Garden of Shadows

by Tinalynge

  “Would you like a table or a room?” The waiter that was standing at the door saw the appearance of four experts with only two eyes and surprise flashed in his eyes. There was a trace of disdain as well, but he quickly hid it, and he was able to act respectfully even though he internally looked down upon them.

  “What do you guys prefer?” Xue Wei asked the others, and they just shrugged their shoulders. Looking back at the servant, Xue Wei smiled apologetically and made the decision himself. “We will want a room then.”

  Although there had not been anyone hating on them because of their two eyes, many sent them strange glances and they were often treated as monkeys in a zoo, like a show that others watched with excitement and curiosity.

  “I have to tell you that a room costs seventy-five merit points to rent,” the servant said as he looked at Xue Wei as if he was a beggar, “The meals in the rooms are also much more delicious and so their price is higher. You will need to pay at least a thousand merit points each to be in the room.”

  Although this was a somewhat incorrect statement, it was not far off from the truth. Most people that rent a room end up spending around five hundred merit points on average, and merit points were difficult to gather, especially for someone with only two eyes. What were they even capable of doing?

  Xue Wei understood what the waiter meant. The man clearly implied they did not have the points to dine in a room, and in fact, he doubted whether or not they even had the points to dine on the ground floor of the restaurant.

  Xue Wei’s face turned ugly. He had been polite to everyone since arriving at the academy and he had not been treated unfairly in return, but he was not the type to take it lying down when someone slighted him.

  “Are you questioning whether or not I have enough merit points?” Xue Wei’s voice erupted coldly. The waiter had not expected Xue Wei to speak like this, and his eyes turned slightly haughty.

  “I am glad that you understand what I am trying to say. Now scram!” The waiter had not wanted to display his disdain towards Xue Wei and the others, but being called out like this made him go on the offensive, and his voice was raised causing many of the experts within the restaurant to look towards the entrance and the five people who seemed to be making a commotion.

  “You do not know how many merit points we have. How can you say that we do not have enough?” Xue Wei did not back down and retorted with a voice filled with ridicule.

  “You are obviously at the bottom of the academy! How can you possibly have enough merit points to eat in an establishment such as this restaurant?” The waiter did not back down and instead responded with an insult.

  “Bottom of the academy?” Xue Wei sneered before he flashed his core student identity medal. “You think that I am useless?”

  When Xue Wei flashed his core student identity medal, the other three behind him also took out their own medals of equal stature, and they looked at the waiter as if they had seen an idiot.

  “Core... core student?” the waiter was rather shocked when he saw these medals. His face, which had been extremely haughty, suddenly paled and his eyes widened like two bronze bells.

  “All four of you are core students?” The waiter did not believe it. “Impossible! How can you have core student medals? All of you are obviously waste experts! None of you have more than two eyes!”

  “So what?” Xue Wei asked arrogantly, and his words caused everyone present to be shocked. Indeed, so what? Although they only had two eyes, most of the experts with keen senses could feel a bit of a threat and danger from these four people in front of them; only people who were as clueless as the waiter assumed that they were wastes.

  “So what? Well, are you all primordial beasts?” The waiter could not accept what was happening in front of him and the only reason he could find to explain why these four were core students was that they were all primordial beasts with exceptional talent.

  “No,” Xue Wei replied and shook his head, and then a chilled glint flashed in his eyes, “but what we are, what does it have to do with you?

  “Take a look at our merit points and lead us to a room!”

  Chapter 11 - Training Field

  The waiter understood that he could do nothing more than approve Xue Wei’s request. Although he still looked down upon them, he could not go against a core student.

  If this core student were to tell his superiors about his behavior, it was clear that he would lose his job faster than he was able to explain the situation.

  Understanding this, he accepted the card in Xue Wei’s hand and swiped it over the scorecard. Seeing that he had ten thousand and six hundred seventy-nine merit points, he felt like biting his own tongue.

  This amount of merit points was not little at all. It was definitely enough to allow the entire group of four to eat in a room if they pleased, and as a result, his face turned from a shade of red to purple and then to green.

  “Follow me,” the mortified waiter said without any excessive politeness, but considering that he was willing to help them to the room, Xue Wei did not cause problems anymore.

  Although he was annoyed with the waiter, this man was simply not worth paying attention to. The waiter was someone who was doomed to be beneath him, both in strength and in status. To deal with such a person would only cause him to feel disgusted.

  Together they walked upstairs to the upper floor where there were rooms, each beautifully decorated and containing a table and some cushions to sit on.

  They arrived in front of one of the rooms, not one of the best rooms on the floor but a decent room nonetheless.

  Here they were led inside, and there was a waitress waiting for them inside. Seeing that the group contained four people with two eyes each, surprise flashed in her eyes, but she said nothing and smiled sweetly instead.

  The waiter who had led them over quickly left without as much as a word, and returned to the front of the restaurant, his face filled with unwillingness.

  Although he was unwilling to accept that these two-eyed experts were core students, he was not silly enough to think that Xue Wei had falsified the core student medal, and thus he was forced to treat them at least somewhat respectfully.

  Xue Wei ignored the waiter and sat down on one of the cushions. The others followed suit and soon they were looking at the menu, wondering which dishes they should eat.

  There was a chef in their house, but that chef did not make food that increased their strength, and although it was edible, it was not as delicious as the food here.

  Xue Wei ordered a few random dishes from the menu and some fruit wine. These menus were then handed to the waitress in the room, and she quickly bowed before leaving the room to quickly pick up the things they had ordered.

  “That waiter was quite rude,” Lin Xiao said and sighed as he shook his head. “What was his problem?”

  “It is clear that he, as a three eyed expert, looks down upon us because we only have two eyes, and when he then realizes that we are way above him, he will become even more unwilling to admit it.” Xue Wei shrugged his shoulders. It really did not matter how the waiter behaved. In Xue Wei’s eyes, he was just a clown jumping around.

  Sensing the carelessness from Xue Wei, the others were rather surprised, but none of them said anything. They understood that it was not because Xue Wei was benevolent, but because he simply could not be bothered to take a shot at someone so far beneath his focus.

  Although it was clear that Xue Wei would not take a shot at the man, it did not mean that Hei Gou and the others were willing to swallow their anger. They were all contemplating how to make life difficult for this waiter.

  Although Xue Wei knew about it, he did not care. Everyone had their own principles and should follow them. Xue Wei was in no position to tell his friends how they should act.

  Although Hei Gou, Lin Xiao and Bai Tianyi were playing with the thoughts of how to punish the waiter, they quickly forgot about him when the dishes arrived.

  These dishes were speciali
zed half in essence of the heavens and the earth and half in soul power, so when consumed they would instantly make the body refine the energies and make it into Qi and spiritual energy.

  The density of energy from the food was as potent as that provided by the consumption of pills, but the absorption was much more gentle and it was clear that it did not require one to sit down and meditate to refine the energies; it slowly transformed itself while being digested.

  All four of them were greatly surprised when they noticed this. They had come here to experience something a bit different and also experience the benefits one could get from spiritual food, but when eating it they found that it was truly magnificent.

  The food filled with the essence of the heavens and the earth was many times cheaper than the dishes that contained soul power, and Xue Wei had purchased a surplus of those dishes because three of them could benefit from them while only two could benefit from the soul power dishes.

  While eating, the group made small talk about their current experiences in Yan Dalu. They had experienced many things since arriving here, and it seems they had been trapped in a web of mysteries, making it very hard for them to escape unless they solved the problem.

  “These people are all very friendly, but I do not know if they are friendly because of them needing us,” Bai Tianyi said and sighed after a bit of time. “We are being treated extremely well, and it seems that everyone within the entire continent is happy, but it is almost a utopia and I cannot believe that it is as wonderful as it seems.”

  “I agree,” Lin Xiao nodded his head. “I might be a monk and I might have learned that friendliness and benevolence is the way to go, but human nature, even if you have multiple eyes, is not kind.

  “I do not think they would be this friendly were it not because they would benefit from it.”

  Hei Gou contemplated for some time, before he nodded his head, showing his agreement. “I think that we are quite fortunate to be needed by them,” he said after hesitating a bit of time. “Although it is troublesome having to solve this problem for them, we are not in any danger.

  “It feels great not having to flee for our lives all the time, and although many look at us with curiosity and interest, with some looking at us with disdain and disgust, no one has caused problems for us. Even that waiter was easily subdued.”

  When hearing Hei Gou’s words, Lin Xiao and Bai Tianyi both nodded their heads. It was indeed good to be free from the worry of constant chases, but Xue Wei just sighed.

  “It is true that we are lucky to be without pursuers,” he agreed, “but our cultivation was progressing by leaps and bounds while being under pressure.

  “Fortunately, we have been forced to try and solve a mystery here in Yan Dalu, not allowing us to rest on our laurels. If we did, I fear our cultivation base would progress at a much slower rate.

  “Although all of us are motivated to cultivate, we have to remember that pressure brings forth another aspect in cultivation. This is indeed something we need.”

  After talking, they continued to eat their meals and drink their wine. From time to time they would joke with one another or talk about their previous experiences, even experiences from before they met each other was subjects of their conversation.

  Although they did not speak much about the mystery they were tasked with solving, it was still something that was present within their minds. They could not completely put down the subject.

  Their future depended on them solving this mystery and now they finally had a plan on what to do and a lead towards their masked objective.

  They finished the meal in a carefree manner, paid the bill, and returned to the courtyard only to find that Mo Yi and Mo Er were waiting for them with great grins on their faces, looking like two mischievous children who had thought up some plans that would produce chaos.

  “We heard that the young masters had returned from the Soul Tower and have taken the time to prepare warm water for all of you. Take a relaxing bath with a herbal concoction local to Yan Dalu and calm your muscles before working hard with cultivation again,” Mo Yi said with a friendly smile on his face.

  Xue Wei gave him a glance before he nodded his head. “Thank you,” he said before he and the others entered their rooms and saw a big tub in front of them with steaming hot water within.

  They all enjoyed their baths; the slightly bitter scent of herbs could wafted through the entire courtyard and Xue Wei felt how it relaxed his soul and calmed his muscles. The herbal concoction was indeed special, and he could not help but wonder why they were given the privilege of this herbal bath.

  Mo Yi and Mo Er should not be capable of providing the herbs needed for the bath, and Xue Wei had not given them any currency to buy them with.

  After finishing the bath, Xue Wei cultivated his Qi for one night, and the morning afterward he and Bai Tianyi once again set out to the Soul Tower. This time they would stay there for quite a long time, so they had spent a whole day and night beforehand to fully unwind and prepare their mind.

  Spiritual power was closely related to the mind. If one was to overdo the cultivation, it could inflict severe damage to one’s mind and even turn one into a fool, but at the same time, if one had talent for spiritual energy, then they needed to cultivate it or they equally could turn into fools. It was about finding the golden middle ground.

  While Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi went to the Soul Tower, Lin Xiao and Hei Gou exited the courtyard and headed towards the Academy’s training field.

  The training field was where most of the students that were not in the Soul Tower gathered. Here people could practice their skills, either alone or together, and there were also instructors walking around, helping out those students who had questions or difficulties with their training.

  Since Hei Gou and Lin Xiao were supposed to get information, they obviously went to the most crowded place of the entire academy—with the exception of the Soul Tower as they could not enter there.

  As they reached the training field, they saw that there was a large amount of students. They saw students with three eyes almost everywhere, and from time to time they also encountered students with four eyes and even a few with two.

  The ones with two eyes appeared to mainly cultivate Qi, and both Lin Xiao and Hei Gou could see that they were almost all Primordial Beasts.

  Lin Xiao and Hei Gou looked at one another before they were unsure of what exactly they should do. How to speak with these people? How to get into contact with them?

  “First, let us try and challenge a few people in the combat arena,” Lin Xiao looked around as he said. “Maybe we can become friends after exchanging blows.”

  Hei Gou was not able to think of any other way, and thus he just nodded his head. “Okay,” he replied, and together the two of them walked deeper into the crowded training field towards some stages that were placed at the far end where people were constantly challenging one another to test their skills.

  Chapter 12 - Information

  When Hei Gou and Lin Xiao made it to the challenger’s platforms, they found that almost everyone was looking at them with curiosity.

  The two of them were new people whom they had never seen before, and there was much curiosity towards them. Although the two-eyed experts were the most numerous in Yan Dalu, they were also the least talented and thus they would rarely make it into the Garden of Shadows.

  Seeing two new people with two eyes only meant one of two things; they were either Primordial Beasts or talented Qi cultivators.

  When the students in the crowd observed them using their spiritual energy, they were incapable of sensing the level their Qi had reached, but they could sense their spiritual energy was rather pitiful, and thus their curiosity was piqued.

  “Hello, I am Shen Longyue, a core student of the academy,” a young man stepped forward to greet them. “I think I have previously seen you and two other experts in the core area of the academy, and all of you seem to have only two eyes. Are all of you Primordial B
easts?”

  Everyone nearby listened in as Shen Longyue asked this. Some were pretending to do other stuff, while others completely ignored common etiquette and openly eavesdropped.

  Normally, it would be unpopular to eavesdrop, but Lin Xiao really needed to get attention from everyone; he needed them to be paying attention to them and to become friendly to gain information, and therefore he just smiled amiably and answered the question.

  “Amongst our group of four, only one is a Primordial Beast. That is my friend here, Hei Gou.”

  Lin Xiao spoke casually, but everyone within range heard it and their hearts leapt with excitement. Only one Primordial Beast out of four new experts with only two eyes. Then if there was only one Primordial Beast, what were the other three?

  “Are you human?” Shen Longyue could not help but ask, his eyes narrowed as if he did not truly believe what Lin Xiao was insinuating. Lin Xiao just chuckled. “I am indeed a human,” he acknowledged readily.

  “How can this be? I thought humans were incapable of cultivating Qi above the Heavenly Warrior rank!” someone muttered in the crowd.

  But then a loud voice cut through the silence, “That’s not true, have you not heard about the seniors who came back from the bandit hunt? All of them were Ordinary Knights at their return, and they claimed to have been assisted in their breakthrough by a group of experts who just joined the academy!”

  “I thought that was just a rumor?” someone else asked.

  The person who had argued before vehemently returned, “It is true! I have seen it myself—their strength really did break through!”

  “Then do you think that their breakthroughs have something to do with this Lin Xiao?”

  At this point, all of them looked at Lin Xiao with a bit of suppressed greed in their eyes.

  They knew that they prioritized in spiritual energy, but even though they did not cultivate their Qi as the main focus, they still wished for breakthroughs as they could assist them and even turn into a life-saving power at a later time.