The Fourth Wall - Chapter 30 preview (Patreon)

At first, the trio fled to escape the ire of the library. Later on, at Tou He’s insistence, they made a circumnavigation along the main cities surrounding the library, spreading the tale of what had happened to those who would listen. It was at the fifth city in nearly as many days that, hearing their own tale retold - mangled and twisted as all stories had a tendency to do - from the very lips of those they came to inform that Tou He decided his work was done.

It was then that he informed the pair of his departure. 

“I understand. The Sect’s needs must be filled.” Wu Ying hesitated, asked. “My parents? The department?” 

“No word of your parents,” Tou He said. “The Sect Head would not waste energy on such news. The Department of Wandering Gatherers has seen a tumultuous time, but your suggestion for the joint Heads was, eventually, accepted. Conditionally.”

“There are a lot of hedging in there,” Wu Ying said.

“There’s a lot of concern. You left behind a massive shadow, and I fear, not sufficiently trained replacements.” There was no judgment in Tou He’s voice, but Wu Ying still winced. That was true enough, even if the circumstances of his departure had nothing to do with his choice.

That thought brought a bark of laughter from him. He explained, a moment later, causing his friends to snort.

“I would want to return, if I can. But....” 

“But there’s no guarantee you will be able to.” Wu Ying reached out, gave his friend a tight hug and released him, pushing him gently away as he did so. “Go. You have done more than enough. I cannot thank you enough.”

“There is no need for thanks.” A slight hesitation, then Tou He added, softly, “brother.”

“Always and forever. No matter what,” Wu Ying replied. “May the winds carry you swiftly and safely, brother.”

Tou He’s farewell to Yang Mu were less sappy, with the pair wishing one another well and the flame cultivator cautioning Yang Mu to watch over Wu Ying. Words that had him rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Then, they were alone, standing in the inn in a town to the west. Their rooms paid for for another day.

“Where to now?” she asked.

“Do you not have an idea?” Wu Ying replied easily, reaching over and pulling her in close. 

“Surely you do? After all this time at the library, surely you have an idea of what else you need do.” 

He paused, dragging it out a little before he answered. “There’s something, that I think can help me. Something that I need to see.” His lips twisted in wry humor. “A mystic land.”

“Another one?” she said, wryly.

“Yes. It’s a strange one too, a land that offers little but pain and suffering.” He chuckled, gesturing down at himself. “Using it, using my new cultivation mthod, I think I can bring myself to a point where I can heal and progress.”

“Then it seems our decision is made. Where is it?” 

“That is the problem.” At her long sigh, he nodded in quiet agreement. It was never easy. “The realm was only mentioned in a single text. I asked, but none of the librarians had heard of it before. So we only have the hints from the text itself.”

“Surely a mystic realm would not be hard to find,” Yang Mu’s eyes narrowed in sudden suspicion. “Wait, it’s not a private, hidden realm, was it?” When he did not answer immediately, she repeated her question. “Was it?”

“I truly do not know.” He sighed. “There was no indication of that, but I believe, no, I know that it is not well liked. It might even be abandoned. There are no resources, nothing for a sect to want to keep. No reason to restrict access, no point in keeping track of it. There’s not even a concern of something breaking out.”

“Just a harsh land that a masochist would want. Why was something like that even created.”

“That’s a funny story…” He grinned. “It was a realm created by a Nascent Soul cultivator to train himself. He was, from the author’s perspective, a masochist.”

“And now, mine is going to find it and subject himself to it all.” She laughed, softly. “Do you at least have a direction?”

“I do.” He gestured upwards.

“North?”

“Yes.”

“Better than south.” Yang Mu pulled away, forcing Wu Ying to let her go. When he stared at her, she grinned. “I need to take some notes about everything you know of this place. And then, I have some letters to write.”

His gaze softened, and his voice grew gentler. “Have I told you, how lucky I am to have you?”

“Not today.” She flashed a smile at him. “But a lady never can hear it enough. Now, let us begin.”

***

North. North and east, to be exact. Wu Ying recalled enough from the wandering cultivator’s diary, his travel diary to be able to narrow it down by that much. North and east, and hopefully, they could learn more from Yang Mu’s contacts, from rumors and tales. Such a mystic realm, the writer and the original creator of the realm itself would not be minor personages. All of these would leave clues behind. They only had to trace it back.

Yang Mu wrote her letters, including all the details she could. She requested copies of the book, if any of her contacts had them. While Wu Ying’s memory was staggering - trained over the years like any cultivators and then bolstered by his cultivation - it was better to have a physical document to check.

If nothing else, perhaps other copies might have more details.

The next day they departed the city with little fanfare. Traveling north and east, heading for the closest city with a port that would take them to their direction. Once again, they needed to utilize the major roads, pass through cities and visit sects in the hope of garnering additional information. It would not happen soon, of course, for Wu Ying was certain the realm itself was many hundreds of li away.

They rode north, Wu Ying carefully cultivating his new style. He could only utilize the methodology every few days, his body and soul requiring time to heal. The techniques also had ways to speed up the process, though to his amusement, it required...

“Herbs. Spirit herbs. A lot of them. Some medicinal baths too.” He grinned at Yang Mu as he explained his technique to her, one fine day. “Seems like I can never escape the bathing.”

“For which I’m grateful. Especially in this weather.”

They rode on in silence for a little while more, Wu Ying taking the time to pull chi towards him. High above, the Cyclone’s Breath continued to pull chi from across multiple li to him. Along with it, traces of the surroundings were carried to him, scents and sounds of the wilds, the Hundred Delights and Ten Thousand Miseries technique automatically helping him note the vast array of scents and categorise them. Like its namesake, the process was somewhat miserable as he smelled everything – rotting bodies, broken earth, stagnant water, the smell from certain plants and creatures and their defecation.

It was a state of suffering that he had long grown accustomed to, though the occasional twist of his own traitorous body had seen him sense too much or lose control of the technique these past few months. Even so, he persisted, refusing to give up a blade without need.

“Does it hurt?” she asked, soon after they had finished lunch.

“My injuries? No more than usual. If anything, they’ve lessened a little.”

“Good, good. But I was thinking the new cultivation method.” Fingertips traced the top of her robes, as she continued. “The way you described it…”

“Painful.” Wu Ying acknowledged. “It is agony, but I am long used to such suffering.” A hand came up, touching his nose. “Funny, how I constantly choose that as my path forward.”

“Tragic, some might say.”

He inclined his head in acknowledgment. Older now, injured and suffering the consequences of his choices and actions taken when younger, he could not but reflect on his past. Mistakes abounded, from the way he had entered the sect and managed his relations with others to the techniques he had chosen. Again and again, he had felt he had been thrown into the cauldron of battle between the Dark Sects and the orthodox.

Now, older and perhaps wiser, he could see how his own choices had driven him to that point, again and again. His feelings of duty and obligation, to his Master, to his martial sister, to the sect and fellow cultivators had seen him throw himself into battle over and over again. 

He understood now, more than he had after returning to the sect with his family and village, that some actions need not have been taken. That more than once, he had acted upon perceived fears of the future which would, eventually, come out unfounded.

That insults offered should have mattered less, that words of wisdom heeded. His techniques, chosen again and again for strength, could perhaps have been considered further. So many regrets…

If he let himself judge his past self that harshly. 

Yet, how could he? That boy, that man, had acted with good conscience and the knowledge that he had now. It was easy, to judge the past with the knowledge of the future; to believe that one had the full understanding here and now. Easy to wish for a chance to try again, to get it right.

Yet, was not the lesson the same? Would a future version of himself reflect upon his actions in the here and now and consider them foolish too? Would greater age and wisdom, would the flow of time show that one choice considered improper now be shown to be the best? For once, he had laboured under circumstances and feelings he had long forgotten and lost context for. For once, he had been younger, more passionate and less experienced.

Perhaps all one could do was offer compassion to the shadows of the past, and empathy to the figure of the present.

“Yet, all those choices led me to you. For that, I cannot regret them.”

His words brought a smile to her lips as he had intended. 

“If you provide me the list of what you need, I shall endeavor to source them.” She cocked her head to the side before continuing. “It would help, of course, if you are able to practice your profession once more.”

“Understood.” Wu Ying touched his chest, letting himself sense the injuries, the likelihood of a flare up. There was no guarantee, not with injuries as extensive and widespread as his. Not with soul and body still clashing, but the process of healing, his moment of enlightenment, it all had helped. Though everyday, he degraded; he was finding ways to manage the process. He said as much, finishing with, “On the days I am stable enough, we can divert to acquire what we can.”

“But we won’t take risks,” she cautioned him.

“No more than we had when we started.” He grinned. “No sneaking into the lair of a Nascent Soul shenchi, stealing their hard won Fruit of Dubious Ascension.”

“I still regret that,” Yang Mu murmured. “What a tragic creature, with its single arm and leg. What a terrible curse, to be placed upon it and its kind.”

“The heavens are cruel.” 

“That they are.”

Satisfied that Wu Ying would do his part and that they would not take undue risks, they lapsed into silence once more. He on the process of healing and contemplating his new cultivation technique and the numerous scents and she…

Well, she had learnt enough from him that he could send her to pick some nearby herbs. Or guard him, when it was time to travel deeper.