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Aside: "A Long Morning."
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Master Long was usually up early. Not necessarily the first awake, but he needed significantly less sleep than the rest of the caravan. This morning wasn't different, save that they had camped in the ruins of an abandoned town. Even when Long had been young, this place hadn't been populated. There was simply too high a risk of spirit beast attacks this close to the mountains.
The cultivator he hadn't expected to see this early was Miss Zhi Shae. And training with Apollo, by the sounds of it.
After his usual morning routine he went out to patrol the boundary of the camp. It was more pleasant today as the scenery included the edge of the deserted town. Some might find the setting to be gloomy or dire, yet he found it provided an interesting contrast to normal village life.
Unsurprisingly, he sensed several spirit beasts beyond the edge of the town. The sect's reports of the area listed none that made the town their home, yet it was expected to happen soon. The Bounty Hall would post regular missions for clearing the area as it was a beneficial campsite for large caravans like theirs, and close enough to make it a short journey.
He took no action against the wildlife as he sensed no predatory intent from them, and thus they would pose little danger to the scouts. Neither were any worth the effort of collecting their cores, not for him. They were all first or second stage equivalent, like the rot-dog that had found him at the well two days ago. Unlike that beast, they were normal spirit animals, and thought to be beneficial for the local ecosystem. They were also a good sign that more powerful predators were not in the area.
The second notable fact he discovered on his walkabout were the titles the two other active cultivators were referring to one another with. He hadn't been eavesdropping, they were simply within his divine senses while he patrolled the perimeter. In any case, there was no discussion topic for him to overhear while the Senior Sister trained her Junior Sister. What he heard were merely the various corrections of a teacher instructing a pupil.
"Curious," he mumbled. They were accurate forms of address, yet were rarely used as they signified significantly more familiarity than the two should have at this point. However, Shae's earlier reprimand over her relationship with Elder Ghon still rang fresh in his mind. Perhaps I'm judging too quickly.
He stroked his chin, considering if he should approach the pair. There are certain topics to discuss, a measure of plans to make for the day to come. He delayed, it was about an hour before sunrise, two before the caravan would leave. The pair were currently discussing qigong stances and movements. Likely, he thought, in an effort to catch Miss Shae up on what she had missed by avoiding the regular lessons with the other recruits.
His patrol route ended at his campsite. One might say room or domicile, yet he found it inaccurate to refer to what was no-longer a home as such. He had chosen the space as it was the nearest to the town's well. It was an extremely poor imitation of the geyser he had previously called home, yet the water source still provided some latent comfort.
Removing a physical comfort item from his spatial storage: Long sat on the cushion in lotus pose. He placed the ruined building to his back, and faced east to experience the first rays of the sunrise. By coincidence the town's well was placed almost perfectly between his seat and the spot on the horizon that would welcome the sun.
He got up and shifted to the side three paces. No sense denying such an auspicious arrangement.
He did not cultivate. The qi density was far too thin. What few drops he could gather would likely disturb all the cultivators in the area, and possibly draw in the spirit beasts he sensed, and more from further out. Large qi disturbances rarely went un-investigated by spirit beasts or cultivators.
He sighed, recalling and briefly regretting that the rot-dog swarm's appearance coincided suspiciously well with his loss of control in Flame Well.
He utilized a meditation practice to clear his mind, then swept his senses out across the town. He could tell that Apollo was doing the same. Watching the circular boundary even as she taught Shae. Hmmm? Long noted that she was teaching more than just the simple fixed-footed poses of the group qigong practice.
Recalling what fractions of their conversation he had picked up on. Again, insisting to himself that he wasn't eavesdropping, I am no spy. He pieced together Apollo's logic in deciding to teach so much.
It seemed that Miss Shae had already begun feeling out the weight shifts and steps that were hidden in the fixed-footed practice. Apollo had approved until she saw that Shae had the weight shifts reversed. Long felt wry amusement bubble up at that, Nice to see it whenever the girl isn't perfect.
Apollo had, of course, quickly set about correcting the young woman's assumptions. Miss Shae, for her part, thoroughly objected, claiming that the correct weight shifts felt jarring and erratic.
Master Long smiled at this assessment. He knew that they were rather jarring and erratic. Especially when compared to Shae's smoothly flowing Tao Yan. This was because the movements were intended to be expressed as lunges and leaps. Rapid, forceful movements meant to move the cultivator swiftly and powerfully. Something that Guard Shu had not fully demonstrated two nights ago.
Shae had likely missed the correct steps as she hadn't been able to focus on Guard Shu's performance. The guard had done an impressive job at smoothing the lunges into an even flow. Far better than he thought her capable of... Ah, I see. He had missed the obvious that night. Well, perhaps I was distracted by Disciple Zhango.
He sighed in regret. Every day that passed the prospective disciple was growing to be more of a disappointment. Even when not compared to a certain lost soul. Last night's cleansing attempt was Zhango's most recent failure. The cleansing itself went as well as could be expected. The boy simply stopped too soon. Long guessed he was far too eager to be free of the filth on his flesh, rather than free of the filth within his flesh.
His mind drew the immediate comparison to Miss Shae from a few days ago. Covered in impurities, laboring with mortals, and quite comfortable doing so. Long wasn't even sure if many peasant cultivators could match that. He sighed again, it is downright unfair to compare Zhango to her.
There was little need to dwell on it. The world was full of unfairness. He let his meditation wash away the intrusive thoughts.
He noted that Apollo was already instructing Shae on how to perform the lunges and leaps of qigong. Without the correct qi flow, she wouldn't gain the practical benefits, yet it was still good exercise. As he listened, Apollo did direct her to perform some qi movements. He was unsure what, as it was clearly something they had talked about previously.
He continued to observe the pair through the first square-set of lunges and leaps. Slowly he gained an understanding of Apollo's qi flow directions for the young woman. Strengthening for her left side, a light mud-resistance technique for her right side. Long approved, it was likely the only way to balance the strength of the two sides out.
After that first square-set, Apollo seemed more intent on simply working the girl to exhaustion than correctly teaching qigong. Long was unsure why, but didn't let the question bother him. He continued his morning meditation to wash away the thoughts, partly blocked his sense of their training, and simply took the time to enjoy the peaceful twilight before the sunrise.
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Just before the sun rose for the day Mistress Ping began her day. As she knew the road ahead was dangerous she approached Master Long to discuss plans for the day. He was meditating so she brought a chair and awaited his attention. It was best to never assume you could demand an audience with a powerful cultivator.
Long cracked open an eye, the one opposite Mistress Ping's seat. The sun was just beginning to lighten the sky, granting them several dozen breaths of time before they would be intruding upon the sunrise.
"Mistress Ping, punctual as always."
"Master Long, good morning to you. You seem to be the first to rise again."
"Hmmm, not quite. Those other two have been at it since before I began my day." He gestured across the town to where Apollo was still directing Shae in lunges and leaps. "Hmm. I'm not sure Miss Shae will be of much use to you today, she's been at that for at least an hour."
"Heh." Ping shook her head. "That girl. You might be right, but if the other scouts are to be believed she was sprinting between you and the caravan all of yesterday morning. Should I even ask what caused that, Master Long?"
He huffed. "I'd say it's cultivator business, yet it was really more of a childish disagreement. That's not to blame her, however, and I shouldn't say it's resolved, that part is too hard to tell with her. Your scouts are correct, yet her training this morning is more intense than sprinting down a road. Her Senior there seems to have a chip on her shoulder, or she just wants the best for the girl."
"Could be both." Ping shrugged. "So, is that the infamous Apollo?"
"It is for now." He flashed a smirk at her raised eyebrow. "Now, what can I do for you this morning, Mistress Ping?"
"Same as usual, Master Long: make me ten years younger. Barring that, I'd like to discuss our plans for the day and chances of a spirit beast attack."
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
He smirked again. "We will have to stick to the latter, unfortunately."
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After their short discussion of caravan business Long was able to enjoy the sunrise without being disturbed. He would have preferred Disciple Zhango join him, yet the boy's noble pampering had spoiled his appreciation for the simpler things in life. It was nothing Long would be bothered correcting right now. Zhango wasn't the first such noble disciple with that attitude, and it wouldn't spoil his own enjoyment of the moment.
The next hour was spent ensuring the caravan members were getting their day started, then getting ready to hit the road. Not that there was a lot of action he had to take. It was mostly wandering around the camp, being seen in the right places, and interrupting trouble-makers at the moment just before they took action such that they would think twice before repeating their mistakes. Some would say it was putting in minimal effort for the greatest effect. Long felt there was a certain art to it.
As the caravan began moving he again noted one pair of cultivators that seemed less interested in following along. He sighed to himself and approached the pair. It's possible I've been putting this off intentionally.
Miss Shae was still doing leaps and lunges while Apollo observed and corrected the most egregious mistakes in form. Reinforcing Long's earlier observations that she wasn't interested in perfecting the young cultivator's form as much as working her to her limits.
"Apollo." Long greeted with a nod.
"Master Long." She returned the nod.
Shae didn't react as she was a dozen paces away and probably too exhausted to be bothered. Long couldn't really blame her, and choose not to take offense.
"Did you overhear my discussion with Mistress Ping this morning?"
"Most of it. Tighter grouping on the scouts, that kind of thing."
"And are you two planning on joining us?"
She placed a fist under her chin in thought. "Maybe in another hour? She's keeping a fairly steady pace, but there's sets on sets more to go."
He raised an eyebrow. "Trying to hit a specific number? I thought you were just working her to fatigue."
"I could say it's both. She mentioned her qi has restorative properties. Were you aware of this?" She glanced at him, then back at Shae.
"Hmm, sounds familiar, she must have mentioned it." He reached into his robes and withdrew a vial of cloudy liquid to hand to her. "She did make this for me, that first night in Flame Well."
"Oh? A qi sample?" She shook it and watched the gold and red drops spin through the cloudy liquid. "Poor integration."
"Yes, though she did claim to have stripped out the red during her incident. Didn't like heaven's wrath it seems."
Apollo looked shocked briefly and examined the vial again. "Trying to mimic tribulation lightning?" She popped the cork and sniffed the vial. "It's not a lightning base though?"
"Pure qi. Not the worst choice, a bit more flexible and there are many cultivation manuals that could be adapted for it. She seemed to be having trouble understanding the gold, though."
"Hmm...? Ah, that supposed advice you didn't give her the other night?" She nodded then tilted her head suddenly. "If... If she did integrate gold qi, either of the divine golds, could she pull it back out for recovery?"
"Hmgh. From that state," he pointed at the vial, "she'd need to understand it more than she implied. Yet, if she did, then it should fully integrate with her pure qi. Thus preventing extraction." He paused. "Though, with proper integration many of the properties would be retained."
She nodded along, then checked on Shae when she noticed herself get distracted.
He asked the obvious question. "You saw her do something?"
She gave one stiff nod. "I believe she used raw divine qi outside of an enlightenment."
He took a long, deep breath in through his nose. "That would be quite noteworthy."
"She covered the use by claiming her qi has healing properties. She wasn't lying, so I didn't call her out on it."
"And now you're trying to push her to see if she'll do it again. Using the cover of punishment for missing qigong and the more specific qigong mistake punishment from the other night." He nodded to show his approval.
"Ah!" She struck with a fist into her other open palm. "I forgot about that! We'll have to add that on top. It'll push us back another half hour."
He raised an eyebrow. "Then what punishment is this?"
"Snoring while she slept last night."
He blinked a few times. "And she accepted the punishment?"
"Well I didn't tell her. She's doing muscle training for her legs. Trying to balance the strength of the tribulation flesh and mortal flesh."
"Ahh, that does explain your instructions earlier. Mud resistance would be the way to do it."
"Mhmm, so you were eavesdropping on us then?"
He huffed and smoothed out his robes. "I was watching the entire camp after scouting the perimeter. Hardly my fault that I hear things."
"Of course! My mistake!" She gave an exaggerated bow. "A Master would never stoop to simple spycraft."
"Tsk." He kept his expression firm. "Two techniques at once, though? Is she able to manage that? Even with one being simple strengthening."
"Her qi flows of its own will. Like lightning or wind. Strengthening is almost automatic, she was instinctively using it on her cleansed limbs even though she knew it granted no benefit. That movement is antithetical to the mud resistance, of course, so she's using neutral qi for that."
"Control over her own qi and neutral qi. That's good progress for one so young. Can she keep the two apart easily?"
She nodded. "Yes, but I'll save you her full ramble about it. I can't say control is a strength of hers, but controlling disparate qi types seems to come naturally." She shook the vial again then passed it back to Long. "I know this is pure qi, but it seems far too free of impurities. How did you get it like that?"
He smirked. "Good catch, we elders are used to samples like this. Yet, it was quite surprising to see one extracted so purely right before my eyes. She did this one too." He passed over the nectar sample. "Stuck her finger in spiritual water and let it seep out of her."
Apollo's eyes went wide again, and she carefully took the second vial. She shook the orange liquid and watched for impurities or separation. "This is much more refined than her own qi? How?" She held his gaze for a breath then snapped her attention back to Shae.
He felt a pulse of qi from her. A telltale sign she had used silent messaging. He watched Shae pause her leaps to make a correction, then continue. He simply nodded his approval. Even this close Apollo could have sent the message without him noticing, it was simply a gesture of courtesy that she hadn't, and a courtesy to the rest of the departing camp to not shout at the young woman.
"I was demonstrating my cooking to her. She began meditating to improve her senses, or so I thought. She picked out this qi from all the qi in the air, drew it towards her and absorbed it."
She raised an eyebrow. "You were cooking with this qi?"
"Well, not quite. You are correct to assume such a plant would be too valuable to use for casual culinary pursuits. After absorbing it she refined it to this state, then ejected it into the spiritual water so it could leave her system." He chuckled. "All to get an understanding of its Dao, supposedly. She wasn't even fully aware that she had refined it so well." He shook his head, showing an expression of remorse. "She acts like a genius one breath, then a fool the next."
It was Apollo's turn to blink rapidly in stunned silence. "Did she? Understand the plant's Dao, I mean."
He shook his head. "The spiritual plant was too weak to have a Dao. The beginning of one, or its intent, I suppose so. She did get remarkably close to knowing how it's used in that specific dish. Not something one could guess at."
Apollo tilted her head again. "But the refining, that's something one could do easily with gold qi, yes?"
"Hmm. Yes." Long scratched his chin. "That would match up well with her explanation afterwards. I considered it likely, yet thought little of it because she had just experienced an enlightenment hours earlier."
"Hours?"
"Hmm, perhaps two, but how long one can hold divine qi varies from person to person. Frankly the more boggling thing was how her own qi was so weak afterwards. Fairy Yun reported that it was a rather large enlightenment for one at cleansing stage."
Apollo's attention snapped back to Shae, and held firm. She passed back the vial without looking away.
"Apollo? You're shaking." It wasn't visible shaking, but his divine senses felt the nervous twitches as she handed the vial over. "Not sure I've ever seen you nervous."
"Nervous? Heh heh heh." She laughed. "I'm excited."
"About?"
She shook her head quickly. "Can't say. Need to confirm it first." Her gaze was still locked on Shae.
They stood silently and watched the young cultivator perform leaps and lunges with less than pristine form for several dozen slow breaths.
"She's sweating impurities again." Long broke the silence.
"Yes. I believe that is a known side effect of pure qi use. Thank you for confirming that hers is a pure base."
"Ah, yes. It's so effective at cleansing I had forgotten about that aspect."
Apollo nodded.
"You know. She'll want to clean up before hitting the road again." He mused.
"Sure. There is a well. Likely a stream close enough, and she has a change of clothes."
"But you'll be even further behind the caravan, then."
"Is there an alternative I'm unaware of?" Apollo asked with a touch of impatience.
Long smirked. "Yes, yes there is. I set up a cleansing bath for Disciple Zhango last night. The picky boy used barely half of it."
"Tsk." Apollo shook her head. "Wasteful."
"It would be if I was forced to dump the remainder."
Apollo finally broke her gaze away from Shae for less than a heartbeat. "Used bathwater, though?"
"It's been sitting overnight in a cleansing formation. Probably cleaner than the well water by now. It seems a good choice, unless you happen to have your own cleansing formation?"
She tilted her head and smirked. "Well if you have instructions, we could try making one."
Long frowned. "And how long will that take?"
She snorted. "A joke, obviously. Would it be a gift or an exchange?"
"Neither. Miss Shae believes I own her several favors or apologies. She may count this as one, even if it costs me very little. You'll have to safely empty the tub afterwards, though."
She nodded. "I can do that."
"Good. It's in the building near the well. I'll let the scouts thin at the rear since you two will be covering it."
"Very well. Until lunch?"
"Yes, until then." Long nodded and left.
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