The next few months passed more calmly. Elder Feng had apparently become entirely exhausted by surprises, and was downright eager to keep her charges from any unfortunate conversations they might have with other sects. Or creating new local religions. Tian had a few sleepless nights thinking about all the elemental charm he had been pushing into his voice in Burning Flag City, and wondering the effect it had on the mortals listening. In theory, a mortal wouldn’t notice the deeper meaning to it. But in theory, he was just serving tea and look how that turned out.
From what he could tell from the soldiers, the elemental charm in his tea was more like an echo or a whisper of a truth. A subtle nudge towards understanding, or a bit of reframing that provided a new perspective. It didn’t suddenly grant a revelation. It just helped someone understand truths they never considered. What Tian and Hong hadn’t appreciated was just how rare that was.
How could they know? Before going to the caves, they had never encountered the concept of ‘dao charm’ or ‘elemental charm.’ Elder Rui had said something about those caves being unique and special, but it hadn’t really stuck. Treasured cultivation ground. Trial ground to train up the younger generation. The Saintess feeding on generations of promising youths. What else was there to understand? And then everyone told them to shut up and never mention anything about it ever again, to anyone.
Tian started keeping a closer eye on Hong’s training sessions. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he could see how her spearplay incorporated that charm with every movement. Fire dominant and extremely Yang, but there was a balance to it now that elevated her past lethal to holy terror.
Elder Feng decreed that everyone was going to learn to get along. Now. Disciple Lin very much included.
A few days (and a new round of scrolls to read) after visiting Burning Stone Manor, Windblown Manor came to a stop over a patch of jungle. Elder Feng assembled them on the flying cloud platform with instructions.
“You are to stay together and work as a team. No one is to go off on their own. You will be put down on a river bank. You will reach that large tree- see it there? You will reach that large tree. All of you. There is a minor opportunity for you there, but it will require teamwork. You have three days, and frankly, I expect you to do it in less.”
She had been increasingly cranky, Tian noticed. She was coolly reserved when they first met, but he could see the irritation in her every time she looked at them. Was what Brother Wang said really such a big deal?
“Elder, What should we do about… Sister… Su?” Lin asked.
“I didn’t stutter.” The elder flicked her hand and the cloud swept them up and carried them into the jungle.
“Like coming home, eh Brother Zihao?” Hong asked.
“Mmm. I’d get used to it, if I were you.” He had forgotten just how loud the jungle was. Everything was screaming at each other, insects were everywhere, and even for immortal cultivators, the heat and humidity were miserable.
“Why?”
“Because if everything goes to hell, I’m grabbing you and running into the jungle. You can live here quite well, if you know how.”
The cultivators not named Tian looked around skeptically. A crocodile that could swallow Brother Wang in two bites slid off the riverbank, becoming invisible in the water.
“Let’s work hard for the eternal prosperity of the sect.” Sister Su suggested.
“Yes. Lets.” Hong agreed fervently.
Brother Wang raced up a tree trunk and hacked down a couple of tree branches. The trees were so tall, Tian almost lost him in the canopy.
“Here. We can carry Sister Su in her chair like a palanquin. That will let us keep mobile with minimum fuss.” Brother Wang suggested. Nobody had a better idea.
The expedition went quickly after that. Tian found them safe paths and “tasty” snacks in the wild, then grumbled when nobody else wanted to eat them. Hong and Brother Wang cleared out the few wandering beasts willing to attack cultivators, and Sister Su… just stayed quiet. She was mad as hell to be used as an obstacle for the others to overcome, and everyone knew it. The real surprise came at the giant tree, where Lin made herself useful.
The tree was the single largest thing Tian had ever seen aside from mountains and perhaps the Summer Torrent. It would take several minutes to run around even if he was using a light body art, and he couldn’t even estimate where the top was. Beyond the size was the staggering variety of plants and fruiting vines growing on, and from, the tree. Flowers blossomed everywhere, insects flew about, everything about it spoke of cooperative tranquility.
“I don’t believe it. How are any of these things getting enough sunlight? Fruits and vegetables especially need lots of sunlight to grow.” Brother Wang stayed well back from the tree.
“There is a terrifying amount of wood qi present, but then, I think we all assumed that.” Hong shrugged.
“The plants are cultivated.” Lin said. “This isn’t just a tree. It’s a kingdom. What you are seeing is just the outermost farmland.” She tilted her head all the way back and cupped her hands to her mouth. The monkey howl she made was loud enough to leave everyone’s ears ringing.
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“Just wait. You will see.”
After an hour, the tree shook. The lower branches swayed like a sudden storm was upon them. Tian focused hard, looking through the dense, green leaves and trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
“Are they monkeys?” Sister Su asked.
“Yes. Golden Helmed Tree Guardian Macaques, specifically. Be very careful what you say. They might not speak a human tongue, but many understand more human words than you would think. And they hold grudges for generations.” Lin murmured. Tian noticed she wasn’t moving her lips as she spoke. “I know what the Elder sent us here for. Give me a bit, there will be some negotiating to do.”
There were hundreds of monkeys. Then thousands. Smaller than Tian expected, with a bald face and a head covered in golden fur. He noticed many of them were carrying wooden clubs or pointy sticks. Their toes gripped cracks in the bark with evident comfort. Anyone daring to attack their kingdom would get it from all directions.
Tian’s eyes drifted back to the higher branches. Monkeys smart enough to make clubs would be smart enough to throw rocks. And there were an awful lot of them already. And worst of all, they felt like cultivators. Not very strong ones, maybe at the first or second level of the Earthly realm. But if this truly was their kingdom, they would have enough numbers to make up the difference in levels.
Lin howled up at the guardians above, who screeched and gibbered back at her. There was a free and frank exchange of views which ended with Lin flinging a few large sacks of rice up into the tree, along with some salt and other provisions. In exchange, a single wooden bucket was lowered to the jungle floor.
“Monkey wine. It’s not very alcoholic, so it doesn’t keep. You have to drink it within a few weeks of it being made. It is a superb body cultivation tonic. It will also help heal Sister Su.” Lin explained.
Tian sniffed it carefully. Dark, rich fruits, bright flowers, the barest hint of something spicy and the faint warmth of alcohol. Sour notes too, but more refreshing than unpleasant. It was the single most delicious thing Tian had ever smelled and he wanted to drink the whole bucket.
“Can I drink this, Grandpa?”
In moderation, yes. It’s about as far as you can get from that rotgut they drink at Depot Four. Maybe two percent alcohol? Probably a bit closer to four given the sugar concentration. They must not let it fully ferment, or maybe they just haven’t isolated a decent yeast strain. I’m surprised it’s not a lot stronger. Well, no worries. It’s good stuff. Enjoy.
His nose had told no lies. The layers of flavors kept rolling and growing with every exhale after he drank his cup, flowers budding, blooming and fruiting with every breath. The notion that something could keep on being delicious was a glorious mystery, but it was true. He exhaled a tropical bouquet with every breath. It took him several minutes to collect himself and enquire about the possibility of a second cup.
The wine did indeed add a bit of strength and coordination to his body. It wasn’t much given how thoroughly he had refined himself, but who would ever complain about having too much strength? And the double portion they had set aside for Sister Su had done wonders for her condition. She said she would start trying to walk again in a month, two at the most. She had expected to spend more than a year in the wheelchair.
It was a small interlude, but it was what Elder Feng focused them on. They cruised back and forth, traveling generally northwest, occasionally stopping to divert a flood or clear a landslide or some other minor disaster. Minor for the Elder, anyway. It always seemed to involve brutal amounts of manual labor for the disciples. Even Sister Su couldn’t escape- her wheelchair was fitted with a harness and she dragged sleds of dirt around behind her. Or thick bundles of logs. Or the carcasses of wagon sized boars traveling in sounders of twenty or more making their way towards a stretch of truly fertile farmland and all its mortal inhabitants.
Just level three, but there were so, so many of them that the disciples were running around for days trying to find them all. And they did need to find all of them. Just one breeding pair, and the problem would return in less than a year.
It was on one of these “Small jobs” that Tian finally saw the difference between those that found the center of the caverns, and those who only got through all five caves. Tian and Hong had grasped the elements and found a way to keep them in tension within themselves. That cycle of generation and restraint pervaded everything they did. They didn’t struggle against the elements. They had learned to move with them.
Lin hadn’t. She was probably stronger than others her age, but at best she could selectively focus on a specific element and add it to her arts. So long as she was focusing on it, anyway. Her progress would doubtless be faster than others, but...
Elder Rui had told the truth. Lin would probably defeat most people at her level. Tian had yet to meet someone at the Earthly realm that could match himself or Hong.
If the only people that could threaten him were at the Heavenly Person level, and he didn’t need cultivation resources, and he was content with his current equipment and arts… what exactly did he need the sect for? It would be different once he broke through, of course, but for right now, and for the next few years, what exactly did the Sect offer? Companionship? That was valuable, certainly. Mentors were valuable too. Valuable work experience? Perhaps, but he could study medicine anywhere. He was sick of learning on the battlefield.
The sky looked wide open. The land below was filled with wonders and treasures. And he was stuck on a flying barge wondering about how to cure kingdom-wide corruption before heretics drowned the world in suffering.
It was a good fight, and worth fighting. He hated the heretics with every fiber of his being, and hated everything they represented with every shred of his soul. But he was tired. He was so damned tired. He cared, but wasn’t he allowed to rest? At least for a little while?
The sect certainly thought they could manage without him. They had packed him off with the elder specifically to keep him off the front lines. So, really, would it be so bad to be working inside the kingdom?
He wrestled with the thought for a while, then a memory poked him like a monkey with a stick. He was on the responsible list. People on the responsible list were sent to manage temples and act as emissaries. He didn’t think he could manage a temple, but traveling the kingdom, selling tea and carrying the Temple’s messages? That he could do. That sounded perfect, actually.
If only his brothers were safe. If only he could know they were safe, and weren’t dying out in the sands while he ran away.
As the months trickled past, the other disciples learned that if you wanted to find Tian, just look in the garden. You could find him staring into the sky.