The days blurred into weeks.
At dawn, Sheung rose to the sound of temple chimes and the scent of incense drifting on the mountain wind. Fei drilled him relentlessly in the courtyard, teaching him stances older than empires—Bow stance, Horse Stance, Cloud Step, Cat Stance, Iron Bamboo. He also learned from Fei the Six Sounds Chi Gung form, and the beginner chi cultivation form used by the sect. The forms were difficult, but Sheung's body and soul began to remember, as if some echo of his lineage stirred in his limbs.
From Fei he also learned the elements of an effective altar and their powers, such as the incense pot and the way incense works as a timing system, the correct way to set up and light the two red candles, how to open and close the altar space, the daily chanting rites and prayers, and the proper ways to address the gods. There was a lot to learn, and Sheung, having decided to give it a serious effort, put his heart into the lessons. One of the rooms in his building still had the altar table and tools used by his grandfather. These were all cleansed and the room soon became Sheung's altar room.
In the afternoons, Elder Hua instructed him under a gingko tree in the ways of Taoist cosmology. She spoke of Heaven and Earth, of the Nine Star Theory and the Eight Trigrams, of different types of beings and the worlds they lived in. Sheung struggled to keep up, his mind spinning, but Hua was patient—and sharp with her corrections.
Evenings were spent copying FU talisman sigils from a book given to him by Elder Hua. The title of the book was in Chinese, and he was told that the title was "The Twenty Foundational FU." Elder Hua had told him what each one was for, and Sheung did his best to remember. He was instructed to make one copy of each FU per day. A box of yellow paper was placed in his study and he had to cut it into strips 6cm wide x 23cm long. These were the FU papers which the FU from the book were copied onto.
It wasn't just as simple as drawing the sigil onto a piece of paper. There was a whole ritual process that needed to be followed. Firstly all of the tools being used to draw the FU needed to be cleansed and sanctified at the altar. This included items such as the brush, the ink, the inkstone and two wooden stamps. Various spells and accompanying hand signs were performed on the paper and on the working space. Then the actual FUs could be painted in red ink onto the yellow strips of FU paper.
Once a collection of FU talismans had been made, with the right stamps put on them, they were taken to the altar. Then, they were waved in sanctification over the incense pot three times. The final part of the process was to use the divination moon cups to ask the gods at the altar if the FUs had been successfully made and approved by them. If a yes was received then they were good to go. If no, then the sanctification spells were repeated, before checking with the divination cups again if it was a success.
Each night, Sheung returned exhausted to his Heart Palace to reflect, sitting with Longyin under the peach tree. She clarified what the elders could not, offering insight with a teasing smile and a flick of her fan.
So Sheung's days and nights were a busy flurry of learning and practicing. Longyin said that time spent in the Heart Palace was equivalent to sleep time in restoring the body, so in the morning when Sheung opened his eyes, he was refreshed and ready for the day.
By the end of the third week, Sheung no longer felt like an intruder in the sect grounds.
He belonged.