Does this world belong to the Founding Fathers series?

Fan Shuangxi remains glued on that single line, her trepidation palpable as the night deepens. The hubbub of activity during dinner time has died down as everyone settles in their beds and wish their companions good night. Only a handful of people are up to stand guard on the perimeter of the campsite.

Fan Shuangxi has also been invited to sleep with the other women but because she isn't sleepy at all, she declined, citing that she'll stay outside for a while before going to bed. She is currently hiding on a high branch of a tree with Google spread open on her lap.

Under a different circumstance, she would reflect about her ninja move and the effortless way she jumped up to her present position but since anxiety trumps all her other concerns, Fan Shuangxi quietly dismisses them without a second thought.

She rubs the bridge of her nose when one more minute passes and no words appear below the question. Fan Shuangxi closes the book and leans on the trunk. She stares into space, unblinking.

If only she can write all that she remembers, Fan Shuangxi mourns.

Google trembles so Fan Shuangxi opens it. She gapes when a blank page tears off from the book, the space immediately refilling while the torn page floats in front of her. It starts to fold itself into a calligraphy brush and the tip slowly darkens as if the brush has been dipped on an ink.

A ballpoint pen would be even better, is Fan Shuangxi's wishful thinking as she imagines her trusty pen.

The brush trembles and to Fan Shuangxi's shock, the origami brush shreds itself into minuscule pieces and another blank page rips off to fold into what she desires, a plain ballpoint pen.

“How?” She whispers, her hand squeezing the origami pen. It looks just like her pen down to the color and the design.

Can this be one of the Book of Secret's functions? Fan Shuangxi recalls that the book gathers information through touch, absorbing memories and stocking it for future use.

An AI¹artificial intelligence fueled by magic, Fan Shuangxi admires. The inventors behind this treasure really deserve an award.

But, if that is true, then why doesn't it answer her question using her memories as evidence? Or maybe her question is wrong. Fan Shuangxi mulls it over and changes her question.

Does the Founding Fathers series belong to this world--scratch that, universe?

Fan Shuangxi's eyebrows jump as words begin to scroll in. The book doesn't answer with a simple yes or no, instead, it provides information after information, pouring out everything from its collection and leaving it up to the one who asked to reach to her own conclusion.

Books 1, 6, 8 sets in Aether

Books 2, 3, 9 sets in Earthen

Books 4, 5, 7 sets in Nether

Fan Shuangxi pinches the bridge of her nose at the laughable amount of words. Well, she can't blame Google, it all comes from her own memories and what she knows of the Founding Series is minuscule at best. Fan Shuangxi can only scold herself for not reading the novel series and relying only upon the summaries of her best friend.

Despite it being a pitiful amount, Fan Shuangxi can still conclude that there is a connection between the novel series and this universe, not just this world. She pats herself for her quick thinking. Even though she doesn't know what kind of connection yet but it is clear that Fan Shuangxi's world and the world of the Founding Fathers series is the same.

The Aether, Earthen, and Nether; the names of the Three Realms. Fan Shuangxi became acquainted with these three during her stay in Shuixian Palace. She had also learned the history of the six races, the seven lands on which they thrive in, and the twelve pillars that connect the three realms into one universe, Xingchen.

The leaves ruffle with the passing wind and a leaflet lands on her hand. Fan Shuangxi blinks at the small leaf and then at her hand clutching the pen. Oh, right, she was going to write about something. Fan Shuangxi's eyebrows clash and she nibbles her lip.

She runs her eyes on the three lines written on the blank page, trying to jug her memory.

Connection. Founding Fathers. Memories. Ah, yes, Fan Shuangxi remembers now. She wants to write everything she knows about the novel series and also, she belatedly adds, write a comparison. The book only accepts questions, it ignores commands and does not recognize vague statements so Fan Shuangxi can only rely on her deducing skills to collate the data.

Fan Shuangxi draws a line between her knowledge of the novel series' versus the knowledge she gained of Xingchen. Compare and contrast.

She bends her head and busies herself writing. It doesn't take long for her to write it all down with the end result as pathetic as the previous one. The two subjects being compared are disproportionate with her knowledge of the Founding Fathers' series ranging from names of protagonists and where they live plus their profession while the knowledge she learned upon waking up circles to the Fan clan, the legends, and the places.

Fan Shuangxi's forehead wrinkles while a headache forms. She sighs.

“I'll just take note of these names then,” she mumbles. Besides, Fan Shuangxi's name doesn't sound familiar to her so she's probably a mob character, she hopes. Better yet, a character that never existed in the Founding Fathers series.

Fan Shuangxi sighs again and relaxes. Her turbulent mind clears as she imagines scrubbing away the anxious thoughts.

“Be calm, be calm, keep your eyes on the prize,” Fan Shuangxi chants to the point that she forgets her surroundings or that she's sitting on a tree.

A strong wind blows through and shakes the branch. 

Ack! Fan Shuangxi hugs the branch for dear life, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

If you're not careful, you're going to die from this height rather than from a scheme, Fan Shuangxi's inner self admonishes. She gulps as her hands tremble.

When the wild heartbeat fades, Fan Shuangxi notices it, or rather, notices him.

The man in a loose white robe walks in the middle of the campsite. His long black hair frames his face, making it impossible for Fan Shuangxi to recognize him.

What are the guards doing? She frets as she observes the man. Fan Shuangxi leans forward, straining to see where the man's destination is. She spies him turning to Xiao Chang's tent. He pauses at the entrance, seeming to ponder.

Fan Shuangxi controls her breath while carefully crawling forward to keep him in her view. That's when her hand slips.

Uwa!

Fan Shuangxi hasn't even cursed out loud when her entire body smacks on the ground. 

That hurts, that hurts, that hurts! She lets out an instinctual groan. 

That hurts, that...doesn't hurt. Fan Shuangxi blinks and it dawns to her. She doesn't feel pain, physical pain.

Her mouth twitches before it opens to let out a chortle. Man, and here she thought she needs to be careful to avoid pain. Turns out, she doesn't need to!

I'm an immortal in this body! Ha, take that, world!

Fan Shuangxi closes her eyes and laughs, uncaring that others may wake up because of how loud she is. Her right hand grasps her chest.

This is really not a human body, damn it.

“What are you?”

Fan Shuangxi stiffens, her laugh cut short by a softspoken voice. Her lashes lift, glistening at the tips while the edges of her eyes are wet. She glances at the man who stands a respectful distance from her sprawling form.

Her vision is a little bit blurry and she rubs her eyes as she pulls herself into a sitting position. Fan Shuangxi crosses her legs and looks up.

Her mouth drops open.

Oh, her inner self drawls, a bishie!²Bishounen. A man whose beauty is the feminine variety. Simply put, a beautiful man or in most cases, a beautiful youth.

The man has his eyes closed as he tilts his head, waiting for an answer. Still, he is a beautiful specimen and the strands resting on his cheeks serve to highlight the shape of his face and his smooth jaw. His appearance borders on androgynous with the scale tipping more on the masculine side.

“I am a human,” Fan Shuangxi replies after thinking it over.

“You are not a human,” he says without a second thought.

Okay, her inner self deadpans, it was a nice attempt, orz.

“You don't have inherent energy so you can't be human,” the man adds, “and you are also hurt.”

He raises his hand and a mist pours out of it.

“No, I'm not.” Fan Shuangxi stands up and backs away. She touches the bell on her right ear to appease her restlessness.

The mist approaches her and envelopes her body. Fan Shuangxi holds her breath but minutes pass and nothing happens to her body.

“What is the mist supposed to do?” Fan Shuangxi glances at her body and frowns because no visible changes appear. She doesn't want something bad to happen to her but she also doesn't want that nothing happens to her. It's confusing but in her defense, it is easy to know the problem beforehand rather than discover it in the future, where it might be too late.

“It helps mend what is meant to be mended.”

It's not cancer-inducing, right? Fan Shuangxi is wary still. But he doesn't look like a bad person, her inner self chirps.

Beauty does not equal goodness, she reminds and stays on guard.

“What do you mean by that? Am I broken?” She squares her shoulders and squints at him.

Well, you are, her inner self reminds. Her real body is still mending itself in Shuixian Palace.

“You are.”

“I'm not!” Fan Shuangxi snaps at both herself and the man.

“Those who are in need of help don't always know they need it,” the man points out calmly.

“Oh, is that why you're here?” She quips with a roll of her eyes.

The man seems to stare at her even with his closed eyes and the longer he stands there with his emotionless face, the more discomfort she feels. He doesn't utter a word, instead, he turns his back from her and starts to leave the campsite.

His steps are quiet and then, a few steps away from her, the man dissolves. Not vanishes, dissolves, like sugar to water, the man disappears in the air.

Any normal person will be shocked to witness a person disappearing before their eyes, Fan Shuangxi is not different but she's quite proud to be the fastest one to recover, after all, she's been experiencing a plethora of physics-defying actions.

Being a ninja must be a prerequisite in this world, huh?

But, what is he? Fan Shuangxi failed to determine if he is a cultivator or not...or something else.

Because she doesn't know anything, Fan Shuangxi opens her best buddy Google and begins a round of questioning.

According to Google, the man who dissolved in the air and preached about mending is not a cultivator or a mortal for that matter. He belongs to one of the other two races living in the Earthen Realm, the Druids. The most solitary beings who are known to be healers of the soul and can manipulate water.

Fan Shuangxi closes the book. Aye, a shrink, in short.

In the legends taught to her by Granny Fan, the Druids are the first child of the Mother Goddess after the War of Dissonance. The eldest of the three races, the Druids are given the responsibility to roam the earth and mend the broken ones. They appear when they are needed and disappear when they are not.

Created for the sole purpose of bringing balance to the war-ravaged Earthen Realm after it was used as a battlefield of the first races.

“I heard a druid passed by last night,” Xiao Chang says while breakfast is being readied that morning. She sidles to Fan Shuangxi as the latter observes the growing activity in the campsite. Her perch on a faraway rock secludes her from the furor of moving feet, both young and old, at the center.

“Do you not like druids, Xiao Chang?” Fan Shuangxi asks rather than comment.

“Hmm, I like druids. Every time one passes by, my dreams become pleasant for a year! Why? Worried?”

“That's,” Fan Shuangxi blanks out, “well, not really.” She doesn't know how to handle the druid and the Bell of Discernment hadn't rung in his presence so being worried is the least of her 'worries'.

“Don't worry. Druids are harmless,” Xiao Chang smiles but then, it drops. “But they don't appear just to anyone.”

“You have to take heed of their words because, out of the three races, they are the ones closest to the soul of the lands. They appear as helpers guiding you along the way so when a Druid approaches you specifically, don't ignore them.”

“I won't,” if he appears again.

A flash of white.

Fan Shuangxi freezes but feigns relaxation.

She stands and dusts herself off. “Xiao Chang, I'm grateful for the caravan in welcoming me for the night.” Fan Shuangxi retrieves a folded purple silk and a jade hairpin from her sleeves. She has chosen these object from the Treasure Space as gifts.

“Please accept these small presents as a symbol of our meeting.”

“You are leaving already?”

“Yes. I need to cover a lot of distance today so I can't dally any longer.”

“Very well. Thank you,” Xiao Chang smiles. “Let me give you this,” Xiao Chang takes off a jade ring from her finger, “it is a simple gift but I hope you will remember us with it.”

“Thank you,” Fan Shuangxi bows and slips the ring on her middle finger. She hesitates for a moment.

“It's okay, I will tell Grandma,” Xiao Chang laughs and pats her shoulder.

“Thank you,” Fan Shuangxi smiles with a sincere glint in her eyes.

“Take care and may we see each other again.”

Xiao Chang watches Fan Shuangxi's back disappear inside the forest and carries the two gifts to her grandma's trailer.

“Shuang Xi is gone?” The old woman notes as Xiao Chang lays the gifts, neither simple or extravagant but just enough to show her sincerity and her respect.

“What is it Chang'er³'-er' is an intimate address between close relatives or lovers.?” she asks when she notices her granddaughter is silent.

“Until the end, I still can't perceive if she's a cultivator or not,” Xiao Chang responds.

“Is there a need to? She is gone now and the child doesn't mean any harm. Let her be in whatever secrets she hides.”

Xiao Chang leaves her grandmother's trailer without any protests but inside her curiosity hasn't diminished. In the end, just like what grandma said, Shuang Xi is gone and along with her are the secrets she hides.

“But, really, why does she have a dense supernal qi when I can't sense her spirit ocean?” As a cultivator who has already reached the ninth level of the Core Formation stage and just a half-step to a breakthrough in the Immersion stage, Xiao Chang is incredibly perplexed.

Spirit oceans can be sensed if it is present or not. If it is present, the person, likely a cultivator, has already passed the third stage of the Path and is in the process of taking in the infernal or supernal air. Meanwhile, an absent spirit ocean does not necessarily mean a person is not a cultivator, it can mean two things; the person is still in the initial stages of the Path, or the person is simply not a cultivator.

But, Fan Shuangxi has both contradicting conditions. She has never heard of a phenomenon wherein a cultivator can contain qi while never having a spirit ocean. It's not solely due to Shuang Xi having a higher rank too because even though sensing another cultivator's rank may depend on one's capabilities, it doesn't mean that one cannot ascertain the presence of a spirit ocean.

Xiao Chang scratches her head.

On the other hand, the source of Xiao Chang's confusion is running around the forest.

Fan Shuangxi swears she glimpsed the druid earlier but now he is nowhere to be found. Can it be she is wrong? If that's true she hastily left the caravan for nothing. She frowns, thinking that she should have at least taken a taste of what they're eating.

Forget it, she shrugs and leans on a tree, eating is useless anyway. The thought reminds Fan Shuangxi about her body. Last night, she didn't feel any pain. Right now, she wonders, does she has blood?

Fan Shuangxi caresses her wrist. She raises her right hand and points at her left wrist. The tip of her index finger gathers a thin concentration of air. It acts as a blade as she cut her wrist, leaving a clean slit.

No, the cut is deeper, Fan Shuangxi realizes. She doesn't know how but she can sense it is deeper. The sensation without the accompanying blood and pain is a weird experience.

In disbelief, Fan Shuangxi tries to cut again and again. The end result is an almost dismembered wrist. After noting that there are no muscle, bones, or blood vessels, Fan Shuangxi drops her right hand. It's all skin beneath or something resembling skin. She suddenly thinks of tofu and its white insides. 

Fan Shuangxi shudders.

Too creepy.

Fan Shuangxi's knees weaken and she slumps on the forest floor.

Beware of infection! Is her inner self's knee-jerk scream. Fan Shuangxi glances at her poor, hanging wrist only this time, it isn't hanging anymore. It is regenerating.

“Pfft!” Fan Shuangxi laughs and descends to hysteria.

I'm not human, not human!

Calm down, you're still human! This is not your body, this is just a doll, a doll!

Even if it's a doll, it's still not normal. Everything here is not normal! I need to see blood! I want to eat, I want to drink, I want to sleep, God, even taking a shit doesn't sound bad right now!

She rocks on her heels, her head bowing while her shoulders are shaking.

Mama. Papa. Little bro. Please, someone, make this a dream. I don't want to stay.

His white robes trail on the dirt, his white toes peeking as he stops in front of a quaking Fan Shuangxi. The druid she was looking for finally reveals himself. His once closed eyes are now open in the daylight, unveiling eyes totally black with no sclera visible. Spots of white are scattered on his dark orbs, twinkling like the stars in the sky at nightfall.

The mist he summons blankets Fan Shuangxi, enveloping her and calming her stormy emotions. It lulls her to a dreamless sleep wherein the chaos in her heart cannot reach.

She sits in their house's sofa while the face of a blonde reporter fills the screen of their television. Since she migrated to the United States at thirteen years old to join her family, she is already proficient in English but to her surprise, she can barely understand what the female reporter is saying.

The reporter seems to be talking about a blockbuster movie and shows a clip of the show.

There are two people acting; a man and a woman. The setup reminds her of the anime Inuyasha when Kagome first found Inuyasha but this time, instead of the man being pinned to a tree, it is the woman and in place of an arrow is a red spear.

The man hesitates in his steps but still grasps the spear.

She doesn't notice what happens to the woman but her eyes widen when she realizes that the man was walking on the water like a ninja.

Oh, I can do it too, she says in fluent English.

The man pulls with all his might. The red spear detaches and he falls on his back, dragging the red spear with him to the water. The water splashes, swallowing the man's body.

Coincidentally, the lights go out and drown her in darkness.

Darkness.

Psssh...

In the distance an orange light forms, different from the fluorescent light she's used to.

It crackles and dances as if alive. Heat comes from it, her body whispers. But she doesn't need heat. She raises a hand to touch it.

Is it real? She questions and her hand passes through it.

She hears a sizzle. Soon, an acrid smell assaults her nose.

Her flesh is burning, is what she senses.

Oh.

“Oh!” Fan Shuangxi shouts and jumps away from the bonfire and stares with wide eyes at her smoking burnt hand. She turns her head away as the suffocating smell brings tears to her eyes. It takes a minute for the dead, some charred, skin to fall off and be replaced by a spotless surface.

She ignores the peeled skin on the ground and sweeps her gaze around the camp she woke up to. It is night again and unlike the big campfire of yesterday, the one in front of her is enough for a small group.

Her eyes settle on the man sitting with his back straight and his feet folded underneath him. It is the druid she met and the one she's been looking for just this morning.

“You again!” She points with her healed finger, “Why are you here? Why didn't you stop me?” The rude words are the first questions that flow out of her mouth.

“Aren't you searching for me?” He voices out with a serene expression, the lashes of his closed eyes lying on his cheeks.

“But druids don't just appear when they are wanted,” Fan Shuangxi remarks with a squint.

“We don't,” he agrees with a nod, “We only appear when we are needed.”

Fan Shuangxi summons her self-confidence. “Is that why you showed yourself in front of me? Because I need you? For what?” 

“I only follow the threads I must weave. In the tongue of humans, my purpose is akin to that of a teacher, a counselor, a guide or any of the innumerable names with the same meaning.”

“So, why didn't you stop me from burning myself?”

His mouth twitches, “I am not your parent. You are free to be foolish around me.”

“And, you won't die, after all, you are not a human. Only humans are vulnerable enough to be hurt by a normal fire.”

Fan Shuangxi narrows her eyes, “How did you know I'm not a human?”

“As I've told you, you lack inherent energy. Your body also carries the color of the Celestials and you practice the Divine arts,” he tilts his head, “but perhaps, the most obvious proof is the fact you don't carry a spirit ocean,” his head moves to give her a once-over.

“Yet the qi of the supernal flows in you,” he mutters.

Fan Shuangxi sits, mimicking his posture with her hands clench on her lap. She nibbles her lower lip as she glances down. Indeed, she lacks a spirit ocean and that's not because she's hiding it but because this body is the shadow of her active spirit ocean.

The excess supernal qi the original Fan Shuangxi gathered pools inside her. It evens out the scale of the two spirit oceans inside Fan Shuangxi's real body. As she cultivates the infernal qi, the supernal qi in this body will slowly be reabsorbed by her real body at the pace equal to her cultivation, only by this method can she ensure the health and safety of her real body.

Yes. This 'body' is the physical form of the Vessel Shell Seal, a doll that can be shaped into what she desires.

“I only witnessed this bizarre situation once before, back when that clan still exists,” the druid says.

Fan Shuangxi touches the golden bell on her left ear and asks, “Can I trust you, druid?”

“You can call me Shen Qian,” he nods his head, “and, yes, you can.”

The bell doesn't chime.

She drops her hand and exhales the breath she's holding.

“My name is Fan Shuangxi.”

Shen Qian is silent then, “As I've thought, you really are a Fan. Out of the human clans, the Fan clan is the most aberrant.”

Yes, yes, we are special snowflakes, her inner self comments.

“And the hallmark of a Fan is the lack of inherent energy,” Shen Qian reveals.

The Fan was few and mysterious, no one has ever known one of their secrets except for Shen Qian's race back when he accidentally met a young child in a place that is now a wasteland, its name forever erased from the map of the world.

The encounter was shortlived but it was enough for Shen Qian to perceive the child's unique constitution and the potential of the Fan clan.

“What do you mean by lack of inherent energy?” Fan Shuangxi questions with a frown. She never heard Granny Fan saying anything about this deficiency.

“Do you know about the history of the Path?” Shen Qian replies.

“Yes,” Fan Shuangxi nibbles her lip as she adds, “Cultivation, a process of strengthening one's self, both body and mind, to attain the highest form of being. For those who practice the Divine arts, the goal is to achieve communion between the self and the universe while for those who practice the Demonic arts, it is the harmony within the self that is focused upon. These two arts are practiced by the first races and you can even say, it is their privilege.”

For a long time, mortals can only look with envy as these races blessed with immortal life manipulate the lands according to their whims. Phenomena, like summoning devastating weathers or clearing restless skies, creating bountiful plains or submerging islands, even saving a life from the clutches of death, become possible with just a wave of a hand.

To be in likeness to the superior races, mortals sought far and wide for a way and finally found a solution inside them: inherent energy; a raw and unrefined power, the very energy that breathes life to them. Take it from them and their humanity is gone. So, that's what the pioneers of the Path did. They took their inherent energy, not to throw away, but to tame and refine. Bit by bit, they began to ascend to the plane that was once unattainable, able to see the lands they've only heard, and finally, to stand on equal terms with the very beings that were once only specters in the distance. Thus, the mortals' path of cultivating towards a superior self is named as the Path of Ascension.

“The Path of Ascension has five crucial stages with nine levels each,” Shen Qian softly intercedes. “In the process of Ascension, a mortal uses their inherent energy to make a foundation inside their body. This foundation is the base that supports the formation of a spirit ocean. This is the first three stages of the Path; Gathering, Foundation, and Core Formation.”

Fan Shuangxi's eyebrow clash. Wait, what? This is different from what she knows. According to Granny Fan, she doesn't need inherent energy this much and in truth, she has only used it for one day to clean her already formed latent ocean.

“Once the core is established, a mortal has the ability to sense the two great airs,” Shen Qian continues even after noticing Fan Shuangxi's puzzled look. The core Shen Qian refers to is the formation of an empty spirit ocean.

The mortal enters the fourth stage, Immersion, to fill their body with qi, transforming their whole being to a physique almost identical to the immortals. This continues until the last stage, Ascension. Once they stepped through the ninth level of the Ascension stage, cultivators must first pass the Ascending Heavenly Tribulation to be called a 'Saint.'

“To be a Saint is to be able to enter the Aether or Nether,” Shen Qian finishes.

Fan Shuangxi nibbles her lip with a frown. “When you said that our clan lacks inherent energy, is it because unlike the other human clans, we don't use inherent energy as our base?”

Shen Qian nods and opens his mouth to explain, “at its core, the mortals' Path is just an imitation. Their way of breathing the primal airs is artificial, thus, the taint will show.”

“And you cannot find that taint in me?”

Shen Qian shakes his head. No, he never saw the telltale murky color of a mortal's cultivation in Fan Shuangxi and in the Fan child he met, only the unsullied shade of amber and the finest amethyst.

“Then, does that mean the Fan clan is not a human clan?”

“In the conventional sense, the Fan clan isn't but they are without a doubt, mortal.”

“But you said I'm not human.” Fan Shuangxi's eyebrows furrow.

“You are not but the Fan clan is.”

No chime.

Fan Shuangxi rubs the bridge of her nose. Maybe, he is referring to this body? This is not a human body, after all. She winces when she remembers her crazy fit that morning and the events before leading to it. She must have fallen asleep because of mental exhaustion and Shen Qian decided to help her poor self. He probably made the fire for her although, it really isn't needed.

Yep, not human. Fan Shuangxi shakes her head.

Pistachio

Hi! I want to clarify about the Chapters/Week; my update schedule is 1 chapter per week Sunday, 10:00 pm (GMT+8). I don't control that setting as the algorithm of the site is the one providing the numbers and from what I've read, it rounds off the update frequency if it can be rounded off. I do hope that's clear to everyone. See you next update, peace out!