It was true he was not an authentic shopkeeper, making him unsure on how to reassure her that he harbored no evil intentions. From that uncertainty came fear and exhaustion, and he felt the urge to drive her out, stop this exhausting conversation and return to his meditation. Instead, he calmly took another sip of tea, and explained himself politely.
“Sometimes the simplest answers are the correct ones. I tend to my shop, and have therefore earned the title of shopkeeper. I am not lacking in material wealth, and will therefore request spiritual wealth. I pursue the ultimate Truth, and wish for my thoughts to remain unburdened. Why should I exhaust myself earning what providence will freely provide?"
Everything sounded self-explanatory to Avery, a sentiment which was obviously not shared by his guest.
“What is this supreme Truth you speak of?”
What kind of question was that? So baffled by the idea of having to clarify this, Avery even forgot to feel nervous about being questioned.
“The Tao, naturally. What else is worthy of being called supreme? Surely you must understand that, or your path would not have crossed mine.”
“Ah, so you are a man of Tao. I suppose that explains some things, though just to make sure, would you mind reciting some of Da Yijun's literary works? We live in troubled times, and there has been more than one case of devil cultivators passing themselves off as scholars and Taoists.”
Da Yijun? Who was that? Avery noted the name down, assuming he was exactly the type of scholar he had come to this capital to meet. Then, lamenting once more over the lack of public libraries in this grand empire, he continued on with this strenuous conversation, acting like he was perfectly at ease.
“I am afraid I cannot fulfill your demand. You see, I am self-enlightened, and must confess having little to no knowledge of the legacy of mankind on these topics.”
On the surface, she had stayed very calm, seemingly accepting his refusal. No frown, change in posture or anything of the sort, but the air around her suddenly carried a subtle hostility.
It wasn’t quite like the auras of atavist cultivators in his inner realm, which was a projection of their identity, their power resonating with the world and forming some kind of low level domain. This was more of a mental attack, or perhaps a powerful intent leaking out into reality. Was she like him, cultivating through intent instead of Qi? Was this why she had been called here? In any case, that aura-like ability was mighty interesting…
“Sir? Sir, I am going to have to ask you to answer my question.”
Avery looked up to see the soldier reaching over the table to grab his shoulder, forcing him to hide an embarrassed smile as he realized he had wandered into his thoughts again.
“My apologies, I often get distracted. Though I must ask, what exactly is my knowledge or ignorance supposed to prove? Surely, if devil cultivators are such a threat, and have the habit of passing themselves off as Taoists, then they would have no problems learning a few manuscripts to help with their disguise.”
This really puzzled Avery. It was like trying to uncover foreign spies by asking them to speak English. One would expect any competent spy to learn the language and customs of whatever country he was infiltrating.
“It doesn’t matter what they try to learn. They follow the devil's way, and can therefore never sincerely praise the Tao. It is a poison to them, which is deadly even to cultivators.”
“Nonsense. The Tao is all encompassing, and no matter which path you take, it will eventually lead back to it. I have never met any devil cultivators, and our views might very well be morally opposed, but that doesn't mean they aren’t fellow Taoists.”
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Besides, if there was such an obvious flaw in their disguise, why would they ever try to disguise themselves as Taoists?
“Ignorance. The devil's way is evil, and it pursues nothing but destruction. The Tao is not all encompassing, it is simply the Origin. From it, countless divergent ways were born, and of those, the way of the devil is one of the most evil.”
Avery was lost for a moment, unable to wrap his head around the idea that anyone could oppose the Tao and seek its destruction. He could understand a mortal’s ignorance, failing to see the magnificent of the Truth, but how could anybody knowingly reject it? It was simply unthinkable!
“Your words don’t make sense. How can a path to transcendence be evil? You might fear the destruction it brings, but looking from afar, you will see that nothing was destroyed, it was only reorganized, and it is still the Tao. Perhaps you do not agree with this new order, but who are you to judge if it is evil? Do not lose your faith in the Tao because of surface level inconsistencies, for a Natural Order without inner conflicts would be inert, bringing about endless entropy.”
While saying that, Avery was becoming more and more curious about this devil way. Since devil Qi was forbidden by the heavens, and for it to claim to oppose the Tao, it was clear that it held many secrets. Maybe, some of those would help him in his sanctification?
“Stop acting as if the Tao was everything. It is only the beginning, the stage upon which we play. It deserves respect and gratitude, but nothing more. It cannot affect the characters on stage, while we can affect it, and if powerful enough, destroy it.”
That was categorically false. As an immortal, Avery was certain the Tao was eternal, and could never be destroyed. It might be changed, sealed or banished, but in some form or another, the Tao would exist for all eternity.
“Am I to understand you have turned your back on the Tao? Which of the thousands of so-called divergent ways do you follow?”
The soldier's aura had already lost most of its intensity, but it now came back in full force, somehow conjuring an image in his mind of a man sitting upon a throne lifting his hands to hold up the sky.
“Me? I am a believer in Life, in Intelligence, and in Civilization! The Tao is the tree, but mortals are the fruit that it bears, the true treasures to value. The Tao is stagnant, beautiful perhaps, but ultimately it is just a tool to create something truly magnificent, Life. To combat entropy, to act upon the world.”
“Then, from Life a miracle was born, Intelligence. To be conscious and to bend reality to our whims, Intelligence makes us capable of climbing to unprecedented heights. It has triumphed seven times, reshaping the world and proving the Tao is not perfect, that it can be improved.”
“However, this was not the end. From Intelligence arose Civilization, and our glorious empire will one day surpass even the Saints achievements! Then, in the future, perhaps Civilization will give birth to something new, something that will transcend it.”
“Stop always looking backwards and repeating that the Tao is great. Nature is limited, it has already accomplished everything it will ever do. In this world, only Civilization has infinite growth potential, and only it is worthy of the highest honor.”
The Tea shop sank into silence as Avery and the soldier both considered what had been said. Neither of them really questioning their beliefs, but simply seeking the wisdom contained in the other's path, to use this impromptu debate to improve themselves.
Avery was ready for prolonged meditation, but seeing his guest opening her eyes after only a few minutes, he too pretended to wake up.
“That was most enlightening. Shall we continue?”
“There is no need. It is already clear that you truly are what you claim to be, and I have many duties to attend to. It has been a pleasure meeting you, but I must be going.”
With no further ceremony, she put down her cup of tea and stood up, not having drunk any of it. A short bow later, she was on her way to the door.
“Wait! Could you give me a little of your blood? I have come across some blood-related cultivation techniques, and want to experiment with them.”
He still wanted to say so many different things, having so many questions to ask, he panicked and asked the first one that came to mind. In hindsight, it was not the most appropriate thing to ask of someone who had been suspecting you of being a devil cultivator only moments before, but he didn’t know how to time-travel just yet.
However, while surprised, the soldier didn’t hesitate and lightly cut herself with her dagger, tossing it to him as if it was the most natural request in the world.
“I’ll be back for the dagger.”
Catching it in mid-air, he waved her out and peered at the bloody blade, trying to see if the techniques of his inner world worked in reality.
“It’s nice to see some people appreciate my gifts properly.”
Looking up, he saw the soldier lumbering into his shop, a new medal on her armor and her hair a few centimeters longer. Standing up to welcome her, Avery wondered once more whether he should design an alarm clock to help him keep track of time.