Chương 5: Farewell

A loving family, it is said. Successful merchants. He wanted for nothing. A thousand millennia ago. — He who calls himself Chi You, The Completed Works by He Shulin, foremost scholar of the Outer Realms After everything that had happened over the last few hours, Jianyi's imminent death was almost no longer shocking. It almost felt like the logical conclusion. His heart still skipped a beat. Elder Sun's hand shot forward, and Jianyi expected his head to drop to the floor. Instead, the elder covered Jianyi's mouth.

"Do not say another word!" he hissed. Jianyi's heart resumed beating. Maybe he wasn't going to die? His brain was somehow still hung up at the unfathomable speed of the elder's movement. He wasn't sure he could take much more.

"You will listen to me, boy. Never, in your entire life, say what you just tried to say—to anyone, ever. Do you understand me?" Jianyi, eyes wide, nodded quickly. The forceful words and the hand still covering his mouth brought him back to the present. It seemed the Celestial Core Card in his lower dantian was an even bigger thing than he had imagined if it could elicit that kind of response from the man who calmly killed mortals and demonic cultivators alike.

But how could he learn if he couldn't talk with others about it? Slowly, Elder Sun removed his hand from Jianyi's mouth.

"Did you tell Deng?" the elder asked, his eyes not leaving Jianyi's face for a second. He shook his head. The elder looked into the distance, thinking.

"I think it is time for a change of plans. We will relocate you to the sect right away. You seem like a smart boy, but I don't trust you to keep your mouth shut." Tapping his chin, he looked Jianyi up and down.

"You will now be my student and serve in my household. You are a dual affinity cultivator with the fortunate combination Fire and Wood, just like me; that's why I have taken an interest in you.

"Give me your affinity cards," Elder Sun said, holding out his hand. Elder Sun was talking quickly and making decisions that he struggled to follow. Fire and Wood? Student? Now?

"Now, boy!" Jianyi twitched slightly and pulled the Metal and Earth affinity cards from his pocket, handing them to the elder, looking longingly as they vanished in one of Sun Longwei's storage rings. To his amazement, two new cards appeared right away. Fire Affinity Common Converts cultivator's qi into Fire affinity. Wood Affinity Common Converts cultivator's qi into Wood affinity.

"Put them away. We will leave now," the elder said, his hands now clasped behind his back as he stepped out of the house. That rattled Jianyi from his trance.

"My mother! I can't just leave her."

"Mhh, we will stop at your home and inform her that you will have to leave right away. Where do you live?" Jianyi had barely given directions when Elder Sun seemed to wrap him in some invisible force and lifted him from the ground. Then things started to get blurry as buildings, plazas, and streets seemed to fly by. What had taken Jianyi in the morning 45 minutes, went by in moments, and it felt like he hadn't taken a breath along the way.

They came to a stop in front of his home, Jianyi took a few steps to steady himself after whatever had just happened.

"Why?" He was still not fully caught up with the events of the last few minutes—or the day, really. He had left their home just four, five hours ago with a single thought: becoming a cultivator. He had succeeded in that, but so much had happened that his sixteen-year-old mind struggled to keep up.

"I told you, I can't keep you safe here. Safe from yourself, safe from anybody who might get an idea of what you almost told me earlier. This is the better solution. We will come up with a good cover so that you are well prepared to face teachers and other students in three months.

"Also, let me tell you that there are probably thousands of young, and not so young, cultivators out there who would be incredibly grateful to become my student!" The last he said with a wink, apparently realizing that he needed to slow down a bit to give Jianyi a chance to catch up. Jianyi nodded. He sorted through the situation. His core card put him at risk. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

A shiver ran down his spine as, for the briefest of moments, he remembered purple eyes hunting him. There was, of course, a slight chance that the elder himself had nefarious intentions, but Jianyi's gut told him that was not the case. If all of that was true, then being in the sect should indeed offer him a great opportunity.

He had to imagine that the training facilities for his martial arts were better than his home, in combination with direct teachings by an elder of the sect in everything cultivation-related, was an incredible boon. He took a deep breath and tried to discard the anxieties of the day. He bowed to Elder Sun, his expression calm.

"Thank you, Elder Sun, I appreciate the explanation and the opportunity. If my mother approves, I am more than happy to join you." Elder Sun nodded approvingly.

"Swift recovery, my boy. Good. Now let me help in the conversation with your mother." That almost threatened to take Jianyi out of the calm he had just achieved, but then he just shrugged and followed the elder for the last couple of steps to his own home. His mother was waiting for them at the door, clearly having seen them through the window, waiting for her son to return home far too late from the trial.

"Yi'er, where have you been? Are you in trouble?" She looked from Jianyi to the elder and asked the Elder to enter their home with a bow. Jianyi followed her inside and gave his mother a hug.

"No, I am not in trouble, I think."

"You think?" her voice rising.

"Either you're in trouble, or you're not!" At that moment, Elder Sun spoke up.

"My name is Elder Sun Longwei, from the Fivefold Spear Sect. Your son is not in trouble. He has done well at the trial and became a cultivator. Beyond that, he has had a… fortuitous encounter… and you know what they say about those…"

"…there is always a price to be paid." All three of them reciting the old saying. His mother's hand moved to cover her mouth—fortunately without making that sound that he so vividly remembered. She pulled him close.

"Ohh, Yi'er, I am happy for you, I really am, this is what you wanted, and I am glad that you can walk the path that you dreamed of. But this is also exactly why I dreaded it. The cultivation life is one of constant dangers and disruptions." She turned to Elder Sun.

"What is to happen now?" The elder smiled.

"I understand your concerns, but from what I have seen, you have raised a smart, well-behaved young man. What more can anybody ask for as a start for their adult life—cultivator or not?

"I have offered to your son to take him on as a student and servant in the sect. I promise to do my best to take care of him, and of course, he can visit you whenever there are breaks in the training schedule." He pulled a pouch out of his storage ring and handed it to his mother.

"Your son's activities today have helped the Empire. He wanted the reward to go to you." Jianyi's eyes bulged as he saw the pouch that likely held more money than he had ever seen—and that he had known nothing about until that moment. His mother was equally shocked, even more so as she opened it and found not just silver but also gold coins.

"I can't take this," she said with shaking hands, returning the bag to the elder.

"You can and you should. I am not exaggerating when I say that great danger for the province has been prevented today, and this is just a small token of appreciation. Take it and do with it as you wish, you should be able to buy a bigger home and hire a few servants, if you like. But it is, of course, your decision." Jianyi almost choked as he heard what the money would be able to buy for his mother.

"Please take it, mother. It would give me so much peace of mind while being away if you have this… Please!?" Slowly, she nodded and put the money away.

"When must you leave?"

"I am afraid it is best if we leave now," Elder Sun said. She sighed but nodded resignedly.

"Go, pack your things." Jianyi nodded and went to his room. First, he bowed to his spear, thanking his father silently for everything that he had done for him that had gotten him to this point. Then, he grabbed his few belongings, made them into a bundle, lifted the spear from the wall, took a look at the room that he might never see again, and stepped back into the living room. Elder Sun stood calmly at the door, seemingly not looking at anything in particular. His mother held two things in her hand.

She stepped towards him and handed him the wrapped rice cake.

"Put this away for later. Not quite the birthday we had imagined." Almost nervously, she pushed a small silk-wrapped package into his other hand.

"This is the last possession from your father. While I dreaded this moment, I also knew that it was possible, and I have held on to this, so that you might have an easier start as a cultivator. You must promise me that you will sell it or trade it for something that will help keep you alive, if you can't use it yourself." Jianyi was speechless. Could this be what he thought it was? With shaking fingers, he unwrapped the package. Inside was a card with two thin golden strips. An uncommon!

It must be worth many silver coins, or likely gold, Jianyi didn't know. Before he even fully read the card itself, he had to think of all the hardships his mother had endured over the years that she could have easily found her way out of if she had sold the card. He swallowed his deep appreciation and gratefulness and read what it did. Skin of the Granite Tunneler Technique Uncommon 1x Earth Swift Over the next three breaths, cultivator can turn any part of their body as hard as granite.

Jianyi obviously lacked a frame of reference, but the card seemed fantastic to him. If he fought against a beast, he could more freely attack if he knew that he could cover any openings with granite that probably only the most vicious of beasts could penetrate. He wondered how the card had gotten back to his mother, but with Elder Sun waiting, it might not be the right moment to ask. He held the card close to his chest and bowed low before his mother.

"Thank you so much. For this and everything!" She swallowed hard, trying to hold the tears back.

"Take care, my Yi'er, and promise me to use the card to keep you alive, no matter what it takes!"

"I will, I promise." After another hug, Jianyi stored his first technique card with the affinities, picked up his spear and meager belongings, and stepped up to Elder Sun, ready to leave. The elder nodded to his mother, and together they stepped out of his home, ready to leave the city. It would be the first time that Jianyi set foot outside of the city walls. Now that he had a chance to say his farewells to his mother and go with her blessing, he felt at least a little bit more settled.

His mind was still in turmoil, but there was also a tiny flame of optimism and excitement about what the future might bring in his chest. Elder Sun wrapped him again in bands of force—qi most likely—and picked him up.

"We need to make a short detour. I promised a sect brother to get something. It is almost on the way." Within minutes, the Elder and his new student were through the imposing city gates and on the road towards the mountains. The landscape around them was rocky and largely barren. The city's fields were on the other side of the city. As he slowly became accustomed to Elder Sun's movement, he saw that instead of walking very fast, he…

shuffled forward, almost as if he was gliding on ice, his feet never touching the ground. Jianyi wondered whether he even needed the road at all. The answer came about half an hour into their trip when the elder suddenly left the road and the ground and moved them even faster up the slope of a smaller mountain. They flew through the cold wind, his hair fluttering and goosebumps forming on his arms. His heart beat heavy in his chest, and a smile formed on his lips.

It was the most exhilarating experience in Jianyi's life. He could see over the city that had been his home his whole life, saw the streets, the palaces, and the bustling life as if humans were nothing but ants. Behind lay endless hills, covered in fields of rice and grain that fed millions in the province. On the other side, the majestic mountains, the peaks hidden behind clouds, but three settlements halfway up each of the mountains were visible. Most of the pagodas had blue tiled roofs and granite walls.

Interspersed between the buildings were training grounds and plazas. It looked like he had always imagined it would: grand and imposing. His spirit soared as they rose through the air. He turned to the direction the elder was taking them—further up the mountain—opening a whole new vista for Jianyi. The sun shone brilliantly on the peaks, and for a moment, he could see a sect campus on the nearest mountain. Quickly, Elder Sun landed them on a small plateau with barely enough space for the two of them.

A cave opened into the rock, and an unpleasant smell wafted out of it. The elder looked back at Jianyi with an almost boyish smile.

"Maybe leave your pack, but you might want to bring your spear."