Book 2: Chapter 8: Proposal

Book 2: Chapter 8: Proposal

It took us mere minutes to cut through the plains and enter the city. I watched the plains zip past me through the window of the carriage, not feeling even the slightest shake or shudder. I kept glancing down at the wheels to see whether we were actually flying, but the mist kept the sight from me. A couple minutes later, I was in the Lord’s massive manor set delicately upon the seventh peak.

“Follow me,” Tian Feng said, stepping out, and I followed behind, silently adding the carriage as a future bucket list item to get one day. This thing was faster than cars.

Stepping out, I followed Tian Feng’s lead as we made our way through the manor. Despite having already been here once, I could hardly tell right from left through the sprawling corridors and hallways. Walking through the halls I noticed paintings full of Qi, with strokes on carvings that only a cultivator’s eye could see. As the sun began to settle down, into dawn, the lights began to flicker on in the Lord’s manors. Candles, spirit stones, little devices, all sorts of things illuminating the manor in a beautiful and warm glow.

Trying not to be too starstruck, I focused on following Tian Feng. A bit of walking through the doors had us at the large chamber where I’d first met the Lord. I let Tian Feng take the lead as he walked through the doors, to the inner chamber, before I followed behind.

“We’d been expecting you,” Lord Zhou said, seated behind a small table, a quill in his hand. Pristine clothes were draped over his body, and he wore a futou on his head, as is customary for many lords. Another bit of trivia that’d have escaped me before the trial.

“Apologies for making you wait, my lord. Lu Jie, apprentice alchemist at your service,” I said, bowing deeply.

“No need for apologies, you were precisely on time. Which is to be expected given that TIan Feng had gone out to fetch you,” the Lord said.

“Which had been part of my surprise. I’d been told to expect someone to come, but I must admit, I had not expected to see Elder Tian Feng himself,” I said, glancing at the elder next to me.

Tian Feng stood nearby, watching over the talks without speaking a word.

“Would you care to guess why I’ve called you today?” The Lord said, his brush running strokes on the parchment in front of him.

“To... make me work for my freedom?” I tried.

“Certainly. But my purpose wasn’t mere labour. I’ve called you here Lu Jie for one of the core purposes that I have for you under my command.” For the first time since I’d arrived in the chamber, the Lord stopped his work to look up at me. “We wish to utilise the knowledge you have gained. And teaching us how you have come to posses Gu without turning into a demon.”

And there it was. The big question that had been hanging above me all this time.

“To speak the truth, my lord, it is not something I can speak of so openly,” I said, trying to think of how much I should speak as I stalled for time. The lord had helped me, so I felt like I could trust him, but this was still information that could potentially see me hanging from a noose, and marked a demon.

“We are aware of the tribulations, and of the nature of your spirit. What prevents you from speaking the truth?”

I looked at the lord, his eyes bearing down on mine. For a moment, I expected his present to sweep over me, bearing down upon my shoulders, but nothing came.

“The heavens, my Lord,” I replied honestly.

“The... heavens?”N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

I nodded. “They rumble, threatening a tribulation anew when I speak of the matter. It is a path that diverges from regular cultivation.”

I felt Tian Feng’s eyes settle on me at that. The hair on my neck rose at the gaze, feeling concerned that I’d said something wrong.

“Curious. Quite curious. We shall make preparations then. There are methods to prevent, or even bear through a heavenly tribulation. It is not something any do, as a tribulation is provided to strengthen a cultivator and test their mettle, and one to use such cheap tricks to survive one would effectively cripple their strength as a cultivator. But in this case, I believe it is more than warranted,” the lord said, before looking up at me. “We’ll call you Lu Jie, when the preparations are ready, and then we shall hear of the truths that you hold in your chest. In the meantime, I have heard of some things you want.”

“I had some questions in regards to my... umm, employment, esteemed Lord,” I said, glancing at the man. “More specifically, I had a- ah, business proposition.”

“A business proposition... you say?” The lord asked, his eyes set on me.

“But,” the Lord added. “It would make for a good test. As lords, we are not powerless to task someone to something of this nature. What would you require for this?”

This time, I let the smile reaching my face blossom as I spoke the words. “Access to your library, and a whole lot of money.”

***

I walked across through Lord’s manor, elder Tian Feng guiding me around. The Lord had agreed to the task, if I could provide him with a pill that was purer than what was normally available, and in enough quantities. Which was the first task to be done before I was summoned to spill my guts out in regards to my abilities.

Leaving that whole other problem aside for the moment, if I could provide these pills that you could only get your hands on through secured channels on my own... I held back my grin, imagining what was possible.

I had joked often about a drug empire, but with the potential I saw in these pills? There was a real possibility to change the empire as a whole, if the knowledge so preciously guarded was allowed to be utilized and spread.

Being able to allow change and reform to spread to the populace while using the Lord as an authority figure to validate the changes I planned to bring was the end goal.

That and a cozy retirement in Taizhou where I lived comfortably with my drug money and messed around in my lab with Labby.

“How is La Bi coming along?” Elder Tian Feng asked, sleeves fluttering beside me. That or one of his clones did, not that I could tell them apart.

“She’s recovering. Her Dantian is healed for the most part, so all that remains is for her to rest a while before she can be back to normal,” I replied, keeping my pace with the Elder.

“That is good to hear,” Tian Feng replied, glancing back at me once. “Sect Elder Yan has not been very pleased by this turn of events. As you must already know by now. All the more so because his prodigal daughter went with you of all people. I suggest keeping your eyes on any shadows that may lurk,” Tiang Feng said, glancing behind me once.

I looked back around and saw nothing, yet a strange creeping sensation still crawled up my spine. Alright, warning received.

“How about the twins?” I asked. I hadn’t heard much of anything about the sect recently, and I was curious.

“The one you crippled had his dantian fixed, with effort. The cost was significant enough to further add to Elder Yan’s rage, especially because the boy now has to cultivate all over again, and his talent has been broken. He will not reach the heights he once did. The other, curiously enough, has chosen to keep the scars you gave him. His face is now half marred with your flames, which has further added to the rumours of you within the sect itself. He will likely seek vengeance, but for now, the Lord’s shelter wards the worst of it.”

A tried not to grimace, thinking of having to deal with that mess. I did have plans in place, in regards to both the Elder and the twins, yet these were vague things set far in the future.

We walked through a couple more corridors before I saw the chamber we were headed to. It was set within the central corridor of the manor, the innermost chamber of the three layers of the Lord’s manors. Each later formed a square corridor that connected with the other square corridors. Like a tesseract cube, but in two dimensions instead, and spread over a hill.

Tian Feng walked ahead of me, pushing open the door to the chamber, before walking in. I followed right after through the pristine doors that brimmed with Qi, and froze as I stepped inside.

Rows of shelves with books, scrolls and a myriad of jade slips greeted me. Tools, herbs, equipment and everything else that I could think a typical alchemist would need was here in these chambers. My eyes glanced across the empty jade slips of white, sitting in rows on the shelf.

“These are for taking notes,” Elder Tian Feng pointed out. “The others contain alchemical arts the Lord’s Manor has collected over the centuries.”

I walked inside, taking in the sight, and feeling a strange sense of joy at the beautiful room. Suddenly I could understand why so many alchemists picked the halls, and chose to serve, if they could have a chance at something like this.

“You can pick any resources you need from this chamber. And if you require others, you can request them from me,” Tian Feng said, handing me a jade slip. “Use that to enter the chamber.”

I looked back down at the jade slip in my hands, pressing them tighter, before I put my fists together and bowed.

“I won’t disappoint.”