David

As dawn approached, the pottery brown bricks that David had come to associate with Dongjing transitioned into smooth, dark stone plates cut into squares. Slowly, the elevation had increased over many miles after they'd left the floodplains surrounding the city. It smelled of morning dew - wet, earthy and fresh.

Nary a crack could be seen on any of the square sheets of slate which made up the road - three meters in length and width apiece, ample room for the carriages they’d seen ferrying goods from city to city. It had been several hours since they'd last seen an inn, and at least an hour since they'd passed other travelers.

On either side of the road, the bamboo shoots had been routinely trimmed as they encroached onto the path, but not often enough that none tried. Alice had been tapping her impatience into his knuckles since David could no longer see the pagodas of Dongjing over his shoulder.

They had been walking three abreast, shoulders in a line, sometimes in silence and sometimes in light conversation. Over the course of the night, talking became more scarce.

Walking was the wrong word - they'd passed horses at full gallop and it hadn't been close. David had noticed on the way to Ping'an that they'd moved far quicker than he'd thought possible - but now he expected that he'd lap most cars on the highway were he to break into a run. And they'd been slowly picking up speed as they went north.

Li spent her time mumbling to herself soundlessly - or so David thought at first. He discovered after a while that he heard her whispers, but the moment they'd faded away, he could not remember what she'd said. Alice had retreated into her thoughts a while ago to listen to her silkworms, no doubt.

David had given little thought to the wall carvings since his fight in Ping'an, so he reviewed them in his mind. He was pleased to learn that his memory of them was as good as it was the night he'd performed them for the first time.

Abruptly, Daoist Li came to a halt. "Have you ever been here?" she asked, on the other side of Alice.

Alice shook her head. The sun peeked over the horizon, bathing the world in red and gold.

"I thought as much. In a few minutes, we'll come across a stone the width of a man and twice the height in the middle of the road. Past it will be the only part of our journey with any potential danger. I don't expect trouble, but no matter what happens, do not stray from the path."

David sighed. "You know what's going to happen now that you've said that, don't you?"

Li folded her arms. "When we pass the Linking Stone, we'll be in the aegis of Bei'an. Even an immortal wouldn't consider crossing swords with the Mendicant Beggar on the Iron Road."

Alice pouted. "Well he's not here with us right now?" She narrowed her eyes. "Or is he?"

"He isn't."

"So let's say someone significantly stronger than us attacks us before you have a chance to explain that you're a big deal, what are the chances he'll arrive before he's doing less rescuing of the corest of his disciples, and more of the swearing vengeance on your behalf?"

Daoist Li huffed and continued walking instead of answering her.

As the road bent from north by northwest to true north, David saw the Linking Stone in the distance.

As Li had said, it was just over ten feet tall and oblong in shape, firmly planted in the center of the road. If it were as dangerous as Li implied to step off the path, that would explain the lack of carriages heading towards Bei'an on this path.

The Linking Stone was unremarkable at first glance. Its shape was closer to dough than most stones. It was pockmarked like a meteorite - but closer in tone to white than the standard steel grey. As they drew closer, David could see mineral deposits glittering on the stone's face - faint rather than lustrous. Had his vision not gotten better than it had ever been, he would never have noticed.

More than slightly unusual was the telltale hum of the Song that could only be coming from the stone. Rather than the ambient buzz of the bamboo and animal life which surrounded them, the Song was multifaceted and multilayered - deeper and steadier than most cultivators they'd encountered.

Alice gasped. Her mouth moved in time to the lull of the Linking Stone as it washed over them. She wasn't making any noise, but David caught the shape of words on her lips.

"Don't do that," Li said, almost perplexed and definitely scared. She pulled on Alice's sleeve, interrupting her. "Are you insane?"

"What?" Alice asked, coughing delicately.

"What do you mean, ‘what’? You can’t just walk around attuning yourself to qi from complex sources. That's dangerous. You'll cause a deviation. Or worse," she said, throwing up her hands. "I cannot believe I have to explain that to you. You two really weren't lying about being self taught. Even the least reliable master on the continent would-"

Alice retched suddenly and then swallowed.

Li rolled her eyes. "I don't want to know."

"Are you alright?" David asked Alice.

Alice shook her head and opened her mouth to show him her pearly white teeth. The smell of blood was noticeably absent. It was a relief.

"It's just a natural reaction when I pull in qi now," she said, glancing at Daoist Li. David knew she was lying.

"I really don't want to know," Li amended.

After a few moments, Li realized that neither of them were actually going to explain what was going on.

"Okay, okay," she said. "I'm actually curious."

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened," said David, evasively.

"I was injured and now I'm better." Alice clamped her lips shut and stared straight ahead, taking measure steps.

Twenty paces from the Linking Stone, David realized that it didn't increase in volume but in intensity. He also noted that it wasn't a single, complex rhythmic pattern like that of a cultivator's, but rather a collection of interlocking Songs played in tandem but not in harmony. He had the distinct image of two bands practicing in the same room without regard for one another.

He came to a stop in front of it, ignoring the slight tug on his hand from Alice. He slowly went about isolating the individual ideas on one of the Songs, disentangling the-

Li gave him a sharp slap. "Seriously!" she shouted in his ear, equal parts shocked and angry.

Alice stood in front of him, her clear brown eyes wide with fright. She brought a sleeve to his nostrils. David caught a startlingly bright red line along it after she dried his nostrils. But it wasn't just the blood - most colors had become more vivid than he remembered.

"Were you listening at all when I said that it was dangerous to do that?" Li asked with a groan.

David was annoyed. In just a moment of reflection, he'd realized what he'd done wrong - he had been so focused on divining that specific strand of qi from the stone that he'd lost track of his own Song in the process. If he hadn't done so, it would have been no different from listening to the Tides crashing about Jiang Xiangyue back in Ping'an.

"It's not that big a deal," he rasped out. "I'll be okay."

But as he said it, he suddenly remembered those were Alice's exact words from their first and only serious argument back at the Falling Leaves. She had been trying to convince him to show her the stances from the Scripture of the Uprooted for a second time, after he'd carried her back into the dusty halls of the abandoned temple.

Instead of the derision he'd expected, Alice leaned forward on the tip of her toes and placed her chin onto his shoulder. "The mulberry grove is a little far from here and you're a little heavier than I am," she muttered, her breath ghosting over his ear. "Please don't do it."

They left the Linking Stone behind them. Both David and Alice made their best attempt at bored expressions, hoping to find an antidote to the sting of curiosity. The brightness of early dawn cast long shadows over the road ahead, dividing the road into patches of light and darkness which swam as the wind puppeted the surrounding bamboo forest.

The bamboo had grown denser yet again while the road remained straight and sensible, pointing towards Bei'an. Only after they'd gotten far enough from the Linking Stone so that its qi no longer invaded their senses did Daoist Li decide that it was safe to speak about it again.

"A different stone sits between each of the eight linked cities. Master said in passing that they'll become far more interesting when I've reached Severing - I asked him about them years and years ago. The Linking Stones are amongst the many subjects of heated debate between him and his peers."

She tilted her head, staring down the road as she gathered her thoughts. "I can only assume that the eight stones correspond to each of the extraordinary meridians you must open to invite the Heavenly Tribulation."

"That is correct." The voice came from behind them, deep and clear.

For a moment, David had the faintest hope that Daoist Li had mentioned her master enough times for the man to appear before them. That hope was immediately dashed when Li drew her sword in a smooth motion before she was even fully turned.

Her Song rose. Trouble, then.

The speaker was a musclebound old man without a shirt. He wore the dark pants which were the fashion of laborers from Dongjing, and a dark red sash. The sash was looped around him thrice from over his right shoulder to under his left arm and tied just over his chest. David had seen the man before.

"Peace," said the man. To this point, the cultivators that David and Alice had met maintained the appearance of youth if they had the choice. This one had many scars littering his body.

Li didn't lower her sword.

"If I had wished to cause you harm," the man said, with a deep scowl, "I would not have made my presence known."

David heard a sound like crinkling paper and rushing wind from the man, like the start of a small fire. It contrasted with another one - pouring water. It was like the Silkworms, like the Tide.

Principle, then.

"I should have approached you before you left Dongjing," said the man. "But when it became clear this would be the direction your group was headed, I wanted to see if you would have anything interesting to say as you passed the Stone of Approach."

David frowned, narrowing his eyes. The man was bald and without a beard. Liver spots flecked his bare skull. He examined David and Alice with dark eyes which slid from the guqin Alice wore to her hairpin, to David’s flute and finally back to their faces.

Alice's grip tightened on his hand. She did not reach for the Silkworms, not yet, and David did not reach for the Song. They both must have shared the sense that the less interesting they appeared, the less likely something unfortunate would occur.

After a few moments, the man looked disappointed. "My initial suspicion was incorrect. Neither of you are immortals diving down," he said, looking from David to Alice and back.

“Diving down?” David asked, unable to stop himself. An immortal had named him and Alice as ascenders - but this, could this mean what he thought?

The man nodded. “At the moment of Immortality, it is said that a cultivator is struck by the desire to fly or to fall. It is the purview of the sixth realm to traverse the planes.”

So had the Lightning lied? Was it possible?

“What would occur if you were to dive from this realm? Is it permanent?” David asked, unable to contain himself.

The man did not answer his question. Instead, he inclined his head, closing his eyes in the motion deliberately. "I am Daoist Nan Pu'er, Resolved, of the Paper Flowers, of the city of Xijing. I greet the juniors before my eyes who have taken a step on the Path and juniors who have chosen the Path."

Daoist Li responded immediately with the same byzantine etiquette, sheathing her sword. She inclined her head in response - so David and Alice did so as well. "We greet our senior, Daoist Nan, whose banner will not flag, whose palace will not fall, whose promise will be kept."

David noted that these were names he’d heard in reference to those who were closest to their Heavenly Tribulation.

Li did not introduce herself and Daoist Nan seemed to have no expectation that she'd do so. He raised his head, catching the way Alice narrowed her eyes. David hoped he did not also catch her sudden strain of mirth.

Nan stared at her before a flash of realization showed on his face. "Yes, that is my name," he said, knowing immediately what she’d found funny and gave an obviously well-practiced explanation. "I was, in fact, named after a variety of tea."

He sighed, undoubtedly remembering that their first encounter had him stirring a cauldron and shaping animals for the entertainment of children.

"Cultivators aren't very creative people, as a rule," he said. "Those types can ascend quickly, but most end up dead. In my recent bottleneck, I wondered if embracing my given name would assist me in the exploration of my Principle. Names are amongst the unique things which you possess, but did not acquire of your own accord."

Nan smiled - an imitation of patience that did not reach his eyes. "I apologize for delaying your journey, and for scaring you. It was impolite." He looked contemplative. "You may ask me a question - I will do my best to answer."

He turned, chasing the sun through the stalks of bamboo lining the path, waiting.

David opened his mouth to reformulate his question about the act of diving, but Alice spoke without hesitation. "What is cultivation?"

David considered grinding his teeth in frustration.

Nan looked back towards her and chuckled. His smile was more genuine now. "Wise," he decided - a compliment. “You wish to hear what I want to say rather than what you want to know.”

That was more credit than Alice deserved. What she had wanted was an explanation of cultivation from a more authoritative source than Daoist Li.

Nan, who did not suspect the truth, took a deep breath. "When we are young, we awaken to the breath of the world and the breath within us. We learn in not our minds but in our very bones that we exist."

"When that is a sure thing, we discover the patterns amongst those which are outside the boundary of who we are and engrave the patterns we prefer into our souls. Some of these patterns are simple, others are not and only grow more profound." Nan pointed towards the space over his groin, beneath his stomach - allowing them to nod in response.

Nan made a cupping motion with his hands. "We house these patterns into a unified, self-sustaining existence within the closed space of our bodies and let all these breaths settle like a stone within us - and we call it our own."

He ran his finger from the spot up the center of his body, ending at the bridge of his nose. "We learn to shape our breath with the intricacies of our will, in order to open each window to this space where our breath has settled, until the Earth cannot help but take notice."

His hands fell to his side. "And then, we must have the arrogance to believe that only who we are - what we have made of ourselves - can be more important than the designs set forth by the Heavens. It is how we issue forth a challenge to the skies above."

Nan looked from Li, to David, to Alice. "That is cultivation."

Alice, a deft hand at begging teachers for extensions on essays, stared up at Daoist Nan with the well refined blend of reverence, gratitude and admiration. Nan could not resist imparting more wisdom.

"I would recommend finding a change of clothing. Both of you are clearly young - you wouldn't know of the significance behind robes of that color. There are those who would only consider your age after they've already attacked you. And few who would be concerned that it was simply coincidence."

His gaze shifted from the light grey of the Falling Leaves to the muted slate of the Iron Scripture. There was a moment of recognition, upon which he broke with the well-sculpted image of a Daoist Sage.

"You," said Daoist Nan, pointing at Li. He waited for her involuntary gulp to continue. "Tell old Beggar Ri that he still owes me eighty spirit stones and a meal in Huzhou. I've never met a doctor who's taken advantage of more honest men," he growled.

There was the sound of Burning yet again and a sudden, intense light. David blinked reflexively. When he opened his eyes, Daoist Nan was gone.

Li poked a forefinger against David's chest. "Now, after that, are you going to continue running around, sticking your qi into random people?"

"Only if they consent," Alice whipped out reflexively, the corners of her lips turning upwards.

"What would have happened if he'd attacked us?" David asked, morbidly curious.

Li gave him a vicious smile. "He would have gotten those eighty spirit stones with a bit of interest," she said. The smile slipped away and she set her lips into a thin line. "We would have died, of course. Well, the two of you would have for sure. One in ten odds on me surviving, probably. One in a hundred on not being crippled."

Li let out something between a long, loud sigh and a screech. "Never have I ever been in as much danger as since we've met," she said. "What sort of incredible luck is this?"

"Pure skill," insisted Alice, grinning.

David nodded in solemn agreement. Alice's hand found his own once more and she threw her arm over Li's shoulder magnanimously. Li jerked out of her grasp and glared, but she was too relieved to hold it for long. They continued towards Bei'an as the bamboo forest continued to thicken, letting through less and less light onto the path.