The next few days passed swiftly. Despite my expectations, Niake didn't distance herself or disavow our friendship. She continued to meet up with me to shop and explore Flowing Waters city, thankfully the proceeding days were less intense. My parents were delighted that I had made a new friend, especially when they learned that I had changed my decision about my secondary profession.

Pill formation would allow me to make use of the fruits of my parent's labor, the herbs they grew, as well as those, father sourced from the forest, were offered as ingredients for me to use. It made sense for both of us, and I filled my spatial ring with as many of the dried and fresh herbs that my father offered and had processed.

As I learned recipes in the future and became proficient in Pill creation, I would return pills that should sell well, pills not normally available for the Caste my parents catered too. It would increase the family income drastically as well as their reputation.

They did seem worried that my waffling between secondary professions; beast taming, formation arrays, and pill concocting might be warning signs of no real interest in any of those fields. I wasn't sure who they were trying to encourage more, themselves, or me when they noted that it was better to find a profession that I enjoyed, rather than stick with something I might have a talent for but hated.

But when I explained that Niake's family raised beasts and had informed me that even the beginning level beast bonding technique that all incoming novitiates would receive was powerful enough to satisfy the requirements for bonding. I may have to spend time finding a beast I was happy with, but there were many that made for capable hunting partners.

My initial concern had been one of finances, hunting was the fastest means to make the money I would need to sustain my growth as a cultivator, as well send enough resources to my parents to make sure my brother and sister were well funded for their entrance into a Sect. After explaining my thought process, they both relaxed, satisfied with my explanation.

My younger sister, on the other hand, had become obsessed. When I was doing something, she shadowed my movements, refusing to allow me to leave her sight. When I was seated, sleeping, or standing still for a moment, she latched on to me, refusing to let go no matter the scolding our parents directed at her.

She knew our time together was ending. We would always be a family, but except for the occasional visit, I would be spending most of my time training in the Sect or out on missions. Any spare time I had would be sparse at best.

I understood her feelings, that she resented the excitement the rest of us were feeling. To her, our happiness was because I was leaving. I tried to help her understand that we weren't happy that we wouldn't be seeing each other, but that I would be able to grow strong. Strong enough to build a Family similar to Niake's.

Like most children, she was focused on the present. Some intangible benefit from the future had no real bearing on her worldview, my leaving her did.

I admit to using bribery occasionally in my attempt to soothe her feelings. An extra toy found during the day's adventures with Niake, a few sweets. But the most effective manner of getting her to smile was the spatial ring. The ability to make items appear and disappear at will, seemed like magic to her. It didn't matter how many times I added or removed something from the ring's spatial storage, she would crow with delight.

It was also the one item that could guarantee a bout of melancholy. She wished fervently for her own magic ring, but the cost was simply prohibitive, our family could not afford to purchase an item like that as a toy. In that vague future that she refused to acknowledge, it was possible that I would be able to get each member of the family their own spatial storage, but that didn't matter in the now.

It would seem that I wasn't the only one above a bit of bribery, Mother's lavish breakfast devoured by both Syha and Geon. They stuffed themselves so much they eventually succumbed to a food coma, Syha falling asleep, her head resting majestically on a honey-drizzled waffle. If my mother planned to appease and silence them, it worked perfectly. As the two were lost to sleep, it allowed for my parents and me to have a few moments together, alone, before my father and I set out. One last morning hunt before I entered the Sect.

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"Jay," my father began, "we haven't asked about the ring even though we know there is no way you could have earned the money to buy such an item. We thought your new friend might have gifted you with it, and that was cause for concern. Until we began hearing strange rumors from our clients."

"Rumors about a young girl, a Sect Elder, an Outer Sect member, and theft," Gruev, Jay's mother continued. "You are the first of our family to gain entrance into one of the major Sects. Most of our family have worked in production classes."

"There is nothing wrong with earning a living through the production classes," father assured me, "but it does mean that you won't have the resources to call on as you ascend through the ranks. Resources that include powerful Cultivators you can call upon for protection or secret techniques."

"Identifying that Outer Sect member as complicit and part of that theft ring was the moral thing to do, but perhaps not the smartest," mother said. "The Sect is going to test you. Only you can walk your path towards higher ranks, and the Sect can be your best resource."

"But you have to live and remain a Sect member to make use of those resources," father continued.

"What your father and I are trying to say, is to be careful. Be mindful of your surroundings. Watch and learn. Pay attention to the social interaction of the Sect members, the hidden agendas, and unstated politics. Understanding how cliques and alliances ebb and flow will help you survive."

"Don't become so lost to cultivation that you ignore the dangers that may have nothing to do with ruptured meridians or training accidents," she warned.

"Work hard, make smart choices, and remember that no matter how high you rise or how far you fall, we are here for you. This place, your brother and sister, we will always be here cheering you on or able to offer a moment of solitude and sanctuary."

Breakfast was the last time we would all live together as one family. Syha was right in a way, the future was too nebulous, there was no real certainty. Mother cooked a banquet made up of treats that each of us enjoyed. I was happy my time with the Sect was going to begin soon, the feeling of being overstuffed as the Qi accumulated had taken a toll on my appetite. But it was these last words that drove home exactly how my life was going to change.

Mother ushered father and me out of the house after that, tears held back by her force of will. Still, she grabbed me for one last fierce hug, holding me tightly, breathing in my scent as she tried desperately to burn this moment into her memory.

I was unable to hold back my tears and began crying silently, holding her just as tight. Father's cough signaled it was time to go, and with one last squeeze, mother spun me around and pushed me out the door.

Father had initially planned a harvesting trip, he needed to restock some of the herbs that were impossible to grow, lingzhi mushroom mostly, and wanted me to join him. The mushroom grew wild at the base of most hardwood trees and was used in refining pills and potions that had restorative qualities.

Mushrooms that had reached a certain age, with a verified providence, identified by Master Alchemists were considered heavenly treasures. Processed correctly the lingzhi could aid a cultivator to ascend to the Immortal Realm.

I knew the real reason father wanted me to go hunting with him today was that he was interested to see what changes my cultivation might have in my skills. I thought it unlikely there was going to be much difference; I hadn't learned any techniques or how to control the Qi that had slowly filled my meridian, channels, and Dantian, but he held out hope that I would be able to detect lingzhi with my heightened senses.

The morning's bacon was amazing, and Father admitted as we grabbed bows that he hoped to find an Entelodont today. Bacon was harvested and cured out of the Entelodont's belly, an early member of the boar family, they were the size of horses, and they were talented at finding mushrooms. Like boars, they were deadly hunters that required tactics and parties to capture or kill, normally.

They often dropped litters in the dozen with most being culled as they entered adulthood to be processed for market. Domestication had allowed for bacon to become less of a luxury food item, but the meat was still costly, which is why mother had waited to serve it on that last breakfast before I moved to the Sect.

Father intended to bait and lead one of these behemoths into a fall trap, this was most often the preferred tactic used to minimize danger, and the only practical method for just the two of us to succeed. The beast core from one of the wild Entelodont would help with family costs until the herbs that I had been given could be replenished.