V4C82: Looking Around

“Sullen sage, welcome back!”

“Oh, it is the sullen sage! Look, brother, it’s the man that I had mentioned!”

“This is amazing… I had never thought that I would be here just in time to come across the sullen sage himself… I must not disturb him, only observe…”

As Wei Yi and Yi Jiazhi walked through the streets, they were able to hear quite a few mentions of the latter’s moniker. For her, it was rather amusing, since he had yet to show any reason why he would have such a nickname after less than a year spent away from the Yi District, but for him, it was clearly getting more and more embarrassing with every single mention of it, especially due to him appearing to lack any knowledge of where such a nickname even came from.

If it had at the very least been something that he was directly responsible for, or even something that he had intentionally spread, then it would have been far less embarrassing. For instance, the Ascendant had gotten used to being called this very quickly as she had intentionally spread it throughout the world, using the name of the physique she was endowed with in order to make it something greater than a simple nickname that she could have thrown onto herself, or anyone else. She was, as far as anyone needed to know, an Ascendant, and since the Yin-Yang Ascendant physique appeared to be unique to her for the moment, she was also the only Ascendant.

Yi Jiazhi was neither a sage, nor did he wish to be particularly sullen, although that part did make more sense due to his actions when they had met one another a few hours prior. As he was clearly getting more agitated with the name, Wei Yi found a small tea shop in the distance and brought them towards it.

“Interested in some tea?” she asked when they were close enough to it for him to observe it.

“Tea? I suppose we might as well…” he replied without much enthusiasm, although his expression quickly brightened when he realised why she had suggested this.

Even from the outside, it was clear that the tea store was one that encouraged a certain degree of privacy, as every single seating area visible through the small windows was surrounded by thin but opaque walls that reached up to the height of the average seated man, meaning that they would be mostly obscured from other customers while they sat inside. That meant that he would have the chance to enjoy the peace away from the constant repetition of his nickname, while Wei Yi would be able to observe the district and look for any hints of the district’s realisation of her presence.

The reason that she was so sure that they would realise that she had come to them was that a person sitting not far from the tea store was holding something called a recollection stone. It was a trinket by most accounts, allowing for the easy manipulation of images and sounds stored within and thus making it highly useless as a method of reliably storing information, not to mention the fact that they decayed quickly and were unable to transmit memories directly into the minds of the users like a jade slip might.

Even with the relative simplicity of creation when compared to even a poor replica of a proper jade slip, these were not seen often unless there was something particularly interesting to be captured and passed on with them. Once something like that occurred, recollection stones would be made with the memories of those who had been present, their images would be modified for the optimal view that the original viewer likely did not receive, thus creating a number of falsehoods within the stored information, and they would be sent out quickly to the closer districts in the hopes of acquiring some of the resources spent on them back in the form of gold coins or even planar shards, depending on the exact material found on the stone.

It is said that in the golden era of Yi City, they were more common, and used more frequently for things like simple pornography, and, in a way, that had not changed even now. Instead of fulfilling sexual interests, however, the stone she saw was intended for a different purpose.

On the recollection stone in the hand of the young woman sitting beside the tea store, one that was clearly different from the real event and yet still as interesting to her, was the scene of a strange hermaphrodite being struck and displayed to the world on a stage before a varied crowd. Trees and greenery surrounded the figure, and that alone made it more than clear that, if this was taking place in the district, it had to be occurring in the Chu District.

Wei Yi was simply seeing that which had happened to her when she pretended to be caught by the Greats.

‘That’s how it’s going to spread, is it? That’s just great…’ she sighed internally, hiding away her reaction as to not grab that woman’s attention while she and Yi Jiazhi entered through the front door of the tea shop and came up to a small counter near the entrance, ‘Still, recollection stones are limited in quantity and rate of production, and thus have a reasonably high cost. She is the only one in the nearest two hundred metres that is viewing this particular scene, so at least I won’t be getting mentally undressed by men all of the time.’

She was hardly for every woman around her doing the same, but it was just a little better.

After standing near the counter for a few moments, a woman came up from the other side with a small notebook in one hand and a pen in the other.

“Welcome to the Golden Pavilion- oh, the sullen sage! It is a pleasure to see you in our establishment!” the woman exclaimed, her cheery and bubbly voice making it rather difficult for Yi Jiazhi to found her quite as annoying as the rest of similar exclamations, “I see you’ve come here with your girlfriend-”

“No.”

“No? Did I get that wrong?” she asked with the exact same tone.

“If you’re new to this position, I could suggest that you do not presume romantic relationships between two people just because they enter at the same time,” Wei Yi offered, “However, it seems that you have been here a while, so I guess that this advice wouldn’t be as useful to you. Can we get a seat by a window or balcony?”

“Sure, we’ve got a few of these. I would suggest the corner seat, where you can spend the time with your significant other-”

“No, really, what are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have to be attempting to force us together in your mind to completely ignore a suggestion from a customer that is not only in the fifth realm, but is also wealthy enough to buy out your entire business,” she explained, producing a bag filled with planar shards via the power of Law, “If you want me to, I can pay you just to shut up, although I would much prefer not to do so for what I’d like to think are obvious reasons.”

“Is it really that bad?” the oddly cheerful woman asked in the same tone.

“Well… Do you like men, oh sullen sage?” Wei Yi turned to Yi Jiazhi, who had not been expecting her question but responded quickly with the shaking of his head, “Didn’t think so. You probably prefer beautiful, thin, voluptuous ladies with long hair, entrancing eyes and so on… I think I’m stating my own preferences here, actually…”

“Dear customer, if you could get to the point, then-”

“Now, imagine some random person suddenly deciding that just because you’ve entered a building alongside them, that you must be romantically interested in a large, incredibly muscular man with a bushy beard, hairy chest and suggest that you get given the romantic seat in the corner with him. In addition, just to make this example much more significant, imagine if this figure was someone that you knew from before and also one that you had not gotten along with all that well, and had attempted to do some rather untoward things to you in the past – again, note that this is purely an example – and just try being entirely fine with some random girl trying to randomly decide your relationship with them,” the Ascendant said.

His expression did not change immediately, but when he looked up and at the woman behind the counter, there was a clear degree of displeasure and something that almost amounted to a low-grade killing intent within his gaze. Clearly, he did not appreciate the suggestion, and while Wei Yi’s complaints were ignored nearly completely, his displeasure was instantly noted by the woman, who quickly lowered her head in apology and stepped out from behind the counter to lead them up to the second floor.

Without saying another word, she brought them up the stairs and to one of the small seating areas by a balcony, assisting Yi Jiazhi with getting seated.

She rushed off quickly to retrieve some basic items and to give them space to figure out what they wish to order, leaving them alone on opposing seats with a cushioned seat and back, with their width being sufficient for someone to lay down if they so wished, meaning that several people could fit on one seat if they so wished.

“What… was that all about?” Yi Jiazhi asked, “With you and her…”

“Oh, I was just in a poor mood, and the mental image of us together made it far worse. I doubt that I need to explain the reason to you,” she replied, with the sullen sage also lowering his head slightly, “I don’t know what she is doing, however. Presumably, she is participating in the otherworldly tradition of ‘shipping’, as it is apparently called. Don’t ask what it is, or why people do it, but I have it on good authority that it is unfortunately common.”

“Shipping? Uh… That sounds strange,” he muttered, the word sounding ordinary and yet strangely unfamiliar at the same time, “Is it some kind of hobby?”

“I think so.”

Before they were able to proceed, the woman returned with a small bowl of snacks and a candle in the other hand. She successfully placed the first on the table, but as she attempted to put the second one down, Wei Yi casually raised her hand and flicked the air. An incredibly powerful fluctuation of air struck the tall red candle, instantly turning it and nothing else to dust, leaving her empty handed. Even the dust was blown away, ensuring that none of it got onto the table.

“T-This… every table has a candle on it…” the woman began to mutter but stopped when a silver object was suddenly and similarly flicked into her hands, leaving her with a silver coin in place of the candle.

“Perhaps, but that thing only costs ninety copper, and is sold next door. I’m sure that you’ll be fine with an additional ten coins,” Wei Yi said, but before the woman could return those coins to someone that would then purchase a new candle, she added, “Actually, spend two of those on two cups of the cheapest tea.”

“… Certainly. I will be right back,” she said without any of her previous cheeriness, somehow making her more pleasant to look at in the Ascendant’s eyes, likely due to this behaviour being significantly more normal than her previous mood.

Once the woman left again, it was clear that she would be away for a far longer amount of time, since preparing tea was never an instant process if someone wanted to produce something that was not absolutely disgusting, meaning that they would have a longer time without any interruption. That time was spent by Yi Jiazhi in quiet contemplation, attempting to understand the peculiar interaction between the two.

Eventually, he sighed and looked to her for answers.

“You have changed as well. Your physique looks to be about the same, but I think that your emotional state has worsened.”

“I won’t comment on your own ‘emotional state’, as we could refer to it, but you are not entirely wrong. Seeing everyone die in front of you twice is quite uncomfortable, as you should know,” she replied, causing him to nod, “Occasionally, I feel better, and at other times it gets worse, but that has yet to stop me from doing what I need to do.”

“Right. By the way, when we were entering this building…” Yi Jiazhi began, and quickly understood that it might be a good idea not to proceed with the question. If he was correct, then the poor mood of his former distant family member might lead her to hit him, which, with her fifth realm, would hurt.

Despite that impression, not only did she understand exactly what he meant – having seen the image that popped up in his mind while he was asking the question – but she also responded by leaning back on the cushioned seat without a hint of anger. In fact, her calmness was about as odd as the previous cheeriness of the woman they had been speaking with, making both of them seem unnatural in the way that they behaved.

“That was me, yes. You weren’t mistaken in that assumption.”

“Aren’t you… well, angry?”

“Angry? Oh, certainly. I am downright furious,” she answered, casually resting her left hand on the table between them to display its current state, causing Yi Jiazhi to involuntarily lean back in shock, “The thing is, I was aware of the potential consequences of my actions, and, as such, I cannot really blame the one watching someone’s recollection of me. I know who to truly blame for this.”

“The Great Families, you called them? They have such a long reach as to… what is with your hand, by the way?”

“Did I mention I got imprisoned for a while? That place didn’t really have access to planar energy, so it was a little difficult to make use of it. Instead, everyone cultivated killing intent and spiritual will, and I decided to go all the way and practise killing will, the balanced unity of the two. I have a killing will state as a result, and when my emotions aren’t doing too well, the left hand tends to become a little dark and claw-like… this time, I cannot say that you have any experience in the matter, for better or worse,” Wei Yi said, “I’ll solve the issue the moment that my normal cultivation catches up to my killing will realm.”

Although she was very clear and open about her situation and state, judging by the blank eyes of the man opposite her, it did not look like he was understanding anything but the most surface details from those words. She did not continue for that reason, glancing out onto the street.

Noticing her gaze drifting away, Yi Jiazhi decided that it was a good idea to do the same, looking out to the streets and finding that, at this time of day, there were a few people outside but not so many as to constitute a crowd. Everyone had enough space to themselves in order to be comfortable, and one would have to attempt with a great deal of effort to actually bump into someone without the other party having the chance to evade. Some people walked together, others made sure to keep their distance from all others, but few acted in unusual ways.

Every now and then, there would be a powerful cultivator passing by, some carrying a number of pills for their own use, or for trade, but most people did not pay much attention to them.

“Was there a reason that we sat down here specifically?”

“I wanted to look around, and if someone was to look for us, there’s no easier place to contact us than out in the open, near a relatively busy environment. Since you also seem to be in the mood for asking questions, I might as well answer why I chose the worst tea in this place-”

“Your order, sullen sage!” the woman’s voice interrupted her, two cups of tea being placed on the table quickly before the waitress disappeared down the stairs once again, leaving them with two perfect cups of wondrous quality. Their contents, on their other hand, were clearly prepared without much effort, to the point that one didn’t need to have any knowledge of tea to understand some of the issues with them.

Even those sitting in areas near them noticed this, with some even moving away as a result.

“This… does deserve that name, I will agree,” Yi Jiazhi muttered, turning away from the teacups, “You were saying?”

“Other than the value of this tea being entirely insignificant, it just so happens that I have no ability to perceive its taste,” the Ascendant said, taking a sip of the tea. She had intended to drink a little at a time, but the moment that her tongue felt the texture of the liquid, she had no choice but to put it back down and slide it towards Yi Jiazhi.

It was extremely unpleasant even without her sense of taste, to the point that it was really not worth drinking it just to maintain the impression of normality.

“Well, you can have that. Your body, while doing strangely well for someone that appears to have aged a dozen years at the least, could always do with more sustenance, regardless of the state that it ends up taking,” she smiled, “Go on.”

“Can I not do that?”

“You can, I suppose…” her voice trailed off as she looked out through the balcony, finding a figure approaching the tea shop that was clothed in dark purple robes which covered them entirely.

In any district, odd figures were to be expected, but as this person approached, they looked up and met her gaze, almost seeming to nod as they came closer to the door. The robes were made of a material that obscured spiritual perception significantly, only allowing her to be sure that this was a figure with a high realm, and that their height was about the same as it looked, meaning that they were wearing nothing to boost it. Their face was covered with a layer of black material as well, their hands were covered in gloves that went over the sleeves of the robe and sealed that potential weakness, and the same material was used for baggy trousers beneath the robes, finished off with a pair of dark shoes.

Whether this person was a friend or a foe, she couldn’t be sure just yet, but if they were truly looking for her, then that would certainly deserve her attention regardless. As such, pretending to keep looking at something in the distance, she observed with her spiritual perception as the figure entered the store just in time to find that woman coming up to the front desk.

“Is something out there?” Yi Jiazhi asked after she had kept her gaze on the outside for some time, also turning in time to spot the figure heading back out of the building.

The figure continued walking up to the place where Wei Yi had been resting her gaze, then turned around and looked back without any care for the people that had to walk around the figure’s position. Whereas before the figure’s gaze might have been coincidental before, now it was impossible to disagree that the person was looking right at her, waiting for something to occur just as she was gathering information about the figure at the same time.

She did not reply to him, but it was not too difficult for him to notice the figure standing in the distance.

Only a short time after, the woman returned upstairs again, this time carrying a black envelope with a hint of purple mixed in. Placing it down before Wei Yi, the woman stated, “I was asked to give you this.”

The moment that she stepped back to let her view the letter on her own, the Ascendant took the envelope and opened it just a little bit, allowing her spiritual perception to seep into the envelope and look at the contents of the letter. Other than making her look forward to obtaining divine sense all the more, as it would easily bypass the spiritual perception blocking properties of the envelope’s material, she only needed a moment to fully comprehend the contents of the message and close the envelope again, preventing anyone else from taking a look alongside her.

Putting the envelope away into one of her inner pockets, she stood up and nodded towards the figure that could be seen out of the balcony opening.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

“W-Wait, sullen sage, can I ask you for something?” the waitress suddenly requested, her hands hovering near Yi Jiazhi’s as he attempted to use the table for support as he stood up, “My mother needs one of your healing medicinal pills. Would I be able to obtain one from you? I’d do anything!”

“… What?” the man looked between her and Wei Yi, confusion flooding his expression.

“Don’t ask me. I’d guess that you’ve spent some time refining pills, and, for either popularity or effectiveness reasons, she wants one of them. Unless she’s asking for something else, in which case I’ll go and you can have fun together,” Wei Yi said, the instant shuffle back from both of them confirming that this assumption was not the case, “In that case, get to refining, oh sullen sage. I have somewhere else to be.”

“I… sorry, I don’t have any pills with me,” Yi Jiazhi stated, showing off the decayed robes on his body and the lack of any pill bottles upon them.

“Hm? Don’t you always have some in your left pocket?”

“Do I?” he asked back, reaching into the specified pocket and bringing his hand out with a small black bottle that clearly contained a number of pills, “… Wha… You know what, you can have one. I don’t even know where this stuff came from…”

Somehow, the woman looked to be more confused than he was, but she accepted one of the pills from inside, bowed to him and thanked him, then hastened downstairs with the pill held tightly in her small hands. She did not immediately rush out of the building, instead doing as one might expect from the employee of a large and seemingly prestigious store, placing them in a secure container and into a safe inner pocket after a short while.

Wei Yi had observed a few interesting points about her, but she did not choose to pursue or track her, as it wouldn’t be that significant. If her guess about the figure in the dark purple robes was correct, then they would be far more notable than the waitress, and their mysteries might even intersect if given enough time. As such, she waited for Yi Jiazhi to stand up, then headed out.

Together, they left the tea shop with only one of the cups having been touched, and with most of the tea remaining, and yet it was still a net benefit for the store.

As soon as they emerged from the doorway, the figure clothed in purple turned around and headed into an alleyway on the left of the road, while she and Yi Jiazhi did not pursue him. Instead, they continued down the main road, then turned to the right and headed down a smaller yet still relatively busy street, as if they had nothing to do with that person at all. If someone was to have observed them all along, as Yi Jiazhi had been attempting to do while his mind was waking up from the year-long slumber that it seemed to have been in, they might have even assumed that Wei Yi had decided to simply ignore whatever had been written on the letter inside of the envelope.

“By the way, those pills were indeed made by you, so it appears that you do possess some knowledge of the great art. You might want to ponder your memories and extract them before they decay,” Wei Yi said, “Pill refining is profitable, I can assure you.”

“Were you able to sense the presence of the pill bottle in my pocket?”

“Might have done.”

“Why did you begin implying things, then?”

“I didn’t really imply much about you, only about her intentions. That being said, while I can perceive the majority of what occurs in a large area, acting in accordance with it every single moment of my life can be tiring, especially when both of us are currently not in our best state of mind,” she answered, “Also, I think some people might be rather worried if they realise that I can sense the nearest kilometre with ease.”

“A whole kilometre? If that’s something that you want to hide-”

“Reach out with your hand and try to touch one of the other people on the street, and you’ll realise that you can’t. I have already prepared for this, and the earlier chat, so just come along and see who wants to speak with us,” she said.

He decided not to reach out with his hand, whether or not he would meet something before coming into contact with another person, and instead mustered his spiritual perception, feeling the energy slowly being roused into activity as he had to manually lift it and help it to emerge from his body. As it came into contact with the air and reached out a little beyond his body, he found it colliding with a thin barrier that was entirely invisible to him. With his current strength of spiritual perception, he was unable to reach out further, but he understood by the lack of questioning gazes that this blocked the gazes of others.

Since this was something that was beyond his realm, likely significantly so due to the capabilities reported by Wei Yi, he revoked his spiritual perception and instead practised weaving it around himself to regain control of it, following her down a number of streets, turns, corners and even a few alleyways, to the point that it seemed like they were traversing a maze.

Despite that, after one random turn, they suddenly ended up in a dark space with only one obvious entry point, directly before the robed figure in purple.

“You have come.”

“I have. I’m guessing that this place is sealed away from casual observation, right?” Wei Yi replied to the figure’s statement, whose voice was warped by the robes to the point that it was impossible to perceive whether the figure was male, female, or even human.

“Of course.”

“In that case, do you mind if I make a guess about your identity?”

The figure did not reply vocally, simply shrugging as if it wouldn’t matter – and, from the contents of the letter, it would seem that this was truly the case.

“Good evening, Jiang Patriarch. Are you doing well?” Wei Yi asked with a casual smile.

As the figure removed the hood and showcased his face, which had a perfectly calm expression, Yi Jiazhi was the only one that was confused. He began the day with meeting someone that he had expected to be dead, she then turned out to be vastly more powerful than anyone should have been and have connections that he couldn’t have imagined prior to that day, and now, in some underground space, he was now meeting with a legitimate, seventh realm Patriarch.

It was certainly unexpected.