章 105: Chapter 105 - Another ride home.
Xin and Lei rented post horses on their way back. Lei hated the carriage rides, and decided to treat himself and his friend, it wasn't that expensive, after all.
"So, how did it go?" Xin asked, staring into the sunset.
"Oh, it was great. Tried two of the new girls today. Juicy!"
"I meant the hangout with your friends. Why would I ask about the brothel?"
"Because you're a fucking pervert? Why didn't you want to go to the safehouse with me?"
"I don't feel welcome there. I'd rather read at the library, they have great martial arts manuals, and I refreshed my knowledge on earth qi. Even read up on some history, was pretty fun."
"History? That's never fun. You don't feel welcome because you rejected their attempts to welcome you, you idiot."
"Fine. Whatever you say. But listen, I've read about the Xuanwu clan."
"Oh, here we go... A fucking lecture." Lei pretended to fall asleep on the horse's mane.
"Xuanwu clan is actually not that ancient, they married into the royal family of this land during the rebellions against the First Emperor, then overthrew the northern king and bent the knee to the emperor just a generation later. 'Lions' arrived a hundred years after, after the military reform mixed the garrisons between the regions."
"Everyone knows this! You don't need books to know this."
"Thing is, the story before that doesn't add up. I checked the dates, asked the librarian, he just shrugged. You know, the idea that humans emerged from Clay Nest's clay people, there are several chronicles from a hundred years before that, recorded in different regions. The only explanation is that those chronicles were also written by claymen, and claymen had writing before humans even emerged. I find it unlikely."
"Eh, it's a folk tale. They needed a reason to call themselves different to the Mistborn, so they called themselves the Clay folk, because most of our folks' skin is coloured like clay. And then the Clay Nest's people came up with this origin story, and mothers started teaching it to their children. The first generation probably thought it a fairytale, but each one afterwards was more and more confident that it's the truth. Of course it's not real. Humans came from elsewhere."
"But the clay people, not us, I mean claymen, they existed. I've seen a mention of 'clay people organ jars' shipment by the bandit king of the Shadow mountain in a chronicle that I've read in Tealstone, and it didn't look fabricated."
"And you think...?"
"Yes, I think humans killed them."
"Or bred with them. I need myself a juicy clay girl, I could shape her figure however I want, depending on my mood! With such women, who'd need to cheat!"
Xin chuckled.
"You think clay people were wet? Did they even have genitals? Their organs, are they human organs or elemental essence junction points? What do you think?"
"Think that if one of them cultivated like a yaoguai, eventually they'd become fuckable. And maybe we bred with some of these. And if they aren't humanlike, I guess I'm not interested. Our ancestors had valid reasons to kill them all, if they did. That I'm sure."
"Such profound historical insight. I'd make you a minister or something."
"A minister of your mom. Ha! Look, when are you leaving? Heard Rui Ming's going into closed cultivation, as well."
"Wait, why? Didn't he only want to travel to Windspire peaks because he had no materials? With his loot and contribution points, why would he need to? He even has a rank two dao shard, why won't he go on some missions? And how do you know? I live with him and we're friends, and you find out first?"
"Hehe, don't be jealous. We were in a meeting and he was asked about his plans. That's it. Says he has some new move ideas from the inspiration he gathered in this war."
Xin wiped his forehead.
"Fuck, this is absurd. I always considered myself talented, and then there are people like him. Improvising moves on the spot, and also being a bottomless well of new ideas. I'm afraid of saying 'hi' to him, he might come up with a compound move off it, hehe."
Lei scoffed.
"Shit mentality. Overcoming him should be your next goal. He is a genius, but he's quite limited. I came this close to beating him, so you know it's doable. Just play to your strengths, innovate, never stop moving, you'll catch up to him."
"And what about you?"
"I'll overcome him. Mark my words." Lei raised his chin proudly. In the past few weeks, he learnt that he has a few unique qualities that distinguish him from other cultivators. Combat awareness, quick thinking on the fly, determination and perseverance — his martial spirit was indomitable, but he needed to bring his cultivation up to par. But it was such an elusive problem, having to study, systemize and memorize! How does one even go about it?
"I know what you're thinking. You don't like the more organized aspect of cultivation, and wonder how to tackle it properly, as it's your biggest roadblock. You should enter the Golden Zone."
"Not too much pressure, not too little. I remember your explanation." Lei was impressed, Xin drifted from complete lack of social awareness to being quite insightful, reading people like open books. What a weird fruit.
"Except, in your case, it's not just the complexity of information, but the effort you put in. You study, but you don't know how to study. So you need to be taught how to. That's the only way."
"Fuck, did you have to learn how to study?"
"No, I'm just talented. And I guess my early life experiences helped, too. Parents, teachers, the environment that kept me calm enough so I could concentrate. Whatever, there is no point comparing, you should treat studying like working out a muscle."
"Progressive overload. Interval training. Right."
"You aren't too bad when you actually apply yourself. It's getting you to apply yourself long enough that is the problem."
"I'm meditating, chewing herbs, drinking water, it helps a bit, but I can't overcome my lack of focus consistently. It's fucking unbearable, mate."
"Preparation goes deeper than that. You should start studying an hour before you actually sit down. You should give yourself enough time to tune into the studying mode. Give yourself enough time to digest the information afterwards. When I write papers for our classes, I start writing them before I sit down. I let a soup cook in my mind beforehand, so that by the time I sit down I already have a certain amount of ready product. You get me?"
"I mean, I think I already do this, but not always, and without intention. Now that you put it like this, it can be helpful. Still, this advice won't help with reading assignments."
"Hmmm... You should learn what fights to take, and what to not take. Like in actual combat. Skip what you know for sure you can't digest. Attempt it later, once you've collected other information to augment the final challenge. Give yourself a few tries. Anticipate what you'll struggle with next, your mind will be more aware and give you more tools to manage the problem." Xin was actively self-reflecting, he had to explain what he grasped intuitively in a way that Lei could also utilise.
"Anticipate... Hmmm... And now I'm supposed to digest what you said, if we go by your words?"
"You clarify what you didn't get, criticize what you disagree with, and relate it with your own opinions. Once it's done, you let the dough sit, and if you've added enough sugar and yeast, it will rise. Something will emerge in your head, you should give it enough time to form. You'll get faster the more reference points you have. The wider your worldview, the more you'll be able to notice patterns from other areas of life. This will make your attention more durable, as your Golden Zone is expanded.
People who just mindlessly memorize are retards, I'm telling you how to think critically. What I'm advising you is actually harder than just binging stuff when you're in the mood, and initially, you'll be less productive than you were previously. But sometimes, you need to become worse to eventually become better. Thing is, you're also of metal element, just like me. You'll manage."
"In relation to elements, my rational mind is constantly besieged by my fast paced thoughts. Fire element attacks metal. With you, it's different — your rational mind attacks your ability to act, making you hesitant and chaining you. Metal beats wood. Typical overthinking." Wu Lei was happy with this realisation, he wondered what Xin's reaction would be.
"Somewhat correct, if barbaric, interpretation. I'd say it's not inability to act, it's just that I feel drained sometimes. Like my personality isn't me. And my logic is pointless. As if I become a bunch of parts without a sum. Stress cures this very well, that's why the boar got me out of seclusion. Finally gave me a decent enough kick on the cheeks."
"Hehe, the boar clapped your cheeks, you slut! But seriously, you don't feel whole because you don't accept yourself, and you don't accept yourself because you weren't accepted, absorbed this sentiment and made it your own. What a predicament."
"Remember that phrase, 'learning the wrong lesson'? Think you learned the wrong one by always riding this high when you get focused, instead of learning to act when you're unfocused. You've got to take more time to think and internalise, or this thinking will catch up with you anyway, in the least opportune moments. Give yourself some space to digest stuff, even if it hurts."
This Xin! Lei felt irritated, his friend was doing the thing again!
"Oh, you're switching topics again! You always do this shit, deflecting and hoping people won't call you out! Bad lesson? Think you're learning a bad one by getting yourself to act through stress, which is similar to what I'm doing. Except your version is more productive, but will end up breaking you!"
"Sure, maybe you're right. We're suffering from a similar ailment, we just cope differently." Xin suddenly agreed, and the conversation died down.
"Hey, you know what?" Lei added minutes later. "I'll also ask Feng Chonglin to train me. We'll split the prize money, I think I can negotiate something better than fifty-fifty, unlike you, he's not getting me through qualifiers. By the way, he completely fleeced you, huh? Owned ya for that business steal."
"Who owned whom?" Xin scoffed. "I'll keep progressing and getting stronger. If I didn't do what I did, I wouldn't even be able to pay him so many spirit stones in the first place. Frankly, if I didn't have that starting capital, I'd probably die during that caravan mission. You too, as a consequence. If you're still insisting I 'stole' your share, then you should be grateful, as that move financed our survival.
Whatever. I'll take a loss, overpay and move on. I'm young, he's old. I'll overcome him eventually. And you've seen the value of the totem, it's clearly a very valuable cultivation method. So what if I overpay a bit, once I am an established master, the money will flow, and these scraps won't matter."
"Hehehe, I like how determined you are, even if you're full of shit. I've seen the old man fight, by the way. He's very skilled, even if his physique is lacking, and poison path martial arts are truly unique. He can certainly teach me a few things, I know a good teacher when I see one."
"You just want a sarcastic grandfather to scold you."
"True, but that's why I'm friends with you."
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