Months passed in the interim after Alfonso, Wan Qi, and Gong Tung-Mei had maid their deal together.

In that time, Alfonso taught whoever wished to learn the harvesting of the beans, wild onions, garlic, and other vegetables he had used for the dish of chili and so too taught them how to cook it. In Eyu Luzhou and Anhao Luzhou, the dish flourished in between its primary missionary working to help rebuild the village of Eyu Luzhou and do the other things which he felt were important in the region.

“Do things because they are right, even if not convenient,” he told himself every time he wanted to escape a class of basic martial arts with the villagers, Hou Gen, or Wan Qi. The same when the cousin of Tienye and Diwu, Xu Chasun, chose to tag along with him in tutorials from Lady Gong Tung-Mei on writing and reading the script of the world more clearly and legibly.

What he did not say it to was the explanations which he was given from the two elder cultivators and Hou Gen about the nature of cultivation. While each of them spoke of building a realm, his mind was a cook’s.

Which was why as Hou Gen went over them again with Alfie, the long-haired perpetually unshaven cultivator found himself brought to a sigh in between the duo’s lifting of logs towards a new room in Eyu Luzhou.

“Once again, Al Fi. A starting cultivator, such as yourself, begins at the shallows stage. Before that, a fledgling would-be cultivator is considered to be a “Deep Mortal’. Shallows Stage. Because you are building a realm with your cultivation. Next is the filling or geyser stage, where your cultivation base builds upon the foundation it has and begins to rise to the third stage, that of the heights.”

A foundation he could understand and so Alfie envisioned it as a long flat plane of metal, but when he thought of building towards heights, he only could envision adding beans and other ingredients and adding water to stew.

So after hopping up to the edge of the roof and guiding into place for the carpenters, Alfie shrugged. “I understand, Shallows, Deep Mortal, Geyser and Heights. But that doesn’t mean I understand it. All I can envision is filling a pot with ingredients when you say to envision it and to try to cultivate it. I know when you and the others say building a realm, you mean an inner spiritual realm, but maybe that doesn’t work for me?”

It wasn’t even because he was particularly religious, but rather because when Alfie thought of heaven, he thought of his family’s food spread out for everyone to try. ‘Food from the heart is heaven’ may as well have been the young man from Texas’ motto.

“I suppose. Here, lift that up slightly and closer to you so that they can build out the slats on this second floor more safely.”

Alfonso gave a nod before focusing on that.

***

Elsewhere, Odiseo trained. Circling the dastardly squirrel which chose to enter the vicinity of the vaulted heir Alfie, the chihuahua let out mighty shouts of ‘you dare?’ at the rodent – only to be heard as barks from the humans. The squirrel simply chittered and dodged, but they had played this game many times before.

With a mighty slap of his paw to the tail of the squirrel, the bandit of acorns was thrown into a tree, and as soon as it landed, it gave a mocking bow and fled elsewhere. With a mighty roll, the golden furred, resplendent dog dodged out of the squirrel’s counterattack, a volley of acorns.

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That was right, Odiseo thought, even as he was pelted by some acorns. Give back your pilfered goods, you bandit!

***

It was like this that our trio of heroes completed the restoration of the village of Eyu Luzhou, and after Wan Qi and Lady Gong Tung-Mei were preparing to depart back for their sects.

“Remember to use your tokens when and if you need to, but be aware in the Empire of the Twelve Verdant Shades, you should use Wan Qi’s token and, under no circumstances, my own. In the Kingdom of the Long River, inversely only use my token and not Wan Qi’s. Otherside of those realms, use your and Xiang Hou Gen’s best judgment.”

The woman spoke to him as if she was one of his many maternal figures, and by instinct Alfonso had adhered to that. Now she gave him a gentle pat on the head. When she was done, Wan Qi punched him gently in the shoulder.

“Get stronger and make much more delicious food. I expect your skills to grow one hundredfold when we next meet, young master Kartuh Al Fi. It is your destiny to do so, surely.”

“Destiny, pshaw. Any cultivator should fight to break destiny and control it rather than adhere to the will of the heavens, Wan Qi.”

“You would say that, you desert dwelling flower growing w-”

She put a finger to the azure robbed man’s lips.

“That’s enough. Let us go on our ways, Wan Qi. Come to me stronger and twice as vital next time that we see each other. Al Fi, stay safe! And make sure to meet me soon to let me introduce you to some of my nieces!”

The young man from Texas rubbed his face as the elders were out of sight, but before that had struggled to keep his emotions under control. What was it that elder Luzhou Gou had said so many times when Alfonso and Hou Gen had first shown themselves? ‘Damned Cultivators?’

With those vaulted powers in front of him, he could understand the sentiment.

When they were out of sight and earshot, Hou Gen patted him on the back. “Hang in there, hang in there. So do you want to go to the Kingdom of the Long River or the Empire of the Twelve Verdant Shades first?”

“Neither. If one is east and the other west, let’s go south or north. Flip a coin?” Alfonso was more tired from that conversation than he had been from the work, and Hou Gen could tell.

“Let’s go south. It’s almost winter there, so it will be pleasant. Beautiful women, sunshine, delicious fruit.” Hou Gen had never tried to sell Alfonso on anything so thoroughly before.

Alfie nudged him in the stomach.

“And I may owe some money in the north.”

“South it is then.”

It took them another day or two of gathering supplies, saying good byes, and packing up things into the Chili Cloud’s trailer before they were ready to leave. As they prepared to go, Tienye, Diwu, and Xu Chasun stood there with packs over their shoulders.

“I thought you all went home?” Hou Gen asked as he looked at the trio.

“We pledged to the Chi Li Sage Kartuh Al Fi, Elder Xiang Hou Gen.” Xu Chasun spoke, and lied. Xu Chasun had not actually sworn to the young man, and despite this that didn’t change a thing.

“It’s fine, Hou Gen. Let them come. Tienye and Diwu told me about Diwu’s dad and their uncle, he’s a grumpy old man and named his son’s numbers. They don’t want to disrupt Diwu’s brothers. Even Chasun can come, even if she wants to play Fa Mulan and both act like I don’t know she’s a girl and that she never pledged anything?”

“Fa Mula-”

“I am not a gi-”

“Come on, come on. I don’t want to have the old man shouting Damned Cultivators at us if Rin decides to show up too, so let’s just go now. Just know I’m not some bandit warlord. Don’t do bad things to people. We don’t do bad things to people unless they deserve it.” Alfonso replied to the others and started the chili cloud up with Odiseo sitting in his backpack.

The others began to rush along behind him as they headed down the road and towards the south.