The morning after our little impromptu cultivation session was a quiet affair. All the cultivators sent to investigate Toyo village sat around and ate breakfast. The Chens laid out a good smorgasbord for breakfast that comprised rice, eggs, various smoked and salted meats and some soup. Then there was of course the tea, which I admit, had grown on me since I’ve been here. It was almost the only thing to drink sometimes, so I had to learn to adapt.
The chef, Jin, seemed to have the innate ability to imbue the food he cooked with his power. When I first ate it, Hisai explained it was a new thing in the world and could only really be explained that it was part of Jin’s path. The man was truly doing what he was meant to do and found his place in the universe and where he belonged.
It was really just further proof of what Hisai had told me, that he and the Moon Lotus Pavilion believed there was more than spiritual strength to immortality and true power. You couldn’t just brute strength your way to the Heavens. I also knew in the stories they had body cultivation, but no one had said anything about it here in this world, so I never brought it up.
The day before when I had brought it up during one of our meals when the cultivators theorized their way into immortality and why no one had achieved it yet. Or well, supposedly no one. There were rumors and myths that such-and-such, or maybe even Advisor Zhao, had reached it, but none of them were based on any sort of facts. Before I could get the entire sentence out, Hisai had spilled his tea in my lap and caused a commotion to stop the conversation.
Today, no one broke out in a group discussion instead electing to mumble amongst themselves or to just stay quiet. Moritoshi seemed especially miserable during breakfast and wouldn’t stop glaring at me. Hisai was as chipper as always though, and me and Niku just spoke quietly together.
“You slept alright after going out with Hisai?” She asked me.
I nodded and ate a bit of rice. “I did. There is something about him that offers a calming presence.”
She nodded. “Yes, it is part of his path. Part of the sect’s path he comes from. They strive for inner peace and solitude. That tends to radiate to others around him.”
I nodded my head and remembered what he told me about his sect the night before. “Yeah, he told me, and it makes sense. Back home, he reminds me of someone who might have been Buddhist.”
She frowned and narrowed her eyes at me. “Buddhist?”
I gave her a grin and a sheepish shrug in response. “Just a group of people who believe in peace. Anyway, I’m sorry for waking you up last night.
Moritoshi scoffed.
Niku smiled and shook her head. “It is no worries. I think if you had an element, it would help. Help defend you from the lingering presence of whatever attacked this village.”
This seemed to draw the attention of some of the other people at the table and they all looked at myself and Niku. No one said anything. They all thought it was beyond strange that I didn’t have an element, but was as powerful as I was.
“If you have a lightning cored spirit beast, and believe you’re on a path of transportation, then I believe wind would be a good element,” a cultivator from the odd Moon Lotus Pavilion offered. His name was Taimei, and I ignored the slight ridiculousness in his voice when he spoke of my path.
The man wore inner robes that were a silver color, while the outer was a deep plum and had trim that matched their inner garment. He had bright green eyes and I could see the hair on the top of his head had been thinning. The cultivator still had the common topknot worn by most of the people, though, and he was probably the only cultivator I’ve seen with a bit of a gut.
I took a bite of some of the rice the Chens had served us and eyed him thoughtfully. The Chens were a husband and wife duo who roamed the continent in what amounted to a medieval food truck. I was honestly impressed. The wife, Mei, also apparently sold enchanted items and rarer cultivating aids.
We all sat around a long table, which was really a few smaller tables the Chens had thrown together and put a tablecloth over. There were about a dozen people sitting here representing a few of the sects on the continent. Thankfully, I had been seated between Niku and Hisai, but only after Moritoshi tried to break us up and sit in between us.
“Wind? I don’t know,” I replied. Honestly, it sounded kind of lame. Although, I thought back to the dream I had with the skeleton who claimed he was a god. Soga told me the wind god in this world was a skeleton. I may also use one of the path manuals from my collection of audiobooks turned manuals.
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“That might be good, then if you got a partner who was a water cultivator, you could bring a storm to your enemies from your wagon,” Fang Min offered. He was the representative of the Iron Claw sect. One of the two sects based in the Song region. He wore robes of red and orange with black trim and wore his hair short and spiked. He was very much a stereotypical hot head, and I wondered if everyone from that particular sect was like that.
Everyone else smirked and gave little chuckles around the table. Moritoshi scoffed. Everyone had noticed Niku, and I spent time together, and she was a water cultivator. Niku, however, blushed and lowered her head. I frowned when I noticed her reaction and looked back at Fang Min.
The fire cultivator seemed oblivious to what he had implied. I smirked and shook my head, understanding that he probably was. He was just thinking of using the trio of elements as good tactics. Honestly, the idea was growing on me. When I looked around the table at the various reactions, there was only one person who didn’t seem to find it amusing.
She was a cultivator from the sect at the top of the mountain range the village was nestled into. She was what the xianxia books I listened to called a fairy, in every sense of the word. Kio was beautiful and was probably the one cultivator I really couldn’t tell their age. Flawless skin, almond eyes, and perfectly placed jet black hair that she held in a ponytail behind her head. The cultivator wore deep emerald and black robes and everyone else seemed to recognize her as someone that was more important.
“One thing we believe is that the universe likes synergy. Everything has its place, and you do share a link with your ox. It’s what the mages in the west would call your familiar from the seems of things. It would make sense if you had an element that worked with lightning,” Hisai offered and put his chopsticks down. He folded his hands under his chin in thought.
“The joke about Niku aside, Fang Min, is correct. Wind would work quite well for you I think. What travels more than the wind?” Hisai continued.
Fang Min seemed insulted. “I wasn’t joking about Niku. I was being serious about the storm they could create if he found a water cultivator to ride with him.”
Hisai smiled and inclined his head in submission to the serious cultivator. “Yes, of course, my friend.”
“You’ve gotten this far in life without an element. Take your time and think it over. Only you can decide on your path,” Taimei said and smiled.
I nodded and took a drink of the tea they put out at breakfast as I thought it over. It did make sense. Even the part of how the universe liked synergy. Something about that statement rang true for me mentally.
“So, how is everything? Is there anything else I can get for any of you?”
A voice came and brought me from my thoughts. I looked up and smiled at Mei, and raised my teacup at her. A cultivator without ties to any single sect, she wore cream and brown robes that matched those of her husband. She had brown hair pulled back in a tight bun and green eyes that had flecks of blue and brown in them. She was also short and; I don’t know how to say it without sounding rude but…. Sturdy?
Everyone around the table gave their thanks for the meal and she gave us all a smile and a soft bow. “Good, good. Thank you. I will tell my husband Jin that he doesn’t need to cook anything else. He’s been waiting, ready to make whatever you may require.”
I looked over the remnants of the breakfast they had prepared. Most of the platters wound up in front of Taimei. The man did his sect proud and lived life to excess. He truly seemed to have a love for not only food, but everything. The moans he gave while he ate made Niku blush and caused Kio the fairy to glower at the man.
While she spoke, I turned and looked over at my old wagon that was much too long to navigate some of the smaller city roads. I had sold it to the Chens in order to help pay for the new wagon train from Hisai and The Cove Garden Retreat. They had seemed to move into it quickly and made it their own. Jin immediately had loved how much more spacious it was and that now he’d be able to get some piece of kitchen equipment he had wanted for a long time but never had room for.
The rotund man was wiping at his forehead while he worked on cleaning up his workstation in the wagon. The pair had quickly cut out a hole they could open and close and use as a service window. They replaced the once canvas roof I had over the wagon bed with something that was pure wood. When they opened the window, it gave both a covering and a table for Mei to grab the dishes and serve them as Jin cooked them.
“Alright then, let’s get on with the day, shall we? Maikeru, I believe by the end of the day you shall get a new job. We aren’t that much closer to figuring out what happened, and the Emperor had sent a word saying he’d like his advisors to look over some of the odd goo samples we had collected. I don’t think there’s anyone better to take it to the capital than you,” Hisai said with a soft smile.
I grimaced, thinking about my last time in the capital, Yoshino. Although, I might be able to meet the yokozuna once more. I frowned and realized the sumo tournament might still be going on. How long had it been? A week or two? Hm, maybe it would be over and they’d be back home by the time I had gotten back to Yoshino.
Finally, I smiled and looked at Hisai, giving him a nod. “I’d be happy to.”
“I believe a caravan is supposed to be heading north as well. They usually stop at my sect on their way to the north. You can join them if you’d like,” Kio said from her corner of the table. She looked as impassive as always as she played her role as the quiet, passive beauty.
“Excellent, how wonderful. If you can arrange it, it would probably be good for the company,” Hisai said.
This might be the one time I had actually agreed to go with the company. There was growing unrest in the empire and the fact that I hadn’t quite gotten over the ominous feeling I felt while in this village. I closed my eyes and tried to push the dark feeling it gave me.
I'm running a for the Sci-Fi Novella I wrote titled "" to help pay for editing so I can fully publish it.
For a cover for Vol 1 "Driven to a New World" which cover do you like better?
