Chapter 20- Thoughts Like A Mountain Stream

Tian clapped his hands together. The loud noise shocked everyone out of their argument. “We are going around in circles. We should take a break here. May I trouble Sister Su to compile the notes into something readable?”

“Certainly, Brother Tian.”

Tian retreated to his room to meditate. Big problems require big solutions. If the illness has reached the bone, the cure may be nothing less than amputation. Tian was an orderly who had read some medical books and gotten a bit of field experience. He was under no illusions that made him a competent doctor. So if he didn’t trust himself with a single patient, how was he supposed to doctor an entire nation?

What’s more, did he even want to?

Meditation wasn’t happening. He could feel himself descending into a mood. He demolished a few dozen rice crackers, then a cold roasted chicken leg from his ring. He had stocked up before leaving the Depot, and was glad of it. His appetite had gone berserk.

The food didn’t do anything to cheer him up. That made him irritable. His brothers would no doubt tell him to meditate to settle his heart. Instead, he opted to run through Calesthenics and Gourmet for the first time in ages. His body hadn’t forgotten the movements. They flowed effortlessly, each form perfectly executed. Tian remembered struggling to complete even one or two forms when he was in the dump. Every move pulled on his burn scars.

He persisted through the pain. The entire world was his reward. There was probably a lesson there. He didn’t care to learn it just now. Instead, he started running through all the forms for Thunderous Palm. He pushed himself to go harder and faster than he had ever managed before. He didn’t neglect the vital energy circulation either. He was trying to exhaust himself.

It didn’t work.

“Just what the hell is going on with my body?”

Three things. The first one is that you underwent a subtle, but powerful, bodily enhancement recently. It’s not particularly dramatic, but your efficiency in using your vital energy is up, as is your overall strength. And some other, far more dramatic, things you are going to find out about a long time from now so don’t ask but it’s a good thing. The second thing is that you regrew a finger, which means you are storing more energy and the energy you already have is flowing more smoothly. All very good stuff. The third thing is… more of a mixed bag. Net positive, and it has some upsides that I think you will really like, but you are going to be in for a rough time of it. And that rough time will last years, I’m afraid.

“Oh?”

Your puberty is picking up the pace. It’s wild to watch. Out of the blue, your endocrine system just went crazy. Your whole body is flooded with all kinds of… well you don’t know what hormones are but don’t worry about it. The good news is that you are going to get taller. The bad news is that you are going to have mood swings like nobody’s business, be hungry all the time, and have a much higher likelihood of doing SPECTACULARLY dumb things. Oh, and the growing thing can start and stop and start again at random times for random intervals. So that’s fun.

“Ah.”

Yep. And… I know you got “The Talk” from that kid Wong, but let me add something that your brothers have already told you a dozen times. The only one who decides when you are ready for sex is you. No one else. And you don’t get to decide that for anyone else either. You are going to live for a very, very, very long time. No need to rush.

“I know. I’m also just not really interested.”

That will change.

“I dunno if it will, really. I mean-”

Tian? Do you fully grasp how thoroughly developed and redeveloped your body is? Including the parts that crank out hormones? Did you miss the bit where you have highly active kidneys in the daoist medical sense? Your libido is going to change. Just remember- you have time to make whatever choices you want. Your body will be putting pressure on you. You have disciplined yourself in so many other ways. Make this one more.

They were another week in the air. Elder Feng had sent out another round of scrolls. Tian’s was about a particularly bloody revolt led by a messianic figure who claimed to be the younger brother of the Jade Emperor. The message he preached was quite benevolent and egalitarian.

Twenty million people died in the chain of civil wars and insurrections. That total included disease and famine as well as the battlefield dead. What bewildered Tian was that not one person under the “Revealed Prince of Heaven” tried to stop the madman before the collapse started. They had policy differences, yes, and a few tried to take the “Descended Celestial Throne” for themselves. But the central assertion of divinity? The social programmes, the way he strictly divided the sexes and reordered land ownership all in the name of replicating the heavenly order on earth?

No problems there. None at all. Tian might have called the divinity into question once the harem hit triple digits, and checked for demonic influence once it hit four digits, but not the honored ancestors. Perhaps they saw it as proof of his celestial father’s blessings. The scroll didn’t mention how many women joined the harem voluntarily. Tian had a suspicion that anyone laying a legal claim to so many people wasn’t really interested in those people’s opinion on the subject.

“Sister Liren, didn’t you say once that you had several dads?” He asked her when they were practicing out in the garden.

“Yes. Five.” Tian saw the pain in her eyes. He hesitated, then decided it was better not to ask.

“Ask.”

“No, I don’t-”

“Brother Zihao, just ask. If you say something stupid I’ll just stab you a few times. Just until I feel better again.”

“What an understanding little sister you are.” Tian smiled benevolently. Then frowned again. “Were they all part of your mom’s harem?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It seemed even Sister Liren wasn’t immune to the choking disease. He would have to check himself for signs of infection.

“Harem? Harem?!”

“I’m guessing no?”

“GOOD GUESS!” She banged her chest and got herself under control. “No. It was an arranged marriage. No concubines, or… or like a private household for them or anything. All one family, just not necessarily… I don’t know if Mom even had… well, I was really young when they died but I can remember seeing two of my dads kissing. So. You know. Seems unlikely.”

“So why did they- oh, you told me this.”

“Marrage on paper, combining businesses and influence networks in reality. My dads all came from good families. Our Burning Heavens Chamber of Commerce was pretty sizable, and marrying in was an easy way of mixing in smaller companies and families with good lineages who had fallen on hard times. My dads all married in and took the family name. Mom is the bloodline descendant of my Grandma.”

“Did they… get along?”

Hong went quiet. The two were resting after practicing their martial arts, and Tain thought the sight of her shaded by a Namu tree softened the lines of her face. The hair was just starting to grow back, but she still looked rather ferocious, almost alien. And, in the shadow of the tree, she looked sad.