Part Two: "Rat"- Chapter Eleven: "Rising Ambitions"

Thwunk! Thwunk, thwunk, thwunk, thwunk! Five needles pierced five targets evenly distributed across the training grounds. Ming Ran had grown more adept at using needles as his weapon. He read books on pressure points, medicine, the human body, and herbs. He found hiding places and good times to study and practice without his siblings getting in the way, and even managed to beat Wei Ning once! The last bit was, however, an accident and was not something he was particularly proud of. He had been putting in some extra practice and felt the air shift behind him. He threw the needles quickly, feeling more sensitive than usual and hit Wei Ning dead on. Wei Ning was unable to move and Cang Yuan laughed his ass off. Wei Ning needed to be coaxed for the rest of the day. Meng Yu had found his newest shidi an eyesore. He was coddled and spoiled and didn't work hard at all. His own peace and quiet interrupted by the constant noise and nonsense that his siblings brought to his peak each day. 

Meng Yu had finally had enough! He found Ming Ran in the kitchen cooking breakfast again.

"What? Did you come up here to be housewife?" his words were barbed as usual. Ming Ran turned around, holding a book on cultivation techniques. His eyes wide, like he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing, he pulled his shinxiong inside and pressed a finger to his lips. He looked nervous. Meng Yu pulled away, "What? So you can study?" he rolled his eyes. Ming Ran drooped a bit. Meng Yu caught a glimpse of the book, "What chapter are you on?" He snatched it and found that he was farther ahead than what he thought. 

He didn't understand, when had Ming Ran managed to read this much? A fluke? Just skimming pages? He glared at him.

"You've been skipping around like this, aren't you afraid of ruining you foundations?!" he exclaimed. Ming Ran tried to hush his again, gesturing frantically. Meng Yu rolled his eyes and gave him a brush and paper that he had been planning on studying with. Ming Ran wrote quickly lest his shixiong yell again.

I've been studying without Wei-shixiong knowing, please, please don't tell him! Ming Ran's characters were beyond nervous. Meng Yu read and reread over and over again. 

"Why should you care about whether or not-" Meng Yu felt everything click into place. His sect brother really was too ridiculous! Hindering the cultivation of his shidi over trifles! Meng Yu rolled his eyes again. "Don't mind that idiot. And stop allowing them to coddle you! If you want something, take it." With a flick of his sleeve, he swished around and left as quickly as he come, leaving Ming Ran with a realization...

The next morning, bright and early, Ming Ran came to practice, and was quickly overcome with a realization..! His Shixiong was perfectly able to stop him from cultivating properly. 

...

That was seven months ago... Ming Ran sighed and leaned against Cang Mu who pet him sympathetically. This whole thing had gotten worse ever since he and Ming Ran had dual cultivated for the first time. Cang Mu shook his head, trying to force down the rising heat in his body. Now was not the time. Ming Ran's cheeks had been puffed up for a while, he poked them, earning him a pointed glare.

"Sorry. They just got so puffy. I was wondering if there was anything in there."

...there's not. Ming Ran sighed, his eyes flicking towards the books he had to take back to the library pavilion. Cang Mu helped him up and took the books. Ming Ran glared at him, pinching his arm.

"What? You need both hands to sign. I want to be able to listen to you, so I'll carry the books to the pavilion and you can pay me back later with some manual labor." Cang Mu began to walk. Ming Ran nodded and followed him, signing the whole way.

The library pavilion was a huge place filled with many, many bookshelves of books. Manuals, recipes, martial arts forms, cook books, medicine, business, carpentry, strategy, everything could be found here. The Twelve Mountains was different from other cultivation sects mainly in that it helped everyone cultivate a path, even if it wasn't cultivation. The teachings of the great dragon was that everyone had their own path, and that path was but one piece of the universe. There was a place for everyone in this world because they were a piece of the spring of origins. Ming Ran found this place was very similar to a college. He sighed as he walked inside, the smell of books and the serene atmosphere that allowed him to sit and read for hours on end. Cang Mu brought the books over the keeper of the pavilion, and followed Ming Ran inside. Ming Ran could spend days in here if he lost track of time, Cang Mu came with him to keep him from getting lost in the book stacks. Ming Ran stood in front of the shelves with all of the medical herbs and was already reading its contents. Cang Mu admired his ability to concentrate and his reading speed. When Ming Ran was reading, the rest of the world fell away. He shook his head and walked away.

There was a total of three thousand shelves filled with books on martial arts. Who knew how much knowledge was crammed into the lofty bookshelves taller than trees in the oldest forests? It had been over half a year since Cang Mu had started here, he had already gathered a fair amount of followers since his arrival. He was strong and often sparred with the shixiong of both his peak and others, and a good amount of the time he managed to hold his own. There was something about him that was both ruthless and righteous. The last seven months had given him more form and thought when it came to his martial arts. He had more or less mastered the sword in all its physical glory, next was embedding soul force into his blade. He found himself to be limited by the lack of practice in this regard. He was able to gather that soul force in his blade at certain times, but he was unable to figure out the trigger. Something was blocking his path, but he had not found what it was yet. Ming Ran was behind in his studies, mainly because of his siblings. It would be best if he had a safe place to practice, but how easy was that? Cang Yuan seemed to trust the hands off way of teaching for this matter. Cang Mu could tell that he was hoping his students would overcome their demons and roadblocks on their own. After all, it was impossible for someone else to find your way for you. Still, how was one supposed to improve or look for a route when they hadn't even realized that another path existed? Cang Mu shock his head, his siblings all had heart demons, whether or not they overcame them was their own problem, however, his eyes drifted back from where he had walked from...

"Cang Mu!" a happy, giddy squeal erupted from nearby. A young woman bounced over and hugged him. Pei Rong was the equivalent of the cheerleader archetype from high school. Loud, obnoxious and clearly vent on getting her way... okay, maybe that wasn't fair. Cang Mu reflected on himself, not every cheerleader was like that, but still- he watched her with annoyance as she coyly rubbed her breasts against his arm- it's what came to mind. 

"Pei Rong, have some respect." he scolded her. Pei Rong pouted, and Cang Mu could feel some of the men in the area swoon even when they weren't hit dead on. Cang Mu wasn't like other men. His type was-- uh...

Ming Ran stood watching the scene with raised eyebrows, the accusation clear on his face. Cang Mu groaned, happy wife, happy life... and his wife was not happy right now.