Chapter 34- Beware Seniors Bearing Gifts

Tian looked out across the green water of the lake, dotted with its white cranes and brown ducks. Felt the breeze on his face and the remnant bitterness of his apparently diabolical tea. The call of the masses had become overwhelming. He would need to get better tea. Which meant the orderly job was out for the foreseeable future. That was okay. He didn’t want to go back to the desert at all. He didn’t want to be the kind of person who hid at home either.

“I don’t know if what I want to do has a name, Elder.”

“You would be amazed at all the ways people have found to keep themselves usefully occupied as they journey towards immortality. Let me help you a little- nobody sits in the garden for weeks, staring out into the sky and sighing, unless they want to fly away. You want a job that takes you away from the hideous ugliness of our self-inflicted wounds, but you feel guilt and shame over leaving behind the people who are fighting on the front lines. No need to justify or explain. Tell me what you want.”

Elder Feng sat easily on a cushion next to the low table, unconcerned that her beautiful, shimmering robes were laying in the mud. The black and white pearls dangling from her ears swayed gently with the soft breeze, and the pendant on her forehead seemed to come alive in the sunlight. Tian mostly saw her in her office. He didn’t know how he failed to connect her clothes, her job, and the name of her manor with what was clearly the desire in her heart.

Elder Feng felt the same need to travel that he did. She felt the same need to fly. She just decided to do it in the comfort of her own home. There truly were infinite paths to immortality, it seemed.

“To travel around the kingdom, adventuring, killing heretics, studying medicine. When I need money, I’ll visit a sect and sell them a cup of tea and an experience. I thought I could also act as an emissary for the sect as I went. I am on the responsible list, Elder.”

“Alone, or with a very few companions.”

Tian nodded and refilled the tea cups.

“No snacks?” The fisherman asked.

“If the seniors don’t like my tea, I’m afraid they will take my snacks as an actual insult.” Which had stopped being funny, and was starting to sting. He didn’t have much money. He was okay with not having much money. He was offering what he had. Why were people complaining so much? At least the whiners usually turned up with their own snacks. He appreciated that. They were often quite good.

“Mmm. I have some fish jerky.” The fisherman set out a bowl full of it.

“I will contribute fruits, then.” Elder Feng set out a basket of lychees.

“My thanks.” Tian bowed.

“It’s another form of hospitality, you know.” Elder Feng smiled. “Sometimes, the host should provide everything. This is the best way with strangers. But with friends and old colleagues, they will become uncomfortable or even resentful if they keep receiving without giving back. Allowing them to contribute encourages harmony and deepens the emotional meaning of the gathering.”

Tian rocked back. He hadn’t considered that at all. But now that she said it, it seemed quite obvious. Brother Wang was always insistent on providing snacks, and Sister Su seemed downright resentful if she couldn’t take notes. Even Sister Liren made a point of contributing tea or snacks of her own. He thought they were just making fun of him for being poor.

Well. They were definitely doing that too. But it seems their hearts were still kind.

“I have learned something. Thank you.” Tian clasped his hands and bowed.

“Emissary might be a bit much for you. Messenger, certainly. Perhaps certain very specific emissary missions. But I don’t think it would be a good full time job for you. It requires a degree of subterfuge and cruelty you would dislike.” Elder Feng looked a little self mocking. “For example, if I asked you to lead on that Shu girl from Bamboo Medicine Hut and develop her as a spy for our sect-”

Tian jolted, his guts suddenly twisting into tight knots. How could he ever-?

“And that’s why we won’t be doing that,” Elder Feng nodded at Tian, but her eyes were on the Fisherman.

Tian reached out and peeled a lychee to steady himself. The smell that rose from the white flesh was almost overwhelming. Sweet, tart, tropical, so vibrant and alive you could barely stand it. He popped it in his mouth without thinking and had to control his hands to keep from smacking the table. Wood qi, water qi, and even subtle threads of fire qi wove through waves of sweet, tangy flavors. It was like eating a bouquet and a basket of citrus all in one bite.

He had found his new life’s mission. More of these lychees. Maybe he could arrange some kind of exchange- so many dead heretics or cups of tea served for so much fruit.

“Oh, these are quite nice. Where did you get them?” The fisherman chewed happily on his own lychee.

“A gift from an admirer. Before you eat another, Junior, do try the jerky.”

Tian had sacrificed much for the sect, but his duty here was grim. Despite wanting nothing more than to grab the whole basket of lychees and run, he reached out and took a piece of dried fish from the bowl. It smelled fishy, but beyond that, he didn’t get much. It felt qi dense. He popped it in his mouth and nearly passed out.

Wood and water. The feeling of being a fish darting through tangles of dead trees in the river and nibbling on the tiny plants and algae that grew on the rocks. The feeling of warm water through mangrove swamps and the lazy fish hiding under a riverbank, eating whatever it could dig up from the riverbed. Always growing, even when it looked like it was standing still. A perfect yin-yang duality that was screaming with life, all from a dead, dried bit of fish.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“The princess likes how he smells. He’s got good elemental sensitivity, a good heart, and he’s not pushy. But I’m pushy.” The fisherman nodded approvingly, then glared at Elder Feng.

“It’s not like I haven’t been trying. These juniors came straight off the battlefield carrying enough pain for people ten times their age. I don’t know if it’s good character or fear of me that’s stopped them from beating her to death and claiming it was suicide. She hasn’t wanted to reach out to them, either.” Elder Feng spread her jade white hands helplessly.