Vindicator’s Wrath - Chapter 7

Hong Wu read through the booklet titled Coldmist Breathing Technique three times before sitting down in her cushioned room to begin practicing. The Coldmist Breathing Technique specialized in collecting yin spiritual qi from the moisture in the air and transferring it into the body. To do this, the cultivator had to sit in the lotus position, feet touching opposing thighs. Next they would have to position their hands in an awkward position, index and middle fingers out, the heel of both palms touching, the left hand pointing down under the right hand pointing up. Finally, the cultivator was required take two deep breaths in and five shallow breaths out. All this needed to be done while visualizing a cloud of mist forming inside the lower dantian.

‘Seems simple enough,’ Hong Wu thought as she sat down to practice.

Two hours later Hong Wu was gasping for breath, legs numb from sitting, wrists sore. ‘This is harder than it sounds. How do I even know if it is working?’

As if to answer her questions a scream suddenly arose from one of the other houses nearby. Heads popped out of their homes curious of the source. Looking around, Hong Wu’s line of sight became transfixed upon a most unusual sight. Standing outside of Lan Cixi’s house was a girl covered in black filth, face aghast. Noticing the stares the girl shamefully ran towards the bathing grotto. ‘Was that Lan Cixi? It looked like she was covered in ‘ Hong Wu shuddered to complete her thought.

An hour later Lan Cixi walked back from the grotto, her causal pride returned to her face. Her skin seemed more luminous, her bearing more regal. The girls gathered again to marvel at the new Lan Cixi, inquiring as to what had happened to her.

“I have become a Qi Condensation cultivator!”

Cries of surprise and joy escaped from the girls as everyone rushed to congratulate Lan Cixi. Lan Cixi magnanimously received the praise heaped upon her. She then continued to speak, detailing her experience.

“I was practicing just as the Coldmist Breathing Technique described when suddenly I experienced a strange chill. It felt as if all the impurities in my body were being cleansed. When I awoke from my trance, I was shocked to see myself covered in filth. I only realized after washing it all away, that these were the same impurities that were cleansed from me.”

Excited that one of them had already succeeded, many of the girls went back to their rooms to try practicing again. Hong Wu was no exception. Revitalized by Lan Cixi’s performance and given a better understanding of what to expect, Hong Wu went back to practicing cultivation.

After a day of practice Hong Wu was exhausted, but a slight smile was seen on her lips. Although she had not broken through to Qi Condensation yet, she felt that she was getting closer and closer to reaching her goal. Hong Wu decided to get some rest, before trying again the next day.

When Hong Wu woke up, she immediately returned to her room to try again. This time Hong Wu decided that it was time to try using some of her cultivation resources. First thing Hong Wu decided to use was the incense stick. Closing the room, Hong Wu placed the incense into the burner, lit it, and began practicing the Coldmist Breathing Technique.

As she breathed in the smoke, Hong Wu noticed an immediate change. Hong Wu felt a surging energy coursing through her veins, revitalizing every cell in her body. Suppressing her excitement Hong Wu continued to practice her breathing technique with a new sense of optimism.

After about ten minutes, the incense stick had burned out and the smoke had thinned out to almost nothing. Hong Wu felt fantastic. ‘I must be close to breaking through. There is no reason to stop now.’

Motivated by her current success, Hong Wu popped one of her Qi Drawing Pills into her mouth and continued practicing her breathing technique. The pill started to melt as soon as Hong Wu placed it in her mouth, and a warm tingling spread through her body. Hong Wu worked diligently for two more hours before stopping with a trace of disappointment. ‘It didn’t work? That was almost all my supplementary resources. Now all I have left is this one pill.’

Hong Wu’s mood had taken a sharp downturn, ‘It appears that the incense is much more effective than the pills. That makes sense considering we were given two pills, but only one stick of incense.’

Satisfied with this train of thought. Hong Wu continued practicing her breathing technique for a few more hours before gasping for air again, unable to continue.

The next few days Hong Wu shared her experiences with the other girls, only to be greatly surprised by their reactions. “Those Qi Drawing Pills are amazing!”

“I know right? I took one and felt I was almost ready to break through!”

“Did you hear? After taking just one of those pills Miss Cang Rong was able to break through to Qi Condensation just like Lady Lan!”

Incredulity was written across Hong Wu’s face when she decided to chime in, “Has nobody tried using the incense? I thought that it was much more effective than the pills.”

Many girls showed odd expressions in response to this. “The incense was helpful to be sure, but ”

“Yeah, the breathing technique works much faster with it, only ”

“It just makes cultivating feel a little easier, but the pill actually fills you with the energy Lady Lan was talking about. What did she call it, spiritual qi?”

Everyone nodded to this statement as if it was the most natural thing. The overwhelming opinion that the pills were better than the incense astounded Hong Wu. Going to Lan Cixi for guidance, even she was at a loss as to why the pills were not working for Hong Wu. “I am sorry Sister Hong, but I am just as new to cultivation as you are. It is possible that your body is just not suited for cultivation.”

Hong Wu’s expression deflated at this. “Don’t give up yet though! You still have one more Qi Drawing Pill right? Try using it tonight and maybe the heavens will smile down upon you.”

Disappointed that she still did not know what was wrong, Hong Wu bade Lan Cixi farewell and returned to her house. Hong Wu sat in her cultivation room, her face determined. ‘I am not leaving here until I break through to Qi Condensation!’

Hong Wu swallowed her last Qi Drawing pill and began her Coldmist Breathing Technique. Three days later a roar of reluctance was heard from Hong Wu’s house. ‘Why is this so damn hard? I am doing everything the manual describes. I am practicing every day. I just don’t get it!’

Rather than dwell in her frustration, Hong Wu decided to take a break. ‘Sometimes one needs to take a step back before they can move forward. I am getting too emotional. I will try again tomorrow.’

***

A week passed since the girls had arrived at the Black Mountain Sect. Besides Lan Cixi and Cang Rong, Hao Ru and two other girls had also broken through to Qi Condensation. While many of the girls came out to congratulate them on their progress. Hong Wu was sulking in her cultivation room. As if cultivation wasn’t a big enough problem, Hong Wu had a new issue to deal with. She was hungry.

‘They said the Fasting Pill was supposed to last one month, what gives?’

Hong Wu could not understand what was happening. As far as she could tell, none of the other girls felt the need to eat. Even the larger than life Cang Rong was content to just drink water. ‘What is going on!?’

After receiving odd looks the last time she brought up her woes with the other girls, Hong Wu decided it was best to go to someone who could be of more help. Following the path out of the Drifting Clouds Quarter, Hong Wu headed to the Ascending Clouds Pavilion. When she reached the pavilion Hong Wu approached one of the cultivators in blue robes behind the tables, “Excuse me?”

“Yes?” a rather languid man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties replied.

“My Fasting Pill didn’t work right, could I have another?”

Hearing this the man gave Hong Wu a bit more attention. “What do you mean it didn’t work right?”

“The pill is supposed to work for a month, but I took my pill only a week ago and am already hungry. Please sir, can I have some more?”

The man’s temper quickly rose, “Screw off! You want more? Don’t try and fool me! I know how you outer sect losers try to trick us into giving you more pills to trade for later. Let me tell you something, it will never work! If you’re so hungry go out into the forest and eat grass for all I care!”

Frightened by his reaction, Hong Wu made a hasty retreat from the pavilion. At a loss of what to do, Hong Wu decided to try and find Elder Zhao and ask for his assistance. Hong Wu went around to ask her fellow disciples where she could find Elder Zhao. Many looked at her with ghoulish mirth before simply walking right past her. Others were even more abrasive saying things like, “One of Gu Fei’s flowers needs her gardener?”

“Why? Is everything the sect has given you not enough?”

“Piss off Scarface!”

Hong Wu was about to give up, when she ran into Hu Huan. “Brother Hu!”

“Ah, Sister Hong, it is good to see you again, did you need something?”

“Yes, I have been looking all over the sect for Elder Zhao. Does senior brother know where I can find him?”

A weak smile appeared on Hu Huan’s face. “You cannot just simply ask for an audience with an elder of the sect. They ask for you, not the other way around. Why do you need to see him Sister Hong?”

Hong Wu felt deflated, “No reason, thank you for your help Brother Hu.”

With that Hong Wu quickly ran off back to the Drifting Clouds Quarter and returned to her house. ‘I need to find something to eat, I don’t care what it is so long as it is edible. I am not going to die of starvation!’

A new look of determination shone in Hong Wu’s eyes as she fashioned herself a small sack out of her blanket. Stepping out from her house, Hong Wu walked past the dead end of the path in between the girls’ houses, and into the forest to gather whatever food she could. Hong Wu wandered through the trees picking berries and nuts as she went and popping them into her mouth.

As she continued deeper into the woods, Hong Wu noticed a familiar plant. ‘Lush Meadow Grass, and a lot of it!”

In front of Hong Wu were eighteen stalks of Lush Meadow Grass. ‘What luck! I may not be able to turn them in for merit points yet, but I can at least save them for later when I can. Hong Wu carefully harvested the stalks of grass the way the notice at the Black Rock Pavilion detailed.

Pleased with herself Hong Wu continued on her way with a new spring in her step. Her luck continued to improve, as she was even able to find a few wild sweet potatoes. ‘I can roast these up and have myself a fine meal. Things are finally looking up!’

Just as Hong Wu decided it was time to turn back and head home she came across a wild chicken. Hong Wu’s stomach growled with desire at the mere sight of the bird. Slowly sneaking up on the chicken Hong Wu fantasized about the aroma of its sizzling flesh and biting into its juicy meat.

Just as Hong Wu was about to reach for it, the chicken quickly whipped its head around and stared directly into Hong Wu’s eyes. Hong Wu froze not knowing what to do. Thinking about eating the tender meat again, she grit her teeth and lunged at the chicken.

With a squawk, the chicken flapped its wings and leapt over Hong Wu’s grasp, swiftly retaliating with vicious, consecutive pecks. Pain shot through Hong Wu’s hands as the wild chicken continued to peck at her now bloodied fingers that were desperately trying to wrap around the chicken’s neck. “Damn bird! I am going to roast you while you’re still clucking!”

After a prolonged struggle, it became apparent that Hong Wu would gain more cuts and scrapes from this confrontation. Realizing her efforts were futile Hong Wu made for a retreat. Hong Wu was horrified to find that the chicken was chasing her, pecking at her heels. “You win! I’m sorry for trying to eat you, I will never eat meat again! Stop chasing me! I yield, I yield!”

Hong Wu’s cries fell on deaf ears as the chicken continued to chase her out of the forest, until she reached the edge of the tree line. The chicken did not move into the housing quarters, much to Hong Wu’s relief. Shooting a hostile stare back at the wild bird Hong Wu vowed she would cook every chicken she ever came across. As if realizing what Hong Wu was thinking, the chick gave out a proud squawk and charged Hong Wu again.

Terrified, Hong Wu dashed back to her house. The chicken, returned to the forest, clucking along as if it was laughing at the sorry state that it left Hong Wu in.

Tears ran down Hong Wu’s eyes as she cleaned her wounds from the battle with the chicken. ‘Cultivators are supposed to wield the power of the heavens, but I cannot even handle a chicken. Mom what do I do?’

Hong Wu made a small fire and quietly roasted a sweet potato before eating it and withdrawing to her room, wondering if she would ever become a real cultivator.

Hong Wu’s greatest enemy to date, a chicken!

As always thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments.