A Thousand Li

by Tao Wong

  The Elder hesitated before nodding. “Very well. If the herbs or other plants you show us are not in demand, you may remove them from sale.”

  “I’m greatly honored by this consideration.” Wu Ying bowed low, only catching Yu Kun’s stiff smile as he came up. His words were a little formal and overwrought, but needs must. He had to make sure the Elder was given face for being willing to compromise.

  It did not take long to lay out the various materials they had acquired. To the trio’s relief, the blacksmith and Elder were quite generous with their estimations for the crane feathers and beaks. However, the apothecarist had no use for the bones, nor did the blacksmith, resulting in them making extremely low offers for those materials. In the end, rather than hauling the items away and attempting to get a better price with the better connected merchants in town, they sold the bones to the sect for grinding down. Some, Wu Ying indicated, could be used as bone meal fertilizer. Most would just be given to the few beast masters in the sect for their animals.

  Assessing the various herbs took a little longer. That was mostly due to the quality and quantity Wu Ying had brought, though the apothecarist had started separating the herbs while they had been going over the other materials. That allowed them to speed through the initial portion before they came to the areas of contention.

  “Soil?” the Elder said incredulously.

  “Chi-enriched soil with metal and other elements within,” Wu Ying clarified. “This will be necessary for certain types of plants to increase their growth rates.”

  “Could you not make this yourself?” the purchasing attendant said.

  “I could,” Wu Ying said. “However, creating the right environment requires formations and a very careful mixture of compostable items. It also takes anywhere from two to three months at the minimum. For concentrations at this level, we are looking at more like a year to two years at the minimum, with the soil constantly returned.” He shrugged. “Even my sect locates external supplies like this when we are looking at breaking new ground. It’s faster than mixing such soil with our own compost as it stretches out both items.”

  The purchasing group pulled away, speaking with one another before coming back with a final price. Wu Ying chose to accept the new pricing, though it was a little lower than he had hoped for. Still, he also had been a little generous in his estimations of how long it would take to make such soil.

  “I see why you said there might be some contention,” the attendant finally said, eyeing the bag of soil.

  “Is that all?” the Elder said impatiently.

  Wu Ying shook his head, withdrawing additional plants from the bag he had brought. Many of them were beginning to droop as they had been removed from their initial point of origin. As he drew them forth, Wu Ying took pains to explain what he was bringing, with the purchasing apothecarist interjecting regularly on the kinds of pills and recipes they were used for. Occasionally, Wu Ying and the apothecarist would argue about the apothecarist’s assessment of uses, since part of his training had been assessing such matters too. Of course, the apothecarist was more knowledgeable in detail, but Wu Ying had a broader understanding of recipes—in theory—than the other. Not that it always helped, since knowing a plant could be used in a recipe did not guarantee that the sect had access to that particular recipe.

  Still, the entire discussion would eventually devolve into an assessment of value for the Sect. At that point, Xiang Wen and Yu Kun took over negotiations while Wu Ying and the senior apothecarist moved on to the next plant. That allowed the entire assessment to speed up, with the Elder standing between the two groups, listening and interjecting on occasion.

  To Wu Ying’s surprise, he noted a little glimmer of amusement and pleasure in the Elder’s eyes as the arguments and negotiations continued. Whether it was the uniqueness of the situation or just the negotiations, the Elder no longer seemed as impatient.

  Eventually though, Wu Ying came to his last item. He drew out a green jade box first, then placed it on the table before extracting the cutting of the ginseng he had located. Wu Ying took care to brush off the table before extracting the other half-grown and potted plants. As he did so, Wu Ying heard gasps from Yu Kun and the Elders, as they recognized the plants with ease.

  “You didn’t tell us that you found that!” Yu Kun said.

  Wu Ying grinned. “I know. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

  “Surprise indeed.”

  “This is very good quality. And old,” the Elder said. He held his hand over the ginseng, feeling the aura the plant gave off. Wu Ying felt it too, how close the entire plant was to ascending. “It is almost a pity that you harvested this so soon.”

  Wu Ying shrugged. “If I had left it, there is no guarantee that another might not have eaten it. And once I withdrew it, the vital energy it had been developing disappeared.” Wu Ying sighed.

  That was the problem with certain types of herbs, especially those closest to ascension. There was a certain confluence of energies and events that allowed them to progress to such an extent. Remove them from their environment, remove them from the earth they had grown within, and that confluence would end. Even the plants he had brought would be unlikely to become as strong as this cutting, not without the care of a Master Gatherer like Elder Li. And even then…

  The Elder nodded. “We are certainly grateful to have it rather than not.” Then the Elder retracted his hand and placed it behind his back. “I will not name a price for these ginsengs right now. We will, however, take them into custody and discuss the matter. Once we have ascertained their uses in the sect, you will be suitably compensated.”

  Wu Ying hesitated, glancing at his friends. Something in the Elder’s demeanor dared them to argue with him. Considering the disparity in their social standing and situations, the group silently declined to do so.

  Realistically, this was probably the best result. A proper assessment would be made, and that was always Wu Ying’s goal. It was unlikely an orthodox sect would try to cheat Wu Ying, especially knowing he could be the source of supply for this, and rarer, items in the future.

  After that reveal, the Elder and the other cultivators left, leaving the poor attendant to deal with the materials and paperwork. A few choice pieces were taken immediately by the senior apothecarist and blacksmiths, actions that made the attendant glare at their retreating backs and mutter about proper procedures. Still, he made sure to say all that under his breath and to their backs only.

  Wu Ying chuckled a little, watching the attendant slave over the paperwork, before he shared relieved grins with the others. The entire matter had gone relatively well, all things considered. Even the assignment had been completed with little enough complications.

  Perhaps the rest of his time in the sect would be peaceful too, without dark sect or other complications.

  One could hope at least.

  Chapter 19

  Life in the sect soon returned to routine for Wu Ying. With the new contribution points, Wu Ying purchased the Five Winds Body Cultivation manual, as well as the Formless Realm soul cultivation manual. Both would work together, theoretically, though Wu Ying found it a little amusing that the Double Soul, Double Body Sect did not have a specific cultivation manual that encapsulated their sect. Even the Verdant Green Waters had one, though that manual was generally reserved for the most promising of candidates. And of course, even then, it was only offered if it was suitable. Though those who were deemed suitable then gained significant status in the sect itself.

  Yet the Double Soul, Double Body Sect did not have a single cultivation manual or type that dominated their personnel. They took pride in their diversity, and that itself became the hallmark of their sect. It did mean that general lessons were held less, and more individual lessons were conducted with individual teachings by Elders being more important.

  Not that it mattered to Wu Ying. Now that he had what he needed, Wu Ying spent less time in the library and tower. He devoted more time to his body cultivati
on practices, though he held off on switching his soul cultivation. Fixing the issue with his body took precedence. And that mostly required him spending hours going through the cleansing routines he had acquired, as well as studying the Five Winds manual for its method of cleansing.

  It was there that Wu Ying found difficulty and went back to the library to make use of their reference materials. He read stories and journals, sect records and more on the Patriarch and his disciple, searching for clues to help him decipher the complex work.

  Part of the issue being that the Elder who had written the Five Winds body cultivation manual was not a good writer. That was, unfortunately, a relatively common issue with cultivation manuals. Either the author was too detailed, misleading future generations by specifying things that were unique to their personal cultivation, or they were not detailed enough. This last was a particular problem with prodigies, which the second disciple seemed to be.

  For those blessed members of the heavens, grasping concepts and applying them was as easy as flipping over their hand. As such, they were unable to explain the exact process to others. When they then chose to write a manual, the manuals were often sparse or lacking detail, or worse, entirely too abstract.

  This particular issue with overly talented prodigies who were poor teachers was one of the major reasons so many powerful techniques and cultivation methods were eventually lost to time. Unable to teach what they knew by instinct, their works were badly interpreted, becoming less powerful with each new iteration before being, finally, discarded.

  Lost, never to be found again.

  Until a prodigy recreated the technique from stories alone.

  And then failed to pass it on.

  Wu Ying chuckled darkly as he forced his attention back to the story describing the depth of ability the former Patriarch of the Double Soul, Double Body Sect had and how he had dominated all those that he met, being stronger, faster, smarter, and yes, even more handsome than his rivals.

  And offering exactly nothing on his actual techniques.

  Of course, the entire text was a propaganda piece. The most it discussed his body cultivation technique was the passage of how the Patriarch had stood in horse stance on the cliffs of a mountain two provinces over in a challenge of physicality and cultivation with another half dozen prodigies. It went into great detail about the Patriarch’s body, an almost erotic attention to detail about the man’s musculature.

  And though Wu Ying was not studying the Patriarch’s Seven Winds manual, he hoped to glean something from stories about the Patriarch. After all, his student and the author of the Five Winds did not even have a tenth of the stories his teacher had. And with the work itself so obtuse…

  Wu Ying groaned, realizing he’d diverted again into idle, frustrated thoughts. Rather than return to reading, he stood, rubbed his neck, and stretched. As he stood, his hips throbbed, a knee popped, and a rather irritating muscle in his mid-back cramped. Pains no cultivator should face.

  Wu Ying sighed and forced himself to take a walk, leaving the books strewn on the table. With so few in the library, no one would take his place. The attendants knew him well enough by now to understand his habits such that they would not inadvertently clean up his table.

  As he walked, Wu Ying eyed the fading sunlight that filtered through the highest windows. Around the stacks, individuals flitted between books, and he even caught the romantic assignations of a pair of young cultivators. He did not speak to them, continuing to walk to stretch tired and sore muscles.

  A familiar voice caught his attention. A voice that was a little shrill and filled with arrogance. He slowed his footsteps, cocking his head and noting the familiar figure of Wan Yan in the gaps between the shelves. She was not alone, speaking with another pair of cultivators. He could not catch sight of them at first, nor could he make out their conversation. Not that he was trying to.

  Wu Ying’s steps hesitated as he wasn’t certain if he wished to speak with her. Wan Yan was not someone he cared for. On the other hand, it would be rude to brush past her, especially if she had noticed him. There were norms to social interactions, especially as she was a sect mate.

  Even slowed down, his feet soon carried him close. As he neared, he overheard the ongoing conversation.

  “Did you get it?” Wan Yan said.

  “Yes. Everything is ready.”

  “Shhhh!”

  Wu Ying’s feet had taken him to the opening of the bookcase, and he turned his head to look at Wan Yan and the pair of cultivators. One was familiar to Wu Ying—a library attendant he had grown to know. At least in passing, for the individual had never been more than professionally pleasant. The other, Wu Ying vaguely recalled having seen Wan Yan with before.

  She met his gaze and grimaced. Then reluctantly, she offered him a bow. Wu Ying echoed her actions, offering greetings to all three. Afterward, there was a long, tense, and uncomfortable silence as all three individuals stared at Wu Ying.

  Eventually, the attendant bowed once more. “My apologies, I have duties to attend to.”

  He quickly withdrew after speaking, stepping backward and around the corner. Wu Ying idly noticed that the attendant continued to limp, an injury Wu Ying would have expected to have healed. Long-term injuries were relatively uncommon among cultivators, but whenever they occurred, it often crippled the individual’s path to ascension.

  It was fascinating in a way, as though the very heavens desired perfection. At least, if you didn’t cheat your way through the entire thing. There were certainly immortals who had found peaches of immortality and other methods to ascend that skipped the long, arduous journey most cultivators partook in. But otherwise, such injuries were often major hindrances to progress.

  Once the attendant had stepped back, Wan Yan muttered, irritatedly, “We were talking here.”

  Wu Ying sketched a bow in apology and backed off while watching the pair. There was something off about their body language, something he could not read. It wasn’t as though they were lovers or in a relationship. There was no intimacy to it. Nor were they looking as though they were arguing, for there was no anger. But they were more than simple acquaintances, even if they were not friends.

  It was strange but, in the end, unimportant.

  Whatever she was up to, it most likely had to do with the reason that she was in the sect. She had been extremely private about her issues, but the fact that she had gone on the expedition indicated she had a costly problem. Maybe the hostility was just her way of covering up insecurity.

  Wu Ying certainly remembered what that was like.

  ***

  Days later, Wu Ying exhaled a turbid breath and slowly completed the movement form he was practicing. His body was drenched with sweat, his muscles protesting the bout of exercise he had put them through. It did not help that this particular form constantly shifted, moving from steady, flowing movements to explosive motion, requiring him to leap, spin, and twist in ever-shifting patterns. It was one of the Five Gales that he was forced to mimic, the ever-changing west wind being patterned in this one.

  In truth, Wu Ying preferred the more sedate east wind, the constant breeze that originated from the ocean that could shift to heavy, oppressive movements but whose buildup was steady. The southern wind was warmer, gentler with its motion, requiring Wu Ying to be very flexible in the extremes of its changes. Worst were the quick shifts that the north wind required, the quick crisp actions at extreme angles, pushing the limits of his own flexibility.

  As for the fifth wind, Wu Ying wondered why it was even called that. The last central wind was but a series of stretching poses, standing and sitting ones that forced him to hold each pose for long, agonizing minutes. If the others required movement, the central wind required strength and stability.

  All in all, Wu Ying found practicing the different physical forms for his body cultivation frustrating. They were not martial forms which had a specific, obvious purpose. Nor were they a body cultivation exercise that focused on buil
ding strength in the body. They might improve his flexibility, but that was not, in itself, the goal.

  No, these body cultivation forms were mental and physical and, Wu Ying was sure, spiritual shorthands. They were meant to give him the necessary mindset, body, and spiritual connection to wind chi.

  Even so, he still struggled to achieve any true results. He felt so close at times, enlightenment at the edges of understanding. An understanding that might make sense of the body cultivation technique and how it would integrate and deal with the poisonous and corrupt chi within his body.

  Yet each time he reached for it, it faded away. The energy would dissipate, his understanding would elude him, and he would be brought back to his body, twisted in strange shapes like a contortionist or soaking in a bath filled with herbs.

  Not to say that there were no results.

  He exuded and dumped excess waste chi. Even better, the Five Winds method seemed to be able to contain the tainted chi within his body, not allowing it to expand and damage him further. It was not the complete purging he wished for, but at least between the mild cleansing effects of continued body cultivation and the containment, the daily pains were subsiding. He had equilibrium, one that, with time and training, might tilt toward a solution.

  Laughing ruefully at his idle thoughts, Wu Ying washed and dressed himself. He had better things to consider, like the near future. He had succeeded, for the most part, in what he had come to the Double Soul, Double Body Sect for.

  Mid-winter had arrived, the start of the new year not long to come. A light dusting of snow had appeared, covering the surroundings in a white brilliance and leaving the air crisp and fresh. It would soon disappear, but for now, it was a beautiful scene. It also reminded Wu Ying of how long he had been gone.