Chou had taken time and tried to be friendly to people in the beds as he had gathered their vital fluid. In doing so he got a feel for the people. Measuring energy took one good meeting. Memorizing them was an instinct. He didn't know quite how he knew, but he too reached into the decorative, intimidating, cauldron. Lifting free one red core-like object he smiled softly, "Bin Luesho, bed 26, second floor clinic, west wing. Age eleven." He turned his hand gracefully to show a second 'jewel' "Bin Shugo, his father who wanted him to know that it wasn't scary or painful. Age 34 though he tells people 30. Luesho has a crippling tear in his meridian channels. I don't know how it happened but it is almost like he was born without good connection the anterior meridian just below the right knee judging by his brief record. His father had the same issue but but works as a blacksmith, so the one difficult leg isn't so much of an issue."

He reached in with his other hand for a few moments, "These ones share the room on the first floor below the Bin boy. They don't have any documents and had their tongues removed but they had very little fear. I think they are servants for someone with authority as they are mutes who don't seem bothered."

Chou did know that refining Demon Claw enabled one to only press the tip of a finger to someone's heart for a few moments to send out tendrils of energy to enwrap their meridians and carefully draw them together over about a minute to create a core from their vital flows... This cauldron however seemed to make cores, or near cores at least, from a bit of blood. Maybe it was the people maybe it was their conditions... He didn't have words for it before but as he spent more time with it he learned to identify the flaws and conditions of people through the feeling within their blood.

His recognition wasn't perfect for the conditions or people, sometimes he was off by a room or floor but he had them mostly in the right areas as when he drew them out he lined them up to recreate a glittering 3D model of the arrangement of patients. He had assumed it was a tool for blood analysis as he assumed his new master was Righteous.

His father hardly ever used Demon Claw for anything other than attacks. The large rough man had pulled two ribs and maybe part of a lung out of a slave in a sparring match, though it had looked like he had hardly got claws into the skin of the other man. Xier could not compare to his father's power yet but he had practiced to what SEEMED like more control than his father showed.

He had tried to feel the energy in the blood as he drew it with tools. He might try to do it with energy at a later time.

They spoke for a while about the flaws one could detect, as well as the difference between energies available to detect from just the simple work he had done. Suffering in many forms, from sadness to rage and Xier was happy to learn. What the aliments represented and how they could be treated or some would be the end of their host unless drastic measures were taken.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:55, Mon 15 Nov 2021.

The cauldron between the two started glowing softly, bathing their faces in an eerie reddish light. This made the necromancer's face seem positively demonic, but Chou Xier was all too used to such sights. It took the young man a few seconds to realize that the necromancer had obviously known this as well, and all that this implied. But it was all too late for regret, and there was a task to focus on.

Time seemed to slow down and speed up in the small room. The walls seemed to shift, shadows isolating it from the outside world. Night had long since fallen outside, and most of the staff had gone home, but the two were just finishing with this little game. Xier belatedly realized that a strange qi radiated up from the cauldron, gently penetrating into his hands and eyes. Under the effects of this blood-colored qi he slowly became able to see each of the tiny pseudo-cores more clearly, then differentiate them from each other without uncertainties. He was almost startled when the little spheres bathed in the ding's light moved on their own in response to his will.

Seeing that, the necromancer couldn't help but inhale sharply, eyes sparkling. Truly, he had struck gold this time. It was fate. Or, looking from another angle, blind cats finding dead mice. Who would have thought there was such a talent waiting on the asscrack of the world? The small-talk with the boy was just to pass the time - what he really paid attention to was the reaction of the cauldron.

Long after midnight, the last pseudo-core shone, hovering above the cauldron. Xier felt a comfortable exhaustion, and the pleasant feeling of being appreciated.

"Of course, the balance between the four vital tissues in a human body are clear not only from their extremities, but also from blood itself, as blood comes in contact with all of them. However, with hair being the extremity of blood, you can infer a lot about anyone from examining their hair. Illnesses and age can be easily gauged this way with simple mortals. It's a trick of the trade. Even weaker cultivators can be seen through this way if your intent is sharp enough."

Li Huamao allowed himself a short pause. The small room became eerily quiet, almost like a tomb.

"Enough nonsense. You have potential. You already have a good guess as to what kind of person I am, so I won't stand on ceremony."

The taotie on the ding roared soundlessly, and all the pseudo-cores merged; impurities boiled off from the resulting sphere in a matter of seconds, leaving a point of flickering red light that hovered a few inches above the cauldron. Sweet blood scent filled Xier's nose. Only then did he notice that the necromancer's voice became a painfully unpleasant rasp.

"If you feel you have karma with this lord, accept this Blood Extract."

There is no free lunch in this world.

---

Xier gains 10 points to Meridians from his eyes being opened by the cauldron. Current stats: 10/30/30/40

Choices:
1. The extract counts as a 10-point red core with no affinities. Accepting means following the necromancer, at least for a while
2. Rejecting this opportunity might be dangerous.
3. Fleeing outright sounds like a dumb idea, no? Then again, there's no knowing how deep in trouble this red-handed person is.
4. Trying to connect with the ding might be possible...

Xier's mind flashed between facts and fears, implications and plans. One thing he got from his upbringing was a willingness to take power. He knew that whatever lord he may be held to was temporary. He also knew that the man before him was most dangerous to both his plans and his life of anyone he ever met. Angering or disappointing them was definitely bad. Accepting the Extract would help tie him to the ding, maybe... it would please the necromancer for certain.

In fascination and hope he reached a hand to trace the lines of the ding, the Taotie was the beast of greed, "This lord before me indeed has karma with this one. This one thanks this lord for shelter, wisdom, and food," being a pawn to a demonic power that WASN'T beholden to his father's uncle was at least more palatable than having stayed home. His great uncle bordered on insanity but he was powerful.

He pressed his hands upon the face of Taotie on the ding as he leaned forward. He did want everything. He let no self delusion hold him. He had to have everything to understand it. He had thought in his travels that he could experience things and let them wash by him in a river... Tao was a part of the beast's name and the Harmony he hoped to find. He would, if he could, like this beast, take it all in and become one with it.

Options 1 and 4 are not exclusive, after all, but 4 will be acted on later, unless it is going to jump at Xier
This message was last edited by the player at 01:35, Tue 28 Dec 2021.

The necromancer's smile grew wider. His eyes displayed a deep pleasure at the boy's acceptance, and plans within plan already formed in the old demon's mind. Together with the dim red light in the room, this gave him an eerie, unnatural look.

"Good, good! This lord's real name is Ru Shou, as in devouring long life. You are the most promising sapling I've encountered outside of the main sect, and this lord shall go all out to make you into a heaven-shaking person. Heh, heh. Can't wat to see those old ghosts from the Old Yin Stronghold shit their pants when they see you."

Of course everything had to go wrong at that exact moment.

The walls of the room exploded outwards, violently - but without a single sound. The remains of the small room floated in a brilliant silver void shot through by lightning chains. Seven white-clad figures stood on top of the chains, surrounding the necromancer and his newest disciple. Xier managed to glimpse a seven-colored lightning symbol embroidered on their robes. There was no town, no ruined hospital, nothing but this endless void.

"Deathlord Sha, you've finally exposed yourself. There will be no escape for you this time!" A booming voice overflowing with heroic splendor slammed into Xier, the impact enough to make him cough out blood over the cauldron. Meanwhile, his new mentor smiled thinly, not only completely unaffected but more than slightly pissed at the interruption.

"My name is not Sha. Also, the rudeness of your Eternal Thunder sect is unpardonable. Die." With a haphazard wave of his hand, he sent blood-colored light scything in all directions. Metallic sounds rang out as lightning chains shook and then slowly fractured under this attack. The seven men couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath as the silver coloring of the void acquired blood-colored slashes and started falling apart like slowly shattering glass. They each spat seven-colored lightning towards Ru Shou, leaving them pale-faced and stumbling backwards.

"Hmph. An insignificant trick." The necromancer snorted and clapped his hands together, forming a prayer posture with elbows straight out. He intoned unholy, ancient words - each of those sounds made the white figures shudder and the lightning bolts hesitate in place. The pressure mounted until there was blood flowing freely from the white-clad cultivator's ears, the lightning bolts writhing as if in agony.

Meanwhile, Xier was clutching the ding; nobody noticed that the blood he had vomited out earlier had splashed onto the bas-relief of the Taotie. Now, its eyes became life-like; in a flash, its mouth opened and swallowed Xier.

Pain.

Darkness.

Falling.

A sharp thud later, Xier was woken from his unconsciousness. He found himself lying on his back, the ding clutched spasmodically in unfeeling fingers, each breath an agony in itself. The sky was sunny. A warm wind caressed his face. The sound of children playing nearby trickled into his consciousness.

The sound made the Taotie hungry, and its unholy hunger was Xier's as well.

Shaking the feeling away, the young cultivator stood up to find himself on a hillside close to a small village. There were no more than a hundred inhabitants working and playing, the elderly sitting on porches and discussing the sound of thunder that had just now scraped across the clear skies. An air of peace and quiet permeated the air...

What now?

Xier was starving and in agony. He barely had the presence of mind to wipe his face to see if the blast that caused him to vomit blood into the ding, had left more upon him. He looked around for water and food, staggering and moaning as he tried to speak and stand. The first few attempts merely left him flopping in the dirt and grass.

He dug his free hand at the grass, his whole body was pained as though needles pierced it and electricity poured into him. He tore grass free of the ground but numb hand and face didn't feed well. He couldn't even see people yet from weakness and lack of control. Dirt didn't matter, blood hardly mattered. He was little more than an animal, half considering the people as viable food sources. Meat would be delicious.

His nerves finally calmed enough to painfully function. He tried to circulate his energy and it was all void... Like he was empty, if his mind cleared up a little more he would be concerned that living things can't survive that way. For now he tried to yell but it was a dirt clouded cough that hardly broke the serenity and it forced him to breathe deeply. He finally looked at the ding with narrow eyes before regaining his nerves and self control, "...Lord Sha..." he moved toward the village proper. He tried to smile and drink in the peace of this place, imagining a part of it moving into him with each breath.

"Where are we? How far did I fall?" it was a barrage of questions the young kids playing with sticks might not even understand. He wasn't sure he understood it well himself. He had energy again and assumed his lack of feeling it earlier was part of the transition to this place. He moved slowly to ascertain his current whereabouts from locals and clean up a little bit.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:50, Tue 25 Jan 2022.

The small village hadn't seen this kind of scene ever since it was founded. A pale-faced youth clad in bloodied doctor's robes, absentmindedly carrying a head-sized sacrificial cauldron. The old folks sitting on a porch stopped their conversation and watched, mouths agape. Children stopped their games and charged closer, to catch a look of the newcomer. Girls of marrying age were quickly hidden by their mothers.

Xier suddenly saw the village bathed in blood and darkness, every living person with throats cut, arterial sprays coloring nearby walls and ground in scarlet. The sweet smell of blood intoxicating. He blinked, then the scene was gone like an apparition, even faster than it had appeared.

The village elder hobbled to the young man. Leaning heavily onto a walking stick and casting a suspicious, rheumy-eyed gaze, he offered answers that Xier couldn't quite digest.

Blue flower village? Never heard of it.

Tan country? The shimmer of the sea was just visible to the east from the mountaintop this village was on; its metropolis was somewhere near the coast, hundreds of li away.

The great Song was suzerain to the Tan kingdom, and was thousands of li to the west.

Oxcart town and the Midriver kingdom were, according to Xier's best guess, tens of thousands of li to the south.

The village did need a healer, though, and after brief calculation the elder offered room and board in exchange for seeing to the health of the small community, if the young lord was interested.

"Food," the taotie's ancient whisper echoed in Xier's mind, unheard by the rest of the universe.

What now?
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:00, Wed 02 Feb 2022.

Xier smiled and nodded, "This lowly one has learned a little about healing, aches, and wounds in their years. Though I will have to move on at some point, I would spend time drinking in this life and strengthening those here, if I may.

What kind of problems would come to such a lovely place as the Blue Flower? Maybe there is one or a few to whom I might pass my knowledge during my stay to ensure the Blue Flower is still cared for in my absence..." he let it trail off. Feeding Taotie would likely be complex to practice, but if he got a quiet place he could craft a table that would let him ensure cleanliness by feeding runoff to Taotie. He would also give some of his own blood and food. He imagined people here would be very generous once he proved he could help them.

He would share with everyone. Though he would be wary of trying to over feed Taotie. No people. The gluttonous fiction lost after all... If one was to consume all the world then they had to do it slowly.

He was given a not terribly private place to call his own. He half felt like he was inside Taotie... A spirit world, with all the things the ding, or spirit that possessed the ding had consumed... If that was the case, at best his body was leaning over the ding and this thing in his hand here was but a connector. Maybe this was a memory of Lord Sha? Maybe the ding was truly that corrupt Lord who had escaped destruction by hiding within...

There were so many possibilities that it began to hardly matter what was real and what was true. He had only what lay before him. The plate given him was fish with rice. "Are there places for gathering herbs and other medicines nearby? I will work with what we have but I also plan to explore a bit to see if I can find further resources with which to benefit this community which has so kindly taken me in."

The house was comfortable, if sparsely furnished. Up on the hilltop, the main material was local limestone, and most houses were at least half dug in to save on construction materials. With a single fireplace in the center of the single room in the house and cracks in the roof tiles functioning as a chimney, maintaining cleanliness was a small challenge. In the end, Xier had a stone table fashioned for his needs, polished, with runoff and everything. It took about a month for the local stonecutter to actually complete it.

As for medicinal plants, the mountainside had low quality plants that flourished in clean air in abundance. Xier found it easy to collect some for basic poultices and medicines. There was even a girl in the village who turned out to have talent for this kind of thing, and after a while she was the one who took the herb-collecting and basic refining onto herself. This left Xier free to his studies, and treating villagers. In just a few months, the general health of the villagers improved; all the little and big injuries were taken care of; even the old folks felt a surge of vitality.

Six months passed by in a flash.

The Taotie was mostly silent, apart from mentioning food here and there. Xier worked diligently on the exercises his teacher had shown, and felt his skill increase significantly.

Xier felt this peaceful life removing the sharp edges from his personality. He even found himself in bed with the girl that had started learning about herbalism from him.

There was no sign of pursuit, nor anyone else trying to find him.

Despite all this, this morning found Xier frowning at the autumn sunrise. There hadn't been a single new pregnancy in the village since he arrived, despite his best efforts both with his assistant and concocting pregnancy inducing drugs for the other women in the village. This made him suspicious, and it was only then that he discovered that the Taotie sucked up essential qi from the villagers. Despite everyone having an appearance of increased vitality, the truth was that the demon cauldron ignited their essential energies while sucking them dry, eroding their longevity in the process. Staying in the village meant everyone would die within two or three years.

This qi-absorbing property of the cauldron was amazingly stealthy. Had he not been in a completely isolated community with no other cultivators, the cause of essential qi drain would remain a mystery to him, despite his sensitivity and experience with similar techniques.

The Taotie was silent, almost like a child caught doing something bad. Then again, comparing an ancient, boundlessly evil artifact with a child might require a slight stretch of one's imagination...

"Big brother! There you are!" The girl's voice was comfortably sultry, with a deep familiarity; life in the small village made politeness and etiquette unnecessary, and so he found himself embraced tightly, the girl nuzzling her face against the hollow of his neck and planting a kiss there. She was soft in all the right places, her narrow waist just right for his hands to hold on to, her heartbeat hot against his chest.

"Food," the taotie's ancient whisper writhed in Xier's mind like a poison viper.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:54, Mon 14 Feb 2022.

Xier held her. Desperate sadness clawed at his heart. It had come to feel real to him... Some time ago. Beautifully, wonderfully, dreamily real. He had learned the names of the people, their kids, even their pets.

He let out a hot breath, this lovely girl a sweet, kind, and dedicated worker... He kissed her in a few places above her shoulders and then said in resigned, perhaps defeated tones, "This older brother is a cursed man. He carries a demon that he thought he could tame. He sought to live life out of sequence. The village needs you to help them. I have to go. I must tame my demon if I can. That will require special food. If I can, I will come back. If you have someone else in my place, I will shed two tears. One for the fool I was when I came and one for the fool I will be who didn't know better; I will be wiser and wish you all the good things no matter what. This may not be where I was born but it is more my home than any place on this world. We may be so close one more time if you like, before I leave the village to your care."

He would go so far as to explain that his demon was taking life from the village, even more than he, himself was giving it.   Xier planned to travel to dangerous places. Monsters, bandits, and demonic lands. He would give the demon life to eat but not this good life. He would feed it the vile and debased. He would make room for the healthy and good to grow by cutting off diseases of extreme self desire.

Who knew... Maybe the demon would decide that it might listen to him as he might teach it the difference in quality maybe to delay gratification. Xier would head to the nearest large town. There would be evil there that he could cut out and news of more for certain. Maybe one day he would actually contain this beast. One thing was certain he would ever be mindful of its insidious ways and practice such ebb and flow. After all, it had learned not to simply bite and swallow. It indeed knew to drink slowly. He could fortify vital qi better.

As he left to her his home he kissed her again. Hefted his medicine pack, containing his personal demon and began a slow walk cultivating with it. Drinking in energy from the world as he traveled, half fearing and half hoping that some evil doer might come and attack him on the road. As he left the range where he could feel their life energy with which he had become familiar he spoke to the Taotie, "Yes, come now, no more sweets little one... Food."

They were close, one more time. The memory this left behind seemed to shed cold moonlight, engraved as it was on the chilly fog in Xier's soul. A life left behind, a bridge left unburned.

The next morning, he set off. All the villagers gathered to send him off. Accepting the sincere gratitude of these people after being a well-meaning member of the community was a  curiously warm and comfortable thing. Something he hadn't experienced before.

Then again, this kind of life... wasn't for him.

Far above, in the clouds, a shadow looked at the young man, unnoticed. It let out a sigh. "In the end, your heart is still too soft, for better or worse. Sowing seeds of karma... is a painful way to advance your Dao..." Deeply sentimental voice fading into the clouds, the figure turned and shot away, leaving only quiet autumn rain in its wake.

Step after step carried Xier away, down the mountain, further away from a crying girl. An invisible thread connected him to her. But it was not important, not at that time, and its only effect on the world remained a steady tug on the young man's heart. Later on, at night, when the girl was crying in a lonely stone hut, he would feel the tug strengthen a bit; when she was collecting herbs and preparing them, the tug would become soft and warm. Innocence gained, innocence lost...

The trek to the nearest city took quite a while. There were beasts along the way, but there was no reason to tangle with him, so snow leopards and mountain goats alike avoided coming near.

People, however, were not as smart as animals.

Xier was at a hanging bridge connecting opposing sides of a deep gorge. Guards that might have been bandits clustered around it, like flies on a piece of meat. These guards eyed this young scholarly looking man and figured that there's profit to be had. There were half a dozen of them, raggedy thin men with dull eyes and almost depleted life force. Their life of preying on travelers was about to come to an end.

"Food," the taotie's ancient whisper crawled along the ground towards the doomed men, waiting for Xier's nod.

It was a simple choice...

Beyond the gorge was a steady road downhill towards Clear Water City, the local capital. Even from dozens of miles away, the large lake the city was built around shone with bluish flashes as the sun overhead reflected in the waves of its crystal clear water.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:17, Tue 22 Feb 2022.

Xier frowned as he approached the men by the bridge, he whispered to Taotie, "Little brother, you snuck sweets before. It looks like you will probably get some crappy tasting medicine now..."

Xier smiled warmly at the men as he passed close enough to see them, "Ah, has the majestic lord of Clear Water seen to put guards to ensure the safety of even this humble access?"

The one with the least facial scars announced himself, "Ya gotta pay a toll ta cross our bridge," he called with a lear. The other men about them laughed, jeered, and called out varying prices that usually went up. There was a moment where they all went silent and turned to look at a fellow who called out 20 after 30 and fifty coins had been mentioned.

Someone called out sixty and Xier held up his hands. He unslung his pack and lifted out a tinkling bag as well as the Taotie ding and places these items on the ground before seating himself in a position that might suggest he planned to bargain or at least beg, "I can see that you men are determined men. You live and die, by hand and blade, right here. You chose a path of blood and power the likes of which... One such as myself can hardly comprehend." Xier nodded slowly. The men gathered closer to see the ornamentation on the ding and what perhaps, he planned to bargain with. There were no secrets now, however, several whispered none too quietly about if it might be worth it to kill him for what he has now or try to ransom him or sell him as a slave.

"Brother, I offer you... Food." Two of them leapt forward and their bones cracked as they made contact that might have normally knocked over a ding in that position. Their cries of delight at their planned ambush became for just a moment confused, then pain filled. Blood fountains burst into high arcs and Xier ran fingers through the twisting spray as their bodies continued to crack. To their noise Xier raised his own voice in a melancholy sound that pressed the very soul of mortal men to subjugation.

Two more staggered and fell towards the ding, as Xier rose sharply to his feet. He felt Taotie's invisible fangs tearing at himself as well, but it was like a very excited wolfhound mouthing the hand of a human playmate compared to what these other men would feel. One man was stronger than the others and began screaming about a demon though he could do nothing else but stare as his friends began to crawl and be ground upon the ding.

Anyone watching would think it a wonder there wasn't more mess. The last slammed a knife at Xier and the younger man didn't even move to dodge so much as put his arm in the way. The trembling thrust made a shallow but jagged defensive wound along his forearm. Xier's eyes showed sadness though as he intertwined his arm with those of the other man. The man struggled but couldn't get free and his eyes began to show the horror of knowing now that his term of banditry was at an end.

Taotie drank in the meager life force of these men and Xier turned to the ding as it mauled metal and bone noisily, "Little brother, please... chew more quietly. I understand you're excited, and the very hungry, but still we must practice manners."

Thin strands of his own blood like gossamer web or fine silk threads reached from his arm towards touti, they did not reach the ding however. Xier studied the web and Flow has it drifted and recirculated back toward his wound, "I understand how it flows, how it carries with it strength and energy, but I don't get quite how you..." His voice trailed off as he looked. Taotie wasn't making a core from the hideous gang. Instead it was a different thing... Almost entirely.

It was a gauntlet, no, it wasn't massive enough to be called that... A pair of gloves, lace-like, darkness and blood, shifting jewel like in light of the setting sun. "Teeth." It said.

It always offered him something back though for several months he had not taken the cores but had hoped that they might sate some amount of its hunger. He had pressed them down into the ding. He decided to try on these 'teeth' and they felt like crimson velvet. As he wondered what type of teeth they might be claws formed from the lace and he drug a few of them just through the surface of a nearby stone and realized these were a weapon his father and sister would be very proud to see him have, they would also serve as surgeon's tools. He felt a warmth like vital blood course over him. He too was hungry. "Thank you!"

The meager provisions of the six men amounted to little more than enough food for a few days, a pair of chickens that might extend that a little more and a large handful of money. "Don't eat the chickens," he warned the ding as he covered it with cloth and put it under the bird cage in his woven basket pack and strapped it on. As he moved toward the bridge and Clear Water City he left the pass, littered with very few bones and creatively strewn blood spatter and a story to tell of a phantom beast that devoured men at the bridge.

Nothing would be a lie... But truth was carefully measured in the story, such as his mother would be proud. For the first few steps Taotie was even quiet... But that didn't last long.

The bandits were meager pickings. New stats: External:12 Internal:31 Lightness:31 Meridians:41 Item: Teeth (+15 external when used)

A gentle autumn rain washed the bandits' bitter aftertaste away, leaving the world shining in clear, vibrant colours. Foliage was but a mass of warm tones as trees prepared to shed their leaves.

Ahead, the city on the lake beckoned to the lone traveler. Dusk crept in as Xier came closer, chicken cages on his back. Several rivers crept into the lake, and one flowed out, towards the south.

A maple forest to just the side of the lake looked particularly eyecatching, almost like a sea of fire, with a single tower jutting from its centre. Marvelous patterns shimmered in the lake waters where they reflected the bright maple leaves.

Still lake waters reflected houses built onto and into its shores. Two- or three-storey houses in white and other subdued colours grew like small mushrooms from a fertile plain, invading into shallow waters and forming innumerable canals. A multitude of small boats milled around, barely disturbing its majestic surface. Markets were held on lashed-together boats; officials kept peace from brightly coloured craft; kites flew up in the skies, held aloft for the amusement of nobles and children alike. The city had tens of thousands of inhabitants, and yet it took up only a small amount of the lake's expanse.

Even from far away, an astute traveler might notice three particular buildings standing out int the city itself. A tower made of black, roughly-hewn stone; a sprawling manor seemingly made of pinkish jade; and a square-sailed flat-sided ship that rivaled the aforementioned buildings in size.

From the topmost floor of the black tower, a lonely ancient man looked down upon the town, a thoughtful look on his face. A half-finished game of weiqi on the board before him, its position in a precarious balance.

The jade manor was filled with lights, sounds of laughter and soft music. A banquet was underway, with a hundred guests and a thousand servants. A young woman sat at the place of honour, her jade countenance hidden by a brightly coloured fan, only her smiling eyes approving of this and that reveler.

Atop the ship, a middle aged muscular man practiced his saber skills. The weapon he used was more like a blunt slab of iron than a real weapon, but he handled it like it was nothing but a twig. Air whistled and retreated before the weapon. The ship, as huge as it was, trembled ever so slightly whenever the man took forceful step to complete a finishing move. All around him, sailors and visitors went about their work quietly, giving the ship a temple-like aura.

Xier arrived in the town a few mornings later. Getting oriented was easy, as the city was more or less a ravel hub, and strangers asking questions were as common as leaves. In addition, he had the air of a scholar, disarming many suspicious people.

The four sects in the city comprised the Maple Forest Tower, the Pink Cult, the Night Shore Palace and the Wood Island Gang. A skilled healer was always in demand, so he could have considered forming a relationship with any one of them. Or, he could have remained incognito and continue his mundane existence, slowly feeding the taotie...

Xier is not so naive, or spiteful that he would vie for favor in places of peace once again. He would need places of challenge and threat or his heart would not be at rest, he would not deny a throb in that heartstring as he saw the beautiful forest lake, and it brought back to him ocean moonrises at night as a more foolish young man.

Taotie of course chanted its nearly starved, morose hymn. Xier thought on it for much of this journey... "Huh... I agree. It is food. I am sorry I called you little brother before. I was a fool about a great many things it seems. Little master... You have opened my eyes once more." He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The Pink Palace is no doubt had its share of fools and miscreants but how many deserved death... Not likely many. Not to mention that it was the easiest to identify.

Xier would move among the place a bit before choosing who to tie his future to.  He wanted to get a feel for the energy, as close as he could get without risking crossing any reasonable boundaries. Get a taste of the people. Often how the lower rung members treat weaker people is a strong indicator of if a place had many or few who should be pruned for humanity sake. All knowledge, all experience was indeed, "Yes little master... Food."

The rough black tower, or woods leading to it would be his first leg of your.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:47, Tue 29 Mar 2022.

The forest surrounding what Xier was certain to be the Night Shore Palace was dense and uninviting. Wildlife was scant, the trees gnarled with age and lacking life energy. The ground underneath, instead of being life-giving, seemed to instead suck life from the forest, leaving it in shades of gray. The aura of death was something that Xier could clearly feels, despite how faint it was. Even the sound of his footsteps seemed somehow muted. From time to time, a sickly animal might steal a gaze at him before disappearing behind a tree. At other times, he had the distinct impression of being watched.

From time to time, he passed abandoned huts and earth lodges. These were all still in good shape, but obviously abandoned mere weeks ago. There were no signs of violence either, as if the abandonment had been orderly and relatively unhurried. Here and there a wooden spoon or a bowl had been forgotten, but otherwise the dwellings were left cleaned and as ready for re-use.

All in all, a sensation akin to wandering through a graveyard rose in his heart.

After traversing the halfway mark towards the tower in the middle of this almost-dead forest, he came upon a clearing. In its middle sat a massive stone with one polished side. A few lines of characters were inscribed in its surface in a forceful manner; yet the strokes themselves gave off a feeling of sadness.



A massive stone jar on the other side of the clearing held a single fresh yellow orchid, elegant and simple. The contrast between the freshly cut bright yellow orchid and the surrounding pallor and lifelessness was sharp enough to make Xier's whole body tingle. There was something special at work here, but it would take time to feel out what exactly it is.

Off in the very centre of the forest, the black tower stood low and squatting. On its top level, the lone ancient man had been sitting at the weiqi board. His gaze had been following the actions of the intruder. His expression indifferent, at least until Xier had come close to stepping into the clearing. Then, he performed a two handed seal, and exhaled a breath of turbid qi. The qi in turn formed a net covering the whole of the forest.

A rustling sound filled the air, despite there being no wind.

The forest around the clearing stirred. Dozens of persons slowly staggered out from between the trees. Their clothes rotting, their flesh partially decomposed, a dark glimmer shifting where their eyes had been. Some held weapons, other wielded branches and stones. Judging by their clothes, these had been disciples of a sect - or perhaps someone took the time to dress innocent victims in the same uniforms?

Xier could clearly sense threads of turbid qi rising from the tops of their heads, disappearing in the distance towards the squat black tower. These threads connected through their upper and middle burner to the remains of their cracked cores, residing in their lower burner, low down in their abdomens. A cruel and heartless method of controlling people, and he had seen many examples of similar arts during his studies. This one was unrefined, even unsightly. Perhaps, with his qi manipulation arts, he could sever the threads cleanly, or take control of the almost dead disciples himself. Then again, the Taotie could simply disintegrate the walking corpses as they had almost no life left at all. There was perhaps another opportunity here, with the corpses, the stone, and the single flower having some ulterior meaning, some transcendent purpose that he could bend to his needs...

What did he decide on?

Xier moved into the clearing after bowing his head, "Upperclassmen, I understand there is some work for a new junior here."

It took him some moments to recall that yellow lillies were symbols of sunshine, friendship, and happiness. He knew that the opposition was important. Night Shore Palace... Sunshine... He began to think he needed to take this lilly to the shoreline, maybe not just this one. He moved to the top of a nearby tree to scan for other such clearings, triangulating the building, this flower, and the other edges.

If there were unlikely to be more, he would take his journey to the shore line. He didn't want to disturb the lone flower in the large urn until he had seen other urns or their lack on the shore or closer to the palace. If this were merely a memorial and not also part of a test, he didn't want to damage someone else needlessly.

He needed more information before he caused a ruckus on grounds where dead... usually rested. For now he would take what attention he could spare to try to mimick what Taotie had done before and stretch thin lines of his energy along the turbid qi... He didn't want to take it yet, but realized after a few moments it might help him make a sort of map of the area and help narrow his search.

He would defend himself but he didn't go out of his way to damage the bodies now shambling about.

The corpse-puppets stared soundlessly up at Xier. Their slack faces and hollow eyes betrayed nothing but endless, almost forgotten agony. Now that the immediate target was out of reach, they stayed motionless. Them could wait forever for him to come down from his perch.

Atop the squat black tower in the middle of the forest, the old man stared in Xier's direction, a spark of bafflement in rheumy eyes. This kid didn't conform to what was expected. A righteous sect disciple would have released the former disciples from their agony. A demonic would have taken control. And yet, this young man chose a third path.

Very well.

With a wave of his hand, the old man sent the puppets back to their resting places, into shallow graves strewn throughout the forest. The net of turbid qi lines formed a spiderweb shaped pattern throughout the forest, with the man at the very center. There were no similar clearings with impressive steles and orchid-containing vases. Those clearings that did exist were once utilized as practice areas.

The old man prepared for the visitor. He heated up some wine and brought out a bowl of snacks, then sat back down at the weiqi board, to study the situation of the game.

With the bodies returned to stations Xier was more curious. The man at the center seemed to be the one to talk to...

He approached the tower further. This place seemed to draw in life. It felt that it might be connected to the hungry ding he bore. He had a strong desire to receive knowledge from the man who could control such qi. He held in his doubts about how much of a master such a man might be... After all he might merely be one forced into such circumstances by the folly of youth.

He would treat this place as holy ground and be as gracious as he could manage once he got to the doors or other entrance of the tower, "This one comes seeking truth and through truth power to control destiny. This one feels a connection already here. May this, Chou Xier, enter?"

While the tower did seem to contain a slight aura of death, it was completely different to the ding in his bag. Compared to the ravenous devouring of Taotie, the tower was decay, despair and death that came from the passing of years and breaking of hearts.

The door swung open, slowly and noisily. Inside, a slack-faced servant with the barest spark of life energy to his name bid Xier inside with a clumsy gesture, then led him upstairs. The tower was a functional fortification, circular and with three floors, a spiral staircase in the middle. The material inside was the same as outside - a dull black stone similar to granite. Illumination was provided by a few wall mounted torches. Visible rooms were clean, mostly serving as storage for numerous coffin-shaped boxes. The one different room that was visible was a basic alchemist's laboratory, with neatly stacked packets of ingredients and cold, cleanly scrubbed cauldrons. Apart from the single puppet-servant, there were no other people visible - or audible for that matter.

The top floor of the tower was circular, with battlements ringing the flat top like broken teeth. The solitary table and weiqi board, two low chairs and a burner with wine and snacks provoked a feeling of desolation and loneliness. The old man received Xier with a polite bow and clasped hands.

"Welcome, welcome. While truth and destiny are something far beyond this old ghost's comprehension, there's nevertheless a bit of wine and snacks, as well as a game of weiqi if it suits young master Chou's tastes. Perhaps this old ghost's rambling about the Dao will amuse the young master. Please."

The man spoke in a soft voice. It seemed as if he'd forgotten how to speak long ago and was only now remembering how to make those sounds again. The politeness of his words seemed genuine, however. His grey hair and unkempt beard were short, as if cut off in a moment of frustration or grief. Xier was already familiar with the robes he was wearing, these being the same ones as the puppets outside.

The wine was adequate, the pickled snacks palatable, and the situation on the weiqi board in balance. Turbid qi swirled around the old man from moment to moment, the sensation enough to send shivers up a weaker minded man's back. Xier, however, had seen much worse already. From close up, the technique the old man used seemed interesting, powerful, but ultimately clumsy and with room for much improvement.

Xier smiled, "Talk then of Dau, of this technique you use, and why this place is here. I would listen and learn as best I can. I have made mistakes and would learn from others... Mistakes and successes for a while. Maybe younger eyes on the technique can help correct issues.

He wondered more, "What causes this place to suffer so?"

Correct the issue? The old man's polite smile remained while his eyes shone with fatigue. He seemed terribly tired, tired enough to die - yet for some reason he could not allow himself to pass on into the next life.

"Truth gives one no power to control destiny. Truth might show you a way to break destiny - but oftentimes this is only exchanging one trap for another."

His shoulders slumped slightly as he spoke, as if the weight of countless years was pressing down on him. Perhaps this was an explanation of what happened around here - or just random ramblings of a lunatic.

"The ancient texts speak of experts breaking their destinies to become truly free and unfettered, and acquire endless power in the process. I've never met anyone who met anyone who met such a person, so it might be only a fabrication, or wishful thinking. No matter how we struggle..."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yet the young master Chou chose an unexpected road, just now. This old ghost wonders if there might be the willpower hiding inside young master to tread the Fate-defying road? Or was it just an accident?

If the young master is devoted to breaking fate, this old ghost can offer further insight. If not, we can still have a pleasant chat."

Xier was somewhat confused, he had felt that the technique this old man was using to defy death was incomplete. The old man was speaking of himself as a servant... An ill-fated one at that.

These righteous folk were... So awkwardly duty bound. Xier wondered if he would become like them over time or if he would keep his mindset to do what he felt was right, audiences be damned.

"Did you break destiny or did it break you teacher?" it was an honest and thoughtful question from a young man who hoped to make things better.

"Destiny... was my teacher's obsession. This old ghost can speak freely of it now, as there is no one left to be angry at these words. His way of escaping destiny is really just a fetter heavy enough to stop the currents of fate from moving him. But, the price..."

He shook his head and motioned helplessly at the forest around the small fort, the shallow graves, the deadly silence.

"This used to be a lively place, with children, gossip, laughter. Is escaping fate important enough to forsake life? Is escaping from everything that worthy a goal?"

The man seemed to age years after saying this, almost as if these sentences sapped the life force from him.

"In the end, my teacher's obsession consumed him completely. Was it worth it? Surely not. It was all a colossal mistake. There is no technique to correct here - but there is a road to leave untrodden, and an opportunity."

With a deft movement, the old man sent the stones from the weiqi board flying, like so many stars being wiped from the skies by an angry giant. There on the surface of the board Xier could see characters - the mnemonic for whatever it was the old man was offering.

Did Xier take a chance with whatever the old servant was offering, or did he choose a different path?

Xier moved to look at the board, "Is this the path or the opportunity?" He began to study the mnemonic...

"I do so like opportunities. They feel quite rare. The worst problem with them though is they so often look the same as folly on the front end and are only told apart when one is suffering for their choice. The value of escaping fate would need to depend on what fate one was destined to..."

He imagined that being consumed by oblivion wasn't the worst. Being consumed suggested an end or perhaps becoming part of a greater whole. Being stuck and unable to end or progress... There was a reason the word 'damned' had such negative connotation.

The goal was unending gain. Immortality means struggling forever to gain more wisdom. More power. Feasting upon all knowledge and understanding. More... food.

The characters inscribed on the weiqi board started glowing in a soft light, illuminating Xier's face from beneath. One-hundred and eight of the three-hundred and twenty four rectangular areas delineated by the grid glowed thusly, revealing the mnemonics of a technique. One by one, the characters started disappearing from the board; as they disappeared from the board they reappeared engraved in his memory.

The old servant looked on, face etched with deep sadness and relief. As each character vanished from he board, he seemed to lose a bit of life force, until finally his while body broke down into a mass of fine ash. The night breeze carried these meager remains out and over the forest.

Xier never noticed this; instead, he was focused on absorbing this faulty and imperfect knowledge. Along the way, he vaguely perceived the hopes and obsession of the master who had crafted this technique. Of course, it was all about a woman. The stele he had visited prior, the orchid and the poem were all devoted to her. Even this technique was geared towards reversing fate, turning back time and rescuing a soul from the dead.

It had failed, of course. All the clansmen acted as fuel for this magic, probably without anticipating that they would end up as corpse puppets. The master who decided to employ the lives of many for a chance to save one... how foolish must he have been? Then again, love and attachment always were close to obsession and madness.

They all perished in the attempt. Perhaps that could be called dying with no regrets. Someone more cynical might call it stupidity. Only the old servant remained alive, in a fashion, as a gravekeeper and maintainer of bitterness. And now his purpose was achieved, and his soul released.

If anything, Xier attained a glimpse of the path opposite of immortality, with a smattering of techniques pertaining to controlling lifeforce and the principles of using Breath to transmute Spirit into Essence. This was completely contrary to what he had learned before, to the point of making him uncomfortable. As if the goal was forcing a person into life based on one's own perception of this person, using internal power. Perhaps it was the most heretical and selfish way of thinking possible - walking away resolutely from attaining harmony with the world, for the purpose of forcing one's desires into being.

But if it had worked...

The Taotie stirred, pleased by the sound of going against flow and destroying the accepted ways. This in turn woke Xier up from his reverie; he found himself sitting atop a dilapidated stone tower, a rotting weiqi board in front of him. It was morning. The first rays of sunlight and the morning wind played with surrounding treetops to give the surrounding forest a fresh, lively appearance. The only traces of the former clansmen were ashes buried in shallow graves. The stele with its lonely poem and single yellow orchid were the only real survivors of the whole sect; and even the orchid was withering at a visible rate.

Did Xier allow the new technique to merge with him, or did he keep it isolated to avoid its taint?

There was little left here for Xier. The city beckoned.

Where did he go next? The sects in the city comprised the Maple Forest Tower, the Pink Cult, and the Wood Island Gang. A skilled healer was always in demand, so he could have considered forming a relationship with any one of them. Or, he could have remained incognito and continue his mundane existence, slowly feeding the Taotie...

Xier would practice this Breath of Reversed Fates... It pained his heart to practice something incomplete for minutes until he remembered that all mortal techniques were incomplete. This one just had more jagged edges than others he had been given. He would breathe in the energy of the world and accept even this taint in the hopes that he could find a greater measure of truth beyond the insanity of the lost of this place.

There was supernal truth of the movement of body, flow of energy in meridians, and something of life itself in this dirty fountain he hoped to clear out. He hoped to learn more of purifying the technique and qi by working with Taotie.

He would need the backing of another powerful sect though, to develop it. As much as meditation with Taotie might allow him to feed the tainted qi to the ever hungry ding and avoid poisoning himself. Xier sought out the Pink Jade Palace next. Surely a man seeking to enhance medicine and alchemy would have a chance to go far there... His soft chuckle might have been madness already manifesting. Though in his mind as he walked he compared this string that his soul tugged on faintly from time to time... to the arguable hole and chains of the taotie and reversed fate technique. Indeed, the way the taotie sought to devour light; he convinced himself he would devour dark things. The thought made him laugh softly as he passed among the streets though he made certain to take a round about way. He didn't want anyone knowing that he had come from that dead place. Suspicious masters were harder to carry favor with.