Yao struggled to hold his stance steady, toes digging into the moss-slick stone beneath him. His legs quivered, not from fear but fatigue, a dull burn crawling up from his ankles to his thighs. Sweat soaked the collar of his training tunic, darkening the fabric and chilling his neck in the morning wind. 

“Don’t move.” His mother’s voice was quiet, and she sat on the ground next to him. Ever since the visit from Master Taiheng and Ascendant Lingyao, his mother would start his days like this. With the weather getting hot by mid day, she always woke him up before the sun rose, only allowed him to eat a few steamed buns, and then she would take him outside to the courtyard.

Sometimes she made him run laps, other times she made him hold these punishing poses until his arms trembled and his knees threatened to give out. Most of the time, she did them with him, but today she was doing something called meditation, though Yao didn’t know what that meant. All he knew was that she sat perfectly still, legs crossed and spine upright, her palms resting on her knees, her eyelids low but never fully shut. Occasionally, a breath would leave her that seemed deeper than it should be, longer than he thought a breath could go.

Yao knew she would say it was enough soon, but it didn’t make it any easier at the moment. His mother always promised it would get easier with time, and Yao wanted to believe her. After all, his mother never lied to him and she never asked him to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. But that didn’t stop the ache, or the itch behind his knees, or the sharp protest in his calves.

A splash came from the nearby pond and Yao closed his eyes, wishing his mother would say enough. 

“Good job,” at last, his mother spoke and Yao relaxed, glancing down to see his mother smiling at him brightly. “You held the pose for over an hour. When we started, you couldn’t even hold it for ten minutes.”

“Is that… good?” Yao asked nervously, his arms and legs still burning even as he felt a bit of pride. He watched as his mother slowly stood, her hair braided and looped around the back of her head in a way that never came undone, even when she trained alongside him. She moved without stiffness, her motions fluid, as though the long hour of stillness had only filled her limbs with more ease instead of locking them up. 

“It is. I know adults who can’t hold it that long.” His mother insisted, smiling brightly as she offered her hand and Yao took it eagerly. He enjoyed the next part, even though his mother told him to be careful. She often reminded him that she couldn’t teach him anything important until after his father came, but he found “qi absorption” easier than the physical part.

They soon reached the garden, where two wide mats had been laid out beneath the shadow of the singular tree. Yao eagerly sat on his smaller mat, taking the position his mother had shown him on the first day. Legs crossed, palms up and he took a deep breath before closing his eyes. She always told him to never tell anyone what it felt like to absorb qi and she always warned him not to try and control it. Just to breathe it in and let it go.

But that was Yao’s favorite part. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually, he would get a warm feeling, like breathing in sunshine and the more he breathed it in, the warmer his body felt. Eventually it would fill him completely and that was when Yao would open his mouth to breathe it out. His mother told him it hurt because his “meridians” weren’t open, but he remembered how Ascendant Lingyao said he wasn’t allowed to learn that yet. 

“Yao,” his mother’s voice made him open his eyes. “Do you find it that easy?”

“Mhmm.” Yao grinned, glad that he was naturally good at something. His mother chuckled, gently sitting next to him as he closed his eyes again. “It feels nice.”

“... Good.” Her tone was soft and Yao couldn’t see her expression, but her voice always changed like that when she was thinking too hard. He didn’t like it when she thought too hard. It usually meant something was bothering her, and it was never something she told him.

The warmth grew again, slow and patient, flowing down from his head to his chest. Yao listened to the carp swimming in the pond nearby, the wind through the leaves of the tree, and felt the growing heat of the day. It was summer now, and his father would visit soon. Would his father be proud of his marks? Did his father know about “cultivation?” He wanted to ask.

Just as Yao was about to breathe out the warmth, he felt something different. The warmth in his body trembled and Yao quickly opened his eyes, turning to see a woman standing on the path nearby. Her short grey hair hung around her face and he noticed a hint of surprise in her hazel eyes. She was wearing an outfit similar to his mother’s and Yao nearly jumped when his mother spoke next to him, eyes still closed.

“Welcome, Instructor Quan. I hope the journey treated you well.”

“Well said, Disciple Luoyin. I don’t leave the city much nowadays and I am only getting older,” the older woman chuckled and Yao noticed she was still looking straight at him. “Although I’m surprised your son noticed me so quickly.”

“Why did you look, Yao?” his mother’s voice wasn’t angry or soft and it made Yao fidget slightly. 

“The… warmth was shaking.”

“Ah, no meridians open but he felt the qi react?” Yao looked up to notice the woman was now standing in front of him, despite the fact he had not heard her steps. She crouched down, her knees making no sound against the packed dirt. “That’s unusual.”

Yao blinked. The woman’s presence was gentle, but there was something strange about it too, like standing close to a bonfire that didn’t give off any smoke. He didn’t know what it was called, but he knew that whatever made his mother feel calm and strong was also inside this woman. He glanced back toward his mother for a hint of what to say, but she merely nodded her head. 

“Um… This one greets Instructor Quan?” Yao’s voice was quiet, unsure if he’d said the words in the right order. His palms were still resting on his knees, and though he tried to keep his back straight, his shoulders slouched slightly under the weight of her attention.

“No need to be nervous, I’m not a cultivator,” her tone was light and Yao felt himself relax slightly. “Your mother is higher than me. I just teach young initiates like you the history of the Taiheng arts.”

“Taiheng Arts?”

“I see I have a lot to do.” Instructor Quan’s laughter was gentle, and that helped Yao sit a little straighter. The warmth inside him was starting to turn into heat and the older woman stood. “Go ahead and release it before you hurt yourself.”

Yao closed his eyes, carefully taking deep breaths as he did his best to focus. It flowed out of him as it always did, and Yao winced as his throat burned before the last of it passed. He opened his eyes to see Instructor Quan still standing in front of him, a slight frown on her face. 

“When does his father visit?”

“Within the month.” his mother’s eyes were still closed and she didn’t move as she answered the older woman’s questions. “I sent word, but since he travels, it is not always simple for him to hurry.”

“We may not be able to wait. His absorption and sensitivity to qi is high, and he may suffer if you don’t teach him to open his meridians soon,” Instructor Quan continued, and Yao frowned. “I’ll mention it to Master Taiheng.”

“Thank you,” his mother finally opened her eyes, a gentle smile on her face as she looked up. Seeing his mother look calm and relaxed helped Yao relax, and he fidgeted slightly as she continued. “Are you going to take him today?”

“Oh no. I just want to introduce myself today. Instruction can wait another day.” Instructor Quan waved off and Yao tried not to show his relief. “And I had a bit of work for Initiate Luoyin to think over tonight.”

“Work?” Yao repeated, noticing the woman now had a different look in her eyes, one that made his stomach twist in a way he couldn’t quite name. It was sharper, more pointed, as if she could see something he didn’t even know was there.

“What kind of cultivator do you want to be?”