Chapter Text
It's been 2 weeks since I decided to go to China again. I've never been to Chengdu, so that's where I went 3 days ago. And what I would have never anticipated is that today I'm no longer in Chengdu. Yesterday, some people knocked on my hotel room door in the late evening. I opened it thinking it was the hotel staff. I was pretty surprised when I saw 3 ninjas in the doorway. One of them, in grey, his hair color matching that of his clothing, introduced himself as Tomas. The other two, in dark blue with a similar cut, only stood there and kept silent. Tomas right away said some crazy stuff, that I've been chosen to be a new bureaucrat in the clan of his called Lin Kuei or something. Now I was really confused. A lot of questions surged: "Is this a prank?" "What's Lin Kuei?" "Who the fuck are you?" "Why me?"
He told me that since I was the top of my year in my university, I'm the perfect match, even though I'm clearly not even Chinese. Why would any Chinese want me as their historian? Also a bureaucrat? If there's any math, I'm gonna get fired right away. After explaining that concern, I was promptly told that you can't be fired; pretty much—you're useless or betray them—you get executed. That's great, exactly what I needed. They come and take you away, and you can never leave? That's slavery!
Tomas asked me to speak in private for a bit; reluctantly I let him inside the hotel room; had he wanted to force himself in, he would have already. He begged me to cooperate, saying that I seem like not only a book-smart but also a street-smart person, and he would rather have me come peacefully. He said if I do, I'll be able to take whatever I want with me; otherwise, he can't guarantee that I can take anything. I thought about it for quite a moment and decided, "Whatever, new adventure. I might die if I stay. I'd rather go and weigh my options once I see what I'm dealing with. But I'm definitely not staying here for the rest of my life!"
I packed all my stuff that I deemed the most important, my plushies: the bunny Lola, the teddy bear Percival, and the two sheep Dolores and Lala. I grabbed my pajamas, some everyday clothes, formal wear, toiletries, and the book I bought written in Chinese and barely started reading. I left some stuff behind, but nothing that I thought was important.
I left with Tomas and the two ninjas, and we traveled by train further up into the mountains. Then by a car, it was very isolated, this temple of theirs. Very traditional style, adorned with all sorts of plants, which I was not expecting since it was so cold up there. It's only the start of autumn; summer barely passed, but the temperatures are low. But I have to admit the temple was majestic and definitely expensive, making quite an impression.
I was led through hallways and shown around the cafeteria, training areas, the garden, and my room. The closer we got to my quarters, the more the corridor looked western. Still the older style, but definitely European now and not Asian. The room itself had a similar aesthetic; the only things that looked like the rest of the temple were the paintings on the wall in front of the bed and in some other places scattered around. Hanging straight and symmetrical. They all featured a female figure and were simply stunning. At least the place was nice to look at. I must say the previous bureaucrat had good taste. But even thinking about them made me uncomfortable. What happened to them? They probably died, considering that you never leave Lin Kuei alive. Maybe they got away somehow?
Straightaway I looked at the files, in complete disarray; it'll take a lot of time to fix them. I set them down for now; that's a problem for future me. Well, for tomorrow, to be exact. I learned that there's also a training awaiting me first thing in the morning. Well, alright, not first but right after breakfast. Thankfully, I can sleep in a bit. I almost thought it would all be starting at 5 am or something, but no, I can wake up at 8 and eat breakfast in peace. But anyway, apparently all Lin Kuei members have to train to be able to protect their work and, in the case of a terrible situation, help the ninjas out or something like that. I'm not sure anymore. It was a pretty eventful day, and I haven't slept for a long time. So I fell asleep pretty early.