They were summoned to the main hall at sunset. The flying cloud was waiting for them. Tian was embarrassed to see that he was the last of the juniors to arrive. Fortunately, he was rescued from his embarrassment by the arrival of Jun. He paid his respects to his cousin, then handed Tian a dense package.

“Two and a quarter pounds of our fifty year old White Eyebrow Longevity Tea. I rounded up slightly in your favor. Do remember to write, I have a morbid *cough* deep interest in seeing how your mercantile venture goes.” Jun grinned. Tian did a bit of mental math, reckoned he didn’t get screwed and bowed politely in thanks.

“I will do that. I’m really not sure how to send letters just yet, let alone how to trade, but I expect I’ll figure it out.” Tian wondered if he could commission missions to deliver mail from the sky barge. But then, how would he receive mail? He certainly couldn’t afford to have some heavenly person courier chasing after the barge on a flying sword or something.

“Sorry, did you say two and a quarter pounds? Tian, how the hell did the brokest brokie in the Wasteland afford that?” Hong, asked, quite possibly with malice aforethought.

Tian adopted a look of patient superiority. “My virtue and attainment in the dao naturally draws in the virtuous, encouraging them to invest with me. Work hard, little sister, and you too might achieve some level of success. Not as much as me, obviously, but maybe as much as a quarter. If you apply yourself.”

“Oh, I see.” She nodded understandingly. “I guess that would explain the absolute sweetheart deal I found on some premium body cultivation herbs and some utterly luxurious skin softening lotion. Scented, I was happy to learn, with a blend of sandalwood and aged tangerine rind. It really complements the cool, creamy feeling of the lotion itself on the skin. All that natural virtue radiating out of me is what did it. Sheer, bone deep charisma. Some of us are just born with it. But I’m sure what you got is… fine.”

The two briefly glared at each other, getting chuckles from the gathering crowd. Tian looked around for Shu and found her hovering at the edge of the crowd. She looked like she wanted to come closer but was too embarrassed. Why, Tian couldn’t imagine. He walked over to her.

“I’m glad I found you before I left. Fellow Daoist Shu has been very kind to show me around. I have really learned a lot, and it really meant a lot to spend time with my wounded brothers and sisters. Thank you. Thank you very much. I can be relieved knowing they are here with you.” Tian clasped his hands and bowed.

This seemed to have the unintended effect of sending Shu into a furious blush. “No, no, I’m not a doctor, I don’t even compound medicine! I just wanted to show you. Um. Well. Um!” She started stammering, then shoved a package into his hands. “Write me!” She turned and bolted, leaving a stunned Tian behind.

Tian blinked a few times and walked back to the flying cloud. He was getting looks. The looks he was getting from his fellow disciples were particularly colorful.

“Leading the poor girl on. Disgusting.” Sister Hong shook her head.

“Heartbreaker. Merciless.” Sister Su shook her head.

“I truly thought better of you, Brother.” Brother Wang shook his head.

“I didn’t.” Sister Lin shook her head too.

“A productive trip was had by all, it seems.” Elder Feng appeared in a rush of wind. She led the farewell with a few polite words and they were off.

“So, what did she give you?” Hong asked.

“I can’t tell you.” Tian shrugged.

“Open the package already!”

“No. Since you think I all have a low moral character, I’m worried it might be contraband. Opening it in front of the disciplinary squad is just looking for death.” He sighed. “Truly it is said, where you see the squad, you see criminals.”

“Who? Who says that?”

“I’m no informer! The squad can only suppress the truth so long!” Tian refused to sell out Grandpa Jun.

Elder Feng coughed. “We are visiting Burning Stone Manor next. We will reach there tomorrow evening, and leave a few hours later. I will expect you to socialize with the Earthly Realm disciples, as well as learn more about them. Expect them to challenge you in various ways, though they won’t all be fighting.”

Elder Feng got polite bows of acknowledgement, but seemed to read her junior’s minds as her lips twisted and she added “Expect them to actually know how to fight. The Manor was established to suppress certain creatures that emerge from Burning Stone Volcano. They don’t fight a lot of humans, but their experience with heavily armored, blazing hot, poisonous fume emitting monsters is quite excellent.”

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Tian could respect that.

Safely back in his room, Tian opened the cloth bound package. Green silk, he noticed, with a rather nice pattern in white of rice stalks bending over, heavy with grain. Inside was a set of tea tools, a rough clay jar, a letter, and almost hiding away in a corner, a little clay lotus, glazed in white and green.

He picked up the lotus first. It was small, not quite the length of his thumb, and crude. Recognizably a lotus, but it looked like it had been done hastily and glazed even more hastily. The crudeness actually gave the piece a bit of charm a more polished lotus might have lacked. It looked… scruffy. Like a lotus that had woken up too late to be properly Temple Tidy, but still had to show up for breakfast. Tian decided he liked it.

The jar was filled with a dried herbal tea. He could smell a remarkable blend of flowers and tea leaves, but couldn’t identify them all. The tea tools were simple, made of an unadorned dark brown wood. They looked almost identical to the one he saw used by the disciples of the Bamboo Medicine Hut.

She had sent him the parts of a tea set he was lacking. He chuckled. He had no idea how to use those tools. He’d have to experiment with them. Finally he read the letter.

Dear Daoist Tian,

I’m writing this under the tree you meditated beneath. The grass grows longer and smells sweeter here, now, and the tree seems to be thriving. I’m taking it as a good omen. The world seems so lively and expressive since we shared cups. I feel the elements speak to me more now. Perhaps just seeing your wonder at my work brought new life to it.

Your little tea pet was too cute, so I made a little lotus for you and asked one of my sisters to help me glaze and fire it. The Six Gentlemen are all mortal make, as I remember you prefer a humble tea set. Likewise, the tea is my personal herbal tea blend. I hope it brings you some peace. You care so much, it hurts to watch. So please, drink your tea, feed your tea pets, and remember a peaceful time under a shade tree and a night of laughter under the stars.

Shu Xiaoling

Tian looked over the tools. Some of them were double-ended, and if you included the wooden vase holding them all, there were indeed six of them. He sighed.

“How do you tell a nice girl that you just want to be friends? And where did the… random mountain of affection come from?”

That first part is one-hundred-percent a you problem. I have learned, PAINFULLY, that I can’t meddle in those things. Be honest and direct, but expect it to blow up anyway. Best I can do for advice. As for the other part, you have always been my handsome grandson and it’s no wonder some sheltered and romantically inclined teen was swept off her feet by you. Take a look in the mirror. Take a long, close look.

Tian got out the little hand mirror he used to make sure his hair was straight. Grooming had been hammered into his bones by the senior brothers, and properly making and pinning a bun was hard to do by touch alone. He knew what he looked like.

Didn’t he?

Inky black hair that caught the light with a soft luster and fell straight and smooth between his shoulder blades when it wasn’t pinned up. Black irises on a clean white field returned his gaze, looking bright but serious. Clear skin, still too pale for his taste, but not unhealthy. Even, symmetrical features. His chin was well defined, neither too pointy nor too square. His face looked like his face. Nothing of interest.

He examined his teeth. White, straight, even. He dutifully brushed twice a day. No problems there, but nothing special either. He took off his robes and examined his body piece by piece. It all seemed ordinary.

He had some muscle definition, but not nearly the strong physique his seniors could boast. It was more lithe, the musculature of a panther, not a bear. Which was a bit disappointing. Not a single manly scar to prove his valor. And that damned growth spurt couldn’t come fast enough, because he was still a long way from the holy land of six foot one.

“I don’t see it.”

That’s alright. Others do. Be happy.

Tian snorted and sat on his bed, settling into his cultivation. It took him a little while to realize he was smiling, and a lot longer to realize why.

They weren’t throwing rocks. They wanted him there. They were inviting him in. Even the one punk was a punk all on his own. He wasn’t despising Tian for how he looked. At long last, the human world was inviting him in.

He was in superb form the next few days. His cultivation improved at a roaring pace… for a given value of “roaring.” The gap between level six and level seven was enormous, and he dreaded to think of how far it was to the peak of level nine. Still, that enormous gap was shrinking fast. Far, far faster than he had dared imagine. If he didn’t advance his level this year, it would be early next year. He was betting on this year. His rate of cultivation got faster with each new improvement to his foundation, and it seemed each new improvement to his mindset had a similar effect.

Cultivating his second dart continued smoothly, as did practicing controlling the first dart. He was reliably hitting the third swinging target in a line of swinging targets, and was about ready to attempt weaving his way to the fourth. He could feel, with dreadful precision, the exact course the vital energy flowed through his body. He sensed the specific acupoints that were activated as he directed the dart. When he screwed up, it was easy to spot where his control was too rough, or just plain broke down.

Elder Rui said he was to use his time on Windblown Manor to heal and consolidate everything he had gained in the wasteland. Tian was happy to comply.

Burning Stone Volcano was a bit of an anticlimax for Tian. He was expecting plumes of red hot lava, with long flame-tongued beasts climbing out of smoking magma. It was just a mountain. Not even a very big mountain like the one he lived near. The top had been blown off at some point. He couldn’t even muster the energy for a “Woo.”

He got a lot less casual when the flying cloud touched down in front of an actual fortress. Three layers of thick, high walls crawling with enchantments, flying formation flags from every jutting buttress. Tian could recognize the siege equipment, the triple bow ballistae and trebuchets, the heavy repeating crossbows set on swivel mounts. The walls were lined with cultivators armored in thick black iron, each carrying a long halberd. Behind them flew a standard, charred, still smoking after a thousand battles. The characters blazed with their own fire on an endlessly black field- “BURNING STONE.”