In the end, it took less than an hour for Wu Ling and Su Xiang to find a suitable place to establish themselves on the lakeshore. A swift-moving creek tumbled over rocks before spilling into the lake amidst soft grasses and dense reeds. Wu Ling's only complaint, if he had one at all, was that the local frogs were loud enough to render his bullfrog paintings useless amidst their constant croaking.
Still, with a bit of work, it would meet all of their needs if they were able to stay and if they weren't, it would at least provide the essentials for Yu Jinqi to tend to Fang Lin. Once they settled on the place, Wu Ling and Su Xiang set quickly to work building a litter to carry Fang Lin on before Su Xiang left to retrieve their companions and Wu Ling worked with Hou to burn a clearing amidst the tall grasses.
The next several hours passed in a blur as everyone worked to establish their temporary camp. Zhang Buyan proved to be surprisingly handy in constructing a small bamboo hut for Yu Jinqi to work in.
"Remember when I mentioned staying in the forest until I successfully hunted a Golden Tailed Stag for my father?" Zhang Buyan said when Wu Ling asked him about it. "It was early autumn and I felt like it rained at least three out of five days. I would have been fine if I'd been more thoughtful but," the burly man's voice trailed off as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
"Well," he continued ruefully. "I learned the hard way that leaving food in your tent while stalking your prey is an invitation to all manner of beasts to tear up your camp and feast on your supplies," he said with a wry laugh.
"I got plenty of practice that autumn until I learned how to keep myself dry and warm while resting," he said, tapping on the half-finished roof of the hut. "The weather has been good, but even if it isn't, Brother Fang needn't worry here."
"Senior Brother's hands are very deft," Jin Wuya said from the side, her eyes shining as she watched him work. "I didn't think you'd do such delicate work."
"Haha, Junior Sister Jin, consider yourself fortunate not to have this skill," the bearded man said in embarrassment. "I once said something disrespectful to a Senior Warden and spent many days mending fishing nets as punishment. Compared to that, tying up some bamboo is nothing much."
"Brother Zhang, it sounds like you found trouble with your sect rather frequently," Su Xiang said as she dropped off more freshly cut bamboo. "Have you ever thought of leaving your sect because of it?"
"No, not once," he replied instantly. "Sister Su, I will be the first to confess that I have not always been admirable. My father was the most suitable person to cultivate the methods of the Golden Tide Martial Sect since our Ancestor entered the sect hundreds of years ago. He was the first to reach the Inner Sect and both my father and my mother are dedicated to their cultivation and the sect," Zhang Buyan said proudly.
"I, on the other hand, believed that my talents alone were sufficient for me to match up to the sect's expectations," he admitted with a sigh. "I was foolish and squandered far too much time in the first several years after Awakening," he said, refusing to conceal his own failings that had led him here. These people were his friends after all, and he would rather they accept him despite his failings than because he hid them.
"If the sect had treated me unfairly when it expelled me from the Inner Sect, I might resent it but… the sect wasn't being unfair to me at all," he said, pausing in his work to meet Su Xiang's intense sapphire gaze. "Brother Wu told me about the punishments you received for offending your sect, Sister Su," he added gently.
"I cannot say whether you should tolerate such things or not," the bearded man said, hoping she could see the truth in his words as he spoke his feelings honestly. "It isn't the way of my Golden Tide Martial Sect to inflict such punishments. I have gutted fish, mended nets, fixed boats, and done all manner of other menial work, but the sect never worked me harder than it worked our own mortal workers."
Looking at his thick, calloused hands, Zhang Buyan could only smile as he recalled his many days spent on chores most cultivators would find beneath their lofty stature. Certainly, he could never imagine someone like Fan Chaoyang covered in pitch as he patched the hulls of fishing boats alongside a group of mortals.
"Sister Su, you said that your sect believes in serving different Virtues," Zhang Buyan said, resuming his work on the hut. "I think, if my sect wanted me to learn a Virtue, it would be 'Hard Work.' Cultivation is hard work, and so is fishing. To weather the ebb and flow of the tide, there is no fast method, you simply have to put in the work."
"When I was punished by my sect, they were teaching me to work hard," Zhang Buyan explained. "The real punishment, according to my father, isn't just the work but the time the other work takes away from time that should be spent cultivating. My sect believes that to be punishment enough for minor infractions."
"Thank you, Brother Zhang," Su Xiang said, bowing with cupped hands. "I've never thought much about the methods of other sects. Until recently, I never had reason to. If I succeed on this expedition, I hope to see what the Shining Blade Hall's Inner Sect is like. I do not believe that a few Elders in the Outer Sect represent the whole of the Shining Blade Hall but," she hesitated for a moment, uncomfortable with what she was about to say.
"One way or another, I'll find my way forward," Su Xiang finally said, her voice firm and unwavering. "Even if that means I have to leave the sect."