----------------------------------------
Chapter 53: "Post Workout Cool Down."
----------------------------------------
Shae very much enjoyed the impurity cleansing bath generously provided by Master Long. It even washed away some of her fatigue and let her wash out her clothes. Apollo had been clear to indicate the remaining cleaning power of the bath would have been wasted if Shae didn't use it, so she decided to thank her own luck more than Long.
After the bath they made a short detour from the road which took them to a desolate and pitiful looking patch of forest.
"Discarding impurities is generally done with some care," Apollo lectured. "In small quantities it is harmless enough, but the build-up from longer cleansing sessions and the special alchemical solutions used to efficiently wash away the impurities are not so benign."
Shae listened quietly while nursing her left leg. It was quite sore and stiff from the morning's torture, and Apollo had suggested she let it heal more naturally, rather than forcing her limited qi to do the work. Her right leg had succumbed to the repetitive brutality and the mud training near the end, yet it had already recovered. At least, just enough that she didn't notice it compared to her left.
Apollo paced across the clearing a few times, clearly searching for something. "Yes, this spot will work well." She announced. "Impurities are a kind of toxin, when released in heavy doses they can cause death, but they are not of death."
Shae scrunched her face up.
Apollo smirked at her. "The point is, if we dumped that bathtub somewhere in the forest, it would kill the trees and some wildlife. Possibly taint the groundwater."
The young woman looked around. "Is that what happened here?"
"No, I don't think so. That's what I was checking. I'm no wood qi specialist, but I think this area has poor access to groundwater. The qi flow is slightly off, so a spirit beast may have drained it of wood qi, but again, not a specialist." With her arms spread out, she focused on the ground near the center of the clearing. The bathtub full of impurity-saturated water dropped out of spatial storage with a heavy thud.
The older cultivator quickly dodged the splashing water and brought out a pair of buckets, handing one to Shae. The young woman groaned but took the bucket.
"If we were to simply dump this all in one place, it wouldn't really solve the issue. Both the bath solution and the impurities need time to evaporate and dissipate. You know those words?"
"I understand the context. Can't quite catch all of the intent. Is it like... a glass of water will slowly dissipate on a hot day."
"Decent guess, but wrong side of the tael, that's evaporate."
"Ah! Okay. So is dissipate... Hmm? That's harder to be specific about. Is it decay or dissipate?" She used the English words, putting strong intent into them. Then groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose from the effort.
"Excellent clarification. I'd say the second is closest, might even be the correct translation. Back to the lesson. We need to spread the liquid out across this clearing. The more that is exposed to air and the world's natural qi, the faster it can dissipate."
Shae nodded. "Alright, do you have a specific pattern in mind? Or just go for it?"
"Heh, glad you asked. A spiral starting at the edge, about a pace inside and working inward. Spread each bucket out as much as you can."
The young woman glanced to the edge and back. "Wouldn't it be easier to have the tub at the edge, then?"
"Yes, but I'll be helping too: going to the opposite edge. And this is at least partly about the ritual of the act. Not just disposing of it."
Shae rubbed the back of her neck and rolled her shoulders. "Alright, if you say so, then I'll uphold your intentions, Senior Sister."
Apollo smiled. "Thank you, Junior Sister."
The work went faster than Shae expected, partly because Apollo was working much faster than her. The older cultivator was very deliberate and almost slow when filling and emptying her bucket, but would travel back and forth quickly.
When they were scraping their buckets against the bottom Apollo stopped their work. "Now is when cultivator strength is very useful." She lifted the whole tub and walked out over to where Shae was last dumping her bucket. "The old stories say that we should provide a prayer or a message of thanks to the world and nature for accepting this burden. Yet, I find respectful silence to be just as effective."
Shae nodded, and watched the woman sprinkle the water out of the tub like she was gently watering flowers. She didn't let the comedic visual disturb the moment.
Apollo rinsed the tub out with water from her spatial storage, specifically collected from the town's well for this task. Then the pair waited in the clearing for a few dozen breaths.
Shae chose to remain silent; beyond just the ritual, the peaceful natural surroundings had a certain feeling that called for it. She was also glad to use the time to massage her left thigh and calf since it would be harder once they got back on the road.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
The older cultivator nodded once then led them back to the main road. She pushed them into a light jog once they found the road. "You've been surprisingly silent?"
"Heh." Shae forced a laugh. "Is that good or bad? I was just thinking."
"Neither, though I'm glad for it: I prefer silence for that task. Care to share your thoughts?"
"Mhm. Just wondering how that process works at the sect." She jabbed a thumb back the way they came.
"Ah, yes. Well, it's not as formal or tedious as that. For the first year, if you were in qi gathering, you would help those in cleansing. There are also plenty of outer sect members that work as servants to do that kind of thing. In short, if you can't progress quickly, you will find ways to help those who are progressing. That is the way of the sect."
"But they still have to collect and spread the water out?"
"Not really, no. They will collect it, and any clothing or towels used to clean with. However, the sect has large cleansing formations for that. They force the impurities to dissipate much faster than the natural rate."
"Hmmm." The young woman hummed with a frown. "Is that, like, bad for the air or something?"
"Hah hah!" Apollo laughed. "Perhaps, if it was all that same cleaning solution. That has a particularly alchemical smell when it evaporates. The impurities, for their part, hardly touch the air because they are not wholly physical, but I shouldn't say too much. It's not really my field of knowledge, so the specifics elude me."
"Hmm, I guess that makes sense. They do come from qi channels and meridians which are metaphysical. Makes sense they would be too. Although, aren't they also in our flesh and physical body?"
"Correct."
Shae shook her head. "I feel like I'm missing some important piece of knowledge." She sighed.
"That is often the way of cultivation, it's a good sign as it can lead to enlightenment."
"Huh."
The two ran on, attempting to catch the caravan's lead at a comfortable, mortal pace.
----------------------------------------
According to the scheduled route of the caravan this would be their second last day traveling to the sect. It would see them end the day in the only proper small town within two days' travel to the sect's main settlement: Tail's Wake Town. Though, rumor said it was large enough to be a city, and far more so than Minlin or Flame Well.
The town they would arrive at today was named Gatewash, and it was safely nestled in the only canyon pass leading into the north mountains. Apollo explained that the canyon provided excellent safety to the residents as it only required defending from the two canyon entrances rather than the whole perimeter like a full town wall.
While Shae had never felt particularly at-risk during her travels, she now felt the itching fear of being in a dangerous place. No, there was that one time, she thought as she recalled the little side adventure after Xengo town. It wasn't the instinctual feeling of being watched that Apollo had previously described, but the anxious knowledge that she was now in a dangerous area.
This knowledge was eventually reinforced due to her Manifold Journey practice for the day. It gave the user a distinct choice. Sprint to the day's destination or continue steadily forwards, while counting out a continuous cubed-set of steps.
So, of course, she intended on taking the sprinting option. Even after her grueling workout with Apollo it seemed like the easier task.
Talking with Mistress Ping left her slightly unsettled, the woman was being more cagey than usual. She indicated that she would need to get permission from Master Long or Apollo instead. "We never send out lone scouts for this leg. Today we even have you all keeping a tight perimeter around the caravan." This was her main argument against Shae leaving the group.
While she had already discussed it with Apollo, the most she had received from the woman was nearly a threat. "If you have the will left to sprint to Gatewash, then I should have worked you harder this morning."
Shae chose to let the issue drop with Apollo. Yet, after talking with Mistress Ping, she regretted not pushing the issue as she couldn't rightly find the elusive cultivator again. While it wasn't quite lunchtime yet, she chose to push ahead of the caravan and question Master Long.
Some combination of anxiety over trying to ask something of the old man, and the anxiety of the dangerous road told her she might not get her wish.
Instead of rushing to him she opted to take the time to more thoroughly consider the practice, and what qi movements were required. The qi movements were simple and subtle, but specific in the requirement of the rhythm used when making them. The idea was to cycle in a slow pattern that didn't match her footsteps. Even for the sprinting option, the practice specified the rhythm shouldn't match her footfalls.
Sooo, I need to sprint while cycling qi off-rhythm, to not attract the worm, presumably. Snrk! She snorted. Heh. I should assume that if I mis-time a qi cycle it will mess with my balance. So, it's probably multitasking practice. She thought for a few more breaths. If I was walking, it'd still be multitasking, just with another layer. No risk of face planting into the road, but I could lose count, and would likely have to start over.
I thought it was just practice counting at first, this seems more interesting. How far is a cubic-set of steps anyway? She ran a hand through her hair. 144 times 12, 16.. no 1700-ish steps. Maybe three and one-half li? No, my paces are shorter, so about three.
She stretched and started cycling the practice, mis-timing the rhythm as directed. It wasn't completely off-step, just slower, so the odd footfall did align. The practice made it clear that was expected, but she shouldn't alter her walking pace to match it. The two cycles needed to stay off-step of each other.
Once she thought she had the hang of it she tried counting along. That proved harder than she expected, maybe because she wasn't used to the Empire's base twelve, or maybe because of the qi movements. She quickly grew annoyed. It wasn't hard enough to be frustrated or angry at, she just found that restarting annoyed her.
The third time she got past the first square-set, 144, and then lost count while speaking the number. That was enough for her to give up. She discarded the idea of counting and focused on the qi movement, then increased her place to a light jog.
Immediately, she felt it was much easier. The qi cycling didn't even affect her running. The morning workout was still impacting her, so she kept the pace slower, just a light mortal jog.
----------------------------------------