The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

Mo Lin walked behind the sect elder, her heart pounding with fear, uncertain of what had drawn his attention to her. All she had been doing was practicing the forms alongside her peers, but then, out of nowhere, he had appeared, singling her out and leading her away from the others. She shuffled her feet, secretly hoping the elder might suddenly realize he had the wrong person and release her. But with each step, her hopes faded, replaced by a growing dread of impending punishment.

She wracked her brain, unable to recall any misdeed warranting such a consequence. She had completed her chores, practiced her forms diligently, and steered clear of trouble. Yet, if this wasn't about punishment, what could it be? She certainly hadn't done anything noteworthy enough to earn a reward, considering her average skill in the forms. So, if it was neither something bad nor good she had done, there was only one other thing she could think of. It must be about Mei.

At this thought, Mei stirred within her robes, peeking out from inside the little ball. Mei could feel Mo Lin's nervousness, brandishing a tiny blade in a defiant gesture towards the elder before Mo Lin hastily pushed her back inside her clothes.

Stay hidden! She commanded the doll.

It had to be Mei, right? Mo Lin knew she was weird, after all. Things like Mei weren't supposed to move on their own or have Chi, but Mei had both. This made Mo Lin feel special. She was made of wood and clouds, just like all the others.

But what if she was going to be punished because of Mei? Mo Lin knew of scary demon-like puppets called Jianghui or something similar, having heard stories about them from her mother. Although most of these tales were probably fake, some seemed partly true.

What if they thought she was like one of those people who made those inhuman things? More and more, Mo Lin feared she might be one of those now. She didn't want to hurt anybody; she didn't even know how Mei had started walking around on her own!

The silence continued as Mo Lin walked, step by step, further into the sect. Tears began to glisten in her eyes at the thought of being executed. She had insisted on coming here; it had been her dream to become a cultivator for so long, and now, by some miracle, she had the ability. She was going to try, but she didn't want to die, not because of this.

Her mother would probably cry so much if she found out. What would she do? She couldn't fight; she was weak. Unlike Mo Lin she hadn't awakened to Chi, not yet at least. Even then, this was the elder, the man responsible for the big fight and everything. She had heard stories of just how terrifyingly strong he was; he even had a nickname for him.

The Twin Flame Demon, a name that carried a weight Mo Lin's mother could never bear, and her father could only imagine. The more Mo Lin thought, the further her mind came up with every possible scenario that could go wrong. Slowly, the tears began to grow as she somehow began to accept that she was just going to die today. There was no other explanation.

However, her frightful spiral of thoughts was interrupted when they arrived at one of the inner chambers of the sect. She watched the doors open, leading into a lush greenery-filled place. Slowly, she stepped inside, looking with awe at everything present: beautiful plants filled the space, tall bamboo groves rising up in the air. She could feel the Qi in them.

This was a spirit herb garden, she had heard of them before but never seen one. The Qi in the air was rich, and with every breath she took, she felt more and more energy filling her. The beauty of the place managed to banish all the fear from her heart, and she simply looked on in a daze.

A moment later, something moved. Mo Lin jumped back in fear from the bushes. A creature came out and she looked in direct surprise before realizing what it was. "A turtle," she said, watching the little creature slowly walking out with two flower-like spirits sitting on top of it. Its beady little eyes glowed with power as the spirits looked towards her, rushing closer.

The elder bent down, gently picking both of them up and putting them on his shoulders. The turtle walked closer as well, and the elder bent down once more, gently brushing his head.

"Liking your new home, huh? It's definitely better than what we had in Taizhou," the elder said, as the turtle leaned in, before letting out a shuddering noise.

Mo Lin's eyes were stuck on the creature as she watched the interaction, mesmerized. The turtle slowly walked towards the center, and Mo Lin, interested, gently bent down as well, looking at it with shimmering eyes.

A moment later, she turned to the elder and asked, "Can I?"

"Go ahead," the elder said, and Mo Lin began to gently brush its shell.

The two plant spirits, noticing her, also jumped down, flitting onto her, one after the other. Little chimes came from both of them as they began chasing each other in circles. Mo Lin couldn't help but giggle to herself as the little spirits played around her, so much so that she forgot to keep Mei in check, and a moment later, the little doll jumped out, not willing to be left out of the chase. Mei joined the flower spirits as well.

"Mei, no!" Mo Lin shouted, reaching out to grab the doll, but it was too late. The little doll was already running around, playing with the spirits, and the elder had seen it. This was it; this was the end.

She was going to be executed now. Tears filled her eyes as she looked towards the elder in fear, but instead of anger or scorn, she found a small smile instead.

"Is that your doll?" The elder asked, looking at Mo Lin and Mei with a hint of interest. "I've never seen one that animates, though. How do you control it?" he asked.

Mo Lin, unsure of how to reply, stammered, "I-I don't know. She just does her own thing. One day she woke up, she... one day started to walk. I could understand her and we... spoke," Mo Lin replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. "What am I… I'm not going to be punished?" She asked.

"Why would you be punished? Did you do something wrong?" The elder asked.

Mo Lin shook her head. "I just thought that because she was like the stories of demon puppets and thought that... you would... it's a punishment for having made Mei," Mo Lin confessed, starting to feel embarrassed about her assumptions.

The elder laughed. "No, no, I’m not going to do that. If anything, I want to know more about your ability, and maybe we can write that down. Your ability is fascinating and new; I've not seen anything like it before. You're the third person I know who has awakened a kind of Chi that some said did not exist before, but you're the first to have done it outside of my influence. I want to know how it happened," the elder said with curiosity.

Mo Lin looked at the elder, confused by what he meant. "Well, I just one day could sense the Chi, and after that, I found some of it inside of Mei. So, I thought maybe I could try putting a little more in, and see if I could make her stronger, and when I did, she started to move."

“Fascinating”, the elder said, "Was there anything else you felt at the time? Anything different? Some kind of revelation or anything?"

Mo Lin shook her head. "Not really. I just…" Her cheeks flushed as she spoke the rest of the words. "It's an honor to be like Mei. I've always admired her, and I was envious of her. I guess I kept hoping that maybe one day I could end up like her—strong, powerful, and beautiful."

"Interesting," the elder said, glancing sideways. "What do you think, Sheldon?"

Mo Lin's eyes widened in surprise as she heard a voice speak in her head, far deeper than she'd expected to come from the tiny turtle.

"Spirit tool. Tied to the spirit. Alive, but not quite. Different. New."

"Yeah, I wonder how far the ability could go, if it can be applied to other things to animate them as well," the elder said, before glancing back at Mo Lin. "You represent something new, little Mo Lin. You have a very special ability, and if I'm right, there are going to be others just like you with special abilities that we haven't seen before, or perhaps abilities that have been lost to time. Nonetheless, you represent a new kind of cultivator, one that, so far, only a few people around me have been able to become. But this? This shows that anyone can become unique."

Mo Lin didn't fully understand, but she still nodded to the elder's words. A moment later, Mei ran back into her arms, jumping up, and Mo Lin caught the little doll.

"I'll be interested in seeing more of your abilities and what you can do with them. But before that, I'm curious about something. Would you like to meet other people who have special abilities, just like yours? I know a girl who’s—"

Before the elder could even finish, and without having to think, Mo Lin replied excitedly, "Yes!"

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