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Fates Parallel Chapter 242 - Classmates
🕑 Added 2022-07-22 17:20:49 +0000 UTCJia and the others drew a lot of attention as Master Ienaga guided them through the base, the soldiers unaccustomed to the presence of half-spirits. They were a relatively even mix of men and women, mostly between the ages of twenty and thirty. Jia recalled that every young man and woman of Yamato was required to serve in the military, where they would receive training as martial artists and fight, either to represent their province in skirmishes against their neighbors, or to protect their nation’s borders.
Not everybody would awaken as martial artists, but Jia had heard that as much as fifty percent of the nation's populace were at least first stage cultivators—a rate that dwarfed that of the other nations. While body cultivators suffered from a ceiling that was nearly impossible to break through, they made up for it in sheer numbers.
The outpost was a hive of constant movement. Even distracted as they were, the martial artists busied themselves moving supplies, maintaining equipment, and training diligently. One training field in particular stood out, and Jia sensed something unusual in her domain. A group of auras that didn’t quite fit in with the soldiers around them—more active, like those of mages. Jia smiled brightly when she realized who it was.
“Master, can we go visit the northeast training field?! I haven’t spoken to them in years!”
Ienaga turned to glance back at her and sighed.
“I had been planning to wait until later to make introductions, but fine. Go catch up with your friends—I’ll go on ahead and handle the princess. Uehara, stay with our guests, would you?”
The subcommander saluted before turning to address the group, but Jia and Eui were already running off toward the field with Rika and Eunae following curiously.
The training field wasn’t much more than a flat section of packed dirt with target dummies and practice weapons littering the area. A group of soldiers was training there, under the direction of a much younger group of cultivators—the ones that Jia had noticed. Two women and two men—old friends from the academy.
One of the women noticed their approach, a taller girl with long brown hair worn in a braid. Minami Yuuko’s eyes widened in shock when they met Jia’s.
“Kami protect me, is that Yoshika?!”
Jia practically barreled the girl over with a hug.
“Yuuko! It’s good to see you again!”
“Oof! Good to see you too, Jia. I uh...they said you were dead.”
Eui smirked.
“We’ve been getting that a lot, lately.”
The other three noticed the commotion and approached. Kasai Hanako, the Academy’s biggest gossip, and Satou Ryuuji, as sharp-eyed and taciturn as ever, stood together as they approached, and Jia couldn’t help but noticed that they’d gotten much closer in the years since she’d last seen them—if the faint aura in Hana’s belly was any indication. Hana didn’t waste any time joining in on the hugs.
“Jia! Eui! It’s so good to see you! Oh, and Eunae and Takeda are with you, too! Should I expect to see that puppy of yours following you around too?”
Jia shook her head and giggled, too happy to be offended by Hana’s impropriety.
“Dae’s busy with his own work back in Goryeo. Also, it’s impolite to refer to half-spirits by their expressions, remember?”
Hana grimaced.
“Right, sorry! I should have remembered that. I just got so excited!”
The last person in the group came over and shook his head ruefully. Fujino Eiji was as tall and well-groomed as Jia remembered. He bowed politely in greeting.
“Some of us haven’t forgotten our manners at least. Greetings Miss Lee, Miss An, Miss Takeda, Miss Eunae...and I’m afraid I haven’t met the others—perhaps you could introduce us?”
Jia glanced back to see that the rest of the group had caught up.
“Oh, right! These are my sisters, Lee Jung and Lee Narae, and Eunae’s bodyguard Ja Yun—the elemental is...Muddy? I think? It’s a little complicated.”
Yuuko snickered.
“I’d be disappointed if anything surrounding you was simple, Jia.”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean? Anyway, everyone, these are old friends from the academy—Fujino Eiji, Minami Yuuko, Kasai Hanako, and Satou Ryuuji.”
Hana put a hand on her hip and turned her nose up smugly.
“Actually, he’s Kasai Ryuuji now. We got married last year.”
Eui snorted.
“Yeah, no shit. We kinda figured that out from the fact that you’re pregnant.”
Hana blinked.
“I’m what?”
“Oh, did you not, uh...oh, ancestors damn it. I thought Jia was supposed to be the one with the big mouth.”
Hana stood frozen for a moment as the realization dawned on her face. Then she turned to Ryuuji, who’s normally impassive face had turned red as a beet.
“I knew it!”
Conversation after that became impossible as the girls exchanged shrieks of excitement and congratulations—the poor trainees entirely forgotten. Eventually, they calmed down enough to return to normal conversation, catching up while Uehara directed them towards the meeting place.
It turned out that as one of the only unified cultivators in the world, Minami Yuuko was in rather high demand as an instructor, and the Hayakawa Shogunate had approached her after being turned down by Takeda Rika.
“I was a little pissed off that I was second choice to Takeda, to be honest, but seeing her now I guess I can understand it. I can’t believe you’re a third stage cultivator now!”
Rika laughed and pat Yuuko on the back goodnaturedly.
“It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, Minami. I almost died during the breakthrough. I owe Eun-Eun and Yoshika my life twice over.”
Yuuko groaned miserably.
“Ugh, you’re so lucky! Going out and exploring the world, getting into life or death struggles. I’ve been cooped up in military bases trying to teach people how to do something I’m not even all that good at myself.”
Jia grimaced.
“That bad, is it?”
“You have no idea, Jia. At the academy we had amazing instructors, tons of resources, and most of the students were elites among elites. My best student right now can barely manage to cast a basic body enhancement talisman, and spiritual arts are a total non-starter without—well, you know.”
Jia nodded. While mages and martial artists could unlock their talents at any time, spiritual awakenings got significantly more difficult with age. While it was possible to awaken through meditation, clearing the corruption from one’s meridians through meditation alone could take years or even decades, even with a superlative technique. Yuuko and company’s second hand instructions were unlikely to produce results in Yamato’s established elite.
That was, without some extra help. Lee Jia had a specialized artifact that she’d won from the late scion of the Great Awakening Dragon sect’s Yan clan. Yan Zhihao’s awakening stone contained a tiny portion of the Qin God-Emperor’s divine essence, which would forcibly purge the user’s meridians of corruption. The downside was that without sufficient mental discipline and training, the essence would rampage and cause a deviation—leading to the user’s death.
Jia’s possession of the artifact was something of an open secret. There were only a limited number of them in existence, each created by the God-Emperor himself. The great sects guarded their awakening stones jealously, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill to recover them. That Yan Zhihao had even been given the stone to lose was an incredible blunder that the Awakening Dragon wasn’t willing to openly admit.
Jia shook her head, realizing she’d been lost in her own thoughts as the conversation moved on without her. She refocused her attention on the conversation in time to hear Jung talking to Hanako.
“It wasn’t easy raising my little Narae by myself, but I was lucky enough to have a bit of practice with Jia.”
Hana cocked her head curiously.
“Didn’t Jia say you were both her sisters?”
“Adopted. It’s a long story, but while Narae is my daughter by blood, Jia considers us both her sisters.”
“Oh! How interesting... What happened to the father, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Jung smiled stiffly as she answered.
“Narae doesn’t have a father. Or rather, I do not know who her father might be.”
Hana’s face paled.
“Oh! I’m so sorry—I shouldn’t have asked. I let my curiosity get the better of me. Please forgive me!”
Jung waved her off as she bowed.
“It’s a perfectly normal question to ask. Besides, Narae didn’t suffer for lack of a father, did you darling?”
Narae puffed out her chest proudly.
“Nuh uh! I’m a big girl—I took care of Mommy all by myself when she got sick!”
Jung smiled and ruffled her daughter’s hair and Hanako squealed in delight.
“Aww, what a good girl she is! I hope my daughter grows up just like you!”
Narae preened under the praise, but Ryuuji cleared his throat, speaking for the first time since their reunion.
“Don’t discount the possibility that we have a son, Hana.”
Hanako waved him off dismissively.
“If that happens it’ll be your problem. You can teach him all about how to brood silently and act aloof.”
Ryuuji blushed at his wife’s teasing, but did not offer a retort. Jia giggled at their antics.
“I missed you guys.”
Hana pulled Jia into a one-armed hug.
“Aww, we missed you too! And the rest of you! Eunae, you’ve got to tell me all about life back at the palace. I’m sure there’s all kinds of juicy drama happening behind those closed doors.”
Eunae smiled awkwardly.
“Perhaps not as much as you might think. At least, not that I’m privy to.”
Hana’s response was cut short by Subcommander Uehara.
“We have arrived. I’m afraid only our guests are permitted to attend this meeting. The rest of you will have to catch up later, Miss Kasai.”
She sighed and shrugged dramatically.
“Alas! I suppose we’ll go back to doing our jobs for now. Do come catch up with us later, all of you! Oh, and you should visit Grandmaster Murayoshi when you get the chance. I’m sure he’ll be—well, not pleased, the old grump, but perhaps less annoyed than usual.”
Jia’s ears perked up excitedly.
“Murayoshi is here?! We’ve got all kinds of questions about our artifact.”
Hana covered her mouth and tittered.
“I’m sure he’ll be more than unhappy to answer them for you. Farewell, Yoshika! Don’t be strangers, any of you.”
They parted ways with their old friends, and Jia privately vowed to spend a bit more time with them before they left again. The building where their meeting was to take place was a simple utilitarian structure—little more than a single giant room with a table in the middle. On the table was a large map of the surrounding area, with a few marks on it that Jia didn’t know how to interpret. Within, Master Ienaga and Princess Seong Misun were already in a heated discussion.
“It’s a diplomatic mission, not an infiltration! We should just enter through the normal channels.”
Ienaga shook her head at the princess.
“There are no normal channels. The Empire doesn’t officially accept visitors. Flagrantly violating their borders would be tantamount to a declaration of war.”
“We’re already at war—or have you forgotten who you’ve been fighting for the last three years? Besides, how would sneakily violating their borders be any better?”
“The Qin don’t see it that way. I’ll explain everything when—”
She cut herself off as Jia and the others entered.
“Ah, good—you’re here. Take a seat, girls, we have a lot to discuss.”
