The Fourth Stage - Chapter 14 preview (Patreon)

No Hall of Assignments for Wu Ying. In another time, he would have gone to the Hall to speak with the administrators to acquire a room. There were always a few that were set aside for cultivators to make use of, for study sessions with others, for research, for even quiet cultivation. In all such cases, the cost was a simple matter of the transfer of contribution points.

Wu Ying wished that was the case now. It would have simplified matters if he just had to acquire a certain number of points running up and down the mountain, finishing up assignments. No such luck, of course. Then again, he was not asking for a simple room, in a simple hall.

“Elder Han,” Wu Ying leaned forward over the dining table they shared, his gaze intense. “Are you telling me there is no space at all for my classes?”

“None that has not been already assigned.” Han Yi Jun waved a hand, delicate fingers drifting across the distance to take in the surroundings. “There is only so many places for use. And assignments are done during the winter months, in anticipation of the next year. Of course, in most cases, the assignments are a matter of routine.”

“Routine,” Wu Ying said, flatly.

“Yes. It’s not as though moving the apothecarists, the blacksmiths or even your gatherers are a simple thing.” She leaned over and picked up her cup of tea, sipping on it now that it had cooled. Between them was a small smattering of snacks, baked desserts with red bean stuffings, fluffy white buns that were to be dipped in sweetened soya milk, dried sunflower seeds. Not a full breakfast, even though it might have been appropriate considering the hour.

Then again, this was not a social call. Coming to her residence – located on the approximate same level as his, though just a little lower – had been a necessity. That she had chosen this early hour was no great burden for Wu Ying, used as he was to waking at the crack of dawn.

The lack of breakfast might be an insult or not. It was something Yang Mu or his martial sister might have a better read of.

“We could,” she added, almost as though it was an afterthought, “assign some space within the current fields assigned to the gatherers. Down in the main, inner sect complex, of course.”

Wu Ying was shaking his head immediately. Even he could see the kind of trap that lay in that helpful offer. “That is a kind offer, but I would want to speak with Elder Kim before we took such a step.” He smiled tightly, then added. “In any case, I am looking for something new and different.”

“Yes. Of course. A large building-”

“Not that large. Enough to host a dozen or so, with a few meeting rooms,” Wu Ying corrected.

She continued, ignoring his words. “-, located in a chi and dao rich environment with untamed wilderness close by. Enough space for the preparation of fields with a ready source of water,” this part made her smile, “which is, on this mountain, a minor matter.”

“Yes. Formations and the like can be added later,” Wu Ying said. “But those are the essentials.”

“Essentials.” She tittered, covering her lips. “If you wanted but a building, I have many in the outer sect that meet your needs. Some even have land for your fields. But you want a place with significant chi concentration and untouched dao, one with untamed wilderness…” She placed the cup down and leaned forward, something gleaming in her eyes. “Tell me, Cultivator Long, is it true that the winds speak to you?”

Non-plussed by the change of topic, Wu Ying nodded in reply.

“Then ask them to tell you, how much land on this peak, that suit your request for ‘untouched’ wilderness?” Sarcasm in her voice now. She did not lean back, instead fixing her gaze on him. He could feel the pinpricks of focus, of spiritual aura pushing against the edges of his own aura as she focused on him.

“If the Elder wishes…” Wu Ying raised a hand, calling the wind to him. A couple of windows banged open through the house, the wind slipping through the cracks and openings to brush his hand. He flexed his will, sending his desire to them.

Showy. Entirely unnecessary. He did it so that she had something to see, to hide his full abilities. From the small smile on her lips, he wondered if she knew.

It mattered not.

Lowering his hand, he picked up a flaky pastry, biting into it and chewing. An arched eyebrow met his lazy motion, but he took his time chewing and swallowing before answering.

“The wind will return when it does. It is, after all, the wind. Unless we want to wake everyone else, it will require some time.”

Yi Jun laughed then, head turning to the side where a window had flipped open and torn itself apart as it had first arrived. “No, we wouldn’t want to bother the others, now would we?”

“In the meantime, surely the Elder has a map of the surroundings? Perhaps if we peruse it, we might find something appropriate?” Wu Ying said.

“I told you, there’s nothing to be found,” she replied.

“Of course, of course. Not in these levels, or even the inner sect,” he replied, waving the pastry in hand as he did so. A flake broke off, fluttering to the ground only for a stray gust of wind to catch it and place it back on the pastry. “Not with my requirements. But if I saw the map, perhaps I might find compromises that the Elder might not have thought of. Or spark some changes in my own needs.”

“Such information is not normally offered. Security concerns, you understand.”

“Ah, but as the Elder surely knows, I will grasp much of that soon enough…” Wu Ying said, offering her a half-smile. “The wind gets everywhere, you know.”

“Still, I’d be remiss if I just displayed such a map to all that I asked. And it’s such an inconvenience too, for the map is quite large.”

Wu Ying leaned forward, a hand passing over the table between them. In its place was a wooden box, one that did little to hide the presence of the powerful spirit herb within. Condensation gathered around the box almost immediately, as the pervasive chill of the plant within interacted with the humid atmosphere. Yi Jun’s eyes widened a fraction before she managed to control her visual surprise. Even so, Wu Ying noted how her aura probed the box to confirm her initial impression.

“A small token of gratitude for your aid in this matter. This Freshwater Sea Fan has grown for nearly a century or so. It’s – obviously – only a living branch of it, but contains the greater portion of the energy within the fan. Planted in a fresh water pond, it will enhance the water chi within the pond itself or, appropriately utilized, can enhance an alchemical pill for those with the water element.”

“Only if an individual has the appropriate recipe,” Yi Jun said. “You wouldn’t happen to have such an alchemical pill recipe suitable for a Core Formation cultivator, would you?”

“I might. I might even be convinced to trade it,” Wu Ying said.

“Mmm… well, let us take a look then, shall we?” Yi Jun stood up smoothly, leading him within and across two security formations in quick order. The room that they entered next was empty for funishings or even a second level. It was a necessity to remove the second floor after all to contain the single item that dominated the room.

“A scale replica of the sect?” Wu Ying said.

He looked over to Yi Jun who nodded, and gently Wu Ying took to the air to inspect the wood and paper maiche mountain. He noted how each section of the mountain was made up of wooden blocks which were then further modified by paper maiche landscapes to suit the reality outside more exactly. Additional matchstick-formed buildings carved in exacting detail and matchstick, coloured and moss-covered trees shrouded the entire mountain, creating an eerily exact replica. The only thing missing, Wu Ying realised, was the rushing water of the mountain itself. Instead, cotton buds dipped in light blue and greens and painted white showcased the frothing water that ran down streams and fell off the numerous waterfalls of their home.

“It is beautiful,” he found himself saying, even as he drifted higher. To his surprise, the peak portions of the mountain was difficult to discern. Though he gained a rough impression of the peak itself and buildings, each time he peered at it, he felt his gaze sliding away, his attention drifting aside. It was so subtly done, that he only noticed it because he had been attempting to view the peak.

“It’s a privacy formation,” Yi Jun confirmed outloud as she saw him peering at the peak. “There are some secrets even Elders are not privy to.”

“Of course,” Wu Ying said, hiding his disappointment. He stopped attempting to pierce the formation knowing it would be rude to do so now and drifted downwards to the inner sect portion of the mountain.

Now that he was seeing the entire thing in scale portion, he realised how much space the outer sect and inner sect actually took. The first half of the mountain itself lay unused, filled with forests and vistas and carefully crafted formations to pull energy upwards. Only after the first half of the mountain had passed did the sect proper appear, including the infamous paifang.

After that, the outer sect sprawled all along the circumference of the mountain for nearly a full third of the remaining space. With the wider base and a flat plains portion of the mountain, the outer sect took up nearly two thirds of the space allowed. The inner sect itself followed soon after, taking up part of the flat tabletop portion that had been sheared off the side of the mountain before it rose again to the Elder’s residences and the Core Formation cultivators residences.

“Even though I knew it all, the wind speaks so differently from such a perspective as this,” Wu Ying admitted. It was so much easier to see here and now. He could have flow into the sky to get a similar view, but then it would have been hard to see the detail that he was offered now.

“And you see why only a few are allowed this view,” Yi Jun said. She walked around on the ground, choosing not to fly like Wu Ying as she moved about. He idly noted that she had ladders situated at the corners of the room to allow her – or perhaps some of her apprentices – a method to reach the peak of the model. “Now, I was thinking, if you are willing to give up your fields, there might be a few locations.”

A flick of her hand and a long pole appeared in her hand. She lifted it up, pointing with it. “To begin with…”

Wu Ying drifted down, following the indicator and settled in, careful to keep control of his wind. Even as she spoke, he could see the greedy glint in her eyes and knew, more than anything, that he would be looking at even more cost before they were done.

Then again, that seemed to be par for the course.

***

“These are the costs that you can expect.” Elder Mo pushed the scroll across to Wu Ying, his voice brusque and unfriendly.

Meeting with the Elder had been something Wu Ying had pushed off as long as he could, but unfortunately, Elder Han had refused to get involved in the specific administrative cost. It was something she had informed him that he had deal with Elder Mo about, even if she was his titular superior.

“And what might these cost contain?” Wu Ying asked as he reached for the scroll.

“It is all listed there. Assignment badges for their robes if you wish them to be distinct. While updating the tokens within your students sect seals are something that is part and parcel of our duties in the Assignment Hall, you wanderers make more work beyond that.”

“Like?”

“Entrance and exit passes from the sect, so that you may gather from the surroundings. Permits for missing classes. The travel permits required by the government to allow passage across multiple provinces and states when you assign external collection assignments,” Elder Mo said. “Those are costly and the bureaucracy involved, including agreements to allow the increased traffic is burdensome.”

“Does the Sect – and cultivators – not have broad agreements in place to allow such travel?” Wu Ying said, surprised.

“Hah! No. All such travel is monitored. Or should be. We, as the Outer Sect and External Assignment Hall, deal with all such bureaucracy. Though some – like yourself, when you travelled between Sects – are given greater leeway, most of that leeway is created by us making individualized petitions to the appropriate government agencies.” Elder Mo sniffed. “A few cultivators from the Sect, traveling for assignments is a small discrepancy. A dozen such gatherers? An on-going mistake.”

“Mistake?” Wu Ying said, doubtfully.

“In paperwork, of course. All travel is marked and tracked after all.”

Wu Ying grunted. He understood what Elder Mo alluded to. Few government officials like the disappearance of mortals from their rule. Controlling movement between municipalities and provinces was one way nobleman kept peasants working, ensuring that they were chained to the land – and debts – they acquired.

On the other hand, the reality of the matter was that there were numerous individuals who were never recorded, no matter what the bureaucracy demanded. Whether it was wandering cultivators or other members of the Jianghu, the beggars that made up cities or escaped soldiers turned bandits, there were always the uncounted. Discrepancies in numbers, in the tolls received and those allowed into walled cities would always occur.

Expecting perfection in numbers and scrolls and accounting was a fool’s game.

Then again, if one did not pursue perfection, what kind of improvement could one expect? Only by pursuing the greatest heights could one ever hope to achieve excellence. Train to catch the moon rabbit, so that when you came across a demonic hare, you were sufficiently experienced.

“Of course. What else?” Wu Ying said.

“Cost of replacement robes and shoes. If you intend to dress them like peasants as you have indicated, then the Sect badges and your own department badges need to be included. Time and cost for our seamstress. Additional cost for additional baths and use of the bath houses. I assume you expect them to train in martial methods too?” Elder Mo said.

“Yes.” No way around it, in Wu Ying’s view. You couldn’t go out and travel through the wilds and not expect battle.

“Then additional cost for the use and powering of the dueling arenas. Formations? Talismans?” Elder Mo asked.

“No formations” Wu Ying hesitated, then corrected himself. “Maybe one or two basic ones.”

“You’ll provide them or do you expect your apprentices to purchase them themselves?”

“Probably the first.”

“Then, that too. Talismans?”

“Just an escape formation.”

“Type?”

“Wind if possible. Earth if not.” Wu Ying hesitated, then nodded. “Short distance. Something like the Earth Jumping Li escape talisman.”

“Expensive.” Elder Mo said.

“Yes. They’ll only get one and have to pay for their own after,” Wu Ying said.

“Very well.” The older Elder glanced to the side where an inner sect cultivator was busy taking notes, his brush running across the bamboo sheets without pause. “What else?”

“Gathering tools perhaps. I’ll need costs, though I hope that most will have acquired them from Elder Kim,” Wu Ying said.

Elder Mo nodded. He did not look happy, but at least it seemed he was willing to be professional about the matter. Of course, unrolling the scroll to get at least an initial idea of how much an apprentice might cost him had Wu Ying wincing.

He definitely needed to sell even more of his herbs soon. The fact that much of his stores had been depleted purchasing Ren did not help, even if he had months to acquire others whilst on the journey north.

Damn the Sect Head and his politicking.