No one had liked the news. And no one, including Marek, wanted to believe that a phoenix could become a corrupted necromancer. As the search that commenced was fruitless, the party couldn’t explain to the Emperor why they wanted to stay in Danyang. And so, they continued onward towards Chu.

There was a major cultivation sect there and Wei Longwei demanded of his parents to be left there. No one wanted to let him go, least of all alone, so it was decided that if he won a game of Xiangqi against general Lao, then he would be allowed to go with Nathaniel, who also wanted to be taught how to fight like the locals.

The game lasted a whole day, but Wei Longwei won. Both boys happily prepared to be left in the cultivation sect. They spoke excitedly on what they were going to cultivate in. Wei Longwei wanted to cultivate his swordsmanship, and Nathaniel wanted to cultivate towards better health.

The other boys threw a tantrum that they too wanted to go. They all lost against general Lao, little Wei Tian becoming silent after his loss and refusing to talk to anyone for two days straight. Overall, it was Wei Zhaohui who got his brothers a ticket to the cultivation sect.

He pointed at Wei Tian and said that the boy was trying to cultivate on his own and was failing. At his age of two, there was the possibility that he might hurt himself.

Nikola didn’t understand cultivation all that well. It was a form of self-improvement, he knew that much, but people could do it by themselves. The silence of his son made him worried, and he relented.

That way the Wei triplets, twins, and Wei Longwei and Nathaniel were soon dropped off to the Chu cultivation sect. Ryota had refused to be separated from Han Fengfan and Han Shanyuan and Wei Zhaohui had been deemed too old. Not that they wanted to go anyway.

The boys were given different rooms and were ushered to their first class. The twins, Wei Jiang and Wei Tian, had drank their “medicine” given to them by Nathaniel. He was skilled enough in illusion magic to mask the scent of blood.

 And the triplets were drinking their bottles before the first class. Many of the same age disciples were crowding around Wei Longwei, wanting to know if he really won against general Lao.

Wei Longwei was in the middle of retelling his victory when the teacher, a cultivator with fifty years of cultivation, came and hit him over the head with his fan.

“Humility is one of the pillars of cultivation. Wei Longwei, if I hear you bragging again, you will be cutting wood until blisters appear on your hands!” Said the teacher, and Wei Longwei lowered his head. He was not a child in truth, even if he forgot himself from time to time.

“Everyone in the classroom. We will be copying the sect rules today because of the new arrivals.” Said the teacher, and some boys groaned, but a glare from the old man was enough to silence everyone.

It was a good thing that Wei Jiang and Wei Tian knew how to write too, or they would have been scorned. As Nathaniel had made sure to give all his siblings a memory potion and since they had drunken a hundred years’ luck potion long ago, the boys had no problem with even the trickiest characters. Soon, Wei Tian was bored, and he ended up doodling on his paper.

The teacher saw that and like a hawk bringing its claws into his victim, his fan made the trip towards Wei Tian’s head. The boy rubbed at the spot and glared.

“You will write everything again, or you won’t eat, Wei Tian!” Snapped the teacher, and he took the doodle with himself. Wei Tian sniffled and started again, slightly regretting his decision to come to this weird school.

Days passed and the Wei siblings were soon known as the troubles. The youngest would become distracted easily and get up to mischief. They were too young to chop wood, and so they were given cleaning duty.

The triplets would talk back to the teacher and receive wood chopping duty, but that didn’t stop them. Only Wei Longwei and Nathaniel tried to behave, but they were blamed for not reigning in their siblings, and so they were given punishments too.

One morning, as they got a letter that their family has reached Hand an safely, the teacher caught them smiling. He sighed and gathered them to himself.

“You all don’t know anything about cultivation despite my best attempts to teach you,” he said, and the boys worried that they were going to be sent to Hand an to their family. “But I have spoken with the sect leader Xin, and he said that if you manage to chase away a Dijiang from the mountains, then you all can stay.”

“Wei Tian and Wei Jiang are just two! They can’t go into the mountains!” Yelled Nathaniel at the unfairness of it all. The teacher took out two thick books.

“They will be copying these. And if I see even a single line out of order, they are going home. Those two disturb all my classes,” the two boys looked at the thick books and gulped. They couldn’t even get through half of the rule book without doodling. How were they going to stay focused with these bricks?

“Boys, I do not wish you to leave,” said the teacher in a more even tone. “You have potential and the magic that you can do can be thought to the other disciples. But cultivation and magic are two different things. And yet, you will find that by finding your cultivation method and working towards it will bring you peace. And with it, your magic will grow stronger.”

The boys nodded. Wei Yuzu, Wei Xiang, Wei Tu, Wei Longwei and Nathaniel packed for a hike in the mountain while Wei Jiang and Wei Tian prepared to copy the bricks of doom. Before the five boys left, they left enough bottled blood for the twins to last them a week. And they hit the library for any information of the Dijiang.

The Dijiang, as an old dusty tome supplied, was a headless being. A mountain spirit or God, depending on who you asked. It had six legs and four wings and was as big as a wolf. It understood song and dance and brought chaos with it. So, Wei Longwei brought a bamboo flute with him to lure the beast.

With many hugs and some tears, the boys separated to go through their trials. Wei Jiang opened the thick book to see an illustration of a leopard with five tails. Uncle Marek had told him about it, hadn’t he?

 A Zheng Ning. It was a story of a Zheng, as that was what the males were called, who killed bears and wolves and protected a village. The people loved the Zheng very much and found him a Ning, the female name for this animal, and the two protected the village and even raised a human child together who grew to be a great general during the Shang period.

Wei Jiang copied quickly so that he would find more about the general. He stole a glance at Wei Tian to see him engrossed in his book. The teacher looked on the children with mirth. It was good that they enjoyed the books he had written. Maybe they weren’t such menaces after all.

In the mountain the Wei siblings followed Wei Longwei who played the flute. They sang along, hoping that the noise would attract the Dijiang and ward off any wild beast. Surely, the trickster was the most dangerous thing in these mountains. They were still close to the cultivation sect’s compound, after all.

A twig broke, and they all looked towards it, hoping it was the Dijiang. But instead it was a rabbit. Nathaniel stepped to it and picket it up, nuzzling it with his nose. He really liked bunnies in general, especially since he had spent so long as one.

“We have to make camp. The Dijiang is probably further in the mountain,” said Wei Longwei, tired of playing the flute. “We can cook that.”

“No way! Mr. Carrotpaws is our mascot!” Said Nathaniel, hugging the rabbit to himself.

“Father said that magic has a price, and we will need to light a fire,” said Wei Longwei, making a step towards his brother.

“Do you want to set the mountain ablaze?” Asked Wei Yuzu. “We can grow fruit and vegetables. The rabbit doesn’t need to die. And some of these rocks can work as a fire starter.”

 Wei Longwei looked at his brothers who had stepped in front of the rabbit which was now on the ground. Said rabbit hopped away and Wei Longwei sighed.

“You are all too soft. Let’s get started.”

Nathaniel made the fire pit and started the fire, as he was the oldest. His brothers made a groove around them and many animals came to partake in the bounty. But the Dijiang was not among them.

“It probably doesn’t need to eat. I mean, it doesn’t have a mouth.” Said Wei Tu and everyone looked at him. He shrank in on himself and offered his brothers a small smile.

They ate, and then they curled around one another to sleep. On the morning, they went further up the mountain, with Wei Longwei playing the flute. They found many things. A small stream teaming with life cutting through the mountain. Natural grooves, among them a mushroom one with poisonous mushrooms.

They saw a herd of mountain goats, which weren’t frightened of them in the least. And in a cave they had to battle an Aoyin. They hurried it with fire and poked it with spears, which they levitated with magic. They were all safe up on a tree as the giant bull ran circles around the tree.

Furthermore, they all knew of the story of the trip to Pangong when most of them weren’t even born yet. So, they didn’t risk it. Then finally Wei Xiang managed to fold the last detail to his figurine, another Aoyin, and he dropped it down.

As the children watched the two bulls charge at each other, they didn’t know for whom to cheer, as the two Aoyins were identical. As the victorious Aoyin didn’t try to topple the tree, the boys jumped down and rode it even further up the mountain. The action of its creation had exhausted Wei Xiang, and there was no telling what else they might encounter on the way to the peak.

The Aoyin carried them as high as it could go, but the trails became narrower, and soon the boys continued on foot again. When they reached the peak, they saw the cultivation sect compound below.

“There is no Dijiang, is there?” Asked Wei Longwei, brows furrowed.

“Maybe the teacher meant we were the Dijiang?” Said Wei Tu, and everyone turned towards him. “We were nothing but trouble, even if we aren't aware that much about cultivation, we made trouble for our teacher. And we understand dance and song just fine, but when one doesn’t have anything nice to say, what use is a mouth? When one thinks they know everything, what use are eyes? I don’t know what the nose have to do with everything, but we probably came off as not needing it, either.”

They heard a whoosh and their teacher flew up to them on a sword. The boys stared in amazement. That myth was real.

“Your nose is attuned to magic and yet can’t sense cultivation. So, what use do you all have for it?” Asked the teacher, and the boys looked down at their feet.

“Teacher, were you with us the whole time?” Asked Wei Yuzu and the teacher chuckled.

“No, it wouldn’t have been much of a test if I was, would it? Now, tell me what you saw of the surrounding nature,” said the teacher, and all eyes few on Nathaniel.

“It is beautiful. More so than what we can create,” said the Nephilim, and the teacher smiled.

“And now your eyes are open. Now, Wei Longwei, you played the flute. What did you hear?”

“I wasn’t excellent at it. If I were a Dijiang, I would have run away,” said Wei Longwei, head bowed.

“It seems that you have ears too. But will you practice your music?” Asked the teacher.

“I will. We will find the Dijiang someday. It exists, right?” Asked Wei Longwei hopefully and the teacher nodded. He smiled. He will find the Dijiang, he just needed more time to research it.

“Wei Tu, of all the children, your senses opened the most. What path will you cultivate in?”

“Agriculture,” said Wei Tu, and then he opened his arms wide. “When the animals ate from the grooves we created, I felt accomplished.”

The teacher patted Wei Tu’s shoulder and then turned to Wei Yuzu.

“Tell me, boy, what scents did you smell on your journey?” Asked the teacher, and Wei Yuzu smiled.

“Flowers in bloom, mushrooms, both poisonous and not. The herd of goats was especially easy to spot,” said Wei Yuzu.

“And how did those smells make you feel?” Asked the teacher and Wei Yuzu though for a bit.

“Safe. Like I can spend my life in these mountains and won’t miss a thing. I think I know what I will cultivate towards,” he said, and then leaned in to whisper.

“Nature preservation. That is a thing, isn’t it?” The teacher smiled and spoke.

“Not quite, but if you cultivate agriculture and animal husbandry it would be close enough. Now, Wei Xiang…”

“Are you going to ask me if I have a face?” He said, and the teacher chuckled.

“You created a beast in the mountain to protect your siblings, yet, if the beast has run amok, it could have gone back to the compound. Do you have the face-to-face me and tell me that it wouldn’t have happened?” Wei Xiang looked at his feet. Maybe he was the Dijiang of their group.

“I wasn’t thinking. I saw my parents do the same so many times that I thought it was safe. But I am not them. I won’t use this technique until I am stronger.”

“You have enough of a face-to-face yourself and admit your wrongs. It appears that your boys did catch a Dijiang and chased it away from the mountain. You all pass.”

The boys whooped with joy, but then Nathaniel raised his hand. The teacher pointed at him.

“How did Wei Jiang and Wei Tian do. They are not going home, are they?” He asked and the teacher laughed.

“No, although I have found they have good taste in literature. I will be making them to copy fictional works and bestiaries from now on. They will have plenty of time for rule books once they become older. My two youngest disciples.”

The boys followed the teacher down the mountain, and Wei Tian and Wei Jiang met them at the entrance of the compound, with books in their hands.