Heavenly Shae

Shae waited in a cultivation testing room for the third time in just over two weeks. It looked like the same room that doctor Geish had used, and was the same one she had been tested in a week ago. It wasn't a doctor that had tested her, simply another student in training, a third year. She had been a little surprised at the time, yet once she learned the simplicity of the test her surprise vanished.

A formation similar to the one doctor Cho had set up in his clinic had been used to block off a small area. It was then filled with a specific quantity of qi, which Shae then drained away by cultivating. They repeated the test a few times, doubling the qi amount each time for accuracy. Then she was told she could leave, that an elder would review her results, and speak directly with her at a later date.

Today was that date.

Elder Haifen knocked lightly before letting herself in. "Little Shae. Nice to see you, even if it's later than expected."

"Hello, Elder Haifen. I'm glad to see you were the Elder chosen."

"Hmm, chosen? I'm not sure that's technically accurate. Would you like some tea?" She produced a steaming teapot with two cups from her spatial storage before Shae could respond.

"Ah, yes please."

Haifen smirked. "This is a unique blend that I'm working on. It's called heaven's judgment."

Shae's face contorted as her excitement instantly became worry. "Umm, that sounds like it will have qi in it. Is that safe for me?"

"Heh heh. You'll be fine. Everything has qi in it. Also, this isn't immortal cooking or alchemy." She waved some of the steam towards Shae. "What's it smell like?"

Her instincts had her pull away, then she froze and controlled her reaction before leaning in to smell. "Mmm! Oh! It's like fresh rain... With something extra in the air?"

"Yes...?" Haifen smirked again.

Shae picked up the teacup for a deeper sniff. "A bit of static in the air? Like a thunderstorm? Surprising to smell it so clearly."

"I'm also surprised you can smell it so clearly, most can't, though I suppose you should be able since it was made from your qi."

"What?" Shae stared in shock for a breath, jostling the teacup and almost spilling.

Haifen kept her smirk up and sipped from her own teacup. "I'm not sure about the flavor, though. More of an acquired taste."

Shae blinked at the woman. "Wait, you're Long's friend? The brewer? I thought he meant ale or wine."

"Heh, I am. And I have tried brewing those in the past: alcohol really doesn't work with qi. It's either too potent or it significantly dilutes the underlying intent." She shrugged.

"Huh." Shae blinked down at her teacup. "What about other fermenting? Like kombucha or yogurt? Pickles or kimchi- oh, what was it Nurse Joi had...?" She looked up above the Elder's head and stared at the far wall for a breath. "Gao-shu? It was a lot like kimchi."

"I'm sure you mean gochu, that is a lot more like immortal cooking. When done with spiritual ingredients, at least." She pointed at Shae's teacup.

"Oh, right." She lifted her cup again and took a careful sip, being sure to analyse the flavor. "Hmmm... Interesting."

"Yes?" Haifen leaned forwards.

Shae smacked her lips together, a considering expression stuck on her face. She took a larger sip, sloshing it around in her mouth, then swallowed and inhaled deeply. "It's awful."

Haifen deflated, dropping her head into one hand. "Ahhh, I knew it. I just couldn't admit it to myself. I think it's because of your interpretation of divine qi."

"My interpretation? You're blaming me? Why would that be a problem?"

"Because I used your qi. Of course it would affect the drink. Not always so strongly, yet it was always trying to change the other ingredients. Like when I added dew thistle- ah, no-no, I shouldn't say. Don't want to affect your opinion." She swept the entire tea set back into her spatial storage, then produced another. "It's still morning, so how about a nice black?"

Shae took a breath to catch up, then shrugged. "If you like it, I'll gladly trust your taste, Elder."

"Good choice." She nodded. "I would like to discuss tea and your qi more, just not today. We have real business to attend to." She casually set a rough handful of tea leaves brewing and then produced a clipboard and quill pen.

"Firstly, your cultivation speed results are within expected norms for a mid grade root. On the high end, if you really need to know, and that's likely because of your tempering. The attendant made a note that you wanted to demonstrate your own method?"

"Ah, yes." Shae nodded. "The amount of qi in the circle was a little low to really get rolling, and they told me not to do anything fancy. Yet I'm sure I can cultivate faster with the way I've practiced."

Haifen nodded along. "That's not particularly surprising, and I don't doubt you. Most people can improve on the basic method used for testing. However, can you guess why we still insist on that crude method?"

The young cultivator nodded. "Because it gives more consistent results, of course. That's why I didn't complain or argue to demonstrate it more."

"Good. Do you know why I still don't want to see your method?"

Shae paused with her mouth half open, then tilted her head. "Uh. Well, you just said anyone can improve on the basic method... So that, but I'd guess it's something else too..."

Haifen nodded and gestured for her to continue.

"I suppose you must see it as a waste of time? Which suggests the cultivation manual methods are significantly more effective." She hummed and scratched her hair while looking up at the ceiling. "And since you don't want to see my existing method to match something similar... Then the manual-directed methods must be very different, or very non-intuitive."

The elder nodded again. "Very well reasoned. There's one more good reason that you might not sort out without a fair bit of cynicism. We don't want to encourage a young cultivator's experimentation, nor validate their self-made method."

Shae frowned and looked down at the table.

Haifen waited for a breath before asking, "Hmm? I'm surprised you don't object?"

Shae shrugged. "I don't like it. It feels like snuffing out creativity, but I can see some reason for it. I assume it's a safety concern?"

"That is a large part of it, yes. Mostly it's because we want our students to follow instructions to the letter. They can't simply do what feels right, which is how most experimental methods come about. Many techniques and practices don't feel like they are working until they are done with exacting precision."

"Hmm." Shae hummed again. "But if you feel it out, you might get lesser results? Like a hill-climbing algorithm. -ah- sorry, that's- umm-"

Haifen tilted her head at the strange word, then nodded and raised a hand. "It's fine. The analyst department isn't unaware of that type of thing. Though, my own exposure to it is rather slight. Anyway, you have the right idea, Little Shae." She looked down at her notes again.

The young cultivator nodded and waited patiently. She found herself squirming with a bit of anxiousness and took a deep breath.

"So, what we like to do for cultivators that have already forged their own path is hand them a cultivation manual and see if they think their method compares to the given instructions. Here is the entry level manual for pure qi, since you have a similar base." From her spatial storage she produced a magazine sized booklet. Though it was narrower and bound together at the top instead of the side.

Shae accepted it with some confusion. She had seen the binding style before, yet it was mainly done for religious works. Especially those meant to be hung by the binding during a ceremony. She skimmed the title and flipped to the first page.

Complete Heavenly Purification

A Starting Guide.

...

To cast off corruption and impurity; to ascend above as a righteous being; to become one with qi and the Dao-

"You can read it over later, it's rather dense." The elder broke her out of it with words and quiet clunks as she stirred the tea with a wooden stick.

"Right. It does seem rather... elaborate? Do you have one with less... Uh, dogma?"

Haifen raised an eyebrow. "Really? You can't explain that with Imperial Standard?"

"Err, sorry. Someone said I should practice with meaning more, and you said it was fine earlier- so I thought-" Shae stammered a bit while making hand gestures.

"You seem much more nervous than your track record led me to believe. Is there some reason for it?"

"Ah." Shae made a pained face and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's just... well, if I can put it bluntly, Elder Haifen. I've been butting heads with most of the elders I've met, and I didn't want the same thing to happen with you. Especially since you're leading the classes for my first year."

Haifen stilled and just blinked across the table for a breath. "Hmm. Well, I feel somewhat flattered that you want to make a good impression. And somewhat concerned that you're having repeated trouble with other elders. I recall Shu mentioned the Mission Hall incident. Anything else you feel I should know about?"

"Uhm..." She rubbed her neck again. "If we don't count Master Long, since that was before I joined. Then it's just Elder Taoying. She was nice when we first met, and asked me to show up for training. Yet when I did, she- well, she kind of acted like a different person?"

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Haifen smirked. "Is that a question? Heh heh. It's fine, I understand. She's somewhat infamous for that kind of behaviour. Most think it's because she needs to rule with an iron fist during martial training."

"Most? What do you think, Elder?"

She smiled. "I think it's rude for one elder to comment on another's behavior. Heh heh. And yet, we do it anyway." She paused and poured their tea, using a handheld mesh strainer to stop the larger leaves from leaving the pot.

Shae watched the smaller flecks of leaves spin in her cup before lifting it for a drink alongside the elder.

"Ahhh~" Haifen exhaled. "Nothing like a strong black in the morning. Though, from your expression, you'd like some honey in it?"

Shae's grimace from the bitterness couldn't be hidden. "Uhm. Maybe. It is quite strong, and my young tongue hasn't developed enough to appreciate it. Perhaps some milk?"

Haifen shook her head slowly. "We don't generally have milk since it goes against the grain purification diet. Sweetness or spice?" She presented two tall containers that could only be sugar and ground cinnamon.

Shae twisted her mouth in indecision, resisting a full frown. She took another sip and her mouth pinched and twisted again. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "I've been trying not to develop a sweet tooth, and I think spice will just make it more overwhelming." She smacked her lips at the aftertaste and hummed. "Leave the sugar out, I'll see how far I can get without it."

"Heh heh. Much more restraint than most your physical age. Don't resist those physical urges too much, though. A growing body needs certain things, and sugar is certainly among them."

Shae felt a blush creep up her neck. She quickly turned to the side and coughed into her sleeve. "Of course, Elder."

"Heh heh." She paused. "About Elder Taoying: her behavior in the arena fits with what we expect from our martial trainers, for them to use a firm hand while training. Just as we expect certain things from our students, such as hard work and progress."

"Hmgh," Shae grunted. "Is this like the earlier cultivation thing? Getting students to follow along without question?"

"Hmm. Not entirely without question, that could cause problems. Yet you have the idea of it. Most students need at least one harsh lesson before they take instruction seriously and trust their elders."

Shae mouth twisted sideways again. "I guess my impulse to argue against that shows I don't fully trust yet."

"Full trust is much harder to come by. You always need to think for yourself and walk your own path, that is cultivation. However, we do find that lost souls have more difficulty trusting our instruction. Others that have had past masters fall into the same category."

"Hmm, like Brother Kensu?"

"The Monk boy? Yes, I suppose even monastery teachers could count as past masters."

Shae scrunched her face. "Uhm, I thought he said he had a master, he even said sensei, meaning teacher. His master might have been a lost soul, if he isn't."

"Really? You recognize that word from your past?"

Shae nodded.

"Interesting." Haifen leaned back in her chair and sipped her tea while staring above Shae. "Any other way they could have learned it?"

"Hmm. Yeah, of course. I'm not a scholar of that particular language, or even a speaker of it. Yet, I still know it, it's rather meaningful so has stuck in popular culture, and someone could have brought it over a long time ago. It's generally used for a master-disciple relationship."

"Ah. I can see how that would stick around. Even our own language lacks a specific term that doesn't overlap with other meanings like master does. Is there a similar term for the disciple?"

"Uhhh... I think so, yes... I want to say padawan but I'm very certain that's wrong. If I remember it I'll tell you."

"Good, thank you for the information. Anything else about your contact with Elder Taoying I should know, like why you were in conflict to begin with?" Haifen raised an eyebrow and her teacup before drinking deeply from it.

"Right. Yeah. I think her actions started as a scare tactic. She wanted to teach me a lesson for intervening at Gatewash. Fair enough, too, I could have easily been more injured than I was. Short version, I missed a few steps in the learning-my-lesson dance and she kind of insulted me. I then inferred that she didn't know exactly what happened." Shae stopped because Haifen had raised a finger.

"What made you think that? And how did she insult you?"

"I forget the exact wording, but the insult was that my interference was somehow wrong or not needed, misguided might have been the word she used. I know for a fact my actions were helpful, only Long can complain that I annoyed him."

"Master Long," Haifen intoned.

Shae cleared her throat into her sleeve. "Right, Master Long. I'm not sure what story he told, or what Elder Taoying read; I thought something was wrong when she started lecturing me about Domains. What they could do if I even touched one," Shae spoke mockingly and waved her hands theatrically before pausing to roll her eyes. "If Master Long reported it properly, she would know Domains affect me less than they should, I can just push them off."

Haifen blinked a few times, then took a deep breath and a sip of tea, at the same time. Her pained expression gave her away as she resisted coughing up the tea. She flourished a handkerchief and turned away from the table to hack loudly into it.

Shae blinked at the reaction, then thought over what she had said. "Umm, well, I'm sure a Domain powered attack would still be effective, or if someone forcefully directed the negative effects at me. It's just the area effect itself that I can hold away from myself. And it does take a fair bit of effort."

Haifen finished coughing and dismissed the handkerchief. "Well, I'm glad it's not as absurd as you first made it sound. Still, that is hard to believe. Even if Elder Taoying had read that she might have dismissed it as exaggeration. I admit I've read it myself and didn't properly consider what it meant."

Shae shrugged. "I suppose that's reasonable."

"And that incident was only with Master Long's domain, yes? That's not proof it would work for a spirit beast's. Additionally, older cultivators tend to have good control of their domains, Taoying might have understood it as Long holding back."

Shae frowned. "Hmm. I'm annoyed at how reasonable you make it sound. She was quite intent on pointing out that other cultivators would have to hold back to protect me."

Haifen nodded. "A reasonable lesson to learn."

"Uh, and I might have pointed out that Long definitely didn't hold back, considering what happened at the end."

Haifen's nodding stopped abruptly. Then she shrugged. "Well, that's not terrible. Holding back against an enemy is usually seen as dishonourable, so you might have been doing Long a favor by saying that."

"Huh."

"That's another lesson they usually need to teach new students. Holding back during a training duel doesn't help you or your opponent. It usually just leads to mistakes during a real duel."

Shae nodded slowly. "Okay, I think I follow. Wouldn't teachers need to hold back to safely train their students?"

Haifen wobbled a flat palm. "They try not to do that kind of training personally. Preferring to pair up students that are at similar skill levels. Why train one when it can be two? But yes, sometimes they do. There's a few unspoken rules to it, from what I understand. Such as that they should be a full stage higher, to ensure they have control over the practice."

Shae nodded along, then grimaced again when she drank her tea.

"Back to your exchange with Elder Taoying. Do you still feel she didn't get the full battle report?"

Shae looked up as she hummed in consideration. "Hmm, I'm less certain now. I would really like to know what report was given out, though. Not knowing what to say about it feels like walking on eggshells."

Haifen nodded and made a few notes with her quill pen. "I'll see if I can get you access. If it was restricted and altered you should have been notified, but Long's interpretation of events may have been skewed. Though, more likely it was Agent Apollo's involvement that complicated matters. How was your dispute with the elder resolved?"

"Oh, speaking of Apollo. Is there any way for me to contact her? I thought we got along well during the caravan trip."

Haifen's face flashed a pang of pity. "Ah, it's an unfortunate arrangement. Agents can't operate openly within the sect, and so you won't be allowed to see her or know her identity."

Shae nodded. "Yeah, she told me that. But can I send her a letter or anything? Maybe a dead drop?"

Haifen blinked in clear surprise. "Right, I always forget how much a lost soul might know already. No. Unless you arranged it with her beforehand, I can't set up a dead drop, or if I did, she wouldn't use it, too easy to watch and follow who picks it up."

"Ahh. Dang. Guess I should have talked to her about it during the trip."

Haifen shrugged. "Even if you had picked a spot, there's no guarantee she would have agreed, or used it more than once. They are rather cautious about that kind of thing, especially within the sect."

"Hmm. Yeah. I guess that's smart." Shae looked down into her teacup and fidgeted with it, spinning it slowly between her hands.

Haifen scratched out a few more notes. "So, Elder Taoying?"

"Ah. Right, sorry. Uhh, disagreement, domains... Oh, so she was trying to punish me and so I pointed out that I wasn't an official recruit at the time, and even then, if anyone should punish me it would be Master Long."

Haifen nodded. "Well reasoned, and you're correct, but I'm guessing she didn't back down."

"Sure didn't, didn't really dig in either, I think it was because we were in front of a few of her own disciples, or at least her martial juniors, not sure of the relationship there."

"Have they given you any trouble?"

"Uhh, not really. A dirty look or two, but I think I placated them by volunteering for extra training. Including whatever punishment Master Long wanted to pick out."

"Has he chosen anything?"

"No, I haven't even talked to him since our meeting with Researcher Colorful Koi." Shae shrugged.

"I suppose that's fine, he'll let one of us know if he settles on something. Now, circling back to why we're here." She presented another booklet to Shae. "This is a lightning cultivation manual that I'd like you to look over. It was created by a lost soul, so I expect you'll get along with it better than others. It also has a similar method to the pure manual, so you may be able to do both at once. Not right away, of course." She held up a finger and stared intently at Shae. "It's very important you master these separately before trying to alter them, otherwise you'll certainly hurt yourself and endanger your cultivation."

"Hmm. Alright." She glanced at the manual, then back at Haifen's hand, the one she was using to produce things from her spatial storage. A wide silver ring with small sapphires was on her thumb. "Is there also a divine manual; to make the set?"

Elder Haifen raised an eyebrow. "You think you need a divine manual so soon, Little Shae?"

"Uh. I suppose I'm not quite sure. It just felt like the next step."

"It's certainly a future step, but hardly the next one for you. Most cultivators don't even consider divine cultivation until they are golden core."

Shae nodded. "Because that's after their first tribulation, where they would have felt heavenly qi closely."

Haifen paused to sip her tea. "Yes, and also because it requires a very high level of comprehension to integrate it into their cultivation base. You've messed that up by jamming it in early, somehow. Even with your current understanding, shown by how well it integrates into your qi, I still don't recommend concerning yourself with divine cultivation. Would you like to guess why?"

Shae wrinkled her forehead and looked down at the two manuals in front of her, finally reading the title of the second.

The Basics of Lightning and Electricity

"Basics." She mumbled, and took a slow breath. "Oh!" Her eyes opened wide. "Because I don't have the basics. Even if I understand tribulation qi, I don't have a firm grasp of pure qi. And from what I've heard, lightning qi doesn't always behave like electricity."

"Correct. Thus, for the time being, you will need to take a few days to read those over and try them out. See if they are a good fit. Return here and set up another appointment when you think you have a solid first impression. We do have other manuals for those types, of course. So if you don't like one or both, please write out why, and how your interpretation differs. That should help us find you another." Haifen took a deep inhale of her tea. "Any questions?"

"Hmm. Should I try using them to cultivate?"

"If they seem like a good fit, yes. Though, there are a series of practices you should master before actually trying to cultivate or cleanse with these advanced techniques, and you should have someone present for the first time doing either. Preferably a doctor or someone with experience in the specific method. The attendant can arrange for someone since you likely won't have access to someone appropriate."

Shae nodded along while fidgeting with the manuals. She did want to dive into them immediately, especially the lightning manual. "Okay. Makes sense."

"Hmm." Haifen hummed and slurped the last of her tea. "I believe I have to get going soon, you have the room for another half hour, though I can book it longer if you want to get started right now?"

"Ah, that would be great, thank you Elder Haifen." Shae made another seated bow, then rushed to drink the rest of her own tea and hand the cup back as Haifen got up to leave.

"May fate be kind to your path, Little Shae."

"Hah, and may karma tip in your favor, Elder."