The Journey Forward | ONC 2023 Version

4. Mother

I peeped out the window curtain behind me as the heavy wooden carriage rumbled down the packed dirt road. The carriage was expensive enough that we didn't feel every bump in the road, but it was still good that all the benches lining three sides of the wagon had thick padding. Jing sat silently near the back, waiting to be helpful to either of us since Mei's servant, Xin, sat outside with the driver after revealing a distaste for enclosed spaces.

"Thank you for coming with me," I interrupted the silence as the woods surrounding us no longer attracted my attention. The Xiang family manor lay well outside the city, and the carriage had stopped having an exciting view a while ago. The city streets had been filled with the smells and sounds I had only imagined as I curled beside my mother, reading a textbook while she watched television. A pang of homesickness hit my throat, and it tightened momentarily.

"Oh, anything to get away from my overly attentive husband for a few days," Mei answered dismissively. "Since he embarrassed himself that day, he has been obnoxious in his affection." I caught a slight smile and wondered how far his display of loyalty had gone. What would happen if Yize produced the first heir? That almost seemed to be Bao's plan, or at least he wasn't opposed to it, given his lack of desire to produce a child on our wedding night and his immediate abandonment.

"What will you say if I don't join you on your return?"

"Oh, that's easy. Your husband is at the front, so you would want to be near your mother while you wait for his return. It is a normal thing."

Mei could have been a lawyer in my world or a businesswoman. She held such a quick and savvy brain. It was a shame that this world didn't understand the importance of fifty percent of its populace.

The wagon slowed, and I popped my head out the window beside me to see what was holding us up. We stopped in front of a large gate and two bulky guards pulling at the wooden doors to open them. My mind found names for the guards, but propriety did not let me wave at them. These men had helped raise Bai when her father had forgotten about her with the birth of his son and legitimate daughter. By the nature of her memories, I could tell Bai appreciated both men, and I smiled demurely at Lim as the wagon passed, and his broad smile in response warmed my heart.

A sense of foreboding pinched my spine when we entered the compound. For Bai, the house would have been fraught with conflicting emotions. And though I couldn't wait to meet this family of cultivators, I worried about our reception.

My thoughts floated back to my conversation with my keeper earlier that day. Angel spent much of the morning's bath detailing the different types of cultivators I would meet.

"First, there are the warriors. Though they will study and meditate, battle and swordplay are the main ways of achieving higher cultivation levels. Your husband is an example of this type of cultivator. He hones his body like a weapon and has developed his heart stone to at least a level of six."

I thought of the solid muscles that had met my playful hand at our only meeting and felt a flush of heat embrace my naked body before part of what she said struck me as strange.

"At least?"

"There are rumors that he has cultivated to a higher level but has not allowed an assessment. Bai would have known these rumors as her grandfather discussed them often with Wei Yize, who feared his brother suppressed his strength to enable Yize to catch up.

Yize is the second type of cultivator, a scholar. These read and meditate to achieve the next level of achievement. They are strong with their chosen weapon but not as finely honed as warriors." So we had brawn that could have brain and brain that could have brawn. It seemed almost an arbitrary distinction.