Torsten Hewson
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Chapter 17: Stillv2
🕑 Added 2021-04-19 00:07:15 +0000 UTCAgain, sorry for doing this, but this is the second version of the chapter "Still" with some major changes. Now instead of everything being available in Hong Yaowu, the pipes and copper are something that would have to be sourced elsewhere. The ending is also changed a lot, incorporating another scene. This one is the one most likely to be posted, as I like it a lot more. In any case, I'll see everybody tomorrow, hopefully at the usual time.
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“I think I have seen something like this before.” Xian mused, scratching at his chin.
“Really?” I asked, as myself, pops, and Yao Che all stared at my drawing of a still. Honestly, out of everything I was “inventing” a still was probably the thing I knew how to make the best. Well, the best when I had a hardware store to manufacture all the pipes, or a pressure cooker if I wanted to go full hillbilly. In the absence of those, I needed some professionals.
Pops nodded. “In Pale Moon Lake City. Of course, the device was three stories tall and glowing with inner fire, but it did look somewhat similar to the way yours is arrayed.”
“What was it used for?” I asked, intrigued.
“We do not know the original intent of it’s creator. It's nearly two thousand years old. But what it did was concentrate solutions. Any solution. Though only a tenth of the liquid ever came out the other end. But alas, it stopped working. It only produces black sludge now, and nobody knows how to fix it.” Xian sighed. “So now, it is merely a curiosity. The glowing machine near the palace.”
Huh. Well, if it looked like a giant still, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Qi filled alcohol was expensive. Qi artifacts were so strange though. I kind of took it for granted that you could reverse engineer most devices, instead of being some lost mystic art that could never be replicated again.
“So, you think you can handle something like this?” I asked Yao Che, and the blacksmith stared long and hard at my drawings.
He considered them in great depth, a frown affixed to his face, until he shook his head and sighed. “I’ll be able to do the body, but this much piping is going to be… difficult.” The admission that he couldn’t do something like this seemed to be physically painful. “Especially at the purity you want. We just don’t have the means out here.”
I sighed, and nodded. It was a bit of a longshot anyway. It was mostly an idle idea. I wasn’t actually the biggest drinker. I was normally a juice or iced tea kind of guy (I could not wait until the peaches were ready to harvest, peach iced tea, here I come!) but If other people were drinking, I normally joined in. Get a little buzzed, and have a little fun.
Also, potatoes for vodka. Though I had read something about most vodka being made out of oats or something now? I couldn’t actually remember.
Yao Che looked at the pipes a bit more. “If we can get the copper, I might be able to do the pipes. I’ll have to do some practise.”
“Well, if you need a hand, I’m available, even if it's just to pump the bellows. I want to see how this is made.” I replied.
Or more specifically, how an ancient blacksmith made pipes. It was always a pleasure to watch someone skilled at work. The lack of drop hammers and machinery just made it more interesting. Everything by hand. No wonder Yao Che looked like he could get in a fistfight with a bear and win.
He looked pleased at my offer, perking up at the thought of me learning even something like this from him.
“The copper is still the main issue. You’ll definitely need to get a merchant on it, contact someone in the exchange.... Or go to Pale Moon Lake City.”
Something that I could probably kludge together in an afternoon back in the before was quickly turning into a grand quest that I would have to travel nearly a week for. Honestly, it was starting to sound a bit not worth it. And the price would rapidly balloon if I had to go to the big city. I… well, I didn’t have too much left, after everything. Sure, I had the maple syrup I could sell, and that might fetch some good coin, but I might have to wait until after the harvest. We weren’t in any danger of starving, and we could still afford some creature comforts for sure, but the still was rapidly starting to cost more than I thought it would.
That said, it wasn’t all for boozing it up. If you can distill it enough, you can use it to disinfect things, from tools and needles, to I think wounds.
And my family was full of healers. Might as well get them the best tools for the job they had. They knew boiling water killed most bacteria, but you can’t just start boiling people.
Well you can’t boil most people. I can survive a boiling just fine. And oven temperatures. I’d yet to find a temperature that actually damaged my skin.
I idly wondered if I could just reach into a forge, and grab the cherry-red metal. That would certainly make things easy.
“Well, I’ll see if I can get some better measurements for you, so you have a better idea of how much copper you need.” Yao Che informed me, as he got to work.
“And the cost of the flux, too.” Pops said. “If it is to be near such a harsh liquid, the lead in the flux may seep out and render the liquid poison.”
….That one threw me for a loop, not going to lie. It still got me that they had some really advanced medical knowledge in some areas, and then super medieval thoughts and technology in others. Like in farming equipment. If you have germ theory, pasteurization should be something logical, shouldn’t it? But when I brought that up to Pops, he looked like somebody hit him over the head. Most people used special, expensive arrays to keep things fresh if they had to. Nobody had thought of just heating things up.
But I suppose it was more advanced knowledge than most people had. Hong Yaowu basically meant “Medicine Warehouse” after all. And a lot of the mortals I had seen on the road through The Azure Hills seemed to not have as high hygiene standards.
“I’m a little surprised you wouldn’t just use a pill furnace though. Can’t those refine liquids?” Pops asked.
“That… that is actually a good idea.” I admitted. Pill furnaces could extrude liquids, if you interrupted the process, though that was generally the sign of a lack of skill, or you screwed up somewhere. It would be faster too. A couple minutes instead of hours. But it would probably cost the same, or even more, because of all the extra workings that went into a pill furnace. “It might work, but anyone can use a still. You don’t need Qi, or anything special.” I told him, shrugging.
That, and I still wasn’t the most comfortable around the things. It was irrational. It was just a tool, but I was a bit uncomfortable about the pills.
He nodded at my explanation. “So? What are you up to for the rest of the day?” He asked me idly, as Yao Che started marking things down.
“Fishing with the boys, at Green Lake.” I said happily.
Yao Che nodded. “Well, you boys have a good time. Your wife going along?”
“Meimei made it very clear that anybody that tries to drag her out of the house today is going to earn her ire. And then she started laughing to herself and muttering about laxatives.” I said. Well, it was fishing with the boys, so I didn’t try too hard to convince her anyway.
Che barked out a laugh. “That girl is entirely too much like her mother. Though tempered with Brother Xian’s subtlety.” He mused, nudging pops while he smirked.
I’d have to ask pops about Meimei’s mom some day. I could tell the wound of her absence still hurt, but I hoped they would tell me about her.
“Well, leave this drawing with me, and I’ll get the rest of these measurements figured out. Your Brother Che will get you the best price, count on it!” Yao Che declared. held out his arm, and we clasped forearms, instead of a more formal bow, completing our deal.
I was fairly certain that most smiths would charge for figuring out a blueprint for their client, but Che just seemed a bit interested to have a project. The perks of being friends with people.
“Hey Jin! We’re ready to go!” Gou Ren shouted to me.
...Pale Moon Lake City, Huh? I’d think about it. Not like it was really a priority.
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The fishing trip was pretty nice. We had some good, relaxing fishing, save for one incident. Even if Yun Ren gave up his line to just take pictures of everything. That man was entirely too obsessed with my recording crystal., but it was a pretty harmless hobby.
And I’ll say it again, he does take good images.The one of Xiulan this morning, sitting with her eyes closed in meditation, with little Liu adding more flowers to her hair was especially good. If I didn’t know better there would have been a lighting crew and photoshop involved.
Or his landscape images looked nice too. Green Lake was peaceful, idyllic…
He swapped to the next picture, of my face, eyes bugged out with panic.
And had some kind of freshwater shark in it, which was apparently pretty rare, but could grow to dangerous sizes.
And while I was a cultivator, seeing a fin coming at me through the water had made me squirm just a bit.
The next image was an eruption of water as I threw myself out of the lake, panicking before I realised that the poor thing would probably hurt itself trying to bite me. And I realised that in addition to the flora scrolls, that I still remembered with startling clarity, I should probably check out more of the native wildlife.
Meiling giggled at the image from her spot in my lap, as Gou Ren grumbled in frustration. She would glance up from her scroll ever so often, but otherwise had stayed true to her promise: Meiling had done absolutely nothing all day, and looked inordinately pleased by the fact.
Especially when I started dinner instead of her having to do it. Grilled Lakefish, that looked quite a bit like bass, but with the brightest green skin I had ever seen.
But there was something missing…
Pops walked into the room, looking a bit frazzled. “Has anybody seen Xian?” He asked, sounding concerned and annoyed.
My wife lifted her nose into the air, closed her eyes, and took a breath.
“Hes with Xiulan.” She said after a moment, pointing in to the northeast.
Well, it's official. Any kids we had were absolutely doomed. A mom who can sniff you out, wherever you hide? That was absolutely terrifying.
Xian looked at the direction and started to grumble. “I told him not to go there anymore.”
“I’ll grab him, pops.” I volunteered, and a relieved smile crossed his face.
“Thank you.”
I went to set Meimei aside, but she just hooked an arm around my neck when I went to lift her off.
So I just picked her up instead, and began my walk. Meimei wanted me to carry her, but I just kept my arms at my side, and she kept hanging on with one arm, her body still positioned like she was laying sideways with my lap under her.
Nice core muscles. Though I supposed the Qi helped.
She raised a reproachful brow at me. I didn’t give in.
So we wandered in the direction Meimei had pointed in, her hanging onto my neck with one arm and stubbornly reading a scroll, her body still horizontal to the ground. We got a few chuckles from people who saw us, and my wife eventually gave in, dropping off so she could walk beside me.
It was not very long of a walk, and something about the route tickled my mind-- Hey, this is in the direction of where I killed the wolf, and where the Thunderhoof was. I could hear clapping in a steady rhythm.
And sure enough, we were at the clearing.
Xiulan was sitting against a tree, and clapping out a beat as Xian practised his dance. Meimei’s eyes immediately went soft and warm as she took in the scene. It honestly wasn’t one I was expecting either, but it was cute. Xiulan looked a bit sheepish as she saw us, but it soon faded to a smile again as she saw Meimei’s beaming smile, trotting over to sit beside her.
Well, we could wait for a little. It's not like anything was urgent. And Xian was doing a good job, his eyes closed as he went through the movements.
My new little brother was getting really freckly. He barely had any last year, just a few dots, but now they were slowly starting to cover the bridge of his nose, just like his sister’s. Cute kid.
Towards the end of the dance, Xiulan’s claps started getting louder, increasing in volume until the last step, where she stopped. In the actual dance, the drums would keep going, and start again, but Xiulan had a good eye for this. As soon as the clapping stopped, Xian faltered, staggering and puffing.
“Wha? Why’d you stop?” He asked, sweat pouring off his brow.
“Because I believe we are done for today, Xian. An excellent performance.” She complemented sincerely. He then seemed to notice our presence, and he looked at the sky in confusion. “Wha? So late?! Have I missed lessons?! Father is going to kill me!” he yelped out, turning to Meimei with a pleading look in his eye.
Meiling smiled. “I’m sure he’ll forgive you.” She declared, holding out her arms and receiving an excited hug from the sweaty kid. “Now, what do you say to Xiulan for helping you?”
“Thanks Lanlan!” He chirped happily, grinning at her.
His stomach growled, and he flushed crimson.
“Let's go get some food in both of you.” I decided.
Meimei scooped Xiulan’s arm up, so they could walk together, as I hoisted Xian up so he could ride on my shoulders.
We wound our way back through the forest.
Comments
J B
Umut - only if they realize she's of that high a cultivation. Most if not all of Fa Ram's people are resistant to categorization, tho' - perhaps due to the purity of their chi?
Umut Numanoglu
I like this version better, much better but I'd prefer not reading different versions of same chapter. You can always let the blacksmith fail, he can say, sorry bro I couldn't make it or it is not good enough. Happens all the time, nobody can be sure that they succeed in the new thing they never tried yet
Umut Numanoglu
The only problem I see with this is, I believe getting a human body needs an extremely high cultivation, meaning if she gets it nobody would dare to attack her.
ThorneHawk
Did you release the wrong chapter to the 4.50 patrons? I can read ch. 18, but not 17.
Enkelados
I love it when you change a chapter, it has always been for the better. Also it let's me appreciate the chapter twice.
Enkelados
You could interpret it as he has an idea of how to do it, but will need some practice so he needs more material. But I think it is still better than before. That he needs to go to the city for copper/piping adds some conflict to the story and let's us explore new locations and people.
Casualfarmer
You are correct. I have reverted it to being Jin.
Zmal
Agree, much better with Jin having the issue rather than Gou.
J B
I think this is a significant improvement, but I find it a little sad that neither Meiling nor Jin react to the strong chi in Xian's "secret place". Copper piping IRL has been around for a long time, https://www.copper.org/publications/newsletters/discover/2005/march/article2.html for detail. Not sure how that translates to your setting, however - your call of course.
Khanalas
Little buddy is already meditating, nice
Mrdelta
I like most of the changes, but I think the fishing story was better when it was the locals laughing at Jin, instead of Gou Ren being the butt of the joke. Before it was just Jin being ignorant of the area/world, now it's a blow to Gou Rens competence.
Jess_2037
Jesus Christ you did. I kinda want to see them all go to the city but I dunno who’d they leave behind either
Michael Maor
Great chapter, and I really liked the added scenes, however the bit with the blacksmith does not work as well as the original version. While it's quite plausible that a village blacksmith will not be able to work copper (the techniques are very different from working iron) , or has no way of getting the materials needed, you have him start with "making that much piping is going to be difficult" then "If I can get the materials I'll need to experiment and see if I can make them". If the blacksmith can work with copper, and has the materials then they can make the pipes, that wouldn't be a question. Those two items however would be in question, as would how much time he has for this project.
Ronin_Ryker
I prefer this one as well, getting to see Xian and Xiulan helping him practice his dancing. The change of ease for acquiring purer copper and a more complex level of medicine and technology is really great too.
Summercat
Hmm. I think this one feels polished. We see some stuff moving and it's not just an infodump. Isn't the tournament in Pale Moon City? Sounds like the Fa Ram is gonna go on a trip. Will Pi Pa and Chunky stay behind, or go with - and if they go, who watches the Farm? (Or will someone from the Village help out) Normally I'd say Bi Di would stay but I... Want to see him enter the tournament. Could he even? I know Tigu would want to, but Bi Di... I'd love to see him enter and let everyone act.. ...cocky. Wa Shi would deffo want to go, because new foods, if he returns in time. Ri Zu probably would want to go if Mei goes, definitely if Bi Di goes too. The porcines... Chunky probably would just want to have fun. Ah heck, I could see Pi Pa wanting to go to keep everyone in check, and also if it's a buying trip, keep Jin from writing the receipts. So that they'd be legible. Miss Queen Bee will stay. I don't think she's fully awakened yet. Hmm. I wonder if Tigu could take a human form by then. Then she could probably "sneak" into the tournament. If she does... I bet it comes down to her and Xiulan. They spar for a few passes, ramping things up, before Xiulan gets the first blow in, a heartbeat before Tigu gets the second blow. That's where Tigu sheds her disguise, after saying that fighting as a human is a handicap for now cause she's not used to it, and she will honor Xiulan by doing her absolute best. Then the very attractive girl turns into a half grown kitten and everyone goes beserk, but are held in check by Elders (and Jin and Bi-Di on the sly). At first Tigu presses Xiulan hard, and almost lands a blow that would finish the fight - except Xiulan pulls a step from her dance rather than her standard cultivation, undergoes a breakthrough in understanding (if not power) and embraces that which calls to her - the dance of the blades of grass amongst the soft spring breeze. This change in style throws Tigu for a loop at first, but now they're evenly matched, each showing a high level of skill above and beyond the other competitors. Tigu and Xiulan fight it out to an effective draw, both having exhausted themselves but still in the ring, and Tigu says (to save face) that This Young Mistress shall honor Xiulan, and lets herself pass out from exhaustion. A half heartbeat later, Xiulan passes out, but since she lasted longer she gets the victory. The crowd goes into an uproar, and several high level cultivators (for the Hills) try to snatch Tigu, but the Verdant Grass sect blocks their attempts, saying any whom their Young Mistress (Xiulan) would call Sister gets the protection of their sect, and Xiulan's friends sect supports the Grass sect when Xiulan's friend (who lost in the previous round, probably to Tigu due to how seeding would work) also steps to defend Tigu. For a brief moment Mei smelled the Fa Ram's ki and intent rising and turning bitter as they were about to act, but the Verdant Grass sect acted before they could take action and everyone relaxes. Jin sneaks into the Verdant Grass compound later to retrieve Tigu, and find her asleep with Xiulan, and Xiulan's father sitting with them. Xiulans father quickly deduces that Jin is the Hidden Master that Xiulan spoke of, as well as Tigu's master, and tries to kotow, but Jin has none of it and declares there's no debt - but if the Sect Master wouldn't mind not mentioning Jin, he would appreciate it. Besides, Jin says the first time he met Xiulan she was terribly wounded and her first thought was still to warn people she thought were peasant mortals that there was danger, and he really appreciated that she was concerned. Then Jin says he wouldn't mind being friends with the people who taught Xiulan to care like that, and the Sect Master deduces that Jin is... Exactly what he's presenting himself as. A cultivator who decided to become a farmer because he didn't want to play the standard games, not some subtle trap for himself or the sect. ....wow I wrote a mini fan fiction.
Matt
I think that's the kind of moment where you give someone a look after it happens and/or bring it up later that day after they hope you've forgotten.
Andre Cote
Hum, last part is nice but find the flow better in the first one
V
I would expect some ribbing of Xiulan getting called Lanlan before the close of the chapter, feels too clean an end without.
riley st john
Definitely wanted to see the vodka but I do like that he has to travel.
Robert Mullins
I like this version better as well.
