My feet led me in an unknown direction on their own. Past a beautiful garden with unusual trees, past a huge square where more than a hundred people were performing some kind of kata. Moreover, after each of their movements, a quite distinguishable fiery trail remained! The palace was huge and rich, although it would be more correct to call it a palace complex. After all, it's more like a small town with a bunch of different buildings. I even found a full-size golden statue! It was right next to it that I encountered the first troubles.
"Real," my bodyguard nodded, to the question about the gold.
"What, trash, looking for something else to steal from our clan?" some boy shouted. Looking closely, I grinned. Yes, I remember him - it's the one who asked to kill me back when I first regained consciousness. Another son of the clan leader and, it turns out, my brother?
"Alas, there's nothing even slightly more valuable than me left to find in this clan," I bared my teeth, estimating the chances of retreat. The guy wasn't alone either - almost a dozen people had gathered around him. And their looks didn't bode well.
"Talking back? Well, now you're not capable of anything more. Your cultivation is over, you're just trash that disgraces the walls of the Shen palace! I won't even dirty my hands on you. Break all his bones!" he ordered his companions.
They were about to step forward when my escorts stood in their way. The brothers were covered in a fiery aura, emitting unbearable heat. I suddenly felt terrible pressure and a desire to run away somewhere, just to not be near them. What is this anyway? I barely suppressed the cowardly impulse and looked straight into the eyes of my brother. He seemed to pale.
"Sho? Cho? What does this mean?" he asked, stepping back. It seems not only I felt this pressure.
"The master's order."
"What? In the name of Heaven, why is father even protecting this trash?!" he howled, watching as his people shamefully stepped back. "Well, you can't touch me, can you?"
The brothers looked at each other and silently nodded, stepping back. The next moment their auras disappeared, and with them the pressure. It felt like it became easier to breathe, but looking at my brother's bloodthirsty smile, my mood rapidly deteriorated.
"He's at the second level of Qi concentration," one of the brothers suddenly said.
If only I understood what that meant. Is this insanely cool or, on the contrary, rock bottom? I didn't have time to ask - I had to dodge a blow. Fast, skillful - this boy, whose name I still hadn't asked, was surprisingly capable as an opponent. Only I turned out to be no worse. I noticed his strike from afar, although he clearly wanted to hit unexpectedly. And then I remembered my experience in virt-fightings and immediately received a painful blow to the stomach.
"What, decided to dance?" he laughed, and I barely managed to block the next blow. The movement was completely reflexive.
"No, just feeling sorry for you - so old, and only at the second level," I grinned, trying to hit with a sweep.
My words hit the mark - he roared, and his eyes shone with fire. Literally. He immediately rushed forward, swinging widely, and I, feeling some kind of insight, stepped aside and with a quick grip pushed him forward. Right into the golden statue, where this titan of thought crashed with his empty head.
"Is that all?" I asked incredulously after about ten seconds. The guy was lying on the pavement and quietly groaning, holding his head.
"You're finished, bastard Kai!" he hissed, tearing some amulet from his neck.
One of the brothers unexpectedly stepped forward and knocked him out with a light blow. And what was that just now? Couldn't they have done that right away? Or was it some kind of test?
"Congratulations on your victory, my lord!" they gave me another bow.
Some people in red-black clothes were already running here. It seems this is the servants' uniform. My escorts, and I, by the way, also wore such colors, but our hanfu were much more expensive and complex. With gold embroidery and a beautiful pattern. Hanfu. What a word to remember.
"Let's continue the walk," I sighed, watching as the servants carry away the unconscious body.
The brothers stood like silent shadows behind my back. And again my feet led me forward on their own, to some huge building standing on the outskirts. The Pagoda of Knowledge, a strange phrase popped up in my head.
"My lord, the clan leader has forbidden you to enter the library," Cho suddenly came to life. Funny, despite the fact that they looked like two peas in a pod, for some reason I could easily tell them apart.
"The clan library, as far as I remember. Is it in this building?"
"No, my lord, but..."
"Well, that's great," I waved him off, opening the heavy door. It was clear that he wanted to object to something, but for some reason didn't dare.
"Thief! Get out before I rain fire on your empty head!" some old man immediately yelled. He looked like a shriveled apple, but such power emanated from him that I felt terrified for a second.
"Respected one, but if you rain fire on me, you'll burn all these folios," I gestured around at the countless bookshelves.
"Get out, the leader has forbidden you to approach the library."
"The clan library," I corrected, feeling the pressure on me increasing. Almost like before the statue, only this time I clearly felt the desire to kill directed at me. What an angry old man.
"That's... a slip of the tongue."
"So, respected one, not only are you refusing the son of the clan leader, but you're also doubting the actions of the esteemed leader?" I smiled, which finally drove the old man out of his mind. Suddenly, scarlet runes flashed around him, and his eyes turned into fiery voids.
"Elder Mo," the brothers suddenly stepped forward. What would I do without them.
"Yes, I know," the old man waved them off. The sense of threat immediately disappeared, as did the fire from his eyes. "I didn't think that even after the destruction of cultivation, this kid would remain such a disrespectful piece of shit. What do you want, dead man walking?"
"Take me to the section with books on cultivation," I smiled, which caused him to develop a nervous tic.
"The entire third floor! What, little Kai, did you forget that?" the old man chuckled.
I didn't react, just walked towards the stairs. Strangely enough, he followed me.
There were many books on the third floor. A whole bookshelf. Most of the room was occupied by reading tables, a couple of which were occupied. Some big guys bowed respectfully to the old man and the brothers, while completely ignoring me.
"Did you happen to hide a couple of books from me?"
"Most of the works on cultivation are stored in the clan library," the librarian chuckled nastily. The brothers nodded synchronously, confirming his words.
Under the old man's tooth-grinding, I took the first book in my hands. And I almost hit myself on the head. Hieroglyphs. And, surprisingly, I understood them perfectly!
Okay, this is strange. If I can attribute the fight and combat to muscle memory, then knowledge of the language is a completely different level. In the next second, I froze in shock. And what language have I been speaking all this time anyway?
"Kekib myumle ya dolba papadans," I blurted out gibberish in my native great and mighty language. Well, yes, my throat just wasn't used to such sounds, so it came out as nonsense.
"Ha, you see! Heaven has indeed deprived this thief of his mind!" the old man rejoiced. Justice exists!
The brothers just looked at me strangely but remained silent. I didn't care. I was holding the book in my hands, but I wasn't seeing it at all.
[Blazing Strike Technique]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Do you wish to learn?]
[Learning cost: 100 Qi]
It seems my chances of survival have just increased! If only I could figure out where to get this Qi. Right now I have a proud zero, and I don't see a "make it good" button in this stripped-down game system. And there was another question bothering me - in half of the games, the book would be destroyed upon learning, and I wasn't at all sure that it would be different for me.
"Are these books very valuable?" I mused aloud. "What would happen if one got slightly damaged?"
"Try it, dead man walking, and you'll never enter the library again," the old man said, almost calmly.
And just as I was about to answer him, a murderous pressure fell upon me. I managed to turn around only to see a white-hot fireball flying at me. I only caught a blurred shadow, and the next minute the entire room was flooded with an elusive heat. Through the rumble, I could make out a vaguely familiar voice.
"Bastard Kai! Prepare to die!"