In addition, he really should make his way to the town below the sect to purchase the book. It would not do for Liu Tsong to learn that her advice had not been heeded. Even if the mistake was genuine.
“Going down?” Elder Lu Xi Qi, the gatekeeper of the sect, asked Wu Ying as the younger man arrived at the paifang which overlooked the entrance to the sect. “Do you have your pass?”
“Yes, Elder. Just looking to do some shopping.” Wu Ying showed Xi Qi the simple wooden pass he had picked up from the assignment hall. As an inner sect member, the pass to enter the town was not strictly necessary, since the town itself was still considered sect territory. On the other hand, acquiring the pass was both a courtesy to Xi Qi and any elder in charge of Wu Ying and avoided any misunderstanding down below.
“Good,” Xi Qi said. “Are you happier now that you’re not carrying rice sacks for Elder Liu?”
“I was never unhappy,” Wu Ying replied. Speaking ill of one’s elders—and Elders—was always bad form. But as Xi Qi had provided Wu Ying help before, Wu Ying clarified further. “I am settling in as an inner sect member. It feels strange, not to have to work for Elder Liu, but I have a month left before I must find a more permanent assignment. More, if I’m willing to trade my sect points.”
“A bad idea. But you know that,” Xi Qi said.
Wu Ying agreed immediately. Sect contribution points were hard enough to gather in any useful amount. Trading them for more time to dither was a foolish thing.
“Unless you intend to be a martial specialist,” he said. “It is not a horrible choice for one of your standing. Many low-born choose that path, since they lack the education or connections to excel at other occupations.”
“I have trained with them,” Wu Ying acknowledged. “But…”
“But?”
“I do not know if it is my dao. No. I feel it is not. A part of it, but not it.”
Xi Qi stared at Wu Ying, testing the weight and conviction in Wu Ying’s gaze before the Elder’s hand brushed his long beard. “It is good to know one’s path, murky as it is. But you are young yet. What might seem the dao when you are a youth might change as you mature.”
“If your dao changes, then is the dao not your true dao?”
“Har! Do you think the dao we find is the Dao[10]?” Xi Qi said, amusement in his voice as he tugged on his beard. “Of course the Dao itself never changes—except when it does. But the daos we grasp, that we work on to achieve immortality? Those are only a portion of the true Dao. Man is mutable. Man is mortal. If we cannot change, then what kind of truth can we grasp?”
Wu Ying blinked, Xi Qi’s words seeming to resound deep within him. For a moment, Wu Ying stood still, the whisper of enlightenment dancing across his soul. But no matter how still Wu Ying held, the whisper never rose and eventually faded away. Still, a half-remembered resonance stayed.
Through all this, Xi Qi sat silent, stroking his beard. When Wu Ying came to himself, he bowed low to the gatekeeper while mouthing his thanks.
“Eh. Go. You are holding up traffic,” Xi Qi said, waving Wu Ying away.
“Thank you, Elder,” Wu Ying once again replied.
As he left, Xi Qi called out behind him, “And if you can, stop by the tobacco shop. You know the one!”
The town beneath the Verdant Green Waters sect was small in comparison to some of the cities Wu Ying had seen on his most recent travels. It barely consisted of a hundred thousand inhabitants, a number that would have staggered Wu Ying before. Now, Wu Ying knew it was small. Thankfully, his numerous trips into town to pick up rice sacks had inured Wu Ying to the size of the city and given him significant familiarity with its layout.
Wu Ying’s first stop was the tobacco shop to pick up a roll of tobacco for the Elder. Wu Ying grimaced as he handed over the coin for the tobacco, knowing he would never see the money back. But the Elder had helped him by providing advice when not asked, and this was only coin. It was not as if Wu Ying worked for the stipend the sect paid him. Or at least, that was the way Wu Ying consoled himself.
Next stop was the bookstore. Wu Ying had to get directions and a recommendation from the tobacco store owner, never having had to buy a book before. The store was off the main eastern road on a side street. Right outside the store were bins of books, some in scroll form and others in wrapped book format. All were tattered and used. Wu Ying looked over the scrolls and books for a moment as he idly noted the names. Judge Wu and the Three Red Doors, about five books of the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Dream of the Red Chamber, King Yan and the Sixteen Candles[11]. Wu Ying’s fingers danced across the books and scrolls as he perused them.
“All books in bin. Ten coins,” the proprietor called, smiling at Wu Ying. “Don’t be shy. If you’re looking for more like that”—a finger touched the Dream of the Red Chamber—“I have more in back.”
Wu Ying flushed, shaking his head. “No. No. I was not looking for that.”
“No shame. No shame. Lonely cultivating unless you found your dao companion,” the proprietor said with a smile. He rubbed the balding spot on his head. “And sometimes, even then.”
“Sir!” Wu Ying protested, backing off.
“Okay, okay. Sorry. I should not be so forward. My wife says that. Let me discount the bin for you. Five coins!” the proprietor said.
“Five coins?” Wu Ying glanced at the bin. That was a very good deal. Then he shook his head, reminding himself why he came. “No. I’m sorry, but I’m here to buy something else. The Principles and Species of Roots and Herbs. A used copy would be fine.”
“Used, he says,” the proprietor said with a snort. “Lucky I have one copy.”
“But you do have one.”
“Do you think Uncle Bu would not?” Bu said and sniffed. “If I don’t, no one else has. But more expensive. Half a string.[12]”
“Half!” Wu Ying yelped. “That’s impossible. Too expensive.”
“Half best I can do,” Bu said. “Only copy left in town.”
“I don’t believe that,” Wu Ying said, crossing his arms. “There are obviously more copies coming in all the time. I can always order from another bookstore.”
“Ah, but they have waitlists,” Bu said, crowing in delight. “They never bring enough. You might be waiting a month. Maybe two.”
“I can wait.”
“Can you? Because Elder Wei started her lectures,” Bu challenged. “What were you doing? Writing on paper? How much paper you need? And mine has drawings.”
Wu Ying glared at Bu, knowing he had been caught out. He did want the book, but at half a tael, it was at least five times as expensive as it should be. Even if the Principles was a thick book, it should not cost that much. Half a tael was the equivalent of his entire month’s stipend from the sect as an inner sect member, which meant he would have to dig into his meager savings to cover it.
Then again, it was not as if Wu Ying did not have the money. The rewarded gifts and his savings from before would cover the cost. But it hurt to be cheated so blatantly.
As he hesitated, a noise from within the store caught both their attentions.
“Ah Bu! I’m done. Send the bins up the usual way.” The voice was querulous and high, showcasing both the age and feminine nature of the speaker. “Are you trying to cheat another of Wei’s students?”
Emerging from the shadowed interior, a bent older lady clad in the Sect’s robes, marking her as an Elder, walked out. She had a rustic wooden cane in one hand, though Wu Ying noted that she did not use it for movement. Long white hair that had thinned somewhat was tied off in a simple knot at the base of her skull. Bent as she was, the Elder stood but chest high on the proprietor and barely that with Wu Ying.