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Sky Pride Vol. 5 Chapter 38- The Many Flavors of Fortune
🕑 Added 2026-01-28 15:00:18 +0000 UTCTian spent the rest of the evening chatting with Grandpa, talking about all the things that had happened, asking what exactly a money toad was (being told “You will find out,” was not very helpful, in Tian’s opinion,) and questions about cultivation. They also tackled the future of the monastery.
You always have to look at things from the human perspective in situations like this. Forget daoism for a bit. Rule number one- people want tomorrow to be more or less like today, and a reasonable possibility that it could be better. That means they are more worried about avoiding losses than potential gains. Rule number two- most people aren’t assholes all the time, but some definitely are, and everyone is at some point, so you gotta balance your system quite carefully between minimizing harm from assholes and maximizing the benefits for the good people. Rule number three- everyone is busy with their own stuff. Not many people have the time and interest to manage other people’s stuff. The people who do have that kind of interest are… not inherently bad, but should be watched closely. Any system has to take them into account too, as they are the ones who are most likely to get things done, including doing bad things you don’t want.
“Makes sense, but I don’t really see how to apply all that.”
Easy. Consider the Monastery itself. First of all, why call it a monastery? Why not Ancient Crane Palace, or Big Mountain Pavilion, or Limitless Virtue Transcendent Insight Immortal Divine Sanctuary of Supreme Meaning?
“I… don’t actually know.”
I can more or less guarantee that one of the daoist organizations on this mountain before the Ancient Crane arrived was called a monastery. A religious retreat. Maybe they were cultivators, maybe they were just venerating the gods, or their ancestors, or who knows what. But they hung onto the name, and they hung onto the organizational structure, only changing things when they really needed to. Which wasn’t often, since they aren’t hands-on for most things.
“Alright?”
So you tell me. Does it need to stay a monastery? If the current system is non-functional, does it make more sense to scrap everything and rebuild from the ground up, or keep adapting the old system?
“What even could replace it? A kingdom? A merchant house? A… I don’t know, a school or something? I think I heard Censor Hanshen mentioning something about scholar’s academies. Maybe you could have a daoist academy.”
Or nothing. Nothing says the Monastery has to exist.
“Heretics, natural disasters…”
Why are they your problem? And if you think they are, why not integrate directly with the kingdom?
“Nobody cultivating or breaking through because their heads are filled with mortal concerns, not to mention the qi density on this mountain is so high, I can understand why it took direct orders to get people to leave the monastery and descend into the low country.”
Tian sighed and walked over to the side of the stream. “I have an idea how this goes. The cultivator aligns himself with stillness and nature, following the way of heaven. The mortals must scurry and busy themselves, following the way of earth. As the heavens are above the earth, so the immortal must be over the mortal, aligning themselves with the world so that everything falls into its natural order. The cultivator achieves everything by doing nothing, because all the little people serving them will rush around doing the work. You could replace the word ‘cultivator’ with ‘emperor’ easily enough, and it would still apply.”
There was a startled silence, then Tian had the sense of Grandpa Jun grinning. Exactly right. A nicely daoist version of “My fist is bigger, so grow my rice or else.” And don’t forget the next step- just as heaven and earth are fixed in relation to each other, so is the position of people. Some above, most below, and coming to a fixed point. Natural as the sun rising in the morning. Only when people strive to change their station or neglect their proper role does the world turn to misery and chaos. Such is always the consequence when one labors against the law of heaven.
Tian chuckled. “Then shouldn’t a cultivator defy the heavens, withstand tribulations with their righteousness and… and this is how the Eight Directions Palace operated. Sister Su said that nobody ever saw them because nobody below the Earthly Realm had anything they wanted. They only appeared to earn merits. They just stayed up on the mountain. And like the Inner Court, they went adventuring, probably between other high-qi density areas. Which there can’t be that many of, so they had to cover multiple regions.”
There are a lot more than you would think, the world is a big place. Finish it up. How did they get new disciples?
“They scattered cultivation manuals around, occasionally appearing as sages and preaching the dao, then vanishing. While they were wandering, they kept an eye out for people with a talent for cultivation and took them as disciples. Direct teaching.” Tian resumed the head rubbing. So many things were snapping into place. “I have to assume the Elders have thought of all this.”
Don’t be so quick to assume. Remember rule one? They want to keep things as close to the way they were as possible, unless they are forced to make a big change. And believe it or not, this whole situation is probably not dire enough to force truly dramatic change.
“What would?!”
Their feet being literally on fire might make some of them jump. You would be depressed to learn that some people will insist that wearing burning shoes is how things should be.
“But we are starting from an advantage. We can pitch defying the heavens and the systems of the world as following in the steps of the Eight Directions Palace. Starsieve and the founders forgot the true legacy of the ancients and all that.”
If it’s what you want the sect to look like.
Tian was about to say yes, when the image of the Saintess came to mind. A monstrous being, existing in a vast array, eating the fortune of children. And she had been the saintess. He didn’t know exactly what status that gave her in the sect, but it clearly wasn’t a low one.
The servant’s trial was another important point. It was downright murderous. Then there was Suneater. At some point, he had been recruited into the sect. Somehow. Maybe someone saw something good in him, maybe there was some other way in. Trial grounds for Heavenly Realm people or something. It felt like something they would do.
Just because they were, in some ways, better than the Ancient Crane Monastery, it didn’t mean they were better in every way. The West Town Outer Court would never have existed under them. The Xias might have been slaughtered for some other reason, but there would be no Brother Fu, Brother Wong, or any of the others, to heal him and teach him how to live with humans. He would merely have been livestock, contributing to the prosperity of the region, and, in a microscopic way, the fortune accumulated by the Palace.
Rule two- most people aren’t assholes all the time, but you gotta plan for the ones who are.
“Brother Fu would be the kind of person you mention in Rule Three, right? The kind to get things done, but might also break your system.”
Yep.
“Lets hope you are right.”
Tian snuck back into the Monastery the next morning. This was about as successful as an elephant sneaking into a cymbal storage room, but since he found some treasures, it was important to try. He handed over the ordinary rocks and quarrying equipment to the mission hall, carefully checked he got his refund, and turned to go find the Wangs.
“Err… Brother Tian?”
“Yes, Senior?” He hadn’t even gotten one step towards the door.
“Why do you have a toad on a bit of twine hanging over your shoulder?”
“For good luck, of course. Pretty soon everyone will want one.”
“Good luck?” The Mission Hall clerk looked interested.
“Yes, it eats money. I have long wanted a way to destroy pointless disks of useless metal, and now I have one. Soon, everyone will be rid of money! Very lucky.” Tian patted the string fondly.
“Yes. Lucky. You keep that luck tied up good and tight now.” Somehow, the clerk’s face didn’t seem to match his words, but Tian thought his heart was in the right place.
“I will, Senior!”
Tian found Sister Su sitting at her usual table, and greeted her with a cheery wave. “I need to turn a big rock into two pretty bangles that match, and as many pieces of tea equipment as you can manage.”
“How big a rock?”
“This rock.” Tian deposited the torso sized rock gently on the ground next to him. Talking with Sister Su was always a blessing. You could skip all the useless fluff, and just speak plainly. He really should do something nice for her.
“I will have Sister Mei produce an internal diagram, and Sister Ming will plan and manage the cutting. We can submit designs based on what we discover prior to cutting, but we require a deposit, non-refundable if you decide not to commission us to do the cutting and carving.”
Tian blinked. “Why would I ask anyone else to do it? And how much do you want?”
“Wait, wait, the tea set I expected but why two bangles?” Ming Yu came rushing out of the house, almost skidding to a stop next to Sister Su’s table.
“Sister Ming, is that really an appropriate question to ask a customer?” Sister Su frowned.
“Yes, of course! Bangles are jewelry, and he’s having them custom made. That’s significant. So. Tell me everything.”
Tian stared at her, trying to keep from going slackjawed. He had known Liren what felt like half his life. Ever since that first spar, they had goaded each other, encouraged each other, comforted each other, fought heretics, fought demons, fought bandits, fought the cruelty of the world, fought their own bodies. A lifetime of struggle, but not unhappy struggle. Not in the end. He would carry the horrors of the Wastes forever, as would Liren, but it was okay, because that was where they went from friendly rivals to true companions. It was where their feet became set upon the same path.
How could he explain what that meant? He still didn’t know what he meant by dao companion, or even lover. He just wanted a life with her, and knew it was with her that he would find true immortality.
It was only with her, that the mad god could be slain, and maybe the world would start making more sense. How could he tell Ming “everything?” “Everything” was too much for him!
“It’s for Liren. She wanted to be courted and suggested matching bangles. I told her I wanted to be courted too, but I didn’t give any suggestions since mine are always bad and wrong.”
There appeared to be something wrong with Sister Ming. She was making a high pitched squealing noise. So high pitched, he could barely hear it, tickling the top of his ears. She didn’t appear to be in pain, her eyes were open wide, bright and lively. She was even wiggling. Tian had a powerful urge to call the crane and fly away at maximum speed.
“DONE! We accept the commission!”
“SISTER MING! That is not-”
“We were going to take it anyway, even if all he could offer was the toad on the string. It’s a big rock full of, what?”
“Malachite and azurite.”
“So not very precious, but still good stuff and you can use quite small pieces of it mounted in metal to make attractive jewelry. It holds some enchantments decently well too.” Sister Ming stood her ground under Sister Su’s glare. “So we take the rock, guarantee the bangles, see what can be done for the tea set, and the rest belongs to us. Which, since he’s not asking for any enchantments,”
She glanced over at Tian, who shook his head. “Is an entirely fair price, or at least an acceptable one for an old friend.”
Sister Su remained rigid. “That is not the only reason you want to do it.”
“It is not, no.”
“We will discuss this in private, later.”
“Yes, Sister Su.” Ming bowed her head apologetically.
Tian really, really wished he had called the crane.
Su turned and looked at him with her unblinking eyes. “What do you want engraved on the bangles? The messages are carved on the inside, usually. I encourage you to leave the art choice on the exterior to Sister Ming. She is really quite good at it.”
Tian couldn’t help it. He did go slack jawed at that one. What the hell were you supposed to write on a courting gift? Something meaningful, he would assume, something that explained why he was giving the gift. Should he ask for advice? But Sister Ming was looking at him with enormous, glistening eyes, and even Sister Su was looking unusually curious.
He stretched out his hands, trying to grasp something, as though he could pull words from the air. He had studied hard, learned to imitate the humans around him so deeply, he passed among them unnoticed most of the time. All his little quirks of communication smoothed out from years of careful polish. All worthless when put to the test.
He grasped- and failed. “Everything” was too much. In the end, he fell back on the words he did know, the ones he had heard so often, they almost seemed like a joke. How true they were now!
“The Dao that can be spoken is not the true dao. How can I say what she means to me?”
Comments
Wrenn
TFTC
CreditAssignment
I love this so much.
Steve Wright
Debut album from Brother Toad and the Mountain Taoist Band.
Kevin O'Malley
Intense squeee.
kapo
Mother, Father—I am sorry, for I must now go. I am off to the Limitless Virtue Transcendent Insight Immortal Divine Sanctuary of Supreme Meaning. Please wish me luck, and do not forget me, and do not forget to send me disks of metal.
Caleb Reusser
Remember it turned to metal.
Duck_Giblets
Tian will pay the toad. The toad will ensure tian never needs to pay for anything, ever
OldschoolDOS
Happy I took a second to double-check what a bangle was, for some reason I thought it was an earring and not a bracelet. Is the toad just hanging from a string and no one can tell it is special and alive?
EvilLittleThing
I think Mei is just excited that Ziren has leveled up
Efram Manechiwz
I love the fact that Tian still does not think of himself as human like everyone else. It provides so much potential for tension and fun.
Fayhem
I appreciate Ming stepping up to be the readers' self-insert character in this chapter.
Duck_Giblets
I do wonder if enchantments will find their way after all
Duck_Giblets
Hopefully it's an investment that pays 7fold, and not just a toad that thrives off the raw metals
Duck_Giblets
That last line sounds like words of wisdom that could lead to a revelation for others
Isak Mark
Tian you sly dog. Saying you don't understand romance and then hitting them with that line. Tian returning with no gaudy jewelry like Liren wanted but instead a toad, the token of his unintended insult to her, is going to either be super hilarious or heart breaking depending on how Liren responds.
Diarmuid McGinnity
Tbf it would cost tian effectively nothing and would probably earn him merit to do so himself. He basically wants to be a wandering sage anyway, so what better way to spend his time?
James Faulkner
Accidental Rizzlord Tian strikes again 😂
eduardo marcovics
I feel conflicted with granpa Jun involment in this, or lack of it i mean. Like its obvious he probably got a manual on how to develop a society that resembles a more modern equitative one on based principles, or atleast got the tools to improve mortal lives a lot for cheap (Gourmet and other techniques like this). I understand he is energy hungry or whatevs and, that it would steal merit from tian to do that but... you know there is children with cancer who could use gourmet out there
Andrew Goebel
Now I want Tian's sonnet. "Shall I compare thee to a summer day? No, because metaphors are lies."
Andrew Goebel
Right? It's gotta be practical, personal and romantic. It's going to be a boat. It'll just float in the pond.
Len
if that is the engraving, substitute you for she ...The Dao that can be spoken is not the True Dao, How can i Explain what You Mean to me?
Hakurei06
I feel like that money toad is already hard at work.
Robert Mullins
I wonder what Liren is doing during this time? I don't envy her having to find a way of courting an ascetic. What can she even get him besides maybe more tea leaves?
Nonnyor Business
Yeah, I haven't dug too deeply into the original political texts, but Tian and Jun were basically paraphrasing some of the ones I did find. Very clearly written to appease local rulers, it had strong Machiavelli's The Prince vibes. But it also very plainly fit with the overall themes of philosophical daoism.
GreenB
Tian being incredibly romantic even as he struggles to find words with that last line.
Veridescent
I do wonder if the Squeeing is more on like projecting catharsis that something is happening, happiness at Tian being happy, or projection of him being more "right" for fitting a normative pattern that was taught and enforced for relationships. Ship dynamics are interesting
J Ennis
I'm so happy that Sister Su is enough of a literalist but also enough of a romantic to know that she is morally obligated to not interpret what Tian said as "Write nothing on the bangles, as I don't have the words to describe it", but instead to literally write "The dao that can be spoken of is not the true dao. How can I explain what she means to me?" as the inscription, because that might be the most genuinely romantic line I've read in a long time.
Veridescent
The question in part fundamentally is how van you facilitate the modulation of insight into peoples daily lives such that continuity is had. Because that is in many ways how people ideate change. Mortality and immortality as with all things of the Dao are intrinsically the same stuff, spread heterogeneously across different perspectives making the variable configurations that lead to differences in medicine, accumulative cultivation, technique, etc. Much as cultivation manuals are views of such accumulation set into patterns that show a path there is nominally a wider pedalogical teaching potential. In a related note to how the given societal organization doesnt have to be the same, and hasnt always beem the same. The accompaniment style seen at the medicine hut was mostly there, but give history could have been wider spread and could be again. Is the meshing of plants for harmonious qi interactions mortal air or a way to see the immortality within the ephemeral? The false dichotomy is all based on some ideation of hiearchy as a eternity. When in essence all moments may be eternal in some fashion. Daoist philosophy gets very funny when ideating on societal infastructure. Especially with the dynamics of effortless action and sense of self in society
Mistythread
Tian will have the fattest and most well fed Fortune Toad in all the realms from his pursuit of the Dao of the Brokie
EvilLittleThing
To be fair, he typically gives her things like frog brains and a recipe for Hong soup.
EvilLittleThing
Pretty sure it's one of the things his monk brothers told him to say when a woman asked him to declare his feelings. Except now he understands it.
William Johnson
She's definitely channeling chat hard there!
William Johnson
“The Dao that can be spoken is not the true dao. How can I say what she means to me?” Tian, the accidental chad, strikes again.
Andrew Lechner
Tian is a romantic. He doesn't know what that is, but that doesn't stop him from doing it.
Noroh
I love how we get the Daoist version of Sonnet 18 at the end lol
G&S Gaming
Tftc! Studying The Dao is a lot like floating gently down a river, and now we all have the greatest SHIP to sail with
Lochar
Critical emotional damage there, Tian.
Apep
Let’s see how pissy Liren gets when he comes back and all she gets is a toad. 😂
Ano Ano
Grandpa has definitely read Foucault
LordMars
I feel a bit bad for Tian. To think your suggestions are always bad and wrong is a rough perspective to have.
Joshua Flowers
Give the frog to the wangs for free everything whenever I need it because it’s an unlimited money cheat
Lady Merlin
Perfect. Thank you for this chapter/series of events. It's a needed breath of air, not just in the story, but with everything going on in the world
JTP
That description of Mings squee makes me feel personally attacked.
SquiddlyWinks
Well you at least try! Cop out
Logrus
God DAMN Tian. That's a hell of a line.
jack
This would be a fantastic artifact to find if they somehow lost the bangles or died. Imagine the legends and stories.
Robert Mullins
Like that Tian. That's exactly how you say it and what will be engraved.
Nicholas
This volume has been amazing. The payoff with their relationship has been long-coming and all the better for the development.
Chrysos au
Thanks for the chapter
JP
TYFTC! I feel like Ming anytime to topic comes up, just giddy and exited for what comes next :>
