The Third Cut - Chapter 16 preview (Patreon)

By the time the fire had consumed the massive tainted bodies, late evening had fallen. Their return was uneventful, with only a minor argument resulting when Wu Ying provided them the smaller core as payment. It took the intervention of the southern gate lieutenant before the argument was complete to the dissatisfaction of everyone, leaving Wu Ying less two more beast cores and the massive, mid-stage Core Formation matriarch core in hand.

“I still wouldn’t recommend using it,” Tou He said, as the pair sauntered into the city.

“The core?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t thinking of it.” Wu Ying cocked his head to the side, gesturing down one direction as they reached an intersection. “Are you free?”

“If you’re paying, certainly.”

“Why…” Wu Ying shook his head. “No, you stomach obsessed fool. Not food. There’s someone I want to introduce you too.” Then, having been reminded of his own hunger, added. “Well, we can do dinner too afterwards.”

Tou He grinned. “Then, of course. I even know a place that’ll cook up all that spirit beast meat you have.”

“Still remember that, do we?”

Another, wider grin from his friend. Wu Ying chuckled, swinging by a roadside stall to pick up some leaf-wrapped glutinous rice meals, purchasing a half-dozen for his friend and one for himself. Tou He murmured his thanks, digging into the meal almost immediately.

As they walked, Wu Ying let the winds out to play, relaxing his control sufficiently that it swirled around the pair without conscious intent. It tugged at robes, skirted under wagons and picked at leaves, banging open shutters and carrying snatches of conversation and scents to the wind cultivator. Higher above, the slow swirl of wind chi covered the many li across the city, drawing the energy towards him and concentrating the wind chi such that his own Never Empty Wine Pot method never stopped filling his dantian.

Just as importantly, the slow flow of air also brought with it notes and impressions of the schools that arrayed those hills. As Tou He had noted, each of those schools were specialized colleges where promising cultivators were trained in that specific profession. There were numerous scents that came to him, from the farmlands filled with spirit herbs to apothecarist halls, to the dry smell of old parchment and the musky scent of animals held close together. Cultivation itself was but a tool used to create a society that thrived in this world.

“What do you think?” Wu Ying suddenly asked, to his friend. “About their heresy?”

Tou He rolled his eyes, for a few passerbys had given Wu Ying a hard look when they caught his last sentence.

“There’s nothing wrong with not seeking to ascend.” The ex-monk flicked his hand upwards, indicating the sky. “Their rationale about cultivation also seems quite convincing, if you’re willing to look at it emotionlessly.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Nanyue believe that cultivation was not given to us mortals to make us gods, but to make our lives easier. A gift, to allow us to contend against the spirit and demonic beasts that lurk at the corners of civilization.” Wu Ying nodded, having learnt that much thus far from Yang Mu. “If you consider the story of the Yellow Emperor and the time before him, humanity struggled, always at the mercy of such creatures till he spread the knowledge of cultivation.”

“So, because it makes our lives easier, it’s right?” Wu Ying said, doubtfully. “That it is only for this plane that what we study is useful for?”

“Not just that. Take Heavenly Tribulation,” Tou He replied. “Why would the Heavens seek to cast us down, if not because cultivation itself as we practice it, is inherently wrong.”

“Some believe that the Heavenly Tribulation is not a test, but an aid. That one cannot ascend or achieve the next step without the lightning and chi from Heaven itself,” Wu Ying pointed out.

“Perhaps. It’s not what the Nanyue believe though.”

The wind cultivator turned the corner, mulling his friends words before finding a gap in the logic. “If they believe that cultivation – and Heavenly Tribulations – are wrong, then why do they even have Core Formation cultivators? After all, are they not then actively defying the ‘correct’ usage?”

Tou He opened his mouth to answer, then paused and frowned in thought.

“It’s because, Cultivator Long, of us.” Yang Mu’s voice cut-in, catching the pair by surprise.

Wu Ying turned smoothly, an eyebrow rising at the fact that the wind had not told him of her presence. Or that he’d even missed her approach through his spiritual sense. Yang Mu smiled a small smile of satisfaction as she noted his surprise.

“What do you mean by us, Lady Cultivator?” Tou He asked, curiously. His eyes darted between the pair as he assessed them.

“The other nations, who have Core Formation cultivators,” Yang Mu replied. “No nation can afford to  be that weak. As it is, Nanyue only shook off northern ownership a bare hundred and eighty years ago.”

“Conquest.” Tou He idly corrected. “I doubt ownership is a term they’d prefer.”

Yang Mu inclined her head, before looking at Wu Ying who had failed to introduce them. At her pointed glance, he shook off his own thoughts and introduced the pair before gesturing up the road to their residence.

“I was about to introduce you two anyway. And afterwards, we were planning on sustenance. Would you care to join us?”

Yang Mu shook her head, causing him to frown.

“I have matters to attend to for my mother. But perhaps a drink, later tonight?” She gestured at the inn. “They have quite a marvelous garden at night.”

Wu Ying flicked a glance at Tou He who shrugged.

“Tonight, then, Mistress Yang,” Wu Ying said.

Offering the pair one last smile, she sauntered off to her meeting, leaving Wu Ying wandering what it was that she had to deal with. And what, if any, news she might bring about their objective.

***

Later that evening, the pair stood up as Yang Mu finally returned, the bell having struck the eleventh hour at this time. Soon enough, the midnight bell would strike. As it was, the attendant who served the pair looked exhausted, though happy, as Tou He had tipped them generously to ensure both food and drinks were continually added to their tiny table.

Around them, the garden had been lit as the night had fallen, paper lanterns hoisted onto nearby trees to provide illumination. Each location of the lantern had been artfully arranged, such that the few tables in the smaller garden received significant illumination. At the same time, the carefully trimmed vegetation provided privacy for the pair, while water features throughout the gardens helped to mask conversations.

In the glow of the lanterns, under the clear skies, the garden was both friendly and just a little eery it seemed to Wu Ying. It attempted to mimic the wild growth of a real forest, and yet was too manufactured to one who had spent much of his life within. Instead, it felt artificial and strange, a child’s nighttime painting of the real thing.

Yang Mu smiled at the pair, her hips swaying ever so gently, her long lustrous hair glinting in the dark. There was a slight flush to her cheeks, a redness that marked the consumption of alcohol in dubious amounts. She slipped into a seat, followed by the pair soon after and inclined her head in thanks as Tou He poured her a cup of wine.

“Are you sure you should still be drinking?” Wu Ying said, doubtfully as she picked up the cup.

“Is this wine enhanced?” Yang Mu said.

“No.”

“Then I shall be fine.” She then sipped on the wine, nodding appreciatively. “Excellent wine.” She looked at Tou He and nodded. “A good choice.”

“Hey! I could have picked it,” Wu Ying protested.

Tou He and Yang Mu exchanged knowing looks, before Tou He spoke up, ignoring his friend who fumed in silence. “So how is it that you know my tasteless friend?”

“Oh, he’s got a decent tongue for food. But wine and tea…” She let out a long sigh. “We met at my parents inn.” Tou He made an encouraging sound, to which Yang Mu happily chose to answer, relating in short how they met and who her parents were.

“Twinned dao progression, all the way to Nascent Soul. Incredibly rare. And then to stop – or be able to raise their children, all of which have progressed well.” Tou He shook his head in wonder. “You, my lady, are a rare creature indeed.”

She laughed at that. “Is that not the case with most who have managed to achieve Core Formation? And even more so at the next stage above. Enlightenment, privilege or dedication, those are the hallmarks of the elite.”

“Talent too,” Wu Ying added.

“Talent without dedication is like a beautiful girl who hides in her room. If not exploited early, it wastes away, leaving naught but the ashes of regret behind,” Yang Mu said.

Tou He hummed in thought, turning the wine cup in hand as he stared at the clear liquid as it reflected the lantern light. “Yet, talent does not waste away in the same manner.”

“But it is not coin to be hoarded for a rainy day. It’s value is in its application and growth, not inherent in itself,” Yang Mu pointed out.

“Coin can be spent today or a year from now. It is still coin. But someone who is talented in the sword cannot pick up the jian and beat another who has trained for years, just because they were once talented,” Wu Ying said. “An appropriate metaphor then.”

“Then is talent no longer a concern at later stages of cultivation?” Tou He asked.

“Of course not.” Wu Ying stared at his friend, rather pointedly. He remembered how Tou He had breezed through the martial and physical portions of their training early on. That his friend had not achieved the Heart of the Staff was clear, but that was perhaps a decision to avoid certain aspects of the weapon. For all that Tou He had left the monastery, certain aspects of his Buddhist upbringing still held true. And embracing the violent, crushing and fatal nature of the weapon might be something he could not do.

Pushing those musings aside, Wu Ying continued. “Talent nurtured from the start and brought to our level would still provide an advantage. If anything, I would think that advantage is greater than before, as the continual progression of the talented allowed them to specialize and increase their advantage.”

“Only if they concentrated on that which they were talented within,” Yang Mu said, a small smile on her lips.

Wu Ying considered asking her, then shook his head and chose not to. If she meant it as a barb against him, he deserved it. He had some small talent with the sword, but whilst he studied and practiced, he had numerous interests. And all of them took time and effort.

“Was your dinner fruitful, Lady Yang?” Tou He asked to cover his friend’s own silence.

“Very much so, Cultivator Liu. I was able to better grasp the city’s current predicament.”

At the pair’s urging, she detailed her findings after speaking with her merchant contacts. There was little new to either party, though Yang Mu was further able to elaborate on the actions taken by the army for both expeditions along with the resources utilized and their future plans.

“A special team from their capital is on the way?” Wu Ying said, leaning back in his chair with a smile. “That’ll complicate things, perhaps.”

“Oh?” Tou He said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re here to cleanse the source. I’ve been charged about learning more about it,” and while he could have stayed behind and just received a report when it was done, the wind pressing upon his robes demanded he play a more active role. “and Mistress Yang…”

“And Mistress Yang what?” A single, graceful eyebrow arched, daring him to complete his sentence.

“Will do what she wants.”

“Exactly.” A little smile on her lips there then, before she shrugged. “In this case, it’ll be to accompany the team when they depart.”

Once more, Wu Ying wondered what the woman was up to. What her objectives were. She took great pleasure in just travelling, seeing the world and making connections. And while she had amassed a princely fortune via her dealings, it did not seem a deep passion for her. It was, like his own Gathering, a profession that supported and gave direction to her travels, but was not the objective on of themselves.

Swapping wine cup for rice bowl, Tou He ladled more of the spicy tofu hotpot onto it. As he prepped another bowl, he mused out loud. “It seems that we need find reason to have the army commander or the lord magistrate to allow us to join.”

“And I’m assuming an extra blade would be insufficient,” Wu Ying said as he touched the hilt of his own weapon. He’d retrieved the saint jian from the corpse after the battle, though now he needed to acquire a second or third preferably.

Good thing they were in Nanyue, fabled land of weaponry. In the northern kingdoms, weapons from Nanyue were highly prized for their quality and beauty. As he’d walked, Wu Ying had noted that the reputation of the weapons had been somewhat overblown. There were still weapons that were of shoddy make, mortal weaponry that were no better than farm tools.

But not entirely. He’d noted a few weapons of great beauty and sturdiness in passing and the wind carried the noise of hammering and production to him on occasion, speaking of forges that worked late into the night.

“Perhaps one wielded by you,” Tou He said. “A prodigy of the jian is still a prodigy. But it might be a safer matter to ingratiate ourselves with the city lord.”

“If we can speak with him.”

“If we can speak with him.” Tou He concurred.

“Well, Cultivator Long knows at least one direct report, no?” When Wu Ying looked confused by Yang Mu’s words, she added. “The Guard Lieutenant.”

“Oh!” Then a slow nod. That might be a good introduction. Perhaps he might even be able to use him to avoid speaking with the city lord entirely, if they could direct them to the correct individual.

“And yourself, Lady Yang?” Tou He muttered before beginning to consume his bowl of rice.

Bemused, Yang Mu watched as Tou He finished the food within moments. Wu Ying smirked, as he added. “And that’s after he’s eaten. Took us nearly three hours before they were done cooking all the spirit meat I gave them.” Rubbing his chin, he added. “We also have a meal being prepped for tomorrow. Some of the cuts needed more time.”

“Ah, I shall be sure to make it.” She considered, then added. “I’ll have to invite some of my contacts, if that is acceptable.”

Wu Ying glanced at his friend who just shrugged. “I do not see why not,” he eventually said.

“Good.” Then, turning to the ex-monk, she added. “I have some small skill with formations. I intend to visit the nearby school of formations themselves, review the formations they are using to cleanse the cores. I am led to believe that the current methods used are leaving too high traces of the taint for many uses.”

“They are,” Tou He confirmed, putting his bowl down and proceeding to repeat his earlier actions.

“Ah, that reminds me.” Wu Ying extracted the earth elephant matriarch’s core from his ring, opening the jade box he had stored it in to present the item to Yang Mu. “When you’ve done sufficient experimenting, I’d like to be present when you cleanse this one. I think there might be something to learn in that act.”

“For the core?” Yang Mu widened her eyes and smiled. “Of course!”

“Not for the core,” Wu Ying said, grumpily. He pulled the box back, closing it as he added. “I do have some other lesser cores for your use.”

“Well, will you at least sell it to me?” She fluttered her eyes at him then.

Wu Ying cocked his head to the side in consideration before he eventually nodded. It was quite likely the wood cultivator could make good use of the earth core. It was not as though it would be highly efficient for him to use it to aid his cultivation, what with the clash between their elements.

She offered him a brilliant smile then, one that made Tou He raise an eyebrow as he regarded the pair. Missing the fire cultivator’s silent regard, Yang Mu stood up, downing her cup swiftly before adding. “It is late, and there is much to do. Tomorrow. Dinner, yes?”

Receiving their agreement, she sauntered away. Only when she had retreated far enough away that she could not overhear, did Wu Ying ask.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing at all.” Then, before Wu Ying could demand further answers, he pointed at the dishes before him. “Help me finish this, will you. I should rest too, but wasting all this food is a crime.”

“You’re the one who kept ordering!” Still, Wu Ying chose to pick up his chopsticks, snagging some of the deep fried pork before his friend took it all.