The Fourth Fall - Chapter 11 preview (Patreon)

For all the urgency of the initial request, final preparations for their trip to the State of Wei took longer than Wu Ying had expected. Negotiations had to be conducted for the safe passage of the sect members involved, multiple names bandied back and forth, added and removed from the embassy that would make their way to their former enemies capital. The politics of that, and the eventual smaller party that would meet with the embassy of the state of Cai, was bewildering to Wu Ying, matters of prestige, strength and hierarchy argued over and over again to reach a final negotiated compromise that no one cared for.

Through it all, Wu Ying's name was never removed. Nor was the Sect Head's.

"I don't understand why I can't come," Tou He said, arms crossed as the pair sat over a cup of tea in his friend's residence. Lower down on the mountain, of course, but the man had a better set of tea implements. Even after being gifted  couple of sets, Wu Ying rarely saw the point in making use of them, causing the ex-monk to host them for their regular drinking sessions more often than not.

Unless, of course, the pair were intending to spar. At which point, Wu Ying's more elaborate defensive and protective formations were of greater use. Houses, reflecting each parties own interests.

"Someone has to watch over the sect while we're gone," Wu Ying pointed out, quietly as he sipped on the tea before him. "The dark sect might be quiet now but..."

"I know," Tou He said, following Wu Ying's head tilt to the south. They were both there, when a demon had arisen and a kingdom had nearly tried to kill them to hide actions they had taken. "Threats are always around. But that's what the Guardians are for. Or what use are they?"

"And they will be here, but they cannot be our own bulwarks," Wu Ying said, softly. "Anyway, you are still too far behind."

Tou He sighed, a hand crossing to place itself against his stomach. Having to break and reshape an immortal soul, to reform his own dao and rebuild it all so that he could gain control of the heavenly flames that had invaded his own fire element had taken many years. And while success had occurred, he was not, in the end, a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Not yet.

"You know, I can't be too weak to come but strong enough to help guard the Verdant Green Waters at the same time," he complained. "It's not logical."

Rather than comment, Wu Ying let his friend complain. After all, he was not the one who was making these decisions. Though Tou He's name had been on the initial list, after a single round of revisions it had been taken off. And Wu Ying had to admit, knowing the injuries his friend had accumulated, the loss of life blood, the loss of his fingers... He could not help but be a little happy his friend would be sitting out this adventure.

"And why is Yin Xue part of this?" Tou He continued, switching tactics. "He's likely to cause as much, if not more, problems than my presence would have. And he's not even that strong!"

"Ah, Sister Yang mentioned that to me," Wu Ying said, grateful to be able to add to the discussion. "He's only there for the initial visit to the State of Wei." A slight hesitation, before he added. "I understand that his presence was requested by the other side. I think there will be politics, between him and the head family."

"Probably want him to bring back the copy of the cultivation scroll," Tou He grumbled. "He better not. We paid a hefty price for that..."

The wind cultivator nodded. He remembered Yu Kun, the others who had been injured, their cultivation path cut-off. Guilt over that particular adventure still rose up at times, though the passage of years and hard won wisdom allowed Wu Ying to accept that those who had come, had done so on their own volition. Stilll...

"I doubt he would," Wu Ying said. "If nothing else, the scroll itself is no longer with him."

"Yes. On that..." Tou He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "That cultivation method he is using, it's creepy, is it not?"

"Now you mention it?" Amused, Wu Ying looked at his friend who shrugged. "It is what he needs, isn't it? To integrate his... additions."

"The demon's eye and arm, you mean." Now the disapproval was very clear in Tou He's voice. After all, injured as he might have been, the flame cultivator had learnt to make do and wield his staff, combining a touch of hardened chi and aura control to give him back what he had once lost. Then again, he was only missing fingers. "I cannot approve of that."

"Different paths, Ah He," Wu Ying cautioned gently. It was dangerous, to directly object to another's approach to immortality. After all, at their stage, such approaches were becoming bedrocks of their personality. It was even worst than insulting a person's parents, for these aspects of their cultivation base were made as conscious choices.

"My residence. And I've said as much," Tou He said.

"And you wonder why you two haven't been speaking much." Not that either party had been ever that close. Or, recently, been out of closed door cultivation often enough to interact. After all, both Tou He and Yin Xue were hard at work catching up.

"I don't wonder." Tou He's lips pressed together. "But you should be careful."

"Really?" Wu Ying said, slightly incredulously. "You aren't that wary of him, are you?"

"Not Yin Xue." The ex-monk said. "He's a paper tiger trying to be a dragon. No, I'm more worried about our tentative allies and the Cai delegation."

"Ah..." Wu Ying sighed. "I assume it shall be fine. At the least, we'll have the Sect Head there. I doubt matters will progress that far." His voice trailed off, before he gave his head a minor shake. "I also understand that Patriarch Yi Lai, of the Six Stanza's, will be coming and the Third and Sixth Generals. And, of course, the Wei will match our show of force with their own Nascent Soul cultivators. With such august personnel together..."

"You believe the Cai would not have their own? They called this meeting after all."

Wu Ying hesitated, then nodded. "Perhaps. But we still must go."

"You." Tou He said, grumpily. "You must go."

"Yes."

There was nothing further to discuss. Even Tou He felt that he had complained enough, for he turned his attention to the tea. Making a face, he threw out the tea in the serving pot that had cooled and began the elaborate process of cleaning out the tea pot and starting another brew.

Wu Ying sat back, allowing his friend's studied motions calm him. In the ritual, there was a routine that encouraged the calming of the mind, that allowed everyday worries to fall aside. Unconscious tension bled away, as Tou He moved through the motions of making tea, all but a kernel of worry.

For his friend was right.

The State of Cai had called this meeting.

***

The group that gathered a week later under the paifang was quite the illustrious party.  To commemorate their leaving, especially the official departure of the Sect Head for such a momentous event, a full departure ceremony had been organised. Multiple fortune tellings had been conducted to ensure that the group departed at the most fortuitious of times, talismans and plants rearranged to alter the subtle balance of energies and luck. Dances, music, speeches - all of that had been conducted, the band and the blessings offered to the assembled group.

Wu Ying, even with his modest understanding of fate and karma, could feel it warping and twisting under the numerous effects layered upon by the foretelling Elders. He could feel the pull of the winds of Heaven and the Hells together, whispering of future fate and destiny and decision.

All around, gathered around the slim exit, along walkways and hanging off cliffs and in a few cases, floating in the air itself, cultivators watched the events. Those unable to observe the departure took advantage of viewing pools and reflected images throughout the sect, soaking in the atmosphere and the concentration of chi. Drawing from it what knowledge they could.

For Wu Ying, it was all he could do to not yawn and fall asleep on his feet through the ceremonies. If not for Yang Mu standng by his side, wielding her aura to prod him in the side to keep him awake and focused rather than quietly cultivating the energy around, he likely would have acted on rote, forgetting to speak his parts or eventually leave when it was appropriate.

Of course, his inattention was not missed by the sharp eyed cultivators surrounding him, at least the Elders who knew better. More than once, Guardian Pang sent a glare his way but was forced by circumstance to forbear speaking. Eventually, however, the interminable ceremonies were over and the group departed, the Elders and the various lower grade servants accompanything them.

They made their way a quarter of the way down the mountain to a particularly large clearing and bare cliff-face that fell off into the depths below. It was an unusual amount of space, the road having been cut deep into the mountain and the platform itself having been altered by an earth cultivator. It had puzzled Wu Ying on his first sighting as a Body Cultivator, though he barely remembered noting it whilst carrying his half-dozen sacks of rice.

Ah, joyful memories. A quieter and simpler time, when his objectives had been to strengthen his body and manage the day-to-day studies. Simple enough, in truth though it had never felt that way. But that was life, the difficulties one faced always seemed insurmountable until you were done.

And left wondering, how one could have imagined it was truly hard.

Then again, the gods loved piling tragedies and tests on those who survived the previous few.

"Wh are we stopping here?" Yang Mu whispered to Wu Ying, leaning over to ask as she did so.

"Not sure," he replied, glancing around.Yin Xue on the opposite side of the group looked puzzled as well while the Right Guardian and the Sect Head wandered over to the ledge itself. Accompanying them was Elder Wang, the estmeeable formation master whose presence and abilities could affect entire armies and Elder Huang, he who cared for the kitchens and the general administration of the outer sect. He would only accompany them to see the State of Wei, tasked with discussing appropriations and other administrative matters. Of those that would be part of the negotiating committee and show of strength, Elder Hsu and Elder Po had been acquired and were, even now, quietly discussing the upcoming travels while groups of lower level cultivators clustered around one another in respectful silence.

Off to the side, accompanying Fairy Yang as she came over to speak with the pair, was Elder Wei. The Master apothecarist had her own connections to the State of Wei and her presence was here even more reluctantly than Wu YIng's. However, overtures of resolution and reconcilliation had been made and could not be so easily brushed aside.

"Ah Ying." Fa Yuan greeted him as she stepped close and nodded to Yang Mu. "Good job on keeping him awake."

"He's terrible at that, isn't he. How did you manage to keep him from emberassing himself before I was here?" Yang Mu said.

"The first time, he was too scared to be so rude," Elder Wei said, waspishly. A slight tilt of her head to where the quiet and respectful younger cultivators stood was example of what she meant. She then smacked her cane on the ground, leaning close and glaring up at Wu Ying. "Some people have let their cultivation get ahead of their manners."

"And the other times, we had nothing so elaborate," Fa Yuan said. "Why, I think most of the times I've left with my martial brother, we've done so with barely any acknowledgment of the sect."

"Mmmm, saving your Master, stealing you back, going on sight-seeing trips..." Elder Wei raised a hand to count the words off. "Yes, that certainly seems to be the truth. Then again, we rarely undertake such elaborate preparations." Her gaze sharpened. "It might perhaps signifiy how important this event is, no?"

"Yes." Yang Mu said, firmly before Wu Ying could reply. "He - we - understand. If not, we would not have agreed to participate."

Elder Wei looked between the pair of them, then nodded. As she stared at Yang Mu, there was a flash of something indecipehrable, before she continued. "Very well. And to answer your question, girl, we're waiting."

"For what?"

There was no reason to ask as, moments later, the answer arrived. At first Wu Ying struggled to conceive what he was seeing, incredulous at what he was staring at. He had, of course, heard of such things. Legends and myths abound about such flying instruments, but Wu Ying had never actually seen one. After all, the cost of running and levitating such an instrument was prohobitive in the extreme.

Even so, here it was. A golden pagoda, seven stories tall, on its own slip of land. It raised itself such that the edge of its land abutted the cliff face, fitting in place with barely a cun of distance between edges. There, it hovered as the Sect Head and the other older Elders crossed over.

Only Elder Po stopped, turning aside and stamping a little. The sound of his foot landing on the platform echoed through the surroundings, bouncing off mountains in a continual echo that drowned out the few curses and words of exclamation among the other cultivators.

"Well? Coming?" he said, smirking a little.

Wu Ying shook his own surprise off him, dismissing the insistent push on his spiritual senses that the pagoda now exhibited since its arrival. This close, he could feel the way it warped the very environment around itself, a mixture of spatial, gravitic and wind dao's all being exhibited at the same time.

"Not so wise now, are you, boy?" Elder Wei said with a smirk when he looked at his group.

"Did you want to come with me just to see his reaction?" Fa Yuan said, amused.

"The boy is getting ahead of himself, as I said. Someone needs to make sure he remembers that he's still young," Elder Wei raised her cane and poked Wu Ying in the stomach. Or tried to, as the wind blocked her motion before it impacted.

"Only a boy to you," Wu Ying said. "I'm a grown man and an Elder."

"Mmm..." Elder Wei raised a hand to around shoulder height. "Still remember when you were this small."

"I was never that small in the Sect!" Wu Ying protested.

"Going senile already, correcting his elders," Elder Wei tutted. She turned away, shuffling over to the bridge and leaning on her cane as she did so.

"I was never that small!" Looking at Yang Mu, he saw her hiding a smile behind her hands. Fa Yuan was grinning openly, before she followed after the Elderr.

Wu Ying could only sigh, waving his beloved ahead of him and mutter about the lack of respect. It seemed, no matter how old he got, to some; he'd still be a child.

And perhaps that was for the best. Perhaps that's how you stayed young.