Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
107. Heart To Heart

Jin Shu sat at his desk, utterly silent on the outside.

Inside his mind, however, it was anything but quiet.

“We’ve been avoiding far too many things for far too long,” the eldest of his souls said. “This conversation is overdue.”

Once again, the three of them had gathered within the ethereal space inside his consciousness.

“Let’s start with what the kid was saying earlier,” he continued.

“Huh? What did I say?” the younger Jin Shu asked absentmindedly.

“About wanting more control over your life—and how we’ve been disrupting that.”

He gestured between himself and their other soul.

“Oh. Right… Sorry, I’ve just been distracted by the whole ‘two mothers’ thing.”

Learning about his mother’s relationship with Chen Ai Yun had made so many things finally click into place. Like why his parents had always lived separately or why his father hadn’t reacted deeply when his mother went missing.

Now that he thought about it, his grandfather had never really interacted with his mother, either. But he hadn’t seemed to hate her, either.

Maybe that was why he had subconsciously avoided asking either of them for help when she disappeared. Maybe, deep down, he had always known their family was never whole to begin with.

The other two souls felt his emotions, sensing the tangle of thoughts running through him.

“Hey, don’t you think it’s better this way?” the main soul spoke up, his tone encouraging. “It just means you have more people who love you.”

Jin Shu appreciated the words, but he was still a little miffed that the new guy got to be the ‘main soul.’

And, of course, the other two knew that.

“Let’s set some ground rules,” his older self suggested.

“Before that, how about names?” the main soul countered.

“Names?” Jin Shu blinked.

“Yeah. Instead of calling each other ‘younger,’ ‘older,’ and ‘main’ souls, let’s actually name ourselves.”

Jin Shu hesitated. “...I’d like to keep my name. If that’s okay?”

“Yeah, I was actually going to suggest that,” the main soul said. “And I’d like to go by Shuang, which means twin.”

“Then, since my native language is English, I’ll go with Gold, since that’s what ‘Jin’ translates to.” His older soul—now Gold—decided.

“Not, Book for our given name?” Shuang asked in a teasing tone.

Gold gave him a glare, but didn't retort.

“So we’re Gold, Shuang, and Jin Shu, then?” Jin Shu confirmed.

The other two nodded.

“Our naming sense kinda sucks,” Jin Shu said with a small laugh.

“We’re a blacksmith and a soldier, not poets,” Gold replied with a shrug. “At least I didn’t go with something like Grand Overseer, Lord of Death. That would’ve been too much.”

“But you thought about it, didn’t you?” Shuang asked.

Gold looked away. “How about those ground rules?” he said, deflecting.

“Sure, what do you have in mind?” Jin Shu asked.

“For starters, if we get into a very dangerous situation, I’ll take over,” Gold said.

“What classifies as dangerous?” Jin Shu pressed.

“Hmm… anything involving the possibility of death that you can’t handle on your own.”

“Okay, but only as a last resort.”

Gold nodded in agreement.

“What about Shuang?” Jin Shu asked.

“I don’t mind staying here. I’d like to study,” Shuang said.

“Study what?”

He shrugged. “Anything, really.”

“Huh… that could actually work,” Gold mused. “We’d be constantly learning—runes, formations, techniques—whatever we find useful.”

Jin Shu nodded. “So… those are the only rules? Though, really, only one of them is a rule.”

“Well, there’s one more,” Gold said. “We won’t interfere with your love life.”

Jin Shu exhaled in relief—until Gold added, “Just don’t go trying to be some emperor with a harem of hundreds of women.”

Jin Shu’s face burned. “Of course not!”

“If you find someone you truly love, and they love you back, then pursue them,” Gold said. “But don’t forget the ones already around you.”

“I wasn’t planning on adding any more women on top of those three,” Jin Shu protested. “In fact, I hadn’t even planned on getting involved with them at all!” He hesitated. “Well… maybe Biyu, but that was an accident because of her treatment—”

“Uh-huh.”

They clearly didn’t believe him. And why would they? They knew exactly what he was thinking.

“All right, let’s move on to a more serious topic,” Gold said.

Jin Shu nodded. “Sure.”

“Guns. They’re dangerous tools in the wrong hands, and we just gave two to a possibly deranged woman.”

“I didn’t—”

Gold raised a hand, cutting him off.

“I know. You didn’t have a choice. I’m not blaming you. But we do need to make sure she doesn’t use those weapons to hurt innocents. Luckily, she doesn’t have ammo—but you never know when she might try to take some from us.”

His expression turned grave.

“The same goes for you. The weapons we made are incredibly dangerous and shouldn’t be used lightly.”

“I know that,” Jin Shu said. “I’m not about to go around shooting people randomly.”

“Regardless, exercise caution.”

“Alright—” Jin Shu paused.

He heard something outside. A faint ringing.

His focus snapped back to reality.

Chime.

A soft sound resonated from his earring.

Reaching into the spatial fold, he found a small talisman vibrating with the noise. It was the communication talisman that Aunt—no, his stepmother…?—had given him.

He hesitated, staring at it, caught between processing the situation and deciding whether to answer.

Finally, with a thought, he extracted the talisman.

A strand of Qi activated the painted runes.

“Jin Shu? Can you hear me?” His aunt—his stepmother’s—voice came through the transmission rune at its center.

He wasn’t sure what to say. The truth made everything feel… awkward.

“...”

“Jin Shu?” she called again when he didn’t respond.

“Ah, yes… sorry, I was lost in thought.” He tried his best to sound normal, even though talking to her felt strange now.

“That’s okay. Would you mind coming to my study?”

She was straining to sound calm, but he caught the faint edge of nervousness in her voice.

“Yeah, I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting. Thank you.”

The talisman dimmed as the connection cut off.

Jin Shu let out a deep sigh as he stood up.

Pausing by the bed, he pulled the blanket back over Yin’er, who had kicked it off in her sleep. She let out a soft murmur but didn’t stir. Satisfied, he turned and stepped out the door.

Knock, knock.

Jin Shu rapped on the study door.

“Come in.”

He reached for the handle—then hesitated.

With a quiet grit of his teeth, he pushed the door open.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes were drawn to his stepmother. She sat behind her desk, a writing brush in hand, a scroll unfurled before her. Sunlight poured through the window behind her, framing her in a golden glow, like the halo of a goddess.

It reminded him of when she had saved him. Back then, he had believed she was a goddess.

Now, the thought made him cringe.

She wasn’t a divine being—she was his mother’s wife. His stepmother.

“…Hello, stepmother,” he greeted.

Her brush stilled. She looked up sharply, eyes wide.

“What… did you just say?” she asked, slowly.

“I’m sorry, do you prefer ‘Mother’ instead?”

“No, no.” She waved a hand, smearing ink across the scroll without noticing. “You can just keep calling me Aunt.”

“No,” Jin Shu shook his head. “You’re my mother’s wife. That makes you my mother, too. I’m not used to it yet, but… I know you love me as much as she does. And you've helped me immensely since I arrived here. You even saved my life—twice.”

She hesitated, lips parting and closing as if searching for words.

“…Then, can I call you son?” she finally asked.

Jin Shu scratched his cheek, considering.

“Um… sure. Call me however you’d like.”

A warm smile spread across her face.

After a few moments of silence, he spoke up.

“So… what did you call me for?”

“Oh, right. This.” She gestured toward the ink-splattered scroll.

Jin Shu leaned in slightly. Even upside down, he could make out enough to grasp its purpose.

An announcement for an inter-sect tournament.

He raised a brow, silently questioning her.

“You’ll need a little more context,” she said, shuffling the scroll aside. “Your mother asked me to give you a pass to the sect library. Only, she failed to remember that I can’t do that. The library is under the Grand Elder’s jurisdiction.”

Jin Shu nodded, understanding that the pass was out of reach—but not why she had brought up the tournament.

Noticing his confusion, she continued.

“The second-place winner of this tournament receives a one-time, all-access pass to the sect’s library.” She exhaled, as if bracing herself. “If you enter, you could win that pass… but you’d have to join our sect as a disciple.”

Jin Shu frowned.

“But only women can join…” His eyes widened as realization struck.

“Y-you want me to disguise myself as a woman again?”

“...Yes,” she admitted, hesitantly.

“And it’s the only way?” Jin Shu asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“Yes.”

He sighed. “What does first place get?”

He had noticed that first place received the same rewards as second and third, but the section detailing the top prize had been left unfinished on the scroll. If it was something worthwhile, maybe he’d consider aiming for it.

“You won’t be able to get first,” she said bluntly. “Honestly, even second place is a long shot.”

Jin Shu blinked. He knew he wasn’t the strongest cultivator, but he was confident he ranked fairly high among the younger generation.

“…Liu Hua will likely participate.”

“Oh.”

That explained everything.

“Not just her. Fan Biyu, Tian Li, Ling Shi, and a few other girls—all with higher cultivation than you—are entering as well.”

“I… see.”

Maybe he had been a little too arrogant.

Still, if weapons were allowed, he might stand a chance against Liu Hua. Maybe. Probably.

…Not.

The thought of facing her again sent a shudder through him.

But then, he clenched his teeth.

“I’ll do it.”

His stepmother’s eyes flickered with surprise. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Jin Shu nodded firmly. He wasn’t going to back down. Even if he couldn’t beat Liu Hua, he would make sure she got a small taste of her own medicine.

“If you’re sure…” she said slowly. “We’ll need to craft you a stronger illusion talisman. The previous one could fool the inner sect elders, but this tournament will have the entire sect watching—including secluded elders and the Grand Elder herself.”

“Um… about that…” Jin Shu hesitated.

“Yes?” She raised a brow.

“I… already met the Grand Elder.”

“What?!” She bolted upright. “Then she already saw through your disguise?! …No, wait. That’s not right. You’d be dead.”

Jin Shu frowned. “Dead? Why would I be dead?”

“She hates men with a passion,” his stepmother said grimly. “I was shocked when Liu Hua mentioned that her master taught her about… sleeping with men.”

“She definitely didn’t teach her that,” Jin Shu muttered. “But she didn’t forbid it either, apparently.”

“Right…” She studied him carefully. “So why did she let you go? Has she… changed?”

“No. Well, my talisman was removed, but I used a technique to turn my body into a woman’s.”

His stepmother blinked. “You… turned into a woman?” A curious glint appeared in her eyes. “Show me.”

Jin Shu cleared his throat, looking away in mild embarrassment. A silver light enveloped his form, obscuring him from view for a brief moment.

When the glow faded, his stepmother sucked in a sharp breath.

“Wow… I can’t see any difference.” She examined him carefully. “Oh! This is the same technique you taught Yin’er, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Originally, it’s meant for young dragons to take human form. But theoretically, it can be used to take on nearly any shape.”

She nodded, satisfied. “Well, if it fooled the Grand Elder, then we don’t have to worry.”

Jin Shu’s body flashed, and he returned to his normal form.

“Can I use weapons?” he asked, eager to change the subject.

“Yes, but only non-lethal ones. They’ll also need to be inspected by the judges.”

That ruled out most of his arsenal. Not that he had planned on killing anyone, but it meant he’d need to be strategic. The pellet gun and his training knives should still be an option. Plus, he had recently discovered that his Qi was exceptionally sharp due to the metal attribute from Nano. That alone could give him an edge, literally.

“Alright. I’ll go prepare,” he said, already making a mental list of things to do.

“Wait—one more thing.”

He paused.

“You need to choose between me or your mother as your master.”

“Oh, right.” Since he had to officially join the sect, he needed a master.

“Then… I’ll go with you,” he said easily.

For a moment, she simply stared at him. Then, to his surprise, her expression softened into something almost… touched.

“Then we’ll hold the ceremony later,” she said, voice warm. “Go handle your things. Oh, and the tournament is in three days.”

Jin Shu nodded, then stepped out.