Chapter 14: The Stranger

Bandit’s Home - Forest, Jade Empire

The man stood where he was, unresponsive. Wondering if he was unable to hear him, Kai continued to gaze at him and repeated with greater emphasis, “May I help you?”

The man flinched as if someone had punched him across the face. He profusely blinked and incredulously browsed around him. Confirming he was the only person there, he acknowledged that the boy was definitely talking to him.

“Boy you can see me?”, he hesitantly asked.

“Am I not supposed to?”, Kai returned the question with his own.

“You can hear me too…”, he muttered more to himself than to Kai.

Does this man have mental issues?

He steadily walked towards Kai, his becoming more focused along the way. It was as if he was staring at a painting before and now solely observed a single detail.

Kai’s instincts told him that the man contained no enmity nor killing intent towards him so he did not retreat and allowed him to approach.

The man donned a long robe, attached with a spacious hood. The robe was extremely, almost painfully, eye-catching. It was decorated with an array of colors that Kai found difficult to discern or stare at. Straying away, he saw that the man was barefoot with no shoes but his feet was untainted with any even the smallest speck of dirt. The man himself had grey hair and an aged stature but wore a misleading immature face.

Why does he look more confused than me?

“Is something wrong?”, Kai politely inquired.

Rather than answering, the man continued to examine Kai. He reached out, extending his hand, but hesitantly withdrew. The hesitation lasted for a mere second before he extended his hand once more, poking Kai on the cheek.

W-what??

“What are you doing?”, Kai snapped.

Kai violently slapped the man’s finger away from him and took a step back. The man grabbed his finger, clearly shocked. He stared at his finger with wide eyes as if his finger had suddenly become more interesting.

What in the world is wrong with this man.

“HEY!”

Finally losing the rest of his patience, Kai bellowed at the man. The man looked at Kai and smiled apologetically.

“Sorry boy, I am just having a difficult time processing the fact that you can see and hear me. How very intriguing, being able to converse with a mortal.”

“Mortal?”

What does that mean?

Just as Kai attempted to further follow up his question, the man interrupted him.

“Ah, please ignore that. It is too soon for you, too soon. If you reach greater heights in the future, you will naturally come to an understanding. It is best if you don’t have too many inquiries.”

Unbelievable. You arrive in this manner and you expect me to not have questions?

Witnessing Kai’s incredulous face, the man could not help but heartily laugh. His laughter was short and he spoke once finished.

“Typically I do not have permission to converse with you mortals but your being able to see me may have been an act of fate. Ah! I said mortals again. And again! My apologies, besides that word, what else would you like to know of?”

Kai felt a small tugging sensation at the back of his mind on the word ‘fate’ but before he could process it, the man continued to ramble on.

So I’m allowed to ask questions after all? Hm… this man has an odd behavior but he seems to know many things. Maybe he can inform me more on this world.

“Who are you?”, Kai started off with a simple question.

“Right! I have yet to introduce myself. How terribly rude, my name is… wait, I am not permitted to tell you my identity either. Hm… you may address me as Esquire.”

The man pronounced ‘Esquire’ with a dramatic tone as he looked, even more dramatically, into the distance. Pausing in his mysterious gaze, Kai stared in disbelief at his demeanor.

Will I ever receive a proper answer?

“Well… Esquire. Why were you shaking your head previously?”, he decided to try once more.

“Oh that’s simple”, Esquire replied with a hint of joy, glad to be able to answer a question. He diverted his gaze away from the distance and back at Kai. “You have just slain a ranked beast. Regarding the fact that this is a Novice beast and you’re a Novice, it’s core would benefit your cultivation. At crucial times, it even has the ability to recover some of the Essence you have spent.”

Kai was stunned.

No one told me about this… but then again, they wouldn’t believe I would be able to kill a ranked beast all on my own.

Having acknowledged the information he provided, Kai hastily returned to the beast and scanned it’s body for the core. Witnessing his perplexed expression as he mindlessly scoured the dead body, Esquire decided to lend a helping hand. He closed the distance between him and the wolf in a single step and hovered his hand over its head. A light flashed too quickly for Kai to catch the color and a crater was cleanly formed into the wolf's head.

What… how strong is this crazy man.

Inside the crater laid a solid orb the size of an average rock. White mist mysteriously danced inside the core.

“The core is situated inside the head of every beast. It is their version of our dantian and as you are able to see, it is physical while ours is spiritual. They absorb Essence slower than us but in return, they solidify it into a core. The result is nearly indestructible, unlike our dantian which, in a sense, is fragile and easily penetrable”, he stopped and casually retrieved the orb, tossing it to Kai.

“Although there are occasionally special species whose core are located in other parts of their body, you will generally find them in the head. Also, only beasts that cultivate may form a core. Let’s see… what else am I missing…”, he trailed off in thought.

“How do I use it to accelerate my cultivation?”, Kai quickly ascertained the missing piece of information.

“Ah, of course. Simple, you merely have to concentrate on the core with your Sixth. However, I must warn you, absorbing too many cores will damage your connection with Essence. It is best to cease using them when you feel even the smallest bit of discomfort.”

Sixth? Essence? He has been mentioning essence for a while now…

“What do you mean? What are Sixth and Essence?”

“What?”, Esquire recoiled in shock. Quickly recovering from his shock, he seemingly reached a secret understanding in his mind. He knowingly nodded and laughed.

“For a moment I forgot where I was. You would not be knowledgeable about them, would you?”, he asked more to himself than Kai.

“Well Sixth is fairly simple. It is naturally your sixth sense. Many names have been made and given in the past but the entire ordeal was terribly confusing so everyone agreed upon Sixth. Concise, straightforward, and rolls of the tongue nicely”, he nodded to himself. “Essence on the other hand, that is a more touchy subject…”

Esquire trailed off as he thought to himself. His eyes locked on Kai as if he was looking through him. Suddenly, his mouth dropped and his eyes widened in astonishment.

“W-wait a second! Boy, your body… interesting. Very interesting indeed. Activate the energy in the your body.”

What?

Kai curiously thought about the unusual request but decided there was no harm in complying. Reaching into his remaining Qi and Ki, he freely channeled them to his entire body. White light began to emerge but before it could completely encompass his body, Esquire urgently interrupted.

“No, no. Not Qi or Ki. Channel the Essence.”

Kai blankly stared at him and he slapped his head in realization.

“I have forgotten again. Okay, listen to me very carefully”, he slowly enunciated each word. “Qi and Ki are energies that separated from a single entity, Essence. You have already accomplished the strenuous part by fusing and absorbing it into your body. Now focus on your dantian… your body has acknowledged Essence… your mind and your Sixth only have to follow. Remember, there is no Qi, there is no Ki, there is only Essence.”

Esquire’s explanation resonated inside Kai’s mind and he calmly sat down, concentrating on his dantian. The word ‘Essence’ echoed in his thoughts and not a second sooner, he suddenly felt a familiar sensation. He recalled the feeling of when he first cultivated Qi and Ki and they mysteriously integrated.

He previously ignored the feeling but at this moment the feeling received his sole attention. The Qi and Ki in his dantian turned blurry and then… it disappeared! Immediately afterwards, a single speck of energy erupted, illuminating the empty space.

“Good”, Esquire approved, noticing the change in the energy around him. “Now use your Sixth.”

Nodding slowly, Kai used his Sixth. He still saw the familiar scene of Qi and Ki aimlessly floating around him. He casually absorbed the energies and the moment they entered his skin, they instantly merged and became Essence! The energy comfortably entered his dantian and gathered in the center.

“I still see Qi and Ki…”, Kai slowly uttered with his eyes still closed.

“Pfft. You mean you can sense it, silly boy. How can you possibly see when your eyes are closed”, he corrected with a laugh, slightly shaking his head. “And yes Qi and Ki still exists because it’s still developing here. Disregard them and just continue cultivating Essence in your dantian.”

Ignoring his ridicule, he followed his direction and continued to cultivate.

“Interesting… a body of essence, here. That could only mean he originated from there… but what is he doing here?”, Esquire quietly muttered to himself.

Kai was completely immersed in cultivation and was unfortunately unable to hear the intriguing piece of information. When he first formed Essence, it wiped aside Qi and Ki and he was only left with a minimal amount of the energy. Filling his dantian to the brim, he opened his eyes and saw that Esquire was waiting.

“Sorry for making you wait”, he apologized.

“It’s okay only ten minutes passed”, Esquire nonchalantly replied.

“What? Only ten minutes?”, he asked surprised.

When I absorbed Qi and Ki it took me nearly two hours.

“Of course, you are merely a lowly Novice. Ten minutes isn’t bad but the speed at which you recover in the future will truly determine your talent. Your body also provides you a large advantage with Essence.”

“My body?”

“Ah! If I told you now then I would have to explain this and then that… it is best if you learn on your own”, Esquire replied with his eyes closed, nodding to himself. Kai let out an expectant sigh. He opened his eyes and smiled, “Don’t worry boy, when you reach a certain level of strength, everything will become clear. Until that time comes, you must work hard and try your best not to die.”

Esquire smartly turned to leave.

“Wait, what level of strength are you talking about? Do you mean becoming stronger than a Lord?, Kai quickly inquired as he chased after him. He turned around with an exasperated expression.

“Listen. You shall become more knowledgeable as you grow and pass your trails in life. Knowing so much at the Novice level already places you in an superior position. Honestly, I should not be conversing with you at all. If fate has it, we will meet again in the future.”

Esquire turned to depart once more.

“Wai-”, Kai began to call out but a sudden burning sensation appeared around his chest, hindering his speech. The sensation was more painful than anything he had ever felt and continued to intensify. In his past life, he was trained to withstand a tremendous amount of pain but this pain was completely different. The pain threatened to burn more than just his body, it felt as if it would burn his entire being away.

“Gahhhhhhh!!!”