Dao of Cooking

Lei hauled the rock with two hands, straining as he dragged it back and let it crash to the ground. Taking a deep breath in, he pulled another stone from the blockage and repeated the process.

Zhu Luli and Fatty Lou joined him as they tried to open a way through the passage. A silent question hung between them, a question Lei thought was better kept locked up inside their minds. After all the things they’d gone through, now wasn’t the time for brooding thoughts.

Yes. You have to be optimistic.

But as time passed, Lei found it hard to hold onto that optimism. They were deep into the blockage now, having cleared dozens of stones, but they couldn’t find a trail of Snake and Stone here. Nothing, in fact, suggested that those two were here when the walls crumbled down.

“How is this possible?” Fatty Lou muttered, wiping his sweat. “They were… just gone, like that?”

“Something’s odd here. Even if they got crushed under the stones, we should’ve found something,” Zhu Luli said, staring solemnly at the broken walls. “Doesn’t make any sense.”

“Keep searching.” Lei pulled another stone, this one coming up to about his waist, and rolled it away as breath burned in his throat. “They must be here.”

“Brother Lei…” Fatty Lou glanced at him as if he had something to say, but a look from Lei silenced him. Nodding, he wrapped his hands around another rock and hauled it with all his strength.

They worked in muted silence, barely speaking, barely sparing a glance as they removed the rocks one by one. No matter what he did, Lei couldn’t get rid of the lump stuck tight in his throat, pressing into his skin. His heart pounded closer to his ears now. Each beat sounded like a deafening explosion.

“Shit!” he said when a hand-sized rock tumbled down his head, nearly bashing into him before rolling away. He cursed and waved a hand off, clenching his fists to get the anger building up in his chest under control.

“We should… stop,” Zhu Luli said with concern as the cave shook violently around them. When Lei stared her down, she didn’t back away. “I know you want to save those kids, but this isn’t helping them. For all we know, they could’ve found another way on the other side. We can go back and search for another entrance.”

“She’s telling the truth, you know,” Fatty Lou said, nodding. “There must be hundreds of stones here. How long do you think we can keep clearing this blockage? Snake has a good head over his shoulders. That slithery brat wouldn’t have stayed still.”

“You saw them with your own eyes,” Lei said, jabbing with one thick finger into the blockage with cold fury. “That piece of shit destroyed the cave! We’re not talking about a bunch of cultivators here, they are kids! Damned kids who shouldn’t even be here in the first place!”

“But they were,” Zhu Luli said, staring at him. “And if we want to help them, we can’t just keep pulling stones, hoping for some miracle to happen and clear the passage for us. There must be dozens of other entrances to this mountain.”

“We’ll search them one by one if that’s what it takes,” Fatty Lou said, then peered slowly back to the blockage. “Or we can just, you know, waste what little strength we’ve left here hauling these fucking rocks.”

“Search for other entrances?” Lei took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. What they said made sense, but he couldn’t shake the feeling inside his heart. He felt as though if he were to take a step away from this place, he’d never see those two again.

He’d be leaving them to their own fate.

“Come on, brother.” Fatty Lou’s strong hand pressed against his back as he pulled him away from the rocks. “Have a little faith in those boys.”

Little Yao gave him a nod, as if she was sure this would be the best way. She had a sharp nose, and she couldn’t find a trail of the boys here in the passage. That was the only thing that gave Lei some semblance of hope.

My boys. You hold on out there, alright? I’m coming for you.

Lei clenched his jaw as he nodded.

……..

The search continued.

They filed out of the blockage, trudging through the dark hallways. Fatty Lou had taken the old tome, and the wooden staff, fixing a glowing sphere on top of it to light the path as Little Yao guided them. The way they took to get here had been destroyed, but there were more than a dozen caves carved into the mountain, slithering about like a labyrinth.

“Sister Luli, you’ve said cultivators think they can be the master of their own fates, right?” Lei mused as they sauntered around a corner, coming out on another set of stones that didn’t seem any different than the others. When Zhu Luli gave him a nod, he raised his chin. “Once we find our boys and get out of here, I’ll be depending on you.”

“What do you mean?” Fatty Lou asked.

“We made a deal,” Zhu Luli smiled slightly. “I’ll teach you more about cultivation in exchange for Brother Lei’s spiritual dishes. Though, I must say, I feel like I’m the one taking advantage of his talents.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Lei said, fists clenched. “I need to be sure that my kids have the strength to take on the world. I can’t let anything like this happen ever again.”

“Well, that was the plan all along, no?” Fatty Lou shook his head with a smile. “Secure some spiritual herbs, and cook until we’re all puffed up like those cultivators. I’d say we’ve secured a good supply line.”

“Harsh.” Zhu Luli tapped with a finger on her cheek, then gave him a shrug. “But I’ll take it. I’ll become that supply line all you want if that’s what you need.”

“Don’t you have a family?” Lei asked as stones crunched under his feet and raised a hand when he saw the odd expression on Zhu Luli’s face. “Don’t get me wrong, I was just wondering. Would they be fine with you staying in some remote corner of the continent?”

“I make my own decisions,” Zhu Luli said sharply. “And it doesn’t… work like that in our family. Cultivator clans can be different than your average family. Filial piety is important and all that, but what really matters is strength. Being honest, I’m not really different than most cultivators who chase after opportunities. I saw one and I’m taking it, simple as that.”

“Blunt, but fair,” Fatty Lou said, clicking his tongue. “That’s a strong mentality right there. Be your own man, so to speak. We need that if we want to establish a clan of cultivators.”

“A clan of cultivators?” Lei was taken aback.

“Or a sect, I don’t know,” Fatty Lou shrugged, then his eyes glinted. “I mean you’re basically a big alchemy cauldron that can cook potent dishes. I say we can’t hope for a better foundation than that.”

“That actually… makes sense,” Zhu Luli said, cocking her head. “I’ve been meaning to ask this for some time, but couldn’t find the right time, so I’ve waited. But… are you two really 1st Step Body Tempering Stage cultivators?”

Lei and Fatty Lou shared a strange look.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fatty Lou asked a moment after.

Zhu Luli frowned in thought. “I mean, an average 1st Step Body Tempering Stage cultivator would’ve crumbled after all the things we’ve gone through, yet you two were acting like it wasn’t a big deal. Meanwhile, there isn’t a bone in my body that doesn’t ache from hard use, and I’m at the 7th Step of the Body Tempering Stage.”

“Huh?” Fatty Lou muttered, looking at his own hands, riddled with cuts and smeared with blood. “I don’t think that’s true.”

Lei nodded silently.

Zhu Luli sighed out a long breath. “You don’t understand. That rotten air sucked nearly all the spiritual energy from that Peak-Grade Body Tempering Stage pill. Peak-Grade! It should’ve left you breathless.”

“I guess we just have more spirit in our hearts, eh? You have to acknowledge the fact that not everyone is equal in this world,” Fatty Lou said, puffing his chest out with pride. “Even a city as mortal as Jiangzhen has to get its own geniuses, eh?”

“Geniuses?” Zhu Luli didn’t look that sure. “I’ve thought it was those kids who had the talent for cultivation, not you.”

“I didn’t say I’m a cultivation genius.” Fatty Lou rolled his eyes at her. “Can’t say I’m not disappointed, Sister Luli. Thought you’d be better than that. There’s more than cultivation in this world, don’t you think? Even if you polish a diamond to perfection, there needs to be a good finger or a fair neck to make use of it.”

“That’s who you are, then? A genius manipulator who can make good use of cultivators?” Zhu Luli asked.

“If you like to put it that way, sure. Why not?” Fatty Lou nodded with a smile. “But I’m a budding genius at best. I need to work on my skills, no doubt, if we want to make good progress. And Brother Lei here is an essential part of my success. At least he will be, once we get a hang of our situation.”

Lei was shaking his head at the conversation when his [Spiritual Sensitivity] skill sent a jolt of alarm down his back. Slowing down, he peered around, ears perked up to catch any sound, but couldn’t find anything that would trigger the skill. There was an odd wind, though, coming right around his feet and slithering up his legs.

A squeak pulled him away from his thoughts when Little Yao paused before them. She had a confused look on her face, taking deep breaths as if she’d caught something in the air. But other than the same rocks and the shaking ground, Lei couldn’t see anything different here.

“What happened?” Zhu Luli asked, but Little Yao didn’t spare her a glance as she kept sniffing the air.

Her tail jolted upward a second later, stiff as a wooden stick. Lei’s group exchanged strange glances as they waited for Little Yao to do anything that at least suggested she wasn’t possessed.

When she started wagging her tail wildly, Lei took a deep breath, heart thundering in his chest.

“What? Did you get a whiff of—"

Little Yao bolted forward down the hallway, clawing at the ground as she sent stones and pebbles flying. Lei dashed after her without hesitation, the fingers of his right hand trembling with nervous expectation.

This wasn’t normal. Little Yao wouldn’t have taken off without at least indicating that there was something there. Coupled with the jolt he got from [Spiritual Sensitivity], Lei felt the little hope he bore in his heart slowly heating up.

Onwards, through the stones they rushed, the cold walls flashing past them as the wind grew stronger. It poked playfully at Lei’s back, and for a second, he almost felt like it was pushing him, adding to his speed.

What is this?

Lei would’ve questioned it more if he hadn’t seen the light glistening from the end of the hallway. Bright sunlight fell gently upon the cracked face of the stone walls, illuminating the hoof marks and claw prints on the ground. The rotten stench slowly wore off as they came out through the arched exit.

And the sunlight welcomed them.

A treeline stood facing the mountain, its canopy cracked and torn by what seemed like sharp claws. The growling of the monsters pounded in Lei’s ears when he stepped outside. It was chaos over there between the trees. A chaos of his own making.

Screams of agony echoed as Fatty Lou and Zhu Luli joined him, watching the black-robed cultivators run for their dear lives while Corrupted Sabertongues lunged at them. Most of the creatures barely had any breath left, driven by pure madness as they chased after every living thing their eyes fell upon.

“What the hell happened here?” Fatty Lou asked, scowling into the forest. “It was just a bunch of dumplings!”

“Looks like there has been a serious change in the balance of the forest while we were inside the mountain,” Zhu Luli said, shaking her head. “I’ve never quite understood the way these beasts think. Too primal for my taste.”

Lei blinked when he thought he’d seen Little Yao giving Zhu Luli an eye-roll. Before he could look again, he felt the wind poking playfully at his back, as if nudging him like a stubborn child. Taking a breath in, he gave up resisting and turned tiredly toward the mountain, peering up through the bright sunlight.

Then he paused. The steep stone steps curled around the side of the mountain, a dangerous path making its way to the ground. It was dangerous indeed, and wasn’t much of a path if you asked Lei, but two shadows climbed down using them, nimble as foxes and chuckling wide.

“Big Brother Lei!” came Snake’s voice, high-pitched and full of joy. “Big Brother Lei, you’re alive!”