Book 6: Chapter 2: The Calm and the Storm
Sen had enjoyed the first few weeks on board Captain Chens ship. Many of the sailors were new, but hed recognized more than a few of them. There had been a little bit of awkwardness the first few days, but it mostly stemmed from a lingering sense of awe from the men hed sailed with before. When hed taken over in the kitchen a few times and served them meals that included some qi-rich meat from the edible beasts hed killed in recent times, the last of that hesitancy had slipped away. Sen had discovered that food had a magical way of easing people into a state of mental and emotional comfort. Hed been more than a little pleased to find that the same thing applied to the men aboard the ship. After that, the crew of the ship treated him like a long-lost son or brother who had come home.
He'd also spent more than a little time with the captain having wide-ranging discussions. The captain wasnt a noble but had come from a merchant family who sent him off to sea to help beat out a youthful wildness that had gotten the man into some manner of trouble. Little had they known that theyd sent the man off to find his calling. Sen had also discovered that the man had benefitted from an excellent education. That made him an ideal conversation partner for Sen. If nothing else, the man could help fill in some of the more mundane gaps in Sens own education. For all that Sen wanted to get some practical value out of the trip, though, he often found himself hanging on the captains every word as he described some harrowing experience that nearly destroyed his ship or some far-off exotic location hed visited.
Youve been so many places, said Sen. I was starting to think that I was well traveled, but its nothing compared with you.
Captain Chen smiled at Sen, the skin around his eyes crinkling. Well, I think I may have a few years on you.
Sen inclined his head in acknowledgment. I suppose thats true. Still, you used to sail to the far side of the continent. But no more?
No. No more.
May I ask why?
Ha! Youre so polite to this lowly mortal.
Sen shrugged. I was a lowly mortal not that long ago.
Its easy to forget that cultivators start out the same as everyone else. As to your question, its no great secret. There are great fortunes to be made by sailing to the far side of the continent, but its also very dangerous. There are pirates, great beasts of the ocean, and a hundred other risks.
Dont we have those here? asked Sen.
We do, but Ive been sailing these waters for long enough that I know where to watch out for them. Plus, a trip like that can take years. Thats fine for young men with their whole lives in front of them and nothing waiting for them at home. I have a family. Im away from them more than Id like, but I still get to see them. Men who take those journeys to the far side of the continent often come home to find that the children they remember are fully grown and utter strangers. Some men come home to find their families simply gone without a word, said Captain Chen with a look of old pain on his face. For me, no fortune is worth that risk.
Sen nodded. I see. I hadnt fully considered the costs.
The captain gave Sen a small smile. Well, its a mighty cost for a mortal like me. For a young cultivator with nothing but time ahead of him, well, why not go?
Ive considered it, offered Sen. I have some obligations that I must fulfill before I can go, but I plan to cross the Mountains of Sorrow at some point.
The captain seemed shocked. Overland?
I expect so.
Isnt that dangerous?
Sen laughed. It can be, although I suspect that Id be alright. Im used to fighting on land.
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Captain Chen shook his head as though Sen were a madman but didnt comment on it. Sen poured them both another cup of tea and saw the captain roll his eyes at the inversion of courtesy. It had made the sailor deeply uncomfortable at first, but Sen simply waved it off with a vague comment about respecting his elders. The captain picked up his cup and took a contemplative sip.
I suppose I should ask this question now since Im not likely to ever find another cultivator who has the time for a mortal.
What question is that? asked Sen, his curiosity piqued.
Do you have a plan?
Sen squinted his eyes at the other man. What do you mean?
Well, mortals have to make plans. We work, plan for the future, try to build something to pass on, and do it with the certain knowledge that someday well be gone. But cultivators live so long, I always wondered if you plan that way.
Sen leaned back in his chair and gave the question some serious thought. Eventually, he shook his head.
I dont have a plan like that. That isnt to say I have no plans, but theyre different. I plan for advancing my cultivation. That can mean anything from finding a particular ingredient to securing the appropriate manual. But I cant say that Im planning in terms of building something to pass down.
So, no family? No great love?
Sen hesitated before he finally said, I have family, but probably not like yours. There are other cultivators that Im very close with, people that I trust with my life. As for love, Sen considered the few women hed been intimate with, no. Im not celibate, but theres no great love waiting to welcome me home.
The captain gave Sen a considering look. You should try it. I cant imagine youd have trouble finding someone who was willing.
Sen groaned a little. Oh, theres plenty who would be willing. The problem isnt them. Its me. Im too Sen cut off as something moved into the sphere of his spiritual sense. Damn it.
What? demanded the captain.
I knew this trip was going too well. You should join your men on the deck. Im pretty sure I have to go have a fight.
With who?
One of those giant sea beasts you mentioned earlier, said Sen.
The two men made their way up to the top deck of the ship, where the rest of the crew looked like they desperately wanted to panic. Sen walked over to the railing and stared out the water, his spiritual sense sweeping out and pinpointing the ocean-going spirit beast. Even at a distance, he could feel the beasts anger and desire to destroy. He didnt know what it was, having never felt anything like it before, but he decided to answer that aggression with aggression of his own. He lashed out at the beast with his own killing intent. Hed frightened off more than a few spirit beasts with it on the trip already. Still, he wasnt entirely surprised when it didnt work on this one. Sighing to himself, Sen summoned the heaven chasing spear from a storage ring. Hed been focused more on his jian recently, but he assumed that the spear would prove the better weapon against some massive sea creature. He gave the captain a look over his shoulder.
Ill try to drive it off or kill it.
Then, Sen hardened a qi platform beneath his feet and flew off the deck on a direct line with the massive beast. While the prospect of fighting a spirit beast didnt normally give Sen much pause, he felt nervous about fighting this one. He couldnt get a clear sense of its advancement, which was always a little unnerving. Beyond that, his spiritual sense was muted by all of the water. While he knew that the spirit beast was out there and that it was huge, he hadnt been able to glean a clear picture of what it actually was. Hed heard some strange stories from the captain about all of the fantastical beasts the man had seen. While those stories had ignited his imagination, they also tried to fill in for the total lack of information Sen had about what he was facing. That was not ideal because it might make him fall into a trap of wrong assumptions.
Not that it would change his mind about facing off with the beast. It was headed straight for the ship. He wasnt just going to turn aside and let it kill all of the people who were on board. He knew some cultivators would do just that, considering it little more than a mild inconvenience. After all, it was just mortals on the ship. What were their lives compared with the value of a heavens defying cultivator? Sen shoved that thought aside. Being angry with other cultivators wouldnt serve in the fight ahead. There was a part of him that still did the mental calculations, though. If everything went terribly wrong and he couldnt save the ship, he could get to shore on his own. Once he got there, he could travel by foot. With his qinggong technique, he could likely get to the cove faster than the ship would get him there.
Of course, he wasnt going to do any such thing. Unless the beast somehow managed to get past him, sink the ship, and kill every sailor aboard, he wasnt about to head for shore. He knew that it was entirely possible that this exact event would have happened even if he hadnt been on board. There was also a very real possibility that his presence had attracted the spirit beast. Even if he wasnt responsible for attracting the beast, he was certainly the only person who could fight it. While mortals could and did bring down spirit beasts from time to time, it usually took large numbers of them working together. Theyd have no chance with something as big as whatever was lurking under the water. With one last burst of speed, Sen closed the gap and the spirit beast rose to meet him with an explosion of water.
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