Ruidie picked up Memory Palace. Before, she wasn’t going to take the book with her, but now, she felt that it was important. She had to make a copy and knew who to look for.

The southern building was nearby, so it was quick to get to. From the hallway, she stepped into the largest entrance and found herself in a long room of tables and wooden contraptions.

There were several Thousand Thought students sitting at tables and moving around. One held up a flat piece of wood the size of a book filled with a wall of text and was in the midst of carving out everywhere except the words.

At this point, Ruidie understood that ink would eventually be brushed over the wood and paper pressed over that. The concept was essentially the same as a stamp or seal.

She spotted the person she was looking for. They sat in front of a table where a shelf held layered trays of small carved wooden cubes that extended with the pull of a lever. The hundreds of New Script characters on the trays were all ordered phonetically and ready to be arranged. The corner of their lips was pulled down and they were deep in thought.

“Hello, Senior Ran.”

The young woman glanced back from her table and immediately turned back around.

Ruidie smiled and waited.

Ran Qiang sighed. “What do you need, Junior Hei?”

“Printing a book.” She handed Memory Palace over.

“To borrow? Is there only this? Not even one extra stored in the basement archives?”

“The front desk said so.”

She flipped some pages. “No wonder, it’s an intent-based technique. Too difficult for almost anyone to master except perhaps the Buddhist monks. The Spring and Autumn Archives must have at least wanted to keep a spare copy here. You only need one, correct?”

Ruidie nodded.

Ran Qiang opened a drawer underneath the table and took out a small stack of paper which she placed next to a writing space.

“What are you doing?”

“Preparing to write, obviously.”

She pointed to the nearby contraption. “Don’t you use that?”

“It’s not worth it. The fact is that we only need one copy. If we need more than a dozen, arranging all the character blocks would be worth it. If we need more than a hundred, carving page blocks would be worth it. Right now, copying by hand is simply the most efficient.”

Ruidie shot her hand out, but Ran Qiang moved the book away. “You don’t need to. I’ll copy it myself.” She reached again but failed.

“I’m doing my job here.”

“You don’t need to waste your time when I can do it myself.”

“This isn’t just for you. This copy will be used by the library in the future. My handwriting is better.”

“Then, what if I never return it.”

Ran Qiang raised an eyebrow.

The girl coughed. “You don’t know how my handwriting is.”

The young woman dragged an extra stool next to the table. “Just sit down and wait.”

She eventually creased her lips and sat down. Watching the young woman do work that she could have done, her foot continuously tapped the floor.

Ran Qiang began copying the book in a smooth manner that Ruidie had to admit was at least two times faster than she could do even considering she already knew the words. “Are you still attempting to begin cultivating?”

“Do you know?”

“There are still quite a few first-years who haven’t entered cultivation yet, but you’re the only one people could recall the name of.” She glanced over. “I wonder why?”

“What do you want to say?”

“You can try joining a society.”

“A society?”

“Thousand Thought has many philosophy groups known as societies that study one of the Hundred Schools of Thought. They usually gather over in the northern building of the library, and even the students of the other two institutes can participate.”

“Like what?”

“I am a part of the Minor-Talks Society, though you might also suit the Names Society more. That book next to you is something the Mo Society is trying to print.”

Ruidie picked up the untitled book in boredom. “What were the Mohists about again?”

“Do you really think I can unpack everything? Just think of regarding others with equal consideration. You shouldn’t act favorably to someone because they’re your friend any more than a stranger.”

“So it opposes the Confucians, but still I can’t agree. It seems natural to value people close to me more than everyone else, and value myself more than anyone else.”

“Give it read, it might change your mind.”

Ruidie raised an eyebrow. She carefully opened the book. “These are designs of siege machines! There’s no philosophy at all!”

Ran Qiang did a rare snicker. “What was it that you said before? ‘I didn’t lie. You just made the wrong assumption.’ The Mohists were great siege builders.”

“It’s useful to know they exist, but I won’t join a society. I don't think this is the correct path forward. I’ll continue looking for another way.”

Eventually, the words dried and the paper was threaded together. The copy was finished and she took it.

On the way to place the original copy of Memory Palace she picked up a book from the School of Names out of curiosity. It was called Compilation of Paradoxes.

She read the preface and hummed. So the School of Names is centered around logic and meaning.

“White horses are not horses,” she recited.

Of course they’re different.

“The southern region has no limit and yet has a limit."

There are multiple definitions of limit.

"Linked rings can be separated."

If at least one case is true, the statement is true.

To her, the book was just stating facts in a nonsensical manner. As she was about to place it back, she stopped to shake her head. After flipping the pages to memorize their contents, she made her way towards the dorm for a meal.

...

On the morning of the next rest day, Ruidie reluctantly dragged herself out of bed. She held a piece of paper and was searching for a conference room on the first floor of the administrative building of the school.

Yesterday, the dorm manager gave her a letter that the school had sent over, wanting her to meet in some room without telling her why.

During the night, instead of trying the stone pillow again, she focused on experimenting with the Memory Palace Technique.

Her experience inside the pillow was detailed. She could taste, hear, and touch. Even physical interactions occurred naturally. She wanted to know if such things were possible inside her memory palace.

Things like shattering the porcelain bowl in her memory palace relied on her, possibly flawed, understanding of how porcelain breaks and how broken pieces bounce. She both consciously and unconsciously made predictions before realizing them. Inside the pillow, however, everything accurately reflected reality without needing her to think about it.

It was both a disadvantage yet an advantage at the same time. Perhaps by making herself believe her own rules, these rules could be reflected inside her memory palace.

Ruidie took another step forward In the open hallway, where one side was a terrace for the garden, and found the room.

Two youths already sitting inside met her eyes. Ashina Israk and Chen Xiaosi, an unlikely pair. They sat on opposite sides of the one table, so she took the centermost seat.

Israk’s eyes were closed and seemed dissatisfied, however, what surprised her the most was what was on Xiaosi’s head.

“Why is there a cat laying on your head?”

Xiaosi’s expression was neutral. “It just appeared today and won’t get off.”

Ruidie reached her hand in an attempt to pet it when the black cat swatted her arm away.

The girl frowned. “I’ll pet you eventually.”

Israk grunted from the side. “Ruidie, stop playing around, and tell me why we’re here.”

“Why would I know?”

“Either you or Sister always know, and I already asked Shibara.

Ruidie shook her head and glanced towards Xiaosi who was still passively waiting. “Xiaosi, do you know?”

He blinked. “I might know why I’m here, but not you two.”

“Then, why are you here?” Israk said when someone stepped inside. He scrambled into a bow. “Instructor Fang!”

A woman in pale-green stood in front of Israk with her hand outstretched, a moment away from flicking his forehead. “Good. Any slower would have meant staying in a horse stance for until the entire meeting.”

Ruidie didn’t understand how the woman had crossed the room so quickly. but remembered her as Senior Instructor Fang of Grand Heart from the entrance exam. Her eyes were both sharp and lazy, while her hair, though long, was left untied.

“Call me Instructor Fang. I am one of Grand Heart’s martial arts teachers, specifically barehanded and blades.”

“Hei Ruidie from Thousand Thought,” she answered.

“Chen Xiaosi... from Stargazing?”

Instructor Fang’s eyes glanced over the black cat. “Well, it seems like we’re just waiting for one more.”

A man stepped into the room.

“Instructor Lei,” Ruidie said.

Lei Shiwen’s lips were twisted into a frown. “I am an Instructor Lei. Ashina Israk, Chen Xiaosi… and Hei Ruidie.”

“What is it?” she said.

“What happened to classes ‘going quite well’?”

Ah… so that’s what this meeting is about. “Hey Israk, which class are you failing?”

Israk waved his hand casually. “Got to remember… I think it’s The Way.”

Ruidie nodded.

“You’re failing Natural Sciences, Hei Ruidie,” Shiwen said.

“I’m not taking back what I said about Natural Sciences. If I wanted to pass, I could.”

He crossed his arms. “Then why don’t you?”

“Instructor Mishra is a very nice person, but I refuse to acknowledge that book she’s always holding. My expectations have been completely turned over. The class on The Way has become the objective analysis of texts, whereas the class on Natural Sciences has become the regurgitation of words. An entire generation is being poisoned. Rational thought is being thrown out the window.”

Shiwen’s tired eyes went to Instructor Fang who found her words first.

“We’re here to listen to your plan of action to improve. The schools would prefer that we don’t need to expel promising youths,” she said.

“I have a plan of action,” Ruidie said.

“What is it?”

“Wait for the original instructor to finish doing whatever she’s doing.”

Shiwen sighed. “I can’t believe you're right, but Instructor Cui will begin reteaching soon.”

“I look forward to it,” Ruidie said.

Instructor Fang spoke. “Ashina Israk, what about you? I hear your sister is doing pretty well. Why not just have her help you study.”

“No!” he said, momentarily stunning Instructor Fang. “Ahem- I can’t waste her time. I’ll put in more effort to study by myself. If I fail and get expelled, I’m completely fine with it.” He never expected to attend the full six years anyway.

Shiwen turned to Xiaosi and the cat which sat on his head. “Chen Xiaosi, which class are you failing?”

The boy blinked. “All of them.”

Whereas everyone was stumped into silence, only Ruidie closed her eyes. She already expected something like this.

“I’m still learning to read. I’ll need a bit more time,” Xiaosi said quietly. His eyes went to the floor.

Shiwen gazed at the cat, questioning it. The cat simply meowed, causing the man to frown. He didn’t have a solution either.

Ruidie suddenly faced Xiaosi. She carefully gestured both hands in front of her. “I am currently holding the four sides of an invisible box, understand?”

Xiaosi tilted his head but nodded.

“The lid is the top surface. Inside, there is an egg.” Her hands began moving in all sorts of ways. Ruidie could easily imagine the weight of the box and how it would interact with her tosses and twists.

Xiaosi’s eyes followed along, as did everyone else, wanting to know what she was doing.

“Now what happened to the egg inside?” Ruidie asked.

Israk took a guess. “Did it break?”

Xiaosi shook his head. “Nothing. The size of the invisible box is the same as an egg.”

“What would you see if I opened the lid?” Ruidie said.

“Then the egg would break,” Xiaosi said.

She smiled. “Why?”

“Because the lid is facing the bottom right now,” Xiaosi said. “It’ll fall.”

Israk retracted back. How could someone keep track of the box’s orientation after all that?

“What was this all for?” Shiwen said.

Just as Ruidie was about to reply, she closed her lips. After her conversations with Ran Qiang, and hearing her thoughts about both the Art of Insect Collecting and the Memory Palace Technique, she realized that she should be keeping more things about herself a secret.

Including the stone pillow, she only had three things unique to her that she could rely on. Although she was confident that she knew a solution to help the boy named Xiaosi, actively revealing even the slightest of hints of her capability was a disadvantage to her future self.

Her lips remained closed. I no longer have nothing to lose.

Meow!

Shiwen’s eyes slowly widened. “Ruidie, Principal Yao says they will do you a favor if you help the boy.”

Principal Yao? The three students all looked up at the cat, with Xiaosi only tilting his head back in his attempt.

Ruidie saw Xiaosi’s expression when he caught on that she could help him. Their gazes momentarily crossed. There were no puppy dog eyes. Xiaosi was frowning. He didn’t want to receive help again. He wanted to succeed by himself. This single fact caused Ruidie to sigh.

“Fine. I know of a way.” She took out Memory Palace from her uniform. “This is a memorization technique.”

“A purely intent-based technique,” Shiwen muttered. “How do you know he even has the potential to practice it?”

“I think he can. I already practice it,” Ruidie said.

Xiaosi smiled wryly. “I still can’t read.”

Ruidie took it back. “I can teach you. This technique alone won’t be enough because it only records imagination, not help recall information. However, I have been making some tricks that you can use. Some such as how to create a system within your mind to direct you towards the characters of words as fast as possible.”

The cat did a light squeal.

“The principal said that everyone should keep this to themselves, and asked you what you want,” Shiwen said.

The girl gave a small smile. “I want to pet you.”

The cat jumped off Xiaosi’s and onto the table. A young woman’s voice spoke. “Little One, do you understand? I am Yao Mao, Principal of the Stargazing Institute. I can grant you anything within my capabilities, and you just want to pet me?”

Both Israk and Xiaosi stood up.

Ruidie’s expression showed no surprise. “I don’t need your help. Anything that I want, I can achieve by myself. Achieving something by myself is part of what I want.”

Principal Yao growled and leapt out the window. Just as both instructors began to worry, it returned with a round white bell held by its mouth. “Then here is a consolation. If your life is ever threatened within Taiping, someone should still save you.”

She picked up the bell.

“You can only use this once, but a promise lasts forever. I would recommend keeping this until you graduate and after.” Principal Yao walked out of the room.

A moment passed before anyone spoke.

“She didn’t let me pet her! She ran away!” When she looked around, they were staring at her with odd expressions. “Thousand Thought has the monkey doesn't it?”

“It could be Principal Dog,” Instructor Fang replied.

“Dogs can’t throw walnuts, can they?”

Shiwen creased his lips. “Our Principal is Mei Hou, you students should treat him and all the principals with the utmost respect.”

“Grand Heart’s Principal is Xiaotian Quan,” Instructor Fang added.

Yao Mao the ‘Demon Cat’. Mei Hou the ‘Handsome Monkey’. Xiaotian Quan the ’Howling Sky Dog’.

“Are we done today?” Israk said. “I have a fight scheduled at the Vermillion Pavilion.”

“A rematch with Pan Lijuan?” Instructor Fang said.

Israk nodded and cupped his hands before leaving.

Just as the Azure Pavilion was north of the plaza yard between Stargazing and Thousand Thought, the Vermillion Pavilion was north of the plaza yard between Thousand Thought and Grand Heart. It was the first time Ruidie heard that fights went on there.

She got up as well. “I need to get breakfast. Find me later in the library, Xiaosi.”

“I understand.”

“See you tomorrow, Instructor Lei. Regards, Instructor Fang.”

“You don’t call him Teacher?” Instructor Fang said.

Shiwen froze.

Ruidie turned around from the entrance. “Why do you say that?” She had no expression on.

Instructor Fang gave a glance at Shiwen, but he remained silent. “They never did consider Ashina Israk as being invited by me, but it is clear on paper that Instructor Shiwen invited you.”

“So?”

“So you’re regarded as his student. Your performance reflects him. In the future, you’ll also have an easier time joining the Spring and Autumn Archives.”

Many thoughts drowned out Ruidie’s vision as she considered everything she just heard. Her eyes stilled. The girl faced Shiwen with a thin and shallow smile. “So you’re not so impartial after all, Teacher Lei.” She left the room before a reply was even possible.

Shiwen closed his eyes. A sigh escaped his lips.

Both Instructor Fang and Xiaosi both didn’t know what to say, but they thought they had just witnessed something frightening.

…

As Ruidie walked towards her room in the dorm hallway, stretching her arms up towards the ceiling, she shook her head. Her expression was carefree. “Instructor Lei, such a liar. ‘Should I let him off or not?’ is the question.”

“Who is Instructor Lei?” A dry voice said.

The girl stopped and lost her expressiveness. “Why are you here?”

The door to her room opened. “I have been waiting for you.” Luo Yizuan stood.

“Since morning?”

“Since… the Lantern Festival.”

She rarely did use her room... “How many times?”

“A lot.”

A period of time passed where neither of them moved.

She almost felt bad. Almost. After stepping past him to enter, she turned the chair of her desk around before sitting on the bed. “Sit.”

Yizuan slowly did so. He inclined his head. “Hei Ruidie.”

Though small, she replied with a smile. “Father.”

“There are very few things I know how to do well. One of them is teaching.”

Ruidi raised her eyebrow.

“Do you know that everything in this world is created from three aspects? Man, Earth, and Heaven.” Despite asking a question, his listless voice naturally sounded like he was talking to the air.

“We covered this in the class on The Way.”

Yizhuan shook his head. “I am not speaking about The Way. I am talking about all cultivation and existence in general. ‘Man’ is thoughts and intent. ‘Earth’ is energy and laws. ‘Heaven’ is everything neither ‘man’ or ‘earth’. Any notion you can think of is one of these three.”

A mind is ‘man’. A body is ‘earth’. Text is ‘man’. A book is ‘earth’. “Heaven still isn’t explained.”

“If heaven could be easily explained, it would be considered either ‘man’ or ‘earth’. ”

The girl frowned. Thought and intent made up all ideas and concepts. Everything nonphysical is ‘man’. The world is all energy. The stone and water. How energy interacted are laws. Why a stone dropped in water ripples. Human senses such as touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing, are simply perceiving energy in different ways. Everything physical is ‘earth’. “If ‘heaven’ is neither ‘man’ or ‘earth’, what possibly is left?”

“What is left is exactly what ‘heaven’ is. It can be the gap between ideas, or the gap between objects. It can be the gap between an idea and an object. But it can also be all except the gap between an idea and an object.”

“If you just tell me ‘heaven’ is what does not exist. I’ll just think it doesn’t exist.”

Yizuan did not sigh but inclined his head forward. “All cultivation requires different portions of these three aspects. All methods take advantage of these three aspects.” He took an object out from inside his robe. A broken sword hilt without a blade. Freeing his hand, the hilt suspended in place. “This is the most simple control method on the Union Path. Can you explain how it is possible?”

“The sword is considered a part of your body.”

“However they are separate. According to the world’s laws, my movement shouldn’t affect the sword. How am I able to direct it?” The hilt rotated in place.

“Through your intent.”

“My thoughts are contained in my head. They are also separate. There is only air between my sword and head, and I can tell you now that the air is not passing along my intent like it does sound.”

“So ‘heaven’ is the connection that makes this control method possible. The reason ‘heaven’ cannot be defined as a concept or form is that it is the relation between concepts and forms.” She felt like she found the door.

Yizuan nodded. “Cultivation is the conversion of one aspect to another. It is impossible for ‘man’ to interact with ‘earth’, so a cultivator converts ‘man’ to ‘heaven’ to interact with ‘earth’. Similarly, ‘heaven’ must convert to ‘earth’ to interact with ‘man’, while ‘earth’ must convert to ‘man’ to interact with ‘heaven’.”

“Can all phenomenons I encounter from now on be viewed through this lens?”

“The path of cultivation is fantastical, yet you can still question it.”

Ruidie closed her eyes and engaged in what Instructor Sang considered introspection. Why does the Art of Insect Collecting work? I never questioned it because it was the gift Mother left behind. Why does the Memory Palace Technique work? I never questioned it because I was confident in my own mind. Why does a dream pillow work? Did I still believe in fairy tales? Could I open the door if I consider ‘heaven’ in all of this? She reached an answer. It was not the correct conclusion, but the one in her heart.

She opened her eyes.“I believe a control method is still possible even without ‘heaven’,” Ruidie said resolutely. “It can’t be done in a single lifetime, but even without placing my trust in something so vague, it is possible to suspend a sword in the air. ‘Man’ and ‘earth’ alone can achieve anything done with 'heaven'. Anything in this world is possible, I simply don’t know the path to reach it.”

The door remained firmly shut.

Yizuan eyes shook for the first time. “So this is why you can’t enter cultivation.”

The girl disregarded ‘heaven’ altogether. It wasn’t even fighting against heaven, heaven was beneath her eyes.

“They say this a lot, but cultivating is truly about experiencing heaven and earth. You know earth but have yet to know heaven. Once you do, you will be able to enter.” Yizuan stood up. He had brought his daughter in front of the door, it was up to her to open it.

“By the way, how are Sun Ming and Big Sister Bi Tong?”

Yizuan's stoic face shifted but did not respond. He opened his mouth just to close it.

So any kind of small talk fails completely. Ruidie shook her head. “Can I have a concise report on Sun Ming and Bi Tong?”

“Sun Ming recently returned to the city after being reassigned from the Ministry of Works to the Taiping Mayor’s Office. Although on the surface, one of the Six Ministries is more reputable, being assigned to the capital is a promotion. Bi Tong is a disciple of the True Heart Sect, the foundation of the Grand Heart Institute where she is an alumna.”

“You don’t have to recite it like a lecture,” she muttered.

“Being a teacher is one of the few things I know,” he repeated as he walked past the entrance.

“Apparently, I have a teacher now.”

“What?”

“Their name is Lei Shiwen.” She closed the door immediately.