The journey back home was swift, the grass fields whirring past us as our carriage rushed through at high speeds. Within a few minutes, we were in Taizhou, and I watched the villagers pausing in their day to day work as they watched the carriage roll in.
Opening the gates, I stepped out, and found a strong earthy smell filling the air. The ground was wet from the storm caused by the tribulation, and I could see signs of water overflowing in parts from the nearby river.
The village head rushed out of his home, before grabbing Yin. “Heaven’s mercy, I had been terrified when I’d seen that tribulation at the Lord’s manor. Such a terrible storm too. Are you alright Yin’er?”
“Y-yes,” Yin replied, shuffling as her father hugged her in a rare display of open emotion.
“Welcome back,” Granny Lang said, her cane hitting the ground in a rhythmic thud, as she walked out with a smoking pipe in her mouth. “You sure went and caused a ruckus didn’t you boy?”
I bowed my head, pressing my fist into my palm. “As I do, Granny,” I replied, giving her a cheeky smile.
“My, what happened to you, Zhang?” the Granny said, walking closer. She looked into Zhang’s eyes, finding the starry backdrop set within them from his new cultivation. “You’re… different now. Like some sort of celestial fairy.”
“Brother Jie gave me an insight, allowing me a breakthrough,” Zhang replied. “I still haven’t quite grasped just what I’m capable of now, it is a vast power.”
I watched Zhang looking down at his fist, purple wisps swirling around him. We will need to test this new art, see just what it was capable of. Gravity Chi… I felt excitement stir in my chest at the thought. Just how far could the concept be taken? If taught about atoms, and nuclear fission, could someone gain Nuclear Chi or Atomic Chi? How vast would the understanding need to be?
“I know you’ve just arrived Lu Jie, Zhang, but could you two go look for Su Lin? He’s been out for the night. With a storm, there’s a chance the boy decided to just sleep out somewhere, but it’d still allow me to rest in peace if you went to check,” Granny Lang said.
I looked at Zhang, before giving a nod. “Sure, where is he?”
“He went to the Qi mines, should be around there” Granny replied.
I frowned. Had the spores returned?
“Alright,” I said, before Zhang and I headed out.
Making my way through the village, I noted logs of wood and small impromptu bridges set across the river. The water was still muddy from the flood, flowing in a rapid current. With a hop, I jumped across the river with ease, Zhang following me with no effort as well.
Walking a little further, I frowned as something began to prickle my senses. “Do you feel that?” I asked Zhang.
“Faintly, but yes, brother Jie,” Zhang replied, his brows furrowing as well. “There’s miasma nearby.”
Feeling my concerns growing, I rushed ahead. Chi flooded my steps as the world warped around me, and soon I stood at the entrance of the Qi mine, and what I saw made my heart drop.
Dark soot covered the mines, Gu lingering on every inch of the cavern. Fire marks covered the ground, ash floating in the air from whatever had transpired here. Stepping inside, I walked through the haze of miasma feeling the Death energy seeping into my skin and crawling under it. I absorbed the Gu into my core, turning it all to Chi, as I opened my senses.
Two eyes looked at me from within the darkness, as a rumbling growl echoed throughout the cavern. Dark flames danced across the beast, as its visage began to come within sight from the darkness of the cavern.
I stared at the giant wolf, fire burning around its mouth as it glared at me, and I found my heart pounding in trepidation.
“Lu Jie?” a voice called from within, and I froze.
“Su Lin?” I called out, surprised.
Su Lin walked out from further inside, staring at me. “What’re you doing here?” he asked.
“What am I doing here? What’re you doing here? And what is that thing with you?” I asked, staring at him dumbly.
“Su Lin, step back from the demonic beast,” Zhang said, his voice clipped. I noticed rocks starting to float around him as his eyes glimmered with Chi.
“No, you’re misunderstanding—”
The Gu beast growled, sensing the Chi rising in Zhang’s core. Flames rose high, as the beast sank low to the ground, ready to leap.
“Alright, stop!” I shouted, stepping ahead and standing in between the two of them. The Gu Beast froze, and Zhang followed my word, letting his Chi settle.
“You, explain,” I said, pointing at Su Lin.
“So, I came here when someone told me there was some beast in the mines and found this fella. He’s been injured, and fell unconscious, and I didn’t know what to do, you see. So I went and brought it a little something to eat from the village, snuck in and out so no one would smell all the miasma on me. Then this guy just perked right up and has been whining every time I try to leave. A couple of beasts also tried to attack it and I had to separate the fights and, given how bad the storm was at the time, I figured I would spend the night here, to make sure he doesn’t die,” Su Lin said, looking back at the giant wolf. “I know how this looks. Heavens, I still don’t believe I’m taking care of a demonic beast of all things, but it felt a bit weird to just leave it to die. And it kept giving me these pitiful eyes. I blame ya for making me get so used to bizarre things like this.”
I stared at Su Lin, before my gaze went to the Wolf. I finally noticed the many, many scars and wounds it carried on its body. It was injured, and quite heavily so.
Slowly I walked closer, and the wolf growled.
“Shh, it’s okay. He’s a friend,” Su Lin said, running a hand through the wolf’s back as it settled down slightly.
Moving closer, I gently brought my hand to the wolf, pressing my palm at its head, near its eyes. It bared its teeth, letting me know it would attack if I did anything, but I continued.
Closing my eyes, I let my senses expand.
Chi stirred in my core before flowing into the Gu wolf. I let my Chi turn to Gu as it replenished the beast.
Opening my eyes, I looked at the beast, staring at me with a wide eyed expression. “Home,” The beast said in a guttural growl, before leaping at me.
I sensed Zhang stir, ready to attack, but he stopped as he heard my laughter.
“Oh god, stop that. That tickles!” I shouted, as the wolf jumped on me, licking all over my face and wrestling me to the ground. I rubbed its chin, brushing its fur as the wolf flopped over onto its belly and I let myself cave, dishing out the most powerful belly rubs on the largest wolf I had ever seen.
Truly, there was no force greater than the human desire to pet anything and everything we saw.
“That… went a bit differently than I had expected,” Su Lin said, watching the wolf kicking its leg in pleasure as I rubbed its belly.
“How the heck did he arrive here?” I asked, looking up at Su Lin as the wolf got up, before leaning on my back as it tried to bite at my head.
“Hey, stop that,” I said, pushing the beast away, as flames danced around my body.
“I have no idea, ask it maybe? It can talk,” Su Lin said.
I turned to face the Gu beast. “Can you understand me?” I asked.
The Gu Beast looked at me, before giving a nod.
“Good, great. So, how did you get here?”
“Lost. Then heard call. Home,” The beast said.
“It keeps saying that, home or something. Maybe it wants to go back where it came from?” Su Lin asked.
The wolf shook its head, before raising its paw and pointing it at me. “Home.” It said again.
My eyes widened in surprise as I realized something.
“You want to be part of my home?” I asked.
The wolf nodded.
“Are you sure Brother Jie? Can we trust a demonic beast like it? What if it’s lying to try to hurt you?” Zhang asked.
“I doubt it, but it’s a possibility. Regardless, there’s no way the villagers will allow him to stay, and if the Lord finds out, we’ll all be killed for keeping a demonic beast with us anyway,” Su Lin said.
I frowned, looking at the Wolf.
“I don’t think it’s lying,” I said, looking at the wolf. “Gu is… malicious. But when I reached out to this beast, it was settled, calm, like something had put chains onto it. If so, it’s got a powerful will to keep the dark Gu in check, a beast like that will not lie,” I said, glancing back up at Su Lin. “But, keeping it is also risky. So, we’ll keep him in this mine. Hidden away from the village, ‘til I can think of a more permanent solution.”
Su Lin hummed, before giving a nod.
Zhang did not say anything further either.
Turning to the wolf, I brushed its fur. Closing my eyes, I reached out with my spirit once more. The roots within my soul stirred at my call, reaching out to the wolf. A moment later, I sensed a new bond snap into place, as the spirit root formed within the wolf, tying him to my spirit.
I stared at the wolf’s dantian, finding two dark rings floating in the abyss. The flaming rings of Gu burned with miasma, as the Gu swirled within a core inside the beast’s spirit.
I watched the darkness, and felt something click in place, a new sensation filling my mind. Like a missing piece that had been lost returning to where it was supposed to be.
The tree in my soul grew, sprouting a new leaf.
My mind joined with the beast’s, as memories overtook me, pulling me into their world.