Chapter 135 - Ao Wen’s Farewell Gifts 

Without waiting for anyone to respond, Feng Xi's fingers deftly plucked out the first notes of 'Blossoms In Snow.' Unlike her previous uses of the melody though, this time, Feng Xi layered in the faintest touch of the World Shaping Illusory Melodies. She'd only barely begun to learn the complex and intricate cultivation manual gifted to her by Qi Yue but it already proved more than sufficient to fill the hall with drifting snowflakes and the feeling of a crisp, cold moonlit night. 

"This is…?" Tan Qui began to speak, stunned by how real the illusory environment felt. 

"Shhh," his wife whispered from the side. "Just enjoy it."

Building slowly, Feng Xi added depth and texture to the illusionary world. The snow piled high in deep drifts as tick tree trucks with low branches filled the hall. When enough time had passed to brew a cup of tea, nothing could be seen of the grand hall save for the table and chairs where the gathered family members sat.

Suddenly, Feng Xi's playing shifted, taking on a playful note before returning to the colder and steadier melody. Moments later, the playful notes called to them only to fade away beneath the drifting snow. A third time the playful notes called out, this time met with a flash of multicolored flames and Ao Wen's graceful figure dancing out from behind a tree trunk. One fan fluttered sending a swirl of embers to dance among the falling snowflakes while the other covered Ao Wen's face revealing only her piercing amber eyes. A moment later, when the eyes of the gathered family members returned to her from the distracting swirl of embers they found she'd vanished into the snow, not even leaving footprints to testify to the reality of her appearance. 

Again, Feng Xi wove melody, drawing her audience deeper into the illusory world she created for them. Into the snow, she poured all of her feelings of separation, distance, and loneliness. When it seemed like hearts became as heavy as branches straining under the weight of frosty emotion, her playing shifted, drawing out the playful if fleeting Ao Wen and the moments of brilliance brought by her fans and flames. Those moments became precious memories to the audience, sources of warmth in the cold, light in the dark, and a reminder that the beautiful dancer might be out of sight for a moment but she hadn't truly left and would appear again to dazzle their eyes and warm their hearts. 

 As the song began to fade, Ao Wen reappeared one last time, this time dancing in a circle around Feng Xi, as though she danced only for the young zither player, melting the snow and wrapping her in a cloak of gently burning flames. When the last chord sounded, Ao Wen's flames flickered out, her fans closed and her arms draped around Feng Xi as though to keep her warm from the cold outside. 

The illusions faded away yet no one moved for several minutes. Tears gathered in the eyes of many despite the smiles hanging on their lips. Words felt inadequate and superfluous. Everyone in the room had felt what the two young women had hoped they would and more layered on top of it. In the end, it was Wan Yue who broke the silence, rising to offer a bow to the performers. "Thank you," she said simply. "I'll never forget." Part of her wished that more of her family could have joined them, just for this moment. The rest of her, however, felt like she'd seen something precious that wouldn't have been shown to many. Seeing it at all, when she alone had no blood relationship with the young heroes gathered here, it felt like something truly special to be included in. 

"There are other gifts as well," Ao Wen said, standing at last and fetching a long lacquered box from the end of the great hall. "Many of these are things I intended to give each of you later," she explained, opening the box to reveal several smaller packages within. "The timing is spoiled but I promise that they'll all keep until the time comes to use them."

Ao Wen's first gift, surprisingly, was presented to Tang Qui. "Chef Qui, I don't know as much about Artists and what they need to break through as I do about others, but I believe you'll find this elixir useful whether you break through from using it or not. When you next have an important meal to prepare, use drink this elixir first," she said. "It's called 'Silver Senses' and it will enhance each of your senses to an extraordinary degree for a period of a few hours. You will taste more subtle flavors, smell fainter aromas, feel with more detail…"

"To a chef, every sense is used in cooking," Tang Qui nodded, taking the elixir gently in both hands. "Even the sound oil makes when food is lowered into it tells the chef about its temperature and the progress of the cooking. Alchemist Ao," he said, bowing deeply. "This is a precious gift that I won't waste."

"It's good if it's helpful," Ao Wen said with a smile. "Likewise, this is for Father Feng," Ao Wen said, presenting a finely made jade bottle. "This is more of a custom concoction that I've named 'Essence of the Hunt,'" Ao Wen explained. "If you find that you need to throw yourself into a challenging hunt to meet your breakthrough, this not only sharpens your senses but supplies additional energy to your muscles, accelerates your healing, and strengthens your bones. It should last long enough for you to finish off truly dangerous prey and trigger your breakthrough. It may also work for a breakthrough without needing a hunt at all," she added. "I don't know what you'll need the most and no elixir can turn a Soldier into a Warrior without the cultivator themselves putting in the work, but it can help provide the extra push if Father Feng needs it," she concluded with a warm smile. 

"Wen'er, you didn't need to do this," Feng Lieren said, taking the jade bottle delicately. "I promise I'll put it to good use."

"It seems it won't be long before my husband is able to fill the vacant Deputy City Lord position he's been holding open," Wan Yue said with a smile. "If the elixir Alchemist Ao has prepared for you is like the one she prepared for me, your breakthrough is all but assured." 

"Speaking of all but assured, I owe a special thanks to Lady Wan Yue," Ao Wen said, placing a long, narrow, and exquisitely decorated lacquered box in front of her. "You protected my father from Long Ma's anger and for that, you will have my eternal gratitude. While there's nothing I can do to further aid your cultivation at the moment, it occurred to me that there were others in your family I could still help. This is for your children."

Opening the box, Wan Yue frowned in confusion at the contents. On one side of the box, several rings of tightly packed incense had been placed in two precise rows of three rings totaling six. On the other side of the box, were four rows of three small disks, each sized to fit into the center of one of the rings totaling twelve disks. The fragrance from the box provoked Wan Yue's energy, calling out to her scholar's mind and setting her newly awakened martial blood astir. "Is this what I think it is?" Wan Yue asked, fingers trembling as she set the box on the table, afraid that she would drop the priceless contents. 

"Proper awakening incense contains two components," Ao Wen began to explain. "The first part is what you see on the left, the 'Impelling Force' that provides the energy to break open a cultivator's inner world. The second part is what you see on the right, the 'Guiding Force' that helps a person awaken as an Artist, Mystic, Scholar, or Martial cultivator. In Turning Leaf and most places on the Western Peninsula, the Holy Light Abode is only able to supply a low-quality generalized Awakening Incense. The incense containing the Impelling Force is blended with equal parts of the incense corresponding to each of the four Guiding Forces creating an incense that any cultivator can use to awaken any cultivation path, but with poor results. Worse," Ao Wen added, "the low-quality incense leaves behind a form of sequelae in the body that takes almost a year for the body to purge as much as it's able to before another attempt can be made again. After too much of the sequelae has been accumulated in the body, the chances of backlash increase and the chances of awakening decrease."

"Does that mean that the Holy Light Temple has been suppressing us with this," Wan Yue struggled to find the right word. "This inferior awakening incense?"

"I don't know," Ao Wen said honestly. "Awakening Incense isn't easy or inexpensive to create. The set I've prepared for you can, at most, facilitate six awakening attempts. If you spent the same amount of money on ingredients for the version of awakening incense used by the Holy Light Abode, you could produce nearly six hundred sticks of incense though there's a second thing that makes the incense you have now different."

"The Guiding Force is separate from the Impelling Force," Wan Yue observed. "You mean a person can choose how to awaken with this incense?"

"Exactly so," Ao Wen said with a smile. "Your children just need to place the disk within the ring before lighting the outside edge of the ring. As it burns toward the center, if they've succeeded in opening their inner world, the Guiding Force will lead their energy in opening the desired path. This is how the children of Elders and Core Disciples of the Sacred Flame Celestial Temple underwent awakening. I imagine that producing this in significant volume would threaten the interests of the Holy Light Abode but it's enough for the Zhang family to raise a few children. Also, remember the 'checkup' I gave Patriarch Zhang's sixth son this past week?" Ao Wen said with a sly smile. "I purged the sequelae from his body. I know his failure last year has left him lost in the Zhang family household, but the awakening incense I've provided can be used safely up to twenty winters old. When he knows which path he desires, he can try again with one of these if you extend the privilege to him. After all, these are my gifts to you and your children, not to the Zhang family as a whole."

"Alchemist Ao," Wan Yue said, preparing to bow deeply. "You've changed my destiny and now you're doing the same for my children, I… I can't repay this," she said humbly.

"Then, if you'll forgive my selfishness," Ao Wen said, taking Wan Yue's cupped hands in her own and looking deeply into the other woman's eyes. "Watch over my parents. I won't be able to anymore. You don't need to tell them I asked you to, you probably shouldn't or my mother may reject your help. But, for the next fifty years or so, can you keep them safe?"

"For as long as they draw breath," Wan Yue promised. "I'll watch over them."