Chapter 53: Sisters(II)
A teenage boy dressed in black robes, with jet-black hair, deep, cold eyes, and a sword in hand, walked with a steady gait, one that carried profound depth and arrogance. The sword followed the arc of his hand as it moved across the space. A dark sigil was plastered on his forehead.
Beside him, just right next to him, was a much older woman, maybe in her late teens or early twenties, dressed in light blue robes. A glass-like blade with an intricate design and white sheen danced in her hand, her smooth skin emanating a jade-like smoothness and light. Her features were ethereal.
She also held an inscrutable mark on her forehead.
She had a cold face, one that seemed detached and aloof. Her steps were also steady and cold, the kind of beauty one would expect from a goddess. Each one of them caused those who dared look at them to look away, but at the same time, how could they not? After all, the duo wore grand robes, had beautiful faces, steady steps, and stuck out like a sore thumb against the modern backdrop, with cars honking and modern fashion trends.
Were they actors?
Someone couldn’t help but ask if there was a filming session somewhere. Another wondered if there was a cosplay event. People couldn’t help but slow down from their movements to gaze at the beautiful duo, with some even taking pictures, treating them like treasures.
"Bai Chen, why couldn’t we just fly to the area?"
"Bai Qian, don’t forget we are in a new world. We don’t know how long our spiritual power would last. Let’s just follow the directions we have been given. Don’t tell me you are tired."
"How can this small, measly distance be of any hindrance to this seat? I am, after all, the Saintess of the illustrious Verdant Flowering Jade Sect. If all goes as planned, I might even become Sect Master."
"Don’t get ahead of yourself, Saintess. Remember, we are no longer in Canglan Continent."
"Indeed, the spiritual energy here is so thin and murky. Unsuitable for this seat’s cultivation."
"You are more arrogant than me, Bai Qian. One might just wonder..."
"Don’t lump me with your nonsensical arguments. A practitioner of the Devil Dao might be more than happy to feed on the filth that is floating about, but a seat as important as myself..."
"Careful. Your hypocrisy is showing. Isn’t the righteous dao supposed to care for all living things?"
"..."
"We are about to arrive."
"What?"
"We are about to meet the creator of our world."
"Creator? How sure are you she is the creator? She might just have been a scribe."
As Bai Qian was talking, she could feel a strange attraction to her. She went quiet, mobilised her spiritual energy through her dantian and meridians, and stretched out her divine sense, following that subtle attraction that was calling to her.
It was nothing that she was familiar with. Not an immortal art, not a devil art, not an attraction of souls. It wasn’t something that she had ever felt before, not even close to the bond between a cultivator and their natal treasure. But it was strong. It was powerful. And it was domineering.
Was she truly their creator?
No. Maybe it couldn’t be. It was truly foreign.
She once also had this bond with someone else. Someone before he abandoned the path of good for power.
Was she a native of the Canglan Continent?
She would know once she arrived.
The two siblings suddenly took on speeds that superseded humans, covering a good 40 kilometres in just a couple of minutes. Their bodies did not experience fatigue or deterioration, even without the need to use spiritual energy.
Soon, they were at the audition site, queuing in line to get the chance to play themselves.
Dan Woo felt exhausted with all this playing around. He could only smile after he looked at his timer. That was the only great part about this situation.
He felt so homesick and could only hope that he could find a more permanent solution to his sisters’ "dementia." so that they could head back to Korea.
For now, he could only use his Meaning to sustain both Bai Chen and Bai Qian, a couple of siblings from the cultivation game written by the writer for the game, The Four Winds.
They were here to audition for the part of Bai Chen and Bai Qian. Hopefully, this would give enough Meaning to satisfy his timer and sustain his sisters’ strange disease.
"Bai Chen and Bai Qian."
The producer called.
Dan Woo still couldn’t get over the way he could fluently speak Chinese and even read it without any prior experience with the language. What’s more was the ability that came with the character.
He could really feel energy flowing through him that wasn’t Meaning or spirituality, flowing through every meridian and crevice. He could feel his dantian hum and a strong know-how of how to manipulate what were called spirit and immortal arts.
He could even control his flying sword, summon his natal treasure, and refine elixirs. The knowledge was second nature to him.
His divine sense was also something that was just too fascinating. He could use it to see across more than a 50-kilometre range, almost the way he could under his domain.
But he didn’t have time to think too much about it.
He still needed to find a way to allow Kim Soo Won to live outside the bounds of Bai Qian, both day and night.
Bai Qian also needed to be coaxed into acting out this script with him.
It took a lot of talking. Only by tricking her into believing that they were following a profound art, one that was a test they had to pass, did she relent and agree to act with him.
Which took a lot of talking.
But luckily, Bai Chen could convince Bai Qian, and they could begin their scene.
The scene was one that reflected the fractured state of the two siblings. The first time Bai Qian met her supposedly dead younger brother, now known as the Demon of a Thousand Bloods.
Bai Qian had to feel the sense of betrayal, loss, and rage that came from this revelation, finding out that the enemy she had been chasing, her arch enemy, was her dead younger brother. Bai Chen, on the other hand, should portray the emotions of sadness, longing, and the conviction that what they were doing was right, as the two Golden Core cultivators faced against each other.
Dan Woo felt himself draw upon the memories of Bai Chen before spilling forth his Meaning and spirituality, compelling Bai Qian and Bai Chen to play out the scene.
It was a cold winter night beneath the snow in a forest, as their swords met blow for blow.
The audition stage suddenly transformed into that same winter’s night, with the two figures playing out the memory and everything else dissolving into the background.
"So you have come?"
Bai Chen began, as cold as the night.
"Is it true?" Bai Qian’s voice followed. "Are you truly him?"
"Don’t you already have the answer to that?"
"No... it can’t be real. I saw you die that day."
"..."
"Why?... Why did you do this?"
"You didn’t fulfill your promise. So I had to do it on my own. Now face your opponent. Face me."
Bai Qian’s grief-stricken face turned cold.
"You are not my brother, but just a person wearing his face."
Suddenly, a huge wave of pressure spread through the area as they both released their spirit pressure. The snow all around them jumped into the air, and their blades seeped with spiritual energy.
Soon enough, it was a blur.
Their blows deformed the area around them, felling trees and leaving thunderous booms as the snow melted with every clash.
It was a display of strength above the supernatural.
Everyone around the area couldn’t help but feel as though they were watching real immortal cultivators fight.
Even though both of them were Golden Core, Golden Core was already godlike in the real world.
The entire panel, the director, the producer, the cameramen, and the whole crew were all mesmerized by the performance and its immersive experience.
As soon as Dan Woo and Kim Soo Won, in their shells of Bai Chen and Bai Qian, finished their performance, the director couldn’t help but want to sign them immediately.
Of course, due to this, Dan Woo was happy. Everyone seemed to swarm around them, everyone except one face.
Dan Woo was shocked to see Baek Seri’s friend on the panel.
He had noticed her before the scene began but didn’t want to approach her. He didn’t know that she was a famous writer, and what was more, he didn’t know she was Chinese.
He wanted to approach her to find out how Baek Seri was doing, yet the woman completely ignored him, even looking like she had a deep disdain for him.
He could only relent and turn back toward his sister, who still thought of herself as Bai Qian.
After all, the moon was about to rise.
That was when, at least, his sister would come back to her senses, even if only for a moment.
He needed to take care of her and stop her from writing more music. Otherwise, he didn’t know how he would deal with her losing even more of her memories and health.
Still, his eyes lingered on Li Huan, as he had come to learn her name was.
Why was there that not-so-subtle connection between him and her?
He could only turn around and head for Bai Qian.