Mmm.
The sound of yelling in the distance and a hollow rattling signalled it was time to get up.
But uuuuuuugh.
I didn’t want to get up yet.
I burrowed deeper into Zhi’s soft chest.
I felt him stretch and yawn.
“Mmming.
We have to get up.”
I groaned.
“Noooooo.”
“Come on baby.
Today’s a holiday remember?
We’re celebrating the New Year.”
New Years… ah!
I blinked and stretched.
“Okay, I’m up.
Let’s make some breakfast.”
It’s been a few months since we arrived here to the Ice Blades Tribe.
Now that spring was here, the tribe would move from their winter grounds out on the ice floes onto real land and the tundra.
Still on the coast, but it was more stable.
The day before was a celebration.
To celebrate the arrival of spring and the new year, there was a small festival where the clan gathered around bonfire to finish up their food stocks, share stories, dance, and enjoy each other’s company.
Personally, I was just happy the sun was coming up again.
And that it would finally start to get warmer.
And that we didn’t have to work today.
We made a small breakfast together, and I was still tired as I ate next to him.
I yawned loudly and Zhi chuckled.
“Are you sure you’re awake?
You look asleep.”
“I’m awake.
And that’s rich coming from you.
I need to groom you before we head out, your fur’s a mess.” I reached up and ruffled his head.
His tail curled around my waist and pulled me a little closer.
“So, what are your plans today?”
“I need to help with the bonfire prep.
And help prepare what little food is left.
What about you?”
“The elder has me on hunting duty again.
It really helps with my water chi control, but damn, it’s a pain in the ass.
Seals are slippery.
Not to mention how cold the water is.” Zhi sighed and leaned onto me.
“We might be here for a few decades.
Advanced water techniques are a lot harder than I thought they would be.”
I chuckled.
“What, did you think it would be easy to master an entire element?”
“No, but I thought I was at least decent with it before this.
Turns out, I’m just a baby learning how to walk.
Water chi goes so much deeper than I thought possible.
The stuff the elder can do with it is unbelievable.
He’s incredibly strong.
I think the only person I knew who was stronger was my father.”
“Your father was good with water chi?”
“Not as good as the elder.
But he made up for it by being equally good with the other four elements too.
That’s the power of the Liu sword and cultivation style.
It’s all about balance.
Once I master every element, I can use them to boost each other.
For example, once I master metal chi, I can use it to boost my water chi efficiency and power.”
“Like a formation.
Water feeds wood, wood fuels fire, fire creates earth, and earth forges metal.”
“Exactly.
Plus, I’ll always have a counter for whatever type of chi I face.
Water douses fire, wood devours the earth, fire melts metal, earth contains water, and metal chops wood.
The Liu style of swordsmanship excells in both offense and defense.
There was a reason the Liu’s were undefeated under the sun.” He heaved a heavy sigh.
He was thinking about it again.
I finished my plate and set it aside before wrapping him up in a hug.
He wordlessly hugged me back for a few minutes before withdrawing.
“I’m okay now.
We need to get moving.
I’ll groom you first.”
We groomed each other quickly before a quick goodbye kiss and we went our separate ways.
I headed for the center and helped them sort out our fuel situation, prepping everything we were going to burn, all the trash, broken tools, and scraps that piled up over the winter.
Just as I was preparing to leave and go help with the food, Bing’s mother found me.
“Ming!” She waved me over, and I did a quick scan for Bing, but I didn’t see her.
Oh no.
Not again.
“Where is she?” I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“She took off this morning and no one’s seen her since.
Can you find her and bring her back?
I’ll go help with the food in your place.”
“Okay, we’ll be back before the bonfire starts!” I waved to her as I jogged off, to where I was pretty sure Bing was.
I went outside of the camp and around the snowbank.
Yep.
There was a little tunnel.
I called inside.
“Bing?
It’s Ming.
Can I come in and talk to you?”
Bing’s trembling voice called back.
“No!
Stay out!”
Okay then.
I sat beside the tunnel and leaned back into the snowbank.
I looked up into the sky to watch the clouds, waiting until Bing stopped crying.
The air felt lighter, the bright sun reflecting off the snow.
Finally, I heard some climbing sounds from the tunnel, and Bing appeared.
Her eyes were still red, and her nose was still runny, but she was done crying at least.
“What happened?”
Bing shook her head.
“The elder wants me to take over setting up the spring camp.”
Ah.
“And… you don’t want to do that I’m guessing.”
“No!
I don’t want to be the leader!
I’ve told him over and over I don’t want to take over for him when he dies, but he never listens.
He’s… He’s just so… Argh!” She balled up some snow and chucked it as far away from her as she could.
Mmm.
While her relationship with her parents has improved, she was still no closer to accepting her responsibilities than before.
“Well… why do you think he wants you to take over setting up camp?”
“I don’t know, because he doesn’t want to do it?!
I’ll just mess it all up anyway!
It’s like he wants to torture me!”
This was Bing’s main problem.
She couldn’t see the bigger picture.
She couldn’t put herself in other people’s shoes.
“Bing, are you sure you don’t want to lead the tribe?
One hundred percent certain?”
“Yes!
I don’t want to be stuck up here for the rest of my life!
I want to explore and see what a jungle is like!
See how the sun warms people in winter!
Fall in love!”
“So… you want to leave the tribe for good?”
She hesitated.
“Um… maybe not… forever.
But I at least want to go see what everything else is like.
Wander for a few centuries.
Is that too much to ask?”
“No.
But… even though you say you don’t want to be the next elder, you’re always taking charge and organizing hunting parties.
And you always check up on everyone to make sure they’re okay.”
“That’s just a part of my stupid duties.
The elder makes me do those things because he doesn’t want to.”
I decided not to mention the fact she didn’t have to do those things.
She could’ve just slacked off.
And despite all her complaining, she did them well.
No matter how much she disagreed, she cared about her tribe.
“Have you talked to Dong yet?”
She turned away sullen.
“No.
He doesn’t need to know all this.”
She looked up to Dong.
He was like her older brother.
She didn’t want to disappoint him.
But keeping all her emotions bottled up wasn’t good either.
She could blow off steam with me, but I felt confiding her frustrations with someone she considered a friend would be healthier.
I switched tracks.
“You know… I think the elder is just preparing you for your Dao journey.”
Her head whipped back around to me.
“What?!
No, he isn’t.
He’s preparing for me to become the next elder.”
“Exactly.”
I smiled at her look of confusion.
She had a long way to go.
“Bing, no one knows how much longer the elder will live.
Not even him.
When you leave for your Dao journey, you probably won’t come back until he dies.
He’s trying to give you opportunities to learn how to lead the tribe before you leave so you won’t be scrambling without him when it’s time to take over.”
She thought about this for a few moments.
“But… that doesn’t make any sense!
I don’t know how to set up spring camp.
“Well, ask for help.
You can ask him for advice on how to do it and speak with your mother and a few other central figures to learn how it’s usually done.
The elder could walk you through everything, but this is to help you build your leadership skills.
You can’t do that by just doing what your told.
Figuring it out for yourself with the help of others is what leaders do.”
She digested that for a minute or two.
“I guess.
But why doesn’t he just say that?
He’s always so cryptic.
Oh, Bing the ice has begun to melt, prepare for the spring camp.
That’s what he said, verbatim.”
I shrugged.
“All people have their own shortcomings.
I don’t think the elder is very good at expressing himself to you.
But he just wants what’s best for you.
Like your parents.”
She snorted.
“What he thinks is best for me.
Not what I think is best for me.
If it was up to me, I wouldn’t be doing these stupid elder lessons at all.
Why do I have to be the next elder?
There are other people who want the position more.”
That, I didn’t know.
The elder was extremely fixated on Bing being the one to succeed him, and nobody in the clan was quite sure why.
I heard from Bing’s mother that he has declared her his heir the day after she was born, and all he said about it was the ice favored her.
“Well, maybe he sees potential in you.
You are very strong for a Core Formation.”
“I wish I didn’t have potential then.
I could just run off and do whatever I want, and people wouldn’t care.”
And there was the next problem.
“But there would still be people who care about you Bing.
Your parents, your family.
Dong.
The other hunters.
Why are you so determined to isolate yourself?”
She didn’t answer me for a few seconds and stood up.
“You don’t get it.
No one gets it.
I’m going back to camp.
I should join the hunters.”
I sat up and watched her walk around the dune.
Some days, I wasn’t sure I was getting through to her at all.
It wasn’t like I was a therapist in my past life.
I was just trying to be a good role model to her and someone she could talk to.
It would take some time.
Bing has held these frustrations for over a century now.
A few months of gentle discussions and reminders wouldn’t give her an attitude overhaul.
Luckily, we weren’t leaving any time soon.
I could get through to Bing a little at a time.
At the very least I could always lend an ear to her troubles.
Ah.
There it was again.
I closed my eyes and felt my core again.
My soul and chi were fluttering, and I caught a warm feeling before it faded completely.
That was the first time I’ve felt it since the northern lights.
But what did it mean?
Did I have the Dao of teaching or something?
I doubted, or I’d be making better progress with Bing.
But if I could at least find the trigger for it, I can narrow down what my Dao could be.
The fluttering faded and I was left by myself in the snowbank.
I stood up and shook myself off before heading back to camp to help with preparations.
We made a big bowl of stew with all the seal meat, letting it stew, flavored with a few chi herbs that grew way out on the ice.
Once the icy, yet warm stew was ready, the bonfire was lit, and the celebration began in earnest as the hunters began returning.
I set up a little area for me and Zhi to eat.
I watched the hunters trickle in with their seals and even the occasional spirit beast found living in the icy oceanic depths or on the unforgiving ice above.
“Make way everyone!
We’ve got a big one coming through!” I recognized that smug voice.
I watched Zhi clear a path as a massive porpoise was brought in, with the twisted spiralled horn.
A massive sea beast.
I hopped up to take a closer look with everyone else.
Mostly, I wanted to get a better look at that horn.
Hmm.
Ideas sparked in my mind, but for now I went to the front to see Zhi telling the story.
“There I was, in the icy depths of the ocean, looking for a seal, when I spotted this beauty out of the corner of my eye.
A Core Formation Spirit Beast!
As soon as it realized I noticed it, it charged me!
After my water chi no doubt.
But I wasn’t the easy prey it thought I was.
I used the water to dodge out of the way and harpooned it!
Of course, that wasn’t enough to take it down.
So, I drew my sword and used the harpoon to hold on!
It rolled and thrashed, and we engaged in a fierce battle.
It managed to knock me off and tried to charge me again, but I dodged with barely an inch between me and its horn and thrust my trusty sword right between its eyes, ending the beast!
Truly a battle for the ages!”
One of the hunters to the side laughed.
“You got lost under the ice and couldn’t find your way back to the hole.”
Zhi cleared his throat.
“Ah, that also may have happened.
But I managed to make my own hole and hauled this baby out!
There’s enough meat here to feed the whole tribe back to the spring camping site!”
There were a few cheers and applause that Zhi basked in.
He was such an attention whore.
I rolled my eyes and trotted up to Bing’s mother who was directing the dismantling of the beast.
“Hey, uh, if it’s not too much trouble…”
She nodded.
“You can keep the horn.
I’ll teach you how to work with it.
And a few of the bones will be useful too, but I’d like one or two of them to make new tools.”
That sounds good.
There was a glint of metal in the porpoise’s head.
I squinted and took a closer look.
Shit.
I guess Zhi didn’t mention it in his story.
His final blow had broken his sword into the head of the beast.
Was it salvageable?
“Hey, can you help me get this out?”
She helped me dig out the blade and I slid it out.
Nope, it was completely fractured, bits still stuck in the flesh of the porpoise.
That was the last sword I had made.
Our last backup sword.
I didn’t have the tools here to make him another.
Damn.
Bing’s mother whistled.
“Yeah, I don’t think you can fix that.
The cold must have been too much for it.
But hey.” She patted the horn.
“You can make a great sword out of this.
Something stronger.”
Out of the horn?
I guess it was plenty big enough to carve into a blade.
But it would take some time.
Hopefully Zhi didn’t need a sword before then.
Once the spirit beast had been taken apart and the parts safely stored away, it was dark.
I finally got a chance to head to our little setup.
Now it felt like a festival.
People sang songs and danced around the fire.
Zhi was in our spot with a bowl of stew, a carafe of wine, and a shit-eating grin on his face.
Oh no he didn’t.
I sank down next to him and grabbed my bowl of stew.
“Oh, hell no.
I’m not drinking.”
“Oh, come on, it’s a celebration!”
I shoveled stew into my mouth, starving.
“Absolutely not.”
He waited until I finished and curled his tail around my waist.
“Just one cup?”
“Zhiiiii…” I gave him my warning tone, but he just sidled into closer.
Was he using fire chi to make himself warmer?
“Not even to toast to my successful hunt?”
“I know what you want.
You’re trying to get me drunk.” I could feel the blush climbing onto my cheeks.
“What?
Noooo.
Perish the thought.
I just don’t want to drink all on my own.
Just a little toast?”
“You know I have a low tolerance.” He was too close and too warm I caught myself glancing at the cup in his hands.
He leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“Then just one sip.”
Why was I so weak?
“Not out here.
Let’s go back to our tent.” There was no way I was getting drunk out here in public.
His eyes lit up and he slammed the cup of alcohol back, drinking it all in one go.
Of course, he’s the one who had the tolerance between us.
A shame we didn’t get to use the area I set up together.
But as Zhi picked up the wine with one hand and took my hand with the other, I didn’t feel too disappointed.
Once we were back in our cozy warm tent, he poured me another cup.
“Here.”
I accepted it and swirled it around before giving him a stern glance.
“Now remember.
Whatever happens from this point on you’ll take to the grave.”
He smiled, and chuckled. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“Of course I will.
I wouldn’t want anyone else to know how cute you get when drunk anyway.”
Ugh.
I took the cup and took a few sips before sitting next to the fire.
Zhi sat next to me, and pulled me close, slinging his arm and tail around me.
“What do you think?
I was pretty heroic today, wasn’t I?”
“You broke your last sword.” I took another sip.
He winced and sighed.
“Yeah.
That sucks.
I’m sorry.
Can you make me another one?”
“I don’t have the materials for another sword.
I’ll make you something out of the horn.
A bone sword.”
His face lit up, liking that idea.
“Plus, it’ll be well-attuned to water chi.
I promise to take better care of that one.
I think I’ll even give it a name.”
“Swords only get names when they’re Golden Core or above.
Besides, you only had swords I made in Foundation Establishment.
It was only a matter of time before they ended up breaking.
In a way, they were just practice swords for me.” Even if they had been treasures, such swords went for relatively cheap thanks to there being far more Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators than Golden Core.
There were thousands of our level of cultivators.
And less than a hundred Golden Core cultivators on the continent.
That was when treasures began to get big price tags attached to them.
Where you could say the big money is.
You just have to get there first, by figuring out your dao and establishing a connection to it.
“Ah, that reminds me.
I felt it again today.”
“Really?
Your chi fluttered?
When?”
I finished off my cup and he wordlessly gave me another.
“When I went to see Bing.
She was crying because the elder put her in charge of setting up the spring camp.”
“I know some hunters who would jump at such an opportunity.
When exactly did you feel it?”
Ummm.
“It was after she left.
Said I just didn’t get it.
And I was hoping things would get better for her.”
“Mm.
Maybe the Dao of… hope?
Patience?
Teaching bratty kids they need to appreciate the opportunities that come their way?”
“I don’t think it’s any of those.” I swirled my cup before taking another sip.
“How do you know you’re following the sword Dao rather than another Dao?”
“Because it only reacts when I’m using the sword.
Are you sure you haven’t felt it any other times?”
Mmm.
I tried to think back.
Maybe… “I don’t know.
I can’t think straight.
This wine is starting to hit me.”
He shuffled a little closer, slinging his tail around me.
“Well, we both still have time.
Even once you figure out your Dao, it’s a long road to connect to it properly.
I’ve been trying since we began this journey, and I still feel no closer than when we started.”
“But that doesn’t make sense!
You know what Dao you want to pursue, so why can’t you just… what was it?
Connect to it?”
“While I practice the sword Dao, it’s not just about refining my skill with the sword.
It’s a part of it, making small adjustments, creating my own style, and perfecting my techniques.
But it’s also about what the sword means to me.
About the purpose of a sword and what I want to achieve with it.
And that’s something every person has to learn for themselves, no matter their Dao.
Just pursuing knowledge on a topic is one thing, but it’s how you use that knowledge that makes a Dao.”
Ugh.
This was all to complicated for me to think about right now.
I leaned onto Zhi as I sipped my second cup.
He smiled down at me.
“Ah, I think you’re well and truly drunk now.
How are you feeling?”
“Mmm.
Warm.
And fuzzy.
I wish your fur was softer.
You should let me condition your fur.”
His smile grew.
“I like it like this.
What kind of man feels soft to the touch?”
“I want my man to feel soft.” Stupid… rough fur.
“Your man huh?
Isn’t that me though?” He set his cup of wine down, in favor of pulling me closer, into his lap.
He kept his arms wrapped around me, warm and comforting.
“Yeah…” I swayed slightly and he steadied me, guiding my head back to his chest.
He took the cup in my hands and set it down, next to his.
“You are.” I nuzzled into his shoulder.
“You’re so sweet and cuddly when you’re drunk.
You’re the cutest thing ever, you know that right?”
“No, you’re the cutest thing ever.”
He snorted.
“I’m cute?
What exactly do you find cute about me?”
“I like it when you’re confident.
And smiley.
Like now.
It makes butterflies in my stomach.”
“What else do you like about me?”
“Mmmm… I like everything about you.
I like your face, your pretty blue eyes, how black your fur is.
And I like your tail when it wraps around me like this.
And I like it when you kiss me.”
He began pressing kisses all over my face, gleeful.
I giggled at his attention.
Once he stopped, he nuzzled into my neck.
“Mmm, I love drunk you.
You’re so adorable and affectionate my heart might burst.
Okay, what about my epic battle earlier today?
Was I heroic?”
“Hmmm.” I thought about it for a few moments before nodding solidly.
“Yeah.
You were really cool.
You’re always really cool when you fight.”
“Hell yes.
What else do you think is cool about me?”
“Uh… when I watched you go through a tribulation for the first time you were cool.
Taking all those lightning bolts without flinching.
Oh, and when you’re all introspective and thinking.
You’re cool then too.
And you’re cool when you’re serious and planning.”
“So, I’m always cool huh?
And how much do you love me?”
I smiled.
This was an easy question.
“I love you more than the ocean.
More than the sun.
More than… than you love me.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that.
I love you more than anything else in the world Ming.”
I nuzzled into his chest some more.
“Even more than you hate Xaoge?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Yes.
I love you more than I hate Xaoge.
For you, I would give up on my revenge.”
“You don’t have to do that…” He smelled nice.
Like the manly ocean scent.
Mmm.
“I know.
But if I ever had to choose, I’d choose you.
You mean the world to me Ming.
Without you, I might have fallen even farther into despair in pursuit of revenge.
But you’re my hope for the future.
That one day, our revenge against Xaoge will be nothing but tales we’ll tell our children as they play in the yard.
To me, you’re all I have left, my heart, my future, and my family.”
Awww.
“I love you too Zhi.
Xaoge is stupid.
He’s… he’s a stupid dummy.
And I bet he’s ugly too.”
He snickered.
“Getting you drunk was worth it just to hear that.
With any luck you won’t remember this tomorrow.
Now, let’s get back to you complimenting me.
Do you like… when I love on you?”
“YEEEEES!
You’re the best at loving on me.”
“I love you so godsdamn much.”