by Tao Wong
“Oh no.”
Ru Ping grinned. “Don’t worry. We can move them after lunch. I’ll show you all the map.”
Wu Ying let out another groan and seriously debated letting his dantian fill for this. Elder Li’s gardens were carefully adjusted according to the season. Between the chi gathering formation that surrounded the gardens themselves and the greater formation for the Sect, the chi density in the gardens was extremely high. But seasonal variations meant that the garden had to be constantly adjusted. In some cases, those adjustments were entirely natural—different types of plants that grew, bloomed, or faded during different seasons. But just as often, there were adjustments that had to be done manually—like the alteration of the rock formations, the pagodas, and the benches. It was backbreaking work. While it was done on a weekly—sometimes daily—basis, once a season, the major changes had to be made.
“Look at it this way. At least Elder Li isn’t going to be quizzing you,” Ru Ping said.
“At least.” Wu Ying shuddered at that thought.
Ever since winter had arrived, not only had the Elder decided to make Wu Ying continue his apothecary classes to better understand and use the herbs he gathered, she had begun questioning him whenever they met. She prodded him to finish memorizing the documentation she had gathered and forced Wu Ying to begin his own encyclopedia. One that included locations of where and what he had picked.
Wu Ying saw the value of what she wanted done. Every herbology encyclopedia, every manual on plants and spiritual supplies he had found differed. Some in small areas, some in large amounts. But when you were talking about identifying potentially fatal and toxic plants, even a small difference could be considered dangerous.
It was not even a matter of incompetence, but individual idiosyncrasies. Drawings of plants that might work for one author might be insufficient for another. Regional variations on plants—especially spirit herbs—could be significant. At times, certain plants could be identified by identifying the plants that grew around them, rather than the actual physiology of the plant itself. But that required a knowledge set that might—or might not—be available to other readers. And lastly, there were complications that arose from cultivators who had specific cultivation skills like Thrice-Seeing Chi Sight or Nose of the Porcine.
And so, you created your own encyclopedia. You wrote what you knew, added to it the notes you found, and hoped that it worked out. Eventually, your own document might be added to others. And so, the circle of badly created encyclopedias went on.
“You’re right,” Wu Ying said, flashing his friend and Senior a smile. “But if I’m moving all that, I’m eating first.”
Waving goodbye to his Senior, Wu Ying headed for the outer sect member he spotted carrying trays of food.
Chapter 5
Wu Ying groaned, staring at the slowly darkening sky as he leaned back and stretched the knotted muscles in his lower back. Sunset came fast in the mountains, which was why the gardening team had packed up once the sun started dipping. This time around, they’d managed to get everything finished on time, so Wu Ying found himself on the road down from the gardens, enjoying the smell of clean spring air. As he finished his stretch and continued his walk, the cultivator was surprised to see milling groups of sect members clustered together and chatting along the roadways, especially at the crossroads.
Wu Ying frowned, curiosity rising. Not enough to start a discussion with the others though, since he knew he’d eventually hear of it. The Sect was like his village in many ways. Any good gossip eventually made its way to his ears. And some not great gossip too.
He was nearly to his residence when his friends, Tou Hei, Li Yao, and Chao Kun found him. The pair of martial specialists and the monk were looking all too eager to discuss the latest gossip. Wu Ying stopped as they swarmed him.
“So are you excited?” Chao Kun said, his eyes gleaming.
“I’m not sure Wu Ying would be. Certainly not as much as you,” Tou Hei said, shooting Chao Kun an amused glare.
“He’s not dumb enough to get involved,” said Li Yao.
“Excited about what? Involved in what?” Wu Ying said exasperatedly.
“What? You haven’t heard?” Chao Kun said.
“Not yet.”
“The war,” Chao Kun said.
Wu Ying gave up and continued walking.
“You’re supposed to reply when someone asks you a question,” Li Yao said, rolling her eyes at Chao Kun. She skipped ahead and smiled at Wu Ying, falling in beside him with a welcoming, sweet smile.
“You haven’t answered his question either,” Tou Hei pointed out.
Li Yao pouted. “Neither have you!”
Wu Ying ignored the bickering group, strolling languidly and enjoying the walk in the fast cooling mountain. It would be nice to get home, to wash up. After a day of farming, a hot bath was perfect. And he knew that Ah Yee would have it ready for him. A luxury he felt guilty about sometimes, but one that he still indulged in. Was this the way nobles felt all the time?
“The king sent his envoy to talk to the Sect about the war,” Chao Kun finally explained when the trio’s argument ended. “He’s here to discuss our involvement.”
“They’re going to ask us to send more help,” Tou Hei said.
“The king always does this. He always asks for aid when things worsen. He should learn to wield his staff himself,” Li Yao groused.
“You’d know,” Chao Kun said.
Tou Hei frowned, cocking his head and looking at Wu Ying. Wu Ying mouthed “Lord,” making the ex-monk nod in understanding.
“A king’s envoy is a big thing, isn’t it?” Wu Ying said to head off the argument. “Something like the king himself?”
“Not something like. Exactly as if. He has the king’s seal,” Chao Kun said. “This is big. The entire time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen an envoy before. This is big.”
“You said that already,” Li Yao said. “And of course it is. The Six Jade Gates Set has gained multiple peak Core practitioners. The kingdom will suffer greatly if we do not commit our own Core cultivators.”
“Isn’t that what the entire expedition was for?” Wu Ying said, shaking his head. “I’m sure Elder Po at the least would join. And both Elder Dong and Wei managed to ascend. They’re in secluded cultivation now.”
“All the good that’ll do the kingdom,” Chao Kun said. “Even Elder Li has spent much time reinforcing her cultivation. And you know she will not be at the forefront of the war. Only Elder Po would be ready to help right now.”
“Kind of makes it seem as though everything we did on the expedition was a waste,” said Wu Ying. “We suffered a lot for such a minimal increase to our strength.”
Wu Ying looked at his friend, who had managed to heal for the most part. The ex-monk had never complained about the long hours he had spent healing after the expedition, but Wu Ying knew that the injuries still bothered him at times. It was only the progression in his cultivation stage that allowed Tou Hei to continue without any external effects. Of course, Wu Ying had to concede it could be that the experience and enforced rest had helped push his friend ahead too. Cultivation could be strange like that sometimes.
“In the short term, probably. But we are cultivators. We should not be thinking only in the short term,” said Chao Kun. “Once the elders stabilize their cultivation, we will have a much stronger Sect.”
“That does remind me,” said Wu Ying. “Why do we dislike—no, not dislike—fight the Six Jade Gates Sect?”
“It is because certain cultivators who should know better keep interfering with the mortal world,” said Li Yao. “Their Sect leader is the State of Wei’s king’s ancestor. It’s why the Six Jade Gates Sect throws so much support behind them.”
“I believe it is more complicated than that, Li Yao,” said Chao Kun. “I have heard rumors that the Sect Elder of the Six Jade Gates’ dao is that of conquests.”
“I heard it was domination,” said Tou Hei.
/> “Sounds the same to me,” said Li Yao.
“Only to someone who isn’t paying attention,” said Chao Kun. “One requires you to constantly grow, to continually battle. The other only requires you to own.”
“Own what?” said Wu Ying.
“Everything.”
Chao Kun’s pronouncement silenced the group. It also helped that they had finally arrived at Wu Ying’s residence. Together, they retired to Wu Ying’s greeting room, taking seats among all the wooden furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl. After spending over a year in this residence, he had grown quite comfortable with it. Even if it was still the smallest, least ostentatious, and farthest inner sect residence, it suited him. He could have gotten something a bit larger, especially since the competition to add additional members to the sect had finished last fall, but he felt uncomfortable pushing himself forward that way. This was more than sufficient for him. Once the group settled, Ah Yee arrived with her usual efficiency and supplied the group with snacks and tea.
“I don’t really care what his dao is,” Li Yao said as she snacked on roasted sunflower seeds. “I just don’t want to get involved in the war. I’m here to be a cultivator, not a soldier.”
“So you’re not interested in joining the expedition?” said Wu Ying. “I understand that the volunteers often receive a significant number of contribution points. I would think, with the king’s envoy here, the rewards would be even greater.”
In truth, that was one of the reasons Wu Ying was interested in the war. As a peasant, he did not have the riches many of his compatriots did. And while all inner sect members receive a stipend, no ambitious cultivator—and all cultivators were ambitious by definition—would suffer themselves to be slowed down by the minuscule amounts they received.
“You can’t spend anything if you are dead.” Li Yao took a deeper breath and added, “Not that I expect us to die, but it is a war. I can’t help but think that taking part is probably a bad thing for one’s dao, unless it was aligned to something like this.”
“Li Yao is a well-known objector to the war,” said Chao Kun.
“I just object to how much help we provide to the kingdom,” said Li Yao. “The state of Wei is already overextended. If we let them fight our mortal armies, they will eventually tire themselves out. They cannot hold this much land. It is basic strategy.”
“And how many mortals would die following this strategy?” Wu Ying frowned at his girlfriend and her callous dismissal of those who would have to fight.
“Well, that would really depend on the generals involved. General Jin has a tendency to fight losing battles, but General Zhen is much more prudent. He’s more likely to pull back before things grow too damaging.”
Wu Ying shook his head, once more remembering the things that stood between him and Li Yao. His village was one of those that would be taken, be sacrificed in her strategy. Li Yao, on the other hand, came from the north, her home safe behind the river that bisected the top third of the nation. Like Lord Yi, she and her family would never really have to deal with the armies of Wei. In fact, the rich silver-loaded mountains in the north made the entire region almost autonomous from the kingdom of Shen. There was probably more to the politics involved, but Wu Ying was still learning his way around these facts. As a former peasant, his local politics involved chickens, the occasional cow, and drainage. A lot of talks about drainage.
“Well, what do people think? How many core Elders will the Six Gates send? And did anyone hear how they did over the winter? Did they manage to promote anyone else?” Tou Hei said to return the conversation to their initial point.
Chao Kun pursed his lips. “I heard some rumors that the Six Gates might have had a few more fortuitous encounters. They managed to promote six new members to the first stage of Core development.”
“Six!” exclaimed Tou Hei.
“Won’t they need a long time to stabilize their cultivation?” Wu Ying said.
“It will be shorter. Depending on the individual, it could be as short as winter,” Li Yao said. Of the group, she and Chao Kun were the closest to achieving Core cultivation and would have more information on the requirements. “After you form your Core, the initial period requires you to fill up your meridians and Core with chi. It is not—as my Master informs me—very hard. Other than that, they would need to gain an understanding of their new strength and learn a new, more suitable, martial technique.”
“Which is easier on the battlefield,” Chao Kun pointed out, waving his teacup.
“Only for those specializing in martial areas.” Wu Ying chuckled. “I don’t think Master Li sees any point in expanding her understanding of the martial arts.”
“Har. No. Though with her skills…”
The talk turned to more speculation as the group threw out names of Elders, wondering if they would be added or subjected to the call for volunteers. The addition of Core experts to the force was a certainty. How many and who was the question.
And in between, Wu Ying was forced to wonder. Why did his fate-believing, karma-loving Master decide to join the war two years ago? It was very uncharacteristic of him.
***
Elder Li was the first to find Wu Ying a couple days later. The discussion with the king’s envoy had continued in the upper levels of the sect and had, at first, been all that everyone discussed. But days after his arrival and with little word trickling down, the normal business of the Sect had reasserted itself. Elder Li thus found Wu Ying tending to a pair of early blooming magnolias, pruning branches and checking on the soil.
“You should not take part,” Elder Li said.
“In the war?”
“No. Dinner. Of course the war.” Elder Li thumped her cane on the ground to emphasize her point. “You are a Gatherer and my student. Not a stupid martial specialist.”
“I—”
“Don’t lie. I know you were thinking about it,” Elder Li said, narrowing her eyes at Wu Ying. “I know all of you fools were.”
Wu Ying shrugged. It was true that he had—he was—considering joining. However, unlike what she thought, he leaned toward not doing so. Not only because of Li Yao’s displeasure and disapproval, but because the guilt he felt about abandoning his friends two years ago was a lie. His returning would not change their position in the army. It would only put him in more danger.
“You are a Spirit Herb Gatherer. You have skills and a base of knowledge that is rare. And your combination of martial skills along with that knowledge will allow you to go far,” Elder Li said. “You have a future, one that does not have to include pointless violence. Or the risk of a war.”
Having said her piece, Elder Li turned her attention to the plants. She sighed and whacked Wu Ying on the shoulder before pointing out mistakes he had made. Afterward, she questioned Wu Ying on his recent studies, laying her cane to his shoulders whenever he hesitated or gave the wrong answer.
***
Next to speak with Wu Ying was Liu Tsong, a half day later. The beautiful apothecary apprentice had been busy during the winter, first healing from her injuries and then spending more time waiting on her secluded Master while practicing her apothecary. The only time Wu Ying had met her was during her introductory classes that she continued to teach. It was she who had helped him adjust the herbal remedy. However, beyond that, she spent most of her time in solo practice, as during her Master’s absences she had been given the run of her Master’s various apothecary cauldrons. At least, those she could handle.
“Senior Li!” Wu Ying greeted Liu Tsong with a smile and bow.
All around, the various members of the gardening group glanced over, drinking in the beauty of the senior cultivator. While she was no Fairy Yang, she was still one of the more beautiful members of the Sect.
“Wu Ying. Thank you for coming out to speak with me.” Liu Tsong tilted her head, eyeing the blooming plants with a critical eye. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to spend more time with you.”
“It is fine, Senior
. I have been busy too, trying to improve my cultivation.”
“Yes.” Left unsaid was Wu Ying’s failure. “I wanted to ask about your intentions. For the war expedition.”
“I am uncertain as yet.”
“Pity. I had thought to work with you again,” Liu Tsong said.
“You are participating?” Wu Ying exclaimed in surprise.
“I intend to. I have plans to put together a party myself.” When Wu Ying looked puzzled, Liu Tsong explained. “If a group comes with a set team, they are often able to keep team members together. It improves the safety of the group, after all. And we did work well together.”
An unbidden memory. A taotei throwing itself at Wu Ying, intent on eating his face. Sword in hand, ready for one last, final lunge. To make his mark before his death.
“Wu Ying?”
“It’s nothing,” said Wu Ying. “But I will have to disappoint you, Senior. I will not be taking part in the war, I believe.”
“Very well. If you change your mind, let me know.” Lit Tsong looked a bit sad but shook it off. “Now, tell me all about your remedy. How is it working for you? Is it as effective as we had hoped?”
“Very much so, I believe. You know how it is with these cultivation exercises,” said Wu Ying. “It’s not as if I can judge it on a numbered basis. It’s just what I believe it feels like. And it does feel as though it is effective. Certainly, it seems to have found a number of impurities in my bones to replace.”
“Good. I have been thinking though. The juju beans we had used. If we switch them out with the yellow and purple spotted mushrooms from the fourth peak…”
***
To Wu Ying’s surprise, the next person to discuss with him the upcoming war was his own Master. Master Cheng, of course, did not come down to the gardens to visit him. Instead, he summoned Wu Ying to his residence. In the evening. It was after Wu Ying had completed demonstrating his progress in both cultivation and martial styles that Elder Cheng broke the topic.
