Cultivating Chaos

by William D. Arand

  “What kind of fool thinks he can just eat a stone?”

  “Apparently this one,” Ash said with a shrug of his shoulders.

  Silence descended over the two once again, except this time Yan didn’t seem as upset.

  “Thank you. For being here. For coming after me. I’m a poor excuse for an older sister.”

  “Nah. I’m just doing this so you have to take care of me going forward. I can just laze about and take naps all day.”

  “Hmph. I think Jia would try to beat you to death if you did that.

  “She seems quite different than I remember. A lot of that icy feeling from her is gone, and now she seems like a woman on a mission,” Yan said.

  “Yeah. Definitely feels like she has something to prove all of a sudden.

  “Is this the place?” Ash asked.

  They’d moved off the path entirely and were in a small, secluded patch of grass. It was sheltered on several sides by brush and low trees.

  It wasn’t somewhere one would normally meet a sibling, and Ash held this concern in his heart.

  Yan looked around and then nodded her head, coming to a stop. “It is. Though I don’t think we’re early. So it’s more a matter of Jing being late.”

  “There are several people hiding to the left. In the group of bushes,” Locke said.

  Shit. He really is planning on ambushing Yan, isn’t he?

  Letting his eyes roll over the scenery, Ash was able to check out the health bars of the people hiding.

  He managed to catch their levels before his gaze moved on as if he’d never seen them.

  Two level fours, one level six. That six will be a problem.

  Especially if they target Yan. She’s barely a rank one right now.

  “Come on then, let’s go. He’s not here,” Ash said, turning around. He wasn’t about to stick around and let them get the upper hand if he didn’t have to.

  “But we haven’t been able to confirm anything,” Yan argued, though she did turn to follow him out of the area.

  “Ah, Yan? Sorry! I didn’t mean to be late,” called a voice from behind them.

  Glancing over his shoulder, Ash saw Jing standing on the other side of the clearing, as if he’d just arrived.

  Except for the fact that the bush had one less level four, Ash might have been inclined to believe that excuse.

  Maybe.

  “Jing? Jing!” Yan said with a smile, turning back around towards him. “I’m so glad to see you. Look who’s here—it’s Ash!”

  Moving to stand beside Yan again, Ash gave his adopted brother a cold smile.

  “Good to see you, Jing.” Ash pressed his fists together and bowed his head to Jing.

  “Ah… yeah. Good to see you, Ash. What brings you out this way? Are you visiting?”

  “He’s—”

  “You could say that,” Ash said, interrupting Yan. He’d made sure to dress in clothes that a citizen would wear, clothes a cultivator would only wear if they planned on lazing about. “I thought it’d be good to stop in and see how everything was going.”

  “How good of you, brother. How good of you,” Jing said, his tone growing strange.

  That’s right, Jing. Assume I’m a citizen still. What will you do? In front of your weak sister and your citizen adopted brother.

  “Jing… Ash said he sent a letter and gifts. One to each of us. Did you happen to get them?” Yan asked, moving the conversation back where she personally wanted it.

  Jing looked to Yan, his eyes slowly losing focus as he stared at her. Then he clicked his tongue and nodded his head briefly.

  “Gifts. Yes. Yes, I received them,” Jing said finally.

  “Ah, could you give me mine? Ash said he included something that would help us in our training,” Yan said.

  She still holds out hope that he’ll simply hand over the stones and this whole thing can be labeled as a misunderstanding.

  “I can’t,” Jing said. His voice was clear. Stable.

  Cold.

  “You can’t?” Yan parroted back.

  “I can’t. I had to pay a fee to join a family,” Jing said. There was no apology in his words.

  It didn’t even really feel like an explanation. Just an answer to a question.

  “You used them,” Yan said slowly.

  “Yes.”

  “The stones meant for me. All of them.”

  “Yes.”

  “I… I don’t understand. Why w—”

  “Because you’re hopeless. You’re hopeless and there wasn’t going to be a darn thing we could do about it.

  “Our relatives here? They’re nobodies. We had no one to rely on, and you were too blind to see there was one way out,” Jing said, his voice getting heated. “So I took your stones, because they would do nothing for you. And I used them to buy a way out for myself.”

  Yan shook her head slowly, her hands balling up into fists.

  “That’s not true! I could have bought a better cultivation technique. I only bought the one I did because you left,” Yan said, her voice starting to quiver.

  “It would have only delayed the inevitable, Yan Sheng. The end result would have been the same, just slower.

  “I’ve joined a family now, and I’m better off. You should be happy for me,” Jing said. “You should be happy for me and go home. Go back to Xing City. Find a husband and forget you ever had a brother.

  “Because I’ve already forgotten you.”

  I’ll break his fingers one by one.

  “Though, I will thank you for coming to see me, Ash. I’ll have you hand over all your spirit stones and coin before you go back,” Jing said, turning his head to Ash. “You won’t be needing it back home, and I will.”

  Ah… I didn’t think he’d try to rob me first.

  Suppose I don’t need to show any mercy or restraint, then.

  “Just to be sure here,” Ash said. “You’re robbing me of my possessions. Right?”

  Yan’s head was moving back and forth. From Jing to Ash, seemingly unable to comprehend the full situation.

  Jing sighed and sucked on his teeth before he nodded.

  “Yeah. I am. So… hand it over and this can be quick and easy. I’d hate to have my new family take it from you, but… I’ll do what I have to,” Jing said.

  “What’s the penalty for robbing someone in the sect, Yan?” Ash asked.

  “What? Uhm. A beating, confinement, and sometimes losing a finger,” she said, her voice sounding well and truly hollow.

  “That seems like an interesting punishment.” Ash slowly sank into a neutral fighting pose, activating his abilities one by one.

  “It’s pointless to rob someone when you can just challenge them,” Yan said.

  “Come then, Jing. Try and take from me,” Ash said. “I’ll take two of your fingers. One for each hundred stones.”

  “No. Stop this,” Yan said. “Let’s just leave.”

  “I can’t do that, Yan,” Jing said. “I need his stones. I’m sure he brought more to give to you and me, and I’ll take them all.”

  “Jing, listen to me. Don’t do this. We can all walk away from this,” Yan said.

  “Let me introduce you to my new clan. Their surname is Deng, and they’re going to have a majority of the Outer Sect elder positions after the next placement tournament.”

  Deng? Deng!?

  Ash’s face flushed deep red as he realized the implications.

  Jing had not only sold out his sister—he’d sold her out and joined the people who had made her life a living hell.

  The two others walked out from the bush. Both looking smug and confident at the fact that it was three versus two.

  “Last chance, Jing,” Ash said, then slowly pulled his butterfly swords from the sheath at his side. “I’ll give you no mercy after this.”

  Jing gave him a feral smile in return, pulling a saber from out of nowhere.

  Storage item, huh? I’ll take it from you and give it to Yan.

  “Ash is a f
ifth-level cultivator,” Yan said. “He can beat you, Jing. He broke Bo as if he were nothing. Then he beat Mei and her cronies to a pulp.

  “I give you this warning only because of the memories we shared before this. Which I will now consider dead.”

  Yan looked to Ash with a sad smile. Turning her head back to Jing, she hocked up a wad of phlegm and spat it at him. “You are dead to me, Jing Sheng. I will see your karma repaid, Jing Deng.”

  Walking away from the clearing, Yan didn’t wait for anyone else.

  Jing’s face had frozen, his eyes shifting to look around himself at the bushes. He’d apparently never considered that by selecting an ambush spot, he’d also made himself a prime victim for an ambush.

  “Let’s… let this go for today,” Jing said suddenly, his saber vanishing.

  “What if I don’t want to?” Ash asked. “What I really want to take those fingers of yours?”

  “Ash, let’s go,” Yan called, her voice already sounding distant. “Do it for me.”

  Feeling his rage deflate like a punctured balloon, Ash stood up and clicked his tongue. Sheathing his blades, he shook a hand at Jing.

  “You’re lucky she wants to spare you. Next time I see you, I will challenge you for two of your fingers.

  “Don’t let me see you,” Ash said, turning his back on them and leaving as well.

  Moving at a light jog, he hurried to catch up to Yan.

  Falling in beside her, he slowed down and began to walk as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

  As if what had happened hadn’t.

  “Thank you,” Yan said softly.

  “Of course. What kind of little brother would I be if I didn’t listen?” Ash said with a chuckle.

  Yan shook her head a bit, then wiped at her eyes with her fingertips.

  “I just can’t believe it. And the Dengs, no less. I just… I can’t. I grew up with him, Ash. I remember watching him when Mother and Father needed me to.

  “I remember knocking out the first kid who gave him a skinned knee,” Yan said. Then she hiccupped, a low sob escaping. “He was my first friend. My best friend at times. Other times, my only friend.”

  Ash didn’t say anything. Instead, he slipped his hand into hers and held it.

  This older sister of his needed comfort right now. And he’d be damned if he didn’t do all he could to give it to her.

  ***

  Everyone was sitting along a counter in Yue’s shop front. She hadn’t bothered to open her store today.

  Instead, she’d spent more of the day learning her new abilities.

  Both as a cultivator and an alchemist.

  The latter of the two having shocked everyone when they realized Ash could do that as well.

  “To be clear, you are saying that you simply gave her the ability to be an alchemist,” Jia said. She tapped her finger against the wood as if angry. “Because you felt like it.”

  “Well, alchemists are typically either Wood Qi or Fire Qi, right? I figured it’d be a waste otherwise,” Ash said defensively.

  “That isn’t the point,” Moira said, leaning in close to him. Her attitude had started to shift drastically as of late. She constantly invaded his space and seemed to look for opportunities to touch him.

  Not that he minded it. If anything, he was flattered at the attention.

  “The point is that you’re capable of doing that, and the cost to you is… a piece of paper and ink,” Moira finished, laying a hand on his forearm.

  Looking at her long, well-maintained nails, Ash didn’t know what to say.

  “Yes? I mean, yeah, I did it and that was the cost. It’s not something I plan on sharing with others, though. I mean, this was for us. I figured it’d help Yue get her shop up and moving if she was an alchemist.”

  “You didn’t mention this last night,” Moira said, her golden eyes digging into him.

  “Ah, no. Sorry. It didn’t seem like that big a deal. I mean, yeah, I know it is, but it’s just us,” Ash said with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “If anyone found out about your engraving and carving abilities, they would lock you away in the deepest part of their clan hall until you died,” Yan said, leaning toward him. “More so if they found out you could teach others alchemy at the drop of a hat.

  “Part of the reason alchemists are so respected is they are so few and far between. They require one of two Qis, a willing teacher, and enough money to make it happen. And a good amount of luck.

  “You negated almost all of that.”

  “Err, ok. Yeah. Got it,” Ash said. “Sorry.”

  “Wait,” Jia said, her eyes narrowing. “Does this mean you can do this with any profession? Could you transfer the engraving and carving?”

  “Yes,” Ash said.

  “Blacksmithing?” Tala asked.

  “Uhm…” Ash paused and hoped Locke would supply him with answer.

  “The Hall has both weapon smithing and armor smithing.”

  “Yeah. Armor smithing and weapon smithing.”

  “Totem crafting?” Yan asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah,” Ash said. “Pretty much anything you can think of, I can probably teach. Why? Is there something you all want?”

  Yue stood up from her pill cauldron and stared down at the device.

  To Ash, it just looked like an ornamental pot with a lid. There were various holes along the top and side for viewing and working. There was also a small slot that folded out on the bottom, which presumably was where pills fell out.

  Not really a pill… is it? Looks more like one of those small, tart candies that dissolve in your mouth.

  Everyone was watching the merchant now.

  Reaching out, she lightly tapped the side of the pill cauldron.

  The slot slowly slid open, and a pill sat in the dispenser. Plain as day and well formed. It looked like something that had come out of an alchemist’s shop.

  Yue picked it up and held it in her palm.

  “What’d you make?” Ash asked, breaking the silence.

  “Sixth-rank Essence Attractor,” she mumbled. “It was my first try.”

  “That’s very impressive. I hear the rank of a pill dictates the rank of the alchemist. What did you make before that?” Jia asked.

  “Nothing. This is my first pill,” Yue said. She looked up and stared straight at Ash. “I’m an alchemist. You made me one.”

  “I did no such thing. You already had all the pre-requisites on your own. I just gave you the knowledge,” Ash said. Then an idea popped into his head. “It’s kinda sad… isn’t it? How many countless alchemists are missed because they’re not given the resources.

  “How many genius painters are lost because they have to move bricks around all day. How many poets end up shoveling shit.”

  “How many cultivators are crushed under the boot of clan politics,” Yan said, her voice bitter and acidic.

  Ash nodded at her words.

  That’s the heart of the problem. Isn’t it? A sect isn’t built to help further others, but to further itself.

  Sect politics are dictated by the leading families, which means it’s really just clan politics.

  How does one fix that…?

  “Yan, Jing mentioned something about getting an elder selected?” Ash asked, looking to the older woman.

  “Oh… yes. The placement tournament. It’s a series of exams that determines the next elder. It isn’t held very often since elder positions are obviously quite limited.

  “The master of the winner is granted the elder position, as it would be assumed it was by their tutelage that they won.”

  Ash scratched at his jaw, thinking.

  “I suppose the next question he will ask then,” Jia said. “Is where he can get a list of all the potential elders, and who would be best suited to his needs.

  “Is that right, Ash?”

  “It is,” he said, staring off into the middle distance. Plans were forming.

  Forming and building, furth
er and further.

  With the end goal of taking over a sect or building one of his own.

  And then we’ll show them what happens when a human’s potential becomes unlimited.

  Twenty-one

  Ash tapped a finger against the table in his dining room.

  “I think the first real task here is figuring out who we want to approach,” he said. “I don’t think many are going to be willing to take me on as a disciple if Elder Deng has spread word about his family’s dislike for me.

  “Or am I reading that wrong?”

  Yan shook her head a little.

  “You’re not. He’ll do everything in his power to make you leave now. That isn’t limited to just what he and his family can do directly, obviously. He’ll put pressure on the rest of the elders. Make sure they understand that in taking you in, they will garner the Dengs’ displeasure.”

  “Just how powerful are they? It seems like I’ve run afoul of them at every turn. Bo and Mei were the two I ended up breaking, right?” Ash asked.

  And Jing joined them, but let’s not bring that up right now.

  “Yes. And it was one of their uncles you thwarted in the shop,” Yan said. “They’re not a top-tier power here, obviously, but they’re certainly fourth or fifth. Maybe even third.”

  “Is there any elder that would join us simply because their family is opposed to the Dengs?” Moira interjected.

  Yan thought on that, chewing on her lower lip. “I don’t think so, no. None that would be willing to actually risk creating new hostilities. Things are pretty tame right now in the sect.”

  “Then I suppose that leaves us with elders that are unaffiliated. Ones that either have nothing to lose or everything to gain,” Moira said.

  Tala snorted, working a cloth up and down along her blade. Since she’d gotten her powers back the previous day, she’d devoted most of her time to caring for her gear, learning her abilities, or training.

  She seemed a woman possessed.

  “You’re not wrong,” Tala said, oiling her blade diligently. “In fact, it makes sense. The problem is that anyone in that sort of a position who would be usable wouldn’t remain here. Would they?

  “They’d probably leave, since their chances of getting an ace student would be much lower here. That means the ones who can work their way out already have. Those who can’t do better elsewhere and are unable to join a family—are here. The dregs, so to speak.