Jia finally reached the end of her recitation. The sect elder sat back and looked over her thoughtfully. He pulled his hands into his sleeves and for a moment Jia thought of him as a pale faced head on a pile of green clothes with gold pieces embedded in it; his clothes were so voluminous compared to his thin frame. Nervousness built in her chest as she watched him close his eyes. In another time but same place, she would have gotten up and made sure he wasn’t asleep. However, the dead slept mostly out of habit and if he was indeed awake she would lose much of her face in front of the sect members.
“Fear not young Jiaxia. I was merely thinking upon how suited you are for this task...Not sleeping.” He spoke softly.
“Though he probably did try.” Another elder nearby spoke up and the tension eased with the soft laughter of the crowd. Jia felt her face soften and realized how tight her muscles had been from head to toe. The most nerve wracking part of the journey was over. She had proven that she had a mastery over the text she would be transporting. While the book would physically be given to her, it was mandatory that she also have the text memorized. The sect elder began to smile as he thought about her answers to his examination; she had been able to repeat any passage from any chapter he wished. The old master stood and Jia quickly stood after him.
“I believe you are more than capable for this task.” He turned to the young man behind him who nodded and placed a letter in the master’s hand. Nodding, the old master turned towards Jia and stepped from around the desk to stand face to face with her.
“Min Jiaxia, this library,” He gestured with his eyes, “it is what is left of the entirety of the Ling sect’s knowledge. It is the only place where we may practice our cultivation openly, for now. By investing you with this tome, you are expected to take it with you from this plane, back to the mundane, and then finally bring it once more into a library on this inauspicious plane many li from here. Our time in the terraces has ended, and our new library will be a quiet rebirth of our sect. A phoenix hidden in the clouds. Surely you understand the value of your task.” He ended his utterance with a statement of fact rather than a question. The conversation and decision of who would move the books and how had been a matter of discussion for over a year, its importance continuously brought to Jia and Shu’s attention.
“Excellent,” He gingerly presented the latter to Jia. Turning to his right once more, the young man carefully handed him an old tome. “Diverse Methods of Eight Wing Transportation, you know this tome intimately. Take this text so that the technique maybe safe for the future of Ling sect.” Eagerly, Jia removed an ornate cloth and leather piece from her satchel. She laid these out on the table, before accepting the yellowed pages bound in faded but ornately colored leather. Carefully, Jia wrapped the book in her more plain scrap of leather then the cloth as the crowd murmured approvingly. While she worked the young man approached her. Before she could store the text in her satchel, the sect master gestured carefully to him.
“This master will be your guide and assistant on this journey. You and Guanshu shall share a guiding presence.” Thoughtfully stroking his chin, the sect master stepped back and the man stepped forward with a greeting. Jiaxia returned his greeting.
“Please guide me master.”
“With pleasure,” He dropped the greeting and gathered his hands behind his back. “You may call me Teacher Chao Linghe.”
“Understood,” She let her hands drop and picked up the text. “I shall return now, Sect Leader. Teacher Chao.”
With a nod from the old master the crowd broke up and slowly followed Jia back to where she entered. Chao Linghe and the master stayed behind. Linghe tapped his chin with the tips of his fingers while keeping the other hand behind his back, turning over a coin with his fingers. The master kept his eyes locked on him while he paced back behind the desk and behind the master’s chair.
“Sect Leader, do you have a good feeling about these two?” Linghe continued tapping his chin and found himself envious of the master’s beard.
“Jiaxia and Guanshu are very capable young cultivators. She was just a comfortable here as in the mundane.”
“Completely, she only seemed to be nervous about the assignment, but I am not sure of her cultivation rank.”
“Did you not write that it is more difficult to ascertain on this plane?”
“I have written a lot of things. I still find it unusual.”
“...Would it be so unusual for her to hide something like that?” The master moved to return behind the desk.
“Wait...would it be?”
“It is completely normal in the mundane for us to disguise ourselves, but it not really necessary here in the library. Outside our protective spaces, they all have another face to maintain. The Min siblings are traveling musicians, and I believe that another group has formed a theater troupe.”
“...You think it is a matter of habit?” Linghe asked.
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The master sat slowly at the low desk. “If it is not, it should be. I am sure with young Jiaxia and Guanshu you will find what you are looking for. The two wander as a pair, so perhaps it will be a bit harder to stay inconspicuous, but they are prime Ling cultivators and the larger roving groups tend to produce less talent.”
Linghe sighed and returned to his place behind the old master. “I shall trust your judgment. Your knowledge in this area is invaluable. I thank you.” The older man relaxed. He knew with the arrival of Guanshu he could fully relax his nerves and get things back to normal. Looking over his shoulder at Linghe, he couldn’t help but feel ill-prepared to lead the sect. The unusual feeling was unsettling and couldn’t be reasoned away, so the old master was determined to get Chao Linghe to leave the library with someone. He was just fortunate that Jiaxia and Guanshu were those people. People started to file back in towards the desk.
“Many greetings Sect Leader!” Shu’s voice proceeded his visage, but the old master was warmed by his presence. Teaching Jiaxia had always sharpened his mind, but playing with Guanshu has always warmed his heart. The old master folded his hands and greeting and Shu gasped before returning the greeting having somehow forgot something so commonplace among them.
“Well then…”
“My my! How much longer your beard is! Have you been getting wiser in our absence, Sect Leader? I remain amazed by your success.” Shu’s honeyed words fell on suspicious ears as the master stroked his beard and thought up some particularly obscure passages for this charmer. This disciple had always been the type to save his candies for when he needed to bribe a teacher. It rarely worked, but it did lessen the punishment. Even now, the master had to work to be less lenient with him. Chao Linghe might actually have fun on his journey with Guanshu leading the charge.
“It is a joy to have you join us once again, young Guanshu. Please, let us begin so that you can be on your way.” He read the young disciple’s face and saw no fear. Pleased he began his questioning.
~
Back on the mundane side of things, Jia took her turn keeping watch. There wasn’t much to do in the terraces but reminisce. The mountain used to be the center of the Ling Sect, full of meditative spaces and spacious living quarters. All of them a trek to get to with all the stairs covering the mountain. Jia could recall at least a dozen times she fell down a flight. Two dozen times Shu fell down a flight.
All the important buildings and the people who moved them were now in the inauspicious plane. The other buildings were little more than blackened scraps destroyed by fire and worn by time. Jia blinked and realized she had wandered some distance from Shu. They spent years at a time away from the terraces and it was constantly surprising her how hypnotic the effects of being back were. Each trip was also a side trip to the old fishing spot or to see if the hot springs were safe to visit or to play in their old hidden places. This time on the way up the two spotted some flowering trees and planned to circle back. They aren’t sure what the trees were when they were children, but finding a new adventure in the rubble was exciting.
Jia exited the trees to still see Shu sitting in the clearing unharmed. With him was Chao Linghe, still a spirit but visible without her having to transition completely in to the inauspicious plane.
“Where have you been, young Jiaxia?” Linghe asked her kindly enough, but she felt some underlying seriousness to the question.
“Exploring the terrace. Making sure that no one is living here in our absence, teacher.”
“I see. The terraces have changed quite a bit since my time.” He left Shu to approach her. “There is probably much to see.”
“There is almost nothing to see.”
“Oh.” He thought for a moment. “But, it looks so vast?”
“It was once. Now the jewel of Scholar’s terraces is the beauty of the garden that has sprung up in our ashes.”
He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing, tapping his chin with the tips of his fingers.
“If I may ask, how long has it been since Teacher Chao transitioned to the next plane?”
He stopped tapping and closed his eyes to think. “Much before your time I believe.”
“I see.” She turned from him back to the forest for a moment. “There are not many buildings that were constructed in my time here.”
“I traveled for a time after I transitioned.” He offered quickly. “I spent too much time away from the terraces. I suppose now with the move there is no reason to return too often.” For moment, Jia saw a lot of wistfulness on his face. She stepped a lot closer.
“How did you become an escort for moving the library?”
“Hmm, perhaps I was homesick?” He smiled and folded his hands behind him.
“But, not enough to stay at the terraces? Just visit and then lead an expedition?”
He nodded. “I want to see the sect begin again.”
Jia crossed her arms in front of her and said nothing.
“It used to be something essential. Cultivators from the Ling sect were sent all over.” He kept talking, but Jia had the feeling that he was just speaking to himself at that point. Silence took over for a moment. He walked off then, going for one last tour of the upper terraces she assumed. The spirit masters were always a bit odd to her. It was hard to tell who had died and who had just transitioned to the next plane. There was a healthy mix on the terrace and it was improper to ask. She wanted to ask him more directly how he transitioned but was not sure how to go about it.
Curiosity filled Jia’s mind while she watched over Shu. If he had died, how exactly had Chao Linghe died? He looked young. At least not more than a year or two older than themselves. He could be centuries old though, she supposed. Cultivation could keep the body at a standstill. Centuries seemed like a stretch. He spoke very informally with her. The much older spirit masters spoke as if they were dictating poems. Dealing with Teacher Chao seemed much more straight forward. His robes were odd though. Perhaps that would help her narrow down when he was a part of the sect. They didn’t change the design of the robes often.
Stretching, Jia settled down on the ground beside Shu. He was still cold to the touch so she knew he wasn’t back in his body yet. The inauspicious library was invisible from the mundane plane so it was just them and a few scattered bags around them. Behind them was the cliff face and its mural and in front of them, over the mountain side toward the horizon, stretched the border to the land of Cheng-chun. Traveling through it would be routine, but the knowledge that they would also be toting around two texts vital to the Ling library would add a layer of anxiety to everything.
“Back in the flesh.” Shu startled her for a moment. “Should you really be that easily spooked? I thought to were keeping me safe?”
“Keeping you safe from other people, keeping you safe from you is nearly impossible.”
He shrugged. “Teacher Chao?”
“He walked off to explore I think.”
“So is he…?”
“I think he might have died long before us, but I haven’t gotten how long ago that was from him yet.”
“Oh, how exciting! A fun mystery to unravel while we go!”
They smiled to each other, wordlessly acknowledging their bad habit.
“Ah, the Min siblings altogether!” Chao Linghe approached them from the forest. “How exciting. I have heard much about you. This teacher looks forward to free admission to all of your concerts.” He nodded to himself mostly. “Also, I would like to see how capable you are as cultivators.”
“But the concerts first? Clearly teacher has a priority for good music.” Shu laughed “I won’t disappoint.” Jia nodded and they both saluted Teacher Chao. Shu and Linghe laughed as if they were old friends and suddenly Jia felt that her journey was going to feel much longer with two Shu’s instead of one.