In the past, Sage did everything he could to avoid the overwhelming power and talent of those he deemed as ‘main character types’. Their inordinate talent or ability in comparison to their peers made others jealous and attracted danger. Then, their great luck would lead them to somehow survive and benefit from it. Or at least, that was how the stories went. There was no telling how true the stories that were told about these famous characters were. Stories of their exploits were just as popular as those back on Earth so there was no shortage of tales about these people who broke all the rules of the Cultivation world.
Some of them were greatly exaggerated for the public as compared to the real truth, as Sage had looked into a few of them over the years. On the other hand, there were others that he happily avoided as they’d become the leaders of the world. Nascent Souls that defeated multiple Saints when they were young and were now the invincible rulers of one kingdom or another. He was sure there were many more of them in the capitals of the Empires, but access to their information was much harder to acquire. At least in the Tianxia Capital, the place was sort of divided into its own sort of kingdoms, grouping the various levels together to restrict the flow of information. Most who visited from the outside would barely get past the first few levels so information about who was actually in charge was quite limited.
One of those main characters he would have avoided had now become his research subject.
A research team was assigned to the boy, Sang Hua, while Sage moved on to other topics. Specifically the topic of Gu and where they came from. Surprisingly, the answers came in a book meant for children. A folk tale passed down through the generations spoke of the original families and had an actual list of Clan names. There was no way to determine the truth of the story, but it was a lead nonetheless. Using what they’d learned so far, Sage released a few agents out into the city to gather information. He could do all the legwork himself, but it was better to leave such tasks to the professionals. He just had to furnish them with some identity tokens that allowed them to return to his quarters and give them a supply of gold and Spirit Stones in the local style.
They purchased their own supplies and then started looking for more information. Purchasing books and scrolls, talking to locals, hiring information agencies, examining tombstones and shrines, and even checking antiques. They looked for references to the list of names and also for anything confirming the list or adding to it. There were many false leads, but they also found a few inaccuracies which led them onto different paths as they discovered slightly different versions of the original clan names.
One of the altered name lists came to their attention. Three of the names had something in common that drew their attention. Shi, or louse; Die, or butterfly; and Kuo, slugs. The Gu were all predominantly worms and not only did these Clan names fit the theme, they were also reminiscent of the Chong Clan. These clans from another empire that also revered bugs were interesting and were worthy of further investigation.
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A more refined search found them a real lead: the Die Clan was still in the Kingdom and their clan Symbol was indeed a butterfly. Sage didn’t waste any time, leaving the city and heading to the one where the Die were supposed to live. They were still a rich and powerful Clan that was well known to the merchant group they asked. With the maps they gathered, finding the route was quite simple. Sage wasn’t linked to any Gu so he couldn’t just act with impunity, but he was strong enough that any trouble he ran into would only serve to delay him.
Arriving at the City of Shrouded Flowers, Sage paid a bit extra to skip the line on entering the city. The line for cultivators was non-existent, but the entrance fee was a Spirit Stone rather than a silver piece. Heading inside he grabbed a local guide and hired a carriage to take him to the Die Clan’s home. Using a tried and true tactic he bribed a few guards and attendants to get him a meeting with a barely important member of the clan. It was a common practice, letting merchants or rich folk spend money to get a meeting. If there was anything important the visitor could be moved on to someone higher up in the clan, while if it was a waste of time they showed some face to the visitor and made a little money in the process.
Sage skipped through the first meeting by showing off the aura of someone in the sixth rank. It was slightly different from a sixth rank Gu Cultivator’s aura, but close enough that the barely third rank Die Clan member didn’t notice. Sage made a request with the man, aiming to meet with one of the most knowledgeable members of the clan. Preferably one that specialized in the history of their clan as he had some questions about genealogy. With the assumption that he was there to clear up some issues with bloodlines, the man got him a second meeting.
This second fellow was expecting to be wrangling issues of parentage and brought some of the more detailed family record books with him. He was quite surprised by the actual subject to be discussed, but quite happy for the change. Sage lucked out as this new fellow, Die Lunwen, was a true history buff, and one of his favorite topics was the clan’s founding. With just a few compliments, Lunwen started talking about the ancient accomplishments of the Die Clan and Sage learned how important they were to the founding of the Xuanyuan Empire. The Gu were created in a joint effort between Die and Kuo. The Shi had nothing to do with them, it was purely a coincidence that their name, louse, happened to also be a bug.
It was only when Sage asked a question about how the Gu worked that Die Lunwen snapped out of his rapid fire speech about the Die Clan. He was shocked to have almost revealed the secrets of his clan. Sage saw the man looking around, trying to make eye contact with a guard near the door. Sage stepped in between and revealed a secret of his own.
“I am from a different Empire. Tianxia has no Gu. My Lang Clan as well as the other clans affiliated with the Chong Clan in Tianxia all use insects. We bond to them and they help us in various ways. I heard about the Die and figured we were kindred spirits.”
This plea led to another conversation and Sage got the man to drop them a hint about the Gu. The Die and Kuo created the very first Gu that opened up the whole path of Gu Cultivation. This was big news and Sage took a risk. He brought out a Jade Tablet and showed its cover to Die Lunwen.
“Insect Immortal Index.”
Die Lunwen’s eyes widened as he read the title out loud.
“Where did you get that? Stealing from the Die Clan will not go unpunished. If you return it to us now, then we can be lenient with the penalty. Tell us where you got it and you can avoid the prison stocks.”
Sage was surprised by the sudden shift in demeanor. They were talking so happily a moment ago but this one reveal made him so aggressive.
“This isn’t from your clan. It's been passed down in my clan for thousands of years. It seems I was right. We do have much to talk about.”