Cha Ming chuckled. “Iridescent Tempest, I’m not sure if you’re fully aware of my current predicament.”
“Then enlighten me,” she said stubbornly.
“Very well,” Cha Ming said. “You might be aware that I have a duel coming up. Do you know who my opponent is? How strong he is?”
“I’d assume he’s very strong,” Iridescent Tempest said. “At least an early-rune-gathering Daoist.”
“My opponent is at least a mid-rune-gathering Dao God,” Cha Ming said. “Meanwhile, I’m just a late-rune-carving cultivator, and my cultivation has stalled. I lack a key fire concept to advance my qi cultivation, and even if I did break through to peak rune carving, I’d still lack resources and time to break through to rune gathering.
“The reason I am taking part in this competition is because I need to compete in the Trial by Ancestral Fire. I lack phoenix blood for my body-cultivation technique, and yes, before you ask me, nothing else will do. Without it, I will lose the duel. The prefecture lords will kill me. Therefore, if I don’t finish in the top ten of this competition and enter the Trial by Ancestral Fire, I’m dead. So yes, if it comes to it, I am willing to gamble my life. Twenty percent or even ten percent odds are far better than a guarantee of death.”
“He’s right, Tempest,” Iridescent Charity said. “His situation is different. However, I think it’s fair to say we shouldn’t eliminate other avenues, Clear Sky.”
Cha Ming sighed. “I won’t try another burning. At least for now. I’m not just gambling with one life but two. There’s still time before the competition, and I still have a long way to go before I can craft a pill that’s even worthy of it.”
“Take a break first,” Iridescent Wonder said. “If only for a night. Start again fresh in the morning. I know that look—I’ve seen it many times before. You need some time to pull yourself together.”
“I think I’ll do just that,” Cha Ming said. He was tired. Oh so tired.
“Do you need company?” Iridescent Tempest asked.
“No need,” Cha Ming said. “I’m used to being alone.”
“It’s not a bother,” Iridescent Virtue said. “We could show you the sights.”
“I really just need time to myself,” Cha Ming said.
“Stop being stubborn,” Iridescent Tempest said, but Iridescent Virtue put his hand on her shoulder, and she relented.
Cha Ming left Iridescent Wonder’s workshop and made his way out of the school. Though it was night now, Shimmerwing was always well-illuminated. The students were studying, and being at a Phoenix academy, that often involved letting out controlled bursts of beautiful colored flames.
He walked for several hours, first taking in the school, and then the rest of the ninth floor. Like so many places before, Shimmerwing City had become yet another home. Huxian and friends had even set up business here. He’d miss it once he left.
I drift, Cha Ming thought as he walked through the streets, ignoring any challenges by petulant clansmen. He didn’t give in to their taunting, and when they insisted, he simply looked at them, daring them. They scampered off with their lives intact but their pride in tatters.
I drift through the crowds like a leaf in the wind, he thought, noticing a leaf falling from a tree. The rivers of fate carry me forward, regardless of where I wish to go or what I intend. Had he really chosen, or was he meant to be here? Was there a reason for his predicament? Was he meant to fail?
In every life, on every plane, it was the same. A river guided him, yes, but he was always swimming upstream. Every day, the pressure mounted, sometimes changing him, sometimes breaking him. Life was full of ups and downs, he knew, but in times like these, the downs were easiest to remember. There would be light at the end of the tunnel, but as he was now, he couldn’t see it. It was that darkness that suffocated him.
You’ve done this before, a voice whispered in his mind. It was his own voice. His subconscious, which was working overtime to help him. It forced Cha Ming to think of Crystal Falls. Of slavery and mistakes. No, after that, his subconscious told him.
Right, the museum, Cha Ming thought. Back then, he’d hit a simple roadblock in his crafting. He’d gone to an art gallery, only to receive advice from the famous artist, Jun Xiezi. Twice, he’d done that, and twice, he’d found a way forward. Maybe that’s what I need. Maybe I need artistic inspiration.
Cha Ming went down to the fifth floor and waited in line for the Shimmerwing Art Museum. People didn’t come here during the day but waited till night, when the crystal pillar running through the center of the city was fully lit. It was this phenomenon and the many decorations in the city that drew on that brilliance that gave the City of Lights its unofficial name.
The art gallery took this theme to the extreme. There were special paintings that took advantage of modified illumination, and sculptures made of light-scattering crystal. There were stained-glass murals that caught the light and transformed it into dazzling illusions. In fact, there was even a piece that matched what Graceful Twilight could make with her inkborn prowess. He highly suspected that she’d submitted it under false pretenses.
Everywhere he looked here, there was beauty. There were beautiful people and their beautiful mannerisms. There were beautiful moments, and there was beautiful laughter. As hopeless as life seemed to him now, wonderful things still existed.
Only to come crashing down when he heard that hateful voice.
“Oh, look. The human who thinks he owns the place.” The darkness returned, and a dread calmness came with it.
“Iridescent Charm,” Cha Ming said. “I’m not in the mood.” Somehow, in his wanderings, he’d exited the museum, only to come across Iridescent Smile’s senior sister.
“And I’m not in the mood to see you either,” Iridescent Charm said. “You offended my junior and my master. Leave this city, human. You aren’t worthy of it. You’re a coward, and I’d bet you don’t even dare accept my challenge now that Elder Iridescent Wonder isn’t around.”
A crowd was gathering. He could hear their whispering minds. They hated him for his insolence. They loathed him for his cowardice. “I’m not in the best control of my emotions today,” Cha Ming said slowly. “If you want to die, Iridescent Charm, make a move.”
She laughed. “See how he taunts? See how he blusters?” She summoned her soul fire, powerful and iridescent. It fed from the column of light that illuminated the tower. She was an initial-investiture demon in her element—not a pushover by any means.
Normally, Cha Ming might have tried to dissuade her. He might have tried defusing the situation. In his current mood, however, he wasn’t one for hesitation or grandstanding.
Cha Ming exploded with power as he released his abilities all at once. The Crown of the Starry Sky and Clockwork Boots of the Golden Dragon. He channeled starlight and burned dragon metals as two pairs of white wings erupted on his back as he activated the second stage of Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations. His feet blurred, and suddenly, he was before Iridescent Charm. Her demon armor hadn’t yet fully formed. He grabbed a hold of her head and forced it back, then slammed it down into the brick road they’d been standing on.
Iridescent Charm tried to rise. Her soul fire plunged at Cha Ming, burning her just as surely as his limit break did. He felt the burn, embraced its power. He became one with the flame. Then he stomped down on her chest, but by now, her armor was fully summoned. He used the impact to kick upward and summoned the Clear Sky Pillar as a demon-subduing pillar and slammed downward.
His domain, demon-subduing energy, and viscous qi smashed down onto her chest plate. The demon armor shattered. Without its protection, demon-subduing energy seeped into Iridescent Charm, suppressing her. Her flames died down, and when they did, Cha Ming’s burns instantly healed over. She glared at him, mouth frothing, hate in her eyes.
“I’m not someone to be trifled with,” Cha Ming said. “A fledgling elder like you is nothing. If you try something like this again, you sad excuse for a demon,
I will end you.” She tried to speak, but he increased the pressure, forcing her to choke back her words. “That’s better.”
Cha Ming put away his staff, relieving the demon-subduing aura. He put away his wings and his divine abilities. News would travel, he knew, and his reputation would grow. Now, he hadn’t just provoked the younger generation and Iridescent Torch. He’d called into question the strength of the Iridescent Clan’s elders.
“Psst!” a voice said. “Over here!”
Cha Ming glanced at a patch of shadows. He saw Huxian, Bifang, and Graceful Twilight, as well as Gua and even Miyue, who’d somehow made it out of jail. “What is it this time?” Cha Ming asked with a sigh.
“This city sucks,” Huxian said. “We’re taking a break from our vacation.”
“We’re going on a picnic!” Bifang said. “Want to come?”
Cha Ming hesitated. He wasn’t in the mood for company. Not after confronting Iridescent Charm. But at the mention of food, his stomach rumbled. How many days had it been since he’d last eaten? “You guys go ahead and enjoy yourselves,” he finally said. “I wouldn’t be the best of company.” He turned to walk away, but Huxian appeared in front of him, arms crossed.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Huxian said. “I know that look.”
“What look?” Cha Ming said.
“The sulking look,” Huxian said. “You get all cold and gloomy. If we leave you like this, it’ll only get worse.”
“Also, you’ll get wrinkles,” Gua said. “Frowning is bad for your skin.”
“And they’re very difficult to reverse,” Miyue agreed.
Cha Ming looked at them suspiciously. “You never invite me along.”
“Well, we’re never sure if you’ll have fun, and you’re always so busy,” Huxian said. “But you’re in a bad mood, and when I’m in a bad mood, I like to eat and do fun things like sneak into forbidden zones.”
“Only Iridescent clansmen of fourth burning or higher are allowed in,” Bifang said excitedly.
“I’m allowed in,” Graceful Twilight clarified before Cha Ming could object. “I’m just taking you along as guests. Guests we won’t introduce to the guards.”
Cha Ming sighed again. “Fine. You win.” Time to see what demon picnics were all about.
Demon picnics, it turned out, were basically human picnics with extra shenanigans. There was also a lot more food, which they brought in a convenient dimensional wicker basket. Cha Ming found himself lounging on a blanket eating sandwiches while the others tossed around a seven-colored ball of flame, doing their best not to get caught with it when it eventually exploded.
“I appreciate you guys like jokes, but sneaking meat into my sandwiches is going a little too far,” Cha Ming said. He passed the tainted sandwich to Huxian before starting on another.
It was a make-your-own sandwich buffet with tons of ingredients to work with. He made a seven-layered sandwich, complete with a strange vegetable that would melt when roasted. “Fire!” he called, and Bifang’s ball of flame hovered over. He held the sandwich over it, melting and burning it until a seven-colored pattern was infused not only into the bread but everything it contained.
“I never thought fire could have a flavor before I met Bifang,” Huxian said, biting away half of Cha Ming’s discarded sandwich. “Now I’m going to have to go around tasting flames wherever I go.”
“I suppose you’ll update this in your directory of inherited memories?” Cha Ming asked.
“Already done,” Huxian said. “It’s automatic. If I experience anything worthwhile, it goes in there.”
“How does that even work?” Cha Ming asked. “Your children will get these memories?”
“Nope,” Huxian said. He finished off the rest of the sandwich then moved on to assemble another, this one mostly meat based. “Don’t think of it as a bloodline inheritance. It’s more like a web that connects all your extended blood relatives. Let’s call it the interwebs.”
“Let’s not,” Cha Ming said. He could tolerate many things, but not bad naming. Huxian’s Friendship Circle was bad enough.
“You have no idea how many bad names we’ve vetoed,” Gua said, as if reading Cha Ming’s mind. “On clothing lines alone.”
Cha Ming chuckled. It was nice to just sit around and eat, watching the stars on a cloudless night. They were on one of the five peaks cradling Shimmerwing City, and they could see the bright tower shining down beneath them. He’d yet to see a single fire since his arrival, however, making him wonder how the mountains got their name.
“Just so we’re clear,” Cha Ming said. “Was it you?”
“Was what me?” Huxian said. “We do a lot of things around here, and it’s tough to keep track.”
“Did you or did you not raid Iridescent Torch’s garden?” Cha Ming asked.
“Oh, that,” Huxian said. “Yep. That was us.”
“Good,” Cha Ming said. “Given my interactions with her and Iridescent Smile and Iridescent Charm, I can safely conclude that their entire lineage is rotten to the core.”
“I saw you smash Iridescent Charm’s face in,” Huxian said. “It was awesome.”
“Very fierce!” Bifang said.
“In hindsight, I might have overreacted,” Cha Ming admitted. “A lot of people are going to be hating on me in the morning.”
“No big loss,” Gua spat. “Phoenixes are always like this. They’re swans trying to eat toad meat.”
“I’m pretty sure that saying goes the other way around,” Cha Ming said. “Toads trying to eat swan meat.”
“I meant what I said,” Gua replied. “Toads are clearly the superior species.”
“My cousins can be a little eccentric,” Graceful Twilight admitted. “The system works fine if it’s just us. It’s not bad to be honorable, and to give others the opportunity to earn respect. Unfortunately, many in our clan have forgotten the most important tradition: You show honor and respect to outsiders—even if they don’t reciprocate.”
“There are rotten apples in every culture,” Cha Ming agreed. “I guess it’s not just a human problem. It’s a people problem.”
“I just don’t understand why they’re so strict on fire control,” Miyue said. “So I started a fire. Big deal. Just summon some water and put it out.”
“I think that’s one of the problems,” Cha Ming said. “Over half the city can start a fire and no one can put it out. I see they bailed you out.”
“I got carried way, and I regret it,” Miyue said. “I still don’t think the poison swamp prank was fair. But I guess he was just salty that toga fashion was taking off.”
Gua sniffed. “Only barbarians wear togas.”
“All right, all right,” Huxian said. “She regrets it, and we bailed her out. Let’s put this all behind us. We’re best friends forever, remember?”
They groaned in unison. Even Bifang.
“Fine,” Gua said. “Maybe we can include togas in the fashion line.”
“That’s all right,” Miyue said. “I was just doing it to spite you.”
“You wench,” Gua muttered.
Everyone laughed.
“So. What makes this place so special?” Cha Ming asked Graceful Twilight, the calmest of the bunch. “Surely it’s not just an empty and arid mountain.”
“You’ll see soon enough,” Graceful Twilight replied. “It’s quite the spectacle, and the reason why our ancestors built Shimmerwing City here in the first place.”
“The stars are so pretty here,” Bifang said. “They’re not like stars elsewhere. They have colors!”
Cha Ming squinted and saw that they did indeed have colors. Moreover, there was something odd about them.”
“Those aren’t stars,” Cha Ming said. “There are too many of them. In fact, there are twice as many as there were a minute ago.”
“It’s starting,” Graceful Twilight said with a grin. “Watch and be amazed.” The specks in the distance continued to multiply and grow, and suddenly, the sky was ablaze.
>
One by one, the tongues of fire rained down on the mountain. They burst apart like fireworks on contact. Larger ones even blasted small craters near their group. Cha Ming extended his domain to protect them.
“Five Fire Mountain Range indeed,” Cha Ming said. “A worthy name, and a good reason to make this place a restricted area.” These fires could kill the average initiate, forget the average Daoist.
“It’s the best place to gather precious flames in the prefecture,” Graceful Twilight said. “Elder Iridescent Wonder often comes here to gather them for his experiments. But those aren’t what makes this place so special.”
It was then that the rain of fire transformed. They clustered together to form large flames with many colors. These made craters ten meters across that filled the air with luminous dust. Others burst in the sky, filling it with tiny specks of glittering light. It fell to the ground like a five-colored blanket swaying in the wind.
It was iridescence in its truest, most natural form, and it lit up something inside him. A feeling. A thought. It was only there for an instant, and it vanished as quickly as it came. It was a tiny speck that wanted to shine brightly despite all the darkness in his life. It was weak, but it could grow. The beauty of it made him weep.
“Thank you,” Cha Ming said softly.
“For the sandwiches?” Huxian asked, chomping down on one he’d just slapped together. Cha Ming grabbed more bread and began assembling his own elaborate creation.
“For bringing me here,” Cha Ming said. “I think I needed this. Thank you. All of you. For the food, and for the friendship.”
Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists Page 34