Seeing my first afternoon to myself where I didn't feel the need to run myself ragged I turned to that old staple.

Reading.

I found a warm spot and brought out the three introductory scrolls that Wu had brought me. Having the time to do something didn't always translate to following through, but today I was moving. The three scrolls showed a breath technique, a striking technique and something that I was having trouble sounding out. It was either soul or dream at its base, and my terrible translation was doing me no favors. I had expected to get better at my language skill but that was not happening.

The breath technique encouraged a special type of breath through the dantian. That was another word that I was going to have to ask about. I had an idea, but Wu would know better. The explanation was quite lacking in description.

Most interestingly the third scroll felt familiar to me. It felt like a healing scroll with mentions of a brain and heart meridian. I had no idea what it was talking about but once again, I ran into the problem of no notebook to write stuff down.

That one I could probably solve. I probably should have made a list of things to ask Moon Fei. I tried to make some mental notes, but it felt like fighting against the tide.

I remembered a shop with an ink and paper sign above it close to the Green Air Inn. I itched to run down the two floors to find it. I felt like taking the stairs two or three at a time. Was it the Cultivators Ink something?

The pile of papers had grown. There was a neat stack of about eighteen invitations when I opened the door. The staff had taken to leaving them outside my door after I spoke to them this morning. They had even added a lovely basket that I could easily flip into a nearby trash can. Moon Fei notwithstanding, they tended to leave me alone, so they all took that note with grace.

The shop had an open air artwork display out front. Twin wooden doors pushed to either side were full of ornate designs and painting in front of a three story multi use building. If Fei wouldn't take me to a library, this would have to do.

I had writing to do.

___

A tiny bell rang in the wind as I passed the threshold into a large open working area. Neat piles of scrolls accented the central figure working tirelessly to capture something via watercolor. Her intricate patterns seemed to meld between written words and expansive scenes that covered large tapestries.

As I got closer, the painter glanced up. A woman who had to be in her mid twenties at the latest regarded me with the blank indifference of a retail clerk. Her black hair framed a face that would make any kpop star spontaneously combust with jealousy. Her smooth accented face screamed 'I spent thirty minutes on this makeup but if you dare say a word about it, you will face my wrath.'

I tried to bow respectfully. There was no telling who was powerful here, I did not need to offend anyone. I needed to lead with a smile.

"Miss, please I have a request."

She paused her painting. She gestured for me to continue, using only her brows. I knew the motion well.

"I am in need of scrolls and writing implements. Oh and if you have a notebook or something similar I would take that as well."

"Scribe for a Sect?" Her question hung in the air, as did her brush.

I considered the implications. A sect would have an account but then I would need to know someone or a pass code or something.

"I am independent. No Sect."

She looked back down, resuming her painting. She had already seen me, made an assessment and l had not met the threshold for her to care. It was a good spot to be in if I wanted to remain anonymous.

"Very well. Payment must be in advance then. Scrolls are on the far wall, ink is behind me arranged by color. Paint is next to that, but you shouldn’t have much need of that. Brushes of various sizes and quills are between the two. When you have what you want, bring it to me."

"Thank you."

It was the first time that someone hadn't said anything about me being a Cultivator. If this was the test to see if I was worthy for some initiation, I was failing badly or passing with full marks. To tell the truth it felt good to not be immediately into a hard sell.

I found three blank scrolls that were about a half meter wide and about a meter long. That would do for a start. I would need to weigh them down.

I brought them up.

"Pardon me, but I don't see any pots of ink or quills here, aside from those that you're using. I know you mentioned them but they seem to be missing."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Her look was murderous.

I am not going to say she was cold, but she wasn't far from it. Her gaze snapped to a different set of shelves.

"Shelves on that wall," she said, pointing to nearly unnoticeable shelves on a perfect wall, "those have what you seek."

She grumbled a bit about someone's mother moving things around under her breath.

I resumed my search over there, grabbing two full ink pots and three brushes. I didn't know how much I would use and the first scroll was probably going to be a wash, but I would be able to take notes.

"You don't happen to have any graphene sticks by chance? Or charcoal?"

I had seen writing in both, but if she had them they were well hidden.

"How many of each do you want?"

"Two of each?" I guessed.

"Your total is 25 Waan, including all of this."

I pulled out my purse grabbing what she wanted and then counted out the coins.

For the first time she locked eyes with me.

"Oh! This one is sorry if she has caused offense, young master," she said.

It was probably the eyes. Something had given me away.

"Oh that's unnecessary," I said, before finding spots in my pockets for everything.

The ink pots had mahogany stoppers so those would be fine to roll around, but before I could do anything, she grabbed everything but the scrolls and put it into a large textile bag. I nodded appreciatively. Of course it has

"Thanks for the bag, this er... Does this cost extra?"

"It is not, it would be appreciated if the young master mentioned my business to others who need scribe services or implements."

I could probably do that.

"Pardon my inquiry, but if you're not part of a Sect...? Why are you doing your own writing?"

She wasn't wrong, but I didn't want to answer questions.

"The uh... Dao of it all?"

"Perhaps this one is asking the wrong question. Allow me to rephrase it. Hmmm."

I paused feeling one foot out the door.

"I'm taking notes. That's about it. Do you have something better for that?"

She paused, placing the end of a large brush against her lips.

"You're a Cultivator?"

"Yes?"

"But you're so ...nice. What's the trick?"

"I'm sorry?"

----------------------------------------

I was probably underestimating how many cultivators were assholes. For all the talk of balance and such, power made people do terrible things. If you could do whatever you wanted and get away with it? Yeah I would be scared of cultivators too. The only difference was that I effectively died once already. Did it count if it was just me moving from one world to another? Perhaps I had a heart attack? No, that was idle speculation and I needed to stay in the now.

"Look, uh..."

"Kang Egiya."

"Kang Egiya, I'm Pidge Joseph. I'm very new to Cultivating and very new to Western Jewel. I'm trying to lay low and figure things out. It's very different from my home country."

I had decided on the uneducated traveler as a face. Tourists were assholes that showed up for an experience, travelers took everything in and gave something back. At least that was my definition.

___

"So your mission trip was painting a church in El Salvador?"

"Yes."

The group of friends that I met with was pausing between sessions. As I was the storyteller and we had played two games straight, someone had asked for a smoke break. Of course then two other people had to take a leak and I was speaking with the most recent demon, my buddy Karl.

"Look, I'm not proud of it."

"That's not the point," I said, "you guys didn't think about the local painters who needed jobs? Did the El Salvadoreans even ask for you to show up?"

Karl grimaced. He was known to be one of those guys. How he had joined the Navy and become a dental technician, yeah it made sense when you thought about how fastidious he was about his hygiene but ... When he talked about his time before the military? Yeah.

"I guess I never thought about it like that," he said,"but hey do you think you could make me the demon again on the sly?"

I smiled. As the storyteller, I knew everyone's roles and I kept track of them in my grimoire. It was an open secret that I wanted the villagers to win, but I was on the side of drama in this battle. If one person was the demon twice in a row it would look weird and was statistically unlikely. Three times? I could hear the grumbling but it could happen.

"I can neither confirm nor deny your role in the next session, but I'm feeling some brimstone."

"Thanks. That's all I wanted to hear."

"Excellent. Now you're getting deployed?"

"Ah, yeah. The Navy needs someone in Bahrain, and my name got thrown into the hat. Gotta go fix teeth in the name of democracy and all that."

"Sounds like a good time. That is if you like that kind of thing."

He pursed his lips. Karl had just turned twenty one and had realized that he now had limits. That was probably a good thing. I shuffled the token for the demon around in my hands for the next round, ensuring that he would get at least an option. It was on him if he didn't pick the one I waved in his face.

___

"So you're very interested in Cultivation but you're coming up against a wall about actually finding anything about it? Sounds like my experience."

"And those Sects? They guard their secrets with a tight fist! They have archives that they only give access to their top performers! Like they take in a hundred a year to their outer Sect-this is the Verdant Sect-but only three a year get a pass to the archives unrestricted. Everyone else gets a rare one time pass, but like..."

She trailed off.

"Oh I'm so sorry this one may have said too much."

"No no, do go on. This is very informative. In fact, could I buy you some tea in exchange for this information? There's this new tea shop that just opened up and it's perfect for this. I could also buy you dinner."