Chang-li looked up as the paper and wooden door of his small room in the expedition infirmary was slid back. Inspector Ji'in stood in the doorway. Immediately, Chang-li prostrated himself, leaning forward as far as he could in the bed. "Master, you do this one great honor by descending to my level."
The inspector carried a fan in one hand, which he folded up and wrapped against the back of his wrist. "Yes, yes, I know, Chang-li. You may raise your face."
Chang-li struggled upright. He gestured to the sole sitting pillow in the room, positioned in front of the low pallet on which he lay. "Will the noble inspector sit? I regret that I cannot offer refreshment."
He still wasn’t sure how he’d managed to escape with no more than a bad case of exhaustion, strained nerves, and a nasty fever which, after two days in the infirmary, had nearly died away. The book he’d found lay wrapped in its oilskin cover, hidden under his thin sleeping mat. No one had noticed it yet and until he got a chance to examine it, he wished to keep it that way.
“Do not worry yourself.” Inspector Ji'in seated himself on the cushion, folding his legs elegantly beneath him. His robe was the finest silk, embroidered with silver and copper threads. He wore carved wooden jewelry, polished and lacquered to a fine sheen, but no gems. As exalted and far above Chang-li as Inspector Ji'in was, he had never raised himself to even the lowest level of the Sevenfold Court.
"I have finished speaking with the sect leader of the Soaring Heavens sect," Inspector Ji'in continued. "We have heard the testimony of young Master Feng himself, as well as the other survivors of your disaster. It is truly unfortunate that your people encountered a tower eruption in progress. Had young Master Feng not been there, it is certain there would have been a breach of the tower."
Chang-li blinked. An eruption happened when a tower level went too long without being culled by cultivators. The lux would build up, empowering the creatures inside the tower, until they grew so strong, they were driven from the tower by some unknown need that forced them to seek out creatures in the world beyond. They could rush over the land like a spring inundation, bringing destruction in their wake.
Chang-li knew that this tower was indeed in danger of eruption. That was one reason why this expedition had been mounted. It had gone nearly four years without a proper cultivator cull. The city of Golden Moon, lying by the sea at the foot of the mountain, was in danger, as was much of Riceflower Province. As some of the most profitable farmland in all the Central Kingdom, the emperor would not permit the risk, hence authorizing this expedition.
But Chang-li was certain the jade wolves had been no stronger than they ought to have been. It was Young Master Feng's foolish tactics and disdain for the lives of others that had brought their expedition low.
He opened his mouth and then saw how intently Inspector Ji'in was regarding him. He bowed low. "I cannot gainsay the wisdom of my superiors. I, being a foolish one, not even a true cultivator, must have mistaken the situation. I did not believe the creatures we faced could pose such a threat to a refined cultivator such as Young Master Feng, but I see I was mistaken."
"Indeed you were," Inspector Ji'in said crisply. "I have placed a commendation in your file. You did well, Scribe Wu.” Chang-li bowed again. "A copy of the commendation, along with a bonus in the form of three months' salary, is being sent to your mother. She is a widow, is she not?"
"Yes, in Yellow Sky City," Chang-li said. Already, three weeks’ pay out of four was sent to his mother. The army provided him with food, shelter, and clothing, so he had little need for money himself. His mother and brother, who had worked their fingers to the bones to put him through scribing school, deserved everything he could send them. Three months' salary all at once might well be enough to move his mother to a better house before winter. Perhaps to see to it that she no longer had to work as a seamstress repairing the clothes of those more fortunate than herself.
It was, Chang-li realized, a bribe for his silence. Young Master Feng had screwed up massively. The sect leader knew it. Inspector Ji'in knew it. But he was being protected. Why? The Soaring Heavens sect surely had other young cultivators who could step into his place. He had always heard that cultivation was a cutthroat business, that sects were quick to come down on those who made mistakes. Perhaps Young Master Feng had an important patron.
The more important question, Chang-li realized, was what else could he get out of this?
Chang-li cleared his throat. "I am honored by this show of the Emperor's faith in me, Inspector.” He bowed low again. "I now realize the true importance of our work here. The idea of beasts such as I saw coming down upon the farmers below us strikes terror into my heart. I wish to do all I can to help. May I please be appointed as a scribe on the next expedition? I feel I am now uniquely equipped to face the dangers within the tower now.”
Inspector Ji'in shook his head sadly. "I am sorry, Chang-li. Surely you know regulations about those who have not achieved Bodily Refinement? Having been exposed to a pre-eruption monstrosity puts you at increased risk. Should you yourself enter the tower, there is a high chance you could be contaminated and become a monstrosity yourself. It is not a risk you can take. I am afraid you will not be permitted to enter the tower again. Your conditional cultivator’s license has been revoked.”
Chang-li could say nothing for a whole half minute. He sat sputtering to himself, trying desperately to compose a polite reply, something that would not incur Inspector Ji'in's wrath. He hadn't been exposed to a monstrosity at all! Feng had lied. Ji'in knew he was lying. There was no danger. Not permitted to enter! Not permitted to advance as a cultivator, doomed to remain at the base mortal state for the rest of his life?
"Inspector Ji'in, I would like to file for an exception—“
But Ji'in was shaking his head. "The notice has already been entered into your file, Scribe Wu. Your record has been updated throughout the Empire."
He extended a small roll of parchment to Chang-li, who was so upset, he reached for it with his left hand before catching himself. It had been years since he’d slipped up and used his dishonorable left hand for scribe business. As if coming from peasant stock was not enough of a challenge, Chang-li had been born with a preference for his left hand, acceptable in a dockhand but not in an imperial official.
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Ji’in looked away as Chang-li unrolled the scroll and read. It was as the inspector had said. Dismay filled him. “Sir, this — there is no other way?”
“There is not.” Ji’in inclined his head. “But you are a scribe. There is no need for you to cultivate. You can serve the emperor where you are, just as I have.”
As if to emphasize this, he placed a hand to the imperial seal scroll hanging around his neck. As chief official on this expedition, Inspector Ji'in carried a seal of the Red Court, the lowest rank of the seven, and an honor to which Ji'in did not actually presume. In his role as an official, he was permitted to exert that authority. Any paper he stamped with that seal would bear the authority of the lowest rank Sevenfold Court officials in the Empire.
Which was still high enough to doom Chang-li. The thought of pleading his case before a higher ranked official was ludicrous. None of them would give him the time of day, even if he had a good case to make. With no witnesses and his word against the prodigy of an important sect like Soaring Heavens, it was hopeless.
Chang-li was now banned from ever entering a tower. His chance at progressing had been ripped from him by the selfish young master, who likely didn't even know what he had done. Fury boiled in Chang-li.
Inspector Ji'in was examining him closely. Chang-li realized he was expected to say something. He cleared his throat. "And what of the other two who survived with me?"
"Ah," Inspector Ji'in looked surprised. He frowned. "Soldier Lu will be sent for guard duty in a city far from any tower, where he will not be exposed to further lux contamination. The slave has been sentenced to punishment detail. It is a pity. He was exceptionally strong and better-natured than most Darwur slaves we've taken. I had hoped to have a chance to have some of my assistants learn the basics of the Darwur language from him. It's always good to have a staff who can speak with barbarians, after all, even if Darwur is far from here. One never knows where one will be assigned next.”
Punishment detail. So, Joshi was to be worked to death, soldier Lu sent far away. A cold sweat passed over Chang-li as he realized that would leave him as the sole surviving witness to young Master Feng's intransigence. He did not like the implications.
"You may be interested to learn of the arrival of Radiant Dowager Pearl Lin-Ya," Inspector Ji'in said. "She and the first delegation of Heavenly Jewels arrived yesterday and are in the process of setting up the Court of Gems here at our camp. It is possible that a young scribe such as yourself might ingratiate yourself with the dowager. If you do, I can arrange for your posting away from here, perhaps as an adjutant to a small branch of the Sevenfold Court."
So there was the other part of his bribe, extended at last. The offer of a posting away from the wrath of young Master Feng. A chance at a new career.
Chang-li bowed. "Yes, of course, Master. Thank you."
The inspector rose. “As soon as the healers release you, return to your barracks and resume your duties." before backing out of the room and closing the door behind him.
Chang-li immediately pulled himself into a meditative posture, his legs crossed, palms flat on each knee. He closed his eyes and worked on his breathing technique: in through his left nostril, air passed through his lungs, back out through his right nostril. He searched for any traces of lux in his body but felt unusually drained. Undaunted, he went through the exercises anyway, imagining each of his spiritual channels in turn, from the balls of his feet, up through his legs, his groin, his midsection, into his core, then out again to his chest, his shoulders, his hands, and his head. Then he reversed the cycle, passing the tiny fragment of lux in him down from the top of his head through each stage of his body, into his core, and out to his lower extremities. Then he took another breath, passed the air through himself, exhaled, and repeated the lux exercise again.
After 15 repetitions of this cycling technique, the Way of the Faithful that every subject of the emperor was taught from the time he could walk, he opened his eyes back up and began to think.
So, they wanted to close progression to him. He would have to see about that. But first, what of this business with the royal court?
He knew what that was about. The Revered Pearl would be one of the former brides of the Emperor. At any given time he had a thousand concubines, taking 100 new beauties every year while releasing 100 from their duties. Many of those women were rewarded with high official roles throughout the kingdom.
This woman's task would be to accompany a bevy of unmarried princes and princesses of the Sevenfold Court. While their presence here might be disguised under a number of names, it was for one purpose. Any promising young cultivators who emerged from this expedition would be married off to an eligible member of the Sevenfold Court, elevating that cultivator into the royalty of the central kingdom and giving them a direct connection to the Divine Emperor. The Emperor had maintained the peace and prosperity of the land for a thousand years with this method.
It could also present Chang-li with opportunities of his own.
He leaned back and closed his eyes, switching from his basic cultivation technique to the one taught specifically to scribes. The Font of Iridescent Ink meditation was more lux dependent than the basic cultivation technique, and he didn’t have the lux to do more than step through the imagery. He’d been so close to actually gaining lux, to empowering his cultivation enough to start changing his body. And now, he would never get the chance.
As Chang-li went through his meditation, the memory of the book he had found in the tower came back. He itched to unwrap it, but dared not risk it here, where anyone might come across it. Perhaps it contained secrets of a lost cultivator sect, something he could sell. It had laid there for years, perhaps decades, left behind by some prior expedition to this tower.
Could those dead cultivators have entered the tower in a different place?
Chang-li called to mind all the tower lore he knew. All across the world, heavenly towers dotted the landscape, embedded into spires of stone, mountainsides, tall cliffs. Anywhere that the land rose up to reach the heavens. While tower theory suggested that each level should have its own entrance, as far as he knew, many towers had only one or two accessible locations.
This particular tower had a known entrance for its fifth level. To reach it, one would leave the expedition base camp and climb nearly three li higher along a rough, mountainous path made for goats and well-trained cultivators, not ordinary people like Chang-li. The route into the third floor, where he had been, was but a place where the side of the tower had been sheared off, perhaps by an avalanche, perhaps by some previous monster eruption. A series of bamboo and rope ladders, strung precariously together, gave access to that opening. But hadn’t that opening been discovered only twenty years before? That body had looked older. If the dead man had not entered through that opening….
Was there was a way into the first level?
What if he could find that way in?
It would be incredibly dangerous for someone who had not achieved the first step of cultivation to attempt to cultivate on his own, but nowhere near as dangerous as the third floor had been. With a few careful preparations he could gather enough lux to take the first step along the Path of Heavenly Progression. Someone who had already passed the Bodily Refinement threshold would surely not be in danger of transformation into a monstrosity himself.
It was a thin reed to grasp, yet it was all Chang-li had.