Beware Of Chicken

Upon witnessing the destruction wrought upon the fair town the cultivators of the Azure Hills, being of high virtue despite their low ability, did descend upon it. Not with blades and techniques, but with mason’s hammers and carpenter’s saws.

They set themselves the task of making whole what was broken.

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Bai Huizong, Lord Director of Spiritual Ascension Affairs, sighed heavily. It was himself, and his two most trusted employees.

“Are you alright, sir?” he heard his top aide, Hu, ask as he placed a drink in Huizong’s outstretched hand. Huizong had his feet up in a chair as Cho massaged his shoulders. A damp cloth lay across his face, soothing his headache and preventing him from seeing the mess that was his desk. So much damn paperwork.

“I’ll live. Lower, my dear, lower—oh” the fingers moved and Huizong sighed with relief. “That's the ticket.” He heard the snort of amusement from the woman.

Huizong took a deep quaff of the wine and sighed in satisfaction.

The day had started out well enough. A talk with his suppliers, organizing his aides, and commanding the staff of the mountain. Paperwork was last. He had sent out the usual polite request to the cultivators to be informed about what had happened, as a representative of His Imperial Majesty, fully expecting to be ignored.

He was entirely surprised when he got a message back with an apology for not speaking with him sooner.

That… that didn’t happen. Huizong held the title of Director, true, but it was just that. A title. A grand one for a man who organized tournaments. He had as much power as the Sects let him have. And those that overstepped their power… well, they weren’t Lord Director for long.

His aide and the master of the workshop stayed silent as they waited for him to gather his thoughts.

“Things… well, things need a reevaluation, to say the least. That new cultivator? The rumours were true. Master Rou is in charge now. He led the procession in, took command of it. Then he explained what was going on with the rebuilding and assured me that I wouldn’t have to pay for any of it.”

Hu hummed. “I know he managed to conscript the disciples into helping with the town… but how deferential were the other Elders?”

“Elder Xinling brought a guzheng along. And played it for him as we took tea,” Huizong said wryly. He felt the fingers on his shoulders pause.

“Didn’t she stab Elder Gang for asking for her to play for him, saying it wasn’t for his crude ears?” Cho asked from behind his chair.

“Yes. And she wasn’t wearing her veil.” Huizong shook his head. “Well, if she wanted him to look, Master Rou didn’t care. He complimented her playing and then poured me tea… after Elder Daxian poured him tea.” Huizong grunted. He sat up in his chair, pulling the cloth from his eyes and focused on Hu. “Anything on him?”

Hu shook his head immediately. “No, sir. The information brokers refuse to divulge anything on him. Not even when I offered ten times the usual rates. They just kept saying they didn’t know, and it was probably a good idea to stop asking.”

Huizong grimaced. Those Plum Blossom bastards had run everybody else out of town, or taken them over. They were incredibly skilled, and their prices were great compared to the mess before. To have them suddenly go silent was concerning.

“The Azure Jade Trading Company?”

“We only got a message from Lady Daiyu saying things can proceed. If we agree to Master Jin’s terms.”

“She calls him Master Jin? Not Master Rou?” Huizong asked as he took a swig of wine, before handing it off to Cho. There was a glug, glug, glug sound as the woman standing behind him took a seat and drained the bottle.

“Yes, sir. She said he was a very important customer.”

Huizong grunted and grabbed the new bottle Hu passed him, considering the outcomes. Shake ups to the hierarchy were normally chaotic. But this cultivator seemed determined to minimize the chaos. And he had politely requested that his name be omitted from any report, but understood if Huizong had to talk to the authorities.

Huizong wasn’t stupid. If the information brokers wanted to keep mum about the man, Huizong certainly wasn’t saying anything. “Well, I’ll say this about him. He works fast, and for that, I salute him.”

Or rather, he planned to stay far out of his way, and reap the rewards as he always did with cultivators. Like applying for emergency funds due to cultivator damage from Grass Sea City.

The Shrouded Mountain Sect was going to be paying for everything… But the officials in the city didn’t know that. The trick to embezzling was always to have some deniability.

And besides. His employees' bonuses had to come from somewhere. Better somebody else’s pockets than his.

“On to the next subject. The catacombs. Did you get anything from Bao Wen, Hu?” Huizong asked Hu. The man nodded, pausing as he was getting out an inkstone.

“Bao Wen was reluctant... but I managed to persuade him.” Hu said simply. “The boy can’t hold his drink. Though it is another matter that I would advise discretion on. Bao Wen says there's an entire archive down there. A complete archive on the mountain and the Earthly Arena… and how to repair it.”

Huizong froze.

“They can repair the floating mechanisms?” he asked.

“Bao Wen thought so, as did the Elders.”

If they could repair the Dueling Peaks to their former glory, instead of this degraded wreck…

Huizong grinned. He could feel the silver coins clinking already.

“Well, now that is some good news,” he said lightly. “Excellent work, you two. This… well, it's turning out much better than I expected.”

“No cultivator war?” Cho asked, making sure.

“No cultivator war,” Huizong said. “Or at least I don't think there's going to be one today.”

“Thank the Heavens for that,” Hu muttered before shaking his head. “I’ll do the rounds and collect all the reports, sir. Your brush is ready for the report you have to send.”

“What would I do without you, Hu?” Huizong asked with a chuckle.

“Flounder helplessly?” the man replied cheekily without any bite, setting off to do as commanded.

Cho sighed and got up too, starting to walk away. He gave her shapely rear a swat and the woman yelped, glaring at him.

Then she reached out and stole his last two bottles of wine. Fair trade. He chuckled and turned to his parchment.

Just what to pen to his superiors though…? And how? He’d toe the line with the drunken brawl story. He wasn’t stupid enough to air the Shrouded Mountain Sect’s dirty laundry. Eventually, Huizong shrugged and simply wrote down what he thought would fly. Drunken brawl, town repaired, old vaults found, no danger to the mountain. Requesting additional supplies. Keep it as simple and dry as possible.

Heavens knows that being at the epicenter of these events didn’t make anything less confusing.

There. Sounded perfect. If significantly more polite and flattering in the courtly characters they used. It’d probably just be filed away like all the others, never seeing the light of day again.

He rang a small gong next to his desk, and a junior aide entered. He handed the letter off to the boy, then turned his attention to Master Rou’s request for a feast to celebrate the reconstruction effort. It was a good idea, if he was being honest.

Imagine that. A cultivator with a good, practical idea.

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The cultivators took to the crafts of the mortals with great speed and skill, never faltering for a moment. This humble traveller was amazed to see what would have taken mere mortals years to correct, the cultivators finished in three days.

The rubble was cleared in hours. The necessary supplies procured out of their own coin purses; for it was commanded by one of the Elders that the common folk should not have to pay for their suffering.

Guo Daxian of the Grand Ravine did weave ropes in the style of the ravine tribes; Chen Yang of the Framed Sun Sect did craft new signs, his calligraphy enticing all that witnessed it; Tie Delun of the Hermetic Iron Sect did craft paving stones for the road, strong and enduring as iron; all that the cultivators touched was elevated by the touch of those striving for the heavens.

Indeed, each sect competed to lay claim to which among their number was the most adroit at rebuilding. The Grand Ravine Sect in the end proved the champion, followed by the Framed Sun Sect—though there were arguments from the Rumbling Earth Sect that their repairing of the roadworks should have been valued more highly…

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If anybody had told Cai Xi Kong he would be sitting down for tea with a rooster, he would have considered them mad. If they had said the rooster might be able to match him in battle… Xi Kong would have been forced to insure the one who uttered that grave insult never spoke again.

Now, he was looking across the table at a Spirit Beast well into the Profound realm. The rooster was the pinnacle of his kind. A creature out of an idealized painting. Each feather looked impossibly soft, yet chiseled from stone. His wattle and comb had not a single defect nor blemish. His beak and spurs shone in the light, like they had been freshly polished.

And he had just finished tying a cloth around his neck, and settled in on the cushions stacked high so he could reach the table.

“Fa Bi De pays his respects to Cai Xi Kong,” the rooster intoned, sweeping into an elegant and regal bow. His fox fur vest was resplendent in the light of the sun. A necklace glinted with silver light, hanging down to the rooster’s breast. Intelligence and refinement shone from the Spirit Beast’s eyes.

“Cai Xi Kong pays his respects to Fa Bi De,” Xi Kong returned. He poured tea from the pot between them. They were together on the balcony of a teahouse that overlooked the town. He had wished to speak with the creature about Xiulan, and her time spent at “Fa Ram.” It was necessary for Xi Kong to take measure of the expert tied to his daughter. Master Jin was a mystery. Opaque. Xi Cong could not understand the man.

And so he had sought out the one who claimed to be his first disciple. The rooster, Fa Bi De.

It was a Spirit Beast. Surely, it could be outwitted, and lead into revealing what Xi Cong sought. “I thank you for your time. Your Master is busy, and I would not bother him with the mere concerns of a father.”

The rooster cocked his head to the side, examining Xi Kong. “The Great Master is not one to be bothered over such questions. Nay, I would dare say my Lord welcomes them. He enjoys such conversations,” the rooster immediately replied. He bent his head down, and sipped his tea with impeccable manners.

The rooster’s words were light, but Xi Kong took a sip of his tea considering the implications.

Perhaps Xi Kong had been arrogant, but he had never met a Spirit Beast willing to sit down and talk. Those that could speak either just raged… or were horribly arrogant creatures sounding remarkably like some of the Young Masters Xi Kong knew. They were full of entitled arrogance. They thought the destruction they wrought was not just good, but right.

Still, he had some caution to him. In addition to the fact that the rooster was dear to Master Rou, he knew of Ri Zu the healer, who was, according to Liu Xianghua, beyond compare.

Xi Kong hummed, and decided upon bluntness. “Indeed. Master Rou is a man of virtue, and I dare not cast doubt upon his name. However… I would hear it not from the Master nor the student, but one… not as embroiled. One sees more of the mountain from an adjacent hill, no?”

The rooster considered Xi Kong for a moment, to his surprise it felt as if a seasoned warrior was taking his measure, before nodding.

“That is indeed a good point, Elder Xi Kong. What do you wish to know?” the rooster asked.

“Your thoughts upon her growth,” Xi Kong began.

“Her growth, hm?” the rooster asked. Xi Kong raised his own cup to take a sip of tea.

“She was suffering greatly when she returned to us,” the rooster stated, slowly.

Xi Kong froze, his cup halfway to his lips. Suffering greatly?

“Her sleep was disturbed. Her concentration wavered. It was my understanding that for several months she had struggled with the deaths of the soldiers she commanded,” the rooster continued. “Their faces haunted her memories, and her battle with Sun Ken and the pressures placed upon her contributed.”

His daughter hadn’t spoken a word of it to him. But… wasn’t that the way? Who among them would admit any sort of weakness? Xi Kong grimaced.

“She was aided in this… tribulation of the heart?” Xi Kong asked.

“She overcame it. With the aid of the Healing Sage and the Great Master, she was guided to recover. I believe her time within Fa Ram helped her make peace with the past.”

“You face the heavens alone,” his father said, after striking Xi Kong across the face.

That was the last day any tears had come from his eyes.

“She received aid, and in return has aided us greatly. This is one of the pillars of my Master’s knowledge. One who cheats the earth shall be cheated by it. One who gives to the earth, shall surely be rewarded.”

It sounded so simple, despite coming out of a rooster’s mouth. Give and receive.

“And after…?”

“Afterwards, she was honored to be trained personally by the Great Master,” the rooster stated simply. “Along with myself and Tigu.”

“What manner of training does your Master command?” Xi Kong was intrigued by the man’s methods. To raise even a rooster up so high must require great feats and meditation.

Bi De nodded, and told Xi Kong of the activities Xiulan partook in.

Looking after mortal children. Throwing balls of mud at her. Cooking, with ten levitating knives.

Individually, they sounded like childish games.

And yet… the control of her blades was exemplary. Her reactions and speed were enough that Xi Kong could not state with full confidence that he could win a battle against his own daughter if she had not been injured.

Xi Kong looked away from the rooster to gaze down to the square. His eyes found his daughter. She was speaking with Guo Daxian the Younger, who was nodding his head in agreement. His daughter was smiling. Xi Kong had kept an eye on his still healing daughter. He had watched as she approached the other Young Masters and Mistresses, joining in on their work, and speaking to them. He had not stooped to eavesdropping…yet. Whatever was said seemed to have positive reception from most of them.

She was undiminished, confident. Her head was held high. It was… quite different from the girl he remembered. Before coming back from Fa Ram, his daughter had been closed off, standoffish. A mask in place between herself and the world at large. A tool to keep the unwanted away. It insulated her from danger and isolated her from everyone in turn. Xi Kong could not blame her for that choice. He never could. The looks and words she had received even at twelve had been appalling. Xi Kong had slain one man over it, a man who he thought was a friend.

And yet here she was. Willingly engaging with others, taking charge, being…open.

She was making and securing alliances, instead of just being his obedient daughter. A single year had changed her so much.

He turned away from the scene below, back to the rooster. Bi De’s talon shot out, cutting a pastry into bite-sized pieces. He then wiped the digit on a provided napkin.

Xi Kong leaned back in his chair, looking to the rooster. “Tell me, Bi De. Where do most of your contemplations lie? I, as my daughter, have contemplated deeply on the mysteries of a simple blade of grass.”

The rooster perked up. “The majority of mine meditations are spent upon the glory of the moon, and its holy luster.”

“The moon? Truly?” Xi Kong asked.

“Indeed. The holy Aegis is the most perfect celestial object—”

The rooster was suddenly cut off by loud obnoxious humming. Xi Kong glanced down at the street again, where the young disciple Gou Ren was entirely too cheerfully stacking bricks, a massive, idiotic smile on his face that Xi Kong could see from there.

Xi Kong raised an eyebrow. “Your Junior Disciple is certainly in a fine mood,” Xi Kong observed.

“Ah. He disappeared for a few hours last night with Liu Xianghua,” the rooster decreed, with a knowing gleam in the Spirit Beast’s eyes. “They’ve both been like that all day.”

Oh my, Xi Kong thought.

That girl was entirely too rebellious. One should be wed before such things happen. But the passion of youth oft raged uncontained. And the daughter of his ally could have certainly picked a worse candidate.

The boy was going to be there for a while, though…

Xi Kong ordered the check. “Will you walk with me, Fa Bi De? I would continue our discussion, and would appreciate a change of scenery.”

They spoke at great length about the grass, and the moon above. It was a surprisingly enlightening conversation.

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For three days and three nights the cultivators toiled. The roads became pristine. The houses of the mortals looked as palaces.

On the third day, the streets were swept for the last time, the one known as Master Rou proclaimed their duty finished, to the clamour of the crowds.

Thus was the town around the dueling peaks returned to glory.

Master Rou commanded that a feast be made; and so, according to his will it was. He honoured both the mortals, and all who reconstructed the town around the Dueling Peaks.

All those who knew how to cook were seconded into his service. From the victor of the tournament, The Demon Slaying Orchid, to his own disciples. From the Demon Slaying Orchid sprung forth thirty two knives, each one wielded with elegance and grace.

Rou Tigu, the second place in the tournament, and her pet, a monkey of some manner that had fur of gold and a face as blue as the frosts, attended to the tables. She served mortals and cultivators alike without reservation.

The Lord Director and the Azure Jade Trading company both added their considerable wealth to the festivities.

An accounting of the feast is as follows: three thousand baskets of Pork Baozi. Two thousand servings of Dandanmian. Some three thousand fish and ten thousand pots of rice…

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Xiulan sat with her father in the tea room. The scent of tea was heavy in the air. There were noises of amusement from the guest house. Her father seemed… unsettled. He was silent, deep in thought, so Xiulan let him think. It was good to have a moment to gather one’s thoughts, especially after such a feast, and it was nice to once more have tea with the honoured father. He had arranged some lotus mooncakes. Both of their favourites.

“You’ve been speaking at great length to the other Young Masters and Mistresses, daughter,” Xiulan’s father observed quietly, finally breaking the silence.

“Yes, Father. I have,” she stated. Internally she sighed. Xiulan wasn’t sure she was prepared to speak to her father of her plans for the future. It was all… tentative. Approaching all the others, weakened as she was, had been a gamble. But in their minds, she was still the woman who had slain Sun Ken, and fought against the Shrouded Mountain Sect. The respect was there. It had earned her enough credit to be heard. Tigu had volunteered to come with her, when she had told the girl of her intentions; it had heightened her legitimacy.

So when she had spoken to them of the possibility of a summit of the Younger Generation, most were receptive to it.

A step forward. A step towards her own path.

Her father studied her, but he did not immediately press for answers on why she was meeting with the others, like Elder Yi. Instead, there was simply trust.

“I see… well, enough about that. What are your plans for the future? Though your strength may be diminished for now, if you are certain it will return, you may still be made an Elder,” he ventured.

Xiulan pondered it. It ought to have been an honour. She had earned it. But… Xiulan didn’t feel quite ready to take the title. To take that step. She had things she wanted to do, and being an Elder… the responsibilities would hinder that. Xiulan was not ready to settle quite yet.

“With my injury, I cannot accept the title of Elder at the moment,” Xiulan stated. “With your permission, father, I would rest and recover my strength for a few months before returning—and then, I will depart upon my Dao,” she said with conviction.

Her father’s gaze was intent for a moment, before he sighed, seeming almost sad. “He has truly helped you greatly,” he said quietly. “This man… who is he to you?”

Xiulan smiled at the question. Hidden Master. Strange farmer. Younger than her. A good friend.

“He is… Jin.”

Her father met her words with silence. He took a breath at the look on her face, and sighed. “Very well. You have my permission, and my blessing,” her father said, bowing his head.

Xiulan bowed deeply in return. “Thank you, father.”

She would stay several months, if they would have her. She did want to see that dance Bi De talked about. Perhaps… to the new year? Yes. To the new year. And then… in the spring, she would set off again—

“Though I would request an invitation to the wedding,” her father said.

It took her a moment to process her father’s words. Xiulan jerked her head up, her eyes going wide. She gaped at her father, her face burned red with embarrassment.

“Ah, wha—?! No, father, there will not be a wedding!” Xiulan spluttered.

Her father’s face fell. “No marriage? I see. Unfortunate…” her father said, a seemingly troubled look on his face. “Will I meet the children of your union?”

Xiulan felt like Zang Li had lit her face on fire all over again.

“Father, no, our relationship is not like that! We are not… He is my sworn brother!” she insisted. Her father raised an eyebrow, and she could not tell whether he was teasing her or not.

“Hmmm. Pity.”

“Father!”

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Thus, the feast and the rebuilding ended. This traveller began his next path, heading to Yellow Rock Plateau—

“That's bullshit,” a man said, as he threw down the scroll in disbelief.

“What?!” Tao the Traveller demanded.

“It's bullshit. What kind of cultivator cooks mortals food? I think you were drinking too deep, Tao.”

“Tall-tale-Tao,” another man in the pub heckled.

“You bastards! When have I ever told a lie?!” Tao demanded.

Tao told nothing but the truth! It may sound fantastical, but that was why he wrote it! Honestly! Who could make what happened up?!