Chapter 5

Kora sat in the bed where she’d be sleeping for the next week or two, astounded by the modesty of the small guesthouse. She had been expecting … she’d been expecting a hidden compound like the one that her family had in the Black Sky Mountains, with dozens of servants and their family members. Instead, she’d met one servant, an ugly young man who had practically ignored her.

Of course, even that servant was a cultivator, she’d noticed. An earth cultivator if she wasn’t mistaken. She couldn’t quite tell his stage or advancement, but she got the slight taste of truffles from his Qi. She hadn’t been introduced to the young man, only seen him in passing as Tren had shown her the room. He was waiting outside the door as she groomed herself with the toiletries that were in the room, waiting for her.

She’d been perhaps a little overwilling to entrust herself to the Shens, she thought now. She hadn’t realized that they’d be leaving her baggage behind, and all she had with her was her traveling dress. There were some clothes in the closet, but they were less impressive than what she had on.

She sighed as she finished washing her face and brushing her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, then forced a smile. She went to the door, expecting to find Tren waiting for her and … he wasn’t there.

She frowned, leaving the room and entering the main living area, where the ugly man was eating a bowl of rice. He glanced up at her.

“The Master says that you can just come on over to the main house whenever you’re ready,” the ugly man said. “I’m Tremble by the way. Nice to meet you.”

“Are you a disciple here, or just a servant?”

“I’m a pig,” the man said, shrugging. “I’m not sure you’d call me a disciple, but I am learning from the master. The young master stole from me last year, and the lessons are payment for that debt.”

Kora frowned, uncertain what the man meant by the first statement. “What was stolen?”

“My spiritual stone. It was my treasure at the time.”

“Tan did that?” she asked.

“To be fair to him, he was stealing from a pig,” Tremble said, shrugging. “I mean, I was angry and all, but he didn’t realize that I was aware enough to warrant any respect. I’ve mostly forgiven him, and the master’s insights have already advanced my cultivation beyond what they would have been if it were not for that encounter.”

“Yes, the Shen family has a way of doing that,” Kora said, grinning. “What are you eating?”

“If you’re hungry, there’s still some on the stove. I was going to eat the rest of it in the morning, but the main family won’t be eating for an hour yet, so if you’re hungry—”

“Thank you, I am a little peckish,” she admitted. “I think I’ll have just a bite to eat.”

She went into the kitchen and placed a scoop of rice into a bowl, as well as a few of the fried vegetables. She took one bite, and her eyes opened wide.

Without thinking any further, she sat down into the lotus position and began to cultivate as she processed the Qi dense food. It wasn’t enough for a breakthrough, but anything this rich deserved the effort to be utilized. Twenty minutes past as she slowly ate and cultivated, savoring every bite even after it was cold.

Then she realized that she’d been making the Shens wait for her for twenty minutes, and she blushed. She quickly got back up, setting the bowl in the basin to be washed by the servant later. She rushed back into the dining area, where the ugly man was reclining on the floor, scratching himself and staring at a Dao painting on the wall. She glanced at the painting as well and…

And she was entranced for another twenty minutes before shaking herself out of it.

“Would you do me the honor of introducing me to the main house?” she asked Tremble once she realized that she’d be living here for a week and could stare at the painting as much as she wanted, but had limited time to make a good impression.

“Why? Just go over and knock on the door. They’re expecting you,” the servant answered.

She frowned, but she didn’t feel confident enough to boss the young man around, so she simply left, walking over to the main house and doing as he suggested.

She knocked, waited a moment, and when it wasn’t promptly answered she knocked again. The third time she knocked, it was answered. Not by a servant, but by a little girl.

“Hello Tan’s girlfriend,” she said. “I’m Safron. I’m five. I heard you have a fire spirit, but I bet mine’s stronger. My dad caught it for me.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Kora looked down at the young mistress of the Shen family and fumbled for what to say to a girl so young. “Hello. What’s your name, if I might ask.”

“You can ask,” the girl said, a grin on her face. She didn’t say anything else though. Kora reviewed what was said in her mind and realized the game that was being played.

“Since you said I could ask, would you please tell me your name?” she said.

“I’m Safron Shen,” she said. “And I’m in the first stage of the initiate’s realm! I have to get to the second before winter or else my big brother wins.”

Kora swallowed. “Wins what?” she asked.

“He took less than nine months to reach the second. So if he’s faster then me, then he wins. If I’m faster than him, then I win,” the girl explained.

“What do you win, exactly?”

The girl frowned. “I just win. That’s all. Did you bring me a dolly?”

Kora blinked. Why would she have … she should have brought a doll for her fiance’s little sister, she realized. “I’m sorry. I did buy you a doll, but Master Shen was in such a rush to bring us to your house that it got left behind,” she lied.

“Oh. Okay, I’m going to go yell at daddy then,” the girl said, and she wandered off.

Kora stepped inside, surprised that there was nobody else to greet her. “Hello?” she called out.

“In here, dear,” Wensho answered, and Kora followed the voice into a kitchen, where four children were working to prepare dinner. “Sorry, we tried to wait for you, but we weren’t certain how long you’d be woolgathering, so we went ahead and started cooking.”

“It’s okay. I sort of got lost in the dao painting in the guesthouse,” Kora admitted.

Tan snickered at that for some reason.

“It’s understandable, my dear,” Wensho assured the girl. “Come here and help me wrap these dumplings.”

“Um, do what now?”

“You want to eat, don’t you? Come and help us cook,” the girl, whose name Wensho didn’t know, said impatiently. “Or are you too good to cook the food that you eat yourself?”

Sensing the challenge, Kora stepped over next to Wensho, who showed her how to wrap the stuffing in the dumplings, which were later cooked in a frying pan with oil. She’d had the dish many times before, but never been involved in cooking it. Her dumplings were obvious, they lacked the style of the Mistress of the house’s dumplings, but she quickly got the hang of it.

“Not what you were expecting, was it?” Wensho asked her.

“No. Where are your servants? Why are you doing this yourself?”

“We don’t have any servants. We have some fieldhands, but they just help with the work. They’re not servants in the way that you use the term, they’re friends and family,” Wensho answered.

“Then…” Kora blinked. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around the informality of the meeting. She watched as one of the boys, older than Tan and younger than her, twin to the girl who had teased her a moment ago, used his own Qi to flash-boil a pot and throw some chopped potatoes inside. She blinked at the casual display of magic that she’d never have considered.

“You use your abilities in everyday chores?” she asked.

“Why would you cultivate except to make your life easier?” Wensho asked.

Kora’s mind reeled. Why would she cultivate? “For power, and prestige, and—”

“What good are those things, dear? Why do you want them?” Wensho asked.

Kora went silent as she considered the woman’s wisdom. What good were power and prestige, exactly? Wensho was right, the ultimate purpose of cultivation was to improve your life, she realized after a moment. Power and prestige fed back into that purpose, but they were also ends of their own. Weren’t they?

“Thank you for your guidance, Grandmaster,” Kora said.

“None of that. Go help Safron set the table,” Wensho said, taking the imperfectly formed dumplings from the teenager and ushering her into the dining room to help a little girl place plates and silverware around the table.

As she worked, she continued to reflect on lady Wensho’s wisdom.

Cultivation was about self-improvement. It was so obvious that that was the end goal in and of itself that one she’d realized it, Kora couldn’t believe that she’d been focused on the other benefits.

“Cultivation increases your power and prestige,” she said to herself, “but that is not its goal. I must keep that in mind from now on. Whenever I cultivate, I must keep my mind on the fact that I am seeking to better myself. Power and prestige are the result, not the goal.”

“Whispering is impolite,” the little girl scolded. “If you’re going to talk, you should say it so that everyone can hear.”

“Sorry,” Kora said, and she repeated herself.

The little girl blinked at her. “Well, duh.”

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