This hidden utopia nestled in the mountains was far more expansive and vibrant than Chen Jin had first thought.
Chen Jin and the others followed Ji through a stretch of verdant fields, where several young scholars had rolled up their trouser legs and crouched in the muddy water, tending to a few unusual seedlings.
Not far away, a stream burbled as someone sat beside it, reciting from bamboo slips in a clear voice. Beneath the trees, spiritual energy seemed to flow faintly, as though someone were practicing spells.
"This place... hardly seems like a school," Chen Jin remarked, somewhat surprised.
Ji chuckled at that and casually pointed toward a scholar taking apart a wooden bird wing in an open area in the distance. "Look over there—the Mohist School's Mechanism Art. They take it apart, put it back together, then take it apart again." He pointed to the people in the fields. "Those are our friends from the Nongjia School. They spend all day figuring out how to make millet ripen once a month."
As they were speaking, the Yan Clan Member passed by carrying a basket of bamboo slips that had been left out to dry. She chimed in, "It's not just the Nongjia and Mohist Schools. There are people practicing Yin-Yang, Diplomacy, the School of Names, and even the Military School. The Libationer says learning shouldn't be confined to bamboo slips; you have to do things with your own hands and test them for yourself."
Chen Jin looked up at the enormous natural cave in the mountainside. Inside, he could just make out rows upon rows of wooden shelves and scrolls.
"Is that the school's Library Pavilion?" he asked.
"Yes," Ji replied, his voice full of reverence. "It has everything from the classics of the Hundred Schools to rare, incomplete manuscripts, even ancient jade slips and books written on gold left behind from antiquity."
The Yan Clan Member put down her basket and added with a sigh, "The most precious thing here isn't even the books. It's the people.
Ask any scholar some obscure question, and if they can't answer, Libationer Jiang Yan surely will."
She smiled. "I once saw someone ask how to interpret a hexagram in a surviving copy of the Lianshan. The Libationer answered, then went on to explain how the commentaries of three different schools differed... His knowledge was as vast as the sea."
Ji led them through a lush bamboo grove to a quiet little courtyard.
The plants in the courtyard were neatly trimmed, and the stone steps were spotless. Clearly, someone tended to the place with care.
They had only just settled in when a shadow in the corner stirred, and a figure hesitantly edged out.
It was a strangely formed humanoid. One half of his face was as handsome as a young man's, while the other was covered by a cold metal mask. One eye was warm and black; in place of the other eye, a spirit stone was set into its socket, glowing with a faint blue light.
His torso was human, but his left arm and right leg were made of dark wood and bronze mechanisms, with intricate gears and bearings visible at the joints.
He moved with the faintest clicking sound. Keeping his head lowered, he dared not look at anyone. He held a stack of clean hemp clothes, carefully set them on the stone table, then quickly retreated to the corner, as if trying to disappear into the shadows.
Nuonuo jumped and ducked behind Chen Jin. Wang Wu instinctively put a hand on his sword hilt, looking wary.
Ji merely smiled gently and raised a hand to signal that they should relax. "Don't be alarmed. This is Eleven. He usually sweeps and tidies the courtyard. He's very dependable."
Turning toward the figure huddled by the wall, Ji softened his voice further. "Eleven, come and greet our guests."
The semi-puppet called Eleven gave a slight shudder. Still keeping his head down, he shuffled half a step forward. A faint, gear-like whine came from his throat, serving as his greeting.
Chen Jin's gaze fell on his fingers, half wood and half flesh. "Was this... done with the Mechanism Art?"
Ji nodded. "In the old days, if a poor family had a child born with a disability or a serious illness that they couldn't afford to treat, they often had no choice but to abandon the child in the wilderness."
Eleven was now wiping the stone table, his metal fingers making a faint, rhythmic sound as they touched the wooden surface. He seemed not to hear them, yet his movements appeared to slow.
"He was lucky," Ji continued. "Back then, the Libationer was searching the mountains for materials when he found him. He was already on the brink of death, with his limbs badly damaged. Without a Master of Puppetry, he wouldn't have survived. Fortunately, the Libationer was well versed in the arts of the Hundred Schools and could use the Art of Puppetry to keep him alive."
Wang Wu's wary expression eased, and Nuonuo cautiously peeked out from behind Chen Jin.
"The Libationer used spirit wood and refined gold, combining them with the flesh that hadn't been completely destroyed, and rebuilt his body bit by bit." Ji's voice slowed, as if recalling the past. "He could no longer be entirely like an ordinary person, but at least he survived. The Libationer had a kind heart. He took him in as his adopted son and named him Eleven."
"Then... why is he doing chores here?" Chen Jin asked.
"It was the Libationer's instruction," Ji explained gently. "The Libationer worried that if he passed away, no one would be able to repair Eleven's body, so he ordered him to learn the Art of Puppetry.
The Art of Puppetry is difficult to learn and master, but Eleven lacks the talent for it and struggles with his studies. He's often sent by the Libationer to sweep and tidy the school."
Eleven had quietly moved to the corner of the courtyard. He picked up a broom and silently swept the fallen leaves.
Ji added, "He can't speak, but he understands instructions. If you have clothes that need washing or are missing anything in your room, just leave them on the stone table in the courtyard. He'll take care of it."
Eleven kept his head bowed and silently retreated into the deepest shadows, as though only there could he escape the scrutiny and stares.
After meditating in his little room for a while, Chen Jin felt that he had recovered. He was about to get up and find Jiang Yan to discuss what to do next when Jiang Yan came strolling over first.
"Young friend, are you feeling better?" Jiang Yan asked with concern. Seeing that Chen Jin's complexion had recovered, he nodded in relief.
"I'm fine now. Thank you for the miraculous effects of your medicine, senior." Chen Jin cupped his hands.
"Good, that's good." Jiang Yan stroked his beard, then shifted his gaze to Nuonuo, who sat quietly nearby. "Her father just told me about the girl's condition... It's quite complicated. It was caused by an incomplete secret art of the Fangxian Dao, and the yin-fiend deathly energy has taken deep root in her.
"I can't guarantee that I'll be able to remove it completely and balance the yin and yang, but I'll do my best.
"Until then, I'm afraid I'll have to keep troubling you, young friend, to use your flesh and blood to temporarily soothe the 'hunger' inside her."
"No problem. Leave it to me," Chen Jin agreed without hesitation.
Then he remembered something and took the pair of [Symphony of Myriad Phenomena] from his Personal Mark.
The twin pistols were now dull and lifeless. The runes that had once flowed across them had turned charred black, and the barrels were slightly warped. They had clearly been damaged by overuse.
"Senior, these pistols are extremely important to me, but I damaged them by overusing them. Is there anyone at the school who's skilled in this craft and could repair them?" Chen Jin asked, though he had a feeling that the unfathomable Libationer might have a way.
Jiang Yan took the pistols and lightly ran his fingers over the hot, slightly misshapen barrels. A look of astonishment crossed his face.
"Ingenuity worthy of the gods, yet... what a waste." He murmured his judgment, then nodded to Chen Jin. "Their underlying design is quite unusual. Interesting. Leave them with me. I'll see what I can do."
With Jiang Yan agreeing to take them, Chen Jin felt reassured and left him to it.