Chapter 12 - The Library

Lei stumbled back on his heels, mind still reeling as he tried to come up with a sensible explanation about what just happened. Fatty Lou was on his side, waving stupidly a hand to Elder Brother Chen as the man strolled away from the stands.

All around him, the wind whistled, uncaring, and the sky carried the color of a burning sun, clouds painted in crimson as the day slowly gave way to the night. Trees rustled, disciples crowding round the Mission Stele left, group by group, to go about with their missions, or whatever these cold bastards did when the day left them. Only his cooks remained, and they remained a sorry-looking bunch.

Found myself in a cliche, yet I don't feel like laughing.

Lei breathed in deep, checking himself if the wind left him an unwanted surprise or not. When he found himself in good condition, he went on to check Fatty Lou. Other than some bruises around his neck he was fine, though his eyes seemed like they were looking, but not hoping to see anything.

"That was Elder Brother Chen." Wang Fei slapped a hand across the table, a great deal of sinew bulging out from his neck. "Elder Brother Bai had once crippled one of his Elder Brothers some years ago."

"What?" Lei raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean one of his Elder Brothers? How many brothers or cousins does this bastard have?"

Wang Fei gave him a side-eyed glance. "Thousands, I've heard, but not all of them are in the Nine Nails Sect. Scattered about the other sects, too. All molded in the same way, these people, spiteful, venomous snakes waiting for an opportunity to stab you in the back."

"So that's what this was all about, then? Elder Brother Bai's old enmities biting us in the ass?" There was a sour taste in his mouth as Lei stared about to see if Elder Brother Bai's watching. "You could've at least told us before all that effort."

"Can't say I didn't try," Wang Fei said, shaking his head. "You're too caught up in your old ways, unaware of the facts of this place. They would've killed each other, even those cousins, had they been given the opportunity. One less man means less competition in the Inner Sect exams."

"We're not even cultivators," Lei said, finding this whole deal way too unreal, but then everything was unreal about his life after he'd opened his eyes to a new world.

"This isn't about being a cultivator or not. Look at us," Wang Fei said, waving a hand to other cooks. "Half of us worked our way through all those tests to get into the Outer Sect, poured our sweat and tears to earn the right to call ourselves disciples of the Nine Nails Sect. But it isn't easy climbing the ranks when there are hundreds of people waiting to rob you of your hard work, taking the pills and spirit stones every month out of your hands."

"Seems to me you're not doing yourselves a favor trying to cook for these people," Fatty Lou said. His eyes were cold. "And Elder Brother Bai is certainly not helping you."

"You don't know what you are talking about!" Wang Fei hissed at his face, jaw set tight. "You don't know what we've been through, so keep your mouth shut! He made every effort to save us from these vultures, took us to his side where we can at least be at ease, rather than live like rats scrambling out on the streets."

Bullied. Beaten. That makes sense.

Lei nodded against the reddened face of Wang Fei. It seemed to him that Elder Brother Bai had established a sort of safe place for these cooks, and took in the outcasts to his side, caring for them in his own way, but Lei couldn't tell if it was working or not.

Could've worked if the guy didn't act like he is such a bipolar case. Can't reason with him when you don't know what to expect.

He'd thought being a chef in this world would be easy enough, considering he'd been one back on Earth. That was the plan after he opened his eyes, and saw that damn screen hovering before his eyes.

Just being a cook, how hard could it be?

It was a slap across his face, now that he thought about it. And the tales… Now they weren't lying, were they? These cultivators were surely not that different from the way those lowly mortals thought them to be. Bloodthirsty, unreasonable, and complete nut jobs.

I should've seen it coming.

Soft footsteps sounded to his left.

A short, brown-haired girl strolled toward them, her face strained with a forced smile. Shallow dimples on both her cheeks spoke about her youth, blue robe smooth and flowing with colorful embroidery. There was something soothing about her, too, as if she carried the spring winds with her at each step.

But then, two eyes glared out from behind her, bloodshot eyes carrying a look that said 'I'd told you this would happen.' Elder Brother Bai came trudging with his fists clenched, peering out through the Mission Stele, sharp eyes locked at the back of Elder Brother Chen as the man walked into the woods.

"You are Lei, right?" the woman said, looking him up and down as doubt creased her face. "I'm here to take you to the Outer Sect Library, as a gift from Grand Elder Hao for your… What did he say? Ah, yes! Heartwarming soup. Such a tasteful little dish that made him…"

"Made him what?" Lei said as they exchanged a strange look with Fatty Lou.

"Can't tell you, sorry." The woman scratched the back of her head before motioning with her hand to join him. "Shall we?"

"Cooks with passion, don't forget that." Elder Brother Bai glared from behind, eyes drilling painfully into Lei's skin. "Get your manual, and then we'll get back to work. You wouldn't mind us working, now, would you, Little Mei?"

Mei jumped a step as she snapped her head back toward Elder Brother Bai, green eyes widening at the sight of him. She nodded, and cleared her throat, inching away and pointing with her eyes to Lei as though she was in a rush to get out of there.

"A manual?" a thick, trembling voice said. "A cultivation manual, is it?" It continued, with feverish excitement. "A manual that lets you breathe the spiritual energy in the air inside your meridians, allowing you to become much more than a mere mortal. An immortal, perhaps? Or some sort of magical being, demonic beasts feeding on the flesh of people, I've heard. The so-called stepping through the threshold of another world, is it?"

Lei glanced hesitantly at Fatty Lou who stared at Mei, eyes bulging as if they were about to pop off from their sockets. Then those eyes swiveled to Elder Brother Bai, making him flinch in uncertainty as Fatty Lou took a step toward him. "I'll be joining these two if you won't mind."

"The reward is for the cook. You've done nothing—"

"Look, Elder Brother Bai," Fatty Lou said, raising a hand at him. "I get it. I understand completely. I'm willing, too, if that's what you are thinking. I'm willing to work my fat off in those Kitchens…"

"Good!" Elder Brother Bai said grimly. "Then you better—"

"As long as you let me cultivate," Fatty Lou finished as the knuckles of his hands turned white from clenching them a touch too hard.

Do or die. It's beyond stopping, now. He's either going to get what he wants, or he will die trying. Good for you, Fatty.

Lei gave him an encouraging nod while Elder Brother Bai stood in his place, eyebrows pinched together in a deep scowl. He took a step, and the air grew heavier for a second, making the ground seem way too close to Lei's eyes than it should.

"You're going to cultivate, is that so? You think you're capable enough, eh? You think—"

"You'd seen it, hadn't you? That damn woman stole the breath out of us, making us kneel before her like she was some sort of princess! Don't you think that's courting death, eh, Elder Brother Bai? Don't you think it's only fair for us to gain the strength to rise against these bastards?" His eyes glinted as though he thought something clever, fingers shaking with passion. "They don't give a damn about our food! We're all working in the Kitchens, aren't we? At least let us try to protect our own people."

"It's not as easy as you think," Elder Brother Bai said, raising a thoughtful hand to his chin. "To cultivate one must first need resources; pills, elixirs, and spirit stones. And you can only get those if you can become an Outer Sect disciple."

"Let me try." Fatty Lou raised his chin, staring him down. "There's nothing to lose here. Nothing to lose—"

"I can't just give you a cultivation manual, Fatty!" Elder Brother Bai waved his hand at him, shaking his head. "I don't have the authority. Only Elders can do such a thing, and even then they have to present their signatures to make it official."

"I have a signature," Mei said, making all heads turn to her side. That sent her eyebrows dancing as she blinked at the sudden attention. "I mean… Nobody has to know, right? We can just say the Grand Elder decided to reward the two newly brought kitchen workers for their efforts instead of just Lei."

Fatty Lou sprung forward, towering over the woman with his big bulk. If eyes could flash, then Fatty Lou's eyes would've showered her with lights of gratitude right on that instant. "Would you do that for me?"

Mei flinched back, that forced smile straining at the edge of her lips. But still, she made an effort to crane her head and look toward Elder Brother Bai, waiting for his word.

Elder Brother Bai frowned in thought as all eyes stared at him. Seconds passed, but he held the pose, face creasing as if he was having a hard time deciding.

Then with a long sigh, he nodded. "Very well. I think we can see this as another lesson for both of you. Youngsters these days… I'm not a heartless man, but it's your fault for thinking you have all the answers, that everything will be easy for you."

Fatty Lou almost jumped at the words, holding Mei tight round her arm, making her wobble a couple of steps. Then he clapped Lei on the back, like a kid who found his toy after a long and painful search. His joy was contagious, to the point that all the cooks, even Wang Fei, staring at the back couldn't help but smile.

"L-Let's go," Mei said as she managed to save her arm from Fatty Lou's strong grip. "I need to get back to the Inner Sect, I don't have all day."

…….

After they sent the cooks back to the Kitchens and tidied up the place, Elder Sister Mei took them right to the Outer Sect Library.

"Such a waste."

Was the first thing Lei heard when they stepped in through the wooden doors of the Outer Sect Library. A single sentence, followed by an exaggerated sigh seemingly came from all around the place.

"It's nothing, don't worry," Elder Brother Bai said, sneaking a glance from the seated, ancient man who seemed more like a shriveled corpse flung over on a broken chair.

And the Library didn't seem much different than him. It was fighting a losing war against the dust, bookcases all rotten and teetered on the brink of collapse. Some stood leaning into each other, one push away from crashing over onto the ground, booklets dangling dangerously close to the edges of the shelves.

A couple of disciples were busy whispering amongst themselves as they stood before a bookcase, this one looking a touch more better than others, waving fingers as If they couldn't decide what to pick between them.

The choices were plenty, and that was a good thing. Plenty of choices, all regulated and managed by an ancient man dozing off to one side, his thin arm hanging listless on a broken chair. He had his face twisted up with hundreds of wrinkles, half-closed eyelids squirming and mouth twitching as though he was too deep in some hellish nightmare.

"Should we—"

"Trust me, he's not asleep," Elder Brother Bai said, shaking his head at Fatty Lou who was about to tap the old man by the shoulders. He stepped back uncertainly but went with a nod when Elder Brother Bai urged him from behind.

They made their way toward the lines of bookcases after Mei placed the paper that had Grand Elder Hao's sign on it silently near the old man, carefully picking their steps so as not to slip across the dust-choked tiles.

There were other floors to this Library, stretching further up until everything became dark and dreary. Sunlight filtered through the stained windows, unattended, and smeared with streaks of blood like a car that flattened a flight of birds with its front windscreen. Feathers hung limply over them, casting wavering shadows on the murals painted to the walls, pale colors making it hard to understand what sorts of scenes they were depicting.

Once they were deep enough, away from that skinny old man, Mei led them through the lanes, pointing her finger as she explained the basics of cultivation.

"Actually, the cultivation manual itself doesn't really matter," she said with a sing-song voice, much too comfortable here than she'd been with them outside. "If you're a Qi Refiner, that is. You can always change the manual, but it's best to use the same one between the stages. Choosing a different manual during, let's say, the Seal Breaking Stage can be difficult, as you would have to adapt to the new pathways and the nodes of the technique."

"Pathways and nodes," Fatty Lou said, his face a picture of focus. Lei was sure if the man had had a notebook in hand, he would've taken all these notes down in the manner of an honor student. "Do continue, Elder Sister."

Mei's smile wavered as she went on, "There are nine seals in the Seal Breaking Stage, spiritual seals placed within our bodies by the Heavens, locking our potential. To break these seals one has to use spiritual energy, guided by one's cultivation manual, for an unguided, rampant wave of spiritual energy can break any cultivator's body in a matter of seconds."

"Seconds." Fatty Lou nodded.

"Break the body, you've said?" Lei wished he could get some of that enthusiasm spilling out in waves from Fatty Lou.

"After that comes the Foundation Realm, the Realm all cultivators hope to achieve, but unfortunately, most die while facing the Foundation Tribulation."

"Die facing the tribulation," Fatty Lou mumbled.

"What do you mean they die?" Lei raised an eyebrow at her.

Mei's eyes lost their glint as she continued, "The Foundation Tribulation is a terrible thing, believe me. It's more deadly than a blizzard and cruel like a Master's whip. Nine bolts of lightning, all carrying the wrath of Heavens, will unleash themselves upon the cultivator, one for each Seal broken. That's why many see the act of cultivation itself as defying the Heavens, to wage war against the Allseer."

"We don't have to push through all these stages, right?" Lei said. To him breaking a couple of seals seemed enough. That would allow him to get access to the real System. Other than that, he didn't see a point in him being a Cooking God or some Immortal Chef. A touch of spiritual energy, with three or four, maybe five seals would be more than enough.

Right?

"That's… an option," Mei said but didn't look that sure. She waved a hand to a bookcase as they turned a corner, stopping before the booklets. "Anyway, I suggest you choose the Soaring Hawk Cultivation Manual. It's the signature manual of our Sect Master. Most people, myself included, actually think he's a Jade Hawk born from the natural energy of the world itself, making this manual a nature-born treasure."

"Treasure?" Elder Brother Bai snorted. "You've sounded just like those weaklings, thinking they can achieve the same things with our Sect Master. The man is what, five thousand years old? How can you possibly think you're going to be the same as some Jade Hawk who was born ready to soar high into the skies? We're just people, simple human beings!"

Mei giggled while Lei and Fatty Lou stared grimly at Elder Brother Bai.

"Then why did you choose Empyrean Sage's Stoneflesh, Elder Brother Bai? You know he was a Fiendgod, right?"

"Hmph." Elder Brother Bai narrowed his eyes and pulled Fatty Lou closer with a quick hand. A sound akin to stone's breaking echoed as his fingers changed colors, curling round Fatty Lou's arm as they turned into a thick brown, and so did Fatty Lou's face changed as he stifled a scream. "See this? This is the real strength of a Body Forging expert. We're not like those fickle sticks calling themselves Qi Refiners. You grab them by the arm, twist it round, and pull until it clicks."

It clicked, but Fatty Lou managed to whisk his arm free, face dotted with drops of sweat. And yet his eyes glinted with awe. "A Body Forger?"

"Rebirthing from a drop of blood." Elder Brother Bai nodded. "Bearing a thousand men with nothing but your chest. Seeing the despair in those faces as they understand, slowly, and painfully, that there is nothing they can do to hurt you. That's a Body Forger, all right."

"I think I'll be a Body Forger," Fatty Lou said, shuffling excitedly on his feet as his gaze wandered off to the bookcase. "A Body Forger."

"It is certainly true that in the same stage, a Qi Refiner can't hope to overcome the threat of a Body Forger. But that's why the Body Forging Path is way harder and more painful." Mei splashed some cold water over Fatty Lou's head with her words.

"Painful as in?" Lei asked doubtfully.

"Their ways are… way too complicated than Qi Refiner's meditations. A Qi Refiner will simply breathe in the spiritual energy, attacking the threads binding the seals to your body one by one, cutting them clean with the precision of a sharp scalpel."

"Like a surgeon…" Lei mumbled.

"But a Body Forger demolishes the seals with brute force," Mei said, looking at Elder Brother Bai. "For example, Empyrean Sage's Stoneflesh will have a cultivator absorb different kinds of minerals through his body rather than the spiritual energy in the air."

"Doesn't sound that bad," Fatty Lou said.

Mei shook her head sadly. "Your flesh needs to be in contact with these minerals. Flesh, you've heard me, not your skin. So you have to stab them through the skin, plunge them deep into your flesh, or in some cases, when the said mineral is small enough, you'll simply eat them. Then you'll have to turn the spiritual energy into divine energy using your meridians, for the Body Forgers doesn't have an energy dantian like Qi Refiners. Their whole body is a weapon, honed by hours of painful training and extreme methods."

"Soaring Hawk Manual, it is," Lei said right away. It went without saying that he didn't have the highest pain tolerance, considering even a needle would make him shiver.

"Good call!" Mei smiled and nodded as if she was expecting this. Then, she reached for the bookcase, to the green booklet shining bright amongst the other dusty manuals.

Just as Lei was about to take the manual from her hands, a shiver down his spine made him stop. His fingers started shaking, heart thumping in his chest. He stared around him, trying to understand, but heard his own blood, coursing through his veins. Mei said something to him, waving the manual to his face, but Lei couldn't register the words, nor could he see her face. It was a blurry world, everything twisted up in a senseless mess, with him trying to blink his eyes to clear his head.

That's when he heard a voice, punching into his ears.

[Great Mother, forgive this child…]

And another screen opened before him, words too distorted for him to make any sense.

…….