Judgment is found in that which you decided yesterday shall apply to today. Discernment is found in forgetting yesterday to reach the tomorrow you want. Wisdom is found in balancing them both. Tension, Release, and the Balance Between.

  ~Quote from A Gyamian trader.

  Xinyi fretted at the hem of her shirt. “There’s no way I can fix this before Baba gets home… Even if I had the Material shaping Chi of…” She paused, clapping her hands, “Bù Biàn De Xiànshí. No wait… they have another name. Mama told me it once what was it?”

  Hao balanced precariously on the overturned water bucket, tracing his fingers along the cracks in the wall. “She said it yesterday. ‘Bradorramese, or Land of Unchanging Reality. But it makes no sense their Chi changes the shape of things.’ That’s as much of what she said that I can remember.”

  Xinyi rushed over, “Get down from there! I'm already in enough trouble without you getting hurt falling.”

  She grabbed his arms, pulling him off the bucket.

  He landed lightly, his large, unblinking eyes stared up at her. “Should we clean up more? Or set up a barrier before Wàigōng comes over? What if more roofing tiles fall?”

  Xinyi darted a glance upward. Then pulled Hao away from the fall radius. “We should…”

  “Explain.” Baba’s voice cut through the courtyard, cold and firm.

  His eyes swept over the wreckage, from the shattered roof tiles to the cracked wall, and finally to his splintered and scorched dummy.

  Xinyi froze. The silence stretched like a cat leaving a sunbeam.

  Baba’s jaw tightened, his expression unreadable.

  He took a slow deliberate breath. “Explain why there is structural damage to our house when you promised to be gentle with your Chi during solo practice?”

  Xinyi opened her mouth but couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “It was both of our faults.” Hao declared, dashing over to grab the broken post. “Still mostly Xinyi’s. She used too much Chi, but I startled her.” His words spilled out in a rush. “But-but-but she actually did you a favor-look.”

  He jabbed the broken post up at Baba’s face. “See? The wood was already weak! It could have broken and cut you!”

  Baba exhaled through his nose, slow and measured. Hand-blocking Hao’s jabs.

  Xinyi held her breath (Oh no, He’s really mad. Hao you’re making it worse.)

  She bowed. “I’m sorry, Baba. I have no excuse. I shouldn’t have let my hopes for the festival distract me, or allowed Hao’s interruption to startle me so much.”

  Hao shoved the broken post into Baba’s hands, tapping the sharp, ash-charred edges. “Well, it was way too much Chi. I could see the casting.”

  Baba’s back stiffened, his grimace deepening into a frown. “You lost control that much? You could have had a Chi deviation. You could have demonized.”

  Xinyi swallowed hard bowing deeper.

  Baba turned away, passing Hao back the post, moving to inspect the damage.

  Hao, incapable of handling this much silence trailed after him. “But it was in her hands, so the deviation couldn’t have affected her mind. Still, we should watch out for falling tiles.”

  Baba swiped a finger along the sooty, cracked wall, stepping back to assess the roof damage.

  Xinyi pressed her lips together. (Hao, Please stop talking.)

  But Hao, as always, prattled on. “Maybe we need Warding Chi. If the house and Dummy had been reinforced, this wouldn’t have-

  “Enough Hao.” Baba’s eye twitched. Exhaling then more softly, said. “This is my fault too. Your mother told me we should only let you use Healing Chi when we weren’t present.”

  Xinyi ducked her head, staring at the ground. “I am sorry, Baba.”

  Bright, musical laughter rang behind them.

  Like an eager puppy, Hao bounded over to Mama, thrusting the broken post up towards her face. “Look at what Xinyi did! Strong but no control, just like me.”

  Mama’s lips curled into a mischievous grin as she glanced at Baba, “See? And you worried the kids wouldn’t take after us. Powerful and adventurous like me, and rash and impulsive like you.”

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  Baba sighed, rubbing his forehead, though a small, pursed-lipped smile betrayed him. “Yes, well… First, we need to determine punishments.” Then added softly, “And seek the masons and a carpenter.”

  Mama ruffled Hao’s hair, “That has pointy bits. Don’t wave it in people's faces, okay?”

  Hao’s eyes widened nodding seriously. “Okay. Oh! At school today, the teacher said Miezaru Hi closed their world gate, does that mean the trip is canceled?”

  Mama nodded for them to move inside. “Let's talk while we make dinner before Wàigōng and Nǎinai get here. We may need to reconsider several things we planned for the Autumn break.”

  Baba gestured for Xinyi to follow.

  She hesitated, then grimaced, keeping her gaze low. “I, Am sorry.”

  Baba exhaled, nodding. “You have Tension from Radiant Chi and Balance from the Healing Chi. To improve your control, we need to get you a Release Chi. Hao might be right, Warding Chi could help, but fitting the trip into Autumn break would be rather difficult.”

  Xinyi shallowed, slipping off her shoes before stepping inside. “So… Hozho might not be possible?”

  Baba shook his head. “I don’t know any more than anyone else about what Miezaru Hi is doing. They wouldn’t close the gate without a reason, it’s politically dangerous, a threat to stability. I can’t imagine what could have caused it.”

  From the kitchen, Hao’s voice range out. “I want bean buns, bean buns, BEANS BUNS!”

  Mama's amused voice followed, “Then come help cut the onions, peppers, and sprouts?”

  A moment later, Hao bolted past Xinyi and Baba, wailing, “No, no, no! My eyes will burn!”

  Mama sighed, waved them into the kitchen to help.

  As they entered, Baba continued. “The plan for Hozho was to get you Tranquility Chi, not Light Weaving Chi. Though… you likely would have achieved both if Juniper willed it.”

  Xinyi frowned as she took her place at the cutting station, where Mama pointed.

  She washed her hands at the spigot and basin, “Why tranquility Chi?”

  Baba began splitting kindling.

  For a moment, Xinyi nearly suggested using the splintered wood in the courtyard, but for the sharp look Baba gave her.

  It was like Baba had read her mind, he said, “Tranquility Chi allows for a peaceful end to hostility. A very suitable Release Chi for Radiant Chi users.”

  Mama humming a folk song as she worked

  Xinyi picked up a knife. “So… suitable, but not optimal?”

  Mama nodded carrying the song tone. “Exactly. The best Chi for Chi control oddly enough is a Tension Chi from Aenoria, but that world gate is months away. If these are unavailable balancing the Chi triggers is the best practice. Baba gained release Chi from Gyam and I from Hozho. I had hoped to meet with the same people I visited for the World Exchange student program before you were born. We traded stories and their Juniper Shrine is very safe. Hozho, the World Mind, is very active there.”

  Xinyi began slicing the vegetables. Glancing at Baba. “Why is Kas’Hao silent then? The Heavenly Queen and our World Mind Kas’Hao give us Chi, but don’t speak to us anymore.”

  Mama nodded. “A good question. I don’t know an answer either.”

  Baba paused while washing the rice, “An interesting question, that will not distract me from setting your punishment. You will need to Complete the Chen Forms while fasting one hundred times without mistakes before you can do the forms with Chi again unsupervised.”

  She looked up, “But the fes-”

  Baba turned away, not quite hiding a smirk. “Exactly. You hate this, which makes it an effective punishment.”

  She leaned on the table, arms crossed. “Fine, Baba. I can track that.”

  Baba’s tone was far too pleased. “And it will only be counted by your mother or I?”

  Her jaw dropped. “That’s not fair!”

  Baba sighed, unbothered. “Like my loss of a training tool, we will both adapt. Now, enough complaining,” He rinsed his hands, voice shifting to something more thoughtful. “I know the world Mind Kas’Hao exists. We have Chi-Stone recordings. One conversation I’ve heard was with a being that calls itself Kas’Hao, granting Chi blessings and so much more. The Museum in Huā Lù City plays them to visitors.”

  Xinyi moved on to the green peppers, “Lǎo Yéye told me a story about speaking with the Queen of Heaven herself.”

  Baba snorted. “When I was a child, he used to say it was a child of the Heavenly Queen. Other times, it was one of her sisters in disguise.” Baba set the rinsed rice aside to soak. “Guangzhou is only a few hours' journey by boat from Huā Lù City. Maybe we can go there for the Autumn break. And the issue with the world gate is resolved by summer, we could plan a journey across worlds.”

  Xinyi bit back a response, wary this might be another trick to fish for punishment ideas. Instead, she asked, “If they don’t speak anymore, how do they still give blessings?”

  Baba shrugged. “No clue. People say many things. Some say they are in mourning for the Maker's death. Others it’s for the loss of Terra. And there are those that claim the Queen of Heaven and the World Mind never existed at all. That every record and piece of evidence is fake and should be destroyed.”

  She frowned as she portioned out the chili oil, pickled beans, and pickled mustard greens. “Why destroy recordings? We can't even make those anymore. And Terra was lost so long ago that we barely have any history of it. And the Makers died? I thought they left to build a new Realm. ”

  Baba stoked the fire, tending to the rice. “Well, to some people, left and died mean the same thing. We know Life died. There’s a Chi stone recording of Change and Creation speaking to a distraught Juniper. Kas’Hao, Gyam, Hozho, Terra, and Aenoria discussed sharing Chi to manage Juniper’s absence while grieving with her Sisters and Brothers. They called Chi some foreign word.”

  She nearly cut her fingers. “Wait… That would make the recording older than the loss of Terra?”

  Baba nodded, his expression serious. “The Museum idea growing on you?”

  She grumbled, slicing through the pickled greens. “Like a mushroom. But, I still think getting more Chi types sooner is better.”

  Baba laughed. “I said the same thing at your age.”

  Hao came running into the kitchen screaming. “Nǎinai and Wàigōng are here!”

  Mama set the rice dough to rest covered near the fire. Wiped her hands.

  Baba nodded scoping more rice into his rinsing bowl. “Tell Nǎinai we will be right there.”

  Hao darted off on his mission.

  Xinyi wiped her hands on a cloth and sighed. “Same volume as when I was doing my forms.”

  Baba chuckled, following her and Mama out of the kitchen.