Ling, the old woman who ruled the Amber Water Serpent Moon Sect, seemed not to be in a hurry as she led her guests through the temple. Micro wondered if she was trying to show off her sect on the way, due to the inefficient route she took, but he enjoyed seeing the new sights all the same. The appearance of the sect bore many similarities to Kel’s own temple in its construction, being composed mostly of roughly cut stone and wooden buildings. The paths throughout the sect, as Micro tried not to dwell to heavily on, were no different from those in the exterior villages. Micro did his best to politely restrain his frown every time his foot found itself in a pothole, but the packed dirt road was so uneven that it distracted him from the beautiful statues and other decorations with which the temple was overflowing.

  “I thought cultivators spent all their time fighting…” Micro mumbled as they passed a large statue of a basilisk with gemstones for eyes.

  “What is it you mean to say?” Ling asked, looking back with a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

  “You don’t have time for basic road maintenance, but you put a lot of effort into decorating,” Micro said, pointing at the statue. “It does look nice, but…”

  “What cultivator would lower themselves to the crafting of such frivolities,” Ling replied, he face indicating that she had taken offence to Micro’s question. “Those are gifts from the mundane factions we—”

  “How bold to retain evidence of your involvement,” Lena said with a quiet but sharp tone.

  “What an odd remark for a mere observer,” Ling quipped. “Surely such matters are beneath one of your station.”

  “I merely observed your blatant interference in mundane affairs, but I would not dare question the integrity of this sect,” Lena replied coldly. “But such a dark history is surely before your time, yes?”

  “Nor would I draw attention to the irony of your presence here as a most honourable guard of the empire, given your sect’s history with my predecessor,” Ling continued while Micro and the children listened with stiff expressions.

  “Speaking of whom, I hear the Sapphire Water Serpent Art Dungeon was discovered by your predecessor,” Lena added, her voice growing louder as her aura grew colder. “Or could it have been lost again? Too many distractions, perhaps?”

  “Your memory is remarkable for one so old, but your sect, which humbles our amber cores with its sapphire status, may have forgotten the true power of autonomy,” Ling looked over her shoulder to confirm that her words had drawn a look of frustration out of Lena. “Perhaps we shall ascend, in this generation or the next. But we do not bend to the will of a greater power. We bend the will of those in power.”

  “Fender benders are never fun, but they’re just another chance to make a new friend,” Micro interjected with an awkward smile.

  “Excuse me, young master?” Ling asked, unsure how to interpret Micro’s comment.

  “And some roads are rocky, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the destination,” Micro continued, hopeful that his advice would resonate. “And there are always a lot of different routes to the same place.”

  The tension between Ling and Lena lingered for a moment, but Micro’s words eventually drew a look of confusion from the two old women whose auras had begun to make him feel slightly ill.

  “Wisdom of the Truck Sect?” Ling asked with an eyebrow raised.

  “Just some common sense you pick up after a long time on the road,” Micro replied, relieved that Lena’s aura had settled down before the children behind him could be harmed by it. “Another truck bumped into me in a parking lot once. The other driver was angry and sorry all at once, but he ended up at the old man’s house for dinner the next day.”

  “You speak of reconciliation?” Ling asked.

  “I wouldn’t call it that,” Micro shrugged. “There’s no reason to be enemies in the first place, especially if the damage isn’t permanent. They were friends for a long time after that.”

  “They are not friends now?” Lena asked.

  “The other driver died recently. His truck was even older than me, so the driver must have been quite old too,” Micro explained. “The old man never hesitated to make a new friend.”

  “The philosophy of a foreign land, no doubt…” Ling whispered, casting a suspicious glare upon Micro and the children behind him.

  “You have no idea…” Lena sighed.

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  ~

  Micro was tempted to try diffusing the tension between Ling and his party with the Charm Skill after the awkward argument had concluded, but he was content that his words had affected Ling enough to distract her from Lena’s constant provocations. Lena seemed embarrassed by her earlier outburst as they continued through the sect and remained quiet for the remainder of their tour.

  “I wonder how many people live here…” Kira whispered as she clung to Micro’s sleeve.

  “Not many,” Micro replied, though his words drew a surprised expression from the reserved Ling. “A few thousand at most.”

  After walking for close to an hour, Ling finally led Micro, Lena, Kolt, and Kira into a small wooden structure. It was built upon a small hill and overlooked much of the temple. Several cups of tea waited for them upon a small table surrounded by upholstered seats, but only Ling reached out to take a drink as they all sat down. Micro looked around at the gazebo-like building, surrounded by several more beautifully crafted statues of serpents, basilisks, and even some dragons.

  In the centre of the table was a small, yellow statue, no bigger than a teacup, which reminded him of ray. He reached out to touch it, but Kolt had intended to do the same. Micro pulled his hand away as Kolt reached for the dragon, but knocked the statue on its side in the process. The loud bang of the stone statue falling against the wooden table startled Kolt and Kira so much that they seemed to shrink into their seats. Micro reached out to right the fallen statue, and noticed some writing on the bottom.

  “I guess that’s the signature of the artist,” Micro mumbled. “I’d like to meet them. It’s good work.”

  “What?” Ling asked, baffled by the clumsy display of the people in front of her.

  “Sorry, Ling,” Micro quickly whispered. “It’s a nice little statue.”

  “I fear the only way I’ll understand your intentions here today is by asking you directly.” Ling looked across the table at her guests with a cold gaze at first, but sighed and bowed her head slightly before finally addressing Micro with a wry smile. “The more information we gather on you, the less clear your motivation becomes.”

  “But my intention is just to find Lo before the ring around my core gets any tighter,” Micro replied, bringing his hand to his chest where a dull pain still remained.

  “You know we are able to discern lies…” Ling said softly, looking back at Micro while stroking her chin. “You are skilled, but not so skilled as to be able to mislead me at my own table.”

  “That sounds like a useful skill,” Micro asked. “Does it help detect sarcasm too? I’ve been having trouble with that recently…”

  Kira opened her mouth to defend Micro, but she found it hard to speak as the auras surrounding the three cultivators at the table swelled with their changing feelings. Ling thought for a while longer before leaning forward with a fierce aura.

  “Who and what are you?” Ling asked. “You are like no human I have known, and I have known many.”

  “Let’s see if I can explain this in a way you understand,” Micro said, scratching his head as he recalled the many times he’d failed to convey his origins. “My soul belonged to a truck, a farm tool on another world. This body was made by magicians to host the soul of a hero, but Nora put my soul in here instead, likely by accident. Because my soul didn’t fit in the little jade core the magicians made, a dragon named Ray wrapped a sort of bandage around it on the condition that I find Lo and… beat him up…?”

  “Farm… tool…?” Ling muttered before her face simply froze.

  “Are you following me?” Micro asked tentatively.

  “Then the chaos energy…” Ling placed her cup on the table, finally blinking her dry eyes. She continued to stare at him, then drew a deep breath. “Though it is faint, I was certain I sensed it…”

  “I fed most of the chaos energy I had in me to the dog who lives in my core the other day,” Micro explained. “That’s another story though.”

  “The dog…?” Ling mumbled, her eyes still glowing fiercely as she questioned him. “In your core?”

  “It’s been sleeping in the cab for a long time now,” Micro added. “I think it must have been tired after the week it’s had. It almost wound up in a vessel like mine.”

  “Enough,” Ling suddenly declared with her hand raised. “I only have more questions now…”

  “So will you help me find Lo?” Micro asked. “I’m happy to answer more questions, though I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

  “I am tempted to tell you what I know, if only to hasten your departure,” Ling replied. “I don’t believe my worldview would survive much more of this story…”

  “Then—”

  “But I will ask you this,” Ling continued with an intense glare. “What prompted your discussion of magicians upon arriving at this place. You did well to greet my disciple’s welcome with a praiseworthy poison of your own, but I would not forgive the reckless propagation of false rumours. The empire has no reason to suspect this sect of collusion with magicians, despite our… proximity… to mundane affairs.”

  “Well, I was wondering about that,” Micro said, scratching his head. “There were all sorts of people visiting your sect today…”

  “There were many mundane visitors of noble rank in the courtyard,” Lena interjected. “You speak of them, yes?”

  “The nobles recently suffered a number of losses…” Ling replied. “They seek answers after the disappearance of several influential figures, not that it concerns you…”

  “I agree with Ling, Micro,” Lena said. “You should refrain from saying things which may cause misunderstandings. The Water Serpent Moon Sect is… well… It is many things, but it is not necessarily affiliated with magicians.”

  “Much like your own sect, we are loyal to the empire, Lena,” Ling replied with a more respectful tone than Micro had previously heard from her. She turned back to Micro with her usual expressionless gaze, but her tone grew heavy. “But on the matter of magicians, you will not leave this place alive if your next words do not satisfy my curiosity.”

  “Oh, right!” Micro continued. “You didn’t seem interested, but I only mentioned it because I thought I recognized one of the people who summoned me to this world in the courtyard earlier.”