Half a Year

As the sun sank westward, Chu Bai walked along the soft dirt road with a simple, patched bundle on his back and slowly pushed open his family's weathered wooden gate.

The gate gave a dry groan, as though telling of the years it had endured.

"Dad, Mom, I'm home."

Li Qing was feeding the chickens in the yard. At the familiar voice, she jerked her head up. When she saw the boy at the gate, lean but full of vigor, his eyes bright, she nearly dropped her winnowing basket. Bran spilled across the ground, and several old hens clucked as they scrambled for it.

"Big Brother!" Forgetting the spilled bran, Li Qing hurried over and took Chu Bai's hands, looking him up and down with concern. "You were gone for more than a month. You're darker and thinner. You must have had a hard time out there?"

Chu Xianglin had been weaving straw sandals in the dim light indoors. He came out at the sound of her voice, half a length of straw rope still in his hand. His cloudy eyes lit up, and he grinned so widely that he forgot even the old pipe he was never without.

"Sorry for making you worry." Chu Bai smiled and let his mother hold his hands. The rough warmth of her touch filled him with peace. He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "But I gained a great deal from this retreat. My cultivation has stabilized, and I've made progress with my spells. Tomorrow, I'm going into town to register for the Dao Academy Selection."

"Good! That's wonderful!" Chu Xianglin rubbed his hands hard on his apron, as if wiping away the grime would make the occasion more solemn. "I knew my son would make something of himself! This is a momentous day for generations of our Chu family! Even back in your great-grandfather's time, we never had a scholar in the family, much less an immortal cultivator!"

Li Qing's eyes reddened too, full of pride and reluctance to let him go. She wiped at their corners, her voice catching. "Good boy. Such a good boy. Today calls for a celebration. I'll slaughter that old hen and make sure you get a proper meal! You've spent a month eating and sleeping out in the open. You can't have eaten well."

"Mom, you don't need to go to that expense. That hen can still lay eggs we can trade for salt..." Chu Bai hurried to stop her.

"Listen to your mother!" Li Qing interrupted him with rare firmness. "You're going to take an examination to become an immortal. That takes strength and brains. How can you do it on an empty stomach? Besides, we're not short of money for a little salt anymore."

With that, Li Qing bustled off to catch the old hen still clucking in the yard. The treasure she could never bear to eat became the centerpiece of their celebratory meal without a moment's hesitation.

That evening, the square table in the Chu Household, usually set with nothing but pickles and thin porridge, was laden with dishes.

At its center sat an old hen stewed until its meat fell from the bone, filling the room with a tempting aroma.

Beside it was a large bowl of glossy red braised pork belly, made from meat Li Qing had bought especially from the butcher at the village entrance.

There were also a few plates of tender green wild vegetables, freshly picked from the fields. For a poor farming family that rarely saw meat, it was a feast to rival New Year's.

The family gathered around the table beneath the dim yellow oil lamp. Its flickering light played across their smiling faces.

His younger brother and sister did not quite understand the Dao Academy Selection or immortal cultivation, but the sight of a table full of meat and vegetables had them clapping with delight. Their little cheeks glowed red, and they ate until grease shone around their mouths.

Xiao Man even picked up the biggest piece of chicken and put it in Chu Bai's bowl. "Big brother eat. Big brother come first in the exam!" she said in her childish voice.

Chu Bai smiled and stroked his sister's head, warmth spreading through his chest.

Throughout the meal, Li Qing kept putting food in Chu Bai's bowl, afraid he would not get enough, while fretting aloud. "Big Brother, the Dao Academy Selection lasts three days, and I hear there's fighting and spellcasting to test too. It sounds exhausting. Going back and forth from the village every day would wear you out. Why not stay with your Second Uncle in town for a few days? Your aunt's tongue is a little sharp, but they've helped us plenty over the years, and he's your uncle after all. You'd have a place to stay and save the cost of an inn."

Chu Bai thought it over, then nodded. "You're right, Mom. I was thinking the same thing. Second Uncle's house is close to the examination grounds. It would be convenient. I can repay what we owe him while I'm there, too, so Aunt won't have it weighing on her mind anymore."

"We should repay him," Chu Xianglin said gruffly. "A debt must be paid. We may be poor, but we must keep our backs straight."

After dinner, Chu Bai returned to his cramped room.

He lit a stub of candle and sat on the edge of the bed. From a pocket inside his clothes, he took out a weighty dark-blue cloth pouch and carefully poured its silver pieces onto the yellowing bedsheet.

The silver gleamed enticingly in the candlelight.

In the first few months, buying meat for Qi Refining had cost him a great deal, but he had still saved some money. Over the past month, his strong performance as a sparring partner had earned Zhao Xing's appreciation, doubling his pay to six hundred coins a session. His master had also waived his tuition, leaving him with no major expenses.

Chu Bai counted carefully. Every piece of silver held his sweat and hard work.

"All these bits and pieces add up to more than seven taels of silver."

For an ordinary farming family, that was a fortune, enough to keep a family of five comfortable for a year or even build a house with a tiled roof.

To a cultivator, though, it might buy only a few bottles of low-grade pills.

"Four taels for the principal and another five hundred coins in interest for Second Uncle. That will settle the debt completely. We're relatives, but accounts should still be kept clear. The remaining two-plus taels will cover anything I need over the next few days, whether it's paying someone for help or buying talismans at short notice."

Chu Bai packed the silver away again, dividing it between two pouches, then sat cross-legged on the bed.

He did not begin cultivating at once. Instead, he quietly steadied his breathing, using the Visualization Tranquil Heart Mantra to bring his mind and body into their best condition and gather his strength for tomorrow's examination.

At dawn the next day, while the sky was still pale, Chu Bai rose early, drew a bucket of well water, bathed, and changed his clothes. The water was cold enough to bite into his bones, but it left him alert.

He put on the blue-green robe his master had given him. Its fabric was soft yet tough and gathered no dust.

The Tranquil Heart Jade Ring hung at his waist, and a simple wooden hairpin held his hair in place.

He wore no fine silk or splendid ornaments, yet cultivation had given him an air above the dust of the world. With the distinctive spiritual bearing of a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator, he looked vigorous and composed, utterly unlike the sallow, scrawny village boy he had once been.

His parents accompanied him all the way to the old locust tree at the village entrance.

"Dad, Mom, you should go back. The dew is heavy out here."

Chu Bai stopped, turned around, and bowed deeply to them both.

"Big Brother, be careful. Just do your best. It doesn't matter if you don't pass. We still have land at home. You won't go hungry." After struggling for words, that was all Chu Xianglin could say.

"I understand. I won't let you down after all you've done to raise me."

Chu Bai bowed again, then turned and strode down the dirt road toward the county town.

Looking back at the receding village and his parents, Chu Bai felt a thousand emotions stir within him.

It had been only half a year since he had obtained the remaining incantation of the Lesser Qi-Gathering Art.

In those six months, both his standing and his strength had changed beyond measure.

"Now the Dao Academy Examination is right before me. I'll treat it as though it may be the only chance I get in this life."