Heaven's Golden Finger - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

While Shun Shixiong set to work suppressing his demonic blood again, Shirong examined their surroundings more carefully. The sky was intensely blue, the grass intensely green. And the water was clear and bright, reflecting the cloudless sky.
Going over old Shirong's memories, he thought he had an idea what this place was. Strong cultivators with broad enough bases could create a small world inside themselves. One where they could flee if they were in danger. One where they could cultivate in private.
Shirong shouldn't have been able to create such a space at his level of cultivation. Except this didn't feel like his space. Or, rather, it didn't feel like just his space. He gazed out at the water, cautiously touching it and confirming it was hot. Not painfully so, but enough to remind Shirong of a Japanese onsen. He'd consider soaking in it later and found himself flushing at the thought of doing so with Shun Shixiong.
Really, he was going to have to work on controlling those ideas. But it was so hard, because the longer he spent time with Shu Shun, the fonder he grew towards him. The more he came to respect him. Shun Shixiong had known he was a half-demon for years. Had been despised for his bloodline by his teachers. And he'd still managed to turn into a decent person. Short-tempered, yes, but with reason. Suffering fools gladly just wasn't a thing Shun Shixiong did.
This not being the time or place to focus on such thoughts, Shirong returned his attention to the lake. Why was it here at all? He could understand the green grass. The blue sky. The great tree. All three were related to his bases. He didn't understand the lake or its strangely warm water.
Oh, but wait. That was it. And it'd explain how this place had formed even though Shirong wasn't strong enough yet to create it by himself. The answer was he hadn't. Somehow Shu Shun and he had combined their cultivation to build this intensely beautiful place.
And now Shirong really was blushing at the thought the knowledge created. Creating this sort of existence didn't require an emotional connection between the participants but it did require trust. He trusted Shun Shixiong, absolutely, completely and entirely. He wasn't sure how Shun could trust him but this place made it obvious he did.
He could only hope to earn the accolade properly.
Once Shun Shixiong had done whatever it was he needed to to hide his crest, he came to find Shirong going through an exercise from his old life. "Good to see you practicing."
From the way he said it, he'd had to bite back the words, 'for once'. Shirong didn't know why, but the realization sent a sharp surge of shame through him. His predecessor would have earned such spite because once he'd learned he was the Chosen One, he'd become less and less interested in putting effort into his training. What a pathetic person old Shirong had been.
"Of course, I have no idea what it is your doing and you may want to work on proper Leifeng Sect exercises," Shun Shixiong added.
Now Shirong did flush. "Sorry. Tai Chi just felt right, in here."
"That's Tai Chi? It didn't look anything like." Shun Shixiong paused. Smiled almost ruefully. "But it wouldn't. Nice to know some things made it over into your world, though."
Shifting his stance so he could do the exercises he was supposed to practice, Shirong let Shun check his position and began moving through the pattern. "Do you know what this place is?"
"Mmm. I have an idea. And the fact that my elements are involved as well as yours is significant." Shun Shixiong eyed him. "Don't get any ideas about dual cultivation, though. You're still a child."
Shirong didn't feel like a child and he resented the implication that he couldn't make emotional decisions because he lacked a few months. He wanted to protest, to catch hold of Shun Shixiong's hand and. And. And not do anything because he knew better. He didn't know what the future held for them and until they worked it out he didn't dare press his luck.
One day, he promised himself. One day he would dare far more than he had so far. Until then, he was the obedient Shidi, learning from his Shixiong and practicing his cultivation. He stepped through the pattern of Lei Feng sect's morning exercise, feeling more like he was learning to dance than fight.
It took several repetitions before Shun Shixiong decided he'd done it enough. "Now, given this really is our Spirit Spaces joined together, we should be able to return to the physical world together." He was about to say more when Shirong felt the ground shake.
Shun Shixiong looked around and they both stared at the sky. The blue brilliance remained unchanged, but there seemed to be faint flickers of lightning in the far distance. "Not good."
"What's going on?"
"I've never had a spiritual space before, but that looks like we're being attacked. My Movement's trying to defend us."
Movement? When had Shun Shixiong acquired a Movement? Oh, but wait, Shirong remembered now. It'd happened just as they'd escaped that dragon. He didn't understand a great deal about how Leifeng cultivation worked, but he vaguely remembered that Shun Shixiong had been close to consolidating his element and Attribute to the next stage in their cultivation.
"Lightning Strikes?" It had to be, based on what Shirong saw flaring at the edges of his space.
"And metal element." Shun Shixiong actually flushed. "It all happened too fast. I haven't had a chance to properly ground myself."
That meant the new element was a great deal weaker than it ought to be. It also meant Shun Shixiong himself was weaker than he ought to be. "We should get out of here, then. Before whatever it is breaks in." It could be that dragon again and Shirong didn't think either of them were ready to face whatever it was.
"Agreed." Shun Shixiong grasped his hands suddenly, startling Shirong. "What is it?"
"Nothing. I'm fine." Shirong didn't want to admit just how strong a reaction he had to the gesture. Didn't want to embarrass himself or his Shixiong. "What do we do?"
"I'm going to pull us back to where I was when we started this mess. You never got there, so you don't know what it looks like. All you have to do is hold on and let me do all the work."
Then, as the sky above them cracked and something howled from the darkness beyond, Shun tugged them back into the physical world, dropping them straight into the laps of a dozen or so angry guards.
"Thieves! How dare you come back?"
If they hadn't cooperated, they still would have been dragged straight to the lower levels of the auction house. Shirong was tempted to fight even so, but his Shixiong quelled him with one sharp look. Only when they were shoved into a dungeon-like room, surrounded by the auction house guards and faced with Qiong Lou, did Shun Shixiong show any signs of distress.
Automatically, because this was their sect's master, after all, the two of them dropped to their knees and bowed. "Sect Master Qiong," Shun Shixiong said calmly. "We greet you."
"A fine mess you've created, boy. Dragging your innocent Shidi across the countryside, convincing him to play foolish games in a battle-house, wandering off to an auction and stealing its prized treasure."
Shirong opened his mouth to object but Shun Shixiong's slight shake of his head stopped him. Voice shaking slightly, now, Shun Shixiong murmured, "Master Qiong, this disciple is guilty of the first two, perhaps, but denies the last. We have stolen nothing."
One of the guards scoffed. "You disappeared as soon as you arrived and within an hour, the Flame Lotus disappeared as well! Where is it, scoundrel?"
Keeping his eyes on Master Qiong, Shu Shun told their sect master, "The Flame Lotus adds the fire element to its user's bases. Shirong Shidi is a prodigy, gifted with two Attributes and an element. His bases are barely settled and nowhere near ready for him to attempt to claim another element. Moreover, his element is wood. For him to absorb a fire element without another to suppress it would destroy his cultivation."
"That wouldn't stop you from using it!" the guard snapped and Shirong glared at him furiously. Something in his expression must have startled the man, because he backed off suddenly.
"My bases are Lake and fire, Master Qiong. What possible use would I have for something like the Flame Lotus?"
A sad, pitying, look crossed the old man's face. One Shirong yearned to wipe off with a swift punch. How could old Shirong failed to notice just how false his raiser's expressions were. How could he have missed the glimmer of some uglier emotion in their depths, especially when he spoke to Shu Shun?
Gently, mock gently, Master Qiong told Shun Shixiong, "A cultivator with the flame element, like yourself, could use the Flame Lotus to increase your fire element, pushing it to become an attribute. And you cannot fool your Sect Master, boy. I sense your power has increased and changed since you left Lei Feng. Do you still claim you've no use for the Flame Lotus?"
Shirong blinked. Once again yearned to interrupt. The Sect Master was right that Shun Shixiong's bases had changed. But it'd been the older boy's desperate attempt to save them from their attacker that'd forced him to increase his cultivation, not that Flame Lotus device. Once again he held his tongue, knowing he could only make things worse.
Still, desperate to protect Shun Shixiong and not knowing how, he chanted under his breath, "Heaven and Earth my witness, our fates are one." Lacking knowledge and position, it was all he had.
An odd feeling washed over Shirong. Warm, gentle and grateful. Shun Shixiong's thoughts, telling him to be brave. That it'd be all right. Somehow. Then Shu Shun said quietly, "The two of us were under attack. I was but one step from achieving my first Movement. I forced my cultivation past the bottleneck to save us." He took a deep breath. Smiled serenely at their Sect Master, though he surely knew what was coming. "I learned the Lightning Strikes Movement and gained the metal element."
"Demon child, you expect me to believe that?"
"It doesn't matter whether or not you do, Master Qiong. It's the truth."
Another voice spoke from the doorway. A woman's voice, sharp and self-composed. "If it is true, it can be tested. Master Qiong, will you allow me take him for that purpose?"
Shirong snuck a peek at the newcomer. A seemingly young woman, something about her suggested great age and cultivation. His predecessor's memory identified her immediately. Feng Xi, the wife of the Revered Predecessor and creator of the Flame Lotus itself.
Master Qiong scoffed. "Craft Master Feng, I appreciate your offer but this is an internal matter. Your husband Zhan Kui might have some say in this, but I cannot allow an outsider to interfere." He bent over, grabbed Shu Shun by the elbow and dragged him to his feet. With a shove, he pushed the boy into the waiting arms of the mouthy guard. "Take him to your dungeon. I shall deal with him as I promised your mistress."
He turned to look disapprovingly at Shirong. "After I've discussed matters with my adopted son, here."