“Yes, Senior.”
“Then we will try to keep your requirements to the essentials.” Fa Yuan fell silent, her finger tapping on the teacup for a moment. Then she spoke while Wu Ying took mental notes.
Bonds. Familial. Bureaucratic. Social. Wu Ying mused about the topic as he went in search of his friends. Fairy Yang was correct. The bonds between individuals, between an individual and society at large, was what kept society running. When the obligations between commoner and noble, kingdom and society, between states themselves broke down, unrest, banditry, and war occurred.
It was in the interest of renewing the bonds between himself and others that Wu Ying took to the streets. The apothecary hall was missing Liu Tsong. And the training grounds showed no sign of Tou He. Wu Ying did not even bother looking for Li Yao, since he knew the young lady was in secluded cultivation. Disheartened, Wu Ying chose to make his way to Tou He’s residence to await his friend.
It was late evening when Wu Ying opened his eyes and stood from his seated cultivation, spotting Tou He across from him. The vague sense of his friend’s arrival had crept into his awareness as he cultivated, but it had taken Wu Ying tens of breaths to finally settle his chi.
“Were you looking for me?” Tou He said.
“No. Your house is nicer than mine,” Wu Ying said, flashing a smile.
“It is quite nice, isn’t it?” Tou He said.
Wu Ying aimed a quick kick at his friend, who laughed. Considering Wu Ying was seated cross-legged on his stool, the actual attempt was rather pitiful. “Have you heard of the expedition?”
“To capture the bai ze?” Tou He shook his head. “A bad idea. The bai ze are good fortune and wise. Capturing one to use for cultivation is bad karma. Very bad karma.”
“No, the other expedition,” Wu Ying said. Though Tou He’s comments did raise another question. How did his friend square the fact that much of the items at the higher levels required body parts from animals? After all, nevermind the fact that Buddhism in general required one to discard the longing for items, but the use of material from animals was bound to have some karmic debt to it. On the other hand, Tou He was a big meat eater, which was also anathema to the entire religion. A question for another time.
“Elder Li’s? She’s your herb teacher, isn’t she?” Tou He shrugged. “I know little of it.”
“Want to come?” Wu Ying said, offering his friend a half smile.
“Do they not need individuals at the Energy Gathering level?” Tou He said.
“You’re very close to it,” Wu Ying said. His friend was nearing the pinnacle of Body Cultivation 12.
“Close is not sufficient.”
Wu Ying sighed and stood heavily. “Sorry.”
“For what?”
“Asking. It’s not your fight,” Wu Ying said.
Tou He tilted his head, staring at his friend for a moment before he grinned. “As if I would let you go without me.”
“You hún dàn.” Wu Ying kicked more successfully at his friend this time.
Tou He chuckled even as he rubbed his thigh, waving the other hand. “So long as they have a place for me, I will come. We shall brave the wilderness together. Little use that we might be.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m going to be a lot of use. Harvesting.”
“Ah, right.” Tou He rubbed his bald head in thought. “Well. Dinner then?”
Whiplashed by the sudden comment, Wu Ying bobbed his head in agreement.
“Good. Then let’s eat and we can discuss what we’ll need.”
As Tou He left the greeting room, Wu Ying could not help but catch up and add, “Thank you.”
“No need.”
“Senior Lee,” Wu Ying said as he greeted his friend the next morning.
“I’m already coming,” Liu Tsong said. “You were going to ask about your Elder’s expedition, yes?”
“Yes, I was. I’m glad.”
“It’s not as if I have a choice. Elder Wei is part of the expedition and needs help bringing the materials.”
“Why is Elder Wei coming?”
“Do you not know? The Elders accompanying the expedition are all looking forward to the production of the Sagacious Amber Dew Pill. Elder Li has gathered all but the last piece, which is what the expedition is for. The pill helps release cultivation bottlenecks in the Core formation stage. To increase efficacy of the pill, Elder Wei intends to produce it the moment Elder Li harvests it.”
“I’ll be glad to have you there.”
“I’m not.” Wu Ying frowned, and Liu Tsong shook her head. “You’re too low in cultivation. If it was not for the fact that Elder Li no longer has competent help, I would never recommend you going. The untamed spirit lands are too dangerous.”
Wu Ying bristled at his friend’s words. Unlike Liu Tsong, he at least consistently trained his martial arts. The sole reason she was stronger than him was her cultivation. In terms of pure martial arts, he was better than her, he was certain. But… “Thank you for your consideration.”
“Har! Don’t pout.” Liu Tsong smiled. “Come, try one of these tea cookies. My servant managed to acquire some from Yu county.”
Pushing aside his irritation, Wu Ying took one of the proffered cookies. Her concern was well-intentioned. As he bit into the surprisingly chewy cookie, Wu Ying made note that if he was going, he really did need to tell Ru Ping directly.
The armory, unlike many of the other buildings in the sect, was made of carved stone instead of wood. The grey stone of the armory was carved with numerous glyphs and sigils for the formation ritual which reinforced the armory’s walls. Along the red roof of the armory, additional glyphs and carved spirit animal guardians could be seen, some so lifelike Wu Ying would almost swear they watched him as he neared the building.
The armory sat in the middle of the sect’s properties, abutting the slope of the mountain. Few members of the sect visited, as even entering the building cost a minimum of a hundred contribution points. That ensured the traffic to the building was minimized and increased the overall security of the building. Many sect members waited and consolidated their contribution points before they entered the carved stone hallways.
After Wu Ying had informed Ru Ping of his decision and purchased all the necessary mundane equipment, at Fairy Yang’s recommendation, he took a visit to the armory to seek out appropriate equipment.
“Long Wu Ying?” Elder Wen said. The Elder, matronly and stern with light brown hair, walked out from her office. As she came up to Wu Ying, she stared up from under Wu Ying’s collarbone. She took the cultivator’s sect token, her nimble fingers turning the sect token over and over. At Wu Ying’s acknowledgement and bow, Elder Wen smiled. “Elder Li and Elder Yang mentioned you might be visiting.”
Wu Ying blanched. “Did they?”
“It is a good thing, young man,” Elder Wen said, lips curling up in amusement. “Many in the sect strive for years and never receive even a trace of acknowledgement. And here you have gained the attention of numerous Elders.”
Wu Ying scratched his head, somewhat bemused by Elder Wen’s assertion. Considering half the interest he had created was from Elders who were not favorably disposed to him, Wu Ying had to disagree with her assertion of the favorability of that attention.
“Now, what are you looking for?” Elder Wen said.
“I was hoping the Elder could provide her advice,” Wu Ying said. “This is my first expedition…”
“Advice?” Elder Wen paused as she considered. “Very well. Let us see what you have.”
Elder Wen walked over to a nearby table, gesturing for Wu Ying to follow. In short order, Wu Ying had the contents of his storage ring on display. Not that there was much—other than the jian he carried on his hip, there was another mortal-level jian, a dao, and his crossbow to show the Elder.
“Nothing else?”
“Nothing of note but my manuals, Elder Wen,” Wu Ying said.