Tian stood straight with his hands loosely clasped behind his back. It was the pose he had seen some of the more senior Senior Brothers adopting when they were supervising his martial arts practice, and he thought it looked very fine. It seemed to have the air of an expert about it. Hopefully, it would lend weight to his dignity as he held the important job of Dao Protector.

Assuming that “Dao Protector” was an important job. It sounded important. You wouldn’t go around calling someone a Dao Protector if their job was digging latrines, even if they were, in a real sense, protecting everyone’s dao. He supposed. If “Protecting someone’s dao” meant what he thought it did.

“Grandpa, what is a Dao Protector?”

Dao means a lot of things, and one of them is “path” or “way,” in the sense of a journey. “I am following this path to the peak of the mountain.” See?

“Sure.”

So a Dao Protector is an achingly pretentious way of saying “You are guarding someone during their cultivation journey, making sure their path isn’t cut short.” Just a glorified bodyguard, really.

“Ah. Well that’s boring.”

Don’t be so quick to judge. No, actually, you are completely correct, it’s boring as hell, but in your specific case, there is a massive, massive upside.

“Oh? What’s that?”

The Dao Protector is often a clan or sect elder, raising a promising junior so that in the future, the junior will make big contributions for the clan.

“More proof that I’m the elder sibling.”

Indeed.

Tian looked upward. The sky was just so blue, and life just so beautiful.

Hong was still building qi and vital energy in the shed. It was noticeably warm to the touch. It must have been absolutely roasting inside. He really didn’t know what she was up to. It felt like some kind of breakthrough, but his level advancements all felt quite smooth. He thought of it like a cup filling up and then overflowing into a bucket that suddenly appeared underneath it. Then the bucket overflowed into a water barrel and so on and so on. Larger and larger streams of water, filling larger vessels.

He had assumed it was like that for everyone. In retrospect, he really had no good reason to think that. People must have been doing all that secluded cultivation for a reason. Maybe it was this. Or maybe it was something else entirely.

The disciplinary squad turned up. Tian recognized them all by sight, but not by name. They didn’t leave the depot too often, and he was now a permanent resident here. The disciplinary squad were only distinguished by an iron pendant that dangled from the belt on their robes. The pendant was supposed to symbolize something, but Tian never bothered to learn what.

Alright, just like we practiced. Remember, if you can’t say nothing to the cops, say as close to nothing as you can.

Grandpa had explained that “cops” were a sort of disciplinary squad, but instead of calling them that, he insisted on “cops.” Not for the first time, Tian thought Grandpa had gotten a little strange in his old age.

“Are you Disciple Tian Zihao?”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“You were the one that found the gu?”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

The squad scattered around, searching the scene.

“What happened? Be precise.”

“I was guarding the door. I found it. I killed it. I went for help.”

The squad member stared at Tian. Tian stared straight back. This seemed to make the disciple mad. Tian didn’t know why, but he knew he would get in trouble if he hit the red face or slit the bulging neck, so he just stood there, looking at the shouting man. Then he glanced back at the shed. Hopefully the noise wouldn’t disturb Hong. If it did, he would have to tell her who was responsible. Tian started carefully memorizing the face, features and qi of the now more quiet man.

“Look, I get it. You are her Dao Protector. No doubt Martial Aunt Hong set you up as a pawn after you managed to catch her eye. That’s your good fortune, and your duty to your senior. But you have another duty, and that is to assist the disciplinary squad in their investigations!”

That all sounded reasonable. Tian kept looking.

“Well?”

“Well what, Senior Brother?”

“What. Happened. Exactly.”

“I was guarding the door. I found it. I killed it. I went for help.”

“Does that strike you as a complete explanation, Disciple Tian?”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

It was a complete explanation, and it left out all kinds of irrelevant, confusing nonsense. The best kind of explanation.

The look of miserable recognition slowly spread across the Senior Disciple’s face. Tian didn’t quite know what he was recognizing, but it must have been something awful.

“You are an ascetic, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know what that is, Senior Brother.”

“How do you feel about worldly possessions?”

“Mine or someone else's?”

“Anyones. Other peoples’ let’s say.”

“Indifferent, Senior Brother.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Your own?”

“My weapons are good.”

“Nothing else?”

“A tea set.”

“Jade?”

“Clay.”

“Made by a famous potter?”

“No.”

“Were you paid to act as Hong Liren’s Dao Protector?”

“No.”

“So you are guarding this door because?”

“It is the right thing to do, Senior Brother.”

The senior brother sighed and sharply turned away. “Yeah. Ascetic cultivator. I don’t get paid enough for this. You guard the door well now.”

Tian bowed politely. The disciplinary squad scurried around some more, then left without any explanation. Tian privately vowed to find out what an ascetic cultivator was. It seemed a useful thing to be.

It really was a wonderfully blue sky today. Eventually it shaded from blue to fiery red, then twilight purple, then black. When he was hungry, he ate a cold bun from his ring. When he was thirsty, he drank a little water. To keep occupied, he practiced Counter-Jumper. Nothing new popped out to surprise him, but the exercise was worth doing for its own sake.

The qi kept building through the night. It became uncomfortable to stand next to the shed. He put up with it. He didn’t want to do anything that might disturb her.

The sky lightened to a faint turquoise, then shaded into tangerine. He could feel the qi inside the shed reaching a furious peak. At its apex, Tian thought he saw a faint flash of purple rising with the sun. The qi inside the shed condensed, and there was an audible thrum.

The qi slowly settled and dispersed. A little before breakfast, the seal on the door broke from the inside. Hong Liren stepped out, sweaty but happy.

“Congratulations on your breakthrough.”

“I thought that was you out here! I swear I felt the wood qi. Oh my heavens! Do you feel the sun? It’s amazing! And the dirt! Kick off your shoes, wiggle your toes in the sand. Look, look! Can you feel it? Isn’t it amazing?”

Tian gave her a look, smiled, then kicked off his shoes. He wasn’t feeling what she was feeling, but it did feel pretty good. Something about wiggling your toes into the dirt and watching the sun rise felt just right.

“I broke through, Little Brother! I’m Level Six now. AND my physique improved. Ah, but I can’t explain how I did it because it’s a secret. But my body is way, way better now! You know the thing about the mountain is a metaphor, right? Nobody thinks I’m actually a mountain, or coming from a mountain, or becoming a mountain. I wouldn’t need to explain that to anyone else. It’s poetic. It’s a reminder. It’s a damn menace.”

“A menace, Little Sister?”

“BIG sister! Without propriety and proper filial behavior, we are no better than animals. And yes, a menace. The Southern Mountain doesn’t make phoenixes, it’s where the trees grow that phoenixes nest in.”

“Oh.”

“You have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“Absolutely none. But I’m happy for you anyway. It is a wonderful day.”

“It IS a wonderful day. I’m starving. You?”

“I could eat. I believe the mess hall will serve breakfast any minute now. Shall we?”

“Absolutely. I’ve been looking forward to treating my LITTLE Brother to a meal.”

“No, no. It’s my treat. Ah, the sky is just so perfect this morning. Come, let’s walk. As we go, I can tell you the good news.”

Tian really treasured the expression on Hong’s face when she learned he broke through days before she did. It was exceeded only by the fact he stood as her Dao Protector while she broke through. Though she looked thoughtful a half second later.

“There might be something to that, actually.”

“Yes. A senior’s care for their junior.”

She gave him a black look. “Ho ho. No. I mean the Dao Protector thing. Which, you aren’t my Dao Protector, so kindly write down that idea on a large piece of paper, fold it until it is all sharp corners, deliver it to the crafters for a quick steel plating, then eat it. I am willing to provide chilli crisp to show that I am not completely heartless.”

“Thoughtful of you. Maybe your advancement is healing your brain. Hope for the future!”

“You have lost your chilli crisp.”

“Do you think a spicy oil might work? Some of the brothers swear by it.”

“Up to you.” She waved her hand. The mess hall was coming up, and he could see his fellow cultivators queueing outside. “No, I mean the fact that, by my count, you have directly saved my life at least three times. And… I know you don’t think about relations this way and I kind of feel like a jerk saying this out loud, but you know your life is massively easier because we are friends, right?”

“Well, I know people are doing favors for your grandma, even if she doesn’t know or care about them.”

“She knows. She cares. She has a whole team of people whose job it is to know and care. It’s how power bases get made and kept. Her people get good jobs in the Lower Court and they don’t get pushed out of those jobs. You might not be willing to take tips or steal medicine as an orderly, but other people are. You know Gongsun Fei?”

“The orderly who works overnights three days a week? Slightly.”

“Want to guess his weekly earnings?”

“If he is paid the same as me? Twelve merit points and three spirit crystals.”

“Twelve merit points, four hundred spirit crystals.”

Tian managed to trip over nothing and was only saved by his excellent reflexes. “He makes how much a week?”

“Oh yes.” Hong’s smile was flinty. “I know, because he’s been pushing it a bit too far. He won't be at work today, as he will be joining Uncle Chen for a cup of wine and an opportunity for some secluded meditation. He has made the low paying, but very safe, sect job “Hospital Orderly” a high paying one. Others would do the same, if there was a job vacancy.”

“Your grandmother’s network has been protecting me.”

“Yes. People have been looking menacingly at you for loans and gifts, but they don’t dare act. Not because they are scared of you, or even the Disciplinary Squad. Because it’s not worth fighting with all of Grandma’s people. I’m not even talking about beatings. Just, mission rewards that are suddenly slow to come, or don’t come at all. Missions that are suddenly not available. Crafters who won’t take your jobs, or charge ten times more than they should, or do crap work. There are lots of ways a network of petty people can ruin a life.”

Tian smiled slightly. They were keeping very quiet, but there were an awful lot of sharp ears and eyes in the queue.

“It’s about money. It’s always about money.”

“Exactly.” Hong nodded.

“Nah.”

“Maybe you are the one who needs your brain fixed.”

Tian just shook his head. Brother Fu had a few books on his shelf, a painting of a crane on his wall, and nothing else in his house. Even his tea set was ordinary. Very good quality, but ordinary. Clearly, it wasn’t all about money for the old man. And if it was good enough for his father, it was good enough for Tian.

It was still a good breakfast. It might be a little low on the gloating and smugness compared to what he had planned, but he was warmed by something else. He was pretty sure this was the first time Hong had said they were friends.

He hadn’t seriously thought about networks before, but of course he was in several. There was the West Town Temple, the West Town Outer Court, the Inner Court members who came up from the West Town Outer Court like Auntie Wu and the godly Ao whateverhisnameis up in the Monastery. There was a hospital network, Auntie Wu’s own network, Grandma Hong’s network, even Sister Li mentioned her network and the relationship she had with the senior in the Inner Court. Stretching a point, his tea circuit and his games of go with Brother Long could be considered a fragile sort of network too.

Funny to think. He always considered himself to be very independent and self reliant, but here he was, supported by a web of connections. Grandpa had told him years ago- Land, Law, Money, People. And here was the proof of it.

Hong Liren probably was able to secure that shed for her breakthrough because of her connection to Auntie Wu through the West Town Convent. Auntie Wu would have been in a very nasty fix if anything had happened to Senior Hong’s granddaughter while she was under her protection.

It really was an open question as to who the hit was on- Hong Liren, or Auntie Wu. And of course, the Quartermaster’s network would be implicated too. Very interesting indeed. Tian dug into his steamed buns and soy milk with gusto, marveling at the complexity of the world. Somehow missing the impact his own webs were making on the interests of others.