The manual was wrapped in faded blue cloth and tied with a cord that had been knotted and tied over itself enough times that the original knot was somewhere in the middle of three others. Tianqi set it on the workbench in his room and untied it without hurrying.
It was a thin book. Twenty, maybe twenty-five pages, the paper yellowed at the edges and the binding cracked along the spine from years of sitting folded on a shelf. The title on the cover was written in a steady hand that had not faded the way the paper had.
Threaded Breath Foundation Manual.
He did not open it yet.
He set his hands flat on the cover and let the eyes read.
[Threaded Breath Foundation Manual]
[Age] 61 years
[Grade] Low — Mortal Tier Cultivation Method
[Suitable For] Low grade roots, single or no attribute. Slow accumulation model.
[Foundation Quality] Stable. No collapse risk at any stage.
[Estimated Progression Speed] Slow. Qi Refinement Stage 1 to Stage 3 average: 4–7 years under consistent practice.
[Flaws Detected] 3
[Flaw 1] Breathing interval in the third circulation sequence is uneven. Current ratio 4:6:2. Optimal ratio 4:4:4. As written, the imbalance causes minor qi stagnation at the lower meridian gate after extended sessions. Not dangerous. Reduces efficiency by an estimated 12–18%.
[Flaw 2] Chapter four makes no provision for roots without elemental affinity. The absorption guidance assumes at least trace affinity. Without modification, a no-attribute root will plateau at Stage 2 and require external intervention to progress further.
[Flaw 3] The consolidation method in chapter seven is incomplete. Final two steps missing. Likely transcription error.
He read it from the top twice. Then he opened the book to the first page and started reading it the normal way.
The writing was plain and direct. It told you to sit, told you how to breathe, told you what to feel for and how to follow it when you found it. He had already done the first part on his own in the forest, so the early pages were mostly confirmation. The third circulation sequence was on page nine. He read the breathing ratio and noted it against what the panel had told him. Four, six, two. He breathed it through once and felt the slight drag at the lower meridian gate exactly where the panel said he would.
He closed the book and contemplated on how to explain why his breathing ratio is different if Chu asked . But considering Chu's talent level he thought he might be testing him.
He decided he would fix the breathing ratio. An eighteen percent efficiency loss was not something a low grade root could afford. He adjusted the count to four, four, four and ran it through once. The drag was gone.
He read to the end of chapter two and set the book down and closed his eyes.
The breathing came easier than it had in the forest. He had been running the basic circulation for two weeks by then, enough that the path was familiar, and the Threaded Breath method slotted in alongside it without friction. He followed the sequence through three full passes, the stagnation build up at the lower gate was now gone after his earlier adjustments.
By the end of the session a steady thread of qi had settled into his lower meridian and stayed there.
He opened his eyes and looked at his hand.
[Hong Tianqi]
[Age] 12
[Realm] Mortal — Qi Refinement Stage 1
[Elemental Affinity] None detected
[Meridian State] Active — lower gate, first thread established
[Current State] Calm
He read the affinity line and looked at it for a moment longer than the others. None detected. That was accurate, the void root did not register as an affinity, it absorbed without displaying. The eyes knew the difference even if the panel read blank.
He folded the blue cloth neatly and set the manual on top of it.
Downstairs, Chu was finishing the evening's pill batch. The smell of burnt peachwood bark and something sharper and more medicinal had been drifting up through the floorboards for the past hour. Tianqi came down when he heard the press set aside and found Chu standing at the worktable with three finished pills lined up on a ceramic tray, examining each one in the lamplight.
Tianqi stood in the doorway and watched him work without letting the eyes settle. He had made a habit of that in the weeks since the morning with the congee. He could read Chu whenever he chose to but he choose not to.
Chu held one of the pills up to the lamp, turning it slowly.
"How far did you get," Chu said. He did not look up.
"Chapter two," Tianqi said.
Chu set the pill back on the tray. "That's further than I expected for one sitting."
"The writing is clear."
Chu made a short sound that was not quite agreement and not quite dismissal and went back to the tray. Tianqi watched him sort the pills by size into a small wooden box and fit the lid on.
"The third circulation sequence," Tianqi said. "The breathing ratio. Is that how you learned it, or is there another version."
Chu looked at him then. It was a brief look, the kind that did not give much away, and then he looked back at the box.
"That is how it is written," Chu said.
"I know," Tianqi said. "I was asking if you had learned it differently."
Chu picked up the box and moved it to the storage shelf. "Go to sleep. You have herb runs in the morning."
Tianqi went back upstairs.
He lay on his mat in the dark and stared at the ceiling and thought about the way Chu had paused before he answered. Not long. Half a breath, maybe less. But Chu did not pause on questions he had no opinion about.
He knew about the flaw.
Tianqi closed his eyes and said nothing to the ceiling about it, because the ceiling already knew, and neither of them was going to do anything about it tonight.