Fighting to be Kind in a Cultivation World

The closer we get to the sounds of celebration; the more exasperated Gong looks.

The fact that even Jin Chin hasn’t really reacted to Gong’s clear distaste shows me that my previous announcement of what I had done is still fresh on everyone’s mind.

Rather than paying attention to Gong, they are looking ahead, toward the demihumans that would have been healed of their curse.

It’s curious that they aren’t looking at her too much on this… considering that she would be the same as them. Maybe they already recognized the signs of cultivation in her, seeing that they didn’t feel any natural disgust toward her, which would be typical to experience from the curse.

Despite my thoughts, the din of the crowd ahead only grows more and more rambunctious, with the occasional yelp of surprise punctuating the silence. Making my surrounding friends move ever so slightly faster to find out more, especially since they can’t use their senses.

The absence of which only raises their anticipation.

Of course, since I’ve been using my scan this whole time, I already know what… and who, is ahead of us. Personally, I was hoping she would drop in soon.

Right around one of the final alleyway corners, we finally see what all the fuss is about.

Sister Nuan.

But her current appearance and actions surprise even me.

Boooom.

“”“WOOOOO!”””

Like a pale blur, I can see her pitch-black hair wildly swings around, as she uses her impossibly lithe abilities to fight an entire team of kids in a game that is looking increasingly like soccer. Or as my friends across the pond would call it, football. Along with the crowd of far too excited fans, both calling out perceived faults and cheering their wins.

What really strikes me from this situation, though, is the huge, happy smile that is covering her face as she plays. Even in all the variety of times I’ve had with her, I haven’t seen her have nearly this much fun.

I can’t help but wonder how this all started. However, my question is soon answered by the sigh I hear from Gong.

“I told them to treat her with the utmost respect… but how did it turn into this? It seems like every time these kids meet someone, they challenge them to a battle of… whatever that game is.”

Ma’am. I believe this game is netball. And there’s plenty of people who would fight you if you insult the alternate sport of it.

Oh! They just made a touchdown.

Outside my purposely wrong inner monologue, Sister Nuan finally takes notice of our presence, doing almost three flips from her previous handstand, before running over to us with a wave at me.

A flourish that none of us was expecting, but one that brings a massive smile to my face.

As she comes over, I can see the change coming over her in real time, as she realizes how different she’s been acting from how we normally see her. Right as she finally arrives back at us, her normal poise and grandeur has reemerged.

To her credit, she doesn’t even give a cough when doing so. She just regains it quickly and acts like it never happened.

Yeah, no way am I going to let this go. I’ll do whatever it takes to get that smile back. And to reinforce how insanely okay it is to let go like that. But, for now, it’s best to be a little quiet about it for now.

“James. Everyone. It’s good to see you all. I was just waiting for all of you to return and…”

Unfortunately for her, despite her impressive role transition, the kids she was playing with did not catch even a hint of her change in demeanor.

“”BIG SIS! We’ll hold the ball for you when you want to play again!””

The myriad of shouts from the little munchkin demihumans' corner causes her to freeze in place. Caught between appearances, she hesitates to respond.

Before I can try my own tactics, Mei Lin’s soft voice cuts through the tension.

“Big brother? Can I play next time too?”

Nice job, Mei Lin.

“Of course. We all can, especially if our amazing leader has shown us such a good time of it.”

A look around at the others shows they all got the message.

At this, her expression finally relaxes, and she yells out a shout.

“You got it, squirts!”

Her voice carries over the entire cavern, her excitement showing through all of it.

… I feel like I may have finally gotten a chance to see what Sister Nuan might have been like before she fully immersed herself in cultivation. After all, most of her life has been desperate cultivation, but before then, I gathered she was much more free-flowing and relaxed.

With that being said, there’s something to be said about the game itself and what it revealed.

Each and every one of these kids has cultivation of at least Rank 2 Qi Condensation. Their already powerful legs and bodies being further enhanced by the power of qi. And they aren’t even using movement techniques yet, just their bodies. And just that is far above what a cultivator of an equivalent rank could dream of.

Something that everyone here can see.

If there was any doubt that there had been a change, that would remove it.

Ai offers her thoughts.

“Well… considering that we might be here for a while, should we start moving stuff from the carriages to our rooms?”

Ah, excellent point.

Though I have a few things I need to check out first.

“You guys go ahead. I wanted to take care of a few things before I grab my stuff, as well.”

Everyone looks at each other before nodding, and moving with Gong to another location, with Gong giving me a meaningful look as she leads them away.

I’m a bit surprised by how no one asked what I would be doing… but at this point, I suppose they are already used to my antics.

I can only imagine what they think what I will be doing.

Too bad the dangerousness of what I’ll be checking out made it so I couldn’t even tell them.

The only person who doesn’t join them is Sister Nuan. Her face has already morphed from the one of cheer to another filled with seriousness. After all, she was the only other one that I knew could potentially handle the immensity of what I had discovered.

Something that I only realized once I realized that Gong had remodeled most of the area Ai, Lin, and I had previously wandered within. As there was one of a few locations that remained completely untouched.

One of which was the same bathing area that we had all washed in, and that Gong took my clothes in.

But if it simply remained untouched, that would be acceptable.

The problem is that the underground lake my scan first saw in that area was far larger than the area it actually encompasses.

When I was there first, I couldn’t see much deeper than the initial waters below, but now that my scan has grown enough… I can tell there is a presence far larger than anything else I’ve ever seen, sleeping within.

One that might be the source of the rivers, pools, and so called, flow-following scalefish, that were living within them. According to my scan, the scales of an ancient fish lineage spirit beast formed the scalefish. Telling me a lot about what we might be dealing with.

As soon as I found this out, I sent a message over to both Gong and Sister Nuan.

Gong first, because it was her place, and then Sister Nuan, because whatever is there far surpasses me right now. And even if she can’t do anything… I’ll at least have kept my promise to share more about things like this with her.

For everyone else, I’ll be letting them know soon, once we finish this scouting mission.

Racing silently through the countless branching areas of her base, we soon arrive back at the memorable hallway.

Which is when I feel the presence.

And it’s looking right at me.