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There were no more shouts of combat and rivalry. The cheers and laughter were muted, the most energetic of us having left.

With Gramps and Big D gone… it had really started to sink in for me. I knew Gou Ren and Bowu had been feeling it pretty bad, both of them a bit restless—but Yun Ren had been able to keep them occupied, the three of them going hunting together, with Bowu managing to get an entire deer.

With Yun Ren’s departure, the ribbing stopped.

We finished our chores for the day, and then spent the rest of the time taking stock of what we would have to do to make up for the drop in manpower.

We were certainly looking at longer hours, but it wasn’t too bad. We were all cultivators in the end. If during the harvest we had to pull a few all nighters to collect the sheer amount of food we produced, so be it.

The next day, however, dawned loudly.

“There, there, there.” Meimei murmured to our son as she rocked him back and forth as he sobbed his little heart out. Big D’s temporary replacement apparently wasn’t as good at waking us up, the normal rooster’s cry thin and reedy compared to the robust, almost musical voice of a Spirit Beast. That was what had first set him off—then he managed to notice Tigu and Xiulan weren’t around to make funny faces, and he started bawling even harder.

He was absolutely inconsolable—at least until he passed out three hours later.

God damn, my boy can holler.

That set the tone for the rest of the day, however, as we went to work. All of us were spread out, doing our chores—and we didn’t see each other until lunch.

We were all in a bit of a mood at the end of the day as we sat out beside the river, drinking cups of wine, and trying to get some of the strange feeling to disperse.

‘I dare say things will be slower now. I’m not quite certain if I’ll like it or not yet.’ Peppa mused, checking on Little D beside her on a cushion, and fussing with the blanket the baby was covered with. ‘I would have liked to be able to spend more time with Yin. That girl needs more lessons on decorum. Her language was appalling! Tigu may be crass and too loud for a proper lady, but at least she isn’t vulgar!’

‘I’ve been trying for years, and in the days she\'ssss been transformed it\'ssss gotten worsssse.’ Noodle complained. ‘I caught Rags teaching her the worst gutter filth—I nearly choked the bassstard!’

‘Rags teach Yin, or Yin teach Rags

?’ Chunky asked, an amused smile on his face. He coughed and made his voice a bit higher pitched. ‘In the name of the sun, I’m going to—’

‘Heavens, not that again!’ Noodle rebuked. ‘Where did she even get that idea?’

I very carefully didn’t smile, but Gou Ren and Meimei caught the look on my face, even as Chunky chuckled and said something that sounded suspiciously like “Sailor Sun.”

“Well, at least it\'s not too quiet.” Gou Ren said, amused, and beside him Bowu chuckled.

“Just think of it like they’ve gone out for a couple days… but it\'s not a couple days, it\'s weeks, months, or more… I probably should have given Ri Zu more poison...” Meiling murmured as she poured Washy a cup of wine. Our resident dishwasher, who was half in the river and lounging against the bank, took it with a cheerful nod.

“I think she has enough poison, love.” I deadpanned. Seriously, that rat had more war crimes on her body than I was entirely comfortable with. Sometimes she sounded about thirty seconds away from proclaiming that it was the advent of the vermintide.

“Nonsense. You can never have enough poison.” She replied primly. “See, Bei Be agrees with me.”

The ox blinked at getting pulled into the conversation. He was resting beside us, his eyes closed. But after a second, he shrugged. ‘Preparation begets success.’ His voice was smooth and deep, soothing to listen to.

We lapsed into silence after he spoke. Just listening to the water and the birds, the first chicks of the season having hatched. It was another subtle difference between this place and the Before. I had lived in the countryside but hunting and human habitation had taken its toll. Here, though, in a basically medieval land? This far north in the Azure Hills? The wild world still existed. The sheer number of animals was actually staggering. It made me want to go to the ocean and see if they were just as full of fish.

And then, Gou Ren spoke again.

“They’re going to do amazing things, aren’t they?” He asked.

“That they are.” I replied.

He frowned and scratched at the back of his head. “I know I chose to stay, but just sitting here… feels a bit bad to me. Like we’re not doing as much.”

“Is it? Well, then… we just have to do something equally amazing, don’t we?” He blinked at the statement. “What? Didn’t think we were just gonna stay the course, did you?” I asked him. “We’ve got a job to do—we’re gonna knock their frigging socks off when they get back home!”

Gou and Bowu slowly sat up straighter at my words, while Meimei just smiled.

“Then… we just have to do amazing things here, too? Well, shit. I’m down.” Gou said, his eyes burning with determination. “I had some things I wanted to try out myself…”

“We had to build a home worth coming back to, after all.” Meimei mused, her eyes locked on the horizon.

When our friends returned, it would still be recognizable… But also more. We weren’t just going to sit here, stagnant, as they went out on their adventures!

Hell no!

We all sat down together and started hashing things out.

If there was anything that I learned, it was that the house actually needed a renovation—we had too many people coming and going, but that was the least of it.

We were upgrading our home. Maybe it would be a blueprint for other people’s houses down the line, but right now, this was for us. Those of us present… And those of us far away.

For the first time since the winter ended, I felt that pioneering spirit fill my veins. The same thing I felt when I first got here but… tempered. No longer was it the desperate work of a lonely man, hoping to drive away his aches and pains.

It was filled with my love for our home and a desire to improve things.

And… well. Five hundred acres was a lot, and we still weren’t using all of it. But I was gonna live for a fairly long time, and we just kept on finding more and more people who were staying over so—

Well, a little more land wouldn’t hurt. Even if most of it was just forest and hill, we could always do with a bit of future-proofing.

Our own paradise. Sustainably cultivated for future generations—our little slice of heaven.

Also, indoor plumbing. I missed indoor flush toilets. I missed them like you wouldn’t believe. You don’t really appreciate that modern convenience until you have to dig your own septic bed by hand and take care of your own shit.

And so, we went to work.

We planned. We decided on a path forwards— and then… Well, we went on with life. We chopped our wood. We carried our water. We even broke some rocks for gravel.

Our Qi saturated the earth, giving and taking in equal measure.

I closed my eyes and let my body flow.

“Hey, shortstop.” The voice cut through the silence of Tianlan’s realm as she sat in meditation, her eyes fixed firmly on a bundle of golden threads leading off into the distance.

Tianlan glanced up as Jin waved to her, walking across the grass. She should feel his Qi pouring into her system as he worked, the bright, pure Yang energy mixing with Meiling’s Yin energy as she measured out the dimensions for her newest project. It was how she remembered breathing felt, when she had a body; pure, and clean and wonderful, soothing every little ache and pain in her.

“Big Man. Come to mother hen?” She fired back. Jin raised an eyebrow at the threads Tianlan still had a hold of. She didn’t blush, as he knew that she had been doing the same thing she had accused him of.

“Just want to know how they’re doing.”

Tianlan nodded. “They’re fine. I can feel them; they’re all in high spirits, and Xiulan spoke to me last night—wanted to show me how her dance is going! The dandelions are ‘bout halfway to the Grass Sea. The old man is heading up north, probably to get Nezan’s actual body. I’ll lose them when they leave my boundaries, but for now…You want to see? They’re on one of my roads.”

She raised her hands to conjure an image of Xiulan, one of her connected ones, but Jin shook his head.

“... no. I trust that they’re fine. They don’t need me spying on them.” Jin replied, utter confidence flowing off him. Tianlan smiled, as the feeling filled her chest.

It was strange, having so many permanent connections. She had empowered people before for Xiaoshi, but those feelings always went away as the connections faded.

These? These were strange. She could taste the emotions. The fears, the hopes, the dreams… and yet, instead of being overwhelming, they just made her feel… right.

She shook her head, and stood up. She barely came to Jin’s waist.

“So… you ready for this? She asked him.

“I am.”

“Then….” She took a breath, and held out her hands. Jin took hold of them, his soul, one complete whole and repaired in beautiful gold, brushing up against hers.

She could feel the contract that bound them—and the utter acceptance Jin had for its terms.

All its terms.

She shook her head to dispel the feeling, and touched their bond. Touched the Contract. Her first memories were of it. The memories of a man, and the first bond he had forged with the whole world.

The source of her power—their power.

Jin had wanted to understand. To understand their contract, and what Tianlan had learned, so long ago.

The world fell away, as they opened their eyes. And there, standing before them, was a smiling old man—a rack of antlers adorned his head, and a long beard was on his chin. His shirt was off, revealing a physique that would not look out of place on any father; lacking as he was in definition.

But the Old Man had a presence. He was.

He was speaking to a crowd of disciples, his head turning gently so that he could gaze upon each and every one of them.

And yet he couldn’t see Tianlan and her Connected One. Instead, he looked right through them as he spoke, his words soft, and gentle, yet absolute.

“Today, we must start simply. Today, I will teach you how to break rocks. To build a foundation, first, another foundation must be broken. This is the essence of both creation and destruction. Today, we shall learn the proper way to [Break the Rocks]—and be careful that one does not break themselves in the process.”

It started as a way to run away from the world—

But the Broken Man would run no longer. In sickness and in health. In the good times and the bad… he was home.

A home that had started with just a man and a chicken.