Myriad Rivers to the Sea

A week passed in the quiet embrace of Silkwood.

Li Yu knelt in the dark soil of his main field. He brushed a layer of damp earth aside and inspected the long rows he had meticulously planted. The results of his first foray into agriculture were decidedly mixed.

Roughly half of the seeds had sprouted. The Silverleaf Radishes pushed tiny crisp leaves through the surface. They were already beginning to absorb the ambient Qi drawn in by the wooden array stakes. The Azure Cloud Cabbage showed signs of life as well, featuring small folded sprouts that caught the morning dew.

But the other half of the field looked completely barren.

The Void Pod Peas and the Sunfire Gourds showed absolutely zero signs of growth. The earth above them remained flat and undisturbed. Li Yu carefully dug around one of the seeds. The outer shell looked withered and dead. He sat back on his heels and wiped the dirt from his hands.

He did not know what went wrong. While he understood the basics of agriculture and planting, he was no expert in the practical application of farming. Perhaps he planted the seeds too deep. Perhaps he provided too much water, drowning the delicate roots before they could establish themselves. Perhaps certain seeds simply took much longer to break their husks. Or the seeds were bad to begin with. There were so many reasons and he didn’t have an answer.

He decided to leave the dormant rows alone for now. The soil taught patience. Rushing the process or digging everything up in frustration would only guarantee failure. As he stood up to stretch his back, he sensed a presence approaching his property.

Li Yu turned toward the perimeter of his land. An older man was walking slowly along the edge of the clear river. He wore simple, unadorned grey robes and carried a plain wooden walking stick. He possessed the soft, moth kin features common to this Empire, including a pair of faded, tattered wings resting against his back. He looked like any other elderly resident of the quiet town.

But Li Yu’s heightened senses caught the truth beneath the frail exterior. The old man possessed a powerful and condensed foundation. He was a cultivator at the Law Seed realm. The man stopped at the edge of the plowed field and offered a polite nod.

"Peace to your morning, neighbor," The old man greeted. His voice was gravelly but carried a warm tone. "I hope I am not interrupting your work."

"Not at all," Li Yu replied, walking over to meet him. "I was just taking a break."

"I am General Rawtus," the man introduced himself. He was leaning slightly on his wooden stick. "Though I suppose the title matters little out here. I am taking a long rest from duty. I asked the Queen for a quiet place to relax, as I have no family left to return to. She sent me to Silkwood and mentioned you were establishing a plot here. I came to introduce myself."

"I am Li Yu," Li Yu replied and offered a respectful bow. He understood the unspoken dynamic. Queen Calyptra was using his peaceful corner of the realm as a sanctuary for her war weary veterans for whatever reason. Perhaps she thought his idea was good.

General Rawtus looked past Li Yu and studied the estate. His eyes swept over the crude log cabin, the leaning two story cultivation tower,and the wobbly half log benches sitting in the courtyard.

A low, rumbling chuckle escaped the general’s lips.

"You possess a powerful cultivation.," General Rawtus said while his eyes crinkled with amusement. "But your building skills leave quite a bit to be desired, young man. A stiff breeze might turn your tower into firewood."

Li Yu laughed out loud. It was a genuine and unguarded laugh.

"You are absolutely right," Li Yu admitted, looking back at his ugly house. "That was the absolute best I could do with zero experience. But I intend to practice. It is functional for now. I will get better and create something better."

General Rawtus tapped his stick against the ground. "Before I took up the spear and ascended the ranks, I was a skilled craftsman. I built pavilions and estates for the old nobility. I could build you a proper home in a few days."

"I appreciate the offer, General," Li Yu said. "But if it is possible, I would much rather learn from you. I want to learn how to create proper poles, mill flat planks and carve structural joints. Of course anything and everything in between as well. If you are willing, I would like to become a student."

The old man raised an eyebrow and was surprised by the response. Most powerful cultivators viewed manual labor as beneath them.

"You want to learn the trade?" General Rawtus asked.

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"I do," Li Yu affirmed.

The general smiled. It was like the old man was brought back in time to his younger days. Where he was making a living with his craft rather than his weapon.

"I would like that. I will be here for some time. The fighting during the siege was brutal. I lost many good subordinates. My mind needs the distraction and things are finally settling down."

They struck an agreement right there by the river. A new routine emerged for Li Yu. Every morning as the three suns rose, Li Yu walked over to the neighboring plot where General Rawtus was staying in a stone house.

The lessons began with the absolute basics. General Rawtus forbade Li Yu from using his destructive Qi to cut the wood. He taught him how to read the grain of the silver timber. He showed him how to use iron saws to mill flat, even planks and how to use chisels to carve precise mortise and tenon joints.

Only by learning the basics could Li Yu then use his Qi to make the process faster. However, care had to be taken while using Qi to make sure it didn’t burn the wood. It was another thing to solve and only by having perfect control over his Qi could he destroy without burning.

Li Yu was an eager and disciplined student. He learned how to apply his physical strength with perfect finesse. He learned to shape the wood instead of shattering it.

To show his appreciation, Li Yu always arrived with gifts. He brought out rare items he had accumulated during his extensive travels. He shared gourds of strong, fiery wine from the demonic realm and delicate, fragrant teas procured from distant human merchant guilds back in his home realm. They sat in the morning light, carving wood, drinking teas and sharing quiet stories.

By midday, Li Yu returned to his own property to tend his fields.

Agriculture required a different kind of discipline. He pulled weeds by hand, ensuring they did not steal the gathered Qi from his growing crops. He carefully monitored the moisture of the dark soil, carrying buckets from the river to water the thirsty radishes and cabbages.

One afternoon, while kneeling in the dirt and packing loose soil around a fragile green shoot, Li Yu paused.

He wiped a layer of sweat and grime from his forehead. He looked at his dirt stained hands and the quiet, peaceful field stretching out around him. The air smelled of damp earth and blooming life.

‘If I had never become a true cultivator, this could have been my life.’ Li Yu thought.

If he never awoke his Koi martial spirit or if his martial spirit was no good for cultivation, he might have lived exactly like this. He could have been a simple farmer. He would have tended crops, worried about the weather and found joy in the simple harvest.

The thought triggered a sudden and overwhelming wave of memories.

He remembered his parents. He remembered their faces, worn but kind. He remembered the smell of their small home and the gentle, mundane routine of their lives before they were violently taken from him. He had spent years running, fighting and surviving. He had now faced Sovereign Kings and ancient beasts. He had buried his grief beneath layers of martial determination and cold pragmatism.

But sitting in the quiet dirt, completely safe and entirely alone, the emotional walls crumbled.

Tears welled in his eyes and spilled over his cheeks. He did not wipe them away. He let them fall, dropping onto the dark soil of his field. He wept for the boy he used to be and the simple, peaceful life his parents never got to finish. It was a profound release. The sorrow did not weaken him; it cleansed a heavy burden from his heart he didn’t know was there, leaving behind an unclouded calm.

He continued tending the fields and processing his emotions as they came. They made him sad but also happy that they were reappearing in his mind. Li Yu spent his late afternoons enjoying the natural beauty of his land.

He took the iron hoe and expanded the natural depression near the riverbank. He dug the earth out, lining the deep basin with the smooth white stones he gathered from the area. He dug a narrow channel to let the fresh river water flow in and circulate perfectly.

Once the pond was established, he sent his consciousness into his internal ocean. He carefully selected a few small but delicious fishes from his Koi Sanctuary and released them into his new pond. He mixed them with local fish he caught from the nearby lakes.

He built a sturdy wooden chair using his new carpentry skills and placed it by the water. He spent hours watching the fish swim through the clear water, observing their movements and the way they interacted with the new environment.

The peace of his estate attracted the local wildlife. Small insectoid birds with shimmering wings landed in the pale silver trees. Li Yu made a habit of leaving handfuls of crushed grain he brought from the market on the wobbly stump table in his courtyard. The birds grew accustomed to his presence. They would flutter down to eat while he sat quietly nearby.

When evening arrived, Li Yu mixed up his routine.

Some nights, he walked the short distance into Silkwood. He strolled through the Weaver's Square, observing the merchants packing up their stalls. He exchanged polite greetings with the locals, establishing himself as a friendly but quiet neighbor.

He visited the Silver Lantern tavern, not to drink heavily but to sit in the corner and listen to the music and the mundane gossip of the townspeople. It kept him in the loop on what was happening and reminded him of the vibrant life happening outside the grand struggles of cultivation. Listening to others in taverns had become one of his favorite pastimes.

Other nights, he stayed on his property.

He climbed the uneven stairs of his log tower and sat on the second floor. He opened the wooden shutters to let the cool river breeze flow over him. He closed his eyes and sank into deep meditation.

He digested the insights he gained from the soil, the wood, the animals and the quiet moments of reflection. He merged the concepts of growth, patience and structural integrity into his understanding of his own body. He cultivated his Qi, letting it flow through his meridians with the steady, unhurried rhythm of a growing forest.

The days blended together as he was forging a new foundation that was infinitely stronger than the crude logs he had stacked on his first night.