If one asked Delun how he thought he would be spending his time, he could have answered perhaps with Tigu or cultivating. Well, he had done plenty of the former already… but out of everything on this strange farm... He hadn’t expected this.

“Why did I keep the freckles?” Master Jin asked from where he was sitting beside Delun on the bank of the river, fishing poles dipped into the water.

The Hidden Master had asked him to go fishing this morning. At first, Delun had been as tense as a wooden post, wondering if this was going to be some kind of test. But no, they had just… gone fishing. And they were talking. About random things! Master Jin was very good at simply making disarming conversation, and Delun felt his muscles begin to untense.

He had ended up rambling about his early life, when Master Jin asked him how he had grown up. He spoke of his training, of his smithing, and of his mother and father’s expectations. He spoke of the great iron fields that were his home: the rusting iron spires that poked from the ground like karsts, the giant boulders of tin and copper, and the riverbeds full of silver. His home was beautiful and full of wealth, but harsh. Little could grow when the ground was so rich with metal, it may as well have been solid bedrock, and he knew that in some places the water was completely undrinkable, poisoned by lead deposits.

Somehow, they had transitioned to talking about Delun himself and his own problems in life, which led to him asking the Hidden Master a question.

They both had freckles. In fact, they did look quite a bit similar. Both had brown hair and both had large frames. Delun was curious at why the powerful cultivator and his wife had kept their freckles.

“I didn’t really choose to keep them, if I’m being honest, but even if I had thought about it, I would keep them. I like them.”

“...even though people say they’re blemishes?” Delun asked.

Master Jin glanced at him from the corner of his eye, evaluating the question, before the man sighed. “You’ve gotten a lot of shit for the way you look, haven’t you?”

“... yes.” Delun admitted.

“I’ll give you the response you've heard before, that they don’t matter and they can be ignored. It is right, of course. People like that are dicks and their words have no value.” Delun snorted at the crassness of the statement. But he was right. He had heard that before, from his own father, and that was the extent of the advice. That, and if the insult was too much, he was supposed to break them with his hammer if he could. The problem with that, though, was that only those he couldn’t beat said it to his face. The others whispered from the shadows, and Delun had no target for his fury.

But unlike his father, Master Jin continued. “I won’t say their words don’t hurt, and that they’ll never wear on your mind—and I guess that they do it in a way where you can’t actually properly retaliate?” Delun nodded at the observation. “Then the thing to remember is that not everybody thinks that. Tigu thinks you’re handsome. Is she right, or a liar?”

Delun flushed at the ease with which the man brought the statement up. Not even mockingly, but he was serious.

“She's not a liar.” Delun muttered after a moment. Tigu truly did believe that he was handsome, freckles and all.

“It does help, I find, remembering that—even if it doesn’t work all the time. Other than that? Healthy outlets. Like forging, or carving. And while I think it should be a last resort, sometimes people earn that fist to the nose.”

Delun chuckled at the Hidden Master’s wisdom. It was blunt and to the point, like him. They sat in silence for a moment, under the sun, the sounds of animals filling the air. He felt just a bit of the tight knot that was always in his stomach fade. His fishing pole twitched in the water. Eyes widening he pulled; not too hard this time, because the last time he hadn’t been paying attention and had ripped the fish in half.

This time, he pulled out the river fish and caught the flopping beast out of the air.

“Good catch!” Master Jin exclaimed, and clapped Delun on the shoulder. Delun grinned at the praise.

They spent some more time fishing, the topic this time remaining light, and they added five more fish to the bucket. Then, their conversation shifted. This time they spoke about the strange contraptions the Young Master of the Misty Lake Sect was making.

Bowu was interesting.

He hadn’t even known Xianghua had a brother. The man from the Misty Lake Sect was good at his craft. He would see if Bowu was interested in trading pointers though he knew most smiths jealously guarded their secrets.

“That should be enough for soup.” the Hidden Master decided, looking at their catch. “Let's go bring these back in.”

Delun felt disappointed, if he was honest. Fishing was a good time. He would have to see if Master Jin would feel like going fishing again before he left for back home. He hadn’t spent time with anyone like this except his father, on his good days.

They walked back together to Master Jin’s house, through the grass cropped short by cows and sheep. He could hear Xiulan’s voice drifting on the wind as the woman sung an old ballad. She would start and stop again, pitching her voice in different ways, or clearing her throat, clearly practicing.

They passed Loud Boy and Wa Shi—the former staring at the slate before him and looking incredibly vexed. Loud Boy had tried to use his own Draconic Qi to open a dialogue with the dragon only for Wa Shi to be completely and utterly disinterested in the boy, waving him off so he could continue reading some scroll.

Then Tigu had whispered something to him and Loud Boy had returned with a platter of sweets. Like an Emperor granted his due the dragon had magnanimously accepted the request to trade pointers with Loud Boy.

The pointers were not what Loud boy had expected. His task had been to learn mathematics. Delun had no idea what math of all things had to do with cultivation, but it was pretty funny to see Loud Boy scratching his head while he tried to comprehend what the dragon called ‘The Sublime Formation of Flow.’

After delivering the fish to Miss Pi Pa Delun didn’t have anything to do at the moment. Tigu had said that she had lessons today; Master Jin had told her he could postpone them, but Tigu had refused. She was outside, sitting with Chun Ke, sets of courtly characters before them.

“What's this one?” Tigu asked the boar. He studied the character closely, his eyes focused. It took nearly a minute before the boar had his answer.

‘Scholar.’ He said, slight hesitation in his voice.

Tigu beamed “Yes! It looks very much like the character for soil, but it is scholar!”

The boar oinked happily.

Delun left them to it, deciding to get some more training on the poles outside the house. On his way to them, he passed by Rags—the mad bastard was sitting with the terrifying old man drinking with him, regaling the amused-looking monster with a tale of how he had ended up as the leader of his gang and their escapades.

Life here was nothing like he expected. Tie Delun wondered as the days passed what he would do when he had to leave. Or really, if he was honest, whether he wanted to.

==========================================

Delun woke up each day refreshed. He joined in on the morning forms. He traded pointers with his peers, animal and human alike. They explored what seemed to be every nook and cranny that Tigu had found on her Master’s property, from the couple of caves in the side of hills, to where a spring bubbled up from the ground.

He played games of Go with a snake and a monkey. He forged a seed drill with Bowu. He posed for images with Yun Ren. He once even held the Young Master when Tigu passed off her little brother to him to attend to Lady Meiling. Delun had been scared stiff.

The people here were so strange. He’d been forced to rethink much of his, in hindsight, surface level impressions.

People he thought he had the measure of turned out to be different. So different. Liu Xianghua was still as loud as ever—but her voice, once grating to his ears, and full of condescension and insults, seemed more like she was just teasing.

And the other one?

“There was once a farmer and his maid fair. Of violet eyes and green hair!—”

He learned that night that Xiulan did not only practice the classics.

“Her fields were nestled in a verdant course, and overgrown with weeds!

Yet the farmer’s mighty tool could satisfy any demanding needs!

Back and forth across the land he went, toiling all the day!

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His technique and skill could only astound; the maid shouted out her praise!

So impressed by his power, the maiden let the farmer take the lead—

Deep within her sacred lands he sowed his special seed!”

Master Jin had his face in his hands, while Lady Meiling stared, absolute joy and pride on her features as the elegant Young Mistress of the Verdant Blade Sect sang her way through the bars of a spectacularly vulgar song.

Delun wasn’t the only one howling with laughter by the end.

Delun didn’t know what to expect from the trip when he came here, seeking to repay Tigu for her kind gift to him. He perhaps expected to spend some time with her, before her duties took her away, and he would have been fine with that. He didn’t expect to be clapping Cai Xiulan on the back while she smiled ear to ear with a self-satisfied grin on her face.

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Tigu asked as the night grew late.

Delun didn’t know, but there was a cough from Bi De.

“I shall be travelling to the Eighth Correct Place in order to meet with my student. Should any wish to join me, you are welcome to.”

Tigu’s eyes lit up.

And that was how Delun found himself running along the road again. They surely made a strange sight as they blitzed down the road, a formation of men and beasts, as well as a large cart that Miss Biyu, Bowu, and several other mortals from Hong Yaowu rode in. They got to a quaint little village at mid-day, and met a strange boy who was wearing a rooster mask.

Loud Boy and “The Torrent Rider” instantly began squabbling over their names, which sounded extremely similar.

It was… fun. They spent the day riding surging water down ‘The Gutter’, and egging on Loud Boy and the Torrent Rider as they sought to outdo one another.

He also really needed to get one of those cute fluffy dogs. Both Tigu and Miss Biyu had made extremely high pitched noises at the sight of the little creature, burying their faces in its fur.

==============================================

“Here. Still hot.” Xiulan smiled at the Young Master of the Hermetic Iron Sect and accepted the skewer of mutton and vegetables he held out to her. She was quite hungry from all the activity today.

“Thank you.” Xiulan said as she took the skewer. She sat beside him, the Young Master of the Hermetic Iron Sect making room for her. He kept his gaze carefully above her neck as was proper, avoiding looking at both the gold-filled fracture in her chest as well as what else lay there.

Instead, he turned his attention back to the ongoing game of ‘volleyball’ where Meiling and Tigu were doing battle.

He watched for a moment, before forcefully turning his eyes away so as to not stare unduly at Tigu’s fully exposed abs and tanned skin glistening with water.

The young man’s restraint in his earnest pursuit was quite charming. He had taken Jin’s words to heart, and while his interest was rather obvious he had not once pressured the girl. Instead, he was content to simply spend time with her and work on their passion of carving together.

Delun… she had never thought much of the younger man before. Often Xiulan heard whispers of his fierce temper and the mocking insults about his appearance. They called him an oaf, clumsy and ugly with vulgar muscles and a face full of blemishes.

Xiulan had seen him several times before and she was guilty of thinking at least some of those words were true. He had always looked so angry, his eyes sharp and narrow. He didn’t walk, he stomped, threatening to trample over any who got in his way. His voice was a snarl or a shout, aggressive and rude.

Tigu had shattered that man with a single compliment. It almost seemed silly from the outside, that a single person calling him handsome had ripped open a gaping hole in the face he showed to the world.

But Xiulan knew a thing or two about getting hassled over one’s appearance. She had experienced the constant insults, the belittling, the pressure. She had dealt with lustful eyes from the age of twelve, when her body had begun to bloom.

The cold, prim and proper Young Mistress of the Verdant Blade Sect had been the consequence. A foolish girl, so desperate and insecure, putting up a front of competence and confidence. Xianghua had been more honest than Xiulan had been and most of her personality was a self-admitted act.

It was armour against a cruel world. Had been, anyway.

That was how things were; but not how she wished them to be.

“It's nice here.” She heard Delun say quietly as he looked out at the world with soft eyes.

“It is.” Xiulan agreed, knowing very well the sentiment.

It took so little for a person to change so drastically. Like she had changed, tense, angry Delun had been replaced with a calm, kind, relaxed man.

Just one small change, and the world would change with it.

Maybe she was a fool, for wishing for something else. Maybe the world was cruel and hurtful for a reason.

But she would never forgive herself if she didn’t at least try to change things. Try to make a world where politics didn’t allow men like Sun Ken to run rampant.

It was possible. She had seen it right here. She had seen it when they had celebrated together at the Tournament, when they had repaired everything that had been broken.

She saw it as Rags, Loud Boy, and Delun’s rivalry turned from acid to amusement with each other.

There was a way forward.

Somebody just had to walk it. Maybe she would stumble and fall, but she would start that journey.

Her path would be something in between the fans of her ancestors and the Blades of the present.

Accept and Honour the Past; Nurture and Protect the Future.

And what better step to start on but this?

She eyed Rags and Loud Boy as they came over, their own game having ended in a tie.

“Tie Delun. I have something to talk to you about, when we get back to Fa Ram.” She said.

Xiulan lifted her head to instead look at Xianghua, who had been cooking over another fire, and then she shifted to Tigu.

Her friends nodded.

And so it would begin.

=================================

Delun was still in a good mood, as he sat across from Xiulan. He felt… strange. Like he didn’t have a care in the world at the moment. His shoulders were not tense, and his breathing was easy.

He was a little bit interested in why it was just the two of them, however. They were seated on cushions across from each other, and Xiulan was brewing them tea—it was the picture of traditional negotiations between Young Masters and Young Mistresses.

But the words that came out of Cai Xiulan’s mouth were anything but traditional.

Unite the Sects of the Azure Hills

At the Dueling Peaks, she had spoken to himself and others insinuating that she wanted a closer relationship between herself and the sects of others. Everybody who she spoke to had agreed then. It was the only intelligent play, to have a better relationship with Cai Xiulan. But most, Delun assumed, thought that she had meant closer cooperation between herself and them alone.

Not closer cooperation between everybody.

The words spilled from Delun as she finished her request..

“You’re mad, Cai, if you think this will work.” His words were blunt but he needed to be honest. “Your words are as pretty as your voice, but… no Elders would accept such a thing!”

Xiulan’s sapphire eyes bored into his. Under the light of the moon, her skin seemed to have an ethereal glow. “That is what you believe will happen. But Is that truly what you want, Tie Delun?”

Delun paused. A part of him too, rebelled at Xiulan’s words. Make peace? Make peace with people who had insulted him all his life? Who had belittled every one of his accomplishments? He wanted to hammer them all into the dirt! He wanted to beat them, and break them!

But another part of him… remembered the Dueling Peaks. Those same bastards who had called him stupid and ugly stood shoulder to shoulder with him, fighting and bleeding. The Young Master of the Azure Horizon Sect could have looked the other way, and allowed a blade to enter Delun’s back, but instead he had thrown himself in front of the blow, getting electrocuted for his efforts. The Grand Ravine Sect, who had always been contemptuous of the other Sects, had thrown themselves into battle without hesitation, for a girl they barely knew.

It had been beautiful. A miracle.

He wanted so much to see and feel it again, the camaraderie at their party, the laughter and the joy, as the cold formality and inherited grudges they bore were nowhere to be seen. He’d found it here again under the watchful eye of Master Jin. Delun would not lie to himself about that.

It just wasn’t enough.

“It's not really about what we want. It's what is realistic. There is too much bad blood. Too many grudges. The sects of the Azure Hills may band together for a time, but in the end we always fall back into our rivalries. It never ends… this is the way of the world.” Delun murmured.

“Is that all we can do? Just accept and inherit the grudges of our forebears? Are we doomed to repeat this endless cycle that we find ourselves trapped in?” Xiulan asked.

The thought of even bringing this up to his mother and father made his guts clench. A couple of relationships with neutral parties was one thing. To go to one of their enemies and ask to cooperate? He grimaced. “You would be challenging the entire hills, Xiulan.” He said. “No, that is an understatement. You would be challenging the way of the world. The strong rise, the Sects war. That is how it has always been.”

“Yes. It will be difficult. But Delun, we are cultivators. We challenge the heavens. Are we to leave a task simply because we think it to be difficult? Are we to abandon our ideals because it might bring us pain?” Xiulan's mask had slipped. From the calm, serene Young Mistress, she changed. She blazed. Her soul sang and he felt it in his bones. The words hammered into his chest, as he stared into those eyes, burning with conviction. Her Qi was resolute and unwavering.

“...no.” He admitted.

She rose from her seat and moved to the window. She raised her hand and pointed out to the sleeping Fa Ram.

“Look where you are. Look at what has happened here. What it could be like. I’ve seen the change that a different circumstance brings out in you and I know you’ve seen the changes in me. Fa Ram… Jin’s home… It’s something beautiful, isn’t it?”

His eyes closed, breathing in, letting the sweet air of this place into his lungs. He could almost hear Tigu’s laughter.

“It is.”

“Is it wrong to try and change the world? Instead of conquering it, instead of ripping everything we can from those around us… is it wrong to try and make it better?”

“It isn’t.” He admitted, and opened his eyes.

“Tie Delun. Young Master of the Hermetic Iron Sect. I need your help.” Xiulan bowed to him, her head low. “Will you aid me, in my path? I cannot succeed in this journey alone.”

Delun took another deep breath, and let it out slowly. His father wouldn’t approve. He was likely going to be defying his family and his Sect. He might be dead by the spring.

But…it was not wrong.

She was right.

Tei Delun had been called many things but he would never be called a coward.

He stood and faced her then lowered his head.

“It is not wrong to want something better. It is not wrong to be better, Xiulan. You will have my aid.”

He raised his head to Xiulan beaming at him. Delun scratched his cheek in embarrassment—and then the door was nearly torn open, Tigu strode in with a giant smile on her face, Rags and Loud Boy, and Xianghua ambling in behind.

Tigu looked at Xiulan’s smile, then her eyes snapped to Delun.

“Our Fellowship grows!” She crowed, swooping down and hugging Delun, rubbing her cheek against his. Delun flushed. “The Blade of Grass is very bad at talking to people and making friends, so I was worried when she said she had to be the one to convince you!”

Xianghua started chuckling, while Xiulan’s soft smile turned absolutely offended.

He realized that Xiulan had done him a kindness. If she had asked Tigu to ask him… he would have agreed without hesitation.

“You’re both joining in on this?” he asked Rags and Loud Boy. Both of them shrugged.

“This is gonna be legendary, aint it?” Rags mused. “We’re gonna make history, and this Rags’ name is gonna be all over it! Count me in!”

“Its gonna be legendary alright—either we succeed, or people talk about how monumentally fucking stupid we all were.” Loud Boy snarked, but there was a spark in his eye.

“Each and every person here is a monumental fool.” Xianghua stated, flipping her hair with her hand. “How exciting!”

Delun chucked and sighed, before managing to focus again on Xiulan.

“So… what exactly are the details of your plan? We can’t just bring everybody here, and have them see, can we?” He asked. “Words alone will not convince people of your merits.”

“Well then. It is a good thing I do not have just words.” Xiulan said with a smile.

She reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a memory crystal.

“What is in that?” Delun asked.

“Memories. Memories of a man who visited the Marble Moonlight Sculptors—whose descendants would later be known as the Hermetic Iron Sect.”

Delun froze at her words, his eyes going wide.

He stared blankly at the crystal. “...not just pretty words at all.” Delun managed to choke out.