Xisias

Yao breathed in deep, focusing on the qi circling around his core. His third meridian had gotten clogged after he had eaten old bread the day before, and he winced as he coaxed the energy through the node. His body trembled briefly, breath catching in his throat, but the warmth returned soon enough. Soon, all of his qi was circling easily and Yao did his best to not let his relief mess up his focus.

“Brother!” 

Yao opened his eyes as he heard his sister’s voice, a smile spreading across his face as he felt her moving closer. He also felt their mother’s presence and he managed to release his stance just as the pair came into view. 

“Brother!” An’s arms wrapped around Yao’s middle as he patted her head, glancing up to see their mother walking into the garden. She was still the one who taught him most of the time, but given An’s illness, she wasn’t always available to help him when he needed to clear his meridians. An soon looked up at him with her bright green eyes, a bit of brown finally starting to bloom from around her irises. Given she had been bedridden for days, Yao was glad to see her hair was neatly tucked into two small buns. 

“I’m glad you’re up, An,” Yao managed, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. Her skin was warmer than usual, but no longer burning. “How do you feel?”

“Good!” An insisted, but Yao looked up to their mother. Her smile was smaller, and Yao noticed she seemed exhausted, her core nearly depleted. “Ma said I can play today. Can we play? Please! You leave soon!”

“Okay,” Yao agreed, forcing himself to look back down at his sister. Yao had just achieved Golden Core when An fell sick for the first time, and their mother had made him swear to never tell anyone the truth behind his sister’s illness. He still remembered that day, holding An’s tiny hand as their mother used her own qi to help An. Their mother had explained that qi liked his sister as much as it liked him, but since she wasn’t marked, she couldn’t open her meridians. Instead, it was building up and if their mother didn’t coax it through, it would eventually kill An.

Yao hoped she got marked soon.

“Lake! I want to go to the lake!” An insisted and Yao barely heard their mother’s warning as he was dragged behind his sister. 

“Don’t let An in the water!”

Yao nodded as best he could as An tugged him eagerly down the path, her small hand warm in his. Despite the cold season, her steps were sure, and her laugh echoed through the trees like chimes stirred by a soft wind. The garden had barely transitioned into the wild edge of the estate before she was tugging him into the brush, eager to break free of the usual restrictions that kept her indoors.

The lake came into view soon enough, silver and calm beneath the grey-blue sky. The reeds had begun to brown at the tips, curling inwards like they were trying to shield themselves from winter’s bite. An gleefully began to pick at them, determined to gather them and braid them into a crown as one of their other cousins had taught her. Yao, for his part, glanced over the still surface. 

His hand drifted to the mirror without thought, now tucked under his shirt. Since all the adults saw the mirror as a small stone, his mother had fashioned a cord for it, allowing him to wear it around his neck. It didn’t activate often, and he still hadn’t figured out what made it show him the past, but Yao still felt the need to keep it on him at all times. He hadn’t seen the carp since that night, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be a good thing if he did.

“Are you excited to go to the city?” An’s soft question made Yao look down at her, and she was still struggling with her reeds. His heart twisted in his chest at her frown; An seemed unusually smart for her age, just like Yao, and he didn’t like how much it hurt his sister. He had Li and was overjoyed to share everything he learned and noticed, but An was alone. Her illness meant she couldn’t make friends and Yao carefully sat beside his sister. 

“Kinda,” he admitted, knowing she would likely notice if he lied. “But I’m going to miss you and Ma more.”

“Really?” An looked up and Yao smiled as he met her gaze. “Feng said boys stop caring about their family when they turn eleven.”

Yao struggled not to frown. Despite being almost an adult now, Feng’s behavior was as awful as it had ever been. If anything, it had gotten worse, since now she could flaunt about being engaged to the local noble’s son. Yao wasn’t certain how they had seen one another, since the lake was mostly a private place for him and his sister and none of the other children left the estate, but he had a suspicion his Uncle Shi played a large role in the engagement. 

“You shouldn’t listen to what Feng says,” Yao finally said, plucking a reed from An’s pile to help her with the crown. “She lies a lot because she wants people to think she knows everything. But she doesn’t.”

An watched quietly as he began to braid the brown strands together, her small fingers inching in to follow his lead. The crown wasn’t perfect, but An’s face lit up with delight when he placed the finished ring on her head. She quickly jumped up and began to twirl. 

“Hehe, look at me!” An paused before doing her best attempt at a bow, and Yao struggled not to laugh. “I am your Empress, bow to the moon of Xisias.”

Yao jumped to his feet, bowing to his younger sister. “I am but a servant to our sun and moon.”

“Yes… uh…” An glanced around nervously, before picking up a large stick almost the size of her. “Yes, bow to your sun and moon.”

Yao finally laughed as An paraded through the dying reeds, the oversized stick clutched in both arms like a sleeping prince. She gently laid it down on a bed of brown leaves, looking around for more leaves to cover the stick with. Yao quickly stood up to help, noticing that An was starting to shiver. 

“The Emperor is tired.”

“I see, and I think it's time the Empress retires to hers,” Yao grinned, offering his arms to his sister. She eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck and Yao adjusted her in his grip as he stood back up. He was lucky to be tall for his age, something his mother often commented on and he carefully made his way up the path back toward the estate as An rested her head on his shoulder. 

As he walked, he thought about his sister’s question. He didn’t really want to leave his mother and sister. After all, his mother was supposed to go with him to the main family’s residence in the city, but due to An’s sickness, she would never be allowed to finish cultivating. Yao knew that some part of their mother was relieved, and another part of her was upset that she was.

And yet, he was excited to finally see the city. To be able to see Li again, to get stronger and be able to protect his mother and sister. After all, his mother had already taught him how to make qi-infused tea leaves and it was the fact his tea was near perfect that Void Adept Taiheng was willing to let him move the house one level early. Usually, he would have had to wait until he was at Golden Core IV, but the family head had agreed to move him early. 

“Yao.” His mother’s voice made him look up, and he handed An over. She scooped up the young girl easily, and Yao noticed her core had now recovered. “Did she…?”

“No. She just got sleepy and cold,” Yao answered, watching as their mother nodded. “Are we going to make more cultivation aids today?”

“I need to make some pills with Adept Hanyu, but that’s not for you,” she smiled, gently patting his hair with her free hand. “Can you watch An during her nap while you pack? They’ll provide more clothing at the main house, but you still should pack what matters to you. You only have two days left.”

“Can I have the stamp Pa gave me?” Yao asked, watching as his mother merely turned away without answering. Although it had been given to him on his sixth birthday, his mother had refused to let him have it. She had originally said it was because he was too young, but Yao was starting to think there was another reason she didn’t want to give him the stamp. A reason she wouldn’t tell him.  

“Ma.”

“We can talk about it later, Yao,” his mother insisted, opening the door to the bedroom she shared with An before setting the young girl down. Yao sighed heavily, not trying to hide his frustration. “For now, go pack.”

“Yes, mother,” Yao spat back, noticing the way his mother flinched. He didn’t like antagonizing her, but it seemed so mean for her to still withhold a gift, especially when his father gave so many and she never kept one before. It wasn’t like her to keep secrets from him, and he was both angry and scared of whatever reason kept her from giving him the stamp. 

Yao went over to his room, opening the sliding door as he sat with his back to his mother. He waited until he heard her leave the room behind him before he turned, mostly to make sure she had left. All he saw was An sleeping quietly on the mattress, and he pouted, turning back to his room. 

It was just a stamp. But it was his stamp.