Cultivating Chaos Read online

  And there was only so much of that he was willing to do. It was incredibly boring after a while. Lately, he’d been cultivating whenever he was sitting still, as there was no reason not to other than some people considered it rude.

  “Alright,” Ash said.

  “Ah… what color token did you receive, if I may ask? It will help me find you an appropriate seat and placard.

  “You can of course decline if you wish to remain truly anonymous, and I’ll simply seat you in the general seats,” the woman said.

  “Oh, green,” Ash said with a small smile.

  The woman’s smile locked into place and she blinked before continuing.

  Must be the cheap seats and she’s being kind.

  “Ah, I see. And did it have a particular shape? This should help me identify which placard to assign you.

  “And was it a single digit number or two digits?”

  “It was round, and a single digit.”

  The woman nodded once, her face turning several shades paler. The hand she had held close to her stomach clenched into itself as well.

  Other than that, she made no outward change.

  “I see. Yes. Ok. Yes. If you’ll follow me, sir?” she said, turning down a different hall than the one he’d come from.

  Ash paused, not quite sure he wanted to follow her.

  At first, he’d been assuming her actions were polite, practiced. Now it seemed more the opposite. Like she was afraid of him.

  Suddenly he wished he’d asked more questions about the auction in general. He’d never had a reason to ask before this, though, and the only people who would have known anything were all at the sect.

  His parents wouldn’t have known anything. They’d never had a reason to be here.

  Shaking his head, Ash followed the young woman wordlessly.

  She glanced over her shoulder once to make sure he was following.

  “In the future, please feel free to use the guest entrance. There’s no reason for you to come in the normal entry, sir.

  “Do you need refreshment or company? I’m sure I could arrange either for you,” offered the woman.

  “Oh, no. You’re doing quite well. I don’t think I need anyone or anything else,” Ash said immediately.

  “Ah… I’m… sure I could entertain you if that’s what you’d like, sir. Though I would humbly ask that you do not insist. It isn’t part of my duties,” said the woman in a strange tone. “But if I am who you have chosen, I would do so.”

  Eh? Oh. Oh!

  Shit.

  “My apologies, I misunderstood. I have no need of company or… or anything. In fact, maybe I shouldn’t be here.” Ash said the last part almost to himself.

  “Please, I don’t mean to embarrass, sir. It’s just that… it isn’t something I’ve ever done for a customer,” continued the woman.

  “Ok, uhm, let’s just… stop. I think I should leave,” Ash said, wondering if he could find his way back out.

  “Of course not, and we’re here, sir. Please. Enter, and be comfortable. I’ll be sure to notify the mistress that you’ve taken a booth,” said the woman, opening the door for him. “Please.”

  Ok, I think I seriously underestimated the work I did. This is going entirely in the wrong direction.

  “Please, sir, enter. I truly did not wish to embarrass. If it truly is sir’s wish, I’ll entertain him, energetically so,” said the woman, her hands pressed to her stomach. “As the hostess of the rooms, I guarantee no one shall hear of anything we discussed or your presence while I take care of you. Please? Enter? I’ll follow immediately and service you.”

  She clearly hadn’t believed him earlier.

  “No, there is no need to… to service me. I’m fine, I promise. Go about your normal duties,” Ash said with a sigh.

  Not letting the woman speak further, Ash entered the room and shut the door behind him.

  It was a balcony seat to himself, overlooking the auctioning stage.

  “This was a mistake. Wasn’t it?”

  “I don’t think so,” Locke said. “Though I think not letting her entertain us was a mistake. She was pretty. And well put together.

  “She seemed nervous, but I think she was willing, to be honest. Her heart rate was elevated, and I detected a distinct response in her reproductive systems.

  “She might have wanted to make sure you wanted her.”

  Ash sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

  “And when did you get so damn talkative?”

  “The Essence in that valley was rather exceptional. I’m feeling far more normal now.”

  “Great. Any chance I can turn you off? Or you can be quiet?”

  “Of course. I’ll be watching,” Locke said.

  Flopping down into a chair, Ash sat there and cultivated quietly. There wasn’t much else to do.

  The woman had said it would be thirty minutes, but it ended up feeling far closer to an hour.

  A hostess had popped her head in twice, offering him much the same as the previous woman.

  Though she offered herself bluntly, and the previous woman as well, and asked if he’d prefer a selection of women to choose from.

  Ash declined everything and asked when the auction would begin each time.

  He had no money to spend, and this entire thing was rather pointless for him to be here.

  The door opened behind him.

  “Sir, the auction will begin shortly. As with all our booth occupants, we’ve set aside an amount of ten-thousand spirit stones for you as a credit without need for a deposit.

  “I hope you enjoy the auction,” said the hostess. The sound of the door closing left him alone with his thoughts.

  That’s a lot of spirit stones.

  Except I have no way of knowing if I’ll actually make that much.

  A bit of a gamble to bid on anything, isn’t it?

  A chime sounded throughout the room, immediately followed by a woman walking out on the stage in front of everyone.

  “Good afternoon everyone. I desperately apologize for the delay. We received some last-minute items that we needed to authenticate and certify.

  “That’s all taken care of now, and we’re excited to put the items up for sale,” said the woman in a loud voice. It carried easily, the building interior clearly having been built just for this purpose.

  “As this has elicited such a change in our offering today, we’ll be moving quickly through a number of auctions to move on to the larger items.

  “I mention this so as not to surprise anyone with how quickly items will be sold.

  “Now, let’s begin,” she said, pointing off stage.

  Ash only partially watched as numerous items came and went.

  They were all things he’d love to own.

  Weapons, armor, elixirs, alchemist recipes, and even just simple things like a hoard of beast cores.

  Ash watched with dulled eyes, unwilling to do anything. He wasn’t a gambler, and he never would be.

  Though this was definitely a good learning experience. All manner of things could be bought here, he realized.

  And if he had money to burn, he was sure there’d always be something here worth taking a look at.

  “Ah, please forgive me for this next item,” said the woman on the stage. The sudden change caught Ash’s attention. “We’re contracted to sell anything this particular person brings us to sell. This was brought in just before we started the auction today. This’ll be our last item before we move to the main attraction tonight.”

  Wait, what about my items? Are they talking about being forced to sell my items?

  But I don’t have a previous agreement with them.

  Wouldn’t that suggest my items are the main attraction, then?

  What was brought out on stage next was surprising.

  Very surprising. Since it was a winged woman, escorted out on a chain linked to a solid-black iron collar.

  Her hair was both white and black, the colors alternating
in a strange pattern. When her large wings lifted off her back and fluttered for a second, he realized they had the same coloring as her hair.

  Then she lifted her chin and faced the audience

  Her eyes were giant. Giant and yellow. Wide open, they seemed to dominate her head.

  “This is an outlander from the far north. She was a mage of some power, but was captured in a large group battle.

  “Her… her coloring is as you see it. And she—”

  “She’s an owl!” someone called from the audience. The catcall was immediately followed by hissing from the people in the crowd below Ash.

  Does… does that matter? I mean, I know they’re a superstitious lot, and black and white aren’t typically favored colorings, but this is just… silly.

  “Yes,” interrupted the auctioneer. “She’s an owl. But she’s very intelligent and quick to learn.”

  “I’ll pay one hundred spirit stones for you to keep her yourself!” someone shouted from the audience, which set everyone to laughter.

  The woman running the auction gave everyone a strange smile and pointed at the man who’d called out.

  “I have one hundred from this gentleman,” she said, pointing at the man who’d spoken. It was clear she was moving on and wanted to end this part of the auction.

  The man who had made the joke shook his hand at the auctioneer with a groan.

  “Whatever. I’ll find a use for her. Maybe she can carry messages back and forth,” he said.

  The owl woman’s eyes flicked to the man who had spoken and her pupils tightened up, her entire presence giving off a predatory feel.

  “One hundred going once, twice—”

  “A thousand. I could use another bait animal in the gladiator fights. She’ll have a chance just like the rest.”

  Ash wasn’t sure why the man felt like he needed to add that in, but it soothed the crowd, and no one seemed inclined to bid further.

  “One thousand spirit stones. Will someone give me one-one? No? Going once,” said the auctioneer.

  Ash held his placard up high above his head. He couldn’t explain why he’d suddenly done it—he only knew he wanted to.

  It felt like he was doing the correct thing, if not the right thing.

  Here’s hoping I actually get at least thousand and some odd spirit stones.

  “I… I have one-one from… from booth three,” said the woman on the stage, staring up at Ash’s raised placard.

  Everyone turned and looked up at the booth. With the way the lighting was, and through deliberate construction, Ash knew no one could actually see his features.

  “Going once… twice… sold,” said the auctioneer. “Booth number three is the winner.

  “Moving on to our last items, and something we’re surprised to have. Eager to have. We’ve confirmed that none have seen the like of these in the entire kingdom in many years,” said the woman on stage, walking down one side of the platform and then back the other way.

  She was clearly setting the hook for something monumental.

  Two men wheeled something out under an expensive-looking red cloth.

  “We have…” The woman paused as the two men stopped and then yanked back the cloth. “Five Transferred Elemental Enchantments—”

  The woman couldn’t continue, as the crowd suddenly got loud. Questions were being shouted up to the auctioneer.

  All around the theater, guards were obviously ill at ease. Their hands were tightening on their weapons.

  Ah… did I fuck up?

  “Locke, you said those were the lowest level Enchantments?”

  “Yes.”

  “Any… any thoughts about how they’re acting?”

  “No, but my assumption from available information is that the ring you found was in that wall a very long time.”

  After some time passed, everyone settled down.

  The auctioneer did nothing to stop the frenzy. If anything, it only helped to hype the entire thing up.

  “We’ll be selling them one at a time, of course. We’ll start with Wood and go from there.

  “What’s the opening bid?” she asked, looking to the crowd.

  A chorus of shouts was the response.

  “Twelve-thousand spirit stones,” said an older gentleman, standing straight up in his seat.

  “Twenty!” said another at the top of his lungs.

  Holy shit.

  Ash leaned back in his seat and shook his head. He’d actually included a Water Enchantment in the stack of papers he’d given Jia.

  He hadn’t even really been concerned about it. If she’d questioned him about it, he’d planned on just ignoring her. He’d done it before in other situations, so it seemed plausible.

  “Eighty thousand!” shouted a woman.

  That’s just insane.

  Ash sighed and pressed his hands to his eyes.

  He didn’t want to think about the fact that he had so many more of those papers in his ring right now.

  Oh god. If they figure out who I am, they’ll just chain me to a desk and leave me there forever. I need to… I need to get my money as soon as the auction closes and get out of here and never come back.

  Yes.

  Standing up, Ash left the booth and hurried down the stairwell. Heading into the anonymous buy-and-sell booths, he saw the same woman from earlier.

  She gave him a bright smile and led him to a nondescript booth. Just like the one he’d been in earlier.

  Sitting down in the chair, Ash leaned up against the wall. He didn’t want to think about what was happening in the auction house right now.

  Then he remembered the Owl woman he’d bought.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit.

  Closing his eyes tightly, Ash pulled the token from his ring, opened the drawer, and dropped it in. With a gentle shove, he closed the box.

  Several seconds later, the box opened again without him doing it. Turning his head, he glanced inside. There was a note laying there.

  Auction ongoing. Please wait.

  Ash nodded to no one and shut the drawer again.

  Staring at the wall, he wanted nothing more than to go home.

  Where do I put the owl, though? I mean… what do I do with her?

  Does… does she eat normal food? Is she sentient? Is she like a pet, maybe?

  Do I need to buy a gigantic cage?

  “Fuck me,” Ash said, closing his eyes and setting his head against the wall.

  An eternity later, the drawer slowly slid open.

  Inside was a folded note, the green jade coin, a small knife, and a single silver card.

  Picking up the note, he unfolded it and began reading.

  Amount received after fees and taxes: seven hundred eighty-two thousand, four hundred and seventy-three.

  Purchase has been transferred to the outlander stables and is being held in your name. Please pick up purchase within twenty-four hours.

  Please note, the card contains your entire balance and is unbound. It is recommended you bind it immediately.

  Putting the note back into the drawer, Ash picked up the coin and the card, then eyed the knife.

  Not wanting to risk losing the card to someone, Ash picked up the knife. Frowning, he took the tip to his pinky and drew the blade a tiny fraction across the skin.

  A drop of blood immediately welled up at the tiny slice.

  Pressing his pinky to the card, he sent a tiny filament of Qi into it at the same time.

  The card was bound instantly and easily. He transferred it to the ring. Staring at the ring for a second, he paused. He looked to his pinky finger and gave it a wiggle.

  Slowly, another drop of blood pooled up. He carefully transferred the blood to the ring and bound it in much the same way.

  Both his ring and the card were bound to him now.

  Taking the knife, he quickly checked to make sure none of his blood was on it, then dropped it into the drawer along with the note.

  Then he shut it and left the cell. />
  Seven

  “It appears the card is a storage device, similar to the ring. Though much more cheaply made, and only suitable for spirit stones,” Locke said.

  My money is in the card itself? That’s… unexpected. Though it makes sense. For a moment there, I thought it was more like a credit card.

  “That’s handy,” Ash said under his breath.

  Ash was moving through the streets as unassumingly as he could. He didn’t really want to be noticed right now; he just wanted to get to the stable.

  Get to the stable and pick up his owl.

  He felt out of place in his cheap clothes in this part of town. Those who regularly visited the auction weren’t from his neighborhood, to say the least.

  After we get the owl, then what, exactly? We can’t really take her home. Can we? Does she have special needs we’ll have to provide for?

  Shaking his head at the problem, Ash didn’t really have an answer. It was something he couldn’t do much about until he collected her and asked her directly.

  That or asked someone at the stables.

  He also desperately needed to start training again.

  Training, cultivating, and condensing his Qi to build off his Snowflake method. If he wanted to be able to go to the same sect as Jing and Yan, he’d have to earn it.

  They hadn’t joined one of the more prestigious schools out there, but they’d definitely done well enough to be noticed. Noticed and invited into one of the better sects, well beyond their parents’ expectations.

  If we do well, we can join them. If we can join them, we can help them. I’m sure there’s abilities in the Hall that could get them to a much better standing.

  From what Mother Far says, they’re doing well, but not well enough to excel. To succeed.

  Yes, that’s our plan. Train. Train a lot.

  Though… at that point… would it be better if we—

  Ash almost missed it when someone came at him. Far too quickly, clearly intending harm.

  Dodging to one side and activating his Spring Step, Ash kicked out at the man’s hand.

  Hitting him just behind the wrist, Ash heard the sharp crack of a bone, and a blade went flying through the air.

  Turning to follow Ash, the man pressed his right hand against his stomach. It was clearly broken and no longer usable.