The Fourth Stage - Chapter 21 preview (Patreon)

“You’re too soft-hearted,” Yang Mu murmured to Wu Ying, later.

He was not startled by her emergence from the woods, a small smile on her lips as she watched the applicants lumber their way up the mountain. None of them had a pass that allowed them to stay out the night or else, he was certain, they would have slept in the city.

Still, he was not worried. He’d swept the mountain path just in case to verify that no demonic or spirit beast was lurking in wait at night, and outside of a few peaceful spirit creatures including a moonlight hare, he had found none.

“I’m not. I dismissed nearly two thirds of the applicants.”

“And kept most of the final group,” Yang Mu said. “Even the two that you believe are there as spies.”

“They might be. I’d like to think they are better than that. And what they might learn, well, it’ll be a while before there’s anything substantial to pass onto Elder Kim.” Wu Ying chuckled. “For that matter, most of what they’d learn early on would be available in the documents I’ll be donating.”

“I see. Generous, are you?” Yang Mu teased.

“I’ve got to pay for all this somehow.” He sighed. “The Sect is a lot more… mercenary than I had expected.”

“Everything has a price. Everything has a cost.” She didn’t seem particularly perturbed by that. “I could help, if you wish. Negotiate.”

“I doubt they’d accept you as my proxy.”

“They wouldn’t need to know.” A slight smile. “My mother used to use a few speaking and listening talismans, such that she could coach us through such sessions. Quite discreet.”

Wu Ying hesitated, considering her offer. Both the implications and the potential risks of being found out. In the end, he offered her a mollifying smile. “While I might not have the skills of your mother or yourself, in this case, I believe it would be better for me to conduct such negotiations myself.”

“Of course.” Yang Mu hesitated, and following his gesture, started walking with him up the stairs. They took their time, choosing not to use their qinggong methods. There was a tranquility that came from taking ones time, from choosing to move slowly when you could dash everywhere. In stillness, enlightenment.

Even so, it was halfway up there mountain before Yang Mu brok ethe silence, choosing to ask the question that had burrowed its way within her mind.

“Have you looked further into your condition, Ah Ying?” she said, softly.

“It’s not a condition.” Wu Ying said, grumpily. “It’s an injury perhaps, a certain level of corruption.” At the look she gave him as he continued to avoid the topic, he sighed. “I have no further information from what we discussed.”

“A week ago.”

“Yes.”

Silent disapproval radiated from her as they continued their ascent. It was so stark that she might as well have shouted it. In the end, Wu Ying answered her unspoken rebuke. “I will. I promise. I just had a lot to do. And it’s not degrading, you know.”

“It’s not getting better either,” she said.

“It is!” he protested. “The baths that I’m taking, with the adjustments from Liu Tsong have done much good.”

“Removing the surface impurities and clearing some of the injuries, yes.” She shook her head. “But the deeper injuries, the portions that are broken or came back wrongly, that hasn’t changed, has it? Even if you cleanse all the impurities you brought back, even if achieved that, those injuries. They aren’t going away.”

Wu Ying grunted agreeably.

“Then why aren’t you more worried!” She nearly shouted those words as she turned to glare at him. “You’re so close! But here you are, stuck.”

“For a few reasons,” Wu Ying said. “I’m not close to start – there’s still a wind I still do not understand.” Though, a part of him knew that understanding the winds of Hell were part and parcel of understanding the winds of Heaven. As he progressed in his understanding of both realms and their elements, he would expand in his understanding as well.

“But more importantly, I do not believe I’m stuck.” He turned his hand sideways. “An obstacle is not the end of a journey, just an opportunity to reassess one’s path. Just because it’s there does not mean I should stop traveling. I just have to decide if I’ll climb over it or go around it.”

“And when did you get so wise?” she growled at him, playfully.

He smiled a little, grateful that she was mollified with his words. Still, he continued. “Now that this is all settled, I do intend to spend more time researching my predicament.” He sighed. “Some early recommendations by Physician Gu have been less than appealing.”

“Suggestions? You didn’t mention any such.”

“I wasn’t looking to utilize them. Cutting open myself and removing the damaged portions before returning to the wind and patching such portions together via my understanding of the dao is not ideal.”

Yang Mu winced. “That seems drastic.”

“Yes.”

The pair fell silent, resuming their walk upward. Deep in the night, the pair had the pathway up the mountain entirely to themselves, the shadows from overhanging branches and the ill-lit night with its crescent moon offering little illumination. It mattered not for either cultivator, their spiritual sense sufficiently developed that they could traverse the entire way with their eyes closed if needed.

“Do you have any clues on what to do?” Yang Mu said, softly.

“Some. The Body Cultivation manuals I have read have gone into aspects of cultivation deviation. Not that it’s termed the same way, of course, but it comes to the same thing.” Wu Ying waved his hand, as though dismissing that triviality. “But most of those issues are near the start or middle portion of the path. It’s rare for deviation to occur at the latter stages, at least in this manner.” He frowned. “The Seven Winds technique is relatively unique in how closely it hues to the concept of the winds itself.”

“The concept?”

“Yes, understanding and becoming it,” Wu Ying said. “There are some Elders here who I’d speak with, if possible. Though we do not focus upon Body Cultivation much, there are still some practitioners in the sect.”

“So, why haven’t you talked to them yet?”

“Two are currently in close-door cultivation. Another has yet to reply to my missive. And the final Elder is currently out of the sect. He might return end of this year.”

“So more waiting.”

“Yes.” Wu Ying shrugged. “In the meantime, I will do further research and train these children. If all else fails, the Double Soul, Double Body sect might have a solution.”

“That’s the one whose founder’s technique you use, is it not?” Yang Mu said.

“Not founder. Sixth Patriarch,” he corrected her easily. “And yes. I started with the Patriarch’s apprentice’s work but was able to review and copy the original work.” He frowned. “The last two winds were particularly difficult to comprehend, and even now, I’m uncertain if I walk it appropriately. The movement techniques are difficult, but the necessary enlightenment is even more elusive. And the Patriarch, on his journey to immortality, never achieved it.”

“No?”

Wu Ying nodded. “No. He died, attempting that final ascent at a grand old age of two hundred and seventeen.”

“Not the most fortuitous path to follow then, is it?” Yang Mu teased.

“Isn’t that the same for us all?” he sighed. “We follow the path of failures, in the hope that in their tragedy we might glean some wisdom. Even if we managed to find a cultivation path from an individual who managed to ascend, it might not suit our bodies. And if it did, the dao that they embody is already filled in the Heavens. There is no space up there for another immortal, and so we’d be cast down anyway.”

“Are you sure of that?” A slight smile crossed her lips. “My father always argued that Heavenly bureaucracy was as inefficient as ours, for we modeled ours on theirs. And if so, then there will be a large number of overlap. Why, look at the number of kitchen gods there must be!”

Wu Ying laughed softly at that. “Oh yes. Though, you rarely hear of more cultivators ascending from the kitchen.”

Yang Mu grinned. “Well, I dare say, those cultivators are busy leading quiet lives, practicing their skills. And who would pick on a cook?”

“Not Tou He!”

Laughing together, the pair continued up the hill, turning the conversation to lighter topics. They left behind his own obstacles and the dire forecast of the future with practiced ease. Any cultivator at their level learnt to block out worries about tomorrow to enjoy the joys of the present.

There was time enough to deal with these issues.

***

The summons came in the morning for the afternoon for the Sect Head. It gave him time enough to prep himself, though he had given his new apprentices the day off. Long enough to sort out any obligations they might have, before he began his very first class. He was still debating what to begin with, though he was leaning heavily towards a lesson in aura management in the morning followed by botany lessons and memorization of the various manuals to begin with. He’d have them head off to the martial teachers in the latter afternoon for specific training for those he deemed lacking. Which, right now, was most of them.

Just a light workload, really.

Prepping himself and finishing up the lesson plan for the next day, Wu Ying made sure to review his appearance one last time. He had chosen his most elegant of his robes, the one least worn and with the finest detailed patterns of green dragons on the sleeves and hem. While the robes for the Elders were of the same form in general, a little individuality was allowed. In addition to the embroidery, he also had the division patch on his left breast pocket.

Wu Ying took another glance at the headdress that had come along with the formal robes. He debated, briefly, wearing it before discarding the idea. Rarely had he ever seen the Elders wear a headdress – not even to his own judgment – and the burdensome piece had already been blown off by the fickle winds once before. It blocked easy access to his long hair, and they so did like playing with it.

Storage rings and the World Spirit ring and a bracelet of protective charms. His sword – of course – and the emerald, scalemail armour that he wore beneath the robes. He was not geared all the way for a battle, but the armour was both comfortable and comforting.

Ascending the mountain was a simple matter of traversing the airways, allowing the wind to carry him upwards rather than taking the normal pathways. That there were a number of formations blocking direct access required him to hover closer to the mountain than he’d prefer, and without the invitation, even such a modified pathway would have been difficult.

Passing by the inner complex set aside for the core members of the Sect, Wu Ying was once again struck by the sheer luxury of their existence. Even if he now resided within a residence near the top, these favored individuals lived even higher, had dedicated teachers and study places.

Then again… he noted that few of these pampered cultivators were out training. Most were within their residences or the cultivation chambers, pouring all their time and energy into progressing through the stages of cultivation. Soon enough, these hot house flowers would have to exit the Sect and find fortuitous encounters of their own, expand their interests and experiences in their search for a dao.

In the meantime, they had the best facilities to provide them growth.

Higher, past the buildings to the Sect Head’s residence. A large mansion – the largest by far, of course – with multiple rooms, courtyards and complexes. The three Guardians actually had their official residences inside this complex. These Guardians were spread out in the same positions as per their seating arrangements in the arena. Closest to the entrance, the residence for the Guardian of the Gate – Guardian Pang, currently empty.

Of the remaining two, the Left and Right Guardians(10) took care of the internal and external protection of the sect. The Right Guardian was the only Guardian known to leave the Sect, often acting against other sects or cultivators that might be a threat to the Verdant Green Waters.

Wu Ying knew his own Master had a close relationship with the Right Guardian, as did his martial sister. Unfortunately, his own circumstances had precluded even a meeting before his banishment, the Right Guardian having been away for much of Wu Ying’s time in the Sect.

Drifting towards the doors leading into the complex, Wu Ying landed gently on the ground, the winds leaving with the barest of flutters. He strode the rest of the way to the massive wooden gates, gesturing to utilize the wind to strike the heavy metal knocker.

Hands crossed behind his back, Wu Ying drew one last, long breath and settled his mind. Whatever the discussion to come, it would be fine. After all, he was now a valued member of the sect.

Right?


Footnote:

10 - Stealing the naming conventions of the left and right chancellors from history. Note that the left chancellor was considered the most senior member.