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Fate's Attendant 1.21
🕑 Added 2025-09-01 18:04:58 +0000 UTCHong Fei shut the doors to his courtyard, then leaned his back against them, letting himself slide down into a sitting position. Auntie Ling offered a huff, to which he replied, âYes, itâs been a long morning.â
He touched his face and winced at the sting of the cuts. Theyâd thankfully been shallow and stopped bleeding. Kang Lian had demonstrated a surprising deftness when treating them. Apparently, her deceased husband had often come home with similar cuts from working with stone.
Auntie Ling sat in front of Hong Fei, and he reached into the satchel to show her his card.
Hong Fei
Fate Points: 3 | 4
Realm: Body-Forged 3
Cultivation: 5
Alignment: N/A
Attributes
· Body: 1
· Mind: 2
· Soul: 2
Traits
· Sword Prodigy
· Fateâs Attendant
Cards
· Uncommon Badger
Hong Fei had already discussed with Auntie Ling on the way into the city the numbers heâd seen and the changes to them. Now he asked, âAm I wrong in thinking theyâre related?â
Auntie Ling had been considering how to represent the information Hong Fei needed. The cherry tree in their courtyard was nearly done blossoming, but there were still enough petals on the ground for her to create a shape out of them: a spiderâs web.
âTouch one part and the whole thing shakes,â Hong Fei said.
The giant badger nodded, then she removed one of the nodes connecting the web strands, as well as the attached strands themselves.
âThe energy I feel from killing someone with a number is from these nodes and these strands,â Hong Fei observed.
Auntie Ling nodded, then shook her head.
Hong Fei leaned forward. âIâm somewhat right, but thereâs a complication.â
With the remaining petals, Auntie Ling drew a treeâs branch connecting to several of the webâs nodes, then she wiped away a node but left the tree intact.
Hong Fei narrowed his eyes. âI donât understand.â
The giant badger sat on her haunches. The idea had been clear in her head, but the translation through drawings hadnât worked as intended.
âIt seems like I can selectively kill people for the energy they provide,â Hong Fei said, thinking aloud. âThe key is finding the appropriate sections of the web, so that I donât hurt the people I donât want to.â
Auntie Ling dropped her head to consider this interpretation. It wasnât right, but might work well enough for now.
Hong Fei picked up one of the petals. âI wonât kill Little Ruyun,â he muttered. âThereâs no need for it.â
Auntie Ling eyed the swordsman, then an idea came to her. She erased the web and the tree, replacing them with a drawing of a smiling girl. The representation was crude, but Hong Fei understood.
He said, âThis is Little Ruyun.â
The giant badger nodded, then drew a web attached to the girlâs body. With every node she added, she diminished the girlâs smile until Little Ruyun was left frowning.
Hong Feiâs eyes widened. When he reached over to begin the process of erasing the webâs nodes, Auntie Ling matched him by returning the smile to the girl.
âThe web is a thing that happens to people. Some are meant to die and others not.â
Auntie Ling sighed. Hong Fei had gotten to a useful understanding. The true answer was more complicated, of course, but this was enough for him to get started on his path. The rest would come eventually.
Hong Feiâs brow furrowed. âHow does one know which is the web and which is the girl? I have my favorites among the people with numbers, but surely something so esoteric isnât based on⊠on my preferences.â He stroked his beard, turning the idea around in his thoughts. âIs it the colors? What do they mean?â
Auntie Lingâs jaw nearly dropped. She came up right in his face, nose to snout, and huffed at him. Sheâd gone to heroic lengths to describe a set of deeply philosophical concepts, and now he wanted an explanation for something even more complicated!
Meanwhile, Hong Fei quickly caught on that heâd said something inappropriateâhe wasnât sure what, but the badger was clearly upsetâso he changed topics by holding up his card. âShould I use the number 3 to enhance my body again?â
Auntie Ling dove to keep him from doing any such thing.
âAnd thatâs a no,â Hong Fei said after extricating himself and retrieving the card that had gone flying. âWhat should I be doing instead?â he asked.
The giant badger delicately pointed at the section of symbols that looked like âCards.â She had him touch it with his finger until another set of symbols appeared:
âExpend a fate point to draw a new card? Yes/No.â
Auntie Ling urged Hong Fei to touch the part that said, âYes.â
A new card appeared to replace the old one. The surface looked like the night sky on a moonless nightâan impenetrable dark glimmering with pinpoints of light.
New symbols appeared:
âReveal card? Yes/No.â
Hong Fei checked with Auntie Ling, and this time she had him touch the âNo.â
His card reappeared, now with a small version of the night-sky card hovering above it.
The symbols on his card had also changed. âFate Points: 3 | 4â now appeared as âFate Points: 2 | 5 | Milestone.â
The last section âMilestoneâ glowed, and the badger gazed at it intently. She had him touch it next, which caused his card to disappear again. This time, a familiar set of symbols appeared:
âThe Dao of Fate follows its own path, returning all to the natural order. As its attendant, you are gifted the tools to right what has been made wrong.â
That was then followed by something new:
âYouâve reached a fork in the path. Choose one of the following:
The Power of One. For every ten points spent on attributes, gain an additional point to spend the attribute of your choice.
Three is the Direction. When selecting new cards, choose from three instead of one. The card picked must still be redeemed with Fate Points as usual.â
It was clear to Hong Fei that something important was happening. The intensity of Auntie Lingâs gaze didnât lessen as she nodded toward the second choice.
âYouâve chosen Three is the Direction. Yes/No?â
At Auntie Lingâs prompting, he selected âYesâ and the number of night-sky cards increased to three.
âLet me guess, I touch those next, correct?â
Auntie Ling nodded seriously. Whatever annoyance sheâd felt earlier was gone.
The three night-sky expanded before him. When he touched the first, the darkness dissolved, and colors emerged in its place, like paint had spilled onto the back and seeped through. A new image eventually formed of a giant spider with a mottled carapace.
There were a 2 and a 1 at the top left and right respectively, as well as the symbols âGreen Hermitâ at the bottom and âPoisonâ on the reverse.
Auntie Ling frowned at the spider and gestured for Hong Fei to continue.
The next card showed a small shield made of wood and reinforced with bronze. The numbers at the top were 0 and 2; at the bottom was âPauperâs Present,â and on the back: âSelf-Repair.â
Auntie Ling motioned for him to touch the last card.
The colors spilled, and the image of a young man took shape. His face was clean shaven and young. He wore a long, grey, wide-sleeved robe, belted with a sash in muted yellow, and a formal cap. The numbers representing him were 2 and 2, and at the bottom was: âScholar Sun Hanâ. On the back, the symbols were: âVersatile, Supportâ
Auntie Ling jumped up, and her butt swayed as she danced in delight. Clearly, sheâd found what she was looking for.
Hong Fei, eager to learn more, went to examine the card more closely. A new string of symbols appeared:
âNot enough Fate Points to redeem this card.â
Auntie Ling froze, then came to sit in front of the card, her expression serious again.
âWhatâs happened now?â Hong Fei asked.
The badger pointed to his money pouch, which she took from him and removed all but two of his coins. Auntie Ling then pointed at the card before setting aside four coins.
âI donât have enough of the numbers to afford the young manâs card,â Hong Fei said. At her nod, he added, âWhat about the others? The spider or the shield?â
Auntie Ling mimed choosing the shield. The other options she slashed afterward, indicating that once one was picked, the others would no longer be available.
âInteresting.â Hong Fei took a long breath and admired the artistry of the three cards. They represented an even more advanced magic than heâd first assumed. He muttered, âThe rules by which they operate seem so arbitrary, though. Thereâs surely an internal logic or a principle of the Dao that they follow.â
He gestured to the spider and the shield. âTo be certain, theyâre not worth selecting? I donât know about the shield, but the spider looks like a formidable ally. Itâd be difficult to explain, but perhaps I can develop a reputation for being a spirit beast tamer.â
Auntie Ling pointed at the young manâs card with unyielding determination.
âHeâs that good, is he?â Hong Fei asked.
Auntie Ling resisted the urge to sigh at him. She pointed to her mouth and mimed speaking. She pointed at the man and then herself, her mouth continuing to move throughout.
Hong Fei gasped. The young man would be able to speak! Even if it was the same mysterious language from the cards, they could teach each other their respective languages. This new summoned ally would be able to explain with greater clarity what Auntie Ling could not.
Numbers. Hong Fei needed more numbers and soon!
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Characters Mentioned in this Chapter
Auntie Ling, a summons
Kang Lian, mother to Little Ruyun
Kang Ruyun, daughter to Kang Lian
