Stormy Mountain Sect Chapter 16

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

So I just uploaded the final version of Homecoming to Amazon, and it releases on Friday. Like my previous releases, it won't be on KU for at least a month, probably going in on May 1, so it'll stay up here for a while. Tomorrow I'm going to finish up the Epub and PDF versions so I can post them here. Also, I put book 8 up for pre-order as a test to see if longer one's work better for driving interest than shorter ones. You can find it at https://amzn.to/3JtbM1M if you want to preorder it. Current goal is to get it published by August, but probably September is more likely. 

Here we meet Elder Yao, who will give Librarian Narwan a run for his money at being a cantankerous old fart! Enjoy

*** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***

Ten minutes before the seventh bell, I found myself walking briskly up the opposite path from the Training Field. I’d had to go by the administration building to get a pass, letting me through a manned gate that was just out of sight of the turn. After the gate was the Outer Sect Elder’s residences.

Each one was unique, a riot of colors and designs that ranged from a dark red painted home just a bit smaller than my domicile to a four story tower that got larger as it went up. I had no idea how it managed to not collapse, but it gave off a feeling of immutability, so I just chalked it up to “Qi is weird” and moved on.

The directions brought me to a comparatively small building, a four room house by the windows on the side I could see. Behind the house, though, was the largest yard of any home I’d seen yet, at least an acre of cultivated land brimming with life. I took a deep breath, immediately letting myself see Qi, and gasped at the density of Growth, Wood, Water, and other light green and blue Qi’s I’d never seen before. My gasp disrupted my sight, and it faded. The largest benefit I’d taken from the Physical Cultivation, so far at least, was the ability I’d just used.

“Well boy, hurry up!” An older woman commanded me. “Are you going to stand and gawk or are you here to work? I have had to do all of the weeding by myself for these past six months, and I do not have time for it.”

“Outer Elder Yao?” I asked, turning to find a diminutive older woman and bowing low. She was only four feet, ten inches all, with a mane of scraggly white hair and wrinkles dominating her face. Her thin eyes lifted at the outside, giving her a fox-like look. They were a deep brown, and the intelligence and power within them shown through.

“Yes boy,” she said with a growl. “Good, you show manners. Follow me.” The pass I’d received chimed in my hand. “Put that thing away!”

“Yes Elder,” I said hurriedly, stuffing it into my belt pouch. I hurried after the old woman, who was strolling casually along at my sprinting speed. A small gate marked the edge of her garden. Elder Yao made a hand sign, and it creaked open with a slowness belying its small size.

The rush of Qi made my skin pucker into chicken bumps all along my arms, even through the long sleeve work tunic I’d put on after lunch and a quick cleaning. I pulled in a breath and held it, feeling the Qi flow into my body through my lungs, then exhaled.

“Yes, yes, if you can cultivate and work, feel free,” Elder Yao said dismissively, “but if you damage my plants I will take it out of your hide.”

“Of course, Elder,” I said. “I’m here to work, and can cultivate at other times.”

“You says that now,” she grumbled, then led me to a planter. “Start here. Each planter has a plaque describing what is inside and what you need to do to care for the Qi herb. Follow the instructions exactly.”

“Yes Elder,” I said, turning to find the plaque. Two-stem Zongsemei. I need to weed the planter, then trim the stems to precisely three-quarters the width of the planter. To cut it, I have to use silver shears while channeling Wood or Earth Qi down them. I don’t know how to do that yet. I turned to find Elder Yao looking at me expectantly, a frown on her face.

“Elder Yao, I have not yet been taught how to channel Qi into a tool. I can weed, water, and add fertilizer to the Two-stem Zongsemei, but cannot trim it.”

“Hmm, fine,” she barked. “Do what you can. Fix your deficiencies before the month is out, or I will be forced to find another helper.”

I bristled a little bit at being disparaged, but nodded before turning back to the roses. There were dozens of tiny weeds starting to grow in the planter, including a few sprigs of Ever-Growing Grass. Next time I come, I’ll need to bring a pot with some soil. I can transplant the Ever-Growing Grass weeds into my courtyard. I think, anyway.

I reached down to the nearest sprig and gently pulled on it. It resisted. I pulled harder, and with a rip the Grass blade tore. “Locust,” I growled. I lightly dug around the area and found a massive system of roots choking out the Zongsemei. “How is this still growing!”

It took me nearly an hour to weed that first planter. I went slowly, carefully separating the different weed’s roots from the rose’s ones. I knew this was one of the reasons why this job was hated by so many. Without the patience of a farmer, someone would give up on being careful and just rip the weeds out, opening themselves to a scathing tirade by the surprisingly intimidating Elder Yao.

“Acceptable,” the aforementioned Elder said as I leaned back from the last corner of the planter. A pile of roots and stems sat next to me on the gravel path. “Collect the detritus and follow.”

“Yes Elder.” I flexed my fingers, my hands tight from the precise work I’d been doing, then scooped up the leftovers and hurried after the Elder. She led me to a composting section very similar to the one in the Introduction to Herbology field. I dumped the stuff in, then Elder Yao touched a metal plate on the side of the enclosure. A flare of Qi, the red of Fire, bright blue of Air, and a dimmer red one, drained the moisture out of the compost bin, accelerating the breakdown process immensely.

“Once you can extend your Qi, you will be doing this,” she said. “For now, I will engage the Inscription at the end of your work time. You did no damage to the Two-stem Zongsemei. Continue to meet my expectations. Move to the next planter sunward from them. The interior plants are too valuable for you to touch until I know I can trust your work.” She snorted dismissively at that.

“Yes Elder.” I bowed. I jogged back towards the planter, starting up my breathing technique to passively cultivate for the short time it took me to get there. I read the plaque. Six-stem Hongsemei. Red roses instead of brown. Fire Qi instead of Earth. Neat.

I didn’t recognize any of the weeds in this bed, the Hongsemei giving off too much Fire Qi for Wood Qi plants to thrive. Instead, a thin, spiky weed had its roots infiltrate throughout the soil. The sap from the plant scalded my fingers when I accidentally snapped the stem when trying to pull the first piece. “Ow. Need to get some gloves for next time. Gotta be careful.”

“Do not throw the Flame Spurge near the wood!” Elder Yao said, appearing next to me. “Are you blind as well as stupid? Can you not smell? Look!”

I glanced down to where I’d dropped the weeds I’d just pulled. The broken stem was resting on the wooden beams holding in the soil, and where the sap leaked out the wood started to smoke. It wasn’t much, but it could blossom into a fire given enough time. “Sorry!” I said, brushing it away onto the stone of the walkway. I pulled my water bottle off my belt and dumped a generous amount over the damage. Thankfully, it was only a tiny scorch mark.

“Pay attention. You were close to impressing me,” Elder Yao sneered. “Do better than your peers.”

“Yes Elder.” I bowed and turned back to the planter. I redoubled my efforts to avoid breaking the stems, and when I inevitably did I made sure to toss the torn pieces onto something nonflammable. The roots of the Flame Spurge went much deeper than I expected, so much so that I couldn’t get it all. Failing at removing the weed irked me, so I looked around to see if Elder Yao was available.

“What do you want?” She asked, appearing as if summoned.

“May I use a small shovel, pick, and rake?”

“Follow.” She walked off, and I hurried after her. At the back of her house was a shed. “You may use any tool that you find within. Return anything you take, or I will charge you for them. You will not be able to afford any of my tools.”

“Of course. I am not a thief.”

“All cultivators are thieves if they think they can get away with it,” she scoffed. “If you are not, you will not go far.” She cackled and walked off.

“Uh, okay.” I shook my head then opened the door. Dozens of tools hung on the walls. I saw shovels, trowels, rakes, weeders, pincers, watering cans, and things I’d never seen before. A piece of white jade was attached to a long spike. I used the Qi sensing technique we’d learned yesterday and immediately regretted it. Everything was enchanted, from the smallest tool to the plow at the back of the shed. So much information came from the technique that I was overwhelmed.

I shook my head, leaning against the door to let the sensations pass, then stepped in to grab a small trowel, a set of clippers, a set of pincers, and a weeder. I immediately headed back to the Six-stem Hongsemei planter. The trowel let me get deeper in, and I used the pinchers to keep the rose roots out of the way as I clipped and pulled the Flame Spurge roots out.

The pinchers didn’t do any damage to the roots, even when I slipped and yanked on them. A field of Qi seemed to surround them for a second, the rose roots extending unnaturally before resetting themselves. “Whoa, that was awesome! No wonder she said I couldn’t afford these tools.”

With the new tools, I was nearly three times as fast, finishing getting the roots of the Flame Spurge pulled out of the Six-Stem Hongsemei bed in only ten more minutes of work. Continuing along the outside after dumping the weeds into the compost bin, I found the next planter to be a Four-Stem Baisemei, and I felt cold near it. A light coating of frost surrounded the plant, but there were still weeds poking through the ice.

A weed with thick, nearly circular leaves peaked out of the dirt. I reached out to pull one, only for my fingertips to grow numb from the cold. “Ow, yeah. Gloves, thick, expensive gloves.” I shook my hands off then rubbed them together to try and warm them back up. I used the pincers to grab and pull out the weed, and then I tossed it on the stone. Oh, I’m going to need a basket or bag or something if I don’t want to free my arms off.

I hurried back over to the shed, put back the clippers for now, and found a small bucket near the plow. I jogged back to the ice roses, trying to show that I wasn’t being lazy and slow. I got the feeling that Elder Yao would reduce my pay if I drug out my work. As long as I’m diligent, I’ll be able to continue working here. It’s not easy, but pays well. Just got to ignore the digs at my capability from Elder Yao.

Five-stemmed Huangsemei were next, the bright yellow flowers on the rose bush surprising me. Long, thin plants were trying to choke out the roses, only for tiny lightning bolts to zap from the flower into the plant. The lightning seemed to energize the weeds, though, while also burning it back. I sighed, shook my shoulders out, and used the pincer to grab the closest stem of the yellow-green bindweed.

Lightning Qi shot into the tool, and stopped. “Yup, gotta use the tools. I don’t want to know what that feels like.” With a yank, I ripped the bindweed out and tossed it into the bucket. It sparked for a few seconds, then grew dormant. I didn’t trust it in the slightest. Weeding this planter took much longer than the previous one. I had to be extremely careful to keep my hands and body away from both the rose bush and the weeds. The first time I didn’t left me stunned as Lightning Qi shocked me senseless.

After the Lightning Roses, the next plant was Eleven-Stemmed Lusemei. A different thin green weed was wrapped around everything. I recognized it as a variant of knotweed. I used the pincers to reach in and separate the tip of the knotweed. I unraveled it from around the wild explosion of stems that the Wood-aspected roses grew in.

After a minute, I reached in and grabbed the weed, yanking it away from the bush. This was a mistake, as it immediately started to grow in and around my hand. “Get off!” I shook my hand but was unable to flex my fingers as it had already tied them together. I dropped the pincers from my left hand and grabbed the shovel, slashing down with it like a sword to cut through the stem of the knotweed.

When it finally stopped growing, tendrils had already reached up to my elbow. I was panting as the panic subsided. “Alright, don’t touch anything here. I can see why people keep abandoning this job. For two credits less an hour, I’m sure I could find a much easier, less threatening position.” I shrugged. “This is fine, though. Live and learn. If I want to have a garden of strong Qi plants, I need to learn everything I can.”

“Prove yourself, and I will teach you,” Elder Yao said. “Stop screwing up and damaging my plants.” She shook her head. “You haven’t done enough damage yet for me to charge you instead of paying you, which makes you better than the last three people who attempted to assist me. Grow stronger so you can truly help me, and I will instruct you in techniques none of the classes will expose you to. Now, be more careful.”

“Yes Elder,” I said, forcibly stilling my too fast breathing.  A while later, I finished removing all of the Knotweed. The tenth bell sounded out over the entire mountain and I went to clean and return the tools. Once done, Elder Yao met me just outside the shed.

“You may return,” Elder Yao said. “Fix your deficiencies, and I will pay you more. Give me your pass.”

“Yes Elder,” I said with a bow, then fished out the pass from my belt pouch.

She took it, channeling some Qi and manipulating something, before handing it back. “Return to the administration building. When will you next be here?”

“Uh, I believe I can come back in two day’s time,” I said.

“That is acceptable. Go away.”

“Yes Elder.” I turned towards the exit and ran. Wow, she’s acerbic. Eh, not any worse than the townsfolk who hated us. If I could deal with it then, I can deal with it now. Gotta hurry to join the others in the cultivation chambers.