Fates Parallel Chapter 283 - Boon

While Li Meili waited—and hoped—for the seeds she’d planted to bear fruit, she spent the afternoon exploring the open areas of the sect with Pan Jiaying. Sure enough, asking around after Luo Mingyu proved fruitless—he was either an inner disciple, or no longer with the sect. Alchemists were fairly rare, and Meili doubted that the Everwatching Mists had picked up a second one since scouting Mingyu.

The gardens were as beautiful as advertised, and the power radiating off of them left no doubt that their function was as potent as their form. Jiaying was quick to brag about a particular patch of hundred-year-old ginseng plants which had crossed that auspicious threshold while under her tender care.

Pan Jiaying was a delight to spend time with. She was passionate about what she did, and she clearly had a strong sense of duty and pride towards her sect. It was only a shame that they didn’t see the same in her.

Naturally, the real excitement came towards the evening, when the tour was complete and they’d exhausted all possible chances that Luo Mingyu might be found in the outer grounds. Pan Jiaying led Li Meili to a gazebo designated for private meditation. It cost credits to reserve, but Jiaying refused Meili’s offer to pay with a beast core.

“Your offer to teach me is already worth more than every credit I have! It would be the height of rudeness to impose on you any further.”

Meili wasn’t about to press the matter, and once they’d paid for their spot the two girls sat across from each other, kneeling on small cushions placed around the center of the gazebo.

It was a nostalgic feeling, sitting across from a novice excited to learn their first technique. Like she was back in the academy again—though Meili once more had to remind herself that she had technically never actually been there.

Pan Jiaying was practically bouncing on her heels—not the most productive mindset for meditation.

“So how is this going to work? Do you have a jade slip, or a technique manual? What kind of spiritual art is it?”

Li Meili smiled ruefully.

“Nothing so extravagant. I’m afraid I’ll be guiding you through word-of-mouth alone, so I’m going to stick to something extremely basic.”

Pan Jiaying’s shoulder sagged a bit, but she maintained her positive attitude.

“That’s fine! As long as it’s not another foundation building technique—I’ve been building my stupid foundation and nothing else for twenty years!”

“That’ll be an advantage, actually. Neglecting their foundation is a common mistake among beginners, so having one as developed as yours will make things much easier.”

“Great! So what do I do?”

“First, why don’t I demonstrate?”

Li Meili stood up and focused slightly on the qi within her. This was the first time she’d tried to use a spiritual art in her new body, and it took her a moment to get used to the artificial meridians. While she circulated her essence, she noted with interest that she couldn’t actually cultivate or refine it in any way. Her foundation was completely static and incapable of growth or decay.

“The technique I’m going to teach you is a very common one—almost every cultivator knows it in some variation or another.”

Pan Jiaying blinked.

“Isn’t that going to be a problem? I have a yin physique, remember?”

“So do I. While many spiritual arts will fail if used by someone with the wrong alignment, the Body Lightening technique is simple enough that it can be used by anyone.”

Well, technically it wasn’t a matter of being simple. It was just that any of the potential alignments of the essence channeled through it would be able to serve its function. For that matter, Li Meili’s soul alignment was effectively neutral, not Yin, but she didn’t want to draw any extra attention to that fact.

Pan Jiaying’s brows furrowed.

“If it can be used by either men or women, and it’s so ubiquitous, then why haven’t I been taught it before?”

Meili had plenty of theories, but she decided to keep the more venomous ones to herself, for now.

“I don’t know—maybe they just didn’t know. Yin arts are fairly specialized knowledge, after all. Anyway, watch closely.”

Focusing her qi inward, Li Meili imbued herself with the properties of air to make herself more bouyant, then hopped lightly without even bending her knees. Pan Jiaying’s jaw dropped in awe as Meili slowly drifted toward the ceiling.

“How are you—is that a flying technique?”

Meili shook her head and chuckled, holding herself aloft on a beam with only one finger.

“No, not quite. Here, hold out your hands!”

Pan Jiaying did as she was told with trepidation, and flinched when Meili dropped down onto her outstretched arms. When it was clear that she wasn’t being knocked to the ground, Pan Jiaying blinked her eyes open to see Meili perched weightlessly on the palm of her hand.

“Body Lightening does exactly what it sounds like. It makes you lighter. As light as air if you practice it enough. It’s great for long distance travel or uneven terrain.”

“That’s amazing! Emperor knows I could afford to shed a few pounds.”

Meili hopped to the ground, frowning.

“I’m not sure I get what you mean.”

Pan Jiaying giggled incredulously.

“Oh, no need to spare my feelings—I know what I look like. Despite all the work I do in the gardens, I still ended up a little chubby. Just bad luck I guess—we can’t all be as small and cute as you are.”

Meili blushed, but couldn’t disagree more with Pan Jiaying’s assessment of herself. She was curvy, to be sure, but that was hardly a bad thing. If anything, Meili was a bit jealous. She’d have found Jiaying to be very attractive indeed if it wouldn’t be unfaithful to—

Her thoughts skipped. Unfaithful to who? Jia and Eui still had each other—they were probably being all lovey dovey at that very moment! She loved them both dearly, but she didn’t really fit into their relationship. It was an odd thought, and she didn’t really know what to do with it, so she set it aside for the moment.

“You’re beautiful just the way you are, Pan Jiaying, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. That’s enough demonstration, I think—are you ready to try it yourself?”

Pan Jiaying nodded eagerly.

“I think so! What do I do?”

“First, we’re going to meditate. You’ll need to open your meridians before you can actually use the technique.”

“Okay. How will I know which ones to open?”

Meili chewed on her lip as the two of them sat down across from each other again. With Jia and Eui, they’d shared that information very directly, and she’d learned most of her techniques first hand through jade slips. But she had years of practice creating and modifying her own techniques, and Yan Yue had shown her how to pass on techniques through oral tradition.

She had a lot to thank her for, when next they met.

“This is going to be a little bit challenging, and I apologize in advance if it doesn’t work—I’ve been told I’m not a very good teacher. I’ll guide you through the meditation, so just start off by matching my breathing.”

The two of them took a few minutes to relax into a meditative state, controlling their breathing to match the flow of mana around them. Meili was pleased to note that at least the sect maintained a good density of essence in their designated meditation areas. If they’d been forcing Pan Jiaying to pay for little more than a quiet spot, she’d have been even more annoyed than she already was.

When they were both relaxed and comfortable, Meili began to guide Pan Jiaying.

“Focus on your core—the foundation you’ve built up through the years. Concentrate on it until everything else falls away, and nothing exists but your dantian and my voice. Feel your qi cycle through your soul with each breath you take and let your awareness spread throughout the twisting labyrinth of your meridians.”

Li Meili waited for a moment, half-expecting some quip about how vague or abstract her instructions were, but Pan Jiaying just continued to breathe methodically.

“Good. Now I want you to imagine a world without substance. In this world, there is no earth or air—no sky or stars—nothing but an empty void of space stretching out into infinity. There is no up or down, or any direction at all to guide you. Focus on that world. Reach out for it. Find the path from your core to that void and embrace it.”

Pan Jiaying’s brows furrowed as her breathing became labored, and beads of sweat formed on her head and neck. Li Meili encouraged her to press on.

“Yes, just like that! Push through and cleanse the path as you go. Form a channel and become a conduit between reality and the world of nothingness. Let that void flow into you, and shift part of your substance into it.”

Meili watched as Pan Jiaying’s face twisted in concentration. She smiled sympathetically.

“Relax. Don’t forget to breathe. Take your time to—”

“I got it!”

Li Meili blinked as Pan Jiaying breathed a sigh of relief.

“What?”

Meili looked at the sky to see that while it had been longer than it felt like, they’d still only been meditating for a few hours. Pan Jiaying giggled in elation.

“I did it! Or I think so anyway. I opened the meridians and I can feel it. Wait, let me try...”

She stood and hopped a few times. To the untrained eye there wasn’t much difference, but her wooden sandals alighted on the stone tiles of the gazebo almost soundlessly. Pan Jiaying squealed in delight.

“Yes! Oh, by the emperor! My first technique! Thank you so much!”

Pan Jiaying didn’t even give Meili a chance to properly stand up before tackling her to the ground in a shockingly soft hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay this.”

Li Meili was blushing furiously. Pan Jiaying was making far too big a deal out of something so simple.

“You’re welcome! Uh, Pan Jiaying, your chest is—I can’t—”

A slow clap interrupted their celebration, and the two girls glanced in the direction of the sound to see a tall, handsome man with his back to the setting sun applauding them. He wore the same sky blue robes as the rest of the sect, but Meili noted that they seemed much finer than those of the outer disciples.

If that wasn’t enough of a sign, Pan Jiaying scrambled urgently off of Li Meili and bowed deeply, her face as red as the sky.

“T-this junior greets you, senior brother-in-craft! My most sincere apologies for that unsightly display!”

Li Meili picked herself up off the ground and dusted off her robes before placing her hands together in front of her and bowing.

“This junior greets you, senior. Though, I was under the impression that reserving this location would assure our privacy.”

The man smirked. Now that she got a better look at his features, Meili could see that he appeared to be in his late thirties, with chestnut brown hair and matching eyes. He was tall and broad-shouldered, indicating that he took good care of his physique—a rare trait in a cultivator.

He returned their bows, only slightly more shallow than their own.

“Greetings, junior sister-in-craft. Miss Li, you are not part of our sect.”

Li Meili caught herself before responding. This was the sort of Qin doublespeak she was used to from the academy—he could be referring to her greeting, which was usually used between fellow disciples, or he could be referring to her privilege of privacy. Her response had to likewise apply to either or both cases.

“Of course, but that’s no excuse for rudeness.”

She instantly hated the sly smile that spread across his lips. He was exactly the kind of cultivator she hated most—but also the kind she was most familiar with.

“I suppose not—well said. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Luo Mingyu, inner disciple of the Gaze of the Everwatching Mists, master apothecary and expert alchemist. I’m told you wish to speak to me.”