Chapter 25 — Guidance

Jianfeng had stayed at the site, as a significant amount of work was now possible that had previously not been possible, and someone needed to begin coordinating it.

The jet cabin held just Elder Mao and Lin Che, and the farmland appeared smaller and smaller as they took off.

Elder Mao poured tea from a flask he’d produced from somewhere inside and held a cup across the aisle. Lin Che took it.

“Your external Qi,” said Elder Mao, “is not too large a problem.”

Lin Che looked at him.

“I mention this because the natural conclusion most practitioners reach when their Qi leaks externally involuntarily is that they are not yet in sufficient control of their cultivation. That if they focused more precisely or refined their internal circulation more thoroughly, the leakage would resolve.” He took a sip of his own tea. “In your case, that conclusion would be incorrect.”

“Then what’s the cause?”

“Volume.” Elder Mao set his cup on the table. “You have an abnormally large quantity of Qi for your stage, and the internal channels can only carry a fixed amount before the excess finds other routes. Yours have been finding the nearest available one, which is outwards.” He paused. “Attempting to force everything inwards will accomplish nothing useful and will at minimum cause discomfort.”

“Then how do I manage it when I need to?”

Elder Mao reached into his jacket and procured a small folded piece of paper and a pen. He opened the paper onto the table between the two and began drawing.

It was not a complicated picture — a square containing a series of nested lines that folded inwards in a specific configuration. The lines were precise and clearly practised; he drew it without hesitation or correction.

“A talisman,” he said, still drawing. “This configuration is a void array — it accepts Qi and, to keep things simple at your level, gets rid of it.” He finished the final node and held it up. “The array can bear a significant quantity before it saturates. At your current output, it will take several hours to fill.”

He handed it across.

“Keep your subconscious attention on it,” said Elder Mao. “You won’t need active concentration if you’re smart enough, but don’t let your mind wander off it, lest you surprise everyone at the clan.” He picked up his tea again. “When it saturates, let me know.”

“And what if it saturates whilst still at the clan?”

“You weren’t radiating significantly when we were outside. The breakthrough had settled by then, and the fight would have consumed a substantial portion of the excess.” A brief pause. “But yes, within the residence, keep the array active. I will tell the others that the weekend plans have been cancelled so you can avoid detection.”

Lin Che looked at the talisman again and folded it carefully into his shirt pocket.

He spent the remainder of the flight with a fraction of his attention resting on it as peripheral habit. After half an hour or so, he noticed that the ambient sense of pressure he’d been carrying in his chest since the breakthrough had eased slightly.

He looked out of the window at the city below.

***

Shen Yue was in the outer courtyard when they returned.

The younger disciples had finished their session and dispersed, and she was in conversation with one of the residential staff asking about where she would be staying for the night.

She turned around once she sensed Elder Mao bringing Lin Che with him.

“Come inside,” said Elder Mao.

***

The room he took them to was smaller than the meeting room from that morning, and was instead a side room with a window overlooking the inner courtyard where the calligraphy group had been earlier. They were gone now, but their supplies remained and art was drying in the open air.

Elder Mao sat and gestured to Lin Che, who placed the notebook on the table between them and opened it to the layout sketch.

Shen Yue looked at the sketch. “This is the holy land,” she said.

“Lin Che produced it this afternoon,” said Elder Mao. “Took him two hours to do so.”

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Shen Yue looked at the sketch for another moment, picking up the notebook herself and moving it to her eyes. She flicked through each page quickly giving it a skim over.

“The entire layout,” she said.

“All twelve chambers including the notable contents,” said Elder Mao.

Shen Yue read the notation and set the notebook down.

“The wolf is dead,” she said.

“Yes.” said Elder Mao.

“It was dead when I got there,” added in Lin Che, making eye contact with Elder Mao.

“And what about the materials?” she asked, her voice finally steadied. “For my condition — are there things that can be harvested?”

“That is the current top priority,” said Elder Mao. “Jianfeng is on site now. I will have a full inventory of the chamber contents before the end of the week, and the relevant materials will be assessed and brought to the clan’s medical practitioners immediately.” He folded his hands on the table. “I want you to understand that this is not a secondary consideration. Your condition is our top priority right now.”

Shen Yue held his gaze for a moment and nodded. Something in her posture changed, as though she could finally exhale a breath she’d been holding in for an awfully long time.

“You should both go home tonight,” said Elder Mao.