A Snail's Wisdom

The girls had finished their food after getting ready. All they had left to do was put on their shoes.

It was said that becoming an Immortal required one to shed mortal d.e.s.i.r.es and luxuries. To respect this notion, most who sought to pass the sect's entrance examination and take their first step onto the path of an Immortal would come with only the clothes on their backs and a simple pair of shoes, a symbolic gesture of their departure from the mortal world.

As they were about to walk to the door to put their shoes on, Kenja stopped them.

"Go pay respect to Baba-san first. You might not be coming back here for a while."

Realizing the meaning behind his words, the sisters nodded and hurried to the old woman who was back on her rocking chair. They kowtowed with closed eyes. Yoshie's eyes were shut tighter than her sister's.

"Shizuka is leaving, Baba-san. Please be well till I return."

"Yoshie is leaving too, Baba-san. Thank you for taking care of us all this time."

They opened their eyes to look at the old lady who served as both a mother and grandmother figure over the years. Their eyes welled up, but they managed to restrain themselves. Even Yoshie, the regular crybaby, persevered!

The old woman stopped rocking her chair and stood up. She walked over to them and kneeled onto the ground before placing her arms around them in a gentle hug.

"Look at you girls! Crying already, and you haven't walked out the front door. How do you think I will feel seeing you leave in such a manner?"

At this point, the girls pushed their face against the old woman's sleeves trying to hide their tears. Baba's eyes watered a little as well as she waited for them to retract their heads. After they settled down, they reluctantly pulled their heads up and away from Baba, leaving behind a wet stain on each sleeve.

Baba stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets. She pulled out two small red c.h.e.s.ts, the kind that usually holds small jewelry. She gave one to each of them.

"I hope that when you wear these, you will remember your Baba here." She gave them a motherly smile.

Yoshie opened her box first and teared up at the sight once more. Inside, a pair of pink pearl earrings were resting with a smooth sheen. Seeing this, Shizuka opened up her box and found her own pair of identical pearl earrings except they were purple. The next moment, they placed their boxes on the table and hugged Baba while crying again.

"B-b-baba-san," choked Yoshie. She was unable to form any other words.

"We will miss you, Baba-san," wailed Shizuka. The dutiful sister spoke for both of them.

Frowning at this, Kenja couldn't help but interrupt the touching moment. "Baba-san, I might not be returning either. Do I get anything?"

"Of course, Kenja. I wouldn't forget about you. Today, I am cooking your favorite, Camel-hump Stew."

Kenja slumped at her words.

First, Camel-hump Stew was a widely-used recipe that used common and cheap ingredients with a tiny bit of a camel's hump for flavor. Kenja appreciated the frugality of the dish, but it was not his favorite, especially since she makes it four of the seven days a week!

Second, did she expect him to fail again and return for dinner? Where was his parting gift and tearful goodbye? Well, he didn't expect a gift for his twentieth attempt at the examination, but a heartfelt hug and a show of faith wasn't too much to ask for!

The girls understood the meaning behind Baba-san's words and stopped their sobbing long enough to respond. Yoshie was the first to wipe her eyes with her sleeves and speak, "Baba-san, Kenja-niisan will definitely pass today."

"Yes! With us there, he will perform to the best of his abilities!"

They reasoned with her. They believed that if Kenja's scent could help with their meditation, then their own proximity should support Kenja in the same manner.

"Fine, fine. If your brother passes, I'll personally deliver the Camel-hump Stew to him tomorrow."

"Don't trouble yourself, Baba-san. I will come back later and cook for you myself." Kenja gave her a reassuring smile. He knew better than anyone that travelling up to the sect took a huge toll on a normal person, let alone someone as old as Baba.

Moreover, forget the stew! No one liked Camel-hump Stew to that extent.

Having bade their farewells, they left and made the trip to Ryuga's middle ring and to the Flowing River Sect.

The walk up the hill was rough for most people but not for them. Kenja had the twins train their bodies regularly, sometimes using the very same hill for practice, but he would never let them reach the top.

The last thing he wanted was for Vice Elder Shirou to notice them trespassing and use them for additional target practice.

In front of the Sect's entrance, a little less than a dozen people had already lined up for the examination. Kenja joined the line from the back and began his Qi breathing exercise. The twins emulated him and began breathing in sync with Kenja.

When the people standing ahead of them saw this, they shook their heads and snickered.

Qi breathing was the simplest form of Qi manipulation. Many normal mortals could do it to some extent with a little bit of training. Practicing seriously at this time usually meant one of two things: you have no talent for Qi manipulation, or you have no confidence in yourself, either of which were detrimental to a cultivator's future.

…

Three hours had passed, and the sun had reached and left its peak before the sect's gates creaked opened. By this time, another eighty or so people had gathered behind Yoshie in a disorderly manner, but they immediately stopped their mingling and shuffled back into a straight line. They looked straight ahead at the man that exited the gates.

He looked to be in his thirties or forties, but it was understood that a cultivator's true age was not discernible through their appearance. With each advancement in one's cultivation, one gained greater longevity and a more youthful appearance.

"Come forward one at a time. State your name and age, and then perform three cycles of Qi breathing."

The man didn't yell, and yet everyone had heard him clearly. He was using a cultivator's method for communicating—the Wind Whispering technique.

One had to reach a minimum of the Qi Flourishing stage to utilize such a technique. And the stronger one became, the further the distance and the greater number of people to whom one could whisper.

Supposedly, the Emperor had reached a level where he could whisper to everyone within one kilometer of his throne simultaneously, but if it was just to a single person, no one was sure of the maximum distance he could reach.

Wise Man Satoshi once told him about a cook who was working two kilometers away from the castle gate when he received a whisper from the Emperor requesting a popular gourmet dish be brought to the castle gate immediately, but Kenja raised the point that there was no way for the cook to know it was the Emperor who spoke to him.

One thing was certain: the reigning Emperor was a powerful cultivator.

Everyone in the line nodded their head in recognition and respect for the sect spokesperson in front of them. As if satisfied from their acknowledgement, he closed his eyes and began the examination.

"Approach."

The first in line nodded his head and approached the spokesperson before bowing his head. He gave his name and age before proceeding to mimic the same Qi breathing exercise Kenja and his sisters were doing a moment before.

"Enter."

The person smiled and bowed in gratitude before entering the sect's gates.

"Next."

This continued for some time till Kenja was near the front of the line.

Having taken this examination nineteen times before, Kenja's nerves were steeled and impregnable, but his sisters behind him grew more nervous as they neared the examiner. Although Shizuka maintained a stoic demeanor, her breathing was heavier than usual. As for Yoshie, she repeatedly pinched the side of her robes in an attempt to calm herself down.

Neither of them wanted to fail and disappoint their older brother who had trained them long and hard for this day, all for a chance at a brighter future.

Kenja gave them a reassuring smile and his all-knowing nod that told them everything would work out. They relaxed and returned their brother's intentions with a pair of sincere smiles.

Not a single person had failed the exercise yet, so the sisters felt more reassured as they approached the gate.

As long as one passes the gate, they would be able to join the sect as a servant at the very least, or perhaps the outer sect if they showed promise. Even as a servant disciple of the sect, one's future was boundless as the world of the cultivators worked primarily on one's own achievements. Not like the mortal world where nepotism and nobility reign supreme!

Kenja reached the front of the line when he heard the command for him to approach.

"Next."

His turn had arrived.

Kenja forgot himself and frowned momentarily at the examiner before putting his smile back on his face. He exhaled a silent sigh filled with complicated emotions, but he psyched himself up before turning back to his sisters with his usual brotherly smile.