Chapter 21

The children collected a total of eight stones, and in the morning after their return they sat around the breakfast table to discuss their distribution.

“To be honest, the Shen family doesn’t need this bounty,” Tren admitted to the children. “We sent Tan off on this journey to further his education rather than any real need to recoup the loss of the stones we spent. There are, conveniently, two stones of each element in the bounty that you found, and so I think that it’s only fair that each of you gets two. However, while you might think that Pao should get the Earth stones, Ko get the water stones, and so forth, the truth is that you should each get a stone of a different element than your own.”

“Why is that?” Pao asked. “Wouldn’t it make the most sense if we used them to boost our cultivation by absorbing the Qi they give off?”

“That’s exactly what you should do, but the mistake you’re making is that you’re not thinking large enough. Just as your cultivation is boosted the most when the four of you cultivate together, if you use four of these stones in a formation you can further boost the ambient Qi on the cultivation hill. If you trust me with them, I’ll modify the formation, and you should notice a marked difference within a few days,” Tren explained.

“Of course we trust you,” Ko said immediately. “What about the other four stones?”

“Pao, you should take an Air stone and study its Qi. Tan should study the Earth stone. Ko, you should study fire, and Won should study water. I know that those are the opposites of your own elements, and that’s exactly why you should examine the Qi. You can further your understanding of your own Dao by examining its opposite,” Tren explained.

The children exchanged glances, but then again they collectively shrugged. They’d take Tan’s father’s advice for a while, and if they didn’t see any improvement in their cultivation by studying the stones they could always trade them later.

So it was for the first time since the twins arrived that the cultivation hill was modified, this time with the addition of four spiritual stones at the compass points and additional lines scratched into the foundation, including a protective ward to keep the stones from being stolen. The children didn’t notice any particular difference that day, but after a week, they did indeed notice that the ambience had improved significantly in a way that they couldn’t really understand.

The Qi wasn’t much thicker, but it was easier to absorb and process in their bodies.

Ko and Won both ascended into the third stage of the initiate’s realm together soon after, and the entire farm celebrated the next day with another tournament. The outcome was much the same as the first tournament, however, with Pao once again emerging as the strongest disciple on the farm. At least when they were all restricted down to the fourth stage of the initiate’s realm he was.

A few days later, on his fourteenth birthday and while pondering the air stone, Pao had a sudden insight which pushed him into the sixth stage of the initiate’s realm. Once he came out of his ascention trance, he grinned and challenged Tan to another spar. The boys fought for thirty minutes using their full power.

Tan landed twenty blows for every one that Pao landed, but each of Pao’s blows was backed by the force of the Earth. Tan winced and retreated after each one, and the damage accumulated through the fight. He refused to give in, he was still a stage above Pao and should be stronger, despite the boy being four years older than him.

They continued to fight and fight, exchanging punches that would have broken the bones of mortals and kicks that sent the others flying through the air. Tan’s ability to fly did not help him as much in combat as he’d thought it would, as he still had to come down to Pao to fight him, and Pao was an expert on turning the younger boy’s momentum against him when he flew in from a distance to deliver a powerful kick.

Frustrated, Tan didn’t know what to do to win. He’d been content to lose to Pao in the tournament when they were restricted in the level of strength they could bring to the fight, but he stubbornly refused to admit that he was losing when they fought at full strength.

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Not until Pao caught him in a headlock, wrestled him to the ground, and finally tickled him into submission.

Despite the involuntary laughter involved in admitting his defeat, Tan sulked the rest of the day, and the next day, until his father took him aside and spoke with him about it.

“You’re upset because Pao is stronger than you now,” the adult said bluntly.

“It’s not fair,” Tan said.

“It’s perfectly fair. He works harder at cultivation than you do. Zephyr is stronger than Pao’s earth spirit, that’s true. But the two of you started cultivating at about the same time, and Pao has consistently put forth more effort than you have. You have a number of advantages, but how long are you going to rest on the strength of Zephyr and your natural affinity for the Dao of the Azure Skies?” his father asked him.

Tan pouted, not liking the way that this discussion was going. “You think I should spend all of my time cultivating?”

“I want you to have a happy childhood, Tan,” Tren answered. “If you’re content to be the second strongest child on this farm, then there’s nothing wrong with that. It will take Won and Ko quite a while to catch up to you and Pao. However hard you want to work on becoming stronger, your mother and I will support you.”

Tan continued to pout, and then he flew off to the lake to fish.

The other children, aware of but not engaging with the upset scion of the house, finished their chores for the day and ventured into the village to visit their parents. The twins both bragged about their adventures during the spirit stone hunt to any of the villagers who would listen, as well as about their recent advancement to the next stage of cultivation.

A certain red-handed young man overheard the discussion. Hoten had never quite given up on his desire to become a cultivator. There were legends of cultivation beginning late in life, and he did not think that he was nearly too old to start. However, it was clear that all of the stones he’d purchased from the children who had given up on that path were duds.

Or, as he suspected but could not prove, Tren Shen had done something to the stones to prevent him from bonding the spirits within.

He’d already wasted more than a hundred silver in the endeavor to become a cultivator, but he’d been saving up once more. He knew that Tren was a dead end, but he thought perhaps he could approach Wensho, and maybe she would be more reasonable. So he had a considerable nest egg with him when he knocked on the door of Pao’s family while the boy was inside visiting his parents.

Pao’s mother answered, and Hoten put on his best smile and explained his proposition. The young man was shown inside and served some tea. Which was terrible compared to the tea that his own mother made, but he forced it down out of politeness as the family sat around the table with him.

“I heard that you had a spiritual stone for sale,” Hoten said to Pao. “I’m willing to give you twenty silver coins in exchange for it.”

Pao immediately shook his head. “I’m sorry. But no.”

“Why not?” Hoten demanded. “I heard it’s not even the same element as you? What good is it to you? Why won’t you give me this chance?”

“I’m not done learning from it,” Pao explained. “I’m sorry. Maybe in a year or two, I’ll feel differently, but --”

“Son,” Pao’s father said. He looked at his wife, who shot Pao a guilty look.

“The truth is, Pao, that your father and I could use some more money,” she said nervously. “The income that you’re providing by working for the Shens is very helpful, but we were hoping to purchase a new loom. If we had thirty more silver coins we could afford it. We’ve been saving as much as we can from your salary, but the sooner we get it the sooner we can start selling cloth, and …”

She trailed off and hung her head in shame for having to ask her son to make the choice between himself and his family.

Pao was silent for a moment. He pulled a small blue stone from his pocket and set it on the table. “This is what you’re asking for,” he said. “But twenty silver coins isn’t enough. I want you to purchase my family the loom that they want. If you do that, then I’ll give you this stone.”

Hoten grinned widely. “I’ll go speak with my father immediately! He’s the one who’s selling them the loom anyway! Perhaps if you agree to sell him your cloth at a fixed price I can make him agree to give it to you for free!”

“No,” Pao said. “We’ll be selling the cloth at full price.”

Hoten frowned, but then shrugged. “I’ll handle the negotiations with my father and come back as soon as I get him to agree to the deal. I’m certain he’ll see reason.”

Pao watched the young man leave. His parents, looking guilty and grateful at the same time, embraced the boy.

“Thank you, son,” His father said.

“Cultivation begins with a sacrifice,” Pao said quietly. He sighed. When he left, he left the air stone behind for his parents to complete the trade without requiring his input. The loom arrived two days later, and the stone fell into Hoten’s eager hands.