Chapter 34
Sean Zang landed in Mosanatas on the seventh day of the children’s stay. He’d been following rumors of the passing of the Qi constructs, only to have overshot their destination by a few hundred miles. Once he’d realized that they’d stopped, Mosanatas had been third on his list of possible desinations for the powerful Shen cultivators.
It did not take him very long to confirm their presence in the city, as the common people were filled with gossip over the children that the leader of the city guard, himself a powerful air cultivator, and three other masters of the elements, had taken on students and were making a big fuss in the palace.
Sean listened to the rumors carefully, going from tavern to tavern, speaking with street vendors, and generally getting a feel for the city. He hadn’t thought that he was making waves, but when the guards confronted him coming out of one establishment, he did not resist their efforts to bring him in.
He’d done nothing wrong, after all. But he understood the way of things, so he was prepared to justify his actions anyway.
He stood in the interrogation block of the city guard’s headquarters. He wasn’t chained or otherwise mistreated, and there was in fact a platter of fruit and a caraffe of tea nearby for his pleasure. He waited patiently until the guards opened the door and Zenith stepped inside.
“You have been taking far too much interest in my students,” the captain of the guard said. “Who are you and why?”
“I assure you that I mean the Shen family no harm. I am Sean Zang of the Zang family. We are interested in the Shen family, but not for any nefarious reasons I assure you. We are exploring the possibility of joining our families through marriage, if the stars align and our scions get along with each other, and so when the waves of their journey reached the shores of our home, I was sent to investigate.”
“And the conclusion of your investigation?” Zenith questioned.
“That the Shen family has more extensive influence than we realized, to have gathered support from such illustrious cultivators such as yourself,” Sean answered. “The family elders and decision makers will be even more invested in making the marriage between Kora Zang and Tan Shen occur when they find out.”
“And what does the Shen family think of these designs?” Zenith inquired.
Sean shrugged. “They’re less enthused about the matter than the Zang family, I admit. But we are all following etiquette on the matter carefully. The children are set to meet again in the summer of this year, after the boy turns ten. Hopefully they continue to get along, but the Zang family recognizes that it does not have the means to press the engagement if they do not.”
Zenith considered the conversation for a moment. “I want you to leave my city,” he said at last.
“I assure you that I had was just concluding my investigation and was about to depart on my own when your men approached me,” Sean told his fellow air cultivator. “I don’t believe that I have committed any crimes or done anything to offend the Shen family, the empire, or yourself, have I?”
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“No,” Zenith admitted. He sighed. “Very well. I cannot make you leave, but I would appreciate it if you made fewer waves and stayed out of the way. The business at the palace may be the source of rumors and gossip, and you may consume those rumors and that gossip and relate it to your elders, but if you interfere with the children’s training beyond that, I will see to it that you come to regret that decision.”
Sean shrugged. “It is in the Zang family interest that Tan becomes as powerful as possible, if he truly is to marry into the family. Why would I interfere with that?”
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Tan sat atop the Soaring tower, carefully cultivating while pondering the lessons that Zenith had been instilling over the last week. He could move the weighted cart with relative ease now, but that wasn’t enough. Zenith was challenging him to understand why the techniques the master air cultivator had shown him were easier than what Tan had developed on his own.
And so he pondered.
He had learned that, by creating a breeze somewhere away from where he wanted to exert force with his magic, he could amplify the effect of the wind. By creating a counter current, and by changing the pressure in certain areas, the wind that was meant to do the work could be significantly stronger than simply brute-forcing the matter.
It was a very different approach than what he’d been learning from his father about the Dao of the Azure Sky. But he had to remember that his father was an earth cultivator, and while he had profound insights that were beneficial to Tan, his path was ultimately different from the one that Tan walked.
Or flew, rather. Tan grinned. He couldn’t wait to apply the lessons he’d learned with Zenith to flight. Knowing about wind resistance and counter-currents would significantly increase his speed, he expected. He wondered how fast he’d be now?
There was no specific insight, no magic button that he pressed, which put him over the edge. Rather, he realized that he was ready to progress, and so he pulled in as much Qi from the air as he could gather at once – the amount had grown considerably over the last week – and he focused it into his dantian and spread it through his meridians.
The qualitative change of going from the ninth to the tenth stage of the initiate’s realm filled his body with warmth. He continued to meditate as he explored the changes to his body. He felt stronger than before. He was certain that he was faster as well. But he was still, ultimately, himself. Nothing along his journey of cultivation had fundamentally changed who he was, yet he was very different from the five year old boy who had played with Zephyr once upon a time.
Some of that was simply growing up, he knew. Even if he’d never bound Zephyr or become a cultivator, he would still be older and different from the child he’d been. But just as a breeze changed as it flowed over the land, warming or cooling and picking up sand and dust or settingit down, Tan’s path was changing him in subtle and meaningful ways.
He wondered who he was becoming.
Then, once he was certain that he’d made as much progress as he would that day, he flew down from the top of the Soaring Tower and went to the Water Gardens to play with the other children.