The Beautiful Jade

My arm rises as I move into position for the dance of The First Song: The Brook’s Dance.

I hum as I look at The Twelve Songs of Water floating in front of me. I start singing, but the words don’t stay with me, instead leaving my mind as soon as I say them..

My qi and spirit move with the song as my body flows to the rhythm.

The movements become stranger, flowing into a complicated dance as my body is stretched to its limits.

My breath starts to run out as I keep the song going with the complicated dance. My hands twirl as I spin, my body pushing its limits to match the dance that it has been given.

With a flourish the song ends and I collapse to the floor.

Sweat covers me as I gasp for breath. My vision tunnels in on the ceiling.

I haven’t felt this exhausted since my training with the Martial Masters in my first days with the sect.

I roll to my side, and slowly pick myself off the floor.

My legs nearly give out, but I lean on the wall until I manage to get back to my bed. The mattress embraces me as I fall into it. Every part of me, including my qi and spirit, is sore, stretched beyond normal.

It’s another couple of seconds before I can think properly.

The dance is wild and unpredictable, but still flows with an underlying grace that I rarely see even in the greatest of dancers. It reminds me of a far superior version of the sect’s martial arts, each movement flowing into the next.

It is a martial art, I can tell that much, but it is also so much more than that. My body and spirit are changing with the dance. I’m being molded and strengthened.

I look down at my sweat covered body and slowly push myself out of the bed. It’s surprisingly difficult to make my way through Qiu Tai’s house and to the nearby river, my muscles complaining with every step.

The river is a lazy one, slow and deep enough that it provides a perfect private swimming hole. Rock formations surround the bend, providing cover from any peering eyes. Only Elder Qiu Tai and her disciples are allowed here, and since I’m her only disciple, I usually have the place to myself.

I take off the martial robes I’d put on for the dance, and walk to the edge of the water. I let myself fall into the deep water, completely submerging myself. My body instantly starts to recover, the water’s own qi flowing around me in a way that I’ve never seen.

I swim up, my face breaching the water. My breath mists in the air and tiny droplets fall on my face as a gray cloud starts to blot out the sky.

I swim to the edge and climb out. With an insertion of qi into the ring on my finger, I pull out a spare set of Core Disciple robes and put them on.

The rain increases in intensity around me, creating ripples in the river.

I sit down on the rock, watching the ripples as my clothes slowly start to become soaked. I don’t mind the water. The qi in the rain seems to interact with my body the same way that the river had and I spend some time just watching the qi at work. It rejuvenates and heals me. I hold my hand up and clench it, feeling a dexterity and strength that is unusual for me.

The dance was more than a dance.

My gaze returns to the ripples created by the rain, the simple complexity of the many ripples keeping my mind focused.

“So prove yourself worthy.” I whisper, the rain drowning out my words. I have someone that I mean to protect. A child who trusts me to return to them someday.

I stand up, and The Twelve Songs Of Water opens itself up to me again, the beautiful flowing movements of the dance painted on its pages.

I raise my arm and move my body into position. My voice rises as I sing.

A few minutes later, I finish the dance and collapse onto the rock, unable to move my body. A small smile finds itself on my face. The rain continues to pour down and I blink away the water that hits my eyes.

Only one song has been entrusted to me. So I will prove that I am worthy of it.

It’s a few minutes of circulating my qi with the qi of the rain before I can move. I take a deep breath, letting it out in a mist.

I get up and off the ground slowly, then raise my arm as The Twelve Songs of Water yet again opens its pages.

I move my qi through my body, knowing that I can sing one more time before my body gives out.

I sing and dance, the rain drowning out my words as it turns into a downpour.

My feet don’t slip on the rocks, and my voice doesn’t falter.

****

My body and spirit change with the dance. Every day, I push my body to its limit, forcing it to move one more time until it gives out. The qi of the rivers and rain continue to rejuvenate me, and I move to the spot by the river for the song, so that I can use its qi whenever I feel like giving up.

My body stops having drastic changes from the dance, but I can tell that there are intricacies and a grace to it that I am still missing.

A month passes and my progress with the dance slows.

***

My flute’s music goes through the room, bringing a sense of warmth with it. Shia wraps herself around my neck like a scarf. The returns from the song have started to lessen, so I’ve decided that today will be a break day.

A knock on the door makes me pause, the music’s last note finishing with a whisper. I put my flute into its case and close it with a snap.

Shia disappears into my robes, wrapping herself around my waist as I make my way to the door.

I open the door to see a smiling Xia Jing.

“There you are.” She says.

I smile at her, letting her into my room. “Sister Jing. Hasn’t Elder Han been keeping you busy?”

Xia Jing shakes her head. “She’s entered closed door cultivation. With any luck, we’ll have an Elder in the Dao Shaping Realm in the next five years.”

“That’s good.”

Xia Jing nods, sitting down on my bed. “It is. Now that I find myself free, I wanted to check in on you. Lai Ming and I haven’t seen you lately.”

I close the door and sit down next to her on the bed. “I’ve been cultivating and focusing on a new technique.

She tilts her head, studying me. “You're close to the Tenth Level of Qi Awakening.”

I nod.

“Hmm.” Xia Jing gives me a playful smile. “Maybe a day out of your room will help give some insight.” She jumps out of the bed, then looks back at me.

“That does sound helpful.” I say.

She wiggles her eyebrows at me.

With a sigh, I stand up, and follow her out of Elder Qiu Tai’s home.

The sun shines down on the entire sect, an occasional cloud passing over it. Another month and we’ll be in the full heat of summertime. For now, it’s simply a pleasant warmth of the flowering season.

We pass through the inner sect and into the outer sect’s markets. The atmosphere is tenser than I’m used to, but the disciples don’t let the ongoing war stop them from enjoying themselves where they can.

The markets are noticeably smaller, but enterprising merchants and disciples still keep it lively with the cries of bargaining and the constant chatter of a market.

Xia Jing leads me to a small food stand and orders us some meat buns. I accept mine, biting into the delicious treat.

I enjoy the food with closed eyes, sad when the last bite is gone. I open my eyes to see Xia Jing watching me with an unreadable expression. She blinks, then smiles at me.

“Where’s Sister Ming?” I ask

Xia Jing shrugs her shoulders, “I’m not sure, Elder Wu has been using her for something.”

“Hmmm.”

A loud cheer from a large tent distracts me, the tent shaking with the noise.

I stop in my tracks to stare at the tent. “What’s that?” I ask.

Xia Jing tilts her head, “I think it’s a challenge arena for the Martial Pavilion. You wanna see inside?”

I nod.

Xia Jing leads the way up to the entrance of the large tent. A large disciple with scars crossing his face stares at us from the entrance, but immediately turns his attention elsewhere when he recognizes our inner and core disciple robes.

We duck into the tent and the world darkens, only lit by the lantern light. Two disciples stand across from each other in the center of the arena, surrounded by a crowd of watching disciples. Two younger disciples walk through the crowd, accepting money and writing down something on pieces of paper.

I point at the younger disciples, “What are they doing?” I ask quietly. I don’t want to disturb the quiet atmosphere as the two fighting disciples size each other up.

“Taking bets.” Xia Jing answers in a whisper.

Without any warning, both of the fighting disciples move, their bodies flowing in the graceful movements of our sect’s martial arts. The display is masterful, and I find myself unable to turn away from the two as they fight. It’s almost a dance-

I pause as I realize what I’ve been missing from The First Song.

It isn’t a solo dance, it’s meant to have a partner.

The two disciples continue their captivating fight, with the older of the two eventually coming on top by pinning the other to the ground.

“Xia Jing.” I say, drawing her attention.

“Yes?” She asks distractedly, her attention still caught by the two disciples.

“How do I get into that arena?”

She turns to me, her eyes wide. She blinks a few times before responding. “Well, you’ll need some outer disciple robes if you want to fight in this arena. A mask isn’t a bad idea either.”

I nod. Then I turn away, heading out of the tent and back to the market.

Xia Jing hurries to catch up to me.

“Why do you want to fight in there? You know it’s dangerous, right? Outer disciples have no qualms about using dirty tricks to win arena fights.” Xia Jing hurries to keep up with me as I make a quick pace towards one of the market stands that sells masks. The outer sect will be celebrating the summer festival soon, which means many merchants have started selling masks of all different kinds.

“It’ll be good practice.” I respond.

Xia Jing laughs, then realizes I’m serious. “You’ll have to register as an initiate of the Combat Pavilion in order to fight in the arena, and since disciples can only be in one pavilion…” She pauses in thought, “Well, I guess you could use a fake name. The martial pavilion won’t care.”

We arrive at the shop selling masks. “That’s a good idea.” I say, smiling at her.

I study the masks on display, my gaze falling on a fox mask similar to the one I’d given Ai.

“That isn’t-” She sighs. “You could just issue challenges to disciples ranked higher than you.”

I shake my head. “I don’t care about the rankings.” I pick out the fox mask and quickly pay for it. “Where can I get outer disciple robes?”

“I can get them for you.” She rests her hand on my arm. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I nod, smiling. “Something about it feels right.” I pause, looking down at the mask. I speak quieter as I continue “Plus it looks like fun.”

Xia Jing studies me, then gives me a warm smile. “Alright! You know I’m betting my entire fortune on you, right? So you better not lose any fights.”

“W-wait, I don’t think that’s-”

“Too late. My faith in you is too strong.”

She grabs my hand, pulling me towards one of the shops.