When I awoke in the bright sunlight, I was in my own bed. There were the clinks and clangs of porcelain. The sunlight felt like needles poking at my eyes. When they adjusted, Obe came into focus.
He was opening an eight-tiered food tray and taking out breakfast. But with the expression on his face, he might as well be setting down dung. Half of the porridge sloshed onto the table. For a moment, I thought about asking for fairies, but on second thought, I did not want any females around Huayu.
“His highness carried you in,” Obe said reproachfully as I sat down at the table.
Warmth crept up my neck. I stuffed a mantou in my mouth and began to slurp tofu soup to prevent a conversation.
“His highness is in the study waiting for you,” Obe continued to say. He glanced at my full mouth with disgust and added pointedly, “His highness admires proper goddesses.”
“I don’t want his admiration,” I retorted through a mouthful of eggs. But I put down the mantou that I grabbed with my bare hand and used chopsticks instead.
I arrived at Huayu’s study an incense of time later. I normally took longer to eat, but who had an appetite when Obe was staring down at you? He ought to work for the Goddess of Propriety. He and that old fairy belonged together.
Huayu gestured for me to sit across from him. There was a watchful light in his dark eyes. Soon, my face burned like I had lain under the summer sun.
“Did Obe give you the Xing Jiu tea? It curbs the effects of wine.” He said gently.
So that was what that refreshing drink was.
“Yes… I’m sorry about last night—yesterday. It was my first time drinking, and I wasn’t used to it. In my village, grains were too precious to be made into wine, so we didn’t…” I was blabbing again. “Anyway, I hope that I didn’t say anything strange.”
“You fell right asleep,” he said. Like a layer of frost upon a pine, a hint of smile appeared on his handsome face along with a touch of melancholy.
A breeze swept strands of my hair across my cheeks; the tingling spread down my body. Ripples of sunlight streamed through the lattice window, casting reflections of pink blossoms against the white wall. Enveloped by the soft pink glow, I remembered the Goddess of Flower and Huayu’s words. I dropped my gaze with difficulty.
“Let’s start your lesson.” He cleared his throat and stood up. The atmosphere in the room changed quickly.
“Before I teach you anything, you need to agree to some conditions. Do you accept Shenjie authority as the one and only? Do you promise to abide by the Divine Laws and the Supreme Code of Ethics, to respect your superiors, to protect the weak, to be virtuous, and to always vanquish evil without hesitation?” Huayu asked, every trace of emotion gone.
“Are we just starting lessons now?” I asked, taken aback by the belated oath. “Then what were all those trips?”
His face darkened. I quickly nodded.
“The art of combat is separated into developing chi and learning the external skills. In order to utilize the external skills to the fullest extent, we need to cultivate chi. Without chi, the most intricate combat skills are for show,” he continued. A scroll flew off the shelf towards me. I caught it in my hand and unrolled it. The scroll read, “The Basics of Beginner Chi.”
“Read the first line and do as you are told,” instructed Huayu.
As I repeated the words in my mind, I felt a strange warmth circulating in my chest. The warmth spread to my extremities and back again, twirling around my spine and gathering inside my stomach.
“When can I go on missions?” I asked, shivering as the warmth subsided.
“Missions?” Huayu repeated with a frown.
“Yes, I want to help you in saving mortals, fighting yaoguai. Oh, and finding the mastermind that massacred my village.”
“Must you be so vengeful? Your people have been reincarnated to comfortable lives. You might be happier if you forgive,” Huayu suddenly said.
“Happiness isn’t my goal,” I said. “You gods may think that a mortal life is a vacation that lasts a few months, but to us, it is very real! My people were murdered and mutilated. Thank you for compensating them after death, but it does not reverse their suffering. The evil motherfucker that plotted this still out there. I will not stop until I catch them with my two hands.”
Huayu closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“The things I do are unsuitable for you,” he said.
“If it’s suitable for you then it’s suitable for me,” I argued.
“No,” Huayu said firmly. Perhaps seeing my disappointment, he added, “Not until you have enough chi to protect yourself.”
“Weren’t you supposed to give me 1 centiliter of chi after the ceremony?” I suddenly remembered.
“Weren’t you supposed to not cheat at the ceremony?” He replied with a raised brow.
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I fumed in silence.
“You highness,” Obe called from the courtyard, “General Guanyu requests a meeting.”
“Prepare my court robe,” he instructed, effectively ending our coversation.
I stared after him. If he thought giving me a large scroll would deter me then he could not be more wrong. I was already months behind my classmates’ training, and I was not going to waste more time.
I tucked the scroll under my arm and casted a cloud for the garden. As soon as I landed, I began to whip up dishes, making the most fragrant ones. When the scent dispersed around the garden, I tapped on the ground and yelled “Tudi, Tudi!”
Tudi appeared in a swirl of smoke.
“I have a favor to ask,” I said quickly.
Tudi moaned, but he remained glued to the ground. His eyes widened at the sight of the food.
“How can I finish this as soon as possible?” I showed him the scroll.
“Ah, the beginner manual to inner chi cultivation,” recognized Tudi. He helped himself to a drumstick and snorted. “He possesses so many combat manuals, but he’s teaching you this basic thing?”
I ignored his dig. Gods lived long and held grudges forever.
He thought for a bit and said, “This manual extracts the yang chi from nature and circulates it around the body. The energy would be enhanced if under trained a cool environment with forces opposing it.”
He inhaled the rest of the chicken and said, “Come with me!”
I hopped on Tudi’s cloud and zoomed away. Riding dragons was fun once or twice, but nothing compared to the feeling of soaring on clouds.
We landed at a high and narrow waterfall on an unknown mountain. The jagged cliff stood in front of us; a stream flowed off the sharp stones onto the rock bed below. The force of the waterfall created an icy mist that chilled me to the bones.
“This water originated from the melting glaciers. During its course, it runs through a bed of ice jade. The minerals in the water along with its icy temperature is perfect for cultivation of chi with warm properties,” said Tudi. “And look, the slab of stone there is perfect for you to sit on.”
I looked doubtingly at the stone that was taking a beating from the pounding waterfall. But at the urging of Tudi, I took a deep breath and dashed into the water. The water slammed upon my body like icy needles.
“Ow!” I yelped and jumped out. Tudi laughed.
“Is this a joke?” I asked accusingly.
“I forgot to mention it’s quite painful.” Tudi said in between laughs. “Though it is the best way to speed up your training.”
I needed to finish the manual as soon as possible, no matter how much it hurt. I stepped gingerly under the water again. The water hit me like whips. I could barely breath from the pain.
“Start reciting the manual!” I heard Tudi call. I recited the manual. A warm flow countered the coldness that had overtaken my body. The pain was still there, but more bearable. I directed the flow through various pressure points according to the manual. By the end of the first section, the waterfall turned into a comfortable coolness. I stepped out.
“It wasn’t that bad,” I said to Tudi.
“The water forces the inner chi to develop faster to counteract the cold effect. The more you train the less uncomfortable it gets,” Tudi explained while munching on a flower ball.
From that day on, I trained under the waterfall daily. Rivulets of chi from the surroundings entered my body. When I recited the manual, the forces combined in my abdomen, rose to my chest, spread to my limbs before returning to my torso from my spine. The force became stronger with every circulation. It felt as fresh as the dewdrops of early morning, as intoxicating as aged wine. I was aware of a warm tingle in every fiber of my body. The warmth grew to almost unbearable heat that could only be cooled by the waterfall. I knew that there were many uses for chi, but I resisted experimenting with it, in case Huayu found out about my shortcut. By the time I completed the manual, the effect of chi was evident. I could see the details of an object and hear breathing from 50 meters away. The clouds that I casted seemed faster as well.
A month later, I returned to Huayu’s study. He was conveniently away, as told to me by a gleeful Obe. I returned the next morning, but the same thing occurred. By the third day, I realized the little punk of a page was taking this chance to seek his revenge. Luckily, I didn’t need his help.
I grabbed the escort that Empress Vesper had given me and headed to the garden. There, I carefully carved Huayu’s name on it and laid it on the ground. At first nothing happened. Then the escort spun rapidly before stopping in the direction of south. I was flooded with excitement.
Heart beating fast, I picked up the escort, brushed dirt off my precious treasure, and headed south. Every few steps, I allowed the escort to spin.
Strangely, I seemed to be following a well-trodden trail. Buildings in Shenjie shifted with the clouds, but their approximate locations were always the same. Eventually, the escort refused to spin anymore.
I looked around. The path ended in front of a tall wall extending to my left and right as far as my eyes could see. It had with no windows and only a small door. Very slowly, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. A staircase rose out of sight. I tried the escort again, just in case. It did not spin.
“You better be right,” I murmured as I began to climb. The stairs ended onto a platform. I peered out and saw the backs of many generals facing me. Below them on the giant courtyard, thousands of soldiers were training.
I immediately saw Huayu’s handsome back at the very front. Why was even his back so good looking? I kissed my escort and made a mental note to never, ever, let anyone else get her hands on it.
I squeezed through the rows of generals. They watched their soldiers so intensely that no one glanced at me. I strode right to Huayu and slammed the scroll on the low table in front of him.
“I finished,” I announced proudly. Without waiting for him to speak, I conjured a ball of swirling white mist between my palms. It was the last line of instruction in the manual.
“So you have,” Huayu said. He did not look happy. “In the future, do not make a habit of taking shortcuts.”
He knew! Huayu’s expression was kind but I was reminded of my previous cheating. I felt my face burn. He took out a scroll from his sleeve that read “Intermediate Chi Training”.
“A poor man who comes into a fortune spends it frivolously. One who begets chi easily will never learn to use it properly,” he explained. “Also, cold water isn’t good for your health.”
I stared at the scroll that was twice as thick as the last manual and felt flames lick my insides.
“Should I take this and leave you alone then? Perhaps spend two months studying it, huh? Or would four months make you happier? Maybe I should go memorize the entire bookstore?” I demanded. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw some generals oogling at us.
“Ziyan, this is for your safety,” Huayu said calmly. His aloofness made me feel like a two year old throwing a temper tantrum.
“I’m a goddess in my own right. I don’t need you to protect me. I want to learn like them,” I said, pointing to the soldiers fighting and dueling down below.
Huayu narrowed his eyes. There were like black lights shining in a storm, reflecting my dogged face. The hum of voices disappeared around us. Everyone was staring now.
“If you consider me to be your shifu. Then it is my duty to protect you, and it is your duty to obey,” he said.
I drew a sharp intake of breath. Even though I wanted to be Huayu’s disciple, I had never thought of him as my shifu, I realized. I bit down on my lips and looked straight into his hardened eyes.
“Then teach me something,” I said and jumped from the platform.