Chapter 45: Year’s End (2)

Chapter 45: Year’s End (2)

Sen had to seek out Ma Caihong’s help to come up with a gift idea for Uncle Kho. Her recommendation had been so straightforward that Sen felt a little stupid for not coming up with it himself. He was very happy that it was something he could do without traipsing all over the mountain. Sen’s recent advancement had gone a long way toward making time spent in the cold something he could handle without much thought, up to a point. A few hours, even most of a day, he could take in stride. Two days in the freezing misery of the upper mountain had informed him that he was still vulnerable to the cold if got cold enough for long enough. It might take longer for the cold to seep in and kill him, but it could still do it.

As for Uncle Kho’s gift, it took him most of a week and several wasted scrolls, but Sen finally completed the project up to a level that he found satisfactory. He tucked it away in his storage ring next to Ma Caihong’s gift. In the end, it was Sen who came up with the idea for Master Feng’s gift. He had to enlist both Auntie Caihong and Uncle Kho to make it happen. Sen was glad, for once, that Master Feng was off on another one of his excursions to dig up information about spirit beasts. It gave him time to practice with Ma Ciahong and get feedback from Uncle Kho.

Then, the day was upon them. Sen spent his morning practicing outside, as he usually did. Master Feng came out and observed him for a while but didn’t seem inclined to make any corrections. He only made one casual comment.

“I see that you’ve taken to Ma Caihong’s jian style.”

“It seems practical to have the option,” said Sen, feeling a little nervous.

Master Feng nodded. “It is. I’d have encouraged you to wait a little longer before you learned a second style, but it hasn’t seemed to hamper your growth.”

“Thank you, master.”

Sen completed his routines, cleaned up, and then banished everyone from the kitchen. He slaved over the stove for hours, obsessively checking and rechecking everything. He did let Auntie Caihong come and help him dish everything up for the meal. Then, they invited the others to join them. Master Feng stopped dead when he saw the food on the table. For a brief moment, Sen thought the man might cry. Then, Master Feng gave Sen a huge smile and sat down. They ate and ate until everyone was full.

“Thank you for the gift, Sen,” said Master Feng.

Sen gave him a bow. “You are welcome, master.”

“I suppose I have you two to thank as well?”Witness the genesis of this narrative, streaming from Nøv€lß¡n★

Uncle Kho waved it off. “I just tasted the practice runs to help them get it right.”

“I have been teaching him to cook since the two of you certainly couldn’t. I consider it part of that training.”

Feng’s eyes twinkled at their excuses.

“Since I’ve started, I may well as finish,” said Sen, standing up.

He retrieved a scroll from his storage ring and gave it to Uncle Kho. The old cultivator lifted an eyebrow and gently unrolled the scroll. His eyes went a little wide and then his whole expression softened. Sen could see the artistic, or as artistic as he could manage, brush strokes on the paper.

“Do not let the mountain ahead of you distract from the road before you,” read Uncle Kho. “One of my favorite sayings.”

Uncle Kho shot his wife a sly look, but she sat there simply radiating innocence. With that, Sen retrieved his final gift. He’d had to get Uncle Kho’s help to make the box because he needed something that would safely preserve what was inside. He held the box out to Auntie Caihong. She smiled at him as she took the box and opened the top. Her expression froze for a moment before she gave Sen a surprised look.

“A lunar winter’s heart blossom,” she said. “Is that where you went for those two days?”

“It is. I met someone up there who helped me find it. They wanted me to tell you that Laughing River bids you an auspicious new year.”

“Thank you, Auntie Caihong.”

“You understand that I expect you to send occasional letters back to let your poor old auntie and uncle to let us know that you’re alive. Once you head out into the world, of course.”

Sen laughed. “Where would I send them?”

“To your grandmother, of course,” said Feng. “I’m sure she’d be willing to hold them until someone stops by.”

“Of course,” said Sen, although he doubted that was a real long-term solution.

At that, Auntie Caihong gave her husband another withering glare and said, “I’ll go first this time.”

She accessed her own storage treasure and removed a jian. Although, it was very different from Sen’s jian. That sword came in a red-lacquered scabbard that looked like it was inlaid with gold. There was a ruby inset in the pommel, and the guard was carved to look like two dragon heads. As fine as the sword looked, Sen felt an almost instinctive dislike for it. There was something wrong with that sword. Something, Sen searched for a word that hit the right note. There was something corrupt about it. As for Master Feng, his eyes were locked on the sword.

“How did you get that?” He asked.

Ma Caihong smirked. “The old-fashioned way. I took it from his corpse.”

“He’s truly dead, then?”

“Oh yes, quite thoroughly and truly dead.”

Feng reached out and took the sword. There was a look of such malicious satisfaction on his face that Sen was startled. Feng noticed the expression on Sen’s face and sighed.

“The man who carried this blade was someone I wasted a lot of time trying to find. He spent most of his life doing whatever he wanted, and what he wanted was mostly to hurt and kill people. Of course, he knew I wanted him dead, so he ran and hid whenever there was even a rumor that I was closing in on him. He’d go underground for decades at a time,” said Master Feng before turning his eyes to Ma Caihong. “How did you find him?”

She laughed. “I didn’t. He found me. Except, he thought he was finding some lone woman in the wilderness. He was so surprised.”

Feng snorted. “Yes, I’ll just bet he was. Thank you, Caihong, for finishing my tasks and bringing me this. I’ll take great pleasure in destroying it.”

Uncle Kho gave his wife a pouting expression. “I suppose I know how you felt, now. Well, here you go, Ming.”

He tossed Feng what looked like a storage ring. Master Feng held it in his hand for a moment before he gave Kho a little grin.

“Is this what I think it is, Kho?”

“Yes, and it wasn’t easy to make. So, you’d better spread it around that that little miracle was my work.”

Feng laughed. “Of course, all credit where it’s due.”

After that, everyone fell into conversation, although Sen mostly just listened. His mind and his eyes were consumed by his new cultivation manual.