Chapter 3: Another Day

The whole day leading up to the promise of a surprise and finally finding purpose to this whole exercise, had rejuvenated the vigor in the children's hearts as they finally seemed to be able to look forward to something.

Tian An on the other hand, was still following his role on working hard to keep to the front of the group and following the Seniors path as close as possible.

Not many seemed to mind, in fact most seemed more than happy to keep him out of their midst.

 As to their perspective he just looked too out of place compared to everyone else.

It didn't help that over the course of the week he isolated himself during the resting breaks and looked even worse than he did when he started the journey.

His black hair, which was always a curled mess, had become full of sticks and dried mud.

His pitch black eyes were surrounded with even darker bruises, as on multiple occasions he stumbled and took direct implant to rocks and other natural roadblocks in the forest face first.

Although his body was bruised and battered, and covered in mud and other undesirable things. 

It became apparent to Tian An that even with the draining pace he took to keep up with the Seniors every day, he started to grasp himself better.

When he fell he was now able to react to the sudden fall and catch himself regardless of what it was that tripped him in the first place.

In lue of his hours of following in his Seniors steps, quite literally, Tian An also started walking with lighter steps and moved with more fluidity and grace over the forest floor.

It was a long process of elimination, but Tian An was figuring out what worked best for him, even if it was far in comparison to his Seniors.

Tian An had always been good at adapting, at least he thought so.

By the time everyone made it into the clearing they were going to stay in for the night, the group preemptively sat themselves in a large circle and waited for their Seniors to join them in excited unrest.

When the final stragglers made it and the Seniors made their way to their made up circle, Tian An realized that the sun was still well away from setting behind the forested mountains in the distance. 

Making him wonder what the surprise had in store for them if they were taking rest this early.

As the three Seniors finally made it to the middle of the circle, Senior Yun took the lead by clapping her hands once to bring everyone to attention.

Over the course of the week many of the children present asked questions about the trial, and other non related ones like how old their Seniors were, and if they have pets inside the sect.

The Seniors would answer questions about the trial with vague responses, saying that they will know soon enough. 

Others were answered quite clearly as long as they were unrelated to the trial itself. 

It seemed that even though they said they could ask questions about the trial, they never said how well they would answer those questions. 

Perhaps to maintain the mysterious aspects to it.

One such unrelated question was from a male child who boldly asked for the female Seniors name in an attempt to create closer relations.

This turned to a surprising turn of events as Senior Yun seemed to have no reservations at all in sharing their given name Yun Mei.

Opposing the ideas many had about her and her apparent personality at first glance.

Now that Senior Yun shared her name as simply as the other Seniors, she quickly became closer to the group, making everyone achieve a closer relationship overall.

"First, I wish to congratulate you all for making it through the first part of the sect trial. We know it isn't easy going from civilization into the wild unknown, so please do not take our congratulations lightly." Said Senior Yun, after she brought everyone's attention to the front.

She then continued. "As promised we will now be sharing the purpose of this trial, and with that, reveal a bit more about our sect itself. If you believe that we have not adequately explained by the end please talk to one of us afterwards and we will answer any questions you have to the best of our abilities." Requested Senior Yun, taking a moment to make sure everyone understood before going on.

"Now to get into the thick of it, the purpose of the trial may not be something you truly understand today, nor may you understand it tomorrow. For some of you, you may not understand it till the very end of this trial."

"The reason for this is simple: the White Lotus Sect, one of the main six sects on the Xilin continent are known for one thing above all else, our focus on Dao comprehension."

"You may be wondering what exactly "Dao "means,"" Saying that, Senior Yun put up her hands in a quote gesture to emphasize the mystery behind the word "Dao".

Then Senior Yun continued by saying, "In simplified terms, the Dao is the path all cultivators will eventually walk on in their way to achieve enlightenment."

"The Dao in other terms, is to represent the very essence of your nature. A path based on who you are, what you stand for, and what you wish to be. It is the all encompassing path. But do not be mistaken, the Dao is more than just a promise to yourself. It is the very law of our world and if you deviate from your path too much, you may suffer dire consequences."

At the looks Senior Yue saw on the children's faces, she decided to clear things up a bit more.

"Ah, but don't fear, you won't have to worry about that for a long time. Only cultivators who have truly started on their path will be subjected to these restrictions."

Continuing on, Senior Yue reassures anyone confused by saying, "Do not worry if this topic seems far out of reach to you all. Cultivation is a long path and as long as you follow our sect's teachings you will not fail to follow your path."

"In this connection to this, let me be clear that the White Lotus Sect starts putting emphasis on the Dao this early in your path of cultivation because we, unlike our fellow sects, see the importance of finding our true selves early on in cultivation" 

Senior Yue carries on by saying, "our sect emphasizes the theory that knowing oneself to the fullest will help you all achieve results beyond your years. While this all may seem superficial, I can personally attest that achieving proficiency in your Dao path will become a transformative experience for all of you."

Finishing off her spiel, Senior Yue slowly looks around at the group of fifty-four sitting in a circle around them.

After looking into each and every one of their eyes with unclear purpose, Tian An watches as a small smile makes it on the face of Senior Yue.

With a small chuckle to what appeared to be sourced from whatever she found in the eyes of the children surrounding them, Senior Yue shakes her head before briefly reassuring. "Don't worry, we will instruct you later tonight on how to get started."

Tian An scrunches his eyebrows together as he realizes with some comfort that he wasn't the only one completely lost on what Senior Yue was saying previously.

But Tan An couldn't dwell in his personal thoughts very long, as Senior Yun backed away from the center of the circle and the large man named Senior Dong took her place.

"Now, for the surprise of the evening, if the boys would follow me and the ladies follow disciple Yue." Senior Dong briefly instructs while gesturing with his hands.

The children quickly raised themselves from their spots on the ground. 

The two Seniors walked an equal distance apart onto two different sections of the clearing, making it obvious to the children that they were expected to line up behind the Seniors.

Tian An quickly went to his feet and followed his fellow male members of the group to the line forming in front of Senior Dong.

When every child was finally lined up, both Seniors nodded to each other briefly, and then turned back to the children in front of them.

"Come along, follow." Senior Dong said while looking briefly at the children before walking in the direction behind him.

As the line started moving to follow Senior Dong, Tian An looked to the line Senior Yue was leading and realized they were doing the same thing they were. 

Just curving slightly right in a direction away from them.

What followed was five minutes of small mumbling amongst the children with nothing but forest surrounding them.

That was until Senior Dong stopped in place and turned back to the children, he had a large smile on his face as he faced them and waited for the last child in line to stop.

Now that Tian An looked at those around him, he counted around twenty-nine heads in total. 

 Tian An realized that meant there were about twenty-five females present to the twenty-nine males.

That was an intriguing even ratio in Tian An's opinion.

Bringing him out of his musings, Senior Dong spoke to the crowd in front of him with a bolstering voice. 

"Waiting behind me is a large pond. This is to reward you all for a week of hard work. Please enjoy this moment and take advantage of it, who knows when you'll get another opportunity to do so." Senior Dong said with a smirk on his face, "Oh and one more thing, don't drink the water unless you wish for a very painful evening, that's all." Senior Dong lightheartedly warned before waving them off and stepping aside to let the children pass him.

As the group advanced they slowly shuffled into a rocky clearing.

Shouts of excitement could be heard from some in the group, as they finally saw their surprise in front of them. 

A large crystal clear pond nestled in the middle of a large gray rocky circle.

Lets just say it was a very relaxing evening, as the group spent hours enjoying cleaning themselves and messing around in the water.

Tian An spent his time brushing off his body as best he could with what he had. 

He even found a flat rock to lightly brush against his skin to try to get rid of anything that was really stuck.

Tian An also ended up putting his clothing briefly in the water as well. Before stretching them out and placing rocks to keep them stretched in place.

After doing the essentials, Tian An spent the rest of the time floating around aimlessly and relaxing with closed eyes. 

Trusting the Senior to keep watch while he took a moment to relax for once.

Tian An hadn't even realized how tense he had been, not until he unfurled his shoulders and the tension in his legs relaxed themselves.

The group didn't end up leaving until the sun started setting and their skin was wrinkled.

Tian An was a little upset that as soon as he got out he realized that his feet would immediately get dirty again because of his lack of shoes.

Another reason for him to be a little jealous of the kids around him, as they slipped on their comfortable slip on shoes and walked with protected feet.

But Tian An didn't mull on this fact for too long. 

If he cared about every little inconvenience he had to go through in comparison to the average person. Then he would surely be uselessly spitting at the world and become a very bitter child.

So he ended up moving along with his arguably cleaner body, freshly washed clothes and newly dirt covered feet.

That night not one person had trouble finding peace, as they all ate around a burning fire with a much more civilized look to all of them.

Tian An smiled to himself, watching all the others his age smile and talk with joyous expressions. 

He felt warm just being a part of the pleasant atmosphere surrounding him, he wished this would last just a bit longer.

Sometime during the night, Senior Xue, who was left at camp to watch over the clearing, stood up and went closer to the children from his resting place.

He briefly glanced over their faces and waited for conversations to die down.

Once he was sure he had everyone's attention, Senior Xue started. 

"Now I do not wish to dampen this joyous evening for you all but there is one more thing to go over before we rest."

The children briefly glanced at one-another wondering what Senior Xue meant.

"As Senior Yue had briefly mentioned before, we Seniors are here to guide you and help you understand your purpose a little better."

Some nodded their heads at recalling Senior Yue saying earlier that they would help them get started on the so-called path.

Pointing a finger to the left where an even plane of grass sat in the clearing, Senior Xue instructed.

"Sit in a line at the clearing over there, I will briefly explain an exercise to help you start on your path. We will take the rest of the evening helping you correct yourself until you no longer need our assistance."

Many were curious about the exercise, so without any dallying the children stood up from their place around the fire and made their way over to the grassy clearing.

Once the children had all followed instructions and were in a neat and orderly line, Senior Xue stood in front of them with his hands clasped behind his back.

He then briefly went over the method of sitting criss-cross with the feet on-top of the opposite thigh, the basic lotus position. 

He explained to the children that by sitting in the proper position and clearing their minds, they would be more intune with themselves and bring their mind, body, and soul into closer relation and sync.

Tian An had no reason to doubt the Seniors' teachings and thought they knew what they were doing so he listened well.

He made sure to do as they said to the best of his ability, as well as listen to any correction they made to his form.

That allowed Tian An to at least grasp at the basics of the exercise and memorize it to use in future instances.

Now Tian An isn't one to give up on something, but after straining his body into the same position for three hours under the moon and only being able to clear his mind for a few brief moments.

He wasn't very opposed when he heard Senior Xue tell them that they were finished with the exercise for the night and that they could all head to bed.

That night even though Tian An found a resting spot and was ready to sleep. He still ended up going back to the lotus position every few minutes to try and memorize everything he could before finally going to sleep.

Tian An knew this was the first step into changing his fate and he would be damned if he was going to forget a single detail of the exercise.

The next week of the journey followed was rather different from the previous one before it.

As the final days of the week set in, it became clear that some could not handle the isolation and homesickness that was brought about by the long journey through the dense forest without the slightest sign of civilization. 

On top of that, throughout the week there was the consistent barrage of bug bites, fevers and disease, and loud cries at night that originated from the depths of the dense forest.

Whilst no-one was ever seriously injured it came as a mild surprise to many that even when presenting with a rather mild fever or injury the Seniors refused to stop even when they pleaded to do so.

Tian An couldn't say he was surprised; he was rather used to the notion that even in debilitating states many expect you to continue on regardless of the situation.

He couldn't say he didn't empathize with those who had to struggle onward. He knew very well with grime memories that being ill and forced to do labor intensive activities was one of the worst feelings in the world.

It wasn't the pain or struggle of those activities, but the helplessness one faced in the invisible hand that seemed to grasp at them and drain their life away that made the struggle so much worse.

Yet Tian An wasn't very worried, he noted with satisfaction that his group was very supportive of one-another. 

As more got sick, there were several instances of other members of the group pitching in to carry them and their canteens to take the load off of them.

But even with the supportive nature of the group, there were still many who could not continue till the end of the second week.

By the time the last day of the week rolled around their numbers counted in at forty-two

Twelve less in just a week's worth of time.

Tian An was one of the lucky few who avoided getting ill or facing any serious injury.

 Be it from his background or from diligently following in his Seniors footsteps, he actively avoided anything that could even cause a slight chance of ruining his ability to keep pace with the Seniors.

Playing it safe even helped him understand what not to do through the mistakes of others. 

He learned not to lean on trees lest a hidden snake show its fangs. As well as watch overhead lest a snake were to drop on you, also keep clear of any holes or small drops in the ground, lest a snake be accidentally stepped on and aggravated.

Tian An could confirm that at least 20% of all accidents in the forest were snake related.

On the brighter side, through consistent practice and not giving up Tian An was doing much better at both trekking the forest as well as quickly clearing his mind whenever breaks came in three times a day.

While it had never been required to practice the exercise after the first day. 

Tian An sought it smart to keep up with it just in case it was something important.

Now although Tian An hadn't felt much in ways of enlightenment, he couldn't deny the fact that as he followed through with the exercise. His thoughts became less scrambled and reflecting on the past days became much easier for him to accomplish.

He learned at a much faster pace, and even felt like he was noticing little things he overlooked beforehand.

Such as the way the sounds of the forest seemed muted around the group as they trekked through the forest. Only to pick up again once they stopped for the night.

Another effect Tian An took note of was how much easier it was to mute his impulses after learning how to quickly clear his mind through the hours of practice he put in over the week.

While Tian An wasn't very emotional or impulsive in the first place, he still noticed how he could do things like reject the feeling of hunger or thirst more effectively when blocking out the noises inside his head.

But unfortunately, today was the final day of the second week and Tian An recalled the Seniors saying that halfway through the journey they would stop providing a clear place to rest nor food and fresh water to the group.

Tian An was fine not eating for the next two weeks, and was only worried about getting a good source of water and finding a place to sleep without going too far off the trail from his Seniors.

Tian An wasn't a fool, he knows that the only reason larger predators have stayed clear of them was through the efforts of the Seniors guiding them.

Luckily Tian An thought of a good solution to the water problem.

 He figured that since the forest had an abundance of life and at least twelve of the last fourteen days spent on this journey was accompanied by light rain sometime during the rain or night.

He could fashion a larger container of some sort to catch water for him during the night or leave it to collect during the day as he traveled behind his Seniors.

This way he wouldn't be forced to purify the water, nor trek into the dangerous forest without the supervision of the Seniors protecting them.

It was on the last day of the second week that Tian An fashioned it together during the day, a mix of twine and large leaves he plucked from some of the more sturdy looking trees.

While it did take him a few attempts to get the container sealed tight. He did end up succeeding after using his own canteen as a mold and tying the leaves in with the twine, overlapping it until no spaces were left.

Unlike his canteen, he kept the top of the makeshift cups open hoping that by doing so he could catch any rain in the cups to refill his canteen.

The last night of the second week was an anxious one, as many realized for the first time that this would be their last free meal for the rest of the trip.

Tian An was also sad at that fact, yet he never dwelled on it for more than a moment. 

He was more than satisfied with the weight he had gained over the last two weeks and was even slightly relieved by the fact.

He wasn't used to getting free food, not to mention at that quantity, so he always felt a little anxious at the free food given out.

The following day was a somber one.

The morning started without the usual fire or large roasted slab of meat, this followed with a lack of distributed water which created unrest throughout the day as several of the children couldn't help but take dry gulps as they walked for hours on end.

But that was only based on Tian An's observations.

Tian An couldn't tell exactly what the other children were thinking but he was personally able to carry on just fine with the lack of support of their Seniors.

If he had to guess he would assume that his fellow recruits probably have never had to fend for themselves before and were struggling with the lack of support.

Now while he wasn't opposed to helping his group, Tian An was very aware that his situation didn't look much better if he were to factor in the final step that Tian An had but little clue on how he was going to overcome.

Food and water was barely a looming problem in the face of a lack of shelter. 

Something Tian An was sure that wouldn't be provided tonight if the Seniors previous words were true.

The group didn't take a single break until the very end of the day.

This alone caused many of the children to fall behind and eventually become unable to keep up with the sudden task of having to go at least double the distance from previous days without a single break.

The first thing Tian An did when the seniors stopped in a seemingly random spot was to look around the immediate area knowing that the final part of their challenging day was still ahead of them.

Tian An was pleased to note that because he had been able to keep up with the Seniors, he had a longer time to scout out a safe space with the Senior's presence still in the midst of them warding off any threat.