The sable sat on his usual perch in the garden. He nestled himself into his little cove inside the bark of a cherry blossom tree. His eyes were closed but he kept his senses attuned to his surroundings, ready to flee at a second’s notice.

Lately, the woman had been looking for him. It surprised him that it took her so long to perceive his presence-just another testament to her current state. He did not want to be discovered by her, but he was not exactly afraid. As she was, she did not pose any great threat to him.

To the stable, the past eight years were just a faint drop in the vast sea of time that comprised his long life. He felt content to play with the local creatures and watch the mundane goings on of the villagers. He had been many things in his life, but he never thought he could be so invested in the lives of mortals.

Mostly, he watched the boy grow. It surprised him that humans can change so much in such a short time. He still clearly remembered the chubby cheeks of the young boy and his meaty hands as they offered him food for the first time. Even then, the boy had a peculiar look about him. There was something disconcerting about his mismatched eyes. The strands of white hair on the boy’s face and head only grew more pronounced as he aged. They stood out starkly against his black hair.

The sable thought that the boy's looks were a nice change of pace to the boring sameness of the villagers, but the villagers viewed the boy’s birthmark with distaste. That coupled with his blocked meridians made him an outcast. This did not surprise the sable. The ignorance in this village was only special in its sheer abundance. He was surprised many of them could even get out of bed every day.

There was a faint creak as the door to the boy’s home swung open. He was always the first to rise in the morning. The sable opened his deep blue eyes to watch the boy in his daily chores.

He was no longer the smallest of his friends. In the past couple of years, he had shot up almost a foot. Now, he was not much shorter than his overly large friend. It was clear that the boy was still adjusting to his new height. Even walking seemed foreign to him. The sable found unique pleasure in watching him trip over his own feet.

Humans, what cute creatures they are!

The boy was gathering feed and water to tend to the chickens. He moved with brisk if clumsy efficiency. The dawn light painted the garden a pale yellow, and the boy lifted his face towards the warmth of the sun as he worked. The sable studied him from his perch.

At age fifteen, he was still an infant in many ways. His body developed free from the influences of qi. The body treasure he obtained years ago had fixed his physical imbalances so he was decently muscled from his daily exercises. Even so, he was utterly defenseless.

The thought worried the sable.

To his surprise, he found himself liking the boy. He was weak, clueless, clumsy, and slow, but that was largely a consequence of his upbringing. The boy was earnest and lacked the hubris that has brought ruin to many strong cultivators. A keenness of spirit and mind were the hardest attributes to cultivate, and, contrary to what many believe, they were the bottlenecks that prevented most high-level advancement.

After the chores, the boy started on his morning forms. They were a combination of slow body exercises that challenged his joints and muscles combined with breathing techniques. To a trained eye, they closely resembled the cycling forms of the Imperial College. His mother had taught him these forms when he began his formal training, six years ago. The sable always wondered at her choice. In many ways, the woman seemed set on shielding the boy from the world. He was sure that she was actively hindering his interest in cultivation. Why then teach him advanced cycling techniques?

The sable rolled over these questions in his mind. Her intentions were still beyond his grasp. As he finished his morning exercises, the boy stripped off his robes and began rinsing off his sweat. The morning air was frigid, and his movements were quick and efficient.

It was almost the beginning of the new year, and the branches were still bare of leaves. The sable’s eyes turned to the courtyard entrance. He could sense the feet pounding up the steps of the garden. With a burst of movement, a girl entered the courtyard.

“You won’t believe this.” A girl a year older than Shang ran into the garden. The boy jumped at the intrusion.

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“Heavens above YiHua, you scared me. It’s still early, keep your voice down,” the boy said. He continued to pour water on his body, scrubbing at his skin uncaring of the girl's presence. The girl spun on her heels, facing the opposite direction, her cheeks blazing red. “So, what is it?”

“Uh…,” the girl cleared her throat. “You won’t believe what Master Lan told me today.” There was a pause for dramatic effect.

“Yes? Come on, spit it out YiHua. Also, I’m over here you know. Why are you staring at the wall?” the boy asked. The sable had long realized that while the boy was clever in many ways, he was also a gigantic idiot.

“W-well, then put on some clothes,” the girl sputtered.

“How can I wash up with my clothes on?”

The sable snaked its long body down the cherry tree trunk and moved closer to the pair of humans. Their voices filled the silence of the morning. The sable found, to his slight embarrassment, that he enjoyed being around them. It had been many centuries since he was in such close company with humans, and he missed it.

“Come on YiHua, tell me why you ran here. What is this big secret?” The boy was drying off and donning his inner robes.

“It isn’t really a secret. Everyone will hear about it soon.” The girl was finally looking at her friend, almost jumping up and down in eagerness. “You know about Xin’s dad, right? How he was once an outer disciple of the Shadow Tiger Sect.” The boy nodded his head. It was common knowledge in the village.

The Shadow Tiger Sect was the leading sect in the Eastern Continent. Their territories spanned all along the western border of the Sapphire Plains. Their only close rival on the continent was the Lightning Bird Sect.

“According to Master Lan, they’re coming here, in two weeks!” she practically screamed.

“WHAT?!” the boy screamed even louder.

“Yeah, that mysterious business that Master Elder is on, this was it. He was negotiating with the Sect!” YiHua said.

The sable could hear bodies stirring in the house, woken up by the children’s excitement.

The boy stood frozen, mouth agape.

“I know, that was my reaction too. Apparently, they’re coming to pick potential outer disciples. Master Lan said they wouldn’t have come if not for Xin’s graduation. They’re coming to our village as a favor for Xin’s dad.” The girl was hopping up and down as she spoke.

“Woah, this is huge. Not just for Xin, but for you too! If they know any sense, they’ll snatch you two up in a heartbeat.” The sable watched for any resentment in the boy’s face but found none.

These past years, he had been observing the girl as well. While he was not impressed by her level of growth in the grand scheme of things, her talents were obviously wasted in a small village like this. It did seem peculiar that both of the boy’s childhood friends presented with such talents.

He had his suspicions as to why.

The girl broke out in a wide grin at his compliment. “Do you really think so?”

Shang smirked. “I don’t think so YiHua. I know so. Anyone, even a blind person, can see it.”

“Well, I think so too,” she said, swelling with confidence, “which is why I came here. If Xin and I get recruited, you should come with us.” Her earlier hesitance was replaced with confidence.

The boy seemed taken aback. "But…what would I do? I don’t belong in a sect. I’m not a cultivator.”

“Sects need all sorts of people. Cultivators, artists, performers, cooks.”

“You think that I’m such a good cook?”

The girl frowned, planting her hands on her hips in irritation. “Be serious Shang. I’m sure if they saw you perform, they would want you too,” she said. "The whole village is mustering together for their arrival. There's going to be a celebration with a feast and performances."

The boy considered this for a moment. “I’ll have to talk to my parents, but they might think it’s a good idea,” he relented.

The girl let out an uncharacteristic squeal and grabbed hold of her friend in a quick embrace, an action usually reserved for close family members and only in private.

The sable watched with piqued curiosity. He had never heard of the Shadow Tiger Sect before coming to this village. That was not necessarily strange. Admittedly, he had not been focused on the mortal world in many years, especially a Midworld like this one.

The villagers made the Sect seem saintlike in power. He felt anticipation building. The prospect of observing the state of real cultivators in this world excited him to no end.

He left the friends chatting in the courtyard and made his way into the surrounding trees. He climbed up the largest pine tree and pointed his whiskers in the air. While he did not need to be somewhere high to improve his senses, it always felt appropriate. Something about it called to his animalistic urges.

He let the spiritual barrier surrounding him drop for a second as he pushed out his senses.

To the northwest an airship was making headway through a thunderstorm. The ship was filled with hundreds of souls, but two spirits shone brighter than the rest.