Chapter 32: The Mountain (1)
Sen was only allowed to nap for a couple of hours before Uncle Kho came to retrieve him. Sen was relieved to discover it was primarily to make sure he got something to eat. On the bright side, Sen finally understood why Uncle Kho had said that his wife was the real cook in the family. There were great piles of deliciousness on the table. There were baozi, dumplings, fried rice, pancakes, moon cakes, and so much more. Sen ran out of appetite long before the food was even close to gone. Yet, as much as Sen enjoyed the food, he was very aware that Master Feng was not present. It wasn’t something he did that often inside, but Sen spread his qi out into the house, sensing for the presence of others. Even that minor exertion of his qi made his channels ache. Still, he learned what he meant to learn. Master Feng wasn’t just absent from the meal. He wasn’t even in the house.
“Uncle Kho, where is Master Feng?” Sen asked.
Uncle Kho and Ma Caihong exchanged a look before the man answered. “Ming needed some time to collect himself. He’s cultivating up at the peak of the mountain. He’ll be back tomorrow.”
Sen wanted to press the issue, but he’d learned to read Uncle Kho a bit over the last few years. He wasn’t going to get anything more from the old man. If Master Feng wasn’t back the next day, Sen would worry about it then. With a full stomach and a bit of lingering pain plaguing him, Sen decided more sleep was in order. That was when the bad news struck. Ma Caihong held up a hand to stop him. He watched with mounting horror as she poured some concoction into a cup and handed it to him. He stared down into the cup for a while, wincing at the medicinal smell that wafted up from the thick liquid.
“What is it?” He finally asked.
“It’s to help with the effects of the backlash and a few other things,” said Ma Caihong.
Sen’s eyes snapped up to the woman. “What other things?”
Ma Caihong gave her husband a questioning look.
Uncle Kho sighed. “Sen has had, let’s call it mixed experiences with cultivation resources. His first body-cleansing pill was apparently excruciating. It’s made him a little leery.”
“That’s understandable, I suppose,” said Ma Caihong. “This is nothing like that. It should help repair any damage to your channels. It might push your cultivation along a little. That’s it.”
Sen stared at her for a while before he worked up his nerve and downed the mystery liquid in the cup. He let out a little relieved breath.
“At least it didn’t taste terrible,” he said.
Ma Caihong smiled a little at that. “Cultivate for an hour and make sure you cycle through all of your channels before you go to sleep. That should be enough to get things moving in the right direction.”
Sen nodded, suppressed a yawn, and excused himself. He was pretty sure he made it the whole hour before he fell asleep.
***
However uncertain he’d felt about the potion that Ma Caihong had given him the night before, he felt good about it when he woke up. He cycled qi through all of his channels and there wasn’t even a hint of pain. The qi in his dantian felt thicker to him, and he thought there might even be a bit more of it. He was nowhere near ready to forgive Ma Caihong or forget what she did. But he thought he’d probably be less suspicious the next time she offered him some cultivator brew. He knew he’d had to get over this knee-jerk reaction he had. Pills, herbs, and alchemical brews were just part of the lifestyle. His aversion would ultimately just slow him down. He knew this. Master Feng and Uncle Kho had told him that. Yet, he couldn’t shake that fear that he’d developed those years ago.
He shook those thoughts away and went to the kitchen. Master Feng and Ma Caihong were there and even Sen could sense the intense awkwardness. Both of the older cultivators avoided even looking at the other. For her part, Ma Caihong made sure that Sen had something to eat, asked about his channels, used her qi to look him over, and promptly vanished. Sen could almost touch the relief that washed over Master Feng when Ma Caihong was no longer there. Then, Master Feng looked at Sen. The man seemed like he was somehow less than he had been before yesterday. It wasn’t anything physical. Master Feng looked the same as always. Yet, there was something a little off about him. A kind of brittleness or hollowness that Sen didn’t know how to address.
“I’m sorry, Sen. Yesterday, I lost my temper. It’s been a long time since I was angry like that. I’d honestly forgotten what I could be like in that state.”
Sen saw an image in his mind’s eye of Master Feng standing there in the courtyard with blood all over his hands and that look in his eye. He wished very much to never see that in person again. He offered Master Feng a small bow.
“You owe me no apologies, master.”
Feng’s lips moved a little into what might charitably be called a smile.
“Thank you, Sen. As for today, you’ll be going out onto the mountain. There’s a cave on the opposite side of the mountain from here. That’s your destination. I’ll be waiting for you there. Jaw-Long and,” Feng took a shuddering breath, “his wife said they would provide the supplies you should need to get there.”
“How long do I have?” Sen asked.
“The test isn’t to get there in a certain amount of time. The test is simply to get there. By the time you do, I expect you’ll have learned what you need to learn.”
Sen considered those words for a while as he finished his food. Then, he snorted.
“Did I miss something?” Feng asked.
Sen shook his head. “No. It was just remembering that, when we first came up here, I thought you were going to sit in a cave for years. I should have known that there would be a cave involved somewhere along the line.”
Master Feng let out a little chuckle and a Sen saw a tiny spark of his old master kindle in the back of the man’s eyes. “Yes, I supposed you should have known. Caves aren’t all bad, you know.”
Sen smiled. “Well then, I look forward to seeing this cave of yours, when I get there.”
Feng nodded and rose. “Good luck, Sen.”
Sen listened as his master left the house.
***
Sen spent the next few hours being loaded down with various useful items. A tent, a bedroll, food, and some medicines that he suspected Ma Caihong had made either the night before or early this morning. He dutifully placed them all inside his storage ring. When neither Uncle Kho nor his wife could think of anything else to send with him, they all went out to the courtyard. He gave the two a bow.
“I will see you when I return,” he offered.
“We’ll see you then,” said Uncle Kho.
Ma Caihong just nodded at him. Sen was relieved that she didn’t offer him any sage advice or well wishes. He could still feel his anger at her bubbling away deep inside him. He didn’t want that anger erupting now. He sincerely hoped that his time on the mountain would help him purge that anger. He didn’t enjoy being angry, at anyone, or about anything. He’d just as soon leave this anger behind if he could figure out how.
With that brief goodbye out of the way, Sen turned, strode out of the gate, and stepped onto the mountain.
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