Li Xun was not a man who frequently attended formal banquets.
This was not truly by his own choice. He hated the format of course. Being placed next to an arbitrary pair of his fellow daoists, or senior members of the gentry, rarely yielded ...
2025-08-17 19:49:50 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest sat alone in the shade of his favorite willow, watching dusk overtake the day. His toes were half submerged in the cool water of the fishing pool. Every so often, a particularly brave fish would dart forward, mistaking them for especi...
2025-08-10 19:36:07 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest did not pass out after defeating Yang Wei.
But it was a close thing. He was already sitting when his master arrived. He didn't quite remember when that happened. Maybe when Yang Wei's uncle had descended and it'd gotten hard to ...
2025-08-03 20:15:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe centipede wine hit like Daoist Enduring Oath.
Unfortunately, so did Yang Wei.
Orange-crest's head swam as he slid backward beneath the weight of Yang Wei's charge, stone cracking in the wake of his passage. His staff, once Yang Wei...
2025-07-27 18:37:08 +0000 UTC View PostNote: This says chapter 11 again. It is the next chapter, what would have been 13. Since I'm moving the FG stuff later, closer to when it becomes relevant to orange-crest, chapters have been reordered.
-----...
2025-07-20 19:06:57 +0000 UTC View PostNOTE: 2 chapters this week, make sure to read 11 first!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Another drink, Marshal Yang?"
"Of course, Elder Xun." Yang Shui said, holding out his ...
2025-07-13 19:50:03 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest was supposed to be asleep. Dark had long since fallen. There were only five more nights until his duel with Yang Wei.
He was having lots of sleepless nights lately, despite Daoist Scouring Medicine's continual exhortations that ...
2025-07-13 19:46:36 +0000 UTC View Post"It turned into stone." Outer Disciple Ma Bojing repeated. "Effortlessly turned multiple blows from a magical weapon that is clearly beyond Wu Yingjie's own level of cultivation. How do you not see how impressive that is? Most daoists cannot perfo...
2025-07-06 20:10:38 +0000 UTC View PostDouble post this week. Make sure you read Chapter 8 first.
------------------
Wu Yingjie was not what orange-crest expected.
The initiate was big, whether by the standards of man or monkey. His limbs lacked the c...
2025-06-29 15:10:19 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest was exploring himself. Or, he was exploring the mountain? He wasn't exactly sure which statement was more true.
Cultivation was mysterious like that.
The monkey had found a spot beneath a tree he rather liked and sat down ...
2025-06-29 15:09:15 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note: I reorganized the chapter order a little. Ya'll were right, it was a rather abrupt transition to the Hao/formless-gleam chapters. This guy will come before the previous 5/6 in the final version, those are now 6/7, and the next...
2025-06-22 20:00:57 +0000 UTC View PostI stared down, wondering where to begin.
Not where to end. I had a clear vision of what I sought to accomplish. But the challenge was ever in that translation, from celestial perfection to the movements of the mortal brush.
Those first...
2025-06-17 20:42:30 +0000 UTC View PostThere's an old joke among Clairmorne's Artists.
How can you tell if a man is a musician?
He'll offer to play for you. If his instrument isn't a piano, he probably carried it with him to the cafe anyway.
How do you know if a man i...
2025-06-15 22:19:38 +0000 UTC View PostBook 1 - A Portrait of Loss
Clairmorne. The crown jewel of Riveaux. The city of a thousand luminaries. Some say it is the center of the world. Others do not feel the need to state the obvious.
The city's luminaries speak unity into bei...
2025-06-15 22:18:48 +0000 UTC View PostNote: This chapter currently does not have a fixed number, because I am reorganizing the ordering for better flow and don't yet know where it will go. It is probably receiving some edits, but is canon. It'll probably eventually end up some...
2025-06-15 22:14:52 +0000 UTC View PostNote: This chapter currently does not have a fixed number, because I am reorganizing the ordering for better flow and don't yet know where it will go. It is probably receiving some edits, but is canon. It'll probably eventually end up some...
2025-06-08 18:37:21 +0000 UTC View Post"Young Master Yang, if I could have a moment-"
Li Shuwen's steps were like a river returning to the sea. He interposed himself between Yang Wei and the shameless outer disciple with effortless grace. His steps slowed just the slightest measu...
2025-06-01 20:29:30 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest couldn't sleep.
It was such a stupid problem, not being able to sleep. Sleep was what you did when you weren't able to be awake. So how could a monkey be unable to sleep? It was like saying you were unable to not eat. Or, was it...
2025-05-25 22:00:20 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest was getting tired of sneaking around. It was good then, that today was the day his solitude ended.
There was nothing wrong with stealth. It was a useful way for preserving one's life. But it wasn't a healthy way to live, creepin...
2025-05-18 20:47:38 +0000 UTC View PostYang Wei spun, stepping to the side as he did. A thick shaft of hardwood missed his side by a finger's width. His own staff spun round, twirling in it's own spiral. He almost absent-mindedly rapped Wu Yingjie's fingers. With the momentum of two sp...
2025-05-11 22:34:13 +0000 UTC View PostNOTE: THERE ARE TWO CHAPTERS TODAY. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 37 YET, DO THAT FIRST.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cultivators of the Azure Mountai...
2025-04-27 22:02:06 +0000 UTC View PostDaoist Enduring Oath stared into the flames.
It was a curious thing, his Mountain-Devouring Flame. Old Xiang had suggested he take it from the Treasure Pavilion, after he'd been granted the right to enter for his work on behalf of the Punish...
2025-04-27 22:00:55 +0000 UTC View Post"You're alive." Li Xun repeated for the third time. As if his words might make the truth more firm.
"Yes." Orange-crest agreed. "And you're not dying."
"We're all dying. But I'm no closer than I was the last time you saw me."
"An...
2025-04-20 23:00:58 +0000 UTC View PostDaoist Scouring Medicine rose, stretching, and wondered when it had all changed. When a life he'd considered unacceptable had become almost tolerable.
He slept almost every night these days. Spending twelve hours a day performing material re...
2025-04-13 23:26:10 +0000 UTC View PostDaoist Scouring Medicine blinked. It was already oily.
Oh. He'd already done this section, hadn't he?
He ran a finger along the stone fur, slicked with unguent. It was strange in texture. Unlike anything the daoist had ever encountered...
2025-04-06 20:36:15 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest awoke in darkness.
He blinked, noting how very little it changed what he saw. That should not be surprising. He usually woke in darkness. Night was long in the depths of winter. Only the most slovenly monkeys did not either wake...
2025-03-30 21:57:10 +0000 UTC View Post"It is not your fault."
Daoist Enduring Oath regretted the words the moment he spoke them. A thoughtless kindness could be its own sort of cruelty.
Daoist Scouring Medicine turned to his closest friend. His face was a placid mask, wit...
2025-03-23 20:42:42 +0000 UTC View PostOrange-crest sat in the center of a storm, eyes sharp with focus. Power surged within him, qi burning away at a furious pace. Well, it was a storm in much the same way that a trickle of water winding its way down the side of a rock face was a rive...
2025-03-16 20:57:17 +0000 UTC View PostIt was finally ready. Perhaps finally was the wrong word. One month was fast for wine. It was also slow. Wine was fun like that, with many secrets and nuances.
Green worms worked slowly. On Mount Yuelu, he would usually leave his green worm ...
2025-03-09 22:42:37 +0000 UTC View PostDuring the winter, orange-crest did not often attend the beginner quarterstaff classes. Not for fear of his fellows, nor deficit of energy. When he neglected to attend Disciple Chang's lessons, he usually found other ways to exercise his body. Ice...
2025-03-02 21:22:26 +0000 UTC View Post