A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia)

[ChandraMagic]

Okay, voting is closed. I will be writing the update right now. Should be out in a couple of hours (I may pause writing to make lunch...actually, I am going to make lunch now, and do the plotting of the update out while I do the lunch thing). So yes, voting is closed. Meditation will happen, and I will make it interesting if it kills me.

Vote Tally : A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia) | Page 6 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 172-180]
##### NetTally 1.9.9

[5] Meditate on all you have learned
[3] See to your friends
[1] Soak in the Public Baths

Total No. of Voters: 9

 

[ChandraMagic]

Okay, okay. It is time to...it is time to meditate on what you have learned. Contemplate on your navel. Be one with the Oneness. That's what Sages do, right, and you kind of are a Sage? Or at least, you think you may be a sage. The Book is...hazy on that, actually, when you went looking for answers on just how you should meditate.

Question: What is a Sage? Answer: Whatever they want to be. The thing about labels is that they're utterly useless and generally speaking the label of 'Sage' just tells you the vague flavour of the beatdown you're about to receive. A martial artist will crush you with their fists, a poet will crush you with their words, a bureaucrat will crush you with paperwork and a nobleman will crush you with their wallet. Or possibly their ego. The two tend to be related.

A Sage will calmly let you crush yourself against them because they already figured out how to kill you in a hundred different ways while you were announcing yourself.

Although you might think that you, the reader of this book, also belong to this vaunted category you really ought to stop kidding yourself right about... now. Because until you can walk on water, shatter stone with a fingertip, command the elements with your words and, most importantly, understand exactly why you can do all those things?

You're not a Sage. Not by a long shot.

Click to shrink...

So, by The Book's interpretation of things, you are definitely not a Sage. Though you would love to walk on water, because that sounds like a neat party trick at the bathes. It is also why you are sure you are only maybe Sage.

Then you read on and spot this:

There are those who think that being a Sage is about oneness with the universe and comprehending the mysteries of life. These people are humorously incorrect. Being a Sage is all about punching faces. The better you punch face the better you'll be at your general Sagey stuff. This statement is totally true and accurate! After all, if you can't trust Sun Wukong to be straight with you then who can you trust.

Click to shrink...

It's a bit shady, but...well, you like face punching stuff. Punching faces, and kicking groins, just sounds so much fun. Still, it is a tad suspect. Whatever. You are learning the fine art face punching, and that is all there is to it. Also, groin kneeing. Can't forget the sharp, bony knee.

It's a classic.

What is also a classic is how you eventually decide to meditate on your oneness with Oneness. On contemplating your way, and the Tao, and how they intersect. And how they don't. It makes sense in your head, and that is all that is important. Well, that and that it works.

Right. Meditation. You obtain a candle, some matches, and find an area that you will not be disturbed. The floor of your room. Sitting down cross-legged, which is not as comfortable as kneeling, you light the candle and stare into the flickering flame. You put thumb to middle finger, and breathe in, hold...and breathe out. You breathe in, hold...and breath out. YOu meditate.

"ooOOoooooOOoommmMMmm."

Okay, making noises doesn't work, but you had to try it, Still, the other aspects are working, as you let your mind drift back, back to that first day, when you discovered the book, and inadvertently kicked a thug's ass.

Furry sideburns. Furred tail. Woman that is not a woman that is a monkey. An intricate fan that is a Book. Peace, and knowledge, and the assurance that you had done good and right and what you wanted to do. That you had discovered your way.

Accidentally kicking the asses of the two thugs that came to burn the bakery down. Fire. Screams. Desperation. Intrigue. A man that is not a man and a magistrate that is not a magistrate. Intrigue. A gate still opened, and a noose still strung.

Face punching. Face Punching.

Punch. Kick. Punch.

Punch. Kick. Punch. Black. Block. Kick. Block. Punch. Reset.

You breath, long and deep and hold. Then you let it out.l a continuous gust of wind. A deflating of your lungs. An awareness of your seat, or lower...what? No, yes. Lower Dantian. You feel your Qi flow, circulate through you, trundling rather shakily through your...through your meridians. Yes, that is the word.

Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold.

Breahte in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold.

Watch the flame. Focus the flame.

Be the flame.

Feel your Qi circulate through you, lifting you, buffering you.

Touch that awareness of that perfect moment where you understood Everything. And Everything understood you. Pull back. Know you are not ready for that. It will burn you, crush you. You are not strong enough.

Yet.

End of the Prologue

So, the question is, how to start Arc One? What is Arc One? Well, vote below and we shall get on with it~
[X] Dealing With Loose Threads
(Things have been going good in the last week. You have been working on your face punching, and you have done some meditation. Of course, every sun needs a cloud, and we begin in the middle of a fight between Resplendent Lotus and some familiar thugs.)

[X] Enter the Jade Hall
(Things have been going good for the last week and a half. You have worked with Sifu, you have meditated, and you have Read. For reasons you do not know, you have been summoned to the Prefect's Office.)

[X] Monkey Business
(Your last month has been...a thing. You have learned face punching.,..North Long Fist Style Kung Fu well, and Sifu is pleased enough that he has been teaching you the various forms of it. Your meditation has been proceeding apace as well as your understanding of yourself. Now though, you have been made aware that there is..something, or someone, terrorizing your district. Thefts, assaults. Those that know of your new found desire to punch face have pestered you about finding out what is going on.

 

[Raron]

I am not ready for this decision. Can we go make some bread?

 

[Irked]

[X] Monkey Business

 

[ChandraMagic]

I am not ready for this decision. Can we go make some bread?

Click to shrink...

oh, you will do that too, don't worry!

 

[Kinematics]

Hmm. I don't think I'm quite ready to face the prefect. And some properly trained face punching sounds good. So...

[X] Dealing With Loose Threads

 

[Navarque]

[X] Dealing With Loose Threads
​

 

[Lydia]

[X] Enter the Jade Hall

 

[Raron]

[X] Dealing With Loose Threads

 

[UrsaTempest]

[X] Dealing With Loose Threads

 

[Winged One]

[X] Dealing With Loose Threads

Tempted by Monkey Business, but I expect he'll still be there when we're ready.

 

[Bre Karn]

[X] Dealing With Loose Threads

 

[TotalAbsolutism]

[X] Monkey Business

Maybe we'll meet our totally normal new best friend, One Sue Kong.

 

[Sue Donim]

[X] Monkey Business

 

[ChandraMagic]

in the grand tradition of things, we have reached 10 votes, so I will post what the vote count currently is, and then encourage more people to vote. So, those that have not voted, vote, vote, vote!!!


Vote Tally : A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia) | Page 7 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 184-194]
##### NetTally 1.9.9

[6] Dealing With Loose Threads
[3] Monkey Business
[1] Enter the Jade Hall

Total No. of Voters: 10

Tempted by Monkey Business, but I expect he'll still be there when we're ready.

Click to shrink...

Enh, maybe, maybe not. What I forgot to say is that depending on which you take, certain events will not happen, or will happen differently. Think of it like Resplendent Lotus imposing her nascent Sageness on the World, and guiding things to happen in a certain way. Or, OOCly, me giving you a choice on the flavour the First Arc takes.

 

[Yobikir]

[X] Monkey Business
this sounds like the most fun one ^^

 

[Menosay]

[X] Monkey Business

 

[Lydia]

[X] Dealing With Loose Threads

 

[ChandraMagic]

Okay, I will be closing this and writing the update sometime in the next six or so hours. First though, I have to eat mah breakfast and I think I will be watching a movie, so there is still some time if you haven't voted, or if you want to change your vote, or whatever.

Remember, this is also a vote for flavour, as well as how we kick off the official first arc.

Vote Tally : A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia) | Page 7 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 184-198]
##### NetTally 1.9.9

[7] Dealing With Loose Threads
[5] Monkey Business

Total No. of Voters: 12

 

[Kinematics]

Remember, this is also a vote for flavour, as well as how we kick off the official first arc.

Click to shrink...

So the choices between Jackie Chan goodness, Resplendent Lotus: Buddy Cop, or Columbo the sage?

Seems like they all could be fun (even if I'm just making guesses as to what the flavor would end up being). Eh, I'll just stay where I'm at.

 

[ChandraMagic]

So the choices between Jackie Chan goodness, Resplendent Lotus: Buddy Cop, or Columbo the sage?

Seems like they all could be fun (even if I'm just making guesses as to what the flavor would end up being). Eh, I'll just stay where I'm at.

Click to shrink...

Not exactly, but I guess it is close enough. It's more like, hm, Jackie Chan - Drunken Master, um, Bureaucracy Beatdown (that was what the Jade Hall vote was called, and I can't think of a movie that had combat paperwork), and Jackie Chan - Rush Hour (if what's his face, the black guy, was replaced with Sun Wukong).

It doesn't really affect anything, except what I inject into the quest to keep it moving, so we get face punching for goodness. So Loose Threads will have more face punching, whereas Jade Hall would have had more paperwork and bureaucracy, and Monkey Business would have had more whodunit? (and possibly theft, I'm not too sure). It's all good, because just because an option has more of X, doesn't mean that there will be a lack of Y or Z.

ANYWAY, it's been a bit and I am thinking of getting started blocking out the update, so, the next post will be me closing the vote.

 

[ChandraMagic]

OKAY, so. Voting is closed, as I said in the last post. I will get started on the update as I nom my late lunch.


Vote Tally : A Sage's Journey (Original Xianxia) | Page 7 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 184-198]
##### NetTally 1.9.9

[7] Dealing With Loose Threads
[5] Monkey Business

Total No. of Voters: 12

 

[ChandraMagic]

For about the fifth or sixth time in as many minutes, you have to wonder 'why?'. Why is this happening to you? Why now? Why couldn't it have happened later, when you weren't spending time with a friend? Of course, as with every other wondering on this topic, you return, once more, to that bit of advice from The Book.

Why not?

Click to shrink...

And that is the crux of the issue, isn't it? Why not?

Absently, you duck a wild punch to your head, and do a handless cartwheel to the left to get out of the attack area of the thug in front of you, and then hop backwards as another thug dives towards you. As he passes by, you pluck the straw hat the thug is wearing off his head and plop it on your head, just to see if it works for you. You bring your right hand up, and turn your torso a bit to block a punch, and then extend the blocking arm out into a chopping motion to the side, managing to catch that thug in the throat.

Deftly, you do a backflip -just learned it yesterday, in fact, but you are reasonably flexible, so hey, it's all good- and land beside a wooden box for tossing garbage in. Just in time, actually, to help a thug diving towards to you up, and over your head, and...right into the box! You weren't even trying to do that, so go you.

You spin yourself over to your friend, Mei-ling, and grab one end of the sash keeping your friend's tunic closed. With a flash of a smile and a 'just need to borrow this for a moment', you give it a yank, taking the sash with you as you deposit the straw hat you had...liberated from a thug onto your friend's head as recompense for the sash. As your friend cries out in shock, and not a little outrage, you dart back towards the three thugs still menacing you, sash trailing behind you like a streamer.

A twist of your wrist and the sash is flowing through the air, to wrap around thug #1's neck, letting you tug him towards you, and causing him to spin to face away from you, with the sash slithering off his neck again. That's okay, as you just want to give his ass a kick, and push him forwards, potu of immediate combat range, even as thug #2 comes at you, bellowing out as he tries to brain you with a wooden club.

You turn and throw one end of the sash up, wrapping it around just below the head of the club, You twist and throw yourself into a handless cartwheel, keeping hold of either end of the sash in your left hand, twisting the sash around, even as you tug it from thug #2's hands. Ahh, now you have a weighted sash weapon. Much better.

That's about when you notice that the three thug's have you cornered. Kind of. Turning, you sprint up a wall (well, you jump, manage to make one step further) and then jump, using your makeshift weapon as a long range battering ram to take out thug #3, and the way he goes down, you suspect it will be for long enough to say he was removed from the fight. Good.

Landing into a forward roll, you do another forward roll, and then whip your sash weapon back, releasing one end of the sash, so that the club held in the sash's twisted embrace spins out, and clocks thug #1 in the head, removing him from the fight too. With a half spin, you are facing the last thug, thug #2 and you smile a small smile. This will be easy. Well, easier, because the thugs have no formal training, and even though you have been diligently practicing for only a week, you are still better than them in every conceivable way.

Also, you are once more in front of Mei-ling.

Quickly, you loop the sash back around your friend -even tying the ends together in a cheerful bow- and then take the straw hat from her head and dash back towards the final thug. With a flick of your wrist, you toss the hat onto the thug's head, causing it to obscure his vision, and then turn halfway, delivering a powerful sidekick into the thug's sternum, and then face. Twice.

Absently, you pluck the straw hat from the air as it drifts to the ground, and make sure you drop it to cover the thug's unconscious face as he lays in the middle of the dirt packed street, completely out of it. That's all there is for that.

"I can't believe you did that, Resplendent Lotus," your friend complains as she storms up to stand beside you, looking down at the sprawled out thug. "You almost made me show my...show my chest to the entire world."

"Ah, but what a lovely chest you have," you say brightly, hooking an arm around your friend's shoulders and leading her away. "But come on, and let's get out of here. It's boring now; I'm sure we will much more enjoy a nice tea to all this frivolous excitement."

"A-and another thing! Where did you learn to fight like that? Why can you fight like that?" Mei-ling continues to demand as you lead her back to the district the two of you live in. The shopping district is a little too intense right now. "Why would you even want to learn something like that?"

* * * * *

"So, what was that?" Mei-ling asks, having calmed herself as the two of you waited for the herbal tea to steep properly. "I mean, you told me your parents were attacked by thugs, but why are they attacking you?"

"Well, at least two of those are ones I have already kicked the asses of, and I didn't even know how to fight then," you say cheerfully, absently checking the teapot. "So it was probably because of that, although, if they are out and about and causing mischief, it means that the Prefect's Office hasn't done anything with the tip off I gave them. Or...I guess they could have moved. Maybe."

"Well, don't get yourself hurt being a hero," Mei-ling says, crossing her arms over her chest and harrumphing. "Heroes always die, and I don't want you to die."

"Awwww, don't worry Mei sweetie, I would never do something like that to you," you say, nodding your head before taking a nibble on a peach flavoured sweetmeat. "Besides, I'm too pretty to be a hero. I'd be relegated to sidekick, or woman that needs saving, or some other revolting role. And if that happened to me, then they would knock you right out of the story, and that would be tragic."

"What."

"No, seriously; you know how those playwrights are; always cutting down on the number of people in a play," you continue on, ignoring your friends question? Statement? Whatever. "So they would recast the hero to be some annoying guy, and totally credit him with all my exploits, while I would be relegated to screaming 'help, help!'. And because I was put in that position, they would totally remove your character and replace it with 'boy who wants to be a hero #5' or whatever."

You pause, catch your brief, and just when your friend is about to comment:

"And it would a crime, A gods forsaken crime," you smack the table for emphasis, and ignore the hiss of displeasure from the proprietress of the tea shop, "for that to happen. Not when you are my sidekick, or secret confident, or whatever...what role do you want, actually?"

"None, no roles, no plays or heroics or...or anything, Lotus," Mei-ling complains, loudly, before growling and jerkily grabbing the teapot and pouring herself a cup of tea without even bothering to check if it was done. "I...you're my friend, Lotus. I don't want to lose you because you decided to run off and get yourself killed. Who would be at my wedding ceremony to the brick worker's son, if that was to happen?"

"Eric? My god, no, don't do it. He's as dull as slab of rock," you protest, covering your mouth with your hand, and glad your rattling off nonsense had distracted your friend enough for you to shift the topic to something other than you kicking asses. "Have you looked at iron Heart? He's the blacksmith's son, or maybe, if you want to be a bit...flowery...you have been looking at Harmonious Star? She's the weaponsmith's daughter, you know."



So, what now?
[X] Beat up Thugs
You will find some thugs and beat them up. You will also interrogate them on where their hideout is and such)

[X] Head to the Bathes
(You and Meiling will head to the bathes and have a wash and soak and continue to hang out and chatter with each other. May catch some gossip this way)

[X] Head Home
(You will head home and help your parents with the afternoon rush.)

[X] Report your Attack to the Prefect's Office
You, and Meiling, will go to the Prefect's Office and report the attack, as well as look into how that tip you gave went)

---

Hm, not exactly how I wanted it to go, but it is what it is. I feel the fight was either to technical at parts, and too rushed at the other parts. Ah well, and the bit with the friend feels a bit rushed, but only because I have no idea what they would be talking about.

 

[Kinematics]

Ah, Meiling is taking the role of the hapless sidekick — the one who can't get away from the adventure no matter how hard they try. Some people seize destiny; some people run from it; and some are dragged towards it kicking and screaming by their blissfully ignorant friends.

Thus there is only one proper path to take.

[X] Report your Attack to the Prefect's Office
(You, and Meiling, will go to the Prefect's Office and report the attack, as well as look into how that tip you gave went)

 

[Ct613hulu]

[X] Head to the Bathes

 

[Tisaku]

Meriling asks, having calmed herself as the two of you

Click to shrink...

Mei-ling

Meiling continues to

Click to shrink...

Mei-ling

blacksmith's son, or maybe, of you want to be a

Click to shrink...

if

 

[UrsaTempest]

[X] Head to the Bathes

It's a bit too early for bath episode, but we are about to go on a journey to beat-up thugs and bring JUSTICE.

 

[Lydia]

[X] Report your Attack to the Prefect's Office

 

[Raron]

You got a small mistake in the spelling of the threadmark.

[X] Report your Attack to the Prefect's Office

 

[Imcrazy64]

[X] Head to the Bathes