Meng Yi pauses in her final arrangements of my ridiculously long hair to look at me, likely wondering what the hell I'm on about.
"You can't do that here though," I continue, my idle thought growing into something deeper. "Cultivation changes everything. In my old world, women have been oppressed for pretty much all of our history just because men are a little stronger. And even when technology made that strength largely irrelevant, women still have to fight and claw for every bit of freedom they get.
"Your world will never have that. No amount of science can make a person's ability to punch away a mountain irrelevant. You will never have democracy. You will probably never even have free speech. Most of the privileges so many of us took for granted in my world are forever inaccessible to yours, and all because here the gap between those with power and those without it is like the difference between a mountain and an ant."
Our eyes meet in the mirror, and Meng Yi and I stare at each other for a long time.
Finally, she says; "It is the duty of those with power to wield it responsibly. A powerful man told me that." Then she smiles at me and goes back to finishing up with my hair.
—❈—
Silver Springs reminds me of the town I spent most of my (previous) life in; sizeable enough in population to not really count as a 'small town', but far enough off the beaten path that it still somehow maintains that small town-ness of small towns.
That's pretty much where the similarities end though, because the town I spent most of my old life in had electricity, zero cultivators, and only like ten Chinese people.
The differences between this town and the one of my youth only add to the beauty and exoticness of Silver Springs though.
The Xian manor (or whatever it's called) sits atop a hilltop, or a plateau, I suppose, seeing as all of Silver Springs is located in the outskirts of the range of mountains called the Bloody Fangs (named thus, I understand, for the red peaks of the fang shaped mountains that litter the region).
Anyway, with the elevated view from the manor, it's easy to see much of Silver Springs sprawled out, rolling with the terrain out into the horizon.
It is a view that I can catch, and have caught, from my bedroom balcony, but this is the first time I'm doing more than see it from afar.
The walk down to the town takes almost an hour.
The manor has horses and a carriage, but I much prefer walking, and Meng Yi agrees that using a carriage would defeat the purpose of our trip into town.
Even before we enter Silver Springs proper, I see that Meng Yi had been on the money about the Fan sisters, Si and Hai, when she'd said that within an hour all of Silver Springs would have heard of my new attitude, because, even though they're all trying to pretend otherwise, everyone and their mother has their eyes on me.
'Although, that could be less because they're watching for anything different about me, and more because they're watching for more of the same,' I think, adjusting my outlook as I keep noticing people bow and dart way too far out of my path for it to be simple politeness or deference.
Well, whichever it is, the plan for today hasn't changed; introduce Xian Qigang 2.0 to the public.
For that, all we need to do is go around town, interact with people, and let them form their own conclusions based on all available information.
It's why my new noble rank cultivation is so integral to the plan.
If Xian Qigang had simply hidden inside for a week or two, then popped out after, saying that he'd found enlightenment or whatever while acting like a brain damaged stranger… well, that raises a lot of eyebrows.
Eyebrows of people who might consider it in their best interest to reach out to the Xian family about the strange development with their scion.
But, stepping out, acting like a brain damaged stranger and two ranks higher in cultivation, well, who can argue against enlightenment then?
Since, regardless of our intent, we can't exactly go parading me around town like a peacock, Meng Yi has decided that grabbing breakfast at a popular restaurant would be best.
After that, we could visit a few stores and then go home for the day.
I'm not opposed to the plan. In fact, I kind of like it… right until I pick a restaurant.
About an hour after entering town (and having everyone simultaneously gawk at and avoid me), we reach a busy street filled with people in fine clothes, most of whom I can sense enough qi in to know they have to be cultivators.
The street has many fancy shops in it, and when I point at a big, busy restaurant, suggesting that we go there, Meng Yi gives me a complicated but meaningful look.
"I think a different establishment will be more partial to Young Master's presence," she says, telling me everything I need to know.
I look back to the restaurant with new eyes, wondering what I (or rather he) must have done to be blacklisted in a way that deserves such gravity from Meng Yi.
As though she's privy to my thoughts, a phenomenon that I'm steadily getting used to, Meng Yi says, "Do you remember Chang and Ju?"
The names take me a moment to place, but as soon as I do, everything makes sense.
Chang and Ju are the boy and girl I read about in his diary; the boy he crippled and the girl he raped in front of the boy he crippled.
Right, I'm guessing either the boy's or the girl's family owns that restaurant then.
Xian Qigang, you piece of pond sucking scum.
Wherever you are I hope it's hell for you.
An older man who looks to be in his sixties walks out of the restaurant then, followed by three people, two women who look in their forties, and a young man about my age.
Their qi says they're all cultivators, but it has that lightness to its quality that I've come to suspect is the sign of a beast rank cultivation.
That's not the important thing though, the important thing is the raw hatred that they burn with as they watch me from across the street.
Passers-by take notice immediately, and while some stop to watch, others look like they're preparing to take off.
"Chang or Ju?" I ask Meng Yi quietly, knowing she'll understand.
"Chang's family are farmers," she replies.
I sigh. This is the girl's family then.
Contemplating how best to handle this, and two seconds away from just saying fuck it and going down on my knees to beg for their forgiveness, a voice calls out; "Senior Brother Xian."
Senior brother? What the hell?
I turn to see the speaker, not missing how Meng Yi's face curls in displeasure at their arrival.
My inquiry reveals a tall (and there's no polite way to say this), rat-faced man walking towards us.
He heads a pack of three, the two other men tagging behind him, one short and round in the middle, and the other much too tall and much too thin.
All three men are cultivators, but their qi signatures as incredibly weak, weaker even than Meng Yi's. These men are in the Ignition phase, and I don't think any of them are even past the second layer of it.
As the men reach us, I feel my lips curling in distaste. Not because they smell, or anything like that, but because, despite not knowing these men from Adam, I can already see them for what they are; they're parasites. The kind that attach themselves to men like Xian Qigang, so they can feed off the scraps of his ego.
The leader of the group speaks first, mouth stretched into a too wide smile; "Ah, Senior Brother. How amazing. We heard about your good fortune, but you were already in closed door cultivation before we could—"
"What's your name?" I cut him off.
The man pauses, and he and his companions share a glance.
His smile returns after a moment. "Ah, Senior Brother, I know your enlightenment left its mark, but to not even remember the name of your Junior—"
I don't have the energy or the patience for this. Everything about these people just pisses me off, especially the apparent leader.
"How long have they kissed my ass?" I ask Meng Yi.
"From the very beginning," she says, looking at the men like they're something gross she stepped on.
Meng Yi's reaction towards them helps me make up my mind, but it's the look that the trio, particularly their spokesperson, shoots back at her that really does it.
I don't even want to know what's going through his mind right now.
"What's his name?" I ask Meng Yi, pointing at Mr. Spokesman.
"Liu Li, Young Master," she supplies readily.
I run the name through my mind, and just like I thought, I've never heard it before.
Liu Li begins to speak, but I talk over him.
"You know there's no mention of you in my journal?"
He blinks, confused.
Good. A confused Liu is a silent Liu.
"There are over two hundred entries in there, and you've followed me around for years, yet your name doesn't come up even once," I say. "Why do you think that is?"
"S-senior Brother Xian, I don't understand," he says.
"I don't like you," I say slowly, resolutely, like it is an immutable fact of the universe. "You have a… what's the word?"
"Rat's face," Meng Yi helpfully supplies.
The three men and I stare at her.
"The word I was actually thinking of was 'aura,'" I say. "I don't like yours, any of yours. But, yeah, sure, she's right, I don't like your ratface either, so let's say it's because of that. Go away now. Please."
Liu Li splutters. "B-but, Senior Brother! You can't—"
"Are you telling Young Master Xian what he can and can't do?" Meng Yi asks with dangerous calm.
You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she's enjoying this.
Though, to be fair, I find myself enjoying it a little bit too.
Feeding off her energy, I put a little bit of danger in my tone and say, "Really? Hmm. He shouldn't do that. Sounds dangerous. If I'm not mistaken, I have a reputation as a madman who doesn't abide disrespect."
Liu Li looks between the both of us wide-eyed, his bookends behind him looking like they're considering backing away very slowly.
"Senior Brother, this isn't…" Liu Li tries again. "It's her." He points at Meng Yi. "This bitch is the one taking advantage of you. She's poisoning your mind against us."
Poisoning my mind against you? Dude, this is literally the first time she's ever mentioned you.
Having found someone to shield himself with, and apparently mistaking my perplexed expression for consideration, Liu Li seems to find his bravery.
"This whore is always aiming above her station, Senior Brother. You need to teach this bitch her place. She's a—"
I don't know what causes it…
No, that's untrue, I do know what causes it. I just don't know how I do it, nor do I intend for it to happen when it does.
Hearing Liu Li talk, I feel a strong desire for him to shut up, and from deep within my mind, I hear it.
It sounds like a staticky transmission from a radio submerged underwater.
W͚̙̳ͬ̆̒̀ẽ͓͈̮͙̟͘í͍͈͕ͮͨ́̚g̼̰̰̠̱̥̱͔̾̆̆͘ḥ͕͖̿ͮ̈́̑͞ṫ̸̬͉͙͖̱̯̗͊̀ ͚̼͎̫͖͂̆̄̂͞o̅҉̼̬̯̘f̳̬̝ͣ͆͟ ͍̞̝̼̒̐ͣ̈͡Ṱ͓̈̀h̸̥̰͙̪̤̃̂̔e̙̙̦͛̃̏̍̀ ̢̲̘ͧḘ̠̥̠͊̽ͥ͝m̵̲̼̦̪̫̥ͣͅp̞͕̂ͪ͠e̢̞̼̹͕̺̗̊r̢̗͕̫̯͈͎̱̼͌̋͐o̲͉͚̜̬̳͎ͪͦ͗ͨ́r̢̛̜̭̖͈̠͗̓̐̔̒̑̔'̴͙̮͉̖̦̱̀s̺͉̗͚̥͚̪ͭͭ͜ ̵̹̪̞͓̭͓̐̾̊̀W͔̜̦̦̩̜̝ͮͯͨ͡i͓͔͎̳͍̣ͪ̓́̿̀ļ̹̦̬̳̟͙͈͓ͧl̵̫̗̰͉̎͂͆
The sun within my chest flares, and like gravity suddenly quintuples, Liu Li and his nameless bookends slam to their hands and knees on the cobblestoned street.
Shock ripples across the watching bystanders.
I had the interest of our impromptu audience before, but now, I have their undivided attention.
Liu Li looks up at me from the ground, body trembling and face white as a sheet.
I'm not much better.
What the hell just happened!?
Meng Yi takes my hand.
"Come, Young Master," she says, leading me away. "Breakfast awaits."
The crowd watches us leave, stepping aside long before—and much farther than—they need to.
I look back and see Liu Li and the other two still on the ground, pale and shaking, then I look to Ju's family at their restaurant.
My eyes meet the old man's.
He looks away.
This is not the kind of impression I wanted to make.
Chapter ten;; young master Xian suffers breakfast interruptus
It takes a while for Meng Yi to pick a restaurant for us to eat at, and I don't know if it's because she likes this place, thinks I'll like this place, knows he liked this place, or, and this is probably way more likely than I'm comfortable with, if it just took this long for us to reach a place where the owners won't bar the door at my presence.
Or poison us.
At this point, I don't think I want to know.
The restaurant is nice enough, busy too, especially for this hour of the day.
It is single storey affair, with an open floor plan that leaves everyone in open view of everyone else.
This is one of those restaurants that if someone who knows you steps in, they're likely to spot you from the door regardless of where you're sitting.
Conversely, it is also the kind of restaurant where everyone who knows you can spot you from wherever they're sitting the moment you walk through the doors, and a lot of people know Xian Qigang.
The establishment goes silent as Meng Yi and I step in, all eyes moving to us.
Oh, that's why Meng Yi chose this place.
Expressions change upon sight of us.
They vary enough, but the predominant reaction to my presence seems to be the curling of faces in annoyance and irritation, all mixed in with an undercurrent of tension.
I suspect the sight of my face has that reaction on most people, especially when they're just trying to have a meal.
A man, who I assume is the headwaiter, rushes towards us.
"Young Master Xian." He bows. "Welcome. Please, come. Let me find you a good table."
"One in the middle," Meng Yi says.
The headwaiter stares at her for a moment, then nods again.
"Of course, Manager Meng," he says. "As you wish."
We're led to a table near the centre of the restaurant, all eyes on us as we sit.
Some of the patrons are cultivators, all beast rank, and none, it seems to my slowly improving qi sense, higher than the third layer of Weaving phase.
"Do people always stare like this when I come around?" I ask Meng Yi softly after the headwaiter takes our order and leaves.
"Not usually," Meng Yi says. "Though, I suppose there's nothing usual about your presence here today."
She's right on that one.
"I can't imagine it has been easy for you," I say, "being associated with me. I suspect not everyone has been understanding of your circumstances."
Meng Yi gives me another one of her piercing looks, then graces me with a small smile. "The people who matter understand," she says. "Besides, it isn't all bad, there are some perks to being associated with one of, if not the richest man in town."
"I suppose," I allow. "Wealth does have its privileges."
"That it does," Meng Yi agrees. "It's like my father said, 'few things can shut people up like gold to the face.'"
"Yes… because it knocks out all their teeth," I point out.
Meng Yi titters, and it's like the little sound is a dinner bell in a chicken farm, as damn near everyone's attention returns to us.
I literally feel their eyes on my skin.
What fun.
"You think it's my cultivation that's got them so interested, or the stories of my enlightenment?" I ask.
"Definitely the latter," Meng Yi replies. "I don't think anyone here is high enough in rank or layers for their qi sense to have the sensitivity to pick up such things."
"Ah, so that's why it's been so easy for me to pick out cultivation ranks and levels despite not having any practice," I say. "The higher the rank the better the… everything."
"Indeed," Meng Yi says. "The difference between you and a beast rank is substantial. There is no metric by which they are your equal. What will push a beast rank to the brink of death will likely be but a mild strain for you. There is no comparison."
Damn. Having it put into words like that does make clear the sheer gap between me and these people.
That explains all the interest and the tenseness. The thought of someone like Xian Qigang having such power honestly scares the dickens out of me.
With some effort, I shake away the thought.
"With a noble rank cultivation being so game changing, I can only imagine what divine rank must be like," I say.
"They say the gap between divine rank and noble rank is like the gap between noble rank and beast rank," Meng Yi says.
I roll my eyes. "Of course they say that, divine rank is for the elite of the elites, they have to say things like…" I trail off, actually thinking about it.
"Actually, I think it might be true. It's simple mathematics; the greater the value being multiplied, the greater the effect of the multiplication. Like, for example, if you double a bucket of water, it doesn't make much of a difference, but if you double a river—"
"You flood a valley," Meng Yi finishes, eyes wide and bright. "I never thought of it that way before."
I shrug. "That's understandable, I have an… outside perspective," I say.
Meng Yi smiles. "I must say, enlightenment looks good on you, Young Master."
"Thanks," I say, grinning back.
A waiter arrives then, not with our order, but with beverages to tide us over till our food is ready.
"Ginseng tea for you, Manager Meng," he says, setting her teacup and pot down. "And goldendew mint tea for the Young Master Xian," he says setting mine.
Meng Yi immediately pours me a cup of the golden liquid.
The golden liquid from which I sense beast rank qi.
"The tea has qi," I say, no doubt needlessly, seeing as Meng Yi had ordered it for me and so must know that already.
She nods. "It's the goldendew mint in it," she informs me. "It's a beast rank plant."
Ah.
Taking the cup, I inhale the aroma.
It smells like the first ray of sunlight on a dewy morning.
Don't ask me what that smells like though. I didn't even know it was a smell until this moment.
I take a sip.
"Oh, wow." My eyes widen. "That's delicious. You need to try this."
"I'm still in Ignition phase, Young Master," Meng Yi says. "Beast rank tea might not be the best idea."
Oh, right. Ignition phase means no cultivation method yet, and no cultivation method means no protection from the beast rank qi of the tea.
"There are cultivation resources I can use," Meng Yi adds, "but unfortunately, goldendew mint is not one of them."
"In that case, I guess we'll just have to wait for you to taste it when you're in Weaving phase," I say.
"I shall look forward to that, Young Master."
I take another sip of the tea.
It does absolutely nothing for my cultivation, but I suspect that if it were higher ranked it would be great for my cultivation meth…
Wait a minute.
I focus on the cup of tea, and—
1 – 500 (Beast Rank)
501 – 800 (Peasant Rank)
801 – 950 (Sage Rank)
951 – 999 (Noble Rank)
1000 (Divine Rank)
Roll: Yes || No
I blink. For tea!?
Well, I mean, it's clearly not just tea, and my power has proven time and again to work for all things cultivation related (exclusively), so, I guess if anything, it would actually be stranger if it didn't work for the tea.
Anyway, strange or not, roll please.
Rolling…
964 (Noble Rank)
Reward: Prismatic Starlightdew Mint Tea (124ml)
Oh. Uh… okay. Definitely not bringing that out anywhere near here.
I go back to sipping my tea.
Our food arrives finally, and right as Meng Yi and I dig in, a presence more powerful than any I've ever felt steps into the restaurant. And, while it might be arrogant to think this, I just know that this 100% has everything to do with me.
Chapter eleven;; young master Xian is way too capable
Much like it was when I came in, the room goes silent, and all heads turn to observe the newcomer.
The person standing at the door is either a very pretty man, or a boyish looking woman.
They're tall, six foot at least, and dressed in fancy blue armour with gold accents and a red sash around the waist.
Their hair is long—down past their shoulders—and wild, sticking out all over the place like they'd just been struck by lightning or something.
All of this is secondary though to how the newcomer's fierce eyes lock onto me, and how Meng Yi lets out a long-suffering sigh as they march to our table.
"Vice Commander Xiuying," Meng Yi says as the newcomer pulls out a chair and sits, uninvited. "To what do we owe the… pleasure of your company."
I recognize the name immediately; this is the peasant rank cultivator who Meng Yi had told me was the cause of much of Xian Qigang's insecurities about his cultivation rank.
According to what Meng Yi said, Vice Commander Xiuying is a woman, and it is only now, knowing this, that I notice that the breastplate portion of her armour seems to place a bit more emphasis on the breast portion than male armour traditionally does.
In reply to Meng Yi's question, Vice Commander Xiuying says, "I've come to see the man who Heaven has decided to favour despite already giving him every advantage." Her gaze remains on me as she speaks.
It is a rather intimidating gaze.
"Well, there he is," Meng Yi says. "Feast your eyes upon his splendour."
Xiuying shoots her a nasty look.
Meng Yi looks entirely unimpressed.
"Uh, hi," I say, making the gesture of a formal greeting that Meng Yi taught me. "Nice to meet you. You're Vice Commander Xiuying, right? Meng Yi's told me about you."
The Vice Commander stares at me for several long seconds.
Finally, she turns to Meng Yi.
"Who is this?" she asks. "Because this is not Xian Qigang."
While my heart misses a beat in my chest, Meng Yi sips her tea calmly.
"Do your eyes no longer work?" she asks.
"Don't play with me, Manager Meng," Xiuying snarls. "This can't be Xian Qigang; enlightenment doesn't do—" she gestures at all of me "—this to a person."
"And how many enlightened people have you met?" Meng Yi asks coolly.
Xiuying glares silently for several seconds.
"Fuck off," she says finally.
"How mature," Meng Yi says, voice laden with sarcasm.
I look from one woman to the next, wondering what the hell is going on.
Meng Yi had never mentioned any sort of antagonism with Xiuying. In fact, based on what she said, it was old me who had that issue.
Deciding to step in, I say, "I don't really understand it myself, but I suppose that's what happens when a peasant rank cultivator eats a noble rank Celestial Plum."
I shrug awkwardly.
Xiuying looks at me. Then at Meng Yi. Then back to me. Finally, she leans back in her seat, looking for all the world like reality just stopped making sense.
"What is happening right now?" she asks no one.
Meng Yi replies, "You're realizing that my Young Master has left you in his dust."
Xiuying's eyes flash with determination.
"Bullshit," she says, then scoffs. "His dust. Don't make me laugh. How has he left me in his dust when his cultivation is back at the first layer of Weaving phase? Noble rank or not, I still surpass him."
"For now," Meng Yi points out. "After all, like you said, he has every advantage; he's wealthy, and as someone who has cultivated to the fifth layer of Weaving before, I don't have to tell you that it will be easier for him to do so again, despite his higher rank cultivation.
"You, on the other hand, took six years to claw your way to the second layer of Sprouting. The evidence speaks for itself."
Xiuying smiles a smile that shows too many teeth and tries too hard to appear friendly.
I actively suppress a shudder.
"Well," she says, "in that case, maybe I'll find a rich man to sell my body to in return for cultivation resources. I hear it's a common option with many young women these days."
Wait, did she just… Oh my God, she did not just imply what I'm pretty sure she just implied?
Meng Yi doesn't bat an eye at Xiuying's barb, instead she scoffs. "Don't let that armour fool you. We all know you're as flat as a board under there. What are you going to woo a man with? Your charming personality?"
Despite myself, I snort.
Both women's attentions immediately swap to me, and being the brave, noble man that I am, I instantly pick up my teacup and take a very long sip.
The two cultivators watch me for several moments.
Finally, looking like she still can't believe it, Xiuying says, "He's so… different."
"He is," Meng Yi agrees. "He fucks different too."
I spit out my tea.
"What!? No, we… I wouldn't… I mean…"
"Is he blushing?" Xiuying asks, looking amused.
Meng Yi hands me a napkin. "Brings out his eyes, doesn't it?" she asks.
I snatch the napkin from her, shooting her a nasty look as I wipe up, and both women enjoy my embarrassment.
Silence settles for a good, long minute, then Xiuying opens her mouth to speak, hesitates, then closes it again.
"Is something the matter?" I ask her, and she stares at me with a complicated expression on her face.
I keep quiet, giving her the room to decide one way or another, and after a minute, she says, "What was it like? Enlightenment. What is it like?"
Uh oh.
That's not good. Not good at all.
How the hell am I supposed to—no, wait. This isn't the end, I realize, as, though by divine intervention, an idea comes to me.
I put on an expression of thoughtfulness for a moment, actually thinking about how best to go about this.
Thankfully, Xiuying lets me think.
Eventually, a decent plan solidifies in my mind, and I wave over one of the waiters.
The young man looks panicked for a moment, but before I can process that, the headwaiter materializes next to me.
"Yes, Young Master Xian, is anything not to your satisfaction?" he asks.
"Oh, uh, no, everything's fine," I say quickly, calming the man. "The meal's great. Just uh… can I get chopsticks? As many as you can get me. At least thirty."
The headwaiter doesn't even blink. "Of course, Young Master Xian. Right away."
He hurries gracefully away.
"What do chopsticks have to do with enlightenment?" Xiuying asks, staring at me suspiciously.
"It's not the chopsticks," I explain. "They're simply a tool to show you what I experienced."
Both women give me odd looks, but neither says anything else.
The headwaiter returns quickly, a waiter behind him carrying a tray with at least fifty chopsticks on it.
I direct them to set it on Xiuying's place on the table, then give a polite 'no' when the headwaiter asks if we need anything else.
Xiuying picks up one of the chopsticks, eyeing it, then me.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asks.
I pick up my own chopsticks, the ones I'm eating with, and mask the obviousness of the action by taking a bite of my food.
"Every time I say 'break,' snap a chopstick in two and set it aside," I tell Xiuying.
Xiuying looks at the chopstick in her hand, then at Meng Yi (who shrugs), then at me.
"And this will explain enlightenment to me?" she asks.
"Explain enlightenment? No. I don't think that's really possible. But I do hope it give you at least a tiny glimpse of what it's like to experience it," I say. "Hopefully."
I remember the day that I was shown this experiment. I remember the feeling it had left me with for days afterwards; how it had felt like I could suddenly see the world. See the patterns and the layers that had entirely eluded me my whole life before that moment.
If I can generate even just a tenth of that feeling in Xiuying, I will have succeeded, I think.
"Do you remember the instruction?" I ask to be safe.
"Snap a chopstick when you say 'break.' I'm not an idiot."
I nod in apology.
"Okay then, break," I say, at the same time tapping my own chopsticks in hand against the small bowl of rice I'm eating from.
It lets out a ting! sound; loud enough to be heard by all at our table, but nowhere near enough to draw direct notice.
Especially in a restaurant.
It's perfect.
Xiuying obediently picks up a chopstick and snaps it in two.
"Break," I say again. Ting! my bowl sounds.
And again Xiuying picks up a chopstick and snaps it.
"Break." A third time. Ting! Number three.
Xiuying looks a little irritated now, but right as she's about to say something, a look of realization comes upon her, and her expression clears.
With a small, pleased smile, she picks up another chopstick and snaps it in two.
'Has she figured it out?' I wonder. She might have. I assume she's not an idiot, after all, and for all I know, this world has its own scientist who already figured out, and popularized, the same things Pavlov did in mine.
I can't stop now though; I'm in too deep.
I can only go all the way and hope that she's thinking that this is something other than what it is.
I give Xiuying the 'break' command about seven more times, after which, I bite the bullet and, looking right at her, I tap the bowl silently, clearly not giving the command to 'break.'
To my complete amazement, Xiuying picks up a chopstick and snaps it in two.
I smile. Got you.
I tap the bowl again, and again Xiuying picks up a chopstick and snaps it.
Again and again, the pattern repeats.
This entire time, Meng Yi has been watching, trying to figure out what I'm doing, and then she does, and her eyes widen like dinner plates.
Xiuying doesn't miss it.
"You've figured it out?" she asks, somewhat condescendingly.
Meng Yi looks at her. "You really think you see it," she says, her expression one of amazement.
For the first time, Xiuying looks unsure.
"Of course I do," she says.
"And what am I showing you?" I ask her.
She looks at me. "Something to do with the power of repetition. Likely along the lines of the teachings of General Mao Yun," she says, confidence wavering when I simply look pensive at her words.
"I have no idea who General Mao Yun is, but you're part right, this does teach the power of repetition," I say. "It isn't the point though."
"What's the point then?" she challenges.
I think about that for a moment.
"Do you remember the instruction I gave you?" I ask.
Xiuying let's out a short, frustrated breath, then she says, "Break a chopstick when you tell me to."
I nod in agreement, then I tap my bowl, wanting to show her how she's completely missed the point, but to my utter amazement, Xiuying picks up a chopstick, snaps it angrily, and sets it aside.
"I recall your instructions," she says angrily.
I blink, and Meng Yi lets loose an amazed, breathless laugh.
Xiuying stares at us both, understanding now that there is something we know that completely eludes her.
"Xiuying," I say, "look at my lips."
I tap my bowl, louder than I have all this time. Doing nothing to mask the motion, or the act.
Xiuying looks frustrated and confused, trying to see just what—and then she gets it.
Her reaction is a lot more intense than I expected.
A simple 'oh' of amazement would have been fine for me. Goosebumps would have been great.
Xiuying takes it up to a whole other level.
Her eyes go wide and round, and her face pales as she draws back in realization.
Her qi swells within her, then it shudders, dips, swells again, and with a resounding tiger roar, it bursts out of her body to wash across the restaurant in an invisible wave.
Everyone stills.
Some of the non-cultivators are pale and shuddering, a couple are passed out.
As for the cultivators, every last one of them is staring with wide eyes.
What the fuck!?
Meng Yi gapes. "Did… did you just…?"
"She just advanced!" someone says in awe.
Okay, again, I ask; what the actual fuck!?
Chapter twelve;; "thank you… Come again."
While everyone looks awed and amazed, or in my case, confused as all hell, Xiuying looks terrible.
Her skin is pale as a sheet, her forehead sweaty, and her muscles spasm as she struggles to suck in air in short, breathless gasps.
"Is she okay?" I ask Meng Yi, more than a little worried.
That random guy just said she advanced, but isn't that supposed to make you stronger?
She looks like she might keel over.
Before Meng Yi can answer, someone shouts from the entrance; "Commander!"
A man in armour (lighter and clearly of lower quality than Xiuying's) who looks about my age rushes to Xiuying's side.
"Commander, are you…" he begins to ask worriedly before the question peters out as he really observes the woman.
He looks at Meng Yi and I (but mostly me), suspicion writ large on his features.
"How is this possible?" he asks, then: "What did you give her?"
I shrug. "I didn't give her anything. Just… helped her get a taste of enlightenment. It made her advance. I think."
Xiuying is making strides at getting her body back under control, but she still doesn't look in good shape.
Making a decision in the moment, I reach into a pocket sewn on the inside of my robes, summon one of the peasant rank qi pills from my reward space into my hand, and offer it to Xiuying.
I'm filthy rich, my family literally makes qi pills, and until a few days ago, I was a peasant rank cultivator myself; who on Earth is going to find it at all weird that I have peasant rank qi pills to just give away?
Well, who besides Meng Yi, who knows for a fact that I should have no qi pills at all, much less peasant rank ones?
Like the dependable person I've come to know her to be though, Meng Yi shows zero signs of there being anything weird about me having the pill.
In fact, the person who acts weird (or I guess weirdest) about the pill is the person I'm offering it to.
Xiuying looks at me like she can't quite figure out why I would just hand her a pill, and if it'll be safe to take it.
In her defence, I get it. Enlightenment or not, two years of the former Qigang has left its mark. It'll take some time for people to acclimate to the idea that all of my actions aren't motivated by egomania and (often petty) cruelty.
In light of that, I say, "If it makes you feel better, you can pay me back for it."
It's a shot in the dark, but it works, because Xiuying reaches out a shaking hand to take the pill, and puts it in her mouth.
Her colour improves instantly, and her shaking slowly subsides as her breathing calms.
You know, this reminds me of what I went through the first time I tried to cultivate the Path of The Sun Emperor method.
Is that what's happening here? Was Xiuying's cultivation… overwhelmed somehow?
"Commander, are you—" Xiuying's subordinate begins to ask, but Xiuying gently cuts him off.
"I'm fine, Jin," she says, then she takes one last deep breath and rises. "Everyone," she announces to the staring restaurant, "sorry for disturbing your meals. Let me make it up to you by covering your bills. Headwaiter Wuhan, please add any damages and what you feel is proper payment for the trouble."
She bows, low enough that even I can tell that she's showing them great respect (or face, as they say around these parts), then she looks at me with a complicated expression.
She bows to me, lower than she did to everyone else.
"Thank you for your hospitality… Young Master Xian, but I must excuse myself now. I need my rest. Enjoy your meal."
With those words, she turns around, and followed by the utterly confused Jin, she marches out of the restaurant.
Everyone's eyes are on Xiuying as she leaves, and when she does, their gazes turn to me, weighing, assessing… wanting.
Meng Yi tsks. "What an ungrateful woman," she says. "She should be kowtowing before you and swearing to serve you for a hundred years."
"Is it really that big a deal?" I ask, still noticing the eyes that many of the restaurant's patrons look at me with.
Meng Yi gives me a serious look. "You just saved her ten years or more on her cultivation, Young Master Xian. It is very big a deal."
I see. There are lots of questions I want to ask her about what just happened and what it could mean for me. But not only is this not the place for those sorts of questions, I'm also starting to get very uncomfortable with all the staring.
"Can we leave?" I ask Meng Yi.
The observant woman looks around at the eyes on us, our observers not even making a polite attempt to be subtle, then she nods.
"Too bad, I was planning to leave the Vice Commander with a hefty bill, since she so kindly offered to pay," she says regretfully.
She rises, and I follow her lead.
Headwaiter Wuhan, once again, materializes beside us.
"Thank you for the service," Meng Yi says without preamble. "We'll be on our way now."
The Headwaiter bows. "Thank you for your patronage," he says. "Please, come again."
We walk out of the restaurant, eyes on our backs the whole way out.
Chapter thirteen;; the secrets of enlightenment
"What happened to her?" I ask as soon as we're out on the streets once again. "The thing with the chopsticks I did, there's nothing special about it, it's just a simple experiment from back home. Why did it make her advance? And why did advancing make her so weak? Does it always do that?"
"No," Meng Yi says, apparently deciding to start with my last question. "Under normal circumstances advancement is an all-around bonus. My advancement into the mere fourth layer of Ignition phase left me going almost two days before I needed sleep."
"Then why did hers almost knock her out?"
"Because it was a forced advancement," Meng Yi explains. "It happens when a cultivator experiences great shock or stress, or a moment of—"
"Enlightenment," I finish for her as realization sets in.
"Indeed, Young Master. It is vanishingly rare, but it happens. The shock of losing a loved one, the stress of a difficult battle, moments of great emotion, sometimes, they push us up to the next layer. Many cultivators have thrown their lives away taking on opponents they couldn't match in the hopes of pushing through a bottleneck in their cultivation."
I digest that for a moment. "And this forced advancement, it takes a lot out of the cultivator?"
Meng Yi nods. "Cultivation needs time. The Vice Commander only just stepped into the second layer of Sprouting a year ago, and it took her six years to make that climb."
"So, even assuming that the time needed for each layer stays the same—"
"Which it doesn't," Meng Yi interjects.
"Figured," I say, then continue; "then that means that I basically condensed at least five years of cultivation into the length of one conversation."
"And what a conversation it was," Meng Yi says, looking like she has chills simply from thinking about it.
"It's nothing impressive," I say. "Honestly, I'm surprised Xiuying reacted that strongly to it."
Meng Yi gives me a long, piercing look.
"You really do not see how amazing that was, do you?" she asks in a tone that tells me it's rhetorical. "You took her mind and moulded it, warped it to your desires with nothing but a few words and some chopsticks. That is power many will kill to have."
I stare at her, only now realizing how much of an effect my little display had on her.
"It really was nothing special." I shrug awkwardly. "Anyone can do it, all it takes is the know-how. Besides, what I did? That was brute forcing a process that requires finesse above all things. The right look, the right words, the right actions, the right environment; long enough and you can truly have a person's mind in the palm of your hand."
Meng Yi stops walking, watching me.
"What?" I ask self-consciously after a moment.
"The longer I know you the higher my evaluation of you becomes, Young Master," Meng Yi says.
I frown. "I can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing," I say.
"Me neither," she admits after a moment, then she smiles at me. "But I like it."
Meng Yi continues walking then, and after a moment staring at her back, I follow, a small smile on my own face.
—❈—
After what happened the last time we entered a restaurant, I decide I'm not doing it again.
Since we still need to eat though, we go for street food instead, and Meng Yi takes the opportunity to show me around the town.
Honestly, this is what we should have done from the beginning.
After being cooped up indoors over the last few days, having the opportunity to walk around again, with the sun on my skin and the wind on my face, is more than welcome.
Throw in the bonus of getting to experience a new town, with its unfamiliar culture and cuisine and I'm certainly enjoying myself.
I don't know how long we walk around town, but by the time we're interrupted, the sun has moved directly above us and past to the other side, lengthening our shadows in the opposite direction.
The person who interrupts us is an official looking man wearing an official looking hat.
Not official in the manner of Police or Military, but in that way that implies service to someone of great political, or administrative importance.
If this man isn't the aide, or manager, or butler, or whatever you want to call it, of someone important, I'll eat my shoes.
The man bows low. "Manager Meng Yi. Young Master Xian Qigang. This Aide Dai Guanting greets you."
Called it.
Meng Yi bows back, and I have to resist the instinctive urge to ape her actions.
Even I know better than to bow to an aide, regardless of how much I may think this whole 'who to bow to and how low to bow' thing is kinda silly.
"Aide Dai Guanting, this Manager Meng Yi greets you too," Meng Yi says. "Although, I take it this meeting is not happenstance?"
"It is not," Aide Dai says. "Magistrate Qin Zedong requests the presence of the Young Master Xian."
Meng Yi nods in acknowledgement, then she turns and bows to me.
"Young Master, The Magistrate requests your presence. Shall we attend?" she asks.
I blink at the both of them.
So even though I'm literally standing right here, Aide Dai has to address Meng Yi, and Meng Yi has to pretend I didn't hear everything Aide Dai just said?
You know, where I'm from it's considered rude to ignore a person's presence.
Besides, what exactly is the idea; that Aide Dai lacks the social standing to address me directly? That I'm too important to communicate with a lowly servant? But then what about Meng Yi? I address her all the time. Is that not okay?
I feel like she would have mentioned it if it wasn't?
Also, if I can't address Meng Yi, or 'lowly' servants, then how the hell am I supposed to get anything done?
Pulling myself out of that rabbit hole, I say in answer to Meng Yi's question, "Yes. Let's attend."
Meng Yi turns to Aide Dai. "Please, inform The Magistrate that we will be there in three hours."
Aide Dai bows again, which Meng Yi returns, then he walks away, disappearing in a bend down the street.
"Why three hours?" I ask Meng Yi.
She looks like she wants to sigh. "Because if you're meeting The Magistrate then there are some things you must know. Come."
And with that, she drags me to a restaurant that offers private dining rooms, and we sit in one and talk for the next hour.
—❈—
It is said that actions have consequences, unintended or otherwise, and that whether we want to or not, we have to deal with these consequences one way or the other.
I've never had a problem with that saying until today.
When Aide Dai had said that The Magistrate wanted to see me, I hadn't been surprised. Of course he wants to see me, I'm the scion of an important family about whom there are… interesting rumours going around.
It is exactly because of important people like The Magistrate who might take an interest in me for any number of reasons, that I was readily onboard with Meng Yi's 'enlightenment' plan.
After all, if everyone expects me to be different from as I was, then I can just go ahead and be all the way different, instead of trying to pretend to be someone who leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
After Meng Yi gives me a little background on Magistrate Qin Zedong though, I realize that this may not be quite what I thought.
See, of the hundreds, if not thousands, of cultivators in Silver Springs, Magistrate Qin is the only one who stands above Foundation Realm.
While a Qi Realm cultivator however, as well as indisputably the most powerful person in town, he is also a beast rank cultivator at the end of his life, and in the seventy years he's been Magistrate of Silver Springs, he hasn't advanced even once.
Describing the old Magistrate as bottlenecked would be underselling just how stalled his cultivation is, and at his age, he's literally out of time to do anything about it.
Apparently, despite the amazing power of cultivation (as well as the snobby way cultivators call non-cultivators 'mortals'), we still age.
We grow old. We die.
Yes, life expectancy increases as the realm of one's cultivation does, but none of us are immortal.
Foundation Realms for example live around 100 to 150 years. Qi Realms about 300 to 500. And Domain Realms, 800 to 1,200.
Naturally, several factors that affect this, least of which is the speed of one's cultivation.
For example, did a cultivator breakthrough into Qi Realm as a thirty-one-year-old Foundation Realm, or did they did so as a ninety-five-year-old? Are they a beast rank cultivator, or a noble rank one?
Things like these matter, as they significantly affect what end of the scale a cultivator ends up on, and seeing as it's a scale that, in the Qi Realm alone, spans two hundred years, it's not exactly a mystery why most would want to be on the upper end of it.
Magistrate Qin Zedong is a beast rank cultivator who, as far as anyone can tell, broke through to Qi Realm very late in life.
At well into his third century of life, he has been stuck at the second layer of the first phase of Qi Realm (namely, Mist phase) for over seventy years.
Simply put, this is a man who might be desperate for any opportunity.
Enter me, the dumbass who supposedly ate a magical, enlightenment granting fruit, who then proceeded to, very publicly may I add, cause a cultivator he just met to undergo forced advancement with a single conversation.
If I don't look like an opportunity to a man like Magistrate Qin Zedong, then I don't know what does.
We arrive at The Magistrate's home sometime in late afternoon.
It is a stately affair, bigger even than my own home, and just like mine, perched atop its own private plateau.
'Is this like a thing rich people do around here?' I wonder. Back on Earth, they brag about owning private islands, while over here they brag about owning private mountains?
Rich people are such shallow asses.
We're welcomed in by servants who clearly expect us, and in no time at all, I'm shown into a private room, leaving Meng Yi outside.
The room is plush and comfy. Small, cozy, and decorated in soft reds and bright gold.
There are two small sofas facing each other, and on one is a man who can only be The Magistrate.
Magistrate Qin Zedong is an old man.
Not even a gracefully old man, of the sort that exudes vitality and strength despite his age; no, he's just… regular old. Stooped, wrinkled, grey, and with an air of frailty about him.
Honestly, if not for the well of qi I feel within him, a thousand times more powerful than even Xiuying's, I would think he was two breaths away from kicking the bucket.
I bow to the man, 'low enough to denote respect, but high enough to not be subservient,' as Meng Yi had instructed me before we came.
The Magistrate looks at me with some surprise.
"You really have changed," he says, and unlike the looks of him, his voice sounds strong and lively.
I pause. "You're the second person who's said that to me today within seconds of our meeting. Is it that obvious?"
Magistrate Qin nods. "It is. The man you were would have preferred to be spit roasted over a volcano than bow to me. If he accepted a summons from me at all."
My eyebrows climb. "Seriously?" I can't help but ask.
"Indeed. Please sit," he says, gesturing to the seat opposite him.
I oblige, sinking into the comfortable chair.
"Tea?" he asks, gesturing at the tea set already prepared on the small table between us.
'Always say yes, even if only to be polite,' Meng Yi's words come to me. 'And take a small sip at the very least, doing otherwise implies you distrust your host.'
"Yes, thank you," I say, and Magistrate Qin pours me a cup of tea.
Tea that exudes peasant rank qi.
Add to that the fact that he pours me a cup, well… this guy's trying to butter me up.
Magistrate Qin pours himself a cup too, and he lifts it up and takes a long sip.
'Of course, your host should always drink first. Never drink unless they've drank.'
So, drink unless you distrust your host, but only trust your host after they've drank.
What kind of ridiculous…
Setting aside the thought with a mental sigh, I take a sip of the delicious, spicy tea… after rolling for it, of course.
Rolling…
4 (Beast Rank)
Reward: Nil
A four?
That feels personal.
"This is delicious," I say. "What is it?"
"Dragon ginseng tea."
Ah. I knew I sort of recognized that taste.
I had ginseng tea once in my old life. It was the cheap, processed stuff (which probably only had like two percent actual ginseng in it), but I still recognize the hint of that taste in this tea.
Although, maybe it's more the opposite and the cheap stuff I'd bought back on Earth had a hint of the richness that fills my soul now.
Still does nothing for my cultivation though.
The cons of being a high ranked cultivator, I guess.
"It's good. Must have been pricey though," I say, deciding to get on with things. "And I definitely didn't miss the fact that you poured my tea."
My eyes meet The Magistrate's, his faded and cloudy with age, but still with the spark of an able mind.
Magistrate Qin laughs. "I see not everything about you has changed," he says, then sobers. "How much have you forgotten?" he asks.
The question takes me by surprise for a moment, then I sigh.
"A lot," I say. "I spent much of the last few days going through my own journal and having Meng Yi explain many things to me."
Magistrate Qin hums thoughtfully. "It must be quite the experience for you then, seeing the effect your presence has on certain people."
My lips curl downward. "Yes, that hasn't been fun," I say, then angry and not caring how the words might sound to The Magistrate, add: "May Xian Qigang die a thousand deaths."
Magistrate Qin says nothing for a minute.
"You are glad to be rid of him then?" he asks finally.
"Am I?" I ask back. "Rid of him."
"No, I suppose not."
We fall silent again, and I sip my tea placidly, waiting for the old man (who can, no doubt, break me like a twig regardless of his age) to speak first.
When he does, the words are not the ones I expect.
"When I was a young man," he says, "my best friend ate a Celestial Plum."
I stare at him, the realization of just how fucked I might be growing steadily within me.
If Magistrate Qin has firsthand experience with someone who ate a plum then I might be very screwed.
"Really?" I ask, hoping the way my voice cracks from a mini panic attack is all in my head.
Magistrate Qin nods, looking lost in memory. "It was beast rank," he says. "She stole it. And then she took her own life when enlightenment revealed to her that there was nowhere in the world she could go to escape the man she stole it from."
That distracts me from my panic temporarily. "She killed herself!?"
Magistrate Qin nods again, his grief still clear even after all these years. "She was always ambitious, but we were never lucky, just two nobodies with mediocre talent. For people like us the only real option is to serve.
"But Ming she… she wanted more. And when Heaven wouldn't give her its favour, she decided she would make her own."
"So she stole a Celestial Plum," I say.
Magistrate Qin smiles a sad, tired smile. "It was the stupidest thing to do, and yet I helped her do it. And when she wanted to share the plum, I told her to eat it alone, fearful that splitting it would ruin its effect."
He sighs. "Enlightenment revealed the truth of the hole we'd dug ourselves into, so she knocked me unconscious and left to fix it. She faced the man we stole the plum from, convinced him she acted alone, and fought to the bitter end. When I woke, all I had—" he reaches into his robe and pulls out an old piece of folded parchment "—was the letter she left me."
Magistrate Qin laughs a strange laugh that pulls on my heart like a threaded needle.
"Words written under enlightenment, and half of it are apologies and reminisces," he says.
I swallow. "Why are you telling me this?" I ask.
I mean, sure his friend ate a Celestial Plum as I (supposedly) did, but telling me all of this, there has to be a better reason than 'oh, you did this thing my friend did too.'
"I imagine when I called you here you assumed I did it in the hope that you could help me advance. Maybe in the same way you helped the Vice Commander," Magistrate Qin says. "But I've lived long enough to know that I have no wish to extend my life.
"So the favour I have to ask of you, Young Master Xian Qigang, is this." He holds the letter out to me. "In this letter are words I do not understand. They are neither the language of man, nor are they the language of qi. It is my hope that, since you have experienced what she did when she wrote this, you might be able to read them for me."
Fuck.
"Magistrate Qin," I begin, "I—"
"Please," he says, eyes filled with more emotion than I thought was possible. "Try. Please."
Slowly, I take the letter, and even slower, I open it.
Okay, I'll just look the thing over and give it back to—I freeze.
The words Magistrate Qin can't read are easy to find. They're right there, at the bottom of the letter, and the sight of them draws a singular reaction from me.
What the hell!?
I look at Magistrate Qin; my reaction hasn't gone unnoticed by him.
"You understand it," he says, leaning off his seat in eagerness.
"You say your friend wrote this while under enlightenment?" I can't help but confirm.
"Yes. What does it say?"
"It's a song," I say, and that catches The Magistrate off guard.
"A song?"
My skin is covered in goosebumps, my hands are shaking, and I'm more surprised than I was even when I found myself spontaneously isekai'd.
But because I have no idea what else to do, I sing the song, not even needing to read the lyrics on the paper in my hand.
~Fly me to the moon~
~Let me play among the stars~Last edited: Today at 11:11 AM Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:Uzah, ucledave, Pc Bass and 656 others