31 Book 1 Epilogue

Wang Jun continued the conversation after they had taken a few bites. "Everyone is fine, but they took your fall from Greatwood Bridge very personally. They don't know you're back yet, because I wanted you to be in full health before breaking the news to them." Shaking his head, he continued, "Feng Ming was very shaken and ashamed, and he felt like he could have put a lot more effort into cultivation. In his opinion, he might have been able to help a lot more if only he had taken advantage of the cultivation resources he had access to.

"As a result, he asked his father for permission to join the army as penance. He has been assigned to one of the strictest commanders in the army, and Heaven only knows what kind of man he will be by the time he obtains permission to return. My informants in the military say that, in all likelihood, he will either come back a brave, responsible person or die trying.

"Gong Lan disappeared shortly after our return, along with her brother and many members of their mercenary company. She also blames her gentle behavior and seems intent on following in her brother's footsteps. Hong Xin, on the other hand…" Wang Jun was suddenly interrupted by the sound of swift footsteps rushing down the hallway.

A teary-eyed Hong Xin ran into the room and aggressively hugged Cha Ming while sobbing.

Wang Jun coughed lightly. "I invited her for breakfast this morning since the doctor said you would be up soon. I thought it would be a nice surprise." He gently rubbed the top of Hong Xin's head, who blushed and smiled.

"Brother Jun definitely treats me the best. I'm so glad you're back! We've all missed you terribly, and I was so sad! But Brother Jun kept me company very often, and he took me for walks, and he always treats me to supper."

Wang Jun spurted out tea and rubbed his head awkwardly, which made Cha Ming laugh. Huxian laughed telepathically.

"Yes, he is the best," said Cha Ming. "Did you know that he rushed out with Elder Bai to save me in the spirit woods? He even took me to the best doctor in the city, which is why I could get well so fast. Huxian and I would have died if it wasn't for him!"

Wang Jun shot him a thankful look. He had been worried that Cha Ming might be interested in Xin Er, and he'd been hesitant to be too forward before obtaining Cha Ming's approval.

"Wait, how long have you known he was back?" Hong Xin said, her hands suddenly on her hips. "Why didn't you tell me?" Her imposing manner had reached sky-high levels, and neither of them could properly think or put sentences together. Cha Ming and Wang Jun both shuddered and explained hastily.

"I just got back last night," Cha Ming exclaimed. "And that spirit doctor was really good! Wang Jun didn't want you worrying!"

"Didn't want me worried? You mean you hid it from me?" Hong Xin looked aggrieved.

Panicking, Wang Jun looked around and found the wandering Elder Bai. His eyes lit up instantly.

"Elder Bai, didn't I tell you yesterday afternoon to inform Xin Er that Cha Ming had returned? Why didn't you tell her?"

Hearing Wang Jun's scolding, he paled but quickly picked up the hint.

"Aiya, in my old age, I made the judgment that the young miss loved surprises, and so I sent the courier with a letter to invite her for breakfast … This old man knows his mistake. I will punish myself. Please continue with your breakfast, I will take my leave."

Hearing that Elder Bai was about to go inflict punishment on himself, Hong Xin's eyes widened. "It's not his fault, Elder Brother Jun. Please don't let Elder Bai punish himself!" She looked at Wang Jun imploringly.

Wang Jun shook his head self-deprecatingly. "No, the fault is all mine. I should have been more explicit in my instructions. It's my fault, Elder Bai. Relax and continue with your activities. What's important is that Cha Ming is safe and sound at last." Wang Jun clasped his hands together and gave Elder Bai a short bow of apology. Elder Bai nodded his head.

Meanwhile, Cha Ming decided that one day, he would also do his all to obtain such a loyal assistant.

--

It was now late afternoon, and Cha Ming and Wang Jun were seated at an ornate wooden table, drinking tea. Elder Bai was out running errands, Hong Xin had returned home, and Huxian was sleeping lazily by a warmly lit fireplace. Oddly enough, the fireplace and chimney matched the rest of the building, being completely wooden in composition. The bark covering the wood had a reddish hue, and as far as Cha Ming could tell, it was impervious to the weak fire used to warm the living room. It did, however, give off a smoky cinnamon smell whenever the heat of the fire reached a certain intensity.

"You definitely know how to enjoy the small things in life," said Cha Ming, sipping on his cup of tea. "This fireplace and chimney must be worth a fortune."

Wang Jun made a gesture, indicating that Cha Ming should put his cup down to be refilled with freshly brewed tea.

"My father always said that one can enjoy these simple comforts privately but must never show them off in public. By appearing humble, your friends appreciate your modesty. Conversely, your enemies will underestimate you, and neutral people will find it difficult to resent you. Therefore, I always dress simply, but the tea I brew is always top quality. The outside of my home is simple, but my desk and fireplace are worth more than the entire house combined. As an added benefit, I don't need to spend excessive money on impressing others. In some matters, my father is truly wise."

After taking a sip of the freshly poured tea, he continued. "Speaking of which, I sense some interesting things in you. First, your body is a lot stronger than it was before you fell. Like before, I can tell that you're now practicing a very high-level body-refinement technique. You must have encountered unimaginable good fortune after you fell in the river. Secondly, I can tell that you have an impressive treasure aura. It seems like you found something good?"

"My luck was not bad. I encountered a body-refinement technique and everything necessary to cultivate it until becoming a Xiantian life-form. I can't share it with you, but the technique seems to be imparted as a legacy; I have a feeling that the future cultivation methods will be revealed once I am ready for them.

"As for the treasure, I discovered a large amount of elemental essence that is useful to me for talisman crafting. However, in the same location, I found these pieces of ore, which I can't identify." Cha Ming produced a piece of stone he had found in the bottom of the liquified elemental essence lake—it was one of the stone Huxian had eaten a few to increase his strength by many levels.

Wang Jun gleefully grabbed the stone and inspected it from every angle. He then took out an expensive-looking soul-alloy knife and gently cut the rock into two pieces. The outside of the stone was emanating a light blue glow, but the center of each stone was crystal clear. Wang Jun nodded. "How many of these stones did you find?"

Cha Ming responded by dumping several hundred stones on the living room floor. The room quickly lit up with a blue glow. As soon as the stones hit the floor, Wang Jun cried out and pulled out a small jade chest, which quickly sucked up the rocks from the floor. He then handed the chest over to Cha Ming.

"These stones contain two precious things. The first, as you've likely guessed, is pure crystalized elemental essence. It's a very good cultivation material, but it's difficult to absorb without a formation to channel it into a useable form. That's not a problem, however; I can easily sell you two such formations for a couple of the stones. The second treasure contained within is a high-quality soul-alloy ore. This is a very valuable material, and a small amount of refinement and reprocessing will produce slightly more than eighty percent of the original volume as pure soul alloy. In other words, you're rich now!

"I suggest selling me the crystalized elemental essence for a more convenient, processed form. I can give you 90% of the volume in exchange, since the impurity content of this crystalized elemental essence is very low. Meanwhile, I can also arrange for the remaining soul-alloy ore to be reprocessed into useable soul alloy. This is a premium material for weapons and defensive treasures for those who use soul power. Not only are you able to control them like your own hands, but you can inscribe runes on it that suit you best. These runes can be removed at any time. In addition, the weapons forged from soul alloy will change properties when imbued with soul power. They can be made heavier or lighter, larger or smaller. They can also change shapes, though without spirit power they will be restored to their original forged shape."

In the end, Cha Ming took up Wang Jun on his offer, and he trusted that Wang Jun had offered him a fair deal. He only accepted one formation plate, however. When Wang Jun learned that Huxian could actually eat the ore, he became very excited.

"Can Huxian eat other things? Like beast cores, spirit stones, spirit beasts, etc.?" Wang Jun asked curiously.

"Yes," said Cha Ming while slapping his forehead. "He is basically gluttony incarnate. He can eat nigh unlimited amounts of spirit beasts and beast cores."

Wang Jun laughed heartily. "You're quite fortunate to have such a companion. This type of devouring ability stems from an affinity to darkness, and its very rare among spirit beasts. My guess is that he is using the crystalized elemental essence to increase his demonic cultivation while using the soul-alloy ore to reinforce his body." After pondering for a bit, he took out fifty stones from the original few hundred.

"You should keep these for Huxian. I doubt that you can find a more efficient means for him to train."

Soon after, Cha Ming left the Jade Bamboo Auction House and made his way to Elder Ling's residence.

--

Cha Ming walked down the narrow alley from the marketplace to his teacher's residence, the talisman shop. As usual, the small cabin was plastered with a variety of talismans, and Mr. Mao Mao was relaxing in the shade. Mr. Mao Mao stood up to greet Cha Ming this time, looking at him expectantly. Cha Ming didn't disappoint him and pulled out several bundles of dried flowers, which the cat dutifully brought into the house while leading the way.

Their furry friend led them into an empty living room, indicating that Elder Ling was still out for the day. A short while later, the cat came back with a placid and pleased expression. Just as he was about to move toward his usual perch, he noticed it was already occupied by a strange creature. The black-and-white Huxian was already curled up in a ball and napping.

Huxian, get down from there. That's Mr. Mao Mao's spot, and you don't want to get him angry! Cha Ming hurriedly sent a mental message, but it was too late. Mr. Mao Mao's hair was erect and his claws protruding. He let out a loud hiss and started advancing aggressively. Huxian's face wore a complacent smile. It was a true case of the young not fearing the strong.

A short while later, Cha Ming returned from the kitchen with a kettle of tea and three cups. The hissing, howling, and whining had faded, and Huxian stood whimpering in a corner with a bright scratch mark on his face. Cha Ming first served tea to Mr. Mao Mao, who accepted the tribute. He then proceeded to pour the teary-eyed Huxian a cup.

Elder brother, Mr. Mao Mao is so powerful! I was wrong, I'll behave in the future. But… Mr. Mao Mao told me I had to kowtow every time I see him. Isn't that going too far? Huxian looked very aggrieved, and all Cha Ming could do was pet and reassure him. The rules were made by the strong, after all.

An hour passed by in silence while Cha Ming focused on recuperating while sitting on his chair in front of the Angels and Devils board. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that Elder Ling had silently entered and sat himself down on the opposite side of the table. Knowing Cha Ming's habits, he had placed a central black stone on the board and responded with his one move using white stones. Cha Ming smiled as he continued the game.

"Teacher, did you just come back?" Cha Ming inquired.

"Only a half hour ago. I didn't want to interrupt your recovery. You got a pretty nasty injury, so it's a good thing luck was on your side. It seems you've used up quite a bit of your luck on this trip. Your rewards must have been staggering." Elder Ling pondered for a moment and finally decided to place a white stone offensively.

"Teacher, what do you mean by using up most of my luck?"

The elder gave him a surprised look. "Oh, you didn't know? Quick, take off your shirt!"

Cha Ming frowned but still complied with the request. While Elder Ling was very eccentric, everything he did had a purpose. Elder Ling guided him to a mirror, where Cha Ming noticed a tattoo between his shoulder blades. There was a character for "luck," accompanied by the character "one."

"This is a luck talisman from the late Good Fortune Sect. Back when they were still around, they used to make a few of them every year. To make them, however, they needed to infuse the talisman with a bit of their own good fortune, thereby decreasing it. Quite frankly, I have no idea how you lucked out so well and got one. They are basically extinct!

"Anyhow, the talisman usually has four uses. You had three when you left, so you must have used two instances of good luck on your little excursion."

Cha Ming now realized that he'd obtained the talisman in the same shop where he got his rosary. "How did a sect that focused on good luck disappear?" he inquired.

"Well," said Elder Ling, "that's a bit of an unfortunate story. The sect existed for many thousands of years, and the main qualification of being a core disciple of the sect was to cultivate the sect's Good Fortune cultivation technique. Anyone else in the sect could at most become an outer- or inner-sect disciple or an outer- or inner-sect elder.

"Now, in this sect, there was a golden rule: Everything that one did had to increase karmic merit. Their cultivation method relied on accumulating karmic merit, and as a result, their disciples were famous for traveling the continent, performing good deeds, and punishing sinful acts. A sect like this should have flourished for tens of thousands of years.

"Regrettably, their Grand Elder, who had established the sect, had been using the sect to increase his own karmic virtue in preparation for achieving immortality. When the time came to overcome his tribulation, he discovered that his accumulated luck was insufficient. Therefore, he overdrew the sect's karmic merit reserve into a deficit to tackle his tribulation.

"Ultimately, he still failed. After he passed away, their sect patriarch attempted to recover their sect's karmic merit reserve and erase the deficit. One day, however, an outer sect disciple caught a simple cold, which, by a freakish series of unfortunate events, mutated into an epidemic that wiped out their sect, not to mention half the population of the continent."

Cha Ming shivered as he realized just how great of an effect karmic merit had. Those who went against the will of the heavens were punished, while those who supported the will of the heavens were rewarded.

They finished their game over the next two hours, while their two animal companions continued napping. Finally, Cha Ming got down to business and inquired about his recent discoveries in making talismans. He mentioned painting the heavens, as well as three-dimensional characters. Much to his surprise, Elder Ling became excited and started an impromptu lesson.

"My boy, I was going to wait longer before teaching you this, but it looks like you're already ready. And you haven't yet broken through to the fifth level of qi condensation! Your progress leaves me envious." He scratched his scraggly beard while thinking of how to proceed. Suddenly, his eyes brightened as he took out his own personal brush. It was a black brush, covered in runic engravings. He waved it around, and a two-dimensional image was projected.

"First things first, the brush. Mortal-grade talisman brushes are very dismal, and their only feature is improving the success rate of talisman crafting."

A picture of a man appeared, holding a mundane brush. The man, surprisingly, was Cha Ming! He was sitting at his dormitory desk.

Has Elder Ling been spying on me? Cha Ming thought, aghast at the implications.

As if reading his thoughts, Elder Ling coughed lightly and waved his hand. Suddenly, the brush changed. This one was made with finer materials and had simple runic engravings.

"Magic-grade brushes can have some additional effects. They can be designed to accommodate several elements, and sometimes they can directly enhance the success rate of the craftsman by a whole level." Elder Ling waved his hand once more, and this time the brush started shimmering.

"This is a core-grade brush. Brushes at this level no longer consume ink to craft talismans but directly use liquified elemental essence. Furthermore, any ink used on a failed talisman will not dissipate but will be recycled by the brush. Further, talismans can now be produced by painting the air. Some more complex talismans are actually three-dimensional and can be imbued into talisman paper after they are fully formed. Likewise, they can also be imbued into other objects.

"This rendition of you painting in your study is generated using the Dao of karma, time, and illusion. This stuff is way above your head, so I won't even bother explaining it. Oh, and about that brush. You shouldn't tell anyone else about its abilities. Something that's at least a core-grade treasure but useable by a young man in the qi condensation stage would make people very jealous."

Cha Ming bowed and thanked Elder Ling for the advice. He had once again dodged a bullet.

Before he left, Elder Ling gifted him a book containing instructions on crafting various mid-grade and high-grade talismans. He also gave Huxian a present, a silver collar. Huxian was originally going to refuse it because he disdained wearing something like a collar. He was finally convinced by the glaring Mr. Mao Mao, who was wearing a similar collar.

The collar instantly became a status symbol in Huxian's eyes, and he quickly donned the collar. As soon as he equipped it, his fur turned red and white until he appeared no different than a normal fox. Cha Ming and Huxian left the little shack together, cheerfully discussing how impressive Mr. Mao Mao's true form might be.

As they walked back to their dormitory, Cha Ming hummed in satisfaction as he walked down the gray stone street. Passing through the campus, he soaked in the wonderful architecture, the red, gold, and green leaves covered in white frost, and more importantly, the laughing voices of students in the academy.

That night, Cha Ming had a dream. The sounds of shattering ice resounded one last time as Cha Ming walked over a frozen puddle. Many more crackles livened up the cold, dark night as Huxian walked by his side. He knew it was a dream, yet he made sure to break every puddle as he wandered down the frozen clay road one last time. He would not be able to in the future. In the distance, the small house was burning as usual.

Knowing what to expect, Cha Ming and Huxian darted toward the house without any hesitation. Once again, he noticed that the fire was different than last time. The flames burned less intensely than before, likely due to the speed at which he and the baby fox arrived. Despite his knowledge of the situation, he quickly touched the doorknob with the back of his hand. To his surprise, it was hot, meaning that he could not get inside the house the way he normally did. This wasn't a problem. On his signal, he and Huxian leapt up directly to the second floor, breaking a large window in the process.

In this room, he saw the family's dog, which had passed out. He quickly instructed Huxian to grab the dog by the neck and drag him out as he ran down the hallway into the opposite room. This time, he didn't have to rely on his sense of hearing. Using his strong eyesight, he quickly located the screaming child. The heat and smoke didn't affect him; he quickly broke apart the bed trapping the child's arm.

Just like last time, he was able to travel down the stairs and exit out the front door. He met up with Huxian and the collapsed dog. Both it and the child were breathing. The child's mother quickly joined them and thanked them while crying. Her two other young children were also crying.

There was no need to enter the house a second time. He would never enter this house or this dream again.

Cha Ming woke up at dawn to the feeling of a wet tongue licking his cheek. Huxian was relaxing on his chest. Cha Ming smiled and pet his newfound friend for a good half hour while staring at the beautiful morning sky.

The dream was largely symbolic, but the perfect ending finally reminded Cha Ming of an undeniable truth: People were responsible proportionate to their means. He had not made the wrong choice the first or second time he had the dream since arriving at Green Leaf Academy. The first time, he was not strong enough in the dream, so he made the decision to save the child. The second time, he had enough power to try and save the dog, and that was enough. This last time, his strength and Huxian's had finally reached a level where he could do both.

Having resolved the dream, he now knew that it was very important to raise his capacity to act. Without strength, he would never have the ability to choose. And he now had a good brother whom he could rely on. This was also part of his capacity, part of his strength.

Fate was a funny thing. Despite all the misfortunes that he had suffered during the school year, Cha Ming was laughing inside. The good fortune that he had received in return was incalculable. He was alive, he had Huxian, and his friends were healthy. He also had a bright future to look forward to, a limitless future full of choice and fulfillment.

His future was like a blank canvas. A pure, clear sky.

-- End of Book 1 --