Yu Di sneezed.

  It was the first time in over a hundred years that he sneezed. He can’t remember the last time he did. Maybe when he was a child? But definitely not after starting his cultivation.

  His head swam as he tried to get up. He was sick and he wasn’t sure how or why. Maybe it was because he hadn’t been sick in so long and his body decided to double down on the symptoms.

  “Baba, are you okay?” Yu Lin asked.

  It was ironic that his daughter was fine after a day or two, back to her energetic self, while Yu Di felt like death. It was wrong. If he had to live the rest of his life as a mortal, then maybe a quicker death was worth it.

  “I’m fine.” Yu Di coughed. “Can you go with Senior Bai today until Baba gets better?”

  “Okay.” Even through the haze, Yu Di could see the disappointment in her face.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be better in a few days. Then we can go play again.”

  “Okay.”

  It wasn’t for at least another three days before Yu Di was able to sit up on his own. Bai Feng was kind enough to take care of most of his needs with food and water, but it was a brutal experience.

  Getting up to use the toilet was torture, let alone the short walk to the toilet outside. There was no way he was going to use a chamber pot with Bai Feng in the same room.

  The constant burn in Yu Di’s throat made him want to cry. He couldn’t sleep properly. The chest felt heavy and clouded. Every breath was a chore.

  On the fifth day did Yu Di feel human again. He swore he would break the curse if only to never experience that again.

  “Good morning Baba,” Yu Lin said.

  “You look better today,” Bai Feng said. She gave him a cup of water to drink.

  Yu Di nodded his thanks and drank the entire cup. The water cooled his burning throat.

  “I feel better. My throat doesn’t hurt as much. What have you two been doing since I’ve been sick?”

  “I’ve been learning from auntie Bai,” Yu Lin said. “She was teaching me how to meditate properly and cycle my Qi to reach the next stage. But I’m not sure if I’m doing it right. Can you help me?”

  “Of course. Maybe a little later.” Yu Di passed the cup back to Bai Feng. “Could I get some more water?”

  “Right away.” Bai Feng disappeared with the cup and came back with a small jug.

  “What have you been doing for your own cultivation, Senior Bai?” Yu Di asked.

  Bai Feng chewed on her lower lip. She scratched her arm absentmindedly.

  “Not much. Just trying to understand the rest of the manual you gave me.”

  “You’re still having trouble with it? Which part?”

  Bai Feng gave a half-smile.

  “Everything except what you showed me last time.”

  Yu Di coughed to mask his disappointment. He thought that since Bai Feng could cultivate to such a high level in this sect, she would have a better comprehension level. Except he forgot he was comparing ants to other ants.

  “It seems that I will have to show you how to do it properly.” Yu Di tried to cross his legs, but couldn’t get them to work correctly.

  “Don’t push yourself. You can show me another day.”

  “How many days do you have until you face the other Elders?”

  “Twenty four days.”

  “And how close are you to breaking through to the next level?”

  Bai Feng looked away, rubbing her arms.

  “This is why we need to push ourselves,” Yu Di said. He forced his legs into the correct position. “Besides, this next bit from the manual might help me get over this sickness quicker.”

  It did not.

  Yu Di focused on the Qi within his dantian and then pushed it around his chest. He made sure to hit specific meridians as outlined from the manual that continued the movement from the lower body into the upper body. But the moment the Qi hit his lungs, blood spurted out of his mouth.

  Yu Di fainted backwards hard onto the floor. He felt his head bounce against the hard mat.

  The last thing he heard was, “Baba!”

  When Yu Di came to, his daughter lay on his chest. No wonder he dreamed that he couldn’t breathe. But how could he move her head? Opening his eyes to see his cute little daughter laying on his chest, trying to smother him as he slept off a cold was the highlight of his life.

  It was dark in Bai Feng’s home with only a small candle lit in the middle of the room. Yu Di saw the outline of Bai Feng, her legs crossed, and meditating. With his demigod eyes he could see her cycling her Qi using the two methods from the manual, once through her lower body and then once through her upper body.

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  Wait, what happened to him? Yu Di vaguely remembered doing the same thing, but with the tiniest wisp of Qi this time. He made sure that even if his meridians tried to absorb more Qi that it would only receive a trickle from him.

  Yu Di closed his eyes and tried to feel the Qi in his body. He felt fine. Nothing was wrong.

  Yu Lin snored quietly and shifted her head a little.

  Yu Di took a deep breath. He'd figure it out tomorrow. He didn’t want to wake up his daughter. At the very least, his chest didn't feel like bursting. Maybe he was getting over the cold?

  As he stared into the darkness, Yu Di had a persistent thought running through his head. The secret crawlspace in the tunnel leading up to the sect leader’s residence. If there was one thing he learned from this sickness was that he didn’t want to be sick again or die for that matter. There might be something in that crawlspace that will help him break through to the next realm and become a true god.

  Normally he would have discounted that thought as this was such a weak sect in a far flung corner of the vast empire. But finding that stone stele here pushed him almost all the way there. What if this was fate telling him to grasp this last chance and finally break free of this mortal coil? All he would need to do is risk his life again.

  Yu Di felt the raspy breathing of Yu Lin against his neck. If he failed, or worse died, he wouldn’t see her again, but he’s doing it for her as well. Being so pitifully weak endangered his daughter. If he can break through then he could give her everything she could ever want.

  He could bring Yu Lin’s mother back. Not for him, but he could see the hurt and pain in his daughter’s eyes whenever they mentioned her. That hurt more than any mortal wound.

  Yu Di patted Yu Lin on the head and kissed her on the cheek.

  The decision was as plain as day.

  The next day, Yu Di woke up to a small foot in his face and another in his side. The one in his face smelled really bad. When was the last time Yu Lin bathed?

  Oh wait. He could smell. He hadn’t noticed it for so long as he’d been stuck to the bed, but he could finally smell. Yu Di pushed the little girl’s foot from his face and sat up. He took a deep breath and the smell of flowers wafted into his nose.

  What’s more, he also smelled something delicious. Was it pork? Or maybe it was beef? Whatever it was, it was exactly what he needed.

  Yu Di turned to find an empty home. The smell was coming from outside. He got up, wrapped his gray robe around him, and walked out into Bai Feng’s courtyard.

  Bai Feng stood behind a large grill with various meats on top. A large stack of smoke rose into the air. Her hands moved with the quickness of an Immortal, flipping different pieces of meat and stacking them on a separate plate.

  “Good morning,” Bai Feng called out in a singsong voice.

  “Good morning Senior Bai. Is that for breakfast?” Yu Di asked.

  “Help yourself.”

  Yu Di grabbed a pair of chopsticks and picked up a large slab of roast pork. This one didn’t have the crunchy skin, but was marinated in sweet soy sauce. He took a large bite from it, instantly burning his tongue.

  “I’d tell you to be careful, but I’m sure you already know,” Bai Feng said. “Instead, I’m going to tell you to drown your burned mouth in some wine.”

  Yu Di peered to the side of the grill and saw a large brown jug of wine with red paper still covering the mouth.

  “What’s the occasion?” he asked as he poked a hole into the paper. He took a large pull from the wine.

  Bai Feng smiled.

  “It’s because of the cultivation method you taught me. Do you know how long I have been stuck at this level for?”

  If Yu Di had to guess, based on her comprehension of cultivation, at least twenty three years. He shook his head in reply.

  “Almost thirty years.” Bai Feng laughed. “I have been using my own manual to cultivate for over thirty years and could not get over this bottleneck no matter how hard I tried. And then you come in with yours and I’m on the verge of breaking through.”

  Yu Di gritted his teeth and smiled afterwards. He had to be positive. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that the small little bottleneck of increasing levels was nothing compared to when she attempted to jump to the next realm.

  “That’s good,” he said.

  Bai Feng laughed heartily.

  Yu Di never heard her laugh like that before. It was so carefree and relaxed. Since he met her, she had been reserved, almost hiding like a small bug underneath a rotting log, trying not to be noticed or eaten. Now with just a small increase in her level she was soaring in the sky as the moth.

  “You don’t have to look at me like that,” Bai Feng said. “I already know what you’re thinking. I’ve said the same thing to my own students when they first started cultivating. This small level increase is nothing to what’s to come. But to finally increase my level after so long. That feeling is exquisite, like nothing else in the world.”

  Yu Di nodded. He absolutely understood. Aside from breaking his curse little by little and regaining a few levels of his own cultivation, very recently he experienced his singular breakthrough of his life. He had almost burned down a city and killed a goddess for the chance, but he found it in this backwards sect.

  Yu Di took a deep breath, steadying his mind.

  He knew that another advance would be impossible in this current lifetime. If he even lived long enough to watch his daughter become an adult, it would be enough for him. He didn’t dare dream of breaking through his new bottleneck to reach the realm of gods.

  “You also look better today,” Bai Feng said. She flipped the rest of the meat onto another plate. “It looks like your sickness is finally over.”

  “Yeah. I think so.” Yu Di took another bite from the roast pork. He took a deep breath in and cycled his Qi around his chest and lungs. This time, he made sure to only do a quick test so he didn’t black out.

  “Baba!” Yu Lin came barreling at Yu Di’s legs.

  At the last second, Yu Di swiveled to the side so his daughter smashed him in the hips instead of the middle of his legs. She was at the height and strength now to make him a eunuch if he wasn’t careful.

  “Good morning little Lin,” Yu Di said. He patted her head with his free hand. “Do you want to eat some breakfast?”

  Yu Lin smooshed her face into his leg and shook it.

  “Come on. You have to eat something.” Yu Di grabbed a smaller piece of roast pork and waved it in front of her face.

  “Baba, are you okay now?” Yu Lin asked.

  “Yes, I’m okay.”

  Yu Lin sobbed before turning into full blown crying.

  “Awww, what’s wrong little Lin?” Yu Di put down his slab of roast pork and squatted down. He hugged her to his chest.

  “Your daughter stayed with you for the last week, never leaving your side,” Bai Feng said. She had a large chicken wing in her hand. “She cleaned you and got you food and drink. She even helped you with the toilet.”

  “Oh my, you did?” Yu Di asked. He patted her on the head. “You are such a good girl.”

  “Don’t leave me, Baba,” Yu Lin said, her tears soaking into his robe.

  “Why would I leave you? You’re my cute, cute daughter. I’m not your mother.”

  “I was scared you were going to die.”

  Yu Di pulled Yu Lin off him, looking directly at her face.

  “Who told you about that?”

  Yu Lin sniffled.

  “Mother was hurt and uncle Yeung said she might die. She slept like you did for many weeks. He told me that she might not wake up again.”

  Yu Di hugged Yu Lin tight against his chest. He looked to Bai Feng who looked away at the grass. He sighed, a deep long sigh.

  This was not what he needed after getting over the first disease to infect his Immortal body after decades. Now after what felt like coming back from the dead, he had to console his daughter about him dying. This was going to turn into a long conversation and Yu Di wasn’t sure if he was ready for that yet.