Exactly an hour later, Riri found for them a two-stories high brothel near the Central Square. They rented two rooms across from each other on the second floor and settled in.

The owner of the brothel was a long-time friend and favored customer of Master Jiao. They would be safer than anywhere else against spying eyes.

As such they relaxed much more than before. After spending a week idling and resting and tending to their wounds, the duo gathered at the first floor of the brothel to drink some wine.

‘’What do we do now?’’

Zhu Qiu took a chug and wiped his mouth. With an arm on his chest, as if crossed, he seemed to think about it.

‘’They are on an excursion right now. It might take them three years, or five, or a decade to come back. Within that time limit, nothing.’’

Li Ao put down his cup. ‘’Nothing?’’

‘’Nothing.’’

Now that was some good news.

Li Ao had always been traveling and cultivating under constant threat to his life. So, he never got to study Forging and Formations on the way. It made him restless, more so angry at himself, but such unreasonable emotions didn’t take hold of him for long. A cultivator was one who tempered not only their bodies, but also their self. A good state of mind was imperative to progression.

Now that a chance to study presented itself, of course he turned jovial.

‘’Okay! I’ll be studying then.’’ Then, thinking, he looked at Zhu Qiu. ‘’What will you do?’’

Zhu Qiu shook the wine bottle in his hand.

‘’Why not cultivate?’’

‘’I’ll do...in my spare time.’’

‘’When?’’

‘’When I’m drunk.’’

‘’You are an idiot.’’

Zhu Qiu laughed and waved at a servant to bring two more bottles of wine.

‘’It might take a year for you to be drunk.’’

‘’I just want to know how it feels. Who knows, maybe I will attain enlightenment once I ‘do’ become drunk.’’

Sighing, Li Ao waved his hand. There were few people since it was the dead of the night, right before dawn, and those around were all snoring on the floor or on the tables.

A few dozen mid-grade Spirit Stones appeared on the table.

‘’Mix them to wine, if you want. Or cultivate with them. I’ll leave the choice to you.’’

Zhu Qiu cast him a look, then pushed the stones back.

Li Ao stood up and slapped his shoulder, then walked back to his room. ‘’You are a friend, don’t be like that.’’

Zhu Qiu kept his gaze on the dozens of Spirit Stones. Low-grade Spirit Stones were for Qi Condensation Cultivators, Mid-grade for Foundation Establishment, High-Grade for Core Formation and Nascent Soul...and on and on.

A Qi Condensation disciple of a famous sect could only get ten Low-grade Spirit Stones a month, let alone a shunned illegitimate son like him. He knew Li Ao had a great deal of wealth, and he was the real reason they could go safe and rest in most cities.

But that was all done in the spirit of their joint ‘duty’. That was how Zhu Qiu convinced himself. It was for the sake of the mission.

Now, Li Ao had no need to make such expenditure. There was no reason to spend this much wealth on ‘him’. Zhu Qiu was neither too talented in cultivation nor so keen on it—he didn’t have the dream to be strong or explore or teach his martial arts. He had no such desire.

He was born in a way most people despised. More so in a large clan, which valued face and legitimacy more than anything. The only path given to him was to become useful to them.

He was a little acquainted with books, a little knowledgeable in wine, more than enough insightful of fruits and vegetables since he foraged in his travels, and exemplary at judging people. When he first embarked in this mission no one had expectations that he could finish it. It was just an attempt. He would most likely die, tortured to death for information he didn't know. There was no future for him.

Even so, Zhu Qiu thought that if he had a future, then he would live the rest of his days in the family estate looking after his mother. She didn’t need his protection nor care, but he was her son, and that required him to do so regardless of circumstance. If he died before her, that was all fine. If she died before him, he would leave.

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On the way to First Capital, even when struggling for his dear life with Li Ao, he imagined such a life. Especially after a most arduous fight where both of them laid on the ground in sweat and blood. He would look at the open sky of the wilderness and think of how it would seem without his mother. What would ‘he’ be like?

He imagined himself thinking of pursuing cultivation or fame or wealth, but in none of these dreams he found something meaningful. Yet, when he remained in an inn or a brothel, talking and drinking with people while Li Ao cultivated, he felt a deep fondness growing inside him. Wine, alcohol, made him merry. Talking with people made him happy. He was always full of joy and hung a genuine bright smile.

Perhaps that was the reason they got caught at Last Bulwark.

Perhaps this joy at finding something meaningful made him stumble and expose him.

At this point, it didn’t matter.

He had told Han Yemu that he would be more careful next time. But there was no next time.

Once the Imperial Ancestor returned from the provincial inspection, he would have no more job. He had no affection for the Zhu family, and he had no ties to them after undertaking such a grand task. Even if his Mother asked for another such quest, he would not heed it.

There was nothing else for him to do.

His face cloudy, Zhu Qiu looked at the table shining with silver light. Some of the people had woken up from the rich Qi drifting around the room and, seeing the sight, gulped and sighed. Everyone knew how rich the duo, or Li Ao, was. They also knew their strength, so there was no design on such wealth.

When he heard the stirring, Zhu Qiu raised his head. Pulling the spirit stones inside his low-grade spatial pouch, which might not even cost a fraction of these stones, he took another swing of his wine.

He opened up the other two bottles, poured them all inside his mouth. Droplets flew all around him, the wine flowed down his chin over his white and blue robe like a blood fountain. Once he finished all the bottles, Zhu Qiu set them down, burped, and laid his head on the table. Li Ao’s casual departing words sounded in his ears like a bell.

‘’I am a friend...’’

Being drunk was all about happiness. Since he was happy, why should he go drunk?

Taking a deep breath, he stood up. With his last bit of personal wealth, three low-grade spirit stones barely enough to cover the price, he paid for the wine. Then he retreated into his room to cultivate.

*********

In the room across him, Li Ao focused on the two elementary books on Forging and Formation.

Elementary, they said, but in reality it was anything but that.

Two books were both a few hundred pages long, and from the beginning to the end only talked about principles, theory, and a few points of solid advice.

The Forging Book spoke about hammering, about temperature control, about changes brought by Qi, about the changes brought by the kind of fuel used for the fire, about the several kinds of grasps and most importantly, usage of martial techniques for forging itself.

The Formation Book was a lot more abstract. It was full of knowledge about general nature, and it talked a whole lot more about the nature of the Formation Arts itself as well as its birth purpose.

It seemed like a philosophy or history book more than a manual. Despite the difficulty understanding it, Li Ao enjoyed it. There was a section that intrigued Li Ao so much he read it again and again.

‘’Consider for a moment the myriad cultures and people who have been born in the universe, who all in desire for a particular way to change their shortcomings and their homes practiced the primitive way of formations.

Indeed, they all found similar and different ways, which now that most of it is known seem quite unoriginal. Dry branches, animal bones, precious and rare stones, flags, poles, geometric shapes, written language...’’

‘’This unoriginal quality I mention is an indicator for the practitioner’s way of thought to change. What is unoriginal? It is something that is more or less the same, used repeatedly in different frequencies.

But why are primitive formations unoriginal? Because they bear resemblance to each other. Why are they similar across all cultures separated by time and space? Then, what brought about the sudden change from unoriginal to original, from unimaginative to imaginative?

Why, and consider this a great question, for I dare say few people across many worlds can answer it, do all Formation Practitioners know that certain drawings or certain words resonate with Qi and the Universe?

People use the word ‘Heaven’ all the time, but when written in a particular way, why does it pull Qi towards itself as a barrier?

Why does the word ‘Free’ that has a myriad connotations attached to it make equipment able to ‘fly’ when engraved to a pair of boots?

And this is the same case for all languages. The word ‘Love’ in a language is, giving a possible example, the feeling of intimacy between two people. While in another language it means ‘Passion’ that exists for a particular action.

Then is it the language that is special? Surely not. Is it the words that are special? Some formations don’t even use words—you have to break the understanding down even further. Is it the intent that is special?

People once had no language, and only used their body to communicate. Why did gestures of our fingers and eyes, then, not produce formations? Intent is also in every act or thought—it is the most common thing other than instinct in the Universe.

If it cannot be intent, which is too abstract to consider under a scientific eye, what does that explain about Formations? Does that mean making Formations is something independent of universal laws?

That very well might be another path of cultivation!

But indeed, this is a question not even I know the answer to. And nor should you strive to know it before absorbing everything I have written across several volumes of these books. One does not need to know things out of reach if they value their sanity.

Still, there is a great deal of difference between the practitioner who wants to know how to make a formation and the practitioner who wants to know how the formations are made.

The latter will always, through the spirit of their curiosity, triumph over the other. Don't forget that this is but a point of reference for you to temper your way of thinking. Now, in regards to nature’s laws on the...’’

Li Ao read both books again and again, but only this place he repeated a few hundred times. It seemed like a glimpse at Enlightenment to him.

There was a special nature to the question put forth by the author, who was also a senior agent it seemed. Li Ao searched up the book and saw their identity hidden as well. But he found several more books, titled Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, and Divine Formation Learning.

Each grade cost ten times more as they moved up. Hence, Intermediate was Fifty Coins, Advanced was five hundred coins, and Master level cost five thousand Universal Coins.

The Grandmaster level cost a whopping fifty thousand. The Divine Formation Learning was five hundred thousand Universal Coins!

But Li Ao found it low. Way too low when compared to the worth it could bring. Such knowledge at this low of a price seemed unbelievable to Li Ao.

Not more shocking than recognizing where his world stood with this newfound understanding.

Even in the Great Wei Dynasty, there weren’t Advanced Formation Masters. No, there were people called Master and Grandmaster Formation Masters, but none of them fit the criteria set upon by the author of this book.

The rules and judgment given by this author were on a Universal Scale. The forging manual, too, referenced many matters on a universal scale first. Only then the author devolved into a more specific situation to explain. If such standards were to be set upon the Great Wei Dynasty...

The most accomplished of their time, Formation Grandmaster Wei Shi would be like a baby taking their first steps.

This sense of exaggerated proportions gave Li Ao a rush of excitement and dread. How big was the universe?

What was the Universe?

When he thought of things like that, Li Ao felt his consciousness shake somehow.

Such states of understanding and curiosity only lasted a mere moment, perhaps not even a second, and quickly he was shaken out of them. But he was certain that if he could live in that manner in a constant state, he would find out a great thing.

Such feelings were subjective, however. And after spending so much time reading, it was now time to put them into practice.

Thinking so, Li Ao descended to the brothel’s first floor and asked a servant where he could first find formation materials, then a forge to rent.