Chương 66: Chapter 64

Master Mu holds my gaze for an instant, and without saying anything more, turns on her heel with a slight flick of the wrist holding the fan and heads toward one of the side corridors, away from the central area of the hall.

"Follow me, child", she says over her shoulder with absolute nonchalance, seemingly ignoring everyone else in the hall. The crowd reacts before I can even process her words, and I watch in astonishment as the people filling the hall begin to part before Master Mu's path as though they were a mass being split by an invisible blade. What's more, I see some bow slightly while others simply retreat with haste, careful not to step into her way even by accident.

But the most astonishing thing is that nobody says a word to her, nobody tries to stop her. They simply open up as if the corridor had been there all along, and to top it all off, Master Mu doesn't so much as react to any of it, as though she takes it for granted that this is what ought to happen. That gives me a new perspective on her status, but I quickly give Lianhua a small signal with my hand to indicate we should follow.

She reacts immediately, as always, and I feel her hands take firm hold of my chair's handles as she begins pushing me after Master Mu's figure through the human corridor that has formed. Around us, the Nei Wei readjust wordlessly to cover us in case the gathered crowd tries anything unusual. Soon we enter the corridor and the hall falls behind us, but I can feel their stares boring into my back. I don't need to turn my head to know the crowd has stayed watching.

And not only that, I can easily imagine the conversations that must be running right now about how the Zhāohuán of the Empire, escorted by elite soldiers, is following the mysterious foreign master into the bowels of the Hall of Ten Thousand Talismans. That will fuel gossip for weeks, and I wouldn't be surprised if my mother heard about the whole affair even before I return to the Palace.

The corridor we enter is narrower but elegant, with walls of polished wood and banners embroidered with elemental runes breaking up the monotony here and there. But we don't advance very far before encountering my natural enemy. Stairs. They're made of wood as well, wide, with an ornate banister and a narrow carpet running down the center, but they are still steps, and given the height of the ceiling, a great many steps at that.

And as is only to be expected, I watch Master Mu begin climbing them with all the tranquility in the world, presumably expecting us to follow.

"Master Mu", I call out before she gets too far, trying to make my voice sound polite rather than like a complaint.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but the truth is that stairs and I don't get along very well. Could you wait a moment while they help me up?" Master Mu stops dead in the middle of the staircase when she hears my voice and turns to look at me, one foot a step above the other, letting the fan rest against her shoulder.

For a second she simply observes me, her gaze traveling over my chair and my motionless legs, but after a moment I see the exact instant when the information rearranges itself in her mind and she seems to realize the problem.

"Ah", she says at last with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I really hadn't thought that through." She descends the steps she'd climbed with light footfalls and positions herself in front of me again. Up close, now that I get a proper look, the embroidery on her clothing appears even more intricate, with stitches hidden among the silk threads forming circles and even runes I hadn't noticed before.

"But actually, there's no problem at all", she adds in a tone so assured it catches me off guard for a moment. Before I can ask what exactly she means, her hand disappears into her sleeve and she suddenly produces a talisman as though it were the most natural thing in the world. And that makes me start to seriously suspect that sleeve. But my gaze quickly shifts to the talisman itself. It's rectangular, on yellowed paper, with several runes written across it forming what look like phrases.

Before I can attempt to decipher the runes and what they say, Master Mu presses the talisman against the side of my chair, at armrest height. The gesture provokes an immediate reaction from my companions. I feel Lianhua's body tense behind me and, around me, the Nei Wei snap to alertness almost simultaneously, as though bracing for a possible attack. I myself feel my breathing quicken as I rapidly wonder whether all of this was merely an elaborate trap to attack me.

But to everyone's surprise, especially my own, the talisman doesn't explode, nor does it shoot lightning or do anything dramatic. It simply begins to glow, making it unmistakably clear that it has activated. And then, suddenly and to my even greater astonishment, the chair begins to float. I notice it hasn't risen much, barely a few fingers' width above the floor, but enough for the wheels to stop touching the wood. What amazes me even further is that there was no jolt, no sudden lurch.

I simply went from resting on the ground to hovering. My stomach lurches for a moment as my brain tries to process it all and decides I'm about to fall, but I blink a couple of times, swallow, and try to stay as still as possible just in case, and the disorientation fades. I stop looking at the floor and turn my gaze back to Master Mu, who observes the result with quiet satisfaction.

"Good", she says with a satisfied tone, then lifts her eyes to Lianhua.

"Now you just have to push the chair to the top of the stairs." That said, she turns again with perfect nonchalance and begins climbing the stairs once more without giving us time to respond, leaving us completely dumbfounded. Lianhua doesn't move, the Nei Wei don't move, and I don't move either, afraid the chair might tip over in midair, as we all try to shake off our stupor. The silence lasts a few more seconds until Master Mu's voice drifts down from above with a slightly amused tone.

"The talisman's duration isn't infinite", she tells us.

"You'd better hurry."

"Quick, Lianhua, push me up", I say almost without thinking when Master Mu's voice snaps me out of my amazement, leaving me with nothing but, I won't deny it, the excitement of the fact that my chair is floating in the air. I feel her overcome her bewilderment upon hearing me and take hold of the chair carefully, searching for the best way to grip it.

"Carefully, please", I add suddenly, not knowing whether the chair might tip and throw me if it tilts too far. Lianhua takes a deep breath and begins pushing the chair up the stairs as it floats, and the sensation is… strange. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Looking down, I watch the steps pass beneath me as though I were riding in a cable car chair, but without the rattling and swaying one normally feels on one.

My hands grip the armrests tightly, not because I feel unsafe, but more as an instinctive reaction to the sheer novelty of the experience. We ascend far faster than I expected, since Lianhua, no longer having to drag the weight or fight against gravity, can push the chair with care but without effort, as if it were a balloon, while the Nei Wei follow us up the stairs with expressions that mix alarm and attention in equal measure, presumably ready to react if I fall.

When we reach the top, Master Mu is already waiting for us, the closed fan resting against her shoulder as seems to be her habit.

"To cancel the effect before it expires on its own, you just have to push the chair downward until it touches the floor", she tells Lianhua the moment we arrive at the top of the stairs.

"Wait, could we…" I begin, hoping to convince them to let me float a little longer, but I don't get to finish. Lianhua, quick as ever when it comes to anything related to my safety, carefully pushes the chair downward until the wheels touch the floor again. The instant the chair makes contact with the wood, I look at the talisman and see its glow die out immediately, after which it crumbles into something resembling ash. I can't help but let out a small sigh.

The experience lasted barely a minute, but it was enough to leave my mind brimming with possibilities I'd never considered. If a simple talisman can do this, how much could my life change if I knew how to make them and could therefore have them customized to my needs?

"All right, follow me now", Master Mu tells us, pulling me from my thoughts, after which she turns once more and starts walking. We follow her down another corridor that opens beyond the stairs, this one quieter than the one below and with less decoration. There are several doors on both sides, some ajar and revealing rooms lined with shelves full of scrolls and books, others with tables covered in brushes and paper.

I can't help but notice that the smell of ink is stronger in this part of the building, which leads me to assume this is a working area and that the floor below is meant more to impress visitors and clients. She finally stops before a door more discreet than the rest, with a small, unlit talisman affixed to the upper part of the frame. She opens the door and enters without ceremony.

Lianhua pushes me inside after her, and I hear how, as we cross the threshold, she issues quick instructions to the Nei Wei for half of them to remain on guard and the other half to follow us in. I don't miss the small amused smile that crosses Master Mu's face as she stands in the center of the room beside a table watching us enter, having overheard Lianhua giving her orders, but she says nothing about it. The room we enter isn't very large, but it's clearly functional.

There is a low table at the center with several chairs and cushions arranged around it, shelves along the walls packed with boxes, paper rolls, and what appear to be wooden tablets marked with symbols. In one corner sits an unlit brazier, and in another, a small lectern with an empty frame whose purpose I can't begin to guess. Once we are all inside, Master Mu makes a gesture with the hand holding the fan and the door closes with a soft click.

Then, wasting no time, she reaches into her sleeve again and produces another talisman. That makes me start seriously thinking there must be some kind of storage pouch or something similar in there. There's no way that from such a relatively confined space she's pulled not only the fan but also manages to produce exactly the talisman she seems to be looking for on the first try, every time.

But my thoughts go quiet when I watch in amazement as she tosses the talisman and it flies through the air to stick itself to the center of the door. The moment it makes contact, I see the runes written on it ignite with a faint glow that spreads toward the edges of the paper and from there extends to the doorframe, which remains softly luminous.

"With this, no one will be able to interrupt us", she tells us, moving the fan slightly, clearly satisfied with her work. Master Mu takes a seat across from me on the other side of the table and lays the closed fan on its surface, within reach.

"Very well", she says, focusing all her attention on me once more.

"For the test, I'm going to ask you a series of questions about runes. Some will be general, others specific, and I may also ask you to identify drawn symbols. You'll have to answer to the best of your ability."

"I have no problem with that", I reply with a slight nod. What follows stretches over what feels like it could be several hours, but which I estimate ends up being around a long hour. During that hour she questions me extensively about the runes I know, and from time to time she even produces, once again from that sleeve that seems to contain an infinite number of things, sheets of paper with runes drawn on them and asks me to identify them.

When she finally decides it's enough, she tucks the last sheet back into her sleeve and leans back slightly in her seat, letting out a sigh that is unmistakably one of satisfaction. Her lips then curve into a smile that holds nothing condescending.

"Rarely have I encountered someone who knows so much about the basic runes", she tells me in a tone that could almost be called praise.

"Much less someone capable of it who hasn't even begun to open their gates." I sense Lianhua breathing a little easier behind me, as though she hadn't realized how tense she'd been until just now, while I sigh with relief upon understanding from her words that I've clearly passed her test.

"I am willing to be your master", Master Mu continues, so I give her my full attention again.

"But only under two conditions." I should have expected there would be conditions. I nod slightly to indicate she should go on.

"The first condition", she says, raising one finger.

"I can only be your master for six months. That is the maximum time I can remain in this city before I must leave, as I have affairs elsewhere that don't allow me to stay longer." I consider it for a moment. It's not as much as I'd like, but it's not a ridiculously short period either. A great deal can be learned in half a year with someone who knows what she's doing, especially if I already have a solid theoretical foundation.

And it's not as though I have any other option at the moment, given what is in all likelihood a boycott being orchestrated against me.

"The second condition", she adds, raising a second finger, drawing my attention back.

"My fee is fifty spirit stones per month. And I only accept spirit stones. This Empire's currency is of no use to me." Fifty spirit stones a month, and my brain does the math almost instantly. Fifty times six is three hundred spirit stones. Three hundred, more than I'm legally supposed to have in my possession. Behind me I clearly hear Lianhua draw a sharp breath at the figure, since from everything we'd researched, the fees of even the most reputable masters didn't come close to that amount.

"That's a bit expensive", I say with all the diplomacy I can muster.

"From what I'd been told, a master's lessons don't usually cost that much." Master Mu smiles upon hearing me, as though she'd been waiting for that remark.

"The fee includes all study materials", she clarifies, resting the tip of the fan against the table and spinning it slowly.

"Materials that I will provide. And believe me, that includes many things these provincials around here don't even know exist." The way she says provincials nearly makes me choke with indignation, since she's indirectly calling me a provincial as well. And not only that, I feel Lianhua flinch behind me, and I have no doubt that the Nei Wei, though I can't see them, aren't pleased with the term either. But I breathe slowly and swallow it. If I take offense now and respond, I'll only make things worse.

And besides, from everything I've been told, the Empire sits in a forgotten corner of the world, so it may be reasonable that beyond its borders there are things known that aren't known here. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try for a small discount.

"I understand that your knowledge and materials are worth a great deal, Master Mu", I say, choosing each word with care.

"But if you'll allow me, I believe I can offer you something to offset a reduction in the price." I lift my chin just slightly as I adopt the tone of the wealthy second-generation heirs I've known, or of the few nobles I've dealt with in this world.

"If you lower your fee, I can do you the honor of allowing you to reside as a guest in the Imperial Palace for those six months", I continue.

"Which would not only save you all living expenses in the capital, which I understand are quite high, but would also guarantee you every comfort and security the Palace has to offer." There's a slight stir among the Nei Wei at my words, and I hear Lianhua behind me sound as though she's choking and trying to say something. But she doesn't have time, because Master Mu, for her part, bursts out laughing. Not a scandalous guffaw, but an open, genuine laugh that makes her tilt her head back a little.

"If we're talking about a few sporadic visits, meaning coming as your tutor, it would be easy enough for you to arrange something", she replies, still with a spark of amusement in her eyes.

"But no matter how high your parents' status may be, you're not going to be able to convince the court to let a foreigner like me take up residence in the Imperial Palace for six consecutive months. Especially not with my cultivation level." Her words are confident, as though she's stating an obvious fact, and honestly, if it were anyone else, she'd probably be right. Although her words do make me wonder what her cultivation level is.

But I have a card to play that she doesn't know about, a card that, I must admit, I've been holding back until the right moment to use it, since while she's been calling me child all this time, she has never asked me my name. A smile spreads slowly across my lips, because for once I'm going to be able to show off my status a little without any drama attached.

"You're right, Master Mu, I believe I still haven't introduced myself", I say calmly, letting the moment stretch a beat longer than necessary before continuing.

"I am Sun Wen, Zhāohuán of the Tianjing Empire and only daughter of the Emperor."