The air was filled with the scent of interest, anticipation and alertness - the meaningful glances of my two opponents crossed each other, as if silently communicating some information beyond my understanding. With each new wrinkle on their faces, it became clear how hard their brains were working. They seemed like elderly people, but they were grimacing like little children. Apparently, the subject of discussion was my acceptance into the White Lotus. And I had only one pressing question: what, exactly, were the selection criteria?
Many people are probably capable of winning Pai Shao — the game is widespread among all peoples, and there is bound to be some six-year-old genius who can calculate all the moves only slightly worse than machines do. Moreover, the game does not require any knowledge in other areas; most likely, a more in-depth assessment of the personality is carried out during the game, which is why this Shu stared so intently at my face during every move. Of course, the knowledge you have and can share is important; it is perhaps the most important requirement on which the organisation is based.
But what if our notorious, fictional child genius turns out to be a psychopathic Hitler who will use his knowledge for completely negative purposes? Of course, I understand that any sane person would send me to a mental hospital after these thoughts — any organisation has to take risks, and in extreme cases, a member can be expelled, but I have always sought complete answers to my questions. I just wanted to know the requirements for joining.
At that moment, the old men exchanged glances, nodded slowly, and stood up. They moved inside the house, and when they reached the doorway, they motioned for me to follow. This house was like all the others — the roof, walls, and supports were made of wood. The rooms were arranged one after the other and separated by sliding doors, meaning there were no corridors, which one might expect in such a spacious dwelling. We passed through a small workshop and stopped in the kitchen, where the old man Yo took a kettle that had already boiled from the stove and began to pour the drink. Shu sat down with me at the table.
The old men closed the doors and finally told us about themselves, slowly getting to the point. According to them, they were just members of the White Lotus, an order in which true value was attributed to knowledge rather than combat experience or battlefield merits. It was a non-violent society seeking to know the truth, rejecting the limitations of nationality and social status and accepting anyone with wisdom gained through experience. They acted like sages who had dispelled the illusion of their consciousness and renounced the restrictions imposed by society.
In other words, they came as close as possible to opening the penultimate chakra.
Shu and Yo told me about their ancient order for so long that it began to grow dark outside the window again. The old men did not tell me which of the people I knew were members of the Lotus, although I think they would have answered calmly if I had asked. Nevertheless, the Lotus could really give me something more than just knowledge and combat experience. It could remove the limitations of my mind and guide me to the opening of the chakra of Enlightenment.
"Membership in the order is passed on through the game of Pai Shao. However, this is a game in which you must know your opponent well. But you can also get to know them during the game itself — how persistent your opponent is. Their behaviour reveals how much they strive for knowledge, and their skill determines their thirst for understanding human nature. But you still need to obtain official permission from our leader to gain access to the most sacred secrets.
Meanwhile, the old men exchanged glances. Taking a measured sip of tea, the elder continued:
"Your playing style is measured and calm. Trying to calculate your moves, I trapped myself. You prefer to defend yourself. The absence of destructive tendencies is honoured, so the order will gladly accept you.
The fox had once again proven his cunning. As for the last sentence, the old men said it with deep respect. Apparently, I had suddenly earned a lot of respect.
"We quickly realised that your first, ugly game was just to fool us," but as soon as smiles appeared on their faces, mine turned to stone," Cunning. Playing badly to confuse your opponent, learn their tactics, and then strike. This is the wait-and-see tactic that our King Bumi adheres to, and it has allowed him to win all his battles.
"Yes... I'm just like King Boomi.
As a result, they began to think that we now understood each other perfectly. All the questions I had been asking myself could be thrown away — they really did decide everything through the game. Perhaps I am too uneducated to understand this.
"You old fools, I don't understand what you're talking about at all. How can you learn anything about me from these tokens?"
"Ahem, that was a nice game," I nodded in response with a fake smile. And when I took my first sip of tea, which was already cold, by the way, I almost choked. "Holy dog, that's delicious!
The old men looking at me frowned sharply. Sensing trouble approaching, I felt like I had lost all my wise man's image.
"Holy dog... who are you talking about? - Nevertheless, the old men latched onto something else. That was what I called Anubis, but I couldn't tell them that. My gaze darted from side to side until it focused on a creature behind the old men. Afka sat quietly to one side, looking at me with a sly expression.
"The spirit of knowledge! Ahem, according to legend, the great Wang Shin Tong, who owned the world library, had spirit helpers in the form of foxes. And they, as we know, belong to the canine family," they listened to me, drinking in every word, "I, you could say, love dogs very much. So much so that I cannot live without them.
"You... are you one of those scholars who searched for the library? - They moved closer, eager for me to feed them more nonsense. However, the answer could give me more than just respect. If I told them... I could earn real respect among the wisest.
Choose:
1 - You found the library (Don't hide your achievements. Tell them that you found the library of Wang Shintong and gained a lot of wise knowledge from it. Secret information about you will be distributed only through the private channels of the White Lotus, and you will become a welcome guest of every member of the order, but there is a high risk that you will be unlucky, the information will leak out, and a hunt will begin. To tell the truth, you will come closer to opening the Chakra of Truth).
2 - Hide the truth (Lost benefits, limitation of your own power, you will do anything, even slow down your development, just to save your life and keep the advantage exclusively for yourself)
"Damn it"
Both options led to a dead end and made me worry. Cold sweat was pouring down my forehead, and it wasn't because I was afraid. These options... were objectively repulsive. I wasn't the kind of person who needed more knowledge and benefits, so I would have gladly kept quiet and received nothing. But that was impossible; the old men were staring intently at my face.
"Would it be such a big deal if I lied just this once?"
"Every lie leaves a heavy mark on your personality, and over time you can completely lock away the chakra of Truth. It's easy to hide the truth and achieve the desired results through deception. It's hard to accept the consequences of your decisions."
"That's called a sensible approach! Oh, who am I kidding? Why didn't you warn me beforehand so I wouldn't even mention dogs? How can you mock me like this!"
Since I chose the path of the Warrior, I have only two options: forward, boldly into the abyss, or backward, into the swamp of weakness. The funny thing is that there is no way to reveal the location of the library. Apparently, it's such an idiotic idea that even Anubis didn't mention it. But there was one snag... one person from the Fire tribe already knows the location of the Library; he even burned down an entire department. I find it hard to believe that he hasn't spread the word yet. Although... it is this very person who will burn the spirit of the Moon, and apparently, out of a thirst for glory, he has stubbornly kept the secret from the Fire Lord.
Looking at it from the outside, I understood that in trying to achieve a higher position in the army, he was clearly limiting his own power. So much knowledge, such potential and wisdom, and all for the sake of malice and a thirst for destruction. What a small man.
"I really found her," I nodded to the old men with a sad smile. Their mouths immediately opened as my thoughts battled with the desire to survive... nevertheless, my heart quickly found harmony. I felt a heavy burden fall from my shoulders. "I am a desert dweller. Like my ancestors, I was able to personally communicate with the Keeper of Knowledge and gain access to sacred secrets.
Well, that's it. I didn't have enough reputation as a Sand Mage, now I'm really screwed.
"And if possible, I would ask you not to tell anyone about this...
"That's incredible!" they interrupted me. "You can ask for anything you want, just answer me one question: are the legends about the Lion-Turtles, often depicted by the air nomads, true? Were they really capable of carrying entire cities on their backs?
"Um... yes, one is definitely still alive, swimming somewhere in the sea. They gave ancient people the ability to control the elements. For the most part, they were used to defend against spirits," I said thoughtfully, remembering this more from a cartoon than from a library. But the old men were still impressed and took out a book of old myths and legends, which vaguely described these creatures. They talked among themselves and admired how my words perfectly filled in the gaps in the book. "And yet...
"That's wonderful. We can tell you about the best and wisest members of our order. It doesn't matter what nation they belong to: earth, water or fire, they will accept you and allow you to learn true wisdom. We just need to send them a message that such an excellent person exists. Everyone will definitely want to share their knowledge with you.
"Um... a message. It wasn't hard to understand that the more messages I sent, the more problems I would have... nevertheless, sooner or later something would slip through. So I thought seriously about it. I needed a master and an expert in Qi, but one who wasn't located at the North Pole. I had secured imaginary access to them, but finding them, let alone getting to them without a flying bison, was a real problem. And considering how many enemies I might encounter along the way... - Oh! Do you know roughly where that circus that travels across our continent is located? And are there many of them?
"Hmm..." The old men looked at each other.
"There's only one. We'll find out where it is," they nodded. And I finally smiled. This was an opportunity to gain important knowledge about the work of the Qi. But... would She teach me?
***
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