I stop looking through the ring to see more clearly as my mother approaches with a frown. At her side, the imposing figure of Nei Baihu advances with a firm and controlled posture as she gazes thoughtfully at the Nei Wei behind us. Walking alongside them is a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes that sparkle in the daylight. It doesn't take much effort to deduce that he is someone important, and from my mother's words this morning, I imagine he is a high-ranking member of the Yao clan.
“Sun Wen, what is going on here?” my mother asks me when they reach us. Her voice is clear, but her tone makes it obvious that she expects an immediate explanation.
Before I can answer, the middle-aged man intervenes, his voice laden with indignation “I demand an explanation! The imperial army has been used to attack my clan's guards. I will file a formal complaint at the palace. My clan cannot be treated this way!”
I see that while the man is expressing his complaints to my mother, the Nei Baihu, with her unchanging expression, ignores everyone and approaches the Nei Wei guarding the guards and the trio in the middle of the street. She examines the situation with her gaze and seems to begin asking the Nei Wei something.
I ignore the Nei Baihu as I prepare to defend myself and begin my explanation “Mother, this is not my fault. I didn't start...”
Suddenly, my explanation is interrupted by Lianhua “Allow me, Zhāohuán Wen.”
Lianhua turns to my mother and begins to explain in a firm, clear voice what happened at the stall. She tells them how, when picking up a ring at a stall, a man named Yao Zhi, who was accompanied by a group of people, demanded that we hand it over to him. We politely refused, but without revealing our identity to avoid attracting attention. However, Yao Zhi's group began to insult us, demanding that we humiliate ourselves and accept the punishment they wanted to impose on us. Finally, when we refused their outrageous request, they drew their weapons with the intention of attacking us.
As Lianhua recounts what happened, I notice how my mother's expression hardens and her eyes become increasingly cold. In contrast, the luxuriously dressed man next to her loses his expression of indignation and begins to sweat visibly as the story progresses, his nervousness growing as Lianhua's words recount the events.
When Lianhua finishes, silence fills the place for a moment, and my mother slowly turns to the man, her gaze piercing him like a sharp spear.
“Patriarch Yao”, my mother begins, her icy tone seeming to pierce the air. “I think it's an excellent idea to send a formal complaint to the palace. We could recount how the emperor's daughter was insulted, intimidated, and nearly killed by members of your clan.”
The man, now drenched in sweat, opens his mouth to respond, but my mother seems unwilling to give him any respite as she continues speaking “Furthermore, although the palace has allowed your clan to administer this city, I do not believe that permission includes the power to intimidate travelers or merchants who use the imperial roads. Or am I mistaken?”
The patriarch of the Yao clan seems to shrink under my mother's verbal attack and tries to excuse himself, but his words come out clumsy and full of fear “I-I don't think it's necessary to bother the court with something like this, and I'm sure we can come to an agreement. After all, it was just a misunderstanding.”
The Nei Baihu then approaches, bowing her head slightly to my mother before speaking firmly “Guifei Xiang, the Nei Wei have confirmed Fei Yi Lianhua's account. My subordinates are ready to receive orders.”
My mother remains silent for a moment as she seems to consider her options, and I see the patriarch of the Yao clan wipe the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief he pulls from his sleeve before addressing my mother “If you'll excuse me, Guifei Xiang, I believe our clan can offer Zhāohuán Wen adequate compensation as an apology for what happened if you allow us to resolve this matter internally.”
My mother looks at the man and asks “And what would that compensation be, Patriarch Yao?”
“I couldn't help but notice Zhāohuán Wen's age and that she is just beginning her path in cultivation”, Patriarch Yao begins to explain nervously.
“In our clan, we have a ritual that improves the body's resistance to toxins and poisons, as well as enhancing the gains from opening the gates of Air and Water while in Body Tempering or before starting it.”
“We only perform this ritual with select members of our clan”, Patriarch Yao continues. “But we are willing to offer it as a sign of sincerity with our apology.”
My mother seems surprised by his offer, which makes me think that it is not something normal, an assumption that is reinforced when my mother quickly accepts.
“Patriarch Yao”, my mother says. “If your offer is sincere, we are more than willing to leave the punishment of the members of your clan who offended the emperor's daughter in your capable hands.”
The patriarch of the Yao clan seems relieved by my mother's response and says to her “It will take us some time to get everything ready, but if you wait at the inn, we will let you know when we can begin.”
“We will await your news”, replies my mother, who then turns to Nei Baihu. “Let the men of the Yao clan go.”
“As you command, Guifei Xiang”, replies the Nei Baihu with a bow, then turns to the Nei Wei.
“If you'll excuse me, Guifei Xiang, I have to put things in order and prepare everything for Zhāohuán Wen”, says the patriarch of the Yao clan to my mother.
“We are releasing you so that you can fulfill your obligations”, my mother replies. “We will be waiting for your news at the inn.”
The patriarch of the Yao clan bids farewell with a bow and quickly heads over to where the Nei Wei is releasing the guards.
“Let's go back to the inn where we can talk more calmly about this whole mess”, my mother tells us.
I stretch out my arms and say “Mother, pick me up.”
My mother looks surprised, but she picks me up and, once I'm in her arms, asks “And why is that, Wen?”
I look at Lianhua and reply “Lianhua has to go get my books and pay for them and the ring. It wouldn't be right if, after all this, we didn't pay what we owe, would it?”
My mother stares at me, but I ignore her as I look at Lianhua, who bows and says “I'll go right now, Zhāohuán Wen.”
Lianhua turns and walks away from us to carry out my orders, but I lose sight of her when my mother also turns around and we head to the inn, followed by a disproportionate number of Nei Wei.
My mother doesn't say anything to me as we head to the inn, but when we arrive and are in the small courtyard we have rented, she sits me on her lap and tells the Nei Wei “Tell Fei Yi Lingxi, who is at the camp outside the city, that she can return to the inn. I don't think the Yao clan is foolish enough to do something irrational when it's clear that they are weaker than us.“
One of the Nei Wei bows to leave the courtyard, and I ask my mother “Why is Lingxi at the Nei Wei camp?"
“So that someone can warn the Palace in case the Yao clan does something irrational and is stronger than us”, my mother replies without wanting to add anything else, but I understand the dark meaning of her words.
“But let's put those things aside and tell me, what is this about a ring causing all this mess?” my mother asks me next, changing the subject.
I show her the ring I still have in my hand and reply “It's this ring, Mother.”
My mother takes the ring and looks at it closely, frowning and asking me “Why did you take it? It's too big for you to wear right now.”
“The ring caught my attention for some reason, but I can't explain the feeling I got when I saw it”, I tell my mother vaguely, as I have no way of telling her that it's because of my intuition from years of experience working with relics.
I see my mother staring at the ring as if she is concentrating, but then she sighs and returns it to me, saying “I sense a spiritual treasure, but activating it is beyond what I am capable of with my level of cultivation, and unfortunately, no one on this expedition has gone beyond opening the gates.”
“You'd better keep it”, my mother continues as I clench the ring in my hand. “If you ever reach a high enough level of cultivation, it may be useful to you.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
With the ring clenched in my hand, I decide to seize the moment and ask my mother “What are the gate openings, and what happens after you finish them?”
My mother looks at me and ruffles my hair as I complain and replies “That's something we can discuss when you've finished with Body Tempering. In the meantime, it's best not to worry about it.”
“It's not fair!” I complain to my mother. “I think you hide it just so you can tease us when we're kids.”
“That's not why, Wen”, my mother replies. “I'm going to tell you a story about a cultivator that will help you understand why we don't tell you.”
“A long time ago, there was a cultivator who had started on his path”, my mother begins. “Like you, he complained that his master was hiding things from him, so he decided to find the information on his own and sneaked into his master's library.”
“In that library, he found the answers to his questions”, my mother continues. "But knowing everything he would have to go through on his path of cultivation, he became obsessed with the path and therefore spent countless resources, time, and money preparing and paving his future. But in his obsession with his future, he forgot something fundamental, which was to take advantage of his time to finish his current step. So, to his horror, one day he realized that he would not be able to move on to the next step with the life he had left."
My mother finishes her story as she looks at me. “And so, the cultivator who could have reached the top was unable to move beyond his first step because he wasted more time thinking about his future than improving his present.”
My mother looks at me as if waiting for me to say something, while I realize that this is the equivalent of the milkmaid's tale in this world, and although I know I'm not going to fall for that trick, it's impossible for me to convince anyone of that, since that tale seems to be firmly rooted in the culture of cultivation.
With a sigh, I realize that in my current situation, there is only one thing I can do, so I say to my mother “I understand what you mean, Mother. I won't be like that cultivator.”
My mother smiles at me and hugs me as she says “Remember that I only want the best for you, Wen, even if you don't understand the reasons why I do it.”
Hearing this, I feel a pang of regret for not being able to give her what she clearly wants, which has been more evident during the trip than in court, but a lie of such magnitude would be very difficult for me to maintain.
Fortunately, a knock at the door interrupts what is, for me, an uncomfortable mother-daughter moment, and my mother reluctantly breaks her embrace as she says “Come in.”
The door opens and Lianhua enters with the package of books, saying “I've done everything you asked, Zhāohuán Wen. Here are your books.”
I silently thank Lianhua for being my savior and ask my mother “Can I sort the books while we wait for news from the Yao clan?”
“Of course, Wen”, my mother says, getting up to leave me in a chair near a table. Lianhua approaches with the package and opens it to place the books on it.
Before I start looking at the books, I ask Lianhua “Do you think you can find a chain or something similar so I can hang the ring? It's too big for me to wear right now.”
“I'll look for something, Zhāohuán Wen”, Lianhua tells me as she bends down, then turns around, and I am surprised to see her approaching my mother.
I ignore them, as I doubt I will be able to hear what they are talking about, even though it will almost certainly be about me, and turn my attention to something more interesting, the books on the table.
I start looking through the books and quickly realize why they were unsold in a corner. They are all old books and clearly not very valuable. I have even read a couple of them, as I received them as a birthday gift.
It is clear that I have not found a stash of valuable old books with important information, but at least I will have something to entertain myself with for a few days as we continue our journey.
I start reading a book that looks like a kind of hand-illustrated encyclopedia about plants to pass the time when, after a while, Lianhua arrives with a chain that looks like silver and helps me put the ring through it and hang it around my neck, after which I tell her that I don't need it at all for the moment and continue reading the book, despite the nonsense it says about plants.
The afternoon passes quietly until one of the Nei Wei knocks on the courtyard door and, after entering, tells my mother that a messenger from the Yao clan has arrived saying that everything is ready. She also tells her that they have indicated that only I, my mother, and a maximum of two bodyguards can go.
My mother thinks for a moment and tells the Nei Wei to tell the Nei Baihu to come with us and to choose someone else to accompany us.
My mother comes over to where I am and I stretch out my arms for her to pick me up, after which she tells Lianhua and Lingxi, who has returned in the afternoon, to wait for us here.
We leave the inn and my mother stops. The envoy from the Yao clan looks at us, hesitating to ask what we are waiting for, but he doesn't have to wait long because after a moment Nei Baihu arrives accompanied by another guard.
Upon arrival, my mother instructs them to accompany us as bodyguards, to which Nei Baihu nods, and my mother tells the envoy from the Yao clan that he can now guide us.
The journey is not long, as she guides us to the Yao clan mansion, where the envoy exchanges a few words with the guards, who I notice have some bruises, and we enter the mansion while they look at us with unfriendly faces.
Upon entering, she leads us to a courtyard on the side of the mansion, where I see a huge tub in the center guarded by half a dozen guards. There is also an elderly woman who approaches us as we enter the courtyard.
“So this is the little girl who has taught Zhi a lesson in humility”, she says as she approaches us.
“Excuse me, what do you mean?” my mother asks, as confused as I am.
“Nothing, although I'm almost tempted to thank you”, she replies. “I'm glad this happened to someone reasonable like you. I always told Feng that he spoiled his son too much, and I can imagine a thousand situations in which something worse than this outcome could have happened.”
We are speechless for a moment at her frankness, but the old woman continues talking "But these are internal matters for our clan. We will honor our agreement with you, but the ritual is somewhat dangerous, and I want to explain what it involves. If, after understanding the risks, you still want to continue, we will begin.“
”What you are about to undergo is a bath with various herbs that can only be found in the Foggy Swamp”, the old woman begins to explain. “For it to work, you have to get into the tub completely naked so that the liquid covers your entire body.”
Well, that's not a problem. At eight years old, modesty isn't that important, but the old woman continues to explain “While you're in the bath, in addition to being completely submerged, you have to do two things. The first is to keep your eyes open at all times and swallow as much liquid as you can so that it affects your insides.“
”And the second thing is the danger you have to face, since you have to stay underwater for half a period without coming up, and you also have to breathe in the liquid so that it affects your lungs”, the old woman tells me.
That really scares me. How on earth am I going to breathe water and stay in the liquid for an hour?
The old woman clearly notices the look of fear on my face and, I suppose, on my mother's, but she is clearly used to this reaction because, without losing her composure, she takes what look like two spherical pills out of one of her sleeves.
“These two pills are what will allow you to do that”, she continues to explain as she lifts one of the pills. “This pill will allow you to breathe underwater and thus allow the liquid to affect your lungs. To do this, you have to swallow it just before submerging yourself in the liquid.”
She then lifts the other pill and tells us “Later, when you come out of the tub, you have to quickly swallow this other pill, which will remove all the water from your body and allow you to breathe air again.”
“After the treatment, you will be weak and sleepy for several days while your body adapts to the changes, but that is normal”, the old woman continues as she looks at us with the pills in her hand. “My final warning is that the last time someone died from this treatment, I was still a young girl, but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous, so it's your decision.”
I hesitate, as the idea that a pill can make me breathe water is almost too fantastical, so I look at my mother to see if she seems convinced.
My mother looks at me and, seeing my doubts, says “I trust that everything will be fine, as the Elder of the Yao clan says, because if they wanted to harm you and succeeded, their clan would have a hard time explaining it to the emperor. I think you should do it, but you are mature enough that I won't force you and you can make your own decision.”
My gaze alternates between my mother and the Elder of the Yao clan, as my mother has called her, whose face remains unmoved by my mother's harsh statement. But I have to make a decision, and if my mother trusts that it will be safe and beneficial for me, it is better not to hesitate any longer, so I say “I am willing.”
After my words, the Elder wastes no time and brings us to the tub, where, with my mother's help, they undress me and put me in the liquid, which, to my surprise, is warm.
My mother holds me on the edge as I cannot stand up, and the Old Woman brings the pill that she says will help me breathe underwater to my mouth and puts it inside, so I swallow it.
After swallowing the pill, she pushes my head down and I feel her holding me so I don't try to get out of the tub. I'm sure from the outside it looks like the Old Woman is trying to kill me by drowning me in the water.
I can't help it and I hold my breath out of inertia, but I immediately start to feel short of breath, so I psych myself up by imagining I'm Bud Brigman in the movie The Abyss, to be exact in the scene where she puts on the liquid oxygen suit, and against all my instincts, I breathe.
I feel the water entering my lungs as the air leaves, and after a brief moment of panic, I notice that the feeling of drowning is fading. It's true that it's a little hard for me to breathe, I guess because of the difference between liquid and air, but it's not too uncomfortable.
I remember what the Old Woman told me and I force myself to keep my eyes open and start swallowing the liquid, which, unfortunately for me, tastes disgusting.
After a while, and I suppose when she is convinced that I am not going to come out of the water, I notice that the Old Woman's hands stop holding me, and since I have no air in my lungs, I remain comfortably in the water without having to struggle to avoid coming to the surface.
I soon lose track of time as I swallow some of the liquid from time to time and spend the rest of the time enjoying the sensation of being in the warm water, breathing water while swallowing some of the liquid from time to time, something that would be impossible in my previous world, but after an indeterminate amount of time, I feel weak and begin to fall asleep.
I resist that feeling with the certainty that it would be bad to fall asleep when I feel someone grab my shoulders and arms. They pull me out of the water with one tug, and I quickly feel myself starting to choke, but someone I can't see due to my extreme weakness puts something in my mouth and pushes it down my throat while ordering me to “Swallow.”
Fighting the feeling of drowning, I swallow what I assume is the pill to get rid of the liquid, and suddenly I find myself not only vomiting all the water from my lungs, which makes it painful to breathe, but also, to my embarrassment, I feel my bowels betray me and I soil myself.
But none of that matters anymore when the drowsiness that overcame me when I was in the liquid returns with even greater force as I realize I am not in danger, and, unable to help myself, I fall asleep as I feel myself being wrapped in some kind of cloth.
