Interlude 4: The Harvest Festival
The Harvest Festival
@CedeTheBees
Gan Jia's offering smells heavenly and leaves many disciples drooling, and slightly glassy eyed, as they carry the pot to the festival. More than half of the cauldron is sacrificed at the Laughing God's shrine while the rest is served up at one of the many booths in Roaring Furnace city.
Gan Jia feels a sense of virtue and accomplishment. The Laughing Mountain is pleased.
Insight: Path of Divine Cuisine
@LinkOnScepter
@szymonmolitoris2
@BadAtScreenNames
Li tries to sleep as his mind is in turmoil from this new revelation. However before he can fully fall to slumber his door is thrown open by a vivacious Lin. He doesn't catch much of her chatter, just something about "Training" and "Reminder of Mortality". Seeing the stern faced Hawk Li decides this must be another round of their technique training and lets Lin drag him out of his room.
Which is how he got himself roped into pranking the entire sect. Given the thousands of disciples Lin sadly has to give up her plans of individualized pranks, and instead the trio set up traps all over the sect. Pits filled with skull faced Ants, buckets of violet death ink perched on top of doors, and a couple of halls lined with swinging logs just for fun.
Lin comes up with the plans, Hawk sources the more dangerous components from the Ancient Devil forest, and Li puts it all together. And then all three of them run away from the growing horde of enraged disciples.
Some might wonder why the elders don't intervene, but it is after all good training for everyone involved. The sect disciples get a lesson in caution, and the trio get a lot of running in.
Insight: Path of the Trickster Fox
@Oseanman
Bái Yǔ cleans the graves of the dead to ensure that those who have lost loved ones in the past year will be able to honor them properly with offerings. It gives him great satisfaction to see the mortals able to grieve without fear now that he has disposed of the ghouls that lurked in some of the unused mausoleums.
He also presses a spirit stone into the hands of each of the gravekeepers despite their protests of it being far too much. There jobs are important and thankless and Bái Yǔ will see that their families will be able to afford to cloth their children properly and send them to the good academies.
Insight: Path of the Caretaker
@DiscordOxymoron
The Changjian twins hold a musical training session with their friends. Struck by inspiration they encourage the pheasants to sing and the group manages to harmonize their instruments with the flock's bird song to make something that is a unique fusion of instruments and natural music.
It reminds listeners of spring sunrises listening to the world awaken, but with a few flicks of their guqins the twins can transition to the high adventure of a summer day or the melancholic winter nights. Though of course at the festival itself they play a series of rambunctious songs encouraging people to laugh and dance in the light of the moon.
Insight: Path of Harmony
@Expecting Me
Over the next few days Tan Bo that the young masters he met are mostly from small traveling clans. They are infinitely more powerful than mortals, but compared to one of the major sects they are only so so. Which is why they are attempting to make friends with Tan Bo. A friend in a sect is good. A friend with a sect's core disciple is even better.
Even Tan Bo's mentions of other more powerful disciples is treated as mere humbleness. The loose cultivators are worldly people who have been to many of the provinces in this section of the empire. The idea that a sect as poor as the Red Dew would have more than geniuses like Tan Bo is ridiculous.
Tan Bo feels a little insulted on behalf of his fellow disciples and sect, but he can't deny he is being treated very well by his new friends.
Insight: Path of Networking
@alexthealright
Cai Delan does not stop training. Not for the festival. Not for the other disciples. Not to eat. Not even to sleep. For days on end he studies historical battles and treatises on leadership and war. He practices games of Count's Challenge against any disciple he can persuade into a game.
He pushes himself until he collapses of exhaustion, and as soon as he recovers he returns to his training. He practices with the sword and the footwork of the Red Dew School. Cai Delan is determined that no matter what the tournament throws at him he will prevail.
Insight: Path of Dedication
@Worm_that_Walks
The thing that Cheng Nan creates is in no way a viable creature. Cheng ripped out one of their lungs and made it the basis of a very basic blob of a creature that wheezes its way through what passes for life.
On the night of the festival Cheng Nan sacrifices their creation in a bloody ritual at a small shrine to the Rabbit Goddess. In return they receive feelings of distaste. The Rabbit Goddess appreciates the gesture, but never wants anything like this again.
But there is something else. Something in the darkness of the void senses the blood and smiles.
Insight: Path of the Hungering Eyes
@Guest99.
In the finest tradition of swordsmen everywhere Jiang Chen proceeds to have a series of duels across the rooftops of Roaring Furnace city. Many leaves are sacrificed to demonstrate how sharp various swords of and at least a dozen fruits are diced into pieces.
To his surprise Jiang Chen finds that few of these supposed masters of the sword can match his blade. He can tell that some of them have superior technique to him, but not as many as he would have thought given their age and experience. And only the soldiers can beat him in terms of speed and strength.
Even then he can put up far more of a fight than should be possible for a peasant. Rumors start going around the swordsmen community that the Red Dew Sect possesses a secret sword lineage.
Insight: Path of the Sword
@fluxeal
@Abyssius
Xingyun Xing asks Shufen to go see the festival with him. She gladly accepts and as they proceed down to the city they regale each other with tales of what they have each been doing this last month. Right up until Liang Xinyue steps out to challenge Xing to a duel.
Xinyue yells that Xing should just ask her out and backs his words with jets of flame. Xing jumps back and a wild chase begins as Xinyue tries to burn Xing to a crisp. It would normally not be a challenge for a Xing to use his superior realm to beat Xingue, but he is trying to calm his sworn brother down rather than truly fight. And so the two leap from rock to tree to ground as the flames around them grow.
It is only when Shufen's excited cries of encouragement get loud enough that Xinyue finally pays attention to what Xing is trying to say. Sheepishly he apologies and the trio put out the fires. Then they run away from the scene of the battle before any inner disciples can come to investigate why the sect is on fire.
After everything is sorted out Xinyue offers to pay for the trip to make amends and points the couple towards a few local attractions he's heard about from his mortal friends. Xing and Shufen then have a lovely time enjoying the festival. Though occasionally they look back at where Xinyue is trying to stealthily trail them and share a laugh.
Insight: Path of Comradeship
@Joker13
Stan Li and his new tortoise immediately become friends. It doesn't seem to matter what kind of spirit herbs Stan Li offers her. She loves all of them, and Stan Li bought plenty. After a while of slowly chewing her way through the pauses and seems to concentrate for a while.
Then she spits out a husk of plant matter. It seems to be made of little vine tendrils and has a chamber that sloshes when Stan Li moves it. Examining the liquid inside he finds that it is a crude qi elixir. It should be able to replenish the qi of a cultivator who drinks it.
Not the best quality. Stan Li himself could make a better version. But on the other hand all he had to do was feed his tortoise some herbs for it. She also seems very pleased with herself..
Insight: Path of Tortoises
@Jaguar2234
Petals on a Moonlight Lake discusses the finer points of spirit life with Liu Jin. She tells him how she would frolic with her sisters in the winter winds spreading ice and snow across the land. How in the spring she would retreat into the highest mountain valleys to carve pictures into glaciers and prepare to sleep through the heat of summer.
She didn't have much contact with humans before she was sealed. Sometimes she would lure unwary travelers to their deaths in the snow. And she had a couple of shrines devoted to her by villagers to ask that she be more lenient in the winters.
Petals on a Moonlight Lake asks if Lin Jiu can make the trek to one of the old mountain shrines and check how her sisters are doing. She isn't sure how long she has been sealed, but she feels like it has been a long time.
Insight: Path of Ice
@rush99999
Roaring Furnace City has never experienced a calamity like the one which befalls it this festival. Twin forces of terror have descended on the city. A man and a baboon in search of alcohol, music, and most importantly a good time.
Hanyi and Hong roam through the city visiting taverns, inns, and stalls in search of the tastiest food and drink. They drink copiously and destroy more than a few inns in drunken celebrations, but Hanyi has a reputation as a generous cultivator and so the proprietors are always willing to fill their glasses with more wine.
Occasionally the duo run into other cultivators who insult their seeming indiscretions. This results in quite a few drunken brawls which despite appearing completely one sided always result in the other cultivators somehow incapacitating themselves while Hanyi and Hong drunkenly stumble out of the way of every attack.
Insight: Path of the Drunken Master
@Ghost in the sun
Bingxi and her panther enjoy the festival by dancing to the various concerts being played around the city. The panther is somewhat skeptical at first, but as they journey from street musicians to festival performances to theaters Bingxi's enthusiasm gradually infects the shadow beast.
She begins to dart to and fro around Bingxi's swirling movements and together the duo make an impeccable performance that ranges across the alleys and rooftops of the city. At one point they happen upon one of the Changjian twins performances and it inspires them to such great feats of acrobatics that a crowd of cultivators is drawn to applaud their performance.
Insight: Path of the Panther
@SteelWriter77
While most of the disciples are enjoying themselves at the festival Sun Won is ascending Mount Red Dew with his new companion. Together the two climb as far as they can go. To a peak just below the elders residences. There they make themselves comfortable as they wait for the sun to rise.
Man and pheasant meditate on the nature of the sun as the rays of light hit them. And after some time both simultaneously open their eyes and snap into combat forms. With no prior warning the pair begin to spar as they put into practice the results of their meditation.
Fists full of light are countered by flaming wings and strikes from steel claws. Together Sun Won and the pheasant hone their understanding of the flow of light and how to make better use of solar qi.
Insight: Path of the Sun
@HousePet
Pan Tingfeng is asking around about Mistress Ping to see if he might be able to convince her to give him some training when suddenly a hand falls on his shoulder. Looking back he sees the lady herself given a bloodthirsty grin.
Pan Tingfeng finds himself pulled through the air to land in a private training courtyard. There Mistress Ping puts him through a grueling training session. He punches boulders trying to smash him, lifts cauldrons full of boiling oil, and fights a small horde of screaming monkeys armed with knives.
By the end he is covered in cuts and barely able to stand, but Mistress Ping gives him a nod. He has passed her tests. She is willing to train him.
Insight: Path of the Warrior
@AmeliaNyoom
Do Mwin prepares her meditation chamber with a methodical thoroughness that puts most disciples to shame. She ensures that it is located on a spirit vein and has large quantities of braziers to add both fire and metal qi to the atmosphere. Food, water, and clean clothes are all stockpiled.
Then she bundles a very unwilling wolf into the chamber. Linked by the chain the pair face each other for only a moment before the wolf launches itself at Do Mwin. But she has not been refining her body for nothing. Do Mwin grabs the wolf around its torso and slams it into the ground.
The pair wrestle for an entire day before the wolf finally tires. The next few days pass in silence as Do Mwin mediates while the wolf paces around the chamber trying to find a way to escape. It is a surly beast, but as she feeds it the wolf gradually warms up to Do Mwin until by the end of her meditation session it tolerates her brushing its fur.
Insight: Path of the Wolf
@_Plague Doctor_
Riaydh and his new cat stare at each other. It is a battle of wills each one attempting to stretch and compress time for the other so that they blink first. Finally the cat grows bored and glances away. In a blink it is gone.
Riaydh quickly speeds up time for himself just in time to catch the cat's tail disappearing around the corner. He chases after it and the duo spend a solid month chasing each other around the sect. Though for everyone else only an hour passes.
Finally by the end the pair sit in a pagoda watching birds while the cat lets Riaydh carefully pet it. From then on it starts bringing him rocks, branches, and the odd mouse. The rocks are filled with time. The branches seem to absorb time more readily. And the mice are just mice.
Insight: Path of the Friendship
@Shadowolf235
Daiki combs through the archives looking for additional techniques like the Light in the Fog. He finds several that purport to do the same thing. Offering various methods of focusing the mind and learning more quickly. However they appear to be unique techniques not derived from the principles developed by the author of the Light in the Fog.
However Daiki does manage to track down a dusty old scroll with the same signature on it. It's a treatise on the nature of reality. How the paths of nature and the heavens are simply a false mirror only faintly reflecting the true reality of the world. The author's thesis is that by examining everything in great detail the shape of this true reality can be deciphered from how these illusory concepts interweave.
It is complete nonsense in Daiki's opinion. But then the Light in the Fog does work. So he can't help being a little intrigued.
Insight: Path of the False Mirror
@1Arthas1
Lucky Dong simply enjoys the harvest festival. Not every day has to be an epic adventure and Dong passes the time strolling through the streets of Roaring Furnace City. He samples the various street food and laughs along with the mortals at the antics of the street performers.
At the end of the festival he pays his respects to the Laughing Mountain and the Celestial Rabbit at the grand bonfire in the center of the city. The celebrants dance around the bonfire all night and when the sun rises Lucky Dong finds himself filled with a warm feeling of contentment.
Insight: Path of Harmony
@Epic Bygones
Wu Ji Nin finds that the Llama Hound is easy to care for. He requires attention every day and enjoys playing or working. Especially herding other animals and the lesser disciples. Nothing that really surprises someone raised on a farm.
The hound is remarkably intelligent and only takes a day to remember that King is his new name. The only real issue is that the hound eats a massive amount. Fortunately he seems willing to accept mortal animals as Wu Ji Nin would be hard pressed to acquire enough spirit beasts for his appetite. Something to keep in mind for the next beast tide perhaps.
Insight: Path of the Hound
@Poofs
The most popular tale of the Laughing Mountain and the Celestial Rabbit is the one of how they met. The Mountain was resting in the sun as he often did when a pack of foxes chased a rabbit onto his back. The mountain paid them little attention for such things are normal, but then the rabbit started talking.
She begged the foxes not to eat her. She said she knew of a great treasure. One coveted by kings and demons alike. She described a crown of resplendent ruby and infused with mystic qi. She talked about how the way was dangerous and only she knew the route. How she hadn't taken the crown herself because of the dread guardians.
But she was sure such powerful beasts as the fox brothers could handle it with no problem. Her words enthralled the foxes and they forgot all about eating her. Instead she was able to lead them on a grand journey across the mountain's back going faster and faster.
Until suddenly she burst through a bush and immediately darted to the side. When the foxes followed her they found themselves going over a cliff with no time to stop. The look on the foxes faces as they tumbled through the air was so stunned that the mountain could not help but laugh and laugh.
It congratulated the rabbit on her masterful story and asked if she knew any more. And thus was born an unlikely friendship.
Insight: Path of the Divine
@Floom
Wuyin journeys around the sect looking for an appropriate place for her carving. She wants somewhere out of the way where the elders won't mind if she does a little carving. And where errant techniques won't destroy her work.
She eventually finds what looks like a fresh rock fall exposing a layer of shining marble with blue veins. It is quite grand and she is sure it must be quite recent if no other cultivators have taken it yet. In fact her carving probably won't last long if she makes it here, but then it is an offering. It should be grand.
Making her decision Wuyin carves her story in the mountainside. It isn't quite her own story of course, but it draws on her experiences and those of her peers. It tells of a new disciple making her way through the world making friends and battling enemies as she cultivates. Until at last she faces the will of heaven and ascends.
When Wuyin is done she waits a moment, but nothing happens. As she turns to walk away however there is a small tremor and a piece of the marble falls off and rolls right to her feet. When she looks back though her story is still pristine.
Insight: Path of the Divine
@LordEdric
The hardest thing that Ding Dong has to decide is what exactly he wishes to forge. He's flipped through the manual multiple times and found several incomplete recipes. After months of study he thinks he's figured out how to make up for the missing pieces.
Which leaves him with a few options. He could make a hammer. With formations of heat and control it would be mostly useful as a tool and a symbol of his path. Though he could use it as a weapon in a pinch as well. Then of course there is a sword. The traditional object of such a meticulous crafting session it would serve him as a fine weapon, or he could easily sell it to another disciple for quite the profit.
There are other schematics though. One for a new anvil. One for a cauldron. And finally what appears to be a talisman. The manual includes an etching for some kind of defensive technique though Ding Dong isn't entirely sure what it protects against. The notes are unfortunately faded.
Whatever he chooses to make though Ding Dong is as prepared as he'll ever be.
Insight: Path of Forging
@moon-llama
Loutuo searches all over the sect for clues to what happened to the Beast Elder's companions. He manages to find the Elder's pavilion, and more importantly the stable in the mountain behind it. But all the stalls and caves are empty. The beasts are long gone.
So Luotuo goes to consult the people most likely to know. He goes to the llamas. Down at the llama ranch he talks with the herd to get the latest gossip and collect any rumors there might be among the spirit beasts of what happened to the beast elder.
He doesn't learn much, most of the llamas were still in the pen when the aftermath of the catastrophic battle occurred. But one stubborn old llama finally admits a useful tidbit after Luotuo finishes combing her fur.
When she escaped from the ranch several months ago she heard from a deer who heard from a rabbit who heard from a songbird who saw a massive badger heading away from the Red Dew Mountain and deep into the Ancient Devil Forest.
That matches the description of one of the Beast Elder's companions that Luotuo found. The Lord of Claws and Burrows.
Insight: Path of Beasts
@Caneythekid
The funeral is a solemn affair. Not many attend it for unfortunately most of the elders who would had died. And few disciples knew their fallen peers. One of the few exceptions is the mysterious disciple known as Sum of 7, 3, and 5.
Despite their enigmatic past and propensity for theft they had made deep bonds of friendship with several of the disciples. The Horsemen gather to pay their respects. They cannot talk about what happened, and they do not even have Sum's body. So they pay their respects to the small shrine and offer up some grain wine and spirit stones for the deceased to bribe the heavenly clerks.
