A few short years ago, Calvin might have missed the faint whisper of well maintained hinges. His ears might not have registered the gentle pad of feet against a polished floor, nor the dry swish of shifting fabric. He certainly would have missed the ripples in the ambient qi, faint perturbations where orderly flows and whorls were momentarily disrupted by a spirit’s passage.
Today, he heard it all as clearly as the beat of drums and the pounding of marching men. He could smell the faint perfume of flowers and herbs on the air, and feel the brush of fall air that came through the momentarily opened door. And yet he didn’t move as the intruder grew near, his brush gliding smoothly across the page before him as he jotted down his notes and musings.
They stopped directly behind him, and Calvin cocked his eyebrow at the reflection he could clearly see in the nearby window. Still, he did not react as the intruder’s hands rose towards his face, nor as they leaned in behind him until their mouth was only inches from his ear.
Gwen’s soft hands shot up, covering his eyes with her palms. “Guess who!” she exclaimed cheerfully, the qi around them thrumming with her joy.
Calvin continued writing, even though he could no longer see his work surface. His brushwork would no doubt suffer (not that it was particularly good to begin with), but there were a few more things he wanted to commit to paper before he got too distracted. Still, he played along with his junior sister’s game.
“Hmm,” he mused mildly, “what cunning intruder has managed to penetrate the very depths of my sanctum? They must be truly skilled and cunning to evade my many traps and formations, powerful and subtle to elude my senses! A mighty cultivator no doubt, one on the cusp of ascension!”
Gwen giggled and Calvin felt his lips quirk up into a small smile. “Nope! Just me!” she chirped. Leaning in further, she moved her hands down, wrapping her arms around his chest and resting her chin on his shoulder so she could peer down at the table strewn with papers. “What are you working on, Cal?”
He didn’t answer for a moment, reading over his last few lines of text before setting his brush aside. It was…mostly legible. The handful of High Imperial characters he’d used were a little blocky, but identifiable, and only the really smooshed bits of the flowing Low Imperial script where he’d run out of room towards the edge of the page were a little hard to make out.
Good enough. He could make out what he’d written, so if Lulu had any issues deciphering it she could just ask.
His smile widened slightly, remembering the first time he’d tried to leave Lulu and Wallis a note during one of their first missions. It had looked mostly alright to him at first glance, but had been, in the kindest possible words, utterly illegible.
It wasn’t entirely his fault. He’d been completely illiterate when he’d first joined the sect, but had done a too-convincing job faking it with the Scroll’s help to be directed towards the resources the sect offered to others in his shoes. Thus, he’d mostly had to rely on himself to figure things out, and hadn’t necessarily always gotten it right.
By that standard, his progress was nothing short of phenomenal. The physical precision and mental agility of a cultivator in the Foundation realm did a lot of the heavy lifting, but he’d put a great deal of effort into learning to read and write. These days, he almost never made mistakes when using Low Imperial with its intuitive forty-two phonetic symbols, and only occasionally needed the Scroll’s help to identify the endless High Imperial characters that just about every ‘serious’ book and scroll was written in.
“Just looking over some more notes for Lulu.” He tapped his finger against the page and a tiny wisp of qi dried out the ink, allowing him to set it aside on a nearby pile without any worry of smudging. He turned to regard her, their faces only a scant few inches apart. “I wasn’t expecting you for at least another hour. I’d have cleaned up.”
She turned her head as well and for a moment, their eyes met, faces only a scant few inches apart. Then Gwen blushed, ducking her head. “I figured I’d, uh…come over a little early! You know, to prepare!” She suddenly straightened, pulling away. “I’ll uh…make us some tea!” she said very quickly, then hurried away to do just that.
Calvin watched her go with a fond smile. She’d grown significantly less jumpy and shy around him over the past several weeks, even finally calling him something other than just senior brother when they were alone, but sometimes it still crept up on her. One moment she’d be perfectly comfortable practically sitting in his lap joking and teasing, the next she’d be a blushing, stammering mess. It was adorable.
He watched her work for a moment longer, confidently opening cabinets and moving around his small kitchen with the familiarity of experience, then turned his attention back to his work. His kitchen table––the largest flat, elevated surface in his villa––was practically covered in a blanket of notes, scrolls, and open books. Most were Lulus, accumulated over years at the sect, but he’d contributed a fair number over the past few weeks.
In pride of place at the center of the table was a cracked and worn stone tablet slightly larger than two of Calvin’s palms and covered in dense lines of carved characters, as well as the scroll case containing the All-Seeing Pillar manual. The manual was too old and fragile to keep out in the open, but the tablet was made from a spiritual form of slate hard enough that Calvin doubted he could so much as scuff it without resorting to techniques. Lulu had initially carried it back and forth from her home to Calvin’s when they’d started working on things, but had eventually left it behind in his care––a profound show of trust.
Reaching out, he brushed his finger across one of the cracked edges of the tablet where it had clearly once been part of a much larger slate. The Scroll reacted instantly, familiar knowledge unspooling within his mind. Contemplations of the Hidden Sword Delving the Open Grotto (Fragment), Low quality.
When Lulu had first suggested sharing their dual cultivation method with Calvin so he could better help them ensure it would be fully compatible with their new Foundation, he hadn’t expected much. He’d always assumed they were simply using the method available in the archive, or perhaps a moderately improved version of it. Something passable, but not particularly potent.
When Wallis had admitted to finding the method in a crumbling ruin and Lulu had shown him some parts she could recreate from the top of her head, his interest had grown significantly. It sounded like a significant step up from what could be readily found within the Outer sect, and potentially offered valuable insights into aspects of cultivation he knew little about. Still, his interest had been primarily academic. It didn’t seem like something directly useful to him, but he’d found that the more he learned, the more connections he saw between aspects of cultivation he’d once thought unrelated.
Then, Lulu had finally brought over the tablet itself, rather than transcriptions and notes she’d taken, and he’d understood why she’d been so relieved that the All-Seeing Pillar was compatible with their particular method. Because even with faded characters, entire chunks missing, and taken without the context of the greater method once outlined on this slate, the method that Lulu and Wallis were using was of Low quality. The same as the Foundation he’d provided them…and equal or exceeding the quality of every single method and technique he’d seen within the Outer sect to date.
And the effects certainly seemed to live up to that quality rating. While dual cultivating, the method nigh autonomously refined the quality of the users nodes and channels, much in the same way that the Nine Rotating Gates did. Additionally, it significantly strengthened the users’ spirits in a way that Calvin was struggling to fully understand, offering an impressive degree of flexibility and resilience without many of the potential downsides of overly refining one’s spirit. It also increased the rate of qi recovery, strengthened the physical body, improved healing, and––once they advanced to the core realm––would allow users to borrow one another’s spiritual senses, offering an unmatched degree of coordination and a plethora of other benefits Calvin couldn’t quantify.
And that was just from a fragment, missing pieces patched over by guesswork and intuition!
It was little wonder Lulu had been able to achieve and hold a high rank within the Outer sect despite not having a clear Foundation to work towards. The quality of her nodes and channels was probably several levels higher than the vast majority of her opponents. Almost certainly higher than his on average, though he certainly intended to change that in the coming months. Combined with her own martial talent and constant training, she’d been able to fight significantly above what her Foundation should have been capable of.
It was almost enough to make him wish his Foundation was fully compatible with the cultivation method. If he could find an appropriate partner and combine the benefits of the Nine Rotating Gates Foundation with those of the method, he might be able to raise the average quality of his nodes and channels to High or even Very High in a fraction of the time he would need otherwise—not to mention the other benefits. Unfortunately, he just didn’t have the right qi nodes. He suspected the full technique included a method to account for that, but with that missing it really did require both tongue and genital nodes, neither of which were utilized by the Nine Rotating Gates.
Still, helping Lulu and Wallis with this had paid dividends regardless. Though the precise mechanics of how the cultivation method did what it did eluded him, he’d still learned a great deal from studying the tablet and examining the Scroll’s insight into its technique. Most of what he learned was primarily applicable to dual cultivation, but if he ever managed to get his hands on high end yin treasures, he’d be much better prepared to make use of them. Directly utilizing a yin aspected treasure would be difficult with his current attunement, and only get harder and harder each time he reintegrated it back into his Foundation, but if he cycled them with his yang the way he would when dual cultivating…
It had potential.
A brush of Gwen’s qi distracted him from his musings and he turned towards her, accepting the proffered cup of tea. “Thank you.” He took a deep breath, savoring the rich, floral notes with a sharp, medicinal undertone, then took a small sip. It was excellent, and he told her as much. “Fantastic work,” he praised. Even if she wasn’t so cute when she blushed, he’d keep her around just for the tea alone, not to mention the herbs. “Is that cloudblossom wisteria I taste?” He took another sip. “And wandering clover? They pair beautifully with the violet petals.”
Gwen pouted at him. “Right as always, senior brother.”
He grinned back. It was a little game they’d been playing ever since she’d started spending more time at his villa. At first, she’d been the one guessing what he’d added to all his pre-prepared tea bundles, but then she’d decided to get in on the fun. Perhaps it was unfair to use a profound artifact of unfathomable power to cheat at a game, but he absolutely loved the faces Gwen made when he guessed even the most obscure herbs she’d tried adding to his drink. He hadn’t missed a single one yet, and he didn’t plan to.
“You’ll have to try harder than that if you want to get one past me,” he teased. “How can you hope to challenge the heavens when you can’t even challenge your senior brother’s taste buds?”
Gwen rolled her eyes and pulled up a second chair beside his, leaning into his side as she cradled her own cup of tea in both hands. After a moment, Calvin frowned and peered down at his junior sister. Her eyes were downcast, her shoulders were tense, and she had barely responded to his joking taunt.
“You’re nervous.”
It wasn’t a question, but Gwen nodded anyway.
Calvin sighed softly and wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulders, pulling her more tightly against his side. “Being nervous is only going to make things harder.”
Gwen nodded again.
“Right then.” Calvin rolled his eyes and stood up, bringing his barely touched cup of tea with him. Gwen made a sound of protest but he held firm. “Come on. Up!” he commanded, and after a moment she complied. He put a hand on her shoulder and steered her out of the kitchen and down the hallway to his indoor garden.
The room had changed significantly since Gwen had begun spending more and more time with him rather than at her own hut. At first it had been under the guise of helping him as he recovered after his duel with Cao Yunfei, then because his home had better qi gathering formations. After the third week, she’d stopped coming up with excuses. She still slept there and tended to her garden boxes of spiritual herbs, but the rest of her time she typically spent here.
Whereas before the space had been nearly empty, with just a few potted herbs growing on raised tables, now it had been transformed into a veritable jungle with only a few clear patches of the floor and walls visible beneath a thick blanket of vegetation. Trellises of climbing vines lined the walls and the floor and tables were covered in pots and troughs. His gemstone orchid shone more brightly than it ever had before, its translucent five-colored petals sparkling like the finest jewels in the morning sunlight streaming through the room’s many windows.
At the very center of the room, directly beneath the skylight, lay a mat of woven reeds—the very same one that usually resided in his subterranean meditation cellar. Arranged in a ring around it were eight jade statuettes, each one carved into the likeness of a woman standing with her arms spread wide and her heads thrown back. The Modest quality treasure was the result of his latest minor reward token, a rather lucky pull all things considered. It was similar to a set of formation flags, except somewhat more versatile and less impermanent. Depending on how the eight statuettes were arranged they could form a different formation. The current arrangement was a standard qi gathering and filtering formation, perfect for cultivating within, and was actually significantly superior to the permanent version he had used previously.
Calvin ignored the cultivation circle for the moment, instead leading Gwen to a different clear space, a small strip in one corner of the room near the window. He pressed lightly on her shoulder and she sat down with a thump. Surrounded on all sides by greenery, her shoulders relaxed, some of the tension draining from her. Then he sat down beside her, crossing his legs and pulling her in to rest her head on his shoulder.
They sat in silence for several minutes. Calvin had found that when she got going, Gwen loved to talk. She could talk and talk for hours without pause about just about anything that caught her attention. Sometimes however, she needed silence. Time to breathe and think and process.
He didn’t mind it. He liked Gwen’s passion and enthusiasm, but he also appreciated the quiet moments. He breathed deeply, the rich qi in the air filling his lungs, and slowly cycled his qi. Within his spirit, three Gates turned slowly but surely, his Foundation shining within his spirit like a constellation. It had taken far too long to fully repair the damage he’d endured during his duel with Yunfei––yet another reason the Outer sect’s whole culture of dueling was a huge waste of time––but since then he’d taken great strides in refining his Foundation. Just the day before his average node quality had finally ticked up to Above Average and his channel quality was already at Modest and slowly creeping up towards Below Average.
Sooner than he’d been expecting, Gwen spoke up. “The Outer sect tournament is coming up pretty soon.”
“It is,” Calvin agreed. “Mei’s been practically buzzing to harvest the first batch of cloud blossoms all week. She’s going to make a killing selling her share.” He paused, humming speculatively. “You should consider doing the same. Some of the herbs you’re growing could net you a cozy sum of contribution points and other treasures if you find the right buyer.”
Gwen smacked him lightly on the thigh. “Calvin!” she whined, “You know that’s not what I meant…”
Calvin quirked an eyebrow at her, covering her hand with his own before it could escape. “Oh? Then whatever did you mean?”
She was quiet for a long moment, then in a small voice asked, “Are you going to compete?”
Calvin stared at her in confusion. “No? Why the hell would I do that?”
Gwen stared right back at him. “But you’re rated in the top thousand disciples now, and I’ve heard people talking about how you beat Y-yunfei! People think you have a good shot of making the top sixty-four. Maybe even the top sixteen depending on who else decides to compete this year.”
Calvin shrugged. “Probably, yeah.” Perhaps even the top eight if he really pulled out all the stops.
“But what about the prizes? And the reputation? I’ve heard that a whole bunch of Elders come out to watch the tournament every year, and the top eight are even offered a chance to join the Inner sect!”
“…I mean, if you really want me to––“ he began, but Gwen cut him off.
“No! I mean, uh...” Gwen opened and closed her mouth like a fish several times. Unable to resist, Calvin booped her gently on the nose, and she tried to bite his finger in retaliation. After a moment, Gwen let out a sound of frustration and leaned forward, pressing her face against her knees. “I don’t know,” she mumbled. “You looked so cool fighting Yunfei, but I was so scared. And when he pulled out that weapon…” She swallowed heavily. “But I’ve heard the resources in the Inner sect are so much better than what we get. They have pills and manuals and whatever else that us in the Outer sect can only dream of, but here you are spending your time and resources on me instead of preparing for the tournament.”
Calvin rolled his eyes, glad that Gwen couldn’t see him, and leaned over to hug Gwen gently. She stiffened for an instant, then melted into his touch. “Gwen, I wasn’t going to fight in the tournament whether or not I dueled Yunfei. I don’t like dueling. It’s a total scam and a waste of time. All the spiritual damage I take and qi I waste competing will cost me way more than any prizes I earn will make up for, and there are much better ways to advance to the Inner sect than competing in the tournament. I’ve already got more than enough of that on my hands with Yue Gwey threatening to challenge me next quarter. Why would I intentionally seek out a dozen extra fights?”
“But you trade pointers with Senior Sister Lulu all the time,” Lulu asked.
“That’s completely different. It’s important to be able to defend yourself and practicing techniques is good training. If you’d like, once you advance you can join us. I’m sure Lulu would be thrilled to have an eager junior like you to boss around.”
“That would be nice,” Gwen agreed. “I like senior sister.” No surprise these. In her own way, Lulu was nearly as excited by Calvin’s budding relationship as Ariadne was. “Do you really think I’m ready?”
It took Calvin a moment to process the non sequitur. When he did, he just tightened his grip around his junior sister. “I don’t just think you’re ready, I know you are.” Without the Scroll, it was impossible to say with absolute certainty, but Calvin was confident Gwen was as prepared as she could be for her breakthrough to the Foundation realm. She’d already laid out the path for her first qi channel, her first qi node was chock full of boundary qi, and he’d run her through a bevy of exercises meant to help prepare a cultivator for their first true breakthrough. “The only thing that could possibly hold you back is your own diffidence, and if you don’t believe in yourself, believe in me. I know you can do this. Understood?”
“Yes, senior brother!” Gwen exclaimed. Calvin let go of her, allowing her to sit up straight once again before she immediately leaned back into his chest. Tilting her head back, she peered up at him through her lashes and Calvin obligingly wrapped his arms around her waist, hands resting lightly over her belly.
She fell silent once again, and Calvin could feel the qi around her ripple as she drew a few extra drops of energy into her spirit. The sun slowly crept higher and higher in the sky, nearing the zenith that would serve as the optimal time for Gwen’s breakthrough. Eventually, she spoke up again. “Will you stay with me?”
Calvin frowned. The first breakthrough was not so delicate that having another cultivator in the room would disrupt things, especially with the formation around the cultivation mat, but it wasn’t necessarily a great idea. “I would just distract you,” he told her gently.
“Please? I’d feel better knowing you were there. I promise you won’t be in the way.”
“...and you remember what we discussed about clothing?” It was recommended to wear as little as possible during a moment as delicate as a breakthrough. Even mortal fabric could potentially cause issues, and the sort of high-quality robes designed to not interfere with the spirit at all were extremely expensive and would be utterly ruined by the impurities ejected during a breakthrough.
Gwen’s cheeks were beet red, but she nodded. “Yes, senior brother.”
“Oh alright…” he conceded. “But you know I’ll never forgive you if you get distracted and screw up your breakthrough, right?”
“...yes, Cal.”
“Good.” He thought about the scroll case still lying out on the kitchen table. He’d been planning to share the Foundation within with Gwen once she’d advanced regardless––she would more than pay for it in herbs and labor––but maybe he could use it as a little bit of extra incentive. “And if you do a really good job, there’s a surprise in it for you,” he sing-songed.
Gwen perked right up, her earlier doubts erased from her mind. “I won’t let you down, senior brother!”
Calvin suddenly wondered what exactly Gwen thought he meant by a surprise.