Torsten Hewson
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v6 Prologue: We All Lift Together
🕑 Added 2025-02-03 18:01:12 +0000 UTCI always did my best thinking while I worked on something else. While my body did one thing, it was easy to let my mind wander… and now there was plenty to think about.
It had been nearly a month since our home had been attacked by demons. Nearly a month since we had been forced to fight for our lives.
It, in some ways, didn’t feel real. Like it was a distant nightmare… which, to my surprise, I hadn’t really had too many. Sure, I got up at night most nights to check on everyone and make sure they were okay… but I was waking up less and less as the month wore on, and one thing became clear.
That we had won, and the demons truly were defeated.
But while that night sometimes felt like a dream… the aftereffects were all too real.
I placed down the burden I had been carrying on my back, and crouched down. I grimaced as my clothes rubbed against my raw skin, before the cold soothed the sensation. The electrical burns Zang Zeng had given me still hurt like hell, forming long, ropey scars that crawled from my hands to my chest. The skin on my knuckles was similarly raw, fresh, and tender, only starting to heal, and that was rubbing on my thick gloves. We didn’t know how effective the reinforced leather gloves impregnated with medical Qi and Spirit Beast beeswax would be as protective equipment, but better safe than sorry. I used an iron trowel to clear away the snow, until I saw bare soil. I grimaced at the slight purple tint to it, then sighed.
I looked up at the broken forest I was in. My favorite grove… or what was left of it. The physical reminder of everything that had happened.
The trees always looked a bit dead in winter, their limbs devoid of leaves, but they still stood tall, just waiting for the warmth of spring. Nowadays I could even feel the small spark of life in them, humming just beneath the bark.
Here, though, there was none of that. Here, there was silence. Everything around me was dead, and I could feel the echo of what had transpired, a gasp of pain that made me shudder when I concentrated on it.
The trees were puckered and withered, husks of once proud oaks, pines, and maples. Some had turned partially to mush and keeled over, slumping to the ground. The once beautiful grove now looked like the aftermath of a warzone, the corpses of the trees laying strewn like bodies.
I took a deep breath of the cold winter air, letting it fill my lungs. It was crisp, but tinged with a sickly sweet odor that burned my nostrils—the remains of poison in this plot of land.
The demons that had attacked us had left their mark, leaving wounds on our home. It had been irrevocably changed from what I remembered it as, the peaceful, beautiful place I had come to escape the life of cultivation.The land was dead. The old trees, a ruined mess. I could even feel the writhing feeling below the dirt, the poison that had sunk into the very bones of the earth.
If it was left alone, this area would stay dead for a thousand years.
If we left it alone.
I pressed my trowel into the frozen earth, and it parted obligingly, more like it was sand on a beach rather than hard-packed dirt. I drew in the soil a symbol—a symbol I had gotten quite good at drawing. Then, I reached back and grabbed the things I had set down. A glass jar, filled partially with water, and shiny strands of silver wire.
My task complete, I rose again… and felt a weight alight on my shoulder.
“You done too, Big D?” I asked. I saw out of the corner of my eye scarlet feathers, and a rather beaten up fox fur vest. I had repaired it the best I could… but it had still definitely seen better days. The feathers on his chest were just starting to grow back in, his own wounds exposed to the cold air—a wound he had gotten attacking an Imperial Realm cultivator and succeeding in distracting him for long enough for Gramps to put the bastard down.
He was a bit of a mad lad, my disciple. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Indeed, Master,” the rooster spoke, my ever-dutiful disciple’s voice was calm and pleased sounding. “I do believe we are almost done, and then we may banish this darkness that plagues our home.”
I smiled at his absolute confidence that the current plan we had for dealing with this would work, and turned, looking back the way I had come. Hundreds of glass jars and modified demonic Qi siphoning formations that had been set up in this patch of forest, directly over every concentration of demonic poison.
In addition to the jars, there was a small army of people in red toques and our medieval PPEs. It looked a bit strange to have everyone in thick gloves and aprons.
A great, rust red boar, an ox, and a man who looked quite a lot like a monkey were carefully dismantling some of the less affected trees. Chunky, Babe, and Gou Ren piled them together, while dancing green blades and claws made of Qi carved larger formations around them. Tigu and Xiulan worked very well together, none of their friendly rivalry here today. Tigu had her tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth, wild orange hair sprawling out from her hat, while Xiulan waved her finger like a conductor’s baton, directing her legion of blades. Her blue eyes practically sparkled in the cold light.
A silver-haired woman with a snake coiled around her arm delivered the last of the glass jugs to a fox-faced man, a woman wearing the same bandana as Gou Ren, and a monkey. Yin and Noodle had been working overtime to get the jars we needed, and Yun Ren, Xianghua, and Huo Ten hopped to get them into their proper places.
A pink-haired woman with a jade bangle around her wrist was seated outside the affected area, accompanied by a moose loaded down with a saddlebag. Peppa and Spooks had arrived with hot tea and food for any who needed it.
Behind them was a pillar of smoke and the distant sound of a press.. Bowu was hard at work in the forge, finishing the last of the silver wire, helping in his own way. Nobody wanted to see what would happen if any of this poison got on somebody who wasn’t a cultivator.
“That one needs to go a little to the left!” a great dragon called down from the heavens. His sinuous body undulated as he kept himself aloft. In his claws was a paper with the planned formation on it, and Washy was studying it with great attention, determined to have the formation right.
He had been spectacularly upset the poison had hurt our main maple grove, and sworn vengeance upon all demonkind for this most grievous of insults.
“Ah! Yes!” the young man below him called, while a shaggy white dog sitting at his feet yipped. Zhang Fei, the Torrent Rider, corrected the placement of his jar. We had him to thank for all the silver we currently had—we had bought all the silver we were using from his hometown. Shaggy Two used his nose to carefully adjust the wires. Beside the young lad, there was a behemoth of a man, clad in stone armor. Tie Delun was finishing up the formation on the ground.
Finally, my eyes landed on a group of two women, and I started towards them. One of the women had green hair, freckles, and purple eyes—and in my humble opinion, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The other looked as if to be her sister—slightly shorter, but just as freckly. Both had just finished their own last jars, and had turned to observe, just as we had.
I reached out, and captured Meiling from behind, my arms wrapping around her shoulders. My wife leaned into my touch instantly. Big D hopped off my shoulder and on to Rizzo's, the small woman giggling as he nuzzled her cheek with his beak.
“Looks like we’re nearly ready,” I said, looking over what we had accomplished so far.
“And not a moment too soon,” my Meimei declared, her voice sounding just a bit nasally. She rubbed at her nose in irritation. “This place reeks. If I ever have to smell such foul Qi again it's too soon.”
I smiled at the way her nose scrunched up, but I had enough sense not to tell her she looked cute like that.
“You didn’t need to help with this. We had it,” I reminded her. I knew how sensitive her nose was to Qi. I couldn’t imagine having to actually be out here with her sense of smell.
“Zhuye kept looking off in this direction,” Meimei huffed after a moment. I frowned when she brought up our son. I knew the look. It made my own blood boil—the look of distress on his face whenever he glanced towards the forest.
Couldn’t blame Meimei for wanting this shit out of our home.
“Well. He's going to be having a good time with his Grandpa and his dancing friends.” Gramps and Vajra the bee were taking care of him today. “And then he won’t ever have that expression again. Little D’s brilliant parents figured out how to get rid of the nasty smell!”
Meimei chuckled at the sudden pompous tone my voice took, and then she sighed.
“I hope this works,” she muttered.
“It will,” I replied.
===========================
Less than half an hour later, our preparations were complete. Everyone went to their assigned positions around the edge of the area.
“Everyone ready?” I called, and a chorus of affirmatives answered me.
We pressed our hands into the ground, and activated the formation.
The earth pulsed, and I could feel the poison beneath the earth shudder and wail, as it was dragged out of the ground and into the jars. The silver started corroding. A couple of the glass jars got hairline cracks—but they held.
The earth seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Tigu, of course, was the first one to let out a cheer.
I let out a breath, and settled back on my haunches.
Despite our victory, the forest was still dead. Despite our victory.. We honestly had no clue what we were going to do with all these poison-filled jars.
I looked at the withered trees, and the wound on the landscape. The poison had stabbed deep. This place, this grove, would never again be how it was.
I took in a breath, and the cold air once more filled my lungs, this time devoid of acrid taint.
But though those wounds were deep… they were not fatal. With time and effort, these wounds would become scars, physical reminders of what had happened. But together, we would make sure that those scars would be even more beautiful than what had come before.
We still had a lot of work to do.
Yet our mood was joyful, as we walked back home, and our spirits were high.
“Were you good for Gramps?” I asked the rosy-cheeked boy, nearly a year old, in my arms. Zhuye’s purple eyes were alight with mirth as I tickled his belly.
“He spent nearly an hour tugging upon my beard!” Gramps declared. “My grandson’s endurance shall surely be legendary in the future!”
Unlike the rest of us who had started taking off our bandages, the old man was still wrapped tight—the massive rents in his body barely looked like they had started to heal.
He had lost an entire Realm of cultivation, up there in the north. And yet the old man seemed to have a permanent smile etched onto his face these days.
“He's going to give us all the runaround for sure once he learns how to walk, aintcha?” I asked Zhuye, who once more giggled.
“It is only a good thing for a man to be so vigorous,” Gramps agreed, nodding his head.
I plonked down on the couch beside him, as our home became a hive of activity, the preparations for dinner well under way.
It was a good night… and not even the piece of news I learned before I got into bed could dampen my spirits.
Elder Xiao Ge of the Cloudy Sword Sect was taking me up on my offer to have his people rest and recover at my home.
Tomorrow… tomorrow, we would be hosting Gramps’ old friends.
It seemed like a lifetime ago, that I had run away from all of that. That the mere mention of cultivators would make my stomach churn.
There was some nervousness, that was true. But as I climbed into bed that night… there was no fear.
A lot had changed in these past three years.
The only thing to do was keep trucking forwards.
=====================
Welcome back everyone. A small prologue, and then next chapter it begins; its time for the long awaited Farm visit.
Edited by: BargleNawdleZouss,
Comments
RBAWintrow
Hmmm, re-reading, " writhing feeling " does seem better.
RBAWintrow
I could even feel the writhing feeling below the dirt, the poison that had sunk into the very bones of the earth. Maybe change it to: I could even feel the poison writhing below the dirt, sunk into the very bones of the earth. So it flows better?
Cranky Otter
Finally figured out what to say. First, this chapter is a breath of fresh air for the characters and for me. Thanks. I hope your break allowed you to catch your breath as well. (*shift* “return” 😖) As someone who now can’t do a tithe of what I used to, I do not enjoy stories that imply that only people who can work, or work at full capacity, are worthy of a comfortable home. I appreciate seeing that even cultivators may need time to rest and heal. It’s nice that Jin is leading the restoration effort of his farm while Zhuye entertains Gramps, who has not taken over with his massive power, to do cleanup. Bowu isn’t asked to do something unsafe for him. Meiling isn’t expected to tasks unpleasant for her that others can do, even tho she chooses to. It’s a community effort, and community building is what I love most about BoC. It’s also good that even though Fa Ram now has enough money to do/buy any normal things, they use their funds to pay their neighbors for goods, like Silver/ore. Those who can work still have to put in the work. Things don’t just magically get fixed (ok, *technically* they’re using magic to fix things😜), people need to work to fix broken things, &/or make allowances for things to fix themselves. So seeing that the Demon Fight, done in a day, will have a lasting impact, & has required hours & hours of cleaning, reams of supplies, thoughtful direction, & community cooperation, is a powerful way to start a new volume. Again, thanks.
Insertnamehereokokipressedokok
Has Shen Yu accepted and etched Jin's way of life unto his soul?
EverydayCrucible
If we are talking about the ideals or the soul of Fa-Ram then, yes. I agree with the points being made. Though I believe that makes my first analogy even more applicable.
Namorat
Shouldn't it be “never“ and “too soon“?
CringeWorthyStudios
Huh, they might be able to clear out Demon’s Grave Ravine and similar sites with it…
CringeWorthyStudios
A tsundere grandma at that. 😅
Wyatt
Through the cold mist, until we're lifeless together, together.
Wyatt
Push, to keep the dark from coming.
WolfKnight22
YESSSSSS
Laura Hemly
I suspect she'll think of. something -- if nothing else, using it to experiment on different ways to purify it.
Laura Hemly
Il a dit q'il nd publierait que deux chapitres en février.
D J Meigs
Time to get Zhuye a grandma!
Katharine Gould
Just re-read CF schedule post and realized they said 1 or 2 a week and had the thought. What if CF only does 1 this week? I mean I'm happy with what ever pace they want to write but I may have gotten into full BoC Fangirl mode upto 9 days before chapter one drops. I have made a critical error in judgement. Well time to go re read the entire series, fingers crossed it lasts until the Fa Ram visit.
Katharine Gould
Thanks for the Chapter Boss! How was the break?
Katharine Gould
Was looking for your take on this. You are always first to the chapters and I knew you'd be dying that the Fa Ram visit is not here yet! I waited a few days to read just incase the visit wasn't in the prolougue and I'm glad I did. Now I only have to wait 1-2 days! Race you to read chapter 1 when it comes out!
Katharine Gould
+1 one the work at what ever pace is comfortable for you CF. Also tatake good care of your health. All the Mangaka and LN authors getting sick and dying lately has me worrying about you.
Katharine Gould
You think the thunderhoofs will be mad. What do you think Senior brother Lu Ri is going to do when he finds out maple syrup will be scarce this year!
Katharine Gould
It's probably not a Warframe reference as it (warframe) is referencing a old folk song that CF is probably also referencing here.
Katharine Gould
It's still great. Just wounded. Make Fa-ram whole again would be more apt. But personally my hope is to Make Tilan whole again. Make the Azure Hills Great Again.
Katharine Gould
Are you using the desktop app, the desktop website, or the mobile app?
Robert Adams
Dans la semaine, je crois.
John Parker
Hey sorry if this isn't the place to put this but i don't see the discord server whenever i am on discord, and whenever i try to join with the link it doesn't do anything
Net
C'est quand le prochain chapitre?
Catherine
I’m looking forward to MeiMei pestering him for healing scrolls too :)
Beggar of Freedom
Divines bless your kind heart!
Synova Vitale
Welcome back!!! And you go washy. No one messes with food!!
Old Dog
Thank you.
Old Dog
Or a new helper spirit like the General?
Brendan
Shen Yu's friends and allies would be very impressed by the purification notes and the results of all the work gone into restoring the land.
N0m_N0m
hmm, I now wonder what Meimei is going to do with a rather large supply of demonic grade poison. probably nothing
leopard eye
The demon baker
Alex Ingraham
Oh, and the Thunderhoofs. Spooky's master gonna be EPICALLY pissed when he finds out 😂
Alex Ingraham
I kinda want Shou to not know. It would be fun watching him freak out about a new plant lol
Alex Ingraham
Him and Wa Shi lol
Michael Foat
Hard, the land we call our home
Michael Foat
Look up warframe we all lift
Angel
All is right in the world now that you’re back!!! Thank you thank you, love the tone of this chapter. A little serious, a little goofy, a little sad, and a lot of love. I see beautiful things in the future for the maple grove, maybe once a certain earth spirit wakes up? 🌺
WolfKnight22
and now the wait AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH great prologue though
Insertnamehereokokipressedokok
Lu Ri: Ah, junior brother, it is good to see your home did not sustain significant damage. Jin: Yeah, we got off pretty light, except for the maple grove... Lu Ri: I SHALL SLAY EVERY DEMON IN EVERY HELL THERE IS FOR THIS INSULT
Tijay Arnie
I assumed they'd added a weight training room
Cranky Otter
Second this. Prefer an author who can sustain their work at whatever pace is healthy for them to one that overdoes it and can’t write after a while. Will enjoy whatever comes out of that schedule.
Cranky Otter
I have listened to the 4th audiobook at least 4 times. While still worrying about the maple grove.
H
Cold, the air and water flowing Hard, the land we call our home Push, to keep the dark from coming
Marian Ch
Let's fucking go!
Harish
Imagine if even he has no idea what it is
Kasinki
Thank you for the chapter!!!
Andrew Carter
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (girlish squeal of delight!) 🥳🥳🥳
Arin Storm
Yes! We'll finally get to see Shou gushing over Jin's plants, and he might even know what the fire root is.
Bi-Dailey
TFTC
Rat with a Pick
A dragon that knows true power
Nick Brakhage
That is what I was wondering. Definitely a banger
Old Dog
As always, thank you for the chapter. Been re-reading the other books on RR and am really looking forward to the audiobook. Take care and thanks again.
Nathaniel Jacob moore
I am now held enraptured in waiting for this as well!
Pamela Gillespie
Thanks for the chapter
Laura Hemly
Even if CF doesn't write about it, I'll be picturing the Thunderhoofs tearing the demons to shreds. Because you're right, the way they go absolutely insane with happiness just by tasting the maple syrup is impossible not to enjoy!
Rake1810
FARM VISIT. I hope you enjoyed your time off but I've been waiting for this since Gramps called for them. Cannot wait for tsundere Minyan and Shou spitting blood.
Mr Crowley
Yup, and being able to purify the land easier is probably worth a bit. They probably can already do it, even if it takes just burning everything to ashes, but this is probably much cheaper than anything that they have.
Kat
I bet they will be impressed that the poison was removed already…
Kat
I don’t know about that, the formation that helped Gramps was what made the town so special to the Cloudy Sword, no?
Kt-x
Thanks for the chapter 😄
Robert Adams
I'm sure they already have it or something like it. It's probably just not easy to use in most cases, unlike at fa ram where they're just cleaning up the mess left behind.
Aki_Iokua18
Welcome back, and thank you for this new beginning. I can’t wait to see how this new book turns out.
James Faulkner
So excited for the next chapter!
C0bra$
Thank u for the story
EverydayCrucible
??? Isn’t this whole chapter about how it’s not doing great? That it was doing great until bad people came in and poisoned it?
Benjamin Lawton
That would imply it was ever anything LESS than Great, before.
EverydayCrucible
😏Make Fa-Ram Great Again?
Simon Andriessen
Same >_<'
Simon Andriessen
Noooo we've waited two months for the 'Old Fogies see Fa Ram' chapter! >_<'
Devon
It is form an old folk song that Warframe also used.
Palmer Evans
So happy these chapters are back! Almost teared up reading this for no obvious reason. Just joyful and grateful for this story and these characters
Rad
Warframe reference?
Mitchell Calhoun
Either he’s a fan or it’s just chance. Cause I didn’t even notice one. Not every reference is really a reference.
Gg
Tftc
Duke of Coffee
Keep On Trucking ever forward~ Glad a break did your mind well.
Jesper
Hell yeah! Thanks for the chapter.
K1NG_CHIMP
WOO! TYFTC!! I'm so fricking excited for this to be back
Angela Roberts
Yay! Bittersweet but lovely.
Mr Crowley
Hmm, I imagine the Emperor would be rather interested in that formation.
Sacchito22
I can't wait for all of Gramp's friends to gawk further. 🤣
BlueMage_VT
Welcome back, CF! Thank you for the chapter, I hope you had a good break! I know you were still working on other stuff, but I hope your time was good nonetheless!
Pam Phuong Nam Son
New fan here. Why the Warframe reference?
Alex Ingraham
TYFTC!
Zero Wrath
Awesome! Glad this is back! :) Thanks for the chapter!
Scholar of Endless Knowledge
I want the chapter now!😭
Raraki Kraken
This, the song of sons and daughters
Alex
I think Bailu and Seiyu are going to be more preoccupied with Vajra's booze and Washy's food.
kkkkkkkkk
Thank you!
Just A Dude
And here! We! Go!
Just A Dude
He is known as the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, the Doom Slayer.
Truedragon5374
I can't wait for the Storm Sisters to party with Tigu and Yin. We'll be lucky if Fa Ram is still standing afterwards!
Alex
Shou might have an aneurysm when he finds out how much Qi Jin dumps into the ground; Shou isn't on the Path of Shennong, so he can't afford to use all of his Qi on a daily basis.
Ope 'scuse me
I believe farmer mentioned a 2 ch/week schedule in one of his earlier posts. Wanting to finish the next volume for publication before going back to 3 per week.
Truedragon5374
I love this so much. So they don't know what to do with the bottled demon juice hmm? QUESTION: Would a steampunk car fueled by demon juice be better or worse for the environment than a modern gas guzzler?
Alex
With Meimei's sense of smell I don't think that'll be a problem; what will be a problem is that the maple grove got hit hard in the attack, so the volume of syrup is going to go way down this year. I want to see Spooks and the Thunderhoofs start a crusade against the heavenly demons when they find out how much maple syrup was lost.
Derek Walker
Not yet, 1-2 chapters a week for this month
Michael Larsen
Are we back to a M/W/F schedule?
Patrick Hoke
WE'RE SO BACK. COLD, THE AIR AND WATER FLOWING-
Michael Larsen
Wohoo!!!
leopard eye
If I was Jin, I wouldn't sell any Maple syrup to mortals this year... Or anything that might have been tainted by demon goop.
Kat Wilton
Huzzah! A wonderful chapter to open 2025, CF - thank you so much! Please don't forget to pace yourself and take appropriate rest. I for one, would be quite happy to have a slower pace if necessary, if it helps you keep writing. 😉 Nevertheless, each and every chapter will be met with greedy, greedy, grasping hands 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Rune Shadow
Awesome can't wait to see the shenanigans all the old coots get up too
Will Gossage
Are we gonna see Jin show off his paradise for the voice of the emperor and see the other watch the crystal?
Nicolas Symeou
Now I have to listen to it again. What a banger.
WarStrider72
Me at the end of the chapter: Wait..... Where's the rest?!!!! My Fa Ram visit chapter!!!!!
Brandon Yarberry
Hype
Runus
I just started playing Warframe a little bit ago. I got to the introduction cutscene for the area and I was like maybe I'll skip it. Glad I heard the whistling before I made that that horrible choice
taukid
The wordsmith has returned!
BelligerentGnu
Woohoo! Can't wait for Jin and that one elder to nerd out over plants.
Null_is_Void
Wonderful thank you!
xerance
For namer!
Demian Buckle
Thank you for the Chapter.
Xavier Harris
Welcome back I've been waiting for this for what feels like forever! Even though it was only 2 months!
Vicente Huerta
Ten of thousands years later washy name is spoken in fearful whispers among demonkind , he still hunts them down with righteous wrath.
Deltoren
Can't wait for people to visit the farm.
Stark Trist
Glad we've got BoC back on the menu.
Chakfor
Thanks for the chapter! The land begins to heal, and Tianlan shall surely be whole once more
WarStrider72
Cold, the air and water flowing. Hard, the land we call our home. Push, to keep the dark from coming. Feel, the weight of what we owe. 🎶
Nemoboi
yay new year new chapter *new book*
Robert Mullins
And we all lift, and we're all adrift, together. Together.
Maple
We're back baby
Sami Bautista
Thank you for the chapter
WarStrider72
Thanks for the chapter boss!
Cynsye
Insert whistling soundtrack here.
