third party PoV

Huan and Iulia had spent more time than they had ever expected at the tea house. It was thanks to the arrival of the rest of the staff from the Tea House company. That saw the two being given a coupon for 5 days, all expenses paid at any site of Sister Ai’s Tea houses and Inn.

The two companions had mixed opinions about it. Iulia was troubled by this sudden generosity at something she was considering as normal. Helping others when they are harassed or threatened should be human instinct to the sorceress. And this had once again reinforced her opinion of this new world she found herself in. One where kindness and empathy are so rare that they’ve become accomplishments to be rewarded. That the person she considered a friend, one who shared common values, was more than what she had understood and seen.

On the other hand, Huan felt that this reward was decent to the effort her traveling partner had made. She couldn’t help but think that the reputation coming along with it would attract the attention of the wrong type of crowds. To her, Iulia was already like a saint to be protected, a pure and gentle soul whose light and warmth soothed her own.

Yet, she was surprised, to say the least. At how the petite and delicate woman had acted: jumping into the fray with her bare hands. No technique or refinement to separate her from how the drunkard brawls.

“It still amazes me how someone as small and gentle like you can also be so hot headed. But it makes sense now, you have a strong will fueled by a good heart.” Huan says, leaning back on the carriage seat, her legs crossed in a half lotus underneath her as she looked at the woman in front of her. She had reluctantly admitted that she was rushing things, to Iulia’s agreement and appreciation.

“Fancy words to say that I have boundaries and I am not afraid to protect them. But sure, thanks. And I will try to be more careful from now on. You were right in saying that cultivators like to stay hidden in plain sights, hopefully I didn’t attract too much attention with that flashy hex.” The sorceress answered, laying across her side of the coach’s seat. Reading from a large leather bound book : “advanced studies on sorcery and the art of painting: guidelines and tools”.

“I wouldn't bet on that. The people of the Murim, of the cultivation circles, are a greedy lot. And the mere mention of someone who’s never stepped into the path to immortality doing that curse. Hexes, as you call them. Would be like an open flame during a new moon.” She looked outside, the hills around them becoming flatter as the Siwang mountain range got further away.

“Then I can only hope to burn bright enough to set them on fire. Heh. Hey, would you look at that! I was right about it.” Iulia sat up, a bright smile on her face as she joined Huan’s side of the carriage.

The larger woman turned her head to face her, a brow quirked at the bright smile on Iulia’s face. Still bewildered and amazed at all the type of expression she could show.

“Here, remember the hypothesis I've had about how to go forward as a sorceress?” She points at the book, where a large depiction of a man with twin sets of upper and lower limbs stood in a circle. She nodded, despite how the writing was foreign and confusing to her.

“Right here, it says here that Hexes are derived from an old way to create boons to enhance peoples. The two practices use the same basis of applying inscriptions to body parts: that means that I can have an ongoing effect, like a hex, but have it be positive.” She looked up at Huan, her eyes filled with stars.

“But… Isn’t that a given? I am not knowledgeable in any way in your sorcerous domains, but… If you can curse, can’t you also bless?” Huan was puzzled, to her, this made perfect sense. Even more so considering what she has been told about hexes.

“You only need to use a material of the same color as what the school of sorcery requires to hold the spell. Whatever spell it is, right?”

“YES! But it was only done in curses until now, or that’s what I know. Because hexes can disrupt the perso-” She stopped, her mouth opening wide as a revelation dawned on her. “Yes, I got it! Because hexes can disrupt the individual’s ability to weave Ink inside their own body, it is taught only later on. When the person is already used and dexterous enough in their energy manipulation!”

Huan chuckled, a soft smile tugging at her lips as she enjoyed her friend’s company. Lifting her hand, she patted the brown curls of her head without thinking.

It did indeed make sense for her too. The principle of not shoving abstract concepts on beginners and using modular difficulty was something widely known in her own circles.

“Hey!” Iulia called out, her face red as she moved back across.

Huan, realising her action, froze. Her usual poker-face was weaker than before as a flush crept up her face.

“Right. I still find it difficult to slow myself down when I see you like this. I will try to be more aware.” She looks down, only for Iulia’s hand to reach for hers.

“I. I do not mind. But we do need to know each other more first, y-you know?” Iulia was just as red in the face as she was. Her eyes shied away from Huan’s as the cultivator felt her body react in ways that had once annoyed her more than anything. But she came to learn what those sensations meant: that feeling of lightness, that desire to hold their hands, how her mind raced when she wanted to speak to her.

Iulia’s heart was pounding in her chest as well, the more time she was spending with Huan, the more she felt herself falling deeper for the woman. Her emotions were a mess, something of an issue when being a painter made the mastery of them a key requirement.

The raven haired woman nodded, her body brimming with excitement and embarrassment despite how much she struggled to perceive them when unprompted.

“I-I’ve been thinking too.” She spoke up. The silence weighting on her. “I have arrived at a bottleneck in my cultivation. And being now a rogue cultivator, I don’t have any access to techniques to keep going… So I've been thinking. Perhaps you, with your own view and knowledge of energy and its bending, could give me pointers, or ideas?” Huan sighed inwardly, the previous subject too heavy for her still recovering emotional abilities.

Iulia’s smile mellowed before the petite sorceress chuckled. Closing the book before storing it in her portable home. Her attention now fully turned to her partners as she leaned forward, her head propped up on her hands as her elbows rested in her thighs. She was amused at how the strong warrior’s cute and shy side made the her change subjects, and she was appreciative of it all.

“Sure, do tell.”

“I will, but first, I have to ask: do you know how cultivation works?”

“Apart from what you’ve told me: that you use ink and somehow make it denser. Nothing at all.” The apprentice painter shrugged, she has been curious about ever since she had met Huan. And even more so every day since, writing down question after question that she desperately wanted to know the answer to.

“So next to nothing at all. Good, at least you won’t have misconceptions about it.” She cleared her throat before speaking again.

“Cultivation is, in short: ‘the growth of the self through inner power'. Through it you can attain many different levels of powers and powers: from longevity, boundless health, flight and even immortality should you walk this path until its end.”

Iulia, despite how interested she was, couldn’t help herself when the word immortality came out.

“What type of immortality? Like agelessness? Or you’ll regenerate from any wound?”

“I do not know. But what I do, is that the further along the path of cultivation you are, the longer you’ll live.” The cultivator chuckled at her friend’s comment. It was normal to be skeptical, she thought as she realized how different her way of might was different from Iulia’s. Where her own abilities came from gradual refinement from within, the sorceress’ came from her mastery of outside forces.

“I see… Well, I don’t. But I am listening to what you say.” She was a bit disgruntled, but couldn’t blame her friend. Her own academic pursuit was hers to complete, and was already glad to have Huan share her knowledge with her, remembering how the woman had first reacted when she had asked then.

“The path of cultivation is separated in stages. First is the ‘Body foundation creation’ stage: where would-be practitioners will strive to enhance their bodies by physical means. Touching upon the world’s mystical energy, to open their meridians and acupoints throughout their body. With the final goal of this stage: gaining access to their dantian: the body's natural reserve of energy.” Huan pointed her finger to her head and followed down the central line of her body to the area past her belly button.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“How long does that take? I can assume an awful lot of time, because Ink in its base state is inert, and that means it doesn’t interact well with flesh unless you have an inkwell.” Iulia had her notebook out already and was busy taking notes, her mind going to the most obvious example of such interactions: rebounds.

“And you would be right: it takes around a thousand days, or around two years and a half for someone to go through this stage on average. Which is also why most people who begin cultivation start at the age of 8 to ten years old, with the latest at 15 to 18 with the body’s last major growth spurts. After that age range, it becomes significantly harder to go through this stage as the body is not as malleable anymore for cultivation.”

“What if that person could freely alter their own flesh? Like with biomancy?” The question was unexpected, but knowing Iulia’s ability with that one craft. She gave it some thought.

“Perhaps that person could complete that stage in but a single seating, if they receive proper guidance.”

“I see, would you be willing to show me then? Not right now of course.” The curious sorceress asked, her intention clear to see. But She found her interest endearing, how her dedication to her own issues and ways shines in her behavior.

“With pleasure. The next stage is called the Ki gathering stage, and it consists in, as the name indicates: gathering Ki in your dantian, and spreading it across your body. Filling every part of your body, from the skin, to the muscles beneath, to the sinews and the bones. Until your whole body is filled to the brim with it. Then and only then can the practitioner start one of the most important parts of the second stage: the creation of a core.” At Iulia’s furrowed brow, she went on.

“The core of a cultivator is, now that I think about it: similar to your Inkwell. A point where the person connects with their surroundings. But it is also fundamentally different, as it requires perfect distribution of Ki through the body, to create a lid around you to generate pressure. If the person didn’t manage to properly distribute their ki in an evenly and smooth manner. Triggering the creation of a Ki core can and will release all the accumulated energy in an explosive way. This is where my harvester trigram shined, as it kept converting the pain I felt from my badly made ‘lid’ into more Ki to spread out.”

“By explosive way, you don’t mean…” The sorceress was pale when she asked the question that burned at her lips. But the coy smile and smug face of the cultivator made it abundantly clear.

“So you meant to tell me, that you nearly exploded yourself? And you’re proud of it?” Her left eye twitched, her lips thinned out as her eyes narrowed, her frustration rising at the careless and reckless fool before her. Huan even dared to preen at the comment.

“Why yes, It made my core even stronger than anybody else i’ve met! That’s no small feat you know?” But her fanfare was short lived as an angry finger came poking at her face.

Iulia was livid, this showed her that Huan’s self-harming streak wasn’t recent at all, but ingrained deep into her. This piece of information made the sorceress forget about her anger as a deep, rising wave of sadness washed through her body. She looked at Huan, not with pity, as the mere notion of it disgusted her, but sadness. Her eyes trembled slightly as she rubbed away the tears.

“Your ability to endure pain is not something I am happy about. Pain shouldn’t be something to be proud to endure, it is not a competition, you know? Yeah, I am glad you didn’t explode in a gory mess. But you shouldn’t have come to that in the first place.” She kept poking the woman, her digit sinking into the robe’s side and between her ribs. Making the stoic warrior recoil from it.

“F-fine. Yes, but that was before I met you. I was still… Still careless back then.” She raised her hands in the air in a surrender. It has been quite some time since created her core. And now, after leaving that place behind her and taking a step back from everything, she could only agree to Iulia’s proposal of taking things slow.

The woman’s face was still scrunched up, her displeasure at how Huan had treated herself evident. Yet, after a while, she mellowed. “And you still are. So what’s next?”

“The third is the Core stage: That’s where I am at. I am supposed to refine it, somehow. To purify myself, and through that, my core. But I have no idea how to proceed. I’ve heard this is when I would be confronted with inner demons too.”

“Wait a minute, what do you mean demons? Inner demons? What do the infernal planes have anything to do with that?” The shock of the Ink user bare on her face as the mention of Demons made her recoil in her seat. Hitting her head against the back wall. For all her earlier trepidation, this toppled everything. For her, Demons, and for that every being of the infernal planes were bad news. To hear Huan would have to confront ‘Inner’ Demons was enough to send her mind in turmoil, her composure only held together by her mastery of her own self.

Huan had no idea what her companions were speaking about: to her, demons were but the natural state of being for every demonic cultivator: it was even in the name. But seeing Iulia react this way only made her more uneasy and uncomfortable at the prospect of confronting her own.

“Wait, I think there might be a misunderstanding at hand. It is impossible that your definition of demons and mine are the same. Could you explain to me what those ‘inner’ demons are? Because there is no way in all that is holy that you have a demon inside of you.” she grasped her hands, her breathing controlled as she looked at Huan with as much fear and worry she could feel within.

Nodding her head slowly, she started explaining. “ Erm, What I, and most cultivators, call ‘Inner’ demons is the representation of our worldly desires and... impactful life experiences. The Buddhist temple calls it a manifestation of one’s samskara, but I am versed well enough in their texts to be really sure about it. And that is where the difference between righteous and demonic cultivators becomes permanent.” The hint of disgust and annoyance in Huan’s voice wasn’t lost on her friend.

“You mean things like trauma? Wait… Are you a demonic cultivator?” The two stared into each other’s eyes. Huan was afraid to reply: ‘If the mere mention of demons had moved her that much, how would she react if I told her?’. Despite everything she had accomplished until now, saying the word proved to be the hardest act she had ever wished to do. Her heart started beating faster as stray thoughts popped in her mind faster than she could process them.

“Hey.” A hand gently landed on her knee. She looked up and saw the concerned face of her friend. “Didn’t you just say that this is the last moment to change direction? If that’s so, then what’s stopping you from turning around? You aren’t in that ‘Blood Demon cult’ place anymore, are you?”

Huan, feeling weak despite being a powerhouse of the third stage, nodded as her whole body trembled at the thought of being pushed aside.

“Good. Then that means you can, and will try your best to not be like them?” She nods again. “ Then that means that you’ll have to make your own way forward. And you’ll not be alone, I will be there.” Her small hand squeezed Huan’s knees as a hiccup broke through her tight throat.

“There there. Plus, it’s not like you had a choice what to do or practice back at the Cult. A cult, of all places. Don’t worry, I will make sure things go right.” She changed sides again. Wrapping her arms around her younger friend, comforting her.

Huan’s mind was a mess at the moment, many things ranging from thought to weird sensation in her body made her feel lost and confused. But the warmth that came from her friend seemed to calm her, as she then too, wrapped her arm around her.

Time went on as their carriage continued onward. The two women sat there, arm in arm in silence, their mere presence enough to fill the void. They watched out the windows, the sun was already hovering above the horizon as they neared their destination. Yet at the moment they couldn’t care any less.

Huan had stopped sniffling, her eyes red. It had been years since she had truly let herself cry, willingly unlike that night where she just exploded. She had always felt like a stake was plunged in her body each time she advanced, seeing what she would need to do to go even further. She had heard the cries of the many innocents the members of the cult used, extracting their pain, drinking their blood. A fate she had dodge by a twist of the heavens, one that made her sick thinking she would have to impose it on others.

She hugged her tighter, her friend, her hope. For a normal life, one where she doesn’t need to be cruel, not anymore.

Iulia squeezed back; The sorceress had felt all of Huan’s emotions despite the woman’s inability to feel them entirely. This was something she had sworn to secrecy, for a painter’s Inkwell allows to peer into other’s in a way that brings ill intentions. She knew of the abject horror that had tormented her, the fear and rage that inhabit the depth of her mind. The constant sense of dread that washed off of her had started to lessen since they’ve begun to talk and know each other. And she was happy, for she had suffered enough. ‘No, even if she didn’t go through all of it. She still deserves to be happy. I will make sure of it.’ She thought, her own mind churning at everything she had come to learn, about how to help her, how to deal with those ‘inner demons’.

“I think I have an idea. But while the progress would be slow, it would secure your progress as something other than a demonic cultivator. But for that, I need you to trust me.” She looked up, her face still leaning on Huan’s shoulder as her right arm went around her torso. She wasn’t sure how it would turn out, Ki and Ink were very volatile and didn’t mix together anymore, despite one coming from the other.

“I already do, much more than I think I should be comfortable with.” The raven haired woman turned her head sideways, her left arm draped over the brunette shoulder: pulling her in.

“I need you to teach me how to cultivate, so I get an idea of how it works personally. And then I will teach you sorcery. I think I've found an exception to me being ‘cripple’, and to you not ‘crippling’ yourself or making your energy go wild or deviate. Your core is stable, right?” Huan nodded. Not yet understanding where this was leading to.

“Good. So it should be able to endure being free of any pressure?” she nods again, her core. Like all cores, it was the most stable manifestation of Ki, so stable in fact that its nature was different from that of the second stage Ki. Earning the name of True Ki. This was what allowed her to expel it out of her body as crescent waves to kill, or even fly through the air with or without a flying sword.

“Then, learning to use sorcery would give you the tools to deal with those inner demons in a safe and controlled way. You could do like those transcending infernal: freeing yourself of the chains of cruelty and ascending the heavenly realms. I think Teacher even had a few books about them. You could call this: ‘The Heavenly Demon path’... No, that’s not fancy enough when compared to the rest of your techniques… ‘Heavenly Demon transcends Evil’, what do you think?”

The joy and energy in her voice was infectious. Huan didn’t know what to think, she had questions about these transcending infernal beings she just heard about. Or what the infernal planes are. But at the moment, the idea of being something more than a demonic cultivator. More than a monster who drinks from the souls and flesh of innocents was more than enough to give her a new goal: a new Hope.