16 Misunderstanding
Grandpa Yin had a guilty look as he faced Jason and Michael who were on the floor. He turned his hand and threw a fresh set of clothes at their feet and suggested they go clean up.
Michael who was laying on his back in his birthday suit, glanced at the apologetic old man before looking up at Jason who was still in the middle of processing what just happened.
He looked down at his body which was now only covered by a blanket and noticed Jason's hand that was resting close to his nether regions. Michael blinked a few times in confusion before suddenly jumping to his feet and backing into the corner, being sure to cover himself as much as possible.
"J…Jason, what the hell are you doing man?"
Jason looked up at Michael, his puzzlement increasing by the second.
"Pfft HAHA" Grandpa Yin found the whole spectacle to be quite entertaining.
"Go clean yourselves up in the open-air bath and get a good rest. We'll continue training tomorrow" he said before exiting the room. His chuckles could be heard down the hall.
Michael had finally found his escape route as he made his way past Jason and picked up his clothes, being sure to not expose his sensitive parts.
After watching the weird actions of his brother who he just noticed was naked, pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, justifying the horrified look on Michael's face.
Jason panicked at the misunderstanding and quickly began to shout "N…No Michael it isn't what it looks like!"
Without looking back, Michael ran at full speed out of the room towards the open-air baths. The words "Pervert" could be heard in passing.
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Hot steam made its way out of the water and into the night sky, causing the rays from the moon to distort. Along the outside of the bath were several bamboo poles with flames dancing atop, a sweet smell of citronella pervaded the scene.
Two young men could be seen in the water sitting on opposite ends of the bath. One of the men was talking very fast while looking panicked, seemingly trying to fix a misunderstanding.
"And that's why I was on top of you" Jason finished after a long while.
Michael who had been patiently listening as his brother explained his heart away on the other side of the bath, was silent. A few minutes passed while Jason began to sweat bullets, afraid this misunderstanding would affect their brotherhood.
"HAHAHA, Good Brother!" Michael stood up and announced to the world.
"Huh?" Jason was taken aback by the sudden loud declaration before he saw Michael wading his way toward him.
"The heavens are smiling down on me, giving me this good brother" he said emphatically before putting his arm around Jason and sitting down next to him.
"I'm sorry I doubted you brother" Michael said seriously. Once Jason had explained everything thoroughly to him, he was almost moved to tears. 'Despite his previous trauma being flung to the surface, despite being scared and horrified, he still put himself in harms way to try and save me.'
For Michael who was now left with nothing but a few keepsakes to remember his family, the bravery and brotherhood shown by Jason was a much-needed support he could rely on.
Jason looked over at Michael who seemed to have finally come around and sighed in relief, tears started to well in his eyes.
"I was so scared" he admitted emotionally.
"I know..."
"I thought I was gonna lose you too"
"I know..."
"If you died… I don't know what I would do" At those final words Jason began to sob uncontrollably, his emotional state was in a wreck after everything that had happened.
"It's okay brother" Michael grabbed him into an embrace and looked up to the moon that was illuminating the night sky.
'I won't die… I'll protect Jason and get revenge on those assholes. I need strength…' Staring at the moon he made this declaration.
After they finished bathing, the two got changed into the spare clothes that Grandpa Yin provided and made their way back to the bedroom. During their talks they concluded that Grandpa Yin was merely burning off the impurities from Michael's cultivation that had stained his body and clothes, not trying to harm him. The ice-cold bucket of water on the other hand, was a different story.
Once they made it to the room Jason immediately jumped into bed and passed out, he had experienced too much stimulation today and was exhausted both in mind and body.
Michael looked over fondly at his brother who was now snoring away peacefully and began to think over what had happened. The last thing he remembered was being able to penetrate the force field surrounding his Dantian before passing out.
Without waiting another moment, he sat in the lotus position and used his minds-eye to inspect his body. The first place he looked was his meridians to inspect the damage.
Hiss
He sucked in a cold breath of air at the sight of his left arms meridians that had seen better days. Much like his first time cultivating, they were torn and damaged. Luckily, they were not completely ruined, but at least for now he would not be able to use them to cultivate.
Making his way to the right arm he viewed the passage to his heart. Fortunately, due to not having to control the Qi and merely acting as a sluice the damage was minimal. Upon reaching his right arm he was impressed at how the meridians managed to hold up against the previous onslaught.
'Reinforcing my meridians seems to help considerably' he thought internally. "Time to see my Dantian" he said enthusiastically.
…
…
…
"Goneeeeee!!" he screamed. Like someone coming home after being robbed, he experienced a multitude of emotions at once. Confusion, panic, grief and anxiety.
Looking at the arid desert that contained Qi not even a few hours ago, he stared in shock.
"Master what's wrong?" Archie who had felt the tumultuous emotions being transmitted from Michael's brain appeared next to him.
…
…
"What the F***? Who stole your Qi?" the 10-year-old shrill voice seemed to echo throughout the barren wasteland of Michael's Dantian.
Michael turned to Archie and started to question him "Did you take my f***ing Qi you little shit?".
"N…No Master. The Eternal Pendant only uses Qi from the earth, just like you do" panicked at the sudden accusations of his master, he put up his hands and claimed his innocence.
"What the hell is happening?" dismayed by his Qi disappearing, his mind began to work overtime.
"This…"
"This is what happened last time. I cultivated at my house and woke up covered in impurities before running into the mountains. When I went to check my Dantian it was also empty"
"This has happened before?" Archie was shocked. He was aware of the impurities being cleansed from Michael the previous time but did not know that he succeeded in activating his Dantian.
Michael nodded and continued "Yeah, when I cultivated last time, I also activated my Dantian. I tried to fill it up again because I thought that the Qi must have dissipated on its own, but I couldn't cultivate due to my damaged meridians"
"Dissipated on its own?" Archie looked at Michael like he was dumb. "What kind of bullshit is that" he sneered.
"Well, you tell me what's happening genius" Michael retorted in anger.
"I don't freaking know!"
"Is my Qi Technique faulty?"
Archie straightened his shoulders and replied curtly "No, your Cultivation Technique is an Ancient Technique perfected over years of trial and error. Do not doubt your ancestors that created this worlds cultivation".
"F***, I can't keep destroying my meridians like this. But I need to get 1st level of Qi condensation before the 1 month is up. If I can't get into the Soaring Dragon Palace, my plans for revenge will take a long detour" Michael balled his hands into a fist in frustration.
"Master, I think we've been approaching this wrong. Maybe we need to reinforce all of your meridians before you activate your Dantian?"
"Hmm. Maybe that can work" Michael placed his hand on his bald chin and began to stroke it in deep thought.
"…" Archie looked at the pondering Michael in disbelief 'Does he think a beard will grow if he strokes his bare chin like that'.
Michael suddenly felt a pin prick on his heart, as if one of his deepest insecurities were prodded. He narrowed his eyes at Archie who was staring at him with a weird look.
Archie shivered the moment Michael narrowed his eyes 'F*** this guys got good instincts' he wailed in his heart.
"I better consult the Qi Technique" Michael said abruptly before summoning the book in front of him.
The old book opened in front of the two, exposing the first page for initial cultivation.
"Huh?" the two exclaimed simultaneously.
Once again, the diagram had changed from their previous viewing. The initial diagram used only the right arms meridians to create a cycle, whereas the second time they opened it showed the left arm incorporated in the cycle. This time however, the right leg was also depicted in the cycle.
"What is going on?" Michael felt a headache coming on.
