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Chapter 19: "Tiny Unexpected Prophecies."

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Fairy Yun frowned at the closed shop door for a few heartbeats.

"We could go to my inn?" Shae offered.

"Hmm? Oh, no thanks, Hữu wouldn't mind." Yun set a hand on the doorframe and concentrated. Shae felt a wash of qi from the woman. An anxious breath later, the door and frame flashed with thin qi formations and she pushed it open with a proud smirk. "The key is still the same."

"Um, isn't this... Kinda... Bad to do?" Shae complained as she followed the woman inside.

"No, no. It's fine. Nothing to steal in here. There's a separate vault for that."

"O-kaaay." The girl raised a concerned eyebrow.

The Fairy stepped through the darkness and a small click sounded, followed by dim light swelling above a cleared table. Three chairs sat around it.

"Convenient."

"It sure is, that's why I brought us here." Yun waved a hand, depositing Shae's backpack on the table from her spatial storage item. "Spatial storage is much more convenient. Make that a goal before the next time you travel."

"They must be expensive? Unless they are much more common and easy to make?"

Yun impatiently opened Shae's bag, plucked out the practice book and returned everything else to her storage. "They are nearly impossible to make, and quite expensive."

"Sooooo, how would I get one?"

Yun smirked wickedly. "Easiest way is to kill someone who has one."

The girl coughed. "What!"

"Ha ha ha! That expression! Priceless!"

She frowned at the woman, and waited for her to finish laughing.

"Okay okay, hehe he-he. A joke, clearly. But they are dangerous to carry if you can't protect yourself. Luckily, most cultivators only need one, so it's not actually worth killing someone for. Some dumb mortal might try it, though."

Shae huffed through her nose. "And how do I collect the funds to buy one?"

"Frankly, I'll be surprised if a sect Elder doesn't make you their disciple within the first year. They could just give you one. When there is fighting, they will pop up for cheaper, and Elders like to give them out for special challenges, so there will most likely be a path for you there. Remember to always check the mission boards, at least once a week. You'll miss so much if you don't."

"Wait, are you part of the sect?"

"I was, for a few years. I didn't keep up and had to leave for various reasons." She sighed.

"Keep up? Now I'm worried."

Yun waved a hand. "You have a head start, you'll be fine for a few years, unless you stop completely."

The girl still looked worried and hadn't opened the practice book yet.

The older cultivator signed, setting she would have to explain more. "Alright, they tell you this when you start, but here's their deal. Mortals don't have money, so can't pay their way. Yet, some mortals have talent the sect wants, so what do they do?"

"Uhm, student loans? Gah! Nooooo... Uuugh." Shae's head dropped to the table and was quickly covered by her sleeves.

Yun snorted and chuckled a bit. "Got it in one. As long as you are making progress, they don't call in the debt, and there is no interest accrued. When you slow down, you have to start taking more jobs to pay them back."

The girl rolled her head to the side to look up. "That sounds horrible, that would slow you down even more!"

"Bullseye! You do eventually pay back what you owe, and can cultivate again. Except they then want payment up front, so more of your time goes into working. You saw the caravan guards, yes?"

"Yeah."

"That's one of the more common peasant cultivator jobs. Pays better but can be dangerous. I wandered around to different jobs and eventually found the restaurant. They offered better pay and high quality cultivator food if I went full time, so here I am. Less stressful than searching for jobs constantly, and I'm still making progress in my own way."

Shae propped her head up on her crossed arms. "Do you miss it? Anything you can't get here?"

"Hmm, miss it? Not terribly. The learning environment there is great if you can find like-minded people. And there's lots I can't get here. Mostly information, their library is second to none. Well, maybe to other sects or the Empress's, but nothing even close to those."

"Where is the next sect?"

Yun raised an eyebrow. "Checking the competition, or exploring your options?"

"Hmm, options, and curiosity."

"There's a small sect far north, but they are specialists and only take water cultivators. The next general entry sect... Maybe the one in the capital if you want something as good or better."

"Oof, the capital. Must be harder to get into?"

"Not really, it's more expensive, and I heard room and board wasn't covered like other sects. The capital is expensive to live in."

Shae grimaced. She didn't have to imagine what that would be like, she had lived in an expensive Earth city for many years. "If I decided I couldn't go to the Dragon's, where would you recommend?"

"Hmm, that depends on your talent and speed. The capital is great if you can keep up with spoiled nobles with high grade spirits."

"Hrmm. Let's assume I can't."

"Right, especially if you don't figure out how to convert your qi faster." She tapped the book the girl hadn't opened yet.

Shae forced a smile. "Okay, fine, enough stalling."

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Together, they reviewed the introduction and first few steps of Manifold Journey. The qi structure was only mentioned in passing, as Shae thought, but the notes added by the monks and more context.

> We've included more detailed notes at the end, but don't read them until the full practice is complete. They are mostly in case problems arise.

Shae suggested Yun read the detailed notes, but she refused, saying, "If I do, I cannot keep helping you. I might cause the same problems you reading them could cause. You trust the monks said that for a reason, yes?"

Shae agreed, of course, so they continued without the extra information.

Next they went over what goals Shae had set for herself in step one, Scout Destination.

First, her goal to understand her strange demigod qi. Shae felt she had made good progress and Yun agreed that she was on the right track after Long's cooking metaphor.

Second was her desire to have a good journey and arrive safely. Yun helped to clarify it by asking "Arrive where?" The caravan's destination was probably the town below the sect, whereas her final destination could be acceptance into the sect. "Or anywhere in between." The girl added. Shae agreed to give it some thought, she wasn't sure which point exactly she had been thinking about, and knowing that would let her properly time the final qi practice.

Third and finally, the young cultivator bashfully explained her goal of making progress with all the qi practices, including the ones in Manifold Journey itself.

Yun let out an angry shout about never forcing a divination into a self fulfilling prophecy.

Shae missed some of the details as she was reeling from the intense wave of qi and intent released by the woman. With her tempering, it wasn't enough to harm her, yet she hadn't been expecting such an intense reaction.

Yun quickly restrained herself but continued to glare at Shae with a darkened expression. "I can't believe you've done this."

"What? I didn't know it was forbidden." Shae protested.

"It's not forbidden. It's just a stupid idea."

"How was I supposed to know this counts as a self fulfilling prophecy?"

"It's obvious! You're trying to use a divination qi practice to get better at qi practice. It's clear as day!"

"That's what practice is for! Getting better!"

"Not this one, and stop painting pinheads, you know what I mean."

Shae scrunched up her face, "Painting pinheads?"

Yun waved a dismissive hand. "Same as splitting hairs. Cultivators can actually split hairs, and sometimes do so for their professions. So they say painting pinheads instead."

"Couldn't they also do that? Paint pinheads, I mean."

"Well yes, but nobody does. Except maybe just as an art statement- doesn't matter. It's just a turn of phrase." Yun exhaled loudly. "Back to you. Why didn't you pick something more discrete? Like to finish skin cleansing or something?"

"Cause I didn't know! Okay!" She threw her hands up. "All of those practices were supposed to help me improve my control, and that's what I was thinking about at the time."

Yun's eyes widened. "Wait, all? Was your goal to get good at all of the practices you were given?" She removed them from her spatial storage and let the stack land on the table with a thump.

Shae grimaced. "Uh, I guess I wasn't specific, so maybe?"

Yun crossed her arms and stared at the girl.

Shae squirmed in her seat. "What's the big deal, anyway? There weren't any warnings in Manifold Journey."

"The big deal is it's a waste of effort." She sighed. "Perhaps I'm overreacting. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, or throw my power around."

"Mmm. Thanks. It's fine, I guess. Sounds like an important thing to know."

Yun nodded. "I'm no expert on divination, but the first lessons in the introductory class I took were all about prophecy and how to avoid self fulfilling clauses. The main risk is it's very hard to back out of one, once it gets started. The practice is simple enough, it probably won't explode and hurt you if you fail. Yet, divination is always risky."

"And you're sure it's divination?"

Yun swayed her head. "We should assume it is. Did you think of anything else while setting up the first practice? That Scouting one."

"Hmm, I learned a lot about the trip to the sect. I guess I hoped we would have an easy journey."

Yun nodded. "Did you ask anyone about the sect? Or the entrance tests?"

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"Entrance tests? Um, I talked with Scribe Bai about it a little bit. Learned there would be classes and stuff. That wasn't while I was doing Scouting though."

"Okay, you might not have walked yourself into a corner then."

"Um, what entrance tests? Like the spirit root test?"

"Root test is only if you haven't done it before, there are more, but the less you know right now, the better." She said sternly.

Shae frowned and looked down at the pages.

Yun leaned over to pat the girl's arm. "Hey, don't worry, you're going to do fine. I'm just worried about the worst case scenario."

"Which is?"

"Okay, Uhm, don't panic," she frowned and paused to think before continuing. "I'll go over it, but I don't think you are anywhere near the danger of this. Let's say your Journey practice was a full technique, and way stronger. Like a square dozen times stronger. That kind of power can bind you to a path. Then if you don't follow that path or can't complete it, bad things happen. Usually just your cultivation gets blocked. It's happened before."

"Just blocked?" Shae raised an eyebrow, then tilted her head. "How does that happen anyway? Like technical details, I mean, you did just say how."

Yun shrugged. "It varies, if we knew exactly, it wouldn't happen as much, or we could fix it. A lot of it is up here." She tapped Shae's forehead.

"Like inner demons? Though, I don't really know what those are either."

"Heh. You got it. Lots of times they are just a metaphor, or shorthand for something more complicated. There's a lot of folklore about them being real though." She shrugged again. "Back to your problem?"

Shae nodded.

"If you included entry to the sect with the technique, which I don't think you did, that could mean a couple weird things. Oh, and this assumes Manifold Journey has more power in it that the intro suggests."

"Does it?"

"Very unlikely, though it also reads like you shouldn't be able to feel the qi structure." She gave another shrug and a warm smile before she continued, "So, two main ways this could go wrong. And again, these are the worst cases, don't lose sleep over them. First, if you don't get into the sect, the last practice might not complete, meaning you don't get whatever benefit it conveys. Given this is an entry level technique, that's probably close to nothing anyway. However, you might feel it nagging at you for a very long time. Especially since you can already feel it."

The girl grimaced. "Ugh, that would be bad. But I didn't think about getting into the sect that much, right?"

Yun sorted a laugh. "Why are you asking me? They were your thoughts."

"Okay, um, I'm pretty sure I didn't. Just getting to the sect with the caravan."

"Good, but that might be the second case. If you don't get there with the caravan. Say that the caravan stops in town before the sect, ends its journey there and just you go on. Does that count?"

"Uhm, well there is a town there. And I wouldn't expect the whole caravan to go into the sect. So yes, that's fine."

"Good, what if the caravan gets attacked, wiped out by spirit beasts and only you escape? Or just gets slowed down? Do you have to stay with it, or can you go ahead on your own?"

"Ah, Hmm." Shae frowned.

"You have a bunch of cultivators with you, and Master Long. So, I wouldn't worry about that." She patted the girl's arm again. "From the other side of things. What if you don't make progress with your qi practices?"

Shae froze for a second at the prompt, she was expecting Yun to continue her lecture. "Um. One of the other things fails? Ugh, are you trying to give me an anxiety attack?"

Yun nodded encouragingly. "You're doing fine. I sensed more nerves today when we were dress shopping."

"Hmfh. Okay." She wiped a hand down her face, then scratched her nose. "So, I might not get into the sect... Which could just be a coincidence. Or... The caravan might not arrive?"

Yun giggled. "Probably not that one, you don't have even a shred of the kind of power needed to bind the whole caravan to your path, and that's not counting the cultivators."

Shae's eyes went wide. "You're serious about this stuff? I thought it was half superstition and half religious babble. Err ah, no offense!"

Yun stayed calm and smiled. "None taken. It takes a while and a lot of coincidences to convince most people of fate and karma. Even with Diviners running around and flexing their powers, many Elders are still unsure. For myself, I had a fairly unique experience that wholly convinced me."

Shae raised an eyebrow as a question.

"A private experience. Yet, that is also why I am taking this so seriously with you. Lost souls are some of the most skeptical in the world. I need you to take this seriously, or at least, to know that you will work hard on it."

The girl took a slow serious breath, looking years more mature than she usually did. "Okay. I will treat this like it was life and death. I'll put my all into it without hesitation."

Yun covered her mouth for a breath, then her eyes sparkled and she started giggling uncontrollably.

A few breaths of laughter in, Shae heard 'I'm sorry. - I'm sorry.' as silent qi messages in Yun's voice, 'I didn't - expect that.' Seeing the woman fall apart, still trying and failing to control her laughter, Shae couldn't resist a few laughs either.

When Yun was almost settled down, Shae gave into her curiosity. "Does everyone learn silent messaging?"

"Heh, not always. A similar skill is common, martial cultivators usually go for long range speaking and clearer hearing. So they can communicate on battlefields without using their mental focus."

"Mental focus? Is that what you're using to do it?"

"Yes, though I am quite bad at explaining what that is. Silent messaging is difficult and uses a lot of mental focus."

"Oh, so I probably can't learn it anytime soon?"

"Hmm, does one of your practices mention mental focus, or focus stamina?"

"Uh, I don't think so. There was mental endurance, is that the same?"

Yun shook her head. "No, that's just endurance, or resisting mental fatigue. How long you can mentally run for, so to speak. Focus is more like... sprinting, a huge burst of strength, but it's not just strength, it's also precision and speed of thought. Focus really is just the best word for it."

"So, it's just focus? Then it's like how long one can unwaveringly hold maximum focus on a task? How long can most people manage, at first? There has to be some metric, right?"

"Huh, glad you're interested in this. And yes, that's a good generalization. Except that, when using it for qi techniques it is usually burned away much faster. The more information you pack into a silent message, the faster your focus depletes. As a basic guess for mortals, they probably have a heartbeat or two of focus."

Hmm, a heartbeat, so basically a second or two. "I think I heard some sports science on Earth that matched that. So, can I train my focus? Just focus on stuff completely over and over again?"

Yun raised an eyebrow at Shae's mention of Earth, but continued their conversation, "Hmm, it's not so easy as that. You need a goal, something you are trying to do, preferably with qi. Something that takes all your attention and focus, you can't really force it. Then you need to relax, reset and take a break in between attempts."

"Huh." Shae sat back in thought.

"We should get back to your practices, it's getting late."

"This is practice, isn't it? Oh, maybe during my archery practice? I can try to really focus on each shot, holding the aim for a heartbeat before firing?"

"Needs some qi movement, ideally."

"Hmm, well I could use qi to strengthen my left arm, it would make aiming easier. Hmm, maybe also focus on using as little qi as possible to do that?"

"That would be a good idea, many people overdo it while reinforcing their muscles. Though, that sounds more like martial focus, or battle trance training."

"Oh? Is that different?"

"Hmm, yes and no. Battle trance is kind of like being in perpetual focus. Taking in all your surroundings and being constantly aware of the battle you're in. Or so I've heard, I'm no battle fanatic. It's also why they don't learn silent messaging, because it would sap focus and interrupt their trance."

"Wow, a constant trance? They must still get tired, or right exhausted when they stop?"

"Some do. Though really, it's more about having it last long enough for a single fight. That's what is counted as small success. Defeating a single opponent while in battle trance."

"Hmm, that seems like kind of a broad definition?"

"True, but I think for them, it's harder to gauge and test themselves. It's not everyday you can enter a life and death fight."

"Huh, yea. So, what about mental focus? How do you gauge that? How many heartbeats of focus do you have?"

"Heartbeats are a little impractical, but silent messaging is a good metric. I've reached small success in that technique. Which means I can send a message in my own voice, and it is at least three syllables long."

Shae opened her eyes wide. "Just three?"

"Yes, oh, a syllable is like a-"

"I know what a syllable is."

"Heh, of course you do. Where did you get such a massive vocabulary anyway?"

"Dictionaries!"

"Really?"

"Yep, nearly every little town has a public dictionary for learning the language, they build them up on their own. Adding new words as they go. But we're getting side tracked again. How do I ensure I don't mess up this whole Manifold Journey practice?"

"Ah, thank you for redirecting us. So, you could go through all your practices and try them all out, but that's a fool's game. We can see this stack of papers, there are too many here. So, what you should do is focus on your weaknesses. Improving the stuff you know about, and improving what you want to work on will improve your ability to use all the practices, thus fulfilling your goal."

"Huh, that does make a kind of sense. So, just whatever I think needs fixing?"

"Hmm, maybe if there are some general practices? Ones that improve a lot of stuff a little bit. Did you have anything you know you are weak at?"

"Yea, my sensing is pretty bad, because I started cultivating in a high density environment."

"Oh! Hmm, yes, I've heard that can cause issues. How's your precision?"

"Uh, I think that is lacking too. Same reason?"

Yun nodded, "Yes, that's why I asked. So, you do have some direction already. Oh, and while doing the journey practices, think! Think throughout the journey, about your problems and how to improve them, and plan out your day or evening practices. I bet you'll quickly feel a few more parts click into place like you did today."

"Heh," She sighed. "Thanks Yun, did you ever say what you thought the clicking was?"

"Hmm, maybe I didn't. There are twelve parts to the technique, right?"

"Mhm."

"And you've done a few of them, maybe the first doesn't count?"

"Yep... wait, this sounds familiar. This is what I said earlier!"

"Haha, it is because I think you were correct. Each part might need to click in, to signal it is done. I'm still surprised you can feel the structure, you might have overdone it when doing the first step, the Scouting." She got up and cleaned off the table. "We should really get going."

"Heh yeah, maybe I did do too much. Thanks for doing this Yun. It means a lot to me."

"Well, I've only known you for today, and already, you mean a lot to me!" She picked the girl up in a hug and carried her out of the building. Shae giggled in response then squealed in surprise as Yun ran down the street, heading for her inn.

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Shae was initially surprised that Yun didn't ask where to go, she quickly brought her to the same inn that Shae had dropped the sect's reservation request off at. Instead, while running through Flame Well, Yun clarified that yes, staying under the sect's reservation, with the other recruits, was part of Master Long's apology.

They slowed a street away and Yun set her down, then gave her back all her belongings that were in her spatial storage. "We'll have to be a bit more formal in public, Wise Shae."

"Alright, Fairy Yun." Shae smiled as she repacked her pack and slung it over her shoulders.

Once at the inn, few people were still in the main room, but those that were stared at the pair a little more than was appropriate. Mostly at the pretty Fairy, Shae thought.

The attendant that greeted them was glad Shae made it, because of the late hour, she got her own room to not disturb the other guests. Shae asked and found out that, because of the large number of recruits, multiple people to a room was expected, but everyone still got their own bed.

"Are you going to see us off tomorrow, Fairy Yun?"

"Hmm, I'd like to, though I do have some early morning duties at the Gilded Aurochs. I'll be sure to ask for relief, but don't wait for me, Wise Shae."

"Mhm. I understand. Oh, actually. I've been helping the caravan with scouting, so they might send me off early."

"Oh? Were you short on coin? I can help you out if you need more time for your practice."

"Nah, I just wanted to help out. It gives me something to do instead of just mindlessly following along."

Yun poked the girl's forehead. "Think! That is what you can do while walking. We just talked about this."

"Ow. Okay yes, I can still do that." She rubbed at the spot even though it didn't really hurt. "I don't do much scouting anyway, just running messages around. Lots of time to think and run the Journey practices."

"Good! Then I'll probably not see you again any time soon. Good luck, and don't be a stranger! Send letters too! We're close enough that mail is cheap."

She smiled, "That's a great idea, we can be pen pals!"

"Or brush buddies? Pens are so plain, there's no character or flair to them."

"Oooh, Yun's a writing snob! I'm so excited to learn more about you, Fairy Yun. Thank you for the assistance." She bowed.

They had reached Shae's room. Forcing the two to part.

"I loved spending the day with you, Wise Shae." Yun returned the bow, then checked to see that the attendant had left the hallway.

Shae felt a slight pulse of qi while Yun paused in place, then the woman struck! She lunged at the girl and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. "Don't ever change, you are too precious and adorable for this world."

"Eugh! Tight!" Shae croaked out.

"Oh!" Yun relaxed, then kissed Shae on the top of her head and squeezed once more before breaking contact, switching to holding the girl's hands between them instead. "If you even have any trouble, or need anything. Don't hesitate to ask. I'll make sure your name is left with the restaurant so they'll help even if I am away. And when you write, you can call me Linnuan."

"Thanks, Linnuan. That means a lot to me."

The woman smiled, but Shae saw conflict in it. "The cultivation world, within sects especially, likes to break people. Put them through just enough hardship and grief to force them into being stone faced idiots like Long was today. Don't let them do that to you, Shae, it would break my heart."

Shae lunged in for the hug this time. "I'll write lots. With good brush and paper. And visit as soon as I can."

"I know you will."

They stood silently for a while longer, until Shae could peel herself away from the tender moment. Then Yun was gone before they could drag out the parting again.

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