by Tao Wong
On and on, she scolded Wu Ying while she worked. Auntie Yi scurried around, refilling tea and snacks for the students who had arrived to watch the procedure. In the meantime, the physician’s attendant followed at a short distance, happy to be able to watch in close detail, unlike the other students.
Eventually, when the scraping torture was done, Wu Ying’s back felt as if it was on fire from the rough and abrasive strokes the Elder had used. As he began to come out of the horse stance, he was pushed back down by a hand on his back even as Elder Xiong received a rattan bundle.
“Elder?” Wu Ying said hesitantly.
He watched her heft the bundle of dried sticks. The Elder might be stymied in her cultivation, but she was still a Core cultivator. And non-martial practitioner or not, it was still likely going to hurt if she struck him.
“Why are you talking? You should be cultivating!” Elder Xiong snapped.
It was an unfair chastisement, since Wu Ying had not stopped, but he pressed his lips together and forced out another breath. Not a moment too soon, for Elder Xiong struck.
The rattan blows rained upon his back, promoting blood flow, lowering the ridges on his back and helping to toughen skin and muscles. It also, unsurprisingly, hurt. Wu Ying could do nothing but embrace the pain, embrace the torture under the pretext of medicine. Forcing himself to remember that it was not much worse than being beaten black and blue and being cut again and again while training with Master Cheng.
Eventually, Elder Xiong was done, leaving Wu Ying red and bruised, tears and sweat mingling on his face. He would be embarrassed—he was embarrassed—but the attendees to his treatment were clustered around Elder Xiong, who was briefing Liu Tsong. Uncertain if he should be moving or still cultivating, Wu Ying chose to continue cultivating. Best to make full use of the energy still circulating through his body.
Once the students and Elder Xiong had left, Liu Tsong turned back to Wu Ying.
“Keep cultivating until your chi flows have normalized. Then take a bath. We will discuss her findings afterward.”
Wu Ying offered the apothecarist a short nod before turning his mind inward. What news she had to impart could only be learnt by pushing ahead.
***
Hair still damp, Wu Ying strolled into the courtyard once more. It seemed empty now, without the presence of the young students and Elder Xiong. Only Senior Liu sat, the afternoon light highlighting and sharpening the edges of her heart-shaped face, the simple jade hairpin that she used to hold up her hair highlighting her silky dark hair. Unlike most of the young ladies in the Sect, Liu Tsong preferred to keep her hair in a bun and tidily sorted. It caused fewer issues when she was brewing.
“Thank you for waiting, Senior Liu,” Wu Ying greeted his teacher.
He stood at attention before the table, waiting as she put away her book before addressing him. Beside her, a small accordion document lay with his name neatly written upon it, next to the ubiquitous teacup and remnants of the snacks Auntie Yi had brought out.
“Your Master truly values you,” Liu Tsong said.
“I’m truly honored that he sees so much in me,” Wu Ying said.
“I do not believe you do. Do you know how expensive and difficult it is to get Elder Xiong to spend her time visiting and applying her treatments?” Liu Tsong said. “Even Elders are loathe to speak with her unless they have to. More often than not, she is consulted when an Elder is facing difficulties breaking through—or has received a grave injury. Only the most privileged noble, with the benefit of their family and a sponsoring Elder, gets to see her before they become an Elder.”
Wu Ying winced as she relayed the rumors of how much the Elder charged. Core-level Spirit Beast Cores. Rare apothecarist pills. Enough taels that the entirety of his village’s production could have been bought ten times over.
“I am grateful for the lesson, Senior,” Wu Ying said when Liu Tsong finally wound down. He bowed to her again, grateful for her informing him of the details of his Master’s sacrifice.
To his surprise, Liu Tsong was not done. “Now, do you know who has paid for my presence?”
“Is it not Master Cheng?” Wu Ying said.
“Hardly. It is your Elder Sister.”
“Sister Yang?” Wu Ying repeated.
“Yes. I have given her a discount, since I can often spend my time studying”—she gestured at her book—“but still, this is time I could be spending practicing. If she were not passing me the ingredients I require for practice, I would be loathe to do this. Even if”—at this, her eyes twinkled a little—“I hold some little regard for you.”
Ingredients. Wu Ying’s mind spun, going over previous conversations. Sister Yang had mentioned that she constantly received gifts, and, of course, the events she held saw her receiving even more. Courting gifts of rare ingredients, jewelry, and other exotic materials to aid her cultivation or just to showcase the suitor’s wealth often ended up in her hands. And now, it seemed, those items were ending up in Liu Tsong’s hands.
“Thank you again, Senior.” Wu Ying hesitated but forged ahead with his question. “But, I wonder, why do you raise this matter?”
“I wanted you to understand the extent of resources your Master and Elder Sister have already deployed.” She leaned forward, pushing the document with his name on it toward Wu Ying. “And why, when Elder Xiong makes her statement and I say that I concur, it is not something we speak of lightly.”
He frowned and, at her gesture, picked up the document. He opened it, skimming through the basic information that Elder Xiong had supplied at the front to mark ownership. Skimmed to land upon the various terms, many of which he did not understand to their full extent. Still, they were foreboding enough—variant bloodline, high toxicity, chi-flow impeded in bones, meridians compromised, organs damaged, and toxic chi buildups were among the highlights.
Wu Ying gulped.
“It is not as bad as it seems,” Liu Tsong’s voice cut in, shaking Wu Ying from his stupor. “You still stand. You still breathe. The cleanses, the continued soul cultivation have ensured you still live.”
“Survive, but not progress?” he said, voicing the greatest fear of all cultivators. To find their road to immortality cut short.
“Keep reading.”
So commanded, he did so. In the end, his gaze fell upon the last section. Recommendations for changes in his cultivation practice, alterations to the concoction he was to drink. And finally, a listing of some less supported notions.
“She thinks I might have awoken an elemental body?” he said rather incredulously.
“Why are you so surprised? Many cultivators have a leaning toward elements.”
“But a body!”
“And what do you think a leaning is? It’s but a natural inclination generated from a body’s natural preferences,” Liu Tsong said. “This is but a more extreme variant.”
“Still—”
“When we cultivate with an element, the act of doing so begins the process of creating an elemental body,” she said, raising her hand. A moment later, a small rotating ball of earth formed above her hand as Wu Ying sensed the flow of chi exiting her body. A simple act, one that did not so much create the earth as pluck it from the very air, from the wind that blew across the mountain. “Those with elemental bodies have but a head start, an ability to control and make such elements more their own. It embeds the element in the physical form the way normal soul cultivation would fail at and begins the process of creating an immortal body.”
Wu Ying nodded. He knew most of that, which was part of the reason why switching cultivation methods that were elementally attuned was so difficult. It was why the Yellow Emperor cultivation method he used had no issues, since it never began the process.
“Still, Yin bodies. Yang bodies. Even fire and water, I have heard of. A wood body?”
She smirked, picking up her cup of tea and sipping on it. When she gestured for Wu Ying to join her, he hesitated but eventually sat, pouring himself a cup
of tea as well. He then immediately poured a second cup of tea for himself, only now realizing how parched he was.
“Natural elemental wood bodies are rare. Earth is more common by far, if not one of the other major elements. Only metal is rarer,” Liu Tsong said.
“But there are many metal cultivation manuals,” Wu Ying said.
“Yes, and some do succeed at progressing their cultivation far, using such manuals. What our souls, our chi, requires to progress toward immortality does not seem to be as restricted as what our bodies are naturally attuned toward. It’s possible that our bodies lack the abundance of metal chi necessary to activate such a body naturally,” she said. “At least, that is the prevailing thought.”
“But wood…”
“Is more common, for we are creatures of the land. Earth is, of course, even more, as it is what we originate from, but no elemental body is truly common as a natural phenomena.”
Another nod as Wu Ying finished his drink and topped off both their cups. He checked the water level in the teapot, catching a whiff of the fragrant leaves within, before he gestured for Auntie Yi to refill the teapot.
“What does it mean though?” Wu Ying said. “Beyond a need to change my cultivation method.”
“You’ll need to do more than that.” She shook her head, reaching out with one long finger to tap on the document. “You must find a soul and body cultivation method—one of each—that will work together.” She paused, leaning forward. “It might be that you will have to forge your own method eventually, for whatever changes in your body has occurred, it is unique. No prewritten method might be sufficient.”
Wu Ying could not help but groan. He understood what she meant. It was not impossible. In fact, many of the first immortals to ascend—those who had not lucked out by ascending due to finding a peach of immortality or gaining the favor of a god, that was—had created the very first cultivation manuals. His groan was because Wu Ying also understood the level of difficulty this would entail. Or at least, if not understood, he had an inkling of what it could mean.
Brilliance to rival the Jade Emperor. Courage to match the God of War himself. And of course, the cunning to equal the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven himself. That was what was required to create a new cultivation method. Or so it was rumored, at the very least.
As much as he would like to believe he was gifted—and being a cultivator kind of demanded that any cultivator was egoistic—there was gifted and there was become-a-god-without-help gifted. To do what Liu Tsong was suggesting, to climb that mountain, it intimidated him.
As his mind staggered with the implications, Liu Tsong stood, smiling, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She continued speaking, her voice low. “You know, you’ve come far. Very far. And now you know the dangers that your Master and Elder Sister face, dangers that will sweep the land. There is no shame in choosing to stop. Or to step away from the struggles.”
“Step away? Find a quiet mountaintop somewhere perhaps?” Wu Ying said. Find a place to live out his life without danger, without struggle or the constant chase for enlightenment and cultivation. “Would that not be a betrayal to my Master?”
“I cannot speak for them. But I do think they want what is best for you. And while they might never recommend such a thing directly, fearing it could erode your will, your determination to ascend, someone must. Reality can be truly cruel.” Her voice dropped. “And the storm that is arriving, I fear it might be greater than even they imagine. Energy Storage cultivators like us are but leaves in the wind before that storm.”
***
Liu Tsong left soon afterward, abandoning Wu Ying to his thoughts and training. And deep thoughts they were. All through his time with Elder Li, as he completed the tasks she had set aside, he considered Liu Tsong’s words. At dinner, meeting with his friends, he mulled over the doubts and implications that had set root in his mind. Even through the never-ending poetry recitals and challenges that Sister Yang held that night, he considered the matter, his attention barely disturbed by the lofty scholars.
Only when the guests had left, when Wu Ying was helping his Elder Sister put aright the room—mostly in directing the mortal servants who worked within—were the constant, churning thoughts interrupted. By the simple strike of a metal-edged fan on the top of his head.
“Owww!”
“What has you so distracted, little brother?” Sister Yang said, tapping the fan in her palm.
“Noth—” He shied away when she paused tapping her fan mid-motion. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about what Senior Liu told me.”
“Liu Tsong?”
“Yes. Elder Xiong visited me this morning.”
She nodded.
“And the results of her treatment and review of my body is that it’s changed. I’ve got an elemental body.” A slight hesitation before he recalled all that his Sister had done for him. “It’s wood.”
“Interesting. Uncommon. Rare even. But that is not all disturbing you, is it?”
“No, Elder Sister. I have to cultivate my body and my soul at the same time.” He frowned, lowering his voice, a touch of shame crossing into his voice. “I’ll need to find cultivation techniques that suit my new body, that help cleanse it, and that will work together. She said I might even have to make a new one.”
“A new what? Cultivation method?”
“Yes,” Wu Ying said. “One that combines both methods.”
“And you fear you will not manage to make it work?” she said. “That the challenge is too great?”
“I did, initially.”
“But no more.” A firm statement, making Wu Ying nod.
“Not right now,” Wu Ying said. “I’ll face that issue when it comes. After all, I don’t even have a proper soul or body cultivation method for my new state.”
“Have you checked the library?”
“Not yet.” He exhaled. “Tomorrow. I’ll speak with Elder Ko tomorrow.”
“A simple solution then.” Fairy Yang took a few steps away before she turned her head, looking at Wu Ying. “Unless there is more?”
Wu Ying hesitated. “Senior Liu also mentioned how much you and our Master are doing for me.”
A single arched eyebrow, half-amused. She cocked her head to the side, waiting.
“Master, I can sort of understand. But you, I can’t, the cost…”
“Is nothing between family.”
“But we’re not… I mean, we are of course, Elder Sister. But this…”
Wu Ying was unable to articulate his concerns. They were a martial family, a family by choice and training. The bonds of duty and obligation, of loyalty and family, were chosen and artificial. Yet they held as strong—if not stronger—than blood bonds. Yet because they were chosen, so many relations between teacher and student, between those who trained, were strained, weak.
All too often, the loyalty, the obligation only flowed one way. From student to teacher, where obligation transcended any weighting and grew, ever onward. All too often, what was given in return were but simple lessons—if that much—and chains of piety.
Like Elder Li had expected.
To find a true family, individuals who would honor the unspoken demands of a proper teacher and student relationship, was rare. So rare that Wu Ying knew not how to express both his gratitude and bewilderment at the state they were in.
“You offered as much, without hesitation.” Fairy Yang smiled, and for a second, Wu Ying found his heart stopping. The subtle shift in her facial features, from polite deference to genuine gratitude, from the civilized mask she used to her true face staggered him and set his heart beating faster. “And in the future, I’m sure you will do as much.”
Then she continued her exit. She did not stop speaking, even as she walked, her words drifting through the open doorway and into the room. “Anyway, we can’t have you dying when the storm finally arrives. Consider all this an investment.”
Left alone, Wu Ying could not help but shake his head. And wonder how h
e had managed to luck into such a pair. One who would do anything to pay off his karmic debt. The other… the other he still didn’t understand.
But he would strive to accept her benevolence.
Chapter 5
“A fascinating request. Elemental wood body cultivation manuals,” Elder Ko repeated, stroking his beard. He pointed at the three documents on the table in the library.
It was the very next day, Wu Ying and Master Cheng both having taken a few hours from their usual practice time to visit the library. With Master Cheng in tow, Elder Ko’s aid had been easy to acquire almost immediately.
“Only three?” Master Cheng pushed two manuals to the side, frowning at the simple slotted bamboo scroll that was the third. “And a partial description on the other?”
“The scroll is a summarized guide, taken from a fallen cultivator,” Elder Ko explained. “We could not find the original on his body.”
Wu Ying cocked his head, curious about the story involved. He picked up the scroll, opening it and scanning within. A small slip of paper had been attached between a pair of slats to note the provenance of the original document.
“The Shadow Sword Sect?” Wu Ying’s lips pursed. That wasn’t a foreboding name at all.
“Yes. They were once much larger but are now much diminished. They lost their Patriarch and, since then, have fallen in standing,” Elder Ko said. “While it is a summary, if you find that it is suitable, we should be able to trade for the actual body cultivation manual.”
Master Cheng nodded and gestured for Elder Ko to continue.
“Now, for the other two manuals, the first—A Tall Sapling Struck Twice—is not what I would recommend. It was created by a wandering cultivator who never attained more than the Energy Storage stage,” Elder Ko said, pointing at the aforementioned slim manual. “He sold his work to us for a pittance, and we only purchased it due to our paucity of such manuals.”
Both Master Cheng and Wu Ying’s faces reflected their thoughts on the matter.
