Da Bao had discovered a new privilege that came with having a little brother.
He could push him over and call it a lesson.
Xu Hao discovered this shortly after breakfast, when Da Bao took away his walking stick, set it carefully against a rock, and led him to a patch of bare earth beside the shelter.
"Today, we're going to work on your balance," Da Bao announced. "You've been falling over far too easily. If something attacks you, the last thing you want is to end up flat on your back before you even have a chance to defend yourself."
Xu Hao looked at the clearing.
"That sounds reasonable. How do we begin?"
"Spread your feet a little. Put one behind the other, bend your knees, and try not to lean too far forward."
Xu Hao followed the instructions.
His position felt awkward, but he could see the sense in it. With his feet apart, he was considerably more stable than when he stood with them together.
He was about to ask what came next when Da Bao placed a large hand against his shoulder and pushed.
Xu Hao fell straight onto his backside.
For several seconds, he remained where he was, staring up at his eldest brother.
"Brother Da Bao, I was under the impression that we were practising standing."
"We are. But you need to learn how to stay standing when somebody pushes you."
"I see. Perhaps you could have mentioned that part before demonstrating it."
Da Bao laughed and offered his hand.
Xu Hao accepted it, only to find himself hauled upright so quickly that his heels briefly left the ground.
Er Bao, who had been repairing a leather strap beside the fire, looked over.
"Brother, you're supposed to teach him where to place his weight. If you keep knocking him down without explaining anything, all he'll learn is that you're considerably stronger than he is."
"He already knows that."
"Which is why you should show him something he doesn't know."
Da Bao considered the criticism.
Then he stepped into the clearing and demonstrated.
He planted his feet, bent his knees slightly, and invited Xu Hao to push against his shoulder.
Xu Hao tried.
The giant didn't move.
He pushed harder.
Still nothing.
Da Bao shifted his weight almost imperceptibly, keeping his body steady even when Xu Hao put both hands against him.
"See? Don't fight the pressure by leaning away from it. Keep your weight between your feet. If you feel yourself losing balance, move a foot before the rest of your body follows."
Xu Hao stepped back and examined his brother's position more carefully.
He could understand the explanation.
Whether he could imitate it was another matter.
He arranged his feet and nodded.
"All right. Try again."
Da Bao approached.
His hand rose towards Xu Hao's shoulder.
Xu Hao flinched before it touched him.
Da Bao stopped.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Xu Hao knew his brother wasn't trying to hurt him. They'd already discussed what had happened when they first met, and he'd accepted Da Bao's apology.
Yet his body remembered the blow to his head.
It remembered falling unconscious far more readily than it remembered the kindness that had followed.
Da Bao slowly lowered his hand.
"Little brother, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"I know."
"We can stop for today if you want."
Xu Hao looked at him.
There was no impatience in the giant's expression. No indication that he considered the hesitation foolish.
"Let's continue," he said. "Just a little slower, if you don't mind."
Da Bao nodded.
This time, he placed his hand gently against Xu Hao's shoulder and applied pressure gradually.
Xu Hao felt his weight shift.
He nearly lost his balance, but managed to move one foot before falling.
"Better," Da Bao said. "Now try to notice the pressure before you move. You don't always need to jump out of the way. Sometimes a small adjustment is enough."
They repeated the exercise.
At first, Xu Hao continued leaning backwards whenever the hand approached, leaving himself with nowhere to go.
After several attempts, he began to understand how to keep his weight centred.
Understanding, unfortunately, did not make the movement easy.
By the tenth attempt, his calves were aching.
By the twentieth, his trousers were brown around the knees.
On the twenty-third, Da Bao stepped towards him and raised a hand.
Xu Hao noticed the movement early.
Instead of leaning away, he shifted sideways.
Da Bao's hand passed through the space where his shoulder had been.
He'd avoided it.
Xu Hao stared in surprise.
A delighted smile spread across his face.
Then Da Bao's other hand tapped his shoulder.
Xu Hao promptly sat down again.
He looked up at his brother.
Da Bao grinned.
"You moved away from the first hand. That's good. But you stopped paying attention as soon as you thought you'd succeeded."
Xu Hao sighed.
"I was enjoying my achievement."
"Enjoy it after you've finished moving."
From beside the fire, Er Bao laughed.
Xu Hao decided there was little point arguing.
He stood up, brushed the dirt from his trousers, and prepared to try again.
---
By midday, Xu Hao's legs had begun to feel as though they belonged to somebody else.
He sat on a stone beside the stream with both feet in the cool water, grateful for the chance to rest.
Bruises had appeared along his arms, and the blister on his heel had opened again.
He examined the damaged skin with some concern.
His mother had always been particularly strict about injuries.
She'd once spent an entire afternoon scolding a surgeon who had continued working despite having a fever. Her lecture on the difference between dedication and stupidity had been memorable enough that Xu Hao could still recall most of it.
Looking at his heel, he suspected she would have delivered a similar lecture to him.
Er Bao appeared carrying a wooden bowl and a clean cloth.
"I thought you might need this."
Xu Hao looked inside the bowl.
A thick green paste clung to the sides, smelling of crushed leaves and something considerably less pleasant.
"Medicine?"
"Yes. It should help with the bruises. I made a fresh batch this morning."
Er Bao sat beside him and demonstrated by rubbing a little of the paste against an old scar near his elbow.
Xu Hao took the bowl.
He applied a small amount to his forearm.
The paste felt pleasantly cool. After a moment, the tenderness around the bruised area began to ease.
He examined the mixture with renewed interest.
"What did you make this from?"
Er Bao named two plants that grew along the stream.
Xu Hao asked him to repeat the names, carefully matching each unfamiliar word with leaves he remembered seeing during their walks.
"I'd like to learn to recognise them," he said. "If the medicine works this well, it would be useful to know how to prepare it myself."
Er Bao nodded approvingly.
"That's a good idea. I'll show you where they grow tomorrow. But you must learn the differences between them and similar-looking plants. Some medicinal herbs can be dangerous if you confuse them with the wrong species."
Xu Hao smiled.
"That sounds remarkably like something my mother would say."
"Was she a physician?"
"Yes. And a very good one. She spent years reminding me that knowing a little about medicine wasn't the same as knowing enough to treat somebody safely."
Er Bao listened while Xu Hao explained how his mother had always insisted on proper care whenever he returned from an archaeological expedition with an injury.
He found himself talking longer than he'd intended.
It was pleasant, for once, to remember an ordinary conversation rather than dwell on everything he'd lost.
When he finished, Er Bao passed him the cloth.
Xu Hao washed the broken blister and carefully wrapped his heel.
Er Bao watched without offering to take over.
Across the stream came the sound of wood cracking.
Da Bao was examining branches from a fallen tree.
He bent each one between his hands, breaking those he considered unsuitable and setting the others aside.
Xu Hao watched him for a while.
"Is Brother Da Bao gathering firewood?"
"Not exactly," Er Bao replied.
Xu Hao looked at the growing pile.
He wasn't certain what sort of new exercise required so many branches, but decided he'd rather not ask.
Er Bao followed his gaze.
"He's been looking forward to teaching you. Ever since we agreed you could stay, he's been thinking about what you need to learn."
Xu Hao glanced at his bruised forearm.
"He's certainly enthusiastic."
"He is. Sometimes more enthusiastic than he ought to be."
Er Bao's voice softened.
"I noticed what happened this morning, when you flinched."
Xu Hao lowered his gaze.
For a moment, he considered pretending he hadn't understood.
Then he decided against it.
"I know he isn't trying to hurt me," he said. "But sometimes, when he moves towards me too quickly, I remember what happened when we first met. I can't seem to stop myself."
Er Bao was silent for a moment.
"That isn't something you should be ashamed of. Brother Da Bao frightened you badly. Even if you've forgiven him, it may take time before you stop expecting the same thing to happen again."
Xu Hao looked at the stream.
He had spent years studying how people responded to fear, grief, and sudden changes in their lives.
It was different when he was the one experiencing them.
"I don't want him to think I don't trust him."
"Then tell him that. He's not particularly good at noticing what other people are thinking, but he listens when something matters."
Er Bao rested his hand on the stone between them.
"And if his training becomes too much, you can ask him to stop. You don't have to prove anything by enduring more than you can manage."
Xu Hao considered those words.
Then he nodded.
"Thank you, Brother Er Bao."
Er Bao smiled and rose to his feet.
"Come on. You should eat something before he finishes preparing whatever he's planning."
Xu Hao looked towards the pile of branches again.
For the first time that morning, he felt reasonably confident about returning to training.
---
Da Bao's afternoon lesson involved a fallen trunk stretched across a shallow depression.
The trunk was scarcely taller than Xu Hao's knee, but it was narrow and unusually smooth where the bark had peeled away.
Da Bao walked across it without difficulty.
He turned at the far end.
"Your turn. Take your time, and keep your eyes towards the other end. If you stare straight down at your feet, you'll make it harder to balance."
Xu Hao stepped onto the wood.
He managed three steps before falling off.
Fortunately, the ground was soft enough that he didn't hurt himself.
He climbed back onto the trunk.
The second attempt lasted five steps.
On the third, he looked down to see where to place his foot, and promptly followed his gaze into the dirt.
Er Bao watched from a nearby rock.
"Try looking farther ahead. Your body will make small corrections naturally if you stop concentrating on each individual step."
Xu Hao brushed dirt from his knees.
He'd spent years watching students struggle with unfamiliar equipment, trying so hard to control every movement that they forgot the overall task.
He remembered one particularly unfortunate student whom he'd made repeat a measurement six times because she'd rounded her numbers too early.
He wondered whether she would have enjoyed watching him fall off a log.
Probably.
On his next attempt, Xu Hao kept his eyes on the far end.
He moved slowly, allowing his feet to adjust to the uneven surface.
One step.
Then another.
He reached the opposite bank without falling.
Da Bao beamed.
"Well done, little brother!"
The giant gave him an enthusiastic pat on the back.
Xu Hao stumbled and dropped to one knee.
He looked up.
"Brother Da Bao!"
"What?"
"I'd already finished!"
Da Bao looked briefly apologetic.
Then he laughed.
"All right, all right. I'll wait until you're standing on solid ground next time."
Xu Hao shook his head, but couldn't help smiling.
He was preparing to climb onto the trunk again when a sharp rustling sounded from the bushes near the stream.
All three turned.
A narrow brown creature shot between the roots and vanished beneath the fallen log.
It moved so quickly that Xu Hao caught only a glimpse of its long body and a tail bristling with stiff black quills.
He stepped backwards instinctively.
His heel found the edge of the bank.
For an instant, his weight shifted towards the shallow depression.
Then, without consciously thinking about it, he moved his other foot behind him.
His balance steadied.
He remained upright.
The creature disappeared into the undergrowth.
Da Bao watched the bushes for another moment, then relaxed.
Er Bao was still listening.
"What was that?" Xu Hao asked.
"A small forest beast," Er Bao replied. "It usually avoids people. Unless it's cornered, it isn't particularly dangerous."
Xu Hao looked towards the roots.
He was relieved to hear that.
Then Da Bao spoke.
"Little brother, did you notice what you just did?"
Xu Hao turned.
"What?"
"You nearly fell, but you moved your foot and caught yourself."
Xu Hao looked down.
His feet were positioned almost exactly as Da Bao had been teaching him that morning.
He hadn't planned the movement.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"You're right. I didn't fall."
Da Bao grinned.
"See? The training's working!"
It was a small achievement, but it felt considerably more important than crossing the log without stumbling.
When the unexpected creature appeared, he hadn't frozen completely.
His body had remembered what to do.
He climbed back onto the trunk.
This time, he crossed it slowly and deliberately.
At the far end, he stepped onto the bank without losing his balance.
Da Bao watched with obvious satisfaction.
And, true to his promise, he waited until Xu Hao was safely clear before congratulating him.
---
That evening, the three brothers sat beside the fire.
Xu Hao's legs were aching, and he had developed several new bruises, but his spirits were considerably better than they had been that morning.
While Da Bao prepared supper, Xu Hao found himself thinking about the earthen wall he'd seen during the fight with the two-headed snake.
"Brother Er Bao, could you explain something to me? When the snake attacked us, Brother Da Bao raised a wall out of the ground. I've never understood how he managed to do that."
Da Bao looked pleased.
He began to rise.
Xu Hao quickly held up a hand.
"Please don't demonstrate it here. I'd rather the cooking fire remained where it is."
Da Bao laughed and sat down again.
Er Bao considered the question.
"What you saw was the result of cultivating Spirit. Everyone who can cultivate has an innate element, or another kind of power. Ours is earth, so we can use our Spirit to influence the ground around us."
Xu Hao leaned forward.
"Does that mean you were both born capable of doing it?"
"Born with the affinity, yes. But learning to control it took years. At first, we could barely move a handful of dirt. Father made us practise sensing our Spirit before he allowed us to attempt anything larger."
Xu Hao glanced towards Da Bao.
"And Brother Da Bao?"
Er Bao smiled.
"He wasn't particularly patient."
Da Bao looked offended.
"I was very patient! I practised every morning."
"Until you decided you were ready to lift a boulder."
Da Bao's expression changed.
Xu Hao noticed immediately.
"What happened?"
Er Bao shook his head.
"He managed to raise it, but he couldn't control where it went. The boulder came down on the courtyard steps and shattered half of them."
"They were poorly made," Da Bao insisted.
"They'd been finished the week before."
Xu Hao laughed.
"What did your father say?"
"He was furious," Er Bao replied. "After that, he made Brother Da Bao practise standing on one leg while controlling a pebble. He wanted him to understand that power was useless without balance and control."
Xu Hao looked at Da Bao with renewed interest.
"That sounds rather familiar."
Da Bao grinned.
"Father was a good teacher."
"He must have been," Xu Hao replied.
He studied the ground beside the fire.
The idea that ordinary earth could respond to someone's will still fascinated him.
Back on Earth, such an ability would have been considered impossible.
Here, it was simply one of the many things a cultivator could learn to do.
"What about other elements?" he asked. "Fire, water, wind? Can someone cultivate more than one?"
Er Bao explained what he knew.
Most cultivators developed their innate affinity, although the strength and nature of those affinities varied considerably. Some possessed unusual abilities that didn't fit neatly into the common elements.
Xu Hao listened carefully.
His excitement grew as he considered the possibilities.
But eventually, he returned to the question that mattered most.
"Could I learn to do something like that?"
"Perhaps," Er Bao said. "We haven't discovered your element yet. If you have an earth affinity, we may be able to help you develop it. If your power is different, we'll need to find another way."
Xu Hao nodded thoughtfully.
He had spent most of his life believing that knowledge could be acquired through careful study, observation, and practice.
It was encouraging to hear that cultivation involved many of the same principles.
"How will I know when I've discovered my element?"
"Usually, you'll begin to sense something when you turn your attention inward. It may take time. The important thing is not to force it before you understand what you're feeling."
Xu Hao considered that.
He'd hoped there might be a simpler method.
Perhaps a test.
An examination.
Something that produced a definite answer.
But if cultivation required him to learn an entirely new way of observing the world, then patience would be necessary.
He looked towards Da Bao.
"Does that mean we'll continue practising balance?"
"Of course! You're getting better already. Tomorrow we'll start something new."
Xu Hao wasn't entirely certain he liked the sound of that.
Before he could ask for details, Da Bao reached behind him and brought out a long branch.
Xu Hao recognised it as one of those he'd been examining beside the stream.
But it had been transformed.
The bark had been removed, the knots smoothed down, and one end shaped into a comfortable grip. The other had been reinforced with blunt iron, bound securely in leather.
Da Bao held it out.
"Here. I made this for you."
Xu Hao accepted the staff.
It was heavier than his old walking stick, but the weight felt comfortable in his hands.
He turned it over, examining the workmanship.
The leather had been wrapped tightly and evenly. The wood was straight and sturdy, without the rotten patches he'd worried about whenever he leaned on his previous stick.
"You made this yourself?"
Da Bao nodded.
"The old one was starting to crack. I thought you should have something stronger, especially now that we're training properly. You can use it for walking, and later I'll teach you how to defend yourself with it."
Xu Hao ran his thumb across the carefully shaped handle.
It must have taken Da Bao a considerable amount of time to prepare.
For all his rough manner and enthusiasm for fighting, the giant had worked patiently enough to produce something both practical and well made.
"Thank you, Brother Da Bao. I'll take good care of it."
Da Bao waved away the thanks.
Then he held out his hand.
"Little brother."
Xu Hao looked at him.
The words were familiar now.
Da Bao had been calling him little brother for some time, often with such enthusiasm that Xu Hao had barely stopped to consider what the title meant.
But this time was different.
He remembered the morning's training.
The way Da Bao had stopped when he flinched.
The care he'd taken afterward.
The patience with which he'd demonstrated each movement, despite being a man who usually preferred action to explanation.
Xu Hao hadn't forgotten what had happened when they first met.
He doubted he ever would.
But he no longer looked at Da Bao and saw only the giant who had knocked him unconscious.
He saw someone who was trying, in his own imperfect way, to become the older brother he'd promised to be.
Xu Hao set the new staff across his knees and accepted Da Bao's hand.
"Older brother."
Da Bao's face lit up.
He gripped Xu Hao's hand warmly, his smile growing so broad that Xu Hao couldn't help smiling in return.
Er Bao watched them from beside the fire.
When Da Bao finally released him, Er Bao held out his own hand.
Xu Hao accepted it.
"Brother Er Bao."
Er Bao smiled and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
There was no grand ceremony.
No formal declaration.
Just three people sitting beside a fire in the middle of a dangerous forest.
Yet Xu Hao understood that something important had changed.
He still didn't know whether he would ever find a way back to Earth.
He missed his parents, his home, and the life he'd spent so many years building.
Nothing could replace those things.
But perhaps there was room in his heart for another family as well.
They continued talking as supper cooked, with Da Bao explaining how he'd selected the wood for the staff and Er Bao suggesting a few ways Xu Hao might practise using it without injuring himself.
Xu Hao listened with genuine interest.
It wasn't until Da Bao began discussing the following morning that he realised how quickly the conversation had changed.
"I'll wake you early," his eldest brother announced. "We need to start building your endurance. You've improved your balance, but your legs are still too weak."
Xu Hao looked at him.
"How early?"
"Before sunrise. The air is cooler then, and the trails are quieter."
Xu Hao turned towards Er Bao.
"Surely you don't intend to let him drag me through the forest in the dark?"
Er Bao considered the proposal.
"Actually, early morning would be a good time to begin. We can start with a short distance and increase it as you get stronger. I'll make sure you don't overdo it."
Xu Hao looked from one brother to the other.
He had only just accepted his place in the family.
Apparently, that also meant accepting their ideas about what a healthy young man ought to do before breakfast.
Da Bao grinned.
"Don't worry, little brother. I'll make sure you wake up."
Xu Hao glanced at his new staff, then towards the darkness beyond the shelter.
Somehow, he suspected that tomorrow morning was going to be unpleasant.
But as he settled beside the fire, listening to the brothers discuss the best route for his first run, he found that he didn't mind quite as much as he might have expected.
After all, they were family now.
And if surviving Da Bao's training was the price of belonging to this particular family, he supposed he'd simply have to become very good at staying on his feet.