Chương 76: Chapter 74

I watch Master Mu in silence as she sits in the chair with her arms crossed and the fan resting against her shoulder, giving it those light, rhythmic taps I've come to recognize as a tic she has when she's thinking. But while I watch her think and the silence stretches on, I remember I have something to tell her before she sinks too deep into her thoughts and the longer I wait, the more awkward the decision to interrupt becomes.

"Master Mu", I call out in a discreet tone that tries to be respectful.

"While you're thinking of a solution, there's something I'd like to bring up." The tapping of the fan against her shoulder stops as Master Mu blinks, pulled from her meditation by the sound of my voice, and looks at me for a moment with those eyes that always seem to be evaluating whether whatever is in front of her merits her attention or not. On this occasion she appears to decide it does.

"Your mother mentioned something to me this morning", she says before I can speak, and the way she says it has that unhurried cadence she adopts when she's turning something over.

"She said you wanted to ask me something, but she wouldn't say any more than that. She made it clear she was leaving it in your hands to tell me whatever you wished." I blink at her words, because while I expected to have to introduce the topic myself, the fact that my mother has paved the way makes things easier and at the same time makes me wonder whether this was calculated on her part or simply a gesture of courtesy between two women who have become friends at a speed I still don't entirely understand.

"That's right", I confirm, straightening slightly in my chair.

"You see, the other day I went for a walk through the Imperial Palace." Master Mu arches an eyebrow with an expression that is more lazy curiosity than urgent interest and nods slightly to indicate I should continue.

I then tell her, in summary, how during that walk I ran into several of my half-brothers, first one group and then another, and how they suddenly began showing me a friendliness as abrupt as it was suspicious, a friendliness they had never shown in my entire life and that therefore could not be genuine.

I explain how, as the conversation progressed, I came to realize the most likely explanation was that they weren't there for me at all, but that what they really wanted was to use me as a gateway to make contact with her. As I speak, Master Mu's expression doesn't change much, which I find difficult to read, since with her one never knows whether the lack of reaction means she doesn't care or that she's simply waiting for me to finish so she can evaluate the whole matter at once.

"I'm telling you so you're aware", I conclude, looking at her directly.

"In case my half-brothers try to contact you through other means, so you'll be forewarned." Master Mu regards me for a moment after my words and then nods with a gesture that, to my relief, seems genuinely grateful.

"Thank you for the warning, child", she tells me in a calm tone.

"But don't worry about that. I have my ways of dealing with bothersome princes."

And upon hearing those words, rather than feeling reassured, I can't help but feel a small stab of worry lance through my chest, because I believe I know Master Mu well enough by now to understand that her ways of dealing with things are not always the most diplomatic, and the last thing I need is for those ways to spark an incident amounting to this world's equivalent of an international political conflict, of which I would be, involuntarily, the spark that lit it.

But I decide not to press the point, because there's something that interests me more and that I've been wanting to ask ever since my mother refused to answer.

"Master Mu", I say, shifting my tone slightly so she'll notice the question that's coming is different.

"Do you know the reason my half-brothers would want to contact you?" At my question, Master Mu's expression changes to one I haven't seen on her before, a mixture of laziness and weariness that makes it look as though the question has reminded her of something she'd rather not think about.

"Over the years I've lost count of the reasons people have tried to contact me, whether directly or indirectly", she tells me, the fan beginning to sway lazily in her hand. She pauses and her gaze drifts briefly toward the window. I imagine she's recalling some of those attempts, perhaps the most memorable…or infamous, though one doesn't always exclude the other.

"But in the case of your bothersome brothers", she continues, her eyes settling on me again.

"I'm almost certain I know what they want." And then, to my absolute frustration, she stops and says nothing more. She simply stays there, looking at me with an expression that suddenly resembles too closely that of someone who knows exactly the effect she's having and is enjoying it.

"And what is it?" I ask with a speed that probably betrays my impatience far more than I'd like.

"What do you think my half-brothers want?" And Master Mu, instead of answering my question, smiles. And it's not just any smile, but one of those impish smiles I've seen only a handful of people use, a smile that tells its recipient she has the information they want and that she's not going to hand it over when they want it, but when she decides to.

"I'll tell you later", she says with a lightness that contrasts brutally with my mounting intrigue.

"Right now I've already finished thinking about what to teach you over the coming months." The answer catches me so off guard that for a second my brain seems not to know what to process first, the frustration over the topic she hasn't answered or the surprise at the speed with which she's reorganized her teaching plan.

"Oh, come on, you can't leave me hanging like this!" I exclaim, and the tone that leaves my lips is so unrestrained I'm certain it would be enough for my Etiquette tutor to fix me with a reproachful look and make me review the rules for another three days at the very least. But Master Mu doesn't seem impressed by my protest. On the contrary, her impish smile deepens as she regards me with that tranquility possessed only by someone who knows she holds complete control of the conversation.

"I am the master", she tells me in a tone that is soft as silk yet firm as steel.

"And I am the one who decides what to tell you and when." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I look at her for a moment and, after weighing it briefly, decide this is a battle I cannot win, so I opt for the only strategy left to me, capitulating with as much grace as possible.

"Very well", I say, making a considerable effort to recompose my expression before continuing.

"O great and magnificent Master Mu, what is it you have decided to teach me?" I watch Master Mu's smile shift as she hears me, moving from that controlled impishness to a more open and genuine smile, as though my surrender strikes her as equal parts amusing and satisfying.

"I'm going to teach you alchemy", she tells me without dropping her smile. The silence that follows seems to fill the room, because the instant my mind registers her words it goes completely blank. Of all the things she could have said, of every possible subject she could have proposed as a continuation of my lessons, alchemy was on none of the lists I had mentally compiled.

"What do you mean you're going to teach me alchemy?" I ask, and I realize my voice sounds considerably more shrill than I intended.

"What does alchemy have to do with talismans?" Master Mu raises a hand in a conciliatory gesture to check my confusion.

"I'm actually exaggerating", she says, and her tone tells me she expected exactly this reaction.

"I'm not going to teach you alchemy for real. But there are two things that are useful for any talisman crafter and that require a basic knowledge of alchemy." She pauses and raises the hand holding the fan until it stands vertical, as though she's about to enumerate something important, and the gesture reminds me of certain professors from my previous life who used their pens in exactly the same way.

"The first is the ability to make your own ink", she tells me, the fan held upright as her words flow with the cadence of someone who has had to give this explanation several times before.

"Ink can be bought fairly cheaply from any Alchemist's apprentice, since it's not complicated to produce", she explains.

"But that ink is very generic. For any talisman crafter, the ability to create their own customized inks for different types of talismans is a great asset, both for increasing their success rate and for boosting the talismans' power." I nod as I listen, because what she's saying has an overwhelming logic to it. If ink is the medium through which Qi moves through the paper, it makes perfect sense that an ink optimized for a specific type of talisman would produce better results than a generic one.

But before I can comment, Master Mu pauses again, and this time the gesture that follows is different. With a sharp, controlled motion she snaps the fan open, and the click it produces resonates in the silence of the study.

"And the second thing I'm going to teach you", she says, and her tone acquires a weight it didn't have a moment ago.

"Is the secret of how talisman paper is made." At those words, something in my memory activates, because I remember perfectly what she told me about that subject in one of our earliest lessons.

"Master Mu", I interrupt before I can help it, a note of concern in my voice.

"You told me that was a secret known only to Talisman Masters. Won't you get into trouble for teaching me how to make it?" Master Mu looks at me with an expression that is half kindly condescension and half absolute confidence.

"I have no doubt you'll become a Talisman Master", she tells me, and the way she says it doesn't sound like empty flattery but like a prediction she considers practically inevitable.

"I'm simply advancing your knowledge." But then her expression changes and the smile fades, giving way to a seriousness I recognize as genuine, the same seriousness she used when she handed me the books and warned me they were for me alone.

"Even so", she continues, and now her voice carries an edge that admits no negotiation.

"Before I teach you, you'll have to promise me you'll keep it secret and that you won't teach it to anyone else."

"Don't worry, Master Mu", I reply quickly, because this is a promise I can make without hesitation.

"I'll never tell anyone I know how to make them." But just as I finish speaking, a part of my mind, the part that thinks long-term and refuses to make absolute promises without leaving some room to maneuver, forces me to pause before adding something more.

"At least until I reach the rank of Master", I add as a final condition. The small amendment draws from Master Mu a brief laugh that sounds genuinely amused, and for that very reason strikes me as more sincere than if she had suddenly burst into full-blown laughter.

"That promise is good enough for me", she tells me, and in her tone there is an approval that perhaps pleases me more than it should. But the moment she finishes saying those words, my mind, which has not forgotten the pending topic for a single instant, decides this is the perfect moment to counterattack.

"You've already told me what you're going to teach me", I say quickly, before she can reclaim control of the conversation.

"Can you tell me now what my half-brothers were after?" And right at the end, deploying what I consider puppy-dog eyes and probably in a more pleading tone than my dignity should allow, I add a "Please?" Master Mu laughs again, and this time the laugh lasts a little longer, carrying a note of amused surrender.

"Since you're so impatient, then I'll tell you", she concedes, and in her words there is a resignation that isn't entirely convincing.

"Otherwise it's clear you won't be able to concentrate for the rest of the day." I can't deny that, so I settle for maintaining an expression I hope looks attentive and innocent rather than desperate.

"The first thing you need to know is the reason I'm here", Master Mu begins, closing the fan with a fluid motion and resting it against her shoulder once more.

"The reason I'm in this Empire is that I came escorting a shipment of merchandise from a city called Sanjiang, which is some distance from here." I nod as the city's name engraves itself in my memory, though I don't recognize it from any of the conversations or texts I've read so far.

"This shipment of merchandise is something that's done on a regular basis, once every ten to fifteen years", she continues, and now her tone takes on the cadence of someone explaining a context she considers necessary before getting to the heart of the matter.

"And in addition to the regular goods, a number of more exclusive items are also brought along, which are offered at a grand auction." Here she pauses and looks at me with a smile tinged with complicity.

"And to that we must add that, to heighten the anticipation, the list of auctioned items is never made public", she finishes with a note of mischief. The instant those words leave her lips, the pieces of my half-brothers' puzzle snap into place in my mind with total clarity.

"Do you think what my half-brothers were after was to contact you in order to get the list of auction items?" I ask, though at this point the question is more a confirmation than a doubt. Master Mu nods with a simple gesture to confirm. A long, contained sigh leaves my lips as I finally uncover the mystery that has been gnawing at me since the incident in the park, because now everything makes sense.

If someone knows the list of auction items in advance, they gain the advantage of being able to concentrate their resources on the items that truly interest them and discard everything else, items that in a blind auction might tempt them into spending money unnecessarily out of the nagging worry that something even more interesting might not come up afterward.

It's a considerable strategic and economic advantage, and now I understand perfectly why my half-brothers were willing to swallow their pride and be friendly to a sister they had ignored their entire lives in order to try to obtain it. Although one small doubt remains, whether those items are really important enough to warrant all this fuss over getting the list. But while I'm processing all this and before I can turn that doubt into a question, Master Mu's voice interrupts my thoughts.

"I have a question for you", she says, and something in her tone makes me raise my gaze to her with renewed attention.

"And I'll tell you upfront that I've discussed it with your mother and she is in agreement." What she says leaves me intrigued, because the fact that she spoke with my mother before asking me suggests it's something that goes beyond the normal lessons and was serious enough to require her approval.

"Go ahead", I tell her, looking at her with a curiosity I don't bother to disguise.

"Ask me." Master Mu smiles, and this time it is a broad, unambiguous smile, the kind I've seen from her only rarely and that always seems reserved for the moments when something genuinely excites her.

"Would you like to attend the auction with me?" she asks.

"It will be held in twenty days." And for an instant, just an instant, I go completely still as her words echo in my mind and the reality of what she's offering settles.

"That was never really a question, Master Mu", I tell her, and I cannot, nor do I want to, hide the enthusiasm coloring every syllable that leaves my lips.

"Because obviously, if you're offering, it's impossible for me to say no."