“So you’ll be going then,” He Gang said as He Yu burst into their modest home behind the forge.
He Yu drew up short, duty conflicting with desire. A good, dutiful son would stay. Learn his father’s trade, take over once his father was too old to work, and care for him in his older years. That’s how things were supposed to work.
Nothing in their family worked the way it was supposed to, though. His mother had been lost to fever when he was just a child. His father had never remarried. He Yu had caught the same fever but had lived. The town healer said the lingering effects of the fever were why He Yu was so frail even today. That had made it impossible for him to help his father around the forge, or to learn his trade. He Yu had always been grateful for his father’s indulgence of his fascination with cultivation—fruitless as it was—but now he wondered.
“What do you think I should do?” He Yu asked.
He Gang looked up from his tea. “You’re asking me? I’d have thought you would be on your way to the Shrouded Peaks already.”
“Who’s going to take care of the smithy? Who’s going to take care of you?” Now that the prospect of leaving his father and the only home he’d ever known was real, it didn’t seem so appealing anymore.
“I’ll be fine. Do you see any other blacksmiths in Shulin? I’m sure that once you leave, I’ll have less fortunate families breaking down my door and begging me to take one of their sons as an apprentice. If not, I can afford to hire an assistant should I need to.” He Gang shook his head and clicked his tongue. “You think I wouldn’t have put you to work if I truly needed you? I may not be wealthy, but my services command enough of a price that I could let you cultivate rather than work the forge. So that you might have the chance you’ve been given now. It would be more disrespectful not to take it, Yu'er.”
He Yu swallowed and looked down at his feet. He was grateful for his father’s words and consideration, but now he was out of excuses. “I’m afraid,” he admitted.
His father nodded, as though he’d expected as much. “It is wise to be cautious when stepping into the unknown,” he said. “Nearly anyone can cultivate the First or Second Realm with enough effort. Qi Gathering is the first step on the Way, and the Foundation stage is merely the second. But to join a sect and go further is to truly join the world of cultivation and walk among the immortals. It is not a decision to be taken lightly.”
He Gang’s words had grown serious as he spoke, and He Yu took his time to consider them. He had heard the legends of cultivators. Everyone had. The world of immortals was one of grudges, conflict, and death. Already he had seen evidence of such—Sha Xiang would be waiting for him at the sect, and already she held one such grudge. If the stories were anything to go by, he would collect more enemies and rivals as he progressed. He would have to overcome those obstacles and more should he want to continue his advancement.
Even so, there would also be opportunity. Just as he collected enemies, he would naturally collect allies, even if only those of convenience. As he advanced, he would no doubt acquire treasures beyond his wildest imagination. If he worked hard, and if the heavens favored him, he would surpass his enemies. He would defeat the challenges that stood in his way. Most importantly, he would walk the Way.
He thought back to the display of power he had seen just that afternoon. When Zhang Lifen had unleashed her qi she had cowed Dong Wei as though he were nothing. He supposed that to her, Dong Wei was nothing. Most striking had been how effortless it had seemed. Zhang Lifen had barely moved, using no techniques that he could see. Yet she towered over the square, and her qi had overwhelmed all present. What could she do if she had really tried? What could he do, if he had such strength?
He did, however, have one final doubt. “I didn’t even win, though,” he said. Surely his father had known. He had been at the tournament, after all.
He Gang simply nodded. “No, you did not.” Again, his tone hinted that this had been expected.
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“Then why would she still pick me?”
“Lady Zhang likely had already made up her mind before you even felt her presence,” He Gang said.
“Made up her mind about me? Any one of Dong Wei’s students is more advanced than I am. Why not one of them?”
“How should I know?” He Gang said with a shrug. “She had her reasons, and if you live a hundred years, you might begin to understand them. Such is the way of immortals.”
“But I lost. I didn’t even make it past the second round.”
“Were I to guess, you were likely meant to lose.”
He Yu stared at his father. “What sort of test are you meant to fail?”
“A piece of advice, Yu'er. Or a warning, if you like. There will be many such tests at the sect, and what counts as passing may not always be obvious. If Lady Zhang is anything like the sect Elders, she wanted to see what you would do when presented with an obstacle you could not overcome. Would you stay at home, convinced you could not win? Or would you compete despite knowing you would lose? If she gave you a sect token, then whatever she saw satisfied her.”
A test he was meant to fail. No, failure would have been to stay home. To not compete in the tournament. A thought came to him, unbidden. The test had been meant to teach him something. What, he didn’t know, but he could feel it just at the edge of his thoughts. He shook his head and looked back to his father.
He Gang nodded. “So you’ve made up your mind, then."
He had.
“Get some rest. You should leave as early as you can tomorrow. The Shrouded Peaks are a long journey from Shulin.”
He awoke early the next morning. Just as the sun peeked through the forest to shed its first rays upon the new day, He Yu set his feet upon the road. He carried little with him. A few spare changes of clothes, enough food for several days of travel, a small iron pot for cooking, and the bamboo scroll that was his Qi Gathering manual. He had little else of any real worth, were he honest.
Saying goodbye to his father had been harder than he’d imagined, given his excitement at being accepted into the sect. But He Gang bid him good fortune and gave him one final word of encouragement before he set off. It was the most he could have wanted. Those first hours after leaving the formation gate were spent reflecting on his father.
He Gang had seen his son’s interest in the world of cultivators and fostered it when Dong Wei had denied him entry to the school in Shulin. That interest had led He Yu to diligently cultivate the Qi Gathering manual his father had found for him, and that had led Zhang Lifen to him. Whatever she’d seen in him that day outside of Shulin, it had given him the chance to follow a path that he had thought closed off to him. It had given him the chance to succeed where his father had once failed. It was often said that every master desires to see their student surpass them. While He Gang certainly wasn’t a master, He Yu couldn’t help but think this was the best opportunity he’d ever get to make his father proud.
After an hour or so of walking along the cart path that led northwest from Shulin, He Yu emerged from the outskirts of the southern forest. Here the path intersected with a larger, well-maintained road running roughly east to west. Zhang Lifen had said the Shrouded Peaks Sect headquarters lay to the northwest, in the Shrouded Peaks. She had also said that the token she’d given him would show him the way. It would likely be better to be sure, so He Yu fished the token out of his pack.
The token itself was a metal disk as large across as his palm. The characters for the Shrouded Peaks Sect were stamped in the center, and formation characters he didn’t recognize ran around the outer edge. For a moment he held the token, unsure how he was supposed to use it.
When a flicker of worry about his route slipped through, he found that certainty of the path ahead arose unbidden in his mind. He knew that, for the time being, he needed to follow the road west. The knowing was as solid as the ground he stood on. While he hadn’t been expecting anything particularly spectacular, he hadn’t been expecting anything so underwhelming either. Well, it wasn’t as if the sect would give him some amazing treasure. If all it did was ensure he wouldn’t get lost on the way, it did its job. He Yu pocketed the token and set his feet to the west.
A short time after nightfall, He Yu came upon a wayside inn. Upon entering, he presented the token to the proprietor as he’d been instructed. The man nodded, directed him to a room on the second floor, and told him to sit downstairs if he wanted a meal. He Yu had almost thought he would be dismissed out of hand, or asked to pay, but it seemed Zhang Lifen had spoken true once more. A part of him was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t been shown the deference Zhang Lifen had been shown back in Shulin, but he supposed that would come in time.
The meal he received was hot and filling, and the bed was warm and dry. The best part was that he didn’t have to pay for it. Before he left the next morning, he asked the proprietor about that and was simply told that the sect would provide recompense. With a good night’s sleep, a full belly, and a full pack, He Yu set off to the Shrouded Peaks Sect once more.