Unintended Cultivator

Sen opened his eyes and looked down. A mop of disheveled black hair met his gaze. Liu Ai was using his chest as her bed, having come looking for him after another bad dream. He had still been awake, idly trying to make shapes out of shadow qi. He was taking Fu Ruolan’s instruction to play with shadow qi quite literally. It wasn’t coming as easily as he might like, but it felt like old instincts were stirring inside of him. He had heard Ai calling out in half-formed words for parents that would never come. That had been painful to hear. He remembered his time as a child and waking up on the edge of calling out for help, for parents he couldn’t remember, for safety, only to bite back the words lest he draw attention. His initial reaction had been to go to her, but he forced himself not to. She hadn’t been calling for him. He didn’t want to wake her up from the dream, only to be the source of heartbreaking disappointment when she realized he wasn’t her father.

When she had stumbled out of the room he had made for her, though, he abandoned his shadow play. She’d climbed into his lap and told him a disjointed tale of fear and death. He’d gently rocked her, stroked her hair, and made soothing noises until she’d quietly cried herself back to sleep. It was all he could think to do. Now, though, her breathing was calm and steady. Sen took that as a good sign that, for the moment, her sleep was untroubled. He could hear the sounds of the world waking up outside. His superhuman senses alerted him to the shift from night to day even through the thick walls of the galehouse. Sen carried Ai back to her room and gently settled her on the pile of blankets he’d assembled in lieu of a traditional bed, something else he’d added to the list of things she’d need. She stirred briefly as he settled a blanket over her before settling down again.

He let his mind go over what he needed to do that day as he started making breakfast. He needed to venture back to the town for several reasons. First of all, he needed to check on Falling Leaf and Laughing River. He didn’t know if three days was enough for them to have made any progress, or even if the fox could help Falling Leaf transform back into her panther form, but it seemed like a bad idea to leave the fox unattended for any length of time. Then, there were all the things he needed to buy for Ai. He’d made a list, and Fu Ruolan had added several things to it. He didn’t question her additions. Sen was all too well aware that he didn’t have the right personal experience to second guess what a child did or did not need. He’d worn the same tattered robes for years, after all. It had been a relief to get a second opinion, even if he questioned whether Fu Ruolan was really in a better position to know.

Finally, he needed to check on that man who had the tree fall on him. Sen was fairly confident that his elixirs would do the trick, but he hadn’t made those elixirs specifically for the man. He also worried that he might have missed something. His senses were sharp, but injuries were tricky things. They could hide, just to kill someone who seemed like they should be fine. It was a small but real worry for anyone who dealt in healing. Plus, he was out of practice. He hadn’t done much in the way of healing others since after that battle back in Inferno’s Vale. While his alchemy skills had advanced by leaps and bounds, that wasn’t a replacement for practice and experience. He pushed that thought aside. He’d find out soon enough. There was no use in worrying over a problem that might not even exist.

Sen felt Glimmer of Night walking toward the galehouse. Not caring to walk to the door, he opened it with a gesture and a rather complicated application of wind qi. He paused to consider what he’d just done for a moment. A part of him was amused that he’d used qi for something so utterly mundane. Yet, the complexity of what he’d done and how much he’d taken it for granted was telling. Using qi that way would have seemed very difficult not so many years ago. While he had become adept at using multiple kinds of qi, even using them at the same time, those had largely been big, destructive uses. Fine control was something that, according to Master Feng, was almost always the last thing to come to a cultivator. That was if it ever did. While Sen took subtle uses for granted in alchemy, that was something that he’d never understood. It certainly wasn’t under his full control. Shaking his head, he went back to setting out food on the table.

The spider came in, eyed the door for a moment, then closed it behind him. He sat down at the table and just watched Sen. It probably would have unnerved most people to have the human-form spider study them so intently. Except, Sen had seen the spider study rocks, trees, and blades of grass with the same unwavering intensity. It was just how Glimmer of Night approached the world. He had also agreed to keep Ai entertained for the day while Sen took care of his various tasks in town. Sen had considered taking the girl with him, but he wasn’t eager to expose her to Laughing River. He didn’t think the fox would do anything to her, just that the fox would be himself and that was probably something the girl could do without. With the food ready, Sen turned to go get Ai, but she trudged out of her room with sleepy eyes and dragged a blanket along with her. She brightened up when she saw the spider. The blanket was abandoned as she ran over to the table and hopped up onto her chair. It was hers by virtue of Sen putting it on a raised section of the floor so she could reach the table more easily.

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“Good morning, Ai,” said Sen.

“Morning, Sen. Morning, Glimmerite,” said the girl around a sudden yawn.

Sen was still working out what kind of food the girl liked, so he served her a bit of rice porridge, some fruit, and a few other things. She ate like she hadn’t seen food in a week, and filled in the silence with a story about a pretty bird she’d seen the day before. Sen nodded along like it was new information, despite the fact that he’d been the one to point out the bird to her. In the middle of her story, she gave Glimmer of Night a strange look.

“You’re not hungry?”

The spider seemed startled by the question. He glanced at Sen as if looking for help. Sen took pity on the spider.

“Glimmer of Night eats different things than we do,” said Sen. “Of course, he can eat some of this too if he wants.”

Seeming to take that as encouragement, Ai picked a piece of dragon fruit off her plate and held it out to the spider. Sen had to resist the urge to laugh as the spider hesitantly took the proffered food and then cautiously chewed on it. It was like he expected the mild fruit to taste terrible. That turned into a new game for Ai, as she grabbed one thing after another and handed them to the spider. Sen kept his mouth shut. The spider was going to have to learn how to say no all by himself. After breakfast, though, a mild crisis arose when Sen said he was going to be gone for the day. Ai immediately got teary-eyed and demanded to know where he was going. Then, of course, she wanted to go. Sen finally had to promise to take her next time before she would let go of his leg. He wondered if that had been karma coming back on him extra fast for laughing at Glimmer of Night in his head.

When he got to town, he poked his head into the common room of the inn. He frowned when he didn’t see Laughing River or Falling Leaf. He almost searched the inn with his spiritual sense before deciding that might be taking things a bit too far. Instead, he went to the house of the injured and knocked. He waited patiently until Du Fen opened the door. Her eyes went comically wide, then she went into a ridiculously deep bow.

“This Du Fen greets the honored cultivator,” said the woman.

Sen heard a choked sound from inside the house and rushed steps as Wang Bo appeared next to his mother. He went into a deep bow.

“This Wang Bo greets the honored cultivator,” said the young man.

“Mistress Du Fen. Wang Bo,” said Sen. “I have come to see the results of my elixirs.”

“Of course!” cried Wang Bo. “Come in! Come in!”

The young man gently urged his mother back into the house and waved Sen to enter. The fearful formality was already grating on Sen. Yet, he understood it, and so he endured it. Sen was a little surprised to find that the young man’s father was still on the pallet by the stove. He’d have expected the man to be up and about. Sen pondered it before realization hit him. No, he thought, he’d be up now if he was a cultivator. Healing took a lot out of mortals. He could feel Du Fen and Wang Bo studying him with worried eyes. I should do something, he thought. He walked over to where the man was on the floor and crouched down. Sen made an overly dramatic flourish with a hand and laid it on the man’s head. It was entirely unnecessary. He could probably have learned everything he needed to learn standing at the door. Yet, the playacting seemed to relieve the woman and her son.

Sen was relieved to find that he had, indeed, been worrying about nothing. The elixirs had done their work. The man was essentially healed. At this point, rest was the best medicine. As long they kept feeding the man, he’d probably be up and around in another day or two. Sen put on a thoughtful expression and nodded to himself before standing. He looked at the nervous pair who hovered a few feet away, their expressions shifting between apprehension and cautious hope.

“My elixirs have worked well. Give him another day or two of rest and food. I expect he’ll be back to cutting down trees.”

Du Fen slumped in relief as she gazed down at her husband. Wang Bo, on the other hand, stared at Sen warily. It was as though he expected something. Sen lifted an eyebrow at the young man, who immediately averted his gaze. Finally, after a very awkward pause, the young man spoke.

“What payment can this humble Wang Bo provide the honored cultivator?”

Oh, thought Sen. He’s still worried about that.

“I require no payment. This was—” Sen forced himself to bite back the word that sprang to mind.

No matter how trivial it might have seemed to him, Sen knew that it wasn’t trivial to them. If the injured man had died, the young man might have been able to support his mother. On the other hand, he might not have been able to support her. All of that was before considering how hard the loss of a loved one might strike. He knew nothing of their circumstances. To say it was trivial would have been condescending. He could just imagine how it would look to them for him to treat it dismissively. He would be the image of the worst kind of young master. He chose his next words with great care.

“This was an excellent opportunity to see how well my elixirs work for a mortal. I am grateful that you allowed it,” he said, giving the pair a shallow bow.

Wang Bo and Du Fen gave him stunned looks of incomprehension. Sen supposed it was better than the alternatives. He did his best to make excuses to leave, his work there done, but still found himself having tea with the grateful family. He reasoned that letting them show him hospitality would make them feel better about all of it like face had been saved. Plus, the tea wasn’t bad.

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