Chương 65: Chapter 63

The voice comes from behind us, soft and clearly feminine, along with a hint of amusement that doesn't fit the seriousness of the hall in the slightest. I see with absolute clarity how Qi Sheng freezes mid-sentence, his face shifting from professional courtesy to very poorly disguised surprise, and he immediately raises his head to look over our shoulders. His surprise lasts only as long as it takes him to focus on the person standing behind us.

The moment he sees whoever is back there, the change I observe in him is almost worthy of academic study. The surprise on his face quickly gives way to concern, a very real, instinctive concern that makes the corner of his mouth twitch and his shoulders tense. It lasts less than a second, but I'm right in front of him and paying close attention, so the shift doesn't escape me.

And just as quickly as it appears, I also watch the concern vanish behind a mask of courtesy far more rigid than the one he wore a moment ago when speaking with me.

"Master Mu, I wasn't expecting you to be at the headquarters today", Qi Sheng says, bowing with a flawless reverence toward the figure behind us, too deep for someone who is supposedly the manager of this place, and almost even more respectful than the one he gave me.

"I was under the impression you had personal matters to attend to." Master Mu. The title he uses lodges itself in my mind because it could be the solution to my current problem, so I give Lianhua a small signal with my hand. She understands me instantly, as always, and turns the chair just enough to one side so I can see without having to break my neck trying to look over my shoulder. And then I see her clearly. The woman who has left Qi Sheng so tense is difficult to place at any particular age.

Her face is smooth and free of visible wrinkles, but there is something in her gaze and her posture that conveys an experience beyond what someone of her apparent age should possess. Her dark hair is gathered in a high bun secured with an ornate hairpin of jade and gold, to say nothing of her outfit. Her outfit screams luxury, but the kind of luxury that knows perfectly well what it represents and feels no need to prove it to anyone.

The silk is a tone split between dark blue and crimson red, while the embroidery is subtle, almost hidden, yet I can clearly see that every stitch has been exquisitely arranged in a circular pattern featuring runes I recognize but whose arrangement clearly means something I don't understand. And in her entire attire there isn't a single thread out of place nor a single piece of jewelry too many. Everything is calculated to say she is important, without saying it out loud.

As I study her, Qi Sheng finishes speaking and she looks at him with a barely suggested smile, and for some reason that escapes my logic, she suddenly produces a folded fan from one of her sleeves as though the gesture were the most natural thing in the world.

"Yes, I had already left", she replies in a cheerful tone, tapping the closed fan against the palm of her other hand.

"But before leaving the plaza, I saw the little spectacle of soldiers escorting a carriage halfway across the city, and frankly, I had no choice but to come back and see what the whole affair was about and what fun I was missing." I feel the corners of my lips trying to curve upward, but I hold back, since for the moment I'd rather remain neutral in this little spectacle.

I simply shift my gaze to Qi Sheng to see how he takes it, and I do so just in time to catch one of his eyes suffering what can only be described as an involuntary tic, the eyelid trembles once, almost imperceptibly, and then his entire face returns to its previous mask of professional courtesy.

"Master Mu, there's no need for you to concern yourself", he tells her with a smile that now looks carved from stone.

"This is a matter that concerns only the Hall of Ten Thousand Talismans. While we are deeply grateful that you've taken an interest, there is no reason for a guest of your standing and status to set aside her affairs for something so insignificant." My interest in the drama unfolding before me grows in direct proportion to Qi Sheng's attempts to extinguish it, since his efforts to make all of this seem minor only heighten my earlier suspicions that something more is going on behind the scenes.

I look back at Master Mu and see she has crossed her arms, the closed fan resting against her cheek as she gives herself little taps with it. The gesture is so deliberately performed to appear casual that it's clear she's doing it on purpose for some reason, which leads me to wonder whether there's some informal fan language I'm unaware of. But Master Mu interrupts her motion and grips the body of the closed fan with her other hand, which pulls me out of my reflection.

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"Little Sheng", she says, and I notice the way she pronounces the nickname drips with amusement.

"I don't have all that many affairs to attend to in the city while I'm here, and I'll have to find some way to entertain myself so I don't get bored before I leave again, wouldn't you say?" The atmosphere shifts after her words, and I feel it in the nearly imperceptible tension that settles along Qi Sheng's jaw as his body stiffens. And it isn't just him, I also notice Lianhua behind me seeming to grow nervous, and even the Nei Wei appear to sharpen their alertness.

And in the middle of all that, a thought crosses my mind, brilliant, dangerous, and entirely irresponsible, and before my common sense can debate whether I should go through with it, the words are already leaving my mouth.

"From your words, Master Mu, I gather that you're not from the city and that you don't belong to the Hall of Ten Thousand Talismans", I say in a calm voice, as though I were asking about the weather. I feel Lianhua grow even more tense behind me from the way she grips the handles of my chair more tightly, but she doesn't stop me or say a word. The woman looks at me when I speak, clearly surprised that I've decided to intervene.

One of her eyebrows arches gracefully, and then, with unusual swiftness, her expression shifts to a genuine, amused smile.

"You're right, child", she replies, moving the fan slightly as she regards me with renewed interest.

"I'm not from this city, and while we're at it, not from this Empire either." I listen while thinking that this is perfect, almost too perfect, so I decide not to give anyone time to react. I can feel Qi Sheng inhaling to say something, and I rush to stomp on the verbal accelerator before he can interrupt.

"Then, Master Mu, how much would it cost to hire your services as my tutor to teach me the theory of talisman crafting?" I ask directly and without beating around the bush. When I ask this, Qi Sheng, for his part, nearly chokes on his own saliva as he cuts short whatever he was about to say, caught off guard by the abruptness of my question.

"Zhāohuán, you shouldn't trouble Master Mu with something so insignificant…" he begins with a haste that reeks of panic. But he doesn't get very far, because Master Mu's smile holds, yet her words, when they cut Qi Sheng's sentence in half, carry an edge that wasn't there before.

"The young lady has opened a negotiation with me for a commission", she says, looking at him, gripping the fan a little more tightly as her eyes fix on his.

"You wouldn't be trying to interrupt a business matter of mine, would you, Little Sheng?" All at once I watch Qi Sheng begin to sweat, metaphorically speaking. It's not that drops suddenly roll down his forehead, but his nervousness is plainly evident in the face of Master Mu's words, which makes me wonder what her real status is.

"N-no", he replies almost instantly, bowing with a speed that borders on a full prostration.

"I would never dare, Master Mu. It's only that I feel something like this is beneath your dignity." Master Mu scoffs softly, a short laugh that doesn't quite become a full one.

"I am the one who decides what is beneath my dignity and what isn't", she retorts with a lightness that doesn't quite conceal the warning hidden in her words. Then, as if nothing had happened, I watch her turn her attention back to me. Her eyes travel over me from head to toe with calm deliberation. It isn't a contemptuous or condescending look, like the ones I usually receive because of my condition, but an evaluating one.

The same type of look I myself used to give when examining a particularly interesting archaeological piece for what it might reveal upon closer inspection.

"Very well", she says at last, giving a sharp tap of the fan against her hand.

"Tell me, child, why do you want to learn the theory of talisman crafting, as you've called it, if you haven't opened any gates yet and therefore can't create or use them?" All right, that is a more than fair question, and one I suppose I've brought upon myself. I breathe slowly, keep my back as straight as the chair allows, and answer with all the clarity I can muster, aiming to leave a good impression that I believe is more than necessary.

"Because I've already memorized every basic rune I could find", I tell her without breaking eye contact.

"The only way I have to keep advancing and learning is to begin studying one of the arts that use them. And given my particular condition, talismans are the most logical option available to me." For a second, the silence is almost tangible. The fan stops moving in Master Mu's hands, and the surprise that appears on her face causes her eyes to widen slightly, her lips to part, and for the first time since this scene began, she looks genuinely taken aback.

"Every basic rune you could find?" she repeats, as though she needs to make sure she heard correctly.

"That's right", I reply without lowering my gaze.

"I've studied until I memorized the runes for the seven elements and the basic ones for neutral Qi, those for shapes, sizes, and many more. But without real guidance on how they're applied in talismans, or any other art, any further progress I make on my own will be slow and based purely on guesswork rather than reality." Master Mu's brow furrows as she focuses, and she begins tapping her own forearm with the closed fan, but this time without any theatricality, as though she's genuinely thinking.

"If you're so certain you've learned every basic rune…" she says at last, looking at me as though I've suddenly gone from being a simple distraction to an interesting puzzle.

"Then you won't mind me giving you a small test to verify whether that's true before I decide if I want to be your tutor or not." I sense Lianhua holding her breath behind me, and Qi Sheng appears to be torn between desperation and resignation. To say nothing of the crowd gathered in the hall, who are only missing the popcorn to enjoy the spectacle even more and who now seem to be holding their breath as they wait to see what my answer will be.

I, for my part, don't understand what the drama is about, since there is only one answer that can be given to that question.

"I have no problem with that", I reply, allowing a small smile to appear on my lips.

"You may do so whenever you wish, Master Mu." She holds my gaze a few seconds longer, as though searching for some crack in my resolve, but finding none, she snaps the fan open with a soft click that sounds, to my ears, as if she's made some kind of decision.

"Then, child", she says, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and expectation.

"Let us see just how far this knowledge you claim to have learned truly goes."