Chapter 17

The summer continued on the Shen Farm. As the seventh month concluded and the eighth month began, each of the children experienced a breakthrough into the next stage of their cultivation. Tan reached the third stage of the foundation realm, Pao reached the tenth stage of the initiate’s realm, the twins each reached the eighth. Only little Safron failed to reach the next stage, but she got honeycakes whenever she asked anyway.

The adults exchanged nervous glances whenever the youngest member of their household’s lack of advancement came up. So when Lord Hara appeared and delivered a letter with the imperial seal, they breathed a sigh of relief. They packed up Safron and vanished for two days.

While they were gone, a runner came from the village requesting Lady Wensho’s aid with a villager who’d fallen ill. The children nervously considered what to do. While Ko’s element was water, and water was traditionally the healing element, she was far from as skilled or confident as the lady of the house. Still, she packed up her mistress’s medicine bag and went for the village.

After she had been gone for an hour, Tan had an idea and flew out to the pond, where he caused a disturbance until Elder Pike stuck his head above the waters to figure out what was going on.

“Are you a healer?” Tan demanded of the spirit-carp.

“Not precisely,” Elder Pike said. “I lack Lady Wensho’s skill, but I might be able to set a broken bone or cool a fever. Why, what is wrong?”

“Change into a human and come with me,” Tan demanded.

Elder Pike chuckled, but complied, quickly dressing in the robes stashed nearby in a waterproof cache. He gasped in surprise when Tan threw the old-man form of the fish over his shoulder and flew off towards the village, arriving moments later.

They arrived at the richest member of the village’s home. The merchant was fretting nervously through the main room of his home. When Tan knocked on his door he barked out “Who’s there?”

“It’s me. Tan Shen,” Tan answered. “I brought a man who has some healing skill to see if he can help.”

“Well don’t just stand there! Come in, come in and do what you can,” the merchant said.

Elder Pike disappeared into the back of the house, where the bedrooms were, and joined Ko at the merchant’s bedside. They remained back there for an hour before returning. Ko was crying, while Elder Pike had a calm but serious expression.

“What is it? Is she … did you … did she …”

“She’s alive, and she’ll live for some time,” Elder Pike said cautiously. “How long I cannot say. She has growths in her liver. I’m very sorry. Perhaps Lady Wensho can do something to heal her, but it is beyond my abilities and far outside the abilities of this young girl.”

The merchant looked as though someone had struck him in the stomach. “How long?”

“I cannot say. Less than a year, most likely. Unless Lady Wensho is a greater miracle worker than I know, but not even the strongest magic can fend off the death of a mortal forever,” Elder Pike answered.

The merchant swallowed. “I see. Thank you for your time.”

He gave each of them a handful of silver, and they both set it aside before they left, refusing the payment for the things that they could not do.

Tan’s parents returned on schedule and were promptly informed of the development in the village. Wensho went to investigate, returning with a sad expression.

“She won’t survive the winter,” she said. “I told them to make arrangements. Unfortunately, they have made a request from us which is hard to deny. They wish for us to deliver a letter to their son, whom we have sent to the Whispering Guides for cultivation training. Considering that it is a request for a mother to see her son one last time, I promised that we would do everything we could.”

“What’s the problem? Can’t dad just pop over there and back? It’s not that far, is it?” Tan asked.

Tren covered his face. “It would be best if I did not appear there in person, Tan. It’s one thing to send Hoten there with a jade slip, but showing my face would … possibly cause many problems. I think it might be best if you make this journey for us.”

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“Me?” Tan said, genuinely surprised. “You mean, alone?”

“Four cultivators traveling together, even ones as young and powerful as you four, will generate little interest in the world at large,” Tren explained. “And it will be good for you to stretch your legs and see a bit of the world, I think. You should be able to reach the Whispering Guides Sect within a week. Depending on how advanced Hoten’s cultivation is, it shouldn’t be more than a month before you return with him. You’ll be home in time for the harvest.”

“Wonderful,” Tan said sarcastically, although his heart wasn’t in it. He was looking forward to see the end results of the year’s labor. “Can we take the spirit construct horses? If we can then—”

“They won’t work without me there to guide you, Tan. You’re not advanced enough to operate a construct like that on your own yet,” Tren explained.

“Wonderful,” Tan repeated. He sighed, then looked at his own mother. If she was ill, and he was far away, he’d want to get word from her to return home.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” he said at last. “But it will be fastest if I go alone, won’t it? I’m the fastest and—”

“And the world is a dangerous place. Your safety is more important than speed. This isn’t an errand to Lima City and back, Tan. You’ll be entering the Black Sky Mountains, where there are Demon Beasts and cultivators who might attempt to rob you. The Whispering Guides sect only maintains an area fifty miles around their home base. It’s safe enough for a mortal to travel there and back, but you’re at the stage where you’re strong enough to attract trouble and not strong enough to make trouble flee from you on sight,” Tren said patiently. “I think it’s best if the four of you go together. Assuming that the others are willing to make the journey as well.”

“Of course we are,” Pao said immediately. “It’s my fault that Hoten isn’t here for his mother in the first place. I’m the entire reason he left the village.”

“You did nothing wrong,” Ko said quickly. “We were annoyed when Hoten became a cultivator, but you traded a spirit stone for a loom for your family. Anyone of us would have done the same.”

“Yeah,” Won agreed. “Don’t worry, Master and Mistress Shen. We’ll all go with Tan and keep him safe.”

“Very well,” Tren said. “You’ll leave in two days. We’ll spend between now and then getting you ready.”

With that much decided, the family meeting broke up. The day proceeded as normal for the children, who finished their chores and cultivated. The adults, however, were busy with their preparations.

On the dawn of the second day, the children awoke and ate breakfast as normal, ignoring the nervous energy that was an unwelcome guest in the dining room. The adults tried to make light of the situation, but even little Safron was downcast that her big brother was going. She hadn’t even told him about how the healers had said she’d grow up to be as strong as him!

The adults had a different memory of that encounter, but there was no point in worrying the children unnecessarily. It was still to early to act, and Safron’s Qi block might still resolve itself on its own.

When everyone had eaten their fill, they stepped out into the front yard for the formal farewell.

Tan had their camping gear and a week’s worth of food in his storage ring, which his Uncle Renton had so casually given him on their last visit. Much of the day before had been spent cooking various recipes for Tan to store, still hot and preserved against the march of time and entropy by the ring’s magic.

“We have something for each of you,” Lady Wensho said. From her storage ring, she pulled a quarterstaff. It was made of black wood, with a formation etched into it in silver. She demonstrated a brief Kata that left the children’s jaws hanging, then put the weapon in Ko’s hand. “This was mine when I was younger. I give it to you, Ko, in the hopes that it will serve you well.”

“Thank you!” Ko said, and she bowed low.

Tren went next, pulling from his storage ring a warhammer made of a shiny black metal. He lifted it effortlessly above his hand, then brought it down in a colossal blow to the ground that caused an earth tremor that was felt for miles and left a crater in the ground five feet deep. He waved his hand again and repaired the damage to his yard.

“For you, Pao. This was mine once upon a time, but I have a better weapon now. May it serve you in your times of need.”

From her ring, Wensho drew an ornate bow. She had no arrows, but when she pulled the string back one formed of ice from the air. She fired the arrow, which shot off over the horizon.

“For you, Won,” she said, handing it over to him. “Mix it with your magic, and may you always strike your mark.”

Finally, Tren pulled from his storage ring a sword. The blade was three feet long and made of a black shiny metal, with runes of power etched on the flat of the blade. The handle had a tassel of yellow silk, and although the blade seemed flimsy enough to bend when it was swung, it cut through a rock when Wensho through one at her husband during the Kata he displayed for the children.

“My father gave me this when I was your age,” Tren said, sheathing the blade and handing it to his son. “May you never need to draw it, and may it not fail you if such a time comes that you must.”

The children stood silently in awe of their weapons for a moment, then nodded at Tan’s parents.

They bowed as one and said “Thank you for the gifts!”

Then they dashed off towards the horizon.

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