Peaceful Days

Akes walked over and stopped beside Linley. He looked at the five brothers in the courtyard, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "They're pretty lucky."

Linley nodded. "Yeah. They met Mr. Cesar and got their hands on the manual passed down by their ancestors. Their lives have been different ever since."

Akes shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I mean they met you."

Linley paused, then smiled. "Akes, since when did you start saying things like that?"

Akes remained expressionless. "I'm just stating the facts."

They exchanged smiles and said no more.

Over the next few days, everyone began to settle in for real. The manor tucked away in the mountain hollow gradually came to life.

Sessler cleared out the abandoned woodshed beside the side room. Calling it a cleanup was generous; it was more like tearing it down and rebuilding it. The old man tinkered away inside for three days, clanging and banging without pause.

Akes went to take a look the next day. Sessler was crouched in a corner, smearing some kind of gray paste over the walls. Akes recognized it as a material that blocked the leakage of energy. Necromancers often used it to set up their laboratories; it kept energy from escaping and prevented certain unnecessary "complications."

By dusk on the third day, Sessler emerged, covered in dust but looking pleased with himself. He stood in the doorway, dusted off his hands, and jerked his chin at the people in the courtyard. His voice brimmed with unconcealed smugness. "Now it'll be much easier to get things done."

The five Barker brothers had quieted down lately, too. Every day, they pored over that scroll of the Necropolis of the Gods Manual, all five heads huddled together as they whispered and argued. The problem was, they barely knew how to read, and the manual was written in ancient script, with complicated strokes and obscure characters one after another. They were utterly lost. Their eldest, Barker, frowned as he pointed at the words on the scroll, trying to recognize them one by one. When he couldn't, he asked his brothers. The second brother, Gates, scratched his head, his face reddening with effort, but he couldn't get a single word out. The third brother recognized a few characters, but couldn't figure out what they meant when put together. The fourth and fifth were even worse; all they could do was stare blankly.

In the end, Sessler couldn't stand watching them struggle. One evening, he called them over and explained the manual page by page. Though the old man specialized in necromancy, he was widely read, and he broke down those cultivation terms until they were perfectly clear.

The five Barker brothers nodded repeatedly as they listened. Their eldest even pulled out a charcoal pencil and painstakingly took notes on a wooden board. His writing was crooked and uneven, with letters of all sizes; he crossed out some mistakes and rewrote them. But every stroke was pressed down hard, making it clear he truly wanted to remember.

"The core of being an Undying Warrior," Sessler said, pointing to a line in the manual, his voice low and certain, "is tempering your body with Dou Qi, rather than releasing it like ordinary warriors do. Remember this: from today on, your body is your weapon and your armor. Once you reach a high level, your flesh will be tougher than dragon scales."

Gates listened with shining eyes and spent half the night that evening holding a horse stance in the courtyard. Bare-chested beneath the moonlight, he stood with his knees slightly bent and his arms extended, without moving an inch. The moonlight shone on his sturdy muscles and the fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

Linley still left before dawn every day to cultivate in the back mountains, returning only after dark. He was hard to track. Sometimes Akes got up in the morning to find Linley's door open and Linley already gone. At other times, in the evening, Akes could sense energy fluctuations coming from the mountains—the aura of the earth, heavy and still, like the breathing of the mountain peaks.

Akes kept busy, too.

His Ninth Rank Initial Stage magic power needed stabilizing, he needed to gain better control over the Fallen Heart Flame, and he still had to get used to the Molten Heart staff. Aside from the rest he needed, he spent every day cultivating. In the morning, he meditated in the dawn light, sitting by the window and letting the first rays of sunlight fall on him as he sensed the flow of magic power within his body. In the afternoon, he practiced controlling his magic. At night, he used the Soul-Fixing Bead to nourish his spiritual power, holding the deep-blue bead in his palm and letting its cool aura seep into the depths of his soul.

The days passed in a steady, fulfilling rhythm.

Whenever he took a break, he would stand in the courtyard and gaze at the distant mountains.

One evening, Akes opened his eyes after cultivating and heard a commotion in the courtyard. He stepped outside and saw the five Barker brothers gathered in a circle, with Gates standing in the middle, bare-chested and looking excited.

"What's going on?" He walked over.

Barker turned at the sound of his voice. He couldn't hide his grin as he said, "You're just in time, Akes. I think Gates has gotten the hang of it. Let him show you."

Gates grinned, baring all his teeth. He dropped into a horse stance and took a deep breath, his chest visibly swelling.

Akes noticed a faint bronze sheen spreading across the surface of his skin.

Gates threw a punch at a millstone-sized rock in the courtyard.

Bang!

The rock shattered on impact, sending fragments scattering across the ground. A few bounced to Akes's feet and struck his boots with soft, dull thuds.

"Nice!" The other four cheered in unison, unable to hide their excitement. Their fourth brother, Welin, jumped up and nearly flung the spatula in his hand. Their youngest, Rex, ran straight over and grabbed Gates by the arm, shaking it.

Gates pulled back his fist. There wasn't even a white mark on his knuckles. His face flushed with excitement, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly as his breathing grew heavier. "Big brother, did you see that?" His voice trembled with barely contained excitement.

Barker was excited, too, but he still put on the airs of an eldest brother. He nodded and tried to sound composed. "Not bad, not bad. Keep at it." But he couldn't hide the smile at the corners of his eyes, and his voice was several pitches higher than usual, its ending rising slightly.

Akes looked at the shattered rock and understood. The break was fresh, with cracks spreading from the center of the punch mark like something had forced the rock apart from within. It hadn't merely broken on the surface; it had shattered completely from the inside out.

This method of cultivation was indeed different from that of ordinary warriors. Ordinary warriors cultivated Dou Qi: the stronger their Dou Qi, the stronger their Dou Techniques and their overall strength. Undying Warriors followed a different path—the stronger their Dou Qi, the stronger their bodies, until their bodies themselves became the mightiest weapons.

"Good work," he said.

Gates chuckled and scratched the back of his head, his honest face full of pride. He lowered his head and examined his fist from every angle as if it were a priceless treasure. He clenched it, opened it, then clenched it again, feeling the new strength within.

Sessler poked his head out of the laboratory and took a look. He curled his lip. "You've only just gotten started. What's there to celebrate?" The old man still held a glass rod in his hand, smeared with some kind of green liquid that glimmered faintly in the setting sun. "A true Undying Warrior can make his body tougher than a dragon's. You've got a long way to go. Gates, that hide of yours is barely thicker than cowhide."

Gates wasn't offended. He grinned cheerfully. "We'll take it slow. We've got plenty of time." He patted his belly, making it go thump, thump. "Being thicker than cowhide is pretty good already. We couldn't even do that before."

Linley returned from outside just in time to see this. He walked into the courtyard, glanced at the broken rock, then looked at the five Barker brothers and nodded. "Not bad."

Hearing Linley say "not bad" made the five of them even happier. Welin jumped up again and nearly sent the spatula flying for real, but Benson grabbed him just in time. Rex ran straight over and grabbed Gates by the arm, shaking it. "Second brother, second brother, let me feel it! Let me feel it!"

Gates obligingly held out his arm for his younger brother to touch. After feeling it for a while, Rex said doubtfully, "It doesn't feel any different. It's just flesh."

"Idiot!" Gates rapped him on the head. It made a dull "thunk." "I've got the strength under control. Of course you can't feel it. You'll notice when I hit someone."

Rex covered his head and gave a little "oh" of complaint, but he still couldn't resist touching his brother's arm again.

Welin made dinner. He was the youngest, but he knew his way around a kitchen. Supposedly, he'd learned while working in the back kitchen of a restaurant as a child. He'd been too small to reach the stove, so he stood on a stool and watched the master cook. When the cook was in a good mood, he let Welin pass him some scallions, ginger, or garlic. When he wasn't, he kicked him away. A little at a time, Welin had learned how to cook.

A huge pot of meat stew and some coarse bread filled the dozen or so diners until they were sweating. The stew was made with wild rabbit and some unidentified mountain mushrooms; it was so delicious they could have swallowed their tongues. Welin had also baked a few flatbreads, crisp on the outside and soft within. Once torn apart and soaked in the stew, they absorbed the juices, leaving their mouths fragrant with every bite. The bread was made with coarse wheat flour and was a little rough, but soaking it in the stew made it soft and chewy, growing more flavorful with every mouthful.

Bebe got a big piece of meat, too. The little thing carried it off to a corner and ate with relish. It pinned the meat down with its paw and tore into it, making a contented rumbling sound in its throat. Haeru lay beside it and occasionally stuck out his tongue to lick Bebe's fur. Bebe impatiently pushed him away with a paw. Haeru didn't mind; he merely changed position and lay back down, his ears still pricked as he listened to what was happening around them.

By the time dinner was over, it was completely dark. A bonfire had been lit in the courtyard, its light making their faces flicker between brightness and shadow.

Welin cleared the dishes with practiced ease, stacking them together and carrying them to the well to wash. Benson added a few pieces of firewood to the flames. They crackled and spat, sending sparks flying. Rex sat hugging his knees, lost in thought. The firelight flickered across his young face.

For once, Sessler didn't return to his laboratory. He sat by the fire with a clay cup in his hand, filled with medicinal tea he had brewed himself. The old man narrowed his eyes as he watched the flames dance, looking unusually relaxed. The aroma of the tea mingled with the smoke from the bonfire, creating an indescribably peaceful feeling. Every so often, he took a sip, smacked his lips, then narrowed his eyes again and went back to watching the fire.

Linley came out as well and sat a little farther away, leaning against a tree.

Akes leaned against the window of his room and gazed out at the night. The window was half open, and the cool mountain breeze drifted inside, brushing his face pleasantly. It carried the scent of plants and earth, along with a faint fragrance of flowers from somewhere in the distance.

The moon rose, shining brightly. Its light spilled across the courtyard, cloaking everything in silver. Haeru's fur glimmered faintly, as if dusted with frost. Bebe appeared from who knew where, jumped onto Haeru's back, and curled up without moving. The little thing tucked itself into a ball, its tail covering its nose, and soon began to snore softly.

Night birds called in the distance, their cries coming at intervals as if they were answering one another. One called, another answered, and then a third joined in, their voices rising and falling into a simple nighttime melody. The mountain breeze swept through the treetops with a rustle, as if something were creeping along quietly. Its sound grew louder as it blew through the bamboo grove, the leaves rubbing together like countless tiny bells.

Akes drew his gaze back and took the Soul-Fixing Bead from his clothes.

The bead glimmered with a deep-blue light beneath the moon, and it felt gently cool in his palm. Its chill wasn't piercing or biting; it was just right, like holding a piece of jade fresh from a stream. He had been using it these past few days and could indeed feel his spiritual power growing steadier. The restlessness that sometimes arose during cultivation had vanished, and his thoughts were clearer.

He put the bead back inside his clothes and began to cultivate.

The Nuwa Diagram appeared in his mind, the human-headed, serpent-bodied figure growing ever clearer. Around it, the Star River revolved slowly, every star seeming alive as it glimmered faintly.

His spiritual power was growing at a pace too slow to see with the naked eye. The increase was so slight he could barely feel it, but it was there. Like a mountain stream, day after day and year after year, it would eventually swell into a river.

Night deepened.

The bonfire gradually died down, leaving only a few dark red embers flickering in the night breeze.

Sessler returned to his laboratory as well. A faint light shone from inside, occasionally accompanied by the soft clink of vessels and the old man's low muttering. He sounded as if he were talking to himself—or to something unseen. At some point, Linley had disappeared, probably returning to his room to cultivate. His door was shut, with no light or sound coming from within, as if no one were there.

The courtyard fell quiet.

Only Haeru and Bebe remained outside. Haeru lay down, his ears twitching now and then as he listened to the surroundings. His eyes glimmered faintly green in the darkness, like two small jewels. Bebe slept soundly, its tiny body rising and falling with each breath. Its belly moved up and down, and its tail twitched from time to time, as if it were dreaming.

Akes opened his eyes and looked out the window.

The moonlight was still bright, illuminating everything in the courtyard. The patterns in the bluestone paving, the weeds in the corner, even the clothes someone had forgotten to take down from the line—all stood out clearly beneath the moon. The distant mountain ridges overlapped like layers of dark ink, their outlines distinct.

The night breeze blew inside, carrying a hint of coolness and the silence unique to the late hours. It was cooler now than it had been at dusk, damp with dew and carrying the chill of an autumn night. Autumn would arrive before long. In the mountains, it came early and passed quickly, followed by a long winter.

Akes gathered his thoughts, closed his eyes again, and continued cultivating.

With the help of the Soul-Fixing Bead, his spiritual power slowly increased, and the Nuwa Diagram in his mind grew clearer. The Star River revolved, a cool aura flowed, and everything was moving in a better direction.

Outside the window, the moonlight flowed like water.