Chapter 2 – Life as a Farmer. How Far He’s Fallen

Ren woke to the brisk morning air, and the sun had yet to rise. He took a moment to realize where he was and felt a surge of excitement wash away the drowsiness. It was his first day as a disciple, and he had a full day ahead of him. Suddenly, he remembered he had no instructions and didn’t know what was next. A little unsure, he went back to his identity jade and sat on the meditation platform as he tried to glean the rules embedded in the jade.

Ren felt a wave of relief when the jade instructed that the first challenge was to understand the jade. It also informed him the sect expected more disciples to arrive, so he had a week to settle in before attending the first class on the basics of cultivation. Having learned this, Ren went to explore the plot that would be his home until he entered the next step of cultivation.

In the light of the morning, the mist still covered his land, which was rife with weeds. It dawned on him that if he had to maintain or grow new herbs, it would be a challenge for one person to accomplish it all alone. The area behind his hut was for storing wood and mostly empty, but he did discover some basic farming tools. There were two bare trees that looked dead, though Ren had no idea what kind they were. The walls surrounding the compound were dirty and had alarming cracks in them.

Ren also recognized that a week’s worth of food was exactly enough till the first lesson, and he would then need to find more food. His education taught him that qi beasts were the most nutritious meat and spiritual herbs were best for his current qi gathering stage, but he had no idea where to obtain them. No doubt they would cost contribution points. A little unsure about how to proceed, he decided to take his uncle’s advice and grow spiritual herbs. The land would have to be weeded and turned in preparation.

He set about yanking weeds until the sun was high in the sky before his rumbling belly reminded him he had to make his own food. There were no chefs here! He had barely covered a quarter of the field, and already it felt like he was falling behind. He made a quick meal of undercooked porridge and chunks of dried meat. Though he found it difficult to swallow, he forced himself to. He couldn’t afford to be picky. After all, he was now an independent young man and a cultivator as well! Afterwards, he continued on bravely battling the weeds. The green menace that stood in the way of the bountiful spiritual herbs would taste defeat.

By dusk, Ren was exhausted. He had just finished half the field, and his back ached terribly from stooping all day. He now had to make dinner for himself, which he did feeling a little sorry for himself, missing his family chef, who unfailingly made lavish meals of fish and fowl. But somehow, as he ate his chunky porridge and dried meat only slightly softened by the cooking, the stars were once again spectacular. He felt the exhaustion not fading but instead settling evenly across his body.

The porridge was somehow the best meal he had ever eaten, and the chunks of tough meat were the finest accompaniment. The cold spring water tasted particularly delicious. As Ren welcomed the night beside his warm fire under the brilliant stars, he felt a quiet appreciation for life that he had never felt before. If this was the life of a cultivator… he was glad to be counted amongst them. It was certainly challenging, but overcoming those challenges gave him the pleasure of a day well spent that none of his days of tutoring and martial coaching had ever given him.

The next morning he still woke before dawn despite the aches throughout his body. Deciding to embrace the life of a cultivator, he repeated his steps from yesterday, meditating on the information in the identity jade until dawn. The cultivation laws of the sect continued to seep into his mind. He also picked up some more useful tips, like the outer sect market that would meet every week and that the next one would be held today. There were also directions to the other major halls of the sect. Though the jade said to wait until after the first class to decide on a cultivation method from the Hall of Scriptures.

After dawn, Ren continued to work on his field and was approaching noon when he heard a knock by the gate. He wiped his brow, getting more dirt on it, and went to open the gate. He found Big Hua smiling brightly at him.

“Greetings, brother, I came to see how you are doing. I finished weeding my plot yesterday and wasn’t sure what to do next, so I came to visit.

Ren was a little surprised, both at his manner of address and how rapidly he had finished the farm work. He paused a moment and said, “I was going to finish weeding and eating before going to the outer sect market. We can go together if you like, brother.”

It felt nice to have a friend. Life as a young master had more sycophants and two-faced competitors than friends. It was refreshing to start anew. Since Bao Hua had called him brother without an agenda, he had reciprocated.

Hua seemed just as surprised when he replied, “There’s a market? Let me help you weed, and we can head there early.”

Ren tried a feeble protest, but Hua was already yanking weeds. Ren noticed he even had a rough straw hat that hadn’t been there before. When he asked about it, Hua told him that the longer weeds could be used to weave a hat to shade from the sun. Though the best hats needed better materials, Ren felt it completed the image of a farmer in his mind. Hua even taught Ren how to weave his own hat as Ren prepared lunch for both of them as thanks for all his help.

As the meal was cooking, Hua said, “I’m so glad they gave us a month’s worth of food; I’m not sure I would have time to find food if you’re right about those classes in a week.” Ren froze. He realized he had completely miscalculated the food in storage. That was meant to last a month?! Were they humans or birds? A new source of food was a priority. Furthermore, Ren was embarrassed when he saw Hua grimace as he swallowed a bite from the bowl. Ren felt the need to defend his efforts.

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“I haven’t cooked much before. You should have seen me at the beginning. Still, I would be very grateful if you had any pointers on how to improve. I know this isn’t very good.”

Hua was very gracious and said, “I’ve certainly had worse by far. You should’ve tried some of my little sis Rui’s attempts when she first started. The porridge was so chunky my brother said she must have tossed in rocks when he wasn’t looking!” Ren was heartened by the attempts to cheer his spirits and decided Hua was certainly not a bad sort and could definitely be called a friend.

Once they finished their meal, Hua followed Ren to the market. Ren had to remind him to bring the small pouch, which contained 5 spirit stones and 1 pill, along with him to trade at the market. Ren took in the beautiful mountain scenery as they did, and Hua told more funny stories about his siblings. He enjoyed the walk even though he looked forward to being one of the higher realm cultivators who could wield flying swords and even ride astride them across vast distances. Flying in or over the sect was forbidden, so he didn’t see any now, but he’d seen them while approaching the sect.

Ren heard the dull roar of the market before they saw it. It looked like there were thousands attending the weekly market. The space the market occupied was many times the size of his ancestral home despite its vast gardens and varied buildings. There was no way they could cover it all in a day. Still, the pair of them made their way in past the south gate.