Severing Time & Space

Bone Hardening Pill

Later that night, Wu Jian had the servants fill his bath with hot water.

All members of the main clan had a bath in their rooms, though his was simply a large wooden tub that could be stowed away in a closet space next to his bedroom. The servants brought out the tub, filled it with water, and a cultivator with the fire element heated the water for him. He thanked everyone for their help and only turned back to the tub after the servants bowed and left.

Stripping down, Wu Jian set his clothes aside, opened the box, and grabbed one of the pills. The strong medicinal scent mixed with the heat of the tub and made him light-headed. It felt like all the blood was rushing to his head, creating an exhilarating euphoria. He thought he could feel the scent pervading his body and latching onto his bones, but maybe that was just his imagination.

He did as his father instructed and dropped the pill into the tub after climbing in himself. Sitting with his legs crossed, he closed his eyes and tried to enter a meditative state. The instructions on how to absorb the minerals from the pill stated that he needed to have a perfectly calm mind that would allow his body to subconsciously absorb the ingredients through his pores.

Achieving a calm mind was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Wu Jian’s thoughts flitted to and fro like agile sparrows flitting through the branches of a great tree. He had a lot to think about; Wu Meiying, his father, Wu Yong, and the challenge that would take place in six months. Would he be able to win? Could he defeat elder half-brother? He was very worried that he wouldn’t be able to win, and about what would happen should he lose? Wu Jian didn’t believe he would be able to grow stronger if he couldn’t overcome Wu Yong. Something told him losing would give him a sequelae he would never be able to recover from.

And if that happened, Wu Meiying would disappear from his life. She would be taken away.

He did not want that.

Furrowing his brow, Wu Jian recalled the lessons he had learned on meditation. There were seven steps to meditation: Take a seat, set a time limit, notice your body, feel your breath, notice when your mind has wandered, be kind to your wandering mind, and close with kindness. He had already taken a seat, but he hadn’t set a time limit. Wu Jian decided to do that now.

He would meditate for thirty minutes.

Wu Jian focused on his body. His ribs ached, but they were feeling a lot better now than they had before. He wondered if that was because of the Bone Hardening Pill. He discarded the thought seconds later. Not only could Wu Jian feel the ache in his ribs, but he could feel each of his individual toes as he sat with his legs crossed. His fingers had formed a hand seal without him realizing it. The hand seal was called Dhyana. It was one of several hand seals all cultivators were taught from a young age to help them focus.

A trickle of sweat trailed down his neck and collar bone.

Next, he focused on his breathing. In. Hold for five seconds. Out. He counted the number of breaths he took. He followed the sensation of his breathing as it traveled from his nose to his chest, then out of his mouth.

His thoughts wandered to Wu Meiying. She would be arriving after he finished bathing. He remembered how they used to take baths together, but Father had put a stop to that after they turned six. Thinking back on it, he didn’t actually know how old Wu Meiying was. She had been found in a basket as a baby, but they had no idea how many months old she had been at the time, which meant she may be older or younger than him by a few months at least.

Shaking his head as he realized he was losing focus, Wu Jian recentered himself—and that was when he noticed it. He felt different now than he had moments before. It was a hard to describe sensation. If he had to put how he felt into words, he would have said that he felt slightly heavier but also sturdier. Was this a result of the Bone Hardening Pill?

Like that, thirty minutes passed.

With a soft sigh, Wu Jian opened his eyes.

He blinked when another pair of eyes appeared right in front of his face.

“Working hard?” asked Wu Meiying with a grin.

“When did you get here?” he asked in return.

“A while ago,” Wu Meiying admitted. She was crouching by the tub with her hands on her cheeks. The bright grin on her face was filled with mischief. “I see you’ve managed to absorb all the medicinal ingredients. If you keep doing that, your bones should become much stronger. That will help you train harder too. Stronger bones means you can put more stress on them.”

“Here’s to hoping,” Wu Jian said.

He stood up and stepped out of the tub. Wu Meiying also stood up and grabbed a towel, which she gave to him. The cold air made Wu Jian shiver, but he quickly dried off as Wu Meiying grabbed his sleepwear—a white hanfu made of thick cotton. She handed it to him once he was dry, and he put it on.

“How do your ribs feel?” asked Wu Meiying after they had settled down on his bed.

“They feel better,” Wu Jian admitted. “I think they might even be completely healed.”

“You should still take it easy tomorrow, but I think you can begin training the day after.”

Wu Jian grimaced. “I don’t want to waste even a single day though…”

“Hmph. This is what you get for being reckless. I know I told you that you need to get stronger, but I didn’t say you could act like an i***t and get yourself hurt.”

“…I have nothing to say in my defense. Please forgive me.”

Their banter continued until they both felt tired and decided to sleep. As Wu Jian closed his eyes, the last thing he saw was the girl he loved closing her eyes as she leaned into him.