Immortal Connections - Chapter 57 preview

Chapter 57 - Fa Yuan

“Right Guardian.” Three voices, echoing in near unity entirely by accident. Over a decade of being bond sisters, of working together, training together, even – if some rumors were to be trusted – sleeping together. The three women who bowed as they greeted Fa Yuan were sisters in all but blood.

“Elder Geng,” at the impish smile on heart shape faced, Fa Yuan corrected, “Zhe Lan, you are looking well. Marriage suits you. How is he doing?” 

A bow from the woman, hair bundled together and held together by a marriage comb, some of the impetuous and unrestrained energy that had characterised her youth bled away by age and, yes, marriage. “Laojie is too kind. My husband is doing well, I will let him know you’ve asked of him.”

Next, Fa Yuan turned to Ma Jie. Another bow, “Elder Ma. Do the experiments in the new form of compost turn out well?” 

“Mediocre results,” Ma Jie replied. “Maybe a fractional improvement in certain wood aspected plants.”

Before Fa Yuan could offer any sympathies, the last of the speakers; the scholar of the group clapped the larger Ma Jie on the shoulder, striking lightly to stop further such talk. Cao Yao Zhu shook her head, long earrings made of wood dangling and making a light tinkle as she shook her head. “No, none of that. Even a fractional improvement in growth rates, after hundreds of years of improvement by our predecessors is something to be proud of.” She lowered her voice and leaned over to speak to Fa Yuan, faux-whispering. “Ah Jie is too modest by far.”

"So it seems, though you're always around to set her straight, Elder Cao."

"I try," Yao Zhu said. Then, trying for casual, she added. "Is there any word for Elder Liu?"

The paired groans from her two bond sisters showed how successful her casual question had failed to be subtle. 

"Not anything recently. Last we heard, he was to deal with the demonic fault any day now. He might already have finished with it," Fa Yuan said.

The group fell into easy, casual conversation over tea. With Wu Ying gone, the trio were struggling to take on their role as the joint Head of Wandering Gatherers by themselves, as none of the trio were stronger than middling Core Formation cultivators. Unfortunately, when faced with other cultivators who were not only more senior in terms of age and personal strength, their words and needs were often overshadowed.

As with everything, even if they tried their best to weed out such feelings and actions, the hierarchy was so often bent towards personal strength. Strong enough to be Nascent Soul, but not too strong; or else others might disregard your words in understanding that one day, the speaker would abandon them for their ultimate destination.

Like Wu Ying.

Thus clogging the bureaucracy and administration of the sect with lifers; failed cultivators. 

It was only twenty minutes later, when the first set of plates of snacks had been finished that Zhe Lan grew tired of the games and burst out. “Elder Yang, we need your help.”

“And I am happy enough to aid you, if you but ask,” Fa Yuan folder her hands in front of her, smiling paternally at the three. These three were her martial brother’s legacy to the sect, the mark that he had made upon the kingdom. Through these three, he continued to strengthen the orthodox sects of the Shen kingdom. Through these three, his wanderings would live on. “Is it Elder Kim? Has he tried to prey on your students further?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Ya Zhu and Zhe Lan answered in unison, respectively; only to turn to glare at one another. It was Zhe Lan who gestured for Ya Zhu to explain, the smaller scholar smiling a little as she turned to Fa Yuan.

“The statement is a little incorrect – though Sis Geng is not entirely wrong – as it does involve Department Head Kim.” Fa Yuan could not help but frown, but Ya Zhu did not seem to mind as she continued. “In addition, the matter does not involve a student of ours eithers. He does not have the skill or predilection for Gathering at all. It does, however, involve a cultivator in the sect.” 

“Then…?”

“What my sister, in her long winded way is trying to say, is that we have been paying attention to the children coming from Elder Long’s village,” Ma Jie said, bluntly. “There’s a boy, a prodigy with the sword who should probably be with a sword sect, who’s being bullied. Guardian Pang and his people are making his life difficult.”

“And you know this because…?” Fa Yuan asked, curiously. Of course she had kept an eye on the village, and most importantly, Wu Ying’s parents. The village itself was doing very well, growing by leaps and bounds in the shade of the sect at the base of the mountain. It had expanded again, such that the long trek from the city at the river to the village inside the mountains had grown shorter once more. So it was a little surprising to hear this.

“We asked our own students to watch the outer sect. Some of our best recruits – even if nothing more as outer sect members to help in the fields – are those that might fail out of the sect otherwise. They pay particular attention to Elder Long’s village, because, well… they’re farmers,” Yao Zhu explained.

“And this boy is not a farmer?”

“Oh, he is. Just a terrible one.” Ma Jie said bluntly. “He’s all metal and sword intent. His aura is not joined with the sword yet, but it has bled into it enough that the plants he handles are damaged spiritually. The hardiest ones survive but the rest…”

“We could take him in; protect him but…” Zhe Lan said, softly, uncertainly.

It would be entirely inappropriate. There was no place for a cultivator who could not care for plants among their group. It was not as though they had that many fields, as the entirety of their curriculum was based around heading into the wilds to acquire further spirit herbs. Often alone. If Elder Kim was not so antagonistic, perhaps they could have hid him there; but it was not to be.

Nor could they afford to expand too much political will on a single individual. Not when they were so new to their roles, not when so many still doubted their ability to succeed. Maybe not even themselves. After all, Wu Ying himself had wanted to train them for a decade more.

“Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. Leave me his details,” Fa Yuan said, her face growing firm. “I will handle this matter.”

“Thank you, laoxie!” the three chimed in at the same time.