The Chimera Daoist awaits…
Xin passed through the top floor of the Administrative Pavilion completely unobstructed, each door opening by itself, not a single person to greet him. He went past Lady Meiling's familiar cabinet towards a smaller door, placed on the end of the hallway. Its copper handle looked worn out from decades of use, and there were several cracks on its shoddy frame.
This time, it didn't open by itself.
Such inconspicuousness goes full circle into pretentiousness… Unnerved, Xin pulled the handle. The door opened with a boring creak.
Inside, Xin saw a circular room akin to Lady Meiling's, albeit completely empty. The late autumn wind blew into his face from an open window, yet he was used to the cold and just shrugged.
Another test? Xin's first instinct was to shout out "hello?", yet it would be rather lame.
Celestial Vigil! He looked around, analysing the flow of qi in the room.
So potent… This seemingly mundane room is so auspicious, all the basic elements are present yet are so subtle it's hard to discern any, and the heavenly qi is so dense it makes one's head spin!
What is this place? After a few moments of astonishment, Xin recomposed and scanned the room once more.
The qi is flowing down. This tower is one of the sect's highest places, and the elements are balanced — as befits the Five Elements Chimera!
Conclusion? This place is a part of a rank four master's cultivation formation! And it could only mean one thing — this room isn't the end of it. Where? The answer is obvious.
Downwards.
Xin approached the floor tiles in the centre of the room, then examined them. Some tiles absorbed qi where there would usually be cement connecting them, and formed a rectangle.
Meaning…
"Venerable Sect Leader, may I come down, please?" Xin bowed lowly, trying to repress the annoyance. He was getting tired of the power plays.
The floor tiles lifted themselves into the air, exposing a hollow hole in the floor underneath, then formed into a ladder leading down. There was another layer of tiles at the bottom, making the whole structure look like an elevator.
Huh? Confused, Xin followed the ladder and stepped inside.
***
"Please have a seat." A stunningly attractive young woman pointed to an exquisite spirit wood chair amid the mist-laden air.
"Fuck!" Xin jumped back. Where am I?
Resonance Palms! He looked at the person in front of him.
Big, warm bright brown eyes, shoulder-length hair, a sharp jaw and a delicate, childish smile. Thick eyebrows, pointed inwards like two curved blades. A rare woman could channel both a classic, stoic beauty and a more cute, innocent demeanour at once.
"I see." Xin sighed and sat down. "Venerable Sect Leader, how did I get here?"
"Oh, that?" The young woman smiled innocently. Xin wondered if she was impressed by how quickly he recomposed. "You walked through a series of underground passages. Their exact outline was obscured from you for your own safety, my dear disciple."
Meaning you invaded my mind without my consent. And I'm not your disciple, either. Whatever, no point indulging another power trip.
"I see. Thank you for taking care of me, Sect Leader. May I humbly inquire about the purpose of your call?"
Xin easily recognised the person in front of him — it was none other than the female Sword Twin of the Divine Sword sect! Captured so anticlimactically in the battle on the Southern Front, it seems that she was nothing more than one of the Sect Leader's bodies now…
"Oh, that? An administrative matter, nothing too big." She poured herself a cup of tea, yet didn't offer Xin one. "Regarding your recent travels."
Xin's heart sank. Fuck, navigating Captain Yongyi was hell, how will I manage this guy?!
"I assume it's about the hag and the demonic faction's activity? Captain Yongyi told me he'd inform the sect."
"Absolutely correct." The woman nodded calmly. "Of course, I trust a loyal Master and a decorated war hero would submit all the intel they've obscured from the Border Guard to the Administrative Pavilion… But let's not linger on this. I've got no time and desire to interrogate you. I'd rather have a chat." She stabbed Xin's pupils with her sharp gaze.
Fuck, she… he's creepy.
"Oh, gladly!" Xin smiled. "Could exchange cultivation insights while we're at it, hehe."
I'm dead. I'm fucking dead.
"Hahaha." The woman's ringing voice echoed through a deep corridor behind his back, yet Xin didn't dare turn his head to look at it. "And what can this young master contribute?"
"I've… Developed a dual element reload technique to put myself at rank one strength when I was still a mortal… And I am pretty sure you've detected my white tiger totem by now. I could share the insights of its refinement, too.
While none of these are even remotely close to your cultivation level, I believe they're unique enough to at least pique Master's curiosity…" With every word uttered, he expected to be interrupted, yet the person in front just nodded politely. He felt the urge to keep speaking, but quickly restrained it. That would expose weakness.
"Oh, I see. Sweet. Grab… eh… fifteen contribution points once you return, young master. Is this a good reward nowadays?"
"I… haven't contributed anything just yet, my Sect Leader."
"Ah, that. Yes. Just write some paper for them and grab the money." She waved dismissively.
What is this charade?
"Sect Leader is generous, I am eternally… well, seriously grateful." And what the fuck does he want?
"So, two rank two masters killed at your age. I could accept the mantis yaoguai as just a lucky finish, being in the right place at the right time, all while displaying some leadership ability. Commendable, but within the margin of error. That demoness business, though? Looks like we've got a prodigy on our hands."
Not again. That word stang. So warm, so intoxicating, and so dangerous. It moves you to cloud nine yet leaves you ashamed and remorseful for decades to come. Fuck it.
"I hate this word… To be frank, I was just going along with the flow, trying to not force things too much. Saw an opening, exploited it. Felt like a weeks long martial arts contest, but between our minds. At the end of the day, it was just a decrepit old woman with a rank two core in her belly, what's there to be proud of?"
Master, aren't you getting carried away?
I probably am.
"I see." The woman in front had a devious spark in her eyes. "Would I be right to claim that you studied both of your adversaries, grew to intimately understand them, yet ruthlessly cut them down when the time came?"
"One could say so." Xin felt a pleasant tingling in his forehead. The Sect Leader knew how to ask the right questions to make him open up. This made him even more dangerous.
"Master Xiaodan claims you've started using the mantis martial style more after that expedition. Was this a coincidence?"
"Is Master implying I'm borrowing from the people I fought?" Xin arched his brow.
"Are you in the position to answer questions with questions, young disciple?" The woman denied his Master title at the first sign of disobedience.
"Forgive me, Sect Leader. T'was never my intention to argue, just wanted to clarify." Xin nodded deeply. "Yes, I borrowed from most enemies I've fought since a young age. Now that I am back, I am planning to refine the hag's style into components, too."
Please, don't ask about her plant monsters…
"Young age, you fought in the tournaments?"
Where did this question come from? Shouldn't we be talking business?
"Yes, Sect Leader." Xin nodded again. "Won several youth tournaments in Tealstone, but I know it's not very impressive. Got second place in Clay Nest qualifiers when I was twelve, but never went to the main tournament."
Here it comes.
"Why?"
Xin breathed in and prepared to answer for a hundredth time.
"I felt blue. My family was shattered by my mother leaving, and I knew I wouldn't win. Wanted to stay in Tealstone and win every time instead of getting sixth's in Clay Nest. Being the best was all I had, it would ruin me to lose."
"Rather honest. If put into the shoes of that boy again, would you attend that tournament?"
"No." Xin shook his head. "I have no regrets about that time. Whatever happened happened."
"So, you aren't too interested in tournaments now?" Followed another flanking attack.
"Kind of. Yes and no. Glory and recognition mean nothing to me. But I intend to win the next one in Clay Nest. For the prizes and the opportunities to test myself. Mostly the prizes."
"So, you're the kind of person who uses honesty as a shield. Rare in such decadent times. Curious, have I met a True Person?"
(Author's note: True Person, 真人, is a specific Taoist term)
She's mocking me.
"You flatter me, Sect Leader. I don't even know what a person is."
"You admit your ignorance in this matter — means you're already ahead of the curve. Person, man, woman — aren't all these just spooks?" She shrugged and spread her hands.
I need to stay cautious, he's flattering me and building up an illusion of a profound discussion — but it leads somewhere.
"Spooks? Is the Master saying men and women don't exist?" Xin looked puzzled. Given whose lips these words escaped, there should be more to such a bold claim.
"Those are loaded words, indeed. Our bodies are just bags of flesh, captivating in their beauty and function. Yet they aren't us, don't you agree?"
Xin struggled to respond. When he cultivated his tiger totem, at times he felt like his body. And sometimes even less than that.
"I… agree, I guess. What's us, then?"
"Riddle me this, then. Are you Master Xin, a young alchemist, a martial artist or a boy from Tealstone? Or are you an aspiring totemic cultivator? A friend, perhaps? A man? Lover?"
Xin paused before answering.
"All of these and none of these. Once could say that my 'Self' is something that observes and experiences all the above, as the priests of the Way preach at times, yet this answer doesn't fully resonate, either."
"What are you, then?"
Nothing. That's what he's implying. Nothing. There is no self.
I felt it in Tealstone, after the battle. In Liao's homestead, and after most fights.
A void.
But… I can't accept this answer.
"I don't know. But I'm not nothing, either. That's pretty evident. I can't define my Self, yet I can't deny it, either. I'm clearly not me from the past, yet there's a continuity. Inherited ideas and experience."
"Say you were to become a Mistborn, Master Xin. Same body, same temperament, yet naught but one or two memories remaining — are you still you?"
"I don't think that's a yes or no question. Partially, yes. Just as if I had a severe head injury or became demented, I'd be me, yet less of me. I'd also have to preserve my ability to think of my current Me as the continuation of the one from the past."
"So it's a subjective feeling?"
"Of course. And if you made a perfect copy of mine… Or moved me to a new body… My current word for 'me' would no longer suffice." Xin rubbed his chin. Where does this lead?
"Exactly, so where does the core of this issue lie?" Chimera Daoist smiled warmly.
"I… I feel like I am almost there, but I'm not sure."
"Let me give you a hint — you're uniquely equipped to answer this question."
"Language?" Xin blurted out.
"Precisely." The woman took out an empty cup and handed it to Xin. "Want some tea?"
"Sure… this disciple is grateful for your hospitality, I mean."
Wait, why would I be uniquely equipped to answer?
My totemic cultivation? My vow of silence?
How much does he know?!