Chapter 37- Dragged into the Light

Tian ceased all talking. All attention and energy was poured into a singular focus- healing. And getting taller. But definitely the healing part came first. Or at least at the same time.

The problem was too much thinking, and not enough not-thinking. It wasn’t that his senior brothers had scammed him. They told him the absolute truth- complicated thoughts get between you and the unfiltered dao, because you are breaking up the world into lots of little things and not seeing the unified big thing that is everything. It’s why animals cultivated faster at the Earthly Realm- no complicating thoughts, everything flowing according to nature.

Despite that, he was still given all manner of complicated arts to learn. Complicated circulation paths, complicated politics, complicated economics, complicated mysteries about merit and fortune and…

And the fact that Brother Fu certainly authorized the attack on his family home that saw him burned nearly to death…

No. No intrusive thoughts. He might not be able to stop them entirely, but he could give his mind something else to focus on. The tree. The grand tree that holds up the sky. The big cosmic tree that you were supposed to visualize as you cultivated Advent of Spring. It was so foolish, in retrospect. So obviously vital, and yet, overlooked. Everyone kept saying that “any true path of cultivation is a cultivation of the mind,” and then turned around and said “stop thinking and just be.” How could the two things be reconciled? Simple. He had to stop thinking and cultivate the Cosmic Tree in his mind.

The Cosmic Tree was the purest expression of elemental wood taken to its extreme. It was a literal tree, yes, made out of literal wood, but taking the term “elemental wood” literally would be a mistake. “Elemental wood” means “growth.” Elemental wood wasn’t a noun. It was a verb. It was, he believed, the element most properly associated with life. Even more than water. Water was, after all, the element of winter, death and extreme yin. And from extreme yin, yang is born. Spring follows winter, and all the seeds waiting in the ground burst upward and grow.

Well, here he was. All condensed into a seed. Plenty of water nearby, and he could see the hot sun shining down through the hole in the ceiling. Ready to reach for the light.

No thoughts other than growth. No thoughts other than healing, growing, and reaching for the light. To help his focus (and after checking that it wouldn’t bother Liren,) Tian started chanting, finding sounds that fueled his growth. Finding the wood within them. Letting them carry him upward.

Ten days after Tian and Hong fell into the cave, they clawed their way out of it. Not fully recovered, but recovered enough that they were ready to fight most things under the Heavenly Realm. Tian still got headaches sometimes, and he fought to keep his mood even. He had the strangest urges to start giggling or to lash out. He could feel the hateful words pressing against the back of his teeth, until they vanished and left a foul taste in his mouth. But more than anything, he felt strong. Wounded, but strong.

“First thing we do is find the Crane. Then, next thing, get in touch with Brother Fu.” Tian was firm, though it didn’t achieve much. Liren was shaking her head by the time he ended the first sentence.

“First thing we do is go to the Three Falls Convent and talk to the Sisters. They will know where to find the crane. At the very least, they will have a better idea than we do.”

That was completely sensible. Tian still didn’t want to do it. He didn’t really want Liren doing it either. Unfortunately, this forced him to confront why he didn’t want to ask them.

“I… don’t trust the Monastery, any more,” he muttered. “The Sisters are probably more okay than any of the Heavenly People, but that doesn’t change the fact that if a Martial Uncle or Aunt said “Be sure and send a messenger falcon at once if you see Tian or Hong,” they would. Even if we asked them not to.”

Liren’s face dropped, her eyes searching for something in his expression. Not finding it. She shook her head. “It tears me up too. There are a lot of good people in the Monastery. The best people. There are a lot of villains too, and the people at the top think doing nothing is the wisest course. But I’m not willing to walk away.”

“Not asking you to.” Tian shook his head. Wishing she would walk away. “Just saying I can’t take the risk. And you shouldn’t either.”

“We are going to need the information one way or another, Brother.”

Tian nodded. “Then let’s do so like heretics or wandering cultivators. By rumor, by talking to people. By, hah, flowing with the dao.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Tian shrugged. “I don’t trust them, Sis. I just don’t.” He looked up into the sky, casting his mind out. Hoping for some trace of the Snow Grace Crane. Nothing. He hadn’t expected anything, but he still had hoped.

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