Dragon of Rochester
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Story 10 - The Spy Who Rocked Too Hard (Part 18 🎸)
🕑 Added 2024-01-13 01:27:15 +0000 UTCAuthor’s Note:
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Part 18
Pearlescent Rose gestured to the massive mountain covered in trees and expensive courtyards. “The large North Peak is where all the puppeteers and beast blood contractors live. It’s also the area with the highest number of disciples. Our sect’s master smiths are there, usually working on a puppet, but they sometimes make time for our instruments.”
The blue-haired musician next to me grinned. “Most people in the sect go there at least once when they find a beast to be their fighting partner.”
Rose nodded. “Of course, there are side effects. Both good and bad. Which I’m sure you noticed.”
Blue Hair leaned forward as if telling an open secret. “There are some disciples who choose their tamed beast for aesthetic reasons.”
“We don’t talk about them,” all the musicians chorused.
This was a lively group.
Pearlescent Rose gestured to the next mountain in the center of the range. A large column of smoke billowed out from one of the immortal caves. A disciple, who looked like a hamster at this distance, ran out and then bent over. Likely, they were coughing up whatever poisonous smoke from a concoction they’d bungled.
“That’s Central Peak. It’s where the poison masters and poison body cultivators live. If you need any pills or elixirs, then you’ll find them there. And if you can’t, you can always offer contribution points to get someone to concoct what you ask for.”
“Though it might be cheaper to buy any healing pills in the city since those guys prefer to focus on their craft,” Blue Hair said.
I was glad to get a more detailed view of the sect as we flew over it. Since I was a spy, knowing the lay of the land was important. I tried to memorize where everything was. I gestured towards the massive red and gold palace at the top of the peak. “I think you also mentioned that the Sect Leader lives there.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Our leader is currently in closed-door cultivation. He’ll break through to Immortal Ascension soon. Then he can take our Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect to the next level.”
The other musicians standing in the immortal boat looked away as if minding their own business.
Considering that this sect had definitely been destroyed in my past life, I could assume their leader never left closed-door cultivation. Or if he did, a stronger opponent from the righteous sects eventually killed him. But that wasn’t my problem. This place was doomed, so I should steal — or more accurately — rescue as many of their techniques as I could.
Rose used a hand seal and pointed two fingers toward a small peak covered in trees, caves, and courtyards. The boat started slowly descending. As we came closer, I noticed beautiful, secluded concert areas and lecture halls. Everything here was artfully crafted. Frankly, this was the most beautifully crafted of the peaks I’d seen so far in the sect. There were even classes out in the open where disciples painted... Even from this height, I could tell from the energy they produced that what they rendered was a combination of terrifying and beautiful. “And this is South Peak. We live here along with dread painters.”
Blue Hair very seriously said, “You should stay away from their area if you don’t want to end up stuck inside a horrific illusion.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, seniors.”
***
After the boat landed, and I said goodbye to the musicians who’d helped save me, Rose walked with me toward my newly assigned immortal cave.
I cleared my throat. “Senior, while I appreciate your guidance, you don’t have to bring me all the way.”
“I know.”
Then she must have some other reason for coming this way. And judging from her serious expression, it must be something difficult to talk about. Especially since she was taking so damn—
“Little Linlin, does your Dao of Rock have any songs that would… inspire someone to not lose hope?”
“A few.”
Actually, the song that melted faces was a good one for inspiring people to keep fighting. But I had a feeling that wasn’t the kind of ‘give up’ she worried about. “It depends on their reasons. When I heal with rock, I play songs that suit the patient’s situation and personality. If I know more, I can figure something out.”
Rose didn’t say anything else up until we reached my immortal cave. Whatever situation she needed help with, it must be delicate.
“Right! I forgot to mention that there are various lectures in the morning discussing demonic music.”
“Will I be able to learn the method for creating real illusions?”
“That depends on how much you can absorb.”
I grinned. “You’d be surprised.” I was a genius, after all.
A short woman ran from out of my new neighbor’s immortal cave, followed by a girl who was almost six feet tall.
The tall girl had navy hair and wore clothes that looked like they’d been slept in for days. She smiled sheepishly. “Let’s just talk.”
“I can’t believe you want to talk after—” The short girl cut herself off when she saw us. Her eyes widened.
“But you seemed to enjoy the duet we played last night.”
The short girl turned bright red, then yelled, “Don’t talk to me. We’re done!”
She bowed to Pearlescent Rose before flying off on a fan spiritual tool.
So, the tall one was my new neighbor. She bowed languidly. “Senior.”
Rose sighed deeply. “Try to... be better, junior Azure Melodic River.”
“You say that as if this was my fault.”
Rose just looked at her.
Her cheeks turned red. “I’ll do my best, Senior,” she said in a tone that made me think she wasn’t going to change at all. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to the new disciple?”
“This is Musician Linlin. She is very powerful. Underestimate her at your own peril.”
She grabbed her heart dramatically. “I would never.”
I had a feeling she definitely would.
“Junior Linlin, Azure Melodic River is a very strong musician. But she’s also a hedonist. If you hear any rumors about her, they’re absolutely true—”
“Senior!” she whined. “You’re making me lose face in front of Sister Linlin!”
Rose ignored her. “—Not that we care about those things here. Anyway, I still have a large mess I need to clean up with the outer sect and the North Peak, so I’ll leave you here.”
She pulled out her immortal boat and left.
“I’m not that bad,” Melodic River said.
I shrugged. “Unless you’d be interested in joining my band and studying the Dao of Rock, I don’t care what you do.”
“Hmm? What’s that?”
Well, Rose had said that she was a strong musician. And I needed people like that to help me wake up Ghosty. This was the perfect chance to get another band member!
I pulled out my guitar. “How about I show you?”
She looked towards where the short girl left, then smiled. “My plans for this week just flew away with the wind, so I’m free.”
***
[Image Link]
After I finished a set of songs and a lecture similar to my first in the outer sect, I threw up the sign of the horns.
Azure Melodic River’s eyes sparkled. “I can’t believe music can sound like this!”
I threw my guitar back inside my ring. “So, would you be interested in learning how to play the guitar or drums?”
She shook her head. “From what you’ve said, those are not my style. I prefer for things to be a bit more... complicated.”
“Oh! I know what you mean.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“You want a sophisticated instrument that lets you show off. Rock has just the kind you’d love.”
After hesitating, she asked, “And what would that be?”
“It’s called a keyboard. Imagine an elegant instrument with keys you touch to produce a variety of notes and sounds. Your music can change drastically at your whim with a slight adjustment of your spiritual energy.” Certain healing songs were more effective with a keyboard, so my band could use a skilled musician to play one.
She stepped closer. “Let me see it! If it seems fun and makes me look good, I’ll join your band.”
“I think you’ll make the keyboard look fantastic.”
When I saw her proud smile, I knew I had this girl hooked.
“But I have to put something together before it’s ready to play.” Basically, the whole thing.
She shrugged. “Just show it to me when it’s finished. I’ll, sadly, still be here. All alone. Waiting to sweep someone off their feet.”
Sometimes demonic musicians could be… strange. But that was fine as long as they were reliable. Of course, if I was going to snag her as a band member, I’d have to pull off creating a simple keyboard when I was used to making a complex version — something harder than it sounded. Not to mention that I had to do it with whatever was available in this backwater sect.
Over the past week, I created a plan on how I could quickly forge a simplified variation. Unfortunately, a full version always took a month of effort. But with my new schematics in mind, I estimated that it would take only a day or two. Well, as long as I could find the right materials and had the brat’s help.
There was only one place here where I could get my hands on the necessary components — Central Peak’s Treasure Pavilion.
***
Disciples crowded the pavilion, buying ingredients or selling natural treasures. Some of them still had stains on their robes from the mission they were just on where they found them.
I had to resist the urge to use my cleaning technique on everyone and everything. It was like an itch I had to resist scratching. The more I thought about it, the harder it was. But I had an indomitable will. I wouldn’t let my need-for-clean to affect me.
A poison master walked past me while carrying a dirty pill beast on his shoulder. It hissed at me. Fuck, this goddamned universe was testing me, wasn’t it?
While cleaning techniques were not exactly rare, mine was very effective. That was because I understood how to scour something to the tiniest molecule. If I used it and a convention attendee — like that fucker Noxious Fangstrike — noticed, I would immediately be outed as myself. There was no fucking way I’d let that happen after getting this far.
I was surprised I hadn’t unconsciously used it on Azure Melodic River earlier. But, even though her robes were askew, she had been spotless.
Once I made it up to the front desk, I faced a stern-faced old man waiting for my request.
“I need 88 of your lowest quality recording crystals, five bars of Echoing Aluminum, a small bag of Fiery Bronze dust, and a tael of Screaming Gold.” Then I listed another ten materials.
The old man told me the contribution points for each item, then a sum for everything. It was a terribly large fucking number. Frankly, it sounded fake.
I coughed. “Are you sure that’s right?”
“Maybe look for something more local?”
After a few back-and-forths on recommendations for the various cheaper local versions, I had a headache.
Once I lowered the number as far as I could without sacrificing too much quality, the final price was still far too high. Cringing, I sold the last of my generic, high-quality healing pills and Qi Restoring Dans. My supplies were depleted so much that I purchased local ingredients to make variations of each pill that was popular in this area.
When I reached for my supplies, the old man rested a hand on the pile. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Are you an alchemist?”
“I wouldn’t purchase ingredients like this if I weren’t.”
“Well, you could always buy them and hire an alchemist.” He shrugged. “Anyway. If you’re an alchemist, you’ll want to attend the free lectures. It will help you figure out which plants are local… to this side of the continent… this way you’ll take less time when you come here.”
Fuck. I hadn’t even considered that my pill recipes would give me away since they had been popular prescriptions all over the world the last time I traveled across continents.
If this old man was sharp enough, he’d realize that these ingredients were the most common on my home continent, but I wasn’t too worried. No one from here could afford to travel that far. Still, it didn’t hurt to be more careful going forward.
“Thank you for the advice, senior.” I bowed respectfully.
He nodded and then released my materials. “Being new to the sect and the area must be hard. Be sure to learn as much as you can.”
I collected everything into my ring and grinned. “I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. Not for a genius like me.”
The man rolled his eyes.
Whatever. I turned and then walked back into the crushing crowd.
I definitely wasn’t unnerved by all the unclean people. And the increased paranoia after getting spotted as a foreigner also didn’t affect me... not at all. I was just so busy trying not to touch anyone that I ended up taking the wrong door and entering the stairwell toward the treasure pavilion’s next level. Which was fine. It wasn’t like I had to exit this building filled with dirty people for my mental well-being.
It was quiet in the stairwell. I used my disguise technique to lower my presence and sat down on a nearby bench… like a badass.
Soft voices from up the stairs traveled down to me.
“… scroll.”
After hearing that triggering word, I adjusted my hearing using the disguise technique to focus on the sound of that voice.
“Do you think we’ll really go through with it?”
A second voice was nearby. “No. Absolutely not.”
“That’s what I thought... but it is tempting.”
“Even if it’s tempting, it will be a trap. We’ve all had uncomfortable run-ins with those unscrupulous evil cultivators.”
“But we know the Scroll of 10,000 Evil Souls exists so...”
“Shhhhh!”
From there, they must have switched to a more private form of communication.
I narrowed my gaze on the door at the top… a place I couldn’t enter without a pass.
Fuck.
I traveled all around the goddamn outer sect with no hint of the scroll and after spending a single day in the inner sect I accidentally overheard a conversation about it? This had to be a setup of some kind to lure any demonic cultist, right? Then again Little Spring’s protagonist luck could have rubbed off on me.
But could I actually be that lucky?
Whatever. At least I could confirm that there were people within the sect that believed they had the scroll. That was more information than I had before.
The only shitty part was that I’d have to find a way to reach the second floor of the treasure pavilion without making anyone suspicious. I had a feeling I could get more information there.
Because of the distance, I had to send a secret sound transmission to Little Spring instead of using the telepathic technique. I quickly informed him of what I had discovered and where.
“I’m amazed you found even that much!”
“Ha! Of course, I found this much. It was bound to happen.” Since I was relying on his luck. But luck was also part of a person’s abilities in this dumbass world. “Who am I?”
“Sister Lin!”
“That’s right.” Muahahaha!
And I was someone who could walk through a sea of dirty disciples and not use my cleaning technique. I was a fucking badass!
“Little Teasing Mouse is dragging me all around the inner sect. It’s taking a lot longer than I thought it would.”
Poor kid. He left before I did, but he was still on his tour.
“Good luck. Make sure you learn whatever you can.”
“Yes, Sister Lin!”
“I’m going to attend an alchemy lecture here and finally get a grasp on these poison arts. If you’re able to escape from that girl, you should also observe it… before you try to buy a bunch of ingredients, only to get yourself outed as being a foreigner from a distant land.”
“Uh… That sounds very specific.”
“Just go to the lecture!”
Author’s Note: Thank you all for reading! You are the best readers a writer could ask for!
Yay! We’re finally getting back into the spying mission! I made this chapter a bit longer so we could get to that part. It’s also a day later than I wanted to get it to you guys but that’s mostly because of health reasons. We also got to see a bit of Lin’s mental gymnastics and affirmations. She couldn’t admit to herself that she needed a break, but she still took one. I really love writing Lin. She's a fun confident character.
On health: This week was very strange. My boy ended up having very intense ear pain this Tuesday which meant I had no time to write that day. I took him to the doctor and watched over him during my normal writing hours (he is now fine). Then the next day the mild sore throat I ignored on Tuesday worsened. I ended up sleeping for most of Wednesday (which is probably why I felt so good on Thursday). Sleep really is healing.
Anyway, it’s been a weird week. We’re all okay now (mostly, I started coughing today). I was able to write more of the story this week. And I’ll write more over the weekend (as long as I stay healthy). I am starting to get my writing stride back. I think at this pace I should have the rough draft finished in three weeks without pausing on editing chapters for you all!
Comments
Green0Photon
Man, you and your song been sick for so long with various things. A bit like my past little while -- I got COVID again last week, for example. Not even 3 months since the previous time, so I hadn't gotten the vaccine yet. 😞 I hope you and your son can finally be healthy now. And me too. All this sickness going around has been seriously annoying. As for the story, finally at the spying part, woohoo! But I'm also happy to have a keyboard player in the band.
Gregory Lamberta
Thanks for the chapter sleep is healing
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