Cultivating Chaos 2

by William D. Arand

  “And maybe your tongue would be better served hanging on a wall,” growled the swordswoman, as she drew a card from the pile.

  “I’m afraid my tongue isn’t being utilized in any way, shape, or form,” Na said with a forlorn tone. “Despite me having offered myself repeatedly to Master Sheng. I begin to fear my cousin was actually correct.”

  “You know. They’re well aware you’re listening. You’re not really fooling anyone,” Locke said.

  You know what? Shut up. Just… shut up.

  Or… you know what? Maybe that’s how I punish you. I open up the ring and let what’s his face yell at you. Would you like that? I can tune him out.

  You can’t though. Can you?

  “Ah… I’ll go check and see how our guest is doing. And his name is Tai. Did you forget it again?” Locke asked.

  “—your stupid cousin both,” Tala cursed and flicked a card down onto the pile.

  “Say what you will, she was correct so far. I believe even you asked her what to do about A—”

  “Shut your mouth or I really will pull your tongue out,” Tala promised.

  “I believe Master Sheng would stop you, and then punish you for even attempting such a thing,” Na said with a snicker. Then she picked up the card, laid out two from her hand, and dropped her last hand into the pile in the middle. “And I’d likely be given a reward. So you know what? Please do try. Perhaps it’ll help me move my own plan along. Since nothing else seems to be working. I’m out by the way. Pretty sure I stuck you that time. Much as I’m sure you’d love to be stuck by our dear Master Sheng?”

  Tala cursed and flung her remaining cards down into the middle of the table and reached out across the table, snatching Na up around the collar.

  “Hey,” Ash said sternly before Tala could do anything. “Knock it off.”

  He’d noticed a number of times in the past that Tala didn’t take very well to losing. Nor did she take it very well when someone prodded at her.

  Losing and being prodded the way Na was doing seemed like a surefire way to get her pissed off.

  “What?!” shouted Tala, glaring at Ash. The black fur that was visible on her seemed to be bristling.

  “I said knock it off. She’s doing it to rile you up,” Ash said. “So just… relax, put your fur down, and beat her in the next hand.”

  “How dare you tell—”

  “Tala,” Ash said firmly, meeting her eyes with his own. “I’m not telling you what to do. I’m suggesting it. Maybe calm down a bit?”

  “I will do no such thing! I have no reason to calm down and you don’t have a—”

  Na knocked Tala’s hand to one side and then slapped her. The crack of her palm across the other woman’s face was loud in the small house.

  “You may address me as you will, but shouting at Master Sheng is reprehensible given how much lenience he’s shown you as an Outlander slave,” Na hissed. “Were you owned by any other, your tongue would have long been removed and likely half of your right foot. Foolish and stupid child that you are.”

  Sitting there with an open mouth and a red cheek, Tala seemed more than just shocked—insulted, shocked, and appalled.

  “Your elegant self may apologize to your owner when your brain has resumed its normal function,” Na said with steel still in her voice. “I’ll shuffle and re-deal the hand in the meanwhile.”

  Na looked more than a little annoyed as she gathered up the cards. Shaking her head in dismay, she began to shuffle them.

  Tala’s eyes moved down from Na to the table, her mouth closing. Slowly they drifted over toward Ash.

  “I’m sorry,” Tala muttered. “I’m… not… dealing very well with being locked in here. Or my life being forcibly changed, as it were.”

  “That’s fine,” Ash said and meant it. “Believe me, I get it. I didn’t want to be here either. You just do what you’re comfortable doing.”

  Nodding his head, Ash turned to the door at the sound of feet coming up the steps toward the house.

  There was a solid knock on the door.

  “Enter?” Ash called out. He had no idea who would come calling on them. From what Locke could determine of what was going on outside, Mei and Jia were running a firm defense and a sharp—if short—offense.

  The door opened and Mei entered, then closed it behind herself.

  “Damnit,” mumbled Na from behind him.

  “I’m afraid, my dear Ashley,” Mei said, walking over to the couch. “I was eliminated today on a raid. I decided to join you.”

  “You have your own house and there are no beds left,” Ash said, looking up at Mei. He already knew where this was going, and he felt like he wasn’t going to say no either.

  “I suppose it’s a good thing that I’ll be in your bed then. Won’t I?” Mei asked, coming to a stop in front of him. She put her hands on her hips and smiled at him, waiting for a response.

  “I… suppose it’s a good thing indeed,” Ash murmured, looking up at Mei. “If you’re sure that’s where you’ll be?”

  “I’m sure that’s where I thought I should be for a while now,” Mei said. “Though… only recently did I discover it’s where I want to be.”

  Mei let out a short breath and then sat down next to Ash on the couch.

  “We’re not going to win. It’s likely we’ll get third or fourth. We did well, but certainly not well enough against some of those other alliances. They’re just too… entrenched,” Mei said, turning her head to look at Ash.

  “Deal the damn cards,” Tala grumbled from behind them.

  “Shut up,” Na countered.

  “Ah. They thought they’d have you alone to themselves for a while longer yet,” Locke crowed.

  Uh-huh. Let’s just open that ring up and harass Tai a little so you can talk with him.

  “How’d you get eliminated?” Ash asked when Locke didn’t respond.

  “Hm? Oh. I walked up to a referee and told him he smelled like what I left behind my house last night,” Mei said. “He took my armband.”

  Oh.

  Right.

  So… she did it on purpose to come here.

  Right.

  Ash had a feeling tonight was going to be a very interesting night for him.

  Hours later, Ash found that he couldn’t sleep. Despite it being the middle of the night. Likely just before or slightly after midnight.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ash was looking inward toward his middle Dantian.

  Locke had told him to avoid doing so, but he couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. Not after everything that’d happened as of late.

  Inside his lower Dantian was an ocean built upon Essence as thick as wet cement that somehow could flow like water. A golden Dao pillar sat in the middle of it. Unmoving and untarnished in any way.

  Spread out around the pillar, in the ocean, were a number of statues of those who’d pledged to him.

  Moving upward, his middle Dantian was suspiciously empty.

  Empty, warm, and sleepy feeling. Like there wasn’t anything there and that was an expected result.

  It was annoying in its complete lack of anything.

  A small bud of red energy appeared in the middle Dantian.

  No sooner than Ash had focused on it, it vanished. Becoming nothing more than the empty space that he’d seen previously.

  Letting out a soft growl, Ash focused much more intently on his Dantian. Determined to see something there.

  Once more a red swirl of energy appeared there, roaring to life as a flame and spreading out.

  Elated that he’d found something, Ash focused in on it completely, willing it to remain so he could study it.

  The red swirl winked out as quickly as it’d appeared.

  In its place was a blue disc that seemed to be as sharp as a razor. It sat there, unmoving, unchanging.

  Inspecting it, Ash found he could no sooner affect it than he could the red swirl.

  Okay. The hell am I looking at here?

&nbs
p; “Oh? You want me to talk now?” Locke asked with heavy sarcasm.

  If you like, I could wake up Tai instead.

  “As you wish, Chosen One. You’re looking at—and I told you not to, may I remind you—your middle Dantian. A repository of what you take in from around you and what you’re feeling. You can no sooner control it than you can muscle the sun out of its orbit,” Locke said.

  Oh.

  I can… okay. Yeah.

  But… why did it feel like my Dao was in here at one point? And when they pledged to me?

  “Because it changed the size of this space. It isn’t meant to be this large. At all,” Locke said. “As far as I can determine, an appropriate size would be perhaps a tenth of this. That is what I see when we scan the masters.”

  Mm. Right. Okay.

  And… this means… what?

  “Your tribulation is going to include this. Adding anything to it, or any sort of control, or understanding, will likely exponentially make it that much worse,” explained Locke.

  Got it! That makes more sense.

  “Congratulations then, your understanding of that concept has likely made your tribulation worse.”

  I… think I can see why you told me not to mess with it now.

  “You think so? Do you? Well, who am I to judge, Chosen One. I’m apparently just ordered to be silent until called upon,” said Locke.

  Err… well, you kinda did deserve it. You’re kind of an asshole.

  “Everything alright?” Mei asked sleepily from the bed.

  “Uh-huh. Just… well, my middle Dantian is open. Was looking around in it,” Ash said, suddenly coming to a thought he wanted to explore.

  Mei came from a rather well-to-do, if now extinct, family. She could very well know more about the middle Dantian than he did.

  “Pretty sure we just covered the fact that you shouldn’t learn more.”

  Ash ignored Locke.

  If he was going to face a tribulation that included the fact that it was open, he might as well use the Dantian to fight the tribulation.

  That was how these supposedly went. They were equal in power to what you gained and understood. You were expected to battle them with said power.

  “Huh…? I… well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given it’s you,” Mei said and then let out a slow breath.

  Shifting around in the bed she sat up partially, holding the blanket in front of her bare chest.

  “It’s… well, you after all. The middle Dantian isn’t about power or building or cultivating. It’s about refining who you are. The image of who you want to be,” Mei said, tilting her head to one side and sending her hair tumbling across her shoulder. “It starts off as emotions and feelings, and then slowly becomes a sense of self. What you believe yourself to be.

  “It’s also a very double-edged sword. Your perception of what you should be can easily destroy you. Because your Dantians are connected. Acting out of accord with your Dantian will harm you.”

  Ah… and that’s why my Dao influenced the middle Dantian.

  Because my Dao is… me. Who I wish to be and what I believe.

  The statues as well. It changed how I perceived myself.

  “Thanks, Mei. Your insight is as brilliant,” Ash grinned, “as you are beautiful.”

  After having spent a few hours just talking with Mei privately and then enjoying one another in bed, he’d definitely found that Mei was exactly who he thought she was.

  And that he wanted her around far more than he’d realized.

  “Oh, well, thank you,” Mei said. “Now, are you getting back into the bed with my beautiful and brilliant self, or am I going to need to get another blanket? Because I’m cold.”

  “Well, I’m just a terrible partner then, aren’t I?” Ash said. “I’ll come warm you up.”

  “Do that. Do exactly that,” Mei murmured, letting the blanket drop.

  ***

  Stepping out of his house, Ash was surprised to find Gen standing there.

  There was no one else on the street at all in either direction.

  “Good morning, Ashley,” Gen said, giving him a wide and toothy smile.

  “G-good morning, Master Gen,” Ash said, and then bowed his head to the other man.

  “I was asked to personally present you with the results for your alliance,” Gen said.

  “Ah, was that by Master Zha?” Ash asked. He was curious about the fact that the sun was up and he couldn’t see anyone at all.

  “Indeed,” Gen said, adjusting his grip on the cane in front of himself. “And before you ask. I just asked Jia to relay instructions to everyone to remain indoors this morning. We had some difficulties with… well… we had difficulties. I’m working to resolve them.”

  Uh-huh. Inner Sect, I bet.

  “And it wasn’t just the Inner Sect. Come, we’ll walk back to the library and discuss what this means and what’s going on,” Gen said and gestured toward the road.

  “Alright. But I need to dig up Bartek’s corpse later. If it’s on sect grounds. I promised him I’d bury him head first in a shit trench. Preferably the one behind my house,” Ash said.

  Gen only laughed at that, nodding his head to one side.

  “It would seem Bartek’s journey is not yet over then,” murmured the old man.

  Behind Ash, the door opened, and Mei froze in the doorway.

  Her hair was mussed, her clothes slightly wrinkled, and it was obvious she hadn’t had a chance to freshen up.

  “Ah, Miss Sheng,” Gen said with a much larger and warmer smile now. His eyes picking her apart quickly.

  “Master Gen,” Mei said quickly, pressing her hands together and bowing her head to him. “I was—”

  “Coming with us, of course,” Gen asked, interrupting her. “At least, that’s what I imagine you’re doing. Would you like to stop at your home briefly to change before that?”

  “That would… be most appreciated,” Mei said, her cheeks turning a faint red.

  In silence, the trio walked the short distance to Mei’s house.

  As soon as the door closed, Gen chuckled deeply.

  “Well, it would seem you took my advice,” Gen said, tapping his cane against the ground. “Maybe it’s just because she was once of the Deng, but I feel particularly gratified to see her with you.”

  “He’s delighted about the fact you’re banging a Deng woman? Huh. I wonder how he’d feel if you started inviting Na in. Think he’d give us a relic? We could use one,” Locke asked.

  You’re an ass.

  “I’m not wrong, though.”

  Ash couldn’t really argue that point.

  “I’ll wait for her to come back before we discuss this. As the first partner that you chose, she should be included,” Gen murmured. “That and maybe I’m favoring her a bit. She’s a good girl.”

  “You’re favoring her,” Ash agreed.

  “Aww, well. Alright. I am. I can’t help it. She was quite earnest when she came to me for advice,” Gen admitted with a chuckle. “Maybe I’m just an old softie and romantic at heart.”

  “Romantic?” Ash parroted back with some surprise.

  “I’m sure you’ve found that Mei’s infatuation with you isn’t just for her own prestige. I think you should pledge with her and—”

  Gen stopped talking, his head rotating slightly to one side. Seconds after that, Mei opened the door and left her home.

  She was wearing a fresh uniform, her hair was arranged, and she looked put together as well as she always was.

  “Thank you so much for waiting and giving me a few minutes,” Mei said with a wide smile and a sharp exhale. “I feel much better.”

  “Yes, of course,” Gen said, nodding his head. “Now, off we go. We do have some things to discuss. First and foremost, how your alliance did.”

  “Ah, yes,” Mei said, sliding an arm through Ash’s and pressing in close to his side. “How did we do?”

  “You only captured enough armbands to rank fifth,” Gen said, h
is cane tapping as they walked along. “Though you lost the fewest of your members.

  “I did have one of my people tell me—in as respectful a way as he could—about how you eliminated yourself, young lady. He’s not angry by the way. He saw where you went and understood immediately.”

  “Ah, yes, well, it was for the greater good,” Mei said demurely. “Though that doesn’t quite answer how we did?”

  “Second place, overall,” Gen said with a dark chuckle. “Though I believe the final position will have you listed as third. The Inner Sect was throwing quite a hissy fit at some of the disqualifications that were given to certain individuals.

  “Zha is currently working through that right now.”

  “Ah, well, second or third is still quite a grand result given how new we are,” Mei said. Then she reached up and patted Ash in the middle of his chest. “Good job, my pledged.”

  Gen’s cane skidded out partially in front of himself at that, sliding into the stone in front of where he’d brought it down.

  Ash only noticed it because he’d been watching the stones in front of them.

  Mei didn’t seem to have seen it.

  “To be fair, even I was surprised you pledged back to her after we… err… finished up,” Locke muttered.

  What? You got something to say about it?

  Because you shouldn’t.

  She didn’t ask for anything and… and it all happened and I pledged back to her.

  What of it?

  “Nothing. Nothing at all,” Locke said and went quiet.

  Ash wasn’t about to feel guilty about pledging himself back to Mei. Throughout everything, she’d been absolutely selfless to him.

  He had no fear of her in any way.

  “Yes, it’s a lovely thing for such a new alliance,” Gen said. “And with that in mind, it’s one of the reasons why your alliance has been chosen to participate in… well… battle.”

  “Battle,” Ash repeated.

  “Indeed, battle,” Gen said as they walked into the plazas that led into the sect proper. “There’s a rather massive Veil-overlap we’ve spotted. Biggest we’ve ever seen.”