Liu Residence
Liu Tián Qǔ had stood outside of her residence, listening to the Emperor address the Imperial City. She marveled at some of the advanced technology she saw in the Tolling Lands. In many ways, the Tolling Lands was way more advanced than the technology of the 21st Century, and in many ways, they were also behind in technology.
Liu Tián Qǔ had also taken note of the forces that existed below the surface in the Tolling Lands. It reminded her of the many mysterious existences on earth in her previous life. Some believed in them, and some didn't. It was then that Liu Tián Qǔ understood no matter what time or era you existed in. The mysteries of the universe, too, will also exist.
Liu Tián Qǔ recalled one of the existences that there were constant disputes about that her family secretly practiced for centuries. That was Qi Gong. To many Qi Gong was a mystery, a myth, a fairy tale or something they read about in a wuxia novel. To Liu Tián Qǔ and her Lu Family of the 21st Century, it was a secret way of life.
For centuries the ancestors of the Lu family of the 21st Century traveled the world seeking and collecting knowledge on the practices of Qi Gong and its many secrets. In her past life, Liu Tián Qǔ was born sickly and weak. She was born with a heart condition and was constantly ill, instead of sending her to the hospital. Liu Tián Qǔ's father invited a Tibetan hermit and Chinese Monk to live with them a while and help Liu Tián Qǔ.
Beginning from the age of three, Liu Tián Qǔ was taught the centuries-old system of coordinated body posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training named Qi Gong. With Qi Gong and traditional medicine by the age of nine, Liu Tián Qǔ was healed of her illness, and her heart condition was gone. By the age of twelve, she was no longer homeschooled and was allowed to attend a regular school.
However, when Liu Tián Qǔ would tell people about her experience with Qi Gong as a child. Most people would look at her from the corner of their eye with a funny look and judge her as crazy. So Liu Tián Qǔ no longer talked of it and only practiced in secret as her family had done for centuries. The funny thing was that things were beginning to change in the 21st century regarding Qi Gong. Many western researching doctors took an interest in it had started researching the gathering and strengthen of Qi in the body and how to control and direct the movement of Qi in the human body.
Liu Tián Qǔ sensed mysterious forces that existed in the Tolling Lands as well. It couldn't be described as magic in her opinion because she didn't think it was not magic the same way that Qi was not magic. Although at one point in time, it once was considered magic.
It's was here at this moment Liu Tián Qǔ decided to once more began practicing Qi Gong. In the new body, she reincarnated into. Liu Tián Qǔ couldn't detect any Qi. That meant that she would have to start all over from the beginning. That was okay. Liu Tián Qǔ decided to begin tomorrow morning. In her past life, Liu Tián Qǔ practiced Qi Gong for many years.
She practiced both hard Qi Gong and soft Qi Gong. The hard Qi Gong she had practiced was incorporated into the Kung Fu that her father made her learn from the Monk that her father had invited to live with them for a while.
The monk taught her how to open her channels and collaterals. He taught her how to develop her Qì and allow for the unobstructed natural flow of Qi flexibly according to her needs. He too taught her to properly direct it and to combine it with expiration and inspiration and martial arts.
The soft Qi Gong she had learned from the visiting Tibetan hermit. The hermit also taught her how to release sensation, develop concentration, breathing techniques, and quiet the mind and many other things that people wouldn't believe her if she tried to explain it to them.
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She also knew tons of techniques for directing and strengthened her Qi from her Lu family. Her Lu family from the 21st century had collected tons of hidden techniques for centuries concerning the many mysterious uses of Qi.
Sadly around the age of sixteen, Liu Tián Qǔ had stopped practicing Qi Gong. She had grown interested in many other disciplines of Martial Arts, and being that her body was healed of her childhood illness, her father didn't force her. Instead, he allowed her to choose her interests and to do what she wanted to do. Of course, he also knew of his child's fickle nature.
So lost was Liu Tián Qǔ in her thoughts of her past life. She never noticed the gloomy change of the atmosphere following the Emperors' speech until her house servants started to trickle back into the Residence. Liu Tián Qǔ had given her servants the day off when she saw the joyous atmosphere that had gripped the city that morning.
So it surprised her to see gloomy furious looking servants who had the day off trickle back into the residence.
The Imperial City
A bizarre phenomenon took the city late that afternoon. In every Inn, Restaurant, Winehouse, Brothel, and every establishment that served wine and alcohol. Citizens packed them to capacity, and gloomily began to drink. As late afternoon melded into the early evening, and the wine and alcohol flowed. People no longer made a pretense of confining themselves to these establishments to drink. Pots of wine were dragged from wine-cellars and from every location where wine and alcohol was stored. In parks, on sidewalks, in the Imperial City square, in courtyards and all over the Imperial City. The citizens of the Imperial City drank away their rage, anger, and woes.
This drinking phenomenon continued into the late evening. Word trickled down from the top to the city patrol guards that they were only to monitor the people and keep the peace. The presence of the guards in the city was tripled. Many Imperial guards were also sent to help the city patrol guards keep the peace.
Many drunken brawls were broken up by the guards, but no one was arrested. The drunken bawlers were sent home to sleep it off. The Emperor understood the rage and fury of the people. He also understood there was nowhere for these people to relieve their anger, so they turned to alcohol.
No one knows how it started but sometime during the late evening. A crowd of drunk people boiled out of a Winehouse into the streets of the Imperial City. The drunken crowds of citizens started screaming about how they chased the stealthy invaders out of the Tolling Lands, and if they come back, they're going to chase them all the way to the border and kill them all. This screaming madness began to spread. Most of the citizens in the streets were half-drunk out of their minds from spending the whole day drinking away their sorrows.
In no time at all, crowds of screaming people flooded the streets of the city, chanting their victory over the stealthy invaders. Fireworks once again began to light up the evening sky. For the third time that day, the atmosphere in the city changed. Drunk people boiled out of inns, Winehouse, Brothels, Restaurants, Parks, Courtyards, or whatever place they occupied.
Drunk people also begin to boil out of their houses and into the streets of the Imperial City. They were screaming death to all traitors and invaders and victory to the Tolling Lands. The aura in the Imperial City was similar to that of warriors being welcomed home victoriously from war.
A weird atmosphere of celebration and festivities gripped the city as citizens once again flooded the street late that evening. The citizens with entrepreneurial spirits quickly set up stalls and began cooking food the hungry drunk people. The pleasant smells of food began to flood the streets of the Imperial city.
Lanterns that were reserved for special festivals and holidays began to light up the skies for the second time that day. Fireworks once again endlessly lit up the evening sky. The atmosphere of celebration that evening was different from the atmosphere of celebration earlier that morning.
The morning celebration that morning was more of a celebration of life. Joy and laughter had shaken the city. The celebration taking place that evening was a celebration of defiance, loyalty, and victory.
The screams of loyalty and victory of the crowds of drunk people shook the Imperial City. Both young and old took to the city, screaming in defiance and victory. No one attempted to stop them. Although It remained unspoken, everyone understood this was a way for the angry citizen of the Imperial City to relieve their anger and rage.
The celebrations continue all night. All the way to the wee hours of the morning.