The last few days had been quieter since Sen gave the order that the training was on hold for a week. At least, it had been in some senses. He still went out and turned huge tracts of the wilds into ashes and killed most of the spirit beasts that came out of their infernos. He’d also taken to snatching up all of the natural treasures and anything of alchemical value to be found in those areas. That conversation about the resources necessary to support the advancement of large numbers of cultivators had not been lost on him. He also planned to have a one-sided conversation with the alchemists about what they would be doing in the immediate future. However, he wasn’t quite petty enough to make them use up their personal stores for that work.
Even with all of that, his time was less encumbered, which was why he finally noticed something odd. The cultivator that he’d more or less adopted into his sect had been hanging around near his tent most days. He’d thought, at first, that she was just looking for him to tell her what to do. As he landed near his tent after returning from the daily cull, he took a longer look at the girl. She looked positively haggard with dark rings beneath her eyes. As he watched, she swayed on her feet and took a lurching step to steady herself. He frowned at that and wondered, Has someone been abusing this girl in some way?
He walked over to stand right in front of her. She stared blearily at his chest for a few seconds before she turned uncomprehending eyes up to look at his face. There were several more seconds where she clearly didn’t have the faintest idea of who she was looking at. He watched as the recognition and panic set it.
“Lord Lu!” she shouted.
She tried to bow as she spoke, misjudging the distance between them and hitting her head against his stomach.
“Ow,” she said, rubbing at her head.
Sen did his best not to laugh or crack a smile. It was funny, but he was quite certain it wouldn’t seem funny to her if he laughed. Her awareness of the situation took hold again.
“Forgive me, Lord Lu!” she shouted.
Sen had to take a hasty step back before the flustered foundation formation girl hit her head on him again.
“It’s fine,” said Sen in what he hoped was a soothing voice.
“Thank you for your benevolence, Lord Lu.
“You’re very welcome. Is there something you need from me—” Sen paused as struggled to remember if he’d bothered to get her name. “Disciple?”
“This unworthy one is Chou Dai Lu.”
“Disciple Chou,” said Sen. “Is there something you need?”
“I—” she seemed to choke on her words before bowing again. “Patriarch, I humbly request instruction.”
Sen was about to speak when he heard her breathe out two words that he was almost certain she hadn’t meant him to hear.
That last brought him up short. He took a closer look at the girl. Judging from the state of her robes, it appeared that she’d been sleeping in them. More importantly, it did not appear that she’d enjoyed the protection of a tent when she’d been sleeping. Sen almost asked what had been going on, and then realized he didn’t need to ask. It was almost painfully obvious. She had been effectively banished from her old sect largely due to his actions. They had no doubt been providing her with a tent. One she’d likely had to share with others. By taking her into his sect, he'd made the statement the he would take responsibility for her and her ongoing needs.
And he hadn’t done it. It would have been nothing to order someone to provide her with a tent, bedding, and whatever food she needed, but he hadn’t even thought about it. It was probably pure desperation that had driven her to hover around his tent and wait to be noticed. He doubted she would have ever worked up the courage to demand his attention. If there had ever been a time to find that courage, this had been that time. The failure belonged to him and him alone. Of course, he imagined most sect patriarchs did not look kindly on having their failures exposed in public or in private. Sen had been trained properly, though. He did what one should do in such situations. He bowed to her. It was so low that he was almost looking straight down at the ground.
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“Disciple Chou, I have failed you. As the only other member of our sect here, and as your new Patriarch, it was my duty to see that you were provided with all that you required. I was negligent in that duty. I beg your forgiveness.”
After several seconds went by without so much as a sound from the girl, Sen looked up. Chou Dai Lu stood frozen in front of him. Her face was locked somewhere between disbelief and horror. It even looked like she was struggling to breathe. I might have predicted that, thought Sen. Confident that Chou Dai Lu wasn’t going to speak or may not even be able to speak, he straightened. He tried to prioritize what was most pressing. Food, he decided. Everything is better and easier with a full stomach.
“Come with me,” said Sen.
He walked to the flaps of his tent and, with a with a beckoning gesture from him, the girl staggered into motion. She followed him into the tent and stopped just inside the flaps, as though going any father would be impermissible. Sen just summoned a small table and two chairs from a storage ring.
“Sit,” he said with a gesture at one of the chairs.
Chou Dai Lu opened and closed her mouth several times. After she failed to make any sounds come forth, she lowered her eyes, walked to the chair, and sat. Sen took his time in summoning some food from one of his storage rings. He found a stew he didn’t remember making, put some in a bowl, and used a little fire qi to warm it. That was followed by a dish of rice, and a few pastries that had somehow escaped the notice of both Ai and Zhi. When Chou Dai Lu just stared at the food, Sen rolled his eyes.
“I’ve found that food tastes much better when you actually eat it,” he prodded.
“I—” she started and just never continued.
“Eat,” he gently commanded.
The first few bites were tentative and marked with frequent glances at him. She acted as though he might change his mind and slap the food from her grasp. That fear swiftly evaporated as she began to eat with a vengeance. Slightly amused and a bit guilty, he kept sliding food onto the table until the girl seemed sated. I can’t help but wonder when she last ate, he thought. Not nearly recently enough. In all likelihood, she had never considered just going to the army cooks. They would have fed any cultivator who came in and asked for food. He doubted they would have asked a single question. He took a few minutes to make tea. That would let her meal settle before he started asking questions. It was only once they both held cups that he asked her anything.
“Where have you been sleeping?” he asked. “Be honest.”
She grimaced but said, “Anywhere I could. Usually near one of the fires or the horses. It’s warmer.”
“I see. So, you require a tent and bedding?”
“Yes, Patriarch,” she whispered, as though she was requesting some unreasonably rare natural treasure.
“I take it your former sect was providing you with meals.”
“Did it not occur to you to simply ask for food from the army cooks? Or offer to buy food from them? You do have coin.”
From the baffled look on her face, he got all the confirmation he needed that she truly hadn’t considered it. He waved away his own questions and continued.
“It doesn’t matter now. I suppose the question now is what I should do with you. It’s simple enough to provide you with a tent, bedding, and food. If we were back at the sect, you’d be given instruction by others. But we aren’t back at the sect, are we?”
“No, Patriarch?” Chou Dai Lu asked more than said.
Sen smiled. He remembered that kind of uncertainty.
“It’s not safe to send you there alone. I also can’t spare anyone strong enough to take you there. Yet, you need training, or your path will grind to a halt.”
Sen had gotten a look at her dantian and qi channels. She was leaning toward metal qi, but that wasn’t firmly set yet. He thought that, with a bit of focused attention, she could end up able to use two or three kinds of qi without straining her current cultivation too much. At least, she could if she wanted it badly enough. The source of thɪs content is novel-fire.ɴet
“I’ll be honest with you, Disciple Chou. Despite my skill and power, I am not a particularly good teacher. My own training was—” Sen tried to find an appropriate description. “Let’s call it very demanding. It often makes me expect too much from people. However, since I am the only sect member here, I will do my best to offer you training as and where I can. If that’s what you want.”
The girl was already nodding eagerly but stopped when Sen held up a hand.
“There are two paths before you. If you want to become a metal cultivator, I can train you adequately for that. The other, much more difficult option is that I can train you to be more like me. There’s enough flexibility left in your cultivation to make that possible. I suppose you would become my direct disciple. Don’t agree to anything now. I want you to understand what that would mean before you decide. So, today, we’re going to deal with the practicalities. We’ll get you a tent, bedding, and a bath. Tomorrow, we will discuss what both kinds of training will be like. Then, I want you to take a day or two and think it over. Decide which path you think is right for you. Not the path you think everyone would take, but the one you believe will serve you best as a cultivator. Agreed?”
“Yes. That seems fair. But, can I ask something?”
“Where will I take a bath in this camp?”
“I guess none of you have seen this trick, yet. Well, you’ll see soon enough. In the meantime,” said Sen, summoning blankets and a pillow, “take a nap. It looks like you need it.”