Torsten Hewson
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Interlude: Born of the Heavens; Child of the Earth
🕑 Added 2023-01-25 02:55:26 +0000 UTCYin sat on the top of the house, her body soaking in the rays of the sun.
She took a deep breath, then let it out, calming the restlessness that was inside her as the preparations for departure went on all around her.
She breathed in, then out.
… why did she have to be so damn nervous about this? It was just a bit of lightning! Wa Shi had struck her over a thousand times by her own request! She could handle it.
But the thing that made her hesitate was her own doubts. She would endure the tribulation, that wasn’t the problem… it was whether going through that tribulation would fix anything. If being human would help her find her passion. It was the beginning of a reinvention of herself—but she still had no clue what she should do after.
Yin sighed and opened her eyes. Maybe… maybe she should take Tigu’s advice and talk to people about it?
Yin noticed Master Jin was sitting on his porch with his feet in the river, idly strumming his ‘ban jo’. Yin licked her lips, and descended from the roof, landing beside the big human. He always felt nice, warm, and safe. Master Jin turned to her, as she settled in beside him. “Hey, Yin. What's up?” he asked, noticing her strange mood.
Yin was never really good at beating around the bush, so she just… told him.
‘I’m unhappy with myself,’ Yin stated.
By all accounts, she should be entirely content. She led a charmed life now. She never went hungry, she had friends, and she got to do whatever she wanted.
But… she had no purpose. No demon to hunt down for justice, no foes to defend against, no orders to follow. It seemed.. meaningless, compared to her existence before. Oh, she enjoyed what she was doing, a lot of the time. She loved the flowers in the glass house, and helping her Shifu. But the drive was gone. And even at her happiest, there was still some hollow feeling in her chest.
Master Jin set his ban jo aside, and turned to her, giving her his full attention. “I see. Can you tell me more?” he asked, his eyes soft.
So she explained her problem. Her lack of passion. Her restlessness. Her lack of specialty, so unlike everybody else’s natural… expertise.
Tigu’s sculptures. Shifu’s pottery and Glass. Wa Shi’s food. Ri Zu’s medicine. All of these were acts of passion and purpose. Even Chun Ke, who on the surface appeared to be the least driven of them all, moved with a purpose and surety that put all others to shame.
Yin? …Yin had nothing.
She didn’t know when she had moved to Master Jin’s lap, and she didn’t know when he started weaving his fingers through her fur.
“Let me let you in on a secret,” Master Jin said after she had finished relaying to him her woes. “I know what you’re going through. The restlessness. The aimlessness. I had no idea who or what I wanted to be in life—if I was going to be any good at anything at all. It’s like… you’re sick, in a way. You feel empty, even when you should be happy. You go through the motions, but meanwhile, nothing changes.”
Yin paused and turned to look up at Master Jin. She almost didn’t believe him for a second. He always seemed so calm, and… like the others. So passionate. But she saw it. She heard the pained wistfulness in his voice.
Even Master Jin… he had once suffered as she did now?
“Some people know their purpose from the moment they see something. They’re the driven doctors, the brilliant fighters, the leaders of men. People like us… we have to find our purpose. Sometimes it takes a lot of looking. Sometimes, you won’t be able to find it close to home. Sometimes it's not even a job, or the completion of something, but the journey itself. I don’t know which one will help you—but I do know that whatever path you choose, I’ll be there for you. We all will.”
She normally called him Master Jin simply out of respect. He had taken them in; he had given Yin and Shifu everything and returned to her Master his bright, beautiful spark.
But that day, she had called him Master, and meant it.
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The others, too, had listened to her and spoken of how they had found what they loved to do.
“I have never truly considered anything else,’ Bi De mused. ‘To defend my home is my life’s calling. But thinking upon it further… I suppose I do enjoy making woodblock prints, and telling stories. The soul needs more than warfare and getting stronger, I think.”
“It just sort of crept up on me. It started with little doodles of buildings… and then later, I found out that I really liked it. Making things like buildings that people can use to make their lives better. It wasn’t until years later until it finally… clicked, Gou Ren had told her, commiserating with her. “If it takes a while, it takes a while. There's no need to think less of yourself.”
‘It was a way to deal with fear and grief, before I learned to love it,’ Pi Pa had said over tea. ‘I craved control, because back then I had none, and my Dear suffered for it. But now… now there is joy, in tending to my friends and family—even those who go out of their way to vex me.’
“Passion doesn’t need to be one thing,’ Chun Ke had oinked. ‘Passion can be many things, it can change, and that is okay. What matters is Yin likes it.’
“I used to reject it. I had to reject it. It was not proper for me to prefer to dance, rather than learn to use the sword. I spent years denying it, and I think… hurting myself in the process,” Xiulan said.
‘Do not think too hard upon it. Do not force yourself to love something. It will come, or it will not. Open yourself to all things as you have, and you will surely find your path.’ Bei Be spoke the most words she had ever heard the ox say in one sitting, gazing at a small cut the Old Man had made in a tree.
Then he went back to chewing his cud placidly.
It had been warm. So warm, like the sun blazing in the sky so high above. They had spoken with honest consideration and concern, as Tigu said they would.
And then, finally… finally, she went to speak with her Master.
‘Yin, my bright little star,’ Master had whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “There is no need to be ashamed of this.’
‘I don’t like it though,’ Yin murmured, shame in her voice, ‘You’re all so happy. I would be happy too, but… I miss the days when I knew what I was.’
‘You never were that weapon, Yin. This old fool broke you, and made you into something that you weren’t,” Shifu said, retreading their argument.
‘You saved me. And if things repeated themselves, I would not have anything different,” Yin said to him. ‘I would always want to be with you.’
Shifu… Shifu was her first good memory. The fractured bits and pieces from before he found her still sometimes resurfaced. Pain, terror, cold and darkness. Disdain, from a thousand different sources. Shifu had been the first person to care. Even when he was at his most maddened and bloodthirsty… he was still kinder to her than the best treatment she had received from the other place.
The snake’s one good eye watered before he looked away. ‘Then... your Shifu has an order for you, Liang Yin.’
Yin immediately straightened up. ‘Yes! Shifu!’
The snake turned back to her. ‘Your Shifu commands you—go out into the world, without this old snake. Find your spark… and bring it home. Not just to me, but to all of us, so that we may know what brings our beloved Yin joy.’
Yin smiled and leaned into Shifu’s embrace. When she opened her eyes again, they were set and ready.
She had her orders. Her likely last order, from her Shifu. And she would carry it out. It didn’t matter what she found or where she found it. She would return, and show everybody the thing that made her shine like the rest of them.
And to do that… well. It was easier to get around with a human form. Tigu had proved that.
She rose with the dawn—and delved into a world made of gold.
=================================
The place was unfamiliar, yet familiar. Like she had been here many times before. The grass smelled familiar, and the entire place had… a safe feeling. Like she was with an old friend.
The next thing she noticed, besides the feeling, was the noise. A series of muffled curses accompanied a squealing, twanging—it sounded exactly like the Healing Sage’s first attempts to play Master Jin’s ban jo.
‘Hello?’ Yin asked, as she looked towards the center of the field where a young-looking girl was sitting on a rock. The ban jo ceased its appalling noises as the little girl froze… and then red flushed through her cheeks.
The young girl coughed and stood, the ban jo disappearing into nothingness.
“Oh? Hello, Yin.”
Yin blinked at the familiarity and affection in the voice. Well, she was friendly! That was good.
‘Hello! Liang Yin pays her respects to the Earth Spirit, and Begs her assistance!’
The Earth Spirit looked amused. “I see. Well, I knew that this would be coming soon—really, there was a lot I had to figure out for this to work properly! Even if I don’t really know how I know some of this stuff…” The words were said with a whisper that Yin thought she wasn’t really supposed to hear.The Earth Spirit puffed up again. “Be grateful for Big Sister Tianlan’s work!”
‘Yes! Yin is Grateful to Big Sister Tianlan! So, you just zap me with lightning, right?’ Yin asked, excited.
“...You certainly don't’ waste any time, do you?” the Spirit asked after a stunned pause.
‘One must seize the day!’” Yin replied, her back straight like a soldier.
The Earth Spirit chuckled, before sighing and shaking her head. “That… won’t work on you, Yin,” she sighed. “Or rather, that method can’t work on you.”
Yin froze at the statement.
“What, am I not strong enough yet?” Yin asked, almost desperately. “Tigu was at the same level I am now when she transformed! I can do it! No matter how much it hurts! No matter how painful it is, I’ll overcome it!’
But the Earth Spirit just shook her head. “It's not if you can take it or not. Tigu is of the earth. You aren’t, bright little star.”
The words were a punch to her chest. Yin recoiled. The world became grey and brittle. “Ah… so.. You can’t help me? Because I’m from… there?”
“I said that method won’t work.” The Earth Spirit said, her voice firm. “But I do know how you can transform. The first thing you need is a piece of your home.”
Yin looked at the ground. At first she was about to be outraged. A piece of the moon?! She needed a piece of the moon to transform? Where the hells would she even find that?
“That place isn’t my home,” Yin bit out reflexively.
“I know. I said your home, not the place that you were born.” She was smirking. The Earth Spirit was smirking.
Yin paused at the spirit’s words, Her home was—Yin pouted. ‘… Tigu was right. You’re kind of a shit.’
The Earth Spirit laughed, her smile bright and cheery, before her face turned serious.
“On the south hill, there is a stone. For a thousand thousand years, it has taken in the light of the sun; not once has it known the darkness of the depths. I have known it since I was not myself, that stone, undaunted by the rain or the snow or the ice, it has stood the test of time. It has within its core a fragment of fire that was not wholly consumed by my breaking. It is old and weary, but it still burns. Take a piece. Weave it with glass, fire, and gold… and then, rise again on the next day, in the form you take.”
The words resonated and reverberated through the enclosed space like an ancient spell, imprinting themselves into Yin’s mind.
“Thank you,” Yin whispered.
“The rest is up to you now, little star.”
============================================
The stone was a simple, unassuming thing. It looked like any other rock. It was an old, craggy piece of granite, resting on the hilltop. But Yin knew this was the one.
With the techniques Huo Ten taught her, she carefully removed a piece of the stone. Then, she went to her Master’s forge and ignited it with her Qi.
From there, things went hazy. For the entire day, she worked that piece of stone, drifting as if in a dream. She inlaid it with the fruits of her Master’s labours, and with the bounty of the earth.
It was hot, hard work. Even in her trance she could feel the heat, as her Qi swirled around that little piece of stone from her new home, drawing the fire and the light of the sun from it.
When the blaze of light erupted from the forge, burning and purifying, part of her rebelled against it. The voice within her screamed that this was wrong, that this was the opposite of what she was supposed to be doing.
Yin didn’t care.
She filled herself with the warm sun, driving away the last dregs of cold darkness that had rested in her bones since she could remember it.
Delicate fingers gripped the talisman around her neck, and Yin stood, rising up, and up, and up, utterly dwarfing her previous form.
She staggered to the burnished bronze disk they used as a mirror, and looked at her reflection.
Long, silver hair. A noble, regal face, the kind in paintings of demure women. Two small, almost circular eyebrows.
And the mark of the sun on her forehead, fading into invisibility even as she watched.
Yin grinned, and in a perfect melodious voice suited for poetry and whispered words, there was a jubilant shout.
“Fuck yeah!”
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I don't know if I was too subtle with my allusions to Yin's origins... but here we are.
Former Jade Rabbit becomes Sun Bun, to find her passion.
Edited by: Brandon “Philosophysics” Zhang-Leong, Pastafarian, Ayje
Comments
Chad Hagner
Great chapter! It hit perfect!
Matt Pendragon
Yin has never been my favorite character, but despite that this is probably one of my favorite chapters, the writing and the sage advice from everyone just fits their characters so perfectly, your writing is just absolutely stunning
Aesoir
It’s probably her attunement to the sun. I’m sure she came across as arrogant and brash in a community where self sacrifice and humility is the established norm. It’s not too surprising that she was viewed with derision.
HawkwardEgal
Ironic that Yin was ostracized by the Jade rabbits, who are legendarily supposed to be self-sacrificing and compassionate.
Eleeyah
We need an illustration!
D J Meigs
Yeah but Miantiao saved her from a bunch of animals bullying her, and I don’t think he made it to the moon. So she was discriminated against when she left the moon too
Aune
buuu in Mario
Imspinnennetz
Possibly tomorrow again due to need for more editing and reworking of chapter.
Emilia Kosteila
Indecent ones🙃
Revan694
This only shows that everything on the farm itself is an adventure! Going outside in a storm, traveling up a hill, killing a fox, playing hockey, epic adventures all!
Garrett
*the sun on her forehead A big part of Yin’s arc is rejecting the moon and embracing the warmth of the sun
Memememe
Tigu only had to stand outside during a thunderstorm, so…
Garrett
I think the implication is that she was being discriminated against while she was on the moon, and that’s why she descended to the earth in the first place.
Ish Man
Did anyone catch the fact that Yin actually just had to go up the hill for the sun energy, instead of having to go all wuxia adventure on that lol
Paul S.
MOON PRISM POWER!!! I never had any clue the Yin had any unusual origins until this chapter, but that's fine. I kind of wish the moon on her forehead stayed (●'◡'●)
D J Meigs
So Yin was a special rabbit from the start. A kind of Spirit Beast like the guardian dog, I suppose. I always wondered why she was so strongly discriminated against when Noodle found her. I guess it was because she was a stranger. Or they knew she was exiled from the moon, even if it was her own doing. I wonder if she’ll ever tell Washi if the moon is really made of cheese.
Pratik Maheshwari
Silver hair? ... ~Fighting evil by moonlight~
Imspinnennetz
Tomorrow
KnightRider007
I can *totally* see that. I wonder if this will encourage Ri Zu? I don’t think Bi De ever will, it will be his Thing.
BargleNawdleZouss
Various characters have commented how Tigu somewhat resembles Jin, feeding the assumption that she's his daughter. Will Yin also take after Jin in her facial features? My guess is that she'd resemble Miantiao if HE transformed into a human.
BargleNawdleZouss
As Casual himself said in the past, the power of bunny will indeed compel him!
Quentin Long
I see your imaginary Tree(3), and raise you a fictitious Tree(Tree(5))!
Adam Rosenberg
Super Saiyan Sun Bun! Be still my heart!
fatbo
Excellent chapter.
Southmonk
Seems like she was a mutation, so she got kicked out from the moon and had to struggle. She had a lil bit left of the moon in her and banished it?
Zak
Pickle eyebrows lesgo!
Featherweight
*Unleashes the grand formation of ultimate culinary disappointment.
BigBro Bluesman
Not what I expected but damn that was amazing!
William Johnson
Oh no she's hot!
Spade ♠️ Dragon
yes, he is.
Orims
Personally I assumed that he only lost his authomatic translation once he suffered brain damage. But now with care from his family and dedication from him he is getting better. Also Chunky is the best zen pig.
Memememe
Hopefully Chunky is thoughtful and brings Yin some clothes before she can do a repeat of Tigu’s reveal.
Memememe
A common Eastern myth is that rabbits live on the moon (there is a particular pattern when looking at the moon that can be interpreted to look like a rabbit). What those rabbits are doing vary, but one legend is that they are assistants to a goddess who help her make medicine with a mortar and pestle. Presumably Yin is a runaway from the moon, like Reisen from Touhou.
Philip Hunt-Bull
Everybody knows the Moon's made out of CHEEEEEEESE
Spade ♠️ Dragon
Aaahmmm... was Chunky always this articulated? Did I miss something? I know he is a wiseman, but isn't his speech patern rather more simplistic, on accout of his injury? IS HE HEALING?!?
CrazyExplorer
What ideas?
Demian Buckle
Thank you for the Chapter.
SoralTheSol
Meiling: Dear, we have another one. Jin: I will bake a cake then.
Orims
I really really want to see the reactions of other people about the change in Yin also she and Tigu are going to be even more bff's now that they share this.
BelligerentGnu
I could use one of your little chinese mythology interludes to have context for this, farmer, buy I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Cindermoth
And I blame you for getting that image stuck in my head
Yunru
An imaginary Tree(3)
Sebastian Rubin
Sol Invictus, apocryphal, dated to the First Age.
AG
Good question. I hope not
AG
You are on, you're all on, and I'll be raising my bet to 1 imaginary googolplex
StarBat
.... Grandfather will have ideas because of this.
CrimsonEclipse
SUN RABBIT FROM THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON!
carebear90
Traditionally Rabbits are associated with the Moon and Roosters are... well, 'praising the sun'. That we have this inverted in the story was brought up in the comments lots of times ever since Yin was introduced. Even her name 'Yin' refers to the dark/female/'moon' energies instead of the Yang/male/'sun'. So yes, she IS channelling the Sun as Bi De is channelling the Moon. But that's an inversion of tropes. Now we 'find out' that she actually was originally a Moon Bunny and even in-story inverted her alignment and turned herself into a Sun Bun. Or maybe Miantiao did it/helped her achieve it... I dunno.
Lalzparty
Yin’s description makes me immediately think of ootsuki Kaguya from Naruto
Featherweight
Oh no! She’s an actual moon bun! If she lets slip the moon isn’t made of cheese to washi we could be facing the end times.
Teh One & TrueTabi
Just wholesome stuff throughout… and the Yin yells out ‘fuck yeah!’ And im right there pumping my fist yelling it right alongside her!
taukid
Little Star is what I call my goddaughter, Stella.
Will Iam
Sun bunny, moon is bi de. Or am i missing something? Maybe i need to sleep. Anyways, thanks for the chapter.
carebear90
Perhaps it'll turn gold once she channels enough Qi? Like going Super Saiyan? :D
Samuel Wang
Love them as I love them. Bring hope where there is none. Be a sword that never falters. Shine brightly to light the way. Be fast. Be strong. Never doubt yourself. And lead by example. For you are exalted.
Bunny Waffles
Personally I'd think Dawn caste.
Hiram
The same kind of irony of a Moon Rooster. epic first words "Fuck yeah indeed"
SuperiorFreak
Kind of wish she had blonde hair. But the irony of a moon rabbit channeling the sun is more than enough to sate my decrepit little heart.
ethan maloney
I blame anime but all I get from this is Kaguya.
Civer
Lunar rooster and sun bun are fun critters
Victor Segura
Wait, so the moon is actually a living place and rabbits live there? And she somehow somersaulted to the qi deserted place? Fuck yeah
Lawrence Atlas
thanks for another great chapter
Victor Lowther
Same. Wonder which caste mark she got?
BlueMage_VT
Does she need the talisman to maintain human form?
GameJunkie999
More Elegant in terms of body type. Very soft and fragile looking.
Bob
Praise the mother fluffing sun!!
Bob
Feet together, arms out stretch upwards in a v shape....
KnightRider007
Elegant? *Yin*!?
Desy
That was my first thought as well!
Desy
My thoughts on this chapter, to echo an awesome bun: "Fuck yeah!"
Thunderhoof
She's more an elegant type. Tigu is the muscles.
Thunderhoof
Fa Ram is going to be a place for outcast?
ARSLOTHES
Is it bad that I’m thinking neo queen serenity from sailor moon except with sun symbol?
carebear90
Hmm... Bi De - Rizu - Yin kinda mirrors Jin - Meiling -Xiulan, doesn't it? At least I wouldn't be surprised at all if people think Yin and Bi De are a couple and Rizu is their maid once all three of them have a human form. :D With the difference that Sun Rabbit and Moon Rooster seem much more like 2 pieces of the same coin (that probably got a bit mixed up). With Jin and Xiulan at least it was always mainly due to Meiling's perceived 'plainness' in contrast to Xiulan's beauty. I have to wonder, though. Will Yin go with Bi De, Rizu and Gramps, or will she go alone?
Green0Photon
Three months? I bet one month
RedFaux
What cultivation is all about. Finding your own destiny
Jim Murphy
The first character that came to mind for Yin new form was Miruko from MHA.
Teo
https://static.c.realme.com/IN/wm-thread/1550680188847693824.jpeg something like this, I'd guess
Carlos Torres
I'm guessing Sulletta Mercury or Carta Issue from Gundam
Casualfarmer
look up kaguya/pekora/other rabbit characters. its a common trope, modeled after how noble lades used to shave off their eyebrows and draw them on.
Havefeith
So... Yin literally became a sort of Foul-mouthed Kaguya Ōtsutsuki expy, did she? Gotta say, with the way Kaguya from Naruto looks, it's a decent choice to base Yin's human form off of, at the very least. At least, for the hair colour, and potentially the body shape, well, before she (Kaguya) became a MILF, as it were. Loved the chapter. Looking forward to more.
lockx
You need to go into discord itself. Link it with patreon if it isn't. If it is maybe try reauthorization then relink it
Andrew Denton
"Two small, almost circular eyebrows." I have trouble picturing that.
ChanceOfFoxin
I love the "Fuck yeah!" In the end, it's perfect.
mhaj58
If it’s imaginary then I’ll do you a billion
AG
Yes I bet you 1000 imaginary dollars that Casual will post some art of Yin's human form sometime within the next 3 months
Bunny Waffles
The mark of the sun upon her forehead makes me think of the Caste mark of a Solar from Exalted. Yin would make a kickass Solar, kicking ass, taking names, and being the very best she can be.
JohnZ
For those asking about the moon. In Chinese mythology rabbit symbolizes the moon.
Sean Ulrich
Kinda curious how gramps will react
Big I
Huh, so Yin's from the moon I guess? She should tell Bi Di and Wa Shi about it
Prent
yeah I did not see moon bunny coming tbh. It's cool though!
Seth
I fucking love this story
ArtTheGreat
It now feels even more strange that the bun’s cultivation is of the sun instead of moon!
Yoav
She turned into kaguya from naruto?
JFitz
Well, at least she didn’t turn into a cinnamon bun. Also, I can’t seem to access the discord through the patreon site. Can you send an invite some other way?
mhaj58
Looking forward to Yins fan art
Summercat
Well. It's the year of the rabbit
WarStrider72
Thanks for the chapter boss!
WarStrider72
1st, exp!
