Immortal Connections - Chapter 7 preview

Chapter 7 - Wu Ying

The door to his room swung open, without warning, without invitation. He met the entrant with his sword drawn, tip pointed at their throat, light on the ball of his toes and the wind at his beckoning. His unwanted guest looked down the tip of the weapon with a single raised eyebrow, a smirk of amusement lingering on their lips. 

Very beautiful lips too. Large and plump and sensuous with just a hint of colour, red in a way that was unnatural for one to wear. The eyes that looked over the weapon back at Wu Ying were surprisingly light, a pale brown that leaned almost into blonde but were not. Instead, they reflected his blade as a shaft of early morning light glinted off it.

"Well, is this how you greet a senior?" The man's voice was cultured and relaxed and strangely accented even as it gave no hint that it concerned him that a weapon was being pointed at him. A pair of fingers came up, moved towards the edge of the weapon and pushed at it, ever so gently. Yet, with the merest hint of force, Wu Ying found himself forced to allow his tip to shift by the inexorable force that appeared.

Surprise registered, for among other things, Ren - his sword - contained a trace of dao itself, a dao of sharpness and cutting. It was why it had received a name whilst in the Middle Kingdom, a masterwork of a weapon that had nearly become an Immortal weapon. Obviously, the nearly was more important in this realm than ever before.

A flick of his hand brought the weapon away from the other, turning his wrist and a slight bending of the elbow allowed him to position and sheathe it all in a quick flourish. There was no point in keeping it unsheathed if he was not going to use it, and though instinct had him screaming at the intrusion, or the way the man wandered over a nearby lounger and lay down on it without pause, he was not about to cut the man down.

Not on his first full day in the Lesser Harmonies Palace at least.

"I was not expecting you. Or anyone, really." Wu Ying said. 

"Did you think that your orientation was over already?" the man said. "You've just arrived, after all."

"No, but..." Wu Ying shook his head, finished closing the door and bowed a little. "Long Wu Ying greets...?"

"Huo Shu Ren. I was once called the Scholar of the East, one of the Gentlemen of Wu." 

Wu Ying's eyes widened as he recognized the name. "They have a statue of you, in the city of Wu. I recall passing by it when I entered from its main gates, staring down at all those who might challenge the walls." He remembered the plaque, though he had to admit, he did not stop long to read it or memorise the details. "They were quite proud of you." Another frown. "Especially as you were supposed to be dead."

Shu Ren snorted. "Not dead, obviously. Though my enemies had tried their best to ensure that. I had caused enough problems for them that it was best I faked my own death." Still lounging on the chair, he stared suspiciously. "However, it is curious that you know my name and story. Are you a fellow countryman, then?"

"Not at all. Just one who traveled much during his time before," Wu Ying gestured down to the ground, to the world that lay beneath their feet. "I was seeking a particular manual when I entered Wu city."

“Manual.” Head tilted sideways, eyes sweeping over Wu Ying’s own form in his sleeping robes. If not for the wind, Wu Ying might not have noticed the slightly extended inhalation by the other, the way the man’s gaze flicked to his hand and wrists. “A swordsman then. A martial cultivator?” 

Curious to hear disappointment in the other man’s voice. “And you are not one, then?”

“Only as much as necessary as to be a proper scholar.(3)” He smiled a little, as he continued. “Surely you remember that, if you recall my name.”

Wu Ying considered lying, but decided to tell the truth. “I was but passing by, and your statue while big had a very small plaque that a number of individuals,” – beggars – “were blocking the details of. I was unable to read them.” He offered a small smile as he continued. “If I had known that I would one day meet you, I would have paid more attention.”

“Wouldn’t we all?” Shou Ren gestured at Wu Ying’s body. “In either case, we have much to do and you cannot do it in such clothes.”

Glancing down, Wu Ying grimaced. “Five minutes.”

“Take fifteen.” He touched his own pale face and added. “A little blush and powder would not hurt.”

“Depends on who you ask. I’ve been told I have no hand at it.”

Shou Ren cracked a smile at the quick rejoinder, exiting the room to allow Wu Ying to dress. In less than ten minutes – long enough to perform his morning abulations and dress properly – he was out, falling in beside the immortal who had started walking the moment the other had exited.

“You have had the physical geography of the Lesser Harmonies Palace described to you yesterday. Today, I shall describe the social ones,” Shou Ren said. “There are too many rules and regulations for you to grasp them all immediately, for both this palace and the higher court. In this, the separation of newly risen immortals from the high court and the native born are for our protection.”

“Native born?”

“That is their preferred term.” Something in the other’s tone forebore further questions as the man continued. “The libraries here are stocked with numerous treatises on social customs, many of them updated and offering great detail. It is my job to ensure you make no major mistakes in the following month. In this, you and my reputations are linked.” 

Wu Ying caught the sideglance, the slight stressing at the end of the sentence. He inclined his head in a long nod to indicate he understood the unspoken warning. Shou Ren’s reputation was on the line, just as much his own.

"What should I know then, first and most of all?"

"That there are numerous factions within the Lesser Harmonies. And in the greater palace and heavens themselves. There is much pressure, on both the newly risen and the various factions to reinforce the heavens. Each of the Three Realms is in desperate need of additional immortals." A slight tone of derision in his voice, as he continued. "We are all ranked by usefulness in that sense, and those of you who are of a martail bent are more desirable."

"Ah. A minor clarification. While I wield the jian, I am but a humble gatherer of wild spirit herbs, a cultivator who wandered the wilds to supply his sect and other immortals their needs." 

Shou Ren looked over at Wu Ying, checking to see if he was lying. Realising that Wu Ying truly was earnest, he let out a long sigh. "A pity then."

"You are disappointed?" 

"Personally, no. It is - to my belief - that the Heavens and the Middle Kingdoms - is lacking enough scholars, enough artists and crafters and yes, farmers. We are oversupplied with ruffians and soldiers, with martial cultivators and warriors who seek glory at the tip of the blade." His nose wrinkled. "Did it never surprise you, that though the number of non-martial cultivators were greater than that of martial cultivators, more martial cultivators arose than the other?"

"I never took numbers. Ascension was so rare, it was not something that we could track with that degree of accuracy. Or concern."

"Well, let me tell you, at least a good half of all Ascended are martail cultivators, or have significant prowess with the weapon if not." He shook his head. "What kind of society do you think forms, when most seek the word as the fastest way to solve a problem."

"Well, it does have a point."

The glare Wu Ying received made the pun almost worth it. "Only for a short time. At which point, you need to make your point again. And again, to all those who never learnt the lesson the first time. If violence is your only solution, then the only reply you will ever receive is violence itself."

"I see."

"I can see you are not convinced, but you shall see soon enough."

Before they could continue their conversation, they finally arrived at the first dining hall of Wu Ying's existence. Inside the massive hall, replete with satisfying smells and delicious plates were a small smattering of immortals. By their gazes directed at Shou Ren and then Wu Ying was made all too aware that he might have both enemies and friends through no fault of his own.

Politics indeed.

Footnote: 

3 -  Chinese scholars (or gentlemen) were supposed to know four arts – music (via the guqin), strategy, calligraphy and painting. Sometimes, the translation of strategy becomes personal fighting prowess. In A Thousand Li universe, I’m leaning that way, due to the greater degree of combat due to spirit and demonic beasts (and demons). These four arts are also related to the Confucian six arts of rites, music, archery, equestrianism, calligraphy and mathematics.