Chapter 12: Chapter 012 – Somewhere to Be

Eventually, sleepiness got the better of Micro, and Feng rolled a mat out on the floor near the fireplace where he could sleep. His dreams brought him back home again, but the happiness he felt to see the old man again was not all he experienced in this dream.

While driving down a gravel road, he realized his rubber tires had been replaced with leather. The rocky road quickly tore through the weak tires, but he couldn’t stop despite the pain. The road then became dark, and when his driver turned the switch to flip the headlights on, no light came out at all. Stranded in the dark with four damaged wheels, his master climbed out of the cab to look around, only to find the fuel was leaking.

Micro tried to talk to his driver, to tell him he was sorry. He wanted to let him know he’d be back to normal soon, after a few repairs, but the driver suddenly fell away into the darkness, farther and farther, until he was completely out of sight. As much as he tried, Micro could neither move nor scream in his anguish, until-

“No!” Micro shouted as he sat up on the floor of the cabin.

He gasped for air as the anxiety of the nightmare lingered and looked around.

“Calm down, boy.” Feng’s voice rang from outside the cabin.
“I’ll have breakfast ready in a moment.”

Micro stood up and stretched out his joints, still aching from the previous day’s adventures. He tried to shake off the nasty feeling his dreams had left him with, but he was still very much aware of the discomfort in his core.

Feng was quick to fill up several plates with all sorts of vegetables, and even some fruits, and the two sat down for their second meal together.

“I was wondering…” Micro asked after finishing his salad.
“Why do people need cores? I don’t think people on my world had them, so can’t I just get rid of mine if it’s so dangerous?”

Feng nodded at the question with a raised eyebrow.

“There are no cultivators in your world at all? That’s fascinating.” He replied.
“Indeed, a core isn’t necessary for the soul to reside in a physical body. Many people certainly do live their entire lives without cultivating a core, and some are simply unable to form one at all. I spent little time among the mundane though, so I couldn't tell you much about them.”

“So why do I need it?”

“Well, there is one reason a typical cultivator needs a core, but there are two reasons why you need one.” Feng explained slowly.
“A cultivator gathers the energy of the world around him and makes it part of him, you see? Now, what do you think would happen if you forced more water into a cup than it was meant to hold?”

Micro didn’t have to think long before answering.

“The water would spill out.”

“That is correct.” Feng nodded approvingly.
“When the cup is insufficient to contain the energies we wish to harness, we must strengthen it. This allows us access to far greater reserves of energy than a mortal body normally would. However, in your case, the second reason is rather a rare case. The vessel you now possess after being summoned here simply cannot contain your magnificent spirit. I doubt any human body ever could.”

“So even without an unstable core…”

“That’s right. Your soul is too much for a human body to contain. I’m not sure what size or shape you were before you came into this world, but you’ll need to reach a much higher stage of cultivation before you can even begin to chase that dream.”

“It sounds like I need a mechanic…”

“You need a master.”

“A master will make me stronger?”

“A master will teach you to be strong.”

Micro thought about the word master for a moment, then he realized.

“You’re my master!”

Feng laughed at the boy’s proclamation. Micro interpreted his jovial response as agreement, but was disappointed to see him shake his head a moment later.

“Alas, my time as a master of young cultivators is long behind me now.” He closed his eyes and sighed.
“Last night’s exercise in energy circulation is such a basic skill for a master to practice, and yet I feel as though it drained me of all my strength. Not to mention that hungry little pixie in your pocket.”

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“Eek!” A muffled sound escaped Micro’s pocket, and a tiny pair of blue eyes peered out from behind the rusty armour.

“You think somebody my age wouldn’t notice a greedy little critter siphoning off all the power it could?!” Feng rebuked the pixie, clearly annoyed.
“You pesky little things always pop up when something worth stealing presents itself.”

“You siphoned somebody’s fuel?!” Micro was shocked to hear such an accusation.
“That’s dishonest!”

The anxious pixie suddenly became defensive and waved her fist at Micro from her seat in his pocket.

“Hey, you owed me a little for getting you out of that cave!” She pouted.
“And it wasn’t like he’d have offered me any if I asked.”

“Be careful around pixies, boy…” Feng spoke as he continued to look at the little blue creature suspiciously.
“They’ve robbed entire sects blind in an afternoon. Countless cultivators brought to ruin, and not even a word of-”

“Hey, Blue would never do something like that.” Micro laughed at the scale of Feng’s claims as he struggled to imagine such a tiny creature stealing things from humans.

“Well, to be fair…” Blue spoke out of the corner of her mouth.
“That’s not entirely wrong. Pixies are treasure hunters by nature, you see…”

“More like thieves and pests!” Feng grumbled in displeasure.
“And they’re a fearsome pest at that. As a child I was once blamed for the theft of a dozen Core Cards from my sect after a single Pixie snuck in and dropped a hammer on my head. I still have the scar! Look!”

Feng lifted his long grey hair off his face, revealing a small mark on his forehead where indeed a hammer had made contact. However, while he displayed his scar for Blue and Micro to see, he suddenly broke out in laughter.

“Oh, my… I was nearly banished from the sect, if not for my master’s kindness…”

Blue slumped back into Micro’s pocket as the old man laughed and giggled. Even Micro started to laugh after a while, but Blue remained confused.

“Ah… I’m too old to be blaming a force of nature for acting according to its nature…” Feng relaxed his face and leaned back.
“What’s your name, little one?”

“...Blue.” Her reply was muffled still by the armour she hid behind.

“I see.” Feng replied.
“And how did you find yourself in the company of this otherworldly traveller? I’ve never known a pixie to take any interest in human affairs.”

Blue planned to ignore the old man, but she was suddenly plucked from her pocket by Micro. He placed her gently atop the table and smiled.

“I don’t think he’s going to do anything to you, Blue.”

“Hmph.” She rolled her eyes, then looked over her shoulder at the old cultivator behind her, stroking his beard curiously.
“Fine. I was one of the sacrifices the creepy magicians used to bring him over here. I helped him escape when they threw him on the altar next to me.”

“What an adventure you’ve had.” Feng nodded.
“But you are free now, and yet you remain in his pocket.”

“That was just until I could recover my strength!” She shouted.
“But I’m all better now thanks to you, so goodbye!”

With those words, she stuck out her tongue and snapped her fingers, creating a bright flash. When the light had faded, she was nowhere to be seen. Micro looked all around the room, but she had disappeared.

“That was strange.” Micro remarked.
“I guess she had somewhere to be.”

 

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