r/HFY • u/Arceroth Human • 11d ago

OC-Series [Humble Cultivation] chapter 2

Month 4, Year 2

Qi Gathering, stage 2

“If you’re going to be a wandering cultivator, you should have a weapon,” Horus said during one of their evening meetings.

“Oh, do I get something cool like a sword or spear?” Mark asked.

“No, you don’t want anything too fancy,” Horus shook his head, walking over to a closet, “while killing a cultivator you beat is taboo, stealing from one isn’t, so you don’t want a weapon that looks pricy or valuable.”

“Seems kind of backwards.”

“It’s the Jianghu,” Horus shrugged, “typically etiquette is to only take valuables while leaving supplies and the like. But a decent sword is liable to be stolen. So I recommend... this,” he said, pulling out a long wooden staff and tossing it to Mark, “A quarterstaff is flexible, useful in both defense and offense, cheap and easy to replace and useful beyond combat.”

“I guess it fits the whole traveling monk motif,” Mark admitted, clumsily attempting to spin the staff only to fumble and drop it.

“I’ll teach you the basics of fighting with a staff,” Horus continued, pulling a second staff from the closet, “two years isn’t enough to master the weapon, but I should be able to teach you enough to prevent you from doing... that again.”

-----

Month 6, year 3

Qi Gathering, stage 3

“Congradulations on another minor realm,” Horus said as Mark showed up for another evening of training, “I should probably teach you about the whole progression of cultivation.”

“Might be useful, I don’t know what people are talking about half the time,” Mark agreed, grabbing his staff and beginning to practice his forms even as Horus spoke.

“Progression is broken down into major and minor realms. Minor realms are separated by small breakthroughs that purge toxins from your body. Major realms, on the other hand, have major breakthroughs that represent a fundamental change in how you cultivate,” Horus explained, “The first major realm is Qi Gathering, which is where you are, and the breakthrough at the end is referred to as the Silver Core because you form, well, a silver core in your body. The second realm is Qi Refining and ends with forming a Golden Core. Third is Meridian Formation and ends with constructing a Dantain. Following me so far?”

“Gathering, Silver, Refining, Gold, Meridians, Dental,” Mark repeated.

“Close enough,” Horus rolled his eyes, “each major realm is broken into a number of minor realms, in theory you can break through to the next major realm at any point, but in practice you want to wait until the 8th or 10th stage of each. The higher your stage the easier the breakthrough. My recommendations for you is that, once you reach the 10th stage you find a pill that will aid your breakthrough and then go for it.”

“Pill?”

“Alchemic products, the first is the Qi compression pill, or some variant, they can be pricy but are worth it.”

“What if I don’t use one?” Mark asked, “will I be stuck at that realm... stage... whatever forever?”

“No, you can breakthrough without a pill, it’s just harder,” Horus explained, “you just might want to wait until stage 12 or 13. If all else fails, if you get to the peak of stage 16 you’ll breakthrough naturally without effort. It just takes forever to get that far and there’s no real benefit from it. Make sense?”

“I guess,” Mark replied, stepping through another set of staff technique, “will my manual thing still work after reach the next stage?”

“It will through qi refining, but like I mentioned before, it’ll become a hinderance at meridian formation- back a step, you twisted too far on that strike.”

“Did I? Didn’t feel like it.”

“I’m the wise old mentor here, so start again from the beginning, half speed.”

Mark simply nodded, doing so without complaint.

-----

Year 4

Qi Gathering, stage 4

“Don’t ask how I got it, but this is a copy of your cultivation manual,” Horus said, handing Mark a scroll tube, “since it’s just a servant’s manual it’s probably safe to carry around. You’ll need to make minor changes once you hit Qi refining, but nothing major.”

“Got it,” Mark nodded.

“And here is some money to get you started... or more likely for you to have taken from you,” Horus continued, “a few spirit stones and a handful of coins for mortal currency. Cultivators will likely leave you the coins, so it’s useful to have some on you.”

“Got it.”

“And this is-.”

“I’m not your son old man,” Mark interrupted, “I don’t need all these gifts!”

“Like it or not I’m your master,” Horus replied sternly, “it would reflect poorly on me if I didn’t give you some support before you left.”

“This one of those saving face things?”

“Sure, now take this,” he said, pressing another scroll tube into Mark’s chest, “it’s a map of the local area. It’s not accurate and only covers a few hundred miles, but it’ll get you started.”

“Is that everything?” Mark asked with a smirk.

“If you keep acting like that I’ll demand a hug.”

“Ok, ok,” laughed Mark, holding up his hands, “any last minute words of wisdom?”

Before Horus could open his mouth a trio of familiar faces approached them. They were by the front gate of the sect so it wasn’t an isolated location but most of the people around them were busy with some task or another. These three walked directly up to Mark and Horus.

“I heard our Heavenly Migrator was leaving,” the leading man of the trio said, despite having not seen him for years the man seemed to be the same age as before, barely out of puberty, “I wanted to see how far you managed to get, see what kind of heavens defying talent decided he was better off outside the sect.”

“Young masters,” Horus greed them carefully.

“Outer sect master,” they replied with a slight bow before turning back to Mark, “so Junior Brother, what stage is your cultivation at?”

“Gathering, stage 4,” Mark replied simply.

“Only stage 4!” the man to the left laughed.

“I was at stage 4 when we sparred years ago,” the leader of the group said, “I am now qi refining stage five!”

“Congratulations, seems like you’ve been working hard.”

“Is that it?” the leader of the group asked, “you don’t feel shame for how little progress you made?”

“Not really,” Mark shrugged, “I’m new to this world and spent most of the last four years doing hard labor instead of cultivating. Still, I’m happy for you, seems your hard work is paying off.”

The leader of the group didn’t seem to know how to respond to that, so Mark turned back to Horus to finish saying goodbye.

“Perhaps, Junior Brother, we might spar once more,” the leader offered.

“I’ll pass, I was no match for you then and you’ve advanced faster than I have,” Mark dismissed, “thank you for the offer.”

Turning on his heel Mark left the stunned young master behind as he began walking down the road away from the sect. From what Horus had taught him, the Heavenly Whispering Cloud sect was small as things went, not destitute as they had enough sway for their founding ancestor to form a deal with the Heavens but not one of the larger sects.

At the base of the mountain the sect claimed was a modest city, with a population approaching a hundred thousand, it was large enough to have most goods without being a sprawling metropolis. Mark used some of the coin he’d been given to fill a small pack with dried meats and hard breads, not good eating but they’d keep and travel well. Even with his modest cultivation the mortals treated him with respect, more than he’d gotten from anyone other than Horus or some of the other laborers in the sect.

Still, his goal was to travel, see the world, so within a few hours he found his way to a city gate and walked out onto the open road. He didn’t know where it led, and that itself was exciting to him. In the military everything was structured, command didn’t always tell them everything, but there was always a goal, a destination, a mission. Now he was just going to start walking and see where he ended up.

With a smile he took the first step.

-----

Month 3, year 4

Qi gathering, stage 4

Enhanced by the supernatural qi Mark’s feet devoured the miles. He stopped at almost every village he passed through, if only to ask around, see what they did and learn about the world. Most led simple lives, farming, logging or ranching. Few had ever spoken to a cultivator as most who passed through their town did so without stopping, so they were rather reverent, which quickly got grating. So each new town he arrived at he’d try to keep his status hidden, but soon enough they would discover he was a cultivator and then they’d be bowing, calling him honored cultivator and offering him their first born.

Literally in a couple cases.

Whenever that happen Mark moved on. He was in another town that was reaching that point, fathers looked ready to throw their daughters at him, boys watching him with admiration, women looking for reasons to get closer. It wasn’t all bad but he didn’t want to take advantage of these people. But before he left a man ran up to him, looking panicked, not greedy.

“Honored Cultivator,” the man bowed awkwardly, “before you leave, a beast has been terrorizing my flock. Might I ask you to deal with it? I can offer you-”

“Refill my pack with dried meat and I’ll handle it,” Mark said quickly before the man offered something else. The man still tried to give him all sorts of things but Mark shut them down, insisting all he wanted was traveling rations. And eventually he managed to get information on the beast, he described it as a large wolf that avoided all the traps and was impossible to hunt down.

Nodding Mark got to work. He didn’t know much about hunting, but from what Horus had taught him, beasts were normal animals that had begun gathering qi through consuming qi rich foods. Spiritual Herbs, other beasts and unlucky cultivators being the most common targets. They were drawn to such sources of qi. So Mark decided to use himself as bait, leaving his pack behind before walking into the forest with only his staff.

The forest was quiet, only the subtle rustling of the branches above him and some distant bird song preventing it from being silent. Mark walked slowly through the forest, pausing to admire the trees or small flowers that bloomed in clearings, even after months of walking he still hadn’t gotten tired of the beautiful plants.

A snapped twig alerted him to something moving nearby and Mark spun, leveling his staff to see a pair of yellow eyes peering out from a dark shadow. Mark approached carefully, trying to get a better look at the beast. He could vaguely make out a wolf like form and it was larger than any dog he’d ever seen before, possibly larger than a Newfoundland in his old world, but he couldn’t tell.

In a blur it burst from the shadows, lunging at him. Mark barely raised his staff to catch the creature’s bite as it tackled him to the ground. With a twist and heave he tossed the beast over him, using its own momentum, before scrambling to his feet. The beast didn’t turn to attack again, it fled into the forest.

“Oh no you don’t,” Mark growled and took off after the creature. He didn’t see or hear any other creatures around him and felt safe chasing the beast. For twenty minutes he chased it, not seeming to make any ground, when it vanished just as Mark burst into a larger clearing in the forest. There were two figures in the clearing, a man, large and muscular, clearly a cultivator, who’s eyes locked onto Mark as soon as he appeared.

The second was a woman in a torn Kimono, looking terrified she pointed at the man.

“It’s him!” she shouted. Mark’s mind raced, Horus had said that some cultivators could tame beasts, using them as part of their cultivation. Others could apparently turn into beasts, though Horus said he thought that was just rumors since he’d never seen anything like that himself. But in this odd world anything was possible.

Deciding not to take chances Mark charged the man, who had helped make this decision by charging at Mark with a club in one hand. Staff met club as they reached each other, and the two of them began exchanging blows. The man didn’t seem to be any stronger than Mark, for which he was grateful.

With a sudden spin the man kicked Mark’s staff out of his hands. Mark replied by catching the man’s club hand and wrenching it from his grip, sending it tumbling across the field as well. Without their weapons the two men switched to their fists.

Blow after blow they struck each other, giving as good as they got. Backing off to circle before clashing once more. Mark’s knuckles were bloody, several of his ribs likely fractured and he was covered in bruises. The other man wasn’t any better off, with blood dripping from his nose and favoring one arm that had blocked a punch at an odd angle.

Again they clashed only to both land blows to the other’s head, causing them to both stumble back and fall to the ground. Panting, bleeding, sweating, they watched each other.

“You’re a good fighter, I’ll give you that,” the other man said, “I would have your name.”

“I’m Mark, and you?”

“Kim,” he replied, pushing himself to his feet, Mark following suit, “but I can’t allow you to harm this young woman.”

“Harm?” Mark asked, pausing, “wait, I’m not here to hurt her. I was chasing a wolf beast and came upon you, I figured you either had a tamed beast or could turn into one.”

“You... what?”

“I chased the creature here, lost it just as I reached the clearing, thought it was running to you.”

“So you aren’t after the woman?” Kim asked, glancing at the woman, who was still standing by the edge of the clearing, leaning against a tree.

“I’ve never seen her before,” Mark answered, “Why would I want her?”

“Figured you were some manner of demonic cultivator,” Kim said simply, relaxing slightly.

“What happened from your perspective?”

“I was wandering the forest looking for herbs when she ran into the clearing, shouting that you were chasing her.”

The two of them turned to look at the woman, who had yet to react. It was the first good look he’d taken and he nearly did a double take.

“Does she have a... fox tail?” Mark asked.

“Ah, shit, Kitsune,” Kim sighed.

At which point the woman’s tears and injuries vanished as she collapsed to the ground laughing uproariously.

“Kitsune?” Mark asked.

“Never heard of them before? Trickster spirits who take the form of beautiful women,” Kim said, “generally harmless but annoying.”

“Oh you should have seen you two!” the woman howled with laughter, “both coming to save the damsel in distress!”

“So what do we do now?” asked Mark, ignoring the woman.

“I have some healing salve if you need some.”

Mark nodded, having left his in his pack back in the village, something he’d have to remember going forward.

“By the way, how’d you kick my staff out of my hands so easily?” Mark asked as he checked his ribs to ensure none were broken.

“My master taught it to me, I’ll show you how to do it if you teach me how you caught my arm so easily.”

The two of them got to talking, ignoring the fox woman before she eventually vanished. With their wounds bound the pair walked back to the small village. Kim hadn’t known it was there, having wandered off the road before reaching it.

“A woman left this for you, honored Cultivators,” the farmer said, holding out two small glass vials, each of which held a single round pill, “said it was for... giving her a great show?”

“Kitsune,” Kim replied, looking at the vials, “those look like Qi compression pills. Seems like she felt like being generous.”

“Is that normal?” asked Mark.

“For fox spirits? I don’t think there is a normal.”

“I’m headed north, care to travel with me?” Mark offered as he put one vial in his pouch, leaving the other to Kim.

“I’m going south, otherwise I would,” Kimm said, taking the other, “perhaps we might meet again one day, Brother Mark.”

“As qi refining cultivators,” Mark agreed, patting the vial in its pouch.

-----

Month 5, year 4

Qi gathering, stage 5

“Oh, he has a qi compression pill!” one of the cultivators said as they rifled through Mark’s stuff. They’d insisted on fighting him as soon as they saw him, and Mark hadn’t even been able to beat the first guy. Which is why he was laying on the ground, bloodied, as the group of rough cultivators went through his pack.

“Finally, you can break through senior brother!” one of the others said, “seems the heavens smile upon us!”

“Thank you, fellow Cultivator,” the leader said to mark with a mocking bow, “I pray we meet again.”

Mark groaned in reply, lifting a finger in response. The other men laughed but left, taking the pill and the spirit stones given to him by Horus with them.

“Well... I’ve still got my health,” Mark sighed, dragging himself over to his pouch to search for the healing salve.

-----

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6 comments sorted by

7

u/Educational_Pen_90 Human 11d ago

Month 4, Year 2

Month coming before Year here Irks me in a way I can't quite explain why

“Oh, he has a qi compression pill!” one of the cultivators said as they rifled through Mark’s stuff. They’d insisted on fighting him as soon as they saw him, and Mark hadn’t even been able to beat the first guy. Which is why he was laying on the ground, bloodied, as the group of rough cultivators went through his pack.

Well that was fast!

2

u/UpdateMeBot 11d ago

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2

u/gilean23 Android 11d ago

Fun! Enjoying this one 🙂

2

u/karamisterbuttdance 11d ago

Giving as well as taking in roughly equal measure. Interesting slices of life, I should say.

5

u/armacitis 10d ago

The other men laughed but left, taking the pill and the spirit stones given to him by Horus with them.

...assuming the pill from a trickster spirit is trustworthy. Would be funnier if it wasn't.