Chapter 18 – Rules and Rooms

Xia Rou added a thick black tome onto Lin Yue’s already towering stack of books. The weight made Lin Yue’s arms dip. Were all of them laced with some type of weight increasing qi?

“All the sect rules and tenets, plus junior study materials! Free of charge!” Xia Rou beamed.

Lin Yue grunted. Great. More reading material.

Xue stretched up on her tiptoes, small hands grasping at the bottom books. She managed to snag three volumes, hugging them against her chest.

“Such a helpful little assistant!” Xia Rou cooed.

Xue darted behind Lin Yue, using her as a human shield against Rou’s enthusiasm. The movement almost toppled Lin Yue’s precarious book tower.

“You’ll need to learn all the rules.” Xia Rou tapped the black tome. “And there are plenty! Break them and you might face anything from a beating to unpaid grunt work.” Her cheerful smile never wavered. “Worst case, your soul gets imprisoned in the pavilion cauldron for eternal torment!”

“That’s quite the range.” Lin Yue shifted the books to redistribute their weight.

“Don’t worry! Eternal torment is reserved for traitors!”

“Right.” Note to self: don’t get caught being a traitor.

Shadow coiled through the air near Lin Yue’s ear.

“Let’s go see your room!” Xia Rou spun on her heel.

Lin Yue trudged up the solid oak steps behind Xia Rou, each floor marked with glowing script that pulsed with dark energy.

“First eight floors belong to us outer disciples.” Xia Rou pointed to various doorways. “Workspaces, sleeping quarters, common areas—everything we need.”

“Wonderful.” Lin Yue adjusted her grip on the teetering stack. What she needed was a magic bag or something.

“Inner disciples get floors nine through fifteen.” Xia Rou bounced up another flight. “And the elders live even higher.”

Xia Rou spun around, nearly causing Lin Yue to drop everything. “One very important rule. Never go above the eighth floor without proper authorization. Spies don’t get trials here—just quick beheadings!”

“Noted.” Good to know where the murder-happy zones start.

“So, what’s your specialty?” Xia Rou asked, eyeing Xue.

Lin Yue shrugged, almost losing control of her book tower. “Making ink, I suppose?”

Xia Rou laughed. “Everyone makes ink! This is Ink House—it’s literally in the name!”

“Well, you mentioned something about decorative glyphs earlier?”

Xia Rou burst into peals of laughter and continued up the stairs. The sound grated against Lin Yue’s ears like sandpaper.

“The others I met... one specialized in fire scripts, right? And someone else used shadows?” Lin Yue continued to trudge upward. “There was something about sound manipulation, too. And Hong Wei mentioned combat enhancement.”

“Ooh, my new junior sister pays attention!” Xia Rou clapped her hands together.

Pay attention or end up dead. The memories of her years on the streets flashed—all the times staying alert had kept her breathing.

Xia Rou traced a glowing silver sigil in the air. “At the basic level, every outer disciple learns protective marks, simple combat scripts, and fundamental talisman formations.”

Well, that didn’t sound too bad. Lin Yue hid a smile. More ways to kill people.

“Then we branch into specialties.” Rou sketched another symbol. “Some focus on elemental manipulation—fire, water, earth, metal, wood. Others prefer stealth and concealment through shadow scripts.”

Rou pointed to the silver scripts adorning her own robes. “Combat enhancement specialists like Hong Wei strengthen their bodies through permanent tattoo inscriptions. They’re basically walking weapons.”

Permanent body modifications. Just what I need—more magical tattoos. Lin Yue studied the intricate patterns on Rou’s robes. Script written right into the clothes seemed good to her as well. Who needed armor if you were shielded by magic cloth?

“The really creative ones develop artistic techniques.” Rou bounced excitedly. “Landscape painting that affects reality, living calligraphy that moves on its own, even music-based formations!”

“And the practical applications?” Lin Yue asked.

“Oh, endless! Trap arrays, defensive barriers, spirit summoning.” Rou counted off on her fingers. “Some even specialize in soul manipulation and binding.” She glanced over and stared at Xue purposefully.

Lin Yue’s grip tightened on the books. That caught her attention.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Looks like you already got a head start on a specialty, though?” Xia Rou asked.

Lin Yue shook her head. “Just needed a way for Xue to come with me.”

“I didn’t want to be left behind.” Xue peeked around Lin Yue’s side.

“Good choice!” Xia Rou bounced on her toes. “Heavens know I wouldn’t want to be a mortal either.”

Yue bit her lip. Were they going to stand here all day? The fucking books needed put up, but it looked like Rou just wanted to chatter more.

“My decorative glyphs are a type of art.” Xia Rou traced silver patterns in the air that sparkled before fading. “They make people feel whatever emotion I want. Very fun! Maybe you’d enjoy helping test some new ones out later?”

Lin Yue eyed the dissolving silver trails. “Depends on how much benefit that gives me compared to grief caused.”

“So mercenary! So transactional!” Xia Rou clapped her hands together. “Junior sister is primed to make a killing here!”

“Hopefully literally.” Shadow twisted through the air. “Getting hungry with all these tasty things I can smell.”

Lin Yue glanced at Shadow’s ethereal form. He’s been oddly quiet. The parasitic dragon usually never shut up about souls, yet here in a building full of cultivators, he seemed almost restrained. What’s his angle besides more souls? He should have plenty, considering our recent... acquisitions.

Xia Rou pushed forward down the hall.

Finally, they were moving.

Rou stopped at a plain wooden door marked with faded silver script. She pulled a yellowed talisman from her sleeve and studied the characters inked on its surface.

“This should be it.” She tapped the paper against her chin. “The room will seal to you...” Her eyes flickered to Xue. “And I suppose to your little shadow too, since you’re bound.”

Lin Yue shifted the stack of books. “Just us?”

“One of Ink House’s biggest rules—quarters are personal space.” Xia Rou traced the door’s frame with her finger. “Breaking into someone’s room without permission from them or an elder?” She whistled. “That’s the kind of offense that ends with you learning shadow limb technique to replace a missing arm. The walls block qi penetration, too.”

“Sounds secure.” Lin Yue studied the weathered wood.

Xia Rou poked the door handle with her index finger. A blue spark crackled against her skin. “See? Already primed for sealing.”

She pressed the talisman paper flat against the wooden surface. “Put your palm here. It’ll seal to you until someone officially unregisters it.”

Lin Yue balanced the books against her hip and pressed her free hand to the paper. Qi burned through her skin like molten metal. The talisman flashed bright blue and crumbled to ash.

A perfect pentagram blazed on her palm in sapphire ink.

Xia Rou clapped her hands together. “Now open the door!”

Lin Yue pressed against the wooden surface. The door swung inward without resistance. At least something’s easy today.

The room stretched barely larger than their inn quarters, but packed with amenities. Blue spirit-flames danced in wall-mounted lanterns, casting rippling shadows across a copper wash basin. A narrow bed hugged one wall while a sturdy table occupied the center space. A book cabinet stood empty, waiting to be filled, and a massive storage crate dominated the far corner.

Not bad for a prison cell. Lin Yue stepped inside, with Xue trailing behind her.

“Aren’t you going to let me in?” Xia Rou bounced on her heels outside the threshold.

Lin Yue turned back toward the doorway. Right. More rules.

“I need a formal invitation.” Xia Rou pointed to the floor. “Say ‘I invite you into my space.’”

“I invite you into my space.” The words tasted stiff on Lin Yue’s tongue.

Xia Rou bounded through the doorway. “See? No zapping!”

Lin Yue dumped her stack of books onto the table while Xue carefully placed her smaller pile beside them. She never wanted to carry a stack of magic-laced books again.

“Priority one: rules.” Xia Rou held up a finger. “Priority two: safe space.” A second finger joined the first. “And now we can move on to three!”

“What’s three?” Lin Yue brushed dust from her hands.

Xia Rou’s grin spread wide across her face. “The Tree of Inked Souls.”

Shadow’s ethereal form twisted through the air. His spectral tongue flicked out hungrily.

Lin Yue stepped into the hallway, Xue trailing close behind. “You are no longer invited into my space.” The words sparked a sudden surge of qi that snapped through the air like static electricity.

Xia Rou stumbled backward as the energy barrier materialized. “Hey... you’re too smart!”

“Were you planning to mention that part?” Lin Yue studied the faint blue shimmer around the doorframe.

“Maaaybe.” Xia Rou hummed and twirled toward the stairs.

They descended, following a different path that led through the pavilion’s rear entrance. The halls turned into a maze. It was annoying. How was she going to memorize this?

Lin Yue glanced at Xue. Should have let her rest after all this running around.

But getting their bearings seemed crucial right now. Though after the soul binding, she wondered if Xue even needed sleep anymore. The girl fidgeted with her sleeve hem, radiating nervous energy rather than exhaustion.

“Every day before lunch, we hold meditation and cultivation practice at the tree.” Xia Rou skipped ahead. “If you perform poorly, you’ll need to return after dinner for night meditation.”

“How do you measure performance?” Lin Yue asked.

“Oh, you grade yourself! It’s about absorbing the tree’s resonating energy.” Xia Rou spun to face them while walking backward again. “If you gain more energy than you use daily, do whatever you want. But if not...” She shrugged. “Some newcomers end up meditating non-stop at first.”

The garden opened as they exited the pavilion. A massive tree dominated the landscape, its purple leaves casting ethereal shadows. Red fruits pulsed with inner light, bathing the entire garden in a crimson glow.

Lin Yue let out a tense breath.

I bet I know what kind of fertilizer they use.