Beware Of Chicken-Novel

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“An’ that's the big still Elder Hong was talkin’ about!” Yun Ren declared, as another image formed. The crowd obligingly ‘ooh’d’ at the sight. What had started off as a little gathering to see the guy off for his trip up north had quickly gone village-wide once he busted out the light show.

I flipped one of the burgers, and inhaled happily. Smashed flat, as it should be, on a slab of iron. Off to the side, the sausages were cooking away, and would be done soon.

So we were having a regular old send-off. I’d do better, slow-cooked meats later. For now, I was going with the burger option. Sesame seed-topped potato rolls? Check. Meat from the town? Check. Cheese from Yun Ren’s relative, who had come to pick him up and guide him to where he was supposed to go?

Nice enough bloke, all laughs like Yun Ren until he saw the animals helping build the fire pit, or the fish bouncing after the gaggle of children. He went from happy to confused, and had to sit down.

An image of Yun Ren’s arm around Washy’s neck popped up, selfie style. A fox-faced boy and a dragon grinned at the camera.

The dude just seemed to give up. Hu Li patted his arm affectionately.

I scraped the rest of the burgers off the makeshift grill, and transferred them to buns. The ty of them was a big hit. The only bread around here was the steamed kind, instead of the stuff I was more used to.

I couldn’t wait until I got a nice, crusty loaf going. Or maybe some baguette? Well, I was going to be using my own flour for those, and the wheat was only a few months away.

“And then this one is—” Yun Ren suddenly cut himself off, as another picture popped up. He seemed a bit surprised, like he hadn’t meant to pull that one up.

It was a rather cute girl with wide, expressive eyes. She looked a bit lost and owl-ish, with fluffy hair that stuck up like a bird’s nest. She had a slight flush to her cheeks, and a small smile.

“Oh?” Meimei asked, interested. Hu Li’s eyes gleamed.

Yun Ren coughed and brought the crystal frantically up, as the images cut out.

Yun Ren fled from his mother and Meiling, but not before swiping some food.

I sighed and shook my head, starting to hand out the burgers and much-better-than-hotdog hotdogs. Some to Gou Ren, who was just looking amused by his brother being accosted about “Biyu”, with a smirk on his face.

Xiulan, who had been grabbed by little Xian, and the small girl who had made friends with her the first time, was once more bedecked in flower crowns.

Pops got a burger, as he talked with Peppa and Rizzo about mushrooms and finances.

Tigger appeared briefly to spirit away a snack for herself. She still didn’t seem to like hanging out in the village too much.

Finally, I got to Chunky and Washy, settling down beside them to eat my fill.

The carp took a bite. His eyes widened. His pupils dilated.

He leapt into the air, and in a bright flash, a dragon roared his triumph, spiraling around the town and writhing with glee.

Chunky stared for a brief moment at his own meal.

“…If you don’t want to eat it, I’ll grab some more veggies for you,” I whispered.

The boar shook his head. Instead, he bowed respectfully to the meal. He let out a pleased grunt at the taste.

I sat beside my chunky boy as Washy shot to the grill, slapping another burger onto it, and bouncing up and down.

“They’re pretty good steamed, or baked too. Different flavours, for different thicknesses,” I called, and Washy looked like he had died and gone to heaven.

Silly creature. But still, better a gourmand, than some sort of rampaging beast. I was rather glad he was so chill.

I sighed and leaned back happily against my boy. Hopefully, Yun Ren would get some cool pictures of the north.

I closed my eyes, as I savoured the moment.

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Ri Zu nodded her head. It was still rather a strange experience, to drink tea, and have Tigu be calm, but there they were. She was even a good student. A fast learner who needed little coaching once given a task.

It was a bit annoying, but at least she no longer felt like she needed to watch her back with the cat around.

It was a rather strange revelation.

They sat, and drank tea, to the sounds of Ri Zu’s Master and Pi Pa working on something together.

There were more shouts, as Disciple Gou Ren and the Great Master did something foolish on the training poles, and another great splash of water erupted.

There was some regret. Some regret that she did not follow Bi De into the wider world, but what was done was done. She likely would have been a liability, weak as she was, and she had her duties here.

That, and the outside still held fear for her. She remembered the hasty run from the ones that had slaughtered so many of them, and taken their homes. The terror of the flight here.

But she should not be. She would not be. Her fear had caused her to give up some time with Bi De. Next time… Next time for sure. She would see the world, without fearing the sky, or what Chow Ji would do to her if he found her spark.

Ri Zu snorted at the arrogance, and the slight smirk on Tigu’s face.

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A pair of arms wrapped around Xiulan’s neck, a slender body pressed against her back, and a chin rested on her shoulder.

“So, what's going on here~?” Senior Sister asked, curious. Junior Brother flushed, as he stood with his shirt off. He kicked his feet at the ground a bit, clearly not expecting Senior Sister to be here, yet steeled himself. Senior Sister looked quite happy, her eyes narrowed, and a smirk on her lips, ready to tease.

“Attempting to see what manner of dress Junior Brother looks best in,” Xiulan replied, as she reached up and patted Senior Sister’s arm, leaning into the embrace. Senior Sister always smelled pleasantly of herbs. “I swore I would assist him in finding a woman, and so I shall!”

Senior Sister’s smirk faded, as she glanced from Xiulan to Junior Brother. He looked to the side, embarrassed, with a slight grimace on his face. Her eyes widened as if just realising something.

“Oh,” she said quietly. A brief flash of sadness and commiseration crossed her features. She quickly cleared her throat. “Well, what can I do to help?” she asked, releasing Xiulan and sitting beside her.

The young man groaned, but stood obligingly still for them, as they began to discuss what would suit him the best. A slate came out, as they sketched styles.

But they were coming up blank. No matter what they imagined, in fine clothes, and more courtly fashion. But Xiulan didn’t think that that would work too well. Junior Brother looked a bit wild. His muscles were cut and defined.

But… maybe she should lean into that?

Their plan of attack changed. The vest was opened wider, exposing even more muscle. The sleeves, ripped off, just like Master Jin’s.

And finally, though he winced and grumbled, the sideburns were trimmed. Much less wild, but she did leave them. Short, and squared off. She had possibly taken the line and made it too severe, but the overall effect was still quite pleasing.

“You clean up pretty good, Gou,” Senior Sister stated. She looked Junior Brother’s body up and down. “Why did you never trim the sideburns before this?

“Indeed. This style suits his body well,” Xiulan noted, proud of her work.

“You two are just saying that,” he grumbled, frowning heavily at his own reflection in the water.

The door opened, and Master Jin poked his head in.

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It was time to cut once more.

The Third Wielder had approached it, as it did when it was time to cut. There had been a lull, after it cut the hardened earth. After they had gone to a place filled with people. At first, it wondered if it was going to cut lives and flesh again, and Sun Ne felt eager. Surely the Third would produce satisfying, clean cuts. It wanted to see the difference. Feel it.

Cut!

But this was not to be. It did not cut the lives, or the houses. There were no screams, no blood, no ragged gashes. No fire and ash.

Slightly disappointing, to be unable to compare the Second to the Third, but… maybe the cutting of flesh and the screams had been the reason the cuts turned to gashes.

It had only changed when a great many people had been cut, after all.

How curious. But it was not to question the intent of the wielders. Its job was to cut. And it had cut very well. It had severed stone and Qi-filled earth alike. Its blade had been tended and oiled. And the Third cut with it tirelessly.

How great! Cut!

But now, it was confused as it returned to the cut land it had made. It was supposed to cut some things and not others. Cut the earth… but leave the roots?

How? It cut! Everything was for cutting! It was meant to cut! It was created to cut! Its purpose was to cut!

It was a quiet thought, but it pierced through the panic and confusion. The Third’s thoughts were always slow and contemplative. Barely there, and he rarely offered anything, instead contenting himself with following Sun Ne’s instructions on blade alignment.

The frenzied madness froze where it threatened to overwhelm.

Sun Ne mulled the words over. Cut, but not cut?

Well, it could try. The blade was lowered. Lowered deep. Deeper than it was used to. The Third moved his body, and shifted Sun Ne’s cradle. Both focused.

Both began to cut.

It was tricky to keep the edge aligned this deep, but it did. It cut. It sheared through the earth with ease. When they came to the first round root, their bodies shifted in unison, and the root was deflected upwards instead of cutting.

It was intensely difficult to focus like this, but it was working. It was deflecting the roots, instead of cutting them. Some of them got scratched, and even a few were severed. But most were deflected out of the dirt.

Sun Ne felt a surge of some alien feeling. What was it? It was not joy at cutting, but something else. Something that felt warm and nice.

It very much liked this Third wielder. Almost as good as the first.

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As the potatoes came up, they would be put in the cold storage room after getting all the dirt off. Some would go back in as seed potatoes, for a second harvest, and some would be grown from seeds from the potato berries. Now, I had never actually grown potatoes from seed, so it would be interesting to see how things changed, considering that seed potatoes produced what was essentially a clone, while the berries would produce more varied plants. I want to try my hand at amateur potato breeding with those.

On the other hand though, I really needed to figure out a good crop rotation. After all my talking of “we give to the land, and the land gives back”, I’m not gonna be a hypocrite. Two sets of spuds in the same patch would be fine.

I continued my circuit around the farm. I scratched the sheep, their coats growing long and wooly. I checked on the calves, still gamboling around.

I even put the young rooster, one of Big D’s kids, onto my shoulders, just for old times sake.

He jumped off immediately, the little shit. He had been getting all cocky ever since his dad left, but he was still just a chicken.

I missed Big D. He had been there from the beginning, and not having him here… Well, it just felt wrong somehow.

But he had his own thing to do. All I could do was wait here, and hope he came back, safe and sound.

I stared out over my lands, out on the horizon.

The wind blew. The grass grew. Everything just felt so alive, as we came into the thick of summer.

At the river, as Washy watered the newly sown potatoes, streams of water burst in the air. Gou Ren laughing and wrestling with Chunky.

At Tigger and Rizzo chasing each other, while Peppa watched. Meimei and Xiulan coming back from their picnic, arm in arm, and laughing about something.

Bees buzzed around me, but never bothered me, and I held up a finger. It was still kind of weird that Vajra left her nest so often, but she was cute as hell, especially when she landed on my finger and started wiggling her little butt. The other queens didn’t come out, but I wasn’t fully convinced Vajra was a normal honey bee. She and her soldiers were quite a bit bigger than the other hives, and had an iridescent shine to their wings.

Still, she was pretty silly. I was pretty certain she wasn’t aware, because she kept getting stuck in the bath house. She flew in quite a lot, and I was beginning to think she just liked the heat and the moisture, but nobody else had her following them.

I sat in the grass for a while, until dusk, when Vajra went back home, and I could smell the beginnings of dinner. I was going to be playing Go with Xiulan again tonight… with backseat gaming from everybody. I stood, and stretched, yawning widely, and smirking around me at the horde that approached and tried their luck.

One of the best things about cultivation?

Mosquitoes couldn’t get through your skin.

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