53 - Chapter 48
Once they were back in the carriage, Shao Jia could not hold back her questions anymore. Though the patriarch himself had supported Sa Bina, she did not feel as certain of this strange girl. It was obvious that the elders knew more, but were keeping them all in the dark.
“So you are telling us that you have no idea how you survived what should have been a fatal injury?” asked Shao Jia.
Sa Bina had been keeping a lot of secrets close to her chest, for the fear of what that may lead to. Now that it was clear that at least the elders knew a lot more than then they had revealed, she was contemplating revealing a little more. She was still not certain of how much she wanted to tell Shoa Jia and Sun Li, but she knew that she would need the support going forward.
Shoa Jia was obligated to protect her secrets, and was a medical professional besides. From her past life, trusting medical professionals was something that had become engrained. Though she objectively knew that those old rules did not apply in the new world, the associated feelings were harder to dismiss.
Sun Li had been with her since her first memories in this world and had worked to help and support her. She may have done it because she was ordered to, but that did not change the feelings of gratitude she felt for the woman. As much as Sa Bina was a grown woman, at least by experience, this new world has still left her stumbling. There were too many things that did not fit with her experience, or worse, just different enough for her to fall into old habits, habits that would be detrimental in the new world.
Sa Bina remembered an experiment that she had tried out at the science museum back in London while on a field trip with her class. It had been a simple driving simulator. The idea was to drive around the virtual circuit a few times. Then the steering wheels settings would change, and would have the opposite effect so turning the wheel clockwise would turn the car to the left instead of to the right. She had assumed that as an experienced driver, she would have no problem with the change and would be able to adjust quickly. However the reality was the opposite. It took her a while to adjust to the change. When the steering wheel function had returned to normal, it again took her a while to adjust to the normal way of driving. It had been those students who had never driven, or even played driving games, who had adjusted the fastest. It had been explained to her class that this was due to the fact they had no preset habits or preconceived notions.
This long forgotten memory reminded her that her ingrained habits were not necessarily positive in the new world and that it would take conscious sustained effort to retrain herself. Further, since she was not even aware of a lot of the customs and rules of this society, things that are imbibed through immersion rather than taught, she did not even have a baseline to adjust too. It was a humbling realisation. As much as it was an instinctive response to see this society and treat it as backwards and inconsequential, she had to accept that it was just as complex as any she had lived within. And while she may be able to bring about some changes, and leverage those to her advantage, she would need to be wary of making enemies. She also realised that had she not been distracted, she would have come to this realisation much earlier.
She would have to review all her actions and see where she had left herself at risk. She would also need to be much more thoughtful in her actions going forward. The most important question for her right now was how much to trust these two women in front of her. She decided to go with as much as she had already revealed to the elders, just more fleshed out.
“No,” said Sa Bina. “I have no idea how I survived. I have no memories before I awoke laying in the mud under the semi destroyed wagon in the bandits camp. I have no memory of a childhood, of growing up, of family, of how I ended up with the bandits, or how they treated me.”
“But you have language skills,” said Shao Jia. “And a lot of other skills besides. You do remember something right?”
Sa Bina took a deep breath. “I did not say anything because I was not sure how I would be treated,” said she. “I was concerned you would accuse me of being possessed or a demon or something.”
“It was a thought,” said Sun Li. “It was why I kept you sedated and had you checked out. Why would you think that was still a risk?”
“Well,” said Sa Bina. “As much as I don’t remember anything from this world, that wasn’t a lie, I do have memories. They are of a life lived in a very different world. Full memories of a long life, and all the experiences that go with it. I don’t know if that is me remembering a past life or something else.”
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“How would you have language skills for this world then?” asked Sun Li. She had heard of other worlds, and how those who could ascend could sometimes visit them. The main issue that had been mentioned was one of understanding. These worlds could have very different languages, and customs and laws, according to the stories anyway. She was starting to believe there was indeed a lot of truth to those stories. The elders had not reacted to Sa Bina the way she had thought they would, almost like it was something they had knowledge or experience of themselves. “How would you be able to solve mathematics problems?”
“At first I could not understand the language,” said Sa Bina. “Any of it, but if I focus on it for a while, the memories of the language become available to me. It’s like not knowing that you had learned a skill, then suddenly remembering it. The same thing happened when I looked at the mathematics.”
“And you have no idea how or why that is?” asked Shao Jia.
“No,” said Sa Bina, a little bitterness coming across in her tone. “Though I think the elders know more, they just don’t seem to want to tell me anything.”
The three sat in silence thinking for a while as they continued their journey back to the city.
“Well,” said Sun Li. “Since you have started cultivating, we should start you on the appropriate training. You should have fifth day free, so I will come to the estate and train you. It would not be appropriate to leave you unschooled in such matters.”
“How long do I have,” asked Sa Bina. “Until my dantian ignites, that was the term you used right? And what does that actually mean?”
“Right now,” said Shoa Jia. “You are cultivating passively. Something every cultivator would kill to be able to do by the way. The problem is that it is only so effective. You will need to start cultivating actively to make the most of your advantages. The dantian igniting is when you are able to hold qi in your body. At the moment the qi enters and leaves, strengthening your body in various ways. Only when your body is strong enough to support qi internally, will the dantian ignite and allow you to absorb and hold qi.”
“Why is that the case?” asked Sa Bina. “And does that mean I am in the body forging realm already?” She was trying to remember the lessons Sun Li had imparted to her on her first carriage ride in this world.
“It is called the body enhancement realm,” mused Shao Jia. “Though I guess you could call it body forging too. I don’t know the exact details, as there is no knowledge about how passive cultivation works, but if I was to base it on a normal 17 year old starting from where you are, then it would take anything from four to six months to ignite your dantian. You would then enter the body enhancement realm. Until then you would not have enough qi to properly temper your body. Think of this as a quasi pre-realm preparing you for the real thing.”
“Will active cultivation speed this up?” asked Sa Bina. “And what else will I need to learn?”
“I will have to start teaching you martial arts,” said Sun Li. “In addition to cultivation. You will need to be able to use your enhanced physical and mental prowess.”
“I don’t know what will happen,” said Shao Jia. “But, this is not something we will be able to hide. The only reason no one has noticed is that no one is looking as it’s completely unexpected. Once your dantian ignites, it will be effectively on public display. Everyone who can cultivate will notice as soon as they come close to you.”
“Oh great,” said Sa Bina. “This is going to make me even more prominent in everyone's eyes.”
“Since even we had not heard of this situation,” said Sun Li. “Well not outside myths and legends, we have no idea how people will react.
“Based on my memories,” said Sa Bina, now sounding a little morose. “People will react negatively and violently. That is the general reaction when faced with something different.”
“You could well be right,” said Shoa Jia. “All you can do is prepare appropriately.”
“Does that at least explain my situation?” asked Sa Bina. “Do you still think I am lying?”
“No,” said Shoa Jia after some thought. “But, I would like to explore your memories of this other world and other life if you would be open to it.”
“As would I,” said Sun Li. “How old were you in that life anyway? What was your cultivation stage?”
“I was 104 when I died in that life,” said Sa Bina. “I remember that end. And in that world there was no cultivation, no qi nothing like that.”
“How is that possible!” said Shoa Jia. “Nothing can live without qi.”
They spent the rest of the journey asking questions about Sa Bina’s previous world, with each answer leading to a plethora of more questions. The understanding of technology, of war on the scale of millions, or weapons that could destroy cities, and yet could be used by mere mortals, these things all astounded and shocked both Sun Li and Shao Jia.
It was late by the time they reached the estate. Since Sun Li was to return the next day to start her training anyway, Sa Bina asked her to stay.
After a quick dinner, Sa Bina retired to her room, to find that all the books for her subjects had been delivered. It looked like Lou Sie had set them all up in the order she should read them. Sa Bina let out a long sigh. It looked like her near future would be nothing but training, school, reading and if she could find the time to experiment with her baking.