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Chapter 35 - Ripples in the City

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Qin Yanshu grimaced as yet another mortal was pushed into him by the crowds. Granted, he was wearing this terribly unfashionable outfit instead of his usual robes, so the peasants would have no idea he was a Cultivator, but still. No manners, the lot of them.

Beside him, Zhen Shanhe wore a similar look of disdain, his fellow Outer Disciple clearly no more enthused to be here than he himself was.

“Why were we sent here again?” he muttered, more for the sake of complaining than anything else.

“Because Elder Yan told us to,” Zhen responded dryly before adopting a haughty mannerism. “I wouldn’t expect a mere Second Stage Disciple to understand,” he said archly, brushing a non-existent spec of dirt from his shoulder.

Qin rolled his eyes but didn’t respond. His friend was acting like he was the second coming of Wu Qiang, despite only having recently broken through to the Third Stage. Still, as much as he hated to admit it, the feat was impressive. It had only taken Zhen six months to go from the first stage to the third, and Qin would count himself lucky if he could match the feat within a year.

For all that the Blooming Lotus Sect was well-regarded, it wasn’t exactly flush with the sort of talent that produced the Cultivators or legend.

That was, in no small part, why they had been sent to this tiny city to deal with a mortal plague of all things. By the Sect Leader’s decree – if they could not be the strongest, they would surely be known as the most righteous.

Still, Qin was secretly glad to be sent here. After all, if it were not for the whims of Fate, he himself would likely have been living in this city, at the mercy of whatever malady would befall him.

Instead, he had shown a small measure of talent when a passing Elder from the Sect tested him, and he was uplifted to become a Cultivator himself, more than a mere mortal could ever hope to be.

Qin adjusted his stance, trying to appear more composed despite the clamour of the marketplace around him. The noise and smells were a far cry from the serene halls of the Blooming Lotus Sect, but someone of his stature should be composed at all times!

His thoughts wandered to the grace and beauty displayed by Elder Yan Ling on the journey to the city. She was the youngest Elder in the Sect, and many an Outer Disciple had nursed a crush on her.

One day, he thought to himself, that would be him. A wise, composed, handsome Elder, admired by all. His daydream was rather rudely interrupted by another mortal bumping into him, and he was about to voice another complaint when something in the air shifted.

It was subtle, barely perceptible beneath the chaos of the street, but to a Cultivator attuned to the flow of Qi, it was unmistakable. A ripple in the fabric of the world, a sudden surge of energy, like the calm before a storm. Qin’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the surroundings, his senses reaching out to pinpoint the source.

Beside him, Zhen Shanhe stiffened, his own senses catching on to the anomaly. He looked at Qin, their earlier banter forgotten. “Did you feel that?” Zhen asked, his voice low and serious.

Qin nodded, his gaze darting toward a nearby rooftop. The flare of Qi was unmistakable now, a beacon against the dull background of the city’s usual flow. In fact, it almost felt like…

“A breakthrough,” Zhen whispered beside him. Qin blinked in surprise, despite his own thoughts mirroring his friends. A breakthrough? Here? In this tiny forgotten city, located in the furthest corner of the Empire? It sounded impossible, but then again… the Heavens worked in mysterious ways.

“It came from up there,” Qin said, tilting his head towards the rooftop. “Let’s check it out.”

Without waiting for a response, he began pushing his way through the crowd, Zhen close on his heels. The mortals around them, oblivious to the significance of the moment, grumbled and cursed as they were jostled aside, but Qin hardly noticed. His focus was entirely on the pulse of Qi, growing stronger with each step.

They reached the edge of the street, and Qin leapt, landing lightly on the roof of a nearby building. Zhen followed, his expression a mix of curiosity and caution. The source of the disturbance was close now, just a few rooftops away.

The duo slowed to a more cautious pace. Not only was an unknown Cultivator potentially dangerous, but it was also considered unspeakably rude to interfere in a breakthrough.

The sort of rudeness that resulted in entire bloodlines being purged.

As such, Qin and Zhen waited patiently, just out of sight, until the ambient Qi stabilised - generally a reasonably good indication that the process was finished. Qin wasn’t entirely sure, but it felt like it took longer for this unknown Cultivator than it had for him, though admittedly he might be mistaken – it was hard to keep track of time while in the middle of a breakthrough.

“Is it just me, or is this rather slow?” Zhen asked, smirking a little.

Qin couldn’t entirely blame him. After all, the only Sect around was the Blooming Lotus, so whoever this poor rube was, they lacked the instruction that came with joining. He tried not to feel too superior in comparison.

“I’m sure they’re doing the best they can,” he allowed magnanimously. “Just think, without the resources provided by the Sect, this is probably the work of a lifetime for them.”

Zhen hummed distractedly. “Do you feel something… odd?” he asked a moment later.

Qin raised an eyebrow at his friend, but obligingly focused, sweeping his Qi senses across the rooftop where the disturbance had originated. A moment later, he frowned. It was faint, but there—an odd, almost imperceptible fluctuation within the energy field that surrounded them. Something wasn’t quite right.

“Do you think they’ve stunted their cultivation somehow?” he asked Zhen, who was still still focusing on his Qi senses. Suddenly, Zhen’s eyes widened, and his hand dropped to where the hilt of his sword would normally rest.

He stood there for a frozen moment, hesitating before responding. “I… I could be wrong, but I think that might be a physical cultivator,” he whispered back to Qin.

Qin’s head snapped up. That was serious. Every Elder he’d ever spoken to had warned him about the physical path of cultivation, saying it corrupted a person, taking their sanity in exchange for power.

“Are you sure?” he whispered back, tense. Zhen’s senses were stronger than his own, being a higher Stage, but from what he’d heard, the taint of physical cultivation was supposed to be unmistakable. Not for the first time, he cursed his current outfit. It may help them blend in, but he was keenly feeling the lack of weapons right now.

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Zhen bit his lip, clearly uncertain. “No. But… something is off about this. I don’t trust it.”

Before Qin and Zhen could decide on their next move, the ambient Qi began to settle, the last remnants of energy slowly dissipating into the air. The stillness that followed was almost eerie, a sharp contrast to the vibrant surge they had just witnessed.

“It’s finished,” Qin murmured, his voice barely audible as he glanced toward the rooftop where the disturbance had originated. Zhen nodded in agreement, tension still visible in his stance.

“We should confront them,” Zhen suggested, voice tinged with caution. Qin couldn’t help but wish Zhen hadn’t said anything at all – to refuse now would be to brand himself a coward. The loss of face… Qin shivered. It didn’t bear thinking about.

“If they’re following the physical cultivation path, we can’t let them continue unchecked,” he agreed with false bravado. Though, in fairness, it was true. A mad Cultivator practising the physical path would cut a swath through a mortal city like this.

With a shared glance, the two Cultivators moved forward, their steps light and deliberate as they closed in on the source of the disturbance.

As they rounded the final rooftop, they came upon a lone figure sitting cross-legged at the centre, his back to them. A rather small figure, actually. In fact, was that…

“It’s a child,” Zhen said flatly, tension seeping out of his frame as he straightened from his half-crouch. Qin winced, doing the same. They must have missed the Cultivator. Or maybe the kid had stolen a treasure of some kind? Either way, he was doubly glad he hadn’t protested going to check the disturbance out.

If he had acted that scared when it was some kid messing around…

“You, boy,” he barked, feeling more than a little foolish and hoping to cover it with authority. “have you seen anyone— Hey!” Qin shouted, caught off guard as the kid bolted, not even pausing to glance back at him.

He watched, wide-eyed, as the boy dropped over the edge of the roof and into the crowds below. “He’s fast,” Zhen muttered, already moving to follow. Qin startled into motion himself, a second behind. He had never been the best at adapting to rapidly changing situations like this.

“Why are we following him?” he asked, following his friend as they leapt from the rooftop, landing lightly in the alley below.

His question was answered a second later as he felt a distinct surge of Qi emanating from the boy. The child was using Qi to enhance his movements – burning weeks’ worth of cultivation just to help him run through a crowd better.

The sheer waste made Qin want to spit blood.

The amount of effort required to cultivate that much Qi was immense, and here was a mere child expending it recklessly to escape them.

“Is he mad?” Zhen hissed under his breath, disbelief colouring his tone. It’s not even like Cultivators of their level could use movement techniques – at best, the expenditure would give the child a small boost in ability, but nothing more.

As the boy rounded another corner, Qin felt a sharp twist of frustration. The child was small, agile, and clearly had an advantage in this dense environment. Worse, he was burning through his Qi reserves with an alarming lack of caution, and if they didn’t catch up soon, he might disappear into the labyrinth of the city.

Zhen, ever the more aggressive of the two, scowled. “We can’t let him get away,” he growled, his hand flexing as if ready to grab a weapon that wasn’t there.

“Wait,” Qin urged, something about the situation tugging at his instincts, “Something’s not right about this. There’s no way that’s actually a child; he’s far too young to have started cultivating!”

“Good questions we can get the answers to once we’ve caught him!” Zhen growled back, pushing through the crowd after their quarry.

Qin grit his teeth, reaching out to physically yank his friend back. “Stop, damn you! Think. Why would someone disguise themselves as a child, then cultivate the physical path so recklessly out in the open?”

Thankfully, his words seemed to get through to Zhen. “They wouldn’t,” his friend said slowly. “It’s stupid. And then to burn Qi just to run… you’re right. Something’s fishy.”

Qin tried to avoid being too obvious about sighing in relief. “Exactly. We need to tell Elder Yan about this, immediately.”

Zhen drew himself upwards, a severe look coming over him. “Agreed.”

***

Elder Yan Ling sat cross-legged on a cushion in her modest accommodation, her eyes closed in quiet meditation. The soft glow of a single oil lamp cast long shadows against the walls, its flickering flame the only source of light in the room. The stillness was calming, a welcome reprieve from the chaos of the city outside.

Her breathing was slow and steady, her mind focused on the flow of Qi within her body, the energy moving in a controlled, deliberate cycle. This was her time to centre herself, to clear her thoughts and refine her cultivation. Despite her relatively young age for an Elder, Yan Ling had always prided herself on her discipline and focus, traits that had propelled her quickly through the ranks of the Blooming Lotus Sect.

A soft knock on the door broke her concentration, the sound tentative yet urgent. Yan Ling’s eyes fluttered open, a small frown creasing her brow. It was rare for anyone to interrupt her during her meditation, especially the Outer Disciples. She took a moment to compose herself before answering.

“Enter,” she called out, her voice calm and even.

The door slid open, scraping lightly against the wooden floor. To a mortal, the sound would have been all but imperceptible, but to her senses, it may have well been a shout. She repressed a wince, lamenting the loss of her comfortable, well-made room back at the Sect.

Still, needs must. The mortals could hardly help their current predicament, after all.

Two figures hurried inside, their faces flushed with a mix of excitement and worry. Qin Yanshu and Zhen Shanhe, she recognised instantly. Both Outer Disciples, both with potential—though they often allowed their youthful exuberance to cloud their judgment.

“Elder Yan,” Zhen began, his voice breathless as he attempted to catch his breath. “We… we need to report something important.”

Yan Ling raised an eyebrow, a subtle gesture that conveyed both her curiosity and her expectation for them to continue. She could see the tension in their stances, the way their hands fidgeted at their sides. She fought the urge to coo.

So young. So adorable. She really didn’t understand why so many Elders shunned contact with the Disciples of the Sect, only offering the occasional bit of advice. Personally, she had to stop herself from scooping them up and smothering them with love, the lovely little darlings.

Yan blinked, forcing herself to refocus with a well-practised twist of will. “Speak,” she said, her tone gentle but commanding.

“It’s a child, Elder,” Qin blurted out, his words tumbling over each other. “We felt a breakthrough in the city—a surge of Qi. We went to investigate, and we found a boy… no older than ten, maybe. He was burning Qi to escape from us, using it to enhance his movements.”

For a moment, Yan Ling felt a flicker of amusement. It was always amusing, watching children insist that others were more childlike than themselves. Then again, the two in front of her were hardly children – at least when compared to mortals. But she kept her expression neutral, allowing only a slight tilt of her head to show her interest.

“A child, you say?” she mused aloud, her tone deliberately measured. “And what was it about this child that has disturbed you so?”

Zhen stepped forward, his face a mix of frustration and confusion. “It was his cultivation, Elder. It felt… wrong. Different. Like the kind of Qi you’d expect from someone following the physical cultivation path.”

Yan Ling nodded thoughtfully, though inwardly, she was still more amused than concerned. The tales of physical cultivation were a tool the Elders often used to instil caution in their students. There was truth to the dangers, of course, but the stories were often exaggerated to keep young disciples from venturing down a perilous path without proper understanding.

Still, to say she was uninterested would be a lie. A brief mental image of a tiny, adorable child with chubby little cheeks just begging to be pinched flashed through her mind. Perhaps… well, it had been some time since she took a student on. The rest were all grown up now, and even though they kept in contact, it wasn’t quite the same.

Yan Ling allowed a moment of silence to stretch between them, letting the two disciples’ tension build. She could sense their unease, their desire for her approval, or perhaps for her to validate their concerns.

Finally, she spoke, her voice soft yet firm. “You did well to come to me with this,” she began, choosing her words carefully. “I believe I will see to this matter myself. Something like this could—”

A sudden ripple of Qi interrupted her, a subtle yet powerful alteration of the natural flows. Yan controlled her reactions with the ease centuries of practice brought.

A pity. It appeared the boy had already caught the interest of an old monster. Yan might not recognise the flavour of Qi – for lack of a better word – but she nevertheless was smart enough to know the originator was beyond her.

Hmm. The two boys were still looking at her, perplexed as to her sudden silence. How to handle this…

“On second thought, perhaps it is better for you two to handle this matter. Blooming Lotus, we may be, but we are far from glasshouse flowers. This should be a challenge well suited to your advancement.” She picked her words carefully, her senses sharp for any further changes in the ambient Qi. Nothing.

“Should you find this boy again, bring him to me – unharmed,” she added hastily, “and I will deal with the matter.”

Still no further warnings. A hands-off type of master, then.

“Take care not to disrupt the workings of the city,” she continued, warming to the idea. “And remember that you carry the reputation of our Sect with you – we do not hesitate to end violence, but we do not start it either.”

The two boys shared a glance before turning to her and bowing.

“As the Elder commands!”

So adorable.