by Tao Wong
“Thank you.”
If Yin Xue was correct, it relieved Wu Ying’s mind a little. Hopefully Lord Wen had not been too angered. After all, many others would have taken steps to send away their most vulnerable. This was just a little more ambitious.
Having said his piece and answered the questions, Yin Xue turned and left. Wu Ying called out one last thanks, though the nobleman’s son did not acknowledge it, leaving Wu Ying to stare at the empty courtyard. He frowned pensively, debating what to do, what he could do, as the day grew dark.
***
Hours Wu Ying spent pondering his problem. What could he offer? What could he suggest to get his family to leave? The problem, as he saw it, was two-fold. Firstly, his family—the village—would refuse to leave if they did not have to. There was too much in their village to make leaving easy—from the graves of ancestors to farmlands painstakingly cared for over generations. Just getting the soil right would take decades, generations of work.
The second problem was more complex. When, and if, they decided to leave, Lord Wen would not let them go. How Wu Ying was to convince him otherwise, he did not know. What did nobles want? Other than their taxes. It was a different world from the Sect, where face and one’s dao were most important. As different as his life as a peasant.
In time, Wu Ying walked out of his residence in search of knowledge. Knowing who to speak to was the start of the solution, and of those he could ask, one stood out in his mind.
“Senior Yang,” Wu Ying greeted his senior sister when he was allowed into the moonlit courtyard of her residence.
Unlike his own residence, Yang Fa Yuan’s had multiple buildings formed into the familiar multiple courtyard-style residence with walkways connecting each building. It created a sprawling mansion, one that had multiple larger, open-air gardens between each walkway. The gardens themselves followed a variety of themes that represented the four seasons. But it was the internal courtyard of the main building that Wu Ying was shown to where his Senior sat, surrounded by a pair of other Elders.
“Elder Shih. Elder Pang,” Wu Ying said.
The male Elders glared at Wu Ying, but Fairy Yang smiled demurely. She quickly made excuses, sending the two Elders off as she “had to deal with her junior brother.” Only when they had left and she had turned on the privacy formation did Fairy Yang flop back onto her chair and groan.
“Thank you for coming. If I had known it was that easy to get rid of them, I would have made you visit me more often,” Fairy Yang said.
“Senior?”
“They will not stop courting me.” Fairy Yang rolled her eyes. “As if I ever showed any interest in them.”
Wu Ying prudently kept silent as his Senior groused about her suitors. He waited until she ran down her complaints, making sure to nod when necessary even as impatience gnawed at his control.
“Enough. You do not need to be hearing this about your Elders. Remember—do not repeat anything I said.”
Wu Ying hastily agreed. He did not need to anger Elder Pang any further.
“Now, why have you visited me?”
Wu Ying quickly related what he had begun with his village and what Yin Xue had told him, ending with a simple question. “Can I trust what he said?”
“Of course not,” Fa Yuan said. “Though I would be surprised if he had lied to you. Especially as he must have known you would tell others. Fights in the outer sect are expected. Some might even say encouraged.” Fa Yuan’s gaze shifted to where the two Elders had left. “There are arguments to be made that the competition makes for stronger inner sect disciples. But such underhandedness is expected to be set aside in the inner sect. At least for the most part. Competition is still encouraged of course, but there is too much to be done for that kind of distraction. In theory.”
Wu Ying cocked an eyebrow at Fa Yuan, who shook her head, apparently disinclined to expand on her words. “Then what do you recommend I do?”
“You cannot leave this alone? Let your village, your parents, fate play out as it should?” Fa Yuan regarded Wu Ying as she spoke. Seeing his answer on his face, she continued. “A pity. Our Master would recommend that course of action. Your attempts are already being foiled, perhaps by fate itself. It could be argued that it is their destiny to be in their village.”
“Could it not be argued that it is my destiny to change theirs? That I am meant to save them?” Wu Ying said.
“Maybe.” Fa Yuan opened her hands wide. “Fate. Destiny. Karma. They are… difficult concepts to grasp. Still, if you are resolved, then you should speak with him directly.”
“Him?”
“This Lord Wen,” Fa Yuan clarified. “I cannot say what he wants. If you were older, stronger, more reputable, you could trade a favor in the future. Perhaps you still can. But nobles generally care for three things: their lineage, their land, and their wealth. Often in that order.”
Wu Ying grunted. That didn’t sound that different from a peasant. Family, land, and wealth—though the last two were the same for a peasant. If they even had land.
“Your Lord Wen has guaranteed his lineage by having Yin Xue stay in the Sect. He might even take further steps by sending his family to the capital. As such, what you can offer him is protection for his land or his wealth.” Fa Yuan raked her gaze over Wu Ying’s body. “Though…”
“I’m insufficient.” Wu Ying understood that. He was one man. One Body cultivator. He could not destroy an army. He could barely even stop a platoon of normal soldiers by himself.
“Not alone.”
Wu Ying stared as Fa Yuan gracefully picked up her teacup and sipped on it. He weighed her hint then bowed to her.
“Thank you, Senior.”
“Little enough that I can offer. But…” Fa Yuan extended a single finger from her hand. “Be careful. You are at the most physically dangerous stage before your rebirth.”
Wu Ying bowed to her again and retreated, leaving the young lady to her thoughts. Outside, he looked upward, spotting the half moon and the constellation of stars gathered around it, beseeching its company.
“Fitting.”
***
“This is not a Sect assignment, is it?” Tou He asked Wu Ying.
The ex-monk was the first person Wu Ying had looked for. He found Tou He in his own residence, meditating. Unlike Wu Ying, Tou He had a much nicer home, though Wu Ying knew that Tou He had little use for the big building.
“No. Just mine,” Wu Ying said. “I might not even need you. But…”
“But if you did, finding me afterward would be difficult.” Tou He rubbed his bald head, feeling the coarse edges of stubble regrowing. “Very well.”
“Very well?”
“I’ll come, of course.” Tou He smiled. “Sowing seeds of good karma is never wrong. And if I did not, who would watch your back?”
“Thank you,” Wu Ying said. “I’ll make sure to treat you to a meal when we’re back.”
Tou He grinned.
“What did I do to have a friend like you?”
Tou He looked at the sky, perhaps staring at the very same moon Wu Ying had stared at earlier. “Good karma in the past.”
Wu Ying choked off a snort.
“Who else?”
“That’s coming?” Wu Ying said. “I’ll ask Li Yao, when she’s back.”
“Mission?”
“Yes.” Wu Ying pursed his lips in concern before he shook aside the feeling. “Beyond that…” Wu Ying deliberately shrugged.
“We need more. If we want to do a job at this.”
“Yes.” Unfortunately, Wu Ying could not think of any others. Most of his friends were martial specialists, and they were all either caught up in the war already or busy with assignments and unlikely to run away for something that paid no contribution points. At least Li Yao would be—should be—back in a few days. He could count on her. Recollection of the martial specialists made Wu Ying remember a particular cultivator who wasn’t a member of the group but still had some skills. “I might
have one more.”
“Good. I’ll ask around too,” Tou He said. “But…”
“Your friends are mostly not around,” Wu Ying said. He could understand that.
“So anything I should know about this Lord Wen?” Tou He said.
Wu Ying shook his head. He had never met the man himself. At most, Lord Wen had been a distant figure seen when he arrived on his horse to pick up Yin Xue when he had been late. And that was early on, when Yin Xue was young. “My father never had bad things to say of him. He said that Lord Wen cared about us—his peasants. Better than most other lords. That he wanted his son—Yin Xue—to care about us too. It’s why he was sent to learn with us, rather than receive a private tutor.” Tou He nodded, gesturing for Wu Ying to continue. “Mother said that Lord Wen was just cheap and an unthinking traditionalist.”
“Two different viewpoints.”
“Just a little,” Wu Ying said. “Sorry. I wish I could… but…” He shrugged again, feeling somewhat helpless.
“It will be fine. We’ll talk to Li Yao when she’s back, and you’ll speak to your friend. And in the meantime, we’ll get ready,” Tou He assured his friend.
“For what?” Wu Ying shook his head. “We don’t even know what we’ll be asked to do.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll keep your family safe.”
If Wu Ying thought he could make his parents go without the rest of the village, he’d just ride in and drag them out. He was sure he could bully the guards into letting at least his family through. But he knew his parents. As stubborn as he was, his parents were worse. It left him with… well. Not no options. Just few good ones.
As Tou He picked up the wine pot his servant had delivered, Wu Ying regarded the alcohol. The relaxation it would offer. And he nodded. Not too much. But a drink would be consoling. Calming. There was little more he could do tonight. But tomorrow. Tomorrow was another matter.
Chapter 7
The next morning, Wu Ying began preparations for the expedition. The first thing he had to do was get the expedition trip permit from his Master. As a Body Cleansing cultivator, even though he was an inner sect member, Wu Ying was not allowed to leave the sect for extended periods of time without permission. After all, the Sect had spent a lot of resources developing him this far. Releasing him into the wild at his most dangerous and vulnerable time was foolhardy. Missions, close-by and carefully gauged were one thing. A long expedition into war torn regions was another thing entirely. Even his time with the expedition was uncommon, though of course his specialty and the presence of multiple Elders had mitigated the danger. Theoretically.
Luckily for Wu Ying, Elder Cheng was one of those elders who really didn’t care about that particular rule. Once Wu Ying told him why he needed the leave permit, Elder Cheng only raised a single eyebrow before he took Wu Ying’s sect seal and gave his permission. Wu Ying was glad that he did not receive a further lecture about the dangers, even if he was forced to listen to another of Master Cheng’s lecture about fate.
Next in his preparations was the memorization of his martial styles and exercises. Not that Wu Ying had forgotten any of it. After all, one of the first things he had done was to memorize every inch of those books. Still, he often refreshed his memory and referred to the documents and his notes when he tried out another area or faced some problem. Better to be extra careful than risk chi deviation. So once again, Wu Ying went through his notes, making sure they were extensive and clear to him. At the same time, he ensured that they were obscure enough that he would be allowed to take the documents with him. He would not be allowed to take any of the actual manuals from the library out of the Sect, as that would risk the loss of them. Even copying the manuals would be considered theft and punished accordingly. But his own notes, as long as they weren’t something a thief could understand, would be allowed to come with him.
That took him until the end of the evening, but Wu Ying knew that most of it was just a distraction. Wu Ying dreaded what came next, but after thinking of his parents, he strung up his courage and headed to the forge.
The inner sect forgers hall was one of the larger buildings. The sprawling single-story building was set a distance away from any other building due to the constant noise and fumes the forging process created. Within the forge, multiple stations were available for use, and even at this time of night, they were filled with cultivators. For a time, last year, Wu Ying had spent time training here. But he had learned that he had little talent for the forging of iron and steel. Blacksmithing was a powerful and important occupation, but it was not his path. It was, however, the path of the person he was here to speak with.
Wu Ying needed very little time to find Bao Cong. To Wu Ying’s lack of surprise, Bao Cong was standing beside a forge, working a newly formed sword. In a pause between strokes, Bao Cong looked at Wu Ying and flicked his gaze to the bellows. Taking the unspoken hint, Wu Yang walked over and worked the bellows. In silence, they worked together for the next hour, Bao Cong focused on creating a couple more weapon blades while Wu Ying helped in the stoking of the fire, moving pieces around, and generally staying out of the way. It was work that Wu Ying fondly remembered.
In time, they were done, Bao Cong having finished his work. When Bao Cong gestured to Wu Ying to bank the fires, Wu Ying gratefully stopped working the bellows before wiping away the built-up sweat.
“What is it that you want?” said Bao Cong.
“What makes you think I want anything?” Wu Ying trotted over to the water flask and took a sip, feeling the blessed liquid flow down his throat. Even lukewarm, the water was heavenly after the oppressive heat.
“When was the last time you were here?”
Wu Ying bristled, angry because the comment was unfortunately true. He had not been back since he left the class. It was not because he disliked any of the blacksmiths. He was just too busy to spend time socializing—especially in such an inhospitable location. “Fine. I have a request for you.”
“Don’t bother. I won’t make you anything,” said Bao Cong. The forger continued to put away his tools.
Wu Ying soon joined him, cleaning the forge and getting it ready for the next apprentice blacksmith. “I’m not asking you to forge me anything.”
Wu Ying’s gaze flipped over to the daos, ready to be sharpened tomorrow. They were decent work. Better than anything Wu Ying could make. But nowhere near the level of a master blacksmith or even a journeyman.
Bao Cong saw Wu Ying’s gaze and shrugged angrily before returning to his cleaning. Working together, they soon had the forge in a condition that would be acceptable to hand over to another. When they finished, they walked out of the blacksmiths hall and stopped the moment the cold winter air hit their sweaty bodies. They shuddered in unison before Bao Cong turned to Wu Ying.
“If you’re not here for me to make you something, what you want?” Bao Cong asked.
“I need to leave the Sect for an assignment. My own. It may be dangerous, and I might need some other hands. Hands that know how to handle themselves in a fight,” said Wu Ying. “You are good with your bow, aren’t you?”
“You know I am.” Bao Cong smirked as they recalled the multiple times Bao Cong had managed to hit Wu Ying and other cultivators in the melees. Those had stopped ever since the martial specialists left. The Sect no longer had time or personnel to dedicate to that kind of training.
“Good.” Wu Ying gave a brief explanation of what he intended and expected of Bao Cong. A trip near the front lines, but not to the war itself. Potential assignment by an anxious Lord. An unknown amount of time away from the Sect. And the potential for violent confrontations.
“Well, I can see why you need me. Can’t take a Body cultivator out of the Sect, so you’ve only got me and a few others to choose from. No martial specialists would be allowed to go with you, not at this time. But I see no reason for me to join you.”
“What do you want?”
Bao Cong looked back at the building they had left. He
tapped his lips then dropped his hands to stroke the top of his sect seal, the one that recorded their contribution to the sect and gave them points for it. “Blacksmithing is very expensive in the beginning.”
“Money?” Wu Ying grimaced. That was one of the few things he could not offer. Then his gaze slipped to the sect token. “You want contribution points.”
In the sect, contribution points were just as good as taels. You could use them to buy manuals from the library, pills and herbs from the apothecarist shop, new weapons and armor from the Blacksmithing Hall, and materials from the general store.
“Contribution points or materials.” Bao Cong’s eyes narrowed at Wu Ying, then he clarified his statement. “Just make it contribution points.”
“Five hundred contribution points now and a hundred a month every month for the next two years,” said Wu Ying. That would allow Bao Cong to work in the forges rent free once a week every month.
“Nothing now. One hundred every month for three years.”
Wu Ying’s regarded Bao Cong, considering the counter. That was a lot better than a lump sum payment, since Wu Ying was rather low on points. He had a reserve of course, but that was for the village. On the other hand, three years…
“Why don’t I buy you a drink and we can discuss this?” Wu Ying smiled at Bao Cong.
Wu Ying had seen the Chieftain do this many times. Drink with those he negotiated with to get a better deal. His father hadn’t, but then again, his father had left most of those negotiations to his mother. Even if Wu Ying had never tried the drink-and-negotiate method, how hard could it be?