Chapter 14:

Chapter 14

The Empire values it’s army above all, for it is said army that liberated it’s subjects from the flesh pits of the spiders thousands of years ago.

I don’t know how true the history I’ve read is, but I do know that the place of the army in Imperial culture is sacrosanct.

“Three banners?” Bao asked befuddled.

Both of us rose up from our resting spot and headed towards the open clearing we were told to gather at.

There were indeed three banners in front of us, one to the left being the banner of the sect, a white fist covered in red flames over the Imperial Black, another in the center with a cherry tree on it over a white background and a lemon tree over the Imperial Black.

She was the child of one of the warriors fighting under that banner, same as me, but she was not raised with the expectations that she would join it as she was the youngest, and so she was not given the boots to represent them.

“Go to the one on the left, I need to go to the one on the right.” I ordered.

She looked at me strangely but nodded. She hesitantly took a step, and then another and then stood to the left as the others started to gather.

I went to the one to the right and looked at the banner itself. The pole itself was thick and taller than I was, it’s tip a red spear and on it stood the symbol of Southern Lemon Tree on a piece of dark cloth that very nearly reached the ground.

I took it from the ground and held it up as is proper. The Southern Lemon Tree Banner will not be left alone on the ground, no matter how respectfully, for those raised under it’s shadow still live.

And because we still live it must be carried by those raised under its shadow.

To my left, the warriors of the Cherry Tree Banner came and their standard bearer picked the banner up.

There were seven Cherry Trees standing at attention when I looked at them and it seemed I would be the only Lemon Tree.

“Son of the Lemon Trees, Da Xiu reporting for duty, Glory to the banner, Victory for her Eminence.” A gruff voice saluted from behind.

So I won’t be alone representing the Banner then.

“Freedom from the Spider under the Shadow of the Leaves brother, I am Tai Su.” I answered sternly.

Despite the seriousness in my tone I was relieved as it meant I won’t have to shoulder the expectations of this banner alone.

The Southern Lemon Trees were the Banner Army responsible for looking over the area around my home, and despite their lack of military honors have been doing their duty well. The area around me has not had problems with bandits, or too many problems with wolves or thieves for as long as the Banner has been held up. Part of my gear comes from them and I am here to represent them and judging by the way the sect has prepared these banners they know it or were expecting it.

I dislike the responsibility but it was entrusted on me and I will not let my uncles faith in me be wasted. To keep this Banner up is to tell the world that there are still those left to carry it that those entrusted with this honor by the Empress continue to serve and that our families continue to fulfill our duties.

“Only the two of us.” The other man said gruffly from my right.

“We have a sister as well, but she was not given the boots.” I replied.

“Two of them then, I come with a sister as well.” He said simply.

Well, that was a relief, four of us, even if only two of us were here officially.

“Where do you hail from?” I asked.

He wasn’t in the group I came up with, I would have recognized the boots.

“The Southern Tiger Town near the coast. You brother of the banner?”

“One of the villages near Seventh Yellow Hill Town, near the border to the northern edge of the prefecture.”

“Near the foxes.” He observed after a moment of silence.

“They are allies, and one taught me how to read and write.” I said simply.

The man remained silent after that and we remained in companionable silence.

The foxes aren’t Imperials that’s true, but they are allies and many fight against the spiders.

“How many cherry trees?” I asked after a few minutes.

I’m carrying the banner I can’t look anywhere but where it’s shadow rests, and it’s shadow is in front of me.

“Twenty, a lot more stand behind only the sect’s banner. Their boots are shiny and they’re staring at us.” Da Xiu answered.

“So, nothing unusual, they always outnumber us and can’t do things right even then.” I answered a bit more strongly than was strictly speaking necessary.

I couldn’t see the glared but I could feel them. The Cherry trees and the southern lemons had a rivalry going on, albeit it was a strange one.

The Orange prefecture was defended by two Banners of the Empress, the Cherry Trees and the Southern Lemon Trees, the Cherry Trees defend the lands connected to the rest of the Empire and we defend the borders be they there by sea or land and despite them having larger numbers than us, despite only having to deal with Imperial citizens and not outsiders, the most one has to face in the land that rests under the Lemon Trees is the occasional thief and pickpocket too scared to show their faces.

In the lands that rest under the Cherry Trees there are bandits rampaging through the countryside as the warriors are too busy polishing their boots to go kill bandits and patrol.

I could hear their mutterings of the ‘naked lemons’ and ‘can’t even afford armor and dares tell us how to be soldiers’ but none of them calling me wrong and I stood up taller as my new brother proceeds to fight 19-to-1 like a true son of the lemons.

“Yes, it’s a wonder the army gives them so many resources and they can’t use them, Imagine what we could do if all of us had a full armor set and horses, we might actually go help the cherry boys and teach them how one deals with bandits.” He said viciously.

“Yes, many of us are learning how to read and write, I am sure we’ll be able to impart much wisdom upon our cousins once we can make the time.” I replied mockingly.

What sort of banner man would I be if I didn’t help my new brother?

The cherry boys attempts at mockery fell on deaf ears as neither of us could be bothered to care for their insults of us and I imagine neither could they hear ours. All they cared was upholding the Honor of the Banner.

Although, I could feel the fact that it stung them that they couldn’t insult us in any way but our lack of funds while we used that against them.

‘They should learn how to do their job then.’ I thought to myself.

Our attempts at one upping each other slowly died off as both sides did this out of tradition more than real animosity. The banners would argue, bad mouth each other and even throw insults but when it came down to it we had each other’s backs and so there’s a limit to the ribbing, a limit all of us instinctively knew we have reached.

“The cherry boys have a spine at least.” The other man observed once we stopped ribbing each other.

It wasn’t loud enough for them to hear it, it wouldn’t do to make their heads grow too much.

“They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.” I replied.

The Earth rumbled slightly beneath me as something I recognized as a sonic boom from quite the distance reached me and a storm of dust formed in front of those gathered here.

‘Whoever that was times their sonic boom to reach us just as they landed in front of us.’ I thought numbly.

Either that or they only broke the sound barrier when they landed.

The sound of whistling wind could be heard as I, and most likely the entire audience watched as the dust cloud in front of us disappeared.

The dust storm cleared, if one could call it that, when the tornado started and gathered all of the dust into itself and went towards a forest in the distance and left behind it a young looking man in pure white robes. The white was only interrupted by a single red fist emblazoned on the left breast.

“That’s our cue, cherry boys.” I shouted.

I did not look at them, my eyes could only be forward and so I took one step with the banner which was taller than me and shouted.

“The Banners Stand under the Blazing Sun!” I shouted.

To my left a female voice shouted the same words as me at the same time and behind us the sound of boots tried to thunder imposingly on the open ground. Unfortunately despite the efforts of the aspirants to our left, there weren’t enough of us to make it sound impressive.

“And the enemy trembles for they stand before them!” The voice of a man boomed inside my bones.

The rattling of my bones nearly made me drop the banner but I held it firm.

“I am glad to see that the Banners of the Empress still fly across the sky and that those born under them continue to honor us with their presence. I am Fu Jian Sect Master of the Blazing Fist Sect and I salute all of you who have gathered here to show me that the next generation of those that will fight in Her name has some teeth.”

“We greet the Sect Master!” I shouted and everyone did the same as me.

Not knowing military tradition could be excused, not showing deference to the man you came to join the organization of could not.

The man was too far to say whether or not he smiled at that but his next words quickly dispelled the question.

“Excellent, now, I misjudged my landing a bit because someone decided to prank me and sabotaged my jump with a quick air burst so let me get closer to you.” The man declared jovially.

In one second the man was too far to see the facial features of and in the next he was meters away from us.

The lack of wind and footsteps to announce his coming hit me more than said wind would have. Either the man just ran and left no trail behind him, or he could just annul the effects of the wind technique making him so maneuverable.

‘Unless he’s not using a wind technique?’ I thought as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

I quickly decided to stop bothering as knowledge of it will not help me for now.

“Now to return the respect you have shown me, I won’t waster your time with a long speech. Each of you have come here to join the Blazing Fist sect, each of you have the talent to cultivate and the two standard bearers even have Water Meridians which is an auspicious sign if I’ve ever see one. As such I will tell you the test and allow you to take it. But first… ” The sect master said and snapped his fingers.

“I will be taking this younger brother. The Lemon Tree Banner will stand as you bring honor to it.” A female voice said to my right.

I looked at the woman as she took the banned from my hands and was struck by the red hair and green eyes.

‘Fox?’ I though, but then I noticed she had human ears.

She wore a pure white robe with a red fist emblazoned on it.

“Thank you sister, I will bring honor to it.” I declared and bowed to her.

“I know you will junior brother.” She said with a smile.

She was gone from sight in the next moment as she disappeared from sight using a technique similar to the Sect Master’s.

“Good, now that the honor of the banners have been maintained, on to official business. Your test is simple. Behind me stands a mountain, the Sect grounds is on the mountain beyond it, your trial is to reach it in a month. You will each be given a technique to cultivate and brave through the beast infested mountains to give you a chance at survival. Inflame your Ambition, Stand Tall and make the Empress proud!” The sect master declared.

He proceeded to disappear in a dust storm the forced me to cover my eyes. I covered my eyes and looked down and saw a small booklet at my feet.

The sect master was no longer in front of us and I turned my sight to my left. There was one such booklet at the feet of everyone.

I went to pick it up and saw the title.

Water Root Sublimation Sutra

Basic Technique of the Blazing Fist Sect.

“Inflame my ambition? Well I suppose I am quite determined to ensure my and Bao's Survival.” I said as I gave the words inside the book a quick read.

I closed it after skimming through it a bit and turned to my new brother. Somehow the man was taller than me and looked the exact opposite his name would make one think he would look like. He was big musclebound and there were some small scars on his left cheek that were like nothing I’ve seen in this life.

They were too jagged to come from a knife or beast claw.

“Come Da Xiu, we have to find our sisters and plan if we’ll join up with the cherry boys and girls or not.” I called.

He looked away from his booklet and then at me and smiled earnestly.

“Let’s do so brother, I am sure you’ll love Yu Zong.” The taller man answered.

AN: And Volume One officially started, I welcome all of you to The Humble Ambition of a family man in a xianxia world, Volume One: Survival