———-Ye Bai Chen POV———

Chen turned to the window as he sensed his orders arriving. A tapping at the window confirmed that.

“Chen, there’s a sword flying outside the window carrying a package. Its tapping on the window.” observed Wit impassively as she lopsidedly levitated around the room.

Chen gazed at the sword outside of the window considering how he was going to let it in. While he could force himself to stand it might not end up too well. It had been so long since he’d had to walk, much less in a completely new body crippled with pain. Wit couldn’t open it, she wasn’t strong enough as of yet to interact with the corporeal world in her incorporeal form.

As he thought about it the sword decided to take matters into its own hands...um handle? The tapping got louder and more insistent. Finally as if the sword had lost its patience it reeled back and slammed into the window, shattering it. The glass broke with a loud crack followed by the clatter of broken glass cascading to the floor. The sword leisurely drifted to Chen, it stopped in front of him with celebratory bobbing as if awaiting praise. Chen’s brow crinkled in guilt.

“I apologize about the window. I will pay for it with my own funds.” Chen fixed his eyes upon the ceiling with a new thought. “Would they accept yuan?” He wondered out loud. He grabbed the sword by the hilt, removed the paper wrapped package and chucked it back out of the broken window.

Wit’s awe filled gaze panned to the slightly sad looking sword (Don't ask how a sword is able to look sad, just know that this one somehow managed it) on its path back through the sky. “Is this what to expect from that sword you commissioned?” She asked.

Chen hmm’ed affirmatively as he busied himself unwrapping the parcel. “If we can accumulate enough qi, it’s definitely possible.” He revealed a beautiful red-lacquered wood box. A crest cut from bronze decorated the top and a clasp of the same material held it shut.

“Where’s the rest of it?” Asked Wit as she hovered curiously above the box. “We ordered a lot.”

Chen held out the box proudly, “This is all of it. Sword Monarch Great Storm specializes in creating strange dimensional relics that even I do not fully understand. His understanding in the workings of the world are far beyond my own. I merely have to place my hand within the box and think of what I want. The box will supply it so long as the items are in stock.” He opened the box revealing nothing but a shadowy interior, no bottom could be seen. Chen gently reached his hand into the inky darkness. Wit was surprised to see his hand disappear then reappear a moment later carrying a handful of long silver needles. He reached in again and this time his hand came out with a bundle of herbs. Once more and he had a change of clothes.

“Sounds familiar, like the Tarbis from that show Professor What!” exclaimed Wit.

“I believe Great Storm mentioning something like that. I am surprised that you’ve heard of it.” Chen replied absently as he began sorting through the needles he’d pulled from the box. “We really should cleanse these before use but...ah well.” He inserted a needle smoothly into his leg. One by one he continued to apply them until at least twenty needles protruded from ankles to hips. He left them there for a bit, occasionally wiggling one here or two there. He then grabbed the bundle of herbs surprising Wit when he viciously tore them to shreds; he kept tearing until they were nothing but a juicy pulp in his fingers.

Immediately after he’d turned the leaves into a pulpy green viscosity he pulled out all the needles and applied the poultice to where they had been, eating the leftovers afterward. The poultice dried in about 10 minutes, at which time he peeled it off. Chen tested out his legs with a grin. He easily stood up and shook his limbs about, satisfied with the performance of this new body he attempted to get dressed as fast as he could. He was still pulling on his shirt when he exited Wits bedroom and grabbed her purse. He was almost out the door when he realized he had no shoes. The same problem that plagued Tomo now did the same to him for Wit only owned high heels. He frowned at the few pairs he could see scattered around the door. Should he abandon his dignity as a civilized human and go barefoot… or abandon his dignity as a man and wear the shoes? Why did he forget to buy shoes while he was shopping?

He decided to go with option C, an uneasy compromise. He looked around for Wit, finding her occupied with looking at the box he quickly chose a plain black pair and tore off the heels. He glanced back at Wit only to become paralyzed by her freezing glare. Arms crossed, she opened her mouth wide to match her passionate anger for the choice words she had in mind for him.

“Those...were my favorite Yucci Laton heels. They were limited edition.” Her voice seemed to chill the whole room. Chen tucked the shoes under his arm and pressed his hands together in apology.

“...I’ll buy you another pair?” He opened his eyes wide and tilted his head.

“Limited. Edition.” She said slowly apparently unaffected by his remorseful look.

Chen decided it was safer to ignore her. He stuffed his feet into the mutilated shoes and practically threw himself out of the apartment to escape the following profanities. He did remember to lock the door behind him though. He tried to run down the stairs but after he almost face planted a few times, decided it would be better to walk. He finally arrived at the door to the outside. His hand shook slightly in anticipation. He placed his palm against the cool metal of the handle and twisted. The door fell open with a squeak. Mild sunlight filtered into the doorway falling just short of his feet. He took a deep breath and stepped through.

He closed his eyes and looked up, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face. Chen took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

“So beautiful.” He whispered. The sunlight glistened off the windows of the various buildings and shone through scaffolding creating interesting shadows on the ground. Chen started walking aimlessly. He wandered through the city streets, slowly taking in the sights and sounds of the people and scenery. He finally came to a park where many people had given into their wanderlust just like him. They sat on benches feeding birds, or walked their dogs (he even saw someone walking a cat). He saw people jogging, fast walking, biking, and riding around on small devices consisting of only two wheels and no handles that he was unfamiliar with. He felt that this was his place and found himself a comfortable patch of grass beneath a tree where he took off his shoes to feel the grass. Divine. Chen began to go through the forms of his favorite meditative dance. It consisted of exaggerated movements, executed as gracefully and slowly as possible. He spread his feet shoulder length apart and brought his hand in a lazy arc above his head then slid his right foot ever so slowly behind him and thus began the first steps.

He could feel his Qi or in this case, Wit’s Qi begin to move around their body. The sudden movement of their energy created a faint whirlwind as Wit’s body absorbed the ambient energy of the world and the sun. The whirlwind affected leaves in appealing colors of red, yellow and brown causing them to scatter and swirl around the ground as Chen swung his arms and slid his foot in a circle around himself at the speed of a snail. He felt the power ripple through his body as he stood up on one leg and bent the other to rest his foot halfway up his thigh. The leaves suddenly seemed to be pushed about a foot away from his body before they came to rest quietly on the ground as if they hadn’t moved in the first place. Chen took a deep breath as he ended the dance and lowered himself into a seated position, but was broken out of his relaxed state by a round of applause. He was very surprised to find a crowd had at some point formed around him.

A man came up to him, “Hey I wanted to give you some money but you don’t have a hat or anything out. So here.” the man attempted to hand him a 5 dollar bill.

“You wish...to give me money?” exceedingly confused, Chen merely looked at the man.

“Well, yeah?” The man returned an equally confused smile.

Chen wanted to ask why but he was distracted by Wit pantomiming at him excitedly to just take the money. He was wondering why she wasn’t speaking. Did she forget that no others could hear her? He took the money.

“Thanks?” What just happened? He thought to himself. Did they think me a beggar? He surreptitiously glanced at his clothes. They were the clothes he just bought so they were clean and unwrinkled with no visible signs of wear. As the crowd dispersed Chen noticed a long time had gone by. It was now late afternoon and his 5 hours were almost up.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Wit, could you explain the exchange that just took place?” asked Bai Chen as his baffled gaze landed on the 5 he held.

“Sure,” said Wit who was orbiting around her body positioned as if sitting in a reclining chair, “as soon as you tell me what that breeze was. And that weird warm current I felt run through my body...uh, I mean spirit? Spirit body? I don’t usually feel anything in this form. It was strange.”

“It was only Qi that I absorbed from the environment. I created a center in your body where the energy you absorb will be stored and basically jump started the pathways within your body that the energy can use to move through you. It will take a long time for the energy to permeate through your bones, muscle and skin though. So don’t expect any significant changes for a few years at least. I’ll teach you how to meditate and move the Qi around later. The more you cycle it through the pathways, the faster it will become a part of you. Now it’s your turn, please explain why that man gave me money.” Chen explained this as he left the park. He decided to take the long way home so he could experience more of this strange new land. It looked very different from when he was last out of the Diamond.

He marveled at the height of the buildings and the amount of people. The automobiles were also very different from what he had seen before. The last time he saw them was during the time when Brightly was the host. Back then they were more like glorified three wheel bicycles with a motor. He smiled and was glad that there were so many new and interesting things to experience.

“I see. So after a few years my life span will increase?” Asked Wit bringing Chen out of his thoughts.

“Yes. Among other things, but not by any significant margin.” Chen nodded and stared at a woman across the street. Although she looked like a woman she seemed...odd. She was dressed very flamboyantly but had the musculature of a man. So was that a man or a woman? Chen felt it would be impolite of him to ask so he ignored...her, and continued on his way.

“The man gave you the 5 dollar bill because he thought you were a performer. Maybe you didn’t notice but there were a few other people in the park around you playing music and such. They perform and people will give them money if they like what they see. It’s quite a common sight especially in big cities like this.”

“So professional beggars?” Piped in Troy.

“No! They’re working. They are providing a service in the shape of their skill and people can pay them. Personally I think it’s great. I also started out as a conwoman as a hobby. It became my main job after I experienced a few unfortunate events though.” Wit changed positions to look like she was leaning on Chen’s shoulder with her chin in her hands and her feet crossed and dangling in the air behind her.

“Miss Wit, it may be rude of me but may I ask what unfortunate event befell you?” Asked Brightly with a hint of concern coloring his posh british accent.

Wit considered it for a moment. She’d never shared her past with anyone but talking about it with a bunch of spirits probably wouldn’t hurt. Plus she was also curious about their stories. “Sure thing. I don’t really mind telling you as long as you all promise not to mention anything to anyone when it’s your turn to take over. The me that everyone here knows is Lena Dwight and not Wither Holt afterall.”

“Of course, dear. We would never share any of your information without permission. We actually prefer not to interact with the hosts friends, family and coworkers anyway. It’s too easy for them to notice inconsistencies in the way we all act.” Kadee explained calmly.

Wit nodded. “Good. Hmm, Guess I should start when I was a kid. I along with my twin brother were basically raised by the butler. Simon was his name. He would teach us a lot of interesting things. Like how to manipulate people and beat them at games. My mother had died giving birth to us and I’m pretty sure our father hated us. Maybe Simon thought we could manipulate our father into like us, I don’t know but if that was the case it didn’t work. It was around the age of 10 when he decided he was sick of looking at us and he abandoned us at a church. Simon would drop by to give us gifts and teach us things. But mostly it was just my brother and I.

Sol, that’s my brother, decided to become a priest even though he doesn’t believe in god anymore than I do. He runs an orphanage now. He’s a good guy. He wants to help people, you know? I on the other hand left as fast as I could. I lived on my own and I really tried to get by normally. I got a job and made friends- at least, what I thought were friends. In the end I was cheated and tricked and lied to and eventually learned that to survive on my own I also had to cheat and trick and lie. So I took everything Simon and life had taught me and became a conwoman. I have multiple aliases, quite a few different bank accounts all under different names, as well as several accomplices that help me out. I’ve actually gotten caught a few times but my buddies bailed me out and I always learn from my mistakes. I haven’t been caught in ages. I’m actually quite famous in the underground community. They call me The Pike, you know like the bird? Also it seems most people think I’m a guy. Ha!” Wit was proud of her accomplishments but she didn’t feel the need to explain exactly all the many ways people and the world in general had beat her down. Why depress herself by explaining the gory details?

“Your story is fairly similar to all of ours. We all have survived through adversity and come out on top. It has made us who we are.” Brightly explained. “It is my belief that the Diamond chooses people not only based on their skills but also their personality.”

Chen only barely paid attention to their conversation. He was still slowly meandering back to Wit’s apartment. He’d had a wonderful day. The sun was warm on his head and the breeze jostled his hair which tickled his cheek. He had missed those simple things. It was far too soon when he arrived back at his new place of residence. He frowned at the squat brick building. It was not a pretty thing. Its walls were dirty and covered in creatively painted words and garbage lay in small piles around its base. An old man dressed in shabby mismatched clothes smelling of alcohol and sweat sat between it and the building next to it.

“Wit I request we move to a nicer place. I do not think this environment is good for your future training.” Spoke Chen as he entered the building. His eyebrows came together in distaste as he had to touch the filthy door that led into the building. He hadn’t noticed when he left as he’d been enamored with the sky.

Wit was about to reply but someone else beat her to it.

“I object. This area is good for finding sparring partners.” Surprisingly it was Tomo that spoke.

“I agree with Chen. There are other ways to find someone to fight besides beating some thugs in an alley, no matter how much they deserve it.” Said Kadee followed by agreement from Brightly.

“I agree with Tomo! Street fights are the way to go!” Troy also tried to get involved but everyone seemed to ignore him.

“Let’s move. We can’na forget dere’s also a yoong lad among us.” The voice that spoke was one Wit hadn’t heard yet. It was a male with a heavy irish accent. “One what hasn’t seen da light o’ day eden befar da carse. Dis ain’t da best place for da wee one’s forst look o da’ warld.”

“Hey!” Yelled V, “I can handle it! I say we don’t move ‘cause I’m a man! I’m strong and smart and super awesome so there!” You could almost hear him sticking his tongue out.

“Ye are but a lad. We’ll be protectin’ ye wheder ye want it or no.” The irish man sounded slightly amused. “By da way, me nems Finn. I was a pirate when I lived. I dun tink ye’v heard fra me yet lass.”

Wit returned his greeting and let them argue amongst themselves. She didn’t actually care where she lived so she decided to let them choose. By now Chen had arrived back at the apartment. He slipped his shoes off and left them at the entryway. Then he sat cross legged in Wit’s living room.

“Could you all be silent for a bit? I wish to speak to Wit.” The others quieted down thanks to Chen’s request. They had just decided to move to a better area and were in the process of deciding where that area would be. “So I want you to meditate every night for at least 1 hour before you go to bed. Women benefit more from the energy of the moon after all. Mornings are optional but encouraged. Within a few weeks your bones will begin to ache. That means the Qi has been absorbed into them and has strengthened and healed them, this includes joints and marrow, which in turn affects your blood. Next your muscles will ache and occasionally spasm. It will stop eventually but this means that the Qi has finished with your muscles. This will make you stronger, faster and more flexible. After that your skin will begin to tingle and sometimes itch. The Qi by this point will be done tempering your body and will begin on the details. Those being your six senses. It will take a long time but as long as you remember to meditate then by the end of this process your entire body will be optimized. For your meditation do half an hour of sitting and circulating Qi through your body, for the other half you will perform a few movements while circulating your Qi.” Chen demonstrated the movements in the middle of the living room. Wit would like to say it looked like a slow and graceful dance, similar to what he did in the park. But it didn’t at all. It looked like a crab walk with hands in pincers above her head then changed into some kind of bunny hop motion before it switched to a prancing horse kind of walk then changed into a flamingo stance, with arms curled into chicken wings and head arrogantly looking at the sky. He repeated the movements several times.

“This is called the Four Almighty Beasts Meditation Technique. FAB technique for short. I will walk you through it later if you weren’t able to memorize that. I will now return your body. Tomorrow for my 1 hour I will create some pills that will help detoxify your body.” Chen sat and closed his eyes. Wit’s body slumped to the side as her spirit body got sucked back into her chest.

———Wit's POV———

I slowly opened my eyes and the first thought that popped into my head was, Nobody must ever, EVER see me do that technique! I shuddered.

“Chen...are those strange movements absolutely necessary?” I asked hesitantly.

“They are not strange! They are a legendary meditative technique that I had to pry from the greedy hands of Great Master Eternal Bamboo after I won them in a game of wits where we had to compose poems on the spot praising the scenery. I worked hard. They are definitely not strange.”

...Why do you sound like your trying to convince yourself? Most of the others asked themselves.

“Ahem, well, I was wondering is anybody going to be taking over tonight? Wasn’t it supposed to be V’s turn?” I asked.

“We’ve all agreed to skip V until we move and then give him a few days in a row. Next in line should be Brightly who will be in charge of finding us a new house.” I gave a thumbs up in my head as Kadee smoothly cooperated with me in changing the subject.

“He will? How?” I wondered if he could use a computer.

“I am a man of science. I have studied many modern technological marvels thanks to when V was the host. He has also been teaching me some programming. I believe I am at least better with a computer than most normal people. It is no problem to enter my search parameters into the Googly which I have been told is a vast library full of knowledge and cats. Though what exactly the cats have to do with it I cannot seem to understand.” Said Brightly.

I didn’t want to even attempt to tackle the task of explaining the internet's obsession with cats. So I simply told him that he could take over when I fell asleep as I didn’t really feel the need to be awake for a house search and I was rather tired anyway. I trusted V could explain anything Brightly didn’t understand.

The voices in my head started to banter about why the cats were so important to this thing called the ‘internet’ and I listened quietly. It was a calm and relaxing evening with pleasant company and a lively atmosphere. I suddenly felt that my life had just become a bit less lonely. Maybe I should visit my brother?