Master Bran was back to his confidential smiling self after he pondered my question for a bit.

“Do not worry,Ghali.” He said ”When a commoner is found having spiritual roots he joins the imperial Military as a new recruit and Healers like me are one of few that could find a cultivator and teach them the basics.”

I felt relief when I heard this. I flashed a smile that was not returned. His face seemed like stone.

He looked at the manual and said:

“However you should keep the book a secret. Let no one know what you have found, or our clan is in danger.”

“It is may be a common cultivation manual but it is still worth a lot. More so, than the lives of the entire Hansa clan...”

I could only nod as I felt a chill crawl up on the back of my neck.

“Tomorrow morning you should also talk to my father. The clan head shouldn't find about the manual either. Nobody should...”

Despite nobody being around he said all this in a low, hushed tone.

“Let it stay a secret shared by both of us. Less danger for everybody involved. Lets give you a plausible cover story.”

Master Bran and I came up with a story and afterwards were lost in our own heavy thoughts for a while.

He suddenly said with gleaming eyes:

”Enough of that! I cannot longer wait to see the Contents of this book!”

We began to Discuss the contents and meaning behind the “Water Lily Technique” which filled master Bran with a type joy that was contagious and a welcome change from the gloom we felt just minutes before.

As time passed I forgot all about the earlier nervousness and started to look forward to cultivate again; also I think it was the first time in his life he didn't look towards giving his lessons.

The first children arrived at the school and interrupted our session I hid the manual in my clothes and was about to leave when I spotted my younger siblings among their peers.

My younger brother was already taller than other kids his age, while my sister was the opposite she was on the smaller side and both of them had the reddish brown hair of our family that always stood out among the darker brown of the other Clan members.

“Drakan! Good morning, you little pest! I hope you watch over Aliah while I am away!”

“Morning, don't tell me to do something I already do, you Gnome!” He said in a tone he knew I despise, while lazily picking his nose. “Where you going to ? Slacking off again?”

“Don't repeat Nee's silly lies you, frog!” I said, a bit more irritated than I should.

Instead of indulging him further with idle bickering, i turned to my sweet little sister:

“Aliah sweety! A hug for your big brother?”

She simply giggled and ran over to me jumping into my arms. Aliah was quiet, sweet and studious.

I also gave a hug to my bratty little gremlin brother, to his embarrassment, but he still hugged back. We love each other despite our differences.

I made my way towards our house near the wall. The sun was crawling up the sky while birds called robber and wing-mouse made their daily trek towards the forest, filling the air with red and yellow like flames that danced under the clouds and sun.

I saw some late mouse flew from the canopy, making its way hurriedly over the wall, when I arrived home.

“It seems we have a new family member.” I said, jokingly, eliciting only raised eyebrows and unamused expressions, from my mother Saska and elder sister Rena.

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They couldn't look more different at first glance, Rena was a tall and muscular woman while mother was petite and small, betraying her Narra Clan ancestry. Only the dark reddish brown hair betrayed their relation.

“Ghali! You are already back from the hunting trip?” my mother asked, with a smile I didn't quite like.

“He's a slacker I told you!” Rena said, loud as usual, as she grinned like a wolf

“He fell in love with books and his head is in clouds since then!”

To my shame I had a mischievous streak when I was younger and I thought myself clever when tried to use my spiritual sense for a prank

My face slackened. The little magic trick still used all of my concentration to pull off. The tiny mote of qi inside of me rushed up to the tiny crystal that was my third eye.

And I immediately felt heart-achingly bad for doing so.

Being hit by my spiritual sense filled their faces with horror and Rena positioned herself before mom as if to defend her from a beast.

“What was that?” Rena regained her senses first; she looked at me as if I was a stranger.

I looked to the the side and to the horizon. I could not face them after what I had done; I hurt my family with my youthful recklessness.

“I, uh, am a cultivator and this was my spiritual sense!”

“Pfft... HAHAHAHAA! Look Mom! He is being dramatic again!” she was pointing her fingers at me. It seems she is fine.

“Rena I swear to the gods, you Ogress! I was being serious!” However grateful I was, she still manages to always hit sore spots with her remarks.

“Pfft...huh haha. You little scoundrel. You scared your poor mother half to dead.” Mom was still pale and trying to play it off.

“It did look quite theatrical with the tearful gaze to the horizon.” she also joined the teasing, much to my annoyance.

“I am sorry Mom. I didn't think that it had so much of an effect on you.” still my heart was aching.

I am now thankful that I was a fledgling Cultivator back then, i learned not to be reckless with my powers before i could get drunk on them.

She waved her hand before her before saying:” Whats that about being a cultivator? Also you are not in the clear about your hunting trip. I think I let father handle the situation.”

“Ugh, yes mother.” I wasn’t looking forward to that.

At least I know I had good reasons, especially considering third Uncles cover story.

I left my hunting gear at home he bronze short spear my short bow, a spade for traps and my trusty pack.

After some more chatting with my family and my sister insisting I had to apologize, I then went to help the shepherds getting the flock down the sheep ramp to the outside.

I used the opportunity to search for dark grass. Third uncle gave me the recipe of Potions and I was eager to try to brew my own potion.

Dark grass is better known as Carex. It is a short plant long as a hand and has wheat like appearance, it started green from its roots and stalk until it’s started to get purple towards head and the seeds were purple black.

I searched between the long grasses that grew in dense pockets between mosses and the reed beds along the underwater parts of the bog were the water-plants reigned.

It still was hard to find. It grew random and sparse and was like all magic things, elusive.

I used my new-found power to ease the search for the herb, even tough I could only use it for the time it takes to brew tea, it still helped a lot.

The bog turned into new unknown colors as the life force of bugs, critters and plants were now weaving a new tapestry of my surroundings.

Once I had to search with my mere eyes, but now I could keep eyes on the flock while I took a break for my mote of qi to regenerate after I spent it searching.

With the knowledge of my people in herb gathering and my spirit sense I found the stalks which were shining dimly with the light of their energy that gave them an otherworldly appearance that stood out.

Then evening came dipping the bog and hill into scarlet and gold while the dark of the forest made it seem that the world ended at its border, with trees as jagged teeth, that reached towards the sky.

I herded the flock up the ramp together with the others, we settled the sheep inside and let them loose inside the village again, safe from the predators of the night and happily bleating; content to have had their little trip for the day.

We shepherds shared a bit of gossip before I made my way towards the village center, It seems like my father was playing Go after the fieldwork so I had a short respite at home.

Next to the Main hall, was the Storage of our Clan; the Elder in charge of it was ecstatic when I told him that I had spirit herbs on me.

I handed all but one of the Carex stalks over to him. “Good Child! What a lucky find!” he said overjoyed and was beaming like the sun in a midsummer afternoon.

Back then I knew that it wouldn't be long before the clan knew about my find. I knew the elder would sprint to my grandfather and from there the good news would spread.

Hopefully they would counter the news my father might heard, about me abandoning my test to become a hunter-aspirant.