Heavenly Shae

Chapter 3: "How To Enlighten Your Dragon."

It was four days before the old monster showed up again. Shae was used to him arriving on the third day, so had made extra rice that day. She had only got the fire started again that day, letting her boil water for rice. But the meal was only rice, the snares had been empty until today, when a small rabbit was caught.

The other egg, berries, and a carrot-like root vegetable called bitter root made up the rest of her diet, in between. She would have checked again for eggs today if the rabbit hadn't been caught.

Shae was convinced that the old monster mostly came out to eat when there was fresh meat to be had. His talk of his divine sense the other day confirmed it was possible, and the fact that he brought more wild rice to be cleaned without her asking suggested he did use it to check on her. The small bag was almost empty, but he always dropped off more right when she would need to ask for it.

"New fire stick?" He asked flatly.

Shae glared at him, "Yes, it seems someone stepped on it after the fire the other day."

"Hmmm, I wonder how that could have happened."

She continued her ineffectual glare, "Well, if you had kept the fire going, there might have been more light to see by."

"You think I need a bit of firelight to see by?"

"So you did it on purpose then?"

"Let the fire go out? Certainly, there is only so much firewood after all."

"There's an entire forest out there." She swung her new fire stick at the rolling hills of forest below the mountain.

He looked where she directed, seeming to drink in the sight for a moment. "I suppose, but all that isn't really within your reach, is it?"

Shae inhaled sharply, "A bit rude to mock your prisoner for being imprisoned, isn't it."

"Prisoner? I see no cage, no restraints on your wrists."

"Then you truly are blind. Cages do not all need bars to imprison. I can no more walk off than I can fly away." She only let the pause hang briefly before jumping on the opening she left, "Don't. Don't get pedantic with me. You know what I meant."

The silence lingered as she prodded the fire again, quick jabs as the stick was slightly too short, her hand heating up too fast.

"Do I simply need to ask again? Have you been waiting for that?" Shae asked. "Oh honorable cultivator, please, please bring me down the mountain, take me out of your domain so that I might continue my travels, alone."

He sat stoically emotionless, as always. "The attitude and sarcasm in that was unnecessary."

"Well?" She snapped back. Then went back to the fire, not expecting an answer. He rarely answered questions like these, preferring silence to obvious answers and lies.

After a few beats he rolled back the subject of the conversation. "That stick seems a bit short, it could be a few inches longer, yes?" He said it naturally, without hitching his voice on the odd word, or intoning differently.

Shae didn't even register the inclusion. "Well, a few inches might not be enough, I'd rather it be a f-" she caught herself about to say foot. The incorrect units of measurement finally hit the guarded part of her mind. She froze briefly, but resisted panic and just shut her mouth, silence was better than digging deeper.

She withdrew the stick from the fire and inspected it, miming where she would like her hand to be, like she was considering just how much longer it needed to be. Nodding once, she spoke again, "Yes, I'd rather it be a full hand or two longer. Longer is preferred, can always take away wood, quite hard to add more." She smiled at her joke.

She missed the hint of a smirk flickering across the old monster's face. "Well, not too hard to make it longer, if you know how." He said and flicked a hand towards her.

See didn't see the qi cross the distance, nor did she know it was there, but it was the only way what happened next made sense. The stick twitched in her hand, almost squirming as it began to stretch and grow in length. A small leaf budding next to her thumb nearly caused her to drop it. As it settled to a stop, Shae guessed it was probably exactly two hands longer, at least according to the old monster's measure of a hand.

She even forgot to still be angry at him for breaking it in the first place. "Thank you." She spoke quietly, still caught in the awe of the moment.

He gave a small shrug, "It was the least I could do."

Shae seized the banter this time, "Quite literally, I suspect. I shall be careful what help I ask for, lest you accidentally move the whole mountain."

This time he let himself show a full smirk, "Wouldn't be the first time."

She stared at him for a few breaths, either for him showing emotion or the statement itself. She even forgot to continue prodding. "This one?"

"No, within my sect. It is a test required to become a full Elder. This one has been here much longer."

"Yet you are here and not there?"

He nodded slightly, having returned to his stoic pose. "It is a powerful place for cultivators. Many used to travel here, even mortals, it was once the site of the pilgrimage of a thousand steps."

"Steps? Are there hidden stairs under the rocks and undergrowth? I've not seen anything." Shae asked, genuinely curious.

"More metaphorical steps, you can see the slope, stairs are not needed. The pilgrimage starts near the bottom, the exact spot varied, but was chosen for comfort. Usually a large camp would form before very slowly moving up the mountain. One large pace a day."

"One step a day. Why so slow?"

"It was a form of training. Slowly acclimating the body to the mountain, a simpler and safe form of cultivation. These days it is deemed far too slow. Cultivation manuals, techniques, pills, directed tempering, far more options to gain power quickly."

"Tempering? So that is similar? But the mountain doesn't seem so high as to have limited oxygen, why the need for acclimation?"

The old monster raised an eyebrow before deciding on his next words, "True, air is not the issue. When you leave the clearing, outside your cage, as you call it. What affects you out there?"

Shae shifted in discomfort at the mention of the cage. "The qi pressure, you mean? The same as during your tempering sessions?" She paused in thought briefly, "That is you doing that, is it not?"

He inhaled only slightly, what probably would have been a sharp inhale of surprise from anyone else. "No, Miss Shae, I am afraid you have misunderstood. The qi pressure is from the mountain itself. While I could do the same, the tempering practice is me letting it pass through the formations around the clearing. Using the mountain's pressure is safer for you."

Shae gasped in surprise, "Oh." She was all she managed before exhaling and taking another deep breath to process. "So, a large formation, just to keep your guests safe?"

"Not just for you, no, but a beneficial side effect. The formation draws qi into the main cultivation room, my cave, as you call it, enhancing the density of the mountain's qi. You might not realize the second side benefit, it keeps stronger spirit beasts away, they dislike the reduced qi area."

"So, even if I could stay conscious through the qi pressure, I might get eaten by qi enhanced wild animals?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

The old monster stayed silent, not responding to the rhetorical question.

Shae chuckled, "Funny that that explains far more about what tempering is than you ever bothered to while actually doing it. And more about the mountain too."

The old man hummed in thought, "We don't usually do information exchange, but since you got something from that, care to elaborate on something you mentioned?"

A suspicious sentence if she ever heard one, "If I know it, I will be sure to enlighten you, yes?"

"How did you know the air would be thinner on high mountains? And you mentioned an inch the other day, not a common form of measurement, is it?"

Shae tried not to react to the questions, but each made her freeze her movement slightly. She remained silent, trying to think of a response.

After a breath or two, the old man sighed. A subtle thing, made more evident by the irritation in his qi aura. Something Shae only noticed because she had experienced it so many times.

"Well," she started before she was ready, just to cut the old monster off, "growing up, you hear things, right? You don't- er- Us kids don't usually remember where we heard anything. If I had to guess, inch probably relates to the worm, ya know, inch-worm." She flexed her index finger, miming a worm.

He hummed again, "Plausible, but I can tell you don't really believe it. You are choosing your words very carefully. And regarding the thin air, you didn't just say thin air, or that it would be hard to breath, you said oxygen."

Shae tried not to panic, getting called out so directly was one of her greatest fears, and she had slipped up bad, very bad, twice. "So... it's just a thing, part of the air." She tried to act casual, pass it off as though it was nothing.

"I would be surprised if any mortal knew the specific parts of the air we breathe, let alone a mortal child."

"So what! I'm not allowed to know stuff? Because I'm a mortal, a child? You expect us all to be stupid?"

He shook his head and sighed again, the stoic composure finally cracking a bit. "I would be glad if the mortals I met knew half of what you probably do. If they would be willing to have half the honesty in the conversations we've had, instead of fearful respect and scraping. Allowed? I would gladly encourage any to learn what you have. It just doesn't happen, Miss Shae. Mortals just don't learn these things, even the spoiled nobles and scholars. Where did you learn this? Villagers are busy, and keep their children busier, when would you have had the time?"

She remained silent, turning to stare at the fire. The gig was up! She thought, and their food was starting to burn. She moved quickly to remove it, thankful for the interruption.

Separating the two portions, she ate hers slowly. The old monster hadn't taken his yet. His stoic pose had fallen away revealing someone like an exasperated grandparent. He stared at Shae in confusion or disbelief. She wanted to stare back, get a good look at the old monster acting human for once. Yet she just couldn't, she assumed she couldn't say or do anything to convince him she was 'normal'. It was clearly too late for that. So she tried to just enjoy what might be her last meal before- well, she refused to think of what came next.

The old man didn't watch her eat for long, he placed a hand to his face and wiped it downwards. Then shook his head and grabbed his meal. Seeming to embrace the interruption. The two ate in silence, the old man finishing his meal first. Shae dragged hers out, not wanting to find out what was next.

The old monster noticed her reluctance. "The last mortal to spend time here was a boy a little older than you, lost in the woods hunting. The woman before him was an old merchant, not that old, just old by mortal standards, she was still healthy enough to bear children."

Shae gave him a brief death glare at that red flag.

"Ugh," he reacted with disgust, "No, she was simply concerned her lineage would end with her. I was able to assure her that was not the case. Both left after two weeks. They were exhaustingly deferential to me. Outpouring what little they knew at the briefest suggestion. It was work to simply guide them to what I actually wanted to hear from them, instead of having to sit through their life stories."

Shae had expected that her behavior was different. The contrast was stunning, she even stopped chewing.

"The boy requested cultivation assistance, like you did. He had been tested, unlike you, average ability, not enough to get him anywhere without a push. He broke down in fear and panic during his second tempering session. How many have you had now, and without serious complaints?"

She remained silent, he would know the count better than her.

"You are still here because of this. Because you are always holding back, carefully holding onto your words. Refusing to answer my questions without restraint, without holding something back. What or why I cannot imagine, which is why you remain.

"Even during our many varied arguments, you hold back. Yes you are most free with your words and emotions then. Which is partly why I allow such disrespect. Do you truly think it is acceptable for a mortal to speak to a cultivator in that manner? Even to a mortal elder?" He shook his head in disbelief, bafflement touching his voice.

The answer seemed fairly obvious, so Shae kept her silence, at first. Her emotions were stirring, something about the old monster's methods hitting a nerve. He gave her time to respond, she swallowed her food first, "I'm surprised you find the words of mortals so valuable. What do you give them in return for such profound wisdom." There was sarcasm in the delivery, but a steely edge as well.

"A helping hand, mostly. A path to the familiar for the lost hunter. Trust in the future for the merchant. Healing and safety from the forest for you. Safe tempering when they can handle it."

"And you are enlightened by their words, dramatically progressing your cultivation?"

"My cultivation? No. The mountain does that. Someone else would be here if I was not. Enlightenment of my Dao, yes, though not every time."

"But I take it that that is quite valuable to you?" The steel in her voice grew colder. Poised to strike.

He had sensed her building ire, how could he miss it. In an equal he would have been wary, more cautious in his words. Yet he loved to see the fire in the young girl. Such justified passion was rare in one so young. "Yes. Without enlightenment, without our Dao, we cultivators become blocked, unable to progress. I am at the peak of my stage. Once I have solidified my Dao, I will use it as a seed to progress to the nascent soul stage. A small fleck of true understanding to build my immortality upon." He had said far more than he should have, but he sensed the words had a tremendous impact on the girl, so he had continued beyond what a mortal should know.

And Shae was stunned by his words. The revelation that what he sought would directly build the foundations of his immortality. She was speechless, and then she was angry. "A more unfair exchange, I have never seen. Even bandits have more respect for their victims."

"Hmm?" He barely managed before she continued.

"Such ruthless robbery! You pluck them from their lives, they give you even just a drop of immortality, then you send them on their way with a slap on the ass. I've only heard of worse vampires in horror stories. Are you even grateful, do you feel nothing for your benefactors that drag you ever forwards to ascension. Do you even thank them?"

Shae had stood during her rant, started towards the old man. Then finished her rant within arm's reach, starting him in the eyes. His stoic mask had mostly held, his lips parted slightly, jaw poised ready to drop.

He took far too long to respond for the words to have meant nothing to him. "You're wrong. I save people. I saved you!" Just a hint of pleading and anger in his voice, his mask stoic again.

Shae paused, she supposed he did. Yet it still felt wrong, "You stand beneath a fruit tree, waiting" she gestured back to his cave, then held out her hand to mime her words, "and when a fruit falls, you catch it, praise yourself for not letting it smash on the ground. Then you squeeze and drink all the juice from it that you can. And when it is pulp and seeds, you place it gently on the ground, making sure it knows you saved it from a deadly fall. You believe you are worthy of the peach of immortality simply because you stand around and wait for it, taking whatever falls within reach." She paused a beat, "And me? You found that I had more juice to give. That I would suffer multiple squeezings. So you stole me away. Put me on a pedestal in your garden." Her arms swung wide, indicating the clearing. "Only returning your attention to reopen wounds and lick away the fresh juice."

She gave him a breath to retort. When he didn't, she stomped away, not picking a direction, just stomping off into the night.

Shae didn't run. Running implied she might be trying to escape, implied she should be caught, stopped from walking away from the confrontation. She didn't know where she was going. She just picked a direction that seemed dramatic, only making sure it was clear of obstacles. Walking off into the darkness without stumbling over anything was of vital importance when trying to make a dramatic point.

She found herself drifting uphill slightly, then she was at the field of rocks and blood creeper vines she had explored the other day. Because of their argument she hadn't even had a chance to ask about them. Stubbornly, she climbed and hopped between them, her night vision having adapted to the clear starry night.

She hadn't planned on looking back at the campfire. However, on the largest rock she found, the only comfortable position let her catch the firelight in the corner of her eye. At this distance it hardly flickered, and she could tell the old monster was still there unmoving. The air was brisk here, but her fury warmed her.

An hour later, maybe two, Shae had almost calmed down from the argument, starting to feel the chill breeze. Stargazing wasn't her favorite thing, but she found herself doing it a lot, and this sky always seemed a bit different night to night. She caught movement to her side, the fire flickering. The old monster moving around it, a spray of sparks, and his shadow settling down by its side again. He must have added wood to it.

Perhaps only moments later, another flicker of light caught her eye. Still from the campfire, but not the orange and red of the firelight. It was a bright white, tinged with sky blue. Like a beam of moonlight had pierced the cloud cover to strike down directly on the old monster. Yet, there were no clouds, and the moon was a waning crescent on the horizon. She saw his silhouette clearly, as he shifted from a casual seated position, to the crossed legged lotus pose of meditation and cultivation.

The light shifted after another breath, the beam condensing onto the man. Shifting from a faint blue into brilliant gold, becoming solid, a tangible flow of golden smoke pouring from the heavens and swirling towards the old monster.

Shae knew what she was looking at. Enlightenment, she thought, After all that and he's getting his damned enlightenment, now? That- "Asshole!" She shouted the last word. To her smug satisfaction the gold light flickered for just a moment. The stalled edges of gold smoke seemed to suddenly burst into flame as they flowed out and up instead of down to the old cultivator.

Then, even from where she was, she felt the pull, how he grabbed at everything around him to control it and draw it down again. She was sure that if she had been standing, she would have fallen towards him. Even the wind picked up, gusting down the mountain towards him. The cold wind. Shae shivered and tried to keep her grin of satisfaction. She wouldn't interrupt him again, even once was likely pushing what she could get away with.

The wind settled quickly, but it was still a slight breeze coming down from the frigid mountain above her. It still bit at her bones and made her want the warmth of the fire.