Myriad Rivers to the Sea

The rhythmic sound of a steel chisel striking silver timber echoed across the morning estate.

Li Yu sat near the edge of his courtyard focusing on the block of wood secured between his knees. He held the chisel at a precise angle and tapped the end with a wooden mallet. A thin curl of silver wood shaved off falling neatly to the dirt.

General Rawtus sat nearby on one of the ugly half log benches and was holding a steaming cup of tea. The old veteran watched with a critical eye.

"Your angle is too steep," Rawtus corrected, taking a sip of his tea. "You are trying to force the blade through the grain. Wood is not an enemy to be conquered, Li Yu. It is a living record of growth. If you fight the grain, the wood will splinter and break. You must follow the path the tree has already laid out."

Li Yu paused and adjusted his grip. He lowered the angle of the chisel and tapped the mallet again. This time the blade slid smoothly along the dark lines of the grain, removing a perfect translucent shaving without any resistance.

"Better," Rawtus nodded approvingly. "Craftsmanship is simply the art of removing what is unnecessary to reveal the structure underneath. This piece of wood wants to become something. You just have to guide it and let it show its beauty."

Li Yu internalized the lesson. He realized that woodworking was a physical manifestation of cultivation. When a cultivator refined their body they were chipping away impurities to reveal a perfect foundation. If they forced the energy too violently, their meridians would splinter just like the silver timber. True progression required aligning with the natural flow of the cosmos.

They spent the entire morning working. By midday, Li Yu had finished carving the final mortise and tenon joints for his new courtyard furniture.

He fit the pieces together. They locked perfectly into place without the need for iron nails or binding sap. He constructed a wide sturdy table with a smooth polished top. He then assembled four comfortable chairs featuring slanted backs and wide armrests.

Li Yu carried the old wobbly stump table and the hard half log benches to the edge of the property and chopped them into firewood. He arranged his new refined furniture in the center of the courtyard.

"A vast improvement," Rawtus noted as he ran his hand over the smooth surface of the new table. "A person’s environment reflects his state of mind. You cannot cultivate a clear mind while sitting on a crooked bench."

Li Yu smiled and poured fresh tea for both of them. He was proud of the work. The crude log cabin and the leaning tower still needed complete overhauls but replacing the courtyard furniture was a solid first step.

After Rawtus returned to his own home, Li Yu turned his attention to the perimeter of his main field.

The Azure Cloud Cabbage and Silverleaf Radishes were growing incredibly fast under the influence of the array stakes. Their rich vibrant leaves were starting to attract attention. The previous night Li Yu had spotted a pair of wild armored badgers sniffing around the edge of his property.

It was time to build a fence.

He gathered the remaining poles of silver timber and carried them to the field. He used a heavy iron post digger that he got from Brak to carve deep holes at regular intervals around the perimeter. He set the tall posts into the earth and packed the dirt tightly around the base. He then milled long flat planks and secured them horizontally between the posts.

Building the fence was a repetitive and physically demanding task but Li Yu found a rhythm in the work. As he secured the final wooden plank he stepped back to admire the boundary he had created. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the enclosed field.

He realized that building a fence was another expression of the Dao.

A fence did not just block wild animals from entering. It defined an internal domain. By erecting a physical boundary he was separating the wild chaos of nature from the ordered structured environment of his farm.

It was the exact same principle as establishing an internal sanctuary within the soul. The cosmos was a chaotic ocean of wild energy. A cultivator had to build strong internal boundaries to protect their core essence from being overwhelmed by the void. Without a strong fence, the wild energy would rush in and consume the delicate roots of a person's cultivation.

Everything contained the Dao. The swing of a hammer, the locking of a joint and the digging of a post hole all mirrored the grand laws of the universe. Li Yu opened the small wooden gate he had built and walked into his enclosed field.

He checked the outer rows. A bright smile broke across his face.

Elise, the older moth farmer, had been absolutely right. The coarse river sand he mixed into the dense mud had done its job. Tiny pale green tendrils were pushing through the aerated soil. The Void Pod Peas had finally sprouted. They were reaching blindly for the sky and were eager for sunlight. Li Yu quickly gathered some thin branches and built simple trellises for the vines to climb.

He moved to the mounds where the Sunfire Gourds were planted. He lifted the dark slate stones he had placed there five days ago. Beneath the warm stones thick sturdy sprouts had cracked the heavy seed shells. The localized heat had incubated them perfectly. Li Yu removed the stones permanently to allow the broad leaves to absorb the ambient Qi.

His farm was officially thriving. Every single variety of seed he planted was now actively participating in the cycle of life. He spent the next hour carrying buckets from the river and carefully watering the rows ensuring he did not drown the newly sprouted peas. He was also tending to the weeds and checking his plants. His actions were overkill but he was new and wanted to be cautious.

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Just as he finished washing his tools he heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching his estate.

Li Yu walked out of the courtyard and saw Jax, the jovial mantis barkeep from the Silver Lantern tavern. Jax was leading a large creature by a thick leather harness. The beast was a domesticated giant aphid. It was roughly the size of a small carriage. It featured a pale green bulbous body and six thick legs. These creatures were commonly used in Silkwood to pull heavy carts of sweet nectar barrels.

But this specific aphid looked terrible. Its usually bright green carapace was dull and grey. Its antennae drooped sadly toward the dirt and it dragged its legs with obvious lethargy.

"Afternoon, Li Yu," Jax called out. His usual cheerful tone was replaced with worry. "I apologize for the intrusion."

"There is no intrusion Jax," Li Yu replied as he was coming over. "What is wrong with your beast?"

"I do not know," Jax sighed while petting the side of the large aphid. "He stopped eating three days ago. He refuses to drink water and he can barely pull an empty cart. He is the best draft beast I have ever owned. I took him to the local apothecary but they couldn’t figure it out. They told me to just put him down and buy a new one."

Li Yu looked at the suffering creature. He felt a familiar pull in his chest. He had spent years acting as a quiet physician in the human domain and he had recently saved the supreme Guardian Beast of the Eclipse Court. Healing was a path that he enjoyed.

"Bring him into the courtyard," Li Yu instructed.

Jax led the heavy aphid through the wooden gate. Li Yu instructed the barkeep to stand back while he approached the beast. He placed his hand gently against the creature's thick green carapace.

He sent a tiny microscopic thread of his soul sense and his Life laws into the beast's body.

He navigated the simple and crude meridians of the giant aphid. The internal layout was different from other beasts but the principles of energy flow remained the same.

He found the problem after checking its entire body.

Deep within the creature's lower digestive tract there was a hard knot of stagnant energy. The aphid had eaten a patch of wild toxic weeds while grazing near the forest edge. The minor toxin was not strong enough to kill the large beast outright but it had paralyzed the local meridians causing a severe blockage, much like a stroke would. The stagnant Qi was slowly poisoning the creature from the inside out. If left untreated it would die.

"He most likely ate some wild toxic weeds," Li Yu explained after withdrawing his hand. "It caused a severe energy blockage in his lower digestion. He feels full and sick at the same time."

"Can you cure him?" Jax asked. "I will pay you for your service."

"There is no need for payment Jax," Li Yu smiled. "Hold him steady."

Li Yu placed his hand back on the carapace directly over the blockage. He gathered a small amount of his Qi. He did not blast the knot apart. That would rupture the beast's internal organs. Instead he used the infused Qi like a warm gentle river. He surrounded the toxic knot and slowly dissolved it, eroding the stagnant energy layer by layer.

Within two minutes the blockage was completely flushed out of the aphid's system.

The giant beast let out a loud sudden sound. Its drooping antennae snapped upright. The dull grey color of its carapace began to recede and would soon be replaced by a healthy vibrant green. The aphid leaned over and began enthusiastically munching on the grass near the edge of the courtyard.

Jax let out a loud cheer and hugged the side of his beast.

"You are a miracle worker, Li Yu!" Jax beamed. "I thought I was going to lose him. How did you know how to do that?"

"I picked up some skills during my travels," Li Yu replied modestly. "Make sure he sticks to clean food for the next few days. And be careful to check where it’s eating. It would be a good idea to clear that area out so this doesn’t happen again."

Jax thanked him. He refused to leave without offering some form of compensation. He pressed a small clay jug of his sweet nectar wine into Li Yu's hands before leading his happily grazing aphid back toward the town.

Li Yu set the wine on his new courtyard table. He did not think much of the interaction. He simply saw a creature in pain and applied his skills to fix it. It was something that Li Yu had done countless of times.

But in a small tight knit town like Silkwood, word traveled faster than a flying sword.

Two days later Elise walked up the slope to his estate. She did not come to scold him about his farming techniques. She carried a large woven basket holding a beautiful silk weaver moth. The moth had a badly torn wing from a predator attack and its vital Qi was leaking out.

Li Yu spent an hour using his Life laws to carefully stitch the delicate wing back together and sealed the Qi leak. He had never done such a thing before but he pulled concepts from things he had treated before. Together with his healing techniques and Life Laws, he was able to get the job done. Elise paid him with a sack of nutrient rich soil compost entirely meant for his delicate Moonshade Orchids.

By the end of the week, the townsfolk quietly recognized the polite human farmer as their local beast physician. He was more skilled at tending to the beasts than their town apothecary who had no interest in treating beasts to behind with.

Merchants brought him their exhausted flying mounts. Farmers brought him their sick soil beetles. Li Yu never turned anyone away. He treated the creatures with calm precision using his skills. He couldn’t solve every problem but he was able to treat most. Oftentimes the solution was quite simple and didn’t take much time.

He charged very little. Usually just asking to cover the item, herb or something else that he had to use to solve the ailment. When that didn’t work, he accepted simple payments like fresh seeds, local baked goods or a few spirit stones. His day to day life fell into a harmonious rhythm.

In the mornings he learned the art of creation and structure from General Rawtus. He continued to hone his carpentry skills and refining his estate. In the midday, he learned the art of patience and growth from his fields watching his crops climb their trellises and push deep into the aerated soil.

In the afternoons he learned the art of compassion and precise energy control by healing the beasts of the townsfolk. Or the art of gossip and just having a good time with the townsfolk here. And in the evenings he sat alone in his quiet courtyard and was resting in his newly crafted chair. He poured himself a cup of the sweet nectar wine Jax had gifted him and looked out over his land.

He watched the small shimmering birds flutter down from the pale silver trees to eat the crushed grain he left on the table. He listened to the gentle flow of the river and the quiet splash of the fish in his pond.

Li Yu took a slow sip of the sweet wine. He closed his eyes and let the cool evening breeze wash over him. He was entirely at peace with the quiet and yet profound Dao of his everyday life.