They retired for an early dinner. Tian felt like a bully, and kept his head down. The others from Ancient Crane Mountain were all still barely concealing their anger. Tian suspected they shared his confusion. How was it possible for immortal cultivators to exist without knowing how to fight? He was sure they weren’t just relying on Ancient Crane Mountain for their defense. If they were, they would have been overrun centuries or millennia ago. Or annexed. The Monastery could always use more servant disciples, and doctors take a long time to train.
Tian begged off any more touring and asked if there was a quiet tree or something he could cultivate under. They found him a nice one by the side of a little river. Wide branches, softly rushing water, and the sound of insects singing in the grass as people worked contentedly in cultivated fields. It was about as far as you could get from the Redstone Wastes. Tian tried to do what he was taught and focus on his breathing. The thoughts would come, but they wouldn’t stay.
It didn’t work. He wound up running in circles inside his mind. There was nothing wrong with the sect being peaceful. Wasn’t this the goal? The ideal? Maybe not for him and his brothers, but a peaceful home was in no way a bad thing. And when you got right down to it, if you were going to be making medicine and training doctors, you probably wanted to be far away from any fighting.
He was mad anyway. So mad he felt nauseous. His brothers were fighting and dying even now. Tian sat under a tree and enjoyed the cool air and tasted the freshness of the river on the breeze while they bitterly struggled through the poisonous desert. And some random girl who was just trying to be nice asked him if it was terrible. “Why yes, Daoist Shu, it was extremely unpleasant. I don’t think referring to it as “terrible” would be excessive. While it wasn’t without opportunities for growing and learning, on balance, I wish we had all just stayed home.”
Tian breathed in and out, letting the wood and water qi flow through him. Subtly breaking up the earth qi and drawing it in. Accepting and channeling the fire qi, letting that fire of compassion in him grow a bit warmer with every breath.
She really was trying to be nice. She didn’t understand. It was just, he really didn’t want to explain it. Tian wasn’t sure he could explain it. You had to have been there. You had to have seen the tiger to know its terror. You had to survive the tiger to know the pain of living when others didn't.
Meditation didn’t seem to be calming him the way it usually did. There was a tightness in his chest, a growing sense of anxiety that the breathing wasn’t overcoming. He sighed and stood, dusting off his robes. It really was a very pretty spot. If he lived here, he would love cultivating under this tree.
“Did you cultivate well, Daoist Tian?”
“Well enough, thank you, Daoist Shu. Were you waiting long?” He smiled at the girl with soft flowers trimmed into her hair and who loved to organize her plants so they all got along and helped each other.
“Not long. I thought you would cultivate for longer, actually. I just… wanted to show you something.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. Our hospital.”
They walked quietly to a long and low building set well away from the fields. It was quite a bit larger than the hospital in Depot Four, and there was a subtle sense of power around it.
“I don’t recognize the array.”
Shu nodded. “You wouldn’t. It’s not the kind of thing you can set up just anywhere.” She started pointing at various hills around the sect, then drew his eyes over to the meandering rivers and streams running through the farmland. “The hospital was situated on a geomantic node that provides both balanced qi and improved qi density. Thanks to the specifics of our sect, the land favors earth, wood and water qi, but our array masters are able to balance it out. Besides, those are nothing bad in a hospital.”
“Amazing. I have heard of that kind of land… magic… but I have only heard of it.” Tan shook his head. His knowledge of arrays wasn’t deep enough to even qualify as “pathetic.”
“I got permission to bring you in. You will see even more on the inside.” Shu led Tian into the building. Close set tile floors, Tian noticed approvingly, with smooth, wide tiles. Easily mopped.
“It’s much greener than I would have imagined. And… ornamental fountains? Really?”
It was rather amazing. Plants were potted and growing on, or even in, some of the walls. There were fountains and tiny indoor ponds scattered seemingly everywhere, many with plants growing in them. No lamps here- lighting was handled by spirit crystal powered arrays. This no doubt contributed to the fresh, sweet, air circulating through the hospital, though nothing was going to overcome the harsh smell of soap. Tian smiled a bit at that. Some things were a constant.
“Yes. It is the Art of Wind and Water. We use water to gather and direct the qi, and specific plants to help nurture healing qi. It all helps stabilize the chaotic qi and encourages tranquility for patients and staff. And all of it is tied into the greater geomantic formation the hospital is built on.” Shu was practically vibrating by the end of her explanation, her eyes bright and her hands waving happily. She rushed over to a little fountain at the intersection of two large corridors.
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“See what we have here, Daoist Tian? Do you recognize it?”
“It’s a lotus…” A sudden memory jolted him. “A Dustless Lotus?!”
“Haha! You got it. I don’t know where you get your perfume, but it smells exactly the same as Dustless Lotuses!”
“Perfume? Daoist Shu, I’ve never worn perfume a day in my life.” Tian leaned over, carefully checking the water for snakes. There were little fish darting around in the pond, but he didn’t recognize them. It appeared to be snake free.
“But… forgive me, Daoist Tian, but…” She groped for words. Tian smiled and took pity on her.
“It’s just how I smell. I actually have the Dustless Phisique.”
Shu’s jaw dropped.
“Thank you for showing me this, by the way. I haven’t seen a Dustless Lotus since I was ten. And none were as nice as this one. It’s almost at the Heavenly Person level, isn’t it?”
“Um. Yes. You have a Dustless… how do you… sorry, sorry, I’m snooping. Sorry!” She pressed her palms together and bowed.
“Nothing to be sorry about. My physique is no secret. Could you show me more of the hospital? I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Gladly. And there are some people I would like you to meet too.” She led him through the corridors, showing him the various treatment rooms. Hot rooms, cold rooms, rooms full of devices for things he couldn’t even guess at, but made the testing device at the West Town Temple look simple and safe.
He mentioned that to Shu, who laughed and hauled him into a room with two testing machines. Except these ones had a lot more needles than he remembered. “Sounds like you were tested with an older model. These ones test both the yin and yang organs as well as bone age and are much, much better at finding hidden physiques. That is, a physique that hasn’t yet shown itself, usually because it needs to be triggered by something. It happens more than you would think.”
Tian could only shake his head in wonder. They chatted amiably enough, but Tian couldn’t quite get over feeling awkward and there seemed to be something on Shu’s mind. She only came back to her full liveliness when she was describing features of the hospital. It turned out that, while she enjoyed growing herbs, it was the Art of Wind and Water that was her true passion. The arrangement of herbs into ‘sects’ was related to it, she said. Compounding medicine fascinated her, and it was a requirement for advancement within the sect. But a geomancer capable of harnessing nature itself?
That was the stuff of dreams. And Shu wasn’t afraid to dream big.
“Is that Little Doctor Tian I hear? And chatting with a pretty sister, no less. Now I know I’m going to make it.” A rough voice called from one of the ward rooms. Shu smiled and invited Tian to go in.
“Can’t be him. I heard at least two words that weren’t swears.”
The room was filled with Outer Court cultivators from Ancient Crane Mountain. Tian recognized some of them from Depot Four.
“Brother Bu, I am relieved to see you recovering so well! Brother Pei, how are you?” Tian bowed and greeted everyone he knew, then asked for introductions. Then he started asking everyone… everything. How they were recovering. Did they ever write to their old friends. Where to find the best beef tendon soup in Soaring Clouds City.
His hands moved without thinking, resetting their pillows in the ways he knew they liked and checking they had water nearby. Checking that the window was providing plenty of fresh air, and that they were neither too hot nor too cold. Casually inquiring when their next medication round was due.
Not that he had anything to fix. They were recovering well. Which, given that he thought they were all dead, was impressive.
“I didn’t know we did medical evacuations for the Outer Court.” Tian smiled over at a brother.
“We didn’t used to. Apparently we are the first batch. There are some martial aunts and uncles here too, but the Inner Court are old customers here.”
“Old customers?”
“Yes. Our Bamboo Medicine Hut has been providing medical care for the Ancient Crane Monastery’s Inner Court for more than a thousand years.” Shu spoke with quiet pride. “We don’t just supply medicine and medical devices. Our hospital is the best in the Kingdom. A lot of cases that couldn’t be treated out in the field get ferried here by sky barge or some other means.”
Tian could remember Inner Court disciples being flown into the depot hospital, and unlike Outer Court disciples, they were flown out sometimes. He had never asked where they were going. He always thought they were just recovering in Mountain Gate City.
He could see the chilly logic of it. Outer Court disciples were “cheap and plentiful,” making them more economical to replace than to repair. Inner Court disciples were much rarer, and contributed a lot more to the sect. But now that math had changed. All of a sudden, these servant disciples were potential treasures and no longer plentiful.
“I am... more than glad. It’s past time. Long past time. I have always said that the Senior Brothers and Sisters of the Outer Court are true heroes. I don’t think there is anyone here who will be surprised to know I have been very frustrated with how you have been treated.”
That got a rough laugh from the room. “We know. Everyone knows. Nobody could change bed linens so murderously without a lot of frustration built up.” Brother Bo snickered.
“Remember when he used a light body technique to scrub the ceilings? He was going up and down the hallways like a lizard. A furious janitor-lizard.” Another brother chimed in to more laughs.
“It’s incredible to me. In our Bamboo Medicine Hut, a Heavenly Person automatically becomes an elder of the sect. Peak Level Nine becomes a sect Deacon. But for Ancient Crane mountain, they are just… Martial Aunts and Uncles, and the warriors of the Outer Court.” Shu said.
“Ah, it’s not a bad thing. Different names for the same things, really. And, Little Doctor, we heard about old Mad Dog becoming a Direct Disciple. We just about rioted in the ward, I tell you.” Brother Pu, who was missing an eye and most of a cheek and two thirds of his bowel and who knows how much of his lower intestine, was grinning like a madman.
“I believe you. The disciplinary squad practically ordered Depot Four confined to barracks before Brother Fu headed for the Monastery.” Tian smiled back.
“Did he really acknowledge you as his adopted son?” A brother Tian didn’t know asked.
“Yes.” Tian choked. He couldn’t squeeze out more than a single word.
The old warriors cupped their hands, and as best they could, bowed from their beds. “Congratulations! Congratulations!”
They cheered for him. Laying in pieces, the old heroes cheered for the boy who found his family.