A Maiden's Strange Voyage

And that she had so many questions she wanted to ask. But never found the time to do it. Zhixun was nowhere to be found, and neither was any of them for that matter. Feiyu had kept most of it in silence, even as she wondered just why. But she went along with things. As much as she made a note of everything that she wanted to ask. To find a time where she could finally release all of them.

Feiyu had never told her much, plenty of it was mostly just her guesswork and inference. Which she guess could be a good thing as much as it was a bad one.

She didn"t know how she should have responded, other than to try. It was worth a shot as she was unable to think of how it could go wrong. Better to try and see how things could go as compared to think about it. She didn"t know much, except for being thrown into this world. She didn"t mind things, nothing had ever gone her way but nothing had ever gone really wrong either.

And that Feiyu insisted on this, thus she agreed at the end of the day. She found some logic in it at the end of the day. That she couldn"t disagree with at any point, neither could she find any reason to fault her either. Choosing to do this was something she found interesting, even as she was barely able to do anything.

"In such an early time, simply getting it to move is more than enough." Even as she could barely do more. "As you need to think of the action and how you want it. They can do anything, within the range of what can be done. As long as it is possible at the end of the day." This was something that she had to learn. That no object could fulfill all of their wishes and obligations. That they needed to make a decision within what they had.

The same as it was projecting onto someone a choice that only they could choose at the end of the day. "Getting your object will be much easier, as those amplify your energy. They make things easier for them to use." And thus, why she wanted her to be able to use this at the beginning. This was to make things easier for her and thus become better.

It was still useful if she was to run into any trouble. Even as she realized that she knew very little as to what they did to support themselves. And she was often too busy to do anything or even think all that clearly either. "But today, I"m bringing you to get your parasol."

She nodded. Curious as to how it will look like or even feel. Whether she could feel the weight of it on her shoulders, whether she will have been able to get used to bringing around an umbrella. She doubts she could, having never been one for something like that. Unless it rained when she enjoyed spinning it all around, trying to understand and grasp how it worked.

Following Feiyu out the front entrance, when she had enough time to admire the scenery surrounding her. It was still as beautiful as it was, as much as she realized just how big the place was. Having been given her own room, which was rather large. And paper when she needed it—though she kept using it to a minimum and writing her own thoughts more than anything else.

When they reached the same shop once more, she saw the place in a wholly different light. The place lost some of its more mystical atmospheres but still remained around the same at the end of the day. And on the outside, Lingfeng was waiting for her. He sat outside the shop, waiting for her to appear. For some strange reason, that she couldn"t really guess.

He stood up when they came at last. He gave them a nod, before letting themselves into the room. And straight to the hallway. Feiyu had not followed her in, but she a.s.sumed that it was because of the fact that it was personal. This had been something that was on her own. And he walked turning back once just to see her. Which gave her the feeling.

He stopped at the third room. A different place than before. Inside as she saw, was an umbrella. Made for her. It didn"t need to take her measurements to make a rough guess, she was of rather average height. As anyone who picked it up will be holding it up. Hence eliminating any need for measurements. The umbrella had pretty flowers, made with blue fabric at the top.

"If it gets destroyed, just come back here. Or stop by any of the other forgers." She nodded, gazing at the parasol. It was light, which was normal given that it was made of fabric. She knew that Feiyu will have known of all the others, that was perfectly normal in such a situation at the end of the day. And that she doubted she will be breaking something like this anytime soon.

"Although I wondered why I"m using an umbrella."

"Each object is personally reflective of them. This suggests that you are rather flexible, but never compromising or discarding your values. It is also something that suggests you like convenience, as you don"t need to hide it. Something that is easy to hide among the crowd. At the same time, nothing that will be a burden to carry around. Suggests that you are someone who likes to keep things light, and tend to keep your heart as free as possible."

This did suit her. As much as it was rather eerie to see how it was so accurate. How it all seemed to fit at the end of the day. "There is more to it. Those who use instruments are those who often keep their own emotions to themselves above all else. They are unlikely to show it, hence requiring others to decipher it. Although it depends on the choice of instruments itself, most of them fall into that category."

"What about birdcages?"

"The only thing I did when I saw that was that who in their right mind will be using one."

"Until you did see one." Remembering Zhixun, who used the birdcage. That was something that she didn"t think was possible until it reveals that it was at the end of the day. Until he had seen one made for Zhixun. Without a doubt that will have shocked them.

"Yes, until I saw one. But that was so strange that Mother had to come down personally and do it for him." He figured that he wasn"t able to handle something like that, he didn"t seem very very old either. "And even Mother was rather baffled. And she has created some pretty strange ones."

"What do you think of him?"

"He"s weird. Resourceful, able to use whatever it is around him to the best. I"m just using what I learned from metal here." And nothing more, since the birdcage hides something far more. So much more than he could really explain. Or really comprehend at this point. Nothing that gave any solid idea as to what he should have tried or did.

That did remind of him in some weird way. And that Zhixun was rather nice to talk to, revealing quite a bit having almost nothing that made any sense to anyone. She snickered.

"You have met him?"

"That and my master told me quite a bit about him. And that I have seen his birdcage upfront." And to her, it looked pretty strange. "And that she was comparing my umbrella with her birdcage."

"To think about it, using an umbrella is rather unorthodox. But nothing that is completely so out of the box like a birdcage." She guessed that the main thing was when he opened the cage. It did seem like the only way for it to do something. "I mean, I could figure out how to make one that could function. And I"m just past a novice."

"Will it affect the quality?"

"Not much, except for some minor details. But you"re still an apprentice." Which meant that she wasn"t expected to do much.

"So I won"t get a better one until I"m a full strayer?" To her, that was still strange on her. It made no sense on some level, but at the same time, it denoted their situation as one who fights back against the fate that was laid out for them.

He nodded, leaning against the table. "And why my mother lets me do this alone. If not, she will have come down directly. And that most apprentices tend to lose theirs rather quickly, thus having me do them over and over until they are a strayer makes sense."

Feiyu told her a couple of things about the situation. She could be an apprentice for a year or more, but no more than five. But they have to take a certain test, one which will allow them to become one. Feiyu had not told her much about how she became one, other than she left her home. She knew that it will be revealed eventually which was why she didn"t press any further.

As of now, she was mostly getting used to things. When she thought she had one figured out, another was thrown at her to think about the situation. When she thought she had the hang of one, another came out. Even as the questions remained on her head, certain questions as to why they exist. Nothing was said yet, even as she wanted to ask.

And she doubts she could handle it anymore.

"Are you thinking about something?"

"Yes. I wonder, what"s the point of all this?"

"To fight against the fate of course. Those who are aware can fight, and they should fight however they can." Even as he said nothing more to her. She found it strange. But he didn"t seem willing to say anymore. And she knew that a great deal of time pa.s.sed in here, thus she wanted a little more. She wanted to know more.

And that today allowed her the time to ponder over the questions which have stayed in her head, but was always put aside for whatever Feiyu threw at her. And Feiyu will be honest with her, she knew that. She should be.

"I think I should go before my master thinks that something is seriously wrong." He nodded. She was about to step out before she forgot her umbrella. Before she took it, going out the hallway with him following her.

"See you sometime soon." He raised his hand. Perhaps wanting to earn some money while repairing it. She got it, he was running a business after all. And she knew that he needed as many customers as he could get. She doubted many knew this existed.

She didn"t say anything before going back out. Looking at Feiyu who took a seat patiently. She wasn"t too fazed by anything at all. "It seems nice that you"re talking to him."

She couldn"t deny that Feiyu was wrong. It was always good to make an effort to know someone because no one knew whom they might need. And he did seem like someone that she will be meeting very very often. Even as she still wanted to ask many many things. Nothing which she seemed to have wanted to put off.

"Because I"m going to show you what is it that we do, as it is the first a.s.signment." Suddenly, it seemed as though dodging all those questions was for this. She held her tongue, even as she was still wondering a lot about them. A lot about how they worked or how it functioned.

"Not tell me."

"For something like this, I do think that showing you will be a better choice." And to let her gain some experience. The same way that her mother did it. Throwing her into something while giving her some clear instructions as to how she should be doing things. It was fairly clear at this point too.

She couldn"t hold back her own curiosity and she figured that being shown was a better idea than just told.