“A-apologies, Patriarch! It was in no way my intention to disturb you!”
Lu’s forehead touched the ground, and he cursed it for stopping him. That’s not nearly enough! I need to bow harder!
The patriarch was sweeping up shards of wood and stone with a straw broom. “I accept your apologies, Disciple. I am glad you survived.” Each time he formed a pile of debris, it disappeared, and he moved on to a different part of the room.
“You knew I was missing?” Lu was genuinely surprised; the patriarch had been in closed-door cultivation since before he existed. Why would anyone bother him over a mere outer disciple?
No, no, don’t get a swelled head. He was obviously informed about the other world, since it opened up on his mountain. He only knows you exist because of your relation to that.
“Yes, the Elders were quite worried. None of us had any idea how you, or young Bu Guanyin, could have disappeared under Giro’s nose like that.” The last pile of shattered furniture disappeared, and he set his broom against the wall. “If you could give me an account of your experiences, we might be able to unravel things a little bit.”
Bull! “Of course, Patriarch. I’ll start from the beginning. Bull and I were attending the Year’s End festival, it was evening, and the fireworks had just started. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light; I thought that there had been some sort of accident with the festivities, but then a malicious mental effect suppressed my consciousness…”
He narrated the events of his past week, going into as much detail as he could recall. The exact shade of the villain’s cloaks, the type of stone making up the walls, anything could be the thread that pulls these unorthodox savage’s plans apart. Halfway through the patriarch began preparing tea, and Lu choked as he tried to work out the proper etiquette. Do- do I let him pour the tea? I couldn’t possibly allow the patriarch to serve me tea – but if he wants to serve me tea, I couldn’t possibly refuse!
In the end Lu meekly accepted his tea, and continued his recounting. His message took a bit of work to explain, as the patriarch had apparently not read the detailed accounts of his journey and required some extra context. Not that I would expect him to have done so; if I had underlings, I’d let them handle the paperwork too. When he got to the end, and described interacting with the star-map of the continent, Patriarch Steadfast Heart pulled a scroll and brush from his robes. “Here, please recreate it as near as you are able.”
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The cord in the back of his head stirred. In the lower realms Telepathic Bond could accurately convey verbalised thoughts, but that was the extent of it. The version master had cast, a completed tenth realm spell, was like having two bodies sharing a mind. White Knuckle had to actively dampen it, lest he see and hear everything his master did, and his master see and hear everything from him in return. The patriarch had just unthrottled his end of the connection, slightly, so White Knuckle reciprocated. The cord grew thicker, until he could feel ghostly touches passing through.
[Master, I’ve located Winding Wind. Shall we both return?] They were still a few minutes’ away; the man had been investigating a promising lead in Green Jade City, near the Sea-Green Jade Sect.
[No. Young Lu has a location for you to inspect; expect several enemies in the core realm, at the very least.]
White Knuckle received a clear image through the Bond; a map of the west coast, with a point marked between Coraltree City and the Ar’rai Forest. [Do we have a name?]
[We do not, but expect them to use mental arts, and wear concealing black cloaks. There are other points of interest, which may or may not be connected.] The map gained three additional markings, then expanded until it showed a fourth, very near the sect. [Inspect the main one, then have Winding Wind survey the others in the area. I would prefer for you to return with prisoners.]
[I understand, Master.]
[Very good. Pardon, I should be giving the disciple my full attention.]
He felt the cord start to close up from master’s side, and hesitated for a fraction of a fraction of a second before passing a thought along. [Are you sure it is wise, to reveal so much to him? He’s already been captured once, after all.] An outer disciple who knew enough to be useful was an asset, but one who knew everything would be a knife held to the sect’s throat.
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[If there are other entrances, then our plotting could never have remained secret for long. We made a plan based on reasonable assumptions, but they turned out to be false. We must adapt to the real world we find ourselves in.]
The connection closed down to a thread, and White Knuckle was no longer in two places at once, talking to himself. He flared his sense to alert his peer, and slowed to a stop.
“White Knuckle?”
“The patriarch has provided some targets for us to hit.” He pulled a blank scroll from his pouch, and then a moment later handed Winding Wind a copy of the map, the locations marked and the prime target circled in red.
His junior Elder glanced at the map, then incinerated it with a wave of his hand. “West Coast. The Black Cloak Group?”
He nodded. “That aligns with what Master said to expect.” A sect’s patriarch was both the foundation and peak of its strength, but their tendency to seclude themselves meant that the Elders often had a better understanding of worldly matters – as such, when White Knuckle heard black cloaks and mental arts in the same sentence, he immediately drew the obvious connection to one of the more prominent unorthodox organisations.
The two Elders turned west at full speed. White Knuckle moved as fast as he could, pushing himself, while Winding Wind matched him with comparatively little effort. It took them less than a quarter hour to enter the rough area that the map indicated, and White Knuckle settled down to meditate while Winding Wind actually searched for the enemy.
There was no anxiety in him; unlike watching through a screen as his disciples fought for their lives, he knew he would be doing his part here. Wind was a tracking specialist, and he was a martial specialist; the proper division of labour was clear and obvious.
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Lu put down the brush. The map was as close as his second-realm memory could make it. Not that it was a particularly detailed map; it didn’t even show what was land or sea explicitly. He had even included the stars in the middle of the ocean, and arrows pointing to where he felt other connections he couldn’t see. “I think this is as good as I can make it, Patriarch.”
The sect leader took the scroll as Lu’s offered it, and for a moment there was nothing to do but mentally wring his hands as a man a half-step from Heaven examined his brushwork. Ah, I’m only just now taking a good look at him. He’s so… Dignified! If Patriarch Steadfast Heart had been a mortal, Lu would have guessed he was well into his second century of life. He looked incredibly ancient, with no hair anywhere on his head and a spine compressed by the passage of time.
But though he was wizened, and his skin was spotted and wrinkled, he had an aura of overwhelming vitality. This is a man who was in his twilight years a millennium before I was born, and won’t have aged a day a millennium after I’m dust. The sheer amount of time that the man must have experienced was awe-inspiring.
The patriarch tucked the scroll and brush away. “Thank you, disciple. That was very useful.” Lu shivered. “Do you recall anything after you activated the treasure?”
“Ah, not of any sort of travel time, Patriarch. One moment I was in a dungeon, the next I was here.” I can’t believe I appeared in the patriarch’s chambers. Why would it send me here? Did it just choose the highest point above ground? I got blood on his floor!
The Patriarch nodded. “I see. Well then, I believe that concludes the matter, at least from your end.” He must have picked out something from Lu’s expression, because he took the time to reassure him. “Young Bu Guanyin seems like a tenacious man. I am sure you will meet again, though the journey may be either long or short.”
He blushed. “Thank you, Patriarch.” Bull… The patriarch is right; I can’t imagine him doing any worse than I did, no matter the situation. Wherever he is, I have to believe he’s doing well!
The patriarch stood, and Lu reflexively stood as well. But rather than lead him to the door, the man beckoned with one thin finger, and something flew out of the wall of his chambers and into his hand. “Yes, for now you should put the matter of your capture to the side, and let the Elders handle things. But there is still something that must be discussed – I feel that the sect owes you an explanation, Disciple Lu.”
Lu sputtered, “Ah- of course not, Patriarch! I am merely a humble outer disciple; for the sect to owe me anything would be… Unthinkable!”
“And yet, I believe it does.” He held out his hand, and Lu saw that in his palm was a sliver of yellow, flashing brightly. “You recognise this?” Lu nodded. Exactly the same. “We believe that this small piece of metal is what facilitated your original travel through to the other world – the thing that punched through the space between realities.”
Lu swallowed. Ah, that small sliver? Such an innocent-looking item started this whole mess? Viewed in that light, the cheerful colouration seemed almost sinister, like it was hiding a malicious nature deliberately. “You found it in the training grounds?”
“We found it imbedded in the bone of your ribs.” He said it in the same polite but immovable tone as everything else. “It was detected almost immediately, and secretly removed from your person.” …The staple-removal operation? That had to be it; there weren’t any other instances where he had been unconscious near another person. I suppose they could have done it while I was asleep in my room, but that seems less likely. Ah, I knew the staples were just normal metal!
“May I ask why you’re telling me this, Patriarch?” It took all of his willpower to keep his expression even. It’s not like I have any attachment to the thing – in fact, please keep it away from me!
He smiled, just faintly. “There was simply no reason to conceal it any longer. While I cannot offer it back to you-“ I don’t want it! “-For reasons of security and your own well-being, it was still inappropriate of the sect to take it without your permission.”
To Lu’s horror, the man’s body tilted down in a short bow. Don’t pass out, Lu! Remain standing! So what? It’s just a casual bow during conversation! Casual! Lu returned the bow. “Thank you, Patriarch. This humble disciple has no desire for that treasure; please use it as you see fit.”
Steadfast Heart straightened up. “We shall. Now, I believe that it is time for you to return home.”