The Luxe Life Reboot: Cultivating in the Wild

Chapter 52

Tranquility

Yue was the first one to wake up.

It was a strange experience for her--not being the first to wake up, but rather waking up at all. By the time cultivators reached Core Formation Realm, they no longer needed sleep. Rather, it was seen as waste by everyone, since they could instead spend the night meditating and cultivating. She, too, forewent sleep even as far back as reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment, as did everyone trying to make something of themselves.

However, her Master slept, regardless. At first, she didn't--she meditated through the night, as she always had, but her curiosity eventually won and she started mimicking him. She hadn't gotten used to it yet, and felt a twine of guilt inside her heart that she wasn't successfully using every single second of her life to cultivate.

But if her Master viewed it as important... she had to, too. In fact, Liang was even simpler than her in this department--he practically mimicked every single thing their Master did, down to the pose in which he slept. He was of firm belief that the only way to have the Master's 'muscles' was to do exactly what he was doing.

Thus, he started sleeping the day he joined, seemingly entirely unperturbed about the oddity of it. Perhaps that was the clue to living in this place--taking things as they come, one way or another.

As she was the first, she went to the pond and took a bath. It was rather magical--the water would purify itself repeatedly, meaning that even if someone covered in soot jumped in directly, the water wouldn't even get 'black'--the soot would have been absorbed, the water retaining its crystalline-clear hue.

Blackie joined her, as she oft did, swimming lazily across the pond. Once in a while, a random animal would come to the other side of the pond and take a few sips. By now, Yue was familiar to them all, it seemed, so they didn't even give her a second glance. The hold the Master had on the hearts of the animals here was rather inspiring, but it also wasn't something that could be replicated.

Yue had tried it--she watched her Master cook for the animals, watched every single one of his moves, and tried replicating it on her own. However, she just barely managed to eke out about 5% of the medicinal value of all the herbs she tossed into the water. It was so wasteful that she nearly cried. Eating it felt like chewing on raw bark, unlike while eating the one Master made.

She was scarcely clever enough to figure out the difference--perhaps her Master weaved Qi in invisible ways, perhaps he had a special Physique or a Bloodline that allowed him to extract all the value out of all the herbs... but what she did know, however, was that nobody else could replicate her Master's abilities. The reason why animals so readily accepted not just him, but Liang and her as well, was because they, too, understood that the benefits they gained from eating his food far outweighed any potential drawbacks of having some humans in the forest.

Having finally had enough, she left the pond and dressed herself, calling Blackie to join her. However, the little panther simply ignored her, rolling over on her back and floating on the surface of the pond rather leisurely. Yue laughed at the sight for a moment before turning back and leaving. She had to mentally prepare for yet another day of cutting roots and vines.

She was yet to fully understand her Master's role in this place entirely, past simply feeding the animals Qi-rich foods. There was more to it, as though he were a direct part of the ecosystem of this place. It was unlikely that she would ever truly understand, so she didn't spend too much energy on it. Her place was to cultivate and help whenever he asked her to.

By the time she returned, she saw that almost everyone else was up--her Master was preparing breakfast, Liang was standing by her hut with arms crossed over his chest, and animals were lazily sprawled on the ground, waiting for the meal.

"Senior Sister, don't think that you can skip our morning exercise!"

"Ugh..." Yue grunted but ultimately relented. It was her Master's order, after all. "Fine. What are we doing?"

"Until Master's meal is ready, we will be doing horse stance!" Liang exclaimed and immediately lowered his back and knees, entering the horse stance. He, then, spread his arms out wide and looked at her. "Just like this, Senior Sister."

"..." Yue's eyebrows twitched for a moment, but she resigned herself to her fate.

Stopping by her 'Junior Brother's' side, she replicated his pose down to a tee. She could have sworn she'd seen her Master's shoulders bounce up and down for a moment, as though he were laughing, but as he didn't say anything, she didn't either.

Strangely, she didn't really feel tired. It wasn't as though she never did any physical exercises--every child starting off would have done some to strengthen the body at least a little. However, back then, she struggled... a lot, to just barely keep up with others. Her thighs would start shaking within minutes, and yet, even thirty minutes into squatting, she felt completely fine.

"Meal's ready," her Master called out, prompting the two to stand up and walk over, sitting down. There was a plate waiting for each of them, and around twenty extra plates scattered around the campsite for the animals.

"Will we be going to that tree again, Master?" Liang asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Nothing. I like it. I feel a bit stronger today than yesterday. It's a good exercise!"

"Liang. Do you have any family?" her Master suddenly asked.

"Hm? I do, Master. I have a mother and a younger sister."

"Do you miss them?"

"Sometimes," Liang replied. "But I made sure they would be fine before leaving! And I visited them to give them some Spirit Stones whenever I went out on a mission. In fact, the last time, my sister got angry because she thought I wasn't using the Stones to cultivate!"

"... if you ever want to go and see them, let me know."

"My mother told me to become the strongest in the world!" Liang proclaimed proudly. "Now that I am here, I can only work hard toward that goal. They know that I'm working hard, and I know that they are safe. That's all that matters."

Yue was surprised, for a moment, at the depth of her Junior Brother's understanding and insight. There was a bit more behind the glazed, dull eyes of a single-minded cultivator in pursuit of perfection, it seemed. She caught the sight of her Master smiling faintly, and she smiled too.

Her own family returned to her mind for a moment--what would it have been like if she had one like Liang? Where she would have felt loved and encouraged? No, that was unfair--she did feel that. Her grandfather made sure she did, against everyone else's perception. And, even with his dying breath, he paved a way for her--had he not came to the Forest to die, she would have never come here to retrieve his body, and would have never gotten to meet her Master. Instead, she would have likely been married off by the year's end, and spent the rest of her life birthing children for another family.

"What's wrong, Senior Sister?" Liang suddenly asked, yanking her from her thoughts.

"Eh? What? Why do you ask?" Yue said.

"I don't know. I just a feeling that you were sad. It's gone now, though."

"Pfft... ha ha ha," Yue laughed freely for a moment, letting loose her doubts.

"A-ah? What? Did I say something funny? I don't think I did! Master... Master, I think I broke Senior Sister, please help!"

**

It was a scene straight out of a painting, Leo mused in silence while watching the pair of his Disciples. The two were tangled up in a strange misunderstanding, surrounded by animals who were queerly staring at them, and then there was he--an awkwardly interjected third party only there to fill up the empty space.

He was happy, however. Genuinely happy. Every day felt fulfilling, and the sound of the youth laughing reminded him of the days long-forgotten. The harshest day of life, Leo had realized, was the day people forgot how to laugh freely--to laugh as though nobody was watching, to laugh at whatever they wanted without caring for the judgement of others. There came a point when a mask was donned, and smiles and laughter became social cues more than honest interactions with the world.

There wasn't a need for that here, however--there was nobody to placate, nobody at whose bad jokes he had to laugh out of courtesy. It was just him, a pair of curious kids, a forest full of friends, and a life bereft of judgement.

What was his role in this world, he pondered? He never forgot the original quest, to join or form a Sect. And he'd come to realize that the world of cultivators was the one of strife. It had been a thought hanging in his mind ever since, how he'd become the part of the larger life. Even if the question was simple, the answers were not. He didn't want to struggle every waking day of his life, fighting with others for the opportunity to advance his cultivation. He didn't want to go to war for pointless causes, shed blood, and watch his beloved die in pursuit of some intangible immortality.

He wanted... well, he wanted this. To build a place those tired of the struggle could come to at any time and simply take a breather. Rest. Forget the rest of the world. Enjoy the life at its purest. Perhaps it was a naïve dream, even a childish one... but he wasn't afraid to pursue it. He only feared not being strong enough to build it.

"Okay, let's go," he stood up, stretching. "Lots of daylight ahead of us."

"Master."

"Hm?"

"Can you tell me a joke?" Liang asked.

"A joke, huh?" Leo stroked his beard as the trio departed. "An ugly man starts yelling at someone, suddenly trips over his ugly robe, falls, cracks his nose, and blood sprays out everywhere." as Liang burst out into laughter, Yue seemed confused. Leo merely winked at her as she sighed helplessly.

All was well and tranquil in the Nameless Forest, even if the world outside its borders was beginning to burn.

END OF ACT I: The Forest Stirs