Xianxia joint, chapter 2.

Here we are. This chapter is a little light, but it looks like it holds well enough to me; I didn't want to overpack it and cause whiplash. Please enjoy, even if it's something you didn't ask for:

I danced through the moonlight, my form twisting amidst the beams with nary a thought, the leaves that were my patient pursuers also left, hitting the ground without a mark. I knew I was close. I was so very close.

I was moving like big sister did, I just knew it.

There was someone there, a presence in the forest. I didn’t know how I knew, yet I knew.

How? I’d been so careful? No one had seen me leave, same as the other times. I was certain of it.

No, this was familiar. As soon as I knew it though, it was gone. I was certain it was one of the sisters.

Why would one of the sisters come to this part of the emerald forest at night? They had never done so before. Never in all the years I’d lived here. I could not tell who it might be; and if I moved toward them, they would move away.

No, I would try. I lunged – and of course the sister promptly left. Had she been close enough to see me? If she had, could she cause trouble for senior sister? Wait, how had I detected her now? Senior sister Jiang Mei had been as a ghost, only showing herself when she wanted. So had this sister shown herself.

I knew it wasn’t senior sister, at least. So, one of the others, my tormentors? Seeking to get me even further into the wood, no doubt. They had tricked me once that very way before.

Even so, I would go. A trap one was aware of was a trap avoided, as the saying went.

I started again, dancing among the rays of moonlight as best I was able. The presence had vanished but I had marked the direction.

An hour later, I had found nothing, and was nearing the boundary. The boundary was the limit which a villager could go into the emerald forest. Well, those without special permissions. I’d tried before, and simply been confused by illusion until rescued by senior sister Jiang.

So there was no chance to be led into a wild boar, as last time. There was no trail to follow to anything. Was the thought to get me lost? If so, when I turned around, I would….

Yes, there she was. The plan was to draw me away and get me lost in illusion then, so that I would wander until rescued at morning. Then those who looked after me would naturally punish me for being out after curfew. The extra chores and constant watching would ruin my chances of getting my new technique right and winning the bet.

I turned away, and began the steps back home. Luckily this martial technique could be practiced anywhere there the moonlight lay dappled, and so this entire attempt to ruin me was useless.

There, the presence was moving, shifting. The awareness was pulsing? Some form of signal? If so, it was none I knew. I waited for a moment, but save for those few flares of qi, well beyond the borders of my world, there was nothing.

I moved at my best speed. There was some time before I had to be seen safely in bed, or risk the ire of those who would control me.

My best speed was promptly matched. Clearly the sister, her plan in shambles, would now try another.

Yet she did not. She stayed at the same distance, her presence fading in and out of mind as if… she was losing focus? What could be distressing to a sister? They had everything. They were the fairies of this place, and treated more as gods above than any else, even other immortals.

They did not get punished for sneaking out at night. So what might cause such a thing? Was the sister fighting perhaps? Someone better than  even her, who I could not sense? If so, I should leave, as she would lose any cultivator so evil would silence any witnesses.

A foolish dream, that. The changes in awareness seemed to follow a pattern of sorts, and I heard no signs of combat. I was confident in little more than my own senses, and my hearing was enough to catch the whisper of an arrow in flight.

I reached the glade, and once again the sister seemed to settle in to watch, fading from my senses as if she did not exist. I was close enough, and I had enough time for one more pass, one more practice, if I chose.

I did my best to follow senior sister Jiang’s instruction on entering contemplation. A form of meditation where one thought only of the moment and martial principles, it was difficult to do – yet now it seemed to flow naturally, as if waiting for me to flow into it rather than the other way around.

Wait, that was it, wasn’t it? The trick to it. No, the contemplation wobbled until I cast the thought away. I would return to it later, for now was the time to train as I must.

……

Min He stopped, the teeth drawing blood from her bitten lip enough to draw her from the darkening well of her thoughts. How had the foolish boy done it? In less than a month, he was moving in a way she’d only seen the best manage. He might even be besting senior sister Jiang in the dance of the lunar shower! Less than a month!

If she hadn’t seen it herself, she would not believe it. That anyone should have such talent. Even worse, that a boy like that one! He already stood as tall a flower as any in their midst, but with that talent….

It was a shame, a cruel trick of the heavens, that he had been born a man.

Could anyone blame them their crime, to wish to see how far his talent could take him, even with a path that should not be for him? One he seemed more suited for with each passing moment?

Senior sister Jiang could, of course, and now with the boy on the verge of real breakthrough, this was no longer a game. Yet what could she do? How could she stop the future she saw? A future where a bratty, snot-nosed child brought down one of the true geniuses of the age.

……

Hsu waited. He’d thought the boy had sensed him, somehow… the boy had looked right at me. Instead, it was clear he’d felt the junior sister less than a hundred paces ahead. Which meant he couldn’t kill her.

Instead he tamped down as hard as possible on his own presence. He couldn’t risk killing either one, lest ay spike in killing intent lead to his discovery by the other. It was not his task tonight in any case, he was simply to do as he had done, and confirm the child’s existence.

The boy was a monster though, clear and simple. His master would be less than pleased. The talent was clear enough for even the blind to see. Even this junior sister saw it, and she was a mediocre talent at best.

Instead, Hsu jumped carefully away. He had a report to give.

...Jiang:

What could I do? I had come today to cushion another blow given to young Bao Li, only to find him defying all sense. He was doing it! Even in the daylight, especially because of the daylight, he was showing true mastery of the dance of the lunar shower. Mastery such as I could show.

No, I must confirm. I launched some minor attacks. Something that would wound most mortals. He danced among them as with the leaves before… and even more, I could feel it. He had qi. A small amount, somewhat irregular, but clear. There was something amiss with it, yet it was undeniably there.

Bao Li was still mortal, but it was only a matter of time now. Inside a year, no, inside another month judging by the child’s growth, and Xue’s son would be like her. Like both of us, a true immortal, and at a younger age than either of us. The talent was staggering, but he would require more minding.

More instruction than she could give. The need to find a true teacher went from a moderate problem, to an issue of utmost importance. Should young Bao grow more in this way, there would only be ruin in his future.

When he turned though, I favored him with a smile and clapped. “You’ve done it, young Li. You have mastered the technique and won the bet. What would you like? I can only offer such things that are within my power.”

He would ask for a technique, of course. Something to attack with, undoubtedly. All boys did such things, and for all young Bao’s talent, he was like all young boys in most respects.

“I’d like a meditation technique. I know you’ve taught me one, but I’d like to know the one I’ ve seen you use.”

Young Bao was innocent. I must keep reminding myself of this fact. How I could teach him such a technique… he would be killed if found out, and while I did not teach him the dance of the lunar shower, I would be responsible for this decision alone.

I knew how this near future would unfold. “I cannot do this. My own master has forbidden it. If I show you the technique she has shown me, she will likely kill us both. The technique is not well suited for you, also.”

I expected a tantrum; I had even braced for it. What I got instead was measured thought. “Alright. Can you find me one that you would approve of? I’d like to know the same things you and my mother knew, but I will not risk your life for it, senior sister Jiang. It would be enough if you were to promise to find me a technique you would approve of.”

Such a filial son! Xue, if only you knew of the blessing you brought into this foul world! “Of course. I shall do my utmost, and one better. I am currently attempting to find a master for you. One that will do far better than I.”

“There is none that will do better than you, senior sister Jiang.”

I could not stop the smile, a genuine one that broke despite myself. “There are plenty, yet I do appreciate your kind words. Rest assured, that even should a new master take over, we shall always be as family.”

There, there was the storm, the thundercloud in the eyebrows, the lightning in the eyes. Somewhat later than I expected, but the tantrum was coming. “I will not follow any master who would take me away from you, or go against your teachings.”

Oh. “You will not need to. I will not allow such a thing to happen.”

Min He sighed – loudly enough that even Bao Li heard her.

“What do you want, Senior sister He? Do you have some objection to make, as the one who started this and lost a bet? Do you have anything useful to say?”

I could not fault the anger of young Bao… but such blatant disrespect would only fan the flames of anger.

“You… you presume much when you speak to me, mortal. You should mind your words; another one of my stature will be much less lenient.”

I knew that I was the only reason young Bao was not already bleeding in the dirt, even as junior sister knew I’d never let her get that close.

Bao stayed silent, yet even a fool would see that he had much to say. Even so, he showed maturity in allowing my junior to save what face she could. That was good; it was not his place to punish her in any way - it was mine.

"I must go. You may practice as you will... so long as your chores are done. Should I hear from others that you have been slacking...."

Young Bao whooped and threw a fist in the air; I couldn't help but smile at the clear delight. "You shall not, senior sister! I will do all that is asked of me without fail! May you have utmost success in your endeavors!"

I nodded with as much grace as I could muster. "Thank you, and you as well. Come along, Min He."

I moved, with such speed as to force my junior to race at her best in order to keep the pace.

"We must see to his entry into another sect."

Min He stumbled, surprised. "You agree?!?"

"Of course I do; we can no longer teach him ourselves; he will grow in ways unfavorable to his later development. Even more than he already has. His talent is clear now, and we must do all we can to ensure it."

I did not add how I would ensure it; after all, if young Bao must go, then I would follow, and keep him safe. Even to another sect, if I must. Should I do so, my teacher, Min He, and those others who followed me, would become my enemies.

The laws were clear that what I knew must not leave the sect.

If I could find a teacher of quality among those that wandered, such a crisis could be averted. However, most of those who wandered were akin to trash, and so I must plan.