Volume 2-Chapter 2

Chapter 2

~~~~Bao Xiaoli~~~~

I didn’t expect the first lesson we got as cultivators was to learn how to run. I already knew how to run as a mortal, but running as a cultivator was different and the skills did not translate.

As a mortal you needed to put strength when you flexed your muscles and when you released and it is how we did things once we became cultivators and put Qi in both motions. According to Elder Shen Xifeng that was a common enough mistake. She then proceeded to teach us how to run as cultivators and I had to admit that it was better.

Our movements were minimal, our feet barely moving compared to the great strides mortal running had, and the Qi I used was far less than our attempts at running in the forest and yet it allowed us to cover distance ten times as fast and with far less effort.

The Cloud Stepping Walk turned a journey of several days into one of hours and now turned a walk that would take hours into a thing of minutes as I ran alongside elder Shen Xifeng home.

What I was doing wasn’t even the true technique apparently. I was merely absorbing Qi and allowing my body to use it in specific areas which was different from actively using Qi as that involved guiding it from your dantian like Tai was doing. It’s probably why he and little Ya could run faster than the rest of us and could maintain what was a punishing pace for the rest of us with ease.

“Elder may I inform my family first of my return home and success in the trials? I don’t want them to worry, especially as they would see me here and not Tai as well.” I asked the giant storm in the shape of a woman.

I have not forgotten about how the sliver of her anger very nearly killed us earlier and I was scared of even making the request, but what I was more scared about was having father Long think that Tai is dead. I would think the same if I saw only one of my children return home from a dangerous quest and I did not want to put my family through the scenario my mind just cooked up.

The elder smiled joyfully at that.

“Yes, if anything I would like it if you handled the talks entirely, but I know that is asking for much now. You may make the introductions and explain the situation, while I make sure Yi Meng is well and I heal any damage his body suffers from. Cultivators are almost as scary to Mortals as I myself am to you right now, but a friendly face explaining some things will hopefully prevent issues from arising.” She answered warmly.

I just nodded in gratitude as I continued cloud stepping, each of the small steps carrying me far further than they had any right to be and acted more like small horizontal jumps. One infusion of Qi and I was thrown forwards, with barely any distance between my feet and the road and then another step came and threw me forwards again, and then again.

“I would also like to apologize properly. I meant to do it when we were all settled in, but now is as good a time as any. I did not mean to scare or lose control like that earlier but I was angry, I have been angry for days and I still very much am. I did not mean to harm you, but a single sliver of my anger escaping my control was enough to harm all of you and for that I deeply apologize.” The Elder said as she broke my focus.

I didn’t stumble, the technique was too easy for that, but I was now our of the flow where I could focus on nothing but walking and now I had to confront my fear again.

“Why is old man Yi so important that it would make you that angry?” I asked.

“Old Man Yi is not an issue in and of himself. Sky Seers are individuals with special physiques that at the third tier get special abilities that allow them to see and learn too much to be allowed out of our sight. The issue was that him being there and lord Xi not telling me felt like a betrayal, then there was the fact that Yi’s presence here could jeopardize a long term plan of the Empress and our sect, and then there’s the issue with the creature that interfered in our Trials

Each of those issues would be enough to make me angry, all of them at once, and more you don’t know about, coming at me all at once and I am starting to lose control of my temper and I start infecting the local Qi in the air with my own, and this causes issues for lower tier cultivators.” She explained.

It didn’t excuse what I felt. This woman was a storm, a force of nature who just by being near, me and everyone around her was in danger. We were also safe from anything weaker than her, but all of my instincts insisted on focusing on the danger part of what her presence meant.

The entire region, from the town to all of the nearby villages were in the eye of a storm. For now we were spared the wrath, but we are very much in danger from being shredded by the winds. I don’t know how important old man Yi is, that the fact his existence was hidden was enough to make her that angry and I am fast approaching the realization that I do not want to know.

Whatever he could do or see was not something I wanted to know right here and now.

“I see Elder.” I replied simply which earned me a sigh.

I did not know what else to say in response to her words. Ever since we met elder Shen Xifeng she has been cordial, pleasant and willing to teach us, up until something caused her composure to crack for a split second and we were once again reminded that she was not human and that if we wanted to live we should not be in her presence.

It was confusing having our instincts fight what our eyes could see and we tried our best to fight against them and we were even successful… and then our hearts stopped and we were back to where we started.

“We are approaching the village, I can sense a man that smells very similarly to disciple Tai Su.” The older woman said.

Smell? Is she like Tai that can smell people and what they feel? Does she just know all that I am currently feelings right now?

“That should be Tai’s father, Long Su, perhaps he’s heading into town?” I answered and tried to hide my anxiety.

Father Long normally goes into town four or five times a month to train with the garrison, catch up with his friends, as well as occasionally buy some things either us or the Su’s needed, such as new tools or the like.

Elder Shen Xifeng fell one step behind me in silent encouragement of our current course of action.

Father Long was quickly visible, the meandering dirt path snaking through small hills and dirt stacks hiding him from view. According to legend were once villages buried into the earth, but I didn't know if I believed that or not.

That was a lot of dead villages.

He looked the same as when I left, except he was no longer shirtless. The middle of autumn was not late summer and the weather meant he had to wear the white wool shirts mother and mother Shu made for him to wear.

“Father Long!” I shouted excitedly at the man.

Showing excitement is always good to make people relax, as they don’t expect bad news when you’re peppy.

I slowed down to a normal walk a few steps away from him as he realized that it was me that spoke. Long Su was a tall and wide man upon whose shoulders our little village rested. Tai’s father rubbed his eyes to confirm that yes, he was seeing right.

“Bao, daughter it’s been a long time since we saw or heard of you. Your mothers started thinking you and Tai ran off to the capital!” Long Su exclaimed happily as he launched himself to hug me.

I eagerly accepted the hug of my second father with a giggle. I could feel him tensing up as his words and the realization of the situation we were in hit him. Tai was not with me after all, and the generally bode poorly considering how many people die during the Trials.

“As if old man! I’ll go tell mother and mother Shu how silly they were, Father should have told them to think better of us! Tai is back in town with the others, we were assigned to Seventh Yellow Hill Town as part of its garrison and our induction into the sect and the Pavilion of Harmonious Cooperation and Integration.” I explained happily.

I could feel a slight tension in father Long’s shoulder ease when he heard that Tai is back in town and he passed too. He then proceeded to kiss my forehead before renewing his hug.

“Thank you for the good news my dear, you eased up a lot of this old man’s worries.” Father long said happily.

I giggled, and I once again felt like the girl who left to become a cultivator, and not what now came back.

I interrupted the hug myself as I now had to introduce Elder Shen Xifeng. She was kind enough to allow us to catch up a bit, but I am not risking her losing the lid on her temper again by being disrespectful.

I don’t want my heart to need outside assistance to start beating again.

“Yes, now I need to do the introductions, Father Long, this is Core Elder Shen Xifeng of the Pavilion of Harmonious Cooperation and Integration of the Blazing Fist Sect, she is my superior officer and head of the Pavilion. We are meant to handle cooperation between the banners, civilians and make sure the Prefecture is not tearing itself apart.” I said and moved to the side to allow the two to greet each other properly.

The Pavilion Harmonious Cooperation and Integration was not quite the Diplomatic Pavilion of the Sect, we did not handle agreements between the sect and other entities, but we made sure that when issues appeared in the Prefecture they were quickly smoothed out. If there were conflicts we turned discord into cooperation and according to the elder, the work is never done because cultivators can’t be anything but in conflict with one another, it comes far too naturally to us for it to be any other way, and mortals aren't much better.

That’s why she was so glad to find us, Tai and Da Xiu were the sort of people that were ideal for her Pavilion, while Yu Zong and I would help them unconditionally. The others in our group were the sort of people that were ambivalent to the concept, as long as it could make them rich and comfortable in case of the Lins, or just gave them a place to belong to like little Ya.

Underneath me, the packed dirt vibrated slightly, but Elder Shen Xifeng did not react, which meant she was either aware of it and it was not an issue or she was the cause. It felt as if someone jumped near us, but I ignored it.

The Elder would tell me if it was something important.

“Greetings Elder Shen Xifeng, this one is Long Su, I am the Reservist Bannerman assigned to the village down the road.” Father Long said and bowed down, his fist resting in his palm.

It was the traditional greeting an individual uses to greet someone of higher standing and it was one father Long was well versed in.

Elder Shen Xifeng met his introduction with a bow slightly deeper than she had to.

“Well met bannerman Su. You have raised or helped raise some fine additions to my sect and Pavilion and I am honored to meet the sort of man that managed to raise Tai Su and Bao Xiaoli.” The Elder said, her previously serene voice twisting into a light, genuine smile.

“I thank you for honoring me like that elder, and I am glad to hear that my son and daughter Bao managed to impress. If I may ask however, what brings you here?” Father Long asked.

“I’ll let disciple Bao Xiaoli to explain, it’s why I asked her to come with me after all.” She replied.

Both of them turned to me and it was once again my turn to speak.

“There’s been some strange things going on with old man Yi. Lord Xi was wrong to dismiss his words like that and the old Town Lord hid his existence, because shamans like him are meant to be taken to the capital for training, as they are born capable of becoming powerful cultivators with ease. Elder Shen Xifeng was tasked with ensuring old man Yi is healthy and to prepare him for the trip to the capital.” I explained.

I already knew what that meant for us. We would not be punished for withholding an important talent from the capital or any such nonsense which was a relief, but it did mean that we’ve lost our ability to foresee weather disasters no matter how much of an honor it would be to know that our village gave the Empress three cultivators.

“I see, the next years will be a bit rough, but we’ll manage.” Father Long said with a sigh.

Not only us will have to manage, the other villages we maintained good relations with also relied on us. Hopefully Tai and I’s salary will be able to help recover some of the deficits no longer having accurate weather forecasts will, but there’s only so much better tools can do, especially when the taxman comes and sees better tools as a reason to tax more.

“I will be here to provide assistance in case of emergency, also due to your contributions to the Empire and the Prefecture in providing three cultivators, your village is from now own exempt from paying taxes for two hundred years. Honestly, just providing old man Yi would have granted you and the town the tax exemption, which is why we offer it to encourage people to allow their shamans to come to the capital without regrets.” Elder Shen Xifeng intervened.

I was seriously starting to hate the old town lord if that was the case and he most likely knew.

“Oh, and considering Bao’s word that the old Town Lord hid old man Yi from the capital it means they are no longer tax exempt?” Father Long asked.

I didn’t think of that, but judging by the elder’s smile it seemed that father Long was correct.

“You are correct, only your village, as the one to report his presence to us, is allowed to retain the tax exempt status. You will have to talk to your village head to also write up some paperwork giving your village an official name and a file for registering this fact to extend it by one hundred years. This is what Seventh Yellow Hill Town would have received for making the report, but now it's up to your village to be the sole beneficiary.” The Elder informed us with a soft smile.

So two hundred years of tax exemption for the settlement providing a shaman and one hundred years for reporting it, but we need a name for the paperwork to go through.

Both father Long and I grinned and a whispered ‘I’ll handle it’ made sure that I would be the one to tell the Village Head to do just that. The old man can go meet Tai, as I knew he wanted to.

I recognized our location and at our normal pace we are a minute way from the village, while with father Su our travel time would reach something like fifteen minutes or more.

“I’ll continue on my road to the town for supplies and to get in touch with some of my friends and see my eldest son then. Someone has to give Tai the good news too.” He said.

“We’ll be on our way to the village too to spread the good news and check on old man Yi and prepare him for the trip.” I replied.

Taxes were the biggest issue we had to worry when the weather was not trying to kill us. They always threatened our food supplies, or had us need to give up sheep or other livestock which meant years of lower food production, and compounded when we needed to pay taxes once a year, usually at the start just after winter departed.

Now, without the taxes we would be able to start stockpiling, which combined with Tai and I contributing, should allow our village to experience prosperity for what might be the first time ever, and I’ll be there to see it.

“By your leave then Elder, I will be on my way.” Father Long said and bowed again.

“Safe travels brave warrior.” Elder Shen Xifeng greeted and bowed back.

It was a gesture which I quickly mirrored and in moments we were away and ever closer to home.

I can’t wait to tell the others the good news.

‘I wonder if elder Shen Xifeng will allow me to be present when the Village Head tells the tax collector we’re tax exempt? To see the damn toad choke on its own sweat and frustration, now that would be a sight for sore eyes!’ I wondered.

I’ll ask Tai about it when we’re back in town, as we might be able to see it together. I glanced behind me to Elder Shen Xifeng and her serene looking face. Now was probably not the time to ask her that.