Sky Pride

Tian was in better control of his emotions by the time the Sisters left the Temple. He went directly to his cozy cell with its rat-proof walls and rain-proof roof and the bed that had a mattress stuffed with cotton and a blanket with no holes in it. Where nothing smelled rotten or sick. Where he was safe, warm, and clean. Where he first met people that wanted him. That went out of their way for him. Sacrificed for him.

He lost it again for a while. Eventually, he sat back up on the bed and looked at the ring Elder Rui gave him.

Tian circulated his vital energy through his hand and was startled to realize he could sense the contents of the ring. He couldn’t see them, exactly, but he could roughly make out what they were. There were a few small bottles, a few bags and quite a bit of neatly folded cloth. Camping supplies, he guessed. But most precious of all were two slender books.

He flexed his will, and the books appeared in his hand. It felt as magical as he always thought it looked. Both books were ratty and worn, far from the immaculate copies in the Temple library.

“Light Body, Heavy Hands. Well that’s not a subtle name.” Tian smiled. He thought his voice sounded a little muffled. Seems he was still choked up. He looked at the other volume before opening the first. “Counter-Jumper. What does that even mean?”

He opened the second book first, just to see what the preamble said.

What are the three horrors of cultivation? Losing it, failing to progress it, and being killed along the way to the peak. I don’t have some special way of dealing with the first two, but I can teach you how to deal with the last one. You spot the trouble first. You figure out who’s trying to get the jump on you, then you get the jump on them. Nothing is so deadly as ambushing an ambusher, and nothing so satisfying as swapping glasses with a poisoner. Just remember- your whole body is covered with keenly sensitive nerves, and what’s more, you have at least some sensitivity to qi. Time to make use of everything you’ve got.

That sounded promising. It didn’t have quite the… refined tone he was used to in cultivation manuals. Not quite so full of complicated ideas. But that was more of a positive than a negative for Tian. He opened the other manual.

The faster you move, the harder you hit. The lighter you are, the less force you need to move around. Of course, it’s a trade off. You have to be moving really fast to match the force of a fat bastard taking his shot. So what’s the solution? Be able to change your weight… kind of. You are cheating with vital energy, letting it do some of the pushing against gravity for you. You race forward way faster than they expect, then cancel the art and thump the prick. Then activate it again and dodge around. When you see your next opening, stop and thump ‘em again. Do it right and you only have to thump ‘em once. Or stab ‘em. And if the bastards are too much to deal with, just run away. Not like the little shits can catch up with you.

“Well that lacks reserve and propriety.” Tian muttered. He flipped through both books. The elder hadn’t said anything about returning them. He must have looted them on a battlefield. Tian wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that, but eventually just shrugged. Everyone below the Heavenly Person Level is an ant, and they practice the arts of ants. Elder Rui might have taken them off any random body and just held on to them. The Elder must have thought they were a good fit for him. Tian smiled. The Elder had been managing the Outer Court for centuries. He was probably right.

There were still a few hours until dinner. He got to memorizing the books. It was something he worked on with Grandpa Jun all the way back in the Junkyard. Mnemonics, memory palaces, linking ideas to a story, visualization- all sorts of tricks and techniques to remember something quickly. Learning it was something else. That took a lot more work. But committing something to memory was relatively easy for him. He carefully read every word and examined every diagram. Over and over. Locking down each brushstroke and each character.

He wouldn’t let down Brother Fu or Elder Rui. He didn’t want to let down Grandpa Jun or himself either.

He walked to dinner in an odd mood, almost floating. He put the rope dart in his storage ring, then tried to throw it from the ring. It just fell in his hand. He also noticed that the rope dart could be in or out, but you couldn’t have the dart trailing the rope out of the ring. It was all or nothing. One of the senior brothers spotted what he was up to and nudged him.

“Trying to make your hidden weapon even more hidden?”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“Everybody gets the same idea when they first get a storage ring. Guys who like throwing knives are an absolute pain in the ass for this. The knives just drop into their hands, so they can throw a whole stack of them really fast. Archers too. For everyone else, it’s just a convenience. One less thing to carry, you know? A lot less things to carry.”

“But I notice most of the Senior Brothers do carry their weapons on them, not in their rings.”

“Yep. I do that when I’m out of the Temple. It’s… well. You grew up in the jungle. Do you plan on putting your rope dart in the ring? Technically it would be safer. Much less chance it would be lost or stolen.”

Tian thought about it for half a second before he started violently shaking his head.

“Yeah. That’s the reason right there. We just don’t feel safe without feeling the sword or saber on us all the time. And for most of us, our weapons are practically another limb. Hell, most of us use our sabers more than we use our-”

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“Brains, Junior Brother Meng?” Brother Fu appeared like a ghost in the twilight.

“Them too, Senior Brother.” The senior brother grinned, unrepentant. “I’ll see you both at dinner.”

“If his dinner tonight is more than bean sprouts over rice with no chilli sauce, I’ll consider myself a failure in this life.” Brother Fu grumbled.

“I know what he was going to say, Senior Brother.”

“I know you know. Decorum, Tian. Propriety and manners. They do matter. They let people get along with each other in ways that don’t have to involve violence. And it doesn’t always mean acting like a stuck up prig either. A beggar’s camp will have its etiquette, as will warriors gathered around a fire, or fishermen gathering on a beach to discuss their catch. Know how to speak and act, and you will find roads open for you wherever you travel. Remain ignorant, and live in a world full of walls.”

They walked slowly together.

“Is it really the right time to worry about decorum, Senior Brother?”

“Yes. The military has its own etiquette, and while you aren't going to be part of an army, technically, the difference matters less than you would think. A lack of etiquette is equivalent to a lack of discipline, which would have terrible consequences. Really. Starting with you getting flogged, and ending with you starting a mutiny that ultimately results in every person in the Broad Sky Kingdom living a life of unspeakable horror and humiliation before they are ultimately murdered and their souls plunged into endless torment.”

Tian stopped and gave Brother Fu a look.

“An extreme outcome, but not unprecedented. Take another look at the story of General Lu in Records of Three Emperors.”

“Brother Fu? Everybody looked tense when Elder Rui said we would be the vanguard. But the Vanguard General is always described as a very honorable, heroic person in the books. So, why?”

“Because, Tian, the general is the hero of the story. He bravely charged forward, in the best armor money could buy, swinging the best weapon and on the back of the best horse, surrounded by the best guards.”

“Yes?” Tian couldn’t really imagine what Brother Fu was describing.

“The General makes it out alive, most of the time, even though he’s in the thick of the fighting. But his lesser soldiers are slaughtered. We are the lesser soldiers, Tian. Shoved out in front to absorb the enemy's arrows, clear traps, find ambushes, do battle with their scouts, patrol our lines, secure lines of communication and resupply, provide diversions and generally do the most fatal work.”

“Then we shouldn’t go.” Tian said.

“We absolutely must go. Because as unfair as that all sounds, it is actually the correct decision. Completely correct. It is actually the safest path for us as well as everyone else. Leaving aside all questions of morality, which I absolutely do not.”

Tian shook his head. He just didn’t understand. Brother Fu sighed, and they walked to dinner in silence.

Dinner that night was more subdued than usual. Nevertheless, despite making a furious effort to secure first chicken, then bean curd, then finally cucumber, Brother Meng’s dinner consisted of cold rice, bean sprouts, and not a drop of chili sauce.

_________________________________________________________________________

“Grandpa?”

Yes, Tian?

“Is this what it feels like to have a dad?”

Only if you are very lucky. Go to sleep. You will need your rest.

__________________________________________________________________________

There was nothing else to do but study, train, and eat. Brother Wong crammed every scrap of medicinal knowledge he could into Tian’s head. Knowledge was free. Supplies had to be finessed. “I can’t give you herbs, as they cost merit points. However, unrelated, we are going to be picking quite a lot of wild herbs the next few days. And for your job, you will only have to submit three of each.”

On the practice field- “Is this your new light body art? I’m not familiar with it, but it’s a bit similar to my ‘Big Dipper Steps.’ Let me give you some pointers.” “Poetry Saint” Zhu drifted down from a tree, landing softly on the earth. And ever after, Tian seemed to see his Senior Brother writing his poems in the trees, shifting from place to place. Demonstrating his light body art.

“Ah, practicing sensory arts? It’s easiest to start with just one or two senses. Most would say your eyes or ears, but take it from an old bandit hunter- skin vibration sensitivity. You won’t believe the information your body is ignoring right now. Come, come, Junior. I’m an old hand at this.” Old brother Three Nights dragged him over to a pond, demonstrating just how he caught Blossom Cutter Zheng when three armies of mortals had failed.

“Oh, Junior Brother Tian, I was looking for you! You let that Hong girl tread all over your rope. Let me show you how to manage these little- Ah, no Senior Brother, I was going to help him with Snake Head Vine Body! I don’t need to spar. Really. Really!” One of the Blades of the Green Valley, heroic and broad shouldered in his sect uniform, was dragged away by the ear for a ‘Counseling Session’ with Brother Fu. Who tipped a more sensible Blade a nod, and let him handle the teaching.

The brothers helped him. These legends of the rivers and lakes opened their treasuries of experience to him, and encouraged him to take greedily. They withheld nothing, and Tian strained every trick of memorization he had trying to keep it all in his head.

He got tips about what to pack (everything) and what to leave (heirs if possible, a letter conveying his will if not.) The storage ring was a godsend for that, but he really didn’t have much to pack in the first place.

He spent his few spirit crystals on things like food, water, two stout camp knives, a spare rope dart (cruelly expensive though it was) extra rope, extra warm clothing, extra medicine, firewood that could burn for hours in any conditions, needle and thread, and at the universal urging of his senior brothers, he packed an enormous stack of books. He was even strong armed into buying loads of candy and strong liquor.

“You will need to make friends. Food and drink are good, strong liquor is best. I’d send you off with cards and dice, but I know you don’t know how to play with either, and Brother Fu will ‘counsel’ me into a hole in the ground if I teach you,” A particularly scarred, brutal looking brother explained.

Over and over and over they made him learn what to say and do in different scenarios. He was no good at thinking up things on the spot, so he memorized sayings and expressions. He learned the If-Then. He learned when to give, and how to receive. Tian couldn’t understand the why behind the what. They were all brothers and sisters. Why play these games? But his brothers were rarely wrong, and they seemed desperately serious. He learned.

Most precious of all was the tea set gifted to him by Brother Fu. Despite having endless things to do, Brother Fu always set aside half an hour in the afternoon to teach Tian the art of tea.