Claddings of Light : Book 12 of Painting the Mists

by Patrick Laplante

“Master bought one once,” Iridescent Tempest said. “It was a waste of money. He got nothing but a few scrolls with common knowledge.”

  “My own master has bought five, and overall, she’s profited,” Iridescent Virtue said. “One of those she obtained contained blood of the Iridescent Ancestor. Prices rose ever since, so she never bought another.”

  “They look tasty,” Huxian said. Bifang nodded in agreement. Gua and Miyue, however, looked horrified.

  “That’s a very expensive treat,” Gua said. “Besides, aren’t those made of rock?”

  “Looks like marble,” Huxian agreed. “Old temple marble. Has a very holy taste to it.”

  “Holy?” Cha Ming said. “How is that even a taste?”

  “It’s definitely a flavor,” Huxian said. “You find it in temple ruins and blessed objects every once in a while. Not that there’s too many of those around here.”

  “I wasn’t even aware they existed,” Iridescent Virtue said. “Are they prevalent in the Slovana Empire or in Mendin?”

  “Probably Mendin,” Huxian said. “Slovana does god bloodlines. You need churches and stuff for blessed items.”

  “Churches?” Iridescent Virtue said. “You mean places of worship?”

  “Yeah,” Huxian said. “That, or you need angels, and churches tend to have those.”

  “Interesting,” Iridescent Virtue said.

  Cha Ming wanted to continue the conversation, but before he could, another item appeared on stage. His heart skipped a beat. Ruined cauldron, speculated to be mid-investiture grade, destroyed in the partial collapse of a phoenix-aligned pocket realm. Base scrap value estimated at twenty thousand mid-grade demon coins. Runes may be useful to alchemists or blacksmiths as they further their studies.

  “I want that,” Cha Ming said, and when he did, the Clear Sky Brush danced in joy inside the Clear Sky World. It wanted it too. Badly.

  “That’s a very expensive item, one that even my teacher would balk at buying,” Iridescent Virtue said. “Given that you just had to borrow money to purchase a single ingredient, it seems unlikely that you could afford it.”

  “Urgh, Iridescent Torch joined to fight the blacksmiths,” Iridescent Tempest said. “What’s with those people and pushing up prices?”

  “Mostly inherited shamelessness is my guess,” Iridescent Virtue said.

  Cha Ming ignored him, however. He was running numbers in his head. He had one thing of value, one thing he could give for this item if he was willing. And judging by the Clear Sky Brush’s reaction, it was something he had to do.

  Merit glow strikes again, Cha Ming thought, noticing that it wasn’t just coincidence that the item had worked its way in. He could feel the merit in his wings tug at the item in question, pulling it toward him. It wasn’t something that could be seen, but rather, intuition. Moreover, he felt that he would regret it if he didn’t buy the broken cauldron.

  So, Cha Ming placed a bid. It would put a target on his back, but so be it. Their single balcony lit up as Cha Ming increased the price to twenty-five thousand green demon coins. Everyone on the fourth floor turned toward them, and some of the elders looked down.

  “How brave, to dare bidding on such an item,” a proud-looking woman said from the elder stands. She was none other than Iridescent Torch, the same Iridescent Clan elder who’d almost killed him.

  “He’s an interesting research subject, isn’t he?” Iridescent Wonder said from his own balcony. “Wait, didn’t you two fight at some point? Didn’t you have to back off in the end?”

  “Child, don’t involve yourself in this matter,” said an elderly blacksmith. “I, Iridescent Rite, want this item, and you’re making a scene.” He increased the bid to twenty-eight thousand, and Cha Ming increased it to thirty.

  “It occurs to me that one needs to be able to afford the items they’re bidding on,” Iridescent Torch said, increasing the price to thirty-one thousand. “I wonder how a junior like you would possess such a fortune?”

  “If I’m bidding, I possess the capacity,” Cha Ming said. “But do you?” He increased the bid to thirty-five thousand. Those on the fourth floor began arguing loudly.

  “You do realize,” Iridescent Virtue whispered, “that this has become a matter of national pride?”

  That gave Cha Ming pause. “Should I stop?” he asked Iridescent Virtue privately.

  “No, by all means, outbid her if you can,” Iridescent Virtue replied. “To have a junior outbid her? Master would be laughing all day long.”

  “So would Master Iridescent Wonder,” Iridescent Tempest said. Indeed, the blading man was giggling visibly in the elder’s seating.

  Iridescent Torch increased the bid to thirty-eight thousand green demon coins. “Enough with this farce. Surely you can’t afford this. Is this your idea of a joke?”

  “If you insist on showing whether or not one can afford this, please go ahead and prove that you can afford your own bid first,” Cha Ming said.

  “If you’re asking to get your face slapped, very well,” Iridescent Torch said. She flicked her sleeve, and twenty thousand green coins floated out for all to see. Ten jade pill bottles also flew out. Their contents caused the air around them to shimmer with a familiar presence. Early-rune-gathering grade, Cha Ming thought.

  Finally, a pill cauldron flew out. “This is a special pill cauldron the dragons forged for me back when they still roamed the Gold Spine Mountain Range,” Iridescent Torch said. “It is made of a special dragon metal alloy and was cold worked without exposure to flame. Back then, I bought it for twenty-one thousand green demon coins. And though I am loathe to part with it, I don’t think it will be necessary, for I do not believe you can afford your outrageous bid. If I recall the rules of the auction clearly, not only would that mean your expulsion and a reduction in my purchase price, but you would also pay a penalty equal to the difference. Is that correct?”

  An elder of the Phoenix Clan stood up. “As the owner of this establishment, I can confirm this rule,” she said. “Though if your challenge is unsuccessful, I’m afraid you’ll need to drop out of this auction. Your prior bid would be canceled, the bid reverted to the next best one, and you would pay a penalty.”

  “It won’t come to that,” Iridescent Torch said. Those in the stands laughed mockingly, and Elder Iridescent Wonder looked at Cha Ming speculatively.

  “Regardless, my bid comes in at thirty-nine thousand,” Iridescent Ruin said from his own booth. “Regardless of your fortunes, this item goes to me.”

  Cha Ming sighed. “Forty thousand is the highest I’m willing to go.” He held out a hand, and a small sphere appeared. It grew to the size of a human head before it stopped growing, then it began to grow denser. The material was heavy. It was simultaneously liquid and gas. It was denser than any solid known to man, assuming it reached its limit, if there was such a thing. “I hope the auction house can forgive me for troubling them in finding a container for forty standard liters of pure Grandmist.” It was a full fifth of his Grandmist reserves, which he’d received as a reward for completing his task for the Crimson Division.

  Grandmist was a strange material to measure and value. Since it was compressible like a gas, it was common to use weight as a measure. One jin was worth one chip or one yellow demon coin. It was too dense and too valuable to even attempt to separate it into such small portions, however, as one milliliter weighed one wanjin—ten thousand jin. Ten liters weighed one yijin, ten thousand wanjin. What Cha Ming took out was four yijin of Grandmist, equivalent to forty-thousand green demon coins.

  “Rarely is Grandmist used as a currency,” the auctioneer spoke before Iridescent Torch could reply. “Of course, we would facilitate its liquidation. For challenging your ability to pay, Iridescent Torch is out of the bidding process and will pay the standard penalty.”

  Iridescent Torch looked like she’d swallowed a lemon, and Iridescent Wonder laughed out loud. As for Iridescent Rite, he gave up. “When you’re old enough, you stop being surprised.” />
  “This isn’t over,” Iridescent Torch said, then left the elders’ seating.

  “I have a feeling this is going to come back to bite me,” Cha Ming said.

  “That is an understatement,” Iridescent Virtue agreed. Still, he thought the price was worth it, and even the Clear Sky Brush, which hoarded its Grandmist so possessively, agreed.

  The energy in the auction house gradually died down. Bids came in slowly, and it became clear to everyone the show was over. Eventually, there was a knock on the door. Four Phoenix clansmen were struggling to lift an item on a small palanquin. Behind it were gawkers, rubberneckers, and of course, a grinning Elder Iridescent Wonder.

  “I take it you need someone to escort you out?” the old man asked.

  “Please,” Cha Ming replied. “I feel like half the people here want to mug me in an alley.”

  “What an interesting experimental subject you’ve collected,” said the Phoenix Clan elder accompanying Iridescent Wonder.

  Cha Ming recognized almost instantly by her aura. It was none other than Iridescent Virtue’s teacher, Iridescent Charity.

  Chapter 14: Runic Cauldron

  “This is a curious contraption,” Iridescent Charity said as she ran her finger along the ruined remnants of the cauldron Cha Ming had purchased. “I’d heard from the auction master that it was worth taking a look at, but I couldn’t justify the expense.”

  “A broken piece of metal is what it is,” Iridescent Wonder said, kicking it. “Heavy too.”

  Cha Ming’s eye twitched. “Could you please not kick my cauldron? I paid a lot for it, and it looks like it’s barely holding on to its shape.” The item in question was covered in a strange green rust that reminded him of copper roofing. The runes on it, however, were mysterious and deep. He’d seen nothing like them. Not even on the puzzle tower Elder Ling had gifted him.

  “We did get you out of the auction house in one piece,” Iridescent Charity said. “I’m sure that’s worth a poke or two.”

  Iridescent Wonder kicked the cauldron again for good measure. “I think they were wrong about the scrap-metal valuation. Good metal doesn’t corrode like this.”

  “But it’s positively ancient,” Iridescent Charity said. “Look at that symbol there.”

  “True,” Iridescent Wonder said. “It’s definitely pre-breaking.”

  “Breaking?” Cha Ming asked.

  “It is a legend in our clan,” the younger Iridescent Virtue said from the side. “It is unknown how much truth there is to it, and how accurate our memories are, but our elders say we were once from another world. One day, it shattered, and we found ourselves here.”

  “It’s not a legend,” Iridescent Wonder said. “It’s the truth.”

  “I asked the Iridescent Ancestor, and she confirmed it,” Iridescent Charity said. “Though she was a little hazy and hesitant on the details.”

  “Since no one else is going to ask, I guess I have to,” Iridescent Tempest said. “How in the blazes can you afford this, Clear Sky?”

  “Luck?” Cha Ming said.

  “He’s famous in the Burning Lake Prefecture, so it’s not really surprising,” Iridescent Wonder said, feeling at a strange green-gray residue that dusted the entire cauldron. “Apparently, he finished a hard mission for the Crimson Lotus Empire. Must have gotten all that Grandmist as a reward.”

  “Most of us elders thought it a good idea to look up basic information like this the moment Clear Sky got to Shimmerwing,” Iridescent Charity said. “Really, what was Iridescent Torch thinking?”

  “She wasn’t, obviously,” Iridescent Wonder said. “Clear Sky just rubbed her the wrong way. She’s always had a bit of a temper.”

  “Many thanks for blocking her when we left the building,” Cha Ming said.

  “I wonder if it tastes good,” Huxian suddenly said, eyeing the cauldron.

  “You won’t get to find out,” Cha Ming said. “This is my cauldron.”

  “Just a little taste?” Huxian said pleadingly.

  “When are you going to tell us why you wanted it?” Iridescent Tempest said.

  “When you tell me why you’re still here even though I didn’t invite you,” Cha Ming said.

  “That’s easy. Elder Iridescent Charity invited me in,” Iridescent Tempest said. “We are in her workshop.” They’d been in a hurry to leave the auction house, and the cauldron, heavy as it was, took all their combined strength to move. Though the Clear Sky World could have easily taken it in, Cha Ming hadn’t wanted to do so in public. There were limits, it seemed, even to soul-bound treasures, and Cha Ming didn’t want to advertise this particular feature.

  To show them or not to show them? Cha Ming wondered. Should he wait until later to see how the Clear Sky Brush reacted to it? No, he decided. Iridescent Torch has it out for me, and she’ll start gathering elders to her side. I need strong allies.

  “Here goes nothing,” Cha Ming muttered. He summoned his Clear Sky Brush. It shuddered excitedly and zoomed around the broken cauldron, inspecting it like a curious dog. At first, it didn’t look like it was going to do anything. It simply floated around like a curious observer. Then it began painting the cauldron, and the cauldron began to change. Cha Ming gasped as the brush pulled at his vitality, his qi, and his soul.

  It painted black first, destroying the rust on the outside of the cauldron, taking away large corroded pieces that had been secured into place. It painted the rest of the cauldron white. The replacement metal was clearly inferior, but by using Cha Ming’s vitality and soul, it bound the treasure to him tightly.

  The repairs were dreadfully slow, especially to Cha Ming, who turned pale from the process. Iridescent Wonder proactively forced a pill into his mouth, which thankfully stopped the leeching before his internal worlds could collapse. Soon enough, the brush finished its project. It was a mixture of old and new metal, and completely different from what he’d imagined.

  “How curious,” Iridescent Charity said. “Your brush did all this? What a wonderful object!”

  The brush preened at the compliment. Then Iridescent Charity moved to touch the newly refurbished cauldron, but before she could, the brush interposed itself and shook indignantly. “It’s… angry?”

  Cha Ming coughed lightly. “She’s saying that it’s her cauldron.” Then he paused. Oh. He hadn’t known the brush was a “she.” That was a new development. The brush pulsed back. Of course she was “she.” What else would she be?

  “Surely it’s all right for me to take a look at it, isn’t it?” Iridescent Charity said.

  The brush paused. Then it shook vigorously and flew at the cauldron. Before anyone could react, the cauldron vanished.

  Cha Ming could barely understand what Iridescent Charity said next, as something changed with the Clear Sky World. A voice whispered in his ear, and it was simultaneously foreign, familiar, young, and ancient. He couldn’t quite hear it. Not yet. Just echoes of it. But he could tell that the time was soon coming. Soon, he would be able to talk with the brush. Converse. Interact.

  But that wasn’t the only thing that changed. When he looked inside the Clear Sky World, he saw a completely different cauldron. It was clear as glass, though a gray mist floated inside its strange material, much like it did within the Clear Sky Brush.

  A new form? Cha Ming inspected it. The clear cauldron was covered in intricate runework. The runes shifted and flowed on its pristine see-through surface. It had no lid, however. No room for a flame. Yet with but a thought, an opening appeared on the cauldron and closed when he willed it. Its name was the Clear Sky Cauldron.

  It had been a long time since he’d awakened a new form. The first form he’d unlocked was the Clear Sky Staff and the large brush and pillar variants. Later, he’d unlocked the Clear Sky Hammer from the Clear Sky Carving Knife. Shortly before leaving the Ling Nan Plane, he’d awakened the Tri-Sealing Pillar form. Counting the Clear Sky Flame Focus, this was the sixth form he’d awakened to date, for a total of seven forms.


  “It appears that my soul-bound treasure has unlocked a new shape,” Cha Ming said. He summoned the new cauldron in the room, and they gasped at the changed item. Iridescent Charity’s fingers twitched, and she even reached out for the cauldron before remembering herself. She was a demon, and she could see that it wasn’t something that she could touch at will. This wasn’t just a rusted heap of metal anymore. It was piece of Cha Ming’s soul. Unalienable. Permanently bound until death.

  “Remarkable,” Iridescent Wonder said. “Your soul-bound treasure has growth potential, correct?”

  “Correct,” Cha Ming said. “By merging with this treasure, it’s broken through its shackles. It’s strengthened all the way from a peak-rune-carving treasure to an early-rune-gathering one. Which, to be honest, surprises me. I believe the auctioneers mentioned it was only a mid-grade treasure before it was ruined.”

  “What is it, though?” Iridescent Tempest asked. “Has anyone seen anything like it?” Iridescent Virtue was clueless, and the elders exchanged glances and probably a few mental words before answering.

  “If I’m not completely brain dead in my old age, I’d say this is a runic cauldron,” Iridescent Wonder said.

  “A strange one,” Iridescent Charity agreed. “I don’t believe there’s anything else it can be due to the shifting rune patterns. Note how they emulate the formations we use when we attune and activate reagents. The main difference, of course, being that there’s no opening.”

  “I can create that myself,” Cha Ming said, demonstrating.

  “Then it’s easy enough to stick a flame in and out,” Iridescent Wonder said.

  This puzzled Cha Ming. The Clear Sky Brush had absorbed a flame seed to create Grandmist flames. He’d used it as a medium. How was he supposed to do that now that it was in this cauldron form?

  He reached out with his soul, and to his surprise, the answer came naturally. “It produces its own flame,” Cha Ming said. “Anywhere in the cauldron.” He demonstrated with his Grandmist flames.

  “So you’re telling me it has unlimited openings and perfect temperature control?” Iridescent Wonder asked.