A Thousand Li: the First Stop: A Xanxia Cultivation Series

by Tao Wong

  “Yes. You are no genius, but you’re certainly not hopeless. It’s hard to say where you’ll end up without more practice, but I would definitely recommend you continue.”

  “Thank you, Senior,” Wu Ying said, bowing low.

  Liu Tsong waved goodbye, reminding the cultivator to clean up properly.

  Left alone with a dirty cauldron and three pill bottles, Wu Ying sighed. More practice was a nice thought, but the ingredients for the pill formula had cost a hundred eighty contribution points. Liu Tsong’s fees and the rental cost of the public cauldron had set him back another three hundred odd points. And that was before he paid for the overage charges. If not for his little jaunt out with Tou He and the slow but continual points he earned from Elder Li, he would be broke.

  As it was, he was not far from that. Finding a way to earn contribution points would be a major issue. Just as he had been warned.

  Chapter 13

  The end of the staff came spinning, nearly taking Wu Ying in the head. He ducked, but that just set him up for the sweep with the other end. One leg scooped up, balance off-center, Wu Ying fell with a crash as his breath was knocked out of him. Before he could recover, the end of the staff flew forward, stopping right in front of Wu Ying’s face, signalling the end of the match and his loss.

  “Stop thinking about unrelated things and focus on me,” Li Yao said grumpily as she retracted her staff.

  As Wu Ying stared at the young lady glaring at him, he could not help but smile and roll to his feet. “Good one.”

  “No, it wasn’t. You weren’t paying attention,” Li Yao said, pouting. “What is with you today?”

  “Sorry,” Wu Ying said, gesturing for them to exit the stage. The pair jumped off the fighting stage and walked over to the water station. “I’ve been thinking about, well, contribution points.”

  “Spending or earning?”

  “Earning,” Wu Ying admitted. “I spent most of mine on a pill refining lesson. And now I’m back to earning a few points every day.”

  “What is the problem?” Li Yao said, brows furrowing across unmarked skin. Over the course of the winter, Li Yao had shed some of the baby fat around her face while adding another half inch in height. The fit cultivator drew the eye of more than one interested party, though she continued to be oblivious to the attention given to her. “There are so many missions right now. The end of the winter is the best time for hunting demon and spirit beasts. Even the monk is out earning his keep.”

  “Ex-monk.”

  Li Yao waved away Wu Ying’s correction. “If you’re looking for a group, you can speak with Elder Ge. He’ll be happy to set you up.”

  “I’m not a martial specialist,” Wu Ying said.

  “As if officially joining matters.” Li Yao sniffed. “You train with us, you work to improve your combat abilities, you’re one of us. The rest is just bureaucracy and no one has time for that.”

  “That’s not what others say,” Wu Ying said, recalling his earliest interactions with the sect bureaucracy.

  “Not my concern.” Li Yao pounded her chest firmly. “We’re too busy for such things.” Then, dropping her voice, she added, “Also, there’s always more work than we can do. The more missions we complete as ‘martial specialists,’ the more the sect values us and the better support we receive. So you’ll be helping us by joining our teams.”

  Wu Ying scratched his head. “But I don’t really want to fight…”

  Li Yao raised an eyebrow, glancing at the jian Wu Ying had sheathed at his waist then around the arena.

  “That’s different,” Wu Ying protested.

  “How?”

  “I’m training for when I might have to fight. But going out, hunting…” Wu Ying shook his head. “It’s not the same.”

  “But you had no problem with the ghosts,” Li Yao said.

  “Vampires. And that was Tou He.” Wu Ying shrugged. “I’m not opposed to fighting. But I don’t want it to be my, my…”

  “Your dao?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think it’s ours? Mine?” Li Yao said, her eyes narrowing. Wu Ying had to stop himself from backing up as she pointed at him. “Do you think I’m a combat maniac or something?”

  “Uhhh…”

  “Ooooh, you!” Li Yao stamped her foot on the ground, then not finding it sufficiently satisfying, she stamped down on Wu Ying’s foot.

  He could dodge, but seeing the dangerous light in her eyes, he chose to take the blow rather than anger her further. As Wu Ying hopped around on his bruised toes, Li Yao stalked away, growling wordless imprecations under her breath.

  “What did you do?” Chao Kun said as he walked up to Wu Ying nursing his foot.

  “Nothing! I just, well, I might have said something wrong.”

  “Obviously.”

  “I, well, all I said was I didn’t want this to become my dao.”

  “The fighting?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ah…” Chao Kun nodded sagely. “Not wise to say that to Li Yao.”

  Wu Ying frowned. “Why?”

  “Her family circumstances.” When Wu Ying continued to look puzzled, Chao Kun said, “Like many of us, she is from a noble family. Hers is particularly old-fashioned and does not feel it is suitable for a woman to be a martial specialist.”

  Wu Ying frowned. Holding such views made little sense. At the Energy Storage stage, the physical differences between sexes became much less of a concern compared to the amount and density of chi in one’s dantian and meridians. At Core formation, the physical aspects could be considered almost negligible among the majority of cultivators, unless one was a physical practitioner like Elder Hsu.

  “I know. As I said, traditional. Her family is unhappy she wants to train to defend herself, and even more so when she told them last year she would not marry any man who could not at least defeat her.” The older cultivator’s lips twitched before he leaned forward. “Though, I think, it’s our fault. Li Yao was being pestered so much to date, she made the challenge to us to defeat her before she would date anyone. And then a month later, her family must have heard of it and sent her younger brother over to make demands. And you know Li Yao. Rather than back down or explain, she doubled down.”

  Wu Ying winced. “Did no one beat her?”

  “Eh, a few. Then she dragged them out on quests through the dirt. Not very romantic.” Chao Kun’s lips twitched. “After that, we started heading off the newcomers. It doesn’t help with her family aspirations though…”

  Wu Ying nodded. Even if it did not seem it sometimes, the members who joined the Sect were all the elite. No untalented noble who could not enter the Sect had a chance of beating Li Yao.

  “And so, she’s a bit sensitive about this being her dao. Even if she doesn’t really know which way she’s going, she isn’t going to admit it to you. Or me,” Chao Kun said. “The rest of us are more accepting. Some of us might even pursue a variation.”

  “Variation?”

  “Guardians. Soldiers. Judges,” Chao Kun said, placing a hand on his chest. “Combat is part of such professions, and there is nothing wrong with a dao that encompasses such beliefs.”

  “I never…”

  “I know.”

  Wu Ying smiled in relief, and taking up Li Yao’s suggestion, he hesitantly asked, “Li Yao mentioned there might be missions available?”

  “Missions?” Chao Kun brightened. “I was wondering if you had been scared away.”

  “Not at all,” Wu Ying said. “But I’m not exactly enthusiastic about fighting.”

  “Yes. It isn’t your dao. But eating is not most of our daos and we still all do it,” Chao Kun said. “Come see me this evening. I’ll find something for you.”

  Wu Ying brightened up at the easy help, even if he was not entirely happy about the idea of becoming a fighter. But since he had few ideas of what else to do to increase his take of contribution points, this would do. Looking into the sky, Wu Ying noted how the morning was fast f
ading. After making sure he had Chao Kun’s residence location, Wu Ying took off to wash up. He still had to make it to Elder Li’s gardens.

  “Senior Goh,” Wu Ying said as he found Ru Ping in the orchards, hands on his hips and stretching out his back. Or staring at the fruit of the tree above him. Wu Ying’s steps stuttered when he spotted the six glowing pears in the branches of the tree. As he neared and the dense spiritual energy around the tree penetrated his aura, Wu Ying shivered. Quickly enough, Wu Ying spotted the formation flags that boosted the spiritual energy for this section of the orchard. “How…?”

  “Starborn Heaven Pears,” Ru Ping answered. “The trees flower every year but produce a very small number of fruit. In most conditions, it takes over seven years for the fruit to ripen. As Elder Li has set up the optimal conditions, we are hoping to increase it to once every five years. Part of my job is to check on them every day.”

  Wu Ying looked up, eyeing the pears. He had never even heard of this fruit, but it was not particularly surprising. There were more fruits, herbs, and plants under heaven than there were leaves in the tree above him. As Wu Ying stared at the pears, the glow shifted, the pinpoint of light moving along the edges. Wu Ying opened his mouth to inquire about the phenomena before realizing he might not be allowed here.

  “Did you want something?”

  “Yes, Senior Goh. I—”

  “Ru Ping.”

  “My apologies, Ru Ping. I wanted to inform you that I might not be present in the next few days.”

  “Oh?” Ru Ping turned his head, raising an eyebrow.

  “I will be speaking with Senior Ge later tonight,” Wu Ying said. “He will be assigning me an external assignment which suits my ability.”

  “The martial specialist?” When Wu Ying nodded, Ru Ping arched an eyebrow. “I did not realize you’ve chosen to join them.”

  “I have not,” Wu Ying said. “But I have been training with them, as you know.”

  “Huh.” Ru Ping looked Wu Ying up and down then smiled. “Good.”

  “Good?”

  “Yes. Do you know why Elder Li chose you?”

  “Because I’m a man. And an ex-farmer,” Wu Ying said. They’d already had this conversation.

  “You’re no wilting flower.” Ru Ping gestured to the workers in the gardens. “Most of our recruit see our work as gardening. That this is all there is to it. Not acquiring.”

  “Acquiring?”

  “Think about how you attracted Elder Li’s attention,” Ru Ping commanded.

  “I traded the Night Blossoms into the sect.”

  “Exactly,” Ru Ping said. “You went out and acquired Night Blossoms, something we do not grow here.”

  “You don’t?” Wu Ying said.

  “No. They require too much metallic yin chi to properly grow. We can keep them for a short while, but if we tried to cultivate them here, it would require a significant adjustment of the gardens.” Ru Ping gestured around. “These gardens are carefully balanced to ensure we extract and return all the available chi we collect. Any addition or subtraction from the garden has to be carefully weighed.”

  “Like crop rotations and fertilizers,” Wu Ying said.

  “Exactly,” Ru Ping said, flashing Wu Ying a smile at his fellow ex-farmer’s quick uptake. “Unlike the herb garden cared for by the other sect members, Elder Li’s personal garden is extremely delicate. I have dedicated my life to learning the details of gardening in this format. It will be my dao.”

  Wu Ying looked at Ru Ping, who glowed when he talked of the topic. Wu Ying felt himself smiling before he shifted the conversation back to the original topic. “So Elder Li wants people who go out and acquire herbs?”

  “The sect wants cultivators who are willing to do so,” Ru Ping corrected. “Few of those we teach are willing. As you can guess, few refiners have the knowledge to care for the plants properly. And even the more adventurous recruits always require guarding, which increases the cost of acquisition. Individuals who can travel, guard themselves, and pick the herbs are rare.”

  Wu Ying stroked the hilt of his jian in thought. It made sense. It made a lot of sense. And also explained why he and Tou He had received such a high return on the Night Blossoms. If a gardener had gone out to acquire them, even knowing where the graveyard was, they would have required at least two others. In that case, Tou He and he had received the price meant for at least three, if not four, cultivators. A very decent return. A sudden flash of greed ran through Wu Ying as he considered how profitable it would be if he’d managed to collect it all himself.

  “Now, you don’t have your mission yet, do you?”

  “No, Senior.”

  Ru Ping smacked Wu Ying’s arm for his formality. “Very well. Then you’ll be with me this afternoon. It’s unlikely you’ll go far. And, being winter, what is harvestable will be limited. We will go over the most common and in-demand plants you might encounter near the sect. If you have time, come back and we will narrow it further.”

  Wu Ying opened his mouth to protest. He knew how busy Ru Ping was. “But—”

  “Just remember to tell them you are a disciple of Elder Li when you turn in the collected herbs. We will gather credit that way too,” Ru Ping said, cutting off Wu Ying.

  Wu Ying relaxed as the reasons for Ru Ping’s offer made themselves known. Still, Wu Ying made sure to remember this act. If he did manage to acquire a few useful herbs, he would have to treat his senior.

  Senior Ge’s mansion was humongous. Unlike Wu Ying’s abode, Senior Ge’s residence was made of five bays in the main building and three in the wings flanking the main courtyard. The main entrance gate was made of cherry wood with stylized gate sculptures and plated with gold and silver. Located at the edge of the border between normal cultivators and the Elders’ residential district, the house gave a clear indication of Senior Ge’s importance to the sect as a Core disciple.

  Wu Ying found Senior Ge in the courtyard, standing still in horse stance[21]. The courtyard was so big that Chao Kun only needed half of it for his training grounds. As Wu Ying looked, he spotted the formation flags which marked and reinforced the boundaries of the training area. In the other half of the courtyard, a serene and well-kept garden was carefully tended by the servants.

  To Wu Ying’s surprise, others were waiting for Senior Ge to finish his evening practice. Seated at the garden table was Li Yao and two other cultivators Wu Ying was on nodding terms with. Both men had the look of martial specialists, with long, lean bodies and a dangerous air, only differentiated by the crooked nose on one and the closely trimmed beard on the other.

  “Senior Lee,” Wu Ying greeted the lady first before bowing to the other two. “Long Wu Ying greets Seniors.”

  The pair quickly shared their names, though neither of the cultivators seemed interested in speaking. Even Li Yao was paying attention to Senior Ge’s practice, so Wu Ying turned his attention to Chao Kun’s still form. As Wu Ying watched, Chao Kun broke into action. His hands flickered, moving so fast Wu Ying could not track their motion. The explosive release of strength as the punches flew out blew up clouds of dust that roiled and covered the watching cultivators. The dust and the force of pressured air pushed against Wu Ying’s body for a brief second before it passed. Wu Ying’s eyebrows climbed in surprise. He knew the impact had been significantly reduced by the reinforcement formations around the training grounds.

  “Beautiful,” the bearded cultivator whispered.

  “Senior Ge’s Star Beating Fist has improved again,” Crooked Nose said, admiration tingeing his voice.

  As the dust settled, Senior Ge’s long hair settled around him.

  “I could not see him move,” Wu Ying muttered mostly to himself.

  “Few can,” Li Yao said. “The Star Beating Fist is a Core-level martial style.”

  “Core?” Wu Ying said, surprised.

  “Yes. Only someone as talented as Senior Ge could learn a martial style across such a cultivation gap,” Crooked Nose confirmed.


  “Don’t talk rubbish,” Chao Kun said, seeming to appear next to the group. Wu Ying and the bearded cultivator jerked, both caught by surprise. “If your chi density and flow is sufficient, most Core martial styles are useable.”

  “Sufficient,” Crooked Nose said with a sniff. “You mean having at least half the chi amount of a Core Cultivator. And how many of those are there in the sect?”

  Chao Kun considered the number. “Hei Mao. Lu Rong. Fa Yuan, of course, before she became a Core Cultivator in truth. Seven? No. Eight of us present in the sect right now.”

  “Out of two and fifty or so cultivators,” Li Yao said, tapping Chao Kun’s hand. “You’re special. Just admit it.”

  Chao Kun laughed before he waved away the topic. “You’re all here because you want an assignment, yes?”

  “Yes, Senior!” the group chorused.

  “Good. Now, I have quite a few, but you will need to decide if you are working together or in pairs.”

  “Not alone?” the bearded cultivator said.

  “You’re not ready yet,” Chao Kun said firmly.

  “Yes, Senior. I would prefer to work with those I know,” the bearded cultivator replied and indicated his friend.

  “Li Yao?” Chao Kun asked.

  “I do not care.”

  “Very well. Two different teams then.” Chao Kun waved to a servant who trotted over, bearing a tray of scrolls.

  Quickly perusing through the documents, Chao Kun retrieved two and handed one to the male cultivator pair and another to Li Yao. Once Chao Kun had distributed the scrolls, he ushered the four out with due haste.

  Outside, the pair of male cultivators walked off, leaving Wu Ying looking distastefully at the rude nobles before he turned to Li Yao. “What did we get?”

  “Let us talk somewhere more comfortable.” Li Yao frowned, considering, then pointed down the hill. “There should be a tea room open.”