Chapter 121
Growing Up
Life in the Hidden Blossom Sect was like any other sect. The world changed around them, but they stayed the same. When their disciples turned twenty-one, they joined the Flowers and Blossoms as courtesans. The Flowers were the most educated women in the region. Their suitors would not pay their outrageous prices if it were not so, so the age they entered the garden had more to do with how long it took them to be educated than any moral reasons.
Many Flowers soon found wealthy husbands who were willing to pay their bride price and left the pavilion, while others remained until they were thirty. They retired in the city, living carefree lives with their wealth, or the Blossoms helped them relocate to other cities where they could marry. A few were invited to stay longer, those who had a deeper connection to the dao of beauty, but they only appeared once a decade.
Many of Tobias's assumptions about the Silver Blossom Pavilion were proven wrong after his dao enlightenment. The Flowers never paid for anything. The Blossoms covered all expenses, taking care of them and helping them build up their wealth. Every girl who entered the pavilion was cared for for life.
Ming Dia Lu opened her mouth as she rested her head on Tobias's lap, waiting for another piece of melon. Hun Fen giggled uncontrollably as Tobias fed her. Tobias had begun inviting Hun Fen to her sister's lessons when she turned twelve, encouraging Ming Dia Lu to see her as a sister rather than a rival. The two of them had grown closer over the years and spent all their birthdays together. Ming Dia Lu had just turned twenty-eight, and her clan had refused to throw her a party because she had not begun to cultivate yet.
Waiting for your brain to fully develop was not an exact science, and some reached the point they needed before twenty-five and some after. Ming Dia Lu was a late bloomer. It had only been in the last few months that her prefrontal cortex stopped undergoing significant changes. Based on what Tobias had observed, if she were a mortal, she would live to be over one hundred before she passed away. Those who developed later always lived longer.
Ming Dia Lu glanced across the garden at the fading light and sighed. "It's getting late. I should go home."
Hun Fen nudged her sister's calf with her foot. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm sure Master would be willing to entertain you all night."
Ming Dia Lu slapped her sister's foot as she blushed. "You can't tease me on my birthday."
"Master can."
Ming Dia Lu bolted upright as Hun Fen erupted in laughter. "We do not have that sort of relationship."
"That's because you're too busy thinking about arrays to know that men exist."
Ming Dai Lu scowled. "And I suppose you have had many lovers?"
"No more than you."
Ming Dia Lu stared at her, shocked. "Really?"
Hun Fen nodded. "Blossom Shui teaches us the dance of flesh, but we are clothed when we learn."
Tobias frowned. Like him, the Blossoms used their new auras to watch over the pavilion, so he could see Blossom Shui twitch at the pronouncement. Blossom Shui's lessons were the only ones that he never watched over, so this was news to him.
Tobias projected his voice with his thoughts. "I assume the difficulty we had understanding the male side of the dance was the reason for the change?"
Those lessons had been difficult for both of them, as her understanding of the female motions and the dao of hidden beauty did not translate to a male understanding. They had eventually worked it out by her accepting the feminine role and allowing him to figure it out for himself. The insights she offered in the bedroom had gradually shown him the changes he needed to make, but when their lessons began, they were fully clothed. Tobias had just assumed that sex was a natural progression.
Blossom Shui nodded. "Realising I could not teach you but only guide you to understanding was as infuriating as it was beneficial to my understanding of our dao."
Tobias left her to her embroidery.
"If you haven't had any lover either, why do you make fun of me?" Ming Dai Lu asked.
"Because you're eight years older than I am. You're about to have wrinkles."
"I am not."
Hun Fen leaned closer, looked around her sister's eyes. "Those look like wrinkles."
"They're smile lines."
"Wrinkly smile lines."
Tobias held out his hand and summoned a small wooden box, offering it to his student.
Ming Dai Lu frowned. "What's this?"
"You're birthday present."
"I thought you weren't allowed to give your suitors presents?"
"I'm not giving this to you as your suitor. I'm giving it to you as your teacher. It's also a graduation present."
Ming Dia Lu turned and stared at Tobias. "You're not teaching me anymore?"
"It's because you're old and wrinkly," Hun Fen said.
"I will be your teacher for as long as I remain here, Tobias said. "However, you are ready to begin cultivation, so I don't expect you to visit as often. You know all you need to reach the peak of the foundation realm, so I expect you will only visit a few times before this happens."
Hun Fen's face fell, and she leapt on her sister's back and hugged her. "You have to come and visit me. I don't care if it gets in the way of your cultivation. You are not allowed to disappear for years without seeing me."
Ming Dai Lu was grinning excitedly at the news as she patted her sister's hand. "I'll make sure to stop by once a decade."
"That's not funny."
"I'm sure your lovers will keep you busy."
Hun Fen laughed in her ear. "I want to see you every ten days."
"Twenty days."
"Five days."
"Fifteen days."
"Three days."
"Ten days."
"I accept."
Both were grinning while they negotiated. They were sisters, and they loved each other.
Ming Dia Lu held up the box. "What did you make for me?"
Tobias smirked. "I made you a divine beauty pill to remove your wrinkles."
Her eyes widened as she realised the value of the gift, and then she scowled as she remembered what he had said. "They're smile lines."
"If they are, they will still be there after you take the pill. The pill is infused with the dao of beauty. It will help you comprehend it better when you reach the core realm."
"I don't share your fascination with being a courtesan, Blossom Sage."
"I made it to help you make beautiful arrays, not to become a courtesan."
Her face lit up, and she leapt forward, throwing her arms around his shoulders with her sister still on her back, hugging him tight. "Thank you."
Tobias smiled as he gave them both a beautiful hug. "I expect my student to become the greatest array master this world has ever seen."
"I promise I will."
Seeing her so happy made him happy. Ming Dia Lu realised how many people could see what she was doing as they walked past the pavilion and pushed herself away, blushing.
Tobias rose to his feet and offered her his hand. "Let me escort you to the gate."
Ming Dai Lu accepted his hand and let him lead her to the gate while she carried her sister. While they walked, Tobias explained the pill and its effects, so she wouldn't be surprised when her appearance changed when she reached the foundation realm.
Hun Fen dropped off her sister back at the gate and gave her another hug before handing her a jade bracelet that she had bought for her. She showed her a matching one and slipped it onto her wrist. They both watched her leave and then turned and headed for the family compound.
Hun Fen was grinning from ear to ear. "She liked my present more than yours."
"That's because she doesn't have any wrinkles."
Hun Fen laughed but quickly went silent. "Are you certain she won't experience chi deviation?"
Tobias nodded. "There is nothing to worry about."
"I can't help it. Chi deviation killed our father. Whenever I think about her cultivating, I worry. What if it happens to her?"
Tobias realised it was time to tell her the truth. She hadn't brought this up since she was twelve, and she was now nineteen. She was old enough to know.
"Your father didn't experience chi deviation. He was murdered by his patriarch. The patriarch likely feared how far he would go and how powerful he would become, so he gave him a cultivation method that would kill him when he formed the second layer of his core. The issues with this method could have been easily fixed if your father had shown to be loyal to him, but I think he left his clan and ended up here instead."
Hun Fen had never met the man and had no relationship with him. Ming Dia Lu had, but her relationship with him was extremely strained. She didn't like him. He had been distant the entire time she had known him, because he couldn't help but think of her mother every time he looked at her. Neither of them loved him, but he was still their father.
Hun Fen scowled. "Do you know who his patriarch was?"
"His patriarch was the 3rd Emperor of The Three Kingdoms before his clan went into exile. The Han Clan fled across the ocean to one of the continents that were ravaged by the Great Plague."
"How strong is their patriarch?"
"He's a nascent soul realm cultivator with three nascent soul realm field marshals and four nascent soul realm high elders and countless core realm elders and generals who serve him. That information is several centuries out of date."
"How do you know him?"
"He once had his guards beat me repeatedly, breaking most of the bones in my body. I was left crippled for months until I could reach a healing hot spring that had the power to restore me."
"So, you're enemies."
Tobias nodded.
"Why haven't you killed him?"
"I have better uses for my time than chasing down someone who means nothing to me. I would rather save a peasant family from bandits or protect a travelling merchant."
"You're not angry about what he did?"
"Not anymore. What he did to me eventually led to his downfall. The good that has come from those actions means that it is a price I would gladly pay again. Do you hate him?"
"No. He and my father are both strangers to me. Letting strangers dictate my feelings is foolish."
Tobias could hear the lie in her words but chose not to address it. She had a strong streak of justice but also understood her limitations. She could not travel to another continent or fight nascent soul realm cultivators, so pursuing those feelings was pointless.
"Has this put your concerns about your sister to rest?"
Hun Fen nodded. "You would no more harm her than you would Lung Mei or me."
Tobias hardened his aura so no one could overhear them. "Are you two talking again?"
Tobias knew that they were. Lung Mei had grown a little more mature over the last year and now only slept in his room half the time. She had recently had her first period and was far too mortified to talk to him about it, and had gone to Hun Fen instead. Her body and mind were developing out of order, creating changes which made no sense to anyone.
Hun Fen pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh at the memory of her calming down someone who was more than a century older than her. "I love her, but it's hard to spend time with her when she behaves like someone so young."
"She's starting to grow up."
"I can see that, but there is still such a big difference between us."
"Can I give you some advice?"
Hun Fen nodded.
"Look at her like a little sister. She might be young and immature, but in a few years, you won't be that different from one another. How you treat her now will dictate that future relationship. If you aren't interested in her or her interests now, she won't be interested in sharing them with you when you have the same maturity. When you were young, she was your big sister. Now that you have grown up, you have switched roles. It's hard to lose that part of your relationship, but it is not a good reason to give up on it."
"I'm not giving up on anything. I just need my own space."
"Space, you have no problem filling with your older sister."
Hun Fen froze. "Oh. I'm being a bad friend."
Tobias ruffled her hair. "Your relationship with Lung Mei is much more difficult than it is with most people, so if you need someone to talk to about it, I'm happy to listen."
Hun Fen slapped his hand away with a dao block but smiled all the same. "Why won't you accept my sister as your disciple?"
"I take my role as a master very seriously. There is nothing I won't do for my disciples. Such a commitment is something I make only out of necessity or deep interest. But just because she is not my disciple, it does not mean her education is lacking. She has had the same opportunities that you and Lung Mei have, and her understand of cultivation is second to none."
The dao of beauty surround Hun Fen, and she looked up at Tobias. "You have done more for my sister than any other master ever would. It hurts her that you won't accept her kowtow and let her show how much she respects you and how grateful she is for what you have done."
Dao insights surrounded her words, forming comprehensions that had been outside his understanding. Those comprehensions collided with others, revealing deeper truths to him. The beauty of the master-disciple relationship was laid bare, showing him both sides and what it could be in its most beautiful form.
Tobias felt the truth of her words.
He had given unconditional guidance and had not accepted the unconditional respect and devotion that were offered in return. He had done something beautiful, but he did not allow Ming Dia Lu to do the same. His actions were tainted because of this.
As those thoughts solidified, other insights came to him from his comprehensions and he realised he was beginning to see a much bigger piece of the puzzle. He could see the path to the dao of the beautiful hidden master; all he needed to do was step onto it.
Tobias turned to Hun Fen. "Excuse me. I need to meditate on your words."
***
Hun Fen was enamoured by the dao of hidden beauty, the same way Tobias had been. And she thought the only path forward was to become a courtesan. Tobias did not mind if she chose that life, but he did mind if she was forced to walk into that life because of the influence of the dao. However, after years of studying the dao of beauty and hidden beauty, he was no closer to fixing their cultivation method than he had been. The only way he knew how to open another to the dao of hidden beauty was through the lessons that the Blossoms taught him, so Tobias created a lesson that was just for Hun Fen.
On her twenty-first birthday, Tobias asked the Blossoms to empty the gardens, so he could perform a sword dance for her under the moonlight. The dao of the sword was her deepest understanding, and he had spent years secretly figuring out how to weave the dao of hidden beauty into it, so he could speak the language that she knew. He did not know if she would comprehend what he wished to show her, but he knew no other way to do so.
So, Tobias danced the dance of the Hidden Blossom under the moonlight, weaving the sword and dao of hidden beauty into one. His steps were soft and light, his body elegant and fragile, but every action held death, hidden until the last moment. His blade cut through the air, making it sing as his feet moved to the timing of the heavens.
He danced as if his life were on the line and his heart would break if he failed. He moved as if nothing mattered, and yet every action had a purpose. He was death incarnate, but an end to a life well lived. He was beauty and death, and the hidden story in between, and he wrapped reality with his actions.
Tobias came out of the haze of dao and movement with his heart light and his dreams before him. He spun on his toe and landed facing Hun Fen, executing a bow that caused the garden to bow with him.
Tobias could sense the change within her. "Blossom Sage greets The Sword Blossom."
The Blossoms sat behind Hun Fen in a line, sensing the transformation he had sensed. Hun Fen had seen the hidden beauty within his sword dance and comprehended their dao. She was the first Blossom to not become a courtesan, showing them all that there was another way forward.
A second went by as the world opened up around Hun Fen, and then Lung Mei's shriek pierced the night. "You're all cultivators!"
Lung Mei turned her head, looking at the spirit herbs and surrounding pavilions with new eyes. "What did you do to me. Master, we're under attack. They have you trapped in an illusion." She leapt to her feet, grabbed Hun Fen around the waist and dashed toward him. "We must escape."
Tobias erupted with laughter, the sound filled with joy as he stepped forward and embraced Lung Mei in a hug, while shielding Hun Fen from the sped of her friend's actions. "You did it." He picked up Lung Mei and spun her on the spot.
Lung Mei tried to overpower him, to get free, and help him escape, but Tobias cut her off. "Master, we have to run. They've done something to your mind."
Tobias put her down and stepped back. "My mind is fine. Comprehending the dao of hidden beauty and experiencing dao enlightenment allows you to see the Hidden Blossom Sect. I've been able to see what you can see for years."
Lung Mei froze, still holding Hun Fen under one arm like a sack of rice.
"Can you put me down, please?" Hun Fen asked, looking up at her friend with an amused smile.
Lung Mei looked down and then gently placed Hun Fen on her feet. "But I didn't comprehend the dao of hidden beauty."
Tobias frowned. "What did you comprehend?"
"The dao of the hidden heart. The yearning for others to see the world the way you see it, to share your understanding with those around you. There was a lot of the dao of hidden beauty within it, but that wasn't my enlightenment."
Hun Jia gave Lung Mei a very interested stare but didn't rush forward for answers.
Tobias stepped forward and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so proud of you."
Lung Mei's shoulders drooped. "Does this mean I have to become a Blossom?"
"Blossoms are only Blossoms because they want to be."
Lung Mei nodded, but then her eyes went wide. "Master knows this and still wants to be a Blossom."
Tobias smiled. "A Blossom is also one who studies the dao of hidden beauty. You like how pretty things are when you interact with our dao, but you have no wish to study it deeply."
Hun Fen was looking around at all the changes when she noticed the Blossoms. Her eyes widened when she sensed their cultivation. She had been too distracted by Lung Mei to notice. Her face lit up as she spotted her mother, and she dashed over, leaping into her arms.
She had been in no rush to begin cultivating. Like many, she feared watching her mother grow old, and she could not see her true form. The moment she finished hugging her mother, she leapt onto Blossom Genji, hugging her just as tightly. The Blossoms were the only ones who understood her when she was a child. The only ones who could keep up with her. The other children were years behind her mental abilities, so they had never become her friends.
Tobias put his arm over Lung Mei's shoulder, and they watched the happy moment in silence.
Lung Mei looked him up when it was over. "You love me the way my mother was supposed to?"
Tobias kissed the top of her head. "You have been my most rewarding mistake."
Lung Mei knew that he was the reason her mother had given birth to her and forced her to cultivate, and that he thought his lack of consideration for how she would treat her own child was his greatest mistake.
"I can see that when I look at you now. You care about me as deeply as Hun Fen's mother cares about her. It hurts you that I don't see you the way Hun Fen sees her, but that doesn't make you love me any less."
"When one does not love you the way you love them, that does not change how you feel. If you truly care for them, it does not matter. Their happiness will bring you happiness. It is only when we are possessive of others' love that we feel pain."
"You feel pain."
"I feel pain because you still think of your mother the way Hun Fen thinks of hers."
"She's never coming to get me, is she?"
"It's not who she is."
"She loves me."
"She does, but she has lost so many of her children on the road to immortality that she cannot stop herself from rejecting those who will not be there with her. She doesn't believe you can be beside her. She doesn't understand what we understand. She doesn't believe that you will be there with her, and her fears drive her actions."
"You're not like her. I've seen you with mortals. You care about them. You mourn them. You do not run away from their fate."
"That is because a good friend once sat me down and told me that I can live as a coward and harden my heart to the world around me or accept the pain of lost friendships."
"You think my mother is a coward."
"When she put her survival before yours, she chose cowardice. She has her reasons, but those reasons do not change her actions."
Lung Mei hugged his waist. "You're not my dad, but I still love you, Master."
"I know, and that's enough."