Steam rose in lazy spirals, curling upward like wandering spirits, thick and pearly beneath the hollowed stone ceiling of the cavern. The bath below emitted a faint spiritual light as its surface rippled gently as if breathing. Embedded spirit stones along the walls glowed in soft hues of jade and blue, feeding energy into the spring.
This was a cultivation bath, reserved strictly for inner disciples.
Which was precisely why Lin Chen was there.
Or rather…
Above there... clinging upside down to a rough outcropping high in the cavern roof like a very immoral bat.
Sixteen-year-old Lin Chen held himself effortlessly by his knees hooked over stone with one hand steadying his balance while the other shaded his eyes as though he were an ancient scholar observing celestial phenomena.
"Ah…" he murmured appreciatively. "The harmony of Yin energy is truly profound today."
Below him, three young women splashed in the steaming waters.
They were inner sect senior sisters, several ranks above him. They laughed as they soaked with their hair damp against their shoulders as spiritual mist coiled around them. The bath amplified cultivation speed, especially for water and ice-type practitioners.
To Lin Chen, however, it amplified entirely different things.
He leaned forward slightly, observing
"Senior Sister Luo's posture has improved… ah that waist..." he whispered solemnly. "And Senior Sister Mei's spiritual flow seems very balanced…"
His nose twitched.
"… Also, impressive shoulder lines... such smooth neck balancing above that... if only she could stand a bit higher... those waters block me from viewing the mountain peaks..."
The three girls continued laughing, unaware of the menace above.
Lin Chen adjusted his position slightly, shifting silently along the rock. His breathing was shallow and not a single pebble dislodged.
It was like, he was a seasoned assassin... despite the cultivation level of the sisters below, they couldn't sense him in the slightest.
One of the girls — Senior Sister Yan — suddenly splashed water at the others energetically. The splash sent steam swirling upward violently.
For a split second, the mist thinned near the cavern roof... and then she spotted a figure perched above.
There was a beat of silence as their eyes met.
Lin Chen froze mid-ogle while senior Sister Yan blinked twice, startled.
Her voice pierced the cavern.
"LIN CHEN?!"
Pandemonium instantly ensued as water exploded upward.
The other two girls followed her gaze and another scream rang out.
"YOU LECHEROUS BRAT!"
Lin Chen released one hand and waved cheerfully.
"Ai ai, big sisters, please calm yourselves! I swear upon heaven I wasn't staring! I came seeking enlightenment!"
A rock the size of a fist flew upward.
He swung sideways effortlessly causing the projectile to miss his face by an inch.
"I was observing the steam formations!" he protested as more rocks began flying. "It is clearly beneficial for comprehension!"
"COME DOWN HERE!"
"With pleasure—"
Another stone grazed his cheek.
"—Actually, I've changed my mind!"
He released his legs and for a moment, he dropped.
However, instead of crashing, he twisted midair and caught a lower protruding rock, swinging like a monkey before flipping onto the cavern wall.
The three senior sisters had already leapt from the bath, hastily wrapping robes around themselves as they shot upward using light footwork techniques.
They were inner disciples so flying short distances was no problem for them.
Lin Chen bolted, darting along the cavern wall with his feet tapping against vertical stone as though gravity were optional.
Senior Sister Luo roared, "STOP!"
"I would," Lin Chen replied sincerely while sprinting upside-down across the ceiling, "but that would end poorly for me!"
A stream of condensed water shot toward him.
He tilted his head slightly and it missed.
"Senior Sister Mei, your aim lacks murderous intent!" he called helpfully.
She shrieked in rage.
The chase spilled out of the cavern and into the bamboo groves outside. Disciples training nearby froze as they witnessed a half-damp trio of furious senior sisters pursuing a grinning Lin Chen who vaulted over rocks and slid beneath low branches.
"HE WAS PEEPING AGAIN!"
Gasps rang out while passing disciple muttered, "Again?"
Lin Chen landed lightly on a training dummy, balanced atop it, and offered a bow.
"In my defense—"
Senior Sister Yan kicked the dummy out from under him.
He tumbled dramatically into the dirt.
A foot planted firmly on his back.
Then another grabbed his collar.
He was dragged, flailing.
"Big sisters, violence harms your complexion!"
A fist connected with his forehead.
Another with his cheek.
Moments later, Lin Chen was being hauled like captured contraband toward the residence of the Fourth Elder.
---
The doors slammed open.
Fourth Elder Lin Guo did not look up immediately.
He was seated behind a low desk, reading a scroll with his posture upright and his expression carved from patience and disappointment.
Behind the three senior sisters stood Lin Chen.
Or rather... what remained of him.
His cheek was swollen and his forehead sported a fresh lump with one eye slightly puffed.
He waved weakly.
"Father."
The senior sisters bowed sharply.
"Fourth Elder! If not for your position, we would have slain this lecherous brat today!"
Lin Guo closed the scroll slowly.
He inhaled and then exhaled.
"Chen."
"Yes, father?"
"Were you inside the Inner Cultivation Bath Cavern?"
Lin Chen hesitated.
"… Define 'inside.'"
The room trembled slightly and the three girls erupted again.
"He was hanging from the ceiling like a bat!"
"Claiming enlightenment!"
"Observing steam formations!"
Lin Chen nodded solemnly. "It is true. The steam patterns were exquisite."
A vein pulsed at Lin Guo's temple as he stood.
The room fell silent.
He bowed slightly toward the girls.
"I apologize on behalf of my son."
The girls huffed.
"If not for you, Fourth Elder—"
"Yes," Lin Guo said tiredly. "I understand."
He stepped forward, grabbed Lin Chen's ear and twisted.
Lin Chen yelped.
"Father! My ear is part of my cultivation meridian network!"
"You have no cultivation meridians," Lin Guo snapped.
The girls exchanged looks.
Ah yes. The useless son.
The brilliant but Qi-less embarrassment.
Lin Guo dragged Lin Chen toward the door.
"I would tie you upside down over the Skyfall Canyon again," he said coldly, "but you would simply escape like the last seven times."
Lin Chen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"In my defense, father, the rope knots were amateur."
The ear twist intensified.
"Ah! I retract that statement!"
Outside, Lin Guo finally released him.
"You are sixteen now."
Silence.
"In this world, that is adulthood."
Lin Chen straightened slightly.
"You waste your days."
"Researching steam formations—"
"ENOUGH."
Lin Guo sighed.
"You comprehend complex scrolls in a glance. You understand formations instinctively. And yet you refuse to cultivate properly."
Lin Chen smiled lazily.
"I prefer to take my time."
"You have no Qi."
"I have good eyes."
"You have embarrassment."
Lin Chen grinned.
"You still love me though."
Lin Guo froze briefly and then looked away before letting out a sigh that said, 'how did I end up birthing such an incompetent son?'.
"… Dinner is ready."
Lin Chen's eyes lit up.
"Ah! The true path of cultivation!"
---
The dining hall was simple but dignified.
Two servants placed dishes upon the low table: spirit rice, braised beast meat, jade-green vegetables infused with mild Qi.
Father and son sat opposite each other.
For a while, only the sound of chopsticks filled the room.
Lin Chen chewed thoughtfully as the steam from the food curled upward.
He smiled faintly while staring at the steam. It seemed absolutely normal to the untrained eye but to him...
His father glanced at him.
"You are not normal."
Lin Chen blinked.
"I've been told."
"I know you are hiding something."
Lin Chen took another bite.
"I am hiding many things. It keeps life interesting."
Lin Guo studied him long and hard.
Then simply said, "Do not bring disgrace to your mother's memory."
Those words made Lin Chen pause for just a moment as he recalled his mother in this world.
She had died when he was five.
She caught a strange sickness that no cultivator could diagnose... no healer could cure...
The sect had tried.
The Purifying Stone's aura had failed and she had smiled even in weakness.
He remembered her warmth...
He remembered the smell of medicinal herbs...
He remembered holding her hand...
And remembered something else.
Another life... in another world...