Two days later, the storm had abated and the four of us headed out towards the base camp of the Ice Blades tribe out on the ice floes.
Dong led the way, with me and Zhi behind him, and Bing trailed behind our rear.
Just like she said, the camp wasn’t too far away, and we soon spotted it.
The moment we saw the camp, I stored the collar in my ring, and it vanished from Bing’s neck.
She gave me another glare before giving up and trudging on.
Yeah, keep going.
We were spotted soon too, and a few warriors met us a distance from the camp, though once they saw Dong and Bing with us, they became a lot more relaxed.
The head guard stepped forward to engage us, giving us suspicious glances before turning to Dong and Bing.
“Dong, you have returned from your scouting excursion, and Bing!
Where have you been these past few months?
Your parents—”
“Are worried sick, I know, I know.
Look, I ran into these guys, and they can help solve the hunger problem, can we please go see the elder?” Bing just sounded… tired.
The warrior hesitated for a moment before sighing.
“Alright.
Normally we wouldn’t allow outsiders in without the elder’s approval, but since it’s you… just follow us.
We’ll take you to the elder.”
With that, they escorted us into camp.
The way they dressed reminded me of Inuits from my past life, with sealskin.
But they had brightly dyed furs too, and sparkling jewelry strung on twisted leather strings, like polished glass.
Their tents were also brightly dyed, making them stick out against the bright white of the snow.
They were easy to see in the darkness too, with a few torches lit every ten feet or so.
The tribespeople stopped what they were doing, either treating skins, making baskets, cooking around communal fires, to stare at us, the spirit beast outsiders being led through camp.
The whispers were fierce, especially as they spotted Bing.
We were led to a large, rounded tent at the center of the camp with long blue markings on it.
Dong waited outside while the three of us went in.
A small fire crackled in the center of the room, and an older man stood behind it with his back to us.
His clothes were completely white, like his long hair, tied back in a pony tail.
“Bing.
You have returned at last.” He turned and scanned both me and Zhi up and down before turning to Bing.
He was clean shaven, with deep set wrinkles that partially hid his eyes, which shone with intelligence.
“And it seems you’ve brought strangers with you.
Tell me, are they the solution to the task I gave you?”
Bing sighed.
“Yeah.
They have enough hunger pills to last us until spring.”
The old man, the elder, turned back to Zhi and narrowed his eyes.
“And what would they like in return for their pills?”
Zhi stepped forward, slipped off his glove, and held out his outstretched palm.
There was a flicker of light, and a soft blue symbol appeared on his palm.
The elder’s eyebrows shot up.
“I see.
Very well then.
Your instruction begins at the waking hour tomorrow.
Bring the pills to your mother, she can take care of distributing them.
Build a new lodge for our guests to stay in.”
Zhi’s palm stopped shining and he took a step back, slipping his glove back on.
Bing didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?
You got my note, didn’t you?”
“I did.
And yet, here you are, with a solution to the problem I gave you.
Bing, I understand your desire to see the world.
But our clan is in no place to lose one of our most talented members.” The elder turned away from her, back to his workbench.
He seems to be working with some kind of glass beads.
“I think you mean you’re in no place to lose me.”
The elder didn’t say anything, and she scoffed.
“Whatever.
I’m leaving again tomorrow.
And I swear, I’m not coming back.”
She marched out of the tent and Zhi’ and I shared a confused look.
Zhi cleared his throat.
“So, uh, where do I report for instruction?”
The elder sighed.
“Report to me.
I can start your instruction.
Though… I find it hard to believe you’re really a Liu.
I’m sure there is a long story behind it, but we can save it for later.
For now, follow Bing.
She’ll help get you settled in.”
Okay then.
Zhi lingered for another moment but he didn’t turn around again.
He turned and we both headed for the exit flap.
I paused at the flap, holding it, and look backed at him after a second.
He looked… old.
And tired.
It was the first time I think I’ve ever seen a truly old cultivator.
I left the tent to see Zhi, and Bing, who was fuming.
“I can’t believe him!
He’s always like this!
Oh, the ice will lead you, destiny is the cleared path on the ice before you, feel the fucking ice!
He never once thought I left did he!
Well, I’ll show him!
I’ll…” She froze then frantically looked around us to see if anyone had heard her.
Luckily her outburst had been largely ignored by the rest of the tribe.
She sighed.
“Follow me.”
As we did, Zhi asked.
“So, that was the elder huh?
Um… you know, he seemed mysterious.
I mean, he didn’t even ask for our names.
And I get the feeling he’s not just playing at being old.
What’s his cultivation at?”
“He’s Spirit Transformation.
Almost ten thousand years old.”
Holy fuck.
That was old.
I think the matriarch of the Tang family was only about four thousand.
“Oh.
He’s… he’s almost at the end of his lifespan then.
I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.
That bastard has had plenty of time to lord over all of us.
Tyrant.
Whatever he says goes here.
Even if he wants to make the next leader a small girl barely into Foundation Establishment.”
There was some backstory here we didn’t know.
If I took a very small leap in logic and assume that next leader was her, she was the small girl.
And she didn’t want to be the next leader.
She took us to a smaller tent, on the other side of camp.
A woman who looked a lot like her, white hair, blue eyes, looked up from some kind of stand to treat leather.
“Bing!
Oh Bing!” She ran around and threw her arms around Bing, hugging her tightly.
“Hi… Mom.” Bing was a lot more halfhearted.
An older man who had been working off to the side wiped some bright dye off his hands and joined into the family hug.
He was the tallest of them, with black hair rather than white, but similar blue eyes.
It lasted a few minutes before her parents were finally willing to let her go.
Her mother brushed away a tear.
“Oh baby, where have you been?
We’ve been so worried.
You just up and disappeared near the beginning of fall.
The elder told us not to worry but…”
“Guys, I’m fine.
I’m a Core Formation!
And I know how to survive out there.
I can take care of myself.”
Her father sighed.
“We know that.
We were just worried that…” He trailed off and shook his head.
“We’re just glad you’re home.”
They moved to pull her into another hug, but she darted away.
“Anyway, I’m here on official business.
Let me introduce you, this is Liu Zhihao and Liu Ming.
They have hunger pills we can use to feed everyone.”
“Oh?
Um… it’s nice to meet you?” Bing’s mother seemed supremely unsure of us.
Zhi bowed his head to her, showing respect.
“It’s nice to meet you too.
Ming?”
I summoned a bag of about one hundred pills.
“Here.
This should be enough for the next few days.
I have more, so just come see me if it isn’t enough.”
“Oh!” She took the pills from me and looked into the bag.
A wide smile stretched across her face.
“Thank you!
This should be enough to tide us over if we’re careful.
Now, you said you were Liu’s?”
Zhi nodded.
“We are, me and my wife are staying with the clan for a while until I learn the water techniques of the tribe.”
“Then you’ll need a place to stay.
Uh, I believe I have a spare tent somewhere around here.”
She went and began searching various bags.
Her husband rolled his eyes and walked into a different room.
He came back a moment later with a large bag.
“I’ve got it baby.
Here.
This is a smaller tent, but it should be fine for just the two of you.
Bing, can you go round up a few others to help get this set up?”
“You got it Dad.” She dipped out and he waited a few seconds before turning back to us.
“Tell us what really happened.
I don’t believe Bing left to try and find more food for our tribe.” Oh.
Um… Her mother came and stood beside him, grave now.
Zhi sighed.
“She went to explore the world.
For her Dao journey.
We met her just outside Xuegong.
Where she tried to rob us.”
Her mother winced and her father turned away, grumbling.
Bing’s mother attempted to apologize.
“We are so very sorry about that.
Bing is just a little… willful.”
“Willful?
We needed her here, not off galavanting to gods know where causing problems.
I knew she wasn’t ready for her Dao journey yet.”
Her mother sighed.
“She… she just needs to grow up a little.
She’s lived her whole life here in the north.
And she wants to explore, but… she’s just not ready.
And she has responsibilities here as the next clan head.
She just… doesn’t understand what the world is like yet.
Um… if it’s not too much to ask…”
Zhi shook his head.
“No.
We’re not babysitting your wayward daughter.
I have my hands full with learning new techniques, and Ming…”
His eyes told me to find an excuse.
Erm… “Uh, I’m not sure if I want that kind of responsibility either.
I want to learn what I can while I’m here too.”
Her mother’s eyes sparkled.
“Then I’ll teach you!
I’m the clan’s best leather worker and carver.
My husband can teach you everything you could want to know about dyes and foraging.
Just please, try to teach her more about the world.
Since you’re not from here, I’m sure she’ll listen to you.”
Damn it… I couldn’t help it.
They both just looked too desperate.
I sighed.
“Okay.
I’ll try and reign in Bing in exchange for lessons, but I can’t promise she’ll listen to me.
Don’t expect too much.”
Bing’s father smiled.
“Thank you.
That’s already enough.
We know Bing is unruly, but we just want her to learn about the world the easy way.”
Mmm.
Something told me she wasn’t the type to learn the easy way.
I turned back to Zhi, who heaved a big sigh.
“Come on.
Let’s go get our tent set up.”
The four of us went outside and found Bing, and she had found a few others.
Together, we all set up a small tent on the outer edge of the camp.
Laying down heavy mats to protect from snow, setting up a fire ring, and a few essentials like pots to keep water in.
Finally, we had our own tent, which was a particularly obnoxious shade of yellow.
Zhi and I said thanks and goodbye to everyone before heading inside.
I set up the brazier, and it kept the inside nice and toasty.
“Can you start a fire?
I’ll make dinner.”
He lit up a fuelless flame with his chi.
“I can’t believe you agreed to watching Bing.
You know it’s a lost cause, right?”
“Come on, it’s not like she’s evil she’s just… a teenager.” I summoned the pots, pans, and foodstuffs I’d use for dinner.
Zhi sat down on a pile of furs.
“Exactly.
She thinks she knows what’s best and won’t consider other people at all.
Consequences don’t exist to her.
She left home with nothing but her weapon, picked a fight with a sect, and tried to rob two random cultivators.
And even after all that, she hasn’t learned a godsdamn thing.
She still wants to take off the first chance she gets.”
“Well, try to see it from her point of view.
If all you know is the land of ice, snow and darkness, wouldn’t you want to get out and explore?” I boiled the water and put the rice in.
Time for the meat.
“I would.
But I wouldn’t leave my family in a bad place to do it.” Zhi had a sour expression and shook his head.
“Her parents were right.
She’s not ready for her Dao journey.
She left her clan and her responsibilities without a plan.
I mean, I doubt she even knows any support skills since she needed money so badly when we met her.”
“I mean, neither do you.” Okay, veggie time.
I pulled out the chopping board and knife.
“That’s different.
I have you, and you’re the master of support.
If times ever get tough, we can just sell a treasure off or take a commission to make pills.
Not to mention all the money left by the immortal.”
“Okay, then I’ll teach her some.
I know about treasure making and alchemy.” Veggies went to the side, start chopping up the chicken.
“Uh, no you can’t.
Your techniques use divine chi, and she cultivates water and ice chi.”
“Well, then I’ll impart good life lessons onto her.
Like don’t marry hard asses who discourage everything you do.” I threw a black look at him, and held it as I threw the veggies and chicken in the pan to fry.
“What!?
I’m not discouraging you, I’m just…”
“Just what?
Telling me that what I’m trying to do is impossible?
That sounds pretty discouraging to me.” Okay, it was done.
I got myself a plate and tossed one towards Zhi.
“Get your own food.”
He caught it without missing a beat.
“Urk, Ming, I’m not discouraging you I’m just… trying to explain how hard it’s going to be.”
I just stared at him.
“That’s not any better, is it?
Shit.”
I sat down, turned away from him and started eating, now in a bad mood.
I resisted jabbing him with a chopstick as he sat beside me.
“Ming… I’m sorry.
Really.
And while I think it’s going to be hard, I know that if there’s anyone out there capable of changing Bing without making her learn the hard way, it’s you.”
He was really backpedalling here.
But I did like the praise.
“Oh?
Changing your tune now?”
“I’ll be honest.
I don’t like Bing.
She’s a brat.
Everything I said was an insult about her.
Not about what you’re capable of.
You’re one of the most capable people I’ve ever met.
You can do anything you put your mind to.”
I couldn’t help but smile despite everything.
“Anything huh?
What about beating you in a fight?”
He chuckled.
“You could do that with ease.
All you would have to do is smile at me and I couldn’t bear to attack you.
I know if there’s anyone capable of changing Bing, it’s you.
Because you’re the one who helped me change.”
Oh fuck.
“Zhi, are you feeling alright?
That was possibly the sweetest and most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.” I put my hand up to his forehead to check if he had a fever.
He pushed my hand away, rolling his eyes.
“Ha ha.
But it’s true.
Without you here, I have no idea where I’d be right now.
Maybe captured.
Maybe dead.
Maybe something even worse.
The only thing I know for sure, is that I wouldn’t be who I am right now without you.
And right now, I rather like who I am.” His eyes were clear and earnest, filled with affection.
Ugh.
So cute.
Too cute!
“Let’s hurry up and eat.
Then maybe we can cuddle a while and I’ll spoil you a bit for being so sweet.”
His tail straightened out in excitement, and he began devouring his food.
I chuckled and began munching on mine.
Well, Zhi was right about two things.
One, was that Bing was a brat.
The second was that I can do whatever I put my mind to.
We both woke early when the waking hour came around, dragging ourselves out of bed.
The criers outside alerting everyone that the sleeping time was over.
We ate a quick breakfast and Zhi gave me a kiss outside before heading to the big central tent where the elder would start his training.
I headed for Bing’s, and gently called out before heading inside.
“Hello?
Can I come in?
It’s Ming.”
I heard her mother call out.
“Ming?
Oh, please, come in, come in!
We were just eating breakfast.”
I pushed the tent flap aside.
And paused, trying to make sense of the scene in front of me.
Bing’s parents were sitting around the fire, happily eating some kind of thin meat soup.
Bing was tied up and gagged in the back, thrashing around.
“Uhhhh…”
Bing mother waved away my concern.
“Oh, don’t worry about Bing.
She just tried to sneak out last night.
Now, let’s talk details.”
Okay then.
I walked inside and joined her parents by the waning fire.
“Right.
So… what exactly do you want me to teach Bing?”
Her father swallowed.
“So, we want you to teach Bing more about the outside world and help her… understand just how dangerous it can be.
And that running away, and robbing people aren’t good solutions.”
Okay.
Morality and appreciation for what she has then.
“When can I teach her?”
Her mother chuckled.
“You can start right after breakfast.
Bing has free mornings.
But that’s when me and my husband can teach you what we know.”
Okay.
My mornings would be spent with Bing, I’d take my own lessons in the afternoon, and evenings were me and Zhi time.
“Okay.
I’m ready to start.
But, uh…”
I summoned the collar I had on Bing earlier.
Her eyes widened as soon as she saw it and she began to thrash around even more.
“This is a cultivator slave collar.
I had it on Bing when we arrived yesterday and it’s to keep her from running away and under my control.
However, I understand if you don’t want me to use it.
I figured it might be easier than tying her up.”
Her mother suddenly looked worried.
“That seems a bit… extreme.
So, I take it you put it on her after she tried to rob you?”
I shook my head.
“Oh no.
You see, she agreed to help us sneak into Xuegong in exchange for a storage ring, but my husband got caught in a trap meant for her because she pissed off the Frozen Glaive Sect.
When I asked for her help to get him back, she refused and told me to abandon him.
I tricked her by disguising this collar as the storage ring I promised her and told her it was a token of forgiveness.
That’s how I got the slave collar on her.”
Both of her parents remained completely silent.
Then they both slowly turned to look at Bing.
Who was completely still.
She mumbled something, shrugged, and looked away.
Her mother turned back to me.
“You know what?
The collar is a good idea.
Go ahead and put it on her.”
Ah.
Okay then.
I walked over to Bing.
“Sorry about this.
It’s for your own good.” She actually growled at me as I snapped the collar around her neck.
I cut off her chi and untied her.
She sat up, sullen, looking away from all of us.
Her father sighed.
“Come on Bing.
Come and eat breakfast.”
She didn’t budge.
“I hate you.”
Oof.
Her father looked like he’d been slapped.
Lesson time starts now.
I picked Bing up and she shouted in surprise.
“I’m going to take her outside for her first lesson.
We’ll be back at noon!”
She kicked and screamed as I dragged her out the door with me, but she stopped putting up a fight once we were in public.
“Put me down.”
Fine.
I doubted she was going to run now.
I set her down and let her get straightened out before berating her.
“Bing, what the hell was that?
Why would you say that to your parents?”
“They let you put a slave collar on me!”
“You tried to leave my husband to die!”
She winced, hurt all over her face.
She glanced around the camp, still darkened in the middle of winter.
Luckily there weren’t too many people about, most people still eating breakfast.
She rubbed her face.
“Look, can we go somewhere else and do this?
I don’t want everyone finding out about all… this.”
I sighed.
Zhi wasn’t kidding.
This was going to be hard.
“Fine.
I’ll follow you.
Take me where you want me to teach you.”
I followed her outside of camp, to a small snow dune.
We went around it, out of view from the village, and she sat down, right in the snowbank.
It was… really dark out here.
I could barely see her face at all.
I summoned a blanket and laid it down before sitting next to her.
“Okay.
Let’s try this again.
Bing, you know it was wrong to say that to your parents.”
“What does it even matter?
I’m stuck here for the rest of my life anyway!”
“Then I say having a good relationship with your parents is even more important if you’re going to be stuck with them for the rest of your life.”
“Ugh, stop!
You just don’t get it!
You’ve been out there!
You’ve seen the world!
Your parents let you travel once you hit Core Formation!
Hell, they even let you get married!
Meanwhile my parents just say I’m not ready, oh, I’m not ready.
Well, when the hell will I be ready!?” I didn’t need to see her face to know how frustrated she was.
“I think you just proved them right.
Bing, my parents didn’t let me do anything.”
“What!?
Then why are you lecturing me for running away when you did the exact same thing!”
“I didn’t run away.
My parents are dead.”
That stopped her tantrum.
“O-Oh… I’m sorry.”
“They’ve been dead for nearly a century now.
They were two mortal monkeys.
Completely average, and they weren’t capable of cultivation.
They died of old age.
But I loved them both very much.
I waited until they both passed on and did my best to enjoy what little time we had together.
As you should.
I know it feels like they’ll always be around.
But the time you have is shorter than you think.
You should try and make happy memories while you still have the opportunity.”
“But my parents are cultivators.
My mom’s in Golden Core and my dad’s in Core Formation.
They’ll be around for as long as me.”
“But what if you continue your cultivation journey?
What about when you reach Nascent Soul, or Spirit Transformation, or even Immortality?
They’ll age past you.
They’ll reach the end of their lifespans.
And all you’ll have left is their memory.
You don’t want to make memories where all you do is hurt them.
And that’s assuming they reach the end of their lifespans.
What if something happens before then?
A powerful spirit beast could attack the tribe.”
“Still.
They deserved it.
They let you put a slave collar on me.
What kind of parents do that!?”
“The kind who see their daughter turning down a dark path.
Bing, you ran away.
And I’m guessing it didn’t go as well as you hoped.
You ran out of money, probably robbed someone from the Frozen Glaive Sect, had to live as a fugitive, tried to rob me and Zhi, and when shit hit the fan, you ran.”
She bit her lip.
“I-I didn’t have a choice.
There were too many of them.
We both would have been captured.”
“Running from a fight you couldn’t win was one thing.
I don’t blame you for that.
But you got Zhi captured, and when I came to ask what happened you told me to give up on him.
That he was already gone.
You even threatened me with your guandao to stay away from you.
You didn’t just run from a fight.
You ran from the problem you caused.
From your responsibility.
You told me the world is harsh, and it’s everyone for themselves.
Bing… did you really mean that?”
Her voice was heavy with guilt.
“I… I…”
I sighed.
“Let’s call it here for today.
I’m going to head back.
Think about whether or not you meant it.
And whether you meant what you said this morning.
I’ll just leave it at this.
You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean.”
I walked back around the snow dune and towards the twinkling lights of the camp.
But halfway there, a brilliant light lit up the sky.
Whoa.
I turned out to the snowy wasteland and watched the northern lights in the sky.
It was… beautiful.
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
My heart swelled at the sight, unspoiled snow reflecting the dazzling array of colors that danced in the sky.
I hope… I hope Bing could still appreciate the beauty of her home, even if she wants to leave it.
A flutter.
From my core.
Huh?
As I tried to focus on the feeling, it was gone.
Just a brief stirring of my soul.
What… what was that?
It stirred my chi, and seemed to strengthen it, just for a brief instant.
Zhi had said the fluttering of chi meant… a Dao?
But from what?
The northern lights?
I wasn’t sure.
The lights faded, and I turned back to camp, confused.
I wasn’t sure what caused my chi to stir, or what my Dao could possibly be.
But I did know one thing.
Maybe teaching Bing would be just as good for me as it was for her.