Chapter 15 — Night of Calm and Insight
When Long Tan and Su Lan returned home, dusk had already fallen.
The mist outside was colder than before.
Smoke curled from a few huts.
Lanterns glowed weakly behind worn windows.
People glanced at them from doorways —
not with words, but with eyes full of curiosity and quiet envy.
> "They came back alive," someone whispered.
"They even brought something from the forest."
Others just stared in silence.
In a place like Cloud Veil's outer mountain, coming back from the woods meant one thing — survival.
Long Tan's steps were steady, but his eyes kept scanning the corners of every hut.
He noticed shadows moving too slowly, doors half-open, tracks near the well that didn't belong to villagers.
> "Too quiet," he thought. "Too many watching eyes."
He gripped the small throwing knife inside his sleeve. If someone followed them home tonight, he would be ready.
---
At Home
Inside, the hut was cold and messy from their absence.
Su Lan lit the oil lamp, its soft light spilling over the clay floor.
They washed their hands and faces, wiped the dust off their table, and stacked dry wood by the hearth.
The smell of smoke mixed with damp air — familiar, peaceful.
Su Lan looked toward him, her voice small but soft.
> "We're home."
Long Tan nodded.
> "For now. Rest later — first, we eat."
They began preparing dinner together.
---
Small Warmth
Su Lan washed rice while Long Tan brought out the herbs and meat.
He sat beside her and helped cut vegetables.
The knife in his hand felt too heavy after hours of throwing, but he didn't complain.
> "I'll help," he said.
Su Lan blinked in surprise.
"You don't have to. You already hunted, and your arm—"
> "A house isn't just yours to keep clean," he interrupted quietly.
"We live together. We work together."
She smiled faintly, her face glowing a little in lamplight.
> "Then cut carefully. Don't hurt yourself."
Long Tan picked up the small kitchen knife — plain, dull steel.
An idea came to him suddenly.
> "Maybe I can practice flying knife control like this," he murmured.
Before Su Lan could stop him, the knife in his hand flickered upward — trembling in the air with a weak Qi thread holding it.
It flew forward — and cracked!
The blade hit the chopping board too hard, slicing the edge of the wood clean off.
Su Lan jumped, eyes wide.
> "Long Tan!" she scolded, hands on hips.
"You'll destroy the house before mastering your technique!"
Long Tan winced, lowering his head slightly like a guilty child.
> "Sorry. Wrong focus… maybe not for kitchen work."
Su Lan sighed, but laughter almost escaped her lips.
"Next time, try on a rock, not my table."
He smiled faintly.
> "One day, I'll cut vegetables with floating knives perfectly. When that day comes, it means I've mastered control."
Su Lan shook her head.
"You and your strange dreams."
He chuckled quietly and started cutting normally, slow and careful.
The sound of the blade against wood filled the small hut — steady, rhythmic, warm.
---
Dinner and Peace
They ate quietly.
The rabbit meat was soft, the herbs fresh.
Su Lan's hands were red from washing, but her eyes were calm.
Long Tan spoke softly after finishing his bowl.
> "After dinner, meditate. Don't skip tonight."
She looked up, surprised.
"Why tonight?"
> "Because today was your first time outside the safe walls.
You saw blood, fear, and danger.
Real experience — that changes your heart, and the heart changes Qi.
Sometimes, understanding life helps you understand the Dao."
Su Lan listened, serious.
> "You mean… outside life helps cultivation?"
> "Yes. Cultivation isn't only sitting and breathing.
It's also how you see the world — danger, peace, struggle.
Tonight your spirit is sharper. Don't waste it."
She nodded slowly. "I understand."
---
Su Lan's Meditation
After cleaning up, Su Lan sat cross-legged near the lamp. Her hair fell over her shoulders, and her eyes slowly closed.
Long Tan quietly moved her empty bowl aside and sat opposite, watching over her like a silent guard.
Her breathing deepened — slow, steady.
Inside her body, Qi began to flow through the fragile meridians.
It wasn't smooth; the lines trembled, weak from lack of foundation.
But there was change.
She recalled the forest —
the rustle of trees, the feeling of killing the rabbit, the warmth of Long Tan's voice telling her, "Good. Don't fear."
That memory pulsed like a small flame inside her.
Her Qi followed that warmth — circulating faster, smoother.
The impurities in her lower dantian loosened slightly. A small stream of energy broke through one narrow channel near her shoulder.
Su Lan gasped softly, but didn't open her eyes. Her Qi completed a full cycle — her first successful small circulation.
Long Tan felt the faint vibration in the air. He smiled slightly.
> "So she found her own insight," he thought.
"That's how true cultivation begins — not by books, but by living."
---
Quiet End
When Su Lan finally opened her eyes, the lamp flame had grown low. Her forehead was damp with sweat, but her face glowed faintly.
> "Long Tan… I saw something," she whispered.
"It felt like the forest was inside my breath… alive and heavy at once."
He nodded.
"That's your Qi understanding the world's rhythm.
Hold that feeling — it's rare."
Su Lan exhaled softly, smiling a little.
They put out the lamp and lay down quietly. Outside, the wind touched the roof and the leaves rustled softly.
The world was still dangerous. Bandits still lurked. Cloud Veil still rotted.
But inside this tiny hut — two weak cultivators sat closer than ever,
their hearts steady, their spirits growing quietly together.
And that, too, was cultivation.
And — warmth born in hardship, light found in the dark, and the promise of tomorrow still waiting to bloom.
---
End of Chapter 15 — "Night of Calm and Insight."