Sky Pride

Chapter 6- The Cave is where the Heart is

Burning Heaven carried them down to the Monastery. She had a fair bit of leeway to come and go from the Myriad Colors Holy Land so long as she didn’t leave the mountain. She had barely begun her discipleship, and “Needs constant supervision.” That was how the Grandmaster phrased it, though Burning Heaven claimed she couldn’t imagine why.

“You wanted to spar with all your fellow disciples, most of whom weren’t on the mountain, and all of whom were at least a full realm higher than you.” Brightheart supplied.

“Boldness and daring have won many a battle, and fear has lost them all before the clash. Why wouldn’t I want to test myself against real experts, especially since I know they wonʼt kill or cripple me?”

Tian strongly nodded. “Quite right. Sparring with my Brothers was one of the best, happiest times of my life.”

“Wait, I think you flew past the most important point. You can leave through the barrier?” Liren asked.

“No, I think the Grandmaster was just being thorough. He was talking about secret realms and things. Some of them are way, way too dangerous even for me. Hey look, there’s the Monastery. It’s been ages!”

The Monastery spread out below them, black tiled roofs shining on buildings that seemed to spring from the rocky sides of the mountain itself. Wide courtyards, lined with buildings whose red pillars blazed in the sunshine, drawing the eye upwards to the myriad carved beasts and sacred art that crowned the woodwork under the eaves. Color was everywhere, bright greens and golds and blues, with black paint strategically deployed to make the colors more vivid.

It was, in truth, a place of worship. Tian had never really felt that way before. Religious education was obviously part of temple life, but it all seemed a bit passionless, as though they were explaining to children how the highest echelons of the kingdom operated. In theory, you might meet such a person. By an even more implausible theory, you might become such a person. Respect was mandatory. But worship? That was a bit much. Or so he had thought.

It was a place of living devotion. That’s what the monastery was - a place where the ideals of a more powerful, wiser, being were put into practice, with gratitude and reverence. It was the faith of immortals, fulfilling their small role in the same grand dao as the mighty ones above them. The difference between the Ancient Crane and the newest member of the monastery was insight and accumulation. The Crane knew that, and preached the true dao, showing the poor, ignorant souls clinging to the side of this mountain the path to a better life. In gratitude, those people built the monastery, and kept her words close to their hearts.

He had really wronged the Sect Master, hadn’t he? At least, he shouldn’t have been so dismissive of the Crane’s teachings. If he met the man again, he would have to apologize.

They were spotted well before they landed outside the Mission Hall. Elder Rui flew in to meet them, as did Brother Wang, Sister Mei and some of the Heavenly People Liren was closer to in the Discipline Squad.

“Welcome home! And since I didn’t get a chance to say it before, congratulations on breaking through!” Elder Rui’s voice boomed over the sloping roofs, his dignified mustache quivering with satisfaction. “I can see you have grown a lot while you were away. I’ll let you youngsters have your reunion, but come see me tomorrow. There is a lot to talk about. Mostly good.”

The elder then communicated silently with Tian. “Brother Fu is still in his cave up the mountainside a little ways. He wants to see you, but he would be embarrassed to do it with all these people around. Go see him straight after you are done here. No need to check in with the Mission Hall, you are all set there. Just spend the day coming home. It will all keep until tomorrow.”

It was a mad whirl of noise. The Wangs were full of good cheer, saying that Sister Su and Sister Ming couldn’t stir about just now, but they should come over and visit. Brother Wang seemed quite pleased, though Tian noticed bags under his eyes that shouldn’t have been possible for a Heavenly Realm cultivator. More curiously, Sister Mei’s bags were every bit as deep. The bags under both sets of eyes seemed to vanish instantly when Liren hinted that they had storage rings, plural, full of supplies and raw materials. More and more Heavenly People rushed over, wanting the details about how they got through the barrier, what the world was like outside, the state of… everything, really.

Then the doctors from the hospital arrived, with yet another round of congratulations and questions. Then even more of the disciplinary squad turned up, what there was of them, as well as a few of the West Town Heavenly People that had made it through the barrier, and an overwhelming mob grew utterly unmanageable. Even the spiritual birds and beasts came over to see what the fuss was about, followed more slowly by the Earthly cultivators. In less than an hour, the whole Monastery was abuzz. The two biggest troublemakers in the sect, the undisputed king and queen of the Outer Court, Tian Zihao and Hong Liren, had both broken through. They had been to the holy lands above the monastery (the existence of which was news to most) and gone through the barrier around the mountain only to return once more.

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To describe the news as merely “shocking” would be to neglect words like “monstrous” or the debatably overused “catastrophic.” “Convulsive” would be a fair choice, one that accurately conveyed the way so many Level Nines bolted to their feet, turned rigid, glared at each other with fiery eyes or cursed the unjust heavens depending on their relationships with the couple. No few “dao companions” silently eyed each other when the other wasn’t looking, asking themselves many questions with uncomfortable answers. Still more gazed at each other, hearts aflame, lost in the romance of advancing into immortality together, step by step.

Most ravenous of all, though, were the crafters. They knew that to be a Heavenly Person was to be a resource gathering beast, a thing of endless hunger that snatched everything it came across but only ate what it liked best. They didn’t need to be told there were storage rings packed full to bursting. They didn’t need to be told water was wet or that fire was hot either. All they needed to be told was where the goods were, and what it would cost to acquire them. Brother Wang and Sister Mei did their best to defend their future inventory, but the bloodshot eyes of their competition made it clear that any attempted monopoly would be busted with heavy forging hammers.

Tian and Hong only managed to escape with repeated promises of visiting later, of providing inventories of the goods acquired, sharing the new manuals they had recovered (the Scripture Depository had silently arrived, the librarians no less feverish for new material than the crafters) and securing a meeting with the doctors at the hospital. There was so much to discuss, and so much to learn about medicine at the Heavenly level.

All of which paled in comparison to what Liren got from the Disciplinary squad.

“Oh thank heavens you are back! I quit. Congratulations on becoming head of the Disciplinary Squad.”

“Auntie?!”

“No no, we are sect siblings of the same generation now, Squad Leader. You already reek of power and bloodshed, a bare minute after ascending. Your spear dao is practically stabbing me in the eyes. You are strong enough and know the job. I’m free. Free! FREE!” A wan faced woman flung off an armband and shot away from the monastery on a rainbow of light and maddened laughter. Her flying sword accelerated so quickly, Tian was prepared to swear he saw clouds gathering on it before she vanished from sight.

One of the other, less passionate, squad members coughed. “The rules reformation process has been stressful. There haven’t really been any rule breakers to vent on either. The former sect master had, I heard, planned to let you take over in a decade or so. Sect Master Rui… apparently… approved an early appointment.”

Tian and Liren’s head yanked around. In perfect synchronization, they asked “Sect Master WHO?!”

“Oh, and I was told to tell you that you are both Direct Disciples, and need to see Crafter Dian to have new robes tailored. The rumor is that the qualifications for Direct Discipleship are changing too, though apparently the details are still up for some debate amongst the elders.” The squad member continued, angling to get on the new boss’ good side with some gossip.

Tian and Liren met each other’s eyes, wondering if their own was as wide, with as much white showing.

When Tian was able to escape, he and Liren made their way up the mountain to a cave secluded behind a waterfall. Brother Fu was waiting outside, sitting next to a little table. There was a kettle warming on a charcoal fire, and simple clay cups were set out on a tray next to an unpretentious tea pot. There was also, Tian noticed, a little tea pet. It looked like a miniature tree, a sapling stretching upward. Tian’s breath caught and his eyes grew blurry at the sight of it. His father’s love was a thing that was shown and felt, not spoken. That much had not changed.

“Father, your unfilial son returns, at long last.”

“So long as you are safe. It’s all fine, so long as you are safe. Welcome home, my son.”

The tea shared around that table was drunk deeply, but went untasted. All Tian could later remember was that it was very sweet, and very warm. Watching his father over his tea cup, Tian could see something leaving the old man. A pain floating away with the steam from the kettle, his old eyes growing softer, deeper and more content. His breath changed, slowing a little, becoming richer and fuller. Tian had come back with lots of new teas to try, and all sorts of antique teaware he had purchased or looted. He even had a basket of Heavenly Realm knives for Brother Fu to pick through. He was welcome to the lot of them.

Tian would certainly offer them, but not yet. Not today. Today, he knew that his father was already getting what he wanted most. He truly was his father’s son. It was what Tian wanted most too.

It was sunset before they returned to the cave, the three of them. They opted not to fly in through the hole in the roof, landing instead on the little patch of dirt and grass outside the cave entrance. They walked through the triangular gap in the stones, into the short tunnel, then out into the opened cavern. The day’s remnant orange light streamed through the hole in the roof, making everything seem warm and glowing. The pond was still there, Dustless Lotuses sadly not in bloom but growing healthy nonetheless. There were a few volunteer plants fighting to cling to the rocks lining the pond Tian dug. The little stream still trickled through the channel it had carved in the mountain stone. The little garden was less overrun than they had thought. Someone had been looking after it a bit. The little house was still there, with its plaster walls and holes for windows. It had two bedrooms too, each with a cot too small to sleep two.

The little spirit wolf leapt out of his fang home and began exploring, happily snapping at butterflies and sniffing for crickets in the weeds. His little ghostly tail wagged like a reed in the wind. Tian and Liren smiled at each other, and set to work settling in. Lots to do. Lots of time to do it. They were where they should be, with the people they should be with. Tomorrow would have its troubles. For tonight, they were home, and happy.