Chapter 11 - The Union of Breaths

Cheng wondered why Mei was in such a hurry, but made no objections. Informing his friends wouldn’t take long and other preparations were unnecessary if Mei was coming along.

Mei left the bed, picking up her tunic and skirt. “Meet me at the north docks at the hour of the rat (11pm-01pm),” said Mei. Cheng noticed that she moved in a way that didn’t allow him to look at her back. He wanted to ask her about the bruises he had seen, but he held his tongue. She clearly wasn’t willing to talk about the matter.

Once the maiden was fully clothed, Cheng slipped into his cheap but clean pants. He opened the door for her. When she moved past him, she stopped. She rose onto her toes, kissing his lips, feeling the tenderness of his lips against her own. “Thanks.”

“What are you thanking me for?” asked Cheng, a slightly smug look adorning his face.

“Yes. I would like to know that as well,” interjected Dong Wen. The old man had clearly been waiting for Qiang Mei outside Cheng’s house.

Dong Wen came closer towards them, his squinty eyes inspecting both of them. Cheng’s could feel the man’s ire as his eyes ran over Cheng’s half naked body. Mei’s disheveled hair and flushed cheeks didn’t go unnoticed either.

“Your father is waiting for you in his chambers,” said Dong Wen to Qiang Mei, complying with the order the Mountain Master had given him earlier today. He directed his gaze at Cheng, an ill-natured grin appearing on his lips, “The Mountain Master will hear of this.”

Mei left abruptly. Dong Wen wanted to harass the beautiful young man further, but his urge to tell the gang leader what had transpired at Cheng’s house was even stronger. Dong Wen left, leaving behind a worried youth.

Cheng cursed himself for thinking with his dick yet again.

There was still a few hours remaining before his appointment at the north docks. Cheng headed over to Jia-long, but he failed to find his friend. Since time was a luxury he didn’t have, a note would have to suffice. He left a message with Jia-long’s housemaid before returning home.

Cheng considered playing his bamboo flute, but quickly came to the conclusion that he currently lacked the concentration required. He remembered from Izel’s information transfer that most meditation techniques would help him focus and quiet his mind. Meditation had been an unfamiliar concept for the restless young actor until now. He sat down in the Lotus Position on top of his bed, his hands forming the Gesture of Wisdom.

Meditation quickly calmed his troubled mind, directing his awareness inward. He was awake, but was aware of nothing except awareness itself. In this meditative state clear images of techniques appeared in Cheng’s consciousness. These techniques were not his own, but they belonged to the Martial Adept, Qiang Mei.

All of these techniques were on a level of comprehension that Cheng should not have been able to understand. Mei was a martial genius, she had worked on her martial arts since birth. How could an actor, who spend his life in comfort, ever compare?

Yet all her techniques were effortlessly absorbed into Cheng’s very being. As long as he possessed the physical capability to perform a technique, he would be able to perform it perfectly, without any further practice.

Once he snapped out of trance, Cheng looked at his own hands in disbelief. He felt something he had never felt before, something he had desired for years, something that had always been out of reach, he felt power, real power.

He deeply desired to put his strength to the test, but when he realized that his room was already shrouded in darkness, he panicked. Mei told him to meet her at the hour of the rat. Was he already running late?

Cheng grabbed the Quintessential Spear Arts, wrapping it in a piece of cloth. He headed straight for the designated meeting spot. Once he arrived at the north docks, he didn’t see Mei.

He did see a ship, practically ready to leave. Cheng asked a member of the crew for the time. He had run late, but none of them had seen a girl matching Mei’s description. The actor was somewhat surprised that they didn’t know who Qiang Mei was, but he guessed that these men possibly belonged to a different branch of the Five Rivers Gang.

A few moments after midnight Mei showed up, carrying two sizeable ditty bags and a spear on her back. She ignored Cheng’s presence entirely and hurried onto the ship. After she briefly flashed an item to the captain, she motioned for the young man to come onboard.

It seemed that Cheng’s departure from Dragon Spit would be just as sudden as his departure from Green Tree City. When Mei demanded that he joined her below deck, he experienced a déjà vu.

Unlike the junk, this ship had several huts for personal use. Mei quickly claimed the captain’s hut, by far the largest, as her own. After dropping her luggage on the wooden floor, she pulled Cheng inside, closing the door with a kick. Behind closed doors she wrapped her arms around him tightly, leaning her head against his chest, “Thank you.”

Cheng was utterly confused, she had thanked him twice today, but for what? This was business, right?

After breaking the hug, Mei looked at Cheng, extended her arm, one open hand waiting. Cheng understood what she wanted, he handed her the piece of cloth holding the training manual.

Mei lit a few more candles, draped herself on the bed and started reading immediately. There was plenty of time for her to finish the book several times during the journey, since the time needed to travel between large cities were counted not in days, but weeks, maybe even months. Yet Cheng understood her desire for powerful techniques now that he had a small taste of power himself.

He left the cabin, searching the ship for a secluded spot. Once he found a suitable location in the cargo hold, he quietly called for Izel. Before he could call her name a third time, the fairy appeared before Cheng.

“What is it?” said Izel coolly, regretting her words as soon as they left her mouth. The fairy still detested Cheng’s loose morals, but had been hoping to thaw the relationship between them nevertheless.

“I can’t explain it,” Cheng said cheerfully. His delight so tangible that it could be tasted.

“Explain what?” asked Izel, wondering why her master was so pleased.

Cheng told her what had happened. Izel listened to the entire tale with ever increasing disbelief. Once the story was finished, she remained silent, thinking deeply.

“Does she know?” was the first thing Izel asked.

“No, I only—“

“Never, never speak of this again,” interrupted Izel, her face contorted with fear and dismay. Cheng didn’t understand her worries and concerns, he wanted to know why this was such a grave matter. Before he could voice his opinion, Izel pushed her finger against his forehead.

“No. Not that again!” said Cheng, vividly remembering the throbbing headache.

Compared to the huge amount of knowledge that was transferred previously, the tidbit of information this time was hardly worth mentioning.

The White Peony Constitution refers to a body that cannot accumulate Qi through combat, meditation, enlightenment or immersion in arts. It can only be obtained through The Union of Breaths. An act that allows the harmonization of yin and yang between two people through sex. During mutual orgasm the owner of this constitution will merge their partner’s techniques, mantras and bloodline into their own being. The amount of Qi obtained through the Union of Breaths will depend on the qualitative level of their partner’s Qi. For a period of time after The Union of Breaths has taken place the partner will experience increased Qi accumulation.

Izel only needed the time of a single breath to transfer this information into Cheng’s brain. Cheng was happy to discover that he had escaped the ordeal with only a slight notion of discomfort between his temples.

Once the actor’s grey matter processed this information he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was this a blessing or a curse? Could he achieve his dreams of greatness or would he be doomed to mediocrity?

“Izel, is this good or bad?” asked Cheng, needing an answer to his doubts.

“That depends.”

“Depends?” said Cheng, “On what?”

“Fooling everyone,” said Izel solemnly.

Cheng still had questions that needed answers, but those would have to wait. Izel’s intuition had told her that someone was coming, she immediately hid herself.

When a crewmember entered the hold, the man was somewhat surprised to see Cheng standing in a corner. The man didn’t ask any questions, quickly searching for the item that his superior had send him for. Once he had found it, he left as quickly as he appeared.

Cheng believed that Izel would return, but she didn’t. Eventually he returned to the captain’s cabin. Cheng hoped that he could at least convince Mei to put the Quintessential Spear Arts to the side for a short while. His hopes disintegrated when he saw how enraptured Mei was in the tome. Accumulating Qi would have to wait a bit longer.