Chapter 21
When we got to the Wansheng Funeral Home, to our surprise, they were already waiting for us. Zhong Li was standing in the middle of the courtyard with his eyes closed, and only when we came closer did he open them and look at us, and after a short mutual greeting, he spoke.
- You did a great job. If you hadn't stopped Tang Hao, you would have had to defeat a god, albeit an extremely weakened one. However ... - he focused his attention on Ke Qing. - Perhaps it wouldn't have been as difficult for you as it might seem at first glance. I hope Mistress Jade Balance remembers the living conditions in Li Yue for adepts?
"Yes," the girl answered.
"Okay." Zhong Li nodded with satisfaction, and after one swing, as if he had snatched it from the air, a filled-in golden contract sheet appeared in his hand, and right in front of Ke Qing, a small pillar was erected on which he placed it.
What was required of Ke Qing did not need to be stated, she took off her favorite hairpin and with one quick movement made a cut on her finger, which she eventually applied to the contract, staining the sheet with her blood.
- Mr. Zhong Li. I'm curious. Did you really see everything that happened? - I asked.
"The stones remember everything," the Archon answered briefly.
- Oh. That's really amazing. - I marveled. After all, it means that if he wants to, he can be omniscient. I wonder what the limits of that are, though. - Is it like the wind hearing everything?
"That's right." Zhong Li smiled with the corner of his lips before taking the signed contract and putting away the column, looking at us seriously without a hint of the ease with which he answered my questions.
- Usually, if someone calls themselves an Adept, no one will believe them, but this does not apply to Ke Qing's Jade Balance, a girl whose efficiency is so high that many doubted her humanity anyway... - he paused briefly and continued. - However, although you both have become more than human by stepping onto a path similar to Adepts, you have not yet become them.
- Bye? - I seized on the key word.
- That's right. - The man nodded and headed towards the exit from the funeral home. - Please follow me, you need to meet an old friend of mine.
It would be a lie to say that we weren't interested in who Geo Archon wanted to introduce us to, but Ke Qing was still holding the suitcase in her hand, with the heart that, apparently, belonged to the fallen Archon, and it seemed more important to us to sort this out.
- Lord Mo…
- Just Zhong Li, - Zhong Li interrupted the girl who had started to speak, - there is no need for formalities, especially when I am in mortal form.
"Okay…" Ke Qing agreed hesitantly, although many people reproach her for the way she criticizes the geo archon, the indisputable fact is that she still deeply respects him and it is difficult for her to immediately start addressing him as if they were old acquaintances, so I decided to ask the question instead of her.
- Zhong Li, although we are extremely interested in who you want to introduce us to, we would still like to first sort out the contents of the suitcase. - Yes, although I was able to drop the prefix in the form of sir, but, frankly speaking, I still couldn't address such a creature as "you" as a peer. This purely instinctively seems wrong and disrespectful, after all, it is not for me at 18 years old (not counting my past life) to address a deity as "you", who is quite possibly even more than 3 thousand years old, and it doesn't help how he holds himself, always with perfect posture and a facial expression full of calm and self-control.
- Don't worry, we'll sort this out on the spot, - he replied without stopping.
We continued walking in silence, because we had already left the deserted courtyard of the funeral home, which most people try to avoid, and came out onto a crowded street, in the middle of which it is not worth discussing important topics.
We didn't walk for long, literally in a few minutes we reached the Yujing Terrace, where next to a set table stood an old woman, who at first glance could have been given 90 years old, but I knew that she looked like that by her own will, she was an Adept, who was most likely the same age as Zhong Li and she could take any form, both a young beauty and a kind old woman like now.
The Lord of Songs and Wanderings, also known as Madam Ping. Apart from the Geo Archon , she is almost the only adept who lives permanently among the people of Liyue and it was she who gave the player the Teapot of Serenity in the game, a huge pocket space inside a small Teapot, in which you can always find a roof over your head. A truly amazing manifestation of the power of the archons, which, unlike ordinary elements, is able to influence space itself.
- You haven't visited me for a long time, old friend, - the old woman spoke first, before looking at us and continuing. - And it looks like you didn't come to have some tea.
- You're right, I'm really here for another reason, but believe me, it's so unusual that even you will be interested.
- Is that so? Then I ask you to come to my abode. - She pointed to the teapot standing on the table, which caused a little confusion, after all, although I knew that the teapot was not ordinary, I had no idea how to get into it, while Ke Qing had only heard about such things from my words.
- Just direct elemental power into it. - Zhong Li resolved our doubts and without delay touched the teapot and disappeared, and what is remarkable is that none of the passers-by paid attention to it.
-…- Ke Qing and I silently looked at each other, clearly feeling the jumble of emotions we were experiencing, before we nodded briefly and simultaneously reached for the artifact.
As soon as my finger touched the smooth surface of the teapot and I gave a grain of elemental Energy, I felt as if I was being pulled into a whirlpool and a moment later I found myself in front of a small cozy house located on an island floating among the clouds, from which glowing paths led to other islands.
"It's beautiful," Ke Qing said, appearing next to me with admiration clearly evident in her voice.
- Come inside, children, don't stand outside, we have a long conversation ahead of us. - Madame Pin's voice, coming from the house, distracted us from looking at the beauties.
- Yes, of course. - I answered, and Ke Qing and I, not at all offended by the fact that we were called children, headed inside. Still, we both knew perfectly well that if we compared how long we had lived with her age, then even if we took the smallest bar of three thousand years, we had not lived even 1% of the time that she had been walking around Teyvat.
From the inside, the house was quite pleasing to the eye, completely made in accordance with the traditions of ancient China, however, what is interesting is that among the patterns, the patterns personifying the Chinese dragon predominated. And in the corner, you could see a beautiful dress that combined black, turquoise and light green colors, on which the patterns of scales that resembled carp scales stood out especially strongly. If I remember correctly, it was in this dress that the young version of Madame Pin was shown in the animated video for Genshin. However, I also thought that the clothes of the Adepts appear together with their transformation, and are not stored separately. And, frankly speaking, now I have a desire to see what the young Lord of Songs and Wanderings looks like in real life.
"Shhh," I hissed quietly, feeling my wife's strong fingers pinch my side.
"I swear to God, I never thought that Ke Qing could be so jealous, I just kept my eyes on the dress." As soon as I thought about it, she immediately removed her hand and looked slightly guilty, and I looked at her face with suspicion. "Can she hear my thoughts?"
I didn't have time to see anything in her facial expression, because we were called to the table, where there were already cups full of aromatic tea for each of us.
When we sat down at the table and the conversation began, I honestly felt a little uncomfortable, as if I were a child whom Zhong Li had taken along to meet an old friend. For about five minutes they probably talked only among themselves about various abstract topics, and we did not dare interrupt until the conversation turned to Yao Yao.
"How is your student?" Zhong Li asked.
- Oh, Yao Yao is truly an amazing girl. When I first took her in, I was prepared for her to be raised strictly, but she is so caring and sweet that I have not said a single stern word to her in all this time. It feels like the heavens themselves have gifted me with such a caring granddaughter. - As the old lady said this, her face was literally beaming with happiness.
- Since we're talking about students, I think it's time to move on to the main purpose of our visit. - Zhong Li finally got down to business.
"Do you want me to train them?" Madam Ping asked calmly, knowing full well where this was going.
"That's right," the man nodded.
- You know that the Adepts only teach those people with whom their destinies are intertwined.
- I know, - the man calmly confirmed. - But I ask you to teach them not as people, but as adepts, like divine beasts they have only one small step left to enlightenment.
- Adepts? - the old woman was slightly taken aback, before closing her eyes and chuckling a second later.
- Yes, indeed. They are now like the opposite of the divine beasts. When we, for the first step, need to acquire human form, they need the opposite. They must know their inner beast.
- Forgive me for interfering, but why can only those who possess the power of the elements without the eye of God become adepts? - I asked.
- That's a good question. - The old woman nodded encouragingly before starting to explain. - We all have the energy of the earth and the sky, it is incredibly multifaceted and can be used in many endeavors, but it is also what supports life in us and if we waste it, death will come, then why can we, the Adepts, use it and live so long? Because from birth, elemental energy flows in us, which supports life in us on a par with the energy of the earth and the sky, entering into resonance with it. Which leads to a significant improvement when using them.
"If the energy of the earth and sky resonates with the elemental energy, then why haven't we felt it yet?" Ke Qing asked.
- Because before awakening, the energy of the earth and sky is dormant and inaccessible. Even when taking on disciples, the adepts only teach them cultivation methods, which allow them to accumulate additional energy, which they will eventually use when using the techniques of the Adepts, so that they cannot shorten their lifespan by accidentally spending too much. - Zhong Li answered her question.
- And we need to know our inner beast in order to...? – I asked.
- To awaken the dormant energy of the earth and sky inside. This method is the most practical, the analogue is passing the tests of the Earth and Sky, which is too dangerous. On the other hand, having passed them, even if he is a human, he can become a real Adept, and his internal energy is like a bottomless ocean.
"If passing the tests gives such a huge effect, then why don't we go down this path?" I asked the question that arose.
- For someone who has passed the test, the energy of the Earth and Heaven is like a bottomless sea not because he has passed the test, but because he has so much energy from birth.
"So , the only difference in the methods is that the test is more difficult," Ke Qing concluded.
"Not just more difficult, but deadly dangerous," Zhong Li corrected her.
"In that case," I began, getting up from the table.
- Please teach us. - Two voices rang out. As it turned out, Ke Qing and I bowed at the same time.
"The appearance of new blood among us, something that has not happened in too long," Madame Ping said with a hint of nostalgia. "It will be an honor for me to be your guide as you begin your journey."