A month of the cold war, a month of ignoring each other, passed and we had not seen each other face to face.
Now, only 4 days after I initiated contact by letter we would meet, anew.
And all it took was for one giant mess to be made, for that to happen.
I had barely made contact with my bed when a servant came and said that the Lord and my current new father were looking for me. So what choice did I have but to go and see him?
Being at his mercy in some sense, it was all I could do, and hope the mess wasn't too much, as I would be severely held back in life otherwise.
Following the male servant, I passed corridor after corridor, and thanks to the sudden lightning falling on the old man, everybody was out and watched me pass them by.
In an honest thought, I had to admit that this mansion held a lot of servants, male, female, old, and young. It was when I met the few privileged that I started paying attention.
A new face here, a new face there, and I met a pair of mother and daughter. It was easy to see the resemblance in them, but in the daughter, I could see a bit of resemblance to myself.
It wasn't much but it was there. Both mother and daughter wore thin dresses with wide sleeves styled for summer alongside the brown-green coloring of the clothes. As I passed them, I saw some hostility from the daughter. It wasn't much, but unlike the older counterpart whose face portrayed steel-like facial control, it was easy to notice it.
In my past life, I had a few flaws that I probably carried over. The flaw was simple, I just couldn't correlate a face with a name unless I knew that person for a long time. It was only later in life that I figured out why that was so.
It was simple though, I just didn't want to remember their faces and names. So subconsciously while the face of a person stayed in the memory as it was an inherent function of the brain, the names on the other hand rarely did. It was that disinterest that defined me somewhat.
Now, though? Now it was different. Now I have Powers to play with. Life Essence is such a weird Power, to begin with, but its inherent ability to influence biology is phenomenal. Now all I had to do was mark something as important in my memory, and over some time, the brain would translate the intent of my Will through Life Essence and place greater importance on that particular memory.
Unfortunately, no matter how efficient and strong that greasing effect is, the natural flaw of Life Essence is that it's a purely intent-focused Power with no physical aspect to itself.
It's still fine for biological matter aka my own body. Aside from easily accepting change, it was steeped in my Will through Life Essence, but if I tried to use it outside the body, well... the cost increases exponentially while affecting Reality, after all, Reality has a Will too.
‘ Me and my tiny Will, against Reality? Well, that is a big NO, NO, NO. ‘
As I was passing them, with my Will I initiated electrical and chemical processes to increase my brain processing speed while using Life Essence as a substitute to stay aware of myself and the increased time difference between me on the inside and the World outside.
Currently, it wasn't much as I dared not use a stronger version, after all, this bullet-time effect is purely biologically based, and prolonged use would have me unconscious on the ground within 10-15 seconds of use.
Staring at Yu Lijuan, my 3 years older sister, which would make her 16, it was easy to notice her thoughts regarding the old Jiao. And it was easy to see why. She stood tall, had grace in her form, and had a beautiful figure. Her face had a cute button nose, I think it was called, delicate features, and beautiful bright green jade eyes.
As I observed her in slow-motion, I put on a smile and nodded towards her and her mother Lady Ye Ai, or concubine Ai, if rank was taken into effect.
Seconds later I filed their image in my memory and focused on the matter ahead of me.
Moments later I arrived at a door and there the steward Duan Xue let me in. I had met the men once before. It was a few days after I arrived, and it was he that introduced my current language and script teacher to me.
Right now I had very little info on any of the matters of the Yu family and their members, along with the servants.
It all comes down to who was the head here, namely my new father Yu Liwei, his second wife and concubine Ye Ai, and her daughter and my sister Yu Lijuan.
My father's older brother and my first uncle Yu Qian, head of the Yu Mercenary branch of the family.
My father's younger brother and my second uncle Yu Ying, an alchemist, who works in the guild of the same name.
And lastly the matriarch of the house, and my grandmother Song Jinjing, who I have yet to meet alongside the second uncle.
As for my grandfather, Yu Dingxiang, after leaving the reins for his second son, which was my father, he went on some journey, I was told.
Entering inside I finally saw my new father again. With a stoic expression that betrayed no insight into the man, he gazed at my face.
Then, his eyes showed a bit of empathy and love, only for it to vanish and stone-cold Will to replace it.
Next, he glanced at my head and the hair I had cut much shorter.
Well, it was the female servant Tao Fang that did it, but it was on my order. I had it cut a bit above the shoulders at the back and continued it at an angle that went over the shoulder. As I quite liked the front look I only shortened the bangs on the forehead.
After spending time and agonizing over the hair and what I would do with it, I experimented a bit over the month. My first, go-to style was Arthurian but as I found out the complexity of such visually stunning grace, I gave up.
Leaving the back with little need to tie up anything I tried to at least have the front part there, so at the sides of my face, I left enough hair that it reached the end of my face. Now I at least looked a little like Saber, if one discounted the blond hair in favor of black.
Either way, my new father and I stared at each other. No, sound escaped as we did.
Moments passed and another older voice interrupted us. “ Jiao, don't stand there and come in. ”
Disrupting our moment I broke our face-off and stared at the old man in question. He was standing before the huge work desk and looked quite a bit younger than before. He even had black strands of hair on his head and beard. “ Old man, I see you decided to dye your hair, somewhat. Had enough of looking old? ”
“ Hmph, indeed. Now come here, we have a few things to discuss. ” He replied with a relaxing smile.
Nodding, I finally arrived in front of that desk. Staring at my new father, I said my word, prepared for such an occasion alongside a shy smile I practiced over the mirror. “ Hello, father. I... am glad that we finally met. ”
“ You are no daughter of mine. ” Came the reply in a cold emotionless voice.
Again we stared at each other for a bit. “ If I am not your… daughter, then what am I? ” I ask.
“ An asset. ”
“ Asset? ”
“ Yes, an asset that will be used for the betterment of the Clan, and nothing more. How much you will be worth and how much treatment you receive will depend on your actions. ” My father explained with firmness behind his voice.
Narrowing my eyelids at the word asset I ask for more. “ So, there is no way for me to become anything more? ”
“ No. ”
“ There is no way for you to treat me as a new child you just gained, without the troublesome phase of baby doom, ah, I mean the baby phase ” Again I ask for more.
“ No. No such thing will happen. I have advised the rest of the family to treat you as an asset that will be used for the betterment of the clan. ” He explained.
“ Hmm, I see. ” I said, as I considered my next option. “ I guess that leaves me with no choice, then. ”
“ Good, now that you... ”
“ I REFUSE ” Exploded my voice in the office.
“ What? ” Shock appeared on my new father’s face.
“ I Refuse. ” So I said it again for a greater impact.
“ You can't refuse it! ” He bellowed louder at me. Anger showed itself on his face.
“ Yes, I can and I did and just for you to understand it better I will say it again. I REFUSE to be treated as a tool for you or your Clan’s betterment. ” Pointing at him with my right index finger, I gave him my proclamation. “ If you can not accept my gesture of goodwill due to pain, so that both our situations improve, then that is fine. But I REFUSE to be treated as a tool by anybody but myself. ”
Seeing the shocked and stupefied face on him I added a finisher. “ There, I declared my stance. If you don't like it, then I don't care. Either way, at least I have tried my best to establish a connection between us and now I can't be blamed for it. ” With that, I turned around and took my leave.
“ Wait, Jiao. ” Called out the old man from behind. He still had a sagely look on his face. “ I know, the current situation is weird but stay and talk it out. The alternative is bound to be not good. ”
“ Old man, I respect you. ” I said to him. “ I honestly do, but don't bother with trying. I simply refuse to be treated as such. If you are feeling any kind of debt towards me, leave me some money before we part. ”
“ Part? ” Asked the old man.
“ Part? ” Exclaimed Yu Liwei, with horror striking his face.
Looking at them and their inability to process my words. “ What, did you think I was bound to your mercy? That I had no way to leave this residence? To actually be able to live without anybody's help? Yes, it will be hard, very hard if I consider my current body condition, but it's not like I have no chance. After all, my original did give me a few gifts, in case my situation turns out to be very... unfavorable towards me. ”
That declaration hit them hard, but Yu Liwei, it hit much harder.
Again, I turned around but this time, I was stopped by something else. A pressure enveloped me, on all sides. It constricted me. It denied me any action.
“ No, I will not allow you to leave. “ Declared, Yu Liwei.
Hearing the declaration, another pressure hit me. This time it carried the intent of its user and it slammed me much harder. It pierced my body as if wanting to imprint his desire upon me.
Feeling that threat, I looked inside myself. Specifically, my head, where the majority of my Life Essence is stored. It was in the middle of it that I found my answer.
The last gift, my original, left me. Auril.
Deploying it was easy. It was created by my original and as I shared his base Will imprint, it was easy to use.
With a thought, it exploded out of my brain and out of my body into a sphere, of about a 1-meter radius, around me. Like a bubble, it pushed off the pressure hindering me. The next second I had it enveloping my body like a skin-tight invisible suit.
Not feeling the pressure and restriction upon me anymore, I turned around to observe them. Both had shocked faces as if I did something impossible. “ Yu Liwei, I don't like this sounding like a threat, but if you really can't see any chance for us to at least try and treat each other as family, then be prepared that I will leave as soon as those old bones deliver me the debt money. And if the old bones decide not to, I will still leave within 5 days. ”
Turning around for the final time, I leave the office.
The moment I was outside, the pressure on my barrier vanished and I collapsed it back inside.
Walking slowly back to my courtyard, I examined myself. Gosh, that took almost 20% of my stored essence just to resist it for a few moments. I surely need to figure out an alternative before I acquire a Soul.
***
“ That went sour, and we didn't even get to the main point when we had her called over. ” Spoke He Shoushan, the very recently advanced Soul Creation healer, as he looked at the recently shocked beyond belief Lord of the residence.
“ Lord, as someone who has lived for a long time and as someone who has recently ascended in cultivation, will you accept the advice of an old man? ” Asked He Shoushan.
Turning to him, and still confused at how a simple summoning to his office turned into such an event, he nodded. “ How about you first take a deep breath and center yourself, before you reconsider what happened and why it happened. ”
Hearing the sound advice, he just did that. Yu Liwei took a deep breath. There he held it for a few moments and imagined his emotions leaving him as he exhaled his breath. Done with it, clarity returned to him.
“ I messed up, didn't I? ” Yu Liwei asked hesitantly.
Shaking his head, the old man responded. “ Maybe, but it's not as lost as you imagine if looked at from my perspective. ”
“ Alright, go on. ”
“ First, are you truly determined to treat Jiao as just an asset, and have you actually spoken as such to others? ”
“ I was. At first. Now though, I am unsure. As for the others, well… I was hesitant so I had not yet implemented it, wholly. So far I have only said it to Qian in a letter. ” Replied Yu Liwei.
Hearing that, the old man nodded as if he figured out something. “ I see. Lord, you still haven't processed the emotions of the death of the previous Jiao and are projecting it on this one. It's influencing you from within, similar to a Devil’s Spawn only without Qi deviation. ”
“ Go on. ” Was all he responded with.
“ Since the pain is still there, why not change the narrative to make it easier on yourself? ” Proposed the old man.
“ How? ”
Thinking of a possibility, He Shoushan spoke. “ The old Jiao is gone, we all can agree on that, so why not think of this one like a long-lost twin sister, who somehow found a legacy and has just returned home, seeking her deserved treatment that she had missed all this time. ”
“ I don't know, Elder. While it sounds like it could make things easier for my conscience, it still doesn't change the fact that I don't want to look at her as my daughter. ” Yu Liwei explained his hesitancy.
“ You don't have to. Why not, still treat her as an asset to the family, but this time instead of her fate having been pulled by your strings alone, why not have her involved and see where it leads. In the worst case, she will still escape and if fate allows, maybe there will be many benefits waiting for you. ” Advised the old man,
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“ So, basically a compromise on both sides? ” Asked the Lord as he distilled the advice he had been told.
“ Yes, isn't that how merchants play? ” He Shoushan asked playfully.
“ It is sort of. ” Taking a deep breath again, Yu Liwei replied. “ Alright, I will give it thought along those lines. Let's switch topics. I know it's rude of me to ask this, but could you tell me what your enlightenment was about and why it produced such a tribulation? ”
Raising an eyebrow at the strange event he went through he answered. “ Why it happened that way, I do not know. As for my enlightenment, well… let me explain it this way. For warriors, it's easy to figure out a Dao, smash that, slash that, kill this or that. Very easy right? ” Nodded the lord. “ For us healers, it's much harder, as we are perpetually exposed to suffering and it's through suffering that we have to find our meaning in Life. As for the details, let me just say that I had been denying the Reality for quite a long time and it's through this new Jiao’s perspective of Life that I could no longer deny it and achieved enlightenment. ”
“ Alright, I won't pry further. However, there is one more thing we need to talk about. ” Accepted the vague response and replied. “ The contract that you and I were under is no longer valid due to your stage ascension. Will you prolong it under different conditions or is this the end of our cooperation? ”
“ Ah, due to the excitement I forgot about that. Let me think for a bit. ” Replied, He Shoushan. Liwei nodded and left him to his thoughts for a bit, all while thinking about his problem with the new Jiao.
Cough.
Echoed the sound in the office and brought Liwei out of his thoughts. Facing the newly ascended Soul Creation cultivator, he listened hard, as his decision would change quite a few things.
“ I still owe this new Jiao for reminding me and helping me take a step further down the Dao. “ Said He Shoushan with a smile on his face. “ Let's do it like this, the contract will remain as it is, but since Jiao is the main reason for my stay this time, I will only stay long enough for her to regain a healthy body. Once she is done I will take my leave, or stay longer depending on if the debt increases due to her unknown rambling on strange new topics. ”
Blinking his eyes, the Lord recognized when he had been had. “ Fine, you got me. I will speak with her again. Ugh… tomorrow, I still need to think about this a bit. ”
“ Very well, I will take my leave. I still have more to parse through from today's event. ”
***
Back in my room, I let myself fall on it backward. It was nothing like the filled beds back on Earth, but I never liked the fluffy kind anyway. Always preferred sleeping on slightly harder stuff, like a laid-out bed on the floor, or the occasional couch.
Thinking about the event now brought forth all kinds of scenarios that I had imagined. But this was one where I had to draw a line or I would have been pulled on by them and became their pawn to do as they pleased.
Especially since I was in a female body.
Remembering all the stories, and the culture of Ancient Asia, where they treated females as pawns for their power and political plays, it was best to lay the ground rules early on.
Otherwise, it's easy to imagine what would happen to me, especially since Yu Liwei stated that I would be used that way.
‘ I hope my bluff did its magic. I know little of the world outside these walls and while I could survive, it would be barely. Still, that leaves me with something else. I had been delaying this, but it looks like the time has come. ‘
Looking inside myself I pulled out the Auril fragment I received from the old me. With a thought, it appeared over my hand and looked like a sphere as it hovered over it.
At least it looked that way to me. To others though, it would look like nothing, in its base state it does not interfere with the physical world, and currently, I had no intent on it to interfere with the visible spectrum of Light.
‘ They probably can sense it with Divine Sense, but otherwise, it should be invisible. Hmm, aside from the Flame of Life and knowledge, this is the only thing he left for me. ‘
“Let's anchor it into an ability, otherwise it's too expensive to use in its base state. ” I said to myself. “ But what kind? Attack? Defense? Support? ”
‘ An attack would be a poor choice, far too expensive if I want it to hurt anybody, especially since cultivators are the toughest of all on an individual level. Defense, on the other hand, is always good, just like it has proven to be moments ago. ‘
‘ Support would depend on the situation at hand. So what is my situation currently? ‘
‘ I am stuck in a strange World with enemies all around me and if I am not careful, and if cultivators are anything like in the stories, then there will be lots of fighting. Lots and lots of fighting, and attack and defense abilities will render me energyless after a few fights, after all, Life Essence generation is too slow, in its base state. ‘
“ Support, it is then. “ Confirming my thoughts, all that was left was to decide on which support type.
‘ Physical buffer? Nah, still too expensive long-term. I guess that leaves me with energy gathering. Cant Transcendence without a Soul to fix that flaw internally, but externally it should be possible. ‘
“ Sigh, the original me certainly did put a lot of thought into this. Now all I need is a form. I should not talk to myself like this. Right now it's distracting. ”
‘ Usually, a Sun would be a good example but as I know very little of how they truly functioned I would not emulate them perfectly. What would it look like? Flame of Life in the center of it all, chewing on the wait, isn't a Sun born with all its fuel supply? ‘
“ Ok, bad design flow for me, Black Hole it is. I hope that watching Interstellar wasn't for nothing. ”
Looking at the spherical Auril in my right hand I separate it in half. Drawing half into my body for the rest another Ability, I redefined the rest into a sphere again.
Supplying some Life Essence I had it increase in size to at least a basketball-sized one.
‘ If my imagination of a Black Hole is correct then I should be able to have the top and bottom spew out the chewed out Life Essence and Mana, respectively. And I should add layers to it, as I probably won't like it always being on, or on higher power settings. ‘
Supplying more essence I separate 3 more parts of the basketball-sized Auril ball and inside the big one, I create three more spheres. Each is smaller than the layer before it, like a matryoshka doll hiding its inner layers.
‘ How much essence is left? Ugh, barely half of what I had in the beginning. So expensive. Can't stop now, otherwise, it would have been a waste of it all. ‘
‘ Now I need the tubes that take out the products. ‘
Again I poured essence inside this and separated smaller parts of the Auril and then created tubes at the top and bottom of it all.
They passed through the layers and touched them till they fused with the smallest one in the center.
As a first test, I had the first sphere start spinning and noticed the first design flow. It couldn't spin since it was glued to the tube, and if tried it would rip the entire thing.
Thinking for a second I disconnected the two tubes from the layers and left a teeny tiny gap so that the tubes would stay stationary without affecting the rest of the design.
Another test spin and no apparent flaw was observed. Next, I made countless holes that would represent the entrances for the Qi in all the layers.
“ Let's do a real test run. ” With my left hand I touched my forehead and out of it came a white little seed thingy. Placing the kindling in the center of it all I supplied it with Life Essence.
Not much was needed. Just enough for it to realize that it could sprout.
Seconds later it sparked and a tiny flame sprouted from the kindling. It felt like it would vanish in the next second, but with a tiny bit more essence it steadied itself and started to burn.
And burn it did. The flame grew with speed as it devoured the Qi in the atmosphere. But that was not enough for me.
All that did was use that Qi to grow its peculiar existence, no it still needed a guiding hand.
Separating a bit of my own Will I sent it into the flame.
Normally the flame would have burned any Will that it touched.
Since I was its creator, in a manner of speaking, it was fine since it was my Life Essence that supplied the initial wake-up call. But it would not stay that way forever if it continued to burn without my guiding hand.
Once my Will was inside I had it redefine the ratios of the output of the flame. At a minimum, the flame needed 33% of the imported energy to sustain itself without extinguishing itself.
That left the other 66%. Next, I defined that another 33% would be used by the construct to maintain its existence as it did its work. The best way to do that was to use the tubes. I created tiny gaps at the points where they had previously touched the other layers,
With that supply, the construct gained the Reality aspect, since the supplied energy was half Mana and half Life Essence.
Nodding to myself I spun the first sphere with the intent of a Black Whole, that pulled the surrounding Qi from the atmosphere and devoured it. Immediately the change was visible to me.
As the first sphere started spinning faster and faster it altered how the Flame received its energy supply and thus in turn changed shape. As the speed went up more and more it became more spherical and soon enough it became elliptical. At the same time, the output increased as more Qi was processed.
The remaining product of Mana and Life Essence that left the construct entered the atmosphere since I had not been done with it.
Observing it for a little bit I saw no obvious problem and initiated the next sphere. Immediately a problem appeared, and it disrupted the flow of the Qi entering the construct.
‘ Oh. How stupid of me. First I should spin the outer layer and when I need more energy I should spin the next inner layer. ‘
Doing as imagined I stopped the smallest one and soon the flame returned to its proper flame shape. This time I spun the outer layer first and noticed how it affected the flame within.
It changed shape like before but it was to a much lesser degree. Nodding to myself I spun the next layer. At first, it got clunky since it disrupted the flow a bit at the beginning but once I had that layer spin faster it became no problem at all.
Once again the flame became a tad bit more elliptical. At the next and third layer, the same happened and the flame became almost ellipsoid but that only happened once the last layer spun at a speed far greater than when I first tried it.
It almost had a will of its own and soon enough the flame in the center became a true ellipse. That's when the first change happened to it. The top and bottom of it changed color.
Previously the flame was invisible as that was its nature. It was a flame that didn't interfere with the light spectrum at all, but this time it was not the flame that gave it color but it was the Mana and Life Essence that it spewed out.
Mana had a bluish tint and Life Essence a reddish one and when they combined it gave a purple glow to the corona of the ellipsoid flame. “ Interesting. Still, there is one last thing to do. ”
So far I did nothing but create a construct. While it would indefinitely stay there and I could use it, it was not an ability.
It was not my ability.
There was one last requirement.
Looking inside myself this time, I separated half of my Will and had it enter the construct. There, it diffused into everything and I gained even greater control of it. Now it felt like the back of my hand, but it was still not done.
Placing it behind and above me I left it to float there, but before I did the last part, I changed its angle so that the exhaust ports were sideways instead of up and down. It looked cooler that way.
All abilities had one thing in common, they affected Reality just like any other Power, but as they had a fixed shape and definition, they normally stayed the way they were conceived and there was a simple reason for that.
Thinking about the remaining Will as the anchor for this Ability I placed my intent on the Black Hole Energy Generator and it happened.
Names had power.
They defined as much as they explained and who would be the best judge in the creation of an Ability.
Ding, my mind went as a pressure came upon me. It locked me down and only my normal breathing was an indicator that I was still alive.
The Will of Reality came upon me and I could barely think, as it examined me and my intent.
Then it observed my generator for a second, and for a second I could swear I felt genuine surprise as it observed the Flame of Life in the center of the generator.
After it was done, I felt the approval and that's when it did something. The connection I had to the construct deepened somehow as if my Will in there wasn't enough.
Once the connection was deep enough to its liking I felt it finally.
The generator gained a finality to itself and its functions.
Even without looking at it, I knew its design changed somewhat. It gained more consistency overall so that Ability could sustain more pressure.
Alongside the consistency, it gained more definition overall and its design appeared more... ergonomic?
Anyway aside from the purple glow it now emitted on a much greater scale than before, and I gained a new Ability.
Flexing with a thought I had the generator slow down its layers until all of them were spinning at the same speed, at the speed of the outer layer. It was only at that moment that I saw and felt the small change in the Flame of Life.
It burned much hotter if that could be used as an expression of an invisible flame that produced no heat. “ What the hell? ” Observing it for a second, it came to me. “ Oh, so that's what he meant by anchoring it to the World. ”
Anyway, flexing my Will on one side of the exhaust port the Life Essence followed my thoughts without any problems as it was attuned to my imprint because of the Ability.
Feeling the ease of control I finally relaxed. “ Good thing, the Will stayed part of me, otherwise I would be looking for pain for quite a lot of days, I think. ”
With one more flex of my Will, the generator vanished inside my body.
“ This will do until I reach Transcendence. I think. ”