Chương 15: Chapter 13 (R)

I close the book I've just finished reading and massage my forehead in exhaustion. Nothing about this world makes sense. It's impossible for a world like this to exist naturally, at least according to the rules I understand. For starters, this world, if the books aren't lying, is flat. And not flat in the medieval sense, but flat because people have reached the edge.

According to the Empire's records, if you sail east, you eventually arrive at an invisible wall that lets nothing through and beyond which all you can see is sky. How on earth can an invisible, impenetrable wall exist surrounding the world? If that's the case, we're like one of those dioramas people build and then place inside a glass case. And that's not all. The system of time measurement is equally suspicious.

It turns out the year has 364 days divided into 13 months of 28 lunar days each, which tradition further divides into 4 periods of 7 days apiece. And I'm certain that if there were a system for measuring hours, each day would have exactly 24. And when it comes to the climate, things get even crazier. I hadn't realized it, but since I was reborn here I haven't seen snow. What's more, the temperature barely varies throughout the year, and it turns out this is all because we're on the Eastern Continent.

Because, as it happens, the climates are divided by continent. The Northern Continent is frozen, the Southern Continent is a desert, the Western Continent is a jungle, and ours has a temperate climate. And with no variation throughout the year. From what I've been able to infer, only the mysterious central continent has anything resembling seasons. But those are only conjectures, since I've found practically nothing about that continent.

And if we talk about what the continents are like, the one I reside on alone has an almost impossible geography and configuration. Multiple inland seas, countless mountain ranges with peaks nearly as tall as Everest, almost all of which, for some strange reason, are claimed by the famous sects. Forbidden zones that, from what I've gathered, are teeming with wild beasts and entering them can lead to your death. Scores of city-states, though they don't call them that, and a few empires here and there.

The distances are too great. The enormous expanses of uninhabited land and the geography make travel even more difficult, and yet, from what I've been able to piece together from context, there is trade. And that is what frustrates me most of all. These books are clearly censored to avoid revealing things, including what the famous Celestial Rift actually is. So I can only conjecture that everything left out of the books is related to cultivation.

I look toward the staircase leading to the second floor, stairs the librarians made very clear that even with the Emperor's pass, I can only access when I turn eight, by the Emperor's own order. It all comes back to cultivation. And I'm afraid it's going to take me another three years or so before I can access that information, which means my understanding of the world right now boils down to the fact that we live in a living diorama placed inside a bell jar for heaven only knows what reason.

I call Lianhua to come get me, since I don't think I can squeeze anything more out of the library, having read almost everything that interests me in the two months Xueshi Wenxue has been absent, enslaved to making and teaching about the abacus, from what I've been told. Lianhua picks me up and we leave the library, but as we step outside I can't suppress one final thought about the world. At least I haven't read anything about elephants and a turtle.

While the handmaidens and Lianhua remove the elaborate ceremonial outfit I wore during my fifth birthday celebration, I can't help thinking that I've now been in this world with my new identity for five years. Setting aside the part where I'm a child and the lessons on things I already know, it hasn't actually been that bad. Being able to see and participate firsthand in the dynamics of a new and unfamiliar society, despite how similar it is to China, would be any archaeologist's or sociologist's dream come true.

Especially with the extrapolation that every adult I know possesses superhuman physical abilities. Just the two conditions I encounter daily, flawless skin and greater strength that appears to be independent of sex, make the social dynamics very different. For example, the existence of female soldiers to guard the harems, and the fact that many of the functions that in ancient China were relegated to eunuchs are here performed almost entirely by women.

And this is only within the small bubble I live in, since I eagerly await the day I can finally move about wherever I wish, even with help, and see for myself how these changes affect a society. The handmaidens finish changing me and I tell Lianhua to take me to my study and bring me all the books I've been given as gifts. Because it seems the whole abacus business and the reward for it must have made the rounds of the entire court, so everyone has decided the best gift they can give me is a book.

And although my birthdays still seem to attract few guests, if they all bring books, you end up with a respectable haul. Several handmaidens bring the books and I begin reviewing them, telling them to sort them into three groups: ones I've already read, ones that don't interest me, and ones I want to keep.

The pile of books shrinks at a good pace until, while reviewing one of them and turning past the first few pages, the text and handwriting suddenly change and to my astonishment I read: Introduction to Cultivation: Body Tempering. I swallow hard and go through the book again. Yes, the first five pages are a story about a monk, but then it cuts off abruptly and a different text appears. A text about what I've always wanted to know.

I close the book and instead of giving it to Lianhua, I set it to one side of the table under her curious gaze.

"The story in this book seemed interesting", I say.

"I think I'll read it tonight before bed."

"As you wish, Zhāohuán Wen", she replies, knowing my habits. I quickly finish sorting the rest of the books, though my mind is far more focused on the one I've set aside than on the task at hand, and when I'm done I snatch up the book I kept.

"Lianhua, help the handmaidens shelve the books, you know how I like them arranged. But first take me to my room. I want to read this book in peace", I tell her, gripping it tightly. Lianhua lifts me and carries me to my room, where I tell her to set me on the bed. After propping me up with some pillows so I'm comfortable, she leaves the room to help the handmaidens with the books. Once I'm alone, I look at the book with mixed feelings.

On one hand it may answer many of the questions I have, but on the other I still remember the sight of my half-brother, courtesy of cultivation. After several minutes of hesitation, I finally make up my mind and open the book to begin reading. And after a while I start to regret it. For one thing, the book takes it for granted that you know what Qi is. Then it launches into some mystical drivel about feeling the energy of heaven and earth around you.

Slowly and with difficulty I finish reading the dense text, and after closing it I shut my eyes and, thanks to my Blessing, I can easily reread the text in my mind while I summarize what I've learned. First off, Body Tempering, as the text calls it, is only the first step on the path of cultivation. And what are the subsequent steps? Who knows. The text says it's not necessary to know them until you've completed the first step.

At this point I'm convinced they hide information about cultivation on purpose just to frustrate people. According to what I've read, in order to temper the body you have to feel the Qi around you through certain meditation techniques and mnemonics included in the text, and then, in some magical fashion, draw it toward your body to absorb it. This causes the various parts of your body to gradually become saturated with Qi, changing them and making them more effective.

All of that would strike me as absurd if I hadn't seen people perform superhuman feats with my own eyes. But the text even divides Body Tempering into five phases: Skin Tempering: the first step. When completed, the skin gains resistance to piercing or cutting damage. Additionally, any skin imperfections are eliminated. Muscle Tempering: the second step. When completed, both the cultivator's current and potential strength increase.

The book also notes that this step has a drawback: if you exert your full strength to the maximum, you risk breaking your tendons or bones if you haven't tempered them yet, since they won't be able to withstand the strain of your new strength. Tempering of Bones and Tendons: the third step. When completed, the hardness of the cultivator's bones and tendons increases, making them very difficult to break, whether by external forces or by one's own strength. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road.

If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Tempering of the Nerves: the fourth step. Upon completing this step, the cultivator's reaction speed and coordination increase by a small margin. Tempering of the Entrails and Veins: the final step. In this step the cultivator makes all internal organs more resistant to both damage and various diseases.

Furthermore, and to my added frustration, the text indicates that upon finishing you will feel the closed gates in your body, whatever those are, since it says nothing more, staying true to form and following my mother's custom. But the most interesting part is that according to the book, when you finish tempering the body, your maximum lifespan increases by fifty years. And with that, the mystery of my father's appearance and why I have half-brothers so much older than me is solved.

As for my father's real age, or my mother's for that matter, that remains anyone's guess. After reviewing the text several times in my mind and confirming I haven't missed anything important, I decide to put into practice the meditation techniques described in the book to try to feel the Qi. I'm supposed to sit in the lotus position to meditate, but after a glance at my legs and considering the difficulty of that task, I decide the best course is to simply try it while sitting.

I lean back against the pillows Lianhua placed so I could sit up in bed and close my eyes, using the mnemonics from the book to try to sense the Qi. At first I feel nothing except boredom, but just as I'm about to abandon the futile exercise, I sense something strange around me. I focus on what I'm feeling and suddenly it's as though I'm seeing my surroundings.

I see the room only as a blurred shape, but around me, within what I estimate is roughly a one-meter radius, I see much more clearly what I can only describe as specks. The ones farther away I can barely make out, but those closest to me are easily visible. I'm fascinated by what I'm seeing and feeling, utterly stunned by the galaxy of specks surrounding me, but after observing them for a little while I notice they aren't static.

Some of them move as though drawn by something, but the majority drift slowly in the same direction, as if they were part of some kind of cosmic river. As I focus on the specks and concentrate, I realize they all give me different sensations. Most of them, and the ones closest to me, give me no sensation at all, but one in particular that is near a plant in my room gives me a feeling I couldn't describe.

Finally, I fix my attention on one of the sensation-less specks nearest to me and try to move it toward me as the book instructs. It's difficult, the sensation is like trying to grab water with your hand; it keeps slipping through, but with persistence I finally manage to grasp it and begin drawing it toward me.

I'm on the verge of trying to absorb the speck when suddenly the image of my half-brother on the stretcher flashes through my mind, and when I lose concentration like that, the speck slips from my virtual grasp. As I understand what I was about to do and the possible consequences, it suddenly hits me and I curse myself for not realizing it sooner. A trap. The book is a damned trap.

Secretly slip a book on a topic the adults don't want you to know about to a child who clearly loves learning about everything, and the outcome is inevitable: she's going to try doing what the book says. And with a certain dread, I realize that someone has tried to kill me. It's not an assassin with a dagger or poison in my food. But had they succeeded, I would most likely have ended up like my half-brother, and that would have meant certain death.

And where there's one attempt, there may be more, especially if they notice this one has failed. The best thing I can do is tell my mother. I open my eyes and, clutching the book, pull the cord they've placed beside my bed so I can summon the servants when I need something. After a moment one appears. I tell them to call Lianhua, that she needs to come immediately. The servant leaves and Lianhua soon appears "What is so urgent, Zhāohuán Wen?"

"Take me to my mother quickly. I need to speak with her urgently", I tell her. Lianhua lifts me from the bed, eyeing with curiosity the book I'm clutching tightly, and we leave the room. In the corridor she asks a servant where my mother is, and as usual she's in the courtyard, painting, I assume.

We arrive at the courtyard where my mother is with Fei Yi Lingxi and several handmaidens, but to my surprise she's not painting but playing Ma Diao Pai, a card game that surprised me the first time I saw it, since there are records of it in my former world. She looks at me as I enter, and before she can speak I say "Mother, we need to talk." I see her rub the bridge of her nose with a tired expression, and a pang of guilt hits me.

The only other time I barged in like this with those words, it turned into something wildly overblown, even if it had a happy ending.

"Leave me alone with my daughter", she announces with a clap, fixing the handmaidens with a look, without needing me to say anything else. As they all rise to obey, she continues "Not you, Lingxi. Stay." We wait for the handmaidens to file out while Lianhua sets me in the chair my mother keeps in the courtyard for me. When we're alone she looks at me and, after a sigh, asks "What is it now, Wen? What have you come up with this time?"

"This time it wasn't me! Someone slipped this book in among my birthday presents", I say, placing the book on the table.

"And?" she asks, looking at the book with curiosity.

"Read it. You can skip everything up to page five if you want", I tell her. My mother picks up the book and starts reading the first page but quickly flips ahead to where I indicated. After beginning to read that page her expression turns serious and she starts rapidly skimming through the rest. We all remain silent while she finishes, and when she closes the book she looks at me gravely and begins her interrogation "I assume you've read the book." A statement, not a question.

My mother knows me far too well "Yes, Mother."

"And I also assume you've tried the meditation techniques in the book, despite knowing I've forbidden people from telling you about cultivation", she continues.

"Yes, Mother." Indeed, she knows me far too well.

"At least you told me right away. Thank goodness it's your first time and you haven't been able to get very far. Wen, I forbid you to, " she continues, but I interrupt her, because it's better she hears everything, since that's the only way I'm going to get answers.

"Mother, I've already seen the Qi!" I exclaim to cut her off. My mother falls silent at what I've said and stares at me in surprise. I see the same look of shock on the faces of both Fei Yi Lingxi and Lianhua.

"You're saying you've seen the Qi?" she questions.

"Yes, Mother."

"Impossible. It's your first attempt. That would mean…" She falls silent abruptly and asks "Could you do it here?"

"I can try, but I don't know if I'll manage it", I reply.

"Try. Lianhua, help Wen into the lotus position", my mother says. I raise a hand to stop Lianhua "That won't be necessary. I managed it sitting up in bed." My mother looks surprised, then sighs "I don't know why I'm still surprised. Go ahead, Wen." I close my eyes and this time I find it easier to enter the state where I can see the Qi specks around me. I notice that in addition to the neutral specks, the ones that give me the same sensation as the one near the plant are more abundant here.

I stay in that state for a short while without attempting to grasp any specks, then come out of it by opening my eyes. When I open them I see three people staring at me intently, and then my mother seems to sum up what everyone present is thinking when she exclaims "And sure enough, she's able to do it. Not only on her first attempt, but simply sitting in a chair. This is simply absurd." I'm not sure how to feel hearing her words, but my mother continues.

"Now, this is serious. Have you done anything else besides visualize the Qi? And be honest, young lady", she says in a tone even more grave than before. Since I know what she's getting at, I answer quickly "I was able to grasp a Qi speck, but I didn't absorb it, if that's what you're afraid of." She closes her eyes for a moment and I can almost read her thoughts as she tells herself that of course her daughter is capable of moving Qi on her first attempt despite how absurd it sounds, but she says nothing.

Seeing that she doesn't respond, I quickly seize the moment to ask the great mystery "But why are we supposedly not allowed to do it until we're eight?" My mother sighs again and looks at me as she answers "It's too early, but now that you know how to absorb Qi, it's better I tell you the consequences before you do something foolish."

"The reality is that in order to begin cultivating safely, you first need to develop an organ called the protodantian", my mother begins.

"The protodantian forms naturally through exposure to Qi. The higher the Qi density in the area, the faster it develops." She pauses for a moment, then continues "In the area where we live, the concentration isn't very high, so the protodantian forms between the ages of five and eight, eight being the latest it can take."

"And that is why your father ordered that his children cannot cultivate before the age of eight", she continues.

"The protodantian is responsible for regulating the Qi in your body, and if you cultivate without having one, the Qi you've absorbed goes out of control, deforming whatever parts have been infused." She sighs for a moment and goes on "That is what happened to a brother you had. He ignored all the rules and started cultivating. His Qi went out of control, and he died."

Hearing this, I shudder as I recall my half-brother's appearance when they brought me to the trial of the consort called Fei Zhi, though I notice my mother isn't telling me the full truth about him, so as not to worry me further.

"There's another matter you need to keep in mind as well, and this one is important because it will directly affect you when you begin cultivating", she continues, and her words make me pay even closer attention.

"A protodantian can only regulate a limited amount of Qi, which increases as it grows over time. If you absorb more Qi than it can regulate, you'll have the same problem as if you didn't have one at all", she explains as I give her my full attention.

"That is something you must avoid at all costs", she goes on, looking at me intently.

"There is a rule that says you may only advance one tempering per year, and it's a safety measure for this very reason. And besides, rushing cultivation doesn't accomplish much, since as a general rule your protodantian won't finish growing into a complete dantian until you're twelve."

"And the next step of cultivation cannot be undertaken without having a fully formed dantian", she finishes.

"I'm sure you have a mountain of questions right now, but I'm sorry to say I'm not going to tell you anything more", she tells me, adding to my frustration.

"I've only told you this so you don't do something reckless and make a decision you'll regret when it's too late." Seeing the gravity on my mother's face, I ultimately bite my tongue and answer "All right, Mother."

"Now here is what we're going to do. I'm keeping this book and I'll speak with the necessary people about how it came into your hands", she tells me.

"You are going back to your room. I'd tell you to drop the subject of cultivation entirely, but I know you won't be able to keep that promise, so all I ask is that you don't start tempering your body. If you feel tempted, remember that you had a brother who died as a consequence of what could happen to you. Whatever you may think, it happens more often than you'd believe, especially when someone convinces themselves it won't happen to them or their child."

I say nothing, but I shudder at the memory of his appearance, promising myself to do as my mother says so there is no chance of ending up like him. My mother continues, looking at Fei Yi Lingxi and Lianhua "As for you two, this conversation never took place. Understood?"

"Understood, Guifei Xiang", they answer in unison. She turns back to me and in a more relaxed tone asks "Are you willing to keep at least this one promise, Wen?" I look at her and can see in her eyes that she is truly worried about me, so I quickly try to reassure her "Don't worry, Mother. I know what I have to do." Her face breaks into a sudden smile and she replies "Knowing you, I'm not sure whether those words reassure me or worry me even more. But I'll trust you."

She rises, taking the book from the table, and says to Fei Yi Lingxi "Lingxi, come with me. The sooner we deal with this book, the better for everyone." And with those words I watch them leave the courtyard, leaving me alone with Lianhua. I could go back to my room, but for now I'd rather stay here in the courtyard, reflecting on everything my mother has told me and enjoying a moment of peace.