COUGH, COUGH. Ting, ting sounded the teacup on the table.
Coughed the old man as the tea that was meant for the stomach took a dip into the lungs before the body realized it went the wrong way.
" Are you okay, old man? " I asked with a smile on my face. " What happened, was the tea too hot for you? "
Coughing one last time, the healer calmed down and took out a handkerchief or something similar from his inner robe and wiped his mouth and wet beard. Done with that he faced me and stared real hard.
" Sigh, I know you did it on purpose to test me, but could I hear your reason for it? "
" Your right, old man. It was sort of a test, but at the same time, it was a thought that just came to me, to try and see what the reaction would be. " Admitting the crime I did, I spoke on. " But what I said was the truth, if timed properly to gauge your reaction to the statement. "
"Ah. " Confused at where I was going with this, I didn't let him interrupt me. " While my inability to pleasure myself is not a big problem, it is however a problem that should be fixed as soon as possible for the least amount of consequences. After all, a healthy mind follows a healthy body, is the saying I think. And you're the healer here, who has been attending to this body the longest, so I needed to hear from you. "
"Alright, go on, but heed my warning that such topics are usually not spoken in front of people. " He instructed me.
" Why? Is there a physical Law against speaking it or is it a people's know-how? " I asked but he denied it. " There is no law against it but it is frowned upon, as such topics are usually talked about behind doors. As I am a healer, I am used to the topic. "
" But you didn't expect my direct wording, is what I am sensing. Especially from somebody that looks so young? " He nodded to my conclusion. " I will keep it in mind but as my previous society was very open towards sexual stuff, I hope it won't bother you as much. "
" That said, I think I should start from the beginning. " He agreed and I spoke. " As I said before, the original me went kind of blindly into this and as he had no idea what would await me on this side, he planned all manner of scenarios. He was very thorough in his thoughts but no matter how thorough, some things are bound to happen, no matter his hand in it. In this case, the old memories of me being a man are not as compatible with this female body and are causing some unintended problems. "
" And that problem is somehow related to your… pleasure problem? What kind of problem specifically? " Being in his healer mode, he asked me.
" Yes, the problem is that those memories are affecting my mind deeply and as a result, my female body is trying to enact some of those memories but the problem is that the organ is simply not there. " Hearing me he frowned.
" If you're thinking of making your… problem grow, then I can't help you with that. " He said with a serious face.
" Haha, that is a good joke old man, but no I don't want to grow my male parts. " Denying it outright, I went on. " Anyway, my original had built-in contingencies in place that would prevent me from reincarnating into anything but humanoid. Though, gender was not included in those contingencies. He even did a good job of making sure that my reincarnation goes as smoothly as possible so any problems left are for me to resolve. "
" Indeed, he was quite thoughtful, so what is the general problem? " The healer asked.
" The solution is quite easy, I think. But I am unable to do it physically. Every time I tried to make my mind understand that now I have a different body I flat out, I mean I fall unconscious. And that part is where you come in. You have been tending to this body for a long time and I need to know what is wrong with it. " I explained.
"Ah, I think I know what you're speaking about. " He said. " During the act, your blood flow is disrupted and there is not enough blood in your head so you pass out. Indeed that is one of the innate problems the young miss had. " Not saying anything for a second, he went on. " Before your Flame burned down the young miss's roots, it was a problem I could not fix no matter what, as her roots were broken. The best my medical knowledge was able to do was fix her in such a way that it resembles your current state. So, now that you have no roots it should be easier to resolve it. On the other hand, all my knowledge of fixing a body stems mainly from fixing the roots and what usually follows is the body healing on its own. "
" I see. " Guess that leaves me with the very rough method that I came up with. Standing up again I went up to him, but then heard the sound of footsteps. Turning around I saw Tao Fang carrying some more tea. " Thank you, Fang. Place it on the table, I will pour it later. "
Nodding and leaving us alone I turned to the old man who again stroked his beard. " Show me where the initial problem lies so that I can confirm if I am on the right track. " Placing my right hand in his, I felt something pour inside me as I left some of my Life Essence throughout my body.
It was heavy and solid to my new awareness. It went up to my arm and settled on my chest and heart. There, it examined me a bit and soon it enveloped the veins going from my lungs to the heart and then to my brain through the neck.
He essentially highlighted my own discoveries. As his Power went up to my neck, in an experiment I tried to stop him. Separating some of my Will, I infused it into Life Essence and had it fight the invading Power.
At first, I went gently at it, so the old man would understand my intention, and as I slowly ramped up my defense and he slowed down.
He didn't back up but continued on. As my defense slowed it more and more, soon enough it became a standstill on both sides. He could not go on and I could not push him away. Opening my eyes I saw him staring at me for a second before he withdrew his Power.
" Your Divine Sense is truly peculiar. So hard to detect and so strong even though you just started to… cultivate? " I could see the intrigue hidden in his eyes.
All I did was nod, without elaborating on the truth, that I only used part of my Will in that face-off but the same probably happened on his side too.
' Either way, now I have finally confirmed that Will infused into a Power and used for sensing is called Divine Sense here. At the same time, Divine Sense is actually a good name for it. '
" Old man, while I won't argue that to some people sensing with their consciousness, or Will as my original calls can be attributed to being Divine in some sense, the truth is that there is nothing Divine about it. Either way, I have confirmed my problem. Sadly that leaves me with the most stupid method. " I told him.
" Ho, and that is? "
" Training my physical body up from the ground and doing it slowly. " I say.
"Hmm, indeed. Without the inherent blockage that the roots created in the first place, it should be doable. Can you tell me how you plan on doing it?" He asked in return.
Placing my attention on the tea the servant had brought not long ago, I poured him and myself a cup.
Back in my seat I take another cookie and dump half of it into the hot tea and eat it. " The plan is simple, as anything complex would create too many problems. The physical body is able to modify itself to suit the consciousness and the environment in which it lives. That being the case all that's needed is Time for the changes to appear, energy to fuel the changes, and the Will to direct it all. Basically, I will be exercising the physical body to the limit all the time, to force the body to adapt in a destructive way, then I would use Life Essence, that is the name for my Power, to engage in repairs and adaptation in cycles to the changes it is going through and the rest will happen on its own. "
"Sounds simple, but my presence here should indicate that you need me for more than just a confirmation. Are you asking for my help? " Smiling, I nodded to his conclusion.
" Yes, while I am decently sure it will work, having a healer on hand will only benefit me. " I declared. " My plan is simple. As this body is very weak, it won't be able to sustain much work without falling unconscious. What I want is for you to be there in those moments where I fall unconscious, to check me out, and if there is no major problem to wake me up immediately so that I can continue. Only when I truly can not sustain it anymore would we stop. One more reason I need your help is that the food I am being delivered currently won't be enough to sustain such rapid development. So I need you to make me medicine that will deliver me enough natural materials needed for such rapid development. "
" Is that something you could do for me, or would the permission of my… father be needed? " I ask hesitantly.
Stroking his beard in thought, he answered. " The plan does sound simple indeed and it is something that I could do, but in my honest opinion, we should ask for the opinion of the Lord. There is no point in speaking about this if he denies it, after all, he is my employer and I will prioritize his opinion over yours. But if he accepts, is there anything else you will need, like a physical arts teacher? "
Shaking my head I deny it. " No, all I will be doing is running or in this case, being fast walking, as anything else will probably just knock me out. Like that, I will edge my body to the point where it will either collapse or go on. The longer I continue doing that, the longer the limit will increase and I will ramp up the pace till I can run without a problem. "
" Very well, when do you plan to start this? " He asked me in return.
" As soon as possible. The sooner I get rid of this problem the better. " I replied.
" I see. That being the case I will visit the Lord after this meeting. " Accepting my proposal he drank some tea. " Is there anything else you need to ask my opinion off? " Shaking my head he went on. " If so then tell me a bit about yourself and your past life, while we drink some tea. "
Raising my left eyebrow at the sudden turn of the topic, brought forth a scenario I had in mind. " Sure, anything specific you want to know? "
" Did you by any chance study medicine in your World? " With eager eyes, he asked but I flat out denied it. " No, umm, after general education that everybody must go through, my field of study was more inclined towards the Internet. "
"That is a shame, but what is this int er net? " He asked while trying his best to repeat the sound.
" Don't bother trying to reproduce the sound. I doubt you guys have anything geared towards that in your World, if what little I saw is any indication, that is." I said. " As for what it is, hmm, the best explanation would be a worldwide repository of knowledge in all forms. From written words to audio and visual. "
" So a library, If I interpreted correctly? " He sounded a bit disappointed.
" Something like that, except you don't understand the scale of it. When I say worldwide I mean the whole world has access to it, for free, well almost free. Anybody has access to it, men, women, and children, although for them it's a bit limited for their own safety. " I exclaimed in fervor. " In it, one could find every single word our civilization has recorded and stored. Any groundbreaking discovery is delivered for anybody to parse through. All art is stored in a visual illusion for anybody to see. Any story to read from anywhere in the World. "
Not stopping, as if a dam broke in me I went on. " Goodness, the amount of time I had spent lost among such a vast body of information is, well... quite a lot. Old man, you probably don't believe me, but imagine if you had any manuscript about medicine at your fingertips, all the time, anywhere you went, and every year more knowledge is added there. Every single man or woman practicing medicine with that knowledge, would discover new stuff and store it there, just to have the cycle go on and on, until either you either died or civilization ended. "
" That… does sound impressive. " Exclaimed the old man.
" Old man you can imagine it but you can't comprehend the feeling of loss in my heart. It's like having your heart gouged out by a spoon, I mean chopsticks, and thrown to the ground just to stomp it to death for some more effects, and afterward add the best oil to burn it just for the sake of it. "
Taking a deep breath after saying that I exhaled. " Haaa, I needed that. I think I kept that pent up for way too long. Thank you, old man. I know you didn't mean to but it was good finally saying it, even if you or anybody else could not comprehend the amount of information we had at our fingertips and took it all for granted. " I thanked him deeply.
" Right. " He said little, Stunned as he was by my unexpected raving from deep within myself.
" Glad I could be of help. "
We stared at each other a bit before I broke the silence with a cookie and a sip of tea. " I was born as the only son, at the beginning of a war. It was a 3-year war but at that time we had little, I was told. "
***
KNOCK KNOCK
" Comin in. " The reply came.
Opening the door a middle-aged man came into the office. " What is it, Xue? " Asked the same voice.
" Lord, Elder He is here to see you. " Said the steward of the Yu family.
Hearing it, Yu Liwei lifted his head away from the desk on which he was writing. Looking at his steward he nodded and motioned for him to be let in.
Obeying the command the man let the elderly man enter and closed the door after himself.
" Lord, I am sure you have been told of this, but today the… young miss has called for me. " Said the old man as if it was obvious.
" I know, go on. What happened? " Yu Liwei asked, placing his attention back on the book in front of him, detailing the dealings of his work.
" The young miss's speech has recovered greatly and while her old language had bled through, it was enough to have a decent conversation. I am sure you might be interested. " Seeing the nod of the Lord he went on. " First, I should mention again that if what I have been told is the truth, then the situation is not as terrible as first imagined. The good news is that the new young miss is not some terrible old monster like we had imagined at first. "
" I see, and the bad news? " Said the lord still not taking his eyes away from the book, as if the topic isn't really important to him. But if one could see from the side one would notice that his hands released some tension that they had.
" Again, I must say that if she was truthful, then the current Jiao is a spiritual split of an old monster that experimented blindly with reincarnation. " Taking a breath, he went on. " While it sounds like there is not much difference, the point is that this Jiao is only a few decades old mentally, and all her memories are of her mortal life before she started to cultivate. "
Finally gazing back at the healer, the old man saw some relief enter those jade eyes. Not much but enough to matter. " I see. I doubt that is all since you have been at her side for almost half a day. What else are you trying to inform off? "
" Aside from the reason as to why she needed my presence, which I will mention, I have to say one more thing. " Mentioned the old man. " The new young miss has lived her past life as a man. And it is those experiences that shaped her mind the most. "
With some surprise showing on the lord's face, he spoke. " That is a bit unexpected. Is that the reason why she called for you? "
" Part of. " He replied. " From the conversation we had today, I could see that to her it was not as shocking as one could imagine. In my honest opinion, the month we have left her on her own has helped her make sense of the new life in which she came to. But there are some unintended consequences of being a man in your memories and of being a young girl in the body. Nothing major and time should fix those easily, but it has led her to a different problem. She has found out that her new body is remarkably weak and seeks to change that, hence she asked for my opinion and help towards that goal. "
Remembering the weak body his little girl had, sadness came to the lord again. Having a weak body was the true cause of his daughter's demise. " How does she plan to do that? Even you could not help with that? "
" True, I did my best and it was not enough. " This time sadness tinged the old man's voice a bit, but only a bit. " But right now Jaio does not have the inherent Roots that interfered with the development of the body. She claims that forcing the body to evolve past its limits is the safest solution. "
" Forcing? " Asked the lord.
" Exercising, my Lord. Similar to how a physical arts master trains his or her body, she would exercise her body near the limit of what it could sustain. Over time she would push that limit more and more and as the body develops the problem should vanish on its own. " Answered the old man and healer.
" And she asked you to oversee the process? "
" Yes, Lord. But as she asked me that, I delegated the decision to you. After all, new or old mind, she is still of your blood. " The old man stated his decision.
" I take it that you have no problem overseeing this process? " Asked the Lord.
" Not at all. Aside from the occasional checking when she faints and waking her up to continue the exercise, the only other thing I would be doing is mixing some medicine for her as according to her, she would be undergoing rapid advancement. " He replied a bit eager. " And the occasional talk of Dao will make it far less boring. "
" Dao? " Asked the Lord with a bit of intrigue hidden in his voice.
Nodding, the old man answered. " Yes, her previous World has followed different practices and hence has different views on the Dao. "
Nodding and saying nothing at the proclamation, the Lord stayed quiet for a bit. The old man with the long white beard waited in front of him. as if his greater age made no difference to the status the Lord of the Yu family had.
Not seeing an answer any time soon the healer spoke. " Lord, this should help you make your decision much easier to make. " Taking out a white parchment along with a small bundle of cloth tied gently out of his robe, he placed it on the desk. " I have helped her with finding the right words for the letter, but it was her that wrote it, even if it took a while to be written. As for the other thing, well... I suggest you first read the letter. "
" I will leave you to read it on your own. " Was all he said before he left the office and closed the door behind himself.
Yu Liwei stayed rooted in his chair, staring at the letter. Saying no words, making no movements he just stared at it. It took some time but he finally moved and picked up the letter. Opening it, he saw very rough brush strokes that wrote the words meant for him.
*
Dear, new father, Yu Liwei
I am writing this letter as you have not met me yet and probably would not in the near future, if not for me taking the first step.
We both have been thrust into this situation without any input of our own and can only blame luck for it. After all, even if my original was the start of this in some way, he went at it blindly and the only crime he could be accused of it is that he tried.
Everything that happened after he cast me out into Creation can only be blamed on Luck, or Destiny as some call it. I personally hate that word and prefer Luck, but either way, my point is that you have lost a loved family member and I was thrown into this unfamiliar World, full of new people, a new language, a new culture, and full of danger if I am interpreting everything correctly.
I have no family here, no friends on which to seek help. I have no doubt strangers here will be as accommodating to strangers as they are in my World, after all a human will be a human, no matter the world.
In this past month, I have distracted myself enough with the few gifts my old self has given me, that I was able to process some of the emotional baggage I carried over, but one thing all humans need is a family. And if your pain is too much to overcome this new connection then that is fine too.
All I am asking is to give me a chance, and if that too is not possible, then at least help me enough so I can stand on my own legs and I will repay you in the future.
As I considered this letter and my future actions, I came to the conclusion, that I have to set a few boundaries for both of us that would represent the line between the passing of your daughter and my coming into existence.
The bundle I have sent you is the only thing I could think that could represent your lost daughter. My suggestion is to separate it into two, one small enough for a necklace and one large to encase in some substance that is clear in nature but could preserve the item forever.
Your possible new daughter, Yu Jiao?
*
Done with reading, the Lord took a deep breath. Holding it for some time he released it and his hands went for the bundle that was sent alongside the letter.
Slowly he undid the knot tying it and when he did, he saw the gift that had been sent.
It was black silky smooth hair of around 40cm in length. Seeing it, Yu Liwei was confused at first, then enraged but as he considered it, all the emotions vanished and only sorrow was left behind.
Taking the bundle of hair that was tied on both ends with a string, he held them in his hands. Tears followed soon after, and there was no stopping their falling on the black hair in question.
When no more tears fell, he put it all back into the bundle of cloth and gently tied it again.
Taking and re-reading the letter again he took up his brush and a clean sheet of paper.
" A daughter you shall not be, as she is gone, but as an asset of the Yu family, I will give you a chance. " Writing it took only a few minutes. Once it was folded he wrote another.
" Duan Xue, come in. " He called out with a firm but not loud voice. A few seconds later, the steward appeared at the door. Yu Liwei showed him the letters and gave an order. " Take this letter to Qian, and send this letter to Ying at the Alchemy Guild. "
" Yes, Lord. " Nodded the servant of the house and left.
Done with the servant, he put his gaze on the book he had been studying before he had been interrupted and closed it. Next, he opened a hidden compartment in the desk and stashed it there, as if it was a secret worth hiding.
And to some, it may be.
If He Shoushan, the healer of the Yu family saw what the Lord had been reading before him, he would have been surprised because the book was written by Yu Tian, patriarch of the Yu family lineage and founder of the Heavenly Jade Association.
And the title says; How to dispose of a Ruler, the merchant's way.