind her. Maybe not so much fun after all.

More than an hour later, Yu was panting and covered in a layer of sweat and blood. At first she had been moving at a good but careful pace through the trees. Unfortunately, though, she had quickly realized that her beast pursuers were still gaining on her, so she was forced to leave caution behind. Branches sliced through her arms, legs, and face as she sprinted away, hoping to lose the creatures in the forest.

Frustratingly, the half-dozen or so demonic beasts still on her tail proved her hope a false one. For the last li she had been forced to sprint with all her might and, even after all the conditioning and strength training from Grandma Huan, she had still found herself flagging. Yu knew she couldn’t keep the pace up for much longer.

Desperate for a solution, Yu sprinted back toward the river, figuring she might be able to dive in and swim with the current, and willing to accept the risk of the rapids in order to at least buy herself time, if not an escape.

Yet as she got closer to the rushing water, Yu heard what she thought might be her best way out, even if it was more insane than her original plan. She noticed that the river had lost its rapids but was flowing even faster. That meant the sound she heard was not the roar of rapids, but of something else.

The spark of hope gave her a burst of energy, and she lowered her head and put everything she had left into the run. Ahead of her, the earth and water disappeared and turned into a fall straight down. Yu didn’t slow as she approached the waterfall and stone cliff.

Touching her chest with one hand and gripping her pouch in the other, she sent her two jian and scabbards into her ring, and, without losing a stride, leapt off the cliff, hopefully disappearing into the spray and mist.

Praying to the heavens that she wasn’t wrong and that there was some body of water below, Yu cycled all the Qi in her dantian and sent it into her skin. At the same time, she reached into the pouch and withdrew the precious red fruit and a random leaf, which she saw was also red. Yu stuffed them both into her mouth, knowing the delicate fruit likely wouldn’t survive the fall even if she managed to live through it. Chewing madly, Yu sent the pouch with its remaining leaves into her ring. She then straightened her body, pointed her toes, pushed Qi into her skin as hard as she could, took the deepest breath she had ever taken, and plunged toward an unknown fate.

Interlude

Moments before – Somewhere in the forest outside of Fei Shu City:

Jiang was confused as he looked up from drinking at the previously peaceful lake. He had been fond of this lake ever since he had created it ages ago, when he had shattered the earthen mountain that had previously been there.

He wondered why a human would be jumping off his waterfall and into his lake, and why all those stupid weak creatures were following the human to their deaths. If he was not mistaken, he thought that most of them weren’t even his.

What could the human have done to incite such ire that they chased it into my territory?

Unless they were utterly mad, he felt sure they would have known that entering his lands uninvited would not end well for them.

Jiang sighed and shook out the feathers on his head, knowing the corpses were going to make the water taste filthy for weeks. What a mess. He released a mighty sigh, causing the water to ripple and the trees across the lake to bend. Then he took a clawed step toward the waterfall and surrounded himself with a towering flash of blue fire. In moments it was gone, and he had assumed his human form. The visage he saw reflected in the water was no longer that of a feathered beast, but that of a human man wearing only a red feather cloak. He didn’t enjoy wearing a human’s body, nor was he particularly fond of humans. But he remembered from his previous interactions long ago that it was easier dealing with humans if he appeared as one. In this case, he would appear as a middle-aged male human with hair matching the color of his crown feathers, flame red.

Shaking his head again, Jiang walked toward where the bodies would be washed ashore. He reached the first body, which was floating faceup and sloshing against the tall grasses at the lakeshore. It was the human he had seen leaping off his waterfall. It appeared to be female, although he could be wrong about that; he found humans so hard to tell apart. Nevertheless, he thought this one did look a little different than he remembered.

That silver is a lovely shade – perhaps one of my children would like some jewelry made of it? It would make a lovely necklace or crown.

He decided he’d keep the hair, despite it being covered in blood from the head wound that had killed it. Leaning down over the body and reaching for the human, he pointed his finger and his golden foreclaw extended out from it. Preparing to cut the hair from the body, he suddenly stopped and his eyes narrowed. He saw its chest rise and fall.

This human is not dead.

He glanced back at the top of the waterfall and then back down at the human, and wondered how this was possible when he sensed so little power in the human’s body. He knew it definitely wasn’t one of the strong humans.

Then steam began to form around it… her? Upon more thought, he decided to call it female just to simplify things. Her body appeared to be heating up. He withdrew the talon and held his claw… err… hand just above the human, from whom heat was definitely emanating. The water she was floating in steamed more and then began to bubble. The human’s pearlescent skin turned a shade redder. Then an even deeper red. And again, until she almost matched Jiang’s hair and feathers. He did not recall humans doing this, although it had been a century since he had interacted with one.

This is an odd human, indeed.

As if to prove him right, the human’s eyes opened, although there appeared to be no sentience behind them. Her mouth opened as well, and, to his astonishment, the human’s back arched and a high-pitched wail exited her mouth, accompanied by a thin column of silver flame that reached many times the height of his human form. Her eyes also burned silver, but instead of rising as fire does, the flames from her eyes spread along her human form, doing no damage to her skin or outer covering.

What do humans call those again… clothes? Yes. Clothes.

Quite pleased with himself for remembering, he watched the silver flames and wondered. They seemed familiar to him in some way, but he could not recall how. He reached forward and touched the flame. It stuck to his hand and he pulled it close, looking at it and then taking a sniff. It was definitely familiar, but perhaps not from his own memories. He would need to think on it. The scream and flames abruptly ended and the human’s body returned to its original color and its muscles relaxed.

He tapped his chin and decided that until he understood the origin of the female human’s unusual flames, he could not allow her to die.

Back in the City Lord’s Palace, Grandma Huan could no longer hide Yu’s absence. For the last week she had been keeping her pupil’s family unaware by claiming she and Yu were doing secluded cultivation training. Unfortunately for Huan, Fenghuang Da and his brothers were not idiots, they had found out the girl had left the city with her, but that Yu had not returned. It was probably that Zhao and his sneaky group of Darkness-wielders who had learned the truth. She had to give them credit, they were talented enough, especially for being out here on the verge.

So Huan’s student’s father was standing in front of her while she was peacefully completing a lovely embroidery that depicted a dragon and phoenix flying over a mountain.

“You did what?” he bellowed at her.

Huan, sitting calmly in her favorite rocking chair in the child’s bamboo garden, simply responded, “I decided she needed more than isolation and personal instruction.”

She could see his face turn red. He looked ridiculous like that.

What a waste of energy.

“And who were you to decide this by yourself?” he demanded, puffing his chest out.

This man is such a disappointment. He’s been so caught up with his schemes for power and riches, he missed the gem that was in front of him for all these years.

She replied to his absurd blustering with a placid, “I am her teacher. I will do what I see fit to teach.”

Huan watched idly as the girl’s father yelled and gesticulated at her. “And yet you dumped her off in the middle of the forest alone, practically naked, with absolutely no idea how to survive.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Huan replied with a roll of her eyes. “It was hardly the middle of the forest. I left her in between the territories of the tiger and the bird.”

“What does that matter? She’s still alone, and the demonic beasts will kill her just the same. She has no idea what to do. How is she supposed to survive? Did you at least give her provisions? Instructions? Weapons?”

Huan felt her anger rise as she glared up at him while forcefully lowering her embroidery to her lap. “I gave her exactly what she will need, and nothing more or less. And her having not been taught how to survive is your fault, not mine.” To make her point she jabbed her finger at him at the last statement.

“Don’t blame me for this, Grandma Huan! She is unprepared and still weak. Does she even know how to strengthen her skin? Hunt for food? Identify and avoid dangers, climb trees, make traps, determine what is safe to eat and what not? Hells, does she even know how to cook?”

“In answer to all of your questions, she did not when I left her, but she knows some now.” Tired of the façade, Huan slowly stood and spoke with a firm tone. “If you and your fool family actually took responsibility for her instead of hiding her away like a monster with a contagious disease, she might have learned more by now.”

She watched as her old pupil breathed heavily while clenching and unclenching his fists.

He growled, “Our past… misjudgments are being corrected. Do you know what will happen if she dies or is crippled again? She could be the future of our clan.” He raised his arms as if to emphasize the next point. “She could be the future of the nation. Of the empire!”

That statement was the snowflake that started the avalanche. Huan was on the verge of yelling as she said, “Oh? And was she those things when you allowed your own family to abuse her right beneath your nose, mighty Patriarch? Where were you, and the clan you believe she owes fealty to, when she was shamed and beaten and told she had no worth?”

He opened his mouth to argue, but Huan was done listening for the moment. It was his turn to listen and understand. To make sure she got her point across, Huan slammed her Qi-infused foot onto the ground, causing the entire palace to shudder.

“You have failed her,” she told him with a jab to his chest. “Repeatedly. It is enough! I am taking over the child’s upbringing and training. She is too good for you and yours, even though she does not believe it thanks to the years of abuse you allowed.”

She watched his eyes widen and his mouth fall open, but she continued without allowing him a word. “I will permit her to stay with this family as long as you do not interfere. For some reason she still loves you all. Especially that Lei, who actually seems like a good boy, thank heavens. If you attempt to control her or use her in any way I do not approve of, I will wipe you all out. Your clan, this palace, this city, and this entire backwater nation if I have to. You know I can and will.”

Da’s face was pale as he stuttered out, “Teacher. I—”

“You are no longer my pupil, and you are done ruining that child’s future. You have no idea what a treasure you have wasted. Did you know that she has only just awakened another affinity?”

Da looked at her, baffled. “What?”

Huan nodded and returned to her embroidery. “Yes. She found a Qi plant and consumed it after avoiding the ripening onslaught of dozens of grade 1 and 2 beasts. Quite a miraculous and enjoyable show, actually. She will be able to wield fire once she opens her meridians.”

“Fire?” he asked her, clearly baffled by the idea.

Huan watched as he blinked at her, finally figuring it out. He visibly relaxed his body and asked in a calmer tone, “You are watching her, then?”

Grandma Huan huffed and said, “Of course I am watching her! Do you think I would waste all this time and let her die just like that? I had a golem following her. Not that either of us will tell her of it – the truth would hurt her confidence. That said, the golem almost had to intervene the first day due to your ruination of her confidence. Thankfully, she is strong enough to move past your maltreatment and excel. Since then, she has put on quite the entertaining spectacle, and I expect even more quite soon.”

She allowed him to digest what she had told him, then shook her head and sat back in her chair.

Looking up at him, she said softly, “My old pupil, you should have seen what she was, not what she wasn’t. You failed your daughter, your family, and your clan.”

Then Huan took a deep breath and continued. “And because of what I believe she can be, I will fix your mistake. Then I will turn her back over to you, and you will have before you a woman of potential, and confidence, and power. When she returns to you restored and ready to enter a sect, you will not be able to control her. In fact, I advise against even trying. She is no longer yours. She is her own, and always will be.”

Thinking of the child’s potential power and the outcome for anyone who attempted to control her in the future, Huan chuckled to herself.

Stubborn brat.

She watched Da as he processed her last words for a few moments. He then bowed to her and turned around to walk away.

Yet remembering her plan, she called after him, “The arrangements for the tournament stay the same. I will leave it to you to manage. Do not fail this time.”

She returned to her embroidery and heard the door slide shut behind her foolish old pupil.

He had such potential when he was younger. Perhaps he could still be saved. In fact, I might be able to help.

But Huan’s priority was the gifted girl she was watching in her mind, and who was currently being carried by a demonic beast strong enough to defeat even Huan herself.

Part Five

LIGHTNING AND FLAMES

The heavenly beasts guided the creatures of the world as they could, but eventually found that little further guidance was needed. And so they debated whether their roles were fulfilled on this world, and whether it was time to move onto the next.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

TWENTY-SIX

Feathers

Hours later – Somewhere in the forest outside of Fei Shu City:

Yu blinked herself awake to find a silver God Sign blocking her vision.

External energy absorbed. Applying…

Sign update complete.

“Helpful,” Yu muttered in response.

Once the Sign had cleared, she lifted her head and found herself in a relatively well-lit cave of glistening gray stone. She was lying on a smooth but hard stone floor and, turning her head to the deafening but familiar roar of rushing water, she could see a large, well-lit opening with a mass of water falling past it.

“How in the nine hells did I get here?”

Yu figured she must be behind the waterfall in some sort of cave. She knew she hadn’t fallen into this place, as she distinctly remembered seeing water rushing up at her. Also, she noted that the cultivator clothing provided by Grandma Huan had no tears or blemishes. Even as she had run through the forest, the only area that had been hurt was her exposed skin, and not under the apparently resilient blue cloth. Yu was becoming more appreciative of the gifts her teacher had left her in the ring.

Thinking of that, Yu quickly brought her hand to her face in a panic, but breathed out and relaxed when she saw the ring still on her finger. For the first time since the fruit had started ripening, Yu exercised her will and looked inside the ring. She wanted to see how many beasts she had managed to kill or steal and send in there. The pile seemed rather substantial, and she was quite pleased with herself when she counted out seventeen bodies.

Smiling at her success, Yu stood up and examined the cave with greater attention to detail. A number of red feathers of different sizes and shapes were distributed around the floor of the cave, although once she could see better, she realized that it appeared to be more of a tunnel.

She walked to a feather and picked it up. It was about as long as her forearm, fluffy like down, and surprisingly heavier than a feather should be. Shaking her head, Yu put it down and moved to another, larger one. This one was longer than she was tall, and appeared more like a normal bird feather.

Yu whispered, “Oh hells,” and ran to the cave entrance, looking down and then around for an escape. She didn’t find one. All she saw was water pouring down, and a drop too deep and too covered in mist for her to even see a bottom.

Clearly a massive bird lived there, and Yu was in its home. She knew she needed to leave, immediately. The problem was that there was absolutely no way she could climb her way out. The cliff was perfectly vertical. Combined with the pressure of the waterfall, she knew it would be slipperier than anything she had ever attempted. She could barely climb trees so trying to climb out was definitely a no.

Turning around, Yu scanned the cave for another exit, but the only option was to go straight into the darkness of the tunnel. With another glance at the watery entrance, she recalled her jian from her ring and strapped them on. Even if she logically knew they wouldn’t help against a creature with feathers of that size, just wearing her swords made her feel better. With a deep breath, Yu began walking in the direction of the darkness.

Passing the feathers, she was tempted to take one or two, but the bird might not want that and she had absolutely no intention of potentially making it angrier than it likely already was from her invasion. She had no idea how intelligent this particular demonic beast was, and wouldn’t tempt fate because generally the stronger a beast was, the smarter it was, although there were exceptions.

As she walked, she saw other things of less interest, such as animal bones, some piles of bird droppings, and a few patches of fur and skin. The cave walls were horizontally lined with different colors of gray stone. She walked up to a wall and ran her hand along it, only to discover that some of the different layers had different textures and hardness.

“Huh. That’s interesting,” she said to no one in particular.

“Hi there.”

Yu jumped and spun round, reaching for her jian, although she stopped short of drawing them. A child was watching her. She appeared to be no more than five years old, was dressed in a thin red cloth, and had the brightest and curliest red hair that Yu had ever seen.

Relaxing her arms, Yu said, “Umm, hi.”

“I’m Xiu. What’s your name?” the little girl chirped cheerily.

No family name, is she an orphan? How did she get here? Does this demonic beast capture little girls? Is it even a demonic beast?

She’d have to be cautious.

Yu smiled down at the little girl. “Hi, Xiu. I’m Yu. It’s nice to meet you.”

The girl bounced up and down on her toes. “You’re very pretty. Silver is a pretty color.”

Yu felt herself blush at the compliment and said, “Oh. Thank you. Your red is beautiful too. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s the same as my brother’s and daddy’s,” Xiu told her with a scrunched face that Yu thought was absolutely adorable. “Yours is special and shiny. I wish I had silver hair.”

“That’s sweet, thank you, Xiu.” Walking forward slowly, Yu asked, “Are your brother and daddy in the cave too?”

Xiu walked right up to Yu without a fear in the world and said, “Not right now.” Then she reached up, took Yu’s hand and pulled her down the tunnel. “But I’ll take you to where you can meet them.”

After only a few moments, Yu said, “Xiu, it’s getting very dark and I can’t see. How can you see so well?”

Yu could only make out Xiu’s profile, and was shocked to see that when she turned to face Yu, the girl’s eyes were glowing red.

“What do you mean?” Xiu’s sweet voice said. “You can’t see?”

Xiu is far too young to have control of her Qi, never mind being able to enhance her eyes. What’s going on?

Not wanting to confuse her with questions, Yu only said, “I’m sorry. I can’t see in the dark like you.”

Xiu cupped her tiny, slightly chubby chin in her little fingers and quietly hummed in thought.

“If you go slower and guide me, I think we can continue walking,” Yu suggested.

She could see the girl’s head bob, and heard her say in her cute high-pitched voice, “Okay. I’ll guide you. It gets brighter soon.”

“Thank you, Xiu,” Yu said in honest appreciation.

And so Xiu slowly guided Yu deeper into complete darkness, chattering the whole time about Yu’s hair.

All seemed totally normal to Yu until Xiu said, “I like having hair. It’s so much better than feathers.” Yu nearly stumbled, but caught herself. The girl continued, oblivious to how Yu might have taken her statement. “Mine are too small and fluffy. My daddy said I won’t be able to use them to fly until I’m older.”

She then let out an absolutely adorable huff, which Yu would have found amusing if she hadn’t been so distracted by what the girl had actually said.

“You have feathers?” Yu asked tentatively.

“Yep!” Xiu responded cheerily. Then she concluded in a dreamy voice, “I bet yours are beautiful and silver.”

The tunnel was finally beginning to grow brighter, and the shade of the walls there was now an orange. Yu also noticed that the temperature was rising, and a smell of rotten eggs permeated the air.

“Umm… Does your whole family have feathers?” Yu asked.

She could see the girl sufficiently again to make out her little head bobbing up and down in a nod. “Of course.”

“I see,” Yu responded quietly.

Yu absolutely had to get out of there. First, she had invaded the beast’s lair, and now she was near its daughter.

I’m going to die a horrible, painful death.

“Umm, Xiu? Is there a way out of here?” Yu asked nervously.

“Sure. You were near it before. You just need to fly out.”

Right. Of course. Could things get any worse?

She then asked Xiu, “You aren’t old enough yet, is that why you’re here?”

The girl was pouting then. “Yes! My daddy said I am supposed to stay in the nest but it’s boring there, so I decided to come out.”

Yu then reflected that, yes, things could in fact get worse.

“Umm. Your dad. Is he nice?”

Xiu pouted again and stomped her tiny foot. “No! He always leaves me here with my boring brother, and all Zhu does is swim. He said he has to work to get strong, but it’s soooo booooooring.”

Despite her fear, Yu could not help but laugh. “You know, I have a brother like that too. Maybe it’s a thing that older brothers do.”

“At least you can go out.”

Actually, Yu thought to herself, when I’m home, I’m as stuck in mine as you are in yours.

Yu asked, “Do you know how I got here?”

“Nope. Didn’t you fly here?” Xiu answered.

Yu shook her head. “Not that I know of. But maybe I did.”

“You’re weird. But that’s okay. We can play anyway.”

Finally they were approaching the end of the tunnel, after close to half a li of walking deeper. Yu was starting to sweat from the heat, and the smell was getting much stronger.

The heat soon became really oppressive for Yu, and she had to drag Xiu to a stop. “I’m sorry, I can’t go any further. It’s getting too hot for me.”

“Too hot?” Xiu looked absolutely baffled by the idea.

Having figured out what the child was, Yu realized Xiu might not even understand what it meant to get “too hot.” Yu was not completely positive about Xiu’s specific species of demonic beast, but she had a few ideas based on her reading and the knowledge that Xiu was Fire affinity and feathered.

“Umm. Can you describe the area you’re taking me to?” Yu asked the girl.

Xiu’s red curls bobbed as she nodded. “It’s my home. It’s bright and glows yellow and orange and red. It’s comfy and nice, but boring.”

“And your brother swims in the glowing orange-and-red liquid?”

Xiu nodded.

“Ah. I think I’m going to get sick or hurt if I get too close to that.”

Xiu looked crestfallen, so Yu approached her and put an arm around her shoulders.

Wow, she’s hot all of a sudden!

“It’s okay,” Yu said in a comforting tone. “Maybe we can play here?”

Xiu shook her head. “This is even more boring. At least down there we can swim and splash around.”

“I’m sorry, Xiu. I can’t go down there.”

Yu was trying to avoid saying that she’d burn up and die, as that seemed a little horrific for a child to hear. She figured Xiu must have lived a sheltered life up to that point if she didn’t know what a human was, or how anyone not of her species would react to lava.

Suddenly, Xiu turned her head back toward the darkness of the tunnel. She looked confused. Tilting her head to one side, she stared for a short while, and then her eyes grew wide. Her mouth opened, and she looked absolutely terrified.

“Oh no,” Xiu whispered.

Yu immediately looked down the tunnel, but could not see anything. Turning back to Xiu, she saw that the girl was backing toward her home.

“What is it, Xiu?” Yu asked with concern.

Xiu’s voice shook as she answered, “A bad person.”

Turning back to the tunnel, Yu could see what appeared to be a purple light approaching.

“You had better go to your nest,” Yu told the child as she stepped in front of her. “Do you have a way to call for your daddy or brother?”

Yu felt her hand being pulled hard from behind. Xiu’s hand was much hotter than before, and she was so strong that Yu felt herself being moved, despite her desire to do otherwise. She could not fight back.

Yu frantically called over her shoulder, “Xiu, I can’t go there. I’ll die. It’s too much for me.”

“Fengbao and my daddy don’t like each other.”

Yu was being dragged closer to the nearly unbearable heat. She tried to resist, but Xiu was relentless, and likely didn’t even notice Yu’s struggles. The air was becoming noxious, and Yu felt faint from that and the oppressive heat.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, a creature that resembled a porcupine appeared just paces from them. It had yellow skin, and sparks were running along its black and purple spines all along its body.

The creature’s mouth didn’t move, but a deep and resonant musical voice echoed through the tunnel.

“What do we have here?”

TWENTY-SEVEN

Fengbao

“Go away, Fengbao!” Xiu shouted at the intruder.

Yu shook her head to clear it and placed herself in front of Xiu, withdrawing her jian at the same time.

Oddly, there seemed to be a constant wind blowing from this Fengbao, which was actually helping Yu to breathe.

“I don’t think I will go away,” the voice echoed. “And what are you, little silver?” Fengbao’s nose twitched on his triangular face and muzzle. “How odd. What are you that you smell of human but not, and of beast but not?”

“My dad will be here soon,” Xiu shouted. “You better leave!”

A laugh that sounded more like wind whistling resonated through the tunnel.

“Oh, I don’t think so. Your dad is on something of a wild chase through the forest with your sucker of a brother. He is the one who dragged your dear daddy off after all, foolish boy. I am here to simply leave a reminder of my power. A dead child should act as something of a distraction while I absorb the flame fruit from the Prismatic Essence Heart Bush that my servants are retrieving for me. I have offered great rewards to ensure all goes according to plan.”

Yu shuffled her feet at that, but the beast did not appear to notice or care.

Fengbao continued, “Centuries of planning will finally come to fruition. When the leaf and fruit are consumed together, I will gain the ability to resist fire, and your oh-so-great father will be nothing but a pheasant waiting to be plucked.”

Then the terrifying beast breathed in deeply, causing all the air in the cavern to rush toward him. The creature shuddered slightly, and sparks crackled and hissed as they rolled up and down his spines. “I cannot wait to taste his flesh and consume his power. It will be… delectable.” The creature practically moaned those last words. “Then I will rule this territory. And next will be the tiger’s.”

The tiger’s? That must mean Ebony!

“My daddy will kill you!” Xiu yelled. “He always beats you!”

Another whistling laugh followed. “Not this time, spawn of my enemy. And now, enough delays – he will not be distracted forever, after all. I will kill you both. Whatever you are, silver, I can sense almost no power in you. You may have grown to be mighty had you lived, but now that power will be mine when I consume you. I wonder what wondrous knowledge a silver half-human, half-beast will grant me.”

The great creature took a step forward and Yu yelled, “Run, Xiu!”

Yu saw a flash of purple and crossed her swords in front of her. She screamed in pain as she felt her body stiffen and fly backward. She landed on unforgiving stone, which forced another cry out of her. She rolled and skidded along the rough floor, causing more scrapes and cuts along the exposed skin of her arms, legs, and face. She eventually stopped, but still could not control her body as purple sparks ran along it, each causing its own needles of pain.

The ground shook as the terrifyingly strong demonic beast thudded down ten paces from Yu.

The voice echoed, “How interesting. You must have a lightning heart to have survived that. It is a shame you did not come to me, instead of these feathered irritants.”

The sparks faded along with Fengbao’s voice, and Yu was able to focus enough to figure out that she was now inside the glowing cavern that was likely Xiu’s family’s nest. Thankfully, the creature’s aura of air continued to enable her to breathe.

Yu was still shakily getting to her feet when the demonic beast stepped so close to her that his huge face was directly in front of hers, sniffing her.

“What are you?” he asked.

Not answering, Yu stabbed forward with both her swords, aiming for the beast’s eyes. She was blasted backward as a blinding flash and deafening crack echoed around the cavern. Yu’s body flew until it slammed into a soft fluffy object which she assumed was Xiu in her bird form, and then they were both sent tumbling.

When they hit the ground, their bodies became entangled, and they rolled over each other until they eventually came to a stop having slammed into a red, glowing stone wall, where Yu’s head collided with Xiu’s with a crack.

Even in her electrocuted and stunned state, Yu could recognize the scorching heat, and smell burning. She saw flames rise from her body. Her eyes weren’t right, though – the cave was blurred and spinning.

With a ground-shaking thump, the monstrous Fengbao leapt down and joined them, and Yu could see the air surrounding him spinning faster than ever before. Yu could feel the howling air against her skin as she stood unsteadily between the prone Xiu and the porcupine. Glancing over her shoulder dizzily, Yu could just make out where the blurry red ball of fluff which was Xiu was. In her addled state Yu decided the child sized red-feathered chick was far too cute for Yu to allow any harm to come to her.

Yu was running mostly on instinct because she was still barely conscious, yet she turned back to Fengbao and held up her hands in a ready position, prepared to defend herself and the child. Nothing would stay in focus, but she felt like her hands were empty, even though she vaguely thought she saw swords in them. She figured that the skin of her hands must have been too burnt to feel properly.

“You are still alive?” Fengbao’s voice resounded so loudly that it caused Yu’s already pained head to throb. “Again? I absolutely must consume you. Then I will leave, and the fruit will be waiting for me. Oh, what a wondrous day.”

Yu grinned and spoke, although she still hadn’t regained full control of her mouth. “I ae yer fwuit.”

The creature froze, but the air circulated even faster and the crackles on his back and spines sped up and got louder. Slowly his words echoed through Yu’s addled mind. “What. Did. You. Say?”

“Ae da fuit. Fra tutle.”

Then she laughed out loud and her head throbbed, causing her to have to lean over and vomit. Her sick smoked and burned the moment it hit the glowing stone of the lava chamber.

A roar shook the entire cavern and caused the already wobbly Yu to fall on her butt on the glowing hot stone beneath her. She was too scrambled from the electrocution, her head injury, and the loudness of the bellow to understand the feeling of heat touching her skin and what it meant. She barely knew what she was doing as she crawled across the glowing hot stone to shield the unconscious Xiu. She sat up and laid her back against Xiu’s soft red feathers. She was barely able to remain upright with everything spinning so fast, but she knew that she had to stay between Xiu and the creature trying to kill them.

Yu blinked slowly as she saw two blurry Fengbaos spinning around in front of her face. His teeth were bared, and he was growling.

Yu said the first thing that came into her befuddled mind, “Yer bwef stnks.”

Another ground-shaking roar followed that remark, and it pushed Yu backward, deeper into the fluffy down of the little red bird. It was so soft.

Everything was starting to go dark for Yu as she turned around to wrap her arms around her fluffy friend.

Then there was a brilliant flash of red, and Yu’s eyes managed to focus just enough for her to see a long sideways column of red and yellow strike the side of the big beast in front of her. Fengbao yowled and was tossed to the side, slamming into the glowing cavern wall.

A streak of brilliant red feathers then appeared in Yu’s vision and vanished just as quickly, followed closely by another glowing flash of red and a whining yell.

“How dare you!”

Yu’s head ached too much to understand what the words meant but at least they were getting softer. A great deal of noise followed, but Yu could not work out what was happening as she slowly faded out of consciousness. Eventually she did see a blurry yellow-and-purple blob pass across her vision, and then she heard a high-pitched screeching, as though some creature was in the worst pain imaginable.

Too bad, someone was hurt. Well, at least for her everything was getting darker.

She could finally sleep.

Minutes prior – Many li from the lava caverns:

Jiang had left the human female at the entrance of his home, thinking he would take advantage of the situation by collecting the carcasses of the other beasts that had fallen from the cliff, in order to trade them with the human for information about her silver flame. But then his son Zhu had come to him with a plea to help one of his female friends at the northern fringe of their territory. That area bordered that damn Fengbao’s and whenever he was involved, there was likely to be trouble. Thus, he had joined his son in the supposed rescue. But now that they had arrived, his son’s “friend” was nowhere to be seen and there was no conflict or suspicious activity.

Once again in his natural feathered form of a massive Vermillion Bird, Jiang looked around the treeless clearing in his part of the forest, and found nothing. He could not believe they had been fooled so easily. But the call for assistance had seemed genuine, and it was his responsibility to assist his people from outside invasion. Most of his subordinates could handle themselves, but when the Windstorm Porcupine Fengbao got involved, none of his followers were strong enough.

Jiang reached out and smacked his naïve young son on the head with a massive wing – so hard that Zhu tumbled over with a squawk in a mess of flying feathers.

“You’ve been suckered, Zhu. So what, she flashed her pretty eyes and glistening feathers and you left your brain behind?”

Zhu climbed back to his claws, but wouldn’t look at him or respond.

Jiang nodded and snapped his beak harshly. “Well, you wouldn’t be the first young man to be taken in by a beautiful bird.”

At least this will be a good lesson for my son, but what a waste of time, and what a ridiculous prank. Why would anyone bother with a ploy so…?

Then the truth occurred to Jiang. “No! We have been lured away from our nest. Xiu!”

He and his ashamed son rushed back as fast as they possibly could. They knew that if this had all been set up by Fengbao, he would attack Xiu and leave her injured as a message. Yet they thought the porcupine would not kill her, for Jiang would end him if he did.

Jiang had been very tolerant of Fengbao’s antics up to that point because both knew the porcupine was vulnerable to his fire, and could be ended if Jiang so wished it. But taking over the territory of another was quite difficult, and decided he would rather not, as it was enough work managing his own responsibilities.

Jiang and Zhu swept down into the hidden hole that Jiang had created almost half a millennium ago, and flew inside the underground lava flow that led to their nest. When they finally arrived, what Jiang found nearly caused his heart to stop. The human was lying atop his daughter and taunting the great Fengbao.

“Yer bwef stnks,” she was barely able to slur out.

Jiang’s son streaked past his father’s floating form and blasted the porcupine with a concentrated lance of flame. Zhu wasn’t strong enough to burn Fengbao, but he did manage to toss him aside, which resulted in some surface burns. Most importantly, that knocked Fengbao away from Xiu and the human.

Stirring himself, Jiang launched forward, and in a flash of flames was upon the recovering Fengbao. Judging by the energy the creature had gathered for his attack, the lightning beast had clearly intended to kill both his daughter and the human.

“How dare you!” Jiang bellowed.

His entire body was now alight with red and yellow flames, and he slammed his claws into the unprotected head of the beast, driving Fengbao’s skull against the wall.

Sparks formed and snapped on Fengbao, but another blast of fire from Zhu burst into Fengbao’s side just below his spines, lifting the creature’s body and slamming it into the glowing wall again. Jiang took advantage of his enemy’s exposed underside and released his own stream of liquid flame. It was brighter and hotter than any other fire, save that of true immortals, and it splashed against Fengbao’s yellow chest. Fur and spines burned and melted, giving off popping and sizzling sounds.

Fengbao howled in pain and Jiang snapped his beak forward, aiming for the porcupine’s eye. What he struck instead was the wall as Fengbao had blasted his wind forward which had thrust his body backward. Finally free, Fengbao released an explosion of purple lightning from his spines in every direction, causing Jiang to cover himself with his wings and flames. Zhu, too young to do the same, was struck and pushed backward, causing him to fall into the magma below, where Jiang knew his son would be fine despite how it appeared.

When the shocks ended, Jiang opened his wings only to find Fengbao attempting to flee out of the main tunnel entrance behind the waterfall.

Jiang opened his beak and sang out a mighty challenge, flapping his massive wings once and propelling himself forward after the intruder. The liquid flames still burned on Fengbao’s underside, and the porcupine had used much of his energy in that last blast. As such, Jiang knew his enemy would be too weak and injured to use the air to speed his escape.

Jiang swept in front of him, a storm of fire and wrath. He began to glow blue and white, his flames becoming so hot that they melted the surrounding stone.

“Please! I never intended to—” Fengbao pleaded.

Jiang ignored Fengbao’s begging. It was too late now. The fool attempted to kill his youngest.

Opening his beak, Jiang released a stream of white-hot liquid which slammed into Fengbao and, after crushing his wind shield, coated him. The porcupine squealed and whined as he stumbled backward. With a mighty sweep of his wings, Jiang blew the burning porcupine off the edge.

Jiang watched his enemy’s form spin as it fell, until it finally splashed into the glowing liquid stone and earth below. Fengbao’s agonized screams lasted only a short time before the mighty creature of air and lightning died.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Thanks

Jiang flew to his daughter and the human. As he landed in front of them, he changed into his smaller human form. Passing the burned ashes of what appeared to be the remains of the contents of the human’s stomach, Jiang knelt in front of the pair. The human had clearly been defending his child.

Why? he wondered.

The silver-haired human’s skin was red, but far less so than the last time he had seen her. Jiang found it interesting that she had not been burned or melted in his home, and wondered how she had managed it.

Could the silver fire be the reason?

Zhu joined him where he was kneeling before the two children, before also changing into human form. He was holding a glowing crystal in his hand, and stared at the human and his sister.

“Father, is that a human?” he asked. “Why does she not smell that way? She seems… different. I have never smelled her like.” His son’s eyes shone with curiosity.

“Neither have I; and no, you may not keep her.”

Jiang then held out his hand, and his son placed Fengbao’s beast core in it.

He told his son his plans. “We will be providing her healing, sustenance, and this core as a reward for her defense of your sister. And then we will send her on her way.”

Zhu seemed saddened, but said, “I also found two melted swords. The remains make me believe they were quite small, but they seemed an appropriate size for her.” Then, not letting go of the other topic, he asked, “Are you sure we cannot keep her? Look at that silver. And you can smell her power, too. She is going to be mighty enough to challenge most of our kind in their human forms one day.”

Jiang sighed and said, “All that is true, but don’t think I cannot read into your thoughts. You find her beautiful. The answer is no. We will discuss the future when it arrives. For now, we will also replace her swords. See what you can find in our collection. The strange curved ones might be appropriate.”

“Good idea, father. Their oddness will match well with hers. And their color, too.”

Jiang turned his head and glared up at his son. “Stop gawking and do as I ask. Do not forget the leather that holds them.”

“They are called scabbards, I believe,” Zhu informed him.

Shrugging, Jiang said, “Whatever they are called, gather them. And see if you can find any skin wrappings that match her size. It is unlikely, but something small enough might have survived.”

Jiang had built quite a collection from his millennia of gathering, but most of it failed to last in the heat of his home, even though he kept the items in the coolest area.

Zhu flared into his true form and left to do as Jiang had requested. After the boy had flown off, Jiang took a step forward and laid a hand on the head of each of the girls before him. When he examined them closer, he was surprised to find that both had bleeding head wounds and appeared to have swapped blood due to the experience.

“How interesting,” Jiang mumbled to himself.

Sighing, he took a few steps back, burst into flame, and returned to his natural form. Then he reached forward with one of his immense and deadly talons and gently lifted them both.

Yu rolled over and dry heaved as she woke up on a blessedly cool and soft surface. She pried open her eyes and found herself outside, looking up at a dim sky with the sun rising in front of her. Groaning, she pushed off the ground and sat up.

“Good morning, human.”

Yu turned quickly toward the sound, and regretted it immediately. She gripped her head with her hands and squeezed her eyes closed.

The voice went on, “You are injured and, while I mended your other injuries, I do not know the human body well enough to heal this sort of ailment. Here, drink this. I have added some healing herbs which should be safe for your kind.”

Yu accepted with a small bow of her head and said, “Thank you, sir.”

She took a sip and grimaced. It filled her mouth with a metallic bitterness, almost like blood, but very diluted. After swallowing the foul brew that she hoped was actually safe for her, Yu examined the man. He appeared to be a completely normal human of average looks and physique, except that he had the same red hair as Xiu.

Yu gasped as she recalled the events that had led to her injuries. “Xiu! Is she okay?”

The man smiled at Yu. “She is well and resting. She is demanding to see you, but you understand why that cannot be, yes?”

Drinking the cool but foul liquid had already helped her head. Yu slowly nodded and said, “I understand. I hope someday we can meet again. She’s a sweet girl.”

“The future is never set,” the man said with a smile. “I wished to thank you for saving my daughter. Fengbao would have killed her.”

Yu nodded again. “So he said. He also claimed he would be able to defeat you in your next fight because he would have eaten the red fruit and leaf of a Prismatic Essence Heart Bush.”

“I see,” he said while rubbing his chin. “Then it is a good thing I killed him just now.”

“No, he would have failed,” Yu said with a chuckle and shake of her head.

Raising a red eyebrow, he asked, “Oh? How do you mean?”

“I ate them first,” Yu told him with a grin. “I can’t say for sure if that’s the reason, but the fact that I’m still alive and not a melted pool of goo in your home makes me believe I’m right.”

The man smiled and laughed out loud. “How wonderful! And that explains your silver flames.”

Yu blinked at him. What is he talking about?

“Pardon?” she asked.

“Your silver flames,” he repeated. “Since you consumed the leaf and fruit together, have you listened to the voices you receive from the creators?”

Yu stared at him, trying to figure out what he meant. Then she realized. “Oh! You mean our God Sign. No, I suppose I haven’t.”

“Well, you should. But before you do, I have something to give you. First is something you are likely already aware of. But if not, examine yourself.”

Yu looked down and was surprised to find herself dressed in a set of beast leathers. Her chest, back, upper arms, forearms, hips, thighs, shins, and feet were all covered by a thin, supple, and soft beast hide covering a skintight black undercloth. Every single piece of leather was red, and it was so light she could barely tell she was wearing it, which was probably why she hadn’t noticed.

The man explained, “It is a little big, but you will grow. I believe it can accept the power of the Heavens and Earth, although it is also what you would consider quite old, so I do not know its condition.”

Yu knew her eyes had grown huge with surprise. The man smiled gently at her as he explained, “I value my daughter’s life highly. Speaking of which…” He turned around, and when he faced her again he was holding a large sack, also made of red beast leather.

“In here are some provisions, and a few other… how do you humans put it… odds and ends?” Yu thought he looked quite pleased with himself for coming up with those words.

She was flabbergasted and started to bow deeply in thanks, but was interrupted when he continued speaking. “There are two things in particular that I wish to draw your attention to. I am afraid to say your swords fell into our pools, were melted, and could not be saved.”

Yu’s heart sank.

How am I supposed to survive out there without weapons? And how will Grandma Huan react?

He spoke again. “Since you lost them defending my family, I will replace them for you. However, I do not have similar blades. What I do have are these. Frankly, I think they will fit you well.”

He reached into the sack and pulled out two of the most unusual… swords? Blades? Whatever they were they were the strangest weapons that Yu had ever seen.

Every single area on them was deadly sharp. They were longer than her jian, and each had a “J”-shaped hook at the end with a small flourish at the tip. The extended hilts of the swords came to a sharp tip too. But the oddness did not stop there. The handles had a guard on them, but on the outside of the guard was yet another blade, this one the shape of a crescent with the outside of the crescent sharpened to slice, and the points deadly for either a slice or a stab. All in all, they were probably the most dangerous weapons Yu had ever laid her eyes on.

Yu bowed low from her seated position. She truly appreciated the weapons, and everything else, but she felt it necessary to share her concerns. “Thank you so much, sir. Those weapons look deadly, but I have no idea how to wield them. I can tell just by looking, that wielding them would be entirely different from my jian.”

The man nodded and said, “Ah, yes. One last thing.” He then reached forward and lightly tapped the spot between her eyebrows.

Knowledge rushed into Yu’s mind, and suddenly she was aware of numerous forms and battle methods relating to the use of “hook swords,” as they were apparently called.

Direct knowledge absorption successful.

Sign update complete.

Yu wobbled slightly at the end as she looked at the human-looking non-human, mouth agape.

He was wearing a smile that Yu could only describe as self-satisfied.

He told her, “We elders have the ability to absorb the knowledge of those we consume. And we can also give it away. As I have no need for such a thing, I gift it to you in thanks. Yet you will still need to train, because those memories belong to someone with a different body. You will have to adapt the knowledge to yourself.”

Yu nodded. That made sense to her. She knew as well as anyone that book knowledge and practical experience were not the same.

He continued, “These swords are also able to accept power, but are even older than the… armor.” Another pleased smile followed.

Yu bowed low once again and said, “Thank you so much, sir. I don’t know what to say.”

He cleared his throat. “Yes, well, as I said, I do not know humans well. My son does, though, and so he was responsible for placing that… armor on you. I apologize for the impropriety, but I assure you he is honorable, if foolish. And as many of the young are, he is quite interested in humans and would like to meet you if you are amenable.”

Yu felt the burn in her skin as she blushed scarlet, yet she felt like she owed these… people for saving her and giving her a way to survive out there, so she said, “Yes, of course I will speak with him.”

“Lovely,” he said with a smile.

Then a boy, appearing to be in his early teens and with the same red hair as the rest of his family, stepped out from behind a tree. He looked like a cultivator, with perfect skin over good-sized muscles, which he apparently did not mind showing as he only wore red feathered pants.

“Hello,” was all he said.

Still blushing, Yu introduced herself. “Hello, my name is Fenghuang Yu. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

A huge smile crossed his face as he said, “My name is Zhu. It is also a pleasure to meet you. I—” Then he looked at her strangely and said, “Wait, Fenghuang Yu? Jade Phoenix?”

The adult then whipped his head round toward his son and asked, “What did you say?”

In a low and tentative voice, Zhu said, “Father, her name means ‘Jade Phoenix’ in our elder tongue.”

The man looked at her with narrowed eyes and asked, “Is this true? My son is not… mistaken?”

His tone made Yu think that “mistaken” could have been another word for “lying.”

She nodded her head and said, “Yes. My name means Jade Phoenix.” Yu found it interesting that humans called that language the ancient tongue, while beasts used elder tongue.

Zhu spoke again with an almost pleading tone in his voice, “Father—”

His father spoke immediately in a no-nonsense way that reminded Yu of her own father, and declared, “Not now. We will discuss it later.” Turning back to the confused Yu, he said, “For now Fenghuang Yu, I thank you once again for saving my daughter’s life. I encourage you to spend some time here. It is safe, as I have instructed my followers to leave this area alone for the next five sunrises. Feel free to enjoy the lake and waterfall. Use the time well. But you must depart before the sun rises six days from now.”

He stood, and Yu did the same. She quickly said, “Thank you again, sir. I know your son’s name. May I have yours as well, if it is not too forward to ask?”

He nodded. “I am Jiang.”

Yu bowed to him, and then to Zhu. “It was nice to meet you both. And your daughter. Thank you for everything.”

The boy awkwardly bowed back with a glowing white-toothed smile before turning to follow his father, who had already walked away and vanished into the woods.

TWENTY-NINE

Hook Swords

Yu watched the pair of mighty demonic beasts go, and then sat on the soft grass at the edge of the lake. She was still for a while, just watching the waterfall and the morning light sparkling across the water.

Reflecting on the days since she had left the light of Grandma Huan’s fire, Yu felt a little overwhelmed at the fast pace at which things had been happening. It seemed like weeks, but had in fact only been a handful of days.

She recalled her first kill, then her second, and then the many after. She had had her first experience of consuming a natural Qi fruit, stolen from the jaws and claws of many vicious creatures. She had also met and… befriended maybe?… a family of mighty beasts after nearly dying at the claws of another.

She had certainly learned a great deal from her experiences so far, and felt that this was still only the beginning. Grandma Huan had been right to send her out there, and she wondered what her remaining days and weeks would be like.

Shaking her head, she said to herself, “All right. Let’s see what’s in here.”

Yu pulled the sack over and opened it.

“Hells,” she whispered.

The first things she saw were seven beast cores, six small ones, and one which was quite large. She had no way of knowing anything about them, so she just sent them all to her ring and hoped for the best. Thankfully spatial rings froze time. Nothing was able to survive in them, but nothing decayed either.

There also appeared to be quite a bit of demonic beast meat, all cooked.

I suppose that isn’t surprising, Yu thought to herself. Flame creatures wouldn’t have a hard time cooking, after all.

It all headed into the ring.

Next were two odd circular straps of leather that looked like half scabbards. Glancing at the hook swords on the ground in front of her and then back at the leather, she put them down and checked if there was anything else. She was pleased to find a beast leather pouch, which was red, just like her armor. Perfect. She immediately strapped that to her new belt, slightly in the front and to the right. Yu next found a single red feather, twice the size of the swords. She ran her hands lightly along it, feeling the soft spring of each bar on the fan. They seemed to shift colors from red to orange to yellow, like they were aflame as she moved the feather in the light of the sun. She was stunned by the feather’s beauty.

Moving on, Yu found a waterskin made of the same red leather that the birds seemed to favor. And the last items were a small knife and sheath, but different to those she was used to.

Her uncle Zhao had once shown her a similarly shaped knife and sheath in secret when he was trying to cheer her up. They were designed to be hidden in a boot. Oddly, Yu discovered the steel had a strong red tint. Shrugging, she decided to wear it and hope for the best. It would certainly be better at carving beasts than the hook swords. She had little difficulty fitting them in her right boot, as it had a pair of straps for that very purpose.

Yu sent the now empty sack into her ring, along with everything else besides the swords and their scabbards. She then looked down at the utterly strange blades in front of her.

What an odd weapon a hook sword is.

She closed her eyes and ran through in her mind the knowledge she had obtained from Jiang. It was a truly lethal weapon, with death on almost every edge.

The forms of the hook swords contained larger swirling motions, slices, and twists – far more sweeping than she was used to. Obviously as they had no sharp tips at the front, a lunge would no longer be effective except in the cases where it could be followed up with a swipe to the side or a twist at the wrist. The hook sword also enabled combat at close quarters, with the crescent-bladed handle being very useful for a neck slice or body puncture followed by a slashing or ripping motion. And then there were the numerous disarming maneuvers allowed for by its shape. The hook and crescent could be turned and twisted, grabbing or clamping onto enemy weapons.

Opening her eyes, Yu shook her head and ran her hand along the thin blade.

“Utterly vicious,” she said out loud. “Well, no use waiting.”

Then Yu flexed her will and said, “Sign.”

The familiar silver of her God Sign appeared in front of her.

Name: Yu

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: Young Mistress

Age: 13

Meridians: 0/156

Qi Type:

Granted: Ether

Blessed: Aura, Mana

Qi Affinity:

Primary: Spatial

Secondary: Lightning, Earth, Water, Wood, Fire

Cultivation Level:

Stage: Foundation

Level: Bone

Body: 19 | Mind: 66 | Spirit: 39

Martial Forms: Tai Chi: (Initiate), Kung Fu: (Novice)

Weapon Capabilities: Jian: (Initiate), Dual Jian: (Novice), Whip: (Novice), Bow: (Novice), Staff: (Novice), Spear: (Novice), Hook Swords: (Novice)

Qi Skills:

Aura: None

Mana: None

Ether: Beast Bonding (Novice), Enchant Lightning* (Novice)

Status: None

Honors: *Tribulation Supplicant

Titles: The Corrupted, The Blessed, Tiger’s Blood

Yu blinked at the list of her affinities and said, “Oh.”

She sat for a moment, pondering about having gained the Fire affinity as well as some sort of resistance to fire, although the latter did not show up on her Sign.

I should tell the librarian when I return so that he can record the effect of the Prismatic Essence Heart Bush. Eating a fruit and leaf with matching colors potentially awakens an affinity.

Leaning over, Yu slowly closed her hands around the beast leather-wrapped handles of the hook swords and walked to an open area.

I have five days, and I plan to use them well.

Every day for the next five days, Yu followed the same routine. She would wake with the sun and eat a portion of the meat provided by Jiang. She would then strip and sit at the lake edge cultivating her bones. Immediately following that, she would wash herself free of the impurities and rest. Once recovered, she would stretch, practice with her hook swords until she wasn’t effectively learning, eat again, do her calisthenics and acrobatics until she could not move her body, swim in the lake until she cooled down, eat again, cultivate again, wash again, and go to sleep.

It was a busy and exhausting routine. Despite the knowledge provided by Jiang, Yu discovered that learning the hook swords felt harder than learning the jian. She figured that was likely because the movements were completely different, and so she often fell into old habits, which resulted in more than a few bleeding slices along her arms, legs, and even once her cheek.

The more she used them, the more terrifying the weapons seemed to her. Even simple activities with the hook swords were truly dangerous to all involved. For example, she had almost cut her own head off the first time she’d tried unsheathing them from her back scabbards at full speed.

On the night of the fifth day, when Jiang said his promise of safety would elapse, Yu was packed up and ready to be on her way. Her plan was to head north and toward a more mountainous area, as the benefit of having a safe space had become obvious to her from her experience at the lake. Thus, Yu figured she might be able to find a defensible cave or something similar in a mountainside. She hoped she could find one near water so that she could continue the routine she had built.

With her hook swords strapped to her back, her ring full of food and water, and thirty-one of her two hundred and six bones fully infused with Qi, Yu started jogging toward a distant mountain range, equally nervous and excited to continue her adventure.

Part Six

UNEXPECTED VISITORS

While the heavenly beasts were building this world, there was another far from here, long abandoned. That world was out of balance, broken. The imbalance festered, becoming a corruption that infected all things. A being was born of that imbalance. A being of hunger. He grew stronger from imbalance, and so sought to spread it. And destroying the life on many worlds, he grew to incalculable might.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

THIRTY

New Home

Four days later – Somewhere in the mountainous region outside of Fei Shu City:

Leaning against the trunk of a tree, Yu tossed aside another mostly barkless and broken branch with a sigh. She picked up an unmarred branch and began scraping at it with her boot knife.

Yu mumbled to herself without interrupting her whittling. “I didn’t think woodworking would be so hard.”

She glanced at the single arrow that Grandma Huan had given her.

Yu was aware that a single wooden arrow would not be sufficient, or even particularly useful. She was also aware that Grandma Huan would know that, and therefore would have left it for a reason. In which case, Yu believed it was to act as something of a template for making her own arrows.

Unfortunately, Yu had absolutely no idea how to work with wood, as was evidenced by the growing pile of cracked, broken, and blood-covered waste wood to her right. Yu’s fingers had occasionally taken the brunt of her failures, but she had also used those injuries as an opportunity to practice both protecting and healing her skin. Using her Qi for that had cut down how long she could cultivate for, meaning fewer bones per session, but she needed the experience and it would assist her in stretching her dantian, so she felt that it would pay off in the end.

What had inspired her to start the frustrating arrow-creation process was a bird – a new one, not Jiang or his family. This one’s plumage was black and blue and it was about the size of her head, so relatively small for a demonic beast.

Despite the provisions that Jiang had given her, Yu knew she would still need to catch and cook her own food, and the bird had just been sitting on a branch in front of her, defenseless. Yet when she had approached, thinking to kill it with a single swipe of a sword, the bird had sensed her presence and flapped off with a mocking tweet or two.

That experience exposed two things: first, Yu needed to work on her silent movement, and second, she needed to be able to attack from range.

To solve for the first issue, Yu had spent the morning attempting stealth, trying to figure out how to move her body as quietly as possible. It had been a complete failure. Every movement she made had been noisy. She hadn’t realized it was so much more than feet that made noise, although those were the primary problem. Whenever Yu’s arms rubbed up against her sides, whenever her ponytail rubbed a branch, or even just flapped in the wind – all of those things resulted in distinct sounds which she could make out when she focused on nothing but listening to herself move.

After that humbling experience, Yu had moved onto solving the second issue. She had attempted to carve arrows. And had failed with equal ineptitude.

Crack!

Another branch snapped. This time she had pushed too hard against a small knot.

Perhaps I need to avoid using branches with knots altogether? Hmm, that makes sense.

Looking up at the sun, Yu decided it was time to get back on the move. She packed up her things and started in a light lope toward the towering mountains that she believed were now less than a li away.

A few days prior to reaching the mountains, Yu had been surprised to find that they were only gray up near the top. More surprises followed when she finally arrived at the foot of the mountains. They didn’t look like the lifeless rocky inclines she had expected. In fact, they seemed just like the rest of the land, if steeper and slightly more sparce. Her thighs burned as she started her climb, passing trees, grass, and underbrush.

I can’t wait until I enhance my muscles, she grumped in her mind.

After a few sweaty and exhausting hours of climbing, the sun was low to her left and she needed to find a safe place to spend the night. Trees higher up the mountain were far more sparse and not nearly as large as those on the forest floor, so she had to invest a little of her time searching.

What she found was not a tree at all, but a small crevice above in some rocks. It was too thin for an adult to fit through, but just large enough for a child. Yu guessed she might just be able to squeeze in, although she would likely have to remove her leathers.

She looked around to try to find a way to remember where the place was, but there were no distinguishing markers, so she made her own by using her hook swords to carve obvious slashes into the surrounding trees.

That done, Yu prepared to climb up to the crevice. She was glad there was a tree near it, which she could climb in order to start at a higher level on the gray mountain wall. She walked along a nearby branch, and was about to start removing her leathers to attempt to scuttle through the slit in the otherwise solid stone, when she stopped.

She had suddenly felt a familiar sensation. It had been like when she couldn’t eat the blue leaf.

Heeding it, Yu stared at the crevice for a few moments, more hesitant now. Trying to understand, Yu recalled the bird family and realized that something else might currently call the place home.

Letting out a breath, she walked back to the main part of the tree, broke off a long, thin branch – which she noted might have made decent arrow shafts – took out her knife, removed all its side branches, and walked back along the other branch again. She then slowly slipped the long, thin stick into the crevice and swished it around, making as much of a racket as possible. She then withdrew it and backed up, ready to drop it and grab her swords.

Not even five breaths later, Yu was glad she had first tested for life. Out of the thin crack clattered a mottled gray-and-green centipede, twice as thick around as her thigh, and five times as long as she was tall. On its head were two pairs of black and gray mandibles, which it was clicking repeatedly. It whipped its head left and right, looking for whatever had disturbed it in its home.

Flipping through her memories of the various beast compendiums she had read, Yu was able to identify it. A Clacking Earthen Digger was named as such because every movement it made created the clacking sound of stones banging together. Using its literally rock-hard mandibles and numerous legs, it created irregular pathways and caverns inside large bodies of stone. In this case, it had likely created the small cavern entrance. It now also granted Yu her first opportunity to test her new swords.

While the mandibles and legs of the creature were hard enough to cut through solid rock, its back and underbelly were – theoretically, at least – vulnerable to attacks in between the stone-like plates. On top of that, the weight of its rocky carapace made it slow and with a low endurance. Assuming all that was accurate, she knew she simply had to exhaust it, and then it would be vulnerable.

Yep. Easy.

Shaking her head, Yu watched it turn its head left and right. During the “great fruit battle” (as she had come to call it), Yu had learned that beasts didn’t look up any more often than humans did. Right at that moment, the creature looked down and to the right from the ledge in front of its crevice home. Yu tossed the stick that she was still holding slightly to the left and in front of the tree she was standing on, causing it to clatter loudly onto the stony ground. The “clacker” immediately jerked its head and most of the front half of its many-jointed body in the direction of the noise. It clacked its mandibles slowly and made its way toward the branch.

Just as the beast loudly reached the location where Yu had thrown her bait, she quietly withdrew her hook swords, crept along the branch, and then dropped down on top of the clacker. She landed, straddling the creature four arm lengths behind its head. She then immediately leaned forward and did something that there was no way she could have done with her jian. Reaching ahead of her, Yu slammed her arms inward and jammed the crescent blades of her hook swords in between the centipede’s back and belly plates. She then pulled them back toward herself, also catching the top hooks in its flesh, and squeezed her legs and arms around the centipede. Finally, Yu sent Qi to her skin to harden it and held on for dear life.

The creature screeched and clacked, swirling in a circle, attempting to find what had struck it from above and was causing such pain in its sides. Feeling the weight but not being able to find the cause, it threw the top third of its body up and jerked from side to side. Yu squeezed both her arms and legs as tightly around it as she possibly could, managing to stay attached.

Not able to dislodge what was hurting it, the centipede slammed its front onto the ground hard enough to cause the side of Yu’s head to bounce off a dense stone plate on its back. While her skin did not break thanks to the Qi actively infusing it, her skull and brain were not so protected. She lost focus on the battle – and the world – for a few seconds, just as the creature jerked backward. While her hands barely retained their grip on her hook swords, which were jammed well into the beast despite the blow, she was unable to do the same for her legs, which flailed loosely behind her as it lurched backward. It wrenched its raised top half left and right, causing her legs to flop around like noodles.

Yu’s hook swords began tearing at the flesh and sliding around from all the movement, and the additional pain drove the centipede to even greater heights of frantic movement. Yu’s mind began clearing just in time for her to realize that the beast was rising even higher in the air.

She controlled herself sufficiently to squeeze with her arms again, driving the loosening hook swords deeper and making sure the top hooks caught well on its innards. At the same time, she gathered her legs and wrapped them back around its body, this time hooking her feet under the top plates. She felt the sharp edges of the plates digging into her legs, but her leathers and the Qi she was infusing into her skin prevented her from parting with the clacker.

Yu felt her stomach drop for a moment as the creature, which had raised itself two-thirds into the air, began its forward fall to slam back down. Having learned her lesson from before, Yu straightened her arms most of the way while lifting her head. When the slam came, even though she was jerked forward, her head did not make contact and she maintained her awareness the entire time.

She could feel the creature rising again, but this time it was noticeably slower. Another slam followed, but it was definitely easier for her to keep her head and torso raised upon contact with the ground. The clacking of its mandibles was slowing but the creature raised itself again, this time less high, and Yu found it easy to maintain her position as it returned to the earth.

The creature started slowly crawling forward, likely attempting to return to its home. Yu immediately lightened the pressure she was using to hold on with her legs, twisted her wrists inward and pulled downward with her hook swords, tearing at its insides as much as she could. She felt some resistance but pulled harder, and then there was a sudden give. The creature screeched weakly, making another attempt at throwing her off with a side-to-side jerk, but her hook swords were deeply embedded by then and her grip did not falter, so the centipede ended up causing even more internal damage to itself.

Slowly the demonic beast stopped its side-to-side movement, and shortly after that its forward movement also ceased. Yu ripped the hook swords free and the creature’s body jerked again, but didn’t move beyond some twitching of its mandibles and many legs. Running up its body, Yu leapt just before she reached its head and turned the hook swords’ viciously sharp hilts downward. As she landed, she jammed them into its head with nearly all her strength and watched as they cracked through the hard exoskeleton and entered its brain. The creature shuddered one final time before falling still.

Panting heavily, Yu sat up straight and tore the swords free. Watching as the light glinted off of the somehow still clean steel, she spoke out loud between breaths, “Yes. I definitely love hook swords.”

A few minutes later she was wiggling her torso through the thin hole in the mountain, her legs waving behind her in the open air outside. With some contortions and effort, she managed to fully enter. Once inside, she took out a broken branch and the fire stone, energized it, and touched the tip of the branch to it. A few moments later a small fire formed and she returned the stone to her ring. Holding the small torch before her, she crawled forward.

At first Yu had to crawl on the irregular hard stone using only her elbows and knees, which was not comfortable. She had infused her skin for the climb, but was thankful when the crevice did not narrow but instead rose and widened, allowing her to stop crawling as she soon reached a small open area which was about as tall as she was, and half again as wide as it was tall. While not perfect, it was good enough until she could find better. The oddest part was that there seemed to be an abundance of Qi.

For some reason, over the last few days of travel, she had run into a few areas that felt like they had a direct connection to the power of the Heavens and Earth. For her it felt nice to be in those areas, but that didn’t seem to provide any material benefit that she had noticed while cultivating.

She examined the state of her surroundings. The air was breathable, and she would be protected from the elements and large beasts. Thankfully the centipede had been a clean house guest, so Yu had little to manage inside.

There were two downsides to her new accommodation, however. Firstly, there was no water in it. That meant she would need to find sufficient safe water nearby to drink and cleanse herself.

The second downside was less critical, but still annoying: the ground was quite rough. To resolve that as best as possible, she laid out her leathers and lay down on them, using the large red sack rolled up as a headrest.

With her hands on her chest and her body and mind tired from the travels and battle, she closed her eyes, not scared of her surroundings for the first time in days.

Over the next two days, Yu bitterly realized that her current home, despite how hard she had worked to get it, could only be temporary. It was simply too far from a body of clean water. The closest she was able to find was half a day’s run away, and that could not work long term because she would need to spend her entire day moving to the water from the cave and back. That left little time for cultivating her bones or practicing her swords and other skills.

Not that she regretted the attempt. She felt that the battle with the clacker alone had been worth the two days. But it was time to move on to some place where she could grow, which was her entire purpose for being in the wilderness.

So Yu left her short-lived cave home for the last time, and late in the day came across a small and slow brook of freezing cold water that trickled from the mountain snowmelt. Bathing in it was awful, but at least previous experience had taught her to prepare a strong fire in advance. Then she set off to find what she hoped would be a more permanent shelter nearby.

She didn’t.

Fortune was not with Yu during the following days, as she was unable to find a single cave, crevice, or even overhang anywhere near her frigid little bathing spot.

In her mind, that meant she had two choices: either she could keep climbing up the mountainside in search of a cave, or she could search for a completely new location which was near water. As Yu’s climbing skills were mediocre at best and her only real experience of climbing was with trees, she decided to keep moving along the foot of the mountain.

Climbing down from the tree that had acted as her sleeping location for the previous few nights, she splashed some cold water on her face, refilled her red leather waterskin, ate a quick meal, and began another run into the unknown.

THIRTY-ONE

Fox and Boar

Spotting her target thanks to the evening’s full moon, Yu carefully placed her heel on the hard dirt ground and then slowly and silently slid her foot forward, making sure to miss any dry leaves or branches. She had learned through much trial and error that what she had come to call her “heel-to-toe” movement offered the best control over sound.

It had been a long and discouraging few days, trying to find something to sleep in besides a tree. In the end she had failed to find either a cave or a source of clean water.

The only positive part of the journey for Yu was that she had had the opportunity to practice her stealth by only allowing herself to run openly after first successfully managing to move a short way silently (at least to her ears). This meant she made appallingly slow progress at first, but after days of drudgery, she was able to notice potential noise-making materials in the environment in advance, even when at a quick walk. She hoped to eventually be able to move in silence while jogging.

All the effort and bordom she put toward practicing her stealth had finally paid off that evening, as it had allowed her to sneak up on a fox. It had a green-and-white pelt, telling Yu it was a Sage Rooting Fox. More importantly it had two tails, denoting it as grade 2, but Yu did not intend to hunt it. She actually wanted to follow it. Demonic beasts needed to drink too after all.

Her waterskin was just about dry by that time, and she desperately needed a bath. Worst of all, she had not been able to cultivate because the stench of impurities would alert beasts to her presence. Well, that and not cleaning off impurities was too disgusting to think about.

Yu watched from a distance as the fox snuffled around various trees, looking for insects, rodents, or other animals in the earth. She silently spied on the fox for hours, following just close enough that she wouldn’t lose sight of it. Every once in a while it stuck its twitching nose in the air, sniffing for danger. It probably smelled her but could not determine her location. She could certainly smell herself. Ugh.

Just before the sun started to rise, the fox found its way to a hole in the ground and scuttled inside. Yu let out a frustrated breath and looked around for a place to call it a night… err day for herself.

While Yu did not sleep particularly well in the brightness of the day, she was up before the sun had set over the horizon the next evening. She climbed down the tree where she had spent most of the day and watched the fox’s hole, waiting for its inhabitant to emerge. Just as the sun was fully gone and the moon was shining brightly, the fox’s nose poked out of the hole, sniffing for threats. Not sensing anything that bothered it, the furry creature skittered out and began a careful start-and-stop run in a particular direction. It was clearly heading somewhere specific, and not long after, Yu smiled as she heard the trickling and flowing of smooth, slow water.

Her patience was finally rewarded as she followed both the fox and sound to a pond which was about a third of a li across, and was filled with clear water which was fed freshly from a large hole in the mountainside. Grinning widely, Yu waited for the fox to carefully walk up to the water, sniff, drink its fill and then scuttle off.

“Thanks, friend,” Yu quietly murmured to her unwitting helper.

Yu made a quick circuit of the area and, not finding any threats, set a fire on the side of the pond. She then removed her back scabbards and unstrapped her smelly and sweaty leathers, before removing the similarly disgusting undercloth. She put them all into her ring for the time being, figuring she could clean them later, and waded into the water. It was freezing, but Yu reminded herself that she was filthy and she reeked, and that a warming fire awaited her. She crouched down and splashed the cold water all over herself. Then she dunked her head, rubbed her hair hard in an attempt to get the oily feeling out, and walked out of the water.

She huddled by the pile of burning wood, her lips a little blue and her body shivering. Thankfully, the fire and warm spring evening dried and heated her quickly.

Wait. Is it summer now?

Shrugging, she walked back to the pond, took her armor and clothes out of her ring, and scrubbed them against each other hard under the water. She was pleased to find that the red leathers and black undercloth both cleaned quite easily. That done, she laid them out by the fire, ate a quick meal, and finally began to cultivate.

Another frigid washing and drying later, Yu was back in her much less stinky armor, with her swords back in their proper place. She climbed a tree for a rest that would hopefully allow her to be awake and alert for another day of searching for a home.

In the light of the next morning Yu actually found a potential location almost immediately. In fact, it was so obvious, Yu was absolutely certain something else had to be living there already.

The water that fed the pond was coming out of a crack in the mountainside which was slightly taller than her and one third as wide. It had two long sides and a short bottom side, making it look like the profile of a tent.

Seeing the cave as her new home, but wary of the inhabitant she was confident it must house, Yu quietly climbed up and peered into it. The smell and sight of fur and excrement confirmed her suspicion that something lived there. She immediately exited and decided to watch for the creature’s entry or exit from the safety of the trees. She hoped it wouldn’t be something which was too strong for her.

Yu’s hopes for an easy cave takeover were dashed when a brown-coated boar with shoulders as tall as her chest clomped its way over to the pond to drink before approaching the cave’s mouth. The beast had two mighty curled and serrated tusks protruding either side of its snout, brown striped fur, and spiky hair like an extended mane all the way down its back.

A Mad Earthen Boar was a fierce foe with hard skin and hair, deadly spikes and tusks, and a terrible attitude toward pretty much everyone and everything. Only having one set of tusks meant it was a grade 1, which gave her some modicum of hope. But she knew that it would still be a vicious and dangerous foe.

The boar stopped at the entryway and sniffed the ground and air.

Oops…

Yu mentally winced.

She watched the infuriated beast squeal and charge inside the cave, sending water and cracked stones flying. Yu reflected that if she had a bow and some arrows she might actually stand a chance, as killing at range would clearly be her best approach against such a beast. Yu therefore turned around and headed into the forest, having decided to renew her efforts at arrow-crafting.

For days Yu attempted to create arrows during the night, while cultivating and doing exercises during the day when the boar went off and did whatever boars do. She eventually succeeded at making six long, mostly straight sticks with pointed ends. She still needed feathers, though, which meant she had to risk her one arrow. But first she knew she had to practice, as it had been many months since she had last drawn a bow.

Her first few attempts were disasters. She hadn’t wielded a bow since her healing, so her memories led her to overpull the bow, over-grip the string, and overcompensate for drop. Overall, she failed so badly that she would have missed the mountain if she’d been aiming for it.

It took her three hours to readapt to wielding the weapon. By the time that Yu felt she was acceptably accurate, she was sweaty and her back, chest, shoulders, and arm muscles were sore. Despite that, she was smiling widely as her arrow struck dead center on her target for the third time in a row, piercing a tree burl twenty paces away. Yu retrieved and checked the arrow, noticing a visible dulling of the head and slight bend in the shaft. She decided she had better take down a bird soon, or else she might not have an arrow to do so.

Lying flat on the ground and holding a mostly straight custom-made arrow shaft in one hand and an involuntarily donated blue-and-black-striped feather in the other, she slowly pressed them together. She kept holding them together while lightly blowing on the glistening joint “glue” she had found, then waited.

Sticking feathers to the arrows was actually easier than Yu had feared. She had accidentally discovered the way to do it when she had nearly lost a clump of her hair one morning after it had stuck to the sap of a tree she had slept in the prior night. Harvesting the sap had not proven difficult either, especially since she only needed tiny amounts. She would use her boot knife to scrape off the bark and then the sap underneath. She found it interesting that the knife stayed perfectly clean, the sap unable to stick to it.

Once the newly applied sap was dry, she held up her custom-made arrow and compared it to the one provided by Grandma Huan.

Not too bad, she thought with a bit of pride.

She made a few adjustments by straightening the feathers and tip, and then repeated the process with her other five arrows. She then strapped her quiver to her hip, placed the seven arrows inside, and came up with a plan.

THIRTY-TWO

Dogs and Hunters

After days of watching, Yu discovered that the Mad Earthen Boar followed the same general routine every day. That presented an opportunity she intended to take advantage of.

Thus, she was up in a tree holding a nocked arrow to her bow and waiting for her snorting victim to pass on his way to a mushroom grove for breakfast. According to her reading, these particular demonic beasts had no distinct weaknesses beyond those all creatures share, so she intended to make sure she didn’t miss.

Her wooden arrows would make absolutely no impact if they struck the beast’s hide, so that left its eyes, ears, or mouth, plus she would need to be no more than twenty paces away, given her practice accuracy. She had hit a target at fifty paces, but not with consistency. That said, two straight days of rain had resulted in cold, wet nights which had pushed Yu’s patience to the point that she was desperate for a proper place to sleep.

She heard the snuffling of the boar approaching, and prepared herself. It passed under her tree and she tightened her back and shoulder muscles, pulling the string and bending the bow arms. A slight creaking sound came from the bamboo weapon as she tucked the nock of the arrow against her cheek and focused on her target. She adjusted her extended left arm as the boar walked past, moving it slowly along with the beast’s movement. Yu steadied her breathing, keeping it consistent and smooth. On the next exhalation she began to release her fingers’ grip on the string.

But Yu’s focus was interrupted by the baying of nearby dogs. She loosed her arrow, but instead of the eye she had aimed for, it slammed into the boar’s snout and it squealed, whipping its head back and forth and sending clumps of dirt everywhere.

Then the howl and barking of the dogs grew closer and the boar gave off a half squeal, half roar and ran, not away from the sound, but toward it. Yu gritted her teeth and nearly swore at the damn dogs, the damn boar, and the damn arrow that she likely would never see again. Figuring she might as well find out if she could profit from the battle between the dogs and boar, she sent the bow into her ring and followed the rather obvious trail of the infuriated beast.

Yu maintained her quiet movement until she reached the site of the beast battle. Three stone dogs had surrounded the infuriated boar. She realized her arrow must have been dislodged at some point, because she couldn’t see it in the boar’s snout, where there was just an insignificant, bleeding wound. Yu silently approached a few paces closer and climbed a nearby tree. She withdrew her bow once again and nocked another arrow. From that height, Yu actually saw a fourth dog lying on its side with a large gash across its ribs. She also saw her arrow next to that dog, snapped into two pieces. It was at that point that Yu noticed that something was off about the Stone Dogs, as all of the spikes on their tails had been removed.

Maybe they never had any? This all seems quite odd.

One of the dogs lifted its muzzle to the sky and howled. The boar squealed in reply and charged at that dog, which leaped to the side to avoid what would likely have been a mortal blow. The boar skidded to a stop and squealed, readying itself for another charge, but was surrounded once again as the other dogs joined their fellow.

These dogs are quite well coordinated, Yu thought. Pack hunters are impressive.

Yu jumped as an arrow suddenly flew in from her right and slammed into the boar’s ribs. The boar stumbled, but stayed upright and squealed once again. It turned to charge toward where the arrow had come from, but the dogs were constantly darting in, nipping at its flank and darting out, preventing it from moving.

Yu jerked her head toward where the arrow had come from. She had no idea that humans actually came out this far to hunt.

Just my luck. I was looking forward to pork, too. Then again, I still get its cave, so I’ll take it.

Thinking about her reading on hunting parties in the wilderness, she remembered something that explained the dogs’ spikeless tails.

Stone Dogs could be bred in captivity and trained, but only if their tails were cut just before the spikes. For some reason that calmed the aggressive nature of the dogs sufficiently to make them useful to humans.

Yu nodded to herself in confirmation as a muscular human walked out of the woods wielding an axe in his right hand. Following close behind was another man who was taller but thinner and held a bow, and Yu figured he was likely the one who had shot the boar. A third, clearly the youngest and smallest, walked out from the opposite direction and jogged toward the downed dog.

“Look at this mess. That fucking boar hit one of the dogs!” he yelled.

“Ah, shit. Shoot the fucker already will you, Ping?” the axe-wielder said as he turned toward the man with the bow.

“Fine,” the bowman responded.

He then pulled an arrow from his back quiver, nocked it, aimed at the boar, and released it all in one smooth motion. The boar was struck in the neck, and this time when it staggered, it fell. The neck blow also meant it no longer had the ability to squeal, so the only sound when it fell was the thumping of its large hairy body.

Yu studied the humans and found them to all be of similar facial appearance, hair, and skin color. Perhaps relatives. The youngest-looking was checking over the downed dog and appeared to Yu to be in his twenties, the others in their thirties.

Assuming they are mortal, at least.

They were all wearing matching shirts, pants, and boots of mottled greens and browns that would blend in with the forest.

They’re definitely hunters, anyway.

“Hey Xin, this is odd,” said the youngest, who was by the downed dog. “I found a broken arrow over here.”

“What?” The axe-wielder, Xin, ran over and looked down. “Was that what killed it? Did someone shoot our dog?”

Shaking his head, the kneeling man said, “No. There are no puncture wounds. Just a crushed heart and ribs, and tears from the tusks.”

The bow-wielder, Ping, was leaning over to retrieve his arrows from the boar when he said “Hole,” and pointed at its snout.

Turning, Xin said, “Oh-ho! Looks like we captured someone else’s prey. Ah well, it happens to everyone. We did most of the work and lost a dog to boot, though. This beastie is ours.”

Yu nodded to herself, agreeing. They did indeed deserve the kill more than she.

The man leaning over the dog picked up the pieces of her arrow and said, “Hey Ping, does this arrow look professional to you?”

Ping walked over, looked down, and shook his head. “No. Garbage.”

Yu winced, but her back was up. She had been making arrows for all of a few days. And it had stuck in the boar until it had broken – it couldn’t have been that bad.

Xin had now put his axe on a loop on his belt and taken out a thin crescent-shaped knife. “Interesting. A novice, then. Out this far. Or a trainee, perhaps.”

Yu sent her bow into her ring and, as quietly as possible, lowered herself to the ground. She was not quiet enough, though, because just as her feet hit the ground, Xin’s head turned toward her.

“Oh-ho! Hello there, fellow hunter!” he called.

Ping nocked his bow, but didn’t aim or draw it. Yu was about to turn around and run when she stopped There it was again. That feeling that her body knew something she didn’t. Something told her that she could trust these men. That she should trust them.

Not sure why, but figuring there was no reason to hide at this point, Yu slowly made her way into the clearing, her hands out and to the side but her legs poised for flight in case she was wrong.

“Hello. I’m sorry to disturb you,” Yu called with a small smile.

All three of the men wore surprised expressions on their faces.

As they didn’t speak, she continued, “I was hunting the boar when it ran off after your dogs. It’s your kill, I agree.”

Clearing his throat, the youngest said, “You’re a little young to be out here by yourself, aren’t you?”

Yu just shrugged. “Maybe. But it doesn’t matter. I’m here, and one has to learn to adapt. Hence my arrow quality.” She then turned on the bow-wielder and said pointedly, “I really think calling it garbage was a little harsh. They aren’t pretty, but they work. It did stay in the boar until it hit something, after all.”

Xin began laughing loudly, and slapped his thigh with his free hand.

He said, “You are quite brave, aren’t you? A little girl surrounded by three men and hunting dogs.”

Tensing her muscles and ready to run, Yu asked, “Are you planning on harming me, then?”

Chuckling, the youngest one said, “No. We aren’t that kind. Although you should be careful in the future. Many are. This is not a safe world, as I am sure you know if you have been sent out here on your own.”

Yu relaxed and nodded, asking Xin, “Are you going to take apart that boar? Can I watch? I’m terrible at it.”

Another laugh filled the small clearing.

Yu spent the rest of that day and the next with the three hunters. They seemed to be a very amicable sort and willing to share knowledge. In turn, Yu told them what she knew about the beasts in the area.

It turned out that Fang Ping, Fang Xin, and Fang Yong were all cousins and part of a large family of professional hunters and animal trainers. The two professions obviously partnered well, and it made sense to share the burden. The cousins generally butchered and sold about half of what they got in order to run their businesses, and then used the rest to feed their large family. None were cultivators, nor did they bother testing for it. They said they liked their life the way it was.

Yu agreed that a cultivator’s life was not for everyone.

She enjoyed her time with the trio. Ping, the bowman, was very quiet and barely said a word, but he was willing to teach her how to make a better arrow. She also learned to “dress” a kill, which she found was the name for the process of skinning and butchering a beast. This included demonstrating all the specialized equipment, including the scoops, saws, and knives she didn’t have, which was interesting even if not presently useful. She also received a very high-level course about tracking, following trails, and what to look for and avoid, among other things. Yu also learned how beast-taming worked for mundanes, and found that it was actually quite fascinating. And deadly apparently. But, as Xin said, “It is a dangerous world.”

“Lass, would you like to join us in a walk back to our campsite?” Xin asked on the evening of their second day together.

Yu shook her head with a smile. “Thank you for the offer, but I can’t. I’m already pressing my luck by asking you to teach me. Getting actual help would probably set my teacher off.”

Yong winced, nodded, and said, “Ah. He one of those? Like my grandfather.”

“I’m supposed to not just learn new things, but learn how to learn new things, and I can’t do that if everything is given to me.”

Xin said, “You are quite a mature little thing, aren’t you?”

Yu shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I just know I have a lot of learning left to do.”

And with that she bowed to the trio, turned around, and ran almost silently into the woods.

THIRTY-THREE

Unwelcome

Yu returned to what used to be the boar’s cave and spent the rest of the day cleaning it of the beast’s filth. Having a flowing stream nearby reduced both what required cleaning as well as the effort that was needed to clean what was there.

The cave was an open tunnel she could splash her way through, although she was forced to crouch to go deeper into it. By doing that she found a larger area with a small waterfall which originated higher up in the mountain than she could see as he looked up, and was what created the little stream. For Yu it also had that familiar feeling of Qi in the air, but less than the last cave.

This place is perfect, she thought as she turned in a circle, examining her new home.

After it was clean, Yu removed her armor, cultivated, took a cleansing bath under the waterfall, washed her clothes again, and then fell quickly asleep.

The next morning when she went to bathe in the water, Yu noticed something she had missed the prior night. There were partially transparent blue mushrooms growing along the walls of the cave behind the waterfall.

She remembered they were called Indigo Water Caps, and could clean and purify water, as well as increase Water affinity a very small amount when used in alchemical recipes. Yu plucked a handful and put them in her ring. They should be okay for sale, even with all life lost.

Over the next week and a half, Yu followed a similar routine to when she was at the lake, except she added creating arrows to her evening activities before sleep. She had enhanced one hundred and one bones by that point. Her dantian was able to hold and provide more Qi, and Yu was able to enhance as many as six bones per cultivation session at two sessions per day – although the size of the bone also mattered. However, she did take one day off a week from doing two sessions per day so that her dantian could heal, as per Grandma Huan’s instructions.

She was also hunting regularly, as she had a bow and arrows and was able to dress kills well, although not as well as Xin. However, she felt she’d get there eventually. Well, as close as she could without the proper equipment at least. When it came to hunting, Yu was able to use her stealth and new tracking knowledge to sneak close enough to even the most skittish prey and strike it with an arrow. Relatedly, her bow work had improved dramatically, allowing her to hit her targets fairly consistently from seventy-five paces away. She knew that was good for a mortal, but she would still need to complete her Foundation Building Stage to truly be able to hunt like a cultivator.

She also made sure to kill with her hook swords at least every other beast that was willing to fight in melee range. Her hook sword practice had been her primary focus, outside of her cultivation. She had managed to master the forms up to the twelfth, which she felt was decent, if not even close to her target of mastering all thirty-six she had been gifted by Jiang. She was excited to master the latest form, as it used the hooks of each sword to link them to each other. It was a truly fascinating experience which had proven nearly fatal to her at first. It also made her miss her whip, but there was no use in worrying about rice that was already burnt.

That evening she was practicing her silent jogging, and doing well in her own opinion, when she heard what sounded like another fight in the distance. One of the many things she had not expected when her wilderness adventure had started was that fights would actually be somewhat common in the forest. Lower-grade creatures tended to battle each other for food, prey, mates, Qi plants, shelter, or sometimes just because they wanted a fight. And almost every time that this happened within Yu’s hearing, she was there to capitalize on it, often walking away with two or more carcasses on which to practice her dressing skills.

Yet as she got closer to the supposed beast battle, she grew confused as she thought she could hear a human yelling. She sped up and entered a more open area of the forest, where she found a short human with a bushy black beard and his hair in a topknot, brandishing a whip and berating two slowly walking rows of about a dozen shackled children and adults.

“Get a move on, you scum! We have to reach the road to the city in two days’ time, or your sale value will bottom out. I have buyers lined up, and if your laziness costs me, I’ll beat you bloody and sell you to the army. Or worse, to the enchanters. I hear they need mindless slaves to practice their binding runes on.”

Yu felt her lip curl at the sight and words. She knew that slavery was legal in the Xing Nation and Gui Empire, but she didn’t approve of forcing someone to live under another’s whims. It reminded her too much of her past. But that wasn’t what really had bothered her. What had made her so disgusted was the talk of forced binding runes. Her family usually spoke of them with derision and distaste – and she agreed. The entire idea behind erasing free will made her ill. She could feel her body leaning forward by itself, ready to attack this horrible man and save his victims.

But she stopped herself, and took a step back and a few deep breaths. Yu really had no place getting involved, as awful as she thought it was. She knew that technically the slaver was not doing anything illegal, and threatening his own slaves with punishment was also legal, distasteful though she found it.

Yu then saw another slaver walk in from the woods and join the first.

He was belting up his pants as he said to the whip-bearer, “We’re going to be late at this rate.”

Yu clenched and unclenched her hands. One of the things that she had learned from her family, especially the twins, was that just because something didn’t break the rules did not make it acceptable. Yet she also knew she could not stop the entire practice of slavery or binding runes all by herself. Nor was she sure it was her right to do so.

Moreover, assuming that Yu did manage to free the slaves. Would she kill the slavers? Could she? She had never killed a human before. And what would she do with the slaves? She could not feed twenty people, nor did she have a way to hide or protect them, or return them to the city.

Releasing a furious growl, Yu spun on her heels and sprinted away, tears stinging her eyes and dragging off her face into the forest.

Yu couldn’t sleep that night. She kept seeing the people shackled and being force-marched through the dangerous forest on the back of her eyelids. When she did eventually fall asleep from exhaustion, she woke to nightmares of her own past torments.

That experience and her frustration about not having been able to help drove Yu to make a renewed effort for the next two and a half weeks. She cut her rest down by an hour on each side, going to sleep later and waking earlier. She worked harder, and with more focus on her swords. Her spins became faster, her sweeps fiercer, and her twists more ferocious. Her improved back and shoulder muscles now allowed her to wield a bow for an hour straight without feeling the strain, and she now had near perfect accuracy at one hundred and fifty paces, and half so at two hundred and fifty. She could sneak and run at the same time for a li without making a sound, and could dress kills nearly as well as Xin.

The only habit she did not change was her cultivation, keeping to her schedule of doing two sessions six days a week, and one on the seventh day. Yu felt her dantian had expanded by half as much again since she had first arrived in the forest. One hundred and ninety-nine of her bones had now been strengthened, the last seven being the tiniest ones in her wrists. She expected that by the end of the following day all of her bones would be saturated, meaning she could begin her trek back to the city.

Yu was still having nightmares occasionally, but not as often. Her mind wandered between struggling through her own difficult memories and reflecting on how fortunate she was, despite the issues she had.

She knew that everyone had challenges of various types in their lives – some greater, and some smaller. But when she thought of those poor people with shackles around their ankles being beaten for something out of their control, she remembered a proverb she had once read in the library: “I was angered, for I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.”

At the time, Yu had thought of herself as the person with no feet. Now, she realized otherwise.

THIRTY-FOUR

Despair

Yu felt better the next day. Having washed herself clean of bone impurities for the final time, she checked to make sure that she had left nothing in the cave which had been her shelter and home for the last few weeks.

Pondering her options, Yu realized she had two choices for returning home. The first was to go back the way she had come. It was the way that offered the highest likelihood of not getting lost and she knew what to expect from both the environment and creatures. Additionally, it would take her past Jiang, Zhu, and Xiu’s lake and waterfall. While seeing the family, and especially the girl might be nice, Yu felt it was too soon. She wanted to be stronger before seeing them again.

On the other hand, Yu was confident that if she followed the edge of the mountains to the west she would eventually see the city, although she was unsure how long that would take. It would also mean venturing into the unkown.

Pondering on her options, Yu reflected on who she was and what she wanted. During her adventure in the wilderness, Yu had discovered something about herself: she liked discovering new things. She had found it exciting to see all these strange plants and battle so many new creatures. She had even made friends while just running around and hunting.

No, I will not go backwards. Fear of the unknown won’t control me.

That revelation in her mind, Yu readied herself to once again leave a cave home, but this time for her real one.

Yu continued to silently run whenever she went anywhere, working hard to avoid alerting any potential nearby threats or targets to her presence.

One day when the sun had just passed its midway point through the sky, and Yu was chewing on some meat as she jogged quietly to the west, she heard humans speaking yet again. But this time, they seemed calm and friendly to her. She wondered whether it was her hunter friends, the Fang cousins. But the closer she got, the more concerned she became about the words she could hear. What she had at first believed to be a calm, friendly discussion seemed to have escalated into an all-out yelling match.

Yu was just close enough to make out the words. “…in the nine hells are these things? They won’t stop!”

A familiar voice – that of Yong, the youngest Fang cousin – yelled, “It won’t fucking die!”

Yu sprinted forward. She was making some noise, but not enough to be heard over their hollering. Once she was in sight of the group, she slowed and scanned the area. She recognized the hunting trio, who were standing in a circle with two others she didn’t know. Approaching them was a mix of humans and beasts, and nearly all of them had at least one arrow in them. Some had multiple. One of the beasts, a Stone Dog, had an axe embedded in its head.

However, they all kept moving forward at a slow plodding pace while completely ignoring their injuries, no matter how severe or debilitating they appeared. And no matter the creature, all of them had a gray complexion and solid black eyes. They gave off a reek of rotten fish and feces, which was familiar to Yu because it was like the stench of the impurities which her body would rid itself of after she cultivated her bones.

How is this possible?

Suddenly, Yu’s vision wavered…

A massive lizard with gray, dull, and flaking scales and dead black eyes trudged toward a four-legged figure with white fur and black stripes. The latter, which Yu realized was male, roared at the lizard but was ignored. The white-and-black beast then roared again, this time louder and with Qi, causing dirt, stones, and even trees to be blown away.

The lizard slid backward, but then stopped and resumed its ponderous trudge forward. The white-and-black beast leapt to the side in a blur and swiped a claw at the lizard creature. Dead gray scales crumbled and bones were exposed, black blood and organs leaking out and turning the ground gray and lifeless. The white-and-black beast then leapt back, but not before the lizard’s gray tail struck him in his side. The scales of the tail had worn away and it was dripping black slime, with a nub of black bone showing at the tip.

A blurry, bleeding gash formed on the white-and-black beast where he had been hit, and he tumbled to the side. He returned to his feet quickly, a blue glow surrounding his body. Yu somehow felt his surprise when his wound would not close. She felt his fear and anger and confusion. Then he turned to look at the wound closer, and saw his red blood turning to black, and small black veins forming.

The white-and-black beast was furious now, glowing brown and green as well as blue. The words, “Not again,” echoed through his thoughts into Yu. He leapt at the dying or perhaps dead lizard, the victim, and slammed into its side, knocking it over. Yu felt his rage and despair as he pierced the gray beast with his claws while it was on its side, and tore open its skin. Then he summoned the power of the Heavens and Earth and breathed into the hole.

Green smoke exited his mouth and entered the body of the lizard. Everywhere that the green cloud touched, the lizard’s gray skin and black blood dissolved and sloughed off. The poor beast’s body liquified and collapsed into itself, eventually leaving nothing but a steaming pile of gray and black liquid and dead earth beneath. Yu felt his relief that the unfortunate creature had been freed from its torment.

It was then that the white-and-black beast wobbled on his feet. She felt his weakness as he summoned more power and found the strength to run. She felt his desperation to be away from others. To be purified. She saw in his thoughts a picture of a large bird with red and yellow plumage, and felt hope that it might save him.

Yu saw him run through the forest for hours. The longer they ran, the more she could feel his frustration and despair at the knowledge that he would not make it to his bird friend’s purifying flame before it was too late.

She felt his fear then. Fear that he would become one of them, and that if he did, he would bring with him a terrible fate to the entire forest and maybe the world…

It was then that she heard the laughter of humans. Laughing children and… the crying of an innocent?

With a shift of the wind, he smelled something new. It was the scent of a cleansing breath.

Yu felt his desperation again, but this was accompanied by something else. For the first time, Yu felt his hope.

Yu followed the white-and-black beast as he rushed forward and reached a clearing, looking upon a group of six children standing over a seventh, the one who he believed had smelled of cleansing. She felt his surprise as he realized she was weak. The scent had an underlying mystery. Something was wrong with her.

Satisfaction flowed from him then. He knew he would save her, save them all. He had a plan that he thought could work. He marched into the clearing…

Yu wobbled on her feet as she returned to the present. Her head was pounding and her ears rang, but she had understood at least some of her vision.

“Oh, Ebony,” Yu said sadly, as she realized who the white-and-black beast was. “Your husband was braver than you know.”

Returning her eyes to the scene before her, she realized that almost no time had passed. The vision had lasted for hours in her mind, but not even two breaths in reality.

Accepting the vision she had been granted, Yu realized she had no ability to kill the gray creatures. She knew she could not use Qi that way. She also knew she could not allow the hunters be injured, lest they also became like these poor creatures.

So how am I supposed to help my friends?

Yu recalled what Ebony had told her. “He placed a block on your mind so you would not remember until the right time.” Perhaps Ebony’s husband had chosen that moment to share the vision so she would understand that she should flee. That there was no hope for the encircled group. But that was not who Yu was. Or at least not who she wanted to be. Yu decided she could not let others become victims because she refused to act. All Yu needed to do was give the hunters an opportunity to escape. To make a hole for them to flee. Yu scanned the two group and came up with a plan. She reached behind her back and slid out her shining hook swords. The steel rang as they exited their sheaths, and her mind went to the place it always went when she fought for her life.

Then she silently ran forward to the nearest afflicted human and swept her swords across her body. Hearing the thump of its torso hitting the ground as it was separated from its legs, she wasn’t even watching her victim as ran to the left and this time struck down with one blade and up with the other. Two more thumps followed, as a head and a leg hit the ground.

She heard a yelled, “Yu?” from one of the hunters as she attacked, but ignored it.

They were not the only ones who had noticed her by then, but she didn’t care. As the decaying gray beasts slowly turned toward her, she leapt forward in a spin, following her forms and slicing, twirling, and trapping. Believing she could not kill them, and knowing she could not allow them to touch her or her friends, Yu targeted the creatures’ weakest points to force them to the ground. She knew she only needed to give the others time.

Feeling the approach of a creature from behind, she turned, then crouched and jumped forward,, landing on the side of an earlier victim. Following the momentum of her landing, Yu jamming a crescent blade straight down onto what was a cat’s neck, separating its head from its body. Leaping up from the crouch, she spun with her blades out, slicing at the arms and leg joints of the other gray creatures.

Finding herself in an area a few paces wide which was now nearly free of the mass of gray creatures, Yu yelled, “Follow me!” then sprinted toward two humans and a Stone Dog, the last of the creatures that she knew might still block their way.

“Here!” she called.

She spun and twisted, her blades flashing in the beams of sun that broke through the canopy. She removed a leg or arm with every slice. The Stone Dog took a slow swipe at her and she slid to the left, her left sword removing the head of one of the gray-skinned humans while she struck down with her right sword, turned it and pulled it straight up, impaling the dog on the hook through its chin and into whatever was left of its brain. She then pulled and swung the impaled dog with a spin, freeing her sword and sending the dog rolling across the ground, causing it to trip the other decaying human as it reached out for her.

As all three were down, she yelled again through gasping breaths, “Now! Run!”

All five normal tanned and living humans ran. One of them, Yu didn’t know which, called out to her in surprise.

Between gasping breaths, she said, “Just run.” Breathe. “Don’t let them touch you.” Breathe. “And don’t stop running.”

Yu slammed her sword down crescent blade first, and decapitated the gray human she had tripped with the impaled dog.

Quickly sheathing her swords, Yu withdrew her bow, nocked an arrow, and fired into the nearest advancing creature, a wolf. The arrow punctured its paw, nailing it into the ground and not allowing it to advance. Yu fired again and struck a decayed fox in the knee, causing it to stumble and fall.

She slowly started to walk backward while firing arrow after arrow, each of which went into the foot or leg of a creature to prevent them from following.

Then her hand went to her hip and found the quiver empty. Seeing she had time for one more attempt at stopping – or at least slowing – their pursuit, Yu returned the bow to her ring and withdrew some tinder that she had been using to make fires. She also took out the fire stone and, still walking backward, sent four times as much Qi into the stone as she usually would, before touching it to the tinder. The tinder flared to life, burning brightly and quickly. Yu dragged it across the dry leaves and branches that festooned the forest floor, creating a fire barrier between them and their pursuers.

Not able to think of any further solution, Yu turned and ran after the fleeing hunters, her mind reeling from what she had just witnessed and done.

Yu caught up to them, as they were about a li away. She found all five of them collapsed on the ground, their limbs splayed out and chests heaving as they attempted to gather sufficient air to breathe, let alone speak. She staggered into the clearing and joined them on the ground.

A few moments later, Yong managed to gather enough air to say, “Yu. You just…” He ran out of air again before he could continue, but tried again a moment later. “How did you…”

One of the two men Yu didn’t know then said, “We couldn’t kill them.” After a few more breaths he continued, “How did you do it?”

Yu, the first to recover, sat up and said between breaths, “I didn’t. They aren’t dead.”

Yong said, “Oh. So you…”

“Just enough to escape,” Yu said with a tired shake of her head. “They can’t be killed completely, except by Qi.”

The second unknown man was able to speak, and did so softly. “I saw one that you cut the head off fall, and it started to dissolve.”

Yu turned to him and asked quickly, “Really?”

He nodded.

She pondered out loud, “That could be big if it works again. I wonder if it will. I should go back and check.”

The quietest of the cousins, Ping, said, “Yu. Thank you. Don’t go.”

She waved him off. “You’re my companions, this is nothing. But I have to go. Their… illness spreads. It needs to be stopped. Can you imagine if it spreads far? To your family’s home? To the city?”

The group was silent, thinking of what that could mean.

Without another word, Yu rose to her feet and walked into the forest, following her own trail back to the decaying husks that were still spreading death.

Part Seven

RETURN

To test whether the world could survive without them, the heavenly beasts stopped interfering, and for an eon simply watched time pass. What they found saddened them. Small pockets of imbalance formed throughout the world. Their creations began destroying each other and the world around them.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

THIRTY-FIVE

Story

Eight days later – Outside the southern gate of Fei Shu City:

A cart filled with various fruits and vegetables for sale or trade rumbled past where Yu was hiding behind some thick foliage, just in sight of the main road into and out of the city’s southern gate. Everything except her cultivation clothes were in her ring.

From her place of concealment on the edge of the forest, she watched the merchant caravan being led by hulking, yoked Mud Oxen. Yu wondered whether any of those goods would end up on her table in the City Lord’s Palace. After months away, she was anxious to be home.

She ran her finger along the shiny surface of her storage ring, thinking how much she’d miss it, as she found it really was both lovely and supremely useful. She hoped that maybe if Grandma Huan allowed her to keep some of the beast cores, she would be able to afford her own ring. She knew that the city did not have an Enchanters’ Hall, but a few of the wealthiest stores did usually have a small stock of storage rings of various sizes on sale at exorbitant prices. Despite the cost, she knew they would be plain and made of copper, and nothing like the stunning thing on her finger.

Ah well, function first.

“Welcome back, child.”

Yu jumped and spun around. She let out a breath when she saw it was Grandma Huan standing behind her, leaning on her white bone cane as if she actually needed it.

Yu bowed. “I have returned, teacher. As you instructed.”

Grandma Huan huffed and said, “We will see how well you have followed your instructions after you have returned to the palace. I have arranged for you a hot bath, a massage, and some undisturbed time so that you may sleep in a real bed. In the morning, we can discuss your experiences. Come.”

And then the old woman pulled out a familiar ragged cloak which Yu donned for their slow plod back to the palace.

Yu woke to find herself in her own soft bed again, stretched, and then curled up against her soft mattress wrapped in her soft blankets, lying on her soft pillow. Yu sighed, as she had really missed the feeling of being in a normal bed.

Similarly, Yu had nearly sobbed with pleasure when she had entered her bath the night before. When was the last time she had felt hot water on her skin? And the massage had been heavenly.

Yet as much as she wished she could stay exactly where she was all day, she called Feng Jie and got help with washing her face, getting her breakfast, dressing in her normal exercise clothing and attaching her swords, before finally heading out to her garden.

Grandma Huan was not out there waiting for her, so she went for a walk through the bamboo garden, did her stretches, and started her sword forms. After reaching the ninth form – a double sweep forward from outside in, while bending one knee and leaving the other straight behind it – Yu was interrupted.

“Those are not the swords I gave you.”

Yu winced as she returned the swords to their sheaths and bowed deeply to her teacher. “I failed to keep them safe, teacher. I’m sorry.”

“We can discuss that later,” Grandma Huan said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Come sit with me and tell me the story of your sojourn, student.”

Grandma Huan then pulled two chairs out of her ring: her favorite rocking chair, and a standard chair.

Yu sat across from her and said, “Thank you, teacher. Here’s what happened…”

And Yu told her story.

The old woman did her embroidery during the story, but interrupted Yu regularly with questions. Yu found it odd that Grandma Huan didn’t question any of the facts. All of her questions were about how Yu had been feeling at the time, and why she made the decisions she had made.

Yu blushed as she spoke of the fear and uncertainty of her first clumsy experience with a demonic beast. She talked about how at the beginning she was scared, but how by the end of the fight she let go of the fear and simply looked upon it as an action that had to be taken.

Grandma Huan did not criticize Yu at all. Instead, she said, “Do not be ashamed of fear. It is real and there for a reason. Listen to it, be aware of it, but do not let it conquer you. I expect that as you continue, we will discover you did just that.”

It turned out that Grandma Huan was right, as usual. Yu’s story progressed and her teacher kept confirming, “And you were aware of the danger there as well, but understood the situation first, then proceeded with thoughtful consideration and took action. Good.”

Similar statements punctuated the rest of Yu’s relation of her story. When she spoke of leaping off the waterfall cliff and her experiences with the birds, including eating the fruit and gaining the Fire affinity, Grandma Huan said little and seemed to be thinking on what she had just been told. Yet to Yu’s surprise, her first question was, “What did you think of that Zhu? Was he handsome?”

Yu gaped. Then she rubbed her face to hide her blush and said, “Grandma Huan, he was a demonic beast. Why would I think to look at him that way? I was just focused on not saying something wrong and having them roast me alive.”

Grandma Huan just cackled at her. When she stopped laughing, though, she finally spoke of something important. “I saw your new swords. Do not worry much for the old ones. They were used well and died well. And you seem to have come upon excellent weapons in their place. I have not seen hook swords used in many decades, nor ever ones so fine. How have you found them?”

Yu thought for a few moments before answering. “Odd. And a little scary. They’re the most terrifying weapons I’ve ever seen.”

Grandma Huan nodded and said, “They are quite deadly, to the wielder as much as to the enemy. But I trust you will learn them well. Enough about that. First, I will tell you that you were only able to awaken Fire affinity because it was already in your bloodline from your father. No minor fruit can create power where there is none. The resistance you observed in the lava cavern is different and comes directly from the combination of fruit and leaf. Second, you are not to tell anyone about it until I give permission. Not even your family. Now continue.”

Yu shrugged, not really caring one way or the other about sharing the information. Then she spoke of how she had found her hunting companions, the Fangs, for the first time, and how they were lovely people, and that she looked forward to meeting them again someday. Grandma Huan chuckled, but raised an eyebrow when Yu gave the impression there would be another meeting. Then Yu told her about running into the slavers and their slaves, and her struggle about what she should do.

“Grandma Huan, did I do the right thing? I couldn’t sleep well for a while after.”

“Oh, child,” her teacher said sympathetically while patting her hand. “I cannot answer that for you. We all must live with the decisions we make.”

Yu’s shoulders slumped with her disappointment, as she had wanted someone to tell her she had made the right choice by leaving the poor people to their fate. But she also told Grandma Huan how it had firmed her resolve to improve, and had led to an increase in her physical exercises.

This part of her story seemed to truly interest the old woman. Grandma Huan nodded repeatedly after Yu had described her determination and improvements.

Yet the only thing she had to say was, “That is an interesting reaction.”

Yu then wrapped up her story by detailing how she had once again run into the Fangs, describing the infected individuals that were attacking them, and explaining how she had led her friends to safety. Finally, she related how she had returned to face their enemies to try to determine whether the removal of their heads was a potential solution.

Grandma Huan leaned forward and paid full attention during all of that part of the story, especially when Yu recounted the vision she had had.

“Tell me of that beast,” she ordered Yu.

Yu hesitated for a moment, unsure about whether she should speak of her experience in the forest when she had first met the white-and-black tiger, but decided it would be safe to share with Grandma Huan, and did so. Then, for the first time, Yu told someone of how she and Ebony had met, and how the panther had spoken to her and given her something mysterious. She completed the story by telling of how they had spoken of Ebony’s husband, who Yu felt was the same tiger as the one who had saved her. The only thing Yu didn’t share was that the cat had said she would return. She wasn’t sure she wanted anyone to know that. What if they tried to capture or hurt Ebony?

“How interesting,” was all her teacher said for a quite a while as she rocked in her chair, staring at Yu. Finally speaking again, Grandma Huan ordered, “Say nothing of your cat friend, at least for a while. In fact, if I were you, I would not tell of it unless you had no choice.”

Yu nodded. She had been thinking along the same lines.

Grandma Huan spoke again, this time even more firmly. “Those corrupted gray creatures, on the other hand, are a threat we must address immediately. Tell me what you discovered, from your perspective.”

“I went back and found that all of their wounds were either healed or healing. Even the decapitations. So I tested my theory on one that was farther apart from the others, a human, or dead human – or whatever you call it. I removed its head and it started dissolving. I was hopeful, but it turns out that it was not actually dying, but reconstituting itself. It then rose and started walking in the direction it had been taking before, toward the east. I couldn’t kill them. I know external Qi is needed. I don’t know if it is a special Qi, or if any Qi would do it. I just don’t know enough about it. But we have to do something!” Yu knew the fear she was feeling was obvious in her voice.

“That is an excellent report and effort, child. Your return and experiments will be critical in helping us to learn and take the proper action. Well done.”

Naturally, Yu was pleased by the praise, but at the same time still afraid.

“Grandma Huan, the infection, or whatever it is, spreads relatively easily, I believe. Or at least, that’s the impression I got from the vision. It’s a threat to all life. It could spread through the entire forest. Or the city. Someone should go out there and kill them with Qi before that happens!”

Grandma Huan raised her hands and lowered them slowly in a “calm down” motion. Then she spoke in a gentle tone. “Be easy, child. Calm. There is nothing you can do now. I will inform your father and mother, and together they will be able to figure out what to do.”

Yu’s eyes widened. “I wonder if mother’s purifying lightning could do it. We should tell her that!”

Grandma Huan nodded. “I was thinking along the same lines. I shall tell them. You have other things to do.”

Yu was calmed by her teacher’s assurance. “Oh, right. My bones are fully saturated. They actually have been for days.”

“Excellent,” the old woman said with a nod. “You will be pleased to know that no beatings are required to advance this time.”

Yu relaxed and was about to thank the gods when Grandma Huan did what she always did when Yu got her hopes up.

“You will be soaking in a bath of medicines which will seep through your skin, and into your bones. It is similar in pain to the skin treatment, but no physical contact is required. And I can simply sit back and watch, which is good, because I’ve been feeling rather lazy lately and don’t have the patience for your complaints.”

Yu slumped lower with each sentence.

THIRTY-SIX

Sale

Yu was standing in front of a building she had never expected to enter, and was dressed in the most unusual clothing she had ever worn, if it could even be called clothing. Every single inch of her was wrapped in black cloth. The only things visible were her silver eyes and ponytail, and her nostrils and mouth. Shaking her head, she recalled the discussion that had led her to this situation.

Grandma Huan had stood in front of her and said, “Child, we must acquire the medicines for your bone bath. If you succeeded in acquiring sufficient silver worth of beast parts and such, you can purchase it. If not, you can go back out and get more until you have enough.”

Grandma Huan had handed her a piece of parchment with a list of ingredients which detailed the amounts of each herb or item needed for the bath. “You will go to the Alchemists’ Association, tell them you wish to sell beasts and plants from the forest, and then receive silver in exchange. Then you will purchase what is on that list with what they give you. You may keep the rest in the ring. On the off chance they offer to pay you with a card, accept it but ask for ten percent in hard coin.”

Yu had been confused by one major point. “Umm, teacher? Am I not supposed to stay here so that nobody knows anything about me?”

Grandma Huan had waved her hand dismissively and said, “Yes, yes. We will deal with that. Strip to your underclothes.”

Yu sighed and did as instructed. It always worried her when the old woman told her to do that, as the outcome usually involved short sprints or water leaps. But that was not what had happened this time.

Grandma Huan had produced a pair of short boots made of black cloth and a coiled bundle of similar black cloth from her new ring. Looking on curiously, Yu had seen the old woman’s hands glow brown, and then two earthen hands matching Grandma Huan’s own had reached up from below to grab the cloth, which turned out to be a single long strip of smooth black material about as wide as Yu’s hand, and as long as her training center was wide.

The earthen hands had then begun to wrap Yu up in the cloth. They had just kept on circling her, wrapping the cloth tightly enough that it wouldn’t leave gaps, but not so tight as to hamper her movements. Once Yu was completely wrapped from head to toe, Grandma Huan had told her to do some of her exercises in order to make sure nothing came loose and exposed any skin or hair apart from her ponytail.

Once that was done, Grandma Huan had ordered, “As nobody outside of your family has sensed your Qi before, no one will be able to identify you as you, so you don’t have to worry about that. Now off you go. Remember you need to have ten thousand silver to buy the ingredients I need, or you are going right back out again.”

And so Yu had walked right out the front gate, completely exposed for the world to see. She had received a few curious looks, but nobody had said anything, and the palace guards had not stopped her. Yu had figured they had been warned.

And there she was, standing before the towering Alchemists’ Association pagoda, twisting her body slightly and adjusting to the feeling of her covering. To her utter amazement, Yu found that she absolutely loved the fit and feel of her new uniform. It was completely freeing but encasing at the same time. It wasn’t armor like her leathers, but to her it felt… perfect. Like she had been born to wear it.

Shaking her head to clear it and taking a deep breath, Yu walked smoothly into the building, trying to avoid running into anyone in the bustle. Yu found the entire experience intimidating, as it was the first time she could recall being completely free to walk where she wanted and do what she wanted, without fear of being seen or hit, or of hurting herself.

When she passed the large doorway and entered the Alchemists’ Association’s ground floor, she saw a bustling area filled with open tables and shelves holding various herbs, bottles, and boxes. There were people everywhere, going from table to table and conversing with individuals who were dressed in the same blue robes as themselves. Their precisely tailored hanfu uniforms all bore the emblem of the Alchemists’ Association: a tower behind a leaf.

A mortal woman in her twenties and wearing matching Alchemists’ Association garb walked up to Yu with a look of annoyance on her face, and then spoke to her in an impatient tone which was just shy of being rude. “Can I help you find something, sir?”

Sir? Yu looked down at herself, and realized she had no defining features. Men grew long hair as often as women, and as she was still relatively young there was no visual difference.

Trying not to smile, Yu thought, That’s perfect.

Trying to lower the pitch of her voice, she spoke with what she hoped sounded like confidence, and maybe some impatience of her own. “Selling beasts and plants.”

My voice sounded deep enough to me, anyway.

“How many?” the woman asked skeptically.

With a start, Yu realized that she had never actually gotten around to counting.

With a quick glance in her ring she answered, “Almost sixty grade 1 and 2. Most are grade 1, and almost all are at least partially dressed.”

The woman’s eyes opened wide and she spoke again, all condescension gone, “Of course, sir. We have an area set aside for that.” Then she bowed low and said, “Please follow me.”

Yu couldn’t quite hold her smile in as she followed the woman through the crowded area to the stairs. Contrary to her expectation, Yu was led down instead of up. After descending a flight of stairs, Yu was brought to an enclosed area about the size of her training garden, generously lit with ether lights.

A middle-aged man with a gray beard down to his chest was sitting at a table with a number of strange devices and crystals and similar on it. The woman stopped in front of the man, bowed to Yu, and left without another word.

The man looked up from whatever he was reading and asked Yu, “Selling beast parts?”

Yu nodded. “And some Qi plants.”

“How wonderful,” the man said jovially. “Just lay the animal parts out anywhere inside the circle. Plants are sold on the third floor, where the herbalists can help you.”

Yu nodded and walked to the center of a circle which was carved into the stone floor. Then she began emptying out all her beast carcasses, organs, claws, teeth, skin, meat, and cores. She decided to hang onto the blue crayfish to give to her family’s cooks. If she were short on the coins needed, she decided she would sell it. And of course, she had no intention of selling the large red feather that was a reminder of her fiery bird friends.

The man was nearly vibrating with excitement at seeing all the materials. Yu wished she enjoyed her job as much as this man obviously did. Not that she really had a job. Or did anything but train and fight for that matter.

He walked up to the pile and began separating out various parts and pieces into piles. Yu had no idea why he chose the groupings he did, as they made no sense to her. Why put a bird beak next to a cat tail, or a pelt next to a claw? The only thing that made sense to her was when all the beast cores were placed in a pile on the side. Despite the fact that they were likely worth the most, he tossed them together like they were garbage in the way of the really interesting pieces.

When that was done, he grabbed a few of the crystals and weird tools from the table. He then spent a long while pointing the devices and scanning the various parts, accompanied by some excited muttering and even a few giggles.

What an interesting fellow.

Yu could hear some of what he muttered, and found his analysis interesting. “Stone Dog skin, quality of skinning is low, but thickness is good. Two hundred silver. Feathers of the Blue Water Sparrow, excellent plucking but a little small. Forty each.”

He got particularly excited by the clacker carcass, which Yu had had absolutely no idea how to dress.

“A Clacking Earthen Digger, nearly perfectly intact! Oh my heavens… just barely grade 2, but in excellent condition. Nineteen hundred silver, based on the age and weight.”

Money had always been such a vague concept for Yu. She never had any to spend, nor needed anything that she wasn’t given. The only things she had ever wanted were training materials and food. The value of nineteen hundred silver meant nothing except that it was almost a fifth of what Grandma Huan had told her she needed. Thus, Yu was both thrilled with that number and happy about the man’s excitement.

For nearly an hour, Yu stood back and watched him analyze every single piece of demonic beast that she had brought back. His excited mutterings rose and fell in volume based on what he had in front of him, but it all seemed to be to his enjoyment.

Finally – after he had examined every hair, feather, fiber, claw, and tooth – the man turned his attention to the pile of cores. There was quite a substantial number of them, since nearly every creature Yu had killed had at least been a low grade 1 demonic beast.

He grabbed a basket, piled the cores in until it was overflowing, and trudged back over to the table. Taking out what looked like a one-sided scale made of copper with seven small crystals embedded in it, he placed a random brown beast core on it. A single crystal glowed and he said, “Mid-grade 1, Earth. Two hundred silver.”

Yu felt her hidden eyebrows rise. If that was what they were worth, she realized she would almost certainly have enough silver to buy the medicine ingredients, while having enough left over to maybe get her own ring later.

Assuming Grandma Huan lets me keep the extra.

“Bloody hells, look at all those cores!”

Yu turned her head and saw a group of four men, cultivators all, at the bottom of the steps and approaching her and the table.

“Please wait back there for your turn,” the Association employee helping her said in a loud voice, “I am helping this young man right now.”

Ignoring Yu’s helper, the speaker did not stop approaching and said snidely, “I don’t think so. The Bao Clan doesn’t have to wait. Don’t you agree, fellow? What clan are you with?”

Yu had no idea who the Bao Clan were, or what their standing in the city was. She had never bothered studying things like that. She had been hidden away from everyone after all.

Yu responded in her best man’s voice. “Go away.” Then she turned around and faced the Association employee again.

“Did you just give me an order and then turn your back on me?” growled the voice from behind her, closer now.

“Yes,” was all Yu said in response, without turning around.

“Nobody insults me or the Bao Clan that way!” he snarled.

Yu heard the sing of steel being drawn and was ready to draw her hook swords from her ring, but the Association man called confidently, “If you cause a problem here, the Bao Clan will be sanctioned or banned. Do you wish to be responsible for such a punishment?”

Yu heard a different voice behind her say, “He’s right, Bao Qi. Don’t get your family in trouble with the Alchemists’ Association. We can’t afford it with the conflict we are currently in with the Wen Clan.”

In an angry tone, Bao Qi said to Yu, “Fine! My family will find you, and you’ll regret this!”

She just sighed and shook her head.

Boys are so stupid.

The employee told them, “Thank you, now please back away to the waiting area until I am done, then I will gladly serve you next.”

Yu heard them shuffle off, grumbling the entire time. The man bowed to her and said respectfully, “I apologize for that, young master.”

From his words, Yu realized she had risen in rank in the man’s eyes due to how she had reacted to the pompous Bao.

How interesting. My confidence alone changed his view of me.

Playing up that very confidence, Yu just waved it off like it was nothing and said, “Please continue.”

“Of course, young master.”

By the time the man was done counting the fifty-four cores, Yu had over seventy thousand silver built up in just those, never mind the rest of the beast parts.

The man then asked, “Is there anything else, young master?”

Yu thought for a moment and said in a near whisper, “Actually, yes. I have one more core that I don’t wish to sell, but I do want it appraised. However, it might be wisest to do so secretly. Do you have any advice?”

The employee’s eyebrows rose into his hair, and he said, “I can help you with that. Let us clear up your account first. You have a total of 117,240 silver worth of beast parts and cores. We generally do not offer so much hard coin, though.”

Yu was shocked by the total, which was more than ten times the amount she had been told she needed.

Did the old woman know how much extra I’d have? More importantly, will she let me keep it?

Either way, the man was waiting for a response. Following Grandma Huan’s advice, Yu confidently nodded and said, “Ten thousand in silver, the rest on the card.”

“Of course, young master. If you would follow me,” the man said with a smile and a nod. Yu figured he now saw her as an experienced and wealthy young master of a strong clan.

The man led Yu to a small room off to the side. He put his core assessor onto a table and said, “You can place your unknown core on that while I prepare your copper card. You will have total privacy, but if you wish for my input after seeing the result, let me know. If not, I shall not pry.”

Cards came in different colors, representing the level of service which the customer holding it would receive. Copper meant the customer had bought or sold one hundred thousand silver or more at one time, and would receive commensurate personal treatment. A silver card represented one million silver, gold ten million, and black one hundred million. Each came with more personalized and specialized treatment. Nobody in Fei Shu City even had a gold card, never mind a black one. At least that was what Yu’s Uncle Zhao had told her while he was lamenting his lack of funds for gambling or spending at bath houses.

Yu shook her head at the memory as she sat at the table and placed the core onto the scale. It was the largest, and glowed two colors: purple and yellow. Six of the seven crystals glowed brightly and then dimmed. Yu nodded, having suspected as much. Watching the man use the contraption had helped Yu to figure out the general instructions and outcomes. It turned out that it was pretty straightforward. One light meant grade 1, and two lights meant grade 2. The brightness then defined whether it was low, mid-, or high-grade. Based on what she figured having six lights light up brightly meant, Yu assumed Jiang had given her the core from Fengbao.

Yu sighed and shook her head. It was too much. She might have been clueless about their monetary value, but everyone had heard stories about how battles would be fought over cores of high-grade beasts. Their value was incalculable.

In Fengbao’s case, she thought it was grade 6, meaning the core would probably cause a war.

What am I supposed to do with such a thing?

She sent it back into the ring, and then waited for the man to return with her coins and card.

When he did, he handed her a jangling bag which she also sent into her ring. Follow that, he presented her with her copper card, and asked her to place a drop of blood on it. She blinked at that request, but, not wanting to betray her cluelessness, acted quickly.

Withdrawing her boot knife from her ring, Yu lightly pricked her finger and pressed it to the card. The red of her blood vanished almost as soon as she withdrew her finger, and then the number 107,240 showed on the card before disappearing.

“As you know, young master, this card can now only be used when you are touching it. And the number will only show when it is being used. Was there anything else I can help you with?”

His eyes were eager, likely hoping she would ask him about the core. But she did not.

Yu stood and said, “No, thank you. You were very helpful. I need to go see the herbalists now.”

As Yu passed by them on her way to the stairs, the Bao Clan members gave her dirty looks. She completely ignored them. Yu found she quite liked pretending to be the young master of an important clan.

Working her way to the third floor, Yu sniffed at the growing smell of herbs and medicines. After reaching her destination, her senses were immediately assaulted by the overlapping and overwhelming smells.

This floor had only a handful of customers, and four employee herbalists behind counters. Yu made her way to an available assistant who greeted her with, “How may I help you, sir?”

“I have Qi plants to sell and a list of herbs and such to purchase,” Yu said confidently in her boy voice. She then firmly placed Grandma Huan’s list of ingredients onto the glass counter, and her copper card on top of it.

The woman looked up at Yu, and her expression shifted to one of a flirtatious girl. “I will be pleased to help you, sir.” Then she leaned over in what Yu assumed was supposed to be a seductive manner, reached under the counter, delicately placed a bamboo mat next to Yu’s card and said, “Place your Qi plants on this, and an appraiser will be with you shortly. I’ll be gathering your list while you wait.”

Then she smoothly took the list, smiled suggestively, and wandered off, waving her butt at Yu.

If only she knew.

Some cultivators felt the desire to enjoy their own sex, and while it was publicly frowned upon, in reality no one cared what people did in private. In the end, only life and death really mattered to cultivators, and everything else was of secondary importance. Of course, Yu wasn’t interested in either boys or girls in that way. She just wanted to train and get stronger.

Yu laid out her various Qi plants, which included the blue mushrooms and another mushroom, this one brown, plus some various leaves and nuts that she figured would hold no value to her. Scanning the pile, she thought it was not a great selection, despite the green, blue, and yellow leaves from the Prismatic Essence Heart Bush. She had not really spent much time searching for plants, and what she had collected was mainly what had been in front of her, which she had taken for the purpose of making sure she had enough to pacify Grandma Huan.

Not seeing help arriving anytime soon, Yu decided to look at some of the medicines and pills that were open for viewing. She went to a cabinet with a glass front labeled, “Cultivation Resources.” Yu knew she wasn’t going to be taking those for a long time, but decided to look them over anyway. Knowledge was always helpful and she’d never forget.

The first pill was a plain round white ball the size of the tip of her finger. It had a parchment in front of it labeled, “Qi Replenishment Pill. Purity – Low.” It was labeled with a price of eight thousand silver. Yu was shocked that a low-purity item would cost so much, and then wondered how much a high-purity pill might cost.

For the next few minutes, Yu scanned the cabinet, seeing a variety of pills and powders for various purposes. The prices astounded her. A mid-purity powder that offered only a temporary gain in Qi flow speed cost nearly twenty thousand silver.

Shaking her head, Yu was about to step away when, on the lowest shelf, a strangely dull black pill caught her attention. It was labeled, “Qi Burning Pill.” What stood out to her was not just the color, but that it was the only resource in the cabinet that came with an additional warning. It said that it had been known to cause permanent damage to Qi channels and meridians, or occasionally death.

Why would anyone take such a thing?

Yu would ask Grandma Huan when she got back.

As she straightened up, an old man with a beardless wrinkled face called her back over to her Qi plants. Yu walked over and looked at the man. He, in turn, looked at the copper card and asked, “You are selling these, young master?”

Yu nodded.

“I can tell they were stored in a spatial ring without protection,” the old man said with a sigh. “That will reduce their value substantially. In the future I encourage you to purchase a specialized jade container for such things. We sell them here, of course.”

Yu nodded again, considering that perhaps she would do as he suggested, if she had enough silver and planned to head out again.

He examined, poked, and sniffed her plants. When his inspection was complete, he said, “I can give you nine thousand for the lot, young master. The Earth Bringer Fungus is where most of that value comes from. It is a large specimen and in decent condition.” He pointed at the large brown mushroom. Then gesturing at the three colored leaves he said, “These have lost much potency but still tend to sell well. That said, there is always a risk with leaves from the Prismatic Essence Heart Bush that tends to moderate their resale price.”

Yu nodded. The man took her card, tapped it against a crystal and asked her to touch it. The value appeared on it, and then changed to represent the increase. He carefully removed all the plants and placed them in various jade containers, removed the bamboo mat, bowed slightly, and then departed.

Shortly after that, the woman returned with a package of supplies and placed it before Yu.

“There you are, young master.” Yu figured she must have heard the old man call her that. “Do not place this directly in a storage ring, or some of the materials may be damaged. That will be nine thousand eight hundred and twenty silver.”

Yu blinked. Not putting it in her ring was logical, but the price seemed low to her. However, the ten thousand target that Grandma Huan had set Yu made sense to her now. She really hoped that her teacher would let her keep the extra.

Misinterpreting Yu’s reaction, the lady said, “Young master, I assure you that is the best price I can give you for a copper card.”

Yu dismissed the issue with a wave of her hand and nodded. They did the card tapping thing and this time the value on it fell by the agreed-upon amount.

Then Yu picked up the neatly wrapped package and placed her card in her ring before heading for home.

THIRTY-SEVEN

Bath

When Yu returned to her garden, she was surprised at what her teacher had added. Lined up on the grass were three large clay bathtubs on steel risers with piles of wood under them. Yu noticed that none of the tubs were filled. Then Yu saw that in between each of them were long padded massage tables with side tables and cabinets, each holding one set of towels, oils, stones, and the like that masseuses used.

Surprised by the sight, Yu didn’t notice Grandma Huan until she had stomped right in front of her face, whacked Yu in the leg with her stick and begun berating her. “Honestly, child! What if I was someone who meant you harm?”

Yu was still wincing from the stick hit, so she wasn’t sure there was a “what if” there at all. But Grandma Huan wasn’t done. In fact, she started yelling so loudly that Yu winced again. “You just wandered in, completely oblivious to the two workers who right now are staring at you from the doorway!”

Shocked by that statement, Yu realized she could hear gasps over by the door, but by the time she had whipped her head in that direction, she saw only the door closing.

Now Yu was embarrassed and ashamed. She knew her teacher was absolutely right. She had been so distracted that she had allowed herself to become vulnerable.

Yu felt another wallop on her other leg, and turned back to her teacher with another wince.

“I’m sorry, teacher. I’ll try to do better.”

Grandma Huan humphed and ordered, “Good. Now report on your trip.”

Yu did, and then handed over the package of ingredients.

“Fine. You clearly made sufficient silver if you have the ingredients. The remainder is yours. Do not waste it. Now go do your stretches and then fifty short sprints and water leaps. Take the extra work as a reminder that there are consequences for not being attentive to your environment.”

Yu sighed but nodded.

“After you do that, you should do no further exercise for the day. Simply meditate while resting your bones until this evening, when I will return with the medication. When you hear people come here to fill the tubs, you are to retreat to the bamboo garden where you cannot be seen. Do you have any questions?”

“Just one, teacher. Did you expect them to treat me as a boy at the Alchemists’ Association?”

Grandma Huan nodded. “I believed it likely with your physique, lack of womanly features, and the wrappings. When no one can see your beauty, you are muscular enough to be a boy. Speaking of which, how did you like the new wrappings?”

Yu blushed when she said, “Actually, I love them,” while running her hand up and down her covered arm.

Grandma Huan smiled pleasantly. “Outstanding. From now on, they are your outdoor clothes. You will take up the mantle of a young master on any occasion you leave the palace, which you may now do as long as you are fully wrapped and are careful not to draw undue attention to yourself. If it comes up, for now just ignore anyone’s questions about which clan you belong to.”

Yu felt like she could explode from excitement.

I’m free to move about the city!

Trying but failing to fully keep her composure, Yu bowed and said enthusiastically, “Thank you, teacher.”

“Enough of that,” the old woman huffed. “I will see you after the sun sets.”

Yu’s meditations were interrupted when, due to trying to be more attentive to her environment, she heard the door open and multiple footsteps enter. She immediately stood and jogged through the stone arch and deep into the garden, where she resumed trying to mentally prepare herself for the pain she knew was to come.

Nearly an hour later the sun had just disappeared past the horizon, and Yu heard Grandma Huan call for her. Yu went out to find only her teacher and the three filled tubs with fires under them.

The old woman turned to Yu and said, “While the water heats and the medicine I have prepared for you dissolves, I will tell you how this will work. You are going to soak three times, and I will perform a massage twice, once between each soak. We follow this procedure because your bones will change size and shape slightly and put a great deal of stress on your musculature, which you have not enhanced yet. That is the third level of foundation building, as you know.”

Yu nodded, getting more nervous. Growing bones sounded painful to her.

“The medicines I placed in the water were a special mixture which will change its color to that of mud. You are to stay fully submerged the entire time until the water is completely clear, which will mean that your body has absorbed the entire alchemical concoction. I will provide a bamboo stalk for breathing through, and I recommend you attempt to find your center and simply meditate. Do not cycle Qi until I tell you. You will not like the consequences if you do. Clear?”

Yu nodded shakily.

“Good. At the end of the third bath, your bones will be very tender, their various fibers and pores open and welcoming, but also brittle and easy to break. It is at this point you will flood them with Qi, much as you did at the end of your skin enhancement. At that point we hope for the best. Either way, I will be attempting to use up my red thread on a new design I picked up in the market. It is quite interesting.”

Yu looked at Grandma Huan with wide eyes. This sounded worse than the skin-enhancing process, which had involved stone rods slamming against her repeatedly. “Teacher, are all the ‘evolution through force’ methods we will be using going to result in me suffering?”

The old woman beamed at Yu like she was offering the greatest prize in the world. “Of course, child. Otherwise, everyone would do them.”

Completely naked and without even her ring, Yu climbed up a stool next to the first tub and looked nervously at her teacher one last time. She then placed the leather-wrapped bamboo stalk in her mouth, put a clip on her nose, and dropped into the steaming, dark-brown water. As Yu settled into the tub in a comfortable position with the bamboo sticking out, she didn’t feel anything other than the sensations of a pleasantly hot bath.

Only moments into it, however, her body began to tingle. The feeling intensified again and again, until Yu was crushing her teeth against the leather covering of the bamboo. She understood then why Grandma Huan had wrapped it in leather – she knew Yu would be biting down on it. Yet Yu also knew she would soon need to stop doing so, as teeth were counted as part of her skull and would likely also be vulnerable to breaking as the process proceeded.

Yu attempted to calm her breathing and mind, but found that it was difficult because the pain was very distracting. Oddly, she found her body starting to float in the middle of the water so that none of her skin was touching any of the clay sides or the bottom. It was a foreign sensation to Yu, but something of a relief because none of her bones were then under any pressure at all.

The pain was nonetheless absurdly harsh. Every single area of her body was suffering from an internal burn, and no matter what position she was in, it hurt the same. Yu tried to adjust herself into a floating lotus position so she could meditate and enter her inner world. Unfortunately, she found that it did not help the pain. However, it did allow her easy access to the memories that Jiang had given her. So to distract herself, Yu ran through all thirty-six hook sword forms. Repeatedly.

She had no idea how long it lasted, but she was awakened from her focus by Grandma Huan, who could somehow send sound into the water. Yu was told to rise and quickly get on the first table. Yu winced the entire time, every step causing burns and tingles throughout her body. After Yu had lain down on the table, Grandma Huan called up Qi from her rocking chair – which she hadn’t left since the whole thing had started, as far as Yu knew – to form eight earthen hands that then gave Yu the greatest (and at the same time the most painful) massage she had ever experienced. The relief her muscles, ligaments, and tendons felt was matched only by the suffering that the pressure placed on her already aching bones.

The same agonizing process was then repeated for the second tub. That second time, Yu needed help getting to the table, so Grandma Huan summoned a dirt helper to carry her. Her eyes were shedding non-stop tears and she was crying out with each movement because her bones were just so sensitive, and every step jarred her body.

After Yu was awakened from her meditation the third time and the water she was in was perfectly clear, Grandma Huan called from her chair, “Now, child.”

Yu did as instructed as she floated suspended in the tub, although it was hard for her to focus through the pain. This Qi flood was different from the one Yu had experienced before, because with her bones the flood had only hit one at a time, while for the skin it came all at once.

In this case, the energy moved from her first vertebrae to the final bone in her ankle in a little over ten breaths of time, which were the most painful of Yu’s life. Yu thought she could resist pain, but this time found it impossible. She allowed it to flow over her, knowing it was part of her growth, her future. And her last thoughts before her mind released her were, This is my pain, and I accept it.

When she sensed that Yu had entered her mindscape for the Qi rush, Grandma Huan got up from her seat for the first time in over an hour. She wanted to be on hand for this in case anything bizarre happened like it had the last time. It turned out she was right to be wary, as her student experienced an almost identical reaction.

When the child’s eyes opened, their silver started churning and flowing like liquid, and once again became slitted like a cat’s. This reaction made much more sense to Huan this time, now that she better understood the story of the tiger. As before, the pupils quickly returned to normal and her eyelids lowered.

Huan used an earth golem to carry the child back to her bed. She then did the same things as last time, leaving her student water and rice, and handing a note to Yu’s maid which contained similar instructions to before. She then walked slowly to Long Meixiu’s rooms.

When she was announced, Long Meixiu greeted her personally as was appropriate, and then they both sat down for tea.

The girl’s mother started with the most obvious but least meaningful question, which Huan had expected. “How is she?”

“She is fine, of course,” Huan answered. “Tell me, have you been granted any other visions of a tiger or your daughter?”

The beautiful woman shook her head, sending her violet locks waving behind her. “No. Nothing.”

“Fine,” Huan said. “Are you satisfied with your cousin’s answers in regards to her joining the Black Dragon Sect?”

Meixiu nodded. “Yes. You know he can keep secrets and will choose whatever benefits his sect the most, even when he is least… himself. Although we will need to discuss the particulars with Yu and Lei.”

Huan felt the wrinkles on her face as she broke into a smile. “I think I like that boy. I may give him some attention when I have time to spare.”

Meixiu said cautiously, “Be careful you don’t affect things too much.”

“Oh, nonsense. I am just plucking a string here or there. Speaking of which, we may have to push things forward faster than planned. Your daughter ran into the corrupted during her time in the wilderness.”

At that, Meixiu sat bolt upright. “Truly? You would not be so calm if she were infected, so I assume she surpassed the challenge?”

Huan cackled and said, “Oh, yes. She brutalized them! It was quite a sight. She is using hook swords now, in case you didn’t know.”

Meixiu winced, “She is skilled?”

“Of course. What is she not skilled at when she puts her mind to it? I’m surprised you didn’t pop her out with a sword in each tiny hand. And the oddity and viciousness of them fit her well.”

Meixiu smiled wanly as she relaxed back into her chair. “You really can be crude at times, Huan.”

Laughing again, Huan said, “I’m too old to worry about politeness. And I don’t really care what anyone else thinks. Now, about the corrupted…”

“Well, I will be able to purify them if they have not started absorbing each other yet,” came the response which Huan had hoped to hear.

“From what the child described, you should be able to, yes. They are barely walking husks.”

Then Huan proceeded to explain to her as best she could about where Yu had run into them.

Meixiu nodded and said, “Da and I will head out in a day or two. Was there anything else?”

Thinking about the tournament which was now less than a year away, Huan said, “There is one thing…”

THIRTY-EIGHT

Burn

Da was pleased to be out with his Meixiu. He watched her as the air whipped her stunning violet hair behind her. Whenever they were alone, her beauty nearly always distracted him.

Even with the gruesome purpose of their trip into the wilderness, he was pleased to be doing something other than dealing with the minutiae of managing a moderate-sized clan. One day he hoped it would be a large clan if things continued to work out for them, especially if his only daughter turned out to be what he hoped. But he knew that patience was critical.

Of course, he was going to have to convince Yu’er to help. Meixiu would help with that. Lei too. He recognized that Yu’er was a strong-willed child, and feared that learning from Huan wouldn’t help matters. In fact, she’d probably make it worse.

“Lord husband, look below,” his second wife called to him.

Da walked to the end of the tamed demonic beast that he and his second wife were riding. He had purchased this Steel-beaked Stork many decades ago, and had been raising him ever since. The stork was large enough to carry six people quickly for thousands of li, or could go even further with fewer riders. Da felt he was an excellent beast, and worth every piece of silver and all the effort that went into keeping and raising him, even though feeding him was quite expensive.

Da had recently come upon a set of good-quality feathers, some stone centipede shells, and a rare Earthen Bringer mushroom at the Alchemists’ Association which he had combined into a medicine which would enhance his beast’s growth. He had paid quite a bit for it, but again had felt it was well worth the cost as he was always looking for long-term gains.

As they flew over it, he could see that patches of the ground below were gray and dead. One area in particular was full of the small patches of death. It would take years to grow back to full health.

His wife said, “I believe this is where Yu had her first battle against them. It fits the description I was given.”

Da turned to her. “What did you say?”

Why is everyone so intent on keeping things relating to my own daughter from me? I know I failed to understand her, but how long will information regarding her continue to be kept from me?

“She battled them and, from what I am told, completely annihilated them.” The pride in her voice was evident, but then the frustration came through, “Not that they stayed that way.”

“Yu’er did?” He could not keep the surprise from his tone.

For more than a decade, he had been filled with guilt and shame whenever he thought of his daughter. It shamed him that he had not been able to protect her when she was a babe. He had tried to do so as she had grown up, giving her what he thought was a safe and peaceful life. But since her miraculous purification and healing, Da had learned that he had misunderstood Yu’er. He now knew that he had been stifling her and her potential.

Just to make sure he was not presuming incorrectly, he asked, “I knew that she had reported the presence of the corrupted, but to battle them and not become corrupted herself? Are you sure?”

“Indeed,” Meixiu said with a nod and a smile. “Lord husband, she will be fourteen in two months and has just started muscle enhancement.”

Da blinked at her. “She has?” This time he even heard the pride in his own voice.

She has battled the corrupted and not just survived, but defeated them. At early foundation building, no less. I never expected to be filled with pride when thinking of Yu’er, but she has proven me wrong.

Da mumbled, mostly to himself, “She’s so young and still small for her age.” Then out loud to his wife, he said, “I thought she was going to be three times as slow because of her situation with Qi.”

They did not speak openly of her special abilities – even alone in the middle of nowhere and on a bird. Speaking of, he directed the creature to the east.

“Indeed, she was,” Meixiu confirmed. “But her perception and memory allow her to offset that. In fact, it appears more than that, since she is growing faster than most with only one Qi…” She stopped herself, and instead finished with, “…without her challenges.” Then she chuckled. “I snuck in and saw her practice against target dummies once. She is truly a savant with the hook swords.”

Da looked at her, astonished. “Hook swords? I thought she used the jian.”

“Things change, lord husband. Huan tells me she ran into the Vermillion Bird family and made friends with them. They gave her the hook swords, some type of armor, and a few other things in appreciation of her saving the life of their youngest – a girl, if I remember properly, but I could be wrong about that. Like you, I do not have our daughter’s memory.”

Ignoring the last comment, Da asked in a flabbergasted tone, “Are you telling me that our thirteen-year-old girl, who is barely into the foundation stage, saved the life of a vermillion bird chick and then befriended her family? The eldest of whom is the strongest creature in the millions of li from here to the Desert Wastes?”

Meixiu nodded and said, “That is how it was described to me. Although I would imagine there was quite a bit more drama to it.”

“Are you sure Grandma Huan isn’t trying to sell brown rice as white?”

His lady wife laughed. “No, lord husband. Your daughter is special.” Then he watched her beautiful face fall before she looked away, staring off at the distant wilderness. He just barely heard her say, “I wonder sometimes if her Spatial affinity isn’t showing itself. Occasions like what happened with the birds make me wonder…”

Da thought about that statement. He had known Yu’er would surpass him one day – anyone who saw her God Sign would know that. That knowledge did not offend or shame him in the least. He was pleased, knowing his clan would be in good hands with Lei and Yu’er.

He had hoped to help keep her safe so she could grow into her potential, and then convince her to help the clan in return. But if his wife was right and she was being guided by the very fabric of the world, he would have to change how he approached her. At times, Da wished his wife and their daughter had never inherited their affinity from the Long. That cousin of hers wasn’t any better than the rest. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d dealt with his wife’s original clan and their lunacy. And it wouldn’t be his last, either.

He huffed to himself, realizing that if it turned out that his old teacher was right, then attempting to control his daughter would be the wrong way to advance his goals.

“I think I found one,” his wife called, interrupting his ruminations on the future.

Da looked where his lady wife was pointing, and caught a glimpse of a gray-skinned creature. Recognizing it to be one of their prey, he gave a signal to his bird with a few whistles, and then leapt off with his wife. They landed on the ground with bent knees, sending dirt flying. A moment of running, and they had caught up with the slow plodding creature.

“Yu’er’s report was correct, the corrupted have returned,” Da said in a tone that mixed surprise and concern. He really had not wanted to believe it.

The sadness clear in her voice, Meixiu said, “Indeed. Poor thing. Try to burn it, and we’ll see how far along its corruption is.”

Da nodded and raised his hand. A thin blast of fire shot from it and made contact with the corrupted feline, which immediately caught fire and began burning, although it did not stop its slow march east until its legs were physically incapable of carrying it any further. Da then repeated his actions and the beast was soon a pile of steaming black goo over a patch of dead earth.

The pair watched the sludge carefully until it began to slowly reconstitute itself into a black-and-gray cat.

“Try again, but hotter; and don’t stop,” his wife said.

Da asked, “Why has it not attacked us? The histories say they attack the living on sight.”

“I believe it is because the creature was weak originally and the corruption is not far enough along. I do not think it will attack anything that does not physically stand in its way or touch it. However, the report we received said the group Yu battled were actively attacking a group of hunters, so we know that at least some have advanced into the second stage of corruption.”

Da raised his hand again, and this time the fire that struck the beast was nearly too hot for Meixiu to be able to stand near. He continued to attack until the cat was once again a puddle.

A few moments later it began reforming again.

Meixiu said, “This one at least is too far gone for standard Qi. It needs to be purified.” This time it was his wife who held out her hand, and crackling sounds and the smell of a storm filled the air before being followed by a single blast of violet lightning.

Da watched her. Meixiu was never more attractive to him than when she used her power, her stunning light-purple hair floating as the air was pressured by her might. It was truly…

Da cleared his throat and forced himself to refocus on the feline. The creature had fallen with a hole in its middle, and it was dissolving. This resulted in another circle of dead earth, but this time the black impurities were absorbed by the earth, never to rise again.

Meixiu nodded and said, “It is not too late. We should find the rest. If we are fortunate, they will be close together.”

Da nodded, and whistled to the sky. They both looked up and leapt straight into the air, landing on the bird as it flew by.

His wife proposed, “If Yu has made friends with the Vermillion Bird, perhaps she can warn him, or even ask for his assistance in the cleansing.”

Da just shook his head, remembering that his daughter had befriended one of the strongest creatures in the empire’s lands. For a moment he thought about doing what his ancestor had done, and starting a breeding program for his clan. This time for Ether. But remembering his previous thoughts about his daughter and her affinity, he quickly set the idea aside as he felt there was no use in tempting fate.

“We’ll see. For now, cleaning out this corruption buys us time to prepare.”

Without further words, the pair headed east to clean their forest of the corruption to the best of their ability.

Interlude

Four months later (midwinter) – An isolated courtyard somewhere in Fei Shu City’s eastern district:

A gray-haired old man sat at a bamboo table, watching snow falling around him and onto the open courtyard’s stone floor. A single unusually large flake passed in front of his face, and he reached out a hand. His upward-facing palm followed the snowflake so it stayed perfectly centered, even with its random gliding changes of direction.

A few breaths later, the fluffy white bit of frozen water fell onto his mottled skin. It stayed there, quickly shrinking in size as it melted. Before it could completely transform into a small pool of water on his palm, the old man closed his fist and returned it to the table, next to his black marble playing stones.

Sensing the approach of his guest, the old man called, “I left the pieces where they were. Hopefully we can finish our game this time.”

A man who appeared to be in his late forties in mortal years, and who had black hair and a short black beard, entered. “Thank you, Patriarch Chao. I look forward to my victory,” he said with a light chuckle.

Chao Bolin, the Patriarch of the Chao Clan, smiled ruefully and said, “We shall see,” as he placed a black stone on the board. “Tell me, Patriarch Jing, do you find ‘Go’ to be an interesting game? Do you find it challenging?”

Jing Shuang placed a white stone next to another and across from a black and said, “I think it depends on the opponent. After all, the opponent is what makes the game challenging or not, not the game itself.”

“That is quite an interesting perspective,” Bolin said. “With that in mind, I must ask. Do you find Fenghuang Da to be a challenging opponent?”

Shuang huffed. “Obviously. And not just because of his personal strength. He is quite clever, ever able to take advantage of any situation before him. And he, more often than not, seems to know what is coming.”

The Chao Patriarch nodded and placed another piece. “Indeed. There are three things to consider when playing against that man. His personal power, his quick mind, and his information network.”

“That’s why we’ve had such a hard time gaining advantage in the city,” Shuang said in a frustrated tone as he placed a white piece on the board, harder than was needed.

“I might have a way, if you and I are willing to sacrifice in the tournament. I know I am. Are you?”

“Sacrifice what?” the Jing Patriarch asked. “I’ve given as much silver as I can afford to for the rewards. Of which you will claim the best when your grandson wins, I might add.”

“I have received outside assistance. Two pieces, actually. One minor, one major. They have told me what will come, and I believe them.”

Shuang raised an eyebrow. “And I suppose you cannot share who these pieces are?”

Bolin nodded. “The minor’s identity and part in our game are irrelevant in the long run, but she will act as a distraction. The major piece is the key, and I do not know who they really are. All that matters is that they wish to see the Fenghuang brought low. In point of fact, they came to me. I investigated them and their claims, and found everything they said to be accurate. Moreover, they predicted that certain precise events would happen, and were proven to be exactly correct – many times, and to the Chao’s advantage.”

“Will they support us in direct action?”

“Sadly, no,” Bolin said with a shake of his head. “This group will not act directly. However, they can give our clans the opportunity we need to gain advantage. Most importantly, they have told us who to target, how, and when. And with that, they have promised to cause a single distraction when it is needed at the key moment. This will grant us the window to strike.”

“We must be cautious. If Fenghuang Da or his second wife – or heavens forbid, both of them – feel too threatened, they will assault us directly, and we cannot defeat them or their clan in a war without catastrophic losses.”

“I agree. We cannot fight them in a direct conflict,” Bolin said with a nod. “At least not today. That is why we have to attack them the right way. It will require a set of specific prior events to happen in a particular order, according to our partners. To make this work in a way that will avoid direct conflict, we must have the appropriate target. It is the clan, not the clan lord, that we aim to undermine. Specifically, their future.”

Shuang’s eyebrows rose, and he smiled. “Their future? The heir, Fenghuang Lei, is protected at a sect. Do they have another as gifted?”

“Indeed. And he is even more gifted, according to our partners,” Bolin said seriously.

“If they were to have two such talents leading their clan, along with all their assets, our ability to overthrow them would be at an end. They may even receive imperial attention. Tell me where the Jing Clan can support you.”

“I’m glad to see you understand the threat,” the Chao Patriarch said, pleased. “First, we cannot be seen meeting again. I do not wish to tip Da off that we are partnering. You have already shared how concerned we should be about his spies.”

The other man nodded in acknowledgement.

Then Bolin placed a black piece down in a place that would clearly cause it to be lost and said, “I have a piece I have been building up. He has good potential and would make an excellent enforcer. He has the brutal mindset for it. More importantly, I have invested heavily in him. And yet I am willing to sacrifice him for the advancement of my clan. But doing so alone will gain less than it costs.”

“What are you asking?” the Jing Patriarch asked.

“Will you also sacrifice one of the pieces you have invested heavily in? This is a true sacrifice; you may not be able to retrieve the piece.”

Shuang leaned back in his chair and rubbed his beard. A few breaths later, he said, “As long as it is not my heir, yes.”

“Excellent,” the Patriarch of the Chao Clan said with a wide smile. “Then let me tell you how we will destroy the future of the Fenghuang.”

Part Eight

TOURNAMENT

So the four heavenly beasts created one more kind of being, whose purpose would be to help regulate the others and fight the imbalance. But to fulfill its purpose, this new creation must have access to all the types of power in the world.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

THIRTY-NINE

Identity

Six months later (late spring) – Private training area, estate of the city lord, Fei Shu City:

Yu was panting breathlessly as she ducked a blow that would have crushed her skull, only to flip backward on her hands and then feet to avoid the knee that came up at her lowered head. Her twin hook swords appeared in her hands as she blocked an overhead blow with crossed blades.

Normally that mix of extension would lead to an opening of the ribs, hips, or legs, but hook swords were about as abnormal as a weapon could get. Yu twisted one sword, catching the offending attack in the center of the hook. At the same time, she slid her other sword forward, and her body closed on her foe as the blade screeched across rock until she was right next to the stone golem and could slam the crescent into its neck.

Her muscles actively enhanced with Qi, she crushed the stone neck and kept going through the solid creature until its head was completely removed. Yu then quickly turned her blade so that the sharp tip of the hilt was facing the middle of the golem’s “spine” and jammed downward, puncturing its middle. She also twisted and pulled with her left hand, which had been idly holding the factotum’s attacking hand at bay, removing its hand with a cracking and crumbling, and slammed the hilt point-first opposite the other.

“Better.” Grandma Huan’s voice sounded from her normal spot on the grassy part of Yu’s training garden. She was rocking and embroidering as always.

Yu removed the weapons from her teacher’s creation, allowing it to crumble to dust and stone, then sheathed her blades and bowed. “Thank you, teacher.”

“It still took you too long to draw your swords, though. It almost hit you numerous times early in the combat.”

Yu nodded. “That was intentional, teacher. I was attempting to work on my dodging. I was struck last night because I failed to dodge in time, so I clearly need the practice. And the golems only let me see their keys when you want them to.”

Grandma Huan had taught Yu that “keys” were enemies’ giveaways, such as the Vine Viper bunching up its scales right before striking.

Well, it turned out humans did the same thing, and Grandma Huan’s factotums could perfectly duplicate these giveaway movements. If she wanted them to that was. In the case of humans, the keys usually involved the movement of body parts, and could be as obvious as leaning in the direction of a strike, or as subtle as altering the positioning of a foot. Yu spent a great deal of time spotting and reacting quickly to these keys.

Grandma Huan huffed, “You understand the risks of annoying me, don’t you? Do you feel you are ready?”

Yu ignored the threat and said, “I have no way of knowing, teacher. Without knowing the quality of my competition, how can I be sure?”

“Well, I will be very disappointed if you do not at least place in the top ten.”

“I will as well, teacher.”

“Join me at the table for your strategy training. After that you are to take the rest of the day today and tomorrow as opportunities to rest and meditate. No cultivating, except to fill your dantian. You may do stretches only. And no, you will not run through the city. There have been… accidents.”

Yu sighed and said, “Yes, teacher.”

With the tournament just days away, some clans and factions had been experiencing – or even encouraging – incidents throughout the city. Young cultivators would return to their clans with bruises and broken bones. Yu had been shocked at first, but Grandma Huan had reminded her that it was all part of how the cultivation world worked.

Three months ago, when she had first been told she was going to be representing the Fenghuang Clan in the city’s triannual martial arts tournament, Yu had been elated. She still smiled at the memory.

It had been two days since Yu had completed the sixth level of the Foundation Building Stage. She was meditating in her chambers, ensuring she succeeded in the use of the latest mantra that her teacher had given her, when she heard a voice outside her door say, “Walk with me in the garden, child.”

Yu went through the mantra one last time and then, confident that she had it, joined her teacher. Without a word, the old woman guided her to the bamboo garden. They walked slowly in peaceful silence, and Yu enjoyed it. She was still basking in the elation of having passed through the sixth of the eight levels of the Foundation Building Stage.

“Student, your father is going to tell you something today,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Yu looked over at her teacher. Her father did not have time to directly interact with Yu often, and when he did it was usually to give her instructions. Yet in the last few months he had surprised her by occasionally coming by and simply asking her how she was. Therefore, it made her apprehensive for Grandma Huan to warn her in advance about an interaction like that.

Her teacher went on. “The information he will share will surprise you. I am telling you of it in advance so that when you hear it you do not have an episode in front of him and embarrass me.”

Yu blinked at that.

Is it that bad? What could I have possibly done?

Sure, she had the occasional tussle in the city when she had gone out, but nobody had known who she was, and there had never been any blood drawn. Yu had not thought of it as a big deal, and had even found it fun sometimes, although she had never started anything or made a habit of it. And then there was that incident with the girl in the alley and the street toughs, but that was months ago, and it had all worked out in the clan’s favor.

Grandma Huan asked, “You are aware of the martial combat tournament this city puts on every three years, yes?”

Yu nodded, confused. Everyone knew of it. It was always a huge event for the entire city. Of course, Yu had never been to one before, both for safety’s sake. And, she had to admit, because she had felt ashamed.

Yet now that Yu thought about it, she realized she would be able to attend that year’s tournament, even if she could only watch through her wrappings. Who cared?

Yu started to feel excited at the idea and grinned at her teacher, expecting to be told whether she would accompany her clan or go by herself. Either would be fine with her, and she didn’t even really care whom her father and the elders chose as combatants – as long as she got to see the matches and could join in the celebrations, she would be happy. Elated, even. Yu barely stopped herself from hopping in excitement.

“You will be one of your clan’s representatives in the tournament.”

For the first time she could remember, all of Yu’s thoughts stopped. She felt like her brain had frozen, as though the information her teacher had just told her had been too much to process.

However, Yu’s mind reengaged when she felt a sharp pain in her thigh, which made her jump. She looked down and saw her teacher’s cane being pulled away.

Looking up at her teacher’s amused expression, Yu opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t figure out what to say.

“Your father forced you in. He was quite insistent on it.”

She was shocked that her father had added her – that he had chosen her to represent their clan in the biggest event in the city. Knowing she would now represent her entire clan of thousands in front of two-thirds of the city, it felt too much for her.

All of a sudden Yu’s eyes started to water, and her world went blurry.

My father believes enough in me to put me in front of the entire city and claim me as one of his own!

Yu’s knees went weak, and she fell onto them. Grandma Huan approached and enclosed her in her arms, letting her cry out her excitement, pride, and joy.

Eventually, Yu started to calm down and compose herself.

“All right, child,” her teacher said, and then stepped back.

Yu wiped her face and stood back up. Then she took a few deep breaths, nodded, and asked, “So how is this going to work?”

“Your identity will still be kept a secret.” Yu nodded again, as that made sense to her. She was still at risk. “We have a plan, but you don’t need to worry about the details. Just know you will be a combatant and that means we have a lot of work to do. You’re good, child, but you can be a lot better.”

Yu agreed with that wholeheartedly. She still lost to her teacher’s stone golems too often for her own liking.

But that realization led her to raise a few concerns. “Teacher, I can’t use Qi outside my body yet. Can I effectively compete?”

“None of the competitors are out of the Foundation Building Stage, and they will all be aged between fifteen and twenty. It is part of the tournament rules that no participant be older than twenty. The competition tests body enhancement and martial skills only. And anyway, a city this small doesn’t have the facilities to control a battle that includes Qi skills.”

Yu had no point of reference for that last part, but facing cultivators that much older than her seemed pretty intimidating.

“Will I be able to compete with cultivators that old?”

Grandma Huan scoffed. “Don’t be absurd. Only talent and skill matter. And with that in mind, we have a lot of work to do.”

Yu remembered how surprised her father had been that she had already known about her place in the tournament. At first he had grumbled about it, but in the end he had still provided her with a few pieces of additional information, mostly about rewards.

Beyond the face won by the clan who offered up the winning contender, the city also offered various tangible prizes to the individuals who were in the top ten. Yet every year at least some of the awards were different, so none of the competitors were supposed to know exactly what they were competing for until the day the tournament started.

Yu was excited, proud, and somewhat intimidated about the prospect of testing herself against an actual human in a full-on martial battle. She just hoped she wouldn’t shame her clan.

“Stop daydreaming and join me,” her teacher snapped as she sat at their “strategy table.”

Over the last months, Grandma Huan had been drilling Yu on more than just martial combat. Her teacher demanded that she also spend equal time on what she called, “strategic thinking.”

She described it as understanding not just words or actions, but the meanings and motivations behind them. And just as importantly, it was about understanding what steps could be taken about them, both immediately and in the future.

Every day for almost a year Yu had therefore been given scenarios to discuss, or games to play, with her teacher that attempted to teach her to think of more than simply her next move, but also of her opponents’ moves and the reasons for them.

At the beginning of the lessons, Yu was awful at it because what she had seen as the “overcomplicated nonsense” of adults had just made no sense to her. Well that and she had wanted to practice her martial skills instead. Yet as the months had passed, Yu had begun to understand the intricacies of clan politics and motivations.

That day they were working through something that Yu had already spent weeks on: an exceptionally convoluted and complex scenario involving multiple clans attempting to negotiate over a destroyed clan’s properties and businesses.

At first Yu had expressed her frustration at her inability to solve it by crumpling up her notes and throwing them to the ground.

“Why can’t they all just agree to split it evenly and move on? What’s all the huffing and puffing for?”

Grandma Huan’s response had been to smile. “That is the question, child. Why are they all fighting for that particular herbalism business? Is it for the herbs, the people, the building, or the land? Or is it perhaps that they simply cannot allow another to win something which they have been fighting so hard for? You have all the information you need to answer.” And, of course, her teacher ended with the obligatory, “You know how it annoys me when you waste time and parchment. Go do thirty short sprints and water leaps.”

That day Yu was due to present her findings, after having read through piles of parchments, record books, and other detritus.

She proudly told her teacher, “It turns out they all wanted it for the building, land, and location. After I read through the accounts and interviews, I realized the owners had built basement access to a bath house.”

Grandma Huan smiled at her. “And why would such a thing matter to so many clans?”

Knowing her teacher would try to trip her up, Yu had prepared for the question. She explained with a huge smile, “For three reasons. First, the bath house is owned by a completely different and independent clan, meaning everyone could use it. Second, that clan uses their independence to rent part of the facilities both as a… umm, ‘bath house,’ I guess… but also as a location to hold secret meetings. And to avoid anyone knowing the details of these meetings, they could use the underground tunnel. So, whoever controlled it would be able to track, and even control, access.” Yu was beaming by the end.

“And the third? You said there were three reasons.”

Yu laughed. “Right. That’s the funny part. The real trick of it was that none of them knew that the others knew that information, and they all thought that for the others it was stubbornness, believing themselves to be the smartest and sneakiest of the group.”

Her teacher laughed. “Well done! If you hadn’t been showing me so much pride on your face, I might even have rewarded you. But instead you’ll do extra training after the tournament. Now go bathe, eat, and see your father. He will tell you how your identity will be managed.”

Yu winced at the thought of both her blunder and the coming punishment. She realized she had failed to hide her emotions, another thing which they had been practicing. Recognizing that she deserved it, Yu bowed and said, “Thank you, teacher.”

As she was still not permitted to walk openly in the palace, Yu stood in front of her father in her black “young master” attire. The straps that would normally have covered her head and face were hanging down around her neck. She had become quite proficient at wrapping and unwrapping the straps by herself.

Yu was standing up straight as she said, “Lord father, I have been told to see you to receive instructions for the tournament.”

None of her excitement or pride was showing on her face. She was back in control and recalling her lessons.

Yu’s father pointed at the seat next to her and ordered her to sit.

She did, and silently awaited his next words.

“The tournament is always an opportunity for clans and young cultivators to gain honor and renown. It is also an opportunity for dishonor and disgrace. Tell me, do you feel prepared to bring honor to your clan?”

Knowing the role he was acting as then, Yu said, “I believe so, Patriarch. However, I’ve never seen other cultivators my age battle to their full capability, so I can’t say for sure.”

“That is fair and well spoken,” he told her with a nod. “Show me your God Sign.”

That would be a very invasive order if it was anybody but her father asking. Even a clan chief should not have demanded to see someone’s Sign, but parents were generally permitted to ask up until their children reached the age of majority at eighteen.

Yu called for it and saw her familiar silver God Sign.

Name: Yu

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: Young Mistress

Age: 14

Meridians: 0/156

Qi Type:

Granted: Ether

Blessed: Aura, Mana

Qi Affinity:

Primary: Spatial

Secondary: Lightning, Earth, Water, Wood, Fire

Cultivation Level:

Stage: Foundation

Level: Marrow and Blood

Body: 58 | Mind: 84 | Spirit: 61

Martial Forms: Kung Fu: (Initiate), Tai Chi: (Initiate)

Weapon Capabilities: Hook Swords: (Adept), Bow: (Initiate), Jian: (Initiate), Dual Jian: (Novice), Whip: (Novice), Staff: (Novice), Spear: (Novice)

Qi Skills:

Aura: None

Mana: None

Ether: Beast Bonding (Novice), Enchant Lightning* (Novice)

Status: None

Honors: *Tribulation Supplicant

Titles: The Corrupted, The Blessed, Tiger’s Blood

Looking it over, she turned it to face her father. She was actually quite proud of what was shown on her Sign. Every time she saw it, it reinforced her belief that all her hard work had been worthwhile. All the exercises, the studying, the practice, the pain. It was all worth it.

Her father looked it up and down and raised an eyebrow. “An Adept?”

“Yes, lord father,” Yu responded neutrally, hiding her overflowing pride. “The gods granted me an Adept rank in my swords just a few days ago.”

He nodded and said, “It appears you may be able to compete for the top ten after all.”

“I have been working hard so I can bring honor to the clan.”

“I’m sure you have. The Fenghuang will be sending a contingent of eight young cultivators this year, a similar number to prior tournaments. We also believe the Chao and Jing Clans will be doing similar. I understand that each has two very strong cultivators who will be competing. Of the four, I believe you know only one. Jing Wei will be battling for a spot in the top ten.”

Yu’s eyes narrowed, but she made no other motion, nor did she speak. She knew she had lost a little control, but the mention of Jing Wei’s name after so long had brought a number of emotions to the surface. The reality was, she hadn’t thought about him since she had started successfully cultivating, as she had made the conscious decision to stop caring so much about the past and focus on her future.

She honestly wasn’t sure how she would react to seeing him. Did she hate him? Should she hate him? Maybe she should. Hells, maybe Yu should thank him. if it hadn’t been for him and his cronies, she probably would never have drawn the attention of Ebony’s husband and been healed by his sacrifice.

Her father continued, “The strongest competitor is likely Chao Jinyi, the Patriarch’s grandson. I understand him to be quite gifted, if brutal. He is worth watching. Not that you should ignore any of your competitors.”

Yu nodded. She would certainly watch them all, but pay closer attention to those who would offer her the greatest challenge. She found she was actually looking forward to seeing how she compared to them.

“The smaller clans vary, although they will often focus their lesser resources on a single individual in order to receive the most value for their expense. There are rumors going around that the Wen and Bao Clans both have strong competitors. They have been in a constant conflict for almost two years now, and the major clans hope this tournament will settle it. If not, we may have to step in and mediate. Limited conflict is good, as it strengthens the clans and city, but constant war is an everlasting drain on finite resources. And other clans need to grow as well.”

Yu continued to silently watch her father. As she had wandered the city, she had run into the Bao Clan a number of times since her initial encounter with them in the basement of the Alchemists’ Association. The Wens as well. And numerous other clans. The Bao she bypassed or ignored, not wanting to start a major conflict, but there were some she had some limited interactions with, although focusing on hiding her identity prevented anything more than occasional surface involvement with them.

“As to your identity, you will be competing as an anonymous and previously unknown young master of the Fenghuang Clan. Not even your fellow competitors will know who you are. Your name will be Fenghuang Zixin, and you are a son of the clan but hidden. At no time are you to remove your coverings or give away your sex or identity. Ever. Not unless you are in your training garden or in my office. Is that understood?”

“I understand, lord father. Will I not be challenged as to whether I am a clan member, though? There’s no proof I am a Fenghuang if nobody can see my face. And how will we explain hiding my identity?”

“Leave proving your lineage to your elders,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “That is not your battle to fight, and you should not get distracted by it. You must simply attend and bring honor through combat.”

Yu bowed her head. “As you say, lord father.”

“Good. Now go prepare, and meet your clan escort at the gate two mornings from now. We leave before sunrise.”

Da leaned back in his seat after his daughter had slid the door closed behind her.

“You saw?” he seemed to ask the thin air.

“I did.” Zhao’s voice came from behind him, followed by his little brother emerging from the shadows. He walked around the desk and sat down. “She is an Adept in the hook swords.”

Da nodded and said, “She is also in the process of replacing her marrow.”

“At age fourteen, no less. Her ability to remember and understand is likely the cause. She is able to make adjustments to her Qi flows for every gap, fiber, and vessel of her body on the fly. That is how she trains in her weapons as well.”

“She does impress,” Da said with a nod.

“Few give Mind as much credit or investment as it deserves,” Zhao said.

“We know differently though. So, what do you think?”

“She will find herself with few competitors her own age who can challenge her. My niece will need to battle stronger and older foes to grow.”

Da nodded. “I agree. This tournament will be good for her. And for us, I think.”

Zhao shrugged. “Probably, but it doesn’t matter either way. We’ll have some who place in the top ten, and that’s good enough. After a few months nobody except the winner will remember who placed first, when all the feasts and celebrations have been concluded. Even if that Chao boy wins, it won’t last. And the prizes will serve us as well as them. You know they set up the whole thing with the first-place prize, right?”

“Of course they did. I couldn’t care less. And I agree that we will win no matter who places first. Do you know of any plots regarding the tournament that I should be aware of?”

Zhao hesitated for a moment, but went ahead with his suspicions. “I have heard of the potential for outside interference, but I was unable to get specifics. Or even confirmation, for that matter. I have no idea if it’s real, and if so, who the instigator and target or targets are. The fact that I can’t even get confirmation leaves me skeptical, but who knows.”

“By ‘interference,’ I assume you mean beyond the person we are already aware of?”

“Yes,” Zhao confirmed.

Da shrugged. “Well, there’s not much we can do about it then, but see what you can dig up. Now on to real work. Have your people found any information in nearby cities about the corrupted?”

“Not yet,” Zhao said with a shake of his head. “It’s possible you and your lady wife removed them fast enough.”

“I think not, but all we can do is keep listening.” Da clenched his fists on his desk as he shared his concerns. “They are returning, and humanity is not prepared this time. Our ancestors left us instructions and warnings, but the accounts all agree that unless we can find the source, the infection will continue to grow.”

“I will keep listening. Hopefully we still have time to prepare.”

FORTY

Opening Ceremony

Yu was having a difficult time preventing her facial expressions from revealing her excitement and nervousness. She also felt awkward about being in the line of eight Fenghuang competitors who were about to march across the city to the Tournament Center, surrounded by the might of their clan. The City Lord’s Palace courtyard was lit by more torches than Yu had ever seen before and was filled with hundreds of clan members, while thousands more waited outside.

In front of Yu were cultivators older, more experienced, and likely stronger than her. Even the twins were a few places in front of her, despite their mediocre talents, because they had still not become strong enough to enter a sect, even though they were two years older than Yu. Based on what she could see of their physique, she thought they must be past the muscle level of the Foundation Building Stage, although their breathing did not show the easy control of those who had strengthened their lungs, suggesting they were still at heart or lungs level. They really were quite average. But that was fine in Yu’s mind – the clan needed average cultivators too.

Yu was a bit sad that Lei couldn’t see her standing in front of her clan as a competitor, but he was at a sect, being both in the Meridian Formation Stage and nearly eighteen.

The other youths that her family had sent were a mixed bunch. A few cousins appeared strong enough to place in the top ten, but Yu knew that it took more than physique to fight. Yu had politely rebuffed every attempt to speak to her, with most trying to figure out who the “new boy” was, and why he was masked. There were rumors going around about the clan having picked up somebody, since Yu had been seen walking freely around the palace in her “young master” wraps. Of course, none of them would even have considered that the muscular and clearly strong young male cultivator was actually the “Young Mistress” who was supposedly too crippled and ill to even attend.

Yu watched the bustle of the courtyard die down as her father, the proud and intimidating Patriarch, rode in on a Horse Lizard, its green and brown scales reflecting the torchlight. He moved to directly in front of the gate, then turned around to face the crowd. Following him were Yu’s uncles Gen and Zhao, and then her father’s first and third wives. Yu’s mother was responsible for leading the competitors so she rode her mount, also a Horse Lizard, to stand in front of the leader of the Fenghuang competitors, her cousin, Fenghuang Yaozu.

He was the boy whom Yu had knocked out in the barn the night before she had been healed. Apparently that experience had been good for him, because it appeared he had worked incredibly hard afterwards. He looked strong, confident, and mature. He even had a little dark facial hair.

Yu guessed that her knocking him unconscious had likely shamed him to the point of having to prove that he would not easily lose face like that again. She honestly wished the best for him, as she recognized that he had clearly worked hard to become one of the clan’s competitors. Plus, she was confident that he would become an excellent asset for the clan if he continued on his current path. After everything she had been through, Yu admired dedication and commitment to the clan.

The patriarch raised his voice and said, “Every three years the clans gather and compete for honor, and to spread the word of their talented sons and daughters. Fenghuang Clan, please tell the competitors how you feel about them representing you!”

A bellowing roar came from the hundreds of throats present, expressing their gratitude and hopes for the eight competitors.

Yu blinked away the tears forming on her face. Her clan was cheering for her… She had dreamt of it but never truly believed it to be something that would ever be within her grasp.

When the roar had died down, the Patriarch continued.: “To you competitors, the tournament is a moment for you to represent your clan and yourself. Your clan is here to support you, and we will be here to celebrate with you when it is all over. Fight with all your heart, and you will bring us honor.”

All eight competitors bowed to their Patriarch and said into the silence, “We will, clan chief.”

“Then let us march and show the might of the Fenghuang Clan!”

Another cry came from the clan, and then they began their march. The competitors were surrounded on both sides by clan guards who were in their brightest and most ostentatious armor, with a polished sword or spear in one hand, and a torch in the other. The rest of the clan followed based upon rank and cultivation level, each also holding a torch.

The clan chief and his family were followed by the clan elders, junior elders, and then a mix of various other family and clan members. As the honored members of the clan that day, the competitors were behind the chief’s family, but in front of the elders.

The entire city was to witness the might of its three great clans as they marched through its three main streets, which had been cleared for the occasion. Mortals who supported the various clans cheered on their prospective favorites and threw flowers and petals. Some even threw favors as romantic gestures. The competitors were the only ones not allowed to participate in the festivities, whereas the rest of the clan could wave and cheer and thank the crowd. A flower landed at Yu’s feet, and she looked down at it as she walked by with white and pink petals adorning her shoulders and in her hair. Her tears returned. Her dreams were becoming real.

The Tournament Center was the largest building in the city by far, designed to hold a little under two-thirds of the city’s nearly two million residents. The building had been built when the city had first been founded, however long ago and was so heavily enchanted that Yu could almost feel the Qi flowing off of the walls. The enchantments served two primary purposes. Firstly, they allowed for the structure to withstand its own weight, and secondly, they provided various visual and auditory enhancements so that even those farthest from the action could see and hear sufficiently to enjoy the show.

The tournaments took place over three days and were a festival for the entire city during that time. Tickets were fifty silver, to help offset the great costs of running the competition and funding the festival.

However, few people complained about paying fifty silver every three years when the raucous atmosphere brought so much joy to the city. It was good for business, too: drinks, food, fireworks, signs, kites, lamps, flags, and more were all sold in great quantities in and around the massive facility. Silver changed hands like no other time, and most found it a fun and worthwhile expense.

Grandma Huan had given Yu her take on it. “Our world is a harsh place, and three days of raucous celebration is just what everyone needs to release some pent-up pressure.”

That had made sense to Yu, who even hoped to be able to let loose a little herself, or at least hoped to be able to talk to some new people for more than a sentence or two.

She refocused quickly as they approached the Tournament Center. Yu watched as the processions of the three great clans met at the large structure, which was in the northernmost part of the city. Along with them were fans of each clan, cheering and jeering equally loudly. The Patriarchs stepped forward and greeted each other politely with bows, and then led their thousands of clan members into the enormous building.

Yu watched as the clans flooded in to take their respective seats based on rank, with the large and comfortable balconied boxes housing the Patriarchs and their families and close friends. And those they wished to bribe with the best seats, of course.

Following the rest of the competitors, Yu was led to the large central competition ring in the middle and told to wait. For the first time, she was able to get a glimpse of her main opposition. Sure, the minor clans would offer stiff competition, but their resources were simply lesser. She knew that the main combatants to watch out for would be those who were professionally trained and well equipped, and who had been fed the best foods and protected from harm as they had grown up.

To Yu they all seemed serious, proud, and excited. And all of them were examining and judging each other, just as Yu was. A few she recognized immediately, the first of those being Jing Wei. Seeing him in person made her feel confused again. All sorts of emotions raged through her, and she couldn’t figure out how she felt, or how she was supposed to feel. Moving on from the tumult of emotions, she then examined the others and found a few familiar faces, but could not recall their names immediately and was too distracted to dig them up from her mind.

Yu expected that this would be the point when threats and promises would be shared between the competitors, as tended to happen when groups of hot-blooded young warriors were so close together. Thankfully, none of the competitors were permitted to speak until the tournament was officially opened. Doing so, and especially being the first to do so, would show weakness and lose face for their clan.

After the three clans were settled, the rest of the clans entered and took up about half of the remaining open seats. It was only after all the clans, big and small, had found their places that the rest of the city could enter.

Yu was amazed at the throng of mortals that had come to watch the competition. She had been told that they were entranced by the beauty and brutality of the fights, and that the more brutal the fight, the happier the crowd would be.

Deaths were very rare in the tournament because all weapons were protected, but accidents had happened in the past. And sometimes they weren’t accidents. Many grievances could be worked out in the tournament circles.

It took nearly an hour for the building to fill, and Yu saw that the sky had just barely begun to brighten. At that point, Yu watched her father, the Patriarch of the Fenghuang Clan and city lord, stand and clap his hands together once. His luxurious private box was enchanted in order to spread his voice everywhere in the building when he so wished. Everyone fell silent, awaiting his words.

“We of the three great clans welcome all to Fei Shu City’s five-hundredth clan tournament!”

The crowd exploded into cheers, roars, and stomping feet. People waved flags, the colors representing their own clans or those of the clan that they supported. Yu rarely saw glimpses of it herself, but she knew her father could be a showman when he wanted to be.

He raised his hands, and the crowd quietened down again. “A truly momentous day it is. Our city’s five-hundredth tournament. And a grand one it will be. Now, I know you are waiting for it. So, as is our tradition, I will say it clearly. I, Fenghuang Da, city lord, declare this tournament open!”

Another explosion of sound from the crowd followed the announcement. Yu’s father’s declaration kicked off a bit of a show. Fireworks were set off and great booms shook the earth. Yu watched, entranced. After a just few minutes of this, the crowd was already going berserk. She knew many observers were now ready to run off and buy their own fireworks – the businesses that sold such items were, of course, owned or operated by the three major clans.

After the show ended with a massive crescendo of multicolored explosions in the just-lightening sky, the crowd settled down to catch its breath. Yu’s father stood again and said, “Every third year a different member of the three great clans is responsible for organizing the tournament. For our five-hundredth tournament, that honor belongs to the Chao Clan. I now invite their Patriarch to stand and share the tournament’s structure, rules, and of course what everyone wants to know… the prizes.” He had added a little pause there at the end building up suspense. Yu shook her head at the whole thing.

A mix of cheers and boos sounded around the building as the Patriarch of the Chao Clan stood and held his hands out wide. To Yu, Chao Bolin – for she knew his name, as well as those of all the clans and their respective Patriarchs – looked much older than her father. He had gray hair, a long neatly trimmed gray beard, and a few wrinkles at his eyes, forehead, and mouth.

He smiled at the crowd and bowed to them. The sounds died down as he spoke, his voice echoing through the structure just as Yu’s father’s had done.

“Welcome all. The Chao Clan is pleased to be leaders of the tournament this year.” Yu found the phrasing he had used fascinating.

After the many months of Grandma Huan’s strategy training, Yu could interpret the true meaning of what he was saying. When he described his clan’s role, the reality was that they were more responsible for sharing information and keeping it organized, than “leading” as he said. Not that she cared one way or another what he claimed.

The older patriarch continued, “ A mighty responsibility indeed for this, our city’s five-hundredth ever tournament going back to when our ancestors founded this city. An auspicious number in an auspicious year, showing that this city has not just survived but thrived under the leadership of its three great clans.” Yu nearly scoffed. She had read the histories, and knew that none of their ancestors had founded the city.

The crowd responded with more applause, if slightly less raucously than before.

When the noise had settled down, the Chao Patriarch continued. “To celebrate such a momentous event, this year’s tournament will be a little different. As you know, in previous years every competitor faced one opponent and won or lost and was then eliminated or moved on, while ties were decided by the judges. However, that will change for this tournament.

“But before going into that, let me remind everyone of the rules. First, this is a martial competition, so no external Qi is allowed. Second, all weapons are to be buffered by the judges. This is a friendly competition, after all.”

Yu could have sworn that she heard sarcastic laughing after that remark.

“Third, there is to be no armor, and only melee weapons are allowed. We want a fair fight, plus we wouldn’t want our audience to be injured, now, would we?”

More laughing followed that remark, but it was not so sarcastic this time.

“Fourth, no external assistance is permitted. That means no pills, poisons, or enhancements once the combat begins. Once again, this is a martial competition. And finally, the match ends when the judge rules a deathblow, when a combatant is removed from the platform, or when there is a surrender.”

Then he clapped once.

“That out of the way, allow me to share how the tournament will proceed. This year we are assigning points to each participant – a win is two points, a tie is one, and a loss is zero. Each competitor will have three battles, and at the end of the first day, the fifty competitors with the most points will advance. Then at the end of the second day, the ten competitors with the most points will again advance. However, the finals will stay the same as in prior years due to their popularity. The first two days’ bouts will be randomly decided by choosing tags with matching numbers.”

The building filled with mutters. Yu imagined that the majority of people were trying to figure out what the new rules would mean for the competition, but she had figured it out right away.

“So why did we make this change? We did it so that you, our loyal city residents, could watch more matches and see more combat, and so that each competitor has the opportunity to make up for a single mistake. What say you, Fei Shu City? Do you approve?”

The crowd roared, probably thrilled at the idea of watching yet more violence. Supporters of the smaller and weaker clans also felt the new rules could give their competitors more of a chance, and those areas of the arena were cheering the loudest.

“And now, we know you have been anticipating this, the announcement of the prizes.”

More roaring and flag-waving ensued. The crowd loved this for some reason. Yu didn’t understand why the crowd was so excited about people on the stage winning things. She just mentally shrugged and watched the proceedings, looking forward to hearing what she could possibly win if she managed to place in the top ten.

“Just like with the competition itself, we have made some changes to the rewards. And with this being the five-hundredth tournament, the prizes are the greatest they have ever been!”

More cheers rose from the crowd.

“On this auspicious year, the rewards are as follows. Everyone in the top ten will win a spatial storage ring, as is the custom. But this year, the internal size of the ring will depend on the position in which the competitor finishes. Tenth place will receive a ring with internal dimensions of one pace in each direction. Then every ring after that will be half again as large, meaning the first-place winner will receive a ring of nearly forty paces.”

“Ooohs” and “aaahs” echoed through the building, along with more cheers.

That is quite an expensive prize. And yet more motivation for me to perform well, of course.

“As always, we are providing rewards of silver along with the prizes. As ever, the amount of silver awarded will exceed that of all prior years, and again this will be incremental. There will be a prize of one thousand silver awarded for tenth place, and that will increase by half for each placement above that. So, first place is worth nearly forty thousand silver.”

For most of the crowd, that was more than they could earn in multiple lifetimes. Yu reflected that while that was less than what she had earned selling her beast material, she had had to kill nearly sixty demonic beasts over a period of months to achieve that. She could therefore see how a one-time influx of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of silver for basically fighting five or six times in a safe environment over three days was quite enticing.

“And finally, there are cultivation awards for the top five. They will receive medicines or elixirs that fit their cultivation, in order to encourage their growth.”

Most of the cheers for that announcement came from the clans themselves. Yu found that interesting because the young shouldn’t have been using pills and powders until they had meridians open at the earliest due to impurities from the alchemy. At least that was what she was told by her family. Perhaps these were behind the scenes gifts to their clan members who could use them? That made the most sense to Yu.

The Chao Patriarch raised his arms and asked for silence. “There is still one final prize to announce.”

The crowd muttered loudly again.

“The details will be kept a surprise, but we are pleased to reveal that the tournament’s overall first-place winner will be awarded a tamed beast of their very own.”

Yu’s eyebrows rose in surprise while the whole place again erupted in excited cheers. She had become substantially more informed about the comparative cost of things thanks to her months of lessons with Grandma Huan, but was not entirely sure of the cost of a tamed beast and the talisman that bonded it to a cultivator. However, from what she knew, and depending on species, that could be worth as much as all the other prizes combined.

She also knew that talismans were created by specialist enchanters at an exorbitant cost, but were nearly always successful on youthful beasts at grade 1, 2, or 3. Specifics aside, the clans had really gone all out for this year’s tournament prizes.

Not that Yu expected to end up with the beast, nor was she personally that interested in it. She had enough things to worry about without needing to care for another creature’s wellbeing. Realistically, she would be happy with just winning a ring and some silver, although Grandma Huan had still not asked for her own ring back yet. With that old bat, who knew what she would do?

Chao Bolin regained everyone’s attention as he called out, “We hope you are pleased with the prizes that our best young warriors will be receiving. Now, at last, let the tournament begin!”

FORTY-ONE

First matches

All of the approximately five hundred competitors and it looked like there were about five hundred in total, chose a number by picking a numbered stick out of a bucket. Each round they faced the competitor who had the matching number to theirs on the most recently available match circle, which were raised stone platforms spanning about fifty paces across. There were ten of them placed in an oval around the edge of the amphitheater floor. The larger and taller circle in the middle would be saved for the top ten competitors to use on the final day.

Yu picked a stick which had the number ‘121’ on it, and was directed by a judge to join a group whose numbers ranged from 100 to 125.

As was the custom, she hooked her numbered stick onto her chest before the trading process commenced. As Yu understood it, there was a short five-minute period that gave individuals the opportunity to offer various trades in order to try to persuade others to swap numbers with them. Once the period came to a close, no trading was then permitted until the next round. Nobody approached Yu, but she did manage to see her counterpart with the other ‘121’ stick, who didn’t bother trading either. He was from the Wen Clan, but Yu didn’t recognize him. She shrugged and waited to be called.

The first match in her group was for those with the number 100, and was fought between members of two small clans. They did not appear to have any particular enmity or friendship, which Yu had been told was what happened nine times out of ten.

The match started when the judge, an elder of one of the ten largest clans outside of the top three, asked them to present their weapons. They did, and he ran an enchanted stone against them to dull their points and edges, and thus soften blows. That done, the two competitors returned to their positions and he ordered them to bow to each other, which they did cordially. He then raised his hand between them and yelled, “Start!” as he dropped it in a chopping motion.

The crowd was soon cheering or groaning as whoever they were rooting for (or betting on) won or lost on whichever circle they were watching.

In the match she was watching, Yu recognized that the two competitors were relatively evenly matched. One wielded a spear and the other a saber. Neither was particularly skilled with their weapon, which made sense to her because quality weapon trainers were expensive, and she knew the smaller clans were limited in their resources.

The match ended when the spear-wielder missed a jab because his foot placement was too far to the left and the saber-wielder slid next to the extended spear shaft and struck his opponent in the neck, dropping him. That was considered a killing blow, and immediately ended the match. The weapons may have been blunted through enchantment, but the pain of a blow, especially to sensitive areas, would still be felt. For that reason, healers were assigned throughout the arena.

A board was placed at each match circle and enchanted with a stone or crystal so that it would update itself based on what a judge told it to do. On Yu’s group’s board, the fifty-two names would be updated to represent competitors’ results as the day progressed. The result from the first match showed two points for the winner, while the loser was still shown as having zero. Next came the battle between the pair who had the number 101.

Most of the matches continued in a similar fashion to the first one, until those with the number 114 took the circle. The match was between a Bao and a Wen cultivator, and they taunted each other endlessly and struck each other extra hard whenever possible. It was a violent match, and at the end the Bao cultivator, whom Yu recognized to be one of Bao Qi’s toadies, dropped the Wen cultivator with a vicious blow to the temple with his short spear.

An unaffiliated healer rushed to the downed man, and the judge called the match in favor of the Bao cultivator.

None of the subsequent matches proved to be as interesting, and then came Yu’s turn to be called up. “Numbers 121, step up.”

She trotted up the three steps to the raised platform and entered her assigned circle. The Wen cultivator opposite her did the same.

“Present your weapons,” the judge, a brown-haired man who appeared to be in his twenties in mortal years, ordered.

When Yu unsheathed her hook swords, she heard the crowd’s reaction. The judge raised his eyebrows, but did his job silently. Exotic weapons were rare in Fei Shu City, primarily due to the lack of skilled teachers so far from the capital. It took a little longer to protect her swords because there were two of them, and just about every single area of the weapons needed to be granted the protection enchantment.

Her opponent presented his spear, and after it had been protected, they both moved back.

“Bow,” the judge ordered.

Yu offered the exactly correct bow for acknowledging an equal. Her opponent did the same. Then they both took their stances.

Yu knew that with his reach advantage, she needed to get in close. His stance seemed excellent, and he looked full of confidence.

This could be fun!

Yu felt a smile break out on her face in anticipation of her first real battle against another normal human.

“What clan are you with?” her opponent asked her.

Yu shook her head and adjusted her stance slightly.

The judge dropped his hand. “Start!”

Her opponent stepped forward slowly, but she didn’t move.

Has all my work been for nothing, or am I good enough to compete? Time to find out.

Yu exhaled a large breath just as she reached the range of his spear. Watching his body, she saw his left sandal press down ever so slightly, the skin under the inner toes lightening, showing differing pressure. Seeing the key, she immediately twisted her body to her right, and the spearpoint sailed past where she had been and withdrew. She allowed the spear to go and returned to her stance, letting him keep her at a distance. His skill was such that Yu decided she would study him so that she could practice reading keys on a real human instead of on a beast or golem.

She saw his inner hand tighten, and she twisted left. She then saw his right shoulder lower and the left rise, causing Yu to bend while straightening her sword arm and letting the obvious diagonal sweep slide by.

After dodging another six attacks like that, he had yet to come close to touching her, at least in her opinion, and she could tell that he was getting frustrated. Excellent.

Yu then remembered Grandma Huan’s words, “If you are facing a foe who cannot control his emotions, let him defeat himself.”

Yu watched her opponent narrow his eyes and grit his teeth. Every movement, every facial expression, was a hint to her.

There!

Both his hands tightened instead of just one, and he leaned forward more than before. He was going to overextend. The expected thrust came, and she twisted to the left on a pivot. But instead of simply returning to her position and letting him withdraw his weapon, Yu dropped the head of her right sword, the hook catching right where the steel spear tip met the shaft. She twisted her wrist, further catching the head and using the momentum of his attempt to pull the spear back to push herself in a slide toward him. He attempted to bring his spear in to defend himself, but it was far too late. Before he could withdraw it, Yu had reached him and struck him on the knee, hip, arm, and neck. The boy collapsed in a heap and Yu released his spearhead, which clattered to the stone floor as she took a few steps back, sheathing her swords.

The judge called, “Healer!” Then he turned to her with an odd look and asked, “Your name?”

In her boy voice, Yu answered with, “Fenghuang Zixin.”

Those nearby in the stands – and based on what Yu could hear, also a good portion of the stadium – gasped. Yu knew her fake name showed on the board, but there was no other reference. There were thousands marching through the streets and five hundred competitors moving about on the stadium floor. In other words, few would link the name on the board directly to her or her to the clan. Well, at least until now. And it was unlikely anybody had really been paying that close attention anyway. The fights were way more exciting. Then again, maybe some folks had see her clan name and she just hadn’t know. None of it mattered to her. It was her father’s show now. She was confident he had prepared for this moment.

The judge straightened and peered closer with slitted eyes. “Did you say ‘Fenghuang’?”

“I did,” she confirmed.

The stadium slowly quieted down, as word that something interesting was about to happen got around. Fighting wasn’t the only excitement at these tournaments.

Yu looked up into her father’s box. He had a serene look on his face.

Is he pleased?

Yu wondered whether he was putting on a show, or was actually happy.

A cultivator from the lower Wen Clan stood and yelled out, “Fenghuang Da, is this true?”

Yu’s father stood and said, “It is.”

Chao Bolin, Patriarch of the Chao Clan, stood as well. “Honorable Fenghuang Da,” he called loudly. “Are you claiming this young man as part of your clan?”

“I am,” her father said proudly with his arms crossed over his chest.

The Wen cultivator then asked, “Why have we never heard of a Fenghuang Zixin before this very moment, then?”

Fenghuang Da shrugged. “I cannot speak to your knowledge or lack thereof on any topic, Patriarch Wen.”

The stadium then filled with muttering, and Yu could clearly hear a number of doubtful voices making accusations about cheating, the people evidently wondering whether the city lord was bold enough to bring in some outsider to fight for him.

The Wen Patriarch was clearly getting heated when he declared, “The entire city knows of your family, city lord.” There was quite a bit of emphasis on those last two words. “Nobody has ever heard of this child.”

“I say again, I cannot speak as to what is known or not. Why do you continue to bring up your lack of knowledge? One should not flaunt one’s ignorance.”

Oh, now he’d done it. The whole place was soon abuzz after Yu’s father’s underhanded insult.

The Patriarch of the Wen Clan turned bright red and spluttered.

Another man whom Yu did not know by sight then spoke up, “City lord, I believe my fellow Patriarch is asking if you can prove the veracity of your claim?”

Yu’s father looked surprised and then angry. “Patriarch Ju, am I being accused of cheating? Of lying before my entire city?”

Yu didn’t move, but mentally she was shaking her head. She thought that her father had been quite brilliant. Not only had he reinforced his position and power by emphasizing that it was his city, but he had also left an opening for anyone to accuse the most powerful man in the city of being dishonorable. The suggestion of cheating would have to be proven, or his clan would be compensated for the insult.

The patriarch who spoke before spoke up again quickly, “Of course not, city lord.” And just like that the accuser was using his title.

“Good. I would hate to have to ask for… recompense, were I to be falsely accused.”

And that there was why he was the city lord. Now the only ones who could challenge him were the two other great clans because they were the only ones who could afford to. And in the end, they would have to when it all worked out in his favor. No matter how it ended, his clan was going to be compensated by the two other wealthiest clans. A masterstroke.

Someone new stood up inside the Chao Clan’s box and whispered to the Patriarch, who was still standing. Then the Patriarch looked back at her father and spoke. “Patriarch Fenghuang, I wonder if you would allow an associate of mine to speak on this matter. She is from the Snow Mountaintop Sect.”

Yu found that interesting. She had been told that that sect had been her brother’s first choice because his Ice affinity would have fit exceptionally well there. However, he had gone to some other sect instead, for reasons that had not been shared with her. She wondered whether the sect might therefore be angry to have lost such a talented cultivator as her brother was, and might want vengeance. However, she noticed that her father did not look the least bit surprised by either the woman’s presence or interference, reasoning that perhaps he had known about her in advance.

The woman stepped forward. She was beautiful and pale, with stunning white hair, and was wearing a cloak made of white beast fur. Her voice rang throughout the stadium like the notes from a zither. “Patriarch Fenghuang, I wonder if perhaps you would be willing to provide proof. Simply to ease the minds of those present, you understand. The Snow Mountaintop Sect will compensate you for your lost face if this is proven to be true.”

Now Yu was pretty sure that her father knew that he was going to end up gaining compensation, this time from a place that could afford to give quite a bit, which gave her confidence that this was part of his plan.

Her Father asked, “How would you propose to do such a thing?”

“An ancestor stone would validate that this boy is of your line, directly or indirectly, within five generations.”

Yu’s father rubbed his chin and was silent for a bit. Yu held in a laugh, but had to look down to hide her smile.

The woman continued, “If you are not confident, you can withdraw him from the tournament.”

Her father shook his head and said, “No. That won’t be necessary, I was attempting to determine the compensation owed for the insult. Bring forth the stone. Patriarchs Chao and Jing, please join me.” And in a single motion he leaped from his box’s balcony and landed next to Yu.

Yu bowed and spoke, still using her boy voice, “Patriarch.”

Her father looked at her and said, “Fenghuang Zixin, this is not your fault, but that of others. You will be compensated, I promise you that.”

She bowed again and said, “Thank you, Patriarch.”

Yu didn’t think her father had ever clearly heard her speak in her alternate voice prior to that moment, and wondered what he thought of it.

Chao Bolin then also leapt down, as did a man who looked to her to be about her father’s age. His black hair was held neatly in a topknot by a silver loop, and matched his neatly trimmed short black beard. The latter spoke when he landed, “Patriarch Fenghuang, the Jing Clan has said nothing. Why do you call me down?”

Fenghuang Da looked at him and said with some bite, “Your silence was your signal of agreement. If you had objected, you could have remained out of this.”

The white-haired woman then joined them as well, although she glided down as though on ice. Yu knew there were rumors that cultivators of sufficient strength could actually fly, but she was not so sure about the truth of that. That seemed… excessive.

Yu’s father asked, “Who will provide the ancestor stone?”

A judge came forward. “City lord, the facility keeps one for times such as this. I have brought it. As you can see, I have cleared it of its last test.”

He then presented a colorless, many-faceted stone the size of Yu’s head and shaped like an egg.

“Excellent, then let’s get this over with.” Yu’s father was definitely showing his anger by then. He took out a knife, jabbed his finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto the stone. It flashed red and then returned to its clear state. Then he turned to Yu and said, “Fenghuang Zixin, place a drop of your blood on the stone so that we can end this farce, and you and I can be compensated for the insult and the Fenghuang Clan can have its face restored.”

Yu decided that she could be a showman, too. She pulled a hook sword from her back, created a tiny space between the cloth layers over the pad of her index finger and poked it with a crescent edge, before returning the blade to its sheath and then holding her finger over the stone. Everyone watched while she slowly squeezed her finger, causing the drop of blood to laboriously grow before it eventually fell onto the stone.

Yu dropped her hand as the stone glowed a strong red and stayed that way.

The judge said, “It is confirmed, city lord. This child is of your line within five generations.”

The building was abuzz then, and Yu listened carefully to the crowd’s excited conversations. The consensus she could hear was that the city lord had hidden an asset, and that given how easily the boy won the last fight, a powerful one.

The pale woman walked past the men and up to Yu. She asked a question while staring at her, but it was not directed at Yu. “Tell me, Patriarch, what affinity does this boy have?”

Yu felt the woman’s cold gaze assessing her.

“That is quite a private matter, don’t you think, Lady Song?” his father responded.

She smiled hungrily at Yu and said, “Of course, Patriarch. Would you allow me to stop by tonight to discuss compensation, and perhaps also this gifted child?”

Yu nearly smiled again, but managed to remain impassive. She knew that for someone from a mighty organization like the Snow Mountaintop Sect to say that she was gifted after only having seen a single fight was quite something. On top of that, given Lady Song had actually been invited to the tournament by the Chao Clan, her comment could be seen as an insult to them.

And then there was the matter of the compensation itself still to be worked out. Once again, the Fenghuang were coming out on top.

Chao Bolin asked, “Patriarch Fenghuang, why are you hiding this child’s face?” The old man pointed at the wraps around Yu’s head. “There is no reason to now, surely.”

Yu’s father said, “He looks too much like his father, and we wish to keep his identity secret.”

More muttering followed that statement. Yu knew it could have meant any number of things, but the first on everyone’s mind would be that Fenghuang Zixin was a bastard. That was quite a rare occurrence since cultivators could stop themselves from reproducing with other cultivators. Thus it could possibly lead people to think that the mysterious Zixin was the product of a cultivator and mortal.

Of course, they were all guesses and nobody was rash enough to say anything more on the topic.

“Are we done with this absurd waste of time?” Yu’s father asked the assembled group testily.

Chao Bolin said, “Thank you for granting assurance to our city, Patriarch.” Our city. No give there.

Her father huffed and leapt back into his box. The rest followed, although Lady Song was the last, her gaze lingering on Yu. Everything calmed down after that, and the various matches continued.

From Yu’s battle circle, the judge cleared his throat and announced, “Fenghuang Zixin is declared the victor and receives two points. The next match is for number 122. Those with the number 122, please step up.”

FORTY-TWO

Second day

The first day’s remaining fights were far less dramatic. Yu easily won her remaining two bouts, which were against representatives of minor clans, but she was not cruel about it. She defeated them quickly and honorably and moved on. During her bouts, she spoke to her far less-skilled opponents and offered occasional advice, mostly about stance, grip, positioning, and such. She may not have been an Adept in other weapons, but she knew poor fighting technique when she saw it, given that she had seen experts fight and had read about combat forms for most of her life. Plus, she never forgot anything. All and all, she felt that she came out of the first day looking both honorable and highly skilled.

To her mind her group seemed rather unimpressive, but she noted that everyone worked hard and gave everything they had. Yu even cheered for one fighter who had refused to give up despite having a few broken bones. He had managed to pull off a victory by luring his opponent into thinking that he was done. Then when the other had approached he had struck at his opponent’s foot, dropping his opponent to the floor and brining his head into range. One strike to the temple of his surprised opponent and it was over. Upon the announcement of his victory Yu learned that his name was Di Shanyuan, and noted to herself to ask her father about him and his clan.

Just as the sun was about to set, the Chao Patriarch announced the end of the tournament’s first day and congratulated the winners, before everyone headed home to celebrate (or commiserate) with their family and clan.

Yu was obviously in the top fifty who advanced, being one of only seventeen undefeated combatants. The evening celebrations had already begun, so the walk back to the palace proved uneventful for the competitors. Given her circumstances and that her father did not want her being accosted and inevitably interrogated, Yu did not celebrate with her clan and family that evening.

She had no idea what excuses her father had come up with for Zixin’s absence, but it meant that she was able to have dinner with Grandma Huan in her training center while listening to the joyous celebrations elsewhere in the palace and city. Yu was used to isolation and knew that her father’s decision was the right one. But she had to admit to herself that it did sting, if only a little.

Over their dinner, Yu learned from her teacher that the two most highly regarded competitors of both the Chao and Jing Clans were also undefeated, as was Fenghuang Yaozu. A lesser-known Fenghuang Clan member, Fenghuang Suyin, also managed to win all three of her matches, as did one other member of the Chao. Yu had mixed feelings when she learned that the twins had each lost once but would advance anyway.

It turned out that there were only two ties, and that the number of competitors with four points was higher than the number of available spots for the second day, so the judges had to make the determination themselves. Grandma Huan was quite huffy when she shared that the Fenghuang, Chao, and Jing Clans had each got a few spots no matter how their contestants had performed. “The judges and their clans have to live in the city too, after all,” was how her teacher told it. The rest advanced based on how they had competed.

The remainder of their dinner took place in silence until Grandma Huan asked, “How will you approach battling your family? Your brothers, specifically?”

Yu was silent for a while, watching the wind creating ripples on her little pond. “I don’t know, teacher.”

Grandma Huan nodded and said, “I understand. You should expect to face at least one other member of your clan tomorrow, though, so prepare yourself.”

Yu wasn’t sure what to think about that. She wanted to perform, and she knew both her teacher and her father expected her to get in the top ten. However, Yu had not thought about how she might have to do that at the expense of another clan member or even one of the twins.

Unsure how he would react, Yu asked, “Do you think my father will be angry if I defeat a clan member?”

Her teacher looked furious for a few moments, but then she regained her composure and said, “You are a member of the clan too. As long as the clan wins, the Patriarch will be pleased.”

Then her teacher stood up and left, stomping her cane harder than usual.

Yu returned her gaze to the pond and spent the last few hours before she headed to sleep thinking about how she could best serve her clan. She thought that her teacher was right, and that as long as one of the clan won, her father would be pleased. However, she still couldn’t get her head around what it would mean for her if she had to battle her cousins. Or the twins.

The competition’s second day didn’t start until the sun had reached its zenith. Yu chuckled to herself about that, as she figured that everyone was recovering from the raucousness of the previous night. She wondered whether any of her competition would have hangovers. Returning to the Tournament Center that afternoon had been uneventful, and then the place had taken a while to fill up. In fact, by the time the matches started, a third of the seats were still empty.

For the second day, the remaining competitors were divided into five groups of ten. As it happened, Yu’s group did hold a familiar family member – one of the twins, Deming. Each group of ten then picked out numbers like before, but the pairs of numbers only ran from 1 to 5. Yu picked the number 1.

Deming walked right up to her with swagger and confidence and said, “Listen boy, you need to lose to me when we fight. I’ll make sure my father, the Patriarch, rewards you. A bastard like you will serve the clan best by giving the main family face.”

Then, without waiting for a response, he turned and walked to another competitor and talked about trading numbers.

Yu stared at her brother’s back, but did nothing else. She had spent a good part of the morning making the decision that performing at anything but her utmost would be dishonorable to her and her clan. She had therefore decided that she would battle whoever her opponent was – clanmate or not – with the aim of winning. She was there to compete, gain experience, and test herself in battle. Thus, her brother’s words meant nothing to her, other than confirming her opinion that he was a conceited ass.

Someone came up to her asking to trade numbers so that he could face someone he had a grudge against, and Yu agreed immediately, swapping her number 1 for his number 4. She didn’t care in the least what number she had, and had no interest in trades.

The judge called up the number 1s, and Yu saw the young man she had traded numbers with start immediately exchanging verbal barbs with his competitor. Apparently, they were competing over the same girl. Yu sighed and shook her head.

What a waste of breath.

In fact, the boys continued to expend air unnecessarily during their whole fight, taunting each other while swinging and blocking.

Unlike her, what crowd was present and watching the match seemed pleased with the show. They cheered not just at the strikes, blocks, and close calls, but at particularly high-quality insults and verbal vulgarities. Despite what seemed to Yu to be the absurdity of their verbal sparring, she recognized that physically the two were decent fighters. Their matching sabers clanged and screeched with each well-placed blow and parry.

Yu supposed there should not have been anyone truly weak in the top fifty, so that made sense. The fight came to an abrupt end when the exhausted participants backed off from an engagement of quick blows, barely able to raise their swords any longer.

The judge stepped between them and called, “I declare this match a tie. You are both awarded a single point.”

The crowd mostly cheered at that, although there were some hisses of displeasure as ties were not particularly popular outcomes.

The next fight saw her brother take on a member of the Jing Clan who was one of the undefeated competitors from the previous day and was supposed to be quite gifted. Yu noted that the boy was very large, as she would have expected from an eighteen-year-old who had completed most of the Foundation Building Stage and had been exercising and eating well, and had also clearly been taught expertly. What baffled Yu was that Deming had actually traded with the intent of fighting the talented Jing Clan youth. Yu just shook her head and watched, hoping to learn something for her battle with either.

Deming said, “Your clan is nothing, Jing Meng.”

The other boy responded, “The Jing Clan will win this tournament and show their power to the city.”

By this time clan taunts were expected, and everyone just cheered for the incoming battle between members of two of the three great clans.

Deming wielded his saber with strength but was slow, and his form would have been barely acceptable by Yu’s own standards. Jing Meng on the other hand wielded his much larger axe smoothly and with great precision. Yu knew that a heavy and large-bladed weapon like an axe was a strong weapon to battle hook swords with. She would need to depend on her speed if she faced him, which she expected she would.

Jing Meng and Deming bowed barely enough to be considered passably polite and then charged at each other. Yu’s brother was obviously outclassed, and barely survived for a half-dozen breaths before he was defeated by a mighty sideways blow which threw his body off the platform and into a crowd of competitors. It was an embarrassing moment, and proved he did not belong in the top fifty. Yu was ashamed for him and her clan.

The healers saw to him, informing the judge that he was suffering from broken bones and internal bleeding, and so would be forced to withdraw from the competition. The judge nodded and removed him from the point board.

At least he’ll stop dishonoring the clan now.

The next match resulted in a surprise outcome when a talented young master from the small Fu Clan defeated a Bao Clan member who could potentially have made it into the top ten. Yu was quite impressed with the young master’s talent, and added him to her shortlist of individuals and clans to discuss with her father. He moved smoothly, attacked swiftly, and never lost focus. Yu hoped she would get to face him.

Her next battle was against a Chao family member whom she vaguely remembered. Flipping through her memory, her eyes widened as she figured out that he was one of the two from the market that day she had left the city for the forest: the saber-wielder who had been so cruel to a street of mortals. She had never found out how that conflict had ended, but he did not seem to be any less arrogant in her eyes today than he had seemed a year ago. And no wonder. He looked to be eighteen or nineteen now, and was quite a bit larger than she.

“The Chao Clan will show its superiority when you lower your head in defeat,” he snarled.

The judge looked over at Yu expecting a rebuttal, but she said nothing, choosing to remain statue-still in her ready position.

The judge shook his head, dropped his hand and called, “Begin!”

The young man charged across the circle to her, yelling as he did so. Yu remained as still as her pond on a windless day, simply watching. As he approached, he began a swing in a diagonal slash, aiming at her shoulder. But Yu did not move to block it. She knew it was a feint, as was the entire episode with his wild charge. His body positioning was not right for a true sweeping strike.

Instead, she flipped her wrist and brought her left sword down to match the sudden downward shift of his blade, which had been about to slice into her ribs. His blow had a good deal of strength to it, causing her sword to close in on her body so that she was forced to use her other sword to support it rather than counterattacking as she had intended.

He withdrew and looked at Yu with narrowed eyes, likely having expected his feint to work. She returned to her ready position and waited. He leaped forward, this time aiming a sideways blow which Yu simply stepped back to avoid. He then turned that into a straight kick which Yu slapped aside with the flat of her right blade.

Once again, she was taking no offensive action.

He screamed at her, “Do something other than block and run, Fenghuang coward!”

This fellow had no clue how little his words affected Yu, who had been insulted and ridiculed her entire life, even at times by her own family. Why would the babble of an arrogant bullying stranger matter to her?

She simply stared at him impassively. He would not know the reason, but Yu had no intention of making this quick. And she proved that again and again with her subtle dodges, slides, and parries. Soon he was livid and panting hard, while her breath was still slow and steady.

“Fight me!” he bellowed at her, causing himself to breathe even harder.

Yu just shook her head at the absurdity of it.

He screamed again and swung wildly. Yu easily slipped left and, quick as a snake, her right arm darted forward. The platform area rang with the slapping sound of the flat of her blade against his calf. He stumbled and turned to glare at her, but still she said nothing.

Then he did something she did not expect. He started walking backward while quickly looking up high over her head and toward the Chao Clan’s box, and then back down at her. At first Yu thought he would leave the circle and concede. But she was wrong.

He changed his position in an unusual way. She saw a shift in his wrist, then saw his ankle turn slightly inward, and his waist move unusually far. Her brow furrowed. She was confused as to why he would release his sword and turn away, because that is what those keys meant to her.

The answer was clear in a moment when he did indeed release his sword, his body spinning away from her and the judge. A small dagger appeared in his newly weaponless hand and, with a flick of his enhanced wrist, he launched the blade at her face.

The first thing that crossed Yu’s mind was, What in the hells?

Then Yu processed a lot of information very quickly. She recognized that the dagger was unprotected by the judge, and that using it would result in his disqualification from the tournament. She also recognized that what he had done would heap dishonor upon himself and therefore his clan.

Watching the dagger’s approach, Yu could only vaguely hear the crowd scream and the judge bellow in the back of her mind. Without even realizing she was doing it, she acted on instinct born of training nonstop for a year. Actively pushing Qi through her body for the first time since the tournament started, Yu bent her wrists inward and flexed her wrist, arm, chest, and back muscles, which had been strengthened and reinforced by patience and pain. As she did that, the two hooks at the ends her swords crossed just as the dagger arrived.

A ringing sound echoed throughout the now almost silent arena, and the dagger’s blade was sitting just inside the crossed hooks of her swords, pointing directly between her eyes. With a flexing of her Qi-enhanced arm and back muscles, she spread her swords and sliced the dagger into pieces with the agonized screeching of metal being carved. A dinging sound rang through the stadium as the pieces fell to the circle floor, bounced once, and then lay still.

Yu stared at the Chao Clan cultivator. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape. She became aware of the silence of the stadium, and felt the stares of those surrounding her.

She then fully realized that he had just tried to kill her in front of almost the entire city.

Yu’s fury boiled over and she felt her eyes narrow at the man across from her. She leaned forward, flexing her enhanced muscles and shifting the grip on her closer sword so that the hilt point was aimed at him. Yu could vaguely tell that the judge was shouting something, but she could barely hear it over the rage-driven pounding of blood in her ears. She flexed her enhanced leg muscles and flew forward, toward the man who had just tried to murder her in front of her family.

Yu’s vision blurred for a moment as she moved faster than her eyes could keep up. Two strides of her enhanced legs brought her in range in less than a breath, and then her arms moved without her conscious thought. Her left arm swept upward, catching the saber with which the man was attempting to defend himself in the hook of her blade.

Then she flexed her wrist, which snapped the saber’s blade. At the same moment she thrust her right arm forward, slamming the point of the sword’s hilt home into his forehead at the exact place where the dagger would have struck her had it hit. The buffering enchantment that was still active on her sword just about held, but her Qi-empowered body nevertheless caused the man’s head to snap backward and his entire body to flip head over heels once, only to stop abruptly as an axe kick snapped down faster than most in the building could see. His face struck the circle so hard it was embedded into the stone, a spiderweb of cracks leading outward from the point of impact.

Panting as conscious thought returned, Yu looked down at her opponent, and then at her swords. She sheathed her blades, took two steps back from the stricken Chao,… her victim… and looked to the judge. The man was not looking at her, but staring at the young man, who was bleeding out into the floor.

Yu looked down at her hands, trying to figure out what had happened. She found they were shaking. She looked back at the Chao’s prone body and cleared her throat. “You should probably call for the healers, sir,” she told the judge, who was still transfixed by the sight before him.

He looked up at her and then back down at the young man, before yelling frantically, “Healers!”

All of a sudden, a man who appeared to be in his late twenties to early thirties in mortal years landed in a crash before her, having leapt from the Chao booth. Without looking at Yu, he knelt over the young man and yelled in a voice that cracked with clear emotion, “Where are the healers?”

Yu was struggling with the emotions swimming around inside of her. She knew she had lost control. She couldn’t remember ever having been so angry in her life: not when she had been abused as a child, not even when Jing Wei had captured and beaten her, or when she had felt impotent about helping the slaves. The young man had tried to kill her while her father and mother were watching, and that had made her so furious that she had acted without thought.

Then the worst thought occurred to her: Have I killed him? Yu had never killed anyone before. Beasts sure, and with pleasure. But a fellow cultivator? A fellow human? In her mind, Yu knew that he would have killed her had she been even slightly less trained, or talented, or equipped. But did she have the right to do the same in return? Was that her responsibility?

She watched, feeling a little dazed and a lot conflicted, as a pair of cultivators dressed in healer hanfu swiftly arrived and began glowing blue, sending their healing energy into her competitor. Then the Chao who had been kneeling over him growled and turned to face her. She tensed as flames covered the man’s hands. He kept one by his side, and one pointing at her.

“You!” he screamed at her, his face turning red.

Yu bent her knees and sent Qi to her muscles again, ready to leap away, assuming she could even react in time. Which it turned out she could not. Before Yu could blink, the man was a stride away from her and reaching out. But he froze when Yu’s violet-haired mother suddenly appeared in front of her, her hands crossed over her chest under her breasts. Yu’s ponytail rustled in the wind created by her mother’s nearly instantaneous arrival.

Yu decided to take a step back and let the real cultivators work out what to do next.

Reflecting on the fight, she realized that to her knowledge she had not done anything against the rules or customs, despite the brutality of her actions. No tournament guidelines had been broken – by her at least – as she had only used internal Qi and her blunted weapons. The Chao cultivator, however, had used an unsanctioned and unprotected ranged weapon against the tournament rules. The weapons were protected because nobody won when clans killed their youths, who were the future of their clans.

“What are you doing, Chao Yong? No one is permitted to interfere in matches except the judges,” Yu’s mother snapped out.

The man was growling through gritted teeth. “He killed my son!” Chao Yong yelled as he jabbed a still-flaming finger toward Yu.

Her mother said, “We don’t know if he is dead.” Then she shrugged and said with little care, “And so what if Zixin did kill him? Your son cheated and attempted to kill a fellow competitor, and paid the price for his dishonorable actions.”

Fire flared around the man, the obviously distraught father of a severely injured or dead son, but Yu’s mother had had enough of his threats, and sparks started crackling along her body.

The man took one step back and did not say another word. Yu’s mother nodded, and said firmly, “Chao Yong, what is done is done. Leave now, or be removed and bring further dishonor to your clan.”

The crowd was now calling out its displeasure at the actions of both the man and his son. Not that they didn’t appreciate the excitement.

One of the healers leaning over Yu’s opponent then called out loudly enough so that everyone could hear, “He will live, although his injuries are severe. We need to bring him to a healing center immediately.”

Yu felt a flood of relief. She wondered, Does that make me weak?

The man immediately turned and ran to the group carrying his prone son out, the fire around him vanishing into steam.

Suddenly a voice called out and echoed throughout the stadium. “I call upon the judges to punish the Chao Clan for this disgrace.”

A number of gasps followed that, as everyone looked toward the Jing booth, where the Jing Patriarch was standing.

The Chao Patriarch leapt to his feet and declared, “That is outrageous! Punish the violators, yes – but the entire clan? That is excessive.”

Everyone then looked to the Fenghuang booth as Yu’s father slowly stood and said, “The Fenghuang Clan concurs with the Jing Clan. It was not just a single young cultivator who was at fault, but also the adult who threatened a competitor who had already been the victim of his son’s dishonorable actions.”

The crowd was really stirred up now. This tournament was unusually exciting, and not only because of the fights.

“Additionally,” Yu’s father continued, “the act of attempting to slay a fellow competitor, youth, and cultivator in the circle requires punishment. I move for the Chao Clan to lose an additional fighter from the last fifty, on top of the one who is being disqualified for his dishonorable actions. Does the Jing Clan concur?”

As the one who had been attacked, Yu thought the punishment light, but she also understood. She knew the Chao might refuse to accept anything more severe, which could lead to a major conflict. She also recognized that “Zixin” was technically a bastard child, and therefore not seen as being as important. If she was the heir or something of similar significance, then it could have led to an all-out war. With her being who she was, keeping punishment internal to the tournament meant the Chao Patriarch couldn’t reasonably reject it. No matter how big of a deal it was to the city, in the end, the competition was just a game for the young.

“We concur,” the Jing Patriarch called out. “The Chao should be held responsible for the attempted murder of a clan youth. These rules exist for a reason, Chao Bolin.”

Cheers and jeers roared from the crowd as the judges huddled together.

A few minutes later they separated, and a judge who wore a larger badge than the rest spoke for all to hear. “The judges concur with the complaint of the Jing Clan and agree that a punishment must be levied. A single Chao Clan cultivator will be removed from the competition. However, in deference to their position in the city, the Chao may choose which cultivator will be removed themselves, and that cultivator’s final match will still be fought.”

Despite her bitterness at the lightweight punishment, Yu applauded the judges for finding a good middle ground. On the one hand the Chao Clan would lose face, but would also only lose a minor cultivator who likely would not have made it into the top ten anyway. The Jing Clan therefore looked fair and honorable, as did the Fenghuang the same for backing them. Everyone won.

Yu was glad that all she had to do was fight, though, as she had absolutely no interest in major clan politics, despite her upbringing and lessons.

“Fenghuang Zixin is the winner and receives two points,” announced the judge. “Next up is number 5.”

The loss of two cultivators from Yu’s group, along with the fact that she was undefeated, meant she only had to fight one more time. Yu was excited to find she would be battling against the young master of the Fu Clan.

Yu was exultant by the end of that battle, and she could tell that he had also enjoyed it. He had challenged her on every aspect of her fighting, while she had reveled in the battle, learning from him and improving herself as it progressed. She had been forced to once again actively send Qi into her bones and muscles, but in the end he had struggled to keep up with her constant adjustments and improvements. Yu’s adaptation – and greater speed, thanks to her greater pool of Qi – had allowed her to strike a “fatal” blow to his lower spine after hamstringing him.

Yu helped him up once the match was called. She spoke to him in a low panting voice that glowed with joy. “That was wonderful. I hope we can do it again sometime.”

The boy bowed to her and said, “It would be my honor to train with such a talented member of the Fenghuang Clan.”

As they walked off the stage together, Yu decided to take a risk and speak with him further, thinking that perhaps they could work together, and maybe become sparring partners and even friends.

She asked him about his training, and whether he used more than his dual short swords. He seemed pleased to speak with her, and said he did not use other weapons because he always felt he had a connection with his swords. Thinking they might have that in common, she mentioned how she used to use dual jian before she switched to hook swords, and discussed some of the forms she had mastered.

They were both surprised when he was called again for his next match. Yu bowed to him and wished him good luck, hoping they would see each other again outside of the tournament.

FORTY-THREE

Night Before

Yu was at a desk in her training center, writing a note to her father about the two cultivators she recommended they look into. She outright demanded that he take immediate action by communicating with the Fu Clan. She said that the young man was too talented not to be well provided for, and that one of the other clans would surely take action if theirs did not. She also expressed her wish to practice with the young master in future.

Sealing the letter, she told the messenger to hand it directly to the city lord, telling him it was from one of his children and was urgent.

She then moved to the garden and sat by the pond to meditate, ignoring the celebrations she could hear in the palace and city. Yet despite her attempt at focusing, Yu couldn’t stop herself from smiling with pride.

She had done it. She was guaranteed a spot in the top ten. And based on what she had seen, she thought she could get into the top five, which would be wonderful, as it would mean she had proven herself to not only herself, but also her family and clan. She knew she was younger and smaller than everyone she had defeated, and so was confident she could win again at least once on the next day, meaning she would have earned honor for her clan and her family.

A big ring and some extra silver would be great. Moreover, if she did manage to get cultivation resources, she could send them to her brother, Lei, wherever he was.

That thought made Yu think of the cultivator from the Snow Mountaintop Sect. Yu wondered what compensation her family had received from Lady Song and the clans for doubting her lineage. Maybe it would be enough to help fund her request to support the talented Fu Yi.

At that moment she heard clomping footsteps approaching and turned and stood to greet her father, the only man who saw her and made such a racket. As expected, Fenghuang Da entered with a stormy expression, holding her note crumpled in his hand.

She bowed and said, “Lord father.”

“Don’t give me that. Explain this!” He brandished her crushed note at her.

His reaction seems a bit extreme. What exactly have I done?

“Lord father, can you please be more specific with your question?”

He yelled at her, “What are you bloody doing? Do you understand the risk you took by writing this?”

Yu blinked at him then. “I’m sorry. I actually don’t understand what risk you’re talking about,” she said, honestly baffled by his fury.

His expression changed then, morphing from anger to curiosity. “You don’t know?”

With clear confusion in her voice, she asked, “Know what? Lord father, the Fu boy is brilliant, we would be missing out if we didn’t attempt to bring him to our side.”

“Of course he is brilliant!” her father exclaimed with exasperation. “We have been supporting him behind the scenes for years!”

Yu blinked at him and asked, “We have?”

“Yes.” Her father sat down at the desk she had written the note from. “And a few others, too. Many clans hide talent in the open by creating false clans or families.”

Yu had had no idea that that happened. It had never come up in her lessons, either. That made her think of a question.

“He has to know he is of our clan. His name is in his God Sign. What was he told about that?”

“Early in his youth, his supposed Patriarch and grandfather told him he was adopted, which is why the name he uses and the name on his Sign don’t match. The only people who know the truth are me, your mother, Zhao, his supposed Patriarch, and now you apparently. I had assumed you knew.”

Yu was quite surprised by the revelation, and also felt a little sad that Fu Yi had been separated from his true clan and family.

“I feel bad for him,” she said sadly.

“I understand, but it is not as you think. His father died before he was born and his mother died only a year after his Declaration Ceremony. If it makes you feel better, he has been exceptionally well taken care of. And upon his majority, he will be absorbed back into the clan and become a full member.”

“Oh,” Yu said in a still melancholy tone, although for a different reason. “I’m sorry he lost so much.”

“He never knew them, Yu’er.”

She nodded. “I understand. I suppose that means I won’t see him again after the tournament.”

“Unlikely. It is possible he will go to the same sect as you, though. His talent, while less than yours, is far above the average.”

“What’s his affinity?”

“Darkness. He was determined the same day as you actually, although we have led people to believe that Fu Yi is older than he actually is. He was born Fenghuang Cho, and has been an investment years in the making who will join your uncle Zhao in protecting the clan’s interests from the shadows.”

Yu blinked at him. She looked around and then back at her father while twirling her finger in the air. He only nodded in response.

She had “accidentally” found out about the Shadow Phoenixes from Grandma Huan. When Yu had asked her uncle Zhao about his team of Darkness cultivators, he had reluctantly admitted to their presence and had told her how they acted as spies, defenders, and even assassins on behalf of the clan. Yu still found the idea that the laziest and goofiest member of her family ran a secret organization of spies and assassins completely incomprehensible.

Her father interrupted her ruminations. “You’re not interested in Fu Yi romantically, are you?” her father asked while giving her a sideways look and cleaning his nails.

Yu slapped her forehead with her hand.

Why does everyone always jump to that conclusion? Is everyone so obsessed?

“Lord father, I am not interested in anyone that way. My first thought is always about helping the clan.” Yet she did not tell him that she also hoped Fu Yi might become her friend. He didn’t need to know since it wasn’t going to happen.

“I see,” her father said, sounding relieved. Then he cleared his throat and waved the note around again. “What about this Di Shanyuan you mentioned?”

“Yes,” Yu said happily, equally relieved at the topic change. “He’s a very driven individual. He battled through broken bones only to use his injuries to draw his opponent close and ‘slay’ him with a clever blow. He also strikes me as someone who would be talented, if not a genius, were he given the resources to be so.”

Her father nodded. “Indeed. I am glad to see you truly are considering what is good for the clan. I will have someone research the Di Clan and him, and I will then reach out if appropriate. I wonder why none of the other recruiters listed him.”

Yu shrugged. “Because he didn’t advance, perhaps? His broken bones were serious and prevented him from having full motion. He fought anyway.”

“We definitely will look into him, then. I will also speak to your mother about our recruiting team. They appear to be somewhat lacking.”

“I agree, lord father,” Yu said with an emphatic nod. “They also picked an absolute fool from the Ju Clan from what I heard on the sidelines today. Someone was bragging about it quite vociferously.”

Her father sighed and said, “Yes, well, I will speak to her about it. On a separate topic, you fought well today. And I agreed with your actions in your first fight – never show mercy to an enemy intent on killing you. Remember that lesson. And, of course, the clan benefited from you yet again. None will again attempt something so foolish in the open, for fear of being destroyed by you.”

He then put down a different piece of parchment and said, “Here are today’s results. Good evening, Yu’er.”

Yu could not help but smile, as praise from her father was rarer than the tear of a dragon. She bowed and said, “Thank you, lord father.”

Yu did not see Grandma Huan that evening, nor had she expected to. The old woman had said she had an “errand to run” and would be gone for quite a while. That was fine by Yu, as first she had the tournament to complete, and then she could work on her own until her marrow was fully saturated, which would take a month or so, as far as she could tell. The marrow stage was actually called “marrow and blood” because it was the marrow in bones that created the body’s blood. That meant that when a cultivator advanced their marrow, their blood would be advanced with it. After that, Yu knew she only had the final level of brain and nerves to complete before she could enter the Meridian Formation Stage and begin opening her meridians. After she had formed her first meridian, Yu would finally be able to use Qi outside of her body and could technically go to a sect. All that was many months away though.

Yu found reviewing the tournament results interesting. Three of the four star cultivators from the Jing and Chao Clans had advanced, but one of the Jing had been too badly injured to continue. Ironically, it was by the Chao Clan cultivator that was later chosen to be disqualified by his clan. It seemed that knowing he would be sent off after the match for events out of his control put a bit of a fire in him.

The other remaining Fenghuang competitors were her cousin, Fenghuang Yaozu, and the branch member Fenghuang Suyin. The latter was making an excellent name for herself and her family, and Yu thought that both Suyin and Yaozu would surely advance in the clan structure after the tournament. Youths with that much talent would grow into strong cultivators, and the clan knew how to treat the strong.

No other clan would have three competitors. The Chao had two that Yu did not know, but had watched. The last Jing competitor was Jing Wei. She still couldn’t wrap her head around how she felt about him. Her emotions were still jumbled when she thought of him.

Another of the top ten was the Bao boy Yu had met in the Alchemists’ Association, Bao Qi. The last three were Fu Yi and two others she did not know. The top ten were all talented and would make for excellent competitors.

A note hastily written at the bottom of the parchment told Yu that the boy she had crushed in her first fight that afternoon had survived, but would be unable to fight for many months. Yu was unsure how to feel about that, although she was pleased to have performed well under the pressure of a real threat. Her father’s confirmation that she had done the right thing had also helped, as did remembering what a brute the Chao had proven himself to be on the streets of the city a year before.

At the same time, she recognized that the Chao boy had probably been manipulated. She remembered seeing him look up at the Chao box before acting, as though seeking confirmation before deciding to throw the knife. Yu thought it much more likely that he had been told to remove Fenghuang Zixin from the competition using any means at his disposal, and told that he would be compensated. That was her guess at least, although she could not figure out why. Zixin just wasn’t important enough to make that worthwhile, at least as far as was publicly known.

Could someone know the truth?

She didn’t see how, as nobody in the city except for a handful of family and very few of her clan knew who she was, or that she had been healed.

Aware that she wasn’t going to solve the mystery by herself at that moment, Yu decided to carry on with her routine. She stretched, cultivated to fill her dantian in order to make up for what she had used, bathed, ate, and then headed to bed, thinking about the next day’s potential fights. She hoped she wouldn’t have to face her own clan members too soon.

Either way, she was sure it would be an interesting day.

FORTY-FOUR

Final Day

The rules for the final day were different. This time, all of the fights would only be held in the larger central ring, and would take place one at a time. Also, the numbers would no longer be random. The judges had met together on the previous evening, and had assigned all the competitors a ranking based on their performance. The highest-ranked competitor (number one) would battle the lowest-ranked competitor (number ten), then the competitor ranked at number two would battle the person ranked at number nine, number three would fight number eight, and so forth. This process was chosen in order to reward the better combatants from the start, and also to increase the likelihood of there being a heated final few battles. This was after all an entertainment venue as much as anything else.

The rankings were displayed on large plaques hanging outside all of the colossal building’s entrances. Yu found herself quickly. She was ranked third. Chao Bolin’s grandson, Chao Jinyi, was number one. Jing Wei was number two, Yu three, Fenghuang Suyin four, and Chao Yongrui, another star of that clan, fifth. Fenghuang Yaozu was eighth, meaning Yu would unfortunately be facing him in the first round.

But prior to any top-ten clashes, the city celebrated the culmination of the three-day festival. Various music and dance performances displayed their own skills on the central sparring circle. The beauty of the zithers pulled at Yu’s soul, while the beating of the drums shook the entire building and the elegance and seeming effortlessness of the dancers made Yu want to learn how. The climax of these performances came when a massive fireworks display was coordinated with both the dancers’ motions and the music, in a piece of theatricality that had everyone in the stadium stamping their feet and clapping their hands, first in accompaniment and then appreciation.

When the crowd had finally calmed down and the central circle had been cleaned and prepared, the chief judge announced that the matches of the final ten would begin.

The first bout, between Chao Jinyi and the competitor ranked at number ten, was quick and harsh. As had been the case in all the previous matches Yu had watched him take part in, the Chao Patriarch’s grandson was brutal to the point of being cruel. Like many cultivators born into privilege, he evidently felt he had the right to shame those whom he saw as beneath him.

The fight between Jing Wei and the number nine, Fu Yi, was an excellent bout, although unfortunately for Yu’s hidden fellow clan member, Fu Yi had been defeated. This had happened when Jing Wei had used an almost desperate outpouring of Qi into his body to simply overwhelm his opponent with brute strength in an action that had caught the latter unprepared.

Next, it was time for the third- and eighth-placed contenders to compete. Yu walked up to her spot in the circle opposite her unknowing cousin. She almost laughed out loud as she reflected that the last time she had faced Fenghuang Yaozu, she had been looking up at him from the floor of a filthy barn. At the time, he had had an insurmountable advantage in strength, speed, and cultivation stage – and yet she had knocked him out with a single blow.

Standing across from him now, Yu was able to confirm to herself that she felt no anger about their joint history. In fact, she felt happy that her fellow clan member had reached that point in the competition. She would have been wishing for his victory if he had faced anyone else. But he faced her, and she was determined to win and advance.

The judge approached and Yu held out her weapons to get them protected, after which Yaozu’s saber received the same treatment. They then bowed respectfully to each other and without a word stood ready until the judge yelled, “Begin!”

Fenghuang Yaozu was a good fighter. Not gifted, but his focus and drive were obvious to Yu as she fought him. Every lunge and slice was precise, practiced, and with excellent form. Unfortunately, they were also static – meaning he was too dependent on the forms themselves, and had not once deviated from the standard preset teachings, movements, and stances. Conversely, Yu had constantly been forced to adapt when she had fought Grandma Huan’s golems, as her teacher loved to spontaneously deviate from the forms. She therefore knew that an opponent without such creativity was at a disadvantage, and felt quite confident in her ability to defeat him.

However, Yu wanted her cousin to feel good about the battle and bring honor to himself and the clan. So she allowed him to push her around the ring, even giving up a close call or two. But when he started repeating the same moves, she decided to end it.

Yu began adjusting her stance and movements randomly. The result was what she suspected it would be: Yaozu was thrown off his unchanging but excellent forms, which quickly created an opening when he overextended his lunge to the left and his wrist bent down too far. She then caught his saber in one sword before disarming him and placing the crescent blade of her other sword at his neck.

The judge called it and she stepped back, sheathing her weapons. She bowed to him and made sure to speak in her boy voice to avoid any possibility of recognition. “Keep working as hard as you have been, and you will be a great asset to our clan.”

Even though Yaozu was flushed and panting from the fight, Yu thought he blushed deeper as he bowed back and said, “Thank you, Fenghuang Zixin.”

Once they had both rejoined the crowd on the ground floor, she found him again and said, “Fenghuang Yaozu, may we speak?”

He turned to her and nodded.

“Your stances and motions are excellent. Outstanding, even,” Yu offered. “But you are too married to the standard forms. You should focus on being mentally flexible. If you need help with that, I can provide a few ideas.”

He looked genuinely interested in what she had to say, and thought about it before speaking. “Thank you. I will think on it.” Then he bowed to her again and wandered off.

Yu hoped she hadn’t offended him.

Fenghuang Suyin won her bout against the Bao Clan brat Bao Qi, and Chao Yongrui also won his bout. As was likely intended, those who had been placed at ranks one through five advanced, while those placed at ranks six through ten did not.

For the next round, the top-ranked competitor, Chao Jinyi, got a bye. As a result, the person ranked second would face the person ranked third, and the fourth-placed competitor would face the fifth-placed one.

That meant the next match would be Yu versus Jing Wei.

Yu found herself unexpectedly nervous. Not about the fight itself, but about seeing him face-to-face. Her emotions were an overwhelming mishmash of confusion. As she slowly walked up the twelve steps to the tall central platform, Yu tried to take deep breaths, stay calm, and prepare herself for what was to come.

And then she saw him. Jing Wei was waiting for her, standing on the other side of the circle. Yu looked into his familiar face and saw… disdain. Arrogance. He was sneering at her like she was a bug under his boot.

The cultivator who once nearly beat me to death when I was helpless, even though I had done nothing to him or his, is still disdainful of me even as Zixin?

Yu then felt a fury so strong that the blood pounded in her body, and her vision gained a tint of red to match. This was not because of what he had done to her before, as she had made peace with her past. She was furious with his presumption. His superiority. She remembered how he had brutalized her as a child and had felt nothing but satisfaction and amusement. He believed he had the ability – the right – to strike or slay anyone he considered to be less than him.

And here he was again, staring in the face of the person he had almost killed. And he was sneering.

Yu realized she hated the boy for his arrogance.

Is he still looking down at me, the great and strong Jing Wei, who had had others hold me down while he beat me with my own swords for no reason, other than that he could? Not this time. This time I am his equal.No… This time I am his better.

He was older and no further along in cultivation than she was, plus she knew he hadn’t cleansed any meridians and wasn’t in a sect. In her mind, it was he who was inferior.

And that came as a revelation to her.

Yu’s vision returned to normal as her tensed body relaxed. She realized that she was superior to him. To her, he was nothing. He was the bug. The trash.

So Yu confidently stood across from him, suddenly tranquil. She held out her swords to be protected, as did he. Yu noticed that while the enchantment was being applied, a small spark lit off of Jing Wei’s dadao, his longsword. However, the judge completed his job without comment and moved to the center.

“You will soon feel what it is like to face a real genius – and lose to one!” Jing Wei sneered at her.

Every time before, Yu had ignored her opponents’ taunts, as she couldn’t have cared less about all their insults and false bravado. But this time, she did. She wanted him to know that it was she who disdained him.

So for the first time in the tournament, Yu sent back her own barb: one she knew would hit him hard.

“Jing Wei,” she called out with as much disdain as she could. “You’re nothing but an overstuffed dumpling. How old are you now, and you can’t use external Qi yet? My fellow clansman, Fenghuang Lei, is the same age as you and he’s excelling in a sect right now. How are you a genius, exactly?”

The crowd roared and hissed. Most of the insults throughout the tournament had been mediocre, with an occasional piece of jade. Yet everyone who knew anything about the clans and the city cultivators knew of Fenghuang Lei, and had heard of his accomplishments.

The crowd knew that Lei was a true genius, not this pretender standing before Yu. And she had just called Jing Wei out in front of a million of their fellows. Almost the entire city had just been reminded, right in front of his face, that he was less than a Fenghuang.

Yu watched in satisfaction as his face turned bright red. He bared his teeth at her and visibly tightened his grip on his sword, twisting his hands around the leather-wrapped handle.

The judge shouted, “Begin!” and Jing Wei charged.

Da had smirked as he had listened to his daughter’s rather effective taunt, but his face had fallen when he considered how his daughter would be able to handle the arrogant Jing brat. She clearly had a good deal of anger toward him, which was understandable given what he had done. The memory of his daughter’s abuse still made Da want to bring the might of his clan and burn the entire Jing family to ash. But he knew his responsibilities were as clan Patriarch first, city lord second, and father last.

Just as he watched the little shit unknowingly charged the girl he had dishonored and humiliated, Da heard a knock on the door of his family’s suite. Gen opened it to find a mortal in yellow messenger garb kneeling on both knees. His body was bowed, his eyes on the floor and his arms raised. He was holding a rolled parchment.

“For the Fenghuang Patriarch,” the messenger said softly. “I am instructed to tell you it is to be read immediately, but only with Fenghuang Da, Fenghuang Gen, Fenghuang Zhao, and Long Meixiu present.”

Gen took the missive, dismissed the messenger, and presented it to Da.

There was no crest on the wax seal, but the parchment was tied with a red ribbon embossed with the crest of… He blinked down at what was in his hand.

Da raised his head and brusquely ordered, “Everyone out those mentioned.”

Without a word, everyone else rose and left. Da noticed his first wife flash an angry glance at him, but she too walked out as instructed. He couldn’t worry about her, as he had more pressing matters to deal with. Once the others had gone, Da looked at Zhao, who tilted his head and then nodded to him.

Knowing they were now alone, Da told the three remaining in the room, “This is from the king.”

Zhao leaped to his feet. “There’s no way a royal emissary or messenger could have gotten into the city without me knowing,” he stated firmly.

“It doesn’t matter,” Da said, as he touched the wax seal. It broke with a rush of Qi and the parchment unrolled by itself, revealing the neat black script that was painted onto it. Da read it out loud.

“Fenghuang Da, you, your second wife, and your two brothers are immediately summoned by royal decree to a private meeting with the representative of his highness, Sho Gong, King of the Xing Nation. This meeting is not to be discussed with anyone outside of those individuals. Meet at the location stated below.” Then looking up, Da said, “It’s signed by the royal chamberlain.”

All major courts had chamberlains. They spoke the word of whichever royal they represented because the king or emperor was too important to speak to those of not high enough standing. Very few could speak directly to the royal leaders of the world. It was a measure of both security and hierarchy. In short, whatever the chamberlain said was to be viewed as having the power of that throne.

Da knew they had to meet with this person immediately, whether they liked it or not. A missive of this nature would usually mean that there was a threat to the kingdom, and that they would be sent into battle. Da also considered it could have to do with the corrupted. The options were few, but alarming.

Da handed the letter to Zhao and stood. Glancing down at the combat circle below, he saw his daughter was still battling the Jing brat. They still seemed to be evenly matched, but he had confidence that his daughter would be victorious as he knew that Jing Wei was good, but not that good. From what he saw, Yu’er’s triumph was on the horizon.

“Let’s go,” he ordered, and led the group out.

Ten minutes later, Da entered into the isolated warehouse which had been named on the parchment, followed by Gen, Zhao, and Meixiu. The place was lit by two dim ether lamps overhead. Da was aware of his surroundings and cautious, as although this wasn’t the first time he had been summoned in such a manner, it had been more than four decades since the last time, and he had reservations about the choice of meeting place. Da noticed Zhao looking around, and paused when he saw his expression, as his brother looked… confused.

A man stepped out of the shadows and stood in between the ether lamps. He was wearing a red-and-gold hanfu and had a matching, tall guan on his head, showing his station as a royal representative.

Da bowed, but kept his awareness on his brother. Zhao was now starting to appear somewhat concerned.

“Royal emissary,” Da said politely. “As per his summons, we await his highness’s word.”

“Fenghuang Da, Fenghuang Gen, Fenghuang Zhao, and Long Meixiu,” the emissary said in a confident tone. “You have come. Good. I bring a… message.”

Da felt it as he saw Zhao’s eyes open wide. A substantial rush of Qi formed above them. Da and the rest looked up as a net made of pure Wood affinity Qi fell from the ceiling onto the four of them, followed by innumerable black figures wielding weapons that glistened in the light of the ether lamps.

FORTY-FIVE

Honor and Sacrifice

Yu could quickly tell that Jing Wei’s lunge was no feint. She knew he was truly enraged by her earlier slight and would attempt to skewer her, ending the fight quickly and decisively. In preparation, she lowered her center of balance and slowly started sending Qi through her bones and muscles.

Given what she had witnessed during Jing Wei’s previous fight with Fu Yi, Yu knew she had to send Qi through her body immediately. She also knew she had a finite amount of Qi, and that this could potentially be a drawn-out battle. That meant she had to find a balance between using just enough to effectively combat him, yet not so much that she would run out before he did.

Jing Wei’s charge ended as Yu had expected, with a lunge aimed at her heart. Yu deflected it with a punch of the flat of her left sword, sending his longsword blade safely away. Despite the successful parry, Yu was pressed to the right and stumbled slightly, a victim of his greater strength and his investment of active Qi.

Yu turned her stumble into a slide, increasing her distance from Jing Wei and at the same time attempting to prevent an immediate second strike. But he surprised her. Rather than pulling back his blade and resetting for another attack, he had turned Yu’s leftward block into a sweeping right slice, aiming for her throat. Yet thanks to her slide, the distance which separated them made it possible for Yu to simply lean backward and let the strike go by, while helping it along a little with a flat-bladed smack to his sword.

She then started a twirl to his left, intending to use his overbalance as an opportunity to get behind him, but once again he surprised her, this time by stomping his foot down so hard that the stone circle cracked beneath him, allowing him to come to a complete stop.

Yu knew full well that the only way he could possibly have done that without leaving himself with a broken leg and muscle tear, was if he was sending a torrential amount of Qi through his body.

His sword sped toward her face as he reversed his grip on the handle and attacked from under his right arm with a backward jab. Yu arched her entire body backward, laying her left arm on the ground and sweeping up and down with her right sword, attempting to use the hook to disarm him while he was in his unwieldy position. Yet he pulled his sword back well before she could hook it, once again showing how much Qi he was investing.

Yu used her positioning to flip backward and make some space. She landed on her feet three strides from her opponent and considered his combat style. She noted that that had been the third time he had struck toward a vital part of her body while his body had been engulfed with Qi. She reasoned that he was trying for a single deadly strike in order to win quickly and decisively. That was a similar tactic to the one he had used against Fu Yi, except this time he was attempting to overwhelm her at the beginning, whereas he had waited until the end in the prior match.

Well, Yu could use that. Now that she knew Jing Wei was attempting to overwhelm her with a blitzing assault of power and speed, she decided that she would do the opposite.

Yu pressed a little harder, and sent more Qi through her body while changing her stance to be a little higher and less compact. He reached her just as she made the adjustment and he swung left to right, targeting her waist in a strike that could have split her in two. She used her less compact body to do a diagonal block with both swords, and allowed him to push her backward. This time, her balance was perfect and she simply slid away.

Yu had rarely used this set of forms because they focused on balance and reactivity, thus limiting her ability to respond to attacks with her own. However, they were perfect for a battle of attrition where she wouldn’t attack at all.

He attacked again, leading with his left foot and snapping out a quick lunge. She only barely swept it aside and moved with it, but felt no risk.

Again and again he attacked, and Yu dodged, parried, slid or twirled away from each blow. By his ninth strike, Yu noticed that he was slowing. By the twelfth, he was clearly almost out of Qi, as his movements were getting clumsy, and his body looked flushed from the exertion. She smiled widely at him, looking him full in the face for the first time since she had started her change in strategy. But her smile fell when she saw his face.

Yu had expected to see anger or maybe frustration. What she hadn’t thought to see, to recognize, was desperation. And it wasn’t alone. What she saw in his eyes, just before they looked away from her, was shame.

Jing Wei then seemed to fall into himself, and collapsed on the ground with his hand to his mouth, as though stopping himself from spitting up. The crowd roared, likely thinking that Jing Wei was injured or conceding the match. Over the noise, Yu just barely heard Jing Wei cough as she looked at the judge. But instead of going over to Jing Wei to check on his condition, the judge was looking at Yu with a neutral expression. She blinked at him, and then turned back to look at Jing Wei. She was surprised to find him getting back to his feet, his face flushed even more red than before.

Blinking in confusion as to what had just happened, Yu shook her head and put it out of her mind. She had a match to win, and refocused on Jing Wei. He took two strides forward, just reaching the range of a strike. She saw a flinch in his body, but it came and went so fast that she couldn’t identify it fast enough or react as she wanted. He lunged forward so quickly that he appeared like a blur, and Yu scrambled to move her body and swords.

She adjusted her torso and barely raised her arms in time, his dadao slamming into her swords with unexpected force. Yu’s swords rang from the might of the blow, and her body was sent tumbling sideways. All Yu saw for a moment was the sky and ground swirling in her vision as she landed hard on the stone circle and slid across it.

Yu’s mind cleared from the shock of the blow just as she found herself approaching the edge of the stage. Purely by reflex, she thrust out her right sword and slammed its bladed hilt facedown into the stone, managing to come to a grinding and screeching halt with her legs dangling over the edge.

While trying to figure out what in the hells had just happened, Yu climbed to her feet, just in time to see Jing Wei leaping at her. His sword lunging for her heart once again, but this time it was with a speed she had never seen him use before in any of his previous matches.

Yu once again moved only just in time to avoid being skewered, raising the flats of her blades. She managed to parry his sword away, but impossibly Jing Wei managed to arrest its outward movement almost immediately. Before she could see what had happened, he had slammed the sword against her arms, which were still aching from the first blow. Once again she was sent tumbling away, this time back toward the center of the circle.

Yu adapted better this time, rolling with her body’s momentum before pressing down at the right time using her Qi-infused arms and legs in order to propel herself into the air. She landed on her feet, taking only a few stumbling backward steps.

She could not figure out what was going on, or how Jing Wei had done any of that. She was confident that he had been drained and thus she had been about to go on the offensive. Yet now he seemed far stronger than he possibly should be by his cultivation stage.

But before Yu could further process Jing Wei's inexplicable increase in power, he was running at her again. He reached her in a single leaping strike, attacking diagonally from her high right to low left. Yu attempted to slide backward and to the left to stay out of range, but once again Jing Wei somehow seemed able to control his body and weapon beyond what she believed was possible. He spontaneously stopped his heavy strike mid-swing and brought the sword back down at her body.

Yu pulled back, but it was impossible for her to react to such speed in time and his blade sliced into her leg, just above the knee. That was her first time being struck by a protected blade during the tournament, and Yu was surprised at how much she felt the sting of the blow.

But pain had stopped being a distraction for Yu long ago, and she reacted by sweeping her swords in an aggressive attack aimed at his face. She saw him bring his sword up unnaturally fast and block her strikes, so she took the opportunity to step backward out of range. But as she did that, she glimpsed his face. It was bright red and his eyes were bloodshot, plus some of the veins in them had burst. But what surprised her the most wasn’t his physical condition, but the expression he wore. Despite his eyes being red and the grimace on his mouth, Yu thought he looked… sad. Despondent, even. He didn’t look enraged, or aggressive, despite his actions.

Her shock and confusion cost her as he once again lunged impossibly fast, and she failed to fully react in time. Yu pulled back and shifted her left sword just in time to deflect the point of his sword away from puncturing her chest. Instead, it pressed into the meat of her shoulder and Yu once again felt the sting of the blow. She expected to be shoved backward due to the weapon’s protection acting to prevent serious injury, but that didn’t happen. She instead felt the pain increase as the blade entered deeper until she instinctively bent backward, once again arching her body, and pulling free of the blade.

Yu cried out at the pain of the blade’s point being torn out of her shoulder. But she moved past it with gritted teeth and continued her escape. Rather than stopping her bend, she used it to continue her movement, flipping further while kicking up with her left leg. Her foot caught Jing Wei in the chin, causing him to stumble backward a step. She then used her extended arms to complete the flip and land back on her feet.

She used the brief reprieve to look at her shoulder and saw the bleeding slice in her skin. Bleeding… A protected weapon was not supposed to make someone bleed with a puncture. She looked down at her stinging knee and saw that it too held a cut, if much shallower. It too was bleeding.

Yu immediately turned to the judge, but he was not looking at her. He was apparently distracted by some ruckus in the stands, looking pointedly away from her and Jing Wei.

She looked back at her opponent and saw him taking breaths so deep it was as though his lungs were bellows, and his skin was almost the color of dragonfruit, it was so red. He was shaking his head to clear it from her kick to his chin. His eyes were nearly solid red and leaking tears of blood.

Something was clearly going on here and she needed to figure out what it was. As Grandma Huan had always told her, “Before you act, understand.”

Yu remembered that Jing Wei had been near to fainting before he had become so inhumanly strong and fast. He had even fallen to the ground and put his hand over his mouth. She also recalled the spark when his weapon had been protected, and thought of the judge’s actions in ignoring her bleeding wounds.

And then she understood. Yu stood up straight and looked up at the clan boxes. She saw Chao Bolin standing and staring down at her, anticipation on his face. She then looked over at the Jing Patriarch and saw him also looking down, although to her he seemed more conflicted about what he was seeing. And then she looked over to her family’s booth and found… nothing. It was empty.

Yu nodded. Now she fully understood.

The question is, what can I do about it?

She looked at Jing Wei and saw him wobbling on his feet, his grip on his sword so tight that his knuckles showed white on his otherwise crimson skin.

To her, the look on his face was… tragic. He was bleeding tears and his body was shaking. He charged at her again, but unlike before, this time it was completely uncontrolled. He swung with frantic desperation. Yu sent Qi through her body and raised her weapons, crossing them into an “X” to once again absorb the blow. But this time she had sufficient understanding and Qi to stand her ground. His unprotected blade sparked against her swords as he pressed down with it.

They pushed against each other, Yu getting pushed backward by his externally augmented strength. But while in that position, Yu looked closely at his face, and saw that his arrogance was gone. What she saw instead was just a boy being sacrificed for his clan. And he knew it, too. Yet, she could see that he had accepted it anyway, probably because he felt that that was what his clan and honor demanded of him.

She now knew that he had taken a Qi burning pill and ruined himself for them. All to defeat… to kill her. But if Jing Wei killed her, and did so by cheating, the Jing Clan would be punished so severely that it could ruin them. So why… Oh.

Suddenly Yu felt her anger at him fade. She realized then that they hadn’t just sacrificed him to the pill, they had sacrificed him to her. Well, she wouldn’t be their tool. Nor allow them to sacrifice her, like they were doing to their own children. She was disgusted. For all the struggles she had had with her family before she had been healed, at least they had never tried to sacrifice her, had never abandoned her. Despite the fact that it would have been the easiest, most expedient solution to the problem that a crippled child posed, they had housed, fed, and at least tried to protect her. These men would have thrown her away, just like they were throwing away their own family. Yu would not allow herself to be used, and certainly not so they could discard their own family.

Straining against Jing Wei, she whispered through gritted teeth, “Don’t let them waste your life. There may still be time.”

His eyes widened and she felt his arms begin to shake. He looked down at her and said, “It’s too late. All I have left is honor and sacrifice for my clan.”

Then he gave one mighty shove and Yu was pushed backward again. She stayed on her feet and readied herself. Jing Wei, panting, bleeding, and shaking, charged at her once more.

The crowd was screaming now. They knew something was off, how could they not? Yet the sound seemed muted to Yu. Her entire focus was on Jing Wei.

His coordination was failing him and Yu was able to spin away, her right sword knocking his aside and her left slicing across the side of his left knee.

He yelled in pain as his leg collapsed out from under him, and Yu continued her spin. She slashed his back with one sword and across the back of his neck with the other, then stepped back and looked at the judge.

But he just stared at her, saying and doing nothing.

She said, “That was a fatal blow.”

The judge shook his head and said, “It was not a mortal strike.”

Yu stared at him, and then at Jing Wei, who was barely able to return to his feet. She sighed, shook her head, glared up at the booths above her, and sheathed her swords.

Yet Jing Wei, still wobblingly stumbled toward her, his blade held high.

FORTY-SIX

Final Matches

Yu knew she was taking a risk, but she refused to be used. Not by the judge, the Jing, or the Chao. She would end this her own way, with honor. And perhaps she could also save the life of another, one she had thought she hated, but who had become just another victim of circumstances that were out of his control.

Yu sent Qi through her body, breathing deeply and remaining as still as water on a windless day. Despite all the openings that he gave her to attack, she just stood, waiting for him. Seeing her standing there, he narrowed his eyes and staggered forward in a clumsy lunge.

Yu snaked her hand out and struck his elbow with a crunch, then withdrew. Breathe. He yelled in pain and frustration. She crouched to duck a slicing blow aimed at her head and leapt up and over him, flipping and spinning while reaching her hand out to strike him on the temple. She landed in a rolling tumble, which she used to return to her feet behind him. His body was barely staying upright now, one arm limp at his side.

“Stop this, before it’s too late,” she cried. Yu could hear the pleading in her voice when she then whispered, “Please.”

Yu then realized that the background noise was dropping from screaming to a hush as the rest of the crowd had finally figured out that something was very wrong.

Jing Wei blinked a few times, blood now leaking from his nose and ears as well as his eyes. Shaking his head a few times, he charged again, swinging an arcing strike in front of him with his single working arm. Yu stepped back and bent backward, the sword tip sweeping past only a finger’s width from her face.

The moment it had passed her, Yu slid forward and brought her elbow down onto Jing Wei’s extended wrist. Another crack sounded and the sword fell from his limp hand, clanging loudly onto the ground. The young man screamed in pain, and Yu spun around behind him. She chopped the side of his neck once, and he fell to his knees.

Moving slowly and a little weakly as she released the Qi that she had been pushing through her muscles, she walked around him. Then she leaned over, picked up his sword and touched it to her thumb. Blood oozed out freely. She showed it to the judge, and then the crowd. She walked to the edge of the circle and dropped the sword to the ground below.

Then turning around, she walked to the judge and said loudly, for the entire building to hear, “Not only did my opponent’s weapon not have protection on it, but he is clearly very ill and perhaps dying. This is over. End it and call healers for him. Before it’s too late. Anything that happens from this point forward is your responsibility.”

Then she turned, walked back to her starting circle, and waited with her hands behind her back.

The judge’s face was livid. He looked up to the clan booths, but there was no answer or support. Yu also looked, and saw that the Chao and Jing Patriarchs were absolutely seething too. Maybe it wasn’t particularly wise, but she didn’t care right at that moment, coming down off of the combat and victory highs. She had beaten them and wanted to rub in their faces in that moment. So Yu smiled widely up at them and then down at the judge.

The judge glared at her and called furiously, “Fenghuang Zixin wins. Healers, help Jing Wei!”

Yu nodded, and walked off the circle. She then returned to her healing area to get patched up before rejoining her fellow remaining contenders.

The fights continued. Yu’s own bout and Jing Wei’s condition somehow being swept under the rug. The crowd didn’t care, they forgot as soon as the next match began. Without her clan leader to back her up, there was little she could do. And so, Yu held her tongue.

Instead, she watched the remaining battles. Fenghuang Suyin won her bout after a long but interesting contest.

The lead judge then came out and said, “There will be a one-hour break before the next contest between Chao Jinyi and Fenghuang Suyin. Fenghuang Zixin has a round off and will take on the winner for first place.”

Yu chose to spend the hour refilling her Qi, but was interrupted by Fenghuang Suyin, who asked her, “What was going on with your fight with Jing Wei? You had him, and then something happened and he seemed to improve. After that, you obviously ‘killed’ him with that neck strike. What was going on with his weapon? And why did you put yours away? What in the hells?”

Yu blinked at her, surprised and flattered that Suyin cared enough to ask. This was Yu’s first chance to really look at the girl close up. She had the red eyes common to their clan, denoting a Fire affinity. But Suyin’s were quite a bright red, almost like blood, indicating an exceptionally strong affinity.

Refocusing, Yu leaned over and did her best to explain using her boy voice, but in a whisper.

“It was a setup. When Jing Wei couldn’t defeat me honestly, he took an enhancement to make him stronger and faster – or to hold more dense Qi, or something like that. At the same time, his weapon was unprotected, which you saw. The judge failed to stop the match or call my victory because he needed me to be forced to fight Jing Wei. The Chao and Jing were hoping I would beat Jing Wei severely in order to survive, or for vengeance, or whatever, like I did with that other fellow yesterday. Even if I had held back, any injuries would still have proven to be fatal due to the pill. Either way, since I already have a reputation for being violent, it wouldn’t have seemed out of character for me to have fatally injured him – or so they would claim. Then they would have an excuse to kill me ‘in anger,’ or some such. With our clan box empty of strong cultivators for whatever reason – likely a distraction – nobody would be there to save me. So, from their perspective, either Jing Wei would kill me, or his clan would. The only way for me to defeat the trap was by not triggering it at all. I put my swords away and let the drug do the work, just removing Jing Wei’s ability to harm me and forcing the judge to take action.”

Fenghuang Suyin was gaping at Yu by that point.

Yu shrugged. “What else was I going to do, leave the stage and forfeit? Hells no. It was the best solution. The real question is, why did they bother?”

“I can understand why they hid you,” Yu’s fellow clan member said in an awed tone.

“You should prepare. Your battle will be very challenging,” was Yu’s reply.

Suyin nodded, turned away, and took up a meditation position. Yu did the same.

The battle between Suyin and Chao Jinyi helped Yu understand some of the approaches that both cultivators took toward battling a different kind of foe. Yu’s fellow clan member used finesse and speed to deal with Chao Jinyi’s brutal attacks, whereas he used a rather large two-handed staff with a saber blade at the end called a guandao. His movements were precise and strong, but not as fast as some, which Yu knew would be to her advantage. Unfortunately for Suyin, his control of the weapon was extraordinary. With it being a pole weapon, his advantage was a longer reach. And as Jinyi used it, he was able to keep Suyin at a distance simply through his use of spinning staff motions, and blade swipes and twists.

After a good fight, Suyin was struck in the heart and the match was called. Jinyi then swept his weapon upward after the killing blow, striking Suyin in the chin and jolting her head up and back. He of course claimed it was an accident and blamed her for not moving back, but the judge nonetheless gave him a lecture. Yet Jinyi ignored him, instead staring down at Yu from the edge of the raised circle.

Yu stared back without flinching. She really wanted to teach him some humility. She thought that perhaps like with Jing Wei and Yaozu, he would benefit from the lesson.

One hour later, a healed and refreshed Yu opened her eyes from her meditation. She looked up to find that her family’s box was full once again. She wondered what had happened, but then dismissed it from her mind. The answer would not impact her final match.

The lead judge stepped up onto the center circle and called loudly, “Now for the championship match!” The crowd exploded with excitement. “Don’t forget, the winner will receive a mysterious demonic beast and taming talisman.”

Chao Jinyi stood opposite Yu and licked his lips. Yu rolled her eyes at him and allowed her weapons to have the enchantment applied. She watched carefully as they applied it to Chao Jinyi’s guandao as well, and did not see any sparks or anything else suspicious.

The judge said, “Bow,” and Yu bowed exactly as was required for an equal, while Jinyi merely tilted his head a fraction. It was a very insulting movement to those he considers lower.

Then he called, “A bastard of the Fenghuang deserves to look up at his betters. I’ll teach you.”

Yu felt it was necessary to demonstrate her own disdain. “You’re less than a mortal to me, Chao Jinyi. At least they add to the city. You’re nothing but a brutish beast with a stick. Try acting human, and maybe everyone wouldn’t think you’re such dishonorable scum.”

The crowd hissed and gasped at the viciousness of her words. Most taunts were a lot of bragging and a little verbal face-slapping, but Yu’s words had shown the kind of animosity that was usually saved for true enemies.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” her opponent venomously spat back.

“That’s enough!” the judge said angrily.

After assuring himself that both competitors were at last silent, he raised his hand and, after a few moments of building anticipation with the audience, dropped it and yelled, “Begin!”

Still fuming, Da sat down in a new set of clothing, since his other set had been ruined by blood and gore. He’d had only a moment before he returned from that infuriating… distraction, before being told about the plot that had been aimed against his daughter.

At first Da had been so angry, he had been ready to take action then and there against the Jing and Chao clans, as he believed them to be equally culpable. However, thankfully one of his brother’s people had told him about Yu’s cleverness in escaping the trap. He had decided to let their loss, shame, and embarrassment be a sufficient cost for the time being. Later he would have Zhao take various actions to cripple a few of their businesses in retaliation.

One might think he had also fallen into a trap – but only the gullible would believe that. That absurd ambush could never have worked, and he felt sure that whoever was responsible would have known that. Da didn’t believe for a moment that the Jing or Chao were brave enough to impersonate royalty. They were many things, but suicidal was not one of them. Whoever had prepared the ambush and sent the black-clothed cultivators would have known they would merely be sacrifices. They were meant only to delay the return of any who could defend his daughter.

The question was why. Had they known who she was? Or was she targeted as her male persona? By her public performance, Zixin would certainly be a powerhouse one day, but that setup was too extreme. Impersonating a royal was the action of a traitor, an offense that would end with the execution of the individual and every single member of their family. Da knew in his heart that it had to be a larger plot, and they would need to dig into it.

But whoever they were, they had underestimated his daughter. She had seen through them and defeated their ploy. Da continued to be impressed with Yu’er. And as he looked down at the final, he raised his eyebrows. Chao Jinyi was an excellent cultivator, if a pompous arrogant little shit. He continued to act above his station. But he was a youth and could only be disciplined by fellow youths. Like his daughter for example.

He hoped… believed Yu’er had a plan for this fight. The truth was, Chao Jinyi was incredibly talented with his polearm. He was an expert at keeping his opponents at range and then using the weapon’s reach and his expertise to take them apart. He was also taller and stronger than his daughter, which added to his advantage with such a weapon.

But Da didn’t feel the boy was insurmountable for his daughter. First of all, because just about everyone she had faced so far had been older, taller, and stronger than she was. Plus, he knew she was faster, and would be able to get into her opponent’s head.Looking down from his box, Da watched as his daughter did what she had done with every fight in the tournament. She allowed her opponent to move first. It was the riskiest of choices, but he approved. It fit her well. So Da looked down at his daughter’s most difficult battle yet.

He knew that Jinyi would attack when he saw his daughter’s stillness. And he did. He went in with an overhead swing, bellowing the entire time. It was obvious and blatant, and demonstrated his confidence.

Yu’er crossed her swords above her head and took the strike. Her whole body sunk into the stone floor, which cracked at the might of the attack. Da watched his daughter’s knee collapse out from under her, causing her to kneel. Her arms shook with the strain.

Lifting her head, she looked up at Jinyi’s leering face. Da saw her body straining, but not much.

“You little shit!” the boy spat as he pressed harder, bending the black bamboo shaft of his weapon. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

Da looked on as Yu’er was forced down further, and her expression showed even more strain.

Jinyi yelled wordlessly and lifted his weapon, swinging it again, this time from left to right. Da saw his daughter flatten her swords against her forearms, lean left, and take the blow straight on with a grunt. He watched as her whole body shook and slid backward, the heels of her boots scraping against the loose stones created by cracks in the circle.

Once again, she strained to hold him at bay.

Withdrawing his guandao, Jinyi attacked again. This time, instead of a sweeping strike, he tried four quicker and shorter slices, from left, left-top, right-top, and right-middle. Yu’er took every one of them straight on with crossed blades or forearm-backed blocks, straining the entire time. Two had sliced into Yu’er’s hands and shoulder, but she took the blows with only a silent wince.

With another bellow Jinyi sped up, slicing and lunging repeatedly. Yu’er blocked, deflected, or dodged them all, but not perfectly. She was occasionally forced to weather non-fatal blows to her hands, arms, shoulders, and thighs.

To Da, the air around Jinyi seemed to vibrate with his rage, as he was processing so much Qi. Da reluctantly had to recognize the boy’s power was admirable.

Despite that, Yu’er continued to doge and parry, each time being driven around the ring by his strength, and taking an occasional slice or stab. Yet each time, she taunted him with her silence.

Then Da saw Jinyi back off a step and leap for a sweeping downward strike. Yu’er defended as she had before, crossing her swords above her head. But this time when the blow landed, the stone floor gave off a number of small cracking explosions beneath her, sending stone dust into the air. Instead of being driven to a single knee, this time Yu was driven to both. Da saw the great strain on her face as Jinyi pressed harder with a yell. Da gritted his teeth as he saw his daughter being crushed further into the floor until her torso lowered to sit on her legs and she looked like she was kneeling in front of the boy.

Then Da heard Jinyi’s yell turn into a laugh as he pressed down even harder. Yu’er’s shaking arms fell further, until his blade was aimed at her forehead. Jinyi leaned and pressed forward, trying to drive the point of the blade into her, but Yu’er fought the push. Da noticed that his daughter had placed her swords’ crescents over the joint of where the blade met the staff, stopping it from advancing.

Jinyi then stopped laughing so he could speak.

“Fenghuang scum,” he mocked. “You think you can challenge my strength? My might?”

Da saw Yu’er grit her teeth as Jinyi pressed harder, but the blade failed to move so much as a finger’s width closer to his daughter’s head. The staff bent as Jinyi pushed down and Yu’er pushed back with shaking arms. She watched with narrow-eyed focus as he slowly approached, gaining leverage as he slid his grip further up the shaft of the staff.

With each step that he took closer to her, Yu’er had to press back harder and harder, to the point where Da saw she would occasionally slide backward on her knees.

And then Da could see that Jinyi was just a pace away from his daughter. The boy’s hands squeezed the black bamboo shaft as he pressed to drive the blade into her forehead and deliver a fatal blow.

He leaned forward even more, causing Yu’er’s body to lean backward so much that it was straight. With that, they could look into each other’s sweat-covered faces.

Da saw Jinyi’s snide leer as he leaned over his daughter and asked her, “What now, Fenghuang bastard? Nothing to say now that you’re beaten?”

Da clenched his fists, wishing he could take action against the insults to his clan and family. Yu’er had done well, but perhaps she simply did not have the power to resist the older boy. However, coming second was still a great honor…

Then Da froze. Yu’er’s face had changed. What had been grimacing and gritted teeth turned into a sly white-toothed smile. Then she spoke in her slightly lower boy’s voice.

“How about if I say this?” Yu’er said in answer to his question. “Thanks for giving up your leverage and letting me in close.”

And Da smiled as he saw Jinyi’s eyes widen in shock and realization. It was at that moment Da saw the boy realize what she had been doing. Jinyi almost adjusted in time, but unfortunately for him, almost was not good enough against Fenghuang Da’s daughter.

Yu had been building up her Qi for a while now. And finally, it was time.

She had been absorbing blow after blow, only making sure that nothing that could be considered fatal was allowed through. She had needed him to feel confident, even overconfident. It had been easier than she had thought it would be. And in the end, Jinyi had exposed himself by losing the best advantage that his weapon and skills offered: distance.

Using the Qi she had been slowly flooding into her body, Yu shoved sideways just as Jinyi realized his mistake. He stumbled back, his hands still on his weapon but far too close to the bladed head. Yu immediately leaped at him, swirling her dual swords in a dizzying set of motions. He backed away, trying to adjust his grip to lower down the shaft. Yu lunged forward with both swords while Jinyi did his best to spin his polearm in a defensive formation.

Yu saw that his hands were slowly finding their way back to a proper position, so she spent more Qi, speeding up her attacks. Jinyi was barely able to block her strikes. He tried to back off and make space, but then she finally utilized what she had seen in Suyin’s fight: she had seen that every time he tried to defend, his feet stilled for just a moment, and every time he tried to back away, his defense showed a brief gap.

Using these momentary but critical vulnerabilities, Yu was able to stay with him. Every step he took she matched, every slide she followed, and she relentlessly pressed on with her swords. She flooded Qi throughout herself at a rate she had never done before. Her body burned with it so fiercely she almost felt on fire. But she didn’t slow or stop, she pushed herself harder than she had ever thought possible. She thrust and swept high and low, keeping her larger and stronger foe on the defensive, never allowing him to gain even a moment to recover.

She kept this up until finally one high strike made it through and her right sword ran along his cheek and up to his eye, which caused him to stagger and turn his head away. Yu pressed even harder and faster, sweat falling from her and soaking her black wrappings. Her right sword sliced the side of his knee while the left passed his hip and then was pulled back, catching him on the tip of its hook and keeping him off-balance.

She repeated that attack three more times, but in different places and with different hands, her arms acting as two independent attackers, each with their own mind but coordinating perfectly. Jinyi was bludgeoned constantly and repeatedly in every part of his body as he continued to back up, barely able to protect his vital parts and avoid mortal blows. Technically, Yu had already won, having struck the major artery in his leg, but that would never be called in the final, and thus she didn’t let up.

Feeling herself tiring, Yu decided it needed to end now, one way or another. She sent the last of her Qi through her body in a flood. Feeling like she was burning like the sun, Yu released everything she had in a single flurry. At last she broke through and sliced Jinyi’s hand, causing him to scream and let go of his weapon. She then jolted her head forward and slammed into his nose, causing a cracking sound and another scream, this time higher pitched but more nasal, and he jerked his head back.

Finally exposed, Yu stayed close, joining her hands and jamming her twin crescent blades into his neck. With a yell she thrust upward with all that remained of her Qi-enhanced might. His entire body left the ground and was launched fifteen paces off the platform, slamming into another raised competition circle and was partially embedded, hanging above the ground.

The gods have acknowledged your accomplishment.

FORTY-SEVEN

Prizes

Yu’s hands fell to her sides, her swords clanging to the stone floor as she dropped to her knees at the edge of the circle. Drawing in gasps of air, the Sign vanished from Yu’s sight almost as soon as it had appeared. The stadium was once again silent, although she did not know whether that was because of surprise that she had won, or the brutality she had shown in finishing Jinyi.

Yu then heard a single set of hands clapping and tiredly traced the source of the sound, only to find her father standing with a huge grin on his face. That sight warmed her like never before. Then the rest of the Fenghuang in the booth stood and began clapping. Her mother, uncles, and even her father’s third wife were beaming widely and clapping hard. Only her father’s first wife did not join in the smiles and joy. She glared daggers at Yu. Surprisingly, Yu saw Deming next to her, also furious and covered in bandages, clearly not having fully healed yet. However, Yu didn’t care enough about that woman or her son to let them dampen her mood.

Her family’s actions seemed to free the crowd from its collective daze, because the stadium again erupted into so much noise that Yu almost had to cover her ears.

She recovered enough to grab her swords and sheathe them, stand, and then walk tiredly to the center of the circle.

The judge escorted her, amplified his voice, and called loudly enough to be heard over the maelstrom of screaming, “The winner of our city’s momentous five-hundredth tournament is Fenghuang Zixin. Please congratulate him and his clan.”

The roaring then rose even higher and she exhaustedly lifted her hand and waved.

She knew that this was all “part of the show,” as Grandma Huan had told her.: “The winner is not only winning for them or even their clan. They win for the city. So you’ll see the winner wave to the crowd and cheer them on. They might even say something nice to the audience, although that is often skipped because the person is generally too drained from the final. You don’t believe me, but watch as the crowd enjoys the victory as much as the winner.”

Yu hadn’t really understood until that moment. Every time she turned and waved, that area of the stadium stood and cheered louder, the people waving their flags and banners. She saw that the Fenghuang area was celebrating like they had just won a great war, with members of her clan jumping, cheering, crying, and hugging, and many other things people overwhelmed with pride and joy did.

It took quite a while to calm everyone down sufficiently so that a red-faced Chao Bolin could stand and speak. “On behalf of the three great clans of our city, congratulations to the winner.”

No name. What a sore loser.

“Could the top ten please now join their Patriarchs on the central platform for the awarding of prizes.”

Seven Patriarchs, Yu, and the seven remaining contenders who were not seriously injured joined the lead judge on the stage. The other judges were standing farther to the back.

Chao Bolin said, “First, please thank the judges for this year. As always, the elders of our city did an outstanding job officiating the matches.”

The crowd applauded and cheered politely. The judges all waved, although Yu noticed that the judge from her match with Jing Wei was not in the group.

Chao Bolin continued. “And let us also thank the many hard workers who made this tournament possible.”

More polite applause followed.

“Now, without any further delay, I present to you your Fei Shu City champions!”

The arena echoed with roaring applause then, and a few fireworks were set off.

“As is tradition, the Patriarch of each winners’s clan will hand them their prize.”

“In tenth place is Fa Shirong. Please accept this ring, which has one thousand silver inside.” The Patriarch of the Fa Clan, a stooped older man, accepted the ring from Chao Bolin and then walked up to his clan’s representative and handed it to him. He then patted Fa Shirong on the shoulder, told him he had brought honor and pride to his clan, and stepped back.

Next was Fu Yi. Then the line continued, her father having the opportunity to present twice. Yu was beaming with pride for both Suyin and Yaozu as her father presented them with their prizes. Finally, the Chao patriarch reached the empty third place spot.

Jing Wei was not there, as Yu had expected. Her perspective on him had shifted somewhat since their match, and she truly hoped he had survived and wouldn’t be permanently crippled. She knew what such a life was like and did not wish it on him.

In Jing Wei’s absence, the Jing Patriarch received it on his behalf. He called to the crowd, “At times, injuries are too severe to be easily healed, and so I will accept this until he is returned to health, which we expect soon.”

Then Chao Bolin stiffly accepted a ring which contained twenty-five thousand silver and whatever the agreement was in regards to cultivation resources on behalf of his still recovering grandson. Yu didn’t feel the least bit guilty, as of all the people she had fought or had seen fight, Chao Jinyi was the only one she had absolutely no respect for. He didn’t deserve his talent and would become a problem for the city eventually. But she wouldn’t allow thoughts of him to ruin her victory.

Yu looked up at Chao Bolin as he stepped in front of her. He was smiling, but it did not reach his eyes. She had a feeling that he had arranged quite a bit of what had happened during the tournament, including the final prize being a demonic beast and taming talisman. In fact, she felt it likely he had planned it specifically for his grandson, under the assumption that Jinyi would win. From what she understood, the great cost of the top prize would have been split between the three large clans and the tournament funding, thus granting his family a beast but paying less than a third of its true cost.

Yu was happy to have ruined his plans as he called out with fake enthusiasm, “Once again everyone, congratulate your champion, Fenghuang Zixin, and his clan.”

More roars, cheers and fireworks followed.

The Chao Patriarch then spoke to her below the noise of the crowd. “Congratulations, young man. You fought well, and… fiercely. I will keep an eye on your progress in the future.”

Yu bowed politely and gave him a huge smile, but did not speak.

Chao Bolin grimaced, but turned it into another fake smile as he called, “Fenghuang Zixin, as the first-place winner and tournament champion, you receive the largest spatial storage ring with dimensions of nearly forty paces, plus the forty thousand silver, the cultivation resources your clan requested on your behalf, and, of course, the grand prize.” Yu saw him step back and hold his arm out to her father. “I now call upon your Patriarch to present your rewards.”

Yu watched her father step forward as Chao Bolin stepped back.

Her father then said loudly, “You have presented yourself well and brought great honor to your clan and family, my clansman. My child.”

Yu’s eyes opened wide as the entire place began buzzing with what the Patriarch had just publicly confessed. But he continued speaking as if nothing else in the world was taking place. “I present to you your ring, which is well earned indeed, and with its mighty rewards inside. I now call upon your mother, Long Meixiu, to present to you your greatest reward.”

The whole arena exploded into mutters, whispers, and gasps of shock at that. Yu could hear their surprise, as they believed that her parents had had a son as well as a crippled daughter, and had kept it a secret. Yu herself was speechless.

Her father stepped to the side, and Yu’s violet-haired mother approached. She was holding a cube the length and height of her arm and covered in a glistening black cloth.

“My child,” she called out to the shocked building, “I am so proud to present to you your prize.”

Yu’s mother then placed the cage before her and lifted up the cloth. Inside was a white fuzzy ball. A lot of “oohs” and “aahs” came from the surrounding audience, its appearance dulling their shock, if only temporarily.

Her mother continued, “What you see before you is a Greater Wind-born Heron. While not combat-focused beasts, they can grow to be large enough to carry tens of people and are able to fly for many thousands of li within a short time while needing little rest. This creature can become a grade 3 beast, and will serve you well.”

Yu looked down into the cage and saw a tiny sleeping bird curled around itself and hiding under a fluffy wing. She knelt in front of the cage and placed her hand on it for a moment, then replaced the cloth covering.

Yu bowed deeply to her mother. “Thank you, mother,” she responded strongly, but still using her boy voice.

Her answer caused more whispering, having further confirmed the truth.

Her mother then stepped back, and her father stepped forward once again. “My child, you have brought such honor to yourself and your clan that I nearly burst from the pride of it. It is time, my child. My daughter.”

Yet another explosion of sound came from the audience, although it felt muted to Yu as she was in so much shock. “Lower your mask, Fenghuang Yu,” her father told her. “And show the world your true beauty.”

Yu heard a rush of different sounds coming from everywhere, including the stage, but could make out none of them. Blood was rushing through her body, and for a moment she was too shocked to move.

Then, letting out a breath she hadn’t been aware she had been holding, she did as her father had instructed. With shaking hands, Yu hesitantly reached up and pulled down the black wrappings on her head and exposed her face to the world for the first time since she had been freed from her corrupted body.

The entire place momentarily fell into stunned silence.

Then Chao Bolin stepped forward and said, “Your daughter, the cripple?”

Her father responded, “No longer. She awakened within her body and, with the greatest of efforts, pain and persistence, became the extraordinary champion you now see before you.”

Then for the first time that day the woman from the Snow Mountaintop Sect drew attention to herself. She leapt down in a gliding movement like she had last time, and then stared at Yu for a moment. “City lord, she is stunning. Perhaps one of the most beautiful young cultivators I have seen in seven centuries. And she battles with the ferocity of a tiger and the expertise of a master.”

Yu’s father was grinning as widely as she had ever seen him do before. “Indeed, Lady Song. Thank you for complimenting my daughter.”

Lady Song said, “You would not share his… her affinity when I asked before. I wonder if you would do so now. If she is compatible with my sect, I will take her as a personal disciple.”

That really got the crowd going. From the little Yu had learned about sects from her family, she knew that being the personal disciple of a sect leader or elder was a mighty position guaranteed to have access to resources, training, and the attention of experts.

Her father told Lady Song, “I am afraid she does not have what your sect specializes in. What it is, we are still keeping to ourselves at this time.”

“What a pity,” she responded in a disappointed tone. “With her skill and being of Aura Qi, she will become a truly terrifying master of battle.”

Yu’s father cleared his throat and said carefully, “Actually, she was not born with Aura as her primary Qi.” Yu could not believe he was letting this out.

The Jing Patriarch stepped forward then and said, “She fought like that and does not have Aura Qi?”

Yu understood his confusion as, according to her family, nobody was supposed to be able to use more than one Qi type.

Chao Bolin said, “That’s impossible. She’s what, sixteen?”

Yu didn’t think her father’s smile could get any bigger, but it did as he spoke again. “Fenghuang Yu is fourteen, and it is both possible and true.”

The place exploded into mutters of doubt and confusion, the crowd unable to believe that a fourteen-year-old had defeated the pride of their clans, many of whom were more than five years older than Yu.

“Fenghuang Da, that cannot be. Mages do not have that sort of physical prowess,” called the Chao Patriarch.

Her father nodded and said, “Normally that is true, but my daughter was not born with Mana Qi either.”

Yu heard whispers she could not make out until Lady Song gasped out, “She’s a Spiritualist? She wields Ether?”

Her father nodded with the same huge smile on his face. “Indeed. Considered the weakest of the Qi forms for combat. And yet here stands before you the tournament champion and, if I may be so arrogant to say, quite brilliantly.”

Lady Song stepped forward and stated firmly, “She has the seeds of peerless beauty, was able to overcome an Aura-wielder many years her senior, has a mysterious affinity you will not share, and wields the rarest form of Qi. I want her. Name your price.”

Yu’s father chuckled. “We are already working with a sect leader to have her taken as a personal disciple. However, I will not speak more on that yet, as it is not finalized.”

Yu had no idea what he was talking about.

Shouldn’t I have some say in choosing my sect?

Yu then noticed her mother sidle up behind her and place her hands on her shoulders. Confused at the action, Yu looked around and realized what she had missed. With everything happening, she had been too overwhelmed to notice the rather aggressive glare that she had been receiving from the nearby Chao Patriarch. Meanwhile, the Jing Patriarch’s eyes were wide and kept moving between her, her parents, and Chao Bolin. Scanning the clan areas of the crowd, Yu also saw a variety of similar looks on some of the other Patriarchs that she could recognize.

Yu’s mother then spoke for the first time since awarding her the heron. “My daughter will bring much to this city. We get so few enchanters here, after all. Perhaps in a century or less we will have our own Enchanters’ Hall – if our city continues to grow and prosper as it has, of course.”

In other words, as it had since the Fenghuang had been ruling it.

Yu bowed to the beautiful Lady Song, and used her own voice to speak for the first time publicly in quite a while. “Thank you for your attention, Lady. I am flattered you think so highly of me.”

“And a fine voice too, when not disguised.” Lady Song shook her head. “City lord, she will indeed add much to your clan and this city – and to whichever Ether-specific sect she joins.”

Her father bowed lightly to her. “Thank you again, Lady Song.”

He then turned around and called loudly to the crowd, “As is the tradition of this tournament, I present to you one final time, your winners. And especially your champion, Fenghuang Yu!”

The place erupted with pent up emotions. Yu thought she felt the ground shaking beneath her feet. Her emotions were jumbled, and she felt overwhelmed. She was elated with her win, proud of her accomplishment, glowing with the adulation, and thrilled at the prizes – although she didn’t plan on keeping much.

On the other hand, Yu struggled with being exposed so publicly, given she had been either sheltered or in hiding for her entire life. She wondered how she was supposed to adapt to all the sudden attention, and whether she was going to become a public figure. She also feared that the public acknowledgment of her condition, position, and talents might put her at risk. She was so confused and conflicted.

Over the continuing din and tangle of emotions, Yu heard her father tell the city, “I hereby call this, our city’s five-hundredth tournament, closed!”

Interlude

One hour later – Chao Clan estate, Patriarch’s courtyard:

“You said my son’s sacrifice would bring down the Fenghuang!” Jing Shuang yelled as he marched around the Chao estate’s private courtyard. “He’s crippled for life, and for nothing! Not only did we lose our investments,” his sneer was obvious, “but Fenghuang Da and his clan are stronger than ever!”

Chao Bolin also stood, but he was still as a jade carving next to a table on which was a blue-and-white tea set. He watched the Jing Patriarch venting his frustration. Bolin wanted to do the same, but knew he had to appear strong if their alliance against the Fenghuang and their Patriarch was to be maintained.

“What happened to the plan? To your supposed allies?” Shuang yelled.

Through clenched teeth, Bolin said, “I can’t reach them anymore.”

“So they set us up?” Shuang stopped and pointed at Bolin. “You told me you investigated them. You told me that they were always right.” Then he yelled, “We did everything they said, and that little bitch and her father still beat us!”

Bolin shook his head, unable to argue. He knew he had been played. Probably by Fenghuang Da. He had underestimated the man and would be paying the price in damaged talent and silver.

As if affirming their loss, the Jing Patriarch raised and lowered his arms as he said, “Wei might not have been the most gifted, but he was still good enough for a sect to accept him. And his children could have been even better! And it’s not only him. It will take years, decades even, for my clan to recover the resources we lost.”

Bolin stepped forward and raised his fist. “I agree. We can’t let this travesty go unpunished. We must strike back!”

“No!” Shuang bellowed. “I’ve lost enough to your schemes. I will be rebuilding my clan, away from the Fenghuang, and away from you!”

Bolin stepped forward but could only watch in impotent rage as the Jing Patriarch used his Wind affinity and vanished in a swirl of dirt and leaves.

Chao Bolin, no longer able to control his rage, yelled as he smashed his hand down on the table. A cracking sound echoed through the otherwise silent courtyard, and the table and tea set exploded into shards and dust along with the ground beneath.

Panting, he looked down, even more angry. At the Jing Patriarch, at his people for failing, at his mysterious partners. But mostly at Da and his spawn of a daughter.

“Bing!” Bolin bellowed.

A private door opened and a stooped older-looking man trudged in, leaning heavily on a black bamboo cane.

“Yes, Patriarch?” Bing said with a bowed head.

Bolin looked at his butler and his clan’s chief administrator. “The Fenghuang and their new bitch of a child slapped our face and brought us low in front of the entire city! That cannot stand unanswered.”

Bing bowed even lower and said, “Yes, Patriarch. We must respond.”

“What thoughts do you have?” Bolin asked his most trusted and well-connected servant.

“There are two vulnerable businesses that the Fenghuang are heavily invest—”

“No!” Bolin interrupted with a sweep of his hand. “The insults we have suffered today and throughout the tournament cannot be answered so simply. We must strike deeply, and at their heart.”

Bing did not respond for nearly ten breaths before he said, “The girl. Her ability to enchant will allow their clan to strengthen immeasurably. If she is allowed to enter an Ether-specific sect and then bring her skills back, we will never be able to topple their leadership.”

Bolin nodded. “Indeed. She is an unprecedented threat. Clearly, targeting her was not wrong. At least those double-crossers got that right. That said, she will be well protected now that she has been exposed. Can we reach her?”

“We cannot, no,” his butler confirmed.

Rubbing his gray beard, Bolin said, “Can you still reach your Mongoose contact?”

Bing froze still for a moment then said, “I can. But…”

“I will not allow this Fenghuang Yu to lead their rise and cause our demise,” Bolin stated firmly.

“And the cost? After the recent losses we will have to reduce training resources dramatically.”

“You do not understand the threat, Bing. It is not just the enchanting, although that would be a disaster. That alone would not be insurmountable. The real problems are twofold: first, there are the sects. That traitor, Song, will spread word and they will have sects lining up to speak to her and others in their clan. And the other, even more serious, threat is that she is a girl! With her skills and gifts, she will marry exceptionally well and bring her husband’s resources and influence with her. And then she will have children, which will nearly guarantee at least one or two Ether-wielders. No, Bing. If she thrives, we may as well start over and move our clan to another city. We will be forced to effectively surrender this one to the Fenghuang. With that little silver-haired bitch, they will have the resources and backing to no longer need the support of other major clans. They will be able to manage, protect, and grow this city by themselves.”

“Your insight is great, as always, Patriarch. I will reach out to the Mongoose,” the butler said with a bow and shuffled out to deliver the message that will end the life of Fenghuang Yu.

Part Nine

AFTERMATH

And thus, humanity was formed from tiny amounts of all the powers of the universe, taught to use their powers, told their purpose, and placed throughout the world. But the aggression of the world’s original creations was more than the fledgling humans could withstand, and so they were wiped out in numbers beyond counting.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

FORTY-EIGHT

Review

Less than one hour later – Main office of the city lord, City Lord’s Palace, Fei Shu City:

Yu was standing before her father, uncles, and mother in her father’s office.

Her uncle Zhao said, “Well, the rice is cooked now.”

Despite her tumbling emotions, Yu tried not to laugh. Her uncle Zhao was such an odd fellow.

“Indeed,” her mother said. “We must watch her carefully now, until she is safely in a sect.”

Recalling what had happened, Yu’s anger rose to the surface. She had been through so much and felt ambushed. Choosing a sect was a massive life decision, she knew that much. She had not been pleased to have had it revealed that her family was already deep in discussions with some unknown sect leader.

Thus she said with some snap, “Will I be informed of the sect, or just be dumped on the doorstep and kept ignorant of your plans again?”

Her father said sharply, “Mind your tone, daughter.”

Yu’s exasperation leaked into her voice as she replied, “I think I deserve the freedom to express some emotion here, lord father. The clans and city were not the only ones surprised by what happened tonight. You clearly had that planned, yet I was kept in the dark.”

Her uncle Gen stepped in to answer, “That is both true and fair, Yu’er. To tell you the truth, we would never have taken that approach if you had not won the entire tournament. And if we told you, it could have affected your performance.”

Yu tried to calm herself and think about what he had said. After a few moments of contemplation, she realized that it was fair.

Yu nodded. “I understand. And I agree it would have been a distraction. I needed all my focus for those last two fights.”

Then Uncle Zhao spoke in a nearly jubilant tone, “Can we just stop arguing for a moment and reflect on Yu’er’s accomplishment? She defeated half a dozen people years older than her with only a few injuries. She won a tournament that no one in recorded history has ever won under the age of sixteen. This will be spoken of and remembered for decades. At least! Every future champion will be compared to her and found wanting! People will be saying, ‘Oh, he was good, but not like that Fenghuang Yu girl in the five-hundredth tournament. She won at only fourteen.’”

Yu blushed, thinking of the absurdity of what her uncle had just said. Surely people would not be so ridiculous about it.

Yu’s father spoke up thankfully. “Nobody is diminishing Yu’er’s accomplishment. And our party tonight will be grand enough to show it. But we must prepare. From now on, all her food and drink must be tested, all her guests vetted. One visible and one hidden guard will be on her at all times from now until she is secure in a sect. Once Grandma Huan returns, we can relax her security as long as they are together, but beyond that we are going to be even more vigilant than we have been.”

Yu’s shoulders slumped at the thought of going back to living like a prisoner. At least for the last year she had been able to go out in disguise and enjoy life outside of her training center.

“I will provide a poison-tester stone. I think we may have an extra that we… accidentally acquired,” Zhao said.

Gen snorted at that and said, “An accident. I’m sure. Anyway, the clan will need an explanation.”

“I will provide one tonight,” her father said with a nod.

Yu raised her hand to interrupt. “Can we go back to the sect discussion for a moment? Do I get a say? Do I even get to know who you are in talks with?”

“I’m sorry, Yu’er,” her mother answered with a sad shake of her head, “but you must understand what is at stake. You are not a normal cultivator, and that alone, even putting aside the secrecy, requires us to find a sect capable of meeting very particular requirements. You must be taught in multiple Qi types with multiple affinities. A sect like Snow Mountaintop can do neither. Even an Ether-specific sect, which is what everyone outside of this room presumes you will attend, cannot give you what you need.”

Yu sighed and nodded. She had no idea how to solve for her unique challenges, so she had to rely on her family. “I understand.”

Despite her response, Yu was still frustrated at the situation. She had felt powerless for most of her life, decisions always being made on her behalf. Her family had thought they were protecting her, but they had suffocated her. Even with her newfound power and as a tournament champion no less, she still found that she could not escape others deciding what was best for her. It was just so frustrating.

Her father looked at her… was that a sympathetic face? “Yu’er, I know you feel everything is out of your control. Trust me that you will have far more control over your life when you are older. Control that nobody, not even kingdoms or empires can take from you. But until then, you must be patient.”

Yu nodded again and asked, “Can I ask the name, or will I not know it?”

Her mother answered, “You will not have heard of it. It is actually outside our kingdom and quite distant. It is near the center of the empire and a very prestigious sect.”

“Oh.” Yu found the idea of traveling so far intimidating, but exploring all the new places that would be open to her was exciting too. As usual, nothing was simple.

Then she thought of what her father had told Lady Song and asked, “During the tournament you intimated I was going to be a personal disciple of some kind – was that true?”

“We are trying to work out an agreement,” Yu’s mother told her in a less-than-confident tone. “It is complicated because of your secrets. If it helps, your brother is there – and excelling, when last we heard. The expectations are higher in the center of the empire with so many more resources, so he is truly pushing himself and is bringing honor to our clan and city.”

Yu smiled widely. “Lei’s there? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” If she could see her brother, she was completely in favor of going.

Zhao chuckled. “That’s fair. We should have led with that.”

Yu’s smile fell and she asked, “About the tournament, you know about the whole episode with Jing Wei, then?”

Yu’s father’s face flushed red at her question, and smoke started to rise from his hands. “We are aware and will deal with it. However, we were not present so we only have reports. I would like to hear it firsthand. Tell us what you experienced, and your actions and reasoning.”

She related to them what had happened from her perspective, along with her actions and her reasons for ending the fight as she had. Her family refused to tell her what had drawn them away, so she finished her story by saying, “The only thing I don’t understand is why. What was the point of the whole thing? I was still Fenghuang Zixin at the time, just some nobody.”

Zhao said, “It’s a shame you don’t have the Darkness affinity among your plethora. You think like a spy.”

Her father responded before she could. “No, she thinks like a clan lord. Yu’er, put this event behind you for now. We will figure out what happened, and if it matters we will share it with you. You did exceptionally well during that incident. And during the entire tournament. You were more brilliant than we thought. We are all very proud of you. I am as well – more than I have ever been.”

Tears formed in Yu’s eyes, and she looked down. She mumbled, “Thank you, lord father.” It was only the second time in her life that her father had praised her, and it felt just as meaningful as the first.

Her uncle Gen cleared his throat and said, “There is one other matter before we head to the party. Your prizes. Yu’er, you should understand they are yours and that you are free to do what you want with them. Resources like you received are hard to come by out here on the verge, and thus cultivators don’t tend to share.”

“I wanted to give the cultivation resources to Lei,” Yu said immediately.

She had already had a number of ideas for the other prizes as well.

Yu shared her plan. “He was my first thought, at least. Maybe that isn’t right anymore; you have to tell me. Given my… umm… skills, I don’t think using the taming talisman is a good use of resources. That should probably also go to Lei. As for the heron itself, I really don’t have the ability to care for such a creature with my security constraints. Again, Lei is my first thought. I’m open to hearing what all of you think, of course. I would like to keep the ring for now. If Grandma Huan lets me keep my current ring, which is larger and I favor, I will give the ring I won to Lei (or to the clan, if his is the same or larger). However, if my teacher takes hers back, then I’ll need it. I want to keep the silver for when I eventually get to the sect so that I can get whatever resources I need.”

The room was silent for a bit, and Yu was nervous that she had said something wrong.

“That is incredibly mature and generous, Yu’er,” her mother said.

“I agree,” her father immediately added. “You make us even prouder. Your clan thanks you. I know your brother will. But we will not take advantage of your selflessness. You will be compensated. After all, our clan received remuneration from two clans and a sect thanks to you. The least we can do is pay you, as you gift us what you earned with your own blood.”

Yu felt her face heat up and looked down again. Despite what he had said, giving up the victory prizes meant little to her. She loved her brother and he needed them more than her – it was that simple.

Zhao said, “We can get someone to transport everything to Lei. It will only be a few days of travel via beast.”

Yu winced, still unsure about whether to share what she had seen after her final match. But in the end, she cleared her throat and said, “Umm. Well. There is one more little thing.”

“What?” her father asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I received a Sign after the tournament. It came and went almost instantly but I did get a chance to read it.”

Everyone leaned forward.

“And?” Zhao asked eagerly, waving his hand in the come here gesture.

“All it said was that the gods acknowledged my achievement.”

“How interesting,” her mother said quietly. Then she asked, “Have you checked your full God Sign?”

Yu shook her head. “No.”

Her father coughed and said, “Let’s hold off on that. Our absence from the party is conspicuous, and if we get distracted by Yu’s Sign we will be even later. Yu’er, check it tonight, and if it is important, let us know.”

“Yes, lord father,” Yu said with a nod. “What is expected of me at the party? This will be my first.”

Her father blinked at her and said with a surprised voice, “I had not thought of that.” Shifting in his seat, he continued, “To summarize, just eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. If anyone asks about your Sign or capabilities beyond what we shared at the tournament, simply tell them you have been instructed not to speak of it. A simple solution.”

Then he turned to Yu’s mother. “Lady wife, have your maids get Yu dressed as suits her now public station as the clan’s Young Mistress. As fast as possible. I will go begin the play.”

FORTY-NINE

Party

Da heard his clan enjoying themselves as he approached. An occasional firework was being set off in the night sky above the palace, creating a kaleidoscope of lights and colors.

As he usually did when attempting to warn of his approach, Da used slightly more force with each step. Soon he heard the palace become quieter as he entered the large courtyard filled with hundreds of Fenghuang Clan members. Large food and drink tables were laid out and constantly being refilled by bustling servants.

Taking on his Patriarch persona once more, Da stepped up to a raised platform to speak. He shared it with a table for his immediate family and the leaders of the clan. Looking over his clan members, Da spoke wearing a wide welcoming smile. “Welcome and good evening, my fellow Fenghuang Clan members.”

They all cheered or applauded.

“We are celebrating many things tonight. We are celebrating the clear victory of our clan at the tournament, with three – yes, three – winners in the top ten. Fenghuang Suyin and Fenghuang Yaozu, congratulations and well done. The clan thanks you publicly now, and will thank you privately later.”

More cheers and applause followed that, with the crowd yelling the names of the two champions.

“We are celebrating the rewards and…” Da paused, a sly smile drifting across his face, “recompense…” laughter, whistles, and cheering was the clan’s response, “our clan received. It will allow us to invest further into our clan members, like the two warriors you just celebrated.”

More cheers followed that, as he knew it would. Everyone was always happy when more resources were available. That most resources would go to the most gifted was a given, although few were thinking that now in the midst of the food and drink and festivities.

“We are celebrating those that showed the courage and fortitude to compete, even though they did not advance into the top ten. Please let them know that you appreciate their efforts and sacrifice for our clan.”

More applause burst from the crowd.

“And finally we celebrate our victor. Our clan and this city’s champion. Not long ago, Fenghuang Yu was one of our weakest. She was ill, but her undaunted determination, utter relentlessness, unmatched courage, and unconquerable spirit allowed her to withstand the agony that life pressed upon her. Fenghuang Yu is everything all of us should strive to be.”

The crowd was silent then. Da paused slightly before he continued. “And yet we hid her from you. We hid our daughter, our clan’s strength, our Yu’er, from you. Why did we do this, you ask?”

He paused again seeing nodding and hearing murmurs which confirmed they wished to know. “We hid her because she was weak.” Gasps came from the shocked crowd. “Yes. You heard me right. When Yu’er awakened to her cultivation, she was vulnerable. Like a mortal. But we, the leaders of your clan, knew what she could become. We knew that power would be hers, and thus ours. But she needed to survive to grasp it. And so we hid from the world that Fenghuang Yu was healed. And not only healed, but becoming a creature of might and potential.”

Da saw from the faces before him that the audience, his clan, was starting to understand. A servant waved from a corner, and Da nodded.

“So, for nearly a year and a half she has toiled and suffered, alone and shamed for her past and barely able to see those she cared for.”

The sympathy he was aiming for could be seen on most, but not all faces. He marked down mentally those who looked otherwise. “And like a caterpillar, she went by herself into a cocoon of loneliness and isolation. Then, after the pain and sweat and blood of profound change, she emerged, the loveliest butterfly in the city. In the nation, even.”

He took another break to see smiles had formed, showing pride for one of their own fighting through adversity.

“Now she rejoins us in the noble position she deserves. As the Young Mistress of this house, family, and clan. I present to you, Fenghuang Yu.” And he raised his arm, guiding the eyes of all present to where she would show herself for the first time. “The champion of the city’s five-hundredth tournament, younger than any in the history of this city at but fourteen years old. Conquer of challenges, bravest of us, my daughter and your Young Mistress, Fenghuang Yu!”

Da watched the doors slowly slide apart and Yu’er step out from the darkened doorway next to her mother to roaring applause and cheering. As expected, his second wife’s servants had done a miraculous job on Yu’s attire, hair, face, and body paints. She was wearing a white qipao with silver phoenixes embroidered on it to look like they were flying across her body. Her shoes were fully covered silver cloth sandals which matched the qipao. Surprisingly, the women chose to leave his daughter’s long hair down but had tied various pieces of jewelry throughout, so that her silver locks appeared to be on fire with red, white, green, and purple flames. Her makeup was minimal, only highlighting the red of her lips and the stunning liquid silver of her eyes. In short, her daughter looked like a city lord’s daughter should, an exquisite treasure that all would long for, but none could have.

Yu’s bashfulness and blush would only add to her appeal and hopefully allow the clan – and her – to move beyond past mistakes.

“Enjoy the party,” Da called, thus giving everyone permission to return to what they were doing. Not that the initial topics would be anything but his daughter. Speaking of, he invited her and the rest of the family up and they all joined him at the head table to eat before the mingling time started.

Yu could feel her face flaming as she was led to the high table to sit in a place of honor, the place where Lei would have sat if he had been there. Yu had not been exaggerating when she said it was her first party. She had absolutely no idea what to do or what was expected of her. As instructed, she tested all her food with the crystal Zhao had given her only moments before. She also ate slowly and carefully so as not to ruin the marvelous qipao her mother had apparently bought just for this moment.

The conversation at the table was light and Yu did not actively participate, but listened.

“The clans will be sending messengers to our palace starting tomorrow,” her father told the family. “They will all wish to meet and introduce their boys to Yu’er.”

Yu, who was at that moment drinking from her water glass, sputtered and choked. After getting a grip on herself, she said, “Lord father, you can’t seriously be considering—”

Her mother responded. “Daughter, you will not always find boys so bad. And just because we receive requests does not mean we have to accept. There may be some we either wish to avoid offending or possibly want to make connections with, but otherwise your focus will be on advancing your cultivation.”

Yu let out a breath. The last thing she needed was to fight off boys on top of her already overwhelming responsibilities. She was not ignorant, of course. She had had a rather mortifying discussion with her mother on the topic. And Yu knew she would have to deal with boys and relationships eventually, especially due to being a girl with responsibilities to her clan. But she intended to put that off for as long as she possibly could. Yu’s intentions were to focus on training, reach the Meridian Formation Stage, get into a sect, and fulfill her potential. As far as Yu was concerned, she would actively avoid the whole relationships thing until she was forced to do otherwise.

Her mother apparently was of a different mind as she said in a proud voice, “You do look gorgeous, dear. In a few years you will have a line of men trailing after you wherever you go.”

Yu sighed and shook her head. “Then I definitely want to learn some of Uncle Zhao’s disappearing tricks.”

Her mother laughed and shook her head while Zhao promised to teach her and make her an “honorary troublemaker.”

To Yu’s relief, her mother changed topic to concerns beyond Yu’s future love life. “As word spreads from Lady Song, we will also begin receiving meeting invitations from various sects, which will lead to others if successful. We will make recommendations but likely we will accept most invitations, because the more the sects become exposed to the city and our clan, the better. We will need to increase our silver expenses to account for this.”

“Do what you must,” her father responded firmly. “The more sects that know of our clan, the better. Make sure they remember us, for in the future we may be writing them letters telling them of the clan members we wish to send. And we will also be able to recommend cultivators from those clans in the city that we wish to partner with, or those we want to owe us a substantial favor.”

The dinner passed with similar conversations in which Yu did not participate. After everyone had eaten, her father said, “It is time to mingle. Yu’er, enjoy yourself. Try to make some friends.”

Yu just looked at him. Her father said that as if she knew how to make friends. Or what to do with friends once she had them.

Da stood and stepped down, walking through the crowd with a particular target in mind. He very politely declined to get into any involved conversations, explaining he needed to speak with someone specific. It was time for him to take action on something he had been delaying dealing with.

A few moments later Da saw his twin sons surrounded by about a dozen young cultivators of his clan. They were raptly listening to Delun and Deming, who were speaking with their hands behind their backs, like little lords of his palace. He slowed his pace and listened to their conversation.

Delun and Deming were just concluding a story of their battles, and bragging about their placement in the tournament’s top fifty. That was fine and expected. Despite their poor performance, Da had no intention of getting involved in individual discussions that did not affect the greater clan. After nodding towards and verbally recognizing nearby members of his clan while surreptitiously listening to their false bravado, he heard what he had feared he would.

The boys mentioned their only sister and her healing, in a very roundabout way. As Da had been warned, he saw how they were always careful in their dealings with Yu’er.

“Our sister used to be quite ill, you know,” Delun said in a sympathetic tone. “It’s quite miraculous how she was healed. It was so sudden and secret, and nobody seems to know how it was done.”

Deming followed up. “Quite. The poor girl was a cripple and offered nothing to the clan. We all did what we could for her, of course. But there’s only so much anyone would invest in someone too sick to provide anything in return.”

“Of course,” Delun continued smoothly, “she’s the child of the Patriarch and his second wife. She would get extra-special treatment, being from such great cultivators, even if she was in such poor health. I can’t imagine how much it cost to heal her.”

Although their voices were full of apparent warmth, Da could hear an underlying tone of envy which could lead to discordance in his clan if not stopped.

He decided to act, taking his leave politely from those surrounding him.

Just as he turned toward the boys, he heard Delun say, “Yes, it was a risk. Good thing it panned out. Think about how all those resources could have helped the clan if provided to all of us.”

Da approached the group from behind the boys. He saw the surrounding youths widen their eyes and stand up straighter. The twins were about to turn around, but he put one hand on the shoulder of each boy. Smiling, he then apologized to their listeners and explained that he had to drag the boys off for a private discussion about family matters.

Without removing his grip on them, Da firmly but painlessly led both twins to his office. He told them to stand in front of his desk as he walked around to the back. He did not sit, though.

Taking a breath, he said calmly, “Boys, I wish to speak with you about your sister.”

Delun bit his lip and Deming shuffled his feet, but they said nothing.

“You are now aware that things have changed. It is time to reflect on what is best for the clan.”

Delun narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but then closed it before looking over at his brother. Rigid and angry, Deming looked back at him, and then at Da.

How had he not seen this jealousy? Their contempt for their sister was evident at the mere mention of her. Da felt heat rising in him.

“Boys, if I had known of your anger, I would have spoken to you already about it. The past is past. It is time to move on. She is a great cultivator, and someone this clan will support with everything it has. As will you.”

Da saw when it happened. The brothers’ features grew darker and darker with each word, until Delun couldn’t keep his anger in control anymore.

He spat, “We knew you always treated her like a spoiled princess before, but this Young Mistress nonsense is ridiculous, father! How can she outrank us? We’re your sons and we have served the clan for many more years. Where’s our reward?”

Deming, emboldened by his brother’s words, chimed in. “Why is she so special? She was a crippled freak, but now you make her out to be some kind of hero. You prop her up with resources, give her the title of tournament champion. Grant her the higher rank. Whatever elixir you gave her we deserved twice over. We were humiliated because of your stinginess!”

Da leaned against his desk, wondering what the real source of their jealousy was.

Do they truly believe what they are saying?

Taking a breath he said, “I understand that you think that. But, boys, you must learn to respect your sister. Perhaps even make amends. She has let go of the past. I think she would accept—”

“No!” yelled Deming as he stomped his foot. “You’ve always given her everything! She’s just a spoiled girl.”

“We’re your children too. Your sons, even!” Delun added in a similarly furious tone. “We share your affinity and power, but you’ve always given everything to her, a useless freak!”

Da thought he understood. Like almost all cultivators, he knew that Delun and Deming had been told since they could speak that strength and honor mattered. A cultivator’s goal was power, and that they should use that power to serve their clan. He realized that his twin sons had spent all their short lives thinking of their sister as both weak and valueless, a waste of time and resources. It was likely not an uncommon view, before the tournament at least. He needed them to see her differently.

Da did not want to resort to punishments, so he would try one more time to help them understand. “Deming, Delun. Your sister is strong. Very strong. Everyone that is strong is treated well by the clan, no matter who they are. Do not compare her to who you thought she was before. As Patriarch, I must do what is right for the clan and the clan invests in strength.”

“She’s only strong because of how spoiled she is by you and her mother,” Deming declared.

Da could see how they were still feeding off each other as Delun growled ferociously, “Exactly! What medicine did you buy to cure her, father? You must have been secretly syphoning resources to her for years! How much did you take away from us so that you could make your second wife happy? We could be heroes of the clan, if only we had more support. The support we deserve.”

The boys were breathing heavily from their raised voices and anger. It seemed that they blamed their own inadequacy on not having success handed to them. Da suspected that his first wife had played a role in creating such feelings of entitlement and jealousy. Again, he felt ashamed of his lack of awareness of such a festering rot. If he had fathered spoiled children, it was not Yu’er.

Da looked at them both, disappointed that he could not get through to them. He had hoped they would be able to move on from the past, but he realized he would have to use more than words. Now he must act as clan leader and do what was best for all.

Letting out a slow breath, Da slowly walked around the desk. He stood in front of his twin sons, dissatisfied that it had come to this, but resigned to his next actions. They will learn to put the clan first. As he did. As he expected all members of his clan to do.

In a blink he reached up his hands and grabbed his boys by their throats. Then he lifted them from the floor, squeezing only slightly. Their feet were kicking uselessly, and they were grabbing at his hands with equally little impact.

Da looked each of them in the eyes for a few breaths while they hung there. Then he slammed them both into the floor, causing it to shudder and crack. He controlled the force of the blow so that it would be just hard enough to frighten, bruise maybe, but not knock out or permanently damage cultivators of their level.

Seeing their terrified eyes staring up at him, he knew he now had their undivided attention. “Listen to me, both of you. Everyone in the clan serves to better it. This clan feeds, houses, trains, and protects you. It is time to start paying back our investment. Your sister is a part of the clan. And not just any part, but a big one. She will offer us great things in the future – things you could benefit from if you can move beyond the past.”

Despite their prone and vulnerable positions, Da still saw defiance in their glares. Their pettiness would not be easily quashed. Well, at least they were passionate in their beliefs. However, in this case it would not serve them or their clan.

He squeezed slightly harder, but just enough so they could not draw in breath, and only for a moment. Their eyes widened in shock and hurt. He nodded.

“Listen to me. You will respect your sister. You will not bad-mouth her in public or private. You will offer her your deference and treat her as the Young Mistress of this family and clan. Which. She. Is. She outranks you now, and you will offer her the respect due her position and power. Do you understand?”

Once again he could not see the obedience he needed to in their faces, nor hear their confirmation.

Shaking his head he said, “I can see you are still not capable of placing your clan above yourselves. Therefore, I will take from you what the clan offers, so you can see how blessed you have been. If you cannot appreciate your clan’s investment in you, I will remove it. The resources that you take for granted are no longer yours. I am stripping them from you and giving them to the two other champions of the tournament. Those are cultivators who put the clan above themselves. Moreover, all benefits you receive from being the Patriarch’s children, save the roof over your head, are hereby revoked. You are now just normal cultivators of the clan as far as resources and status are considered.”

The shock on their faces gave him hope that they could learn. But just in case, he would remind them one final time of their responsibilities and the consequences of not fulfilling them.

“You now have six months to prove you can be assets to this clan before I take further action. And you will not like the result. I am allowing you to live in my home and eat my food, after all. And remember what I said about your sister. You will be monitored, and if you do anything – if I get even a sniff of so much as a dirty glance in her direction – your six months are up. Am. I. Clear?”

They both nodded quickly. Finally, he saw the acquiescence he was looking for in their faces. Now he just needed to hear it.

“Do not just nod at me. Your Patriarch asked you a question!” Da snapped at them.

“Yes, Patriarch,” they hurriedly responded.

“Good,” he said as he stood up and straightened his black-and-gold hanfu. As they rose, he concluded with, “You are banned from the rest of the party. Go to your rooms and plan how you will spend the next six months convincing me you deserve to live under my roof.”

Ning Huiqing walked sedately through her palace toward the luxurious wing assigned to the city lord’s first wife. As it should be, it had the most rooms, the most luxury, and the most talented servants. Her sons would join her there later in the evening to report on their success.

A servant carrying a stack of folded clothing was walking toward her. Huiqing stared at the burdened woman, who backed herself to the wall, lowered her head, and said meekly, “Lady.”

Huiqing nodded at her. Outwardly, Huiqing knew that she appeared serene and proud as she walked past servants and cultivators that were beneath her. However, hidden under her necessary façade of a noble lady was a fury she struggled to control.

That bitch and her freak of a daughter stole all the honor and glory of the tournament, she thought to herself. My sons made it into the top fifty, and will not even be recognized for the talents they are! Delun and Deming shared their father’s strength and talent, as well as his affinity. Why does that little crippled bitch always get more of my husband’s attention?

Huiqing could somewhat understand that her husband’s second son, Fenghuang Lei, had always received more than even her sons. He had some talent and a rare affinity. Huiqing was able to mostly accept that. And the third wife, Shen Guoling, was a quiet and soft thing who did little but make sons. A man as mighty as her husband needed one of those types of women. Huiqing understood that too.

But Long Meixiu and her silver-haired freak of a daughter have always received more than they deserved.

Huiqing stormed into the private anteroom on her way to her bedroom so she could have the servants undress and bathe her. Then she stopped, surprised to find her sons standing at the entrance.

Already annoyed from an evening celebrating the wrong people, she asked, “Why are you here so early, and not out there spreading the truth about that freak to your fellow youths in the clan?”

“We were,” Delun responded.

“We were doing as you said, but then…” Deming trailed off.

Huiqing looked directly at her sons. She saw that their faces were white with barely disguised fear.

“What happened?” she asked them.

“Father dragged us off and was cruel,” Delun said.

Deming followed up with, “He threatened to kick us out.”

Huiqing stared at them, her face serious. “Tell me everything.”

So they did. Huiqing listened to how her brave, strong sons had been brought low by their father. How he had told them that their sister was better than them, and that they had to accept she was some sort of hero to the clan, the princess of the mansion, and that they had to do whatever she said. All they said they had done was ask how she had been healed, and he had taken away all their resources.

Despicable. Such injustice.

Delun wrapped up with “And now he said he’ll disown us if we don’t bow and scrape before that woman and his freak daughter.”

Huiqing’s face was stiff with shock and outrage. Then she growled, “He always preferred that bitch, Long Meixiu.”

Huiqing was well aware that her marriage was a political one. Her family had lobbied for many years to finally place her in an advantageous marriage. She brought little political power, but had provided a substantial cache of silver as a dowry when Da’s father, long ago dead in a war, had agreed to their union.

In the many decades since, she had been a good wife. She was beautiful, graceful, obedient, helped provide for the clan, and had given her husband two mighty sons.

Yet Da barely notices me anymore, just because I’ve aged faster than that bitch, being a weaker cultivator. Ever since she joined his family, everything has gone wrong. I’m supposed to be the lady of the city – honored and revered. But no, my husband and Long Meixiu had that crippled freak of a daughter and gave her everything that I and my sons should have had. Who would have known the clan had some powerful elixir hidden away? Those resources should have gone to me and my sons. Well, I’ll see about that.

Huiqing knew how to play the game of clans. She had been maneuvering her own players throughout the palace for decades, many of whom had helped her and her sons to keep that cripple in her place. It had not been easy for Huiqing to do all of that under the noses of her husband and his second wife, knowing that Da would put a stop to it if he ever found out. But this situation was completely new to Huiqing, as he had threatened her sons and placed the freak in a station above them.

This cannot be allowed to stand.

Huiqing started pacing the room, thinking of ways to return things to how she believed they should be.

“Boys, for now you have to pretend to follow the rules. I cannot directly touch the freak – she has too many eyes on her. You will have to accept losing the resources and simply work harder. I will work to bring those two bitches down. Be ready to call in favors, threaten to release secrets. Whatever it takes. Use your rank as leverage and force others into action if you must. When it is time, we will bring them down, and you will receive the resources you deserve as the talented city lord’s sons you are.”

“Can you speak to him about getting us back the trainers and food?” Delun asked.

She shook her head. “No. I will fund them for you. As it is coming from my own pockets, your father cannot stop me. For now, you will show how hard you are working. And when you have won back the positions you deserve and those bitches have been brought low, I will force him to make it up to you.”

“Yes, mother,” they responded with slumped shoulders.

“Now go give the appearance of being contrite. I have letters to write.”

FIFTY

Friends

After the meal, Yu walked down the stairs and into the throng. She greeted people politely as she passed. Most introduced themselves and of course she would remember from now on, which was a good outcome. She really was too ignorant of the people in her own clan, even some of the most senior members.

She excused herself whenever someone tried to start a conversation by saying she was looking for the two other tournament champions, Suyin and Yaozu, because she figured that nobody would begrudge the three winners from spending time together at their own party.

“Congratulations, Fenghuang Yu,” a voice said. She turned to find Yaozu nervously attempting to greet her.

Yu smiled widely at him and said, “Thank you. You as well, Fenghuang Yaozu.”

Relaxing a little, he said, “So, this party is kind of awkward. I like them okay, but not so much when I’m at the center of attention.”

“I agree,” Yu said with a nod. “Having all these eyes on me makes me nervous.”

He looked down awkwardly and said in a low voice, “Look, growing up, I know I wasn’t—”

She reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s in the past. You’re doing everything you can for the clan now, and that’s all I need to know.”

His whole body relaxed and he smiled a little less hesitantly. “Would you like to try to find Fenghuang Suyin?” he asked.

Yu nodded, and they wandered together. Numerous people congratulated them and asked them questions. Yu found that Yaozu was actually quite good at handling them. He would smile widely, welcome their praise and then gently tell them that he and Yu were looking for their fellow champion. Next to him, Yu felt clumsy begging off to find someone else. She tried to be polite, of course, but still felt overwhelmed.

The two of them did eventually find Suyin talking to a group of girls who were all discussing the tournament. They cheered and greeted Yu and Yaozu with bright smiles and open conversation.

“Fenghuang Yu, you are so beautiful,” one of the girls said. “And you kicked the ass of that Chao boy. It was so fun to watch.”

Another girl with a bubbly voice said, “Hells. You couldn’t see, obviously, because you were fighting, but at the end after you tricked Jinyi into closing on you, the Chao Patriarch’s face kept getting redder and redder while you were beating the shit out of his grandson in front of the entire city. It was amazing!”

Yu felt flushed as she was blushing so brightly. Trying to distract them, she said, “Fenghuang Suyin and Fenghuang Yaozu also kicked a lot of butt.” Yu really didn’t like swearing. It didn’t bother her to hear, she just didn’t want to do it herself.

That gave the energetic girls a reason to attack the other two winners with comments and compliments on their fights.

“So Fenghuang Yu, what happened with that fight against Jing Wei?” asked another girl.

Yu blinked as she was brought back into the conversation. She glanced into Suyin’s blood-red eyes, remembering their conversation at the tournament, and then faced the girl who had asked the question. “Umm. They tried to harm our clan by setting up a fight that would turn out badly.”

“Well, you ended up kicking everyone’s ass, even the judge’s – he was rotten, too.”

Yu shook her head. “He gambled on spoiled rice, and now he’s stuck eating it or starving.”

The girls giggled and started asking about the specifics of the fight. They asked how she had learned to use hook swords, what her plans were going forward, whether she had any boyfriends, and on and on and on. Yu answered as honestly as she could without telling them anything she shouldn’t.

“Girls,” Suyin interrupted the interrogation, “could us winners have a few minutes alone together?”

The group of giggling girls moved along while Yu, Suyin, and Yaozu huddled in a circle.

“They seem nice,” Yaozu said.

“They are,” Suyin nodded. “Very excitable too.”

Yu giggled and agreed. “I’m tired just talking to them.”

They all laughed, then Yu asked awkwardly, “So what are your plans for your prizes? If it’s not too personal. Sorry if it is.”

Heavens. That was so awkward. I’m no good at this.

Suyin answered immediately though. “Not for me. I’m trading some into the clan to increase my family’s status, and the rest we’re using to improve our lifestyles or my cultivation.”

Yu nodded. That was a common practice and she wasn’t surprised.

“Pretty much the same,” Yaozu said.

“If you don’t mind me saying,” Yu offered hesitantly, “I think the clan will increase your status anyway. You might want to hold off until after you hear from the clan leaders on that. They may actually ask for specific trades. At least that’s what I would do.”

“What are you doing with everything?” Suyin asked Yu.

Yu blushed again. “Well… umm… my circumstances are a little different. I’m giving away almost everything. My brother Lei, do you know him?”

They smiled and nodded. Yu blushed an even deeper shade. Of course they knew of him. Everyone knew of him.

“I’m giving him the beast and talisman, and the cultivation resources, too. He’s at a pretty prestigious and competitive sect, so he could use the help. I think I’ll keep the silver so that I can have some resources when I finally get to a sect. But if I become a disciple or whatever and don’t need it, I’ll give that to Lei also.”

“You’re basically giving away your entire winnings?”

Yu looked down so they couldn’t see how red she knew her face must be. “Yeah. I guess I’m pretty fortunate. I’m just glad I don’t have to hide from my own clan anymore.”

“You had me completely fooled,” Yaozu said. “I thought you were a boy the whole time.”

Suyin giggled and nodded. “Same. I couldn’t even tell. And they say girls know things like that, but I don’t think anyone knew.”

“Well, I look a lot like a boy with my physique, even as short as I am.”

Yaozu coughed, and Suyin laughed and said, “You may not be tall, but in that dress, you look like the most stunning Young Mistress ever.”

Yu wondered whether her silver hair was blushing with the rest of her.

Why am I so bad at this?

Thankfully changing the subject, Yaozu asked, “Fenghuang Yu, were you serious about my flexibility before?”

Relieved to be back on the topic of fighting, Yu nodded. “Yes. You’re excellent. You have superb consistency, your forms are almost perfect, you’re physically strong and quick enough. But I noticed you can be easily thrown by a lack of adaptability in your forms. I would recommend you find a trainer who changes things up on you constantly until you get used to it and eventually gain your own version of being mentally flexible. When you add that to your fighting style, not many at your level will be your match. At least at martial skills. I can’t really speak for after we can use Qi externally.”

“What about me?” Suyin asked. “Do you have any advice for me?”

Remembering what Grandma Huan had taught her, Yu said, “Strength. You need to be stronger. Spend a good amount of time increasing your muscle mass. When you actively send Qi through your body, it increases power based on what your body currently has. The more the better. Obviously, purity, cycling technique, and all that matters too. Make sure you both are sufficiently purifying your Qi before you advance out of foundation building. According to my teacher, if you bring impurities into your meridians you’ll regret it.”

They both looked thoughtful and thanked her for the advice. Then Suyin asked, “Are you really an Ether-wielder?”

Yu nodded. “Yes. Not that I know what to do with it yet besides grow my foundation.”

“Wow. That could be so huge for the clan,” said Suyin.

Yu nodded again. “Hopefully I can help everyone, but I don’t know how it works or what it takes.”

A servant then walked up and excused herself to whisper in Yu’s ear. “You are summoned to the head table.”

She nodded to the servant and said to the two… friends maybe? “I’m being called away. Sorry. I hope we can catch up again. This was nice.”

They both thanked her. Suyin even gave Yu a hug, which startled her. Yaozu bowed, and she returned it before he and the red-eyed girl wandered off together.

When Yu returned to the head table, her mother gave her a fresh set of instructions. Yu was relieved that they included granting her the freedom to leave the party. Yu gratefully accepted the reprieve and headed to her mother’s quarters where her clothing and accoutrements were dealt with. After putting on her normal clothes, Yu was sent off to her training center, which she accepted gratefully.

Once there, Feng Jie helped her to wash up, change into loose sleepwear, and get into bed. Before closing her eyes, Yu reflected on the evening and thought that the idea of having friends actually seemed pretty nice, as least so far. She hoped she’d be able to spend more time with them. Or even get a few more.

FIFTY-ONE

Sects

The first thing Yu did when she woke up was check her God Sign. It hadn’t changed at all. Whatever the gods had noticed about her winning the tournament, it seemed it wasn’t enough for them to take action. While that felt anticlimactic, Yu was entirely fine with it. Frankly, she was relieved. She could use a normal month of practice and cultivating without anything crazy happening. Yu had learned a lot about her flaws facing those competitors in the tournament and she needed to maximize her gains.

So, for the next four weeks she did that and purified her marrow and blood, the latter of which she noticed was flowing faster and easier granting her more stamina and energy with each breath.

She was dressing after bathing the impurities from her body when she heard a knock at the door. Feng Jie announced, “Young Mistress, you have a letter.”

“Bring it in,” Yu called.

Yu thought it might be from Grandma Huan. She was only a few days from fully saturating her marrow if what her senses were telling her were correct.

Feng Jie came in, handed her the letter, bowed, and left.

Yu had felt sorry for her maid since Yu’s role in the clan had changed. Yu had tried ordering Feng Jie to sit and eat with her once and the woman had nearly gone into convulsions from the conflict. It was a harsh lesson to Yu in her new rank. Still, it made her sad. Feng Jie had used to play with Yu. Now she could barely speak two words to the woman unless they were an order.

Yu sighed and opened the letter. It was not from her teacher, but from her mother.

Daughter,

As is your responsibility to your family and clan, you are required to attend a dinner tonight with a guest. He is an important elder of a sect and wishes to meet with you and us. He can offer much to our clan and our city, so we will be putting all our efforts into making a good impression. You are to act as the proper Young Mistress and ambitious cultivator I know you can. A servant will bring you to my quarters one hour before his arrival so that you can be provided with the proper attire.

This will be the first of many such meetings. Do not disappoint us or your clan.

Long Meixiu

Yu’s hands were shaking slightly as she read the note, which seemed so abrupt to her. Everyone knew she had no experience with this sort of thing. Why not allow her to watch a few first and learn what was expected? And why was it her responsibility to win over some old man who wanted to increase his own and his sect’s power? Yu wanted to tell her family to go find the arrogant nobles who loved sucking up to ancient cultivators and their high standards.

But she knew she wouldn’t do that. Yu took a few breaths and her body steadied under her control. Complaining about it wouldn’t change anything. Self-pity had never gotten her anywhere in life. Determination to succeed had. And in the end, she knew this was not about her. It was about her clan and family. They deserved her best effort, even if she ended up failing.

Yu stood up, headed to her bamboo garden, and sat down next to her brook to meditate and attempt to center herself.

It turned out that Yu was right about at least one thing, he was ancient – probably the oldest-looking person she had ever met.

He was a stooped old man with a bald head, a white beard that ended just above his ankles, and completely white eyes. He slowly trudged his way into the courtyard of her father’s palace, leaning on a gnarled wooden staff which was taller than him. Every member of her family was present, and they all, including her father, bowed to him.

“Welcome, Sect Elder Huo,” everyone intoned.

Yu had at least been told the basics in advance, such as her guest’s name and title, and what he would expect for a welcome.

The old man cackled, moving a gnarled hand to his stomach. “Oh, stand up, all of you,” he said in a stronger voice than Yu thought would come from such a frail-looking figure.

Everyone rose as the old man walked up to Yu’s father. “Fenghuang Da, you look much different from when I saw you last. Older and more grumpy.”

Yu coughed, failing to hold in her laughter. All three wives looked down at her with disapproval, but the old man didn’t seem to mind.

“Oh-ho!” he called happily. “Is this your daughter I have heard so much about, Da?”

“Sect elder, this is my daughter, Fenghuang Yu.” After a quick glare in Yu’s direction, he added: “I apologize on her behalf for her poor manners.”

“Stop being such an old coot, will you? Leave that to us actual old coots.”

Yu could not stop herself and smiled. Ok, she liked this old coot.

The sect elder bypassed everyone, slowly walked up to Yu, and looked down with his colorless eyes. “They tell me you have some talent. And more importantly, some talent at hiding it. Clever girl.”

Yu opened her mouth to respond, but realized she had no idea what to say.

“Where are my manners?” he asked spontaneously but with a wide smile. “I am Elder Huo from the Breath of Flame Sect.”

Yu remembered what was expected of her. She bowed deeply and said, “It is an honor, elder. I am Fenghuang Yu.”

He huffed. “I know that. I am old, not senile. At least not yet. Let’s talk over there,” and he pointed to some random spot in the corner of the courtyard. Yu grinned and offered him her arm. He laughed uproariously, laid his hand on it, and, ignoring everyone else, walked slowly over to where he had pointed.

On the way he said, “So, they tell me you are only fourteen.”

“Yes, elder. I turn fifteen in just a few months.”

“And you are almost done with your marrow, if my old eyes are not wrong.”

She was startled that he could tell by just looking but said, “Yes. A few days, I think.”

“Your body is not normal. Have you been using the ‘evolution through force’ methods of advancement?”

Wow. This old man is impressive.

“Yes, elder. My teacher, Grandma Huan, has been guiding me through it.”

He laughed again. “Old Huan, huh? And you survived it? That is impressive.”

Wait. What does he mean I survived it?

Hesitantly, Yu said, “Umm. So far, I guess? I’m not dead yet. But there’s always tomorrow.”

He cackled wildly at that. “Oh, you are clever. I like that. It is a shame you cannot join my sect like your father did. He was supremely gifted. But not as much as you, I think.”

Yu didn’t know what to say to that, so she just thanked him.

“This will do,” he said, and stopped in some random place with nobody near. He then said in a low voice, “Fenghuang Yu, tell me the truth, you have multiple affinities, don’t you?”

Yu’s eyes widened and she looked around, but nobody was close. She nodded to him.

“Wonderful. And your body is too strong, even for old Huan’s methods. Something is different about you, but I cannot see it. Which is extraordinary.”

Yu did not say a word. He nodded his rickety old head and said, “Good. Keep it close to you.”

Then she felt a tingle starting at where his hand had touched her arm. It flowed throughout her body. She was frozen solid and unable to move. She could not even breathe. Her mind was panicking, but it only lasted a few moments. Then she was released and stumbled slightly while taking in a strong breath.

He removed his hand and placed it back on his staff with the other. “Oh-ho! Child, you are unique. In all the years I have lived, which is many more than old Huan, I have never seen one such as you. And you have more secrets inside of you as well. Some I think even you do not know.”

Wonderful, Yu thought sarcastically. Just what I need, more secrets.

“You should know that there are few who can see as I can, but they do exist. You must be cautious. If some find out, they will either recruit you or kill you, rather than risk having you fall into their enemies’ hands.”

Yu nodded. Her parents had hammered this into her head and why everything was such a damn secret.

“Good.” He waved his hand and a table and chairs appeared, and on the table was a steaming tea set. “Sit and have tea with me. We will have to suffer through an annoyingly polite dinner soon. Let us enjoy ourselves while we can.”

FIFTY-TWO

Target

Two weeks after the first sect elder visit, Da stood next to his brothers, staring down at the corpse of a cultivator dressed in a matte black hood and mask, shirt, pants, and boots. Two short swords, four daggers, palm-held climbing claws, and a blowgun with six darts – all black as shadow – lay around the body. Zhao rubbed his bald chin as he walked around a small pool of the assassin’s blood, which was slowly leaking out onto the gray stones of one of the palace’s basements.

Ironically, it was the same room that Yu’er had been brought to almost two years before, after the events in the forest.

Da found it ironic because this man had been here to kill Yu’er. He had chosen the room both then and now because it was the most secure place in the palace, with its beast core-powered formations that enforced silence.

“Same as the last one?” Da asked as he looked at Zhao, who was also dressed all in black but without his mask and hood.

His brother nodded. “Yes. My people guarding Yu’er caught him as he approached the wall to her training center. He wasn’t much of a challenge and was quickly subdued. Immediately after he realized he was caught, the bastard killed himself with some type of poison. We’ll figure out what it was, but I wager it will turn out to be ‘Winding Tiger Snake,’ like the last.”

Gen, who had been silent up to that point, spoke up at that. “Understandable choice for that purpose. It disables its victim almost immediately by destroying the nerves. Even if we had an antivenom for something that exotic, he wouldn’t have been able to tell us anything.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to even identify it if I hadn’t seen it before, in the southern wars. I’m reluctantly impressed,” Da admitted.

“This is the second in two weeks,” Zhao stated. “I think we have to admit there’s a problem. They’ll keep sending more. They want my niece dead quite badly.”

“Are you thinking Mongoose? Could anyone in this city even have the connections for that, never mind the silver?” Gen asked, trying to appear calm. Yet Da noticed that his brother’s hands had a slight shake to them.

Da nodded. “If the equipment is as high quality as it appears, we have to accept it as a possibility.”

“Definitely enchanted,” Zhao confirmed with a nod.

“Do you think it is internal to the city? If so, are the Chao alone, or are the Jing involved?” Da asked.

“Everything I am hearing,” Zhao answered, “tells me that the Jing are isolating themselves. They were hurt badly by the tournament, and their financial situation is more dire than most know. I am almost positive that Jing Shuang could not afford to participate. And beyond that, he and Chao Bolin have ceased a few of their joint business ventures. I think Shuang is privately wondering whether he was a target of the Chao, and not just us. Either way, Bolin has lost what trust he had, so I would say they are alone.”

After a few moments, Da said, “So either we were wrong about their available capital, or they are taking an enormous risk.”

“When do we strike back?” Gen asked, his face furious.

Da looked toward his robust middle brother and nodded to himself at his brother’s presumption. Whereas most knew Gen only as a pleasant, cheerful, and giving healer – and he was those things – Da knew he also had a vicious side that only surfaced when particular individuals or groups were involved. In this case it wasn’t only the victims, but the perpetrators. He had something of a history with the group of assassins known only as Mongoose.

“I’m not convinced it’s the Chao, brother. The Mongoose’s services are not easily bought.”

“You know it was that bastard, Bolin. We should kill him and his entire horrible clan for bringing those filthy assassins into our city and home!” Gen raged.

“Easy, brother,” Zhao said gently as he stepped between Da and Gen. “We know what the Mongoose did to your woman. But we can’t just wipe a clan of their size out without overwhelming evidence. The king would get involved.”

Da watched as Gen silently glared at Zhao before spinning around in a snap and marching to the stairs.

“He’ll calm down by morning,” Da said after Gen had left.

Zhao nodded. “He’s not wrong, though. You know it’s them. Not that it matters. Even putting Gen’s biases aside, eliminating the Chao Clan won’t stop the assassins. You know the Mongoose keep their contracts even if their employer is dead, as long as they’ve been paid. They’ll keep sending more and stronger assassins until she makes it to the Black Dragon Sect and is under their protection. Or until they succeed. My people can only protect Yu’er for so long. What happens when they send someone with skill beyond that of my Shadow Phoenixes? I can’t personally watch her from the sun to the moon for months. Nor can you or Meixiu.”

An excellent point.

“They’ll escalate slowly, to conserve resources,” Da said after a few moments’ thought. “We’re just vergers, after all. We can use that. For now, keep two of your best people on her at all times unless Huan is there.”

Da saw Zhao shudder at even the thought of his old teacher. He knew that Zhao had not… appreciated her style of training.

Turning back to the bloody corpse, Da said, “Get what you can from the body. See if you can confirm it’s them. If we are fortunate, it isn’t and we can outlast whoever is sending the assassins. If it is, all we can do is protect and train her to the best of our abilities. Hopefully that will be enough. Anything more will be up to the gods.”

FIFTY-THREE

Good Trade

Yu’s mother’s servants were removing her fancy clothing after she had suffered what for her had been yet another boring and official dinner with a sect elder or leader or envoy or some other inane title. It had been over a month since their dinner with Elder Huo from the Breath of Flame Sect, and she had found that none of the others had been like him. To her, all the others had been pretentious, high-and-mighty, arrogant old men and women that Yu struggled to have a polite conversation with. All they kept speaking of was how her clan and city were on the verge. Some of them even openly spoke of their surprise that her city was not a backwards, lawless cesspool filled with mannerless barbarians.

The parade of pompous idiots had made life almost unbearable. Usually, Yu took pride in being able to serve her clan and bring it strength. But these sect dinners made it difficult to be proud. Being trotted out like some prized Horse Lizard did not feel like it brought honor to her clan. But despite her complaints, Yu knew that each visit could result in her clan’s future growing stronger.

Her father had assured her that she would one day have control of her own affairs, and Yu felt that that day could not come soon enough. She did not like the way some of the sect elders looked at her, like she was a glistening silver spear to add to their collection. They had never asked questions about who she was or what her goals were – only about her cultivation. Some had even had the audacity to indirectly suggest she reveal her God Sign to them. Suffice to say, Yu had not been enjoying the last few weeks.

Yu was therefore thrilled to find Grandma Huan back in her garden. She would finally be able to get away from those stuffy sect people. Most importantly, she could move forward in her cultivation.

Yu caught her teacher up on everything that had happened, and Grandma Huan looked like she would explode numerous times when Yu described certain events, such as the trap at the tournament, how she was exposed as herself to the city, and her many dinners with sect representatives since then.

Huan was particularly interested in Yu’s visitors, and griped about how she despised one elder, or about how another was a fool and didn’t deserve to be an elder. She was especially excited to hear about one particular visitor. Apparently Elder Ming Bongshan of the Wind and Streams Sect was someone Grandma Huan had beaten up a few centuries ago, and the memory of that brought her great pleasure.

That single bit of joy aside, Grandma Huan was displeased at Yu’s telling. She stared at Yu with the most serious expression she had ever seen on her teacher’s wrinkled face. “Be cautious of letting yourself be used, child.”

Yu knew she was being used by her clan, but, as annoying as all the ceremony and visitors were, the dinners were important. And it wasn’t like she was being abused. She knew the difference.

“Teacher, I understand, but it will help my clan,” Yu responded.

Her teacher let out a sigh and said, “I don’t know that you do understand, child. You are brilliant, but you have always had a blind spot when it comes to your family. You must understand that they need you more than you need them. If you asked, I would take you away now, far from all this, and teach you in private away from this clan who wants to milk you like a Scaled Goat.”

“I couldn’t leave my family,” Yu said immediately. Then she sighed and said, “Teacher, you’ve taught me a lot. I know things weren’t good before. But they’re better now, and I still owe them.”

“I know you think that, child,” Grandma Huan said while shaking her head. “They are your family and you love them. I can respect dedication to family. But dedication and love must go both ways to be true. Just remember they need you, not the other way around. Make sure you receive what you deserve in exchange for what they ask.” Then she let out a breath and continued, “Now, let us speak of other things. Tell me how you are moving on with your cultivation.”

Thrilled with the topic change, Yu reported that she had finished saturating her marrow and really wanted to advance because she felt she had been stagnating.

Her teacher harrumphed. “Live your life, child. It will be quite long. Well, unless you die.”

Yu blinked at that and said only, “Umm. Yes. That makes sense.”

Grandma Huan huffed and said, “Haven’t you ever heard of the old proverb, ‘Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still’?”

Yu shook her head, but thought about it. “I suppose that makes sense. But until I advance my marrow, I’m standing still. So when do we get to that?”

Her teacher offered a resigned sigh. “Tomorrow night.”

Yu was quickly walking to her training area, hoping that that day she would advance to the final level of the Foundation Building Stage. The brain and nerves were supposed to be the most difficult to advance, but Yu didn’t know why, as she hadn’t read that part of the Azure Dragon’s Heart scripture yet.

She had once tried reading ahead early on, but the scripture had blurred and she couldn’t. She realized that it had somehow protected itself or her (or possibly both) from getting ahead of her cultivation.

When she had asked Grandma Huan, her teacher had told her that that was not normal, and she could not explain it. In fact, she had seemed bothered by the question.

“That thing is older than me, child, which is saying something. Now stop asking annoying questions and go do fifty water leaps and one-handed standing push-ups without Qi.”

And that had been the end of Yu’s inquiry into the matter.

Yu put that memory aside as she arrived in her garden to find a single large barrel filled with steaming water.

She looked at Grandma Huan and asked, “Water again?”

If so, it would be the third time; the first being her bones, and the second her lungs. She had had to drown for that last one. It wasn’t great. And to make burnt meat stink even worse, it had been in the middle of winter. Outdoors. Yu still got shivers whenever she remembered that experience. She was reminded that sometimes having a perfect memory could be a burden.

“This time, only one barrel, and no massage or water extraction. Just a simple bath.”

“Uh-huh,” Yu said skeptically.

“Brat. Strip and climb up. You will be submerged and absorb medicines and some other things. I have a special treat this time, too.”

Oh, hells. This is going to be a bad one.

Grandma Huan held up what looked like a small golden ball. “This is why I was gone so long. I had to fetch this.”

She had run all over the world just to get something for Yu’s advancement? Sure, Grandma Huan was strong, but the world wasn’t a safe place for anyone. Even her teacher had to sleep. Yu could feel her eyes burn a little at the effort and risk her teacher had taken on her behalf.

Slamming her cane onto the ground, Grandma Huan ordered, “Stop it! You are my student, and I do what I must to teach. All you need to do is not die while in there. It should be doable, even for a brat like you.”

Grandma Huan glanced at the barrel and then back at Yu. “The medicine has been soaking for an hour, so it is almost ready. You will stand at the rim but not enter. Once the medicine darkens to blood red, drop that in, count to twenty breaths, and climb in. Do not drop it in before the water’s color changes, and do not enter before counting twenty breaths. And do not fight what happens once you enter. Understood?”

“Yes, teacher,” Yu confirmed.

“You do not have to worry about moving your Qi this time, it will happen all by itself. Oh, and keep your eyes closed no matter what. I will be very disappointed if you die and waste all my travel time. I am not getting any younger, you know. And I found a lovely new pattern and thread color. If you screw it up by making me stand, I might have to kill you just to appease my frustration.”

Then the old woman handed Yu the golden ball and a familiar leather-wrapped bamboo breathing tube. Then she turned around, sat down in her rocking chair, and began her needlework.

Yu sighed, climbed up the ladder and stared into the large barrel. The water was light red and steaming. She stayed still and watched as it darkened until it looked like blood and did not darken any further. She dropped the small golden thing – which was not round like she had thought, but kind of oblong with pointed ends – into the liquid and began to count. At ten breaths the water started to churn and bubble. At twenty it was at a full boil, and spinning back and forth like a slow drain.

Yu prayed to the gods, then put the bamboo in her mouth, closed her eyes tight, and dropped herself in.

She had expected to be spun in a circle, but as soon as she entered it, the water stilled. She floated there for a moment, then felt the strangest sensation, like something was stroking the skin of the back of her hand. She jerked away from it, but it returned. She turned her hand over and it ran along her palm. It felt odd – like a plant stem or vine. Something long and thin and rough with a pointed tip. Then she felt it on her other arm. And her leg. And then her whole body was being rubbed by the strange tendrils. Suddenly they started wrapping around her. Her legs, hands, fingers, neck, face, feet. Everywhere.

They didn’t tighten, but just wrapped her up. She was no longer able to move. Her body was held perfectly still, except for her diaphragm moving air through the bamboo tube. After she had taken another breath, the tendrils pulled the bamboo tube away and moved to cover her nose and mouth.

At that point Yu started to panic and tried desperately to move just by instinct, but her body was still held firmly in place. Then all of a sudden, she felt one of the tips of a tendril dig into her skin. She screamed at the surprise and pain, or at least tried to, but the tendril covering her mouth and chin didn’t allow her mouth to open. Then another joined the first, digging through flesh to reach the bone, but stopping at it. Yu was screaming and thrashing in her mind, but her body remained still. After what felt like years of agony, she was nearly unconscious from the lack of air and the pain, but then the tendrils punctured her bones and her brain exploded in pure agony, and to protect her sanity, her mind then drew her into unconsciousness.

Huan had waited until Yu was submerged, and only then had lifted her head from her embroidery. She knew that her student had had no idea of what was to come, and she felt bad for not telling her. Well almost. She had never successfully advanced one of her students this way. The three others she had attempted it on had been killed by the creature. Yet Huan had hopes that this particular pupil would be different.

She watched on as the water started to churn and bubble, meaning the process had started. Hopefully her expectations were not incorrect again. This would be Huan’s final pupil, and she hoped she would prove to be her greatest.

This child will change the world – if she lives long enough.

The water then stilled, telling Huan that the golden vines had just begun drilling through the girl’s hardened bones, creating small passages to reach the marrow beneath. Huan’s sense of the water told her that the child was alive, at least for now. Well, survive or not, last pupil or not, this would be the last time she could attempt such an advancement, as it was her final seed.

Not that the child knew, but the golden seed she had dropped into the blood-colored water was in fact half seed, half egg, or that the item was nearly impossible to acquire. When Huan had retrieved four in her fifth century, she had intended to sell them. For whatever reason – she couldn’t remember why anymore – she hadn’t and was glad for the decision. Huan had learned from each failure and now the culmination of her work lay in the barrel before her.

The plant that grew from the seed was an unimaginably vicious underwater creature called a Golden Marrow Trader, a carnivorous aquatic plant that consumed the marrow of its victims while they were alive and implanted a special sap in its place. That sap was a corrosive substance which would eat away at a body and leave an acid-melted carcass which would then give off the aura of a vulnerable creature in order to help the plant lure other potential victims.

That was what was currently eating away at her student’s bones and marrow. Thankfully for her pupil, the substance Huan had used to turn the water red, hatch the seed, and make it grow quickly would allow for her survival. Well, at least the possibility of it.

The primary ingredient, and what had turned the water red, was the blood and marrow from the plant’s natural foe, an omnivorous fish called the Green-boned Tuna.

Huan had actually seen the two battle once, which was how she had retrieved the seeds. The Golden Marrow Trader had attempted to eat the tuna as it did with anything that approached. Unfortunately for the plant, the fish’s blood had a strange property which had caused the trader not to exude acid, but its own golden sap-like blood, which gave it its color and name. That blood was a substance which strengthened the tuna’s bones and was why it was called green-boned. That same reaction would serve Huan and her pupil.

Seeing that things in the tub had progressed to the point of being out of her control, Huan returned to her thread. Now it was up to the child to be strong. She was still breathing and that was all that mattered. The terrible plant had to keep its victims alive to facilitate its feeding and thus the vine covering the girl’s face was actually producing oxygen and forcing it down her throat while sucking up the used air for itself.

While she embroidered a dancing dragon pattern on what would become a new shawl, Huan could sense that the creature had begun to unknowingly pull the weaker and less-infused parts of Yu’s marrow out, replacing them with its own golden, Qi-infused sap. Huan could sense the pulsing creature continuing to pull its meal out and lose its own life. The medicines she had added to the water made it numb to the pain, but still aware of its growing weakness. This caused it to pull harder, swap marrow faster, and die sooner.

Huan felt it when the plant started to shrivel, by which point she knew that her student’s marrow would be almost completely changed. She could sense that the child’s body had begun to unconsciously reject the external energy. It sensed the foreign Qi and the memories that Huan had helped her student store in her mindscape over the last year forced her dantian to begin pulsing. The specialized organ sent pure cycled Qi to the impurities it detected, and drew the unclean energy back to itself to cleanse it, as was its purpose. It repeated this cycle without having to pull energy from the environment because of the abundance of foreign energy already saturating the child’s marrow. Once it had cleansed all the unclean energy it could find, its pulsing slowed and then silenced entirely.

The girl’s body started to shudder from the lack of oxygen, and Huan exerted her own control over Qi. She raised her still-living pupil into the air by a stream of water, causing the black-and-brown husk of the plant to splash back into the now impurity-filled barrel. Huan saw her student suck in a breath and stir, but she did not wake. Filthy water dripped off of her skin and hair as Huan lowered her onto a soft blanket.

She would never admit it, but Huan let out a breath of relief. She was truly fond of this one.

If only the child’s future wasn’t so dark.

FIFTY-FOUR

Compensation

Yu looked at the small bead of blood on her fingertip in fascination. It looked like blood, but the morning’s rising sun glistened off what appeared to be a few wispy streaks of liquid gold.

“Over time, your marrow will replace your red blood with that golden substance, which is far superior. But it will take quite a while, so don’t worry about it. I am only showing you this now so you don’t have an episode if you see your blood by surprise.”

Dumbfounded, Yu looked up at her. Have an episode? When had Yu ever had an episode? That crotchety old bat.

The old bat in question continued as if she hadn’t spouted anything insulting, “You have an appointment tonight, which you will be told about shortly. Don’t ask, I will not tell you. After that, feel free to read up and start on the final phase of building your foundation. I’m sick of seeing you already, so I am leaving again. Hope that I stop being sick of you and decide to return by the time your brain, for what that’s worth, and nerves are saturated with Qi. And don’t forget what I told you about being used.”

Then Grandma Huan just stood up and left, cracking her cane on the earth with each step.

Yu stared after her, wondering what it would be like to just come and go as she pleased.

Maybe someday.

A short while later Yu was stretching to prep for an extra-tough, self-induced workout to test the effects of her new marrow and blood when she heard soft footsteps approaching. Yu finished what she was doing and then stood to welcome whoever it was. She was surprised to see her mother enter.

If Yu had needed to attend another sect visit, she knew that there would have simply been a letter.

This personal visit does not bode well.

“Mother,” Yu said with a bow.

She got right to the point. “Yu’er. I come with news and new instructions.”

Yu said nothing and just waited for whatever nonsense she was being shoved into.

“You are being introduced to a boy.”

Yu’s eyes widened in shock and fear.

“He is the son of a sect leader that we are trying to court a visit from. All you have to do is give him a tour of the palace, listen to him blather about whatever, eat a polite dinner, and then see him off.”

Yu stared at her mother, reflecting on Grandma Huan’s previous words. Yu had been uncomplaining and cooperative when it had come to all previous sect visits. The dresses and the makeup and perfumes. The superiority and insults. Yu had said nothing and done nothing but behaved as a filial Young Mistress of the clan. But this… this went against everything Yu wanted. She had told her parents time and time again that she had no time for – or interest in – boys. She had made clear her priorities. And they could not even give her this small aspect of autonomy.

Years of control, of serving the clan filled her perfect memory. All her family did was ask and ask and ask. An anger she had not known she harbored rose within her. It came hard and fast, a tempest of emotion that gripped her and threatened to overwhelm her. Just like Grandma Huan had said, her parents treated her as a pawn to be positioned, without so much as a discussion or request for her opinion. They would not treat the star cultivator of any other clan this way.

Yu was so incensed she felt the blood pulse in her body. She had been alone for months – spoken to no one, seen no one. All to protect the clan’s new asset. What about her? What about her friends? Yu had realized that friendship, even one as new as hers with her fellow tournament winners, made isolation much more cruel.

She decided that Grandma Huan was right: it was time for her to be compensated.

Glaring at her mother, Yu firmly said, “No.”

Meixiu stared at her daughter in surprise. Had she heard that right? “What did you say?”

In the exact same tone, filled with finality, her daughter said, “No.”

How ridiculous.

“You will do this for the—”

“No.”

Meixiu snapped her mouth shut and regarded her daughter more closely. She did not think she had ever seen her daughter’s face look so indignant before. In fact, Yu was rarely angry, at least in front of her. Sad, frustrated, driven, shy, and any number of emotions. But angry?

As if to prove her right, Meixiu noticed that Yu’s hands were clenched and trembling, clearly out of fury. She struggled to fathom what had caused her daughter to react that way. She wasn’t happy about the sect visits, surely. Nobody enjoyed them. But she had gone through with them just like the rest of the family.

Meixiu sighed and asked, “Why not, dear? He won’t bite, and we’re not asking anything untoward of you. Just spend some time with the young man. You may even like his company.”

Her daughter stared at her for another few breaths and said, “I want to see Suyin and Yaozu.”

Meixiu blinked at her daughter. Was she holding herself hostage? She needed to confirm what Yu’er was saying. “Daughter, you know that isn’t—”

“It is, and you will arrange it. Tomorrow,” her daughter said with a confident firmness.

Yu’er sounded like she wasn’t going to back down and, in her heart, Meixiu was impressed.

Perhaps Yu’er has finally figured out that she has leverage.

All cultivators learned their place, high or low, at some point. Clan resource allocations were far more of a negotiation than most thought. Those who knew their worth could always argue for certain perks, if they were careful and honorable about it. Yet Meixiu also knew that she couldn’t give in too easily, lest her daughter become arrogant or worse, suspect the true power that she wielded.

“I can ask your father, but—”

Her daughter interrupted her and said in the same tone, “I’ve participated in the sect visits because it’s my duty. It would benefit everyone in the clan, and I can see that. That is, everyone but me. Even the lowliest members of our clan get compensated for work completed and effort made. Other than during those visits, I’ve been trapped in this garden since the tournament. I know it isn’t safe for me to go out to see them, but my friends could be brought in. Either way, I deserve compensation. I will do as you ask, but in exchange I will get to see my friends.”

Meixiu wanted to preen. Yu’er was finally growing into her own. Meixiu herself had been quite the rebellious youth. It was one of the many reasons she had separated from the inflexible and self-indulgent Long Clan. Powerful or not, she couldn’t stand being under their control, so she understood Yu’er’s perspective.

Accepting the terms, Meixiu said carefully, “I’ll speak to your father.”

Yu nodded and turned away to return to her training. Yet as Meixiu turned to leave, she heard, “I will need to hear an answer before it’s time to dress for the evening.”

A smile crossed Meixiu’s face as she walked out toward her husband’s office. She knew that Da never responded well to ultimatums, and that she would have to figure out a way to make sure he was standing when she told him, as otherwise she feared he would ruin his office furniture when he burst into flames.

Yu had a genuine smile on her face – thanks to her father’s acquiescence – as she and her immediate family bowed to the young man before them. “Welcome to Fei Shu City,” they said.

The overweight teenager before her had long black hair up in a topknot, and smooth skin showing outside of a very dressy green-and-brown hanfu. His hands showed no scars from before he strengthened his skin, which was what Yu had come to learn equated to a soft and unchallenging youth. He also wore a number of rings on his soft fingers, all but one obviously decorative and intended to show his wealth and position. Most interesting to Yu, though, was the old man standing behind the boy, who seemed to be a servant of some sort. He wore a plain hanfu with no decorations or jewelry, save for a single storage ring. Yet the thing that caught Yu’s attention was his confidence. He wore a superior expression, and looked at his surroundings as though nobody and nothing could bother him or his charge. Yu realized he was probably as much bodyguard as servant, and quite strong. Or at least believed he was.

Yu’s father said politely, “Young master Wong, we have an expansive dinner planned for the evening. Would you like a tour of the palace? I am sure my daughter, Fenghuang Yu, would be happy to walk you through it.”

Yu bowed her head and said, “It would be my pleasure, young master Wong.”

The boy leered at her and said, “Yes. That would be acceptable.”

Yu turned and asked him to follow, and they walked side by side exactly half a pace apart, as propriety deemed appropriate. He was followed by his silent servant, who stayed three paces behind.

Yu felt the looks she kept receiving from him. He was openly moving his eyes up and down her body, and it made her want to shiver and step farther away. But she had made a deal and would fulfill her side of it.

With that in mind, Yu asked, “Young master Wong, will you tell me of your sect?”

“Ah, yes. You would not know of it out here on the verge. The Flowering Tree Sect focuses mostly on those with affinities that involve alchemy, Fire and Wood. We are the premier sect for alchemist apprentices after all. Our primary…”

He then went on a lengthy diatribe about how his sect was the greatest thing under the heavens, and how its alchemists were the sole reason humanity hadn’t fallen to the demonic beasts. Then he droned on about his father, the sect leader, who he said was a brilliant alchemist who had discovered many wondrous and amazing things all by himself – with no help at all from anyone – because everyone else was less intelligent and on and on and on.

Yu’s interested smile never wavered, even when the pompous windbag referred to the area as “the verge,” and to her and her family as “vergers,” before calling her city’s residents “bumpkins.”

For her, the saving grace of the whole episode was that she was required to say absolutely nothing because he kept talking the entire time. All she did was smile and nod until eventually the torturous tour ended, and she guided them to dinner. The conversation at the meal was similar, except that her father was able to stick in a phrase every now and again about how impressed he was with the amazing discoveries that alchemists had made which had served his city well, or about how many cultivators in the area had alchemist-friendly affinities because of their proximity to the mountains and forests.

When the evening was over, Yu bowed to the young man at the palace gate and bid him goodnight, feeling relieved to be rid of him.

In response, he said, “This place was not the complete dump I was told to expect, and you are not as much a bumpkin as I feared. Hopefully we can meet again, and you can be fortunate enough to join us and see me more often.” Then he abruptly turned and left, with his servant following close behind.

As soon as the gates closed, Yu let out a breath and marched to her mother’s quarters to get undressed and bathe. She felt disgusting just from having spent time near that… she managed to avoid swearing to herself. Barely.

Her mother entered as she was being tended to, and Yu asked, “How does father believe it went?”

“Surprisingly well. The boy’s comments during dinner, and especially at his departure, were promising. He believes that we did enough to allow our clansmen and city cultivators entry into the sect.”

Yu’s hair was being dealt with so she could not move her head but said, “Good. It was worth it, then.”

“You handled yourself well, daughter. As you have experienced from our other visitors, he is not unlike most who come from the center of the kingdom or empire or other major sects. As I believe your father told you, our little city is on the edge of civilization, and thus they call it the verge and us vergers. They view us as country bumpkins with few manners and even less talent and skill. Of course, our resources are much lesser than theirs, so they are not entirely wrong.”

Yu sighed and said, “Everything is about resources. We have trainers for all the standard skills. Weapons made of good steel from iron in the mountains. And access to demonic beast meat isn’t a challenge, since the forest is right outside the gate. Why aren’t those good enough?”

Her mother looked at her, confused, and then seemed to realize something.

“Of course, you wouldn’t know,” she said. “You are aware that pills and powders are avoided early on to avoid impurities, yes?”

Yu nodded.

“First of all, that is an oversimplification, but accept it as fact for now. The truth is, alchemy is not the only way to enhance cultivation. There are two other ways to strengthen and grow Qi when young: rare and expensive ways, which is why they aren’t readily available here. The first way is through eating meat that has been specially treated for those without meridians. That requires special cooking skills that are hard to find here, and spices that we need to have imported. And the second way involves something called Qi stones, of which we have none.”

Yu asked, “I understand the first, I think. But are Qi stones enchanted or something? How do they help?”

“They are pure Qi that has been hardened into a solid crystal form. For your purposes, using them allows those in the Foundation Building Stage to directly absorb Qi without stressing their dantian, thereby allowing for faster cultivation. They do more than that, but that is all you need to know for now. What you need to understand is that they are found in areas with Qi wells, which is where all major cities are founded. They were intentionally built there for having access to Qi stones. Most importantly, the stones are also outrageously expensive.”

A term her mother had just used set something off in Yu’s mind and she asked, “A Qi well is, I assume, a place with a lot of natural Qi?”

Her mother nodded. “In summary yes, it is a symptom of them producing stones. Moreover, because the solidified Qi wants to rejoin the environment, the stones are kept in special safes to avoid leakage. They do not last more than a few hours when exposed, which is why they cannot be transported all the way out here except at exorbitant cost. Our city simply cannot afford them, which is why we have never mentioned it.

“Your father believed there might be a Qi well near this city, which is why he chose to lead this city back when that was offered him. So far we have not found any wells, but there is still hope. It has only been a century after all, and the wilderness is quite large.”

“Umm. Can you tell me how one would know if they had found a Qi well?” Yu asked, a little nervously.

“Don’t worry about it too much. I am confident we can find one or two. There wouldn’t be so many strong beasts if there weren’t any nearby. The difficulty comes with finding a well and holding it.”

“But how would one know? Would it feel different?”

“Yes. There would be a notable excess of Qi, of course. There are small, moderate, large, and heavenly-sized wells. The larger the well, the more suffocating the Qi would be.”

Yu felt herself struggling with what to do or say. She had in fact experienced that feeling numerous times.

A few breaths passed and her mother asked, “Yu’er, are you all right? You don’t look well.”

“Umm… Can we meet with father together? Right now?” Yu heard a slight shaking in her voice.

Meixiu’s worried tone was obvious. “What is it? Are you ill? We can call Gen if you—”

Yu looked around the room at the servants and said, “Please. It… could be important, but we need privacy.”

Yu watched as her mother glanced at the servants, and then her and then back at them before she snapped, “Hurry up and finish. My daughter is feeling ill.”

FIFTY-FIVE

Discoveries

“What is the emergency, Meix–” was what Yu heard as she followed her mother into her father’s office.

He was sitting behind his desk with an unrolled notice of some sort in his hand.

As soon as Yu slid the door closed behind her, she bowed and said, “Lord father.”

“If this is about your demands, I have—” her father said testily.

“It has nothing to do with that,” her mother said, interrupting him. Turning back to Yu she asked, “Does it?”

“No, it doesn’t,” Yu responded with a shake of her head. “It is about my… umm… trip in the wilderness last year.”

Her father asked, “Is it about the corrupted? We believe we cleared out that particular group, if you are concerned.”

“No, lord father. It is about something my mother just brought up when we were changing out of our evening attire.”

“Clothes? This is about clothes?” Yu saw her father gripping and releasing the arms of his seat.

Yu sighed.

Why is everyone misunderstanding me?

She said quickly, and maybe a little rudely, “No. It’s about Qi wells.”

All of her father’s motions stopped. Silence followed for a few breaths until he ordered, “Speak.”

Yu did. She told the story of how her mother was talking about how they were considered bumpkins on the verge and how hard it was to bring resources there, specifically Qi stones.

“After mother told me where Qi stones come from, I remembered something that might be important. So I asked to meet with you because her servants were around.”

“I see. And?” her father asked.

“During my travels in the forest I… ummm… experienced a handful of areas that felt like Qi flooded them.” Yu felt her father’s hard stare, but kept on with her story without faltering. “Lord father, I didn’t think anything of them because they offered me no benefit. I didn’t know anything about Qi wells or stones at the time, so how could I have known?”

Silence returned until Yu’s mother said, “Why don’t you tell us about these areas, and what you felt in them?”

Yu told them about how there had been areas of especially heavy and hard-to-cut trees which she had only noticed because she had been trying to make arrows. She then told them about how she had liked a certain small pond because it had beautiful glowing plants at the bottom of it, and about a few other places ending with her temporary crevice-cave home which had been the most saturated of all of them.

“That was definitely the most noticeable of all the places I visited. The Qi there was tangible, almost like I was swimming in it. Or breathing it in. But again, it offered me no direct benefit, so at the time I just figured that those things simply happened in the wild.”

Her father and mother stared at each other for a number of breaths. Yu wasn’t sure what else to say, so she said nothing.

Then her father turned to her and asked, “Could you pinpoint it on a map?”

Yu shook her head. “Nobody had taught me cartography, so I didn’t make one while I was out there.” She then saw her father scowl, so she quickly added, “I know the general direction, though. And given my memory, I could probably find it again if we start from the same place or I can catch sight of somewhere I visited.”

“Cartography? Nobody taught you how to read a map?”

Yu ducked her head and responded honestly, “No, lord father. Why would anyone bother when I was never going to be able to travel any real distance? But I did my best on my own using the clan library.”

Her father obviously wasn’t happy, but he took a calming breath and said, “We have another sect representative due tomorrow and your visitors after, but a few days without major distractions following that.” Then Yu received the oddest look from him and he asked, “Have you ever wanted to fly?”

Yu was standing next to her father on the head of a massive stork, grinning like a loon and watching the world fly by. She held her hands out and felt air snaking around her, between her fingers, and through her flapping hair.

“Now I’m rethinking giving the heron to Lei,” Yu said with a laugh.

He huffed and said, “You will be able to bond with something many times stronger than a grade 3 heron.”

She nodded at that. Eventually, she would.

“Which way?” he asked.

“Hug the mountains,” Yu said as she pointed at the large gray masses. “It’s very different seeing it from above. We’re looking for a decent-sized pond fed by a spring from a hole in a mountain. Once we get there I can backtrack.”

Yu was in a great mood that day, not just because she was flying and out of the city, which was done under stealth, but also because she had had a wonderful time with Suyin and Yaozu the previous day. They had talked, eaten, sparred, and then talked some more about the sparring. Yu thought she had helped them, and had learned a thing or two in return. She hoped they would do it again.

They had liked her little “garden paradise” as Suyin called it, but Yu had reminded them that it was ‘half training center, half prison’. They had understood to a point, but how much could they really empathize until they too lived a life of isolation? Either way, Yu felt absolutely enraptured with the new feeling of having friends. It was amazing. She had never realized having people close to her and near her own age could be so… fun.

But then it had been over and they had had to leave. Yu missed them, but still felt the glow of the prior evening.

“Is that it?” Her father’s voice broke into her reflections.

Yu looked over and down and said, “That looks familiar. Let’s go down. I need to see it from ground level. How do you land?”

She heard her mother laugh from behind her. Then her father grabbed her shoulders and leapt off the bird.

Yu screamed all the way down, at first in surprise, then in fear, and then in joy. When they landed, she turned to them and asked breathlessly, “How do you not do that all the time?”

Her mother laughed and her father huffed. “Lead on,” he ordered.

Yu looked around and said, “Wow. This place looks exactly the same.” Then she pointed at the small cave entrance which was the source of the water. “Another beast probably moved in.”

Yu’s father arrived at the cave entrance in a step and Yu shook her head. Her mother touched her shoulder and they followed in what felt like a blur to Yu. When they entered, she saw that her father had already cleared it out and was holding a clear stone in his hand. Yu’s mother whispered in her ear, “That is a Qi-sensitivity Stone. It glows brighter based on the ambient Qi density. In a normal environment it stays clear.”

The stone slowly lit up a little, but remained relatively dim. Her father said, “This location is a very small Qi well. It could possibly be stronger inside the mountain.” He then took a scroll from his ring, spread it out on the cave wall allowing Yu to see it was a map, made a mark on it with a thin piece of charcoal, and put it away.

He then turned to Yu and said, “Take us to the rest.”

So Yu led her parents on a trip that basically backtracked her journey through the wilderness. Her earliest presumed Qi well was a few days after she met the bird family, so they didn't go to the lake and waterfall.

The largest well turned out to be the one inside the crevice that had housed the clacker, as Yu had suspected. She had been the only one who could fit through the crack, so she had done the testing. Yu found that the Qi-sensitivity Stone glowed twice as bright as the brightest she had seen, defining it as a moderate well strong enough to be just shy of a large one.

On their way back to the palace, Yu’s father said, “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but I will just in case. You understand that you cannot speak of this to anyone, don’t you? Not your friends, and not your family (except for us two and your uncles).”

“I understand, lord father. I wouldn’t speak of it. If there’s anything I know well, it’s how to keep secrets.”

Her mother patted her head and her father nodded.

“So, what now?” Yu asked. “How important is it that we found these Qi wells?”

Her father rubbed his beard for a few breaths before answering. “For now, we can do nothing. This land is not ours. We will need to review what maps we have and determine which of the nearby elder demonic beasts claims ownership. Once we know, we can ask for permission to explore the area for the heart of the well, and eventually build a mining complex.”

Yu’s mother added, “Qi stone mines take many years to build due to the stones’ sensitivity, and we do not wish to risk harming the well.”

Her father turned to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Yu’er, I had not expected to find this within a mere century. In fact, I would not have been surprised if Lei would still be looking when he took over as the clan lord. Assuming we can pull stones from it, this will change the fortune of our clan and city. With access to Qi stones, the city could double in size within fifty years. And with our clan managing the mine and distribution, we will be able to take leadership of the entire southern half of the country. We could become leading nobles of the nation. If the well produces stones, you will have enriched the future of your clan and the millions we are responsible for.”

Yu looked down, not wanting to show her father that her eyes were wet. She had not expected such a confession. Then she felt her mother’s arms wrap around her from behind.

“Well done, my daughter,” Yu’s mother whispered into her ear. “You are changing the world already.”

Interlude

Two months later – Somewhere:

“They’ve all failed,” said a deep voice in a black room.

“How?” asked another.

“We aren’t entirely sure. Clearly, we underestimated the target’s strength or defenses,” answered the first.

“So, send more,” growled a new voice. “Send a team instead of an individual. Can we move on to planning for the more challenging and lucrative target?”

“Listen to me, there’s something different about this one. It has gone beyond the simple task we were promised. I’ve heard some things about this quarry from an outside source. We should take a different tact,” said the second voice.

The third voice sighed. “You’re exaggerating. Besides, if our members fell to some vergers then they didn’t deserve to be Mongoose. Now, what’s the point of focusing on some nobody in the wilderness when we have a real objective in the Gui capital worth a hundred times more?”

“Put the imperial succession aside, will you?” the first voice said in frustration. “The point isn’t only that our assets failed. The point is that they all died. The point is that none were able to escape, send a message, or alert us to why they failed. We only even know they died because their life jades shattered.”

“Then what do you propose? You clearly have a plan,” said the third voice.

After a few breaths of silence, the second voice said, “I am proposing we stop all actions on this contract.” He let the silence sit and then concluded with, “And send Scar.”

The third voice sputtered. “Are you mad? For a—”

“Yes, for a verger girl,” interrupted the second.

The first asked, “You understand the risk of sending that… him? There are only so many times remaining before we...”

“Yes,” the second voice said. “I wouldn’t take such an extreme action if I didn’t feel the threat was considerable. And I’m telling you, it is.”

“I still don’t see—”

“If he’s worried, then so am I,” said the first voice. “It will take some time to avoid the risk.”

“I know. That is why we must start now,” said the second voice.

“Agreed,” said the first voice.

“Thank you. And you?” asked the second voice.

The third voice sighed. “I think you’re both mad and being wasteful, but I’ll agree. At least we can move on, then.”

“Good. I’ll get him started. In the meantime, we will cease sending anyone else so that they assume we’ve given up. That should give Scar the window he needs.”

“Fine, fine,” the third voice said impatiently. “Now, about the crown prince…”

Part Ten

PLANS

The humans needed time to grow strong, and so the heavenly beasts created enclaves for large groups of them. Areas of relative safety where they could grow and learn and become strong enough to fulfill their purpose in this world.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

FIFTY-SIX

Senses

Five months later (early autumn) – Under the private training area, estate of the city lord, Fei Shu City:

Yu woke up in complete darkness with a blaring headache and her entire body a tingling mass of sensitivity. Her whole body pounded in a rhythm similar to a heartbeat, and each beat was like a hammer blow to her brain.

“Be easy, child,” said a voice that was so loud it boomed through her skull.

Yu put her hands over her ears and said in a voice that was even louder, “Not so loud.” She cringed at her own voice and squeezed her head harder, as if that could make the pain stop.

The voice then sounded again, this time quiet enough that it didn’t hurt, “Your senses are out of control. Be calm.”

Yu found it exceptionally hard to focus due to the pain.

“Can you stop the pounding?” Yu whispered. But no matter how low she tried to speak, it still made her brain feel like it was vibrating.

“I suppose I could, but I do not think you will thank me. That pounding sound is your heartbeat.”

Yu groaned as she heard, “Your brain is trying to adapt to the change in nerve signals, as well as its own evolution. For most, this level of the Foundation Building Stage improves memory, recall, and perception to an extent. For you, that would be a waste, so we did something a little different.”

A little different. Right.

“Can you make it stop?” Yu moaned.

“No, child. Give yourself a little time. Once your mind works again, we can try a few things.”

After decades of thumping rhythmic pain a thousand times louder than the drums of the tournament, Yu’s brain seemed to begin functioning, if not pounding less. She could vaguely recall how she had gotten into that situation.

Yu’s excitement at finally exiting the first full stage of cultivation had been almost more than she could handle. She had been bouncing and giggling and crying, and just plain overwhelmed with all the emotions involved. It had honestly been a little too momentous for her to deal with. Grandma Huan had helped her to calm down by being her normal grouchy old self.

As for the actual process, advancing her brain and nerves had been the most bizarre of all her changes. Even weirder than getting eaten by a plant. It had involved silver needles about as long as Yu’s middle fingers, unusual smelling incense in ball form, some sort of strange bottles with green fire in them, and something Grandma Huan had called “acupuncture.”

First, Yu had been stabbed by the needles in various places on her body: her fingers, eyebrows, the heels of her feet, random places on her skull. In the end her body had been covered with one hundred and fifty-six silver needles, making her feel like a porcupine. Oddly, she hadn’t felt a thing. It was a light pressure but no pain.

All things considered, Yu had been thrilled with this method of advancement. It had even been somewhat relaxing. She had just had to float with her eyes closed and listen to Grandma Huan hum an unfamiliar tune while pressing on random parts of her body. Then her teacher had placed balls of incense on some of the needles in her body in some order and location and only she had understood. Finally, Grandma Huan had lit the incense using the bizarre green fire from the bottles. And that was it. Yu had just lain there and listened to her teacher hum, breathing in the incense.

Of course, because it was Grandma Huan and everything the old bat did had to turn out horrible for Yu, the relaxing pleasure couldn’t last. Soon her muscles had started to contract randomly. It was annoying but not much more. At first. Then the spasms had gotten stronger. And they had kept escalating until Yu’s mind had done what it always did when there was too much pain – it had shut down. Except somehow, this time Yu had stayed aware.

She had felt her mind expanding into her body, trying to understand what everything was. The Qi energy she had been storing in her brain and nerves from the months of infusion had needed to be analyzed and figured out by her brain. Or more precisely, her mindscape. Either way, it had sent signals to every nerve connected by the needles. And that had repeated over and over, with more and more force, until Yu had felt her mind explode with understanding. Yu had had no idea what her mind had actually figured out, but it must have been quite a discovery because at that moment her brain had seemed to turn to mush, and then felt like it was being squished more with each beat of her heart.

Back in the painful present, Yu whispered, “I think I can think.”

“That is a profound demonstration of your intelligence,” her teacher deadpanned.

Yu just groaned as her heartbeat, and thus the pounding in her brain, increased due to her frustration.

“Please help!” she begged.

“Hum quietly, child.”

Hum? Hum what? Noise would hurt. Why is Grandma Huan so cruel?

“Stop complaining. I know you can remember the tune. Hum it.”

Yu’s mind slogged back a few hours in her memories and remembered the tune that Grandma Huan had been humming as she had worked her acupuncture. Yu tried to hum it. At first she was halting and unsure, but then she managed to get through it once and tried again, this time without breaks. After getting about halfway through the full melody, she could feel her Qi move inside of her, although just a bit at first. It moved like the rustling of leaves in a breeze, and was a profoundly comfortable feeling. So Yu did it again. Her mind seemed to still and calm. She could still hear the pounding, but it no longer hurt.

Thank the heavens!

Grandma Huan explained, “That is a nerve-calming mantra. It does not solve the cause of your problems, but it manages your symptoms – which in this case is that your senses are overloaded. It is also why we are in a dark cave I created in the earth. No external stimuli except what we create are here. We needed to give your body time to lower the inflammation of the nerves, and then use the mantra to calm them. Now we can address the fact that you can hear your own heartbeat, and that it is so loud it hurts. Imagine if there was light in here, never mind external sound and overwhelming smells and the like. Fortunately, we have addressed your skin already, and your mindscape already adapted the skin mantra while you were unconscious. Technically, when you replaced your organs in the viscera stage, your eyes, ears, tongue, and nasal passages were changed, but your nerves could not absorb the enhanced stimuli, so you did not notice, and the mantra from that level prevented overload. Now? Well…”

Yu asked quickly between hums, “So how do I fix it?”

“The same way you have managed every other overwhelming change to your body. You use a mantra, and then adapt.”

For about the millionth time, Yu was thankful for how amazing her mindscape was. While she couldn’t compare it to anyone else’s, she certainly recognized its value to her own cultivation. And in a word, she would call it priceless.

The fact that she had numerous active mantras from all her previous exercises in torture… ahem… Foundation Building Stage advancements was impressive, to her at least. She had used them to self-manage various stimuli and overpower body parts. For example, she had a mantra that controlled her enhanced heart after she had completed the fourth level so that it would not tear apart the unenhanced blood flooding through it. Every advancement had required a new mantra to help her body survive.

Grandma Huan had said that cultivators who used the normal and, in her view, “lazy” way of evolving the body wouldn’t have needed mantras. She had explained that the changes were small enough that they weren’t required. But Yu’s advancement methods had not been “normal” in any way, thus the numerous mantras perpetually supporting her in her mindscape.

And in the end, all those mantras she had active in her mindscape, which thankfully was able to keep up, culminated in this single mantra Grandma Huan was teaching her now.

According to her teacher, the nerves controlled everything in the body so if… when she got this right, all the other mantras could be released.

Over the hours spent underground, Yu learned the Full Body Control Mantra and how to manage it properly. To her it definitely seemed to be the most complicated of them all, especially since she had to still hum the nerve-calming mantra the entire time in order to keep the pain at bay so that she could focus. Unfortunately, she had to stop humming occasionally so she could feel how her body was reacting to the new mantra. That wasn’t great, but it was necessary to make the right adjustments.

But it was all worth it. Ever so slowly, Yu found she was able to use the final mantra to one at a time, let go of the prior ones. Once the viscera- and organ-related mantras were released and she could control her senses, she found she was able to function without humming, and could once again look at a dim light without feeling like her eyes were being burned in her skull. She stopped hearing her own heartbeat, clearing her mind to think. She could again taste a single grain of rice without her head almost exploding from the flavor, and she found that the smell of the wet earth no longer made her gag. Also, she found she could now manage a whispered conversation with Grandma Huan without pain.

Her teacher was telling her how her senses could be useful in the future, once she was able to manage the overstimulation. “Eventually you will have good enough control to use this to enhance your five senses, not just keep them at normal levels. You will be able to hear a butterfly’s wings beat from across your garden, and see the individual veins as they flap.”

Yu was confused. “Can’t all advanced cultivators do that?”

“Don’t be absurd! Of course not. The final stage of foundation changes the brain, yes? So most cultivators improve their memories. Both because they are lazy and stupid, and because it is easy and immediately impactful. But they will never have perfect recall like you. Their memory will simply be better than average. As to your question about whether their senses are better, they will be much better than a mortal’s, certainly. Their bodies have been cleansed after all, and they can send Qi into their body parts. But their senses are nothing compared to what you will be able to do. On the other hand, what advanced cultivators can do is use their Qi outside their bodies to explore and understand the world around them. That does not mean their senses are better than yours, but just that they use Qi as a tool to make it feel that way.”

“How is that any worse?” Yu asked.

“Because, child, external Qi use can be sensed, blocked, and altered. It is also considered quite rude and insulting to use it directly on another cultivator without their permission. If someone tried to enhance their vision with external Qi and used it to examine me, I would notice, and they would likely not survive the experience.

“What you have are truly enhanced senses. Vision that will see things in more detail, and closer than they appear to others. Hearing so precise you could tell the movement of individual blades of grass. Smell, taste, and touch, all available at a level unlike any other without the crutch of Qi. And the best part is that what you do cannot be detected.”

Yu found that idea both exciting and intimidating. She could see it would be an incredible asset, but also something of a risk.

What if I’m listening closely to something, and there’s a loud sound? Would my ears explode?

She knew she would need to spend quite a bit of time learning about her new senses.

Grandma Huan interrupted her ruminations. “Everything I mentioned will take a great deal of time and effort on your part. For now, allow your body some time to recover and adapt. And you will no doubt be pleased to hear – and this is to my own great disappointment – that the next stage of your cultivation will be relatively standard. Well, as far as that odd cultivation technique of yours allows.”

Yu slumped in relief.

“Enjoy yourself for the next few days. Relax. No physical exertion, beyond stretching and normal daily activities.”

Yu immediately thought of her friends and started to stand up, but then stopped herself. Looking around the dark hole in the ground, she asked, “Umm, Grandma Huan? How do I get out of here?”

Yu should have expected her answer.

“Get your senses under control and figure it out.”

FIFTY-SEVEN

Smell

“I have traded much for a favor from an old ally. You need to be ready,” Ning Huiqing said to the twins. She was in her dressing room, preparing for the evening’s activities with the help of two servants. A third was kneeling in the corner of the room, awaiting her orders. Huiqing ignored her for now.

Delun said, “Yes, mother,” while Deming said, “We know what to do.”

“Good,” She responded. Then looking back, she called, “No” to the servant who had held up a red qipao. “Nothing with red or gray. It will match our guest’s clothing. We cannot give off even the slightest appearance of being aligned.”

The servant bowed and took it away, and Huiqing turned back to her sons. “I have been setting this up for months, taking the initiative in managing the visits which that bitch arranges. Most importantly, I now have people under my control in all the necessary places, so it is finally time to strike down both her and her freak daughter.”

The servant returned with a conservative black-and-white dress with long sleeves and a higher-than-normal neck. “Perfect. Choose slippers and jewels that will match, and prepare everything two hours in advance.”

The servant holding the dress bowed and left. Huiqing then turned to the one who was preparing various makeups and perfumes, and gave her similar instructions.

After she had also bowed and left, Huiqing turned to the servant in the corner for the first time, she was the only person remaining in the room besides Huiqing and her sons. “You understand your responsibility? If you succeed, I will reward you. If you fail, you will be punished. Severely.”

The servant kowtowed with her forehead touching the stone floor. “Yes, first wife.”

“Rise,” she ordered, and held out a small opaque bottle made of jade. The girl raised her head and held out her hand shakily. Huiqing dropped the bottle onto it and turned away.

The serving girl then backed out of the room, keeping her eyes on the floor.

Huiqing turned back to the boys, a vicious smile slowly forming across her face. “After tonight, the freak will be done, and the bitch with her. Then your father will come back to us with apologies and resources, and our place in this family and clan will be restored.”

With her new senses, Yu found meditating in her bamboo garden more challenging than she had expected. She found she was distracted by the sound of the wind in the creaking bamboo, by the beams of sunlight flickering through the stalks, by the lingering taste of the meal she had barely managed to eat an hour before, and even by the feel of the constantly changing wind on her skin. All of those were distracting, but not uncomfortable.

It was her sense of smell which seemed to be the most difficult for her to acclimatize herself to. There were just so many smells in the world. Everything had a smell, even water. She had thought that sitting by the brook would help, but she had been proven wrong. Her oversensitive nose drew in the odors of the various molds and algae and metals in the water, as well as detecting a tinge of salt, even though the water was fresh. Every gentle breeze carried new scents she had to adapt to.

Whereas she could at least manage all her other senses, smell made it hard for her to function. Yu had to resist the urge to constantly to scrunch up her nose, hold her breath, or turn away.

Worst of all, another sect representative would be visiting that night. She had heard the envoy was from a moderate-sized sect in the western half of the kingdom, and expected them to be another arrogant old bag of wind or pompous middle-aged man.

But that was all right. Yu could endure it just like she had the others. At least she knew that her clan benefited from most of the relationships she had been responsible for starting. After all, according to her mother, they now had agreements with more than a dozen sects to send clan and city cultivators. Yu’s mother had told her that instead of having to trade favors or pay a heavy price for clan members to even be allowed to apply to those sects, she was actually receiving requests from the sects for certain kinds of cultivators.

In short, Fei Shu City – and the Fenghuang Clan in particular – was becoming a recruiting ground for sects, which was the goal for any city and clan. Their cultivators would advance in these sects, grow strong, and serve their clan in the future.

When it was time for her to dress, Yu found she could not tolerate the smell of her makeup and perfume, and so declined them. When her mother demanded an explanation, Yu told her about the situation.

Yu’s mother stared at her for a few moments and said, “We cannot have you so distracted that you will fail to represent us well. The Steel Hammer Sect could be a positive pathway for us to both the western sects and the blacksmithing sects. So, just this once I will allow you to dress lesser than your station, although I hope you will work extra hard to regain control of your senses. Not only could it harm the clan, but your training will suffer too.”

Yu agreed entirely. She certainly wanted to gain control as much as she didn’t want to harm the clan’s prospects with sects. Yu said with a bow, “Thank you, mother. I will.”

Standing at the entrance to the City Lord’s Palace, Yu and her family were lined up awaiting the arrival of the envoy. For the first time, Yu understood what her teacher had said about cultivators using Qi to enhance their hearing, because Yu’s ears were somewhat overwhelmed by the number of conversations taking place nearby. She strained to narrow her focus and block out those that she didn’t want to hear, but struggled. Yet she eventually managed to gain some control, and found she was drawn to one conversation in particular.

A woman’s voice farther down the line said, “She isn’t even fully dressed, lord husband. How do you not punish her?” It took Yu a moment to realize it was her father’s first wife speaking.

Yu could make out her father’s answer as well. “How I manage my daughter is not your concern, lady wife.”

“Mark my words, your outrageous spoiling of that child will harm our clan. She will think she can get away with anything.”

“You have made your feelings on the matter clear many times,” her father placidly responded.

“You watch,” Yu heard the woman say bitterly. “She will ruin everything. If not tonight, then on some other important occasion.”

“She has been nothing but filial, and has acted as her station as Young Mistress demands.”

“Then explain her lack of proper attire.”

“That is not your concern. You should concentrate on your own responsibilities.”

“My responsibilities are to the clan. If you did not spoil her so, she would have the same priorities.”

The conversation was cut off by the gate guards announcing the arrival of the clan’s latest important guest. Yu winced as a guard shouted.

“Please attend. The representative of the Steel Hammer Sect, Lady Re, envoy and outer sect elder.”

Lady? Maybe this visit won’t be so horrible.

Yu could count how many female sect representatives had come on one hand, and they had all been arrogant but reasonable.

The gates opened, and a woman wearing a gray furred cloak over a red qipao which had hammers and gray anvils on it stepped forward elegantly. Her black-as-night hair was held up in two buns on either corner of her head, and had red and gray strings dangling from them.

They really do put quite a bit of emphasis on the whole fire and metal thing at that sect, don’t they?

Yu was using the opportunity to test her new senses. She was pleased to find that her newly enhanced vision caught some interesting tidbits that the lady was clearly trying to hide, like how there was a slight twitch in her tightly gloved right hand. Occasionally as she walked, it was pulled especially taut and showed what Yu believed to be a raised injury or scar.

Interesting.

Yu wondered why something like that would not be healed immediately. Could it be too severe? At a sect that specialized in forging, and thus whatever injuries came with forging? Yu found that unlikely. So it was some other reason.

Everyone bowed and said the commensurate, “Welcome to Fei Shu City, Lady Re.”

She nodded and said, “Excellent. I was told I could expect at least passable manners, if not luxury. I do so dislike the verge. Perhaps we can skip straight to dinner and discuss how you can add value to the Steel Hammer Sect.”

Yu’s father, ever the adaptable politician, said, “That would be fine, Lady Re. Would you like a pre-meal snack or drink while the final preparations for the meal are completed?”

“Fine. You can tell me of this… city.”

The derision in the last word was obvious, and Yu took her to be another pompous ass like the others. Just with big breasts. How was she supposed to even fight with those things? Or forge? Maybe they had gotten in the way and that was how she burned her hand. Yu could just imagine one of the things slapping her in the face as she was hammering away. She almost broke down into hysterical giggles at the mental image. Thankfully, she managed to keep it internal, although her face broke into a grin.

Yu managed to get a grip on herself by the time they reached the table, the overwhelming smells helping damper any humor. Some small dumplings and drinks were served as a delaying tactic to buy time for the real meal to be made.

Yu declined, the many smells too numerous and strong for her. She had to work hard just to keep her face from scrunching up at the overwhelming scents in the enclosed space. Yu could smell the various perfumes and oils that everyone was wearing, and nearly had to vomit from it all.

The conversation was light as her father told the outer sect elder, whatever outer meant, about the city.

When the dinner arrived, Yu’s food smelled terrible to her, and seemed to have a sour tang to it for some reason. She couldn’t decline it, but didn’t touch it because she knew her overactive senses were already jeopardizing her ability to play a polite hostess. Yu hoped she could get her sensitive nose under control, because if she had to leave, it would be seen as an insult which would seriously damage the chances of her clan and the sect reaching an agreement.

Lady Re then said, “Tell me, Fenghuang Da, how many in your clan and city have the Fire, Earth, or Metal affinities?”

Her father said pleasantly, “Those are the primary affinities in this area. The mountains behind and surrounding us hold numerous sleeping volcanoes, and the rocky forests offer much Earth and Wood affinity in the environment. Fire is the most common, followed by Earth, then Wood, and then Metal.”

“I see. That could be useful. Do any have two or more? I understand that is not as common on the verge.”

“I do, but I do not smith,” her father answered. “Some in the city and clan have more than one affinity, but not many. Those with dual affinities are not common, but are becoming more so with every generation. We have records which prove that the expansion of affinities is growing.”

“I see. What about you, Fenghuang Yu. Do you have affinity with Metal, Earth, or Fire?”

Before Yu could answer, her father cleared his throat. “We are not sharing her affinity at this time, at the request of her sect.”

“And what sect is that?”

“We have also been asked not to share that,” was his answer.

“I see. How interesting.” The lady looked at Yu and said, “I understand you were born a cripple.”

Her father coughed, but said nothing. It was quite a rude statement.

Yu looked back at the woman with a self-deprecating grin. “I would respectfully defer questions of my birth to my parents, Lady Re. While I was there, I do not recall it.”

Yu heard a cough from her mother, and a huff from her father’s first wife at the end of the table. Yet Yu ignored them both. Of all the previous pretentious sect elders that had visited, none had been quite as blatantly rude as calling Yu a cripple to her face. It wasn’t a secret that she had been healed, it was simply exceptionally insulting to bring it up over dinner in front of her entire family. This put Yu on the defensive, which in turn helped focus her mind. She needed to be sharp if she was going to avoid responding with the same vulgarity as this horrible woman.

“Of course,” Lady Re said blandly. “Fenghuang Da, which of your lovely wives is responsible for this… child?”

Yu’s father answered, “Long Meixiu, my second wife, is Fenghuang Yu’s mother.”

“Ah. Long Meixiu, was your daughter always a cripple, or was she injured or ill later in life?”

Yu watched as her mother smiled politely and said without any negative inflection, “She was injured as a babe when she was barely ten days old.”

“I see.”

Everyone ate in silence for a while, except for Yu, who continued to ignore the meal in front of her.

Lady Re interrupted the quiet with, “Tell me, Fenghuang Yu. Why do you not eat?”

Expecting the question, Yu responded with a bow and her prepared answer. “Please forgive me, Lady Re. Due to my training, I have a special diet and will eat different food at a later time.”

“Ah,” was all she said in return.

“Surely you can eat something, dear,” Ning Huiqing said from the head of the table. “Just the soup, perhaps?”

Not expecting to be pressed on both sides, Yu said the only thing she could think of. “Being a strong cultivator herself, I’m sure Lady Re understands the benefits of eating certain foods at certain times during her training.”

Before the lady could answer, her father’s first wife responded, “You are not comparing yourself to a great cultivator like the sect elder, are you?”

“Of course not,” was the only thing Yu could say.

“Then you can eat what is served, like the rest of us,” Huiqing stated firmly.

Yu looked down at her food. To her the smell was so sour, it was nauseating.

She said, “I understand, but I will follow the directions of my teacher. Lady Re, I truly do apologize. I mean no disrespect.”

Lady Re said, “Is your teacher the one who cured you of your… infirmity? I can only imagine how much silver that cost your clan.”

Her father spoke then, “Lady Re, I would like to believe that Fenghuang Yu was cured by the will of the gods.”

“But as Fenghuang Yu’s father and clan chief, surely you had a hand in it.” Not allowing time for an answer, she directed the next question to Yu in a hard tone, “Tell me how you were cured. Your own clan considered you trash, and then you were not. How?”

Yu’s father opened his mouth to speak again, but Lady Re cut him off. “Why are you stopping her from answering, Patriarch? Are you protecting her, or yourself?”

Her father closed his mouth, and then turned toward Yu. She saw that, while his face was impassive, his eyes told the truth of his fury.

Lady Re picked up where she had left off. “So, Fenghuang Yu. Tell us, what great medicine cured you? Your family, clan, and city called you a freak, I understand. Such a thing does not just go away.”

Yu stared at her in silence for a few breaths before saying, “I was ill, and then I was cured. One does not question a miracle.”

“Of course. A miracle. And yet your affinity is hidden, you supposedly wield Ether (which no one can verify, because you refuse to share proof), your skills in martial combat are far beyond what should be your capabilities at your age and cultivation stage, and your mysterious teacher about whom nobody knows anything is actively preventing you from eating. If you want my sect to participate with your clan, honesty must be a part of our pact.”

Lady Re put her elbows on the table and her head on her hands to stare directly at Yu. Then she said, “I am asking for an offering of goodwill. Something as simple as eating the soup that lies before you would suffice.”

Yu looked down at her food and then back up at Lady Re. Then she leaned forward slightly and looked over at her father’s first wife, who had a smug look on her face. Then she looked at the twins, who were partially looking down. She could hear their breathing quickening, and saw a slight flush to their cheeks that suggested excitement, or even anticipation.

Yu looked back at Lady Re and said, “I understand.” And she did. Finally, Yu understood. Just like Grandma Huan had taught her to.

After further thought, Yu smiled at the woman across from her and said, “I wonder, Lady Re, if I could offer a trade. Would you be open to hearing my proposal?”

“Does it involve you eating?”

Yu nodded, still smiling. “It does.”

“Then I will listen.”

Yu said politely, “I will agree to eat something if you will agree to answer two questions of mine about blacksmithing.”

Lady Re wore a curious look as she asked, “That is all?”

“It is,” Yu confirmed with a nod.

The woman smiled broadly and said, “I agree.”

“Wonderful!” Yu exclaimed with a broad smile. Then she looked toward the servants and ordered, “Bring me some rice pudding please.”

Lady Re spoke in an irritated tone. “Truly? Why not eat what is in front of you? Is it insufficient? You agreed to eat what is served.”

Yu said evenly, “Our trade was exactly this: I will agree to eat something if you will agree to answer two questions of mine about blacksmithing. It said nothing of what I would eat. I completely concur that a strong relationship is based on honesty, after all.”

Yu then heard her father’s first wife say, “Do something, lord husband. She is insulting our guest.”

Yu watched her father carefully as he answered with a neutral expression, “Lady Re and Yu’er have a private agreement. It would be inappropriate for me to interfere. I would not want to give the sect elder the impression that I am unfairly protecting my daughter, after all.”

“Fine,” Huiqing said with a sniff.

Yu watched a female servant arrive with a bowl. Yu sniffed it gently, only to encounter the same sour smell, which confirmed her suspicions.

With an air of angry arrogance, Yu then called, “No. I do not want that bowl. I do not like it. You, servant, whoever you are.” And she pointed at the serving girl. “You are dismissed. Leave. Now.” Then she pointed at the doorway.

Yu tapped the table a few times in a particular pattern she knew seemed random and said, “Some other servant.” She made the obvious motion of scanning the group standing against the walls and pointed at the one who had served Lady Re. Of course she could recall every single detail of the evening. She ordered, “You. Get me a fresh bowl that the other servant wasn’t near.”

Yu pushed the bowl in front of her away, and sat back with her hands in her lap, smiling gently at the sect elder. “My apologies, Lady Re. I promise you our servants are usually not so poor. I don’t recognize that one, though. Perhaps she’s new. Please don’t think less of our clan because of one poor serving girl.”

“Unbelievable!” Yu heard Huiqing snap. “She cannot simply dismiss one of… the servants like that.”

Her father apparently disagreed. “She is the Young Mistress of this house. It is within her authority to dismiss any servant she wishes to, as long as they do not belong to a member of the family with higher standing, of which there are very few. And of which you are not included. Are you claiming that servant as one of yours… lady wife?” Those last two words were said with a bit of force.

Yu smiled to herself.

“No, of course I don’t claim the girl,” Huiqing spluttered.

“She is dismissed, then.”

Yu and Lady Re had not broken eye contact since Yu had apologized about the girl, and each wore a matching falsely pleasant expression.

Another bowl was placed in front of Yu, and this time it smelled sweet to her.

“Lovely,” was all Yu said.

FIFTY-EIGHT

Plot

While watching Lady Re, Yu slowly picked up her bamboo spoon, dipped it into the bowl, put it in her mouth, and declared with pleasure, “That is wonderful. I do so enjoy rice pudding.” Then Yu put on a thoughtful expression and said, “I hope you will allow me to reference our agreement when I explain to my teacher why I had to breach her instructions.”

The lady smiled back, but it did not reach her eyes. Without inflection she said, “Of course.”

Yu smiled back and then looked toward her father at the head of the table. She decided it was time to use all the strategy lessons she had learned from Grandma Huan and go on the offensive.

She called, “Lord father, I will finish this bowl as per my agreement with the outer sect elder, and so will be occupied for a few moments. But do not allow our agreement to mar such a lovely evening and dinner conversation. I wonder if the twins would mind sharing their experience with the Fire affinity while I eat? They have spoken quite widely that they inherited it from you and are quite knowledgeable about how to wield it, after all.”

Then she looked back at Lady Re and spoke with the pride of a sister bragging about her brothers. Of course, in her mind she was thinking about Lei. But nobody would know that.

“Lady, my brothers may wish to apply to your sect. They already know quite a bit about the Fire affinity. Why not ask them about it? I would wager my rice pudding bowl that they will impress you.”

And without another word, Yu turned back to her pudding and continued eating it. Rice pudding was sweet, but also had a relatively gentle flavor. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hard for her to stomach it.

“Of course,” Lady Re responded slowly and deliberately, while looking at Yu’s father to see whether he would interfere. He looked on encouragingly, also apparently exuding pride.

The sect elder began by saying, “I will start with an easy question. They have not opened any meridians and are not able to wield it yet, after all.”

Yu stopped eating for a moment and cheerily said, “Oh, don’t let that fool you, Lady Re. They may appear like they are too young, average, and inexperienced to know anything at all, but they crow to their friends in the clan all the time about how much of a pair of experts they are. I’m absolutely positive they will impress you.”

“This is unacceptable, Da. Do something this instant!” Huiqing demanded.

Out of the side of her eye, Yu saw her father smile at his first wife and say calmly, “This is an excellent opportunity for them, lady wife. Why would you stop them from showing their extensive knowledge in front of the representative of a sect they could potentially apply to join?”

By this point both Delun and Deming were visibly sweating, their eyes wide with fear. Despite all their false bravado, they likely knew that whatever the sect leader asked, their answers would not be ‘impressive’ in the least. After all, they spent more time making false claims and being fawned over by false friends than they did actually cultivating.

“My boys would not want to prevent their sister from conversing with a sect elder,” Huiqing said. “After all, it was the… Young Mistress’s…” Huiqing could not keep a slight downturn from her lips as she was forced to use Yu’s new title “…miraculous healing that prompted this visit, was it not? Let us not bore the table with questions we all already know the answers to,” she finished, all rather rapidly. To Yu it sounded desperate.

The twins let out an audible gasp of relief.

With no other response forthcoming, Lady Re said, “I see. Perhaps that makes sense.”

Yu took a bite and spoke to everyone in the room in a tone that utterly ignored the first wife’s statement. “This pudding is lovely. Whoever made it shall receive my compliments. Lord father, I recommend the rice pudding.”

“Thank you for your recommendation, daughter. Speaking of which, I wonder if perhaps we should skip to dessert? Does anyone object?”

There were no voices of objection, so Yu called, “Servants, please provide one bowl of this wonderful pudding to everyone. I know they will enjoy it.”

Lady Re said in a firm tone, “Fenghuang Da, you appear to give your daughter quite a bit of freedom.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he responded. “Everything my daughter has done tonight falls exactly within the authority and responsibilities of being the Young Mistress of our clan and family. And I find her… insight an excellent representation of her fulfilling her role as a future leader of the clan.”

The pudding was served, and just as Lady Re took her first spoonful, Yu took her last.

And now it’s time to turn the tables, Yu thought with a smile.

“I wonder if perhaps I could ask my questions now, Lady Re?” Yu asked. “I have met my side of our bargain, after all.”

Once again, the woman smiled with no happiness and said, “Of course.”

“Thank you in advance. Feel free to tell me if my questions would give away secrets, and I will ask another. Is that fair?” The woman nodded politely but curtly. “Excellent. So, I wonder what sort of reasons a blacksmith might have, or what kind of accident might happen to a smith that would result in a round burn on the back of their right hand?”

Lady Re coughed and dropped her spoon, causing the pudding to spatter.

“Oh dear!” Yu called sympathetically. “Servants. Please help the lady immediately!”

Yu said apologetically, “Lady Re, I am so sorry. I had no idea that question would qualify as a secret. I tell you what, I will skip to my second and think of a new question for my first.”

Before anyone else could speak, Yu then said with some force, “I can’t imagine what political machinations might cause something like that to not be healed right away, but I suppose that’s none of my business.” And without even a breath of break, Yu said, “So, my second question is this: what might that same blacksmith offer in exchange for having our nation’s strongest, once-in-a-generation genius of healing look at her hand?”

Lady Re froze perfectly still. The room was now completely silent, everyone staring at Yu who broke it by speaking in the tone of sharing an excellent idea.

“You know what, I just thought of my new first question. Here it is. I wonder if said blacksmith would, were that special healer to work on her hand, be willing to return to her sect with praise for the Fenghuang Clan and Fei Shu City? Especially if that healer were the brother of that very clan lord and the city lord of that very city.”

After a quick glance around the silent table, Yu decided to end the farce in the hope of winning over an ally. “What do you think, Lady Re? Would that blacksmith put behind her old enmity and… alliances for such a thing?”

A crash sounded from the end of the table as her father’s first wife dropped her spoon as well, but Yu didn’t turn her head.

Lady Re did, but quickly looked back at Yu. This time she was wearing an interested expression. “You are not what you seem, are you?”

Yu smiled genuinely at her. “Oh, I don’t know. I have no idea what I seem like – I only know what I am. The daughter of the city’s two strongest cultivators, Young Mistress of this clan, and a girl trying to grow stronger. So, Lady Re, would you be open to a new alliance? Our clan and city have a lot to offer, as I believe we’ve demonstrated.”

Lady Re gave her first real smile of the night. “Fenghuang Yu, I think an alliance between us would serve both well.”

Yu smiled welcomingly back and asked, “Would you like another pudding?”

“You know, I think I will. You were right. It is quite lovely.”

FIFTY-NINE

Punishment

Yu and the rest of her family bowed while bidding farewell to the healed and beaming outer sect elder.

The second that the gates had shut, Huiqing marched up to Yu and growled, “You spoiled little bitch! You disgraced your father’s sons, house, and clan tonight!”

“Did I? How?” Yu asked with a serene expression.

The woman yelled, “You know you did and how!”

“Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that. What I recall is facilitating an important understanding between our clan and a sect. I also recall that we will now have access to the western sects of the empire and a reference to the other blacksmithing sects. We must recall tonight’s events differently, I suppose. Oh! And you haven’t actually said how I supposedly did whatever it was you imagined in your deluded mind. Please do enlighten me.”

Huiqing spluttered and said, “How dare you talk to me that way!”

“What way?” Yu asked. “The way you deserve?”

Yu glanced at her father, who was watching silently with a pensive look on his face. She decided to take that as tacit permission.

“Don’t look at him to save you this time,” Huiqing spat viciously. “You completely ruined that dinner! Just like I told him you would! Who do you think you are, ordering people around and making deals with sect elders?”

Yu rubbed her chin in thought. “Who am I, you ask?” Then said, as if she were experiencing a great epiphany, “Oh, yes! I am the Young Mistress of this family and clan. So I suppose the better question is, who do you think you are?”

Before the woman could spew more filth out of her open mouth, Yu continued, “But I will deign to answer your question. I am a member of this family who puts the family first, instead of my own petty jealousy. I am a member of this clan who puts her clan before vengeance for imagined slights and false superiority. And I am a cultivator in the Meridian Formation Stage!” She yelled the last sentence, which caused the target of her ire to open her eyes wide.

Yu cleared her throat, took a breath and then spoke calmly once again. “I am demonstrating my filiality right this second because if I were not, if I were like you, I would have,” and Yu looked over Huiqing’s shoulder to the sons that were hiding behind her even now, “dealt with your despicable, pathetic, incapable, untalented, weak, cowardly, honorless sons. If I weren’t filial, I would have taken my well-earned vengeance on all three of you. But I didn’t, because I love my family and my clan, and I imagine that my father, the Patriarch, still loves you. I’ve suffered beyond what you can imagine for my family and clan. So instead of shattering every bone in your children’s bodies, instead of slapping your face so hard it swells like a pig’s cheek, instead of driving all three of you into the ground until you feel the torment that you made me feel for thirteen years, I am going to be the filial daughter and the Young Mistress of this clan. I am going to be what I have always been: better than you.”

Yu took a step into the shocked woman’s space forcing her to take a step back. Raising her finger, Yu jabbed it just short of Huiqing’s chest.

“But let me be clear. This is your last chance. I’m done being forgiving. I have no idea what caused your enmity toward me, and I don’t care. It doesn’t matter anymore. The only thing that matters is that tonight you have put your selfishness ahead of your clan.” Yu stepped back and sighed. “What you did at dinner could have irreparably harmed everyone in this family and clan. What were you thinking? Do you even see it, you selfish bitch?” Yu could hear the frustration in her own voice. “That little scheme could have permanently marred our reputation, and undermined our prospects for years to come. Such a scandal could have made other sects wary of visiting us out here. Sect visits could have dried up, just when they were finally beginning to blossom. Do you really hate me so much that you would ruin opportunities for everyone in the city, just to bring me low?”

Yu couldn’t see Huiqing’s complexion under her makeup, but she could see the shock in her wide eyes, and the fury in her thin lips and shaking fists. Yu shook her head, realizing the woman didn’t appear repentant at all. No, she wouldn’t change her ways. She was still a threat, and Yu made the decision that she needed to be dealt with.

Yu watched as Huiqing shakily looked at her husband, who had now turned his back on the entire scene – as had all her family. This was a private matter.

“Husband, you can’t let her—”

Yu interrupted. “Oh, Ning Huiqing. How did you put it? My father will not save you this time? No. You have demonstrated that your priorities are yourself first, and your clan last. So take this as a warning. As Young Mistress of this clan, I declare that all authority you once held has hereby been revoked. From this moment on, you will be watched. You will be monitored. Every letter you send will be read, every visitor and messenger will be searched, every bird will be captured.”

Then Yu took one step to the side and glared at the gaping twins. “You two have repeatedly demonstrated the same priorities as your selfish mother. You were a party to tonight’s events, even if you were silent. So I declare that you will also be watched in the same way.” Yu swept her gaze between the trio. “I declare that all three of you are confined to your wing of the palace, never to leave again until my lord father, the Patriarch of the clan you so selfishly disgraced, grants you specific permission in front of the clan. You are to be isolated so that you can do no more harm. No parties, no friends, no family.”

Yu turned back to the twins. “And if the two of you are somehow miraculously accepted into a sect despite your ineptitude and laziness, you will go with nothing. You will be cut off from this clan and receive no support.”

Then turning back to their mother, Yu said, “You’ve done this to yourself, Ning Huiqing. Welcome to feeling isolated and alone. Welcome to the life of a cripple. I hope the clan is kinder to you than you and your sons were to me.”

“You can’t—”

Yu had turned to walk away, but spun around in a blur.

“I can’t?” Yu’s yell ran right over her. “Uncle Zhao, did you get her?”

“I did, niece,” came her uncle’s voice from nearby. “And she confessed.”

Yu nodded in satisfaction. “Your servant has been caught and has confessed, Ning Huiqing. Also, that reminds me about something. You used your servant to harm your clan. As prisoners don’t get to choose their staff, your authority to hire your own is also revoked. All of your future servants, staff and guards, will be assigned to you by someone actually trustworthy.”

Ning Huiqing fell back another step.

Yu took a step back and declared loudly and firmly, “As Young Mistress and Patriarch’s daughter, through my authority, you have lost yours, Ning Huiqing.”

Suddenly feeling inexplicably tired, Yu sighed and shook her head. “You know, I truly wish you hadn’t forced this. But you could have irrevocably harmed this clan with what you made that poor servant girl do…” Yu sighed again. “Welcome to the world of being the trash of the family. You are now lower than I was. At least I had some freedom.”

Then Yu walked over to her father, who still had his back turned to the scene, bowed, and asked neutrally, “Lord father, may I be dismissed?”

In a tone which had absolutely no inflection, he said, “You may, daughter.”

Yu turned around, leaving her family in the courtyard, and feeling the eyes of her clan watching her as she walked away.

Yu was sitting silently while her mother’s servants undressed her. For the first time, she noticed that the pair of servants looked at her with wide fearful eyes. Yu sighed, realizing that was likely due to that disaster of a dinner and how she had ordered the dismissal, capture and interrogation of a servant. Well, the outcome of the evening was positive at least, but getting there was… not.

Yu then heard her mother enter, close the door behind her, and stop just at the entrance. She snapped at the already terrified servants, “Hurry, then leave.” They rushed to complete their task, and Yu was soon back in her standard hanfu.

“Join me in my chambers,” Yu’s mother ordered immediately after the servants had left.

Yu followed her mother there, and found her father standing with his hands behind his back, staring out of one of the open windows. After a quick pause at the doorway, Yu followed her inside.

It had been a few years since Yu had been in her mother’s private inner suite, and she found that it had not changed much. The rug was still green, red, and black, with shapeless flourishes that Yu found calming. Against the far walls were tables and cabinets holding books or scrolls. In the middle of the room were two couches, two padded chairs, and a tea table in between. Yu noticed that no tea was set out on the table at that moment.

That there would be some sort of follow up to the events at the dinner and in the courtyard was obvious. What Yu couldn’t figure out was the content and outcome.

“Sit,” Yu’s mother said calmly while pointing at one of the soft chairs. Yu sat as instructed and waited. She thought that her mother didn’t look angry, and her father was facing away from her, so she couldn’t tell with him. And as he was always straight-backed and stiff when he stood, that didn’t help identify his mood.

Nobody spoke for a minute or two, and then her father said without turning around, “You were brilliant at the dinner. Tell me the truth. How did you discover the plot?”

Yu bowed in her chair and said, “Thank you, lord father. And thank you for backing me. To answer your question, initially it was that they kept pushing me to eat that soup. Nobody cares that much about a particular bowl of soup.”

“And what else raised your suspicions?” her father asked.

“Two other things. Firstly, the faces of your first wife and the twins. They looked victorious when they believed I would be forced to eat. Secondly, the smell. My senses are currently a bit out of control, and my sense of smell is the strongest. The food smelled sour to me, without any reason as it was not sour soup.”

“Your mother informed me of your senses being the reason for your lack of makeup and perfume. And the servant?” her father asked, still not having turned around.

“She was the only one that served me out of all of them. And the pudding she brought me smelled sour as well, when it should have been sweet.”

“I noticed you tapped the table in one of the patterns that Zhao’s team uses. Has he been teaching you?”

“Is he here now? In the shadows?”

“I am,” her uncle Zhao’s voice responded. Yu thought it came from the shadowed corner to her right, but she wasn’t positive.

“Did you test the poison?” Yu asked. “I presume it wasn’t fatal. Even she wouldn’t want me dropping dead in the middle of dinner.”

“Indeed, it was not. Yet in some ways, it was worse. She used migomo powder.”

“I don’t know that name,” Yu said curiously, while looking at her mother for an answer.

Interestingly, her mother blushed and cleared her throat before answering. “You would not, Yu’er. It is made from the Migomo Flower, and is for adults when they wish to be… free when they are intimate. It removes inhibition. You would have not been able to control your emotions, and thus would have embarrassed yourself and the clan. Given her provocation, you likely would have attacked Lady Re, and that action would have dishonored and haunted you for the rest of your life. It also would have made it difficult for you to be accepted into even a barely reputable sect, to get married, or to make any other political alliances. And that is not the end of the ill effects it would have had. Your body is still immature, and migomo powder can harm one’s future ability to have children when taken too young or in too high a quantity. It is occasionally used to neuter slaves or enemies.”

Yu sighed and shook her head. “What could I have possibly done to her?”

“You did nothing,” her father answered. “I did.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand, lord father,” Yu said, confused.

Instead of answering he asked, “How did you know about Lady Re’s hand injury, and when did you decide to win her over instead of send her packing?”

“As soon as she arrived, I saw her glove repeatedly get misshapen against her skin as she walked. I believed it was a relatively fresh injury, because she shifted her hand a few times as well, making me think it still caused her pain. Someone of her position would already have had wound healed if it was within their power to do so, thus I suspected she had resigned herself to a lifelong injury, or a scar at the very least. I figured there was no way that she had intentionally left it unhealed. I can’t say for sure, but it looked pretty bad. I figured she was desperate. It seems I was right.”

“And your answer to the latter question?”

“Winning her over, you mean? It was a decision made on the spur of the moment, I’m afraid. Grandma Huan has been teaching me to do what she calls, ‘thinking strategically,’ meaning not just looking at a person’s actions, but their motivations and what is behind them, as well as what their next set of actions could be. In this case, I gambled that Lady Re’s motivation was to fulfill some sort of one-off agreement that she had made with your first wife. If I was wrong and they actually had a stronger relationship, Lady Re would have declined our trade and I would not have to eat. If I was correct in that alliance was weak and she accepted, I would simply have to eat a very lightly scented and flavored food. The compromised servant was a bit of a radish in the soup, but it worked out.”

Her father finally turned around, and the look on his face shocked Yu. To her, he looked devastated. “What you did at the dinner was brilliant. But what you did after…”

“I apologize if I overstepped, lord father,” Yu said with a bow. “I assumed you would have stopped me were I pressing too far. I even looked to you to give you the opportunity. That you didn’t made it seem a fair assumption that you wanted to silently support me. And technically, even though I hate it, the title of Young Mistress grants me the right to punish almost anyone, according to the clan laws. At least within certain constraints.”

“The problem is not what you did, it is that you had to.” He sighed heavily. For first time in her life, Yu thought that her father looked old. “I should have done it instead of you, and long ago. I tried to talk to the twins you know. I threatened them, took away their resources, told them to respect you and the clan.” His next sentence was just above a whisper, “I wanted to believe they could regain their honor and put the clan first. I wanted to believe my wife would not betray my clan.”

Yu looked between him and her mother. “Lord father, I’ve seen the twins training with their same instructor, and eating the same foods. They appeared to have the same resources as before. Nothing changed for any of them – not recently, anyway.”

“You are correct. Their mother paid from her own money, the stipend all my wives receive. It is technically hers, and she can do with it what she wills.”

Yu put it together. “So, she used that to pay for the resources that you had taken away.” And then a further realization hit Yu. “And likely to enable this scheme. The powder, the servant, the connection to Lady Re. She used money you gave her to harm me, the family, and the clan.”

Yu’s father fell into the chair across from her, looking tired and sad.

Uncle Zhao’s voice came out of the empty air. “And yet you defeated her at every turn. You found and removed her servant, you shamed her and the twins in front of the family and Lady Re. You saw through it all, and ended up winning our clan a strong supporter and access to what we wanted. And then you punished her and her children in front of the entire family and enough of the clan that word will get around. She really will be reviled now, at least by those she hasn’t suborned. Not that she was loved before. She deserved it and worse, if you ask me.”

Yu was struggling to understand why she was here. “I appreciate the praise and recognition, and I agree of course, but I do not understand why we are discussing this here and now. You didn’t call me here for only that. What have you not said?”

Yu’s mother said softly, “Oh, Yu’er. You’re here because you pushed too far, too publicly.”

Still confused, Yu asked, “I still don’t understand. Why not stop me then and there? What am I missing? I was within my rights.”

“You ask why I did not stop you. It is because you were right.”

Yu flicked her eyes between her visibly sagging father and her wet-eyed mother, trying to make the connection. “I did the right thing, but you are looking at me as though I did the wrong thing. And you have to say something that I won’t like too…”

Yu then remembered her father’s thoughtful expression as she and his first wife had had their argument in the courtyard. Then remembered her family turning their backs. She figured out what she was missing, and sagged at the realization.

“You used me,” she whispered.

Yu’s mother looked down, a single tear falling onto the hands clenching the cloth of her dress. Yu’s anger flared when she saw that. It seemed that her mother was ashamed of her own actions, and yet had still taken them. And didn’t apologize for them either.

Yu turned her head away, but when she saw her father, her anger sputtered out. What Yu saw were the watery eyes and desperate face of a man devastated and pleading for understanding.

Yu said sadly, “You needed me to do what I did because you couldn’t take the action yourself. And because it was me. If it were anyone else, they’d be dead. But because I had the station and rank, it had to be me.”

Her father nodded and said in a somber tone, “More than three thousand clansmen depend on our family, Yu’er. Thousands whom we feed, clothe, house, protect, discipline, lead… They trust me and mine to do those things for them. And our family, my family, their Patriarch’s family, betrayed their trust. There was no way to hide it. And because of that betrayal, nobody whom they saw as being part of that betrayal could earn their trust back.”

And then Yu finally understood. “It’s not that you couldn’t. It’s that I could.”

“Oh, Yu’er,” and her father held his hands up between them. “Only you could. You, who were also betrayed by family, and yet forgave. You were their champion already. For being healed, for rising from low, for winning the tournament, and, yes, for forgiving us and them. And tonight, you were their champion again. You spoke in defense of your clan against your family. But…” and he petered off.

I championed my clan against my own family?

Thinking about the scene in the courtyard, she realized that was exactly what had happened. She had stood against her father’s wife and sons and publicly punished them because their actions could have hurt the clan. Clan politics were so damn convoluted. In this case, the problem was about position. How was her father supposed to maintain his power base if she… Oh. Hence the ‘but’ at the end.

“But,” Yu said. “You need to regain your authority and their trust, lord father. My position isn’t what matters. Yours is.”

Her father said nothing but nodded.

Yu let out a breath. “How?”

“The problem, Yu’er, is that while the Young Mistress title technically gives you authority over most of the clan, you have not yet reached your majority. That, plus your low cultivation level – because everything is about power in the end – means that you actually did not have the authority you used. Age and power matter to old and strong cultivators, Yu’er. And despite your potential, the clan elders know you currently have neither. Which means…”

“You didn’t answer my question. How will you regain your authority and their trust?” Yu said neutrally.

“By showing them that the rules apply to us,” her father answered. “By demonstrating to our clan that they can trust us to enforce all the rules the same.”

It was as she had thought. “I overstepped my authority, and will be punished according to clan law.”

“Yes,” was all her father said.

“And what is my punishment to be?” Yu was afraid of the answer, but felt she had to ask.

“For challenging the authority of the head family, fifty lashes with the cane without Qi protection.”

Yu blinked and sat up straighter. “That’s it?” she asked, surprised.

That can’t be all. I’ve been beaten by stone hundreds of times, nearly drowned in a tub of water, had my organs burned inside of me, my bones drilled to the marrow. Being hit by a bamboo stick a few dozen times? That seems too simple.

Yu’s parents looked at each other, then back at Yu.

“We said fifty, not fifteen,” her mother said gently.

Yu figured they honestly thought she had misheard.

Yu fell back in her chair, relieved. “I was worried you might exile me, or cripple my cultivation, or imprison me like I did to her. Honestly, fifty lashes with a cane is pretty much just another day for me.”

Echoing laughter came from a dark corner of the room – a true belly laugh, full of heart.

SIXTY

Show

Yu found out later that her punishment was to be carried out in front of the clan. Yet because of her position as a noble and the Young Mistress, it would only be in front of the one hundred most senior elders.

She had to admit it scared her a little. She was sure the pain would be bad, but for her entirely manageable. But having it done in front of her clan seemed… more scary. Reflecting on the events that had led to her sentence, she accepted the unfairness of it. After all, if anyone understood that the world was not a fair place, Yu did. The more time she spent thinking about it, the more she came to terms with it. By the end, she felt ready to accept it as another sacrifice for her clan and for her personal growth.

Of course, convincing Grandma Huan of that was another story.

“Grandma Huan, calm down,” Yu pleaded while standing in front of her teacher on the grassy area of her courtyard.

The old woman was slamming her cane down at regular intervals, causing dirt to fly.

“No!” Grandma Huan declared. “I am going to flatten this entire palace and that idiot father of yours.”

Yu raised her hands, attempting to placate her teacher. “Please, I don’t care. It’s going to be fine. Nobody will even remember it in a month.”

Another slam. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a public caning. You will be humiliated.”

“No, I won’t. Everyone knows the truth; at least, everyone that matters to me.”

Slam!

“A student of mine being caned for doing the right thing because someone else is too cowardly to do it? I won’t hear of it!”

“Not cowardly, teacher. It had to be done. I was a solution to the clan’s problem. I’m fine with it. It’s a sacrifice for my clan, just like everyone is expected to make. Believe it or not, I’m honestly feeling all right about it. And anyway, it’s just a cane. I’ve been through worse on a good day. You know that. And if it helps, I spent most of last night and today on controlling my skin sensitivity. I’ll be fine.”

Which meant she hadn’t slept, but it was definitely worthwhile.

Grandma Huan stared at Yu, her face full of sadness and frustration. “This is absurd. How can I look at you if I let this happen?”

“You can because I’m asking you to let it happen. I’ll do fifty short sprints and water leaps if you let this go.”

Grandma Huan harrumphed and asked, “Are you trying to bribe me?”

“Well, since you bring that up, I had someone pick up a fine silver thread from the market. It was the only one there, and we had to outbid another clan’s elder for it. Some old lady from the Chao Clan, I was told.”

“What? It was probably that old bat, Chao Mingdi. How much did it cost to outbid that coot?”

“One hundred and seventy-nine silver.” Yu knew that the price was outrageous for a roll of thread, given that a full dinner with meat and tea usually only cost eighteen to twenty silver.

Grandma Huan leapt to her feet and yelled, “What?” She slammed her cane down and growled, “That old hag! Give it to me, and I’ll go deal with her while you wrap things up here. I know you are brave enough to deal with the punishment. And don’t embarrass me in front of your clan, otherwise I’ll have to kill everyone anyway in order to hide that my student was an embarrassment. Assuming you live, I will see you one more time only, and then not again until just before you leave for the sect.”

Then she marched off, slamming her cane with every step and mumbling about thread, better embroiderers, and old bats.

Yu let out a sigh of relief, knowing that if Grandma Huan was complaining to herself, nobody would get vaporized – at least, not right now.

The story about the thread had been true, and Yu really had outbid the old coot. Of course, that had happened ages ago. Yu had figured she might need a distraction for the old woman one day, and had waited for the right moment to bribe her. Saving her clan, hells maybe her city, seemed like a fair investment for one hundred seventy-nine silver. The old woman would do it too. Grandma Huan was no false blossom.

With placating her volatile teacher out of the way, Yu moved to the sandy area, did her stretches, and attempted to center herself for what was to come. She felt she was as ready for a public caning as anyone ever could be. In the end, as long as her punishment of Ning Huiqing and the twins stood, she knew she could and would accept it.

An hour of meditation hadn’t been nearly enough time to center herself, but it was all that Yu got. Her mother arrived and, even though her face held sadness, said very officially, “Fenghuang Yu, you are summoned before the clan elders.”

“I hear the summons and come of my own accord,” Yu said in the same tone.

Everyone had a choice when officially summoned. The question was part of the process because the clan felt it had the right to know if the punished was being dragged in or was walking with their head held high. Were they proud of their actions or ashamed?

Yu was dressed in a specific hanfu that opened at the back to allow access for the cane, but which maintained her propriety by having a neck collar to keep the front from falling open. For men they lose their tops entirely. Fair or not, those were the rules.

Yu followed two strides behind her mother and after a minute or two of slowly walking through the palace they ended up in the courtyard. It was filled with the ninety-nine elders of the clan, who were standing at attention in perfect lines of ten with their hands behind their backs. Men and women alike were all dressed in identical white hanfu with the patch of a single flaming bird on their shoulders, identical in stance and expression like an army of white jade statues.

Yu’s father, wearing the same type of hanfu as the elders but in black with a white bird motif, was standing before them on a raised platform similar to the one they had eaten on not even half a year ago when they had celebrated Yu’s victory. Two tall rods of dark wood were spaced three paces apart just behind him, and had ropes dangling from them.

Yu’s mother stopped before the platform and called loudly, “As is my responsibility as the leader of cultivators not yet in their majority, I, Long Meixiu, present Fenghuang Yu as per the request of the clan elders.”

“Did the accused come willingly and of her own accord?” her father intoned.

“She did,” her mother responded loudly, and with what Yu thought was some pride.

“Bring her to the judgment circle.”

Yu’s mother walked up onto the platform and to a circle carved into the wooden floor. It had “正义” – meaning “justice” in the ancient tongue – burned into the center.

Yu walked without hesitation into the circle and onto the characters representing her actions. She turned to face her father and elders and stood still, her hands at her sides. Her mother stepped down and took her place as the final elder in the center of the front row.

Yu’s father spoke then. “Fenghuang Yu, you are accused of usurping the power of the Patriarch and enacting punishment on another without authority. You punished the Patriarch’s first wife and sons in the following ways…” He then listed the punishments the woman will have to endure. When he was done, he asked, “Do you recognize these charges?”

“I do,” Yu called out.

“Do you admit to these charges?”

Once again, “I do.”

“Are you willing to withdraw your judgment?”

“I am not. It is a just and necessary punishment.”

“Fenghuang Yu, your judgment states that the Patriarch is able to release the punished if he states so in front of the clan. As Patriarch it is my right to make this offer now. I will free you from your own punishment in exchange for freeing my first wife and her sons from theirs. Do you agree?”

Yu was surprised to hear the offer, but she would not take back what she did. Cane or no cane, she would follow through or none of her sacrifices had meant anything.

Without hesitation, Yu said loudly, “I do not agree. The punishment was just and remains in the best interests of the clan. I accept my punishment to defend and protect my clan.”

Yu heard a slight muttering from some of the elders, and it seemed apparent that the offer had been as much of a surprise to them as it had been to her.

“Then the decision stands,” her father said. “The clan laws are clear. For overstepping your authority and punishing above your station, you are assigned fifty lashes with the cane. You may not use Qi to protect yourself, or have the wounds healed until the following sunrise. Do you understand the law, and the consequences of failing to abide by it?”

“I do, and accept my punishment on behalf of my clan. I welcome the pain to better my clan. I offer my blood in defense of my clan.”

That last recitation was rarely part of the ritual, but was allowed according to clan law. The phrasing was used by clan members who wanted it known they felt they had made hard choices that benefited the clan but were still allowing themselves to be punished for them – all to honor the clan laws. In this case, it was important that the clan understood she knew what she was doing and did it anyway. She hadn’t known this part of it at the time, but she was taking the lashes anyway, so she had decided to help everyone see, as her father said, that she had been “championing” them.

At least some of those present understood her intent based on the few mutterings she could make out with her hearing still only partially under control.

“Finally, someone put that bitch in her place,” said one elder.

Another said, “The patriarch didn’t stop her. That means he tacitly approves but did not have to take action himself. A cunning maneuver.”

And more comments of the like. Some were not so welcoming, but none outright said the woman should be freed, at least that Yu could make out.

“Elder Mao,” her father called, silencing the courtyard. “As the elder of law, you are responsible for issuing punishments. I call on you to do your duty for the clan.”

A dark-haired man who looked to be in his late thirties in mortal years and had a short, trimmed beard walked onto the stage.

Before being told to, Yu stepped up to the standing poles and raised her arms. That caused more muttering from the elders, but Yu wanted to show them that she neither regretted her actions nor feared the punishment.

Elder Mao wrapped Yu’s wrists in the ropes that were dangling from the poles, and then pulled them tight so that she was held up evenly between them. He then took out a knife from his belt – not his storage ring – for it was a ritual knife and had to be open for all to see at all times, and cut down the back of Yu’s hanfu. As it was designed to do, the cloth fell to the side, exposing her back but not her front.

Yu stood perfectly still, her arms above her head as she awaited her punishment. At the same time she stared down every single elder, moving her eyes from one to the next.

The new voice behind her, Elder Mao she assumed, said, “Fifty lashes with the cane.”

“One,” he called.

And Yu felt the blow, a decent whack on her scale of things. Her upper body was pushed forward slightly, but she pushed off the ropes to hold herself steady. The pain left a familiar burning tingle.

Yu hadn’t stopped moving her eyes from one elder to the next. Yet she couldn’t seem to find her uncles, and wondered whether they even counted as elders, but wouldn’t ask. It could be a sensitive topic. Because she was isolated when young and everything had been a secret after she healed, she did not know the full hierarchy of her clan.

She was brought out of her ill-timed musings by the elder’s call. “Two.”

Another blow fell, this time lower.

At least Elder Mao was spreading it out. Yu wondered whether he was doing that on purpose. She appreciated it either way.

“Three.”

That blow landed across her shoulder blades.

Time passed. Yu had started gritting her teeth by the twentieth blow. Her mantra was holding decently so far. Not great, but enough. Yet she was finding that maintaining her focus through the pain was becoming a challenge.

Yu finally ended her eyes’ journey around the elders with the one-hundredth, her mother. Her face looked impassive, but Yu saw that her eyes were wet, and wondered what her mother was thinking.

Did she ever have to make a similar sacrifice when she was young?

Putting that question aside, Yu looked away and stared over the elders’ heads as she winced from another blow. She had yet to make a single sound.

On the thirtieth blow, she struggled not to let out a grunt of pain.

By the fortieth, she was grunting and her legs were starting to feel weak. She had stopped listening to the count and was simply focusing on staying upright.

On the forty-fifth blow she lost her battle against tears, and was ashamed to admit they fell with each strike.

Then finally she heard, “Fifty.”

Yu smelled her own blood as the cane landed across many others wounds already open, inflamed, and in pain. Yu closed her eyes for the first time as she felt her legs shakily give out under her, leaving her to hang from her wrists and arms.

The next thing Yu knew, her wrists were free and she was falling to the floor, but someone grabbed her upper arms and steadied her. She could feel the blood leaking down her back and onto her legs.

“Well done,” Elder Mao whispered in her ear.

Then, still supporting her, he spoke out loud to the crowd. “Punishment has been served. The clan law has been followed.”

Yu then firmed her will and spoke in a low voice that she hoped would be heard in the near silence of the courtyard. “Clan law has been served. My judgment stands.”

That started quite a bit more whispering and speaking among the assembled elders.

Yu saw her father step in front of her and Elder Mao. “Punishment has been issued and received. Do any object to the punishment, or feel that the debt to the clan remains unsatisfied?”

There was silence, and so he began to say, “Then the matter—”

“Hold!” said an unfamiliar voice from the crowd.

Yu’s heart sank. It was not over yet.

SIXTY-ONE

Elder

Yu’s father called, “Elder Mafan. Come forth.”

Yu could make out a man stepping from deep within the lines of elders and approaching the stage. He looked about the same age as Elder Mao, but with his black hair up in a topknot and no beard.

“Do you intend to maintain the accused’s punishment on your first wife, Patriarch?”

Yu’s father responded with, “Yes. I have no intention of revoking it at this time.”

“Our clan will be a laughingstock. A child punishing a Patriarch’s wife? You must take action.”

“Not just any child, Elder Mafan. A noble child, and the clan’s Young Mistress. With that, her crime was against the clan, not me personally. It would be inappropriate for me to take direct action now that the requirements of clan law have been met.”

Everything seemed blurry from Yu’s perspective due to her exhaustion and tears, but she thought she saw the lines of elders break up as some of their number began shuffling forward.

She heard another say, “She just took fifty lashes with the cane with more courage than most grown men I have seen. What else do you want, Mafan?”

“Exactly!” Mafan exclaimed. “We heard not a cry or a whimper. She is a child. How can she possibly not have used Qi, or a medicine, or something else to dull it?”

Yu’s father stepped down from the platform and Elder Mao followed, still supporting her.

As they approached, Elder Mao said, “That accusation had better be backed by facts, or you will receive your own punishment, Elder Mafan.”

“The proof is in her actions. Or lack of reaction, to be more precise.”

Another elder said, “That she is stronger than you thought does not make her dishonorable. If anything, it further demonstrates the sacrifice she is willing to make for this clan.”

“Bah! Sacrifice? Please. She should be a crying and wailing mass of tears and flesh. Instead, she stood up there as strong as, or stronger than, any adult. What other proof do you need?”

Elder Mao spoke firmly. “Proof backed by facts. I detected no Qi use, and you know that I and all who are here would have detected that if she had been using any. You are still making accusations without evidence. If you do not provide any, you will be punished.”

Yu was still struggling to think straight, but the world was definitely clearing up. All she knew at the moment was that something was not right with this argument. She just couldn’t put together all the facts.

“I demand to see her Sign. If it shows that she has no external forces, I will apologize.”

“That is outrageous!” came a cry from Yu’s left followed shortly by Yu’s mother. She marched forward and right up into Elder Mafan’s face.

The man backed up a step and said, “A mother’s concern is not at issue here.”

“You little shit,” she spat while stepping back into his space. “You think I will let you abuse this situation to expose her?”

Another elder said, “Mafan, are you sure you want to do this? Don’t you understand what happened to the last person who tried to trick and connive against that child?”

“Nonsense,” Mafan declared and he waved his arms around as if to encompass the courtyard and all of the one hundred two people in it. “This whole thing was set up. She didn’t do any of this. It was her parents using her as a tool. Out of pity and guilt for having used her to do their dirty work, they likely drugged her to dull the pain. It is simple logic. Show her Sign, prove she is honest, and we can all go home.”

Things had cleared up a great deal and Yu was starting to understand. At least she hoped she was, and it wasn’t her addled brain making connections that didn’t exist. She had to take a chance.

“What are you accusing me of, Elder Mafan?” she asked weakly, her voice cracking.

“You are standing and speaking now? There is no way. You were given some form of alchemy to dull the pain. You all have to see it!”

More confident in her presumptions, Yu said in a neutral if still groggy tone, “Elder Mafan, I ask again. What do you accuse me of?”

“You are a liar and a cheater,” he said, jabbing his finger in her direction. “Everyone knows you lied your way into the position you’re in. What sort of miracle turns a crippled freak into a hero of the clan? This whole thing, your whole life, is a lie.”

Yu, finally able to stand on her own, straightened her back with a wince and repeated herself. “Elder Mafan, for the last time. What are your specific charges against me?”

“You brat. You can’t order me around. ‘Last time,’ my ass. You’ve learned nothing. You have no rank here, you child. Go back up there and take a real beating without external help. I’ll deliver the blows myself.”

Yu then turned to the glaring Elder Mao. “Elder Mao, according to clan law, these proceedings are over. Additionally, I have been dishonored in front of the clan. As per the law, I asked three times what charges were being made against me, and none were specified. I demand recompense for the dishonorable actions of Clan Elder Mafan.”

Silence fell over the bickering group, except for a whispered, “I told you, Mafan.”

Elder Mao stared at Yu for a few breaths and she stared back, not flinching despite the pain from her back.

Then he said, “Your complaint is heard by the law enforcement elder, Young Mistress. I was a witness to the dishonorable act, as were many others, all elders of this clan. I, as law enforcement elder of the Fenghuang Clan, hereby offer judgment.”

Then he turned to the shocked Mafan and said, “Elder Mafan, you are found guilty of making false accusations. You are found guilty of publicly dishonoring a noble of the clan, as well as the clan’s Young Mistress.”

Then Mao turned to Yu’s father. “As is your right, Patriarch, do you wish to offer clemency to this elder?”

“As the original accuser is a relation, I recuse myself from the proceedings.”

Mafan yelled, “Oh, what bullshit! You just involved yourself in your daughter’s punishment!”

Elder Mao said, “Mafan, he oversaw his daughter, who just served this clan by taking fifty lashes to save us from our own. He did not interfere on her behalf, he ensured she was punished. Are you sure you wish to follow that line of logic?”

Yu watched as Elder Mafan gaped at the law enforcement elder. Then he looked around for support and found none.

Seeing her opportunity, Yu spoke instead. “Elder Mao, I would like to offer a compromise.”

“This should be rich,” Mafan said with derision.

“You are in deep enough trouble, Mafan. Shut your mouth before you dig yourself any deeper,” Elder Mao warned. Then he asked Yu, “What is your compromise, Young Mistress?”

Yu was surprised at how open and naturally all the elders seemed to speak to each other. She had had the false impression that they were all a bunch of dour stuffy old men and women who just glared and quoted laws all the time. She apparently was completely wrong.

Shaking herself from her musings, Yu declared, “I offer a punishment that will be carried out immediately, but the accused must agree to it.”

Mafan snorted.

Elder Mao asked, “What is your proposal?”

“That Elder Mafan be demoted to junior elder.” Everyone started exclaiming loudly at that but Yu went on, yelling to be heard above the din. “For a single day!”

Those words hushed everyone rather quickly.

Mafan said, “Wait. You will drop the whole thing if I agree to be a junior elder for one day?”

Yu nodded at him.

“Is that even allowed?” Mafan asked Elder Mao.

Elder Mao said slowly, “It is. It would be an acceptance of guilt and a minor dishonor on your part.”

“I accept,” Mafan declared, without any further thought. “If you won’t agree to show her Sign, then you are all complicit in her cheating. I have said my piece, let’s go home.”

Elder Mao asked Yu, “Are you sure, Young Mistress? This is a minor recompense.”

“Everything I do is for the betterment of the clan,” Yu said.

Mafan spat, “Whatever. I accept. This is all beast shit, anyway.”

Elder Mao said, “Understood. Elder Mafan, for crimes against the clan, and as agreed to by all parties, you are hereby reduced in rank to junior elder for a period of one cycle of the sun starting immediately.”

Mafan then said, “Fine. Damn frauds. I am going ho—”

But Yu interrupted with, “Junior Elder Mafan, as clan law for elders dictates, I challenge you for your position.”

Silence followed that.

“Is that what this was all about?” Mafan asked with a single loud laugh. “You wanted to get rid of me?”

Yu’s mother asked, “Yu’er, what are—”

Ignoring her, Yu asked, “Junior Elder Mafan, do you accept the challenge? You must answer immediately.”

Mafan said disgustedly, “Battling a child would be a stain on my honor. Absolutely not!”

Yu had figured he would say that, and had a response ready. “As per elder clan law four, subsection two, paragraph three, a junior elder is required to accept a single non-mortal challenge once per month to defend their position. You are, of course, free to decline this particular challenge, as you have done.” Yu felt the tension drop but she knew it wouldn’t stay that way.

“That’s too bad. We could have done this without anyone dying. But now you’ve left me no choice. As per elder clan law four, subsection six, a noble is permitted to challenge an elder for slights offered, as long as they are less than a full elder. However, in that case it must be an honor duel… to the death.”

Even more shocked exclamations followed Yu’s announcement.

Mafan hollered, “No. I decline. Absolutely not. You’re just looking for an excuse to have your parents kill me.”

“Junior Elder Mafan,” Yu called loudly enough to be heard over the raised voices. “None are permitted to interfere in an honor duel. Not even the Patriarch. And you cannot decline. As a junior elder, you are required to accept or be expelled from the clan, all property seized and given to the challenger, and your cultivation crippled.”

Mafan exclaimed, “Are you mad, girl? I’m over a century old. You’re a whelp barely off her mother’s breast!”

“There is no way—” Yu heard her mother say, trying once again to interrupt.

Yu turned to her father, who was staring at her. She said nothing but just looked up at him, confident that he would see the threat that she did.

He sighed, nodded and walked to Yu’s mother. “You cannot stop this, lady wife.”

She gaped at him. “But—”

“This has to happen,” he told her seriously.

Boosted by the confirmation that she wasn’t alone, Yu turned away from her parents and back toward Mafan. “What is your answer, Junior Elder Mafan? A duel – or expulsion, destitution, and neutering?”

He glared at her for a few breaths until he finally spat out, “Fine! You want to die so badly? I accept. I hope you—”

Turning her back to him and, facing the law enforcement elder, Yu said, “Law enforcement Elder Mao, as per clan law, I request public acknowledgment of my status as Young Mistress of this clan.”

The courtyard once again filled with mutters as the crowd tried to figure out why that mattered. Being part of the Patriarch’s family wasn’t a way to get out a fight. But Yu knew every word of every law of her clan, no matter how obscure.

Mao looked at her in a confused fashion for a few breaths, but then his eyes opened wide as realization dawned on him.

Yu saw and heard the bewilderment around her. They were all wondering what Mao had thought of.

“Elder Mao?” Yu asked.

“You are acknowledged as the Young Mistress of this clan.”

Yu nodded and turned back to Mafan. “As per clan law, because of my birth and position, the junior elder is required to lower his cultivation to the level of the challenger for the duration of the combat.”

SIXTY-TWO

Challenge

Silence returned to the courtyard.

Mafan spluttered, “There is no such rule! I would know.”

Elder Mao said, “There is, Mafan. And as the challenger has no open meridians, you are not permitted to use external Qi.”

Looking at Mafan, Yu asked with contempt, “What say you, Junior Elder Mafan? Are you willing to fight a lying and crippled little girl whose only strength comes from her parents? How confident are you with only your weapon?”

Mafan squinted at Yu, narrowing his eyes so they became almost slits. “You are reaching for the heavens with a blade of grass, girl.”

“I do what I must for my clan,” Yu responded. But she also wanted to send a message that she understood what he had been doing, so she added, “I will not allow you to tear us apart.”

Mafan’s eyes widened. He understood then that she had figured out his motives.

While she had him emotionally rattled, she added, “When was the last time you wielded your blade? How many years? Fifty? A hundred? I know you advanced cultivators scoff at using real weapons when you can simply burn someone to ash or slice them with air. When was your last fight without external Qi, junior elder? When was your last martial combat?”

His face changed from expression to expression until it stilled and he looked around at his fellow elders and then back at Yu. A sneer crossed his face and he said, “I don’t need Qi skills to kill a runt like you. I accept.”

“The challenge is accepted,” Yu called over the whispers while turning away.

She then withdrew her two hook swords from her ring and said, “The surrounding elders can make a circle with their bodies.”

Yu knew that her damaged punishment attire was too loose and was not safe for combat. That it wasn’t modest enough for the same reason, didn’t particularly bother her as she pretty much had the physique of a muscled boy. But, propriety mattered. In short, it was neither safe nor appropriate for her to wear it the way it was. Thus, she walked to her mother, who looked at her with pursed lips and wet eyes.

“Your father told me, daughter,” she said before Yu could speak. “Are you sure you can win?”

Yu shrugged and then winced at the pain in her back. “No. Now time is short. I need your help with my top. I can’t fight with this thing,” Yu said as she pulled at the dangling torn cloth of her top.

Her mother looked into her eyes, and Yu saw anger and sadness in equal measure. Yu felt similarly, but she had made the decision knowing what she was doing. Well, she hoped she did anyway.

Her mother called over a group of female elders, and they created a circle around Yu and her mother. Together, they ripped off all the loose cloth from Yu’s top to create a few long, thin strips which they tied around her to keep the front of her top from being too baggy and exposing more than was appropriate, as well as to ensure it would not be too baggy for Yu to fight in.

That done, Yu thanked the women and returned to the fight for her life and clan. The elders parted as she walked through them until she entered the circle. The elders had formed a ring twenty paces in diameter for Yu and Mafan to fight in.

Yu asked the group, “Which elder will adjudicate?”

Elder Mao stepped into the circle. “As this is a matter of enforcing the laws, it is appropriate that I adjudicate.”

Yu bowed to him. “Thank you, elder.”

Mafan said nothing, so Mao proceeded. “I will now clarify the rules for both parties and the witnesses. This is an honor match to the death.” And he stopped for a breath, allowing everyone to understand the stakes. “Combatants may use only melee weapons. Neither party may concede, although both have the right to grant mercy. As the challenger, Fenghuang Yu is not permitted to take the first action. As the challenged, Junior Elder Mafan is not permitted to use external Qi. Any attempt to do so by either party will result in admittance of guilt and immediate execution. Any outside interference in an honor duel will result in expulsion from the clan. Finally, as an honor duel, the winner will receive all the possessions of the loser. Are there any questions?”

Yu shook her head and took her primary movement stance, focusing her mind as she released some of the Full Body Control mantra. Everything seemed to slow down as her senses increased. Almost immediately, the pain in her back overwhelmed her and nearly brought her to her knees. But she gritted her teeth and maintained her control. She slowed her breathing, squeezed her hands on her swords, and focused all her attention on the traitor fifteen paces away.

“No questions,” Mafan said to Mao. Then he looked at Yu and snarled, “Let’s end this farce and put you in your place.” After that threat, he withdrew a gleaming saber from his ring and took an aggressive stance, clearly ready to launch himself forward.

Yu flooded her body with Qi for the first time since she had completed the Foundation Building Stage, and it rang like chimes in her mind. Her whole body seemed to vibrate to its own unique tune, every part of her singing a song of anticipation and battle.

Mao raised his hand between them just like the judges at the tournament.

All Yu saw was Mafan. She saw the beads of sweat on his forehead, how he tightened and loosened his grip on the saber, how the toes showing through his open sandals were pressed down and then released. His eyes twitched to different parts of her body, deciding where to strike, and his wrist turned slightly left and right as he decided between slice and lunge.

Mao dropped his hand and yelled, “Begin!”

The older and more experienced Mafan was also flooding his body with his much higher capacity of Qi, and he pressed his feet down and rushed forward in the time it took Yu to breathe in and out once. She watched his body, her eyes in pain from seeing so much.

His right hand and wrist, which was holding his saber, stiffened slightly but did not straighten. A slash, then. The ankle and foot on his sword arm side turned outward, showing he would be slashing from the left to the right. His left arm stayed at a middle height and did not begin to rise, so his strike would not be low.

Yu knew she would not be able to dodge freely in this small ring so she would have to accept the blow. Yu’s Qi-flooded legs braced for the impact as her right arm crossed her body, joining with the left to create an “X” with her swords just as his saber landed. Her infused body still failed to withstand his strength, and her arms collapsed into her body, throwing her into the air, only to slam into the unforgiving forms of two of the elders who made up the ring wall. She collapsed to the ground.

Yu’s arms throbbed with the blow. As she had suspected, he truly was much stronger than she was. Mafan’s next taunt could be heard throughout the courtyard as she climbed to her feet shakily. “As I thought, you are nothing on your own.”

Yu ignored his words and returned to her stance before sliding sideways to free herself from being trapped against the wall of bodies. She watched him again, waiting for his next strike. She raised her Qi by a tiny fraction, causing her body’s song to become just a tiny bit louder.

The older man moved forward again, this time in an obvious lunge for her gut. She twisted to the side while bringing both her swords up in reversed grips, setting their flats against her forearms. His blade slid along them, causing sparks to fly. Yu watched the sneer on his face grow as he flexed his right shoulder and back, and shoved her away, once again to go tumbling. Yu rolled back to her feet and returned to her stance.

“Whatever strength you pretended to have was never yours,” Mafan called to her and everyone.

Yu’s back was screaming at her from the last roll, blood still dripping from her earlier punishment. Some debris from the courtyard floor must have gotten into one of her open wounds because a particular area on her back stung mightily. Yet she knew she could not use her Qi to heal it, and, challenge or no, she dared not draw attention to any sort of weakness or breach of the clan rules.

Mafan attacked with another slash, this time a backhand from left to right. After blocking it Yu was once again sent rolling away, but was back to her feet and in a fighting stance before he had even opened his mouth to taunt her again. Yu watched in satisfaction as his face changed into an expression of confusion. Then it morphed to anger, and his next blow was even heavier, from lower to upper. Blocking that caused Yu to be knocked off her feet again, but after slamming once more into the surrounding elders, she returned to her feet, ready and in her defensive stance.

This is just more pain to me. I grow from my pain. And soon, Mafan and the person pulling his strings will see it too.

Mafan glared at the girl before him. He knew she was just a child, and had been sure that his last blow would have sliced her in half.

How does she keep moving so fast?

She was a child, and not just to him. An actual child. Sixteen years or something. Fine then. He wouldn’t let himself be embarrassed by the patriarch and his bully of a second wife any longer. They were the ones behind his little bitch anyway. He had known from the start, which is why he had sided with Ning Huiqing. She had seen the truth. Everything about this little bitch had been because of her bitch mother and spoiling father. Yes, the twins were average, but at least they were normal. This freak wasn’t anything close.

It was time to end it. And he could do it without Qi skills. Not that he should have had to. He should just burn her to ash and then follow the patriarch’s first wife as one of the leaders in the clan. The fact that the little silver-haired bitch in front of him was allowed to challenge him at all was a farse. She was without any merit except winning a damn tournament. She’d beaten other children – so what? She was spoiled, that’s what. He should just create his fire whip from Qi and vaporize her.

But he knew he couldn’t. The spoiled bitch was protected by the others who were biased against him and Ning Huiqing. So Mafan would play their game and kill her anyway. He sent Qi to his legs and went for a feint from the left, before turning it into a dragging lunge from straight ahead.

He thought he had had her until, at the last second, she flipped those cursed swords, linking their crescents and causing his lunging blade to slide along them instead of her scrawny neck. In frustration, he yanked toward her body, knowing his greater strength would simply send her flying again. It worked as expected, but once again the bitch was back on her feet in seconds, although walking more slowly now, and with a slight limp.

Whatever concoction she was given before her punishment must still be working, because her arms should be in far too much pain to keep blocking my attacks. Well, it doesn’t matter. She’ll be dead soon, anyway.

Mafan’s frustration rose as he thrust, sliced, and swept her all over the small ring surrounded by the blind fools that called themselves elders.

How can they not see she is just too strong, too fast, and too resilient? It should be obvious to everyone that she was given something! Probably by that uncle of hers. The healer, Gen. He would know all about that sort of thing. Hells, I probably acquired the materials for the drug since that’s one of my responsibilities. Of course she’s on something. Her family would do anything for that little bitch, including embarrassing an elder.

Then Mafan glanced around at the faces of his peers and saw their derision. He was being embarrassed by this pup. He should just incinerate her, but the foolish law enforcement elder was on her side too. Just like everyone. Enough. He would kill her and end it.

Furious, he crouched and this time sent more Qi through his legs and arm in preparation for a straight leaping downward slash that would contain his full strength. He leapt and as he flew toward her, he reflected on how she had somehow managed to block every single one of his blows up to that point. Every single one. Not this, though. There was no way she could survive blocking this. And if she tried it he would crush her bones and destroy her, medicines or no.

Mafan was proven right as, instead of trying to block it, the girl leapt straight up into the air. But she had leapt too soon. Almost before he had left his feet. He wondered how she had had time to react so quickly, and was sure that someone must be helping her.

That’s fine, I can still… What is she doing?

He stared, perplexed as she spun, and to his surprise let go of one of her swords. Then he watched as the sword she had released slid down the other before their hooks entangled to create a single, long, whip-like sword. His mind caught up and understood the danger just as her spin continued and a sharp pointed end of the now double-length blades swept toward him like a whip.

Realizing his neck was about to be slit from right to left, Mafan reacted by instinct. His sword arm, strengthened by more than a century of cultivating and filled with Qi, rose just in time for it to be struck instead of his throat. He felt a sharp pain at his wrist, and then all he saw were the gray stones of the courtyard rising to meet him.

Yu wasn’t surprised Mafan’s frustration had gotten the better of him. As she had suspected, his actual martial combat skills were mediocre and clearly unpracticed. He, like most cultivators above the Foundation Building Stage, probably used Qi skills almost exclusively.

Grandma Huan had tried to explain it months ago, “Once you can drop a boulder on someone or create a river of fire that burns them to ash, why bother swinging a metal stick?”

Yu hadn’t understood the answer then, but it was evident now. “Because, child, what if you can’t use Qi skills? What if you had to fight with your hands and feet and steel and couldn’t make fire to burn, or stone to crush, or lightning to stun, or water to drown? The answer is, martial skills. They are not useless or obsolete. The people who believe otherwise are the ones who are.”

Yu had honestly believed she wouldn’t have had to use that particular lesson so soon. And certainly not in this way. She had figured she would be the one running out of Qi and having to use her other skills sometime in the distant future. But she had been wrong, and, as usual, Grandma Huan was right. That damn old woman was always right in the end.

So, Yu had waited, wordlessly absorbing the pain and embarrassment of being tossed around the ring like the youth she was. Until finally he had given her the chance to strike. And she had, using the twelfth form of dual hook swords, when the large hooks on the end are connected together and the weapon becomes twice as long but loose like a whip. She had sliced towards his neck but instead got his wrist.

Yu watched as the sharp blade at the hilt of her extra-long sword sliced into the arm of a cultivator more than a hundred years her senior, and then watched as his hand and the saber that it held fell free from the arm it had been attached to and descend to the stone courtyard floor, hitting with a thump and a clang. She knew normal steel should not have been able to do that. But her swords, gifts from a grade 6 elder demonic beast, were not normal.

Shocked but pleased with the outcome, Yu landed from her own leap, dropping more of her weight on her good knee, causing only a slight stumble instead of a complete collapse to the stone floor. As she straightened herself, she whipped her extended sword back, and grabbed the handle just before it would strike her neck. Wincing at the arm pain, she turned back to Mafan, ready to continue the fight, this time hopefully with the advantage.

Yet Yu was surprised to find that he was not rising to his feet. His mouth was open in a wail of pain and shock, his eyes showing more white than any should. She limped forward, not toward her opponent, but toward his dropped sword and severed hand. After what she had seen during her time in the wilderness, the hand and blood did not faze her.

Just as Mafan was pushing off the ground with his good arm, Yu threw his saber away over the heads of the wall of elders. But instead of rising to his feet, Mafan fell onto his butt, sat and cradled his bleeding arm. He looked up at her, his eyes wild.

He screamed in a much higher pitch than before. “This was all a setup! The whole thing was a setup!”

Yu stopped and tilted her head at him. Is he confessing?

“You, your father, your mother. You all knew I supported Ning Huiqing. You’re trying to get rid of her supporters. This was all your plan from the beginning! The caning, the challenge. This was a trap!” He was clearly losing it, rocking his body and pointing all around with his good hand. “You did this! You all did this!”

Yu sighed and shook her head. “Truthfully, I don’t care in the least what you think is happening. Despite what your pride is telling you, Mafan, you aren’t important enough for me to take cane blows for. I didn’t even know you were an elder until a few minutes ago. I barely knew you existed.”

A few laughs and coughs came from the surrounding crowd.

Yu walked closer to him and raised her sword, although she didn’t intend to end his life. But he didn’t know that.

“No! I can learn,” he wailed. “I can do better. I’ll serve you. I know now. She was wrong. You aren’t a puppet. I can see it. Let me live, and I’ll serve you.”

Yu lowered her sword and approached him. When she was a pace from him, she painfully crouched down, staring him in the face.

“It was never about you, Mafan. Or even her. It was always about the clan. I only wanted to stop you from harming the clan more than you already had. But because you confessed, I can grant you clemency. You can leave the clan with your life, but with your cultivation crippled.”

His mouth gaped open. “No!” he wailed, and burst into flame. He flung his good arm out at her in a backhand motion, and a whip of flame streaked toward her. As it approached, Yu gasped and dropped into a complete split, her torso pressed to the stone of the courtyard floor and her arms extended out before her.

Yu then heard a crunching sound, and Mafan’s scream halted suddenly. She hesitantly lifted her head to find the fire whip gone and a spike of gray stone as wide as Yu’s neck puncturing his torso where his heart would have been. Mafan’s mouth was still open, his eyes mostly white and his hand still raised to strike. He looked frozen in death, but then his body seemed to deflate and his entire form collapsed downward.

The gods have acknowledged your accomplishment.

Once again, the silver Sign came and went in the blink of an eye without any explanation.

“I’m so sorry I was late, Young Mistress,” Elder Mao said as he stepped forward.

Yu weakly stood and looked down at the dead man for a few moments, regretting the loss to the clan.

Is his death my fault?

Perhaps, Yu didn’t think so. She felt she knew at whose feet the true blame lay, and it wasn’t Yu’s.

Then she turned to Elder Mao, putting on as genuine a smile as she could manage. “I’m alive, and therefore you were not late. Thank you, elder.”

A few laughs echoed through the courtyard. Yu coughed into her hand and asked, “Does anyone have a loose shirt I can borrow? Something that won’t rub my back?”

SIXTY-THREE

Next

Even though she wasn’t looking directly at him, Yu felt her father’s stare like a weight pressing down on her as she stood before the desk in his office. It didn’t help that she was already hunched over slightly due to the pain in her back. Joining her and her father in his office were her two uncles and her mother. All except her father were standing, although Zhao was leaning leisurely against a wall.

“No, Uncle Gen,” Yu said tiredly but firmly. “I’m required by clan law to keep these wounds until the next sunrise. I’ll see you then, I promise.”

Her uncle growled, turned around and stomped over to stand next to Zhao.

Her father spoke from behind his desk. “Were you expecting something like that, daughter?”

Yu shook her head. “Definitely not, lord father. I was ready to go to bed and forget the whole thing ever happened after I was released.”

“That fool,” her father said tiredly as he leaned back in his chair. “He really was not a bad elder. I believe he was responsible for herb and medicinal procurement for your people, Gen.”

“Well, we generally have the materials we require, so he met that need at least,” her uncle answered.

“The question is, what do we do now?” Zhao asked.

Yu said, “As long as the prior punishments stand, I’m satisfied. I’ll give up the junior elder post immediately, if I can even take it before my majority. I have no interest in it, nor am I qualified. Then I want to sleep, heal my back, and return to my training. The sooner I am able to open meridians, the better. Who knows how long that’s going to take?”

“The punishments stand,” her father said sadly.

“Do I need to publicly give up the elder post, or will that cause too much of a storm?” Yu asked.

“You were right. Nobody can become an elder before their majority. Even a junior elder.”

“Good. Can I go to bed now?”

“Not quite. You need to decide what to do with all of Mafan’s possessions,” her father said.

“Can someone create a list for me?” Yu asked tiredly.

Yu’s mother spoke for the first time. “I’ll take care of it.”

Yu thought she didn’t seem happy. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the cause. But she honestly was too exhausted to deal with it.

“Great. Now can I go to bed?”

“Yes, Yu’er,” her father answered. “As always, you showed an amazing insight into things. Well done.”

“I didn’t want to do it. He forced my hand. Well, everyone’s hand, really.”

Zhao stopped leaning against the wall and took a step forward with a devious look on his face. “What do you mean by ‘everyone’s hand’?”

Yu’s exhaustion and pain were not helping her manage her emotions, so her tone was probably more annoyed than it would normally have been for that audience. “Don’t pretend you didn’t see it, Uncle Zhao. Or that you weren’t there in some shadow. I know father saw it. Mafan did everything publicly in order to try to make everyone expose their allegiance, hoping to then use that leverage to ensure father’s first wife would be freed.”

She looked around and sighed.

“You’re going to make me say it then? Fine. First off, he likely truly believed I’d been given some kind of miracle pill. He was prideful enough to believe I couldn’t tolerate pain better than him. But that didn’t really matter. Imagine if mother or father had stepped in to defend me. That would have shown priorities not matching with the clan’s, or so he could have claimed. And then which elders sided with whom would be out for everyone to see and battle for or against. It would have ended up dividing the clan. My father’s first wife is not without her supporters. I take it that that was part of the reason why it had to be me that punished her.”

Yu turned from Zhao to her father and continued, “Lord father, you would have been forced to trade her freedom for peace in the clan. It was another quality plot by your first wife, with thankfully poor execution. I’d like to know how she got a message to Mafan, if she even did. He could have been working on his own initiative, I suppose. I’m sure Uncle Zhao will figure it out. But in the end, it’s over, and she has one less asset, at least. Likely others will lose their heart to fight for her after that. Unfortunately, it also means that she has shown a lack of contrition. Again.”

Yu shrugged, but then immediately regretted doing so as pain shot up and down her back. After a moment, she continued, “Anyway, a direct complaint was the only way out, because he had nothing as regards proof of the medicine or drug or whatever. The open accusation allowed for me to offer that compromise which then allowed me to challenge him. And a challenge was the best way forward, because it forced him into the same position he was trying to lead everyone else into. It exposed his own motives, which were to back Ning Huiqing and make her punisher,” Yu pointed to herself, “me, look bad.”

Sighing, she mumbled, “It’s a good thing I read the family lawbook when I was little and stuck in the palace. Otherwise, one or more of you would have had to step in.”

Yu was rubbing her eyes and face from fatigue. “Now that I’ve given you what you already knew, can I go to bed?”

After a few breaths her father said, “Yes. Thank you once again for your service to the clan. And your sacrifice. See Gen in the morning for your injuries.”

Yu barely managed an acceptable bow before leaving to finally get some sleep.

“She figured all of that out while recovering from fifty cane blows, which, by the way, she took better than I took twenty,” Zhao stated dazedly while staring at the closed door. Then he whined, “Why can’t she be one of mine?”

Da leaned against the back of his chair, rubbing his eyes. “Can someone please tell me how we missed that mind of hers for thirteen years?”

Meixiu answered sadly, “Because like most cultivators, we see power before anything else. And she had none. Less than none, really. Not that I regret who she has become, but we could have brought in a tutor and allowed her to become a scholar. It is prestigious and she would have excelled, clearly.”

Gen stood from the wall and stated firmly, “Lei knew.”

“Of course he did,” Da said. “He has always been quite attached to her. But the past is no longer relevant. We are all moving forward. Just as important as her mental acuity is her combat capability. I understand that that fool, Mafan, couldn’t use Qi in the proper way. But once again Yu’er defeated someone older, larger, and stronger than her. In this case, someone a century and a half old. She was physically overwhelmed, yes, but only just. And in the end she defeated him, never mind Mao’s intervention.”

“She will be quite fierce when she can wield Qi skills,” Zhao said, excited. Then with a pout he added, “I wish she had Darkness.”

Meixiu sighed. “I was too distracted by the events to catch it, but yes, she was clever to see through Mafan’s plans. That said, our daughter has sacrificed more than enough for this clan. She has lost and given more than most ten times her age.”

“I agree,” Gen stated firmly. “Not only should we let her be, but we need to reward her.”

Da nodded. “I also agree. Her future value may quite literally be incalculable. We will need to keep any gift unofficial, of course. Any ideas?”

The room was silent until Zhao exasperatedly said, “Well, that told us all something. We have absolutely no idea what motivates her. Lovely.”

Meixiu’s shoulders slumped. “She has new friends, but she can already see them now anyway because of our prior agreement, which she knows.”

“Except for spending time with them, all I ever see her do is train,” Zhao told the group. “She wants to get stronger. Is there something we can gift her in regards to that? Something rare and special, so that it stands out?”

Da leaned forward onto his desk with his hands together. “Her swords and beast leathers are from the Vermillion Bird and are far superior to anything available here, or that we can afford to have crafted.”

Meixiu straightened suddenly, and everyone looked at her. “That’s it…”

Interlude

The present – Somewhere:

“Is he ready? I’ve just been informed that time is very short. The target will be out of our reach soon.”

“Almost,” answered a second voice.

“How long?” the first asked.

“I still don’t understand why you have spent so much on this. One of our strongest and most costly assets accomplished the mission in the capital, and now you want to send him?”

“Two to three weeks,” said the second, ignoring the third.

“Good. This will be our last chance. At least for a long while.”

The third sighed. “This is far beyond what our contract defined. Succeed or not, we are not returning the payment.”

“Agreed,” said the second.

“We must succeed,” the first said. “We must.”

Part Eleven

MERIDIANS

Humanity learned and grew, as intended. They were guided in their powers and responsibilities. The heavenly beasts were pleased but still concerned how their future absence may affect the world. So they created a plan to help guide the humans to fulfill their role when they were alone and the heavenly beasts had gone elsewhere. But before they could succeed, it arrived.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

SIXTY-FOUR

Introduction

The next morning – Primary healing center, estate of the city lord, Fei Shu City:

“Did you know that you have three fractures and two breaks to your arms, hand, and wrists? Never mind the wounds on your back, which are filled with stones and dirt. And a minor infection! You are fortunate nothing needs to be rebroken and set.”

Gen was holding his swirling, green-and-blue glowing hand over Yu as he glared down at her.

“That explains why it hurts so much,” Yu said while sitting on a familiar table for patients. “I only felt one actual fracture in my left forearm.”

Yu could have sworn she heard her uncle growling. “You know, you could have come to me. Nobody would have known.”

“Uncle Gen, that’s not how it works, and you know it. I do sort of wish I’d let you heal everything except my back but that would have also been questionable. Who could have proved you didn’t do something to help or reduce the pain or something?”

“You have the same attitude as your father,” he muttered.

“Thank you, Uncle Gen,” Yu said while beaming at him.

He glared harder. “That was not a compliment.”

“How much will I owe you for the healing?” Yu asked.

He looked taken aback. “You know I never charge family.”

Yu stiffly lowered herself to the table, lying face down with a groan. “I mean, how much for the healing without any more lectures?” She turned her head towards him and poked her tongue out at her uncle.

Gen rolled his eyes and placed his glowing hands on her arms.

Yu moaned with relief, then lifted her head looked around his empty healing hut, and whispered, “You know I have Wood and Water too. Maybe you can teach me after I have a meridian or two opened.”

Her uncle smiled down at her and said, “When you can actually access one, come see me.”

One of the things that had surprised Yu after the episode with Lady Re was that she had been allowed to eat with her family again, even when no guests were being entertained. At least once a day, sometimes more, she sat with her various family members over a quiet meal. Ning Huiqing and the twins were never there, so Yu found it a peaceful time.

Shen Guoling, her father’s third wife, was the mother of both Lei and Yu’s eldest brother, Howin, who was also at a sect. Yu had almost no interaction with Guoling, who was a shy younger lady who seemed very attentive and passive. Yu knew she was a cultivator, but did not know how strong she was, or what stage she was at. Guoling was also the quietest, most reserved cultivator Yu had ever met.

During meals, Yu enjoyed listening as her family spoke of various topics, ranging from the city, interesting clan gossip, local conflicts, news from the kingdom, interests from or in sects, and appeals by different family branches for various things. It was quite an immersive insight into city and clan politics, and into how cultivators thought and interacted with each other – things Yu figured could be of use at a sect.

One evening about a week after Yu’s battle with Mafan, she and her family were dining together and listening to her father rant about a conflict in the city between two cultivators who had only recently opened their meridians.

“The fools actually started throwing around Qi skills they barely knew how to use in the middle of a shop in the city. One was Fire affinity and the other Earth, and they nearly destroyed an herbalist’s store. Which is why they were fighting by the way. Some sort of supposedly rare plant was available and they both wanted it.” He smacked the table with his hand. “As if there isn’t a better way to solve disputes! If the roving guards hadn’t gotten there and subdued them, both of their clans would have gone nearly bankrupt paying for the damages to the shop, the herbs, and the fines to the city.”

Her father was really worked up about it, huffing and puffing about the stupidity of the young. “Really! Starting a brawl with Qi skills in a store when they can’t control them!”

Yu was both surprised and amused by the scene. She watched the others for their reactions, seeing similar looks until she reached her uncle, Gen. He was clearly nervous about her father getting even more wound up. He broke in and asked Yu a question that would distract everyone. “So Yu’er, how is your cultivation coming along? How has it been going with your meridians?”

Everyone turned to her waiting for an answer. At least his plan had worked – her father seemed to instantly forget his anger.

Unfortunately, the topic was not one Yu wanted to speak about. She felt her shoulders slump and a blush cover her face as she answered. “I haven’t even started yet, Uncle Gen. I had something I had to complete first. I’m starting tomorrow, though.”

“Oh?” Her father’s surprise was obvious. “It’s been a week or more since you broke through to the Meridian Formation Stage, correct?”

“Yes, lord father,” Yu answered, slumping even lower in shame.

Her mother asked, “What’s the problem, then? Is something wrong with your cultivation technique?”

It was safe to talk about broad topics like this without getting into her specifics at the dinner table.

“I haven’t even started yet,” Yu answered, frustratedly. “I had to finish adapting to the changes from my foundation stage breakthrough.”

So Yu told the story of the six torturously boring days after she healed, working on her full body mantra. She had still been strengthening and training and all that, but the primary focus had been her senses.

“It was a completely frustrating week,” Yu said grumpily while staring at her dumplings.

The fact that it was still not perfect made her want to pull her silver hair out. Yu could function at almost normal doing every-day activities like eating with her family, which was a nice change. More importantly, she could mostly control it while doing physical activity like practicing her forms and utilizing Qi. Additionally, she was able to enhance her senses at will now. Well, almost. She still couldn’t seem to increase sensitivity to an individual sense – it was all or nothing for her.

Yu ended with, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s close enough. I’m out of patience with myself, and think I can now function well enough to move into the next stage and open a meridian.”

Yu jabbed a dumpling with a chopstick, then noticed that the room had gone completely quiet. She looked up and saw everyone staring at her.

She bowed her head and said, “I apologize for taking out my frustration at the dinner table. It was not appropriate.”

“It is fine, daughter,” her father said. “Actually, the Meridian Formation Stage may be worth discussing. Do you actually know what meridians are?”

“Qi paths in the body, right?” Yu said.

“That is a drastic oversimplification. Lady wife, would you elaborate? I am not a good teacher.”

“Of course, lord husband,” Yu’s mother answered with a smile. “Yu’er, how many hearts does the human body have?”

Yu blinked at her mother and said with a question in her voice. “Umm. One?”

“Obviously,” her mother said with a nod. “How many kidneys?”

“Two.”

“Why do you think that is?” Unless someone has a condition, they have one heart and two kidneys.”

“Umm. The gods decided it was the right number?”

“Yu’er, that the number is one or two doesn’t matter. What matters is that everyone has the same number.”

Yu crinkled her brow in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“The human body is standardized, daughter. It has ten fingers and ten toes, two eyes and two ears, and one mouth. And internally it has one heart, two kidneys, etcetera, and they are pretty much always in the same place and do the same thing.”

Yu nodded. That made sense.

“Well, the same is true with meridians.”

Oh. Yu had never thought about it that way.

“Let’s start with affinities. What are they?”

Yu said, “I don’t really know, I guess. Natural elements, is all I can think of. The library didn’t contain specific answers – at least, not in the areas I had access to before. And I’ve clearly been too busy to go there recently to browse the cultivator sections.”

A number of people at the table shifted in their seats or looked down.

Was I supposed to know this?

She had been focused on her body and reaching the next level and stage, not the future skills she’d have at some unknown date.

Yu’s mother sighed and said, “This speaks to how poorly we educated you. All right. Yu’er, affinities are specific elements of nature, and their effects are represented in the environment. Fire is hot, and burns. Water is wet, and quenches. Right?”

Yu nodded. That was obvious.

“What allows affinity-based cultivation is that the Qi of the Heavens and Earth offers cultivators the ability to manipulate those environmental factors. Fire is hot, and it burns. And when you add Qi to it, you can control that added Qi, which means you can control the fire. Like the whip that fool Mafan created. He used his Qi to modify the air in the environment, creating a fire. He then used that Qi to grow, shrink, and control it in the shape of a whip. It was all nearly instantaneous, but that is what he did. Specifically, he used one of his Qi skills, which are how cultivators learn to control those elements.”

Yu nodded again. “How does one learn Qi skills?”

Her mother answered with, “We will go into specifics about Qi skills once you open a meridian, but for now the simple answer is that you learn to use them the same way that you would learn anything else: through practice. Many families and clans have skills which they pass down and have available, whereas sects collect and provide access to hundreds, or even thousands, of skills. You’ll learn about that too. Once you open a meridian, your family will provide you with a few basic skills with low Qi requirements to get you started.”

“Thank you!” Yu answered excitedly. Being able to make a whip made of fire sounded amazing.

“Anyway, back on topic. This is all connected to meridians, because humans can only move Qi safely through their meridians.”

Yu nodded at that. “Grandma Huan nearly choked me to death when I accidentally used my Qi directly from my dantian.”

That statement caused a number of splutters, coughs, swears, and the like.

“When did that happen exactly?” Yu’s father asked quickly.

Yu shrugged and said, “On the way to my wilderness adventure. I don’t remember the details, as I was unconscious. You’ll have to ask her.”

Zhao said, “Do you know which affinity you used?”

Everyone was now staring at her.

“Ask Grandma Huan,” Yu answered nervously. “All I remember was a silver flash and having to make a decision about reacting to some Chao cultivators. I kicked one of their butts in the tournament, by the way. He was the one with the hidden knife whose face I implanted into the Tournament Center floor.”

Zhao laughed. “I don’t think I will ever forget that for the rest of my life. Ahhhh, it was magical.” He sounded a bit wistful there at the end.

Yu’s mother coughed and said, “Anyway, let’s talk about the proper way to use Qi without risking exploding our dantian, shall we?” Then she cleared her throat and continued where she left off before Yu’s tangent. “Meridians are pathways in the body through which only Qi and nothing else can flow. And just like with organs, meridian structures are standardized. Meridian structures for those with a Fire affinity like your father are also standardized, which is why most fire cultivators use a cycling technique specific to fire cultivation. If someone has access to fifty meridians, he will follow the steps of a fire cultivator’s cycling technique by accessing whichever meridians he happens to have. He does not get to choose his meridians, though. It is the cycling technique that defines which meridians are opened, and in which order. Now, this is important: do not get confused into thinking that certain meridians are affinity-specific, because they are not. However, the way that Qi flows is, and you’ll understand that better after you receive your first Qi skill.

“To continue along those lines, in the case of that fire cultivator, he can open fifty meridians but still has to use his cultivation technique to determine which fifty and in which order, and with what energy flow. Again, the technique defines it. There are one hundred and fifty-six total usable meridians which you know, but there are many tens of thousands of possible combinations. That is why there are thousands of fire-based Qi cycling techniques. How they move Qi, in what order, and how many meridians they support is unique to each. Does that make sense?”

Yu nodded. She found it a little confusing, but thought she had understood the gist of it. “In summary, the technique defines how to open which meridians, and in what order.”

“Exactly. These techniques are developed by people who spend decades or centuries on experimentation and testing. The easier the technique, the lower the meridian count, whereas the more specific the technique, the more constrained the meridian flows, the easier the technique is to create. Specificity and difficulty reduce or increase the possible number of combinations. Now, knowing what I just told you, think about what that might mean for cultivators with more than one affinity.”

Yu thought and asked, “Would they need to either choose a single affinity or find a technique that uses a greater number of possible meridian paths?”

“Yes!” her mother said, smiling widely.

“Does that mean there are cultivators who could theoretically use multiple affinities, but in reality can’t because they don’t have access to a cycling technique?”

“Yes. Now take that to the next step – how many do you think exist?”

“I would think a dual-affinity technique would be much harder to create because it has many more permutations of meridian connections to test.”

“Exactly. So when you review your particular technique, think about what that means.”

“Oh,” Yu said, understanding.

No wonder the Azure Dragon’s Heart scripture is so weird. It was built for anyone to use.

Of course, that made it overkill for just about everyone. Well, everyone but her.

Yu’s father coughed. “That was an excellent lesson, thank you, lady wife. Yu’er, let any of us know if you require assistance with your meridians. Just follow your technique and you should be fine.”

Zhao then said, “No one who has completed the act of cycling to the first meridian likes to share. Learning is part of the fun, and watching others learn can be fun, too.”

All the cultivators at the table were either smiling, chuckling, or snickering.

Yu looked on suspiciously and said slowly, “I will. Thank you.”

SIXTY-FIVE

Energy

The next morning Yu was studying the Azure Dragon’s Heart scripture and, as she had expected, the meridian path designed in the Azure Dragon’s Heart turned out to be utterly bizarre. It explored every single place in her body where a meridian could possibly exist and required her to keep energy flowing to all the prior opened paths at the same time. Yu realized that meant she would have to use Qi to not only open the pathways, but also to keep the previous pathways flooded while opening new ones.

This was completely in opposition to how the actual act of opening was for everyone else, as according to her family, almost everybody just followed their cultivation instruction to a location in their body, used force to push through whatever impurities were in the meridian, and boom, they opened. Yet Yu’s scripture described it as being more like the meridians were alive and needed help, meaning she would have to figure out which to cleanse and then follow a weird procedure to do that. And as if the thing wasn’t odd enough, it also used the term “cleanse” and not “open” which was what everyone else called it.

Well, enough delays. Let’s see if I can figure this out.

Yu was sitting in a lotus position in her favorite meditation spot, her bamboo garden by the brook. She focused, and immediately upon opening her eyes in her mindscape she gasped as it was no longer all blackness. There was something like a silver mist floating everywhere. When she floated through the mist and approached her true self, she could feel that the white jade definitely appeared smoother. Not smooth or polished or even close really. Just far less jagged, and with no sharp edges. Yu grinned at her progress.

Alright, according to the scripture, the first step was to call in Qi and fill her dantian. She therefore started the process of calling the energy of the Heavens and Earth, but then immediately stopped.

What the…

Her dantian was already full. Not wanting to risk overfilling and causing a crack, she just cycled and purified what was there.

How can this be? Wait. Why is there energy coming from somewhere, even though I’m not calling it? What in the hells is going on?

In an attempt to look at herself deeper, and without consciously doing it, Yu flexed her will and exited her mindscape body, only to float separately but still feel the glowing energy. As a ghostly form of herself, she exited her body. At first she was scared and tried to leap back into herself, which she succeeded in doing without issue. Then she flexed her will and exited again.

Huh. I didn’t know I could do that. Why does nobody tell me these things? Maybe it’s specific to my bizarre scripture?

Realizing she couldn’t solve for it right then, Yu looked around. Her solid body was still cycling in a lotus position, and thanks to her new perspective Yu could easily locate the energy in it. She found dimly glowing paths all through her body, which were rhythmically pulsing like a heartbeat and all led to her dantian. She was shocked to see that they seemed to be slowly gathering energy from the Heavens and Earth by themselves.

That was definitely not normal. Everyone knew you had to call energy to yourself, at least at her stage. She traced one of the paths from her dantian, and it seemed familiar somehow.

Wait, isn’t that path the same one I used to infuse my skin in foundation? And that one my bones?

When looking at her whole self at once and focusing on her torso, she saw that all eight paths from the foundation levels made a… formation?

Whoa.

She realized that the weird circuitous paths that had made no sense to her at the time had actually been creating special channels to her dantian for energy to flow by itself in a formation.

Formations were lines, circles, and other shapes that, when placed on top of or next to each other in particular configurations, caused Qi to do something. Anything was possible really, but in this case Yu saw that it was constantly sucking in the energy of the Heavens and Earth. And it was inside her body. Formations were on buildings or weapons or whatever. Not in people.

And if that was not bizarre enough, despite her dantian being full, the formation still seemed to cause Qi to flow.

So where is the excess Qi going?

She looked deeper and found that it just seemed to disappear into the center of the formation which was in the middle of her chest.

Since it wasn’t hurting her and she could neither figure it out nor do anything about it, Yu nervously left it be. After all, maybe it would help? Hopefully. Then she sighed.

Knowing my life, it will probably explode one day.

Examining it closer, she tried to understand it. While the flow seemed terribly slow to her, she realized it could possibly make up a small bit of the scriptures ridiculous meridian opening… cleansing Qi requirement.

Yu hoped she was about to find out. According to the Azure Dragon’s Heart, she needed to create an object to do the actual cleansing. Ugh. Everyone else just shoved Qi at a meridian. But not her. Nooo. She had to do all this extra work before she could even figure out if it worked.

Moving beyond complaining to herself in her mind, Yu figured she should just get to it. She assumed that would not be too difficult, as she had been controlling her Qi throughout her entire Foundation Building Stage.

The scripture described what she was supposed to create with Qi as being something that appeared to be a drill like farmers used to aerate the ground, with the key difference being that the arms that spiraled around the outside needed to be able to move. They apparently had to adjust to be larger or smaller, depending on the meridian tunnel. Not that Yu had any idea what any of that meant, but started the creation process anyway.

To her irritation, she found that shaping her Qi into this drilling thing was a lot more difficult than she had expected, requiring a high level of precision. The will to form it perfectly was nearly beyond her, and once when she had nearly managed it she had lost concentration attempting to make it move, causing it to dissolve and return to being standard gaseous Qi which was another new change since entering the Meridian Formation Stage. Her Qi – which used to come in the forms of Aura, Mana, and Ether – had become a single thick gas. It seemed an odd change to her, but was normal, according to her family.

She felt like she needed three hands to create the drill: one to create the shape, one to hold the shape, and one to move the shape. Even with the constant slow influx from the new channels, she ran out of Qi in less than an hour, which was well before she had managed to even successfully make the complete structure, never mind hold or spin it.

Opening her eyes to the real world again, she sagged and muttered, “This really is going to take forever.”

The bad news was, she was right. It took Yu another full week before she figured out what in the hells she was doing wrong. When she had asked for advice nobody had given her an answer, and she had just been advised to keep practicing because that was what cultivation was all about. The good news was, since her breakthrough, her dantian was now more robust and could hold many times more Qi, meaning she could suffer through six failed attempts per day.

Yu eventually figured out that the problem was that she had not actually been utilizing the benefits of her cultivation technique. She had discovered the solution accidentally when creating an additional string of Qi to furiously beat her latest failed drill creation back into its original gaseous state. The act of destruction had been really easy, which caused her to want to understand why. After some trial and error, she discovered that the changes to her brain caused by the last step in foundation building were particularly focused on spreading her energy across multiple strings at the same time. The stupid scripture had not said anything about creating that drill using three. separate. strings of Qi.

Yu cursed upon this discovery. She wasn’t proud of it, but she did.

That being said, the whole process transformed from an exercise in unending frustration to one of exuberant triumph after she created the three separate strings and had them functioning simultaneously. Both worst and best of all, was that it only took a single day of practice.

If she were her father, she’d be at least smoking if not burning down a building from the frustration of all the wasted time and effort.

Having gotten a hold of herself, Yu was currently practicing with her three strings – one was the core which spun, one was the spirals which would need to be kept solid and strong, and one was the driver that pushed it all around.

She found she was able to hold them in shape for the entire hour that her energy lasted, thanks to the help from the additional energy channels from the formation. They might have added only a tiny fraction more Qi, but it added up over a long period of time.

All that said, it was time for her to use her new creation and fulfill its purpose – to open a meridian.

SIXTY-SIX

First Meridian

Yu did a quick stretch and briefly meditated by the pond before settling down to make her first attempt.

Here we go.

Yu spent a few moments reflecting on the insane Azure Dragon’s Heart to make absolutely sure she was doing everything right. That validated, she used her new ability to see inside herself from the outside, and got closer and closer to her dantian.

As she approached, she could see more and more detail of the walls of her dantian. And then she seemed to enter it. Her ethereal mouth agape, Yu found herself in the middle of what made her think of a hollow pearl. She was surrounded by silver walls, which were streaked sporadically with other colors. Yu’s mind floated within her own power, admiring the beautiful patterns and smooth textures until she suddenly found an imperfection: a round and lumpy black splotch on the wall. It appeared to be a clog inside the otherwise perfect pearl background.

Yu figured that it must be what she had to open to access a meridian. The question was, was this the correct one? She backed herself to the middle of her dantian and searched the walls for other imperfections. She found eleven more.

Reflecting on the scripture’s instructions, they now made more sense. The scripture didn’t say, “Here is the place.” It was not like directions to a room or a store. The exact words were, “Find the energy begging to be cleansed more than any other and provide succor.” Yu continued to find the use of the word “cleansed” rather than “opened” fascinating, and decided to explore the strange new approach to understanding herself.

She approached her dantian wall, moved to a random blockage and placed her ‘hand’ over it. Sort of. It was both all energy and in her mind – thus it was more like she mentally moved what she thought of as the energy of her hand over it, but all that was a little too esoteric for her tastes. She tried to feel for its energy. Did it seem to be begging for succor, whatever that meant?

Nope. Nothing.

She then put her ethereal ear to it and tried to listen for a call or request, but again there was nothing. Figuring that wasn’t the one, she moved to another, and got the same result. She then tried a third, and a fourth. Getting a little nervous, Yu moved to a fifth. At first there was nothing, and she started to feel despondent, concerned that she was missing something major. But then she got a faint impression. A slight pull. She listened to it harder and with all her focus and after a few moments felt the pull again, although it was almost unnoticeable.

Could this be the one? I don’t think so. I just don’t get the impression of begging for succor.

Now that she knew what to look for, she went back to the first four blockages and found that two had a similar weak pull that she had missed, although two still had nothing, no matter how hard she listened. She headed to a sixth, and found another weak pull. At the seventh she felt a stronger pull. Still not begging, but definitely asking for attention. The eighth and ninth offered nothing. The tenth, however, sent such a shock of emotion to Yu’s mind that she lost concentration and was ejected from her dantian. The echo of the pain brought on by whatever affliction was there nearly brought Yu to tears.

She took a few moments to get ahold of herself.

That has to be it.

But just in case, she skipped that one and listened to the last two. One was quiet and one was moderately loud, but not even close to the tenth.

Yu therefore returned to the poor suffering thing, whatever it was, and listened again. Feelings of sadness, pain, illness, disgust, fury, and exhaustion enveloped her. They wrapped around her like a python, crushing her spirit and power.

So much suffering. So long had it felt the filth of life. Too long. A tiny vibration in the energy sounded out, “Free me.”

It seemed to have been afflicted with the contamination of life since it could feel.

“Free me.”

Pain.

“Free me.”

Fear.

“Free me.”

Yu was so overwhelmed by the rising and falling emotions that she couldn’t remember what to do, or why she was there, or who she was. She was fury and she was pleading. She was agony and she was prayer. She was foulness, and she was begging.

Yu’s mind felt a connection then. Begging… succor. She needed to offer succor. That’s right! She was here to cleanse.

“No! No! No! Pain! Filth! Rot!”

Yu was almost drawn in again, but stayed focused on the voice beseeching her for release.

I will cleanse you, was all she thought.

Able to focus again, Yu called upon her power and created three strings to assemble her drilling cleanser. She created it exactly the size of the blockage and brought it closer. The closer it got, the louder the voice in her mind resounded.

Yu pushed the bludgeoning emotions aside, and the moment the spinning tip made contact, the sound of energy in pain resonated throughout Yu’s entire being. She shuddered from it but drove forward. The foulness of the blockage was sent flying backward throughout her dantian, only to be taken up by the cycling energy and slowly cleansed. She drove her creation forward, purging the filth in front of it and sending it back into the maelstrom of cleansing power. Yu continued the cleansing until she was through the perfect pearlescent wall and into a tunnel which was also filled with filth.

The more she pushed forward and purified, the less the agonized screaming could be heard in her mind. Yu noticed the tunnel was not straight, and so she altered the shape of her purifying creation to match, opening and closing the arms, speeding and slowing as needed.

Time passed, and the voice of impurity was nearly silent. Her silver energy construct moved forward without rest, sending the particles of corruption back to her center.

At last, Yu’s energy began to run low, and her construct slowed. The tunnel was nearly clear as Yu could feel her construct break through the end of the impurities. Its tip just punctured the final part of the corrupted blockage. Then it was halfway through. Then two thirds. And finally, as Yu pushed the last of her energy onward, it drove forward and entered a crossroads of a sort with many smaller tunnels. Then the construct dissolved back into three strings, which returned to their original gaseous form and disappeared with the last of her energy.

The words, “Thank you,” softly rang through the tunnel to her in her dantian.

Yu found herself feeling drained. Her dantian was now nearly empty, the last of the corrupt energy swirling as it was cycled and cleansed. Yu weakly moved to withdraw back to the real world, but found she couldn’t. Something was blocking her. Yu frantically tried again, but nothing worked. She spun and looked for an escape, but froze still when black smoke began to seep in through the pristine walls and surround the inside. It thickened until it became nearly solid.

Yu was terrified.

Did I let some sort of corruption loose in my dantian?

Frantic, she scrambled for ideas as the smoke approached her. It closed and compressed down in front of her. Yu’s mind slowed its panic as the smoke seemed to form into a familiar shape.

“Ebony?” she called, her voice echoing through the space.

To Yu the smoke panther appeared even more giant than Ebony had in the real world. It lay down like Ebony had done before, with paws crossed in front and her head lying on them.

The familiar purring voice of the massive cat echoed throughout her dantian. “You have much power for a cub. Good. You can match him, then.”

“Umm. How are you here?” Yu asked in her mind.

Ebony spoke but it didn’t seem to be quite right. “You are no doubt wondering how I am here. I left you a… gift if you recall. You will need this for when we see you next.”

“Need what? What do you mean we?”

“I apologize, Jade. You have barely a hint of the power I give you, and thus this will not be pleasant. Please forgive me. I am desperate. All I can offer in exchange is a promise that you will forget the pain when you leave this place. Please do not speak of me until we see each other again. I beg you.”

Yu felt guilty that she had told her teacher about their previous meeting, even though Grandma Huan had agreed to keep it quiet and neither had spoken of it again. Not even Yu’s family knew. Hopefully Ebony wouldn’t be upset.

As if in answer, the massive gaseous form of the panther stood up, looming over her. It looked down at Yu and leapt toward her, maw open wide. Yu screamed as she was swallowed and surrounded by blackness. Then the blackness rushed into her, entering through her ethereal eyes and mouth.

Yu’s mind broke slightly from the pain. It couldn’t seem to shut off in its own dantian to protect her as it would normally, and she was forced to suffer the agony. The version of herself that was energy was forced to accept power that was not hers and not meant for her. Her dantian absorbed energy it was not intended to and cracked, but black smoke rushed to the crack and filled it, only to leave a dark streak in its place. Again and again, pain exploded in Yu’s mind within her dantian as it was cracked and repaired dozens of times.

Eventually the black smoke subsided, and the pain with it. Yu was thrust from her dantian and then her mindscape, only to awaken to the real world in darkness.

SIXTY-SEVEN

Additions

Yu could not open her eyes and felt nauseous. She could feel she was lying facedown in the dirt, and was barely able to turn her head aside in time before her stomach churned and she threw up the most disgusting, foul-tasting filth she had ever experienced in her life. Her stomach clenched and the process repeated until there was nothing left inside of her. She barely found the strength to roll away from the filth, and when she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand she smelled even more of it on herself.

Once again her stomach revolted, but she had nothing left to give. Yu tried to breathe just through her mouth while she figured out what was going on. She rubbed at her eyes again, and felt a slimy layer rub off. She slowly blinked them open. They stung as if something had gotten into them, and she blinked repeatedly, trying to clear whatever it was out. The first thing she could make out was silver in front of the bright glow of the rising sun.

External energy being absorbed. Applying…

Sign update complete.

She shoved the Sign aside and raised her hand to wipe her eyes again, but stopped when she saw that her whole arm was covered in a thick layer of black slime, slightly smeared from the first swipe at her eyes. She looked herself up and down and could not find a single clean area of her pale skin. Her entire body was covered in a layer of slime the thickness of her smallest finger. She looked over and found that that was what she had spit up as well.

Looking around and making sure she kept breathing through her mouth only, Yu found she was at the side of her pond. Behind her she saw her mother, father, and two uncles standing and staring at her.

Yu said the very first thing that came to her mind. “Yuck.”

Uncle Zhao laughed uproariously and called out, “Pay up. All of you.”

The three others grumbled and handed over handfuls of silver coins.

“Bath?” was the next thing Yu’s mind came up with.

Yu’s mother stomped her foot, her hands on her hips. “Why couldn’t you have said that first?” she demanded.

Zhao laughed again and slapped his thighs. “Yu’er, I’ll buy you the best bath in the city.”

Ever the healer, Yu’s other uncle asked, “How do you feel?”

“Gross,” Yu responded honestly after some thought.

He nodded and said, “Two hot baths are waiting for you. The first comes with a rough-bristled brush and is to rinse off the impurities. The other is to actually get clean, and will have strongly scented soaps. Go on.”

Yu tried to get to her feet but wobbled and almost fell back down because everything was spinning. She closed her eyes again and tried to steady herself without the world moving around her so much, but failed and ended up back on her butt.

Gen spoke in an interested tone. “Librarian Shi was right – age seems to matter. It might have something to do with the body’s maturity and changes. Perhaps we should ban meridian opening for those under sixteen.”

“Yu’er, can you stand well enough to make it to the baths?” Yu’s mother asked.

Yu opened her eyes and was relieved to find the spinning seemed to have slowed. She made another attempt at standing and managed it without falling down, although she did teeter a little. Finding success, Yu took a shaky step forward and, as she didn’t end up on the ground again, said, “I think so.”

“After your bath, go to your quarters,” her father instructed. “A bowl of special soup and tea are being prepared for you.”

“Thank you,” she managed to say quietly.

To her, a bath sounded wonderful.

While Yu was in the bath, the thought of food had made her empty stomach fight her again. However, once she was in a comfortable robe at the table and smelling the soup and tea, she found it clenching with a desire to be filled.

Taking a sip of the tea, Yu felt comforted by its warmth as it flowed down to her stomach. Her nausea lessened slightly. Oddly, the tea’s warmth didn’t seem to fade. In fact, it seemed to spread and energize her slightly, giving her strength. Yu looked down at the tea and drank again with the same result.

She then put the teacup down and had a sip of the soup. To her surprise the broth also warmed her, and offered her energy in even greater amounts.

A knock at the door startled Yu. She put down her spoon and called, “Come in.”

Her father entered, followed by her mother. Yu started to rise, but he waved her down. “Eat.”

She said, “Thank you, lord father,” and returned to her meal while he and her mother took seats across from her.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Better now,” Yu said. “What kind of food is this? It feels weird.”

Her mother said, “It is food that has been prepared and treated with special herbs which preserve and enhance its energy. Qi plants and animals that are treated in the proper way can provide strength. But they will harm those without at least partially opened meridians, because that is the pathway the energy follows.”

Yu nodded. “Thank you. Do you eat this all the time? Did Lei after he cleansed his?”

“No on the former, yes on the latter,” her father answered. “It is too costly to be served regularly. We eat it when we need to replenish or strengthen ourselves, or on special occasions.”

“Like when we have a sect representative visiting?” Yu asked, looking between the two of them.

Meixiu smiled at her and nodded. “Yes. Only noble families in the central kingdom and empire can afford to eat food like that regularly.”

Yu nodded and kept eating. She felt stronger and more herself with each spoonful of soup and sip of tea.

“Did you succeed?” her father asked.

“Umm. I think so?” Yu said.

Her father sighed, and asked in an exasperated tone, “Have you checked your Sign?”

Yu shook her head and ate some more. “I was too distracted by the food,” she said after swallowing.

“Call it up, and let’s see how things stand,” her father instructed her. “Don’t be disappointed if you did not fully open it. Sometimes it takes more than one attempt. In fact, it can take numerous tries, depending on the amount of impurities and the level of strength of the cultivator. You are very young, barely fifteen now. The youngest are sixteen, and most are eighteen or older.”

Yu swallowed the soup that was in her mouth and said, “Sign,” before drinking more of the amazing tea.

The silver shone before her.

Name: Yu

Clan: Fenghuang

Clan Rank: Young Mistress

Age: 15

Meridians: 1/156

Qi Type:

Granted: Ether

Blessed: Aura, Mana

Qi Affinity:

Primary: Spatial

Secondary: Lightning, Earth, Water, Wood, Fire, Darkness

Cultivation Level:

Stage: Meridian Formation

Body: 85 | Mind: 93 | Spirit: 139

Martial Forms: Kung Fu: (Adept), Tai Chi: (Initiate)

Weapon Capabilities: Hook Swords: (Adept), Bow: (Initiate), Whip: (Initiate), Jian: (Initiate), Dual Jian: (Novice), Staff: (Novice), Spear: (Novice)

Qi Skills:

Aura: None

Mana: None

Ether: Beast Bonding (Novice), Enchant Lightning* (Novice)

Status: None

Honors: *Tribulation Supplicant

Titles: The Corrupted, The Blessed, Tiger’s Blood

Yu immediately spit the tea up and started coughing.

“What is it? Are you all right?” Yu’s mother sounded worried while starting to stand and lean toward her.

Yu raised one hand and took another sip of the tea in between coughs. After recovering from her surprise, Yu could say only, “Umm.”

Yu stared at the new item in her affinity list. Worse, she distinctly remembered Ebony asking her not to speak of her.

Yu had never tried anything like this, but she thought, Sign, don’t show Darkness affinity.

Nothing changed. It appeared the Sign can’t get that specific.

She sent the Sign away and said, “It looks like I have one meridian. So now what?”

“What is your…” her father had started to ask then stopped. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her suspiciously. “What are you hiding, daughter?”

Yu blushed at being seen through so easily and took another sip of tea to give herself time to think. “If I was hiding something, wouldn’t I not tell you even if you ask?”

“Yu’er, what is it? Did something go wrong?” her mother asked, concerned.

“Not really,” Yu said. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

Yu’s father glared at her. “Yu’er…”

Knowing she’d lose the fight eventually, Yu sighed. “I’ll share my Sign, but I won’t answer any questions on the topic. It’s… private.”

Both her parents sat up straight and exchanged glances.

“Does it have to do with boys?” her mother asked sympathetically.

Yu stared open-mouthed at her mother. When the shock had faded she asked, “Did you really just ask me that? Me? Why is everyone’s first guess about anything always boys? Boys this and boys that. It never has anything to do with boys! And what in the nine hells could my Sign show that has to do with boys?”

“Well, if it’s not boys, what could be private?” her father asked.

Yu slapped her palm on the table and barked, “A private thing. It. Is. Private. Answering would make it not private anymore.”

Yu’s father jerked backward, his surprise clear on his face. And no wonder. Yu had never, even when she was ill, done anything so rude and unfilial to him before.

Yu closed her eyes and rubbed her face. “I apologize. I’m clearly still not myself after today’s ordeal.”

Not receiving a response, Yu said in a tired voice, “I’ll share my Sign if you agree not to ask about it. You know what? Never mind. I’m not going to speak of it either way. Here.”

Yu said, “Sign,” and turned it around to face them.

They leaned forward to peer at her silver God Sign.

Her father said, “You did indeed complete it, well done. Your Spirit is absurd for someone with only one meridian. Probably close to three times the normal. And your martial skills are coming along splendidly. Why would you hide this? It shows—” He cut his words off mid-sentence. Then his eyes widened and he looked back at her.

Yu ignored him and had more soup. Looking into the bowl, she realized it was almost gone, much to her disappointment. Then again, she was starting to feel a slight burn where the energy it gave went. Maybe she could only have so much?

“Daughter,” her mother said, suspiciously.

“I said I wouldn’t speak of it, and I won’t,” was Yu’s only response.

Her father leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest.

Yu sent her Sign away and asked, “What did you mean about my Spirit when you said, ‘for someone with only one meridian’?”

“You are changing the topic,” her father said in a deadpan fashion.

Yu finished eating, then leaned back like him and said, “Yes.”

She and her father stared at each other across the table in silence.

Yu’s mother was the one who filled it with answers. “When a meridian is opened it increases the body’s ability to channel Qi. When you open your second meridian your Qi pool will increase by a tenth more or less, and do so again every time you open another.”

“Really?” Yu asked, surprised.

That would add up quickly.

Her mother smiled and asked, “Why do you think having more meridians is better? The minimum is two, and the average in our empire is between forty-five and sixty-five. Some alchemical creations have the ability to open more, but they require ingredients not acquired easily, and have other risks and costs.”

Her mother pointed at where her Sign was before and said, “In your case, once your sect teaches you how, you will consolidate your Sign and remove things that begin holding no meaning. Most cultivators show only a very small God Sign by the time they reach the fourth stage of cultivation, the Qi Manifestation Stage, and almost never call on the whole thing. Why bother?”

“Oh. I guess that makes sense,” Yu said after a few moments of thought. Then she asked, “Wait, did you say it would increase by a tenth for each meridian? As in a tenth upon the prior tenth?”

Her mother grinned and said, “It’s not exact, but yes. That is why everyone is so terrified of your father.”

Her father, who had been silently staring at Yu, huffed and mumbled, “Not just me.”

Yu’s mother waved the statement away. “It is also the primary, but not only, reason you will be so terrifying to those in power. Imagine that the emperor has one hundred and thirty meridians, which would be mind-blowing but explains why those in power are there and stay there. Think about yourself, though. When you have all of yours open, you will also have access to fifteen to twenty times more Qi than the supposedly strongest cultivator in the empire. On top of that, you will have the ability to fight at range and up close, never mind whatever enchantments you create, or beasts that you tame with Ether. Of course, this is all after you compress your Qi in the future stages.”

“Compress my Qi?” Yu asked, curious at the new term.

“Your sect will go into the details, but Qi compression is just what it sounds like. Your Qi is gaseous now, yes?”

Yu nodded.

“Well, when you compress it, it will become a liquid. And it will progressively become more solid. This allows you to have much greater control and power. Every bit of liquid Qi has substantially more power than that same amount in its gaseous form. Although keep in mind that that is a very simplified explanation. Don’t worry about it now.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Her mother added, “And beyond the meridians and Qi types, I have to imagine your quality and purity are high as well, thanks to that strange cycling technique. In short, you will be quite the terror on the battlefield.”

“What did you mean by quality and purity?” Yu asked.

“You’ll learn that in the sect, and is not for us to tell you,” her mother answered. “It’s good, just accept that for now.”

“Affinities matter too,” Yu’s father muttered. “You will have more than anyone alive. Not that you’ll have the skills to use them for a long time.”

Yu stared neutrally at him and said, “I understand.”

More staring ensued, until Yu’s mother shook her head. “Oh, stop it you two,” she said, exasperated. “You’re both stubborn enough to stare at each other until the heavens fall.”

Then taking a breath, she went back to the original topic. “Speaking of skills, Yu’er, we will give you those we are able and you can use. You cannot go to a sect with nothing. We are not the backward barbarians they think us, and you must be able to defend yourself from those who will believe otherwise.”

“What?” Yu asked, surprised.

Her mother explained, “Your sect will be full of people, some noble and some not, who were brought up in large cities with access to more resources, more trainers, and more skills. You’ve seen our visitors. They are prideful and arrogant and feel themselves superior. Those kinds of students – and some teachers – will think of you as a verger and bumpkin with few skills, little power, and less training. Right now you can prove them wrong on two of those counts. We will fill in the third gap by providing you access to the family skills that you can use with so few meridians opened.”

Yu perked up at that. “Gen said I could stop by to learn some healing from him. Will the clan share Fire skills? What about Lightning? I’ll pay the clan if that helps. I have some silver.”

Yu’s father slapped his thigh when Yu brought up her offer of coins. “We absolutely will not be taking your resources from you. The problem isn’t your coins Yu’er, it is the skill grade.”

“Skills have grades too?” Yu asked, baffled.

Why is everything so complicated?

“Of course they do,” her mother answered. “You’ll see them on your Sign after your first lesson, which is one of the reasons to consolidate what appears on your Sign. Generally, the higher grade the skill, the more Qi and meridians are required. A skill that can destroy a mountain is substantially more involved, and requires immeasurably more Qi, than one that can only destroy a pebble.”

“How does a skill get assigned a grade?” Yu asked.

“It’s complicated,” her mother sighed. “There are many criteria, and a number of them you wouldn’t understand yet. The Qi required is one. Skills have grades identical to demonic beast grades – between 1 and 7 – and are viewed in the same way. Obviously, there are many times more grade 1 than grade 2 skills, and so forth. Just wait for the sect to explain all this to you in your lessons.”

“Do they teach lessons like that in sects for people who don’t have clans to teach and support them?” Yu wondered aloud.

“Some do, some don’t,” her father said. “The sect you are going to teaches some of everything, but focuses mostly on more advanced subjects due to its location and primary recruits.”

Yu was getting more concerned the more they spoke. “I feel as though I have a lot of catching up to do.”

“You will not be too far behind. Once you pick up a few skills everything will become a good deal easier to understand,” Yu’s father said while returning to his feet. “We are going to train you for the next month, then discuss the sect. Enjoy your last month at home for quite a while. Outer sect disciples are not permitted to leave the sect until they reach a certain stage in their cultivation, and it will take many years to reach inner sect disciple, and even more to reach core, if you can.”

“A month?” Yu squeaked. “And I won’t be able to see you for years?”

“Yes, dear,” Yu’s mother said softly as she leaned forward and patted Yu’s hand. “But you won’t be alone. Remember that your brother is there, and you will make friends.”

Yu could feel her eyes tear up a little. Years?

“It’s so sudden. And I don’t know anything. Will you teach me about sects too? Like what outer, inner, and core mean?”

“Some, yes. You will feel more prepared by the end of the month. The three…” he coughed, “well, four of us, now including Zhao, are going to work with you on and off for a week each on the affinity skills we are aligned with. While it really isn’t enough time, it is all we have. And you’ll lose out on Earth affinity as none of us have it, unfortunately. The acceptance cycle of sects has a limited time frame.”

“Zhao is going to have an episode, lord husband. You realize that, don’t you?” Yu’s mother said with a laugh.

“Yes,” her father said with a huge sigh. “I will convince him not to kidnap her and hide her away in some cave somewhere.”

Yu blinked.

Huh?

Interlude

The present – Sixty li north of Fei Shu City:

Her eyes slowly opened to see the marsh upon which she had just evolved. The stench of scorched and burning plants and dirt overwhelmed her sensitive nose. The crackling and hissing made it difficult to hear anything but her own heavy breathing.

She remembered what it had been like before, but now she understood. She knew there was more to life than fighting, eating, and mating. The great storms of the heavens had used their lightning and thunder to awaken her mind and power. She could feel the tingle of the world’s might along her skin as it snapped and cracked across her fur.

She rose to her paws, excited to use her power. But first she had to return to her cubs with food, as they were still too young to survive alone.

It was then that she heard the noises. She turned her enormous head in the direction of the sounds. Her ears twitched, and she could recognize them. The familiarity was vague, like from before she was awake. Then she picked out particular sounds, and recognized those. Humans.

She knew humans could be dangerous, and that she needed to return to her cubs. Yet she had only just managed to turn away when she realized it was too late to flee. Their foul smells were everywhere, and the pridefully loud sounds of the humans’ approach told her she was surrounded.

She knew she could not be trapped there. She had to escape.

When they appeared though, she realized she would have to fight her way home. They flooded out of the marsh, still misty from the storm that had allowed her to grow. There were too many. So many of them that she wondered if their numbers had end.

The flood of humans took out long metal sticks with sharp ends and pointed them at her. She bellowed at them to tell them to let her pass, but they did not listen. She swiped at their sticks instead of their bodies to tell them she only wished to go home. But they refused to accept her offering. She rose to her back legs and stood above them, the lovely power of thunder running along her and making her claws glow the color of the heavens in a last hope of making them flee. They did not.

And then they attacked. They yelled and struck at her with their metal sticks. She called forth what she could of the heart of her life, and the power of the world loudly struck back at them. She broke the sticks with which they struck at her after their fellows fell to her power.

She was sadly forced to use her claws and strike at the humans, injuring and even killing some. And yet those were ignored and replaced by other humans and more of their sticks. She defeated those as well. Yet more came.

Then she felt a familiar power, but with a different smell, from behind the line of stick-wielding humans. It was another human, glowing blue. She recognized that power. It was that of the beasts of the rivers she fed from. To her it was the power of prey. She did not understand why prey would be approaching.

Too late she understood. The power formed a line of water that the blue glowing human whipped at her. She attempted to form power to combat it, but she had only just evolved and awakened. She was still weakened, her power unfamiliar to her. She failed to summon it in time, and the water wrapped tightly around her.

She struggled against it, pushing with all her size and might. But the water only bent and flowed to tighten again elsewhere. She felt herself tiring from the battle with the humans, and struggling against the water power.

Shortly after, she succumbed to exhaustion and fell limp into the mud and muck of the marsh.

The humans roared their triumph over her panting form as she thought of her cubs and how they would starve without her. She knew she had to get to them, and in her desperation, found a last spark of power. She took in one last mighty breath to bellow her defiance and need to get home. She rose and struck quickly, trying to flee.

But she then felt the water power again and knew she would be too slow. Yet still she ran on. She felt the burn on her back as the power struck her there, but still she ran on. She felt her fur and skin split, and still she crawled, trying to get home. She felt the power again and again, striking her. Bleeding her.

The tiny chubby faces of her cubs were the last things she saw before she was taken into darkness.

She awoke surrounded by metal sticks. She painfully rose to her feet, whimpering at the pain in her back and legs from the water power. She rose anyway and turned in a circle, looking and smelling to understand. She smelled humans and metal. She bit at the bitter-tasting metal sticks that were preventing her return to her home and cubs, but they would not break. She sliced at them with her claws, but they could not be cut. She summoned the power of storms, but they would not melt.

Failing repeatedly to break free, she lay down, surrounded by the stench of the foul humans and their strange loud sounds. Her sensitive ears allowed her to hear the numerous humans and recognize their speech, even if she could not understand their words.

“I can’t believe we caught a grade 3 Dire Thunder Bear. We’ll make a fortune this time,” said one voice.

A different voice responded, “Yeah. Hopefully the boss will give us a fair cut. We lost more than thirty men to her. Good thing we brought the whole band.”

The first made a braying noise that she did not understand and wondered if he was ill. Perhaps he would die and she could escape. But instead, more calm voices came to her. “Yeah. We had what, two, three hundred? Who knew recruiting would be so easy when you have a strong cultivator to lead?”

“I know, right? How much—”

She then heard an explosion that didn’t sound like thunder, but was just as loud. The humans started screaming and running around like mad. Sounds overlapped. Screams were overcome by more explosions, which were overcome again by even louder high-pitched screams.

Then she felt it. Power beyond her imagining. She vaguely remembered it as power like that of her lord. It was lesser in might and slightly different in taste, but still great. Greater than hers. She thought it had a more subtle scent and feeling. It slithered and writhed, rather than exploding with might. Either way, it was far beyond her.

She felt the human’s prey power then, and flashes of light and more explosions lit the marsh around her. The sun moved through the sky and the sounds got progressively softer, the yells less common. Until eventually, there was silence.

Then she heard tapping and felt the power she had felt before approaching. It bore down on her as she lowered herself and cowered on the far side of her prison.

In front of her was a human, or at least what appeared to be one. He smelled… off somehow. He didn’t look like the others. He had black skin, yellow eyes, and a pale jagged pink scar on his face. He stared down at her from outside her prison. Then he crouched down and looked into her eyes with his. His nostrils flared and he breathed in her scent. She knew he could smell her terror. He shifted his head up and down and opened his mouth.

In a language she understood, even without knowing how, he asked her, “Are you named yet?”

She blinked up at him, confused by the question and still too terrified to respond. His head rose and fell again and he said, “I see. Then I name you…” he tilted his head to the side, “Cimu. Because you are a loving mother.”

He rose again, reached forward, and wrapped his hands around the metal sticks of her prison. “I am Scar. Go home to your cubs, Cimu. As much as I dislike it, I have my own hunt. And it is not far.” Then there was a screeching noise as he ripped free the metal that she could not cut or bite apart.

Before she could gather her courage to do anything, he turned, walked into the shadow of a rotting tree, and vanished from her sight.

She twitched her nose but could not scent him. She twitched her ears but could not hear him.

Hoping and believing him gone, she rose and walked away from the prison, only to freeze in place again. The bodies of more humans than she knew existed were everywhere. They were in piles and alone. There were whole humans, and only parts. The scent of blood permeated the air and overwhelmed her sensitive nose.

She shivered, shook herself, and ran into the marsh to return to her cubs, hoping to never see another human, or the terrifying human-not-human again.

Part Twelve

SKILLS AND SECTS

The mighty creature of corrupted balance had finally reached this world and was about to spread that imbalance and taint all life. Knowing it was their only chance, the four heavenly beasts sacrificed themselves to slow the breaking down of the world’s balance. In a final attempt to save their world and their charges, the four heavenly beasts enacted the plan long ago created, and granted humans their Sign. This gave them the ability to control their growth and battle the imbalance-caused corruption that had arrived and would eventually permeate the land.

The True History of the World, lost to time

Author, unknown

SIXTY-EIGHT

Skill Scroll

The next morning – Private training area, estate of the city lord, Fei Shu City:

It was a slightly cold autumn morning, and Yu’s mother sat across from her on the grassy area in her training garden. Yu was just about to begin lessons on using Qi externally for the first time, and was ecstatic about it. This was the line that made for real cultivation, and she was about to cross it.

“I am starting your Qi skill training for two reasons,” her mother told her. “The first is that it is technically my responsibility as the head of the clan’s youth cultivator training. And the second is because your father and uncles, whom you will also learn from, will try to rush things. I, on the other hand, am more a follower of the tradition of not allowing my students and clanmates to explode, so we do it my way.”

Yu blinked at her mother. Nobody had told her she could explode from using Qi skills.

Why doesn’t anybody ever explain these things to me in advance?

Seeing her expression, Yu’s mother laughed and patted her knee. “Relax, Yu’er. You are about to become a real cultivator.”

Yu exhaled a breath she hadn’t known she had been holding, and tried to do as instructed.

“All right. First, we all need to accept one fact. We will not be able to hide your standard affinities once you begin practicing Qi skills. As such, it is almost time to let go of some of our secrecy.”

Yu smiled widely, excited at the prospect of finally being free to leave her training garden.

But her mother held up her hands. “Do not get too excited, daughter. You are not suddenly going to be able to wander the city freely. You are still at risk until you enter the sect and are under the protection of its leader. Moreover, easing what we hide does not mean everything will be public. Some affinities will be obvious, like Fire and Lightning. And Wood and Water, if you join Gen in healing others as well. Probably Darkness affinity, and certainly Spatial affinity, will remain a secret for as long as possible, though. Do you understand so far?”

Yu nodded, still excited, if a little more subdued.

“Your father and I agreed to share with you a few things about what will happen. You know we have been speaking with a sect. We succeeded, and I will tell you now a little of the outcome.”

Yu listened with rapt attention, saying not a word and desperate to learn about her future.

“You are going to join a sect as the sect leader’s direct disciple. This means he will offer you his protection openly and publicly, allowing you to hide your God Sign and not be harmed by outside sources during his guardianship. The only thing we are going to be able to hide, and that we absolutely must, for decades – or centuries, even – is your meridian count. Everything else makes you a potentially valuable tool. Your meridians make you a threat of unfathomable measure.”

Yu gulped. That made sense to her, based on how dangerous everyone had said she would seem to certain individuals. Not that she wasn’t still terrified of going to a strange place surrounded by strange people who believed she was an ant to be squashed and only one secret away from being attacked by the most powerful people in the empire.

Her mother raised a single finger. “But… we all believe, and your future master agrees, that you need to grow without being coddled. You have always succeeded when pressed and forced to prove yourself; therefore, he will offer you no additional resources, extra training, skills, access, or any other special treatment that a direct disciple usually receives. There may be some small exceptions, but they will be rare, and we will discuss them later.”

Nodding, Yu said, “I understand.” In reality, she agreed. Being given things would help of course, but that wouldn’t push her. And it wouldn’t be true to who she was. Adversity had always been the catalyst for her growth.

“The reason I bring this up now is because the most important things you will receive from the sect besides your master’s protection, are Qi skills. Thus, going there without any skills or the training to use them would be quite detrimental to your growth. So, let’s dig in.”

Yu’s mother held up a hand in between them and lightning sparked over it. “Qi skills are, for the most part, affinity-specific. As I said before, some of your affinities are going to be exposed immediately. Lightning and fire are not exactly subtle.” Yu’s mother laughed and nodded. “What we decided is that instead of being so active in hiding it, we are going to let knowledge of them slip out over time, week by week, as we each train you. The order will be, Fire and then Water and Wood, and finally Lightning. That means everyone in the city will find out you are a quad-affinity cultivator. This will draw a good deal of envy and ire. Are you prepared for that level of attention?”

Yu let out a slow breath and nodded. “I am, mother. If I want to be strong enough, some things can’t be secrets forever.”

“Good. Beyond those four, we are planning for you to learn Darkness in secret with Zhao.” Then she muttered, “That ought to be interesting.” And back in her normal voice she said, “As none of us wield Earth and you only have four weeks anyway, I am sorry to say you will be starting from scratch at the sect with that. Although I understand Grandma Huan may have a skill she is willing to share if she is back in time. If not, we may be able to send one with you.”

Yu nodded, and her mother continued, “Today, we are going to talk about the next steps in your training. First of all, you should not attempt to open more than one meridian every nine days. The process of opening them and expelling the impurities is extremely stressful on the body. You noticed that when you could barely walk after you awoke from the first time. This is critically important, Yu’er. Tell me you agree not to try. I know how driven you can be.”

Yu huffed. “I’ve never done any training that puts my cultivation at risk.”

Her mother stared at her with an eyebrow raised.

“I haven’t!” Yu exclaimed defensively.

Rolling her eyes, her mother said, “I suppose we can agree to disagree on that, but onward. That timeframe will shrink somewhat as your physical resilience grows, but given your number of meridians, you can expect to be in the Meridian Formation Stage for three to four years. That is not unheard of, it will simply mean that people will assume you have more impurities, or are not skilled at removing them. By that time, you will have many Qi skills and your battle prowess should show with them. I doubt much will come of it and if it does, simply claim your bumpkin home on the verge meant you were exposed to more impurities.”

Yu’s face showed her frustration, but she nodded because what her mother had said had seemed sensible to her, even though she knew that being stuck at a single stage for so long would challenge her patience. She also wasn’t thrilled about using her upbringing as a negative. Her family was proud and strong in her mind, no matter their geographical location.

Ignorant of Yu’s emotions, her mother continued, “That means you will attempt to open three more meridians before you leave. That will give you just enough to use all the skills we will be providing.”

Then her mother patted her thighs and said, “All right, then. Are you ready to learn your first Qi skill?”

Overwhelmed with all the information but still excited, Yu nodded her head vigorously.

“Good. You are going to learn a skill that is commonly the first for all professionally trained cultivators and is quite basic. It will help to get you used to using energy externally, as well as awakening the skill grades in your God Sign.”

A multicolored scroll appeared in Yu’s mother’s hand. She held it up, saying, “Skills usually come on scrolls, but also occasionally on jade tablets for the rarer or higher-grade ones. Every Qi scroll is written by a Qi calligrapher, which is a profession you will learn about in the sect. The scroll changes its color based on the affinity of the skill being written on it, and they are always expensive.” She waved the rainbow scroll in front of Yu and said, “This is the most common and least expensive scroll available in our empire. It cost six thousand silver for this one in my hand.”

Yu’s eyes opened wide.

The cheapest cost that much?

“Am I going to be able to afford to grow at this sect?” Yu asked, concerned.

Her mother smiled at her. “If you work hard, yes. You will understand. For now, you need to learn this skill. To do so, open it facing you and focus on it. Send Qi into it through your hands and just wait.”

Then she held out the rolled-up rainbow parchment for Yu to take.

Yu took it, then turned the opening to face her, broke the seal, and unfurled it. The entire parchment was a cacophony of colors, and in the middle there appeared to be a blurry moving image. She could not make anything out in the image, but saw a Sign flash in front of her.

Interestingly, it was in her own silver and not in the colors of the scroll.

Skill Name: Qi Construct

Grade: 1

Qi Type: Neutral

Affinity Type: Neutral

Meridians: 1

Description: This skill allows the user to create a noncorporeal structure of any shape using the Qi type and affinity of the cultivator. Size is limited only by the Qi expended on the skill; however, no more than one active meridian can ever be applied to this skill. As the construct takes time to form, is unmovable, and is a vaporous creation that has no tangibility, it cannot be used in combat and is mainly used as a training tool for new Qi users. Welcome to external Qi, cultivator!

Yu followed her mother’s instructions and sent her Qi into the scroll. It absorbed the Qi, but nothing happened. Then Yu sent more, and it began to glow. After she had sent about half of her Qi into it, it flashed then crumbled to dust in her hands, before Yu’s mind began being inundated with knowledge. It was like when Jiang had sent her the knowledge of how to use hook swords.

A few moments later, the information stopped flowing and she saw another silver Sign.

Direct knowledge absorption is successful.

Sign update complete.

Blinking the Sign away, Yu realized she had the knowledge to make a construct using Qi outside of her body. She was excited to try it out.

I’m about to use an external Qi skill!

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother’s voice. “I see that look in your eyes, daughter. And you’re bouncing. Control yourself.”

Yu realized that she was, and immediately stilled herself. She cleared her throat and nodded, but couldn’t remove the smile from her face.

Her mother smiled resignedly and shook her head. “You’ll learn. Now, that skill you just gained is a Qi- and affinity-neutral skill, as you saw. It works for anyone that has a dantian and a single meridian, which is why it is used as a training tool. View the skills in your God Sign and see. They should have grades now as well.”

Yu excitedly said, “Sign. Skills.”

Qi Skills:

Aura:

Grade 1:

– Qi Construct (Novice)

Mana:

Grade 1

– Qi Construct (Novice)

Ether:

Grade 1:

– Qi Construct (Novice)

– Beast Bonding (Novice)

Grade {unknown}:

– Enchant Lightning* (Novice)

Yu blinked at it and showed her mother, who also blinked at the Sign. She said in a low voice, “Oh. I didn’t think of that. How interesting.”

After a few moments of silent contemplation, she explained, “I did not expect that because it is neutral, it would cross all your Qi types. I bet it accesses all your affinities as well. Fascinating…”

Yu watched as her mother stared off into nothing for a few moments. Realizing nothing more would be forthcoming, Yu cleared her throat, hoping to get back to the lesson so she could finally use the skill.

Her mother jerked and returned her attention to Yu. “Well, we can worry about that later. For now, you should practice moving Qi through your meridians using that skill. Remember to maintain control of the Qi. This skill’s energy flows are as slow and calm as they get, which is why I insist on using it as the first. You simply need to focus on maintaining control of the Qi and following the knowledge you have. Since the skill is so light on Qi, you shouldn’t hurt yourself too badly when you mess up.” Then her mother quietly laughed to herself as she stood and left. Yu heard her say, “Good luck,” just before the door slid shut behind her.

Yu stared after her mother, more than a little confused. The knowledge in her head seemed to indicate exactly what her mother had described. The flows of Qi seemed simple and straight forward.

What’s the big deal?

Honestly, it felt to Yu like the build-up was a bit of a game to scare young cultivators, given that after she’d opened her first meridian her family members had made light enough of the situation to have engaged in a bet. Yu was still bitter about that. They probably had another pool going on right now for how fast she learned the skill.

Well, whatever. It was not like she could control anything about it. What she could do, was finally use Qi outside of her body.

With that in mind, Yu hurriedly crossed her legs, held out a hand, and closed her eyes. Following the skill knowledge in her mindscape, – that was where skill knowledge went – Yu called the Qi from her dantian, cycled it once for good measure, and then sent it into her meridian. The scroll had taught her that the determining factors for the skill were the way the Qi moves, its flow rate, the amount of it moving, and the direction it was moving. So Yu sent the Qi in, and imagined an object forming above her hand, just like the scroll had taught her.

Everything seemed to go as per the process, and Yu wondered what her mother had been so worried about. Yet then she opened her eyes and looked down to see what she had created.

Nothing. Nothing was there.

Scrunching up her face, Yu closed her eyes and looked at her energy flows, which seemed okay to her.

Well, I have only been sending a trickle through thanks to all of those warnings, so maybe I just need to increase it. Right. Easy enough.

Keeping her eyes on her hand and hoping to see something form above it, Yu forced more Qi from her dantian and into her single meridian.

She felt a flickering of energy inside of herself, and a tiny ball of light no bigger than a grain of sand slowly formed a few finger widths above her palm. Smiling widely, Yu looked at it. Although it wobbled, failed to stay lit, and regularly shrunk and grew, to her that wasn’t important. What was important was that it was there.

I did it! I used Qi externally!

Then Yu felt something. Her Qi started wavering in her body. The light flickered faster. And out of nowhere, the previously silent light released a tiny cracking sound, like the snap of a miniscule bolt of lightning. Yu felt the Qi that was in her body, which had just been wavering a bit, snap against the side of her meridian. She winced at the slight burning feeling.

The light in her hand flickered again, and a small burst of flame puffed out. Then more lightning. In her body, her Qi was surging wildly. She tried to cut it off, but it refused to cease its flow. She had completely lost control. The light in her hand and the pumping of her Qi started syncing their actions. Every smack against her dantian resulted in a flash above her hand. It got faster and faster as the smacks and flashes became more and more frequent. Yu began to panic. She shot to her feet, ready to run to her mother for help. But with that action, the last of her control snapped and the object above her hand exploded outward in a roar of sound and light. Yu felt a pressure wave hit the front of her body, and found herself blown backward. She was thrown off her feet and flew through the air, only to crash back into the grass of her courtyard and tumble head over heels and then onto her side. She continued to roll until she smacked into the courtyard’s wall with a crunching sound and an ‘oof’ of expelled air.

Yu struggled to take in a breath, her chest refusing to expand. Yet only a few moments later, the muscles in her torso relaxed and she thankfully drew in a wheezing breath. It exited her in a moan as Yu lay there, her body unwilling and unable to move. She blinked at the cloudless blue sky with the one eye which wasn’t covered by her disheveled silver hair.

Yu tried to gather herself so she could understand what in the nine hells had just happened. After a few moments, her thoughts cleared enough that she could assess her condition.

Yu’s body was filled with a mix of sensations. She felt the pain from the pressure of the explosion, her head and shoulders had been pounded from hitting the ground repeatedly and then from smacking against the wall, and her right hand ached fiercely. But more than any of the pain, Yu felt like her insides were tingling. Pain was familiar to her, and therefore it was easier for her to move past. But this thrumming made her feel like she was vibrating from the inside out.

Having decided to lie there for a while longer, or until she could breathe without pain, Yu closed her eyes. At that moment she was thankful for all the torture that Grandma Huan had put her through in that it had granted her a rather robust physique. Whatever her injures were, they certainly would have been many times worse before her completion of the Foundation Building Stage.

Just then, she heard the rhythmic tapping sounds of approaching footsteps. Yu opened her eyes and reluctantly lifted her head. She watched as two forms entered her training center, the first slim and the second wider.

“I did warn you to control your Qi, daughter,” her mother said with a smile in her voice.

“Really, Meixiu. Is now the time for a lecture?” her Uncle Gen responded. “How do you feel, Yu’er?”

Yu lowered her head and let out a breath. “Not dead?” she managed to say. Then she thought about it and decided to verify. “I’m not dead, right?”

Her uncle chuckled and her mother said, “No, dear, you aren’t dead. Do you see now why we start training using skills like that? Can you imagine if you had tried that with a skill that is actually meant to cause an explosion?”

Gen kneeled over Yu and pressed his hands to her head and chest. She felt the familiar cooling flow of energy enter her and reduce her pain. She hoped he would teach her that when she got around to learning healing.

At least, once I can do it without blowing up!

“I understand, mother. And thank you, uncle.”

Yu’s pain faded away entirely, Gen moved his hands to her shoulders where he helped her sit up and lean against the wall she had just left a girl-sized indent in.

“I don’t even know what happened,” Yu said, exasperated. “I thought I had it. I was creating a construct and everything. It was tiny, but it even lit up.”

Yu’s mother chuckled and Gen sighed.

“It isn’t supposed to light up, Yu’er,” her mother told her. “It is simply a semisolid form that takes on the color of the primary affinity type’s color representation. So, for me it’s a dull sort of purple mist that I can manipulate.”

Yu felt well enough to stand, so she tried, and with Gen’s help she managed it. Once on her feet, she felt better. She looked at her mother and asked, “So what did I do wrong?”

“The same thing almost all young cultivators do wrong: you rushed. I did the same when I was young like you. I was excited to finally use external Qi and become a real cultivator. So I pushed too much Qi into my meridian and didn’t control it.”

Yu sighed. That sounded exactly like what she had done.

“Yu’er, that is a very slow skill,” her mother told her. “Knowing your abilities and talent, you probably had it right at first. But if I had to guess, I’d say that you looked at your hand – or wherever you were trying to create your construct – and saw nothing. And seeing nothing, you shoved a bunch of Qi at it. Is that about right?”

Yu looked down and nodded.

She felt her mother’s fingers gently press under her chin and lift her head. “It’s okay. You’re not perfect. I think sometimes we all forget – you included – just how young you are. You are so talented and mature, at least most of the time, that it is easy to forget you are only fifteen. Most cultivators learn their first skill at eighteen. Your brother did it just before he turned seventeen, and he’s quite gifted. Don’t expect so much from yourself.”

Yu saw Gen nodding and smiling at her. “Yu’er, I have confidence in you. Zhao too, although for him it may be as much excitement as anything else. I cannot even tell you how much of a celebration he had when he found out about your Darkness affinity. He may have bankrupted himself, he spent so much on wine, games, and girls.” Then her uncle coughed and looked away, clearly embarrassed by his own words.

Yu rolled her eyes. That sounded exactly like what her other uncle would have done.

“What did you learn from this, daughter?” her mother asked in her teaching voice as she took a step back.

Yu thought before she answered. “To follow my knowledge of the skill, and not press too hard to get results faster.”

Gen nodded. “Excellent,” he said happily. Then he tapped his chin and said, “I’ll tell you what, niece. I am so confident in you, that I am going to do two things. First, I am going to leave. I have an appointment outside of the palace that I had planned to cancel so I could heal you. I just now decided to keep it. I believe in you so much, that I am going to assume you have learned not to repeat this error.” Yu felt her eyes widen in surprise, but her uncle kept speaking. “Second, if I don’t have to come back, I am going to reserve an extra skill scroll or two for you when it is my turn to teach you. If you show promise and enjoy healing, I’ll gift them to you.”

If a cheap, useless skill costs six thousand silver, how much could a valuable healing skill be worth?

“Uncle, that’s too much,” Yu said hurriedly. “I can’t take skills from the clan.”

He just scoffed. “Don’t be absurd! They’re mine, and I can do whatever I want with them. I earned them decades ago and was planning on giving them to an apprentice, whenever I manage to finally find one competent enough. Do you know how hard it is to find a dual-affinity Wood and Water Mage out here in the middle of the forested wilderness?”

As rarely as she had interacted with them, both of Yu’s uncles had always been kind to her. Uncle Zhao was a goofy guy who occasionally gave her an extra sweet from the table or showed her how to use a small blade, despite her father’s orders. And Gen, no matter the cause or impact to the clan, had been gentle with both her injuries and feelings. She had loved them, and appreciated them, even at her lowest.

At the same time, they intimidated her as well. They were two of the pillars of the clan and among the strongest cultivators she knew. Even before Yu had become aware of Zhao’s role in the clan, she had known he was strong, if undisciplined.

Both the pressure and honor she felt at her uncle demonstrating his absolute confidence in her ability to succeed overwhelmed her. Her eyes became wet, and she looked down before either of the others could see her tears.

Then she felt Gen’s large hand pat her on the shoulder. “I look forward to seeing you in a week.” Then he turned around and headed out.

“I’ll be back after the midday meal tomorrow to see your progress,” her mother said, and then she too walked away, leaving the garden quiet except for Yu’s breathing and the wind.

It took Yu about a day and a half of thankfully explosion-free practice for her to be satisfied.

As she had promised, Yu’s mother returned after lunch the next day. They were in identical positions to when she had first given Yu the scroll.

“All right, daughter. Show me your progress.”

Yu nodded and let out a deep breath. She lifted and held out her hand between them. A slight silver glow surrounded it and, after about thirty breaths of focus, Yu created a perfectly round, mostly transparent ball floating above her hand.

Yu wasn’t thrilled with the amount of time it had taken her to make it, but like her mother said, it was a slow skill. Plus she had not wanted it to explode again, especially in front of her mother.

“That is excellent, Yu’er!” her mother said excitedly. “I knew you could do it in less than two days.” Then she pouted and said, “Zhao wanted to start a betting pool, but Gen forbid it. I would definitely have won!”

Yu laughed without losing focus on her construct. “I knew it! And thank you, mother. But this isn’t really what I wanted to show you. Once I understood how to follow the Qi flows, I was able to create a construct in a few hours. What I spent most of the last day doing was optimizing the flows and memorizing their movements through the various twists, turns, tightenings, and openings of my meridians. That’s when I discovered the rest of what this skill can do.”

Her mother raised her eyebrows in bafflement and asked, “The rest?”

Yu nodded, focused harder, and sent energy into the ball using the particular flow rate and fluctuation she had practiced. As a result, it began to solidify. About a hundred breaths later, Yu was able to compress the Qi above her hand until it looked like a perfectly polished steel ball.

“Yu’er…” Yu looked up at the voice and saw her mother moving her eyes between Yu’s face and the ball. Her mouth was open, and her eyes wide.

Thinking her mother was going to scold her for risking another explosion, Yu quickly said, “I was very careful, I promise.”

Her mother still did not say anything, so Yu went on. “I didn’t find a transparent ball terribly useful. So I figured, since I was improving the Qi flow already, why not see if I could manipulate the construct itself?” She then stared back at the ball and focused even harder.

Watching her stretched reflection in the round silver, she flexed her will again and modified the Qi that was moving into the ball. It began to shrink and stretch. She continued to focus, controlling the energy in the construct and releasing the extra energy into the environment as the construct elongated and thinned, gaining a pointed tip and feathered tail. A glimmering silver arrow floated before her, rotating slowly over her hand.

“That is much more useful,” Yu said tiredly.

Yu looked back at her mother, who was still wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Yu explained, “I started making a sword, but then I remembered how you prefer the bow, and since I was showing it to you, this is what I came up with. As far as I can tell, the skill will stop working immediately after I stop sending Qi into it, so it can’t be used as a weapon, which is a shame. But I really did learn a lot by trying.”

Yu watched her mother, who still couldn’t take her eyes off the arrow. Seeing no response, Yu said, “I’m just about out of Qi, so I have to let it go now.”

As she did, the arrow lost its luster, turned transparent, and then evaporated into a mist that was blown away on the afternoon breeze.

Yu relaxed and leaned back after the strain of using Qi and focusing on the construct.

After a few more breaths of silence, her mother finally spoke again in a considering tone. “I wager that was possible because you use all three Qi types. Together, they can create a solid construct. But your ability to perceive and remember has always been your greatest asset. I’m thoroughly awed and impressed, Yu’er. Well done.”

Yu felt herself blush but she nodded. “The Qi type idea makes sense. You said it takes little Qi, but just creating the construct feels like it takes more than the information in my mind says it should. If I’m thinking about correctly, I’d estimate three times as much, which actually aligns with what you said, since I’m using three Qi types.”

Staring off into the garden with a pensive expression, Meixiu said, “When you raise your Spirit and gain access to more Qi, Qi-neutral skills may become quite useful to you, given this unique interaction. Keep that in mind when you start selecting your skills in the sect.”

“How many Qi-neutral skills are there?” Yu asked.

Tapping her chin, her mother said, “Not many, but they are very affordable because they are not meant for combat or considered terribly useful, due to being so limited in purpose. You’ll understand as you are exposed to more and decide whether you can find a use for them. Your versatility may become a viable asset sooner than any of us expected.”

Yu smiled. “Right. So, should I practice this for a while more, or try another skill?”

“That is an excellent question,” her mother said thoughtfully. “Why don’t you spend the rest of the afternoon seeing if you can make it more efficient? Starting tomorrow, you will begin working with your father on Fire skills. It is fortunate for you that we have many fire-based skills scrolls in the clan, with it being our most common affinity. Well, Aura skills at least.” Then she leaned forward and looked serious. “I hope you two can be patient with each other. He really is a terrible teacher. And you can be just as prideful and stubborn. So like Gen, I am going to make an offer to you. If you can avoid aggravating him to the point of me having to get involved, we have a surprise for you that I know you will like.”

Yu’s eyebrows rose.

That is quite the temptation, she thought to herself. Then she remembered that she would be learning with her father for a week.

Maybe I should meditate on patience instead.

SIXTY-NINE

Fire Skills

The next day, what Yu had feared was confirmed – studying with her father was an exercise in patience and self-control for both of them.

She knew enough to see that her father really was not a good teacher. The truth was, he was so incredibly talented at his Fire affinity that Yu couldn’t help but work diligently not to be a disappointment. But that expertise was also a problem. He was so far beyond the basics, that he struggled to understand why she struggled in turn. Concepts that were both ingrained and instinctual for him were completely unknown to her.

The first two days of working together therefore proved a challenge for both of them, even though they still hadn’t gotten beyond theory. Yu’s father insisted that fire was dangerous, and that she therefore needed an appropriate appreciation for the nature of fire – and the risks associated with using it – before receiving any skills.

They were both in her father’s office, and he was explaining about his secondary affinity, Metal. Even though Yu did not share that affinity with him, she had asked to learn about it anyway. Knowledge was never wasted with her, or so she believed since she never forgot anything.

“Primary affinities are what our bodies use by default,” he told her. “Spatial is your primary affinity and Fire is mine. Metal is my secondary affinity, and for me is almost exclusively a defensive one. I mostly use it to strengthen my skin, enhance any armor I wear, and the like. But do not discount that. My enhanced defenses are the reason I am still alive today. Having Fire for attack and Metal for defense is a powerful combination and the greatest reason I have accomplished what I have.”

Thinking about Lady Re and her Metal and Fire affinities, Yu asked, “Lord father, why were you not a blacksmith at your sect?”

He huffed. “I was terrible at it. Smithing takes far too much delicacy and time. I gave up on professions entirely, and instead used my strength in battle to earn for myself and my family.”

That was not what Yu had expected to hear. Her father failing at something relating to cultivation was a foreign concept in her mind.

“Today’s lesson is not about professions, though. It is about your first Fire affinity skill.” He took out a deep red scroll from his ring and handed it over. Yu accepted it with a massive grin that she felt might have been splitting her face in half. He glared at her and continued, “This is the most common early Fire Aura skill, called Flame Thorns. It will coat parts (or all) of your body in flames so that anyone you attack, or who attacks you at close range, will take fire damage unless they have protection. You may learn it now, but do not attempt to use it.”

Yu nodded excitedly and went through the same process as with the prior scroll. The new scroll also took half of her Qi before it disintegrated and the knowledge appeared in her mindscape.

Direct knowledge absorption is successful.

Sign update complete.

Yu looked to her father and nodded, confirming it had worked as expected.

“Your mother tells me you now have excellent control of your Qi after your initial… mishap, and that you picked up creating and manipulating constructs quickly. That is excellent. I knew you would. So now you can prove it to me. Show me your control by limiting the skill and igniting only your right hand.”

Yu was pleased that her father apparently had the same confidence in her that her mother and uncle did, but it would go up in flames, so to speak, if she did not perform well right now.

“I would prefer we stand here for hours, than you rush it and damage my office. If you ruin another one of my rugs, I will be most displeased.”

He sounded really grumpy about it too. Did her father really like his rugs? They had always seemed utterly hideous to her.

Shaking her head, Yu closed her eyes and used the experiences she had had with her first skill to slowly run through the details of the new one. She went through it a few times, just to make sure, and then took a deep breath.

Energy flooded her meridian at her call, and Yu formed it as the skill directed. She took her time and exercised a high amount of control over the flows, just to make sure she didn’t have another accident. Feeling like she had it, Yu raised her right hand and flexed her will as the skill told her to. She felt it, then: the energy building and then culminating as a layer sitting just outside of her skin.

Suddenly there was a soft whooshing sound and her raised hand burst into flame. Yu was surprised to see that it was not a red, orange, and yellow flame. What actually surrounded her hand were flickering shades of silver. The brightest shades were near her skin and almost silvery white, with the darkest farther away.

She held her hand to her face and looked at it closely. She actually thought the flames looked quite beautiful. But were they dangerous? If not, Fire skills might not be something she had any use for.

That damn fruit!

In an instant her father appeared in front of her. She jumped and took a step back in surprise.

He grumbled as he stroked his beard, “That is quite interesting.”

“It might be useless,” Yu pouted. “Maybe fire isn’t for me.”

“Do not jump to conclusions, daughter.” A parchment appeared in his hand, and he reached forward and placed its edge against her fingers. It lit up instantly, and when he pulled it back, the fire burned the paper to ash in a few breaths.

“Interesting, indeed. I wonder if it is a nonstandard manifestation,” he said, still rubbing his chin.

Yu slumped in relief and asked, “I’m just relieved my fire isn’t useless. What’s that that you just called it, lord father?”

“It is certainly not useless. As you have seen, it at least burns like fire, perhaps slightly faster than standard flames. As to your other question, did you know that there are hundreds of nonstandard manifestations of affinities?”

Yu shook her head. “I’m not even sure what that means.”

“About one in every hundred thousand or so cultivators in our empire has some sort of nonstandard manifestation. Since there are billions of cultivators, it is not common, but it is not exceedingly rare either. As for what it is, think about it this way: not all fire is the same, just like not all lightning is the same. Your mother, for example, has a nonstandard manifestation of lightning. It is of a purifying type, which is actually a common kind of nonstandard manifestation. That is not to say that it is common to have it, it is just that of those few that have a nonstandard manifestation of the Lightning affinity, purifying is often how it manifests. Do you understand?”

Yu nodded. “So, you think my fire could be a manifestation like that?”

He shrugged. “Perhaps. We may find out during your practice, or we may not know for many years. There are some cultivators who had been alive for centuries before they discovered they even had a nonstandard manifestation. The imperial family is known for its manifestation. They call it the Imperial Flame. It is a fancy name for saying it is extra hot. As for yours, we’ll see. I will research whether we have any records of silver fire.”

Nodding again, Yu said, “I guess that makes sense. Either way, it doesn’t matter at this point. So, what now?”

“Now,” he said, “you practice. Given you were able to successfully create and control the Flame Thorns on your first try without damaging yourself or my office, I feel comfortable giving you the rest of the skill scrolls I prepared. You will spend the next few days practicing Flame Thorns and these four other Fire affinity skills.” He produced four more dark red parchments from his ring and handed them to Yu. “These are the most common for our clan. You are free to come and ask me questions about them if you are struggling. Your mother instructed me to send you to her. She and I agreed that practicing alone will not be as efficient as having a partner at your own level. So someone will be joining you.”

Yu’s eyes widened.

Am I going to be able to train at skills with my friends?

Peering at her with narrowed eyes, he ordered in a low voice, “Do not burn down my house, daughter.”

Yu beamed at her father and gave him a quick hug. He humphed at her and adjusted his clothing.

Not only has he given me multiple skills, she thought. He’s also encouraged me to play with my friends!

Yu turned around and ran out of his office in a blur.

Yu ducked under the left fist of her attacker, the fist’s orange and red flames leaving a warm feeling on the back of her neck. She pressed her right hand down flat, its own silver fire extinguishing just before it made contact with the grass of her training center. Using the leverage from her hand, Yu swung her legs up and out, her feet bursting into silver flames just before they made contact with their red-eyed target.

Suyin brought her right arm up to block, and lit it afire just as Yu’s feet made contact. She grunted through the sting of the burn but was able to press back, causing each to be pushed away from the other.

Yu rolled to her feet and smiled widely at her friend, who was grinning back.

“Fire Sword next?” Suyin asked.

Yu nodded and ran toward her. Just as she entered melee range, Yu brought her hands forward, and twin straight short swords just like her old jian appeared in her hands from her storage ring. A saber appeared in Suyin’s left hand and rose to meet the blows. Just before contact, all three weapons erupted into flames, Suyin’s flames the standard orange and red, Yu’s her strange silver. Coating a weapon in flames was what the Fire Sword skill was for.

Yu found switching back to jian a little difficult, but knew she had no choice if she wanted to use the skill. They had found out through trial and error that no Fire skills worked through Yu’s hook swords, or incidentally her red leather armor. All she was told was that the cause was likely their enchantments, and that she should have them examined by an expert enchanter at the sect.

That left Yu using a spare pair of jian the clan had lying around. They made contact with Suyin’s saber and the flames battled each other, just as the steel did. Yu’s silver flames seemed to rage brighter upon contact, but Suyin’s did not dim or withdraw. Yu’s flames were hotter than normal flames, but Suyin’s affinity with Fire was so high it seemed to offset the difference in temperature. Outside of it being hotter, nobody in her family was able to predict the nature of Yu’s silver fire’s non-standard manifestation and as of yet no historical reference was found to assist.

The ringing of steel on steel echoed off the walls of the training center, and red and silver flares of light created and dismissed shadows as the battle continued. Eventually they backed off, withdrew their Qi skills, and ran to the far end of her garden.

“Race?” Yu asked.

Suyin grinned and leaned forward in ready position. “Don’t forget to protect yourself.”

Yu nodded and sent Qi through her body, making sure that Suyin did the same. They had learned from their mistakes over the last four days of practicing together.

“Three,” Yu called out as she also leaned forward.

“Two,” Suyin said a breath later.

“One,” Yu said.

“Go!” they yelled together.

Flames exploded out from their backs and legs as they shot off like a couple of arrows. Grass and dirt flew behind them as they sprinted with the press of the Qi behind them.

Their target was a line of cloth lying on the grass ten paces from the opposite wall. They were evenly matched for most of the race, until Yu saw with her enhanced sight that Suyin wasn’t going to make it across the finish line in the manner she had hoped. Her right leg was pressed too hard by the flames and her foot was digging too deep into the ground. Yu knew from past experience what would happen, so she diverted her body and dove for Suyin’s larger frame. Just as the toe of Suyin’s boot caught, Yu wrapped her up in her arms and they slammed into the soft grass and dirt, rolling forward over and under each other.

They eventually came to a stop with Yu on top and both of them covered in patches of brown dirt and a mix of fresh green and burnt brown blades of grass. Yu coughed and rolled off Suyin and onto her back.

Suyin turned her head and looked over. “You okay?”

Yu looked back at her and smiled. “Yep.”

They looked at each other for a few more breaths, and then both broke out laughing.

Wearing a grin, Yu said, “You know, technically I won, right?”

“Oh, please!” Suyin scoffed through her giggles. “How is your butt passing the line first a win?”

More giggles ensued, but slowly ended as they quietly enjoyed each other’s company while recovering.

“Hey, Yu?” Suyin said.

“Hmm?” Yu responded.

“You know how I’m leaving for the sect tomorrow?” she asked.

Yu nodded sadly. “I’ll miss you.”

She had been told two days prior. The news was as devastating as it was expected. Suyin’s talent was too high for her not to be snatched up by some Fire-focused sect. Obviously, Yu wished the best for her friend and wanted to be happy for her, but it was still hard not to feel selfishly sad at the same time.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you before, when we had more time,” Suyin said with a sniffle.

Yu felt tears stinging her eyes. Nobody had told her this whole friendship thing would be so hard. The only other person she felt so close to was her brother, whom she missed terribly. She had cried quite a bit when he had been taken to the Black Dragon Sect a year and a half before, and Yu knew she’d cry again when she said goodbye to Suyin as well. They both knew it would be years before they saw each other again.

Rolling over, Yu laid her arm across Suyin’s stomach and her head on Suyin’s shoulder. “Thanks,” she whispered. “You don’t know what that means to me.” Then she squeezed and released her. “I wish I could have known you, too. But it couldn’t have worked. I was too fragile. We couldn’t have… well, done anything, really.”

“It makes me sad sometimes,” Suyin said. “Thinking about everything you went through. I could have protected you, if I knew.” Then she leaned her head over and laid her forehead against Yu’s.

“There was nothing you could have done,” Yu told her. “If you had, you and your family would have become targets.” She sighed. “You were my first friend, you know,” Yu said quietly. “I can’t tell you how much your friendship means to me. Way more now than it would have then.”

Yu looked into Suyin’s bright-red, teary eyes as Suyin said, “I’ll miss you.”

“You too.” Yu said.

Then Suyin cleared her throat and looked back toward the sky. “What about Yaozu? Didn’t you become friends with him at the same time as me?”

Yu laughed and fell back. “He’s a boy, and therefore always second.”

Suyin laughed, but Yu could see a blush form on her face.

“Wait a minute!” Yu exclaimed as she raised herself onto an elbow and looked down at her friend. “You two have been getting close lately, haven’t you?”

Suyin turned her face away from Yu as her blush brightened.

Yu broke out into hysterical laughter and rolled back over. “You have!”

Suyin hesitantly nodded.

“Have you been out for tea or meals together? Is it casual, or are you officially courting?”

Suyin covered her face with her hands and gave a muffled answer. “Yes, yes, and no. He was contemplating going to ask his father to approach mine, but since I’m leaving for the sect sooner than we expected, we decided to delay that. It’s too many years apart for us unless he gets into the same sect, which he’s trying to do.”

Yu sat up. “Which sect did you choose? I know you had a choice. You’re too good not to.”

“The Breath of Flame Sect,” Suyin responded, also sitting up. “I was offered the position of direct disciple of one of their elders.”

“Heavens!” Yu exclaimed with a huge smile. “That’s wonderful, Suyin. Congratulations!” Then she leaned over and gave her friend a hug. “I’m so happy for you. You’re amazing and deserve it!”

“I couldn’t agree more!” came a shaky but loud voice from the entrance of her training center.

Yu saw her father standing beside a familiar ancient-looking man leaning against an equally familiar tall gnarled staff. She and Suyin immediately shot to their feet and stood at attention. Yu knew they were filthy messes covered in dirt, sweat, and grime, and far from appropriately attired for such a high-ranking visitor. But it was out of their control.

Yu bowed, and Suyin did the same. Yu then spoke before Suyin did, since it was technically her home. “Sect Elder Huo, welcome to my training center.” Then she bowed to her father. “Lord father.” Turning back to the elder, she said, “I apologize on behalf of myself and Fenghuang Suyin for our unseemly appearance. As this is my home, the responsibility is mine. Please do not blame her for any disrespect.”

Her father scowled, while the old man cackled. “Don’t be ridiculous, child. I entered without warning, so the dishonor is mine, if there is any to go around. And why would I be upset at my new disciple for practicing her skills with someone of such talent as yourself?”

Yu felt her jaw drop and looked over at her friend, who was looking down and blushing again.

“The fact they are in such an abominable state,” her father said firmly, “tells me their supposed talent needs a good deal more practice.”

The old man cackled again. “Oh, stop, Da. You’re such a grouch. Haven’t I told you to leave being a grumpy old coot to us who are already there?” Then he turned his white eyes that Yu knew could see more than most toward her. “So tell me, Fenghuang Yu. How many Qi skills do you have for the Fire affinity now?”

Yu’s eyes flicked to her father, who gave a subtle nod. Yu told him, “Five, Elder Huo. Flame Thorns, Fire Sword, Flaming Acceleration, Fire Shield, and Fire Summoning.”

The old man nodded. “Good. Good. Which would you say is your favorite so far?”

Yu thought about that and said, “I think probably Fire Summoning. Being able to create any construct I want out of flame is fun, challenging, and potentially powerful. Especially since it doesn’t have a meridian cap. But it’s very Qi-heavy, so I find it difficult to practice for an extended period.”

The skill Yu had referenced was the last scroll she had received from her father. She pictured it in her memory.

Skill Name: Fire Summoning

Grade: 1

Qi Type: Aura

Affinity Type: Fire

Meridian Requirements: 1 (No maximum)

Description: This skill summons forth a creation of flame, with its shape and size defined by the wielder. The construct can take any shape that the cultivator wishes, but cannot exceed the available Qi, or the skill will fail and have a small chance of causing damage to the meridians. This skill’s cost varies based on the size and number of meridians utilized. As this skill has no meridian ceiling, it is considered one of the most versatile skills available to a Fire Warrior.

It really was Yu’s favorite. The other skills were pretty much equal in her mind – with the exception of Fire Shield, which she found to be an utter waste of time as it barely blocked anything.

The old man interrupted Yu’s musing by turning to Suyin and saying, “You haven’t said much, disciple.”

Suyin opened her mouth and closed it again. Then she managed to eek out, “No, master,” and looked down.

“Excellent! We can work on your confidence later. But don’t discount the value of silence. It’s important not to speak if you have nothing intelligent to say.” Then he let out an overly dramatic sigh. “I only wish most of the young brats at my sect thought that way. You wouldn’t believe how many just jabber on about how amazing they are, trying to get me to teach them this or that. I have refused every disciple that has asked that for the last three and a half centuries.” He released an exasperated sigh and added, “But they keep trying anyway.”

Yu had no idea how to respond to that, so she didn’t. Suyin apparently had the same idea.

“You know,” the old man continued, “just two months ago, some young pup asked me to take him on as a disciple because he was just brilliant with Fire Qi. That was his word. Brilliant. Well, I informed him that a past member of the sect had asked me the same thing, but that young man had opened his first meridian at just less than seventeen and was able to wield it almost instinctually, so I accepted.” He then glanced over at her father, who, Yu noticed, stood up straighter. “That young man was my last direct disciple, and I informed the boy that I had no plans to take another.” Then he huffed. “Shows what I know.”

Yu knew that her surprise showed. She had always believed that her father was strong. And everyone knew he was gifted in Fire. But that was a bit… unspecific. Hard to grasp maybe. Elder Huo’s story had granted her insight into just how strong and gifted he had been.

Yu felt she had a lot to live up to. Then she realized that Lei had probably felt the same pressure, or even worse.

The old man shook his head then and spoke in a sad tone, although Yu could see a half smile on the side of his mouth which was facing away from her father. “And saying that wasn’t the only time I was wrong. I tried to teach your father blacksmithing, but he was awful at it.”

Yu blinked and her father coughed.

“Completely terrible,” the old man continued. “He flailed about like a drunken squid.” Then he turned his white gaze on Yu and said, “That just goes to show you, nobody is good at everything. No matter how gifted or blessed they are.”

Yu looked up at this ancient cultivator and wondered just how much his blind eyes could actually see.

SEVENTY

Uncle Gen

“You are just doing this to aggravate me!” Zhao yelled at Yu’s father and mother when Uncle Gen came to get Yu for her swap from Fire to Water and Wood. The next week was just starting and they were in her father’s office, listening to Zhao having what Grandma Huan would call an ‘episode.’

“We are training her in this order for a reason, Zhao,” was her beleaguered father’s answer.

“Yes. And no doubt that reason is to torment your distraught, hardworking, and filial youngest brother!”

Gen sighed and whispered in Yu’s ear, “Let’s go. This could last a while.”

“And don’t think I don’t know you’re a partner in this, Gen!” bellowed Zhao as Yu and her other uncle fled the room.

Once they were a few steps down the hall, Gen sighed. “He can be so melodramatic. It’s not like I am taking you away forever.”

Yu giggled and said, “Uncle Gen, I don’t think he truly cares. He’s likely trying to get a favor from father.”

Gen looked down at her. “Oh? And do you know the favor?”

Yu looked at him innocently. “You boys are so childish sometimes, always trying to prove you can steam rice faster than the other. And even if I did know from having listened in on one of Zhao’s rants as he changed my guards, what sort of unfilial niece would I be if I were to spread that around?”

Her uncle laughed at that, holding his slightly jiggly belly. “No wonder he wants you so badly.”

“On an entirely unrelated note,” Yu said. “I understand, through similar methods, that a new umm… bath house has opened on the northern side of Red Dragon Street, between the Chao and Jing inns. It’s supposedly quite a high-class and expensive establishment. I bet it must take quite a bit of silver to receive service there. It’s a shame Uncle Zhao spent all his silver on other establishments and gambling. But you’re a rich healer – why don’t you think of making a trip?”

Yu figured with a grin that there must have been a loose board in the floor because her uncle tripped and nearly fell over. He straightened and coughed into his hand. “I thought you weren’t interested in such things, Yu’er.”

“Oh, I’m definitely not,” she said. “But I’m not ignorant of them, Uncle Gen. I’m fifteen, after all.”

He coughed again. “I see. Well, that is interesting news. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“Of course. What are nieces for, after all? Just consider the… tip a thank-you for helping me learn new skills.”

Gen looked at her out of the side of his eyes but said nothing more.

“So, what can you tell me about the healing arts,” Yu asked.

“Right. Yes.” He cleared his throat. “As you know, Water and Wood are considered the two best affinities for healing. In truth, most of the standard affinities have the ability to heal in some fashion, but there are few skills for it. And anyway, who wants their wound to be cauterized with flame, or frozen solid to avoid bleeding out?

“Water, on the other hand, soothes and encourages the body’s natural flow, reducing pain and inflammation. As the human body is something just short of two-thirds water, the encouragement of the body to heal itself is quite simple and appropriate, if you think about it. And because the recipient’s body would be doing most of the work and the Water Mage would simply be passing on the instructions and some energy to act as a control, the Qi requirements are lower. The downside of that affinity is that Water by itself is not a healer. The body heals, and the Water affinity Qi encourages the healing to move faster or better or in a different direction.

“Wood affinity is something of the opposite. It heals by brute force. When Wood Qi heals, it takes ownership of the body part being healed. So, if you were to cut your arm, a Wood affinity healer might summon miniscule vines that would pull the skin back together, sew it up, release the energy from the vines into the wound to force it to heal exactly as they want it to, and then dissipate what Qi remained into the environment. This method is much more Qi-intensive, because almost all the energy is coming from the healer, and the recipient’s body is really doing very little. The key benefit that I – and now you – receive as a dual Wood and Water cultivator is that we can use both interchangeably. For that same cut I would use the vines to knit the skin, and then use Water Qi to enable the body to heal itself. It is the perfect balance between speed and Qi efficiency. And for the most severe wounds, using both simultaneously is possible, but obviously difficult and quite Qi-heavy.”

“So what skills should I learn first?” Yu asked. “I want to be able to heal others and myself. Although, if I’m being honest about it, I expect to have to heal myself sooner than others.”

Her uncle shook his head. “Sects and their nonsense. At a healers-only sect or group, disputes do not involve fighting, they involve determining who is the superior healer.”

“The world is not a peaceful place, Uncle Gen. Or else we wouldn’t need so many healers.”

“I am sadly aware, Yu’er. Water and Wood are not only for healing, after all. They both make deadly weapons for those without Mana or any interest in healing. But enough of that, let’s talk about skills. Here are the two most basic Water and Wood healing skills available. Once you can show me you are proficient, we are going to heal some people. I know I promised you two others, so if you prove you can heal another without harming them or yourself, and you wish to pursue healing, I will gift them to you.”

Yu was giving herself a thorough washing and struggling to keep her eyes open in her second bath, wondering why cleansing meridians was so difficult, and why they sounded like they were in such agony.

Yu had just opened her second meridian exactly nine days after the first, and it had gone exactly how opening the first had gone, only the meridian felt smaller. Despite that, Yu had found it just as mentally challenging to hear whatever it was that had pled with her, and whatever it was that tortured the thing so badly. Something had definitely been wrong in the head with the person who had created the Azure Dragon’s Heart cultivation method that it made someone relive that every single time.

As Yu had expected from her study of the scripture, she had had to have energy cycling the whole time in her other open meridian in order for the cleanser to work. Yet she had been relieved to discover that with her Qi increasing so much with each meridian, she should be able to make it work without issue.

After finishing her bath, Yu enjoyed more of the lovely but expensive infused tea and soup and looked forward to getting some sleep. She had a lot of work ahead of her if she wanted her healing skills to meet her Uncle Gen’s exacting standards.

Four days later, Yu was standing next to her uncle as he helped a clan member who had a bleeding gash across his thigh.

“Training accident?” Gen asked the man skeptically.

Yu rolled her eyes, because every time a cultivator came in with anything except some sort of illness or to have a long-term injury treated, they always claimed it was a training accident.

“It’s a wonder we have any clan members left, given all of our accidents during training,” she told her uncle in a deadpan voice.

The poor cultivator’s eyes hadn’t shrunken since he had seen his “Young Mistress” in an apprentice healer’s Hanfu, standing next to the greatest healer in the city.

Yu sighed and said calmly, “Relax.”

When Yu had started training under Gen publicly, word had gotten around. Fast. The mighty warrior, the tournament champion, the brave child who took a punishment and then supposedly killed an elder, was a healer!

Of course, that initial surprise had been quashed when Yu started training her Fire Affinity in public, which her parents had agreed she could get out of the way. From what Yu had since heard in the hallways of the palace and from other members of her family, the entire clan had something of an episode.

They believed her to be a tri-affinity cultivator. Her parents and uncles perpetuated their “Ether is mysterious,” routine when she had demonstrated both Warrior and Mage skills. Nobody seemed to care though, as they had been so overwhelmed by her tri-affinity nature. Yu had shrugged that all off, knowing it would only get worse once she revealed her Lightning affinity.

“Trainee Healer Fenghuang Yu,” Gen said, forcing her to refocus. “Numb the pain, will you? I’ll get something for the infection which has started. Strange how an infection happens in a training accident, isn’t it, apprentice healer?”

Yu stepped forward and nodded. “Quite unusual, Lead Healer Fenghuang Gen.”

“If infections are happening during training, perhaps I will send a notice to the trainers telling them that their students need to invest more time in cleaning their equipment.”

Yu stifled a laugh as she lay her hand on the man’s leg. Her hand then glowed blue as she used her Soothing Flow skill, which did nothing except numb pain around a specific area. It had taken Yu days to learn how to control the healing skills to Gen’s satisfaction. Using one’s own Qi inside others was infinitely more complicated and riskier than using it on one’s self or the environment because it was so easy to hurt someone while attempting to heal them. And of course, the recipient could fight it – but who would since it was healing?

Scanning the wound, Yu looked up at the young man and whispered, “Next time you fight a Stone Dog, watch its hindquarters. They tense right before leaping.”

The young man’s face, which had already been pale, turned white.

Gen walked over with a foul-smelling poultice he had prepared, and started slathering it on the wound with a wooden applicator. He then wrapped it up in a clean white cloth and spoke to Yu. “Apprentice healer, you may use Regenerating Vines while keeping Soothing Flow active, if you are confident you have the Qi for it.”

Yu examined her dantian and saw she had more than enough Qi for a wound that small and shallow. She placed her other hand over the cloth where the wound was, and it glowed green.

This was actually where Yu spent most of her time training. Learning to use two different skills, never mind affinities, simultaneously was quite challenging. Yet after a week of practice she had found she was able to use more than just healing skills simultaneously, which had made her excited about finally learning Lightning skills to accompany her Fire ones. According to both her mother and father, those two were widely viewed as the most powerful offensive affinities any cultivator could wield. Yu was enthused at the prospect of potentially using them together.

A few hours later, Yu was recording the details of an injury and its subsequent healing in her uncle’s book when her mother came in.

Yu finished what she was writing, then stood and bowed. “Mother, how can I help? Do you need healing?”

She smiled at Yu and said, “I wonder if you would do a diagnosis on me. Follow the Water should work.”

Yu scrunched her face. “Are you ill? If so, I can get Uncle Gen. I’m still a trainee, have only grade 1 skills, and am not very good yet.”

Her mother covered her mouth with her hand to hide a laugh, and said, “From what I hear, not only are you better than you just described, but you are the most popular healer we have right now.”

“Huh?” Yu asked, baffled.

Her mother nodded. “Quite. There are rumors that some young cultivators are getting injured on purpose just to see the lovely Young Mistress. And I hear you are providing some excellent combat advice as well.”

Yu slapped her forehead with her hand. “That’s so disturbing I can’t even speak of it! Can you do anything about it? People shouldn’t be hurting themselves on purpose. And I’m leaving in two weeks, anyway.”

Her mother waved that off. “You are about to leave the healing center and become my student again anyway, so the situation should resolve itself. After me, poor impatient Zhao will finally get you. Anyway, back to why I am here. Can you examine your mother?”

Yu shook herself out of her distractions. “Of course. Please sit on the edge of the bed.”

Her mother did, and Yu walked up to her. Her hand glowed blue as she touched her mother’s hand. She used the Water affinity skill Follow the Water, which allowed her to explore the water throughout another’s body. It was a very broad-purpose diagnosis skill and usable on anyone, including mortals.

Yu found that her mother was in excellent condition, as she had expected. Some of the many strange materials that make up the body were a little out of balance, but Yu knew that that happened with women regularly. Her mother’s brain, heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys seemed fine. Her secondary organs were fi– . Yu tilted her head. She was examining her mother’s reproductive organs and found something foreign in the…

Yu jerked backward and exclaimed, “You’re with child!”

“That’s correct,” her mother confirmed with a wide smile. “You are going to be a big sister. A little brother or sister will be waiting for you when you are able to return from the sect.”

Yu stumbled backwards and fell into the stool due to the shock. Her mother looked at her with concern.

Yu then reached forward and pressed her hand back onto her mother.

“It’s so tiny,” Yu mumbled.

Her mother giggled. “It will get bigger.”

Yu looked at her in a panic. “You have to protect her. Him. Whatever. Don’t let what happened to me happen again.”

Yu was frantic, thinking of her horrible childhood. The idea of someone else going through what she had terrified her. And, she was surprised to find, firmed her resolve to get strong. She would absolutely become strong enough to protect her new sibling.

Her mother placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Relax, Yu’er. Your brother or sister will be fine.”

Yu stepped back and started pacing and speaking quickly. “You need to write to me all the time. And I need to figure out if there’s a way I can get back for the Declaration Ceremony. Will I be allowed in? There has to be a way. Do you have names picked out? Who knows? If father’s first wife and her sons find out…”

Yu then felt her mother’s hands wrap around her from behind. “Easy, Yu’er. Everything is being taken care of. Despite what happened after, I brought you to term, did I not? And don’t forget, I am no new season’s blossom.”

Yu turned around in her mother’s arms and hugged her back. “Can I tell Lei?”

“Sure you can. But tell him to keep it to himself.”

“A big sister. Wow,” Yu said in a wispy voice. She felt excited and terrified in equal measure.

“That is quite a way away, though,” her mother said. “For now, you are to change back into your cultivation clothes and join me for lunch and then training. Lightning awaits.”

SEVENTY-ONE

Lightning and Darkness

Two days later, a crack of thunder sounded out of Yu’s courtyard after a violet flash. Yu stepped the six paces to her bamboo target dummy to examine the damage. It was basically thin slats of bamboo held together with hemp rope and wrapped tightly over a steel rod that was jammed into the ground.

The Lightning skill that Yu had just used was a ranged attack appropriately called Bolt Strike. Yu glowered at the tiny star of black she had made on the target. “This skill doesn’t do any meaningful damage.” She complained as she turned toward her mother, who had been looking on. “When can I blow things up?”

Yu’s mother laughed uproariously in response. After recovering, she said, “I understand Yu’er, but most low-grade Lightning skills are for stunning and distracting. The three I gave you, Bolt Strike, Stunning Grasp, and especially Flashing Burst, fit that need and are exactly appropriate for your level. The damaging skills you are thinking of require an inordinate amount of Qi, which you do not have access to. Nor will you, until you have at least a handful of meridians open. Lightning is a bit of a dry noodle in broth when it comes to energy requirements. I suppose there are a small number of skills that do damage at a lower level, but they are few in number and difficult to find. If you are lucky, you might find one in your sect. I would guess it requires Aura though, and not Mana. Ranged skills are inherently more Qi-intensive, since you are manipulating farther from your source of power.”

Yu nodded and said, “I was surprised you gave me ranged skills, mother. All this time I thought you were a Warrior, not a Mage.”

“Well, you’ve never seen me fight, so I suppose the confusion is understandable. The differences become less obvious as you progress through the cultivation stages, anyway. Your father has ranged Qi attacks after all, even though he is a Warrior, which is supposed to be an up-close-and-personal sort of fighter. Once you reach the fourth stage of your cultivation journey and can manifest your Qi, you’ll understand.”

“I suppose. What’s the next stage after I cleanse all my meridians? I know it’s years off, but none of the documents are specific, except for repeating the word ‘compression’ over and over again.”

Yu’s mother thought about that for a few breaths before responding. “I suppose there is no harm in discussing it broadly. As long as you promise not to rush your meridian open… cleansing, I will tell you.”

Yu sighed. “I’ve already promised not to do more than one every nine days. Frankly, the idea of rushing doesn’t appeal, given how drained and vulnerable I feel after each cleansing – Then Yu mumbled, “And gross.”

Chuckling, her mother nodded. “Fair enough. After a cultivator has access to their entire pool of meridians, they are not actually ready for the breakthrough directly. Before they enter the Consolidation Stage of cultivation, they have to compress their Qi. I am not going to discuss that process, but I can tell you what it results in: your Qi becomes thicker and more dense, allowing you to do more with it. It is the first stage in liquifying it, which we have already discussed. It also grants you a level of insight and control over the Qi around you. For example, I could tell you were quite inefficient in your Qi usage when you struck with that last Bolt Strike, as I noticed that a good amount of Qi was lost to the environment. That’s fine, though. You’ve only been using it for a day, so that is to be expected.”

Then Yu’s mother exhaled and said, “There is one other thing compressed Qi grants, which is… sensitive. As I said, it offers greater control. Well, that includes control over the Qi of others who do not have the benefits of compression.”

Then Yu felt a pressure and froze. The Qi inside and all around her had just become still and solid like steel. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t access her Qi. Nothing. She couldn’t even blink her eyes, causing them to feel dry. It was just like what Elder Huo had done on their first meeting when he had examined her.

Then the pressure was gone and she was free. Yu released a huge exhalation of breath and staggered.

“That,” her mother said quietly, “is why we say real cultivation doesn’t start until the Consolidation Stage. What is the point of fighting someone who can simply hold you still with a thought?”

Yu did not like that feeling at all. “That was just as bad as the first time,” Yu said. “I hate feeling helpless.”

Her mother nodded. “Well, it is pretty rarely used. Once Qi is compressed, it can’t be used on someone below the Form Control Stage, which is the second to last. That is when one goes through a second compression. There are quite a few factors involved which you’ll learn in the sect, so I won’t say anything else on the topic. Now stop looking for the horizon when you haven’t even stepped out of your own doorway. Since you are up close to the dummy already, use Stunning Grasp. Focus on not wasting so much Qi. You’ll be repeating it until I’m satisfied.”

“What about Flashing Burst?” Yu asked. She was eager to use the skill for the first time, but her mother had forbidden her, claiming it “gave her a headache.”

Her mother said, “You’ll practice that by yourself and with some ear and eye protection. I don’t want to be around for it.”

“Yes, mother,” Yu said, and then began slamming the dummy with her fists, arms, and legs. Each hit released a purple flash and a pop of sound. During the practice, a part of Yu’s mind stayed on the feeling of having her body held still, and the knowledge that there would be people who could make her helpless with a simple thought. Yu scowled as she attacked, not pleased with that idea at all.

When Yu had exhausted half of her Qi and was covered in a sheen of sweat, she stepped back and looked to her mother.

Her mother wore a frown. “Two-thirds of those blows wasted too much Qi. I can tell you were distracted. Focus on what you have to do, and what you can control.”

Then she snapped, “Again!”

Yu was allowed to spend one hour per day practicing healing because she enjoyed the thought of directly helping her clan. Her uncle had told her that he had heard that all the boy and girl cultivators wanted the bragging rights of saying that the clan’s Young Mistress had healed them, and that it had become a competition for them. Yu had just rolled her eyes at that, but accepted it because healing really did make her feel like she was giving back.

Outside of that time Yu worked on her Lightning and Fire skills. That night was the first she was able to use fire in one hand and lightning in the other. It had been extremely draining but oh so fun. Her poor bamboo dummies had not survived the experience. Between the burning of Yu’s silver Flame Thorns and her constant use of Stunning Grasp with an occasional bolt and summoned sword thrown in, the objects of her attacks had ended up as piles of crispy slag on the grass.

Yu had just finished meditating and refilling her Qi after that first success, and decided to lie down in the soft grass. She watched the night stars as she reflected on her current and future skills, her future sect, her future master, and especially her future sibling. A younger brother or sister! What was she supposed to do? She would certainly model herself after Lei and not the others. She hoped they would be able to cultivate, but decided that if they couldn’t, she would protect them. Yu didn’t really understand where the sudden connection she felt had come from, but thought it was perhaps because she had always been the youngest herself. Being an older sister had come out of nowhere and was a completely foreign concept to her. Well, whatever the cause, she couldn’t deny the protective feeling towards her future younger sibling. She was sure that Lei would love their sibling too.

Yu was grinning happily at these thoughts when she finally decided it was time to wash up and head to bed. She wiped her sweat off with a towel ready to head inside when she looked around and noticed how dark the night had become.

“How late is it, anyway? I hope my practicing didn’t wake anyone up,” she muttered to herself.

“Nobody will wake up,” a misty male voice said from the darkness of her garden.

Yu jerked to her left where the voice had come from, but saw nothing. “Hello? Are you one of my guards?”

“Oh. You mean this fellow?” Yu jumped backward as a body dressed in black from top to bottom flew in from the shadows and flopped down in front of her with a thump and spray of dirt. He was completely limp. Yu leaned forward and down to him, checking his neck for a pulse. Thankfully she found one, although it was slow.

Yu exhaled. “He isn’t dead. Thank you for that.”

“Neither is the other on the other side. I do not like killing. Thankfully, taking his head was not part of my orders. Yours, however…”

Yu sighed. “I was wondering if something like this might happen. Everyone kept saying I needed to be protected.”

Yu had almost always been at her most calm whenever she was fighting for her life. Her mind had always seemed to settle, distracting thoughts being cleared away so she could focus solely on survival.

“Expecting me, were you?” The voice had apparently switched locations, and now came from her right. Yu thought it sounded sort of… youngish maybe? Definitely not an old man at least.

“Well, not you in particular. But I have… had guards for a reason. And I figured if someone was going to try, it would be before I got to the sect, given I would supposedly be protected there.”

“Yes,” the voice said. Yu thought his tone had a little humor to it. “Sects do not take kindly to their disciples being killed under their watch without approval. And certainly not from outside sources. Clans have been destroyed for less.”

“Did you go to a sect, or some special assassin school?” Yu didn’t believe anyone would arrive in time to save her, but nonetheless decided to keep up a conversation with the assassin, even though she knew he would almost certainly have created some sort of buffer for sound and light.

“Actually, I am currently in a sect,” he answered.

“And you can just wander off and kill people in your spare time?”

Yu heard him sigh. “It’s not my choice. Like I said, I don’t like killing. I wish I didn’t have to.”

“Have to? You have to kill a fifteen-year-old girl?”

“Yes,” the voice said. Yu could have sworn he sounded sad.

“Oh,” was all she could think of in reply. “Umm. Is there any way for you not to kill me?”

There was silence for a good ten breaths before she heard a whispered, “Yes.”

Yu had definitely not been expecting that answer. “What is it?” she asked, a spark of hope forming.

“I can’t tell you,” was his disappointing reply. “But maybe you can earn the answer,” and for the first time his voice lost its misty nature and became normal.

A man walked out of the shadows, stepping silently on the grass toward her. He was about two heads taller than her and wrapped entirely in familiar black wrappings. She could see only his lips, nostrils, and bright yellow eyes.

Yu turned her whole body to face him. “Aren’t you here to kill me? Why would you give me that chance?”

“Yes, I am,” he said. His voice was definitely young-sounding to Yu. “And because I don’t want to.”

It did not escape Yu’s notice that he stood between her and the only exit out of her training center, so no matter what he had said, she knew that escape was not an option. Thus, figuring it was her only chance, Yu asked, “So what can I do to stop you killing me?”

He continued to step forward, but stopped five paces from her. Really looking into his bright yellow eyes, Yu saw that they almost seemed reflective in the little light provided by the ether lamps hanging around her garden.

Yu had seen eyes like that before. When she was in the forest, she had fought beasts by nothing but firelight, and she had seen their eyes reflect deep inside, just like his. To her, those yellow eyes did not look entirely human.

The assassin took a step closer. “What can you do to stop me killing you?” he asked, echoing her question.

Then he leaned forward and leapt at her. “Make me bleed.”

SEVENTY-TWO

Blood

Reacting on instinct, Yu sent Qi throughout her body and withdrew her hook swords from her ring.

She heard an “oh” from the assassin as she began moving her body into a speed-based fighting stance.

Yu had only just begun adjusting her limbs when a black cloud, large enough to block her view of her assailant, exploded out of nothingness less than a pace in front of her. Her eyes barely had time to widen in surprise as his foot suddenly appeared out of the cloud and smacked into one of her hands, and then the other, nearly faster than her eyes could follow. Her swords flew from her grasp and clanged against the stone archway leading to her small bamboo garden.

Yu’s body was pushed sideways, and she stumbled from the force of the attack. Her hands stung and tingled as she attempted to right herself. But before she could, he appeared out of the cloud and his foot landed behind her left knee, pinning her.

She fell to a knee as he whispered, “Faster.”

Yu used her lowered position and rolled forward. As soon as her weight was fully forward, she pressed down with her hands and, lifting herself with only her Qi-infused arms, swung her legs out and around in a sweep. Yet instead of striking his thighs or hip, she swished vainly through the air, having missed him completely. He had taken a single elegant step backward.

“Be faster,” he said softly. To Yu’s ears it sounded like a plea.

But Yu knew his words didn’t matter. She was fighting for her life, and she needed to get away from him at least long enough to assess her options.

Growling with the effort, Yu pressed her infused hands and arms down as hard as she could manage and launched herself away. Air rushed by Yu’s ears as she saw the assassin, upside down from her view, take a step toward her. For a heartbeat he was in front of her again and her head was level with his, their eyes passing each other. And then she continued to sail past him. Yu exhaled a breath of relief in anticipation of landing away from him and finally managing to put some space between them.

So smoothly it appeared almost languid, the assassin’s arm snapped forward and grabbed her right wrist in midair. His grip was like iron, and Yu felt her momentum crunch to a halt. Yu screamed in pain as her shoulder was dislocated, before screaming again as he pulled down against that shoulder and yanked her sideways.

She saw the world spin as she was whirled halfway around him and then released. She sailed through the air and smashed into the wall at speed, legs first. Despite the pain, Yu had maintained the Qi infusing her body. That plus the extraordinary methods she had undergone to evolve her body, meant that, despite the force, her legs and kneecaps did not break when they slammed into the stone wall at the speed of a galloping Horse Lizard.

But the pain was still intense, especially when the rest of her body impacted the stones a moment later. Yu’s howl of pain was cut off abruptly as her head cracked against something hard and her body went limp. Her vision blurred for a moment as bright lights flashed before her eyes like fireworks.

Yu didn’t know how long had passed but she found herself lying on the ground, her whole body in agony, especially her dislocated shoulder – which her weight was on top of. Through sheer force of will, Yu focused her vision, only to see the black boots of the assassin slowly approaching. Her addled mind snapped into focus as she realized mere moments had passed. Yu rolled off of her shoulder onto her back, and with a flex of her abdomen, and sat straight up.

Leaning against the wall and using it as support, Yu put her feet under her and rose. Her dislocated arm was a dull, aching throb, but this wasn’t the first time she had dislocated a joint. Gripping her right wrist with her left, Yu pulled down and forward while twisting her body away. She groaned as her shoulder slid back into place with a crack, and after a brief but intense spike of pain, felt relief.

“I gave you time,” the assassin said. He was only three paces from her. “Now fight.” Then he vanished in a cloud of black smoke.

Yu spun her head around, trying to find him, but could see nothing. Then she felt what she presumed was his fist punch her in the middle of her back. She lurched forward, spinning in a wheel kick behind her, but connecting with nothing but another black cloud. Then the side of his hand chopped into her ribs as he once again appeared behind her. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she swung a backfist, but he was once again gone.

The fight was maddening for Yu, as she could tell that her assailant was clearly the superior fighter and cultivator. It felt like he was toying with her, goading her.

In less than a full breath, five more strikes had slammed into Yu’s thighs, chest, back, and neck. And no matter what she did, Yu couldn’t even make contact. The assassin was like a ghost. Finally fed up, Yu dropped to the ground, putting her weight on her hands and spun in a quick circle with her legs out. She thought she felt the faintest flutter of contact as her feet passed through one of the black clouds, but it was hardly enough to matter.

He was gone again and Yu continued her spin, using the momentum to return to her feet.

The assassin then reappeared, walking out of a shadow about five paces away. Yu watched him step closer and heard him sigh.

“I wonder why I was sent?” he said with clear bafflement.

Yu couldn’t argue. This wasn’t a fight. He was playing with her. Taunting her with the vast difference in their power and skill levels. She was sure the man could deal her a killing blow whenever he wanted to, and yet his strikes had been precise and painful, but not crippling or life-threatening. She thought that perhaps he was treating her like the child she was, and wanted her to know that he could kill her in an instant if he wanted to. She reckoned that a flick of his wrist would likely be enough, she was so far beneath him.

Yu felt like she was reliving her past. Overwhelmed by someone far above her in age, strength, and cultivation. Being treated as a plaything, a tool for amusement and ridicule. Just like had happened in the forest clearing two years before. She had known she had no chance of victory then, and she knew she had none now, facing a man who apparently wanted to show his power over her.

Perhaps he wants me to weep, to beg, just as Jing Wei enjoyed my tears and cries of pain. But I’m not the same child now as I was then: no longer that rough, unsculpted piece of jade. No longer a cripple, no longer trash. I am a pupil of Grandma Huan, I am a tournament champion, and I am the Young Mistress of my clan. I am a cultivator, and I will never be made to feel like trash again. Not even now. Not even at the hands of a powerful assassin who could kill me at any moment. I have been reborn as the Jade Phoenix, after all.

And I only have to make you bleed.

So she decided to change her approach.

Yu glanced around quickly, trying to determine whether she had any options. Since he could just disappear and reappear whenever he wanted, she realized it would be nearly impossible to even strike him. Yet his being able to just vanish and reappear without a trace didn’t seem right to her. She felt she was missing something.

Yu looked around again. She was about a pace from the wall the assassin had thrown her into, and the nearest ether lamp hanging from it was still slightly swinging from the impact, causing the shadows to move in a steady beat… Shadows. Yu mentally rolled her eyes at herself. It seemed obvious now. He had thrown her in that particular spot because the ether lamp would create shadows all around her.

Glancing down quickly, she thought, Including my own shadow. I’ve been a fool. Then shaking her head she thought, Well, time to show what I’ve learned.

Releasing a breath, Yu stood up straighter. “I can’t say why you were sent to kill me, other than that I am a threat to someone. Or so I’m told.” Then Yu cracked her neck from side to side and smiled at him, baring her teeth. “Of course, I’m pretty sure I’m not dead yet,” she said as she ran at him.

Yu saw his eyes open so wide that she could see the reflection of her body surrounded by silver flames in them. A single jian appeared in her left hand, and it too crackled with bright fire. Thanks to her flames, the only shadow nearby was now his own, and she hoped that would be enough.

Yu leapt, swinging her sword downward in an arc. Yet to her surprise, he blocked it with his right forearm. Upon a second glance, she saw that his forearm was covered in a thin layer of black smoke. She pulled back and struck again with a lunge to his stomach, but her sword was stopped dead by another puff of black smoke.

Again and again she struck at him as fast as her body could move, and every time she was blocked by his defensive Qi skill. As was inevitable, she eventually gave him an opening and he struck back, his foot exploding into her torso.

The air was pressed from her lungs and, with an ‘oof’, Yu felt herself being thrown backward. Yet just as his leg was fully extended, Yu’s empty right hand flashed purple and a crack of thunder boomed through the yard.

Yu hit the ground and tumbled over a few times before gasping in a ragged breath and looking at her assailant. He was peering down at himself, a tiny section of the cloak surrounding him smoking.

Yu coughed out a single laugh as he looked back at her with wide eyes. Then he smiled at her. “Well done. Not enough, but well done. Keep trying.” He sounded honestly pleased, and Yu was not entirely sure the man was right in the head.

Nodding to herself, Yu felt more confident.

If he really wants to give me a chance, then I’ll not waste it.

Yu charged him again, delivering another bolt of lightning with the Bolt Strike skill. This time it was blocked by a black cloud just before hitting its target. But Yu had expected that, and used the momentary distraction to get within reach and attack.

It took almost all the skill that Yu had just to keep up. She used all the forms she had ever practiced, drew on all her hours of training with Grandma Huan, and used all the new skills her family had taught her, but they were barely sufficient. She lunged with her sword, and then punched with Stunning Grasp. She sliced with a summoned sword of flame, and kicked out with a fiery foot. Again and again, faster and faster, Yu attacked him. Yet still he blocked every blow with either his body or a black cloud. Nothing could reach him. Nothing could draw blood.

The flames flickered and died on Yu’s body. Only her sword still had a flame, which was just barely visible against the silver of the blade. Yu had been burning through her Qi, and knew she had little left.

That was apparently what the assassin had been waiting for, because Yu heard him sigh as he stepped back into a shadow and once again vanished. She growled and swung her sword in a circle, her flaming blade leaving a trail of silver in her eyes. Then it too died.

“You are out of tricks, it seems. I am sorry,” she heard in her ear.

Yu spun toward the sound, but once again there was nothing to be seen.

“I didn’t want this.” And she heard another sigh. “I never want it.” He sounded so sad to her. Almost devastated.

Then Yu felt a strike to her calf and heard a crack. It was a blow stronger than any others before and she howled in pain as she fell to her knees.

Yu had had so little Qi remaining, she had stopped reinforcing her body. The result was that her bones, while many times stronger than even a normal cultivator’s, were more vulnerable.

As a blow struck her left forearm, Yu heard another crack and again yelled out in pain. She fell forward, her jian dropping from her powerless hand. She reached under her body and held her left hand with her right for a moment, then brought her right back up and tried to roll over by pressing it down. But was stopped when she felt her entire body become constricted. She felt like a giant snake had wrapped around her. Yu looked down at herself and saw strands of pure black covering her body. They weren’t squeezing enough to hurt, except where they were pressing against her broken bones, but she could move nothing but her head and right arm.

Yu was then rolled over until she found herself looking up into his two strangely reflective yellow eyes. She saw that he was kneeling next to her, staring down with a glittering blade in his hand. Yu absently recognized it as a palm knife balanced for throwing. It’s leaf-shaped blade came to a sharp tip that she knew would easily part her skin, reinforced or not.

He started lowering it to her neck and pressed it to her chin. It wasn’t yet hard enough to cause her to bleed, but she felt the blade’s cold touch.

As he stared silently down at her he said, “I’m so sorry.”

And he sounded it too. She absolutely believed that he had no desire to hurt her. His eyes were watering, and then a single tear fell from a yellow eye and onto her cheek before running down it.

Yu looked back up at him, her own eyes also wet. “I believe you,” was all she said in reply, and she closed her eyes as tightly as she could.

Then she lifted her free hand, and the world burst into an explosion of light and sound.

SEVENTY-THREE

Bai

Yu’s ears rang, and her vision was filled with stars from the only Qi skill that she had never previously used. Yu’s mother had warned her that Flashing Burst was a double-edged skill. It released a cacophony of light and sound that could severely disable anyone in range, but also that it was indiscriminate. It would blind and deafen her and her allies as much as her enemies.

In this case, it didn’t matter. She only had to make him bleed.

Yu reached into the ring she had moved onto her right hand prior to being wrapped up in his darkness skill. She didn’t need her vision to sense the ring’s contents that she had become so familiar with it over the two years she had had it. She pulled out the only thing she thought could hurt her attacker: the red-bladed boot knife given to her by the Vermillion Bird. With her vision and hearing still disabled, she could only sweep it as hard as she could across her body, aiming for the place the assassin had last been.

Yu felt it make contact as she hopefully sliced it through a piece of him. At the same moment she felt the pressure against her chin increase and feared she would be skewered even after striking him. But the pressure vanished almost immediately, and Yu let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding.

She opened her eyes and blinked repeatedly to clear her vision of the flashes. After a few moments she was able to make out dark shapes, and found the assassin standing above her again. She could see him looking down at her, his shock evident even through his black wrappings. Yu looked him up and down and saw, to her utter satisfaction, a tear in the wrappings of his right shin. And most importantly, a few drops of red were leaking out.

Yu laid her head back and exhaled again, a smile forming on her face. Whatever happened from here, she would know that she had succeeded. She had made him bleed.

As the painful ringing in her ears lessened in intensity, Yu could begin to make out noises again. She lifted her head and opened her mouth to speak, but then froze. She watched as he held the throwing knife that had been at her throat only a few moments before up to his nose and smelt her blood, which was dripping off it.

She saw his nostrils flare as he took in the scent. His eyes then opened even wider, and his lips formed into an “O” shape. He looked away from the knife and down at her.

The shock in his voice matched that in his face as he whispered, “A kitten.”

Yu blinked up at him, utterly confused. She opened her mouth again to speak, but stopped as she saw a single black tentacle form behind the assassin. Yu wondered whether he would attack her after all, and scrambled to figure out what to do, as she had bet everything on him stopping after she cut him. She knew that if he attacked her now, she was dead. She had no more tricks, no more weapons, and no more Qi.

Yet all her thoughts vanished like the assassin’s black smoke when the tentacle suddenly slammed into him from behind. His body went flying forward and out of Yu’s vision.

Utterly shocked, Yu painfully rolled over to see what was happening. She saw him roll back to his feet and look to the far corner of her training center, which was covered in shadows.

He then surrounded himself in black smoke as more tentacles formed around him, but he never took his eyes off the corner. Apparently he had created those tentacles because they attacked the corner he had been staring at.

Yu heard a snort in her head as the black constructs silently struck down. The assassin turned to his right as a smoky black paw formed and then swatted him like he was a bug on a table. His body was again propelled through the air, but when it should have struck a wall, it instead vanished into a shadow.

“Leave, pup,” resounded a familiar purring voice in Yu’s head.

“Ebony!” Yu exclaimed.

Yu looked around frantically until she saw the glowing red eyes and slick black fur of the Shadow Panther step from a dark corner.

Her comforting purr sounded in Yu’s mind. “He has fled.” Then with a tilt of her massive head she said, “I smell blood; you must heal yourself.”

“I can’t,” Yu said as she lay back down stiffly. “I’m out of Qi.”

Ebony was silent for a few breaths and then said, “I see. That’s not a problem.”

Yu felt her eyebrows rise as she looked over at the silently approaching panther. Ebony stood over her, looking down. As she had done once before, Ebony leaned forward and licked Yu’s neck. After first feeling a slight pinch, Yu felt a gentle flow of Qi enter her.

“My husband was the healer, not I,” she told Yu. “But I can give you the energy you need to use the gifts he gave you, although be prepared later. We share the same Qi, so I can lend you my power, but it will come at the price of exhaustion very soon. Now heal yourself quickly. Our time is short.”

As if a prediction, Ebony visibly winced and wobbled.

“Ebony!” Yu cried in shock.

“I’m fine, Jade,” the cat said. “Please heal yourself. I require your assistance, and you cannot give it if you cannot move.”

Yu nodded and closed her eyes. She explored her wounds using the Follow the Water skill, finding she had multiple broken bones. She knew that her own healing skills would only offer her a temporary solution, and that she would need to find a real healer soon.

Yu groaned as she realized that she would have to set the bones. Gritting her teeth, she reached over and first set the bones of her arm. She did not want to expend Qi on reducing the pain and then risk not having enough to heal, so she avoided using Soothing Flow. After a good deal of moaning and tears, her diagnostic skill told her the bones were set, so she sent her actual healing skills, Regenerating Vines and Nature’s Blessing, into her arm. They were weak grade 1 skills, but would hold for a temporary patch. After that, she did the same to her leg.

Being exceptionally careful to put as little weight as possible onto her leg, she limped over to Ebony. “Okay, Ebony. You said you needed my help. What can I do?”

“We have returned, as I told you we would,” Ebony said, almost formally. Then with desperation, she continued, “You will need to care for him instead of me. Please.”

“I’m glad you’re back. You probably saved my life. But you keep saying we. Who’s we? And care for who?”

“Our son,” Ebony answered as she slowly lay down and rolled onto her side.

Yu could finally see how distended her stomach was and gasped out, “Oh, heavens.”

A growl sounded from Ebony as blood started to pour out from under her tail.

“Tell me what to do,” Yu said frantically. “I can help.”

“Protect our son. I will be killed soon. Please.”

Yu limped around to Ebony’s back end and saw a tiny dark form starting to peek out.

A soft roar sounded out then.

Yu was crying, feeling completely overwhelmed. “Can I do anything to help with this?”

A pained, “No,” was all Yu received.

Darkness surrounded Ebony as she opened her massive jaws wide and called her pain out in a mighty roar that nobody could hear.

Yu saw the giant cat’s enormous sides panting quickly up and down, and was saddened and frustrated by her inability to help. The form was now halfway out, and Yu could see that it was clearly black-furred like its mother, but with lighter stripes of a color Yu could not determine because of the blood and fluids. A few moments later, the cub fell from its… his mother and Yu moved up to him. He was about half as long as Yu’s forearm, and still had his eyes closed. Yu ignored the goop covering him and lifted him, bringing him to his mother’s head. “What do I do, Ebony?”

An exhausted-sounding Ebony said, “Place him where he can nurse.”

“Okay,” Yu said as she limped back to her stomach and placed him near one of the teats closer to the ground. His tiny pink mouth opened, and he began suckling on it. “Oh, Ebony. He’s beautiful.”

Yu tearily limped over to her workout area for a clean towel and limped back. She gently wiped the cub down as best she could without disturbing his meal.

Ebony raised her head and looked down at him. “His name is Bai, after his father.”

“That is a wonderful name,” Yu said through a wet smile. “May he grow to be as mighty.”

“With you at his side, I am sure of it,” Ebony said.

“What?” Yu yelped.

“Bond with him, Jade.”

Yu’s eyes widened. “But I’m so young, and he’s going to be so strong. I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if I mess it up? He’s not just another beast. He’s yours and… his.” Yu’s voice was soft at the end of her statement.

Ebony’s purr sounded relieved in Yu’s mind, “You are meant for one another. I am sure of it. Even more so, now.”

Yu stared at her and the cub for a few breaths. Then firming her courage, she said, “Umm. Can I tell you something? It might change your mind.”

Ebony put her enormous head back down and said, “I will listen.”

“Your husband did not come to me because he thought well of me,” Yu confessed. “He came because he was desperate.”

And Yu told her massive cat friend about her husband’s last hours. About how he had been injured by the corrupt lizard and how he had fled to find the Vermillion Bird Jiang, but had realized he was going to fall before he got there, and so had found the only thing he could.

“He had a plan,” Yu told Ebony, “and I don’t know what it was, but it ended up with me absorbing his power somehow. I don’t know any more details than that.”

Ebony was silent for a few breaths. Seeing Bai had stopped feeding, Yu wrapped him up in her towel and snuggled him against her. Then she stood weakly and slowly and brought him closer to his mother’s head where she sat again with a hiss of pain. His eyes were closed, so he could not see his mother, but that did not matter – she could see him.

Ebony actually sounded hopeful when she spoke again. “He found you just in time, then. The corrupted have returned, and he found you just in time. Thank you, Jade.”

“But I didn’t do anything,” Yu said, trying to help her understand. “He saved me, not the other way around.”

Ebony purred, “I think you saved each other, and you cannot remember.”

Yu opened her mouth to try to explain again, but was cut off by Ebony before a word exited her mouth. “I am not strong enough to protect my husband’s lands, and I cannot hide his absence any longer. I will be challenged and killed, and my husband’s legacy will fall. Except for Bai. Please, Jade, care for him.”

“What do you mean you’re too weak? You’re so strong!”

“Not strong like the others.”

Yu thought for a few breaths and asked, “Like the Vermillion Bird?”

“Yes,” Ebony answered. “Jiang is the mightiest of us in this range.”

“What about the porcupine, Fengbao?” Yu asked.

“He was quite mighty, but he was killed by Jiang, I believe. Word moves slowly of such things, but Jiang is a friend, and he sent a messenger.”

An idea started forming in Yu’s head, and she said hesitantly, “Umm. I wonder if I could maybe help you get stronger?”

“Jade, that is a kind offer and one that speaks well of you, but you cannot. You are a cub, and your family, as mighty as they are for humans, would fall against those who would challenge me.”

“Actually,” Yu responded. “I think I might be able to help. Really.”

Then Yu shifted Bai so he was in her left hand and held out her right. She tapped her ring with a flicker of Qi, and a large beast core the size of her head with purple and yellow streaks floating through it appeared on her palm. Her hand fell slightly with its weight.

Ebony looked at it, and then her glowing red eyes widened. “Jade, how did you come by such a thing?”

“It’s a bit of a story, but I kind of ran into the Vermillion Bird’s daughter and made friends, and then Fengbao came by and tried to kill her, and…” Yu told the story as well as she could remember it, given her head injury at the time. “To cut to the end, Jiang killed him and gave me this, among other things, as a thank-you.”

Her feline friend was quiet for a few breaths before saying, “That is… quite a story. That old porcupine finally pushed him too far.”

“Well, this is his core. Could it help you become strong enough to defend your husband’s territory?”

Ebony was silent for many breaths until she purred, “From most threats, yes. I will need time to absorb it, but I’m sure Jiang will help.”

“Great!” Yu beamed as she tossed it to Ebony, who caught it in her mouth.

“Jade, you do this freely, and I thank you. Please bond with Bai. You and he are destined to be together. My husband knew it, too.”

Yu looked down at the tiny black cub with white stripes and said, “Are you sure? As far as I know, it can’t be undone.”

“Please. I beg you.”

A tear flowed down Yu’s cheek as she withdrew a knife from her ring, cut her thumb, and made a tiny slit in between the cub’s eyes. She then touched his small form so that their cuts came into contact, and said the words from her mind, “Will you accept me, mighty Bai? Will you take me as your partner so we will never be alone again? Together until the heavens fall and the earth is crushed beneath them, will you be one with me?”

Then Yu sent Qi into Bai through her thumb, and felt his foreign mind. She sent her genuine feelings of love and affection and hope for him… for them. His mind tentatively accepted the feelings and after feeling them, returned the trust with all of his tiny being. Rays of silver and black flared from both of them lighting the night before fading.

Tears continued to fall down Yu’s face and onto the now sleeping tiger cub. She felt a new presence in her mind. It was small and faint, but pulsing like a part of her. And it was the most beautiful thing she had ever felt in her life.

The shocked voice of Ebony sounded in her mind. “Jade, you control space and time?”

Startled out of her thoughts, Yu jerked her head up and looked at the panther, who was still holding Fengbao’s core in her mouth. “Umm, sort of?” Yu said, unsure. “I don’t know so much about control, but it’s my primary affinity.”

“No wonder,” Ebony purred. “Tell me, do you have an affinity with Fire or Lightning?”

Yu blushed. “Both, actually. I think Lightning came from the tribulation, and I only got Fire from a Qi fruit. Ironically, it was the fruit Fengbao was guarding and assisting to grow so that he could challenge Jiang. It’s weird fire, too, silver instead of red.”

Huffing sounds came from Ebony then. Yu had learned from her last visit that the sound was the big cat’s version of a laugh. This laugh was louder and longer than the ones she’d heard before, though.

“Oh, Jade!” Ebony exclaimed with pleasure. “My husband was greater than either of us knew. He must have figured it out when he scented you.” A tear fell down her face, but she sounded happy, almost jubilant, when she said, “His sacrifice will save us, and he will be remembered for it. And by a chance set of events, his vision comes true.”

Yu was absolutely baffled by that point. “I’m sorry, Ebony. I don’t understand.”

“You will,” Ebony responded in a relieved purr. “My husband will tell you everything when the time is right.” To Yu, her friend sounded at peace.

Not sure what else to do, Yu said, “Umm. Can I offer you any healing? I’m not great at it, but I can try.”

“No, Jade,” Ebony responded with a smile in her voice. “That is kind, but it is easy to see you have little to give. Heal yourself. This core will heal and strengthen me more than enough. Thank you. And I’m sorry for what is to come. Bai will be there to support you. You are not alone.”

Then Ebony became surrounded by blackness and vanished.

SEVENTY-FOUR

Story

Staring at the spot where Ebony had just been, Yu pondered what to do. She figured she should probably call for her family, as according to Ebony her strength would wane soon, and she didn’t want to risk being too tired to call for help.

At the same time, Yu was confident that the assassin was gone and wouldn’t be back, that night at least, as the darkness barrier, or whatever it was that he created, was gone.

After slowly and painfully climbing to her feet, Yu limped to her bedroom and placed Bai in her bed. Then she slowly made her way to the doorway and opened it, finding a guard outside as always. She was unharmed, and looked at Yu with wide eyes.

“Young Mistress? You’re awake,” she said, surprised. Then she looked Yu up and down, and her eyes widened even more.

“I’ve been attacked. An assassin made it into the palace,” Yu calmly told her.

After a moment of clear panic, the guard turned around, reached up, and rang a bell that Yu had noticed and never really paid any attention to before. It was about the size of an adult’s fist, unadorned, and dark like iron. The bell hung from a hook away from the wall next to the door. From the metal clapper hung a string that the guard was frantically banging, causing Yu’s sensitive ears to hurt badly enough that she had put her hands over them.

Another guard ran up to the first, and the latter said, “The palace has been breached.” Then she started issuing orders quickly and firmly. “Sound the alarm. Wake the Patriarch and tell him the Young Mistress was attacked by an assassin. And get a healer in here now!”

The guard saluted and Yu asked him, “Can you call my servant as well, please?”

A few breaths later, and louder bells started sounding throughout the palace as all hells broke loose.

Yu turned around and got Bai from her bed. Then she limped back over to the still-unconscious guard and felt for a pulse. It was the same, present but weak. Using her good hand, she limp-dragged him into her room and managed to get him onto her bed. He had been injured in her service and she wasn’t going to be so thankless to just leave him unconscious in the grass.

Yu was just walking out of her bedroom when the door burst open and Feng Jie ran in. She skidded to a stop upon seeing Yu up and about. Then she looked her up and down. Yu could tell that she was scared. Yu looked down at herself and saw why. Her hanfu was a mess. It was completely disheveled, covered in dirt and stone dust, and showed streaks and spots of blood.

Yu sighed. “Please tell me what’s happening out there.”

Snapping back to her senses, Feng Jie provided an update. “The Patriarch has been woken and is taking charge. The palace is being placed on high alert with guards stationed throughout, both inside and outside the walls. I was told to tell you that a healer is on their way, and that your family will join you after they have confirmed the area is secured. Beyond that, I have not been informed.”

Yu nodded. “Can you please prep a bath?” she asked.

Feng Jie nodded, but then froze when she saw Bai stir.

Yu sighed again. “Go on. Bath, please.”

Her servant jerked to attention. Being given an order seemed to give her some sort of relief, and she scrambled away.

Yu was limping back toward the grassy area to retrieve her weapons when the door was once again thrown aside with a clatter. A Water affinity healer stormed in like the heavens were falling. She had been one of Yu’s healers in the past whenever her uncle had not been available, or when Yu had not wanted to expose her injuries to him.

Yu smiled at her and waved. “Thanks for coming. I could use a real healing.”

The woman looked Yu up and down and exhaled in obvious relief. “Young Mistress,” she said with a short bow.

Yu lowered herself to the ground, turned her back to the healer, and wrapped Bai up so the healer couldn’t see him. The back-facing approach was something Yu had used in the past when she wanted to hide so the woman would hopefully recognize it. Thankfully she did.

Yu groaned in relief when the woman’s Water Qi flowed through her. In particular, her arm and leg felt like a weight had been lifted from them.

When the healing was over, Yu told the woman about the guard in her bed. She went to him, confirmed he would be fine, and carried him out.

Yu then walked toward her bathing room, where she found a prepared bath and a note from her mother. It told her that she should bathe and rest well, and that they would speak in the morning after her family had worked to find the intruder.

Nodding, Yu was pleased with the outcome because she had been hoping for a chance to clean herself and Bai and then sleep. Yu looked down at the cub who was squirming in her arms. She fed him her Qi and prepared for the bath. She knew that Ether-bonded beasts did not require food, although they did tend to enjoy it. Instead, they consumed the Qi of their bonded cultivator partners to sustain their health and grow in strength.

A few minutes later, Yu was bathing with a groggy Bai. She washed him free of all the birthing fluids and then cleaned herself.

The cub was shivering, so she wrapped him up in one of her hanfu tops, changed into her sleepwear, tucked them both into bed, and was asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Yu had Feng Jie bring her breakfast and then alert her parents that she was up and ready to meet them. After that, she headed out to the garden and sat by the pond with Bai wrapped up in a towel in her arms. Yu decided to leave her hair down and simply wait by the pond as she pondered what to say. She was struggling with how much to tell them.

A few minutes later she heard a pair of footsteps, and then another. Neither was her father. Until a moment later… Ah, there were his clomping steps followed by a fourth.

She heard her parents and uncles enter, and her mother immediately approached her. Yu called out, “I’m fine.” She heard her mother halt and Yu continued, “This could take a bit. Perhaps you would like to sit.”

Yu slowly stood and turned around, then pulled down the covering from Bai’s head. A gasp exited her mother’s mouth, and her father sounded baffled as he said, “A tiger cub?”

“His name is Bai, and we bonded last night.”

“Bonded?” her mother asked. “As in, with Ether?”

Yu nodded.

After a few breaths of silence, Gen said, “What interesting colors.”

“Yes,” Yu agreed with a nod. “He is the offspring of the tiger and his mate.”

Her father spluttered and then demanded, “What have you done? We’ve been at peace with him and the Vermillion Bird for over a century.”

“I told you this could take a while. Sit, and I’ll explain.” Yu took the initiative and lowered herself to sit cross-legged on the grass with Bai in her lap. She then gently stroked her bond’s soft fur and could feel his contentment from inside herself. She smiled down at him.

Noticing that none of her family had yet joined her in sitting, she begged them, “Please?”

Yu’s mother rolled her eyes, pulled a standard cushioned chair from her ring, and sat in it. Then all the others followed suit.

Yu mumbled, “I need a chair too.” That made her think of Grandma Huan’s rocking chair. It had seemed comfortable enough.

Shaking her head, Yu started speaking. “Thank you. I have to catch you up on some things. But before anything else, you should know that the tiger is dead.”

“What?!” her father yelled as he got straight back up from his seat.

“He was infected by a corrupted lizard,” Yu explained.

“Oh no!” Gen exclaimed with alarm. “With his strength, if he changed it would be catastrophic.”

Yu nodded. “He knew that, so he tried to reach the Vermillion Bird, Jiang. But he couldn’t reach him in time, so he went to the next best thing.”

“What else could possibly help with corruption?” Zhao asked.

A single tear fell from Yu’s eye. “Me. He found me. In a clearing, being tormented by the Jing.”

“Heavens,” her mother whispered as her father fell back into his chair.

“He joined his power with mine, and saved me,” Yu explained. “I still don’t know all the details. He put blocks in my memory so I would remember whatever it is he wants me to whenever he thought would be the right time. He was a mighty creature with a good heart. His loss is terrible.” Yu sniffled once and continued. “His wife found his scent on me and thought I had killed him. So she sent a small beast wave to occupy the city while she came to kill me.”

“That explains why it came out of nowhere,” her father said softly. “We usually have warning.”

“Obviously she did not kill you,” her mother said.

Yu smiled ruefully. “We worked it out and discovered we have some things in common – like affection for white tigers.” Yu chuckled lightly. “Well, she left me with two things that night. The first was a cryptic comment, her exact words were that, ‘we will see you again.’” Yu put emphasis on the word, ‘we.’ “And The second was a gift of sorts – energy she put inside me that could not be awakened until I had opened my first meridian.”

“You always keep us in suspense,” Zhao complained. “What was it?”

It was actually her mother who answered. “Darkness.”

Yu nodded. “She gifted me part of her power, like her husband did. He’s why I have Water, Earth, and Wood affinities.”

Before they could respond, Yu cleared her throat. “So, onto last night. Well, I was visited by an assassin, as you know.”

Her father said, “We lost his trail just beyond the city walls. We know he fled north, but little else. What can you tell us?”

“He was quite strong, and he sounded quite young. Less than twenty for sure, perhaps younger. He had yellow eyes but was wrapped in black, like I used to be as Zixin. He knocked out your guards, Uncle Zhao. The healer said the one inside here would be fine.”

Her uncle nodded. “Yes. To get past both without alerting anyone means he was quite skilled.”

Yu nodded. “He definitely was. The truth is, he could have killed me at any time. But he didn’t want to.”

Her mother leaned forward, her fists clenched. “Explain.”

“It’s as I said. He could have killed me, and his skill was more than sufficient for it. It was as if he had been forced to kill me, but didn’t really want to. He gave me multiple chances to fight him, and at first all the attacks he hit me with were weak – like sparring, almost. He was trying to give me a chance. He even told me that if I made him bleed he would let me go.”

“Did you? Is that why you are alive?” Zhao asked.

“Yes and I don’t know,” Seeing their confusion with her answer, she explained. “I was able to surprise him and cut him with one of the special blades that the Vermillion Bird gave me. He backed off then.”

“So he had you at his mercy, could have killed you at any time, and then when he finally ran out of time or patience or whatever, he ran away rather than kill you?” Zhao asked skeptically.

“Well, that’s the ‘I don’t know’ part. You see, it was at that point that Ebony arrived and scared him off,” Yu told them. “She’s pretty amazing.”

“Ebony being the tiger’s mate?” her mother asked.

Yu nodded. “I can’t say for sure whether he would have left after I cut him or whether it actually was Ebony who made him flee.”

“Either way, you should be dead,” her father said solemnly. “We can be thankful that you are not, but it makes little sense.”

“I agree, lord father. But I don’t think he’s coming back. I think he was pleased at the end. Glad to leave.”

“Quite bizarre,” Zhao said.

“Anyway,” Yu continued, “Ebony was weak and I thought she was injured, but in reality, she was giving birth to Bai. That’s why she came. So that I would bond with him.”

“That is extraordinary,” her father said. “He will be quite a beast.”

Yu nodded.

“Why, though?” her mother asked.

Yu wasn’t looking forward to this part of the discussion. “Umm, well. Because she thought she was going to be challenged and killed. She’s weaker than her husband, and was confident she would fall.”

“Damn!” her father exclaimed. “At least she would have been a known entity. Now we will have who knows what in the western forest.”

Yu scratched her cheek. “Well, maybe not,” she said hesitantly. “I think I helped with that. Maybe?”

“You?” Gen asked skeptically. “You helped a grade 5 beast?”

Yu winced. “Yes?”

“This ought to be good,” Zhao said with a chuckle.

“Are you familiar with the Windstorm Porcupine?” Yu asked them.

“Yes,” her father said with narrowed eyes and a suspicious tone. “His territory does not really impact the city, as it is on the other side of the bird’s. Why do you bring him up, daughter?”

Uh-oh. Yu hoped her family wouldn’t kill her for giving away the core.

Yu cleared her throat. “Well, Fengbao was his name, and he’s dead. Did I not mention that?”

With clenched fists, her father said through gritted teeth. “No. It must have slipped your mind. Your mind with a perfect memory.”

Yu winced again, but continued after clearing her throat. “Oh. Well, he went after the bird’s daughter and I kind of got in the way.”

Meixiu gasped. “Oh. So that’s what happened.”

“It’s how I became friendly with the Vermillion Bird and why he gave me all that stuff. Anyway, as a thank-you, Jiang, the father, gave me the porcupine’s core.”

Silence once again fell in the garden.

Zhao’s voice was slow and shaky as he asked, “Are you telling us you have the core of a grade 6 beast?”

“Umm. Not anymore?” Yu squeaked.

Zhao’s voice was still shaky, but in a completely different way, as he asked, “What do you mean, not. Any. More?”

Yu spat her response out quickly, as if saying it fast enough would make it hurt less. “I gave it to Ebony so she could get strong enough to defend her husband’s territory.” Then she picked Bai up from her lap and cuddled him to her chest.

“That was an… interesting choice, Yu’er,” her father said neutrally.

“Everything I am and will be is because of her husband.” Then firming her tone, she declared, “I did what was right, and I won’t regret it.”

Gen coughed. “There is nothing to do about it now. Are you fully healed, Yu’er?”

Yu nodded and said, “Yes, uncle. As always, your people were wonderful to me.”

Zhao leapt to his feet. “Great!” he exclaimed excitedly. “Now it’s my turn with Yu’er. And none of you had better try to stop me!”

SEVENTY-FIVE

Preparations

Yu spent her last week at home almost entirely with her Uncle Zhao, who eventually forgave her for the whole giving a priceless beast core away thing. She learned two Darkness Mana skills, Shadow Meld and Silencing Darkness, neither of which in her opinion were particularly amazing or useful. The first was the ability to melt into an already existing shadow or dark spot. But she could not make any major movement, as if she did it would break the camouflage. Additionally, it only stopped sight, not sound or smell. On the other hand, Silencing Darkness allowed Yu to walk silently, but only while already in darkness, which she felt was another less-than-stellar skill. Yet Zhao called them ‘teaching skills.’ Supposedly when Yu gained more power, she would be able to use what she had learned from those skills to progress to using more advanced Darkness skills.

The most ridiculous part of Zhao’s training was that he insisted she train with him while… peeking at women. Yu nearly punched her uncle in the face but he passionately claimed, “That was how I learned to use darkness!”

Instead of embarrassing both of them, Yu and he came to an agreement that she would instead try to sneak around the palace at night and, when Zhao could join, the city. Of course, he always wanted to go to various adult establishments and gambling dens, but she ignored his requests and just concentrated on learning the skills.

On the day before she was supposed to leave for the sect, Yu was sitting down in front of her father and mother and being told what to expect. They had threatened to throw a sending-off party like her brothers had received, but she had flatly refused. Her emotions were too much of a mess for that much attention. In fact, Yu’s emotions were a complete jumble by that point. She was scared, sad, scared, excited, scared, proud, and did she mention scared? In fact, Yu noticed a slight tremble in her hands as she spoke to her mother and father in her garden.

“All right, Yu’er,” her father said. “Tomorrow sometime later in the morning your master will come and get you. He is the sect leader of the Black Dragon Sect. He is unfathomably strong, and the fact that he is personally coming here to collect you should tell you something about how he views your value to his sect.”

Her father’s speech was in no way reducing Yu’s anxiety. In fact, it was probably doing the opposite. Couldn’t they say something that helped?

Oblivious (or apathetic) to Yu’s worries, her father plowed on, “While not the largest, they are still a prime sect for the empire, and many of the elites go there. One of the reasons for that, and why they are such an interesting sect, is because they are able to support almost every affinity and Qi type. You’ll understand better when you get there. While they may not provide absolute experts in every single type and affinity of Qi, they can afford quite close. Thus, many sect disciples have two affinities, and some more, which is obviously rare enough.

“The way sects grow their disciples is through something called contribution points. Every sect has a different version or plan around them, and I do not know the details for this particular sect. But they all work basically the same in that you can earn these points by doing certain activities that contribute to the sect, hence the name. The activities could be as simple as cleaning or farming, or as complicated as fighting beasts or crafting using whatever profession and giving the products the sect. You spend those points on the resources you need, which could include pills, powders, time in certain training areas, direct tutelage, and even Qi stones. The most important, at least initially for you, will be Qi skill scrolls. You have plenty of silver after selling off most of Mafan’s possessions, plus whatever you had before. You can trade silver in for points or just straight out buy what you need, although I recommend keeping a substantial portion in case you need to purchase something outside of the sect. This sect has something of a city in it, where you can spend silver. And do not forget you will also want resources for your bonded beast.”

Yu nodded at that. She definitely had to share with Bai. Glancing over, she saw he was still sleeping in a padded basket on the floor next to her bed.

Her father continued, “All sects have groups and societies and such. You should think about joining one, but it is up to you. You need to make sure you are aware of their power and political connections or conflicts. And that is true for everything, by the way. Everyone you interact with – be they elder, teacher, student, or friend – will have some sort of agenda of their own. Make sure you are cautious with whom you trust.”

That was the sort of thing that scared Yu the most.

How am I supposed to know who to trust, especially when everyone will be so much older and stronger than me?

“According to Lei, the sect is deeply competitive, but that can serve you as much as anything else. Use that to motivate and strengthen yourself. Find those who think like you, and are trustworthy enough to share the burden. You do not have to do everything alone.”

Yu blinked at him. Wasn’t that what Ebony had said?

Her mother then spoke for the first time in a while. “Do not let yourself be so driven that you overtrain and hurt yourself or your future. If you are slower or faster than others, so be it. Grow at the pace that is correct for you.”

Her father took the discussion back up. “Here is the story we are telling and your master, Long Bingwen is his name, will use it as well.” Yu could have sworn she heard something in her father’s tone when he said the name of her future master. “The mighty head of the sect was traveling in the wilds near the verge and looking for certain materials, when he saw a young girl with silver hair battling beasts. He took a fancy to your skills, power, and potential, and approached your family for permission to take you on as his disciple. We agreed immediately of course, and so he will be taking you under his tutelage. However, he is a great and powerful leader.” Yu definitely detected derision in his tone that time. “Thus he cannot be bothered to give you much of his direct attention, and he will therefore leave you be most of the time. You are under his protection but are to be treated like a normal disciple, barring a few exceptions. He will train you in secret in the Spatial affinity, which he also has, and you will not be permitted to share your Sign with anyone without his explicit permission. He wants to hide your true potential as an asset to him and his sect or some such thing.”

Yu nodded. That sounds like a good way to hide my secrets.

“He will also be the only person besides your family and Grandma Huan who knows about your meridian count. Eventually it will become known that you have multiple Qi types, but when and how that happens is up to him and you.”

Her mother spoke up again. “Yu’er, as you know, you will be seen as something of a weak and soft nobody from nowhere. Expect to be targeted quickly by those who bully, and avoided by those who wish to evade the attention of bullies. Do what you must to be able to grow strong, but also try to keep the attention that you draw to yourself to a minimum. You know what will happen if too many eyes end up upon you. We all know that you have an insatiable drive to excel at everything, but being in the middle of the rankings could benefit you. On the other hand, being at the top, when you are strong enough to get there, offers the benefits of more resources. Do your best to balance it out. Either way, know we are proud of you.”

“Yu’er,” her father said with a surprising amount of care, “these years will be some of the most memorable of your life. Do not let them be marred by yourself or others. Do what you must to hide what you can, but survive, grow strong, and thrive. You will bring honor to your family, your clan, and your city.”

Yu wiped tears from her cheeks, bowed and said, “Thank you, lord father. Mother.”

Her mother coughed once, wiping a single tear from her own face. “It is tradition for families to give a gift to their children when they leave for a sect. We have wanted to give you something for your service to the clan for a while, but frankly, there has been little you have needed or wanted, except to get stronger. The Vermillion Bird gifted you arms and armor better than what we can provide, so we were not sure what would be the right fit. In the end, your father and I went as envoys back to the Vermillion Bird, and parlayed with him in peaceful communication.”

Yu’s eyes opened wide. They intentionally went to talk to Jiang? He could have roasted them if he was in a bad mood!

Her father said, “It had been about a century since we last did that, so it felt appropriate either way. We also shared information about the Qi wells, and requested permission to begin exploring to see whether there is sufficient density for Qi stones.”

Her mother continued, “At first he seemed unfriendly, and was rather short with us. He has little interest in humans, apparently. Then his son joined and… smelled us. He claimed we smelled like – and these are his words – ‘My Jade Phoenix,’ and asked if we had interacted with you.” Yu felt her skin burn as blushed brightly, but her mother continued with only a tiny half grin showing on her face. “We told him we are your parents, and suddenly they both became friendly and quite welcoming to us. We spoke about you leaving for a sect and mentioned how amazing his gifts to you were, and then asked what sort of trade they might be open to considering for a different kind of weapon – one you used to wield, but have been unable to use much recently for numerous reasons. The son, Zhu I believe, changed into a flaming red bird and left, and when he returned, he presented us with this.”

Yu’s mother held out her hand, and a coil of braided red leather appeared.

A face-splitting smile formed on Yu’s face as she exclaimed, “A whip!”

Yu reached for it and found it was made of the same red leather as the rest of Jiang’s gifts. The whip was a stunning example of the flexible weapon, perfectly braided and with no knots, uneven overlaps, or snags. The handle was also made of leather but solid, with a small loop for the wrist at the very end.

Her father spoke up again. “By the way, he granted us permission to mine in the mountain for stones. While the forest is off limits, that is still a huge victory for us and the city. If we find Qi stones and can build a mine, our entire future changes.” Her father then cleared his throat and said, “He also left two messages. He said that Xiu is well and is still asking about you, and requests that you stop by when you can to play with her and enjoy the warmth of his home. He is happy to provide food and drink.”

Yu chuckled lightly, still running the whip through her fingers. “Xiu is a sweet girl. I hope I can make it back. I understand strong beasts grow slowly, so she will likely still be a child when I return. Maybe I can avoid almost melting to death, too.”

Her father huffed and mumbled, “Knowing you, you’ll end up getting adopted.”

Yu rolled her eyes at that.

Her mother smiled and said, “The second message was from the son, and he also wished to see you again. He seemed quite… interested in seeing you.”

Yu felt the burn in her skin again and knew she was blushing as bright as a fruit. Despite that, the discussion had been an excellent distraction from her dread of the sect. Trying to change the subject, she asked, “You said my master is named Long Bingwen, will teach…” Yu tilted her head at her mother and probed curiously, “Long?”

It was Yu’s mother’s turn to blush then as she said, “Yes. He is a cousin. The Long family is quite large, and well known for its power and prestige, although few know the specifics behind that power.” Then she coughed and said somewhat reluctantly, “That said, they are also known to be somewhat… odd. The Long Clan will often take what appear to be random actions, and do things that make sense to nobody.” Yu’s father turned slightly red at that.

Yu blinked at her mother and after thinking for a moment asked, “Will that affect my training?”

“It had better not!” her father said with some bite. “He’s an old bat even more off in the head than Grandma Huan, but he’d better train you well.” Her mother glared at him, and he coughed.

She then turned back to Yu with a smile. “My family’s oddities aside, he is a brilliant cultivator, at least a thousand years old, and likely close to the Immortality Stage, although nobody knows for sure exactly how old and strong he is. And his control over his affinity is nearly unmatched in the empire. It is one of the reasons nobody outside the sect would risk his ire by harming you. Everyone is terrified of both his power and… unpredictable behavior.”

Great. I’m being trained by a madman.

Yu couldn’t decide if she had the luck of the Qilin, the dragon deer, or the misfortune of the Gu Huo Niao, the nine-headed bird. Well, hopefully her master wouldn’t lose it and vaporize her one day. She supposed she’d just have to trust him.

“You tell me to be cautious of those I trust. What about Lei? I trust him.”

Her father actually smiled as he responded, “Of course you can trust your brother. But he has his own needs, and will not be able to spend much time with you. Especially as you are so much weaker than him.”

Yu’s shoulders slumped but she nodded. She understood, of course; Lei had responsibilities to himself and the clan, being both a strong cultivator and the heir.

“We also have a letter for you to give him,” her father continued. “Do not be concerned, he will be there if you need him. Just be respectful of his own priorities.”

Yu nodded. “Is there anything else I should know?”

Her father said, “You will learn everything else from your master or your fellows. You should avoid anything strenuous from now until you are settled in the sect. And I believe Grandma Huan wishes to speak with you in your bamboo garden. Your family will see you off tomorrow morning. You are dismissed.”

SEVENTY-SIX

Goodbyes

As her father had said, Grandma Huan was indeed waiting for Yu in her bamboo garden, rocking in her chair and embroidering with a familiar silver thread.

Yu approached her and bowed. “Teacher,” she said respectfully.

“So, you are leaving tomorrow, are you?” the old woman responded without looking up.

“Yes, teacher. I’m told I will be picked up tomorrow morning.”

Grandma Huan stared straight into Yu’s eyes and asked, “How do you feel?”

Yu tried to swallow past the lump in her throat and said, “Sad. Excited. But mostly scared. Terrified, really.”

Her teacher nodded and turned back to her needlework. “And what did we learn about fear?”

“That it’s there for a reason and I can use it, but I must not let it dominate me,” Yu stated firmly.

“That is correct, child. And what do you want?” Grandma Huan asked.

“To grow stronger, teacher.”

“And what will it take to do that?”

“Hard work, determination, understanding, and control.”

Smiling slightly, the old woman said, “Good. You are almost ready.”

Yu blinked. Almost?

Grandma Huan answered the unasked question. “Your father taught you skills of Fire, your mother Lightning, your uncles Darkness and healing. But nobody could teach you this.”

And Grandma Huan held out her hand with four scrolls in it. Yu stared at them and whispered, “Grandma Huan, I—”

The grouchy old tone was back when she exclaimed, “Don’t just stand there! I’m too old to hold my hand out like this forever, you know.”

Yu bowed and took the four scrolls.

“Two you can learn tonight,” her teacher told her. “Two you will not even be able to open until you are stronger.”

“Thank you, teacher,” Yu said as she placed them in the beautiful silver ring which her teacher had told her was now hers. That meant her tournament prize would go to her brother, which made Yu equally pleased.

“Oh. And I popped by to see your adorable little bond as well. I feel he will be a much better pupil than you, so I may spend some time with him. I might even tolerate his presence for a bit before I get fed up, unlike with you. Since I like him better, I have something for him too.”

Once again holding out her hand, a wrapped package appeared on her palm. Yu bowed and took it, saying, “I thank you on behalf of Bai, teacher.”

“Yes, yes. Good. Now off with you. I’m sick of you already. I have too much embroidery to do to be distracted with a student like you. There’s an old lady in Fanrong De Huangjin City who claims to be the best embroiderer in the empire.”

Yu recalled from her geography lessons that she was referring to the capital of the empire, and that its name meant “Flowering Gold City.”

The old woman harrumphed. “That old bat couldn’t sew a double-under cross-stitch if her life depended on it. What a prideful old coot.”

Following that complaint, Yu bowed again, and turned around heading back. As she walked away, she could still hear Grandma Huan mumbling about useless old coots and useless old stitches and useless old students, and many other useless old things.

Yu smiled as a tear dropped from her eye. She walked back to her rooms and snuggled with Bai as she fell asleep, ready for the second-biggest change of her life.

Yu stood in a line with her father, mother, and uncles in order of age. They were in the open courtyard of the palace, still waiting for her master. According to her parents, he was supposed to have arrived mid-to-late morning, but it was past lunchtime and he still hadn’t arrived. They had been standing there for hours.

Zhao asked what everyone was thinking. “Can we eat? This old lunatic is clearly not going to be here anytime soon.”

In fact, there had been no sight, sound, or message about that all-powerful master of hers at all. No hide, nor feather of a beast flying him close.

Yu looked at her father with her eyebrows raised. He was obviously trying to control his temper, as steam was rising off of his head and hands.

He bellowed at whichever servants happened to be in range, “Bring a table, seats, and food!”

Yu shook her head, feeling sorry for whichever servants had to provide quality food on short notice well past the lunch hour, especially as her father was not terribly tolerant of poor service.

“Oh good. I could use some food too,” said a voice behind Yu.

She jumped and turned around to find a man, who appeared to be in his late twenties in mortal years, wearing a gold robe with black edges and seams over pants and a shirt of identical coloring. The robe had a black dragon with extended claws curling in a circle on its right breast, and also a black jade medallion with an identical dragon and numerous circles and characters carved on it.

Is that him? How did he get in? Does he have magic boots or something? But looking down she thought, Nope. This man is barefoot.

The oddest part of all was that he appeared to have absolutely no hair. At all. He had no head hair and no facial hair, which by itself was not that odd. But he also had no eyebrows or hair on his hands or forearms or bare ankles or feet.

Her father bowed to the man and said, “Welcome, Sect Leader Long.” Everyone else bowed and repeated her father’s action, yet Yu noticed that Zhao sounded petulant when he spoke his greeting.

Long Bingwen waved his hand and said, “Yes, yes.” Then he walked up to Zhao and said, “Wait. You’re too old to be my student. Who are you?” He immediately walked away after asking, Zhao’s mouth still open to answer. He walked right past Gen saying, “No. I cannot have a student so fat.” Then he stopped in front of Yu and looked down. “Ahh. I see you are a fan of the color silver. That is a shame. I hate it.” Then he turned around and walked to sit at the table which had just been set by the servants.

Yu looked at her family to understand what she should do. Her father was fuming, her mother had her hand over her eyes, Zhao was still standing there with his mouth open, and Gen was looking down at his stomach, patting it with his hand.

Yu sighed, shook her head and walked to the table. Everyone else took that as a sign to do the same, only to find the man sitting on top of the table at the far end from her father’s place at the head. Yu stopped and then proceeded to take her normal spot, but sat on the table too, mimicking him exactly.

His eyebrowless head wrinkled as his eyes opened wide and he said loudly, “Oh ho! I see you have also discovered the spiritual benefits of the blessed position. Perhaps you are not completely useless despite your adoration of that most terrible color.”

Yu bowed her head and said, “Master. I will work to improve my outlook on the shades of the world under your tutelage.”

Zhao let loose a half cough, half laugh, and everyone else cleared their throat.

“Good, good.” Then he looked around in a confused fashion and asked, “Why am I here again?”

Yu’s mother walked up next to him and said with a gentle tone, “Hello, cousin Bingwen. It is lovely to see you again.”

He looked over and seemed confused, and then his face broke out into a smile of recognition. “Yes! Hello, cousin. It is lovely to see you again.”

She then said softly, “Bingwen, you are here to take your new disciple to your sect.”

“Ah, yes. Fenghuang Yu. Who is that?”

Yu bowed and said, “I am here, master.”

He looked at her, squinted his eyes, and said, “Oh, my. You are quite special, aren’t you? It’s too bad about the silver, though. You should shave off all your hair like me to avoid showing it.”

Yu stared at him and then at her mother, who was struggling with how to act or what to say.

Is this man, who was clearly madder than a rabid boar, really the one responsible for me?

Yu turned to her father, her face clearly showing her concern.

He whispered, “It’s a bad day. It comes and goes.”

Yu nodded. Perhaps he was only like this a small portion of the time then. She turned back to their guest and said, “Master, should we perhaps depart for the sect?”

The hairless man blinked at her, and she noticed he had eyes so black that she could not tell the difference between the pupil and the colored area. “Sure. Why are you sitting on a table? That is quite rude. You should apologize. Did your parents teach you no manners?”

Then he seemed to vanish off the table and appear next to her. Yu was startled, but kept her cool and climbed off the table to stand in front of him. He then looked down at her and said, “You are too short. You should grow taller.”

Yu said slowly, “Umm. Yes, master. I will endeavor to do that.”

Then he clapped his hands together and said, “Excellent.” Then he mumbled, “Now how to get home. Where am I again?”

Yu asked, “Master, did you bring a beast to ride?”

The man squinted down at her, his eyes barely open. “Why? Are you trying to get me eaten? Are you another one of those fools who have been trying to kill me?”

Suddenly power flooded out of him, and everyone in the courtyard was forced to their knees. It was like the force of the world that made things fall had doubled in strength on her.

Yu gasped out, “No, master. I would never do such a thing.”

“Then why do you want me to be eaten by a demonic beast?”

Yu was now on all fours, barely able to breathe. “I just want to get to the sect. How else would we get there?”

Her master blinked and the pressure vanished. “Well, why didn’t you say so? You shouldn’t threaten people, you know. It is quite rude.” Then he straightened his robe and said, “Are you joining my sect? Then why are you dressed like that? Are you a spy?”

Yu frantically yelled, “No!”

He squinted at her again. “Then why aren’t you dressed in the sect uniform?”

Keeping her head bowed, Yu said. “I have not received my sect clothes yet, master.” Silence followed for a moment.

“Ah! Brilliant. I just happened to bring some. I think I prepared them in advance.”

A set of black clothes and a black outer robe with white embroidery appeared neatly folded on the table next to them. On the pile lay a black dragon medallion just like his.

“Get dressed immediately!” her master snapped out. “You cannot attend the sect wearing those rags. Someone might think you are a spy, and that would not work out well for you.”

Yu picked up the clothes and turned to head inside, when she suddenly appeared in her mother’s quarters. Yu blinked and turned around in a circle.

How the… Oh, never mind.

She quickly changed, throwing her old clothes into her ring. It took Yu only a moment to realize that the clothes he had provided were completely the wrong size. The shirt was down to her knees, her pants stopped at her calves, her robe could wrap around her twice, and her feet moved around inside her shoes. Yu looked at herself and then at the black medallion in her hand. She sighed and pressed it to herself in the same place that her master had his. The second she held it in place, her clothes seemed to shift and liquify. The medallion stayed there by itself, and as Yu held her arms out the clothes melted around her, shrinking or growing until they became exactly the right size. She found she was basically wearing exactly what her master was wearing, except with black cloth and white edges and seams.

Yu smiled and patted herself down. These are going to be interesting years, for sure.

She turned toward the door and suddenly appeared next to the table in the courtyard, in the spot where she had been before. Everyone looked at her curiously, scanning her up and down.

“It fits,” her master declared. “Wonderful! I had no idea what your size was, so I guessed.”

Yu nodded, just barely stopping herself from smiling. “You were entirely correct in your guesses, master.”

“So, say your goodbyes and we will leave.” Mumbling to himself again, Yu heard, “Now, where did I put that?”

Then random objects started appearing on the floor of the courtyard. Blankets, food, both dirty and clean clothing, hats, a few beast carcasses still leaking blood, some rotten fruits that splattered everywhere, a pile of beast cores, rotten hay, a few pieces of random jewelry, and the most impressive, a human head with its eyes and mouth sewn shut. Finally, a tiny sword half the size of Yu’s foot clanged to the ground.

“Ah! There it is,” her future master happily exclaimed.

Yu shook her head, went up to her father, and bowed. “Thank you, lord father.”

He placed his large hands on her small shoulders and said, “Bring honor to us. And try to enjoy yourself a little.”

She nodded, and her mother came up to give her a hug. “We love you,” was all she said, while sniffling.

Yu whispered back, “I love you too.”

Then she gave a hug to her Uncle Gen, who said, “Be well, niece. Try not to forget healing while going around and beating all the boys into submission.” She giggled and nodded.

Zhao’s hug was crushing as he said, “Don’t forget what I taught you. And definitely remember the most important lesson: peeking isn’t wrong if it's for training.”

Yu shook her head and chuckled. “I’ll remember, uncle.”

Then Yu took a deep breath, wiped her face clear of tears, turned to her apparently mad master, and walked up to him. He said to no one in particular, “Let’s see if I can remember how this works. It has been quite a while…”

He mumbled inarticulately for a bit, until he exclaimed, victoriously, “Ah hah!” and tossed the sword a few paces away. Yu watched it drop until it stopped in midair and just floated there. Then it enlarged to become four paces wide and twelve long.

He leapt onto it and said, “Let’s go, shall we?”

Yu picked up the basket with Bai and leapt on behind him. The sword then rose in the air and slowly accelerated away. She looked back to see the only home she had ever known shrink until it was too small to see, and then she turned back and looked towards her future.

Epilogue

Moments later – The hall of the Matriarch:

Bo Fang stood at attention. He guarded the hall’s doors, as he always did unless he was sent on a mission.

At that moment, he was watching her as she used her power. Her silver hair floated behind her, and the world vibrated around her. She had been that way for hours after having received a particular report about a failed assassination. Given her reaction, he thought it likely had to do with the verger girl, since he knew her orchestration of the assassination of the Gui Crown Prince had already succeeded.

He also knew that the girl was the only person who caused his Matriarch to use such strong power, at least in the last seventy-five years or so. Why his Matriarch put so much attention on that strange child he did not know. And it wasn’t his business until she made it that way. So he continued to do what everyone did. What he was told – exactly, and to the highest level of precision.

Fang watched as his ancient Matriarch released the power, causing everything to calm and the world to feel more at ease. She opened her light-brown eyes and visibly relaxed as she called, “We are about to have a visitor. Allow her entry.”

The ornate black bamboo double doors were then opened from the outside, and Fang gripped his spear tighter as he turned to face the cultivator who entered.

The woman who came in was dressed entirely in black, showing only her dark-brown eyes and gray hair in a single braid to the middle of her back. She stepped forward and bowed, but did not kneel. Fang stepped forward at seeing the disrespect, but stopped as his Matriarch waved her hand.

“She lives,” was all the woman said.

The Matriarch scoffed. “I’m already aware. It is unlike your group to fail.”

The woman snarled, “We used Scar, as you suggested. He found a way to obey but at the same time allow the target to live.”

“I never suggested any such person. I simply told you that the target was exceptionally well protected by Darkness Mages, and that one of your strongest assets may be required to counter them. You chose that… creature, not me. Your failure is your own.”

A pulse of power was then emitted by the black-clothed woman, and Bo Fang stepped forward, spear at the ready. Yet all of a sudden, the disrespectful wench was lying flat on the ground. Bo Fang stepped back, having seen this before. She must have been quite strong to require his involvement. Or the Matriarch was exceptionally displeased.

Bo Fang listened as the woman wheezed, barely able to breathe from the pressure.

A man with straight silver hair to his shoulders and furious black eyes then stepped out from behind the Matriarch’s throne. He said nothing, but glared down at the prostrate woman.

Bo Fang watched as his Matriarch closed her eyes and glowed silver for a few breaths before releasing her power. She sighed and said to the woman, “How tiresome. I can see you will attempt to gain your vengeance. I cannot allow you to interfere. Succeed or fail, you will end up alerting that boy.”

She then turned her head to the glaring man next to her and nodded. Bo Fang watched as the man raised his hand to chest height, then flattened his hand and pressed down.

The woman let out a faint squeal as she was pressed into the floor. Cracking sounds echoed throughout the room as she was pressed deeper. The floor was not what was being crushed though, as it was made of a special black stone designed to withstand such pressure. The woman’s body was not. As the man’s hand fell, the hall was filled with the crunching and cracking sounds of the death of a powerful cultivator.

Unbidden, Bo Fang stepped forward, kneeled next to the body, and removed the unbroken spatial storage ring from the woman’s finger, then sent her body into his own ring with a tap on her flattened hand.

He then returned to his post without comment as the man next to the Matriarch spoke. “What’s next?”

“We cannot act openly any longer,” she told him. “The child is under the protection of that boy. He will see the strings being plucked. We can only act with the greatest of caution, and from a greater distance.”

“I don’t understand, grandmother,” he said. “Why won’t you share anything about this girl? Who is she that you are so focused on her?”

She sighed. “I’ve told you before. There is too much at stake, and too many variables in play. Everything is at risk, and speaking of even the smallest detail will alter the outcome. The greatest delicacy is required.”

Bo Fang saw his Matriarch tap her fingers on the arm of her throne. She closed her eyes and spoke then, her voice reverberating throughout the hall. “We have barely avoided disaster to this point. The errors of the past cannot be allowed to cause failures in the future. Time is fluid. An ocean ever in motion.”

Then she opened her eyes and spoke again in a normal voice. “For now, the child is with him, and he will keep her afloat. Patience will serve us until the right opportunity arises. She will be vulnerable eventually. But only for a moment. At that single point in time when the boy looks away, we will strike. His strings will tear and fall apart around him. The child will fall from his grasp, and she will either take our offered hand or watch as everything she cares for is swept away by the tide.”

To Be Continued…

Afterword

First off, I want to thank you for reading my book all the way to the end. Its readers like you, who give new books a chance, that make this genre so awesome. I really hope you enjoyed it because I have a number of sequels planned!

If you did enjoy it, please think about leaving a review. Indie authors depend on reviews and word of mouth, so if you would be willing to write a review or leave a rating, that would help me a lot.  I especially love the 4 and 5-star ones :-)

If you want to keep up to date with The Jade Phoenix Saga then you can like the Portal Books Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/PortalBooksPublishing

For updates or join the Portal Books mailing list

https://portal-books.com/sign-up

If you want to chat with Portal Books authors like myself, you can also try the Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGPortal/

Or their discord:

https://discord.gg/GXBNDGYQqT

Lastly, I want to recognize the awesome authors that make me want to keep reading and writing in this genre (this is by no means an encompassing list.  Just the ones that I found inspiring that you might want to check out!):

·       Aleron Kong

·       Tony Corden

·       Daniel Schinhofen

·       Johnathan Brooks

·       Xander Boyce

·       Jay Boyce

·       Tao Wong

·       M.H. Johnson

·       Jonathan Smidt

·       Blaise Corvin

·       Alexey Osadchuk

·       Roman Prokofiev

·       Shemer Kuznits

·       R.A. Mejia

Also all my other fellow authors at Portal Books, their amazing stories were what led me to work with Portal in the first place.

Honestly I want to add about a bajillion more authors but I don’t have space to list them all here!  Thank you all so much for inspiring me to write, even though you had no idea you were doing it :-)

I REALLY REALLY want to thank and encourage you all to watch to the LitRPG Podcast on YouTube.  It’s amazing.

https://litrpgpodcast.com/lit-rpg-novels/

Ramon is amazing!!!!  I listen just about every week.

That’s it! Thanks again for reading. If you know anyone who might enjoy my work, please do spread the word. I just want to keep writing awesome stories for you all and every new reader helps make that possible.

You all rock,

D.I. Freed

Portal Books - Newsletter and Group

Portal Books is a digital publishing house that specializes in LitRPG, Dungeon Core, Cultivation and Progression Fantasy. Our mission is to bring you the best possible novels, with professional editing, copywriting and cover design.

We only work with authors who have a real passion for the genres and we think this shows in the novels we publish. We know that the heart of LitRPG is solid games mechanics and ensure every story is based on the kind of game system we ourselves would love to play.

If you’d like to try out stories from the other fantastic Portal Books authors, you can sign up to our mailing list for 80,000 words of FREE LitRPG stories. Whenever we add more, you’ll get the update, absolutely free.

https://portal-books.com/sign-up

You can also find us on Facebook. Join our group to stay up to date on all our upcoming books, cover reveals, author interviews, giveaways, promotions and more!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGPortal/

We also have a Discord server where you’ll have a chance to chat with some our authors, members of the Portal Books team, or our community of readers as a whole!

https://discord.gg/GXBNDGYQqT

To find out more about the cultivation and western cultivation genres, you might find these groups to be of interest:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WesternWuxia

https://www.facebook.com/groups/cultivationnovels

For more general discussions about the genre, these groups may be useful to you:

www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety

www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books

www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup

Best wishes,

The Portal Books Team

www.portal-books.com

Enjoyed Reborn? More Cultivation from Portal Books

The Shadow Sect (Netherdei #1) - A Cultivation Progression Saga

Fans of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher and Avatar: The Last Airbender will enjoy this vivid, masterful tale of magicking, cultivation and fantasy adventure, inspired by the worlds of Xianxia and Wuxia.

It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and on Audio.

Blade of Ghosts (the Lost Sect #1)

The Hollow is dying.

Beset by nightmarish creatures from the caverns below, Jason’s tribe is slowly being whittled away. Only a brave few still stand against the darkness.

Inspired by the worlds of Xianxia and Wuxia, Julian Gyll brings a fresh, western fantasy take on the burgeoning cultivation genre

It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and on Audio.

More LitRPG from Portal Books

Shadeslinger (Ripple System #1)

Corporate flameout Ned Altimer dives into Earthblood Online ahead of other players. His advantages include a ridiculously handsome talking axe named Frank who has knowledge of the game’s deepest secrets…if the magnificent Frank ever feels like sharing them.

But this also makes Ned a target. His fellow players are about to conduct the greatest manhunt in gaming history is set to begin.

It’s available in Kindle Unlimited and in Audio, narrated by Travis Baldree!

Occultist (Saga Online #1)

Welcome to the world of Saga Online, the newest fantasy VRMMORPG. Join Damien as he discovers the rare Occultist class and summons an army of demons to save his mother’s life.

It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and in Audio.

The Elemental Dungeon Trilogy (Complete)

Reborn as a dark dungeon, Ryan was happy defeating adventurers with undead minions. Then a necromancer arrived, and un-life got a whole lot harder...

It’s available on Kindle Unlimited and on Audio.

If you wish to view a full list of our titles you can take a look at our books page on our website here:

https://portal-books.com/our-books

Or you can check out of comprehensive catalogue of our titles here and get reading right away!

https://www.amazon.com/Portal-Books/e/B07BHNPCXK

Join the Group

To learn more about LitRPG, talk to authors, and just have an awesome time, please join the LitRPG Group.

Copyright © D. I. Freed, 2022

Published by Portal Books, 2022

The right of D. I. Freed to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

www.portal-books.com