"Good morning, Xin" - Rui Ming was already making his bed, and looked as fresh as ever.
The other roommates were still sleeping.
"Morning... fuck." - Ming is leaving, Xin remembered. I need to wake up, saying goodbye is important. "You are leaving now, right?"
"No, I am just going for a morning meditation. I am not leaving just yet." - He responded quietly.
"What happened?"
"The guys are sleeping, let's step outside."
"Sure."
Xin dressed in his robes, gathered his hair with a hairband, wore his sandals and stepped outside.
"A hairband, huh? Going for a new style?"
"I don't have the time to get it cut. It's been months since I last cut it, it's interfering with my work now."
"You've got a cool facial shape, defined cheekbones and all that. You shouldn't keep it long, it just doesn't suit your looks or your aura. Want me to cut it? I am a blade master, after all. Hehehe."
Xin was embarrassed, but also uplifted. With that chiseled jaw and sharp cheekbones, Rui Ming looked very masculine. It was nice, receiving a compliment. Xin was anxious about his looks most of the time.
"I'd rather talk about why you aren't leaving." - Xin felt tired and anxious, as the Clay Nest situation was still not resolved, caring about someone else was a pleasant distraction.
"They told me I've got some sect obligations to deal with. They'll gather a caravan soon, going into the nomad territories. A complex route, several stops. And of course, they need people with wilderness experience. They say they aren't forbidding me from leaving for Last Gale cliffs, but I've got to do this, first."
"This sucks. Are there any rewards?"
"I never asked. I am so bummed about this whole thing. Imagine being so evil, sabotaging your own student so he doesn't surpass you! I never meant to harm anyone in the sect, I just wanted to do my thing, that's all."
"Let's train together when I'm done with my work assignments, maybe? You need to ease your mind." - Should one ease their mind, if their own sect is secretly sabotaging them, though?
"Would be nice if you came. Rumours are, some seeds are preparing to break through already."
"Seriously? Who?"
"I don't know, ask around. Not interested, to be honest. How about you?"
"I need some money first, but I've already got the plan and a method. It won't be too hard once I reach that point. Oh, and I need to confirm some of my competencies to get a proper breakthrough room."
"Got it. Alright, I've got to go, see ya."
"See ya."
Today, Xin had to prepare a lot of stuff for the lab in advance, so he skipped a morning lecture and went straight to Clay Nest. In the Appendix, he met Lei standing outside of the shop.
"Morning, pal. How's the sect?"
"Boring, as always. We are behind in the cultivation race, rumours say. Some are preparing to break through."
"A month here, a month there, don't get tunnel visioned. We'll get there eventually. Let's focus on our growth."
"Mature words. As if I am not talking to Wu Lei. You slept here?"
"Yeah, had to take care of some stuff at night. It went as planned. Not saying more, but you probably get it."
"Good. And the granpa?"
"Inside. We've got a deal with a Central district doctor, he's going to buy some of our drugs, and we can refer clients to him for a cut. He even does cosmetics. Teeth replacement, bone mending, this sort of stuff."
"Bone mending? Isn't it a blood path offshoot?"
"As long as you can present a believable recipe that doesn't use blood path, you've got enough plausible deniability, hahaha. Of course many of these undercover doctors are blood path users, that's just how things are!"
"Too many inbred noble kids in this city for him to get punished. He probably fixed the faces of half the people that would be punishing him."
"Want me to refer you? He could fix your 'you are all shit' expression, haha!"
"Well, that was uncalled for, considering you look like a gigolo."
"My first client? Your mom."
"That's why she fled the region, I guess. Also, good of you for continuing the family legacy."
"Haha, fuck you, man! But seriously, this banter is great. I am tense as fuck, this helps a bit. What about you?"
A voice called out from inside.
"Xin! Stop fucking around with that loudmouth! You aren't much better, get to work!"
"Yes, master." - Xin answered, annoyed. But he knew his master was right, which made him even more annoyed. He entered the shop.
"Xin, we need to talk. You know what? Call Lei in, too."
"Lei, master wants to see you, too! Come here!"
"Sure, honey!" - Lei shouted in an exaggerated voice, mimicking a female. What's wrong with him?
"Lei, get serious. Xin, you listen, too. It's tonight."
"Shit. Already?"
"Yes, he came to extort us once more. I set up a rendezvous in the Southern district, should be far enough from here. As far as Lei claims, uncle Ti accepted our proposal. I'll deal with this lady across the street, Ti will fight the inspector. Your plan with the dog, we are using it, Xin. Nice one, hope it works."
"And what about..." - Xin wanted to ask something, but was interrupted.
"Shut up. Let me finish. Tonight, you and Lei go and hang out in the sect. Get an alibi. Xin, you come tomorrow, be ready for an interrogation. You don't know anything about anything, you are completely clueless. I haven't told you shit. Got it?"
Xin nodded.
"Lei, tomorrow, you stay in the sect. You don't have to come every day, it's not that suspicious. If you could get a hangover or something, I'd appreciate it. I don't want you two cross-examined."
"Makes sense, master." - Lei agreed. "But can't we be more useful here?"
"Yeah, right, that's what I was going to say, too! I could..."
"Shut the fuck up. Please. I know what you're thinking. I need to insert myself into every situation. I need to be everywhere. It's my story, the world revolves around me. Lei was right about this quality you have, Xin. This might be the bane of your existence. You've read the taoist texts, you should understand the value of inaction. Let whatever happens happen, and react accordingly. I don't need you to cause a mess, I know that you are eager to act."
"So you need me to plan but not to help? This is stupid. And we still haven't discussed the timings..." - Xin frowned. He could feel his chest squeezed by an emotion he couldn't name.
"Are you dense, child? Is this your guilt speaking? You won't absolve yourself of anything if you take part in the process."
"Guilt? I just hate being shoved aside for no reason. I could be of so much help."
"All of your help can be traced back to you with investigative methods. You are outmatched. Let go. Like you did in Tealstone. It was a correct decision."
No, it wasn't! A part of Xin's soul still revolted against it. He should have risked. Should have fought. To save at least one life.
"Fuck you two, seriously." - Xin rolled his eyes and went upstairs. The other workers will soon come, need to prepare the lab.
"Don't come back until you apologise, squirt. Lei, let's step outside, we need to discuss a few things."
"Yes, master. Please don't be too harsh on Xin, you struck a nerve there."
"He's got to grow a thicker skin. I am tired of his childish episodes."
In the evening, when all work was done, Xin cleaned up the lab and locked it. He then went downstairs.
"Master, forgive me, please. This was no way to speak to a senior, even if I was right."
"That's the worst apology ever. whatever, I don't care. You've got your heart in the right place, but you need to grow up. Today, not tomorrow.Pull this shit in the sect, they'll eat you alive. Go grab Lei and leave the city. Remember what I said earlier?"
"I come tomorrow, Lei doesn't."
"Good. Scram."
Xin bowed and left the city on a carriage, together with Wu Lei.
In the sect, Xin and Lei were both tense, eating in the canteen.
Lei bought himself pork chops in the sweet sauce, some fried rice and a dry fruit bowl to snack on along with wine. Xin ate a bland rice dish with a small portion of boiled chicken.
"Hate this stuff."
"So what? Buy yourself something else. The prices here aren't bad at all."
"I need to save up, I still owe you, and I need money for other things."
"This will all be over, soon. Food prices won't make a difference. We'll either have enough for a breakthrough, and some more to spare on dao shards, or we'll have worse things to worry about."
"I hate being left out like that. This is so humiliating."
"He's right. They've got some strong dao shards and other investigative methods, you are fodder to them."
"And you aren't?"
"I am. But I know how to operate, and how to act. For all these years, my runs were mostly civil, and I didn't attract enough attention to trigger serious fish. Xin, one slip and it's over. Calm down."
"It's hard to calm down, when one slip means it's over, mate. Fuck, let's rest and do something."
"There is a party for the internal disciples today, in the south-western dormitory. They promise many girls will come, too."
"With this male to female ratio, I wouldn't trust them too much. Will be a sausage party, with a bunch of horny idiots fawning over some mediocre girls with inflated value."
"I swear, you actually hate women. Ridiculous."
"I don't. It's just that... Parties like that are stupid. People either fly around like moths, exchanging sweet nothings, or get shitfaced, and fuck behind a corner. None of this interests me."
"You could... establish connections? Make new friends? And fuck it, you could maybe meet a girl. Look, you aren't that ugly, you might find a naive bitch that finds your whining sophisticated! Hahaha!"
"I am already friends with the only two people I'd want to befriend here. I've got a cool master and I am progressing fast, despite the odds. I won't sabotage this to make small talk with some hard stuck fifth year mediocrities."
"Who's the second friend?"
"You."
Lei's eyes lit up in fear for a moment.
"Very funny. But seriously."
"Rui Ming. He's pretty cool, I like him."
"Ha, he's alright, everyone just seethes because he is different. Me? Real recognizes real."
"You've got some weird slang, but I get it."
"You know what? When we sell, I could bring you to a whore house. Free of charge. Might help with your women situation. Whatcha think?"
"To meet your mom? Thought she died."
"Dude, this got old already, get some new material."
"You know who'll never get old?"
"Oh, fuck you. That's a nice one."
"I wanted to say my dad, but your mom also works. Well, she doesn't work, but you get the point…"
"If you aren't gonna eat it, then dump it!" - Lei mocked Xin, who barely had an appetite, lazily stabbing a chicken breast with a chopstick.
"Let's go train!"
"Fine. But we need to wait a bit after eating. Also, let me go grab my equipment."
"We'll use weapons? That's rad."
The pair entered the Combat Pavilion, carrying their equipment with them. It was pretty crowded. Many students have already finished their assignments and wanted to spar with each other or the mannequins, it seemed.
The pair approached one of the instructors, and asked to assign them to a training circle.
"I am not sure I could help you, gentlemen. Today is a monthly duelling day, did you forget?" - They didn't know it even existed, to be frank. "People are eager to bet their contribution points and they've booked in advance. The circles will be free for a limited time, but you can't just come and train at will today."
"Oh." - Xin sighed and looked at his feet. "Let's leave, then?"
"Wait, instructor, can I ask a few questions? We were busy with sect business, so we missed the introduction."
"Fine, I've got nothing to do for now. Ask."
"How does the formation here work?"
"You ask a circle overseer to set it up. There are several modes, the most popular one will knock you back proportional to the seriousness of the injury you've sustained. Everybody has a weekly limit of formation energy they can use, based on rank. You can buy more with contribution points, if you are truly eager to train."
"Thanks, instructor. Can we just spectate the matches?"
"It's not just allowed, but encouraged. Battles between high-ranking cultivators are a big attraction, and can be a valuable source of knowledge."
"Does the Sect Leader ever come?"
"He is the only rank four in the sect. No one could match him, anyway. And revealing his techniques to the spies of other sects would be unwise. He almost never appears in public. Closed cultivation."
"Makes sense. We'll go watch the fights."
In one of the circles, Yao Nang was fighting a rank one water path master. Xin and Lei watched astonished as she jumped and dodged his Waterfall Whip, taking some hits head on.
"Shit, she improved." - Xin stared at her elegant pirouetting with some envy.
"This guy is a shit fighter, it's easy to bully a lower rank with your qi techniques, but he doesn't understand footwork. He's also a bit scrawny."
Xin also noticed this.
"Think I could force him into a Woodcutter's Downswing. Maybe I'd have a chance. Resonance Palms could defend against the whip somewhat."
"Shit, look at her go! Did she practise my spinning kicks?"
"Seems so. Not so pleasant when it's you who gets copied, huh?"
"See, she was impressed by me, why else would she do it?"
"Combat advantage?"
"Yeah, sure. Sometimes, the answer is sex. She wants me. By the way, this master would absolutely whip the shit out of me. I've got no counter to this, sadly, and my Lava Spit would do fuck all to his wet body. Unless I activate Molten Heart, of course."
"Nice of you to have some humility."
"Of course, you dummy. There is nothing heroic in fighting a battle you can't win. I'd have to develop a method to kill him or suprise him somehow. And I don't have her durability to protect me."
Eventually, Yao Nang won. After expending his qi, her opponent just gave up. She truly progressed since their first fight, and Xin felt like he'd have no chance fighting her, even with his new technique. She bowed to her opponent, wiped her face with a towel and left the circle. She was already surrounded by some internal disciples, admiring her feat of defeating a higher rank opponent.
"That's two more contribution points for me! Damn, those whips hurt."
"Hey, Yao Nang, what's up? I see you have plenty of admirers now. Is your boyfriend jealous?" - Lei called her from behind, while Xin just awkwardly stood behind him, embarrassed of what would surely become another "episode".
"Oh, it's you! The crippled kicker, what was your name? Came to vex me once more?"
"It's Wu Lei, darling. I just call things as they are, and I wanted to praise you in good faith. You still haven't let go? Please give me some face. Me and you, we are the future of this sect after all. Need to have a good relationship."
"I don't need your praise. Get lost, seriously. And what's with your creepy friend? Came for a rematch? Sorry, not this week, I am tired."
"Creepy? I am not the one flashing my nipples, you pervert." - Xin suddenly retorted.
"What...?" - She struggled for words.
"You are all wet, I can see your nipples from up here. What an interesting way to attract the audience." - It was barely true. Indeed, her chest wrappings were wet, and there was a hint of something protruding from under them, but Xin exaggerated it.
"You. What? Fuck." - She mumbled. "Wait till Tu Qiang learns about your comments." - She got embarrassed and turned away, but then added "You two, fuc... damn demons. Hate you."
She turned around and left, her chin high.
"Why did you have to do her like that?" - Lei chuckled, but was also a bit upset. "Aren't you afraid of that master?"
"She called me creepy for no reason, I just had to retort. You are all giving her special treatment because she is a woman. If she was a man, you'd call her a dumb brute. That's what she is."
"That's a rude thing to say, brother Xin." - A male second year internal disciple said. "I think you should apologise, you didn't act like a gentleman."
"Did anyone ask you, you fucking retard?" - Lei stuck out his chest and slowly approached him. "Talking shit? Want to fight? The circle is right here, step inside. Me or Xin? Choose."
"I am not looking to fight today, brother Lei. I'm here to observe."
"Oh, so you like to watch others do the thing? One of these fucks going to a brothel to jerk it to the moans? Huh? Like to jerk your little prick?"
Xin smiled, but also looked around. The group of internal disciples included five people, and Lei was clearly breaking the sect rules. This seemed like trouble.
"Wu Lei, are you done taunting people? Come fight, we've got another person that wants to talk to you." - A person called him from afar. It was Murong Zhan, a noble "breakthrough seed". His ears still had holes for the jewelry, but he didn't wear it.
He looked muchmore modest now, wearing his simple disciple robes. He had a somewhat wide face, but a strong chin and a determined expression. In his hands, he held two steel chakrams, metal circles adorned with gold, and two more hovered around his ankles, wide enough to fall, but ignoring the gravity. Some sort of enchantment, Xin assumed.
"Murong Zhan! Finally, someone human." - Lei greeted him in his own manner. "Who was the other person?"
"Rui Ming, he asked me to bring Xin, but I thought about inviting you. Thought you could mock me with no repercussions?"
"If by repercussions you mean a good fight, then bring it on, tough guy! Hahaha, Xin, are you coming?" - He patted Xin's shoulder.
"Of course! Rui Ming is also there, let's go!" - Xin was somewhat elevated. Murong Zhan kind of bailed them out of this conflict by switching the topic, he felt a sense of relief.
The trio approached Rui Ming, who was performing a meditative sword dance. He carried a long traditional sabre, that could be used with one or two hands. It looked very simplistic, and had no ornaments or stripes hanging from them.
"Oh, it's you." - He bowed, and they bowed back. "Fate brings us together, to display our combat merits and to sharpen our skills."
"Fate?" - Murong Zhan smiled. - "I brought them, weirdo. You asked me to call Xin a minute ago. So, me and you against them?"
"Is this how you understand the dao of swordsmanship? Picking your fight? The wind blows, no matter if you follow or resist it."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" - Murong Zhan asked.
Xin answered instead.
"He says that to truly learn you have to overcome the unexpected, instead of conditioning yourself for the thing you came up with in advance. I agree with this idea, but there is something that needs to be..."
Lei didn't let him finish.
"Not another lecture, please. What do you have in mind, Windsplitter?"
"Xie Xiaodan should be somewhere here. I'll ask him to plug us four into the formation. The regular instructors don't let us fight other than one against one. Then we'll draw our opponents from the bag. I've got two pairs of tokens, it will be random. Then we'll fight. We don't necessarily have to bet anything, by the way."
"Oh, fuck it." - Lei interjected. "Let's bet two contribution points."
"Think so? Look, I know that I'll just get two points then, there is no fun in this."
"Shit. Do we have to draw randomly? I already want to fight you." - Lei smiled menacingly.
"Nah, only if fate wills it so."
"So be it. I'll bring Xie Xiaodan." - Xin made a determined expression and sprinted.
"What a fun guy." - Murong Zhan commented. "Look at him run, so serious."
"Guy might kick your ass, by the way. He is a total menace." - Lei considered Xin to be a better cultivator than Zhan.
"Looking forward to his display. Frankly, this sect is underwhelming, most people here suck at fighting."
"Did you watch Yao Nang beat a Foundation rank master up a few minutes ago? She certainly doesn't suck."
"I am tired of her constant whining, to be honest. Acts like she's already Foundation stage. She doesn't get the alchemy and dao shards, period. She entered a wrong sect just to be with her boyfriend, this is embarrassing. She is a bottom of rank one in power, and will be stuck there once she breaks through. A one-trick pony."
"Stop gossiping, it weakens the spirit. You should stretch, want to get injured again?"
"Fine, granpa Ming."