Breakfast for Shen Yu turned into an act. Hong Meiling would not have the satisfaction of knowing she had unsettled him. It was certainly petty of him, but one could never let a person know when a blow had found its mark.

He once more praised the slip of a girl—not even the Demon Commander had cut him so deeply.

It was rather easy, however, to slip back into the role of Gramps. The surroundings distracted him, and his laughs turned genuine. Especially when the little dragon took a place next to Shen Yu, to properly coach him on the way to consume the various dishes that were arranged in front of them.

“Oho? And this goes upon it? I say, little Dragon, how do you come up with these things?” Shen Yu asked the beast indulgently.

‘Only through tasting the bad does one know what truly tastes good,’ the dragon, who was currently a carp replied. He stroked his whiskers as he lounged in a water filled trough. He had a smug, fishy grin on his face as he imparted his words. Indeed, it was not bad for a man to have that outlook. Once more, Shen Yu was rather impressed at the temperance of Rou’s animals.

“What he means is that he sticks everything he can get his fins on into his fat mouth.” Tigu shot back.

The carp waved his fin negligently at her. ‘You sling insults while enjoying the fruits of this Wa Shi’s labour. ‘Twas not long ago that you thought rats were the height of fine food, before this kindly elder brother enlightened you.’

Tigu rolled her eyes at the jab. “You didn’t enlighten me! I always knew what was good! And rat…. Well… yeah, they’re kind of gross like this. And Master and Mistress don’t want me to eat them anymore.”

Shen Yu paused at the declaration, and once more, he examined the girl who looked so like Rou. She too had been forced to eat rats to survive. Shen Yu felt another small surge of kinship with the girl, who remained so chipper.

Nodding to himself, Shen Yu decided that the girl was a passable talent. She had been lifted from whatever Rou had done, but she could still be praised.

“Indeed. I remember my time eating rats. I speak for us all when I say I am glad such times are behind us, eh Rou?” Shen Yu said instead, and he saw the boy grimace at the reminder.

“There shall be no more rat eating in this house if I can help it.” Rou decreed. Meiling, the monkey, and the fox boy all nodded their heads in agreement.

The rooster decided to interject at that moment. “Indeed. Delicious food is something to be savoured, as this Bi De has learned over his journeys. That, and the company of home is more fulfilling than the coops of other hens.” The rooster stroked his wattles.

Shen Yu stared blankly at the chicken, before bursting out into laughter. It was endlessly amusing to hear the beast speak.

“Oh? Visit many a coop, did you?” Shen Yu asked leadingly.

The rooster seemed to realise what he just said, his wattles flushing a deeper shade of red. The beast turned his beak to the sky. “A gentleman does not speak of such things.”

His attempt at salvaging the situation failed… and both the rabbit and the rat turned gimlet eyes upon the feathered man.

“Truly?” Shen Yu mused, as he saw the jealousy in the rat’s gaze. “You were the one who brought it up. Perhaps we may trade stories of our conquests—Ha! Trading stories with a chicken! I’ll drink with you, Spirit Beast, and you can tell me about this journey you went on. It is not every day one hears such a tale.”

And he would drink with the creature! It was sure to be an amusing distraction, once he had spoken with Rou!

Shen Yu ate more of the food. Including a stack of cakes absolutely slathered in the syrup Lu Ri so loved. He would have to ask for some for Lu Ri. The boy tried oh so hard to hide his irritation after he had eaten the last of it.

Eventually, the meal did conclude. The little dragon absconded to lick the plates cleaned. The rest of the household filed out, and took up positions in the courtyard, near the fruit trees.

Shen Yu watched, amused, as they waited for Rou to come out.. And then his amusement faded, as Rou took his stance.

It was a stance he was intimately familiar with.

“You still do that, Rou?” he asked quietly.

“It was the first one you taught me,” Rou replied. “Like you said; every day.”

Shen Yu smiled genuinely, as he began. It was utterly perfect; refined, into a foundation as solid as the firmament.

A stirring of pride came once more to his chest.

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Some of Shen Yu’s turmoil had lessened in the face of the little martial display Rou had put on. Rou still valued his teachings… and valued them so much that he had taught them to all of these cultivators and people—all of them had the set of basics Shen Yu had devised, and all were… acceptable in using them.

Little Rou truly had started a sect. It was strange, to see the boy so comfortable in a position of command… yet as their morning practise finished, he took his place at the head of the group once more, solid and calm.

“Alright, everybody, same as usual. We’ll try and finish the rest of the fields today. Gou Ren, You’re almost done?” The monkey boy nodded, his eyes set.

“Yeah. Bowu’s seed drill is working wonders—same with the inter-row tillers. Heh, if we’re not careful, they’ll put us outta the job!”

Rou chuckled and nodded to the mortal, and his underling. The boy had a proper amount of respect in his tone… but it was the respect of a younger brother to his elder. Shen Yu smiled slightly at the byplay, happy at least that Rou knew the feeling here.

“Bei Be, you wanted to continue work on the road?” The ox bowed his head slightly. “Excellent.”

He continued down the list of assignments. Most of the time, his words were phrased as requests, not commands, which in Shen Yu’’s opinion wasn’t nearly firm enough … but it seemed to work. His underlings were no less respectful for it. Neither man nor beast did anything but accept his words, and even Impudent Hong Meiling bowed her head to her husband’s will when he gave her the task of checking on the cows.

It was actually rather amusing how seriously they were all taking farming. The animals in particular were serious enough that they looked like they had been given orders to march to war.

But it was an opportunity. Rou had commanded his subordinates to go out into the fields, presumably while he meditated, so they would have time to talk.

Rou was smiling, even as he saw them off. Shen Yu could still remember the first time he commanded men of his own.

Rou turned, and took a step inside, Shen Yu intent on following after him—when Rou turned right back around, a shovel in his hands with its haft intricately carved.

“Alright! Time to get to work” his grandson declared. “Gramps, you’re a guest, so you can do whatever you want… but do you want to see how we do things?”

“I do.” he said, as he watched his grandson. He wanted to see Rou’s “abandonment of cultivation” in action “So, you work personally…?”

“Yup! How can I tell somebody what to do if I’m not ready to do it myself?” he asked. “Besides, I love it here.”

Shen Yu paused, at the tenderness in Rou’s voice.

Following Rou out into the fields, Rou granted Shen Yu permission for a deeper examination of his Qi and abilities.

And he observed.

Rou rose his shovel high into the air, his Qi swirling around it. Shen Yu opened his senses.

And then nearly cursed when Rou drove his Qi into the land.

It was to Shen Yu’s senses, a spike of purest gold.

Rou’s Qi poured into the ground as a vast waterfall. Energies well into the Earth Realm saturated the dirt, driving deep, past the roots of the plants and the trees, and into the water below.

And finally, into a golden net of energy, whose properties were nearly indistinguishable from Rou.

The entire formation beneath the earth resonated like a chime, pulsing in time with Rou’s breath and heartbeat.

The entity beneath the earth, the one that had been hiding, that Shen Yu had thought was some ancestral weapon… Responded.

Shen Yu’s eyes widened as he realised he could not feel the separation between them. There was at no point where Rou ended and the thing in the ground disappeared.

For a brief instant, terrible rage overtook him; Rou was giving this thing his Qi, his energy. This parasite was feeding on him—

His Qi came to the fore; dark and terrible. The world shuddered in protest, as the thing took Rou’s energy. He would tear it out, root and stem!

And then, instead of wholly taking the power for itself, the very earth seemed to sigh. The plants grew more vibrant. A warm spring breeze flowed outwards from the point of impact as Rou’s Qi seeded the land.

He gave to the earth—and the bands of gold in every plant, every animal, and as Shen Yu expanded his senses, every person.

Rou had connected himself to the land.

The earth pulsed again, giving back.

There was but one technique that had any similarities with this. This version of it was warped and twisted from what Shen Yu knew of the Path of Shennong.

Shen Yu found bile beginning to form in his throat as he began to comprehend what Rou, what his grandchild was doing.

And then little Rou did it again. He poured his Qi, wastefully, into the earth.

There was what felt like a shuddering heartbeat.

The golden threads connected him to the land, and to his wife. Threads that shared his power. Threads that allowed others to access his might…. Or rather the Earth Spirit below them’s might.

Rou had grown so strong so quickly. His power… the core of it, was at the high end of the Earth Realm. But the spirit below… It was diffused and ever shifting. He would be able to figure it out eventually, but it would require concentration he could not muster with his tumultuous emotions.

Rou was the land. The land was Rou. Every inch of his power… his very soul, had been bound.

The tendrils were wrapped so tightly around his soul.

He had chained himself.

From here, there would be no ascension. From here… he truly was not a cultivator who could challenge the Heavens.

Shen Yu…. Shen Yu suddenly felt every single one of his years.

What had happened. Why? Why had Rou…?

He turned his gaze from the furrow in the field, to see Rou’s eyes upon him.

Little Rou… he was calm.

‘I have abandoned the path of cultivation.’ The letter said, slightly remorseful, but resolved.

To a cursory examination, that was a mistruth. Rou had grown strong! He had grown powerful! He had subordinates, a sect more powerful than anything else in this little pond, created in less than two years.

But it was the truth.

Those who follow the Path of Shennong all perish—

He had bound himself fully to the world. He had, true to his word, abandoned challenging the heavens.

There was still time. There was still time. Time to convince Rou to remove the chains… He was strong, he could restart his cultivation anew—!

“Hey, Gramps?” Rou’s quiet voice interrupted the spiral in Shen Yu’s heart. His Qi, soft, gold, and gentle, wrapped around Shen Yu’s, preventing it from harming the world around it. It was a tenuous grasp. With a flex, Shen Yu could shatter it. But instead, he puled his Qi back into his body. “Let's talk.”

Shen Yu could only nod.

It was all Shen Yu could do to keep his Qi under control as Rou walked with him into the forest. The leaves were starting to grow their blossoms and first leaves, but were otherwise bare.

They sat together on a rock.

There was silence. Utter silence. Shen Yu could not understand.

“...what happened? What happened, to make you choose this path?” Shen Yu finally asked. His voice was remarkably calm, for all that he was barely able to stave off Qi deviation. A bit of blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth.

Rou sighed and stared up at the branches. “Where do you want to start?”

Shen Yu paused at the question, before he gave his answer. How could a man.., How could a man that he had chosen… do this? “At the beginning. What happened that day, Rou?”

His grandson looked up at the sky and sighed. “I’m getting a bit too good at telling this story,” he said with a little smile.

“Well, I guess it starts on the day I died.”