[Tian] 1:14 (Patreon)

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LIUFAN TIAN STOOD BEFORE A BASKET.

It was a dull-gray basket, made out of poorly woven strands of dead wood. It would prick on Tian’s skin whenever she picked it up. Even if she gently grasped it by its handles, the thin, sharp wood jutting out still left cuts on her fingers.

The scars she got from this laborious and painful work would remain. Maybe if she found something extremely valuable— a Life-saving Treasure. A single sip from the likes of a tea of recovery would do more than just heal her body. It would restore her to her peak physique.

It was something Liufan Tian dreamt of acquiring. Maybe mother’s ailment can be cured that way. However, that meant that the girl would have to grow strong enough to obtain it first. Right now, she was weak.

Her core remained closed. She could not cycle her Qi. That was what made her a Bud— those were the traits of someone who could not connect to the Dao.

Not yet, Liufan Tian told herself.

She hefted the basket up, grimacing as the thorns poked her, before heading back to her shack. It was not a long walk; it was only the pain which made it feel longer than it should have.

Pushing the door open, she stumbled into her house with a wheeze. “I-I’m back!” she called out.

There was a shuffling. The sound of a blanket being ruffled. The thin curtain covering Tiao’s bed was pushed aside, and Tian’s mother revealed herself.

“Tian,” the woman started, her face turning soft, “you’re already back from gathering zaktra leaves?”

“And the jaris seeds. As well as the ching grass you need for your medicine.”

She smiled. “Thank you, my daughter.” Hobbling over to the girl, Tiao picked up the basket and placed it gently on a countertop. “However, we will not be needing those today.”

Tian blinked. “But—”

“Hush, Tian,” Tiao cut her off, placing a finger on the girl’s lips. “Follow me.”

The mother and daughter left their small, ramshackle hut, heading to a nearby stream. Their humble abode was not particularly close to the rest of their sect— in fact, Tian was certain they were deliberately positioned far from the other, neatly arranged complexes in the distance. Their curved rooftops poked out amongst tall stress like rocks wrinkling the grassy ground.

“Where are we going, mother?” Tian finally asked.

Tiao came to a stop right before the river bank. Tian steadied her as she sat on the sand, crossing her legs in a circle. “Sit with me, Tian.”

“Yes, mother.” The girl did as she was told. She still was uncertain of what was going on, but she knew Tiao had a reason for doing things. Even if Tian never always understood it.

“Now close your eyes.”

Liufan Tian raised a brow. Tiao smiled reassuringly. The girl shrugged and shut her eyelids. The light from the Heavens vanished, now replaced with darkness. Darkness and the tranquil noises of nature.

She heard the light lapping of the water over the rocks in the river. There was the soft chirping of the birds in the distance. A gentle breeze blew against her face, rustling the leaves of the nearby trees as serenity came over Tian.

A moment passed. Tiao said nothing. The girl sat there, waiting for something to happen. She was curious. Why did her mother bring her here? She needed to know.

Finally, Tian spoke up. “Mother, what are we doing here?”

Her mother’s words caught her off-guard. “Relaxing.”

The girl’s eyes blinked open. “Relaxing?” she asked, puzzled. “Is that it?”

“Yes,” Tiao replied simply.

Liufan Tian glanced over at the woman. She was seated— not in an upright position— but was instead slouching as she leaned against her arms. “I… I thought we were meditating…” she said, almost dejected.

Tiao cocked her head. Then a light laugh escaped her lips. “No we’re not, Tian. I told you what we were doing, did I not?”

“Sitting?”

“Yes.”

The girl was even more confused now. Her mouth bobbed open and close, almost like a kai fish. Tiao fixed her with a curious gaze.

“Tell me, Tian,” she said. “Why did you think we were supposed to be meditating?”

Tian flushed. “I-I… um, I thought…” she trailed off.

“You thought I was going to begin teaching you.” Tiao tapped her chin knowingly. “To be a Cultivator.”

“...yes,” Tian admitted. Her face burned with embarrassment.

Shaking her head, Tiao bent over Tian. The girl cast her gaze to the floor, ashamed. She was expecting to be reprimanded— how could she possibly demand so much of her mother? She  was sickly. Even if she had promised to teach Tian, that did not mean she could do it right away.

“I’m sorry, mother,” Tian hurriedly said. “I did not mean to rush you—”

“Raise your head, my daughter,” Tiao cut her off.

Tian paused. She could not see her mother. Only her shadow on the grass was visible to the girl. And yet, Liufan Tian could almost see the expression on her mother’s face. That was…

Tiao placed a hand on the girl’s chin. Tian felt her chin being lifted up, even as she tried to keep it down. She met the kind eyes on her mother’s face. She saw the gentle smile offered by the ageing woman. Her eyes almost welled up.

“Tian.” Tiao’s voice came softly, soothing the girl’s very soul. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I…” Tian bit her lip. “I was taught to apologize for any offensive statements I make. I didn't mean to disrespect you by questioning your promise, mother.”

In an instant, the woman’s warm face turned cold. “...who taught you this?”

“Lihua did.” The girl began to list out names. “—Chun, and Xiaomei too. As well as the Patriarch himself!”

“The Patriarch said that?” Liufan Tiao frowned.

“He did! In the past— when I went to speak with him. To borrow some scrolls…”

“I see.”

There was a tense silence. Tian did not know long a cycle was— at least, not yet— but she was certain at least a dozen cycles had to have passed from how long the silence felt! Finally, Tiao shook her head.

“You were taught an incorrect lesson,” Tiao said firmly.

“But the Patriarch—”

“Was wrong.” The girl’s eyes went round at that statement. But her mother was insistent. “You thought I was going to teach you how to be a Cultivator. So, you asked me questions. There was nothing disrespectful about that.”

Tian wanted to protest, but she knew Tiao would have stopped her. So, she spoke apprehensively. “...why not?”

“Because you question me not for any foolish reason, but instead you wish to cleanse your soul of impurities. You are pursuing the path of a Cultivator.” The woman straightened, her gaze turning sharp. “There is no greater virtue than to seek out the Dao. Questioning me was not an admonishment on my character, but a great praise.” It was an approving nod which Tiao gave the girl.

She felt her head raising out of instinct. The confidence within her rose, like water was being poured into the well that was her soul. She opened her mouth, but Tiao interrupted her once again.

“Now, Tian, remind me about what you were doing earlier.”

The girl hesitated. “I was… meditating?”

Tiao’s brows creased. “That was meditating?”

“...yes?”

Shaking her head, the woman placed a hand on Tian’s shoulder. The girl was not foreign to having her posture corrected by others. Some even said she walked wrong. But that was not what Tiao did.

“You’re too tense, my daughter.” She gently massaged the girl. “You cannot meditate— you cannot clear your mind and focus on your core— if you are trying too hard. Relax.”

Tian tried. Again, she shut her eyes. Again she sensed the world around her from everything but her vision. But Tiao pressed a bit too hard on the girl’s shoulder.

“Ouch!” she cried out.

“You are not meditating, Tian.”

“I’m not?”

“You’re just sitting there.”

Tian gritted her teeth. “...ok.” She tried to relax. She was not sure what she was doing, but she was just doing it wrong.

The girl tried slowing her breath. She shifted her focus away from her other senses. She tried to ignore the world. But she felt her shoulders get pinched again.

“What?” She glanced up at her mother.

“You’re breathing heavy.”

Liufan Tian almost felt her frustration take over. She wanted to snap. Just like she did with Lihua. But her mother was teaching her. She had to be grateful. She closed her eyes again— and she realized what was going on. “...are you trying to teach me something, mother?”

“Hm, you noticed?” Tiao tilted her head back.

“You were trying to make me… angry?” the girl guessed. “Because I was given wrong lessons by the Patriarch.”

Her mother nodded. “I want you to stand up for yourself, my daughter.” Liufan Tiao released her grip from the girl’s shoulder, and clenched it over Sixth Heaven up in the sky. “You have to seize your goals. You cannot let others trample over you. How can you live a pure life if you are being pushed into the dirt?”

“Stand up… for myself?” Tian had never thought of that. She had stood up against Lihua, but was beaten back down for it. She did not understand how that was considered a good thing.

Nevertheless, the girl copied her mother’s gesture. She raised her hand up— not to the Sixth Heaven— but to the Seventh Heaven. The Heaven of illusions. Where the School of Phantasm drew its power.

“Stand up for myself,” she repeated the words.

“That’s right.” Tiao slowly grasped her hands over the girl’s. The mother and daughter tightly held onto each other, sitting there by the river. Tian felt her hands being rubbed for a moment, when the woman finally spoke up. “Your hands… they’re covered in cuts.”

“Oh, this— it’s…” The girl tried to draw back, but Tiao’s grip was like iron. Recognition filled the woman’s eyes, and a somber look was cast across her face.

“Let us return for now. I will treat your wounds.”

“R-right.”

Liufan Tiao led her daughter back to their small house. She sat Tian down, and began to tear bits of her ragged cloth robes out, wrapping them over the cuts— both old and new— like bandages.

“Tell me, Tian,” Tiao said as she wove the cloth over the girl’s hands. “Why do you wish to cultivate?”

Tian flinched as her mother tightened the dirty bandages. “Urk—- I-I don’t know...?” Tiao gave her an inquiring look, and she elaborated. “You said you wanted to be immortal— that’s why you cultivate. But I’m not sure if that’s what I want? I mean, I want to be strong. But apparently, Lihua said that’s not a proper reason? Not like her elegance...?” Her voice came out uncertain. Even though she was giving an answer, most of what she said ended in a question.

Sighing, Tiao patted the bandages and closed her eyes. She said nothing. Then an orange glow came over her. The dirty cloth suddenly turned white. It became pure— no longer sullied by time and wear.

“How did you do that?” Tian gasped.

“The School of Transmutation,” her mother explained. She stood back up, almost dizzy, and was steadied by the girl before she could fall over. “This is the power of a Florescence. It does not require elegance— not the kind our sect believes should be upheld by women like us.” Tiao gestured at herself. Her clothes were covered in grime, and she was in a disheveled state. “See?”

Liufan Tian could only stare at her mother. In wonder. In awe. She had never seen Tiao use her Qi before. And she still hadn’t. Instead, she saw the power of the Fourth Essence.

“W-what? How…?”

“Tian.” Tiao met the girl’s dumbfounded look, locking into her gaze. She waited until Tian gathered herself before continuing. “Your reason to cultivate should never be the same as someone else’s. It is yours, and yours alone. There may be some who share beliefs. Their reasons may be similar. But never let your desires belong to someone else.” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “If you do, you will never reach the Dao. You will never be a true Cultivator.”

Slowly— every-so-slowly— Liufan Tian found herself nodding to her mother’s words. The woman lightly rested a hand on the girl’s messy green hair.

“So, tell me: why do you pursue the path of a Cultivator?”

And Tian could not answer the question.

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