The Fourth Wall - Chapter 25 preview

Long Wu Ying walked the halls of the ancient library and felt as though he was once again, a student visiting the sect library for the first time. It was the same sense of awe that had filled him at the time, seeing so many manuals, treatises and scrolls in one place. It was not the sheer volume of literature that astounded him, but the potential that this vast array spoke of. 

As he walked, the wind flowed through the library, crossing in from open windows and doorways, through arches that allowed the free flow of air in the area and its slow rise as it warmed, exiting the airflow holes designed to keep the building cool in the dry, desert air. They spoke to him of quiet study rooms, of a basement that was cooler and damper, of rooms sealed but for minor openings.

The numerous attendants, the members of the library that poured through the building and the quiet guests, each of which had two, three, sometimes - like him - up to five attendants surrounding them. Not always right beside him, but in close proximity. Searching for documents, extracting them from the stacks to bring them over to the guests for review and returning others. In the meantime, all those he decided to keep, an attendant brought away.

Each step, taking him into the library. It amused him, a little, that their organisational system made little sense to him. They did not, in his view, store things in a logical manner by category or strength; but instead by an author’s origin and name, by the type of connections they had with other authors. 

“Why, again, did you do this?” Wu Ying said as they walked, side-by-side with his main attendant.

“Concerns about fires and raids, Cultivator Long.” The attendant gestured around, indicating the various enchantments that hovered between each room that broke up each section. None of them were activated at the moment, but Wu Ying could sense the latent energy within that could be activated at the moment’s notice. “We have had attacks before, on the library. If we stored everything together, a fire or destruction in a wing could see us losing all of that collection. By spreading what knowledge we have across the entire building, that reduces the chances.”

“And makes it harder, for a newcomer to find his way.” Wu Ying chuckled, pointing at a shelf. “Especially when some of your most popular authors have penned works in a variety of occupations.”

Again, the attendant bowed. “Many of our most prestigious acquisitions are by those outside of the central kingdoms. There, undertaking multiple occupations, seeking knowledge in a variety of fields rather than a single one.”

Wu Ying grunted. “It does take a long time though, to acquire all this.”

“If you gave us your list, we could continue to acquire them.” A hand raised and pointed down the way. “I believe there are at least a dozen manuals that you may review now.”

Wu Ying hesitated. He did want to see more of the library, but while it was a beautiful and well designed building, it was also very similar throughout the wings. High ceilings, low arches that seperated rooms. Ballustrades and low walls to allow the flow of air between each section, glyphs and other runes etched onto the walls in a language that he did not read.

“And the translator will be there?” Wu Ying asked to confirm.

“Translators, yes, Cultivator Long. The works you have asked cover three different languages and four dialects.” The line was smoothly delivered and Wu Ying found he had no further objections to cast. He let himself be led into the room, one of the few closed sections of the library, though light enchantments within helped keep the temperature within to an adequately cool range. Not that it would have bothered Wu Ying too greatly, but it was nice to not have to wilfully ignore uncomfortable circumstances.

Two translators - full attendants - and two other junior attendants clad in lighter robes that were missing the elaborate yellow-orange sash that dented full membership to the library’s staff. Similar, in some ways the difference between inner and outer sect members in the Verdant Green Waters he felt, though he had yet to explore those definitions fully. Intuition telling him that such a comparison would be taken less than favorably.

Outside of the translators, the room itself only contained the stack of books and enough chairs for four individuals. Two of the seats were being used by the translators, the junior attendants standing at attention at the back. Again, perversely familiar in a way. 

“These are my choices?” Wu Ying said after quick introductions. After confirmation, he pulled the first to him, flipping the book open carefully. It was a string bound, dark brown leather encased work that was about the width of two fingers stacked upon one another. Rather than the usual text in a language he was familiar with and the accompanying sketches, he found a dense and cursive script with a multitude of dots, all of it written in a horizontal manner.

“Ah, the work by Sage Dodanee telling the parable of the demon and the immortal,” Translator Tsewang said. “While not a manual as you had asked for, the work contains significant discussion about demonic and immortal cultivation methods and differences, discussions on the soul and the body and how each alters as one delves into each cultivation method. It was, I believe a work highlighted by yourself because of that.”

“I did,” Wu Ying recalling the work now. He glanced over the documents, considered where to start and shrugged in the end. With Tou He and Yang Mu inside, he now could read and delve into the work. More importantly, he was not entirely certain of what he needed, though an actual manual would have been perfect. Still... “Let us begin then.” 

The translator smiled, pulling the book over to her. Rather than pulling a pen and paper out, she read over the line and began to speak, “Oh, lord of the sun, hear my tale. Oh, he who blessed the fields, listen close. Oh,-”

“Wait,” Wu Ying said, interrupting her. “What are you doing?”

“Translating.”

“You are not writing it down?” 

“That is not our way,” Translator Tsewang explained. “Only the document that you acquire, as agreed upon by you and the Head of External Relations, will be writtena nd translated. Even that work and its transmission and distribution will be severly curtailed.”

“Really?” Wu Ying said, annoyed.

“How else are we to control the transfer of information. The works that the library contain, they are numerous and some are truly dangerous. It is best to ensure that they are not simply distributed.”

“And, of course, it has nothing to do with ensuring you don’t lose your monopoly of information,” he said, sarcastically.

She smiled at Wu Ying, unrepentantly. “Should I continue, Honored Cultivator?”

Realising that he had no leverage in this matter, Wu Ying could only agree. He settled into his chair properly, half-closing his eyes so that he could listen to her and the winds as well. This process, it seemed, would take a while. A good thing then, that there was a time difference between here and the mystic realm. Even if only a single day had passed, he missed them already.

And wondered how they were doing. 

***

Liu Tou He continued to stand outside the gates of the demonic city, arrows dotting the ground around him. He stood, legs apart, one hand on the staff he held in his right hand, unmoving like the mountain that he had studied to emulate. Smoke rose from the ground in a small circle around him, the broken portions of a catapult rock and shards of metal strewn about him. For two days now, he had stood here, demanding to meet and parlay with the residents of the city.

They had given up on attacking him after the first day, when catapults and urns of oil and volleys of arrows had failed to deter him. Other, stranger magics had impacted around him, some cast by the manipulation of chi, others from the gaze and the condensation of living dao through their eyes. Spears thrown from a distance and even a single aborted infantry charge had attempted to drive him aside, and through it all, he had weathered their attacks.

Afterwards they had chosen to ignore him. He could sense in the distance how regular life - trade and merchants, hunters and miners who had been locked out of leaving on the first day had begun their daily life and exit from the city in the afternoon of the second day. It seemed they were confident that he could - or would not - attack the other gates.

A decision that Tou He had to admit, was all too correct. He had no intention of attacking the normal personnel, and so, other than blocking entry and exit through their main gate, he would not harm them. He could wait, however long it took, for the rulers of the city to deign to speak with him.

After all, he had time. Even, in some ways, needed it. 

For he was not alone.

Through the baking heat of the afternoon of a second day he stood. It was evening, when the sun began to set that he sensed movement inside the walls. His own spiritual sense was deeply curtailed by the protective enchantments that had been activated on the walls, but such enchantments were not created to block a Nascent Soul cultivator. As such, they could not hide the slow procession that wended its way down the main street to him, the burning blaze of an individual behind the doors.

No surprise then, that when the small postern gate set inside the main gates were opened that there was a true challenge waiting for him. Tou He ignored the others, the various guards - gate or body -, attendants and hanger-ons and even the palanquin holders. His gaze instead locked on the single, massive snake creature that slithered through the gate to face him. 

A small wave of the four fingered creature’s hand had the guards parting. Four fingers - that explained the strange plate. A different gripping requirement, since it seemed to be less flexible than their own human hands. Demons were always strange, their adaptations to the mores of civilization haphazard and idiosyncratic.

“Interloper. Why are you here?” the creature hissed. “What do you desire?”

“My name is Liu Tou He. I am a cultivator of the Verdant Green Waters sect in the kingdom of Shen. I come here in a state of peace and curiosity.” 

“You are an intruder. An unwanted interloper to our lands. Leave, now!” The words were punctuated with a roar of thunder, the sound rebounding off nearby cliff faces to echo, leaving a trailing whisper of ‘now, now, now’. At the same time, Tou He felt the creature push down on his aura.

Nascent soul level creature - or the equivalent - or not, the speaker found Tou He’s aura impossible to budge. A mountain cared not for the sun bearing down upon it, no matter how harsh. It was a bad matchup of conceptions and techniques, and after a moment, the creature relented, realising it’s attempt at intimidation was a failure.

“I mean no harm, lord. However, I have been tasked to explore this mystic realm and as such, must continue my task. I can only apologise for the inconvenience.” Tou He bowed, his eyes never leaving the creature before him as he did so.

Another frustrated hiss escaped the demon. It slithered forward and sideways until it neared Tou He, staring him in the eyes. Slitted, yellow eyes focused on the ex-monk, searching his face for duplicity or agression. A surprised hiss left its throat as it dropped down, having found none.

After all, Tou He had spoken the truth. He sought no harm for those here. He sought a peaceful resolution to the issues, an understanding of what it was that had brought him here. There was no judgment for the demons and their different forms, for he accepted that all life was equally important.

“You will not leave?” it asked.

“No.”

Disappointment crossing an alien face, and then it bobbed low. “Then, follow.”

Tou He blinked, surprised at the creatures sudden capitulation. He had expected he would need to beat the demon down, but perhaps it sought advantage. If so, he would not find Tou He easily managed, no matter how many there were within. 

As he followed the demon within, through the strange town, Tou He could not help but notice the strange architectural differences. Buildings were lower to the floor, most no more than six or seven feet tall. Each building had multiple levels, apartments stacked upon one another with simple, shared ramps allowing access to the interiors. Buildings were massive, stretching hundreds of feet before finally a roadway broke them apart. Even so, each roadway was criss-crossed by stone bridges, such that no single building was left unconnected from another.

Each apartment itself was filled not with a single individual or a couple but full families, at a minimum half-dozen. Though the road was cleared as he traversed the city, Tou He still caught glimpses of their children, smaller versions of the demonic-snakes; though the children themselves were more snake than human.

As large and as expansive as the city might be above ground, Tou He could sense numerous small flames deeper in the earth. A whole network of lives and buildings beneath his feet, stretching down dozens of feet. A whole civilization, and amongst them all, a trio of individuals that he would have called equivalent strength to him.

Bringing the total number of opponents, if he had to fight his way clear, to four. 

Odds that even Wu Ying would have found intimidating.

Even so, when they brought him to the circular depressed arena where the trio awaited him, he was a little surprised. For they did not even deign to speak with him, but assaulted him immediately. Not physically either, or via a soul assault; but via directed gazes and mental dao conjurations that cast him to slumber.