Xin strode towards the Artefact pavilion, a big luxurious hall inside of the main school building. It was adorned in painted tapestries, all displaying hieroglyphs or alchemical symbols. He was mesmerised by the look of this hall, split into many workshops, cabinets and storage rooms, with a hundred or so people fluttering around.
An internal disciple approached him, leaving his administrative stand.
"Disciple Xin, right? Saw you in the tryouts. What are you looking for?"
"I need to consult an artificer, or a lore expert, I'm not sure. I've got that niche thing that I want to find out more about."
"Gotcha. Follow me."
He led him into one of the workshops, where a man who looked to be in his seventies was cutting a gem engraved into the hilt of a jian sword. Momentarily, Xin forgot why he came and could only look at the weapon, astonished. The ornaments, the emanating metal qi aura, the red gem in the hilt, this visage was breathtaking for a young martial arts enthusiast!
"Pick up your jaw. What do you need, kid?"
"I... I am Xin. The disciple told me to consult you. Master." Xin was anxious again, no longer on a high horse after the training humiliation.
"Show me what you have."
Xin produced a wooden trinket. The man took it into his hands and poked it with a tiny lightning zap, emanating from his long nail.
"A totem. I am not a totem expert, though. What kind of advice do you need?"
"How do I activate it? How do I tame its power? Where do I research this sort of stuff?"
"The library, of course! Look, everyone here will only tell you the rumours. Totems are hard to come by, and even harder to tame, unless you have a natural affinity for it. It's a tiger totem, one of the tougher ones, it won't recognize you easily. I know some people in Fist sect who cultivate tiger style martial arts, they might be interested. I'll gladly take it from you, and give you something decent in exchange."
Xin felt uneasy. No, this is a scam, I can feel it in my bones.
Meanwhile, a balding man Lei was talking to earlier, Feng Chonglin, entered the workshop.
"Am I interrupting anything?"
"You are a master, he is a kid. It's fine, master Chonglin."
"I'll just wait here, then."
"What do you propose, master?" Xin asked the artificer.
"I don't know, what do you need? You're a mortal, right? How about some breakthrough materials?"
A lowball offer.
"No need. I've got a double element bloodline, and I have the breakthrough materials as well. What else can you offer?"
"What are your elements, kid?"
"Metal and wood, mostly metal."
"How about this Mercury Circle bowl? It stabilises your metal element and tones down the resonance during the breakthrough. It would significantly improve your chances."
"How much does it cost?"
"Twenty spirit stones, and I value your totem at fifteen. But in my hands, this totem has some resale value, so I'm willing to take a loss. It's a nice deal, kid. Take it."
Xin looked back at the man behind him. He was pale and detached, and he felt uneasy around him. For a moment, their gazes met, and Xin saw a subtle muscle twitch on the side of the man's face. The man then scratched his temple, but also knocked his finger on it slightly. Huh? Is he trying to signal not to take the deal? Is he trying to avoid the artificers ire by doing it so subtly?"
"Sorry, master, I need some time to think. I am not sure yet, I need to visit the library to do my own research. I'll let you know."
"Kid, are you questioning my competence? I am saving you time, yet you're wasting mine" The old master raised an eyebrow. He opened his palm, as if to say "please give me the totem".
"I'd never. I am just hesitant, it's a flaw I have. But it's my burden to carry, and I have to deal with it my way. Forgive me, master. I might repay you for your guidance one day. Thank you."
Xin quickly left the building. He tried being humble and making his retreat elegant, but he felt like it didn't work. Still, there was something else he wanted to do, even if he would be late for dinner.
Twenty minutes later, Xin saw Feng Chonglin come out of the workshop.
"Master, did I understand you correctly?"
"What do you mean? I just stood there. Did you wait for me this whole time?"
"You know what I mean, you signalled to not take the deal." Xin ignored his question.
"Did I? Or were you looking for an excuse to bail out, and found a pretense in me scratching my temple?"
"You know the exact moment I am talking about, though. Means I am right."
"Hehe, kid. It was the only moment our gazes met, wasn't hard to deduce what you mean." He said "hehe" in the most hoarse voice Xin had ever heard. Is this man a walking corpse?
"Whatever. Forget it. Sorry, master."
"Relax, I am fucking with you. This totem is good. You probably cut it out of a yaoguai's entrails. If so, nice job."
"You... know about this stuff?"
"Twenty five years in the steppe. You see stuff. People experiment. Nomads love their totems, and they make powerful fighters, I tell you that."
"Can... you help me awaken mine?"
"What's in it for me, huh?"
"I... what's your job here in the sect?" Maybe this man needs an apprentice? Could kill two birds with one stone. Still, he is probably a former demon, should be careful.
"I am starting an assignment tomorrow, Alchemy pavilion. Frankly, I am not too happy. They'll probably squeeze my dry for my knowledge, that's why they accepted me in the first place."
"Lei told me about you, you are that poison path Foundation stage master. Saw you all bloody at the tournament. Could we cooperate somehow?"
"Cooperate? If you can propose an equal exchange, I might consider it."
"Well, I am an alchemist myself. I've read a lot. Concocted a lot of the basic stuff. Know Wuxing and Feng Shui, my xiandao knowledge is also at the level of most Foundation stage masters here. I think I can be useful, can't I?"
"You sound like someone who'll die in an explosion you cause two weeks in. No experience, high self-esteem. Hold your horses, squirt. So, this assignment, I am actually looking to bail out. But I need your help."
"Hmph. What do you need?" So he insults my competence and offers cooperation right afterwards? Jerk.
"That kid, Wu Lei. And you, too. They let me skim through the profiles of the disciples to look for potential helpers. Wu Lei was a bodyguard, and he applied through the merchant guild of Clay Nest. It's pretty obvious he has some useful connections. You also have a use, and it's obvious to me that neither of you are regular fruits." Xin nodded. Indeed, he felt like a pretty special "fruit".
"Can you get to the thing that you want to propose?"
"Slow down. I am teaching you how to think." He smiled with a creepy grin. "Idea is, this Wu Lei, he helps me set up a workshop. I know some people who can deliver cheap materials, and we can use our sect to legalise the shipments. The only issue is our sect, they'll eat us alive once we make significant profits. Trust me, I probed the waters.
When it comes to you, I need an assistant alchemist. Wu Lei will recruit workers for me, you and I will train them."
"And what would we produce?" Xin felt uneasy. Looks like an opportunity, but this guy is the definition of suspicious.
"Legal painkillers. Cosmetics. Teeth whitening and anti-balding ointments. Some qi infused stuff. A good, legal business. With the supplier I have, our margins will be great, and we can make a good sum before we are shut down."
"Shut down?"
"Envy, boy. We can't cook our books, and once they realise how much we're making, they'll want a piece of it. Suddenly, I have new assignments, you are failing your exams and Lei is punished much more severely for his retarded hijinks. The only way for us to survive is to give up our suppliers and client base, involve a higher up in this business, and give up a huge chunk of our profits.
Once they have the knowledge and people to replace us, they force us to leave the business, directly or through intrigue, overtake it and slowly run it into the ground through incompetence. That's how life works."
"And.. Knowing that, why do you want to start it?" Xin raised his eyebrows.
"It's still a good plan. And you have to start somewhere, right?"
This phrase persuaded Xin. This man seemed to be telling things as they are.
"I'll talk to Lei. If he agrees, we'll come to you with an offer."
***
Later this evening, Xin met up with Lei in the privacy of one of the smaller gardens outside of the sect's main building.
"Evening, brother. I grabbed some deep fried balls with ground beef inside for you. Here" He took a wrapping with food out of his bag of holding.
"Mate, you didn't have to! But thanks." Xin could feel his stomach gurgle. He longed for some good food, the sect rations were inferior to what he ate as a hunter. "You bought this for me?"
"Yeah, why not? I've got plenty of money left. Still, I'm trying to find a new job assignment, since my idea was rejected. Can you imagine, they told me they don't want me on caravan guard duty! Means I won't be able to get these cushy guild-related contracts…"
"Why wouldn't they? That's bullshit."
"They said I've got to spend more time around the sect, so that I can actually attend most of the classes. And they say having no arm makes me a 'suboptimal' guard. That's stupid, I can kick most of their internal disciples' asses! Have you noticed, by the way?"
"No, what?"
"Their own disciples, they kind of suck at fighting. I sparred with some, I watched them train. These guys are mostly trained in qi control, not martial arts, and use ranged techniques."
"That makes sense from the sect standpoint. Ranged techniques can compensate for the lack of martial talent, that's like giving peasants crossbows instead of teaching them to fence. And qi control is very important at higher ranks."
"I get it, smartass, but what about reflexes, physique, martial arts and a martial spirit? These are also important, don't you think?"
"Yep," Xin nodded. A cultivation rank is important, but it's not enough. Not every battle is won through rank or dao shards.
"I talked to some insiders, we outsiders are even trained differently. They call our training 'hardcore'. They are raising us as soldiers, while the insiders are mostly made into work drones, producing money for the sect. Of course our sect has no resource points, who'll fight for them, mercs?"
"This training, this whole tryouts thing, looks like they are forced to reimagine their niche. Still, I'd rather be here than in the Fist sect."
"You didn't have to say it, hehe. Rumours are, these bald frauds are now pushing into Tealstone, surrounding it with outposts to claim it."
The shop owner was actually wrong. As Xin found out a few days later, the boar didn't manage to run away, it was chased out of the city by the combined forces of several sects, reinforced by the Border Guard and capital cultivators, and killed a few li after.
Xin frowned. He hated being reminded of what happened in Tealstone. It happened just a few weeks ago, but already felt like a distant memory.
"I... Look, the Fist sect, the boar, the army being stretched thin by all the shit happening, I heard the rumours. The southern undead, the cataclysms in the West… Whatever, enough about that. I met Feng Chonglin."
"That dude? He is funny, I like him."
"In what way is he funny? He is the antipode of funny."
"The antidote! Hehe, get it? Poison path." Lei interrupted him, giggling.
"Well, you said a similar word, it still doesn't make it a good joke, you fool." Xin said this, but smiled shortly afterwards. "Will you shut up and let me get to the fucking business?"
"Sure. Shoot it."
"So, Feng Chonglin is looking for a way to bail out of the job assignment. He has a unique supplier of goods, probably some steppe traders. He wants to open a workshop, and he needs me as an alchemist, along with your merchant guild connections."
"I'd never guess you are such an entrepreneur! Nice one, let's do this!"
"You aren't going to analyse or ask more questions?"
"You are a terrific overthinker, I think you'll do the heavy lifting here. What do you need from me?" Lei looked elevated, even playful.
"Well, first, we need a place to set up the workshop. Probably outside the city. Then, we need to find where we could push the goods. We also need the lab equipment, which will cost us a sum. We need to figure out the logistics and legal matters. After we're done doing this, we need to figure out how to split the profits and integrate this business into our schedule."
Lei grinned. He then stared into Xin's eyes.
"Yeah... yeah..." He whispered, looking pumped up, almost aroused.
"What's that with you, weirdo?"
"I am so fucking overwhelmed! I can actually solve each of these problems! I have some ideas, listen!"
Xin was moved. He was bracing for long, exhaustive preparations, having to plan and negotiate, overcoming obstacles at every step. Instead, could this all be avoided?
Lei opened his bag of holding, and pulled some instruments out:
"Look. Here's half a lab's worth of equipment, and I know where to buy the other half. Solved.
Now, for the placement and selling. Instead of finding the distributor, how about we push instead? No-no, fuck off, don't interrupt me just yet. There is this old street, called the Appendix, it's special."
"How so? Also, what's with the name?"
"There was an undercover doctor that worked there, he healed everyone, no matter their status. Was pretty beloved, and treated those who couldn't afford it for free. Patched me up several times, too. The street is called that because it got choked out by a new road. It's now there, cast aside, useless. An appendix."
"What's so special about it, then?"
"That place is poor and barely has any traffic. It is 'roofed' by the gang I'll be able to deal with. The guards barely go there, and are easy to bribe. We'll be able to do alchemy inside the city walls, as long as we don't cause too much pollution.
There is an empty house there we could just squat in, just need to claim it legally. Not a big deal, can be done through the merchant's guild. Abandoned buildings can be claimed, as long as you pay rent to the city, after all."
Xin was impressed. He was truly lucky to have met and befriended Lei.
"But, how are you going to push stuff there?"
"I'll make sure the street is safe, we'll hire some barkers, make this place look at least somewhat presentable, make the prices affordable — there will be no natural traffic, but if you and the baldie do a good job, the people will come."
"Right. It makes sense, the placement is not perfect, but it's better than selling to the supplier or operating outside of the city. Laboratory AND a shop, we're killing two birds with one stone. Sounds good, as long as the rent is affordable. What happened to the doctor, by the way? You said 'was'."
"He's gone. One of the gangs wanted him to heal them exclusively, he resisted, got stabbed. That's it."
"Brutal." Xin frowned.
"Right, it sucks. Let me conclude. Placement? Done, but we'll have to work to make that place habitable. Equipment? Almost done. Legal stuff? Hou Meng Yun will consult us. Hiring new workers? He will provide people, but we'll have to pay him a fee. He also takes a percentage off their first salaries, that greedy fuck.
Travel expenses? I can get us cheap post coupons, it's a guild subscription, we'll ride the carts for free as long as we have these. And, being sect members, we won't pay the bridge toll. Best of both worlds, haha! Think we can go meet old Chonglin now, but you should brace yourself, Xin. We might have to shed blood, Clay Nest is brutal."
"I'm ready, if I have to. With a Foundation stage master on our side, regular goons shouldn't be an issue, though."
Lei smiled, his eyes gleaming with insidious sparks.
"Let's meet the man."