BOC AU: Elder But Younger Sister Chapter 5: Touring the City

uneditied.

“That is enough, my daughter.” Father’s gentle voice cut through Qingyi’s absolute concentration. She gasped, the fatigue she had been ignoring hitting her all at once. Her shoulders slumped, her breath coming in great heaves. She was absolutely drenched in sweat, her clothes damp and the stones around her speckled with perspiration.

 It had only been perhaps an hour, and she was already feeling such strain. Qingyi grimaced at her performance. How utterly abysmal! She could cultivate for longer than this when she was six! 

And yet, it was her first time cultivating since her meridians had been ripped out and replaced. That she could cultivate at all was a miracle in itself… and she had to accept that she was still healing no matter how good she felt right now.

“There was strain, but my Qi moved smoothly,” She reported instead, though she was sure her father had divined more of her cultivation than she had. “More smoothly than I remember. The feeling was different, but not unnatural. They are like fresh welds, but they feel solid.”

A hand pressed against her forehead, full of cool Qi, and she opened her eyes to see her father smiling at her. Not one of his fake, broken things, but the smiles she remembered when she had been a child. His eyes sparkled with good nature. 

“It is something to keep an eye on, but I could detect no leaks in your meridians. They are indeed holding well,” Her feather told her, joy in his voice. “We shall increase the strain on your system gradually, but from my observations… I believe you know too what I am speaking of.”

“They’re even better than my previous meridians,” Qingyi said, completing the thought. She would have been happy with reduced potential, if only to live to see her Father’s ascension. “But… what did it cost you, father?”

She asked the question that had been weighing on her mind. How much had cloning his own meridians hurt him?

She was brought into a hug.

“Worry not for your father. The things that were sacrificed were immaterial. I am slightly diminished, that is true,” His words hurt her heart. Three hundred years… and some of his own potential. “Yet that means nothing. What is some small amount of future potential, in the face of this renewal?”

He unveiled to her his Qi. She knew it well, the comforting power that was all that she wanted to be. The stunning, impossibly beautiful sword that was Shen Yu.

It had slowly withered to something cracked and rusted over the years. But now, it was burning. Burning more brightly than she remembered it. She could feel the Victory rolling off it.

The Unconquered Blade; The cultivation style that rewarded only the most difficult battles and punished harshly every defeat. A style considered a dangerous, reckless gamble at best, and an active detriment to any cultivator at worst.

To be a Sword was to cut, continuously, without stopping or deviating.

And to be a sword was to accept that stopping meant death. One day defeat would come. No person could win forever. Like a blade getting caught on a bone, so too would their cultivation snag, and stop.

If the defeat was severe enough… the blade could even shatter outright.

But when one completed an impossible task—when one defied the heavens, took on the greatest challenges they had ever faced and triumphed against impossible odds?

That is when the Unconquered Blade surpassed all others.

Her father’s cultivation considered saving her one of the greatest, hardest fought victories it had ever achieved.

It was a bittersweet thing.; to be the cause of both the rust and the polish. Qingyi could only feel fresh affection for her new brother. He had saved both her… and her father.

She stayed a moment, in her father’s embrace, savouring it, before pushing away, and rising.

“Lets freshen up, we promised brother we would meet him for a meal, and a tour of the city!” She demanded. She also needed to find out what Jin liked! A good sibling had that knowledge, and got their younger sibling fine gifts!

Her father chuckled. “Of course, my daughter, I would not dream of keeping us apart for any longer. Now, would you prefer a bath, or something more like a warm rain formation?”

Qingyi paused at the question. “You have a rain formation in here?” she asked, looking around the tiny manse.

“Something like it! Your brother’s hobby is crafting new wonders, though most of them are things that can be used by mortals. Still, this one is quite pleasing. He calls it a “shower”.”

Her father brought her to a set of two barrels; one containing a water crystal, that flowed into another barrel to be heated by a fire crystal. With the tug of a rope, the valve would open, and pour water into a hanging wooden item with many holes poked into it.

It was indeed a light “shower” of water! How interesting!

The warm, flowing water was pretty nice, but not as nice as a real bath. Still, it was faster, and that was good. She couldn’t just use her Qi to completely clean herself at the moment.

She put on another set of clothes when she was finished, again unfortunately unadorned and quite boring, but it did not matter! She and her father had a brother to find!

======================

Shen Yu set off towards Jin, his heart at wondrous peace; He could feel his son deep in the city, currently unmoving. The ward upon him was a beacon to Shen Yu, yet would be invisible to all others.

He decided to take the rooftops instead of flying directly—it gave Qingyu more time to stretch her legs.

She was quite pleased with the arrangement.

Shen Yu couldn’t help the amusement he felt at Qingyi’s enthusiasm. She bounded along the rooftops slightly behind him, her eyes roving all over the lower wards, while occasionally glancing to him to make sure she was heading in the right direction… but it wouldn’t have mattered if she wanted to veer off and investigate something. This was why they were taking things slowly, after all.

 She had never been down this far into the city before. The most of the city she had seen was an overview of it, looking down from the Cloudy Sword Sect. They had visited a few times; Qingyi would bounce little Kai Ge upon her knee while she listened to Shen Yu, Ge and Ran reminisce.

It had been a heartwarming scene. There had also been some talks of marriage between them… but that was in the past. Kai Ge had long been married, and had children of his own. Shen Yu knew little of Su Ge, only that she had required Brother Ge’s personal hand to temper.

“It's dirty!” Qingyi declared after a moment, her voice full of fascination. Shen Yu chuckled, but there was an ache in his heart. The towns of his domain had been spotless. The people had prided themselves on the upkeep of even the smallest of things. It was a far cry from the alleyways of Shen Yu’s youth, and he found it a fascinating mindset, to take such pride in even the flagstones one stood upon. “But it's also like it's alive. The new growth mixes with the old; a forest of stone and tile.”

She pointed to the old, worn buildings that stood next to the pristine new construction. It was an interesting parallel… and one Shen Yu had heard from another.

“Your brother is fond of calling it the Stone Jungle.”

“Eh? He beat me to it? I thought that was quite profound!” Qingyi pouted, her cheeks puffing out childishly. It was a truly beautiful sight, to see her so lively.

Shen Yu laughed, and adjusted their course slightly, heading deeper into the city, and towards Jin.

Their pace was slow, but pleasant, and soon enough they were nearly upon him… but something made Shen Yu pause. Jin was sitting in an alley, his back to a stong wall, and looking directly at a set of markings—

Shen Yu’s eyes widened. His arm gently caught his daughter, who had been about to repeat her first greeting to Jin—an assault from above.

“Hold. This is not a moment to intrude upon.” Shen Yu instructed. Qingyi heeded his words without a sound, remaining silent and simply watching with curiosity.

 After a moment, Jin suddenly went from sitting to on his knees. He placed a bottle of alcohol against the wall, and then pressed his forehead three times into the ground.

Then, he rose. Tall, strong, and determined, leaving the alleyway without looking back.

Shen Yu let him go.

“Father?” Qingyi asked.

Shen Yu did not answer, instead, he descended to the alley that Jin had just left. Qingyi was right behind him. Shen Yu dropped to one knee, his eyes locked on the markings in the wall.

“What is—” Qingyu began again, questioning… and then she seemed to realise what the markings were. She cut herself off, and took a knee herself, raising her hands in front of her in the gesture of respect.

“Shen Qingyi pays her respects to the honoured dead.” She whispered.

His daughter, who he had always taught to stand tall and proud, lowered herself without hesitation before Jin’s parents; before mortals.

Shen Yu felt a pang in his heart. For so long, he had wondered where he had gone wrong with Bu; how had he ruined his son. Had it been his teachings? Had he been too indulgent?

And yet Qingyi had been raised the same way, with only exceptions for the fact that she was a woman. Bu would have never lowered himself.. Or if he had, it would have been something sarcastic. That he had to do, rather than he wanted to. 

Qingyi bowed without resentment, giving proper due to the honoured dead. It was no act. She meant it.

What was it? Why were they so different, when they had been raised the same?

It was a question that he had no answer for, but he pushed the thought away. To focus on anything but the names before him was disrespectful. He reached out, his fingers ghosting along the childish scrawl.

“Jin Shi. Ju Fuhua. The only words your son spoke of you were of praise. Of his honored parents, who instilled in him the wisdom to learn, and the dedication to work hard. Truly, you raised a magnificent son.” He whispered. “You have this Shen Yu’s eternal gratitude. Rest easily; for I will do all in my power to take care of him. And though he is now my son, you shall always be his mother and his father.”

He would have to speak with Jin about this eventually; he would ask his son if he wished for his parents' names to be moved to something more worthy of them.

But that would come later. When Jin felt comfortable enough to bring them here.

Until that time—Shen Yu crafted a warding formation. Any attempt to harm those names would not be tolerated. He would purchase the surrounding buildings, and ensure that this place remained undisturbed.

They left the alleyway, and went back into the city.

================================

Qingyi felt the solemn mood lift as they once more found her brother. However, again instead of greeting him immediately, they once more paused and watched—because her brother was currently very busy.

There was debris strewn around him. A building was partially collapsed, its scaffolding broken. There was blood splattered on the ground.

Jin was surrounded by a ring of people in the middle of the street.every mortal present had their eyes fixed upon him. His hands were pressed against a man’s chest.  His face screwed up in concentration. The man laying before Jin was deathly pale; his ribs crushed; Three other men were laying beside the one that Jin was working on, though they were all whole with no visible injuries. They too watched on as her brother worked, some of them being propped up by others so they could see.

Jin’s hands moved with unerring precision around the man’s body, light taps aligning shards of bone, and strands of green reaching inside the man’s body for further manipulation. He paused for a moment, his eyes still closed. Then, he took a deep breath… and the other man’s chest suddenly reinflated, the ribcage swelling back to its proper size.

There was a breath of silence, and then two. The world seemed to hold its breath.

The man, who had been lying unconscious, suddenly gasped. Then, he began to raggedly cough.

Finally, his bleary, bewildered eyes opened.

“Master Medical Saint…?” he whispered, his eyes full of wonder.

The crowd of mortals around her brother erupted into roars and cheers as Jin sat back on his haunches, breathing out. He clasped the man on the shoulder, and nodded.

“You wish to know your brother, Qingyi. Here, look upon what is his, and know his measure.” Her father said. He looked on with pride.

Jin held his hand out, and the man who had just had his ribs healed grabbed it. Jin brought the mortal to his feet, carrying the man to stand beside him.

The man looked back at Jin like how the people of the Shen Compound had looked at her father. Looked at her.

All of the mortals were. There was adoration in their eyes. Devotion. Jin… was loved by these people.

Not through his father’s name, but through his own actions.

Qingyi once more felt a vindictive smirk come to her face. Ah, how Bu would have hated Jin.

A man who came from the streets, with no grand bloodline was his superior even in the eyes of mortals.

Though… some of the mortals were being a bit too devoted. Qingyi felt her face flush. A woman showing a scandalous amount of her cleavage leaned on her brother and walked her fingers up his arm. Another made a lurid comment that made Qingyi recoil. A third outright propositioned him!

“Why is he tolerating such… crude, crass women?” she demanded. Both Mother and Auntie Minyan had told her to be careful of such women, that they were the bane of men!

Her father just laughed.

“They’re crude. They’re crass. They can be petty and vindictive shrews, and the worst sort of people. They can also be kind, insightful, loyal, and impossibly brave. Women like them took care of your brother when he had nothing. They took care of me, when I had nothing.”

Qingyi felt some of her ire fade.

“Though I don't know why he's denying them. A man should have such experiences! They would treat him very well. I might arrange a party—”

“Father!” Qingyi scolded, scandalized. She had never heard him speak this way before! This crudeness was a new side to her father that she had never really seen before.

It was mortifying, and kind of amusing in equal measure.

Her brother would not lie with random women, right?! He didn’t look uncomfortable around the women, but there wasn’t any real lust in his eyes either…

She went down to rescue him, the sound of her father’s laughter following her down.

“Brother!” she called, landing in the streets. She easily moved through the crowd, which seemed to try and close around her brother, instead of opening to let her through. The mortals looked rather shocked and annoyed as she slipped past them, while some almost looked panicked when she grabbed Jin’s arm, and glared at the woman who was holding onto the other one. The courtesan’s eyes locked onto Qingyi, and she felt the sheer hostility from the mortal, mixed with fear. Her muscles tensed, like she was about to throw herself in front of Qingyi. Every part of her was angled to interpose herself—

Ah, the mortals were all afraid. Not for themselves, but that Qingyi was about to do something untoward.

The woman before her was fully prepared to use her body as a shield for Qingyi’s brother.

…okay, this one was not so bad.

“Oh, hey Qingyi.” Jin said, looking down at her. The crowd froze.

“Master Medical Saint… you have a sister?” one of the mortals cautiously asked.

“Yup. This is my little sister.” He declared to the entire crowd, a small smirk on his face. He pulled his arm out of Qingyi’s grip and pulled it around her neck. He poked her cheek with his finger.

A vein pulsed in her forehead… but in the presence of so many mortals, she could not break decorum… even if his finger was close enough for her to bite.

His finger continued its brazen assault. 

It was very, very tempting. Instead, she settled for elbowing him in the stomach. It was like hitting a barrier technique, but Jin obligingly let out a breath and doubled over.

“Gah!” Jin yelped. “You do that and I’ll keep calling you little!” He was glaring, but she could see him holding back laughter.

All at once the tension of the mortals faded. There were breaths of relief. The mortal woman on his other arm studied her intently. Her eyes darted between Qingyi and Jin… and then where she was holding.

A smile spread across her face. She let go of Jin’s arm and stepped back, recognising that she was indeed being too forward!

“Ah, your sister is a true beauty, Little Doctor.” she said. “Very cute.”

Jin rolled his eyes. “Well, if there's nothing else, I did promise to show her around the city.”

“No, Master Medical Saint.” Another one of the mortals said, bowing politely. “We can handle everything else from here.”

“Be safe then, everyone.” Jin said. They returned to the rooftops, where father awaited them. His smile was wide and amused. 

“Let us go! The entire city awaits!” Father declared grandly.

===================

It was a truly wonderful day; they wandered the city for hours, going to all manner of places Qingyi had never been before, and many her brother had never been to either.

From the bottom of the city to the top they ventured, having their meal on top of the Crimson Crucible itself so they could see the entire town.

Next, thankfully, they went to one of the best tailors in the city; father would have nothing less. They were used to serving cultivators, and really were masters of their craft. Qingyi saw a design that she liked, and purchased it.. As well as another thing, when her brother was not looking. There were a few alterations the staff had to do, and she was told that it would be ready by the end of the day.

From there, they went to a tiny, back alley distillery, where the man knew father by name, and handed over some truly foul smelling, and foul tasting drink. Qingyi goaded Jin into trying some with her.

Father laughed at them both when they spat it out.

They saw the Hall of Heroes, where the noble martyrs of the city were interred.

They saw orchards of peach trees, boxes of bees stacked nearly against the far wall. 

They went to the docks, so full of hustle and bustle, where many men greeted her brother, telling him they had new wares that he just had to see; seeds of strange plants, dried medicinal herbs from ten thousand Li away, Pouches full of spices, bolts of fine silk, and exotic wood were presented to him; Some he bought, some he did not, but the traders were immensely pleased to do business with him.

It was very enjoyable, looking at all the things she had never seen before, wandering up and down the docks, while Jin took care of buying something.

From there, they went to see the places that the mortals kept for her brother.

They went to a fenced plot of land that was steep and halfway up the mountain, where bees buzzed, and plants were grown.

They went to a place within the inner walls, and guarded quite heavily—where vast copper vats with pipes coming off them sat like great beasts, and from them poured a clear, harsh smelling alcohol.

In another building, more vast kettles cooked oil and lye by the barrel full, producing massive quantities of soap.

There was even a wash house, where women hand cranked levers that were stuck into barrels. Paddles attached to the hand cranks beat at the clothes and bandages that were submerged within heated soapy water, and came out clean. Qingyi remembered watching the mortals at home wash their clothes once—it was an involved process that took most of the day. This, according to Jin, took perhaps half of an hour.

Finally, they arrived at his clinic; soft gold was its name, and it was a bustling place, with many coming in to receive treatment. Jin showed her the formations that were carefully drawn onto parchment, where they were then used to look at the insides of people. One of the mortals used the artifact, scanning it around Qingyi’s body. 

Qingyi was actually starting to get tired by the end of it. She had strained herself.. But she did need to complete one last thing.

They returned to the tailors, and they were brought to a private part of the store, where there was a sitting room, as well as a changing room, and then the tailors retreated. Qingyi changed out of her simple robe, and into something more like her mother, or Auntie Minyan were when they were her age; a wonderful looking dress and an overcoat. It was inspired by her fathers colours, and was much more comfortable.

The second part of her order was also complete; it was delivered to the waiting room.

“Brother. I got you something.” she said. Well, father’s money had got him something, but Qingyi was the one who had found it!

Her brother raised an eyebrow as she handed him her present.

It was a coat that looked very similar to the one she remembered father wearing in one of the recording crystals she had seen of him.

“I am assured it is very durable, easy to clean, and has pockets within!” She said. She bit her lip. She hoped he liked it. She did not want to give him gifts that were not genuine.

“Thank you, Qingyi.” he said, after a moment of staring at it. He took it from her, and put it on.  “Hey, this is comfy.” He said, admiring the new coat. Even with his simpler under robes, he cut a sharp figure.

Qingyi beamed, and stepped up beside him.

“Oh, your eye is as good as ever, daughter.” Father complimented, rubbing his chin. “I’ll have to get a coat of my own again!”

“So all three of us can match, huh? I don't mind it.” Jin said, still admiring his coat for a moment, before he reached into a pocket in his inner robe, and brought out a fine lacquered box.

“I also got you something, while we were down at the docks. I asked pops what kind of thing you liked, and, well… I hope I hit the mark.”

Qingyi felt her heart beat faster. She took the lacquered case, and opened it, revealing a pair of beautiful earrings. They were long and thin; ,and though they were primarily dark, almost black, a thousand colours sparkled in the light when they moved, touched by a pearlescent sheen.

“Made of the Heart Pearl of a Commandary Clam.” he told her. “They said it took a hundred ships to bring the thing up from the reef. They weren’t gonna sell it to me at first, but I convinced them.”

“Thank you.” Qingyi whispered, her heart in her throat.

It truly had been a wonderful day.

===================================

Xiao Ge of the Cloudy Sword Sect frowned heavily, staring at the resources in his hands.

“No, none of these are any good either.” he muttered. He let them go back into his storage ring, then leaned back and sighed.

Ge was tired, so tired of this task, and yet he knew it wore more heavily on another. Until his brother stopped… then Xiao Ge would continue. Even if it took a thousand years.

He sighed again.. And then paused as he felt something approaching. Something searching for him, broadcasting a Qi signature that he knew intimately. He latched onto the feeling, and the blade, so high above, immediately turned and descended toward him. One of Shen Yu’s swords. A small thing, inscribed with a message.

Xiao Ge almost hesitated. A pit of dread formed in his stomach. Shen Yu would not use this method of communication unless it was urgent.

And urgent… was not something Xiao Ge enjoyed.

He took a breath, and read what was inscribed upon the blade.

“To my Brother Xiao Ge.

It is done. She is cured.”

His eyes widened.

He was upon his flying sword the next moment, making best speed back to Crimson Crucible City.