The Fourth Stage - Chapter 18 preview (Patreon)

Bottom of the mountain, at the crack of dawn. That meant, for most of the cultivators, getting up even earlier while the sun was set to wash, prepare and descend the mountain in time. A few – a wise few that Wu Ying took note of – requested time off the evening before and descended the mountain in the evening to rest in inns throughout the town.

Wu Ying himself had chosen a similar path, though he had stayed in the village with his parents. Suppressing his own aura all the way down to Body Cleansing had allowed him to do so without pressuring his family or the villagers. For many at his level, the constant pressure of holding back their aura and containing it would have been difficult which was partly why Core Formation cultivators rarely spent long with mortals.

For Wu Ying, used to spending weeks and months suppressing his aura, it was a small matter. Even whilst he slept, a portion of his mind kept his aura suppressed, allowing him to rest without disturbing the others.

The evening itself had been well spent. Knowing that if he did not take action beforehand, he had arranged for a banquet to be prepared and delivered before his arrival; such that the village itself did not bankrupt themselves attempting to do so.

To his surprise though, Wu Ying spent most of the day playing with the children and speaking with the Elders and his parents. It was only later, as the evening drew to a close that he realised that he had been gone too long. Many of those he had grown up with were now the adults of the village, the parents of those adults now the aged seniors. And some, like elder Tan had passed away in the interim.

He was no longer the penitent son returned, having found his fortune. What memories of a childhood finding tadpoles in the mud together or kneeling in their classroom, offering their hands for caning for miswritten characters were drowned out by the years and memories that had accumulated without him.

He was now the remote cultivator, a storied being who had helped the uprooted village find a new residence. Wu Ying was an honored guest, an ancestor of renown for those here. Of course they would not bother him, they would not harry him with questions of cultivation techniques or beg for pills or herbs.

It was both a relief and a painful realization, how far he had come. And though he had resolved to accept such things, had known it was to come… the reality of the situation still hurt in a dull way, as though an old wound had been pressed within his heart.

Amongst the children, those who trained with his father, who had been brought to him to train that he found familiarity. At first hesitant, they eventually grew boisterous and loud, asking impertinent questions that Wu Ying answered with a smile and laugh.

As the evening wore on, one by one, the children were brought back to their residences by concerned parents, tired and exhausted from a day of questioning and cultivating and playing. Soon after, the remainder of the villagers turned in, leaving Wu Ying and his parents to speak together.

Until they too turned in, and the wind cultivator left to await the dawn and the arrival of his applicants.

***

“Will you hurry up!” Ma Jie said, hurrying back and grabbing the yawning Zhe Lan by the arm and dragging her forwards. She hurried the woman down the city road to the start of the pathway upward, eyes darting back and forth in the slowly lightening gloom. “We’re going to be late.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming…” Zhe Lan’s last sentence was broken by a long yawn. Behind the pair, Ya Zhu hurried after, a giant backpack on her back.

“I told you to stop studying and sleep, didn’t I?” Ma Jie said.

“Why are you so much in a hurry. I thought you didn’t want to do this,” Zhe Lan complained.

“I don’t. But now that we’re here, we need to do it right!” Ma Jie said.

“Pashu(8),” Zhe Lan complained.

“I just have pride.”

“Not enough to pack properly,” Ya Zhu said. “Or study extra.”

“Why were you studying?” Ma Jie shot back. “You must have it all memorized by now.”

“I do. But a refresher is never wasted. I also wanted to make sure I packed properly,” Ya Zhu replied. For all her comments, she was looking the freshest of the group where even Ma Jie scrabbled at her face occasionally as she tried to wake up.

They were Gatherers. They were used to waking up early. But not this early.

“How many people do you think are going to turn up?” Zhe Lan said, suddenly as they neared their destination. Even Ma Jie had slowed as they closed, struck by sudden apprehension.

“Can’t be that many fools,” Ma Jie said. “Maybe a dozen. Including us.”

“More. Twenty five, before we arrive,” Ya Zhu replied.

The pair blinked but chose not to gainsay their friend. Of the three, she was the one with the most acute of senses, having trained her spiritual sense to the utmost whilst combining it with her own Wood element. It gave her an unparalleled sense of the living, allowing their friend to pick out rotting or dying plants well before others.

“That many fools?” Ma Jie hissed.

“That much competition?” Zhe Lan said at the same time.

“Senior Xia Hui is there. As are Gui Ting and Hu An,” Ya Zhu continued. “A dozen Body Cleansing cultivators too.”

The pair grimaced at the names, though looked dismissive soon after Before they could reply though, Ya Zhu’s eyes widened.

“Hurry! We need to hurry.” Then putting action to words, she dashed ahead. She triggered the Wind Steps qinggong method, speeding up as she burnt chi, an act that was copied soon after by her friends. They burst into the small clearing, surprising the gathered cultivators.

Ya Zhu ignored them all, spinning around to face to the side. Her friends, arriving moments later copied her motion, even the bow that she sent to an empty space. Some of the smarter cultivators copied her motions, including the trio so-named by the cultivator; each of them having the spiritual strength to notice the arriving wind cultivator.

Elder Long Wu Ying dropped from a short distance above the sky, the wind picking up leaves and dust as it flapped his robes beneath him as he descended. He touched down onto the ground lightly, hands behinds his back whilst clad in the black robes of an Elder of the sect. The remaining few, the slow, the rebellious dropped into low bows.

“Good morning.” Elder Long’s head tilted upwards, the first light of dawn breaking through the clouds and mountain range. It illuminated the group in soft light, even as he continued. “Welcome, successful applicants. Before we begin…” He turned aside, his voice never rising as he controlled the winds to do his bidding. Lips moved, though no words could be seen.

Zhe Lan, eyes narrowed, mimicked his mouth moving as she read his lips. “You four may return to the sect. You have failed.”

Then, his attention returned to them. Imperious gaze met Zhe Lan’s, and she could have sowrn she saw a glint of amusement in his eyes as he met hers, before it swept onwards.

“Today, I am testing you all for suitability. The test will involve a number of areas, starting with your ability to listen to commands, your knowledge and skills at gathering, martial ability and control of your auras and emotions.” Dark eyes, cold now, swept over them all.

Zhe Lan found herself shivering a little for that touch of humor had disappeared. A coldness reminiscent of the howling frozen winds of the north were in those eyes, in the surroundings, as an unexplained chill entered the surroundings.

“Wild gathering is a dangerous occupation. Many attempt it. Most fail. Some die or are crippled in the trying. It is also not a prestigious job, for you will often be mistaken for a wandering cultivator.” Elder Long’s lips twisted in wry humor, though none of that joviality entered those eyes. “You might as well be. In fact, during the initial period of your training, you will find them more knowledgeable, more skilled than you.

“Knowing this, are you all still willing to risk it?”

Silence. None chose to back out now, none willing to lose face before the Elder.

A cold smile, as though he had expected this.

“Very well. Suppress your auras to mortal levels,” Elder Long said.

“What?” Hu An protested. Of course it was Hu An. Zhe Lan could not imagine anyone else more likely to protest, the fool of a boy who had managed to achieve so much because his parents had constantly plyed him with pills and cultivation techniques. Now, the effete nobleman, clad in his finest robes was waving at the Body Cleansing cultivators. “This is unfair. They will be able to achieve that level much simpler than those of us who are true cultivators!”

“Life is not fair. You may only choose to cope with its injustice. Like this one – you may go.”

“What!?” Hu An protested again.

A single arched eyebrow met his further protest. Hu An looked around, searching for some form of support. Zhe Lan caught sight of the slight twitch of Elder Long’s fingers, just before a wind came bearing down, wild and dry from the west. It caught Hu An and threw it into the sky before carrying him further up the mountain, soon to be lost to sight.

Jaws dropped and cultivators gazed at the disappearing body.

“I am still sensing a lot of cultivators,” Elder Long said, mildly.

Immediately, Zhe Lan crushed down on her own aura. She winced, the sudden movement causing her pain, but she had no desire to disappoint this Elder. In the meantime, she could not help but wonder what kind of fresh hell she had volunteered herself – and her friends, Ma Jie who was glaring at her as she pursed her lips and flexed her control – into.

Footnote:

8 - Pashu (怕輸)is better known for the Singlish term kiasu (the Hokkien version of these characters). Technically, ‘fear of losing’, it speaks of a mindset where the individual is unable to be anything but the best.