chapter 3: delivery and Joy

Once Lian opened the gate to Gongmen, Zhen made a major breath of relief to be back in his home city, as Zhen had grabbed the pickup that was heading to the city outside it to show initiative…and got a sword to the gut for his troubles. 

Gongmen city is a city about 100 li, in the middle of 4 different major mountains, with a single port way in which the Golden Vermillion Spear sect makes its trades to the city. The 4 mountains surrounding the city are home to one of the 16 great sects and cults, with the other 3 being royal sects that haven't been a part of the 16. The Sorim sect is up close to the north of the city where the Buddhist monks practice their teachings. The Mudang sect is of Taoist ritualists who practice the way of the sword with this thing called Taiji that Zhen never truly understood. Zhongnan is with their regimented militaristic way of living, no love for having a way of life, and The mt hua sect and their beautiful Blum blossom swordsman style. 

Yeah, welcome to Zhen's home, and he wouldn't change it for the world. But then Lian came behind him and said, "Zhen, why on earth did you move ahead without us? You know damn well you just unlocked your Qi and you're not ready for actually going outside the city. You're too valuable to lose on a whim, man." 

And Zhen immediately pouted in annoyance. Because of his inability to gain any major muscle mass, people often considered me a fragile bird. Hence why Zhen wanted to unlock his Qi so he could start proving to people he was actually someone to respect for more than just his very good singing voice and bubbly demeanor. Zhen wanted to be seen as a badass warrior. Hell, he took lessons on how to use a shortstaff and Baton from the New Beggar's Sect. Zhen can fight pretty well. He just doesn't know that many qi martial arts…then the system had to say something. 

{To be fair, your first outing as a disciple ended with you being murdered by a random guy. Maybe you should learn to take it steady. Always a bigger fish then, and rushing through life in the hope of achieving a goal can be disastrous.}

And then couldn't say anything against that, so he just replied to Lian by saying, "I just wanted to prove I wasn't some delicate flower just because I look like I could be confused for a female if it weren't for my voice." Zhen notably has a moderately masculine voice offsetting his pretty boy looks, but Lian simply said, 

"Zhen. Don't get me wrong, I know you're actually more than just that, but you've only just started. It took me 4 months before the guild let me leave to do outside stuff. Were it not for you sounding the alarm, you would've actually died. Did you think about asking me to come with you before you did it?" 

Zhen stopped when he said that and said "…no…because I thought I had learned enough from my qi use and lowdown tra-" before Zhen could finish, Lian said "well, you weren't; you just got your Qi unlocked a week ago. Your energy cores haven't emerged yet, and you're lucky the Dantian hasn't gotten destroyed before maturity, Zhen." 

And then Zhen grimaced as Liam grabbed my ear and said "cmon, after we make the delivery, I'm taking you to the matron to discuss your punishment. Hopefully, I can get her to just make you spend more time training in restorative breathing and meditation until your Dantian fully matures into your energy core." 

Zhen grimaced since matron Kwang can be VERY angry when she feels like her members have messed up enough to almost cost them their lives; she really did love her workers like family. Way better than you'd expect from a person who runs the Shaoxing wine guild, which, as Zhen mentioned, is the largest guild in the world, so you'd expect some issues, but no. It's actually got really, really good working conditions and good pay.

Anyway, we headed to the gates of the Mudang sect where the package was heading. As immediately as the gates opened, Zhen saw a middle-aged monk in Sorim robes run out of the gate and run towards him, immediately bowing his head. 

"I heard of what happened, sir Zhen. I apologize on behalf of the Sorim sect for the actions of the wayward followers who orchestrated the attack on you and your shipment." Zhen was shocked to expect an apology from a member of the Sorim sect since they usually don't immediately apologize. Guess more people condemned the radical attack on Zhen than he expected. 

"Uhh, it's fine, sir…?" Zhen said, not sure of the name of this guy, but he immediately lit up Zhen's day when he said, 

"I am Geuk Tae. Pleased to meet-" immediately Zhen had run up to him, elated, and said,

"Wait, you're Geuk Jeos' uncle! Tell me, tell me. Is he in the city at the moment!" I said excitedly, as Geuk Jeo is Zhen's best friend … okay, best friend is a good term given Zhen met him once and decided 'yeah, I'm gonna be this guy's bestie.' But hey, he looked disturbed, and Zhen had wanted to help. So he did. And now he is his self-proclaimed bestie, even if Geuk

Jeos' miracle body prevented him from expressing it when he's not near Zhen.

Geuk Jeo's miracle body was the Unyielding Body of the Diamond Yaksha. His body was overflowing with qi since birth, and his energy cores developed very early on in his life, meaning he had way more time than Zhen had to master the martial arts. Plus, there are the cooler benefits to the body.

Jeo is basically invincible to a majority of attacks, his body described as being a statue carved of pure diamonds whenever he's struck. Not only that, his brain and innards are designed to be diamond as well since attacks on his mind have failed and so have attacks by entering his insides. His entire body might as well be unyielding and invincible. 

The downside, however, is that he can't feel ANYTHING. Not the sensation of pain, the pleasures of a good meal, the feelings that make them human, etc. He is often called the immovable, mighty statue because he can't be moved from where his feet stand and can't be brought to emit a smile…unless Zhens are around. Because for some odd reason (likely because of Zhen's own miracle body), he can overturn the immunity to sensation aspect of Jeos body. Making him able to feel pleasant sensations and to say he is dependent on Zhen is an understatement; he's always happy when Zhen comes around since he gets to taste the food he eats and the liquor he drinks.

Now you're wondering after that last part, "I thought Buddhists can't drink alcohol?" Well…to be frank, it was interesting to hear him say it when Zhen asked him why he carried a bottle of alcohol despite being a Buddhist, and he said, "My being is Buddhist. But my stomach is a heathen. Because I can't feel anything unless around you. I am not tempted by the alcohol. I let touch my tongue. I am, for lack of a better word. Devoid of emotion and devoid of desires when I'm not around you. And when you can't feel a thing in your mind, body, or soul, everything,the taverns, the graveyard, the butcher's shop, even, are paradise."

Now does that actually hold up in any actual religious sense…probably not. Zhens not a Buddhist, nor a Taoist, so his knowledge of both belief systems is only from secondhand sources, so Zhen would rather not be intrusive.

Anyway, back to Zhen and Jeos uncle, Tae. 

Tae smiled at me despite how crazy Zhen sounded. He said, "Jeo is in town right now to meet with somebody very important, so unfortunately, he won't be able to talk to you. Though I have heard about you, Zhen. Jeo talks about you to me a lot. He described you as 'brash, rude, and unkempt.'" Immediately when he said that, Zhen felt the mental arrows 

pierce into him "but also kind, caring, and nice." I immediately felt the mental arrows get taken out of Zhen and healed, which made him feel better. 

Well, thank you for telling me this. Tell him that I'll likely still be at Mudang when his talk is done so we can hang out before he has to head back to the Sorim sect. Oh, and tell the Monk I said hello." Zhen says, smiling as he walks past with Lian, as Lian notably had a less pleasant look on his face, probably jealous of Geuk Jeo being zhens bestie and not him, despite the fact Lian knew Zhen longer. It's just that zhen often gets along better with people who he knows likely don't have friends. Lian has a whole array of friends…so Zhen likes being the friend to those who are outcasted and lonely like Jeo.

But as we entered we saw 3 of my favorite people in the world. The 3 swords of the Mudang sect who represent the 3 aspects of the Mudang fighting style, albeit zhen himself don't know anything about the Mudang sect so he can't give a good description of its fighting style. What zhen does know is that like the Sorim, the Mudang sect does not polarize their Qi meaning it isn't tied to Yin or Yang which makes sense given the sect's symbol is the Yin-Yang. 

Anyway, the 3 swords arrive. 

The first one to arrive is a dark-haired man in a white robe with a Dao in a sheath strapped to his back, with his dark hair only going down to the back of his head. This is Lee Doyun, the first of the 3 blades who represents the Aspect of Zhi or wisdom. And he certainly shows it. He looks like he doesn't really talk to people at all and spends all his time training…because he does. Zhen can confirm it. He only ever trains outside of sleep and meals, and talking to Zhen , of course, but whenever he tried to explain Zhi to me, Zhen gets a headache.

The second person had reddish-brown hair tied into a ponytail with his eyes dark and his hands twitchy, with his twin short swords strapped sideways on his back. This is Gumyeong Lee, the son of one of the major masters of the Mudang sect and represents the aspect of Zhuan or turning. This one zhen does understand; it's the defensive aspect of the style that uses yang energy. Being unpolarized doesn't mean you can't use Yin or yang energy; you just won't be as attuned to it, meaning you can't use Yang or yin qi(the condensed form of these energies). Anyway, the Zhuan aspect is basically redirection of attacks using footwork and elegant sword defenses, and if you ask, Zhi uses Yin energy. 

The third and final man is a tall man with golden blonde hair and a single straight sword on his back. He was Jin Soryu, looking as serene as he always does. Jin is the sword with the aspect of He or harmony. Zhen can't exactly explain it well, but basically, it's focused on controlling the body's motions attuning to the environment within battle to create a harmonious balance of sword and fist style, alongside masterful groundwork and movement, but that's all Zhen really gets about it because it's kinda hard to explain the whole Mudang style in and of itself.

But enough bio time to actually talk to them.

Jin talked first, saying, "Oh hey, Zhen! Lemme guess here with the shipment we ordered?" He said in that informal voice he always had even when training, as Doyun said. 

"Oh right, the shipment of Red Lotus and Green Jade Qi pills!" As Gumyeong smiled and said, "Yeesh, my dad's gonna be happy the shipment didn't get lost. He paid a good amount for the stuff." As Zhen laughed, as he knows if Lees, dad heard him say it so bluntly he'd spit out the tea the guild often ships to his home. Then again, Myeongjin, Gumyeong's dad, is very stingy about spending money since he had to constantly manage the accounts for the Mudang sect. 

He then said, "Well then, good thing I-" cue Zhen feeling 2 hands cover his eyes as he hears a voice he loves to hear, "Guess who?" As Zhen then said, "My best friend in the whole wide world." As the hands go off and Zhen sees Geuk jeo.

5"11 with silver hair slicked back and blue eyes, built like a brick wall and wearing a set of large prayer beads as a necklace, is Geuk jeo. Zhens best friend in the whole wide world and the person he was so happy to see as Zhen immediately jumped and hugged him and said, 

"YAY IT'S YOU, GEUK! Did you miss me!?" Zhen says happy to see his best friend. As Geuk smiled and said to Zhen, literally lifting him using only one of his arm and says "yes." 

 Geuk was notably smiling bigger than usual, which isn't saying much really because even his normal smile is tiny, but it's amazing to see since Zhen has been trying to get him to show more emotion. But then before he could say anything, he heard, 

"Are you Zhen Moyue?" As zhen turned and saw a young blond man with stubble and blue eyes with a sword oddly placed on his person. The sword sheath was vertical and was strapped to his right shoulder, but despite that, from what zhen could sense, his Qi level rivaled that of a master. 

"We need to talk."