Beware Of Chicken

Chapter v8c3: Herald of the Earth

Ulagan Baatar, Patriarch of the Grand Ravine Sect, sat in peaceful repose upon the sect compound’s porch. Before him the training grounds stretched out, where the next generation of his people learned. It belonged to the youngest children today. They were going through forms or sparring with their fellows. Though the sparring inevitably dissolved into games and the forms into randomly flailing arms and legs as the children got tired.

Baatar smiled. He sipped his butter tea and looked around at the gleaming compound, everything freshly cleaned and prepared for their impending visitors.

The compound was somewhat of a compromise in location. It was here where the various tribes, clans, and families gathered in the distant past, to present the united front that was “The Grand Ravine Sect” to the outside world.

The defensive pact was made in darker times, when the survival of their people was at stake. When war was conducted openly, and the blood of their kinsmen and invaders both watered the Ravine in great torrents.

There the various tribes of the Ravine had sworn to set aside all differences and forget all enmity, in order to craft something that had lasted for thousands of years and had seen them through every crisis the children of Tianlan had faced.

It was one of the reasons why he had been comfortable declaring the same to the rest of the Azure Hills when Cai Xiulan had proposed the Azure Alliance. Blood feuds had been set aside once before in their history, and they had succeeded under the guidance of the Voice of the Earth.

With the Earth speaking once more, and so clearly… the path forward had been revealed. All who listened and allowed themselves to be brought onto the correct path, would prosper. Those who failed to heed the Earth would wither and fall, like rice planted in desolate soil.

In the time since their oath, obvious to all who had eyes and could see this fact, the children grew like climbing vines up the Ravine. Bottlenecks were finally broken, some of them having been stuck for nearly a century. Old places of power once more revealed themselves, allowing the children of Tianlan to once more see their ancestors’ wisdom and partake of the power they had left behind.

And who had they to thank for this glorious revival? As foretold by the Ancestors, the Earth awakened thanks to her Herald. They would be friend to all, and in their coming, all would be made whole again.

At first, they had been unsure if what had been foretold had indeed come to pass. Then they had been unsure if the Herald was Cai Xiulan or Master Rou.

But at the Dueling Peaks, Baatar had seen both… and he was sure. Cai Xiulan had some connection to the Earth, true. She was a mighty champion, chosen for some great destiny, but it was Master Rou who truly spoke with the Earth’s voice.

And now, he was coming to visit their Grand Ravine. Some of Baatar’s people, of course, were still unconvinced. Some still needed more proof, particularly those yet to meet Master Rou. Others were worried about their futures, with Master Rou being so clearly an Imperial, even if at least two of his disciples were kin to their northern cousins.

Baatar turned his gaze again to the children, who had abandoned any sense that they were supposed to be training. They were laughing and playing tag, their voices carefree and their hearts at peace.

He rather wished that his kinsmen could be more like these children.

Every Elder and Clan head was with Baatar on the porch or just inside the compound. Each and every one of them was tense like a strung bow, their unease palpable, waiting for the next report.

“You all need to learn greater patience,” Baatar scolded, breaking the quiet. “The hunter asks not when the herds come, nor the farmer asks when his crop is ready. It is ready when it is. It is the same with cultivators like Master Rou. He will arrive when he is ready.”

Several faces flushed. There were a few murmurs as the most powerful members of the Grand Ravine Sect accepted their chastisement… but most were still on edge.

Ah, how amusing were the youth?

And then, as if to underscore Baatar’s point, a messenger arrived, sinking to one knee before Baatar. “Reporting,” the messenger, Suld, declared. Everyone tensed, but Baatar knew it was nothing urgent.

“Excellent work. Come, have some refreshment before your report,” Baatar said with a smile… and driving home the point he was making. The others forced themselves to relax.

“Ah, thank you, Patriarch,” Suld said, accepting the tea his granddaughter, Sarnai, poured for him. She would normally be assisting the Grand Marshal at the Dueling Peaks, but she had been given leave to return for Master Rou’s visit.

After a few sips of tea, Suld was ready for his report. “Master Rou keeps his mild temperament. He allows us to observe his movements, and makes no move to dissuade us. We have confirmed the members of Master Rou’s party. Our cousins, the Xong Brothers, attend to him along with their spouses, Sect Master Liu Xianghua and Lady Cao Biyu; they are further joined by Fa Bi De and Hong Ri Zu.”

There were approving murmurs.

“He facilitates conversation between us and our cousins. That is good,” somebody said.

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It was good. Especially when their cousins suddenly had at least two cultivators, who were in contention for “strongest cultivators in the province”, fall out of the sky and join them. Su Suyan and Xue Ji wore the colours of the north… and had mentioned having family in the south.

Things were quite interesting. Some would probably say he might be taking things too easily, but what could a man do, realistically, when the Earth moved? More powerful cultivators than they had lost against the whims of nature many a time. It was best to ride these upheavals out and adapt with them.

“Do you have a time for his arrival?” one of the still-impatient ones asked.

“We had a preliminary one… but we no longer think it is accurate,” Suld paused. He seemed uncomfortable, but continued. “He suddenly took a detour, and…”

All attention was on the man.

“And?” someone else prompted.

“We.. he… he is headed to Altan’s Outlook.”

At those words every murmur was silenced. Altan’s Outlook held a special place in the hearts of every true child of the Ravine. It was recorded that Honoured Ancestor Altan once said that that location was one that he enjoyed seeing with his dear friends, and that it had the best view of the Ravine. They strived to keep it as untouched as possible, so that all could see their home as their Ancestors did.

“You are certain?”

“Yes. He deliberately changed directions and is heading directly toward it.”

“Was he told?” someone else asked.

“No. Nobody mentioned it. No one from the Grand Ravine Sect has approached him, per our instructions. He just turned and headed directly towards the location. He's taking the right path, too, instead of the one that looks easier, but leads to a dead end… like he already knew it was there,” Suld reported.

Once more, there was silence.

And then Baatar laughed.

“Why are you so surprised the Earth’s Herald knows our land as if he was born here, walking in the footsteps of our Honoured Ancestors?” he demanded. “Were such things not made clear to us?”

He was met with silence.

“Master Rou is experiencing our home as it is meant to be experienced, witnessing the majesty of our Ravine from a spot Altan himself loved. This is a good thing. He shall be there for several hours hence; so let us adjourn this meeting and reconvene tomorrow. That is when he shall arrive.”

Baatar’s words were heeded and the Elders dispersed. Baatar himself turned back to watching the young ones. They were all gathered around one child, who was spinning a fanciful tale.

Baatar waited, his heart utterly calm.

And the next day, his prediction was met, for a dragon rose over the Grand Ravine, noble Lord Wa Shi, bringing word of his Master.

===

It was a little nerve wracking not to have the Lord Magistrate present to have one last conversation with before we stepped out of the carriage, but it was what it was.

Washy had reported back, and with that report came, thankfully, a warning.

A warning that there were a lot of people waiting for them.

As we got closer, Meimei’s nose started wrinkling as she scented the air, along with Zhuye.

“Huh. That's a lot of cultivators,” she said.

We stepped out of the carriage… And saw that, if anything, Washy was understating things. Our meeting point was a large town just on the edge of the Ravine, though calling it a town was false. It wasn’t a town, it was a fortress.

Geometric designs were carved into its walls, clean and well cared for… but there were small signs of damage. Anything big or compromising had been repaired, but this was a wall that had been tested.

It had a large gate, directly in its center, but the gate was unbarred and wide open.

On the field and around the town there had to be a hundred thousand people there to meet us. They came bedecked in colourful clothes and bore a riot of flags, a thousand colours fluttering on strings in the breeze—but one colour was most prominent.

Sky blue.

The field was covered in people, but it was rather orderly, with what were obviously civilians standing behind the lines of Grand Ravine cultivators. All of them were dressed similarly, with bandanas pulled low so they cast their eyes in shadow, and one half of their outer robes pulled down to their waist. It left half their body bare, with the women only having chest bindings, and it exposed the tattoos that went up their arms.

Some merely inked their hands, others had full sleeves, and some people’s tattoos that went all the way up onto their faces. There were a thousand different styles, but they had enough commonalities to see they had descended from a similar style.

Xiulan had said how big the Grand Ravine Sect was, but this was less that we were meeting the sect, and more that we were meeting the entirety of the Ravine Tribes… who had turned out to have far, far more people than the rest of the sects had previously realised.

The people closest to us were Baatar, and what had to be the rest of the Elders. They stepped forward.

“Master Rou, welcome to the Grand Ravine,” the man said, clasping his hands and bowing, along with the rest of them. But when I was about to bow back, Tianlan interrupted.

‘Take another step forward and hold your arms out, almost like you’re asking for a hug,’ she said in my mind, and I obeyed, trusting her. ‘It’s how you say hello in the Ravine!’

There were several sharp intakes of breath as I stepped forward and Baatar’s eyes widened, before a wide smile overtook his face.

He ceased his bow and stepped forward as well, taking my arms, his hands resting on my elbows.

“Amar mend üü?” I asked, repeating the words Tianlan told me. It meant something like “Are you well and peaceful?”

The old man’s hands shook for a moment, before he managed a nod.

“He knows the old ways!” someone whispered.

“Yes. Yes, we are well and peaceful, Herald of the Earth,” Baatar said, his smile full of... vindication?

I barely managed to keep my composure when he called me that. That was really on the nose.

“I am glad. I come to you under the old sky-blue banner, to see the sons and daughters of Chengis Altan—and see the beauty of the Grand Ravine,” I said, this part more rehearsed.

“And it shall be so. We greet you as friends. Let the blue sky shine over all of your endeavours—and may the Earth guide your path.” At that he released my arms and turned to the crowd. He raised one arm to the air. “My brothers and sisters! Let us welcome our friend! Uukhai!”

“Uukhai! Uukhai! Uukhai, Tianlan!” came the near-deafening roar. Horns blew, while hawks and condors screeched.

Like back at the Dueling Peaks, it was nearly overwhelming… and we started forward, through the gates, and down the slope into the Grand Ravine.

“Tianlan?” I asked. “Did you just make me Mua’dib myself?” I asked her.

“Mua—what?” she asked… and then I put down exactly what that meant to her. She paused. “Uh… I don’t think so?” she ventured… though she didn’t sound entirely sure. “In my defense, that's not some mystical old way stuff! Lots of people did it back when Altan was around! I saw people doing it in Pale Moon Mine! It's fine. It's fine! There's not gonna be any holy wars—probably.”

Probably?!