Chương 69: Chapter 67

The bath I use for cultivation is silent as I sit on the cushions Lianhua arranges for me with such precision that I sometimes wonder if she measures them with an invisible ruler, while the sphere of influence I perceive around me is lit with specks of neutral Qi and a small number of Water Qi specks. I take a deep breath and continue absorbing the Qi calmly.

In truth, with the Tempering of Bones and Tendons I have never cultivated in a hurry, and precisely because of that I've been able to perceive the changes cultivation gradually makes in me, noticing a new stability in my body, a subtle firmness, as though each session ends by leaving a silent mark that builds upon the one before.

And then I feel it clearly, like a sudden awareness that takes hold of me, telling me I'm on the verge of completing the Tempering of Bones and Tendons, and that if I stayed just a little longer, I could finish it. If it were any other day, I would have extended my session a bit more and finally completed it, but not today, because today is a bad day for that, it's the first day of classes with Master Mu.

I exhale slowly as I release the six specks I've been holding, by now more out of habit than because they truly serve as training for forming my eighth mental hand, since I now know I'll only be able to form it once I finish tempering the bones.

I open my eyes and the first thing I notice, as always, is the sticky sensation of that black, repulsive film that appears every time after cultivating, the impurities, as Lianhua calls them, and no matter how many times it happens, my mind still reacts the same way every time, with genuine revulsion.

But as every time, I stay still and wait, since it's practically the only thing I can do without ending up making an even bigger mess in the bath, especially knowing I won't have to wait long, because Lianhua always arrives on time. It's one of those constants in my life that, if it ever failed, would probably scare me more than anything else that could happen to me. But while I wait for her, my mind does what it always does when it has a gap and too much idle time, it goes where it shouldn't.

And the place it takes me is to the thought, perhaps visited too often, that if I finish the Tempering of Bones and Tendons, maybe this time I'll be able to move my legs? And then I shake my head, with a small but firm abruptness. I can't do this. I can't fall into the same pattern as when I started tempering the muscles and ended up disappointed. That hope isn't hope, it's like a lottery.

It's like buying a ticket thinking maybe this time you'll win, when you know perfectly well that the most likely outcome is you're just paying for the illusion of imagining yourself rich for a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, the human mind is an expert at that, selling itself fantasies when reality is too heavy. And I would rather not go through the disappointment again of when I finished Muscle Tempering and tried to move my legs without succeeding.

I exhale slowly to calm myself, and just as I finish letting out the air, I hear footsteps and the door opens softly.

"Zhāohuán Wen", Lianhua says from the doorway.

"It's time."

"I know", I reply with a nod, and my voice sounds more normal than I feel after my little reflection. Lianhua approaches and helps me clean off the disgusting black film, which is the one thing that makes me glad I'm cultivating in the bath instead of using the Qi gathering formation.

"It never stops surprising me that this is still just as revolting", I tell Lianhua while she's bathing me.

"It's normal during tempering", she replies as her hands keep scrubbing patiently where needed.

"As I've already told you, everyone has to go through this." I bite my tongue to keep from stating the obvious, that normal doesn't always mean bearable, but I'd rather not start an argument I can't win. When I'm finally clean, Lianhua dries me carefully, dresses me in clothes that prioritize practicality above all else, and when she's finished, settles me into the chair.

We leave the bath and she takes me through the hallway toward the room I use as a study, the office that has become my small territory within a place where almost everything belongs to someone else, usually my mother. When we arrive, I take a deep breath and, looking at Lianhua, ask what's most pressing.

"Lianhua", I say.

"Is everything ready for when Master Mu arrives?" But when I ask that question, I see her expression change. It's something minuscule, an adjustment in her eyes, a small tension at the corner of her mouth, and if I didn't know her so well, I wouldn't notice it. But I do know her. And that detail alone is enough to make my stomach sink a little before I even hear the answer.

"Yes, Zhāohuán Wen", she says first, answering my question. But then she adds in a flat tone, as if wanting to convey that this was not her idea "Master Mu arrived this morning, shortly after you began cultivating, and met with Guifei Xiang to speak with her." Hearing her, I feel as though the world hits pause. Not literally, of course, but my mind does. As if someone had placed a finger on a page and forced me to reread a sentence.

"What?" I blurt out, and the word comes out sharper than it should.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask next, and I notice my heart starting to beat perhaps a little too fast. Lianhua lowers her gaze for an instant, and when she answers I see in her eyes something that resembles, uncomfortably, pity.

"Guifei Xiang gave me strict orders not to say anything", she replies.

"I had no choice but to obey." I stare at her, and my hand rises by reflex to bring a finger to my mouth and bite it lightly, an ugly habit I picked up here and that I hate because it makes me feel like a nervous child, and yet I can't stop myself. Meanwhile my mind can't help thinking about the meeting between my mother and Master Mu. And above all, about what they might be discussing.

A thousand possibilities race through my head, some more ridiculous than others, but they all share a common thread, in none of them do I have any control over that conversation. But then a possibility comes to mind that truly worries me, the cost of the lessons. Because my mother knows what my entire capital is supposed to be, from before she gave me permission to manage it myself, and Master Mu's fee is something I cannot afford from that.

When I hid from my mother what Lianhua recovered from the Celestial Fragment of the Sands, I knew that sooner or later she would suspect or find out that I'd kept things back, but I didn't expect it to be this soon. Although that will only happen if Master Mu says something, so there's still hope I can keep the secret a while longer. I exhale. A long, deliberate sigh, as though I want to expel the anxiety along with the air, and I finally accept that I can only take things as they come.

I stop biting my finger and lower my hand to look at Lianhua, who, as always when I start overthinking things, simply stands at my side waiting for me to finish.

"Do you have Master Mu's payment ready?" I ask, forcing myself to sound calmer than I truly am. Lianhua nods immediately.

"Yes, Zhāohuán Wen", she replies. And then, as though she can't help it, she adds cautiously "But… is it wise to pay for all the lessons at once? Perhaps it would be better to pay month by month." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I look at her for a second and I understand her logic. In my former world, paying in advance to someone you barely knew was practically begging to be swindled.

And even here, where honor and reputation are supposedly the pillars of society, there are surely people for whom those pillars are sometimes decorative. But Master Mu doesn't strike me as someone who needs to swindle a crippled child to get by, even if that child is a princess. In fact, if she wanted to rob me, she could do it in far more creative ways.

"I'd rather get the problem out of the way in one go", I tell her.

"And I doubt Master Mu is going to grab the payment and run off with it." Lianhua doesn't interrupt, but I can tell she's still hesitating, so I continue, because sometimes you have to crush worries with logic, even if logic doesn't always work.

"Her clothes", I say, and then I recall the way she literally pulls things from her sleeve.

"And the more than likely artifact or whatever that storage device in her sleeve is. Those two things alone are surely worth more than what I'm paying her." Lianhua nods at my words, though slowly.

"That's possible", she admits at last. But I notice her expression still carries a shadow of unease, a doubt that doesn't quite dissipate. I don't blame her. Lianhua is the type of person who worries about what can go wrong even when what's most likely is that things will go right. I suppose her Yushi training is what takes over in situations like these. I lean against the back of the chair and let the silence last for a moment.

"Lianhua", I say.

"Perhaps it would be best if you went to fetch Master Mu."

"They don't know I've finished yet", I add with a touch of irony.

"And my mother is perfectly capable of keeping her entertained half the morning before letting her go if we don't remind them."

"Understood, Zhāohuán Wen", she replies, and turns toward the door to carry out my orders. I watch Lianhua turn and leave the study, after which I take a deep breath to finish calming myself while I wait for her to return. I don't have to wait long before I hear footsteps approaching. Two distinct rhythms. One is Lianhua's, light and discreet, though I'm sure she does it on purpose and could be far more silent if she chose to.

The other is more unhurried, more self-assured, as though the place she's walking through were her own property. At last the door opens and Lianhua enters first, barely a step, then moves aside to let Master Mu pass. I see her with the same clarity as the first time I saw her at the Hall of Ten Thousand Talismans.

The dark-toned silk with the embroidered circular motifs full of runes, the fan that seems more a part of her arm than an accessory, and that calm expression that makes no effort to impose itself, perhaps because it doesn't need to. By instinct, and also by manners, I incline slightly, as much as my posture allows without looking ridiculous in the chair.

"Good morning, Master Mu", I greet her with deference. Behind her, Lianhua closes the door softly and positions herself unobtrusively to one side, close enough to help me if needed, far enough away not to take up unnecessary space, in a balance she has perhaps mastered too well. Master Mu looks at me and smiles. Not a wide smile, but a clearly genuine one, though it resembles too closely the smiles I used to wear when I saw a relic I found interesting for it to make me comfortable.

"Good morning, child", she replies, and the word stabs at my pride, though I should have expected, from the way she treated me the other day, that today wouldn't be much different. Then she adds, with the same lightness, as though commenting on the weather "I've had a very interesting conversation with your mother." My heart decides, in an entirely unnecessary fashion, to speed up at her words, but I simply hold her gaze with a rehearsed calm I don't actually feel.

"I'm glad to hear it", I say, and my voice sounds acceptably steady. I watch Master Mu's smile hold at my words, and if she's noticed anything, she doesn't show it.

"Then it's best we begin", she says, and her tone, though kind, has that firmness that makes it clear she hasn't come here to waste the day.

"And for that, as I promised, the first thing is to give you your study materials." Before I can respond, she approaches my desk unhurriedly and extends a hand toward her sleeve. I've already seen her pull things from there at the Hall of Ten Thousand Talismans, talismans, papers, even the odd small object. But it's one thing to see a talisman the size of a sheet disappear, and another thing entirely to see this. Because what she pulls out first is a book. Then she pulls out another. And another. And another.

She sets them down one by one on my desk with an insulting nonchalance, as though extracting a dozen volumes from a sleeve were the most normal thing in the world and I were the odd one for being surprised. I try to keep my expression as neutral as possible, but my mind can't help racing with countless questions, such as how much space that sleeve has, whether it's an artifact sewn into the lining, or whether the outfit itself possesses that ability.

The sudden idea that all her clothing might actually be a walking warehouse made of runic embroidery makes me look at the fabric with new eyes, and even makes me wonder whether it was a good idea to pursue talismans rather than devoting myself to enchantment embroidery. After she finishes producing the books, I watch Master Mu raise her gaze to me as her expression changes.

The smile remains, but the tone with which she speaks now is serious, measured, as though she were laying a ruler on the table alongside the books.

"These books are the material I'll use to teach you over the next six months", she declares gravely, then continues without looking away.

"And these books are for you alone, as my student", she adds.

"I expect and trust that you will not give them or show them to anyone else." The way she says it makes it clear this is not a recommendation. It is a condition. I nod at once "Don't worry, Master Mu. I'll keep them safe, and only I will use them." Master Mu regards me for a moment longer, as though evaluating not only my words but my intent, and finally nods, clearly satisfied.

"Good", she says.

"Then it's time to begin the first lesson." My back straightens by reflex as the anticipation of finally being able to learn something new washes over me.

"And for that, the first thing you need to understand is the difference between the three disciplines that use runes", she continues in a calm tone.

"And those are talisman crafting, formation creation, and enchantment inscription." I open my mouth to say I understand, but I stop myself, since looking up at Master Mu is starting to make me uncomfortable and I'd rather say something else first.

"Please, Master Mu", I say.

"Before we continue, have a seat." And I turn slightly toward Lianhua "Lianhua, bring a chair for Master Mu." Master Mu arches an eyebrow at the interruption but doesn't seem annoyed. On the contrary, her smile widens a little, as though she's just witnessed a gesture she finds interesting. Lianhua moves at once to bring a chair and places it with care at an appropriate distance from my desk.

Master Mu sits with an elegance that doesn't seem rehearsed but natural, the fan remaining in her hand as though it were an extension of her posture.

"Continuing with what I was saying", she resumes, and now her voice has the cadence of someone accustomed to explaining things.

"Each of the three disciplines is based on a type of figure used to configure the runes." She pauses for a beat, as though making sure I'm following, and continues.

"Enchantments are based on circles", she tells me, gesturing toward her own outfit. My eyes follow the gesture and settle on the circular pattern embroidered with runes, the same one that caught my attention the first time I saw her.

"Circles like these", she adds calmly, and I nod to show I understand.

"Then there are formations", she continues.

"Formations are created using geometric patterns such as triangles, squares, and similar figures." My brow furrows before my mouth even opens, because the contradiction presents itself on its own. And, as happens far too often with me, I don't have the good sense to stay quiet.

"Then…" I begin, and my voice escapes with a tone of genuine confusion.

"Why is the formation I have at home circular?" Master Mu chuckles. It isn't a full laugh, it's a short, quiet one that feels as though she's heard that question so many times in her life she practically considers it something that inevitably has to happen.

"That's a basic trick", she replies. And without further ado, she reaches into her sleeve again and this time produces a blank sheet of paper and a pen. She sets them on my desk and rests the pen's tip on the paper.

"The trick is that they first draw a circle to use as a guide." As she speaks, she draws a clean circle in the center of the sheet with ease.

"And then", she continues.

"Inside that circle, they configure the real figure they're going to use." She draws a triangle inside, then draws another circle and traces a square within it to emphasize her point.

"And afterward", she tells me, continuing her explanation.

"Instead of erasing the circle, they fill it in." Her pen moves around the circumference, marking small symbols and strokes that, to my eyes, look like a runic formation.

"They're disconnected runes", she adds, as though answering my thought.

"Runes that mean nothing when put together." She finally sets the pen down on the paper and raises her gaze to me.

"That way they hide the fact that the real runes making the formation work are inside", she continues.

"Not along the edge."

"And as a bonus", she finishes.

"It makes things more confusing for anyone who might want to copy the formation in order to learn it without attending their classes." I stare at the drawing as if I've just watched a magic trick explained with honesty, and the comparison hits me at once. In my former world, in ancient times, entire guilds devoted themselves to concealing their knowledge behind layers of jargon, absurd procedures, and traditions that were really barriers.

And in modern times, companies mixed crucial information with useless documentation just so no one could replicate a process without paying first. I think about it and feel, with a bitter irony, that some things never change, no matter where you are. While my mind draws that comparison, Master Mu continues, entirely unaware of my thoughts.

"And this isn't done only with formations", she says. She gestures toward herself, indicating the embroidery on her outfit.

"In the enchantment on my dress", she states with an almost amused serenity.

"I'm certain that at least a third of the runes and circles embroidered on it serve no purpose whatsoever." I stare at it with a mixture of admiration and resignation, thinking it was obvious that if someone had to create an enchantment that would be visible to the whole world, they would fill it with false leads as well. Finally, curiosity, inevitable as always, pushes me to ask the remaining question.

"Then", I say.

"What type of figure are talismans based on?" I pause briefly and add, already anticipating the logic given what I've seen with the other two disciplines "And what do they use to mislead?" Master Mu looks at me as though the question pleases her, and her smile turns light once more.

"Talismans are based on straight lines", she answers. And as she says it, she makes a gesture with her hand, as though tracing an invisible path in the air.

"And we don't use anything to mislead", she adds at last, to my surprise.

"Because we don't need to, or we don't care to."