Chapter 4: Arc 1: Chapter 3

They retreated from the cliff and returned to the east-most road in the village, though it was only to turn to the left and step into the first home on that road.

The residence belonging to Xi Wu Lin was larger than even the Song residence, where two people seemed to fit in comfortably, but it quickly became clear that the place was not at all being wasted. As soon as the door opened, Bianca was greeted with the scent of old, dusty books, which she had perceived once before, during a family visit to the place where her great grandfather had once lived.

In that place, a library had stood for nearly three hundred years without the books within being changed or updated, and it almost felt as if the same occurred here. Numerous tomes and books surrounded the entrance, from the sides and even on the top, stacked in a manner that miraculously achieved structural stability by what must have been either coincidence, or impressive planning used on something entirely pointless.

Further in, things weren’t any better. Books upon books upon books, with shelves somewhere amidst them. There was barely any room to walk through, and even the room that was there was partially obscured with protruding books or tomes that were placed on the ground.

“This is why I don’t go near there,” Old Man Song coughed, only lightly at first, but once more dust emerged from the residence, the coughing intensified, “You can… go ahead.”

Bianca brought up a hand to her face to block her mouth and nose, to minimize the amount of dust that would enter. It probably wouldn’t help her much, but it was better than actively inhaling kilograms of dust with every breath. After a breath of relatively fresh air outside, she stepped into this dangerous domain of knowledge.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, she almost felt like she was transported to another world – again, apparently. The air changed thanks to the flood of dust, and the distinct smell of old texts assaulted Bianca’s sensitive nose, even more than before. Ink, paper, dust and something akin to old leather – perhaps the binding of the books – mixed together, forcing her to endure them as she pressed on.

There was very room for her to move, and what was there couldn’t have been more obtuse, with every colour blending into a general greyish brown. It was difficult to navigate by sight, and when she reached out to touch the books for guidance, she immediately felt her fingers being covered in a thick layer of dust, while the books moved slightly, and a creaking noise appeared around her. That immediately got her to revoke her hand, temporarily ignoring how unpleasant the dust was on her delicate fingers.

Back on Orbis, such a volume of dust might have been considered a deadly hazard, especially if someone was to breathe it in, and so Bianca was used to far cleaner environments, to put it nicely. As a result, her skin wasn’t used to such a thing, causing a subtle itch to appear.

‘I will really need that shower after this. Wait, they won’t have showers here, so… I hope they have a clean spring or something…’ she noted, coughing once, “Xi Wu Lin? Are you in here… somewhere?”

She had advanced some way into the residence, and made it even further in before she finally received a response. It was a noise of irritation, a grunt or huff of some kind, but it gave her just enough guidance to complete the last bit of the journey and emerge into a more open region, wherein a man sat on a seat of books, with book armrests and all.

“Xi Wu Lin?”

“What do you want?” the man responded, raising his head just a little to look at her, giving Bianca the opportunity to take in his appearance.

He was aged, pale and weak-looking, far more so than Old Man Song. This man lacked a beard, and had only the faintest semblance of hair on his head, some faint spots of dark marking his otherwise bare head. A loose garb covered his body, though the wide, loose sleeves showed off his thin, bony arms. The area was lit with only the hints of sunlight from outside, the brightest spot being on the book in his lap, making him look even less healthy than he otherwise would.

“I… I was told you had some historical books in here,” she stuttered as she breathed in more dust.

“What do you want with them?”

“To read one or two. I’ve lost my memory, so I need to remember something, or at least find a name I can use.”

“Hm…” he thought for a moment, “Recent history, then. Take it, and don’t bother me.”

He produced a book from the vast pile in quite the impressive manner, pulling it out without damaging the structural integrity of the mass of tomes around him. He then reclined and returned all of his focus to his own book, leaving her to her own devices.

Bianca accepted his offered tome, an impressive behemoth weighing at least two kilograms, and went to the side, where there looked to be enough space for her to sit. Seeing as the man seemed uninterested in dealing with strangers like her, she made sure not to get in the way of the sunlight on his book, and once she sat down and found a comfortable enough position, she placed the book on her lap and opened it.

The cover had been empty, so the first exposure to the words within came with the pages that she had randomly selected. She had been concerned that she would be unable to read the words, given that this land’s language was clearly different to Antanian, though she was also afraid of the potential connotations if the text was readable.

After all, she didn’t know Enian, and she most certainly didn’t know a language from another world, regardless of the similarities between the two. If she suddenly understood an unfamiliar language, she would have to wonder what happened to grant her this knowledge, and what else might have been done to her mind and memories in between her falling asleep on Orbis and waking up… wherever and whenever the Eastern Continent was. It was rather scary to imagine the possibilities, so she abstained from it.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t dismiss those thoughts entirely because she did understand the text. She could see that the letters were wrong, and yet it felt as if she was reading Antanian, just written with somewhat poor handwriting.

‘This… this feels really weird. Fortunately, I don’t have to read too much yet, only find a hint on how I could adapt my name into the language of this land,’ Bianca skimmed through the page.

The page she came across was in the middle of some larger chapter, and appeared to describe a place or faction named the ‘Reaper’s Grave’, in the age 901,852, which immediately forced her eyebrows up in amazement.

‘Well… That’s longer than any recorded history on Orbis. I think the record is in Vexidirae, who had records of about five thousand years, so nine hundred thousand…’ Bianca tried to calm her expression while she continued reading, though her mind remained on the enormous number, ‘Holy shit, that is a huge number! How can anyone record that many years and not actually… well, learn from it? Surely a world that records hundreds of thousands of years would have developed sufficiently that no random village would lack internet and that type of thing? Not sure, actually…’

It’s not like she usually had to think about such things. In her day to day life before all this, the biggest of her concerns was the jackass that she shared a room with, and her relationships and whether she’d be able to get some time to herself after all the homework to ‘relax’ and ‘relieve herself’, in a manner that the aforementioned jackass certainly didn’t need to know about.

When she managed to return to the book in her lap, she determined that it was almost certainly a description of myth or fiction, or at the very least grossly exaggerated. It described the Reaper’s Grave being home to powerful reapers that wielded scythes and could harvest whole armies (attributed to sects, for some reason) alone and within moments, as easily as a farmer might harvest a field of crop after a dozen years of repetition.

It described how the world turned on them and hunted them down, bringing out numerous powerful warriors from the pages of legend to fight them. There was the mighty Exarch, known by no other name than this, bringing a legion of loyal fighters with it. An ancient dragon called Long Shiyi stood alone, yet her strength rivalled that of entire sects. Jun Jie was another, and wielded breaches into some other terrible realm and manifested it upon the battlefield, producing countless monsters to fight against the reapers.

‘Sounds ludicrous, frankly. Then again, I recall some Antanian myths being silly too. Some Goddess of the Black Blade that would come to you in person if you simply produced an edged weapon with a black blade and stuck it in the ground,’ Bianca shrugged, and flipped over to another section of the book.

Her interest was in figuring out a suitable name, not the mythology of the world. That could be searched for later, and she couldn’t be blamed for not knowing something thanks to her claim of amnesia. If she was stuck here for a long time, then she could easily find the most important legends of the local folklore and get a basic grasp of them for any local ceremonies or whatever it was people would do with legends.

As such, she browsed through numerous pages, skimming through them in search of names and words that she could use. She needed a name that was similar to her true, Antanian name, but one that the locals could understand and accept as ordinary, to avoid misunderstanding and the like.

 

“You… actually seem to be paying attention. Impressive.”

“Huh?”

“You’re taking the time to read through the tome. I approve.”

“Oh… t-thanks…” Bianca realised that the owner of the home addressed her, and instantly felt ashamed at the praise.

After all, she hadn’t been paying any attention to the supposed history itself, and only the names within, desperately seeking out something that was similar to her own. A perfect match might not be ideal, as she did not know the attitude people had for using mythological names for oneself, but as long as she knew that the individual components were used as names, she could easily mix two or three together into something resembling her real name.

So far, she was leaning towards Bi An Kao, mostly because she imagined the pronunciation to be similar enough to the Antanian version to allow her to simply say the latter and let others imagine the former.

“In the future, if you have anything you wish to learn, my doors are open.”

‘I didn’t really… ah, never mind,’ she supressed her shame and instead asked, “Do all of these books depict history? There seem to be a lot of books here.”

“Of course. There are nearly a million years of history since the Western Continent’s golden age began and rocked both the continents. Over there, a single figure known as the Master of Yi City took over half the continent and spread wealth and glory to the people within, and since their Lan District was a prime location for trading, our lands also benefitted. For that reason, the sects and temples agreed that it was the beginning of a new age, and it carried on since that figure’s disappearance, and presumed passing.”

“I see… Clearly hadn’t read far back enough,” Bianca nodded, ‘And I would’ve imagined a fancier title than that for the equivalent of a creator god, but I guess that’s as fine a title as any. Yi City, though… Why a city? Unless the Western Continent is tiny, that place is bound to be bigger than most countries on Orbis, so… Hm.’

She had too little context for any of this, so she instead moved to the main reason she had even stepped into the dusty building to begin with.

“Given your expertise,” the man immediately perked up, providing his full attention to her words, “do you recall anyone by the name of… Bianca?”

This was a risky thing to do, as far as she could tell, but she couldn’t think of anything else. She had no clue how her words – which she believed to be Antanian – would be converted into the language of this place, so perhaps she would find her name being transformed into something entirely different in the ears of Xi Wu Lin. That would completely ruin her current attempts, but if they heard something different while she heard the same thing, it could still work out.

‘Shit, will I be able to write in this language? I hadn’t thought about that yet…’

Xi Wu Lin distracted her from those thoughts, “There might have been a figure with such a name. The surname, Bi, meaning steps, might have been used in the year 104,991, by the Throne of a Million Blades Sect and their leadership.”

“I-Is that so? Are they… around?”

“No. They were annihilated in 172,004, I believe… Devastation caused by a user of the Visions of Doom,” he explained, though Bianca understood little, “Do you suspect you are related to them?”

“I…” she considered her options during a pause, and eventually said, “I’m not sure, but the name has come to mind, and it feels… right, I guess. Is it possible that I had this name, whether I have a relation to the Throne of a Million Blades Sect or not?”

“It’s not impossible. It’s the Western Continent that cares the most about family names and families. Here, it doesn’t really matter. So, even if the Throne of a Million Blades Sect has fallen completely, you might have had a parent or teacher that liked the name. Bi An… I don’t recall any recent factions employing this particular name, nor any famous figure. Then again, you hardly look famous.”

‘What does that even mean? Anyway…’ Bianca shrugged, “Well, whether it’s famous or not, if it fits, I guess I might as well use it. There shouldn’t be any problem with that, right?”

“I suppose not… Bianca, right?”

She could see his lips moving differently, and yet she perceived her own name, being pronounced exactly as she expected. It was a really strange feeling, yet she was happy to get rid of one potential annoyance. After all, she had lived for twenty-one years using a single name that she liked quite a bit, so regardless of how long she would end up spending within this strange land, she would prefer to keep the same name, and eventually return to her own world with it.

So, the fact that her name somehow transferred into this world and its language was ultimately positive.

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“Yes, that… that sounds right. Unfortunately, I don’t recall anything else so far.”

“You may recall more, or you can learn. If you choose the latter option, my residence is open to you,” Xi Wu Lin said, leaning back into his seat of books, “For now, though, you ought to depart. An empty mind should be filled at an appropriate speed.”

‘You sure that the issue isn’t all the dust around here?’ she kept the comment to herself and rose, “Thank you for your assistance.”

He simply nodded as she made her way out of the residence, struggling quite a bit to find her way back. Fortunately, as confusing as the maze of books was, the residence itself was not that large, and so she got out within a few minutes, finding Old Man Song some distance away, leaning on the wall of another residence.

The aged man seemed half-asleep, so she approached him quietly. She was considering letting him rest for a while, as she was hardly in a rush right now, but when she got nearer, he raised his head.

“Did you recall anything?”

“Well, I can’t be sure it’s my name, but… Bianca.”

“Ah, I see. Bianca. That’s a good name.”

‘It is, but… are you hearing what I’m actually saying, or some other word completely? I hope I am not accidentally conveying something incredibly rude and… generally unpleasant,’ she thought, but at least one of the two was bound to have said something already, so it couldn’t be too bad, “Yeah, I suppose it is. So, if you get the chance to introduce me to others, you can use that.”

“It would be a little embarrassing if that was the name of someone close to you… But regardless, if it suits you, then that is what I shall use. Good day to you, Bianca.”

“Thanks… Feels a bit weird, now, actually…” she replied, entirely honestly, then looked to the west, “Should we continue our brief tour around the place? I’ll introduce myself to Song Ming properly at a later time.”

“Very well, that might be best. Let me show you to Min Yu’s place.”

They returned onto what could be considered the main road of the torn, as it was the widest she’d seen so far, and he led her to the residence she’d seen earlier, with a large opening at the front, much like the shack Bianca had woken up in. By now, the smoke and steam was gone, and as they got nearer, a figure emerged from the building, short brown hair on her head and a thin, lithe body that made her look rather young.

Overall, though, her appearance suggested that she was around twenty-five, perhaps thirty if she aged especially well.

“Min Yu, this is-”

“The sleeping lady your daughter found, right? Hi there!” the woman said, waving her hand, “I recall that Song Ling had brought some food over for you. Was it good? Did you like the amount of spark leaves? I’ve been experimenting with it as of late.”

“I… well, first of all, I don’t recall most of my memories, but my name seems to be Bianca, so… Hi.”

“Ah, Bianca! That’s wonderful! Not the memory part, of course, but still – I’m glad you’re recovering. We weren’t sure if you would wake up.”

“Did I look especially unwell?”

“No, but you didn’t stir, barely breathed… If not for that, we might have judged you as an oddly warm corpse,” Min Yu got a little quieter, recalling that time, “It’s odd, really, but I’m glad you survived. It would be a great shame if someone as young as you suffered some attack and lost your life. The wilds are too dangerous for most of us.”

“I won’t disagree with that,” Bianca nodded, “Oh, right, thank you very much for the food. It was good.”

“Oh, thank you! So kind of you to say!” Min Yu smiled, almost from ear to ear, “If I had a kid, I would hope she was just like you!”

Bianca wasn’t sure how to respond to a woman that looked as young as this, so she just chose to nod politely and glance in Old Man Xing’s direction, as he was likely to know better than her how to speak with this woman. For all her social skills (with women and men that don’t seem too irritating) she was no social butterfly, able to charm all with a word, and so it was best not to risk irritating the person who’d be cooking most of her food in the near future.

“Ah, incidentally, Bianca wished to thank you the moment that she ate your stew.”

“Oh, you’re such a cute girl! Do you want to adopt me as your mother?” Min Yu almost cheered, her excitement visibly overflowing.

“I’ll… um… I’ll wait until I recall who my original mother is, if you don’t mind.”

“That… that is fair enough. If your mother is the leader of the Phoenix Sect, for instance, I’m sure that you would forever regret your decision. I’ll allow that,” Min Yu nodded in satisfaction, “Get back to me as soon as you recall the truth, alright?”

“Sure.”

Min Yu smiled and glanced up into the sky, finding the sun beaming down almost directly from above.

“Ah, I should probably get to making something else. I’ll speak with you later, Bianca. May the heavens aid you in recovering your memories!”

Again, Bianca had to nod, as she didn’t especially understand the topic. There were some mentions of the heavens, along with other supernatural concepts, in the supposedly historical text she had browsed through, but they were presented in a manner that supposed that the reader already knew about all of them, and knew all about them.

Bianca did not know most of these things, and so she had no clue how to interpret most of these things. Perhaps there was some truth to the ancient legends, which were likely exaggerated beyond belief in the hundreds of thousands of years since they originally occurred.

Hence, she wasn’t sure what to say in response to such wishes of good luck and success.

Fortunately for her, Min Yu didn’t seem to care for a reply at all and returned into her home and kitchen, leaving Bianca with Old Man Song again.

“So, which residence should I visit next?”

“Lin Shuming’s is nearer, and there is no need to introduce you two, so it will be a quick trip,” the old man directed her to the south-west, down the main road and then to the left, ending up facing east.

There, a wide residence with a door in the centre presented itself to her, made of a different shade of wood that was arranged differently from the other homes. It made the structure stand out amidst the others, so even if Bianca was the most directionally challenged woman in the world, she would be able to find it amidst the others, if given enough time.

Before either of them had a chance to knock, Lin Shuming opened the door and emerged.

“Did something happen?”

“No… well, I remembered my name, or a name, at least,” Bianca replied, gesturing towards herself, her hand ending up in between her boobs.

“And?”

“It’s Bianca.”

“It’s not one I’ve heard of before, so at least you’re not a famous villain. I’ll still be keeping an eye on you, but if you show yourself to be a danger, then I will take care of you.”

“I don’t intend on doing anything… dangerous. I’ll just help out, where I can.”

“Hm,” Lin Shuming shrugged, took a few steps back, and then shut the door behind himself, leaving them out in the warm midday air.

For a brief while, neither of them could find much to say, so the silence was broken up only by the wind, growing a little stronger than it had been at first, but calming by the time they turned to look at one another.

“He usually isn’t quite like this. I guess he doesn’t like someone as strange as you,” Old Man Song shrugged, “There’ve been strange people coming to Xi Village, but none that can’t even remember who they are. I guarantee that he will relax in time, and start treating you the same as anyone else in the village. Even if he doesn’t, I’ll make sure he doesn’t mistreat you in any way.”

“Thanks, Old Man Song. Is there another person to see today?”

“The one to have hunted the boar you ate, Kong Xi,” he replied, leading her to the west and then north and north-east, down another so-called road.

It led them to the edge of the village and the edge of the mountain terrace, where a shack stood in a shabby state, a strong smell of sweat lingering around it. Bianca was forced to block her nose, as the masculine smell almost burned her senses, bringing her mind back to the unfortunate events that preceded her appearance in the strange land. In other words, it was incredibly unpleasant, and so she stopped and then retreated from the residence.

“Yeah, I’ll speak with him later… if I have to.”

“Oh? Well, if you wish,” Old Man Song didn’t seem to understand, but he agreed nonetheless, following her in her retreat from what smelled like the den of a wild animal that had no concept of taking a shower – not that most people in this land would be particularly familiar with it either.

The others, however, clearly kept themselves clean enough, with Song Ming being clean and gorgeous when Bianca met her, so this Kong Xi was clearly an exception to the rule.

At least, that’s what she hoped.

‘Oh no, I just realised that I won’t have access to a regular shower, or shower gel, or shampoo, or anything of the sort… Fuck. Good thing I had never worn much makeup, or else I’d be completely doomed,’ Bianca almost had to push away these thoughts before they made her feel absolutely awful, but she knew that she would miss the conveniences of modern Antanian life for a long, long time.

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