After exhorting the truth from the unwilling temple maiden’s lips, An Fei had gathered much of the necessary information to piece together a worthwhile conjecture regarding her future circumstances. As she lay against the slightly coarse fabric of the blankets, the young girl allowed her mind to drift from her currently languished position to the sea of perception hidden deep within herself.
“The Morning Star Temple is truly nothing more than a temple. It holds little authority over the secular world after having been annexed, and is regarded as nothing much more than a faded legend in the public’s perspective.”
“Due to several unknown factors, all passages leading out of Bei Tang have been sealed by the Violet Jade Pavilion. Only entrenched sects including the Morning Star Temple are capable of dispatching several people through the borders, as they were once a sect within the territories of Great Yan.”
“Violet Jade Pavilion and Bei Tang do not wish to fully offend the empire of Great Yan. At the same time, they are not unguarded against the latter; rather, the exact opposite.”
“Subterfuge will not be sufficient to bluff through the Morning Star Temple’s oversight; after the annexation, the Violet Jade Pavilion has installed several sympathizers within the sect, and some are bound to hold significant positions. The optimal opportunity of accessing Great Yan would be through the Morning Star Sect, for initial contact is present…”
Quickly, An Fei had compiled a brief set of statements she had wrenched from Xu Lingxin’s mouth. Cursing the latter underneath her breath for being such a liar, the young girl directed her attention from her surroundings, and onto her body.
…it was a rare moment of peace and opportunity, for she had not spared enough time and attention to her body even whilst in the Sanctum.
The mental visualization of her body remained consistent as before, with interlocking webs and dense, branching passageways of golden light streaming through and permeating every inch of her body. The eight abnormalities that overlapped with the approximate position of her Eight Extraordinary Meridians had not moved from their position save for the scarlet river that blazed with an unsurpassed brilliance.
All of this – she was greatly familiar with. What concerned her was rather the abyss that existed near her abdomen.
The network of golden light and meridians was truncated at the vitals upon contacting the pitch-black region within the visualization.
An Fei failed to spot any signs of gradual decay or withering; the region seemed to replicate the void that assimilated anything and everything within an instant, and without fail.
“Wielding spiritual essence that is intended to permeate my entire body triggers intense discomfort and pain. The influx of abnormal sensation that triggers only when utilizing spiritual essence suggests that rather than severing the network of meridians, the darkened region of the visualization… absorbs them?”
“The pain is not unlike that of severe menstrual cramps, with additional lingering pain in the nerves and the head. If utilizing a martial arts technique on the scale of the <Heavenly Talisman>, it is likely for my consciousness to black out entirely during the entire event.”
“Xilong refuses to answer, but its actions indicate that it knows something regarding my current state. And yet, it refrains from uttering a single word, regardless of provocation or pleading. The only response I receive is my inability of withstanding such information as I… ‘lack a soul.’”
Numerous thoughts and conjectures swirled in an endless whirlpool that devoured all ideas, and their flickering radiance scattered threads of epiphany upon their nonexistence. An Fei plunged herself deeper into her thoughts as she tried to deduce what exactly barred her, and why.
So far, she could only gather three brief ideas. The book from Grandfather, Xilong’s suspicious behavior whenever to topic of a <Jolt> was mentioned, and the mutually destructive nature of spiritual essence obtained from vastly different sources. Alas…
“Don’t burn myself out yet. There is still time, and more information is required before I can even begin to guess…” An Fei consoled herself quietly, then glanced towards the darkened sky through the windowpane.
“Xilong, can you answer a question for me?”
There was a brief silence, then the slightly gritty surface of the glass trembled in accordance to an unusual rhythm. The young girl felt a hot breath of air rush past her ear from behind, and the heavenly dragon’s soothing voice soon drifted into her ears.
“If it is regarding the matters of a <Jolt> or a soul, then –“
“I know, you’ve grilled me far too many times about keeping good care of my… soul,” An Fei sniffed in discontent.
“Rather than that, you once mentioned that there was another envoy of the Sanctum – Compendium, I believe was their name. When, and how will they wake up? What are their conditions?”
The heavenly dragon was left in a pause due to surprise, and An Fei observed a hairline crack rush across the entire length of the glass window. As the slightly chilly air of the night seeped through the breach, the young girl calmly waited for her answer.
“Compendium… is the envoy of the Gate of Origin,” Xilong acquiesced after a long internal debate.
“He is… no, before he fell into a slumber like the remainder of us envoys of the past, he was the manager of the Archives of Time. Every book, every manual, every sheet of paper that exists within the infinite library of the void has been rewritten and compiled by Compendium for your perusal.”
“…does he know of such concepts such as <Jolt> and the <Eternal Sanctum>?”
The young girl’s response was swift yet unhurried, but revealed a shadow of uncertainty within. As she heard a wisp of wind smack the back of her ears, An Fei observed the cracks in the windowpane extend just a bit more beyond their previous reach.
“Do you still intend on finding the truth long before you can handle it?”
“Every instance you mentioned the concept of the <Jolt>, there was also a relation to a soul,” An Fei retorted.
“Each day you pressure me to gain enough knowledge about the human soul to create an artificial, temporary shell to save my persona and identity, and that I’m running out of time. I’m also running out of ideas – there’s simply nowhere that I can begin from, nor can I understand something I cannot observe.”
Drops of silence clattered against the clay roof tiles of the inn, and both heavenly dragon and mortal girl witnessed the skies give birth to a torrential rain in the dead of night.
Xilong’s eyes blazed with the vicissitudes of time as it stared beyond the clouds of rain and into the fringes of the Realm, and made a decision.
“Xiao Fei… you, you have long since come into contact with the concept of <Origin> – far before that of <Death>. Wielding <Origin> is considerably easy, but you are only a guest for now; only when you have received its acknowledgement will Compendium arouse to his former position.”
She already wielded the concept of <Origin>? That… insinuated that she also had access to the Construct of <Origin> as well?
But why wasn’t she aware of such knowledge, and what did it mean to gain the acknowledgement of a concept?
Having left behind its cryptic message, Xilong returned to its post outside of the inn. Soon after, however, a slightly nasally voice squeezed itself through the thin cracks in the window to brush against the tip of his ears.
“You cracked the window. Should I sleep in this room now, especially when its rather cold at night and raining… especially since what that elder sister mentioned about the rain here…”
“Then come back home. My intention was not to make you suffer outside, but rather allow you to experience all aspects of life to broaden your perception…”
There was a faint sigh of a heavenly dragon, and was soon accompanied by a faint, discordant melody of sacred bells. The bestowment of rain regathered its forces for a powerful offensive, and the heavens hurled their disappointment and irritation towards the spiteful earth.
The accursed winter rains of Bei Tang had begun.
