Calling me the goddess of love is like calling a widower, that killed her last five husbands, a marriage expert.

~Aine, Goddess of Love and Vengeance

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Song Lin and Crow turned to see Song Xue standing on the edge of the porch. Her dagger skillfully slicing into a piece of fruit.

“Your answer was the definition of domineering. And it was perfect.” Song Xue said with a grin.

“Hush you,” Song Lin said, finally recovering from her shock. “Crow, I asked her here to teach you Qi Gong. Especially pay attention to the breathing rhythms because it’s how we cultivate. The little I understand of the Druid style, you absorb large amounts of mana through your body, but I’m not sure it’s any faster. You spend more time removing impurities and consolidating your foundations. The Martial way cycles Qi through your body and your chakras before entering your Source, so it’s slower but cleaner, less work cleaning out the impurities later.”

“And this is all done through breathing?” Crow felt a little skeptical. Even though he’d read the material, it was just way different from what he was used to doing.

“Pretty much.” Song Xue said, the two sisters coordinated as if they were of one mind.

“So following this breathing technique, the idea is to circulate the mana—”

“Qi.”

“Right, circulate the Qi through my body. You say this cleans the Qi, but where do the impurities go?”

“Sweat, grime, possibly even poo—take your pick. It is the same as your current cultivation. Sis has bathing powders that will help further cleanse your system.”

“And how does this make me a body refiner?”

“The Qi fortifies your body,” Song Lin took over again. “By cycling it through specific meridians, you are infusing various parts of your body with Qi. The root chakra is all about foundations, like your bones. The process is like how you’d refine a weapon with mana. You imbue it enough, and before long, it’s harder, sharper, and more durable. For Martial cultivators, their body is their weapon. Each chakra targets different parts of your body, which is why the meridian paths related to each are important.”

Crow processed that for a while, and neither sister said anything.

“Last question—”

“Pfft,” Song Xue laughed and nearly spit out her food. “We all know that isn’t true.”

Crow chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “Are you sure this will help with the curse?”

“Yes,” Song Lin said immediately. “Your uncle and I talked through this almost all day yesterday. Based on what you currently do and the curse, this will provide multiple advantages. First, you know the curse targets your Source, but it does so by latching onto your cultivation method, provided the person casting it knows it. It was designed to be self-inflicted. It is expecting mana to flow into your Source from all directions, so it surrounds the Source. Using our method doesn’t erase the burn, but it should reduce it—I’m not sure by how much yet.

“Next, we know the curse burns away impurities. This cultivation method eliminates a lot of impurities before it even reaches your Source. Also, this is yang or fire-related cultivation, which means you will refine your body with fire. This should improve your resistance to fire and hopefully cause less pain too. Last, we two sisters have cultivation and techniques that focus on ice and snow. We can help balance the fire inside you.”

“Holy hell, sis. Are you seriously wanting him to cultivate his curse?” Song Xue was sharp and instantly realized what was happening. Crow got lost in the details and hadn’t thought about how he would cultivate fire. Knowing the truth now, his face paled, and resolve wavered.

“Luthais came up with the idea, and I have to admit it’s unconventional but ingenious too.”

“Tell me how it’d work,” Crow finally said. He understood how to cultivate based on the vestige, but this wasn’t part of that.

Song Lin pursed her lips and then nodded.

“This is the part that might scare you,” Song Lin pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. She handed Crow another vestige, but this one was from another era, and Crow felt a chill just touching it. “I don’t know. The concept is strong, and I have ideas, but a lot of what happens next depends on you. On that vestige are the full details—I’ll want that back. First, you are going to practice that until you are comfortable with it. After that, we’ll start experimenting. You’ll simultaneously use the Druid cultivation to ensure the curse releases fire into your body and then cultivate the Martial way while that fire is present.”

“What big sis isn’t telling you is that nobody was crazy enough to use this, even following normal conventions,” Song Xue explained. She knew enough about what was going on with him but didn’t have the actual specifics of the curse itself, or she’d verbally assault her sister. If she thought Crow was domineering before, then she probably didn’t even have a word for what he was committing himself to do now.

“Alright, when do I start?”

“I’m going to ask one more time,” Song Lin said, all levity gone from her face. “Are you sure? Do you need time to think this over?”

“I’m sure.”

“Very well. The breathing method is the same for all Martial cultivators, and Song Xue and I will do Qi Gong with you every morning. You should find another time during the day to do it again. I highly recommend you attempt to control your breathing this day forward, no matter the task. The sooner you can do it subconsciously, the better.”

“Got it,” Crow said.

“Let’s talk weapons—bow and falcata, still your weapons of choice?”

“Yes, stronger with the bow than the sword.”

“Any short-range techniques that don’t use your Source?”

“Just have my movement ability and a type of camouflage, but that’s a spell.”

“Alright, Xue’er can teach you a common one called Two-Strike. It’s a stabbing technique that can be used without your Source—you can use pretty much any weapon that stabs, including an arrow.”

Song Xue laughed, “It’s not very impressive without your Source, but if you master it, imagine your arrow popping out of someone only to strike them again.”

“That’s almost perverse,” Crow said with a big smile on his face. “How about the falcata? Some people recommended I should give it up and focus on the bow only.”

“Don’t give it up,” Song Lin said. “You are embarking on the path of a body cultivator. It’d be a massive loss if you didn’t capitalize on it and fully use your body’s new strength, speed, and agility.”

“Huh…” Crow’s mind blanked for a second. He embarked on this path almost recklessly in his bid to recover his Source. He’d heard a rumor that left him feeling like an executioner’s ax was hanging over his head. In two months, after the aptitude test, he’d become an Ovate, an official part of the Druid Order. It also subjected him to their rules, and the rumor is that people were lining up with grievances, ready to challenge him to honor duels. He needed a decent showing.

Song Xue had approached him while he was deep in thought, but he didn’t know she was there until a finger tapped him on the forehead. She had put her face so close to his that their noses almost touched. The last time they were this close was at the Flower Festival, and he felt she’d only grown more beautiful.

The white flowing robe she wore accentuated her porcelain skin, which looked as pure as snow and softer than the heavenly clouds. Her ice-blue eyes practically glowed in the semi-gloom of Oiche. Crow reached out to touch her midnight-black hair that cascaded down her shoulders and back, but she slapped his hand away.

“Stop staring, pervert,” she said in a voice as placid as her face. Not even a ripple could be seen, which was impressive. She had complete control over her mind, body, and apparently his soul. Those ice-blue eyes evaluated him, but he wasn’t sure if it was as a woman looking at a man or a predatory eying her prey—it was the same look she gave him after the festival. “Does little bird fear me?”

“Damn your mother! Who are you calling, little bird?” Crow growled at her smiling face, but she didn’t flinch, not even once.

“Xue’er is a bit…untamed.” Song Lin chuckled at the two’s antics.

“Untamed? I’m not so sure. Controlled, stately, and direct—heh, it doesn’t matter. I was in the wrong for staring.” Crow smiled at the dark-haired beauty, but he didn’t stop staring.

Song Xue’s head cocked to the side as if waiting for her prey to do or say something more. Something she’d long predicted he would do, but he surprised her by remaining silent. It shocked her enough that her smooth, unchanging expression cracked—a small, barely noticeable crease appeared on her forehead slightly above the arch of her nose.

Crow felt the urge to talk, to compliment her, but felt it was the wrong thing to do. Some instinct told him to shut up, so he did. Even more impulsively, he turned his head to look at Song Lin and caught Song Xue’s frown out of the corner of his eye. She was toying with him.

“Do you know the two key points that every cultivator must learn?” Song Lin asked, directing the topic back to teaching Crow some basics.

He thought about the question for a few moments before nodding his head. “The first is how we gather energy, and the second part is how we use it.”

“Every nation has its own methods of gathering and techniques for using it. These things are the foundation of a people. Sometimes there might be more complexity, but every method has at least two things at its core. It is why anyone that shares their methods to outsiders is killed along with the person they shared it with.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because understanding that principle will allow you to think of a way to disguise it. The risks are real, and I’ve seen entire villages massacred for stealing a cultivation method. You must be very careful in the future.”

“I will take every precaution.”

“Good,” Song Lin smiled sweetly. “Stepping on the martial path is the most physically demanding out of any other path you could take. It not only takes dedication, but there is also natural talent. Based on what I saw earlier, I don’t think you need to worry too much about talent. Still, insights come down to comprehension and luck.”

“What do I need to do now? Sit? Stand? Glare at your sister?” Crow asked and turned to stare flatly at Song Xue, who startled and nearly let a knife slip from her hand. This time he saw a slight curl to her lips, but it was too early to tell if that was good or bad.

Song Lin stifled a laugh but didn’t hide the big smile on her face.

“Hmpf,” Song Xue grunted and looked away.

“Might as well start,” Song Lin said. “Remain standing. She will guide you through Qi Gong. Do not rush it. Do not even match her pace if it doesn’t feel right. The most important thing is that you maintain a deep rhythmic breathing and a calm state of mind.”