Data-Driven Daoist

The boat left the central area of the Outer Sect. The mountains turned into islands, rivers taking the places of valleys. After twenty minutes, they disembarked at a stone pier. The crab waited for them there, waving its claws left and right.

Other than their group of four, three more passengers got off: a woman with a fish in a bucket, a portly middle-aged man carrying a bag full of letters and scrolls, and a boisterous tall youth trying to chat up the Bucket Woman.

"I'm telling ya, sis," the youth said, "the fish ain't worth so many stones. It ain't even a carp! How can it pass the dragon's gate? Better to trade it with these formation papers. I made them myself!"

The woman briskly walked away without lending an ear.

"Che," the young man spat. “Doesn’t know what’s good for her.”

The middle-aged man bid the boatsman farewell, and the boat left the pier soon after to continue its journey.

This was the Heavenly Friendship Mountain, hosting the Heavenly Friendship Palace. Up above, Yu Han saw a tall wooden structure peeking through the canopy. A stone stairway led there, two shrines depicting a dragon and a phoenix flanking the steps. Huang Niuniu lit two incense sticks, then clapped a prayer.

The stone steps wound through serene, forested groves, their leaves rustling in the breeze. Yu Han's legs burned from the climb, sweat dampening his collar despite the cool morning air. His physique had improved a lot after his grueling practice, but there was something about climbing stairs that put the capital C in “Cardio.”

The crab would climb up ahead of them, then scuttle backwards until it was near Yu Han again. It would gurgle, click, then race ahead once more.

After ten minutes, the path opened to a clearing where the Heavenly Friendship Palace stood, its seven-tiered pagoda reaching toward the clouds.

The dark wood of its walls had weathered to a deep charcoal, and green-glazed tiles crowned each level like stacked jade plates. Red pillars supported wraparound balconies, where Yu Han spotted a few disciples leaning on the railings, their voices carrying down. Every disciple was accompanied by a Spirit Beast.

A pair of ginkgo trees flanked the entrance, their yellow leaves carpeting the flagstone courtyard. There were two more shrines here, dedicated to a tiger and a tortoise.

The smell of incense wafted in the wind, mixing with the earthier scent of wet wood and autumn leaves. As they approached the main doors, Yu Han noticed intricate carvings of cranes and clouds adorning the wooden panels, worn smooth by countless hands over the years. The sheer size of the structure made his neck ache as he tried to take it all in.

The young man from the boat hadn’t followed them. He had made a huge commotion of forgetting something and had retreated after walking halfway up the stairs.

Disciples came and went. Most had companion Spirit Beasts; a small green tiger crept after an aged man with sparse hair; a girl, perhaps no older than thirteen, talked sweetly to a sparrow with three eyes. There were hundreds of disciples, and just as many Spirits.

The crab had gone haywire. One of its eyes would follow one Spirit and the other would follow another, until they got tangled up and it collapsed in a mess. Every time it happened, it would glare at Yu Han for some reason.

But Yu Han's mind wasn't on his buddy. It wasn't even on the myriad creatures straight out of a fantasy. He could have appreciated it all a lot more if not for a sudden stalker entering their lives.

"When did you notice them first?" he whispered to Huang Niuniu.

"The last week or so," she said. "I thought it was my imagination at first. But… I don’t know… I felt the gaze so strongly."

"No doubt, Cow Girl's right," Li Yao said, playing with the sheath of one of his swords. "That fella might as well have been shouting it. I noticed him halfway through the marketplace. It was like he was waiting there for her." 𝐑ἁℕòВÈṤ

"How come you noticed so quick?" Yu Han asked.

"Tubs, I'm a street rat. We're good at stalking, but we sure as hell don’t wanna be stalked."

"Was he the only one?" Yu Han asked.

Li Yao nodded. "Today, yeah. Can't be sure if there are more, though, or if they take turns."

"Fucking arseholes.” Yu Han grimaced.

Huang Niuniu grinned.

"Why're you happy? You have a stalker now," Yu Han said.

"Guess!" She giggled. "Too late. I'll tell you the answer."

She paused.

"Well?" Yu Han asked impatiently.

"You really didn't guess!"

"You're crazy."

"It's the right of girls to feel happy when a man worries for them," she said, beaming.

"Man?" Fang Zhao's eyes bugged out, and Li Yao laughed.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Little boy Han'er is growing up!"

"You guys suck,” Yu Han grumbled.

"Let’s not create a commotion here," Fang Zhao said.

They passed through the gates into a large hall.

"I know his face now," Li Yao said. "I'll ask around, see what I find."

"We're going to the Hidden Realm soon," Yu Han said. "It'll suck if a problem crops up."

"I-I don’t have to go with you if you think it's too dangerous," Huang Niuniu said.

"You will go," Yu Han demanded. "We'll take care of the stalkers."

"I'm betting he's part of a Courtyard," Li Yao said. "Cow Girl, think. Why would someone want to follow you? Think of all the possibilities and tell us later. It'll help narrow the shits down."

She nodded.

The hall took up multiple stories of the pagoda height-wise. Stairs led up from three of the cardinal directions. In the east—the only direction without stairs—there were rows of tables with demure-looking men and women wearing strange Chinese hats. Disciples would approach them with their Spirit Beasts.

At a few tables, strange burning scrolls were being used. At others, the disciples merely talked, the Spirit Beasts growling from time to time.

“What do we do now?” Huang Niuniu asked.

“Maybe talk to one of them Palace Disciples?” Li Yao pointed at a table that had just emptied. “The head butcher came here with an Eagle Spirit Beast. They made a contract here, and since then, he’s been talking with the bird day and night.”

“It’s best if Brother Yu and the little crab go alone,” Fang Zhao said. “I’ve been observing. It seems the Palace Disciples only consult with one disciple and Spirit Beast pair at a time.” He pointed at a girl who sat on one giant turtle and carried a small one in her palm, showing it to an elderly Palace Disciple. “Or one disciple and multiple Spirit Beasts.”

“Go now.” Li Yao pushed Yu Han’s back. “Or we’ll have to wait forever.”

The crab scuttled ahead, then turned to look at Yu Han. It walked back, tugging his pants. It was now the size of a mouse.

“I get it. Let’s go and see what this is all about.” Yu Han approached the table. A young disciple sat there wearing the strange top hat. It had bells hanging from it, like those hats university graduates wore during convocations, but more ornate.

The disciple eyed the approaching Yu Han and the crab. There was a droopy look on his face, as if he hadn’t slept in days.

"What can this one do for you?" he asked. His voice drawled on, taking double the time to say each word.

"Senior Brother, the matter is like this," Yu Han said. "I've recently befriended a Spirit Beast."

The crab clicked its pincers.

"I would like to form a contract with it—"

"Accord, not contract. Is your Adaptability higher than five?" the Senior Brother asked. "It won't work if it's lower. Your Spirit Origin will shatter."

Wait, Origins can shatter? Yu Han's eyes widened.

"It's higher than five," he said.

The man looked up, a glimmer of interest dawning in his eyes. “Token.”

Yu Han handed over his Sect identity token.

"You're a rookie?" The man blinked rapidly, looking at the token colours.

Yu Han nodded.

"Rare to have high Adaptability, then. Most start with far less. You have to train it with special formations; otherwise, grinding becomes a hassle. Did you dump all your Primordial Qi into it?"

Yu Han laughed hesitantly. So these 'accords' depend on the Adaptability Substat. Is the substat only for an accord with Spirit Beasts, or do they have other uses?

"Never mind. It's not a terrible choice if you're going to form accords with more Spirit Beasts." The man snapped his fingers. "It’s like having double the number of Arts. The accord scroll is free once for rookies. It’s an achievement just to find a Spirit Beast willing to bond with you, regardless of how mighty or not the beast may be.” He tossed over a scroll and a small knife. "Both of you drip blood on the bottom two boxes."

Yu Han unfurled the scroll. It was written in a script he didn't understand. Or were they something magical rather than normal characters? Like runes?

At the bottom, there were two ornately designed square fields.

"The Heavenly Friendship Accord will establish a contract between your Dao Records. What rewards you get from the accord is up to you," the man said. “Our methods are less forceful on the companion Spirit Beast than other traditional sects’, and the Spirit Beasts can nullify it too, in addition to the cultivator. We’re looking for friends here, after all, and not slaves. I’d advise against breaking it yourself, Junior Brother, unless you’re fine with losing a few Points in Adaptability."

Wait, so we can lose stat points too? Yu Han filed that knowledge away. He observed the scroll again. This stinks of a badly written contract. Am I being too judgmental? Ugh. Feels weird to sign it without knowing what it says.

Yu Han nicked his finger with the knife, then smeared the blood on one of the fields. He placed the scroll on the floor.

The crab walked on top of it. Its eyes roamed the runic landscape of the written words. It clacked forward, then back.

"Can you even read it?" Yu Han asked.

One of its eyes turned to him, then back to the scroll. It shoved away the knife and held aloft a claw. Then, from the gap of its pincers, a drop of blue liquid fell on the scroll, landing on the second signature box.

Can crab’s just squirt blood when they want?

Yu Han gave the scroll to the Senior Brother, who placed it on a marble circle in the middle of the table.

"And let it hence be called, the pact of heavens forms the friends. And let it hence be known, blessings of the earth and seas, does the heavens send."

A sudden poem. The Senior Brother hit a stone bell with a cinnabar stick. The sound rang loud but soothing in Yu Han's ears.

The scroll caught on fire. From both ends, the wall of flames—one green and one blue—burned inward until all that was left were ashes.

The heat seemed to sear Yu Han's brain in a way that felt homely. Like sitting near a fireplace, hearing his dad tell a fairytale. He closed his eyes. The warmth originated from his heart and spread through his body.

But the sensation left as quickly as it came. He opened his eyes to see the crab had turned into a rock again, with all its spikes and limbs retracted.

"Check your Dao Records," the Senior Brother said.

Name: Yu Han (Johan)

Level: 1

Active Accords: 1

True Qi: 105 / 200

Pure Qi: 12 / 200

Primordial Qi: 0

Lifeforce: 501 (+8) / 792

A new section had shown up.

Active Accords: 1

Yu Han concentrated on it.

Active Accords: 1

Name: ***

Type: Spirit Beast

Species: Cerebrant Collector Crab

Level: 10

Arts: 4

Traits: 2

A pet window! Yu Han tried to concentrate on the Arts and Traits, but nothing else appeared.

The Senior Brother took out a ceramic jar from somewhere. He recited another poem, and a gust of wind rose. It carried the ashes of the parchment and placed them into the jar.

Yu Han’s mind was only half on the event. He went through his Dao Records again for anything else that was new, but it was only the pet window.

“That’s it,” the man said. “We’re done. Have a nice day.”

“I thank the Senior Brother for his help.” Yu Han bowed.

“Thank the Palace Mistress and Sect Master. Take good care of the Spirit Beast.”

The crab clicked, bouncing left and right on its many legs.

“That goes without saying.” With another bow, Yu Han turned around. “Let’s go,” he said to the crab. Huang Niuniu, Fang Zhao, and Li Yao had been waiting for a while.

But the crab didn’t follow. It stared up at Yu Han with its eyestalks, then fell over on its back, feet jerking erratically.

“What the hell’s wrong with you now?”

The crab scuttled back onto its feet, then pointed at Yu Han with a claw.

「You can talk?!」 it said.