Chapter Twenty-Five - Feng Shui

  Nie Ruyi

  The fresh air was good, scented by the faint smell of sweat that accompanies any gym, overpowered by the scent of pine and incense. Nie Ruyi had never had the opportunity to smell such a thing before and it was pretty novel, which just reminded her how much things had changed. Everything was different here, and she was still quite unsure what her place was in this new world.

  The padding tippy-tap of claws on the stone walkways reminded her she wasn’t alone. Izzy and Goober had come with her, in turns pressing against her side and loping off to go look at and drip on something or other. She was surprised to note that she could tell the difference between the two. For example, the one against her hip right now was Izzy, who felt in her chest like the soft petals of a flower wrapped around a heavy bowling ball. Goober was the one ahead, head lowered to… was he sniffing? She wasn’t quite sure since the Sedimentary Hounds don’t particularly have noses so much as jaws full of uncomfortably shifting teeth. Anyway, he was nosing at some of the greenery, some evergreen bush that seemed exquisitely trimmed in such a way as to pretend to be wild.

  Nie Ruyi’s hand fell to Izzy’s side, and once again, she was surprised to find how soft and malleable the porcupine-like quills were when patted. She carefully made herself not think about how sharp and painful those spikes could be. The time she’d spent in the medical pavilion under the care of He Qina was an unfortunate and fresh memory. He Qina was of course, a consummate professional of the medical field, and honestly worked miracles as far as Nie Ruyi was concerned. But the pain was… well. It was more than she was used to for any medical procedure.

  She couldn’t help but feel a little like He Qina had been doing it on purpose. The woman seemed to despise it when people came in injured. Nie Ruyi didn’t know her well, but she felt that maybe it was the same sort of ire that a mother might have if her children kept coming in with scrapes and bruises. After a while, it becomes clear the children are just getting hurt out of carelessness, and then you start getting upset about it. Nie Ruyi’s hand passed over one of Izzy’s globulous eyeballs, and she shuddered, reminding herself to try and avoid injuring herself as much as possible.

  She pushed herself forward, silk slippers along the cool stone, as she considered where to go and what to do next. The sound of a burbling water feature trickled through the courtyards as she walked the labyrinthine pathways. The pathways wove up and down and in between hills and mountains that reminded her of pictures she’d seen in her world, pictures of mountainous temples and sand gardens filled with austere and beautiful foliage. She could see children every so often, clipping trees and pushing stones around in esoteric ways.

  Nie Ruyi hadn’t been any kind of expert in Cultivation epics. She honestly had stuck mostly to CDramas focusing on the Imperial Harem and politics. But she’d gotten into the occasional cultivation epic, after all, since they tended to have intrinsic ties to the local politics. She dredged up as much knowledge as she had, considering what she was seeing.

  In the cultivation epics she’d heard of, there were things like outer disciples and inner disciples. From what she understood, outer disciples were the ones who did all the chores, and acted basically as servants, in order to have a chance at learning the martial arts and knowledge of the Sect. Inner disciples were like doctoral students, who dedicated themselves entirely to their studies, and were expected to produce results that would enrich the Sect.

  She considered then what Sects actually were. One book she’d read had translated it as Cult, and that worried her a little. But honestly, from what she saw here, it seemed more like an organization, like some kind of school mixed with a business and perhaps a little like a commune. Everyone seemed to have a place and a job, and she felt a little… out of sorts.

  Was it because she’d gone from being a cog in the capitalist hellscape to now basically being a rich young mistress with time on her hands?

  She returned to her original thought, considering, as she went, how the sect must run. Those doing menial labor like the children she’d just passed, all seemed to be wearing oranges or browns. As she considered it, so did her maid, Sun Xirong. Hm… Perhaps it was a uniform of sorts?

  As she passed one group of young children, who seemed to her between the ages of 8 and 13, she watched them use a lever to shift a rather large boulder into another position in the landscape, lead by an older gentleman. She paused, and watched for a moment, before approaching the older man.

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  He side-eyed her, but kept his focus on the straining children. That didn’t stop him, however, from lifting his arms and clasping his hands. Bowing at the waist, he greeted, “Disciple Do greets Shijie.”

  “Excuse me? What is it you are doing?” She asked, curiosity rising. “And how did you know to call me Shijie?”

  The man’s confusion turned on her, before being wiped away clearly. “Disciple Do is guiding these Outer Disciples to correct the feng shui of this area. Without proper feng shui, Qi cannot flow properly throughout the sect. It is an ongoing project. To answer Shijie, as Shijie is not wearing an outer disciple robe, this one assumed Shijie was his senior in the Sect.”

  “Oh.” She frowned, sifting through her memories of how things like this worked. “Then you are an outer disciple, Disciple Do?”

  The man’s face clouded but for a moment, and then cleared again. “Shijie is correct. This one is a Senior Outer Disciple, having been with the sect for three decades now.”

  That startled her. She hadn’t thought this man was older than perhaps twenty. “Three decades? How old is Senior Disciple Do?”

  “This disciple is turning forty three in the summer, Shijie.” He explained, lifting his chin. His age was obviously a source of pride.

  “You look so young for your age…” She murmured, anxiously pressing a hand to her cheek.

  “Of course Shijie knows anyone who reaches Foundation Establishment stage begin to see slowing in aging. This outer disciple reached the stage in his twenties.” Was there a tinge of annoyance in his voice? She bit her lip as she considered both this new information and the chance she might be able to get more information out of him.

  “Ah, this Shijie has only recently began cultivating. Please do not upset yourself over her silly questions.” Nie Ruyi pushed herself to show the same sort of linguistic humility that he was, and gave him a gracious bow of her head, just like she’d seen the concubines do on the CDramas she used to watch.

  It seemed to have an effect, if the straightening of his back was any indication. “Shijie is quite old to begin only now…” He probed, now looking at her the way a child might a bug under a glass.

  “Shijie came from a place where cultivation wasn’t allowed.” She lied, before smiling, “Can you explain to me a little of what you know? Perhaps this Shijie could learn from Disciple Do for a few moments?”

  “May this one ask Shijie’s name?” Disciple Do prompted.

  “Nie Ruyi.” She answered easily. His eyes widened, and he nodded, so it was easy to deduce that he’d heard of her. A small gasp and a few whispered words behind them indicated so had the children.

  “Nie-Shijie,” Disciple Do said, “This one is honored to meet someone recruited directly by Lao-Zhangmen. Have you been confirmed as her Personal Disciple?”

  She blinked, “I… do not believe so? She said that this one would have the same rank as a Senior Inner Disciple. But this one has not been declared the Personal Disciple of anyone.”

  Suddenly she felt almost the same as she had when she rode the bus and some rough-looking men were watching her. She swallowed, and held her ground, refusing to back away just because she felt threatened.

  “This Do sees.” He gave her a smile, and nodded, “This one would be happy to speak with you. Get back to work!” He snapped at the little ones who had paused and were instead milling around the big stone. They jolted and went back to pushing at the boulder, moving it little inches at a time.

  Her eyes following the children, she continued speaking, “You mentioned that aging slows once one reaches Foundation Cultivation stage. When does one truly stop aging at all?”

  “Why, Nascent Soul Stage. That is when one truly becomes immortal. Before that, the Core isn’t fully formed, and therefore cannot sustain a person’s lifeforce indefinitely. Core Formation is the stage that stymies most cultivators, leaving them functionally immortal but still susceptible to dying of old age.” He answered, “If Shijie is curious about the progression of stages, she might try reading Basic Physical Comprehension for Beginning Cultivators. It will go into greater depth on this.”

  Nie Ruyi felt a little strangled at the thought that she could have learned all of this just by reading that book that still sat on her table. She gave what she hoped was a charming smile, and nodded, “This Shijie will keep that in mind.”

  “Shijie will also do well to find a Shifu to take her under their wing. Personal instruction can be very valuable.” There it was again, that feeling like she was being catcalled without actually being propositioned.

  “And who has the honor of being Disciple Do’s Shifu?” She asked, because it seemed like the sort of thing that would come up eventually.

  “This Disciple doesn’t have the honor of a personal Shifu. But if he could chose, he would chose Elder Feng. She’s the Closed-Bud Elder, and she has complete mastery over physical cultivation. The Elder has the ability to perfect her own physique to such an extent that she can crack mountains with a single finger flick. You may have met her Personal Disciple, Lin Baiwei-Shijie.”

  A familiar name! Nie Ruyi nodded, “This Shijie has. Lin-Shijie is amazing.”

  “Indeed.” Disciple Do nodded, proud and puffed up as if she was his own disciple. “But Elder Shang wouldn’t be a bad Shifu to have either. He is the Bull-Shearing Elder, who once shaved the hide off of an Abyssal Black Bull before killing it in a single blow. He’s a master of unconventional weaponry, and this Disciple had the honor of witnessing him once use a set of chopsticks to route a small army of bandits!”

  Nie Ruyi blinked, nodding. She mentally pictured something like Jackie Chan in one of his movies, and thought that perhaps that was something that was normal here? She didn’t want to ruin Disciple Do’s enthusiasm however, and so she let him continue.

  “Or perhaps-” Oh dear, perhaps Nie Ruyi had opened Pandora's box here.

  Mini Character List -

  Nie Ruyi - Our protagonist. 34 year old american woman - Maybe learning more about the world will help with her goals?

  Lao Xiaojun - Lao Minghui's little brother and Sect Heir. Mr. Does-Not-Appear-In-This-Chapter

  Cai Bingtian - Disciple of Severing Firefly Sect. Still Mr. Does-Not-Appear-In-This-Chapter

  Song Fengling - Nie Ruyi's little assistant. also not appearing in this chapter

  Missy - Worried, although it does not know how to express that.

  The Green Egg - Not forgotten. Currently lives wrapped in blankets on Nie Ruyi's bedside table.

  Goober & Izzy - Sedimentary Sludge Hounds who now live in Nie Ruyi's canopy of her bed. Following Nie Ruyi on her walk. They're just happy to be here.

  Sun Xirong - Nie Ruyi's maid, a fifteen year old mortal girl. Hobbies or walk? Walk or hobbies? Ugh. Well, it doesn't matter. What kind of trouble can her mistress get into within the sect grounds anyway?

  Disciple Do - A very strict outer disciple. Another name for him is Mr. Exposition.