ALL NOVEL Chapter 4: Human Value(s)
It felt unreal. Waking up in this personal nightmare called Heaven’s Gate. But sleeping did help me regain some sense of direction. If not for that old beggar and Feng, I couldn’t imagine ever arriving at the dorms. It sounds melodramatic, I know, but I was lost like a lamb in a lion’s den. I’m still not sure how I felt about Feng but I was pretty sure how to feel about that old beggar. He was crazy, of course, but for some reason, I still put Leafy into my school uniforms blazer. Even if it's trash. It reminded me that there were still good people in this city. That had to count for something.
Maybe I misjudged the people in this city. Maybe they are all like the old caretaker. They appeared hard on the outside but had a heart of gold. She provided me with everything I desperately needed, a warm bath, a fresh set of clothes and a delicious supper. The small and spotless room was moderately decorated but each detail brought warmth into my humble abode. Yes, the caretaker is one of the good people.
These school uniforms were definitely made by an evil person though. Couldn’t imagine anyone not being embarrassed wearing that much pink. At least the blazer and socks were grey. But pink shoes? What is wrong with good old black or brown leather? Worst of all: Why skirts? Even ascending into Heaven’s Gate will not protect one from sexism. That's to be expected with geezers being at the top of the food chain.
I didn’t have time to concern myself with the leading class of the city. I had to focus on making a good first impression on the countless geniuses of the Eimei Academy. I set aside any notions of making friends on my very first day. I had a more realistic goal in mind: don't make any enemies. Shit! I think that I cursed myself. Let me rephrase: don't make too many enemies.
And it went swimmingly at first! I caught my train from Sympathy to Eimeishan. I got off without anybody being killed and I somehow managed to be on time for the entrance ceremony. Or so I thought. I had an incident at the campus gates where a robot ran into my fist. Students were scanned for supposed security reasons. Instead of weapons, the bot did detect ‘body irregularities’ on me. Turns out he meant my lip and nose piercings. They apparently did not conform to the school regulations. I didn’t know he meant them though. Now how would you feel if a machine pointed out ‘body irregularities’ in front of your new school? Yeah, well, I punched it. Hard.
“Everyone puts one of these dumb bots sooner or later in a state of distress. But you totaled it! That was awesome!”
A girl with short brown hair and apple-like cheeks approached me in the middle of the entrance ceremony. Her name was Rose and she was wildly amused by my rather unorthodox entrance. I’m already the talk of the school. I sighed so hard that she might have thought that my soul left my body. Sadly, it didn’t. I seem to attract trouble and trouble-loving weirdos. Shame led me to bury my face into my hands. Yes, if I can’t see anyone then no one is able to see me. I didn’t even set foot on the premises of the academy and I already pissed off the school administration. Great work Meadow!
“Haha, it's not that big of a deal! You gained notoriety, isn’t that a good thing? By the way, how much did it cost you?”
“One thousand and fifty merits and one thousand spirit credits!” I sobbed. “Fifty merits just for wearing piercings!”
“Damn.”
“...”
If there was a time and place for awkward pauses then it was this moment. It was not a simple matter of monetary damages. Don’t get me wrong. A thousand credits hurt a lot. It will take me the whole semester working part-time to pay off my debt. Merits can’t be earned in an easy way though.
A student earns merits through good grades. The higher the grade, the higher the income. As an alternative, they can perform tasks to the benefit of the school, whatever that means. Students focused on the more obscure arts of cultivation can earn merits through tasks instead of going to every class. Even though the academy provides a broad spectrum of courses, there is still a mainstream to be found. This merit system was created to ensure that students can disregard the mainstream to a certain degree. They still have to take part in some classes though.
All you need to graduate are certain thresholds of accumulated merits. Depending on the amount, you will receive various kinds of titles or even a position in a sect. A titled cultivator will receive many benefits and privileges. Most people seek better access to information and resources. I wouldn’t be surprised if a large number of people pursue titles to simply stand above us, the untitled plebeians.
Well, I did make myself look better than I am because I actually have negative merits. I don’t even stand with ordinary cultivators. It feels like my legs were broken before I even had the chance to climb to the top. Well, I’m not above crawling. I do what I have to. But I’m in serious trouble if I cannot balance my merits soon. They would revoke my stipend and probably would expel me for being worthless. I'd have to join the old geezer from yesterday in hunting rats for dinner. Even though I like rats. They are cute.
“If you break the rules or break school property. You will be punished.” The vice-chancellor stared at me for a moment. My whole body shivered under her eyes. She interrupted my thoughts and brought my attention back to the stage, even though I tried so very hard to ignore the never-ending speeches of, to be honest, every grown-up I met. This time though, I wanted to hear what she had to say, no, I needed to hear it. Such a strange and fascinating art. “All the punishments are categorized. You will find them in your digital guide. The fees will reflect the damage the student inflicted to the school body, property, or its reputation. For example, if you kill another student you will not only receive a flat fine. You will also have to pay the individual's worth to the school. That student accumulated 10.000 merits? Then 10.000 merits and the flat fee will be subtracted from your accounts. As you know, we, the righteous people of Jianghu, act in accordance with the Confucian virtues. We integrated those values into our code of conduct: Justice for everyone, loyalty to the school, courage in all regards, honesty to oneself, respect seniority, disregard for personal wealth, and a hunger for glory. If we perceive a breach of the code then sanctions will follow. I hope you all will keep that in mind. Classes begin after lunch. That is all. You are dismissed.”
“Hypocrites,” I murmured to myself while leaving the auditorium. All immersed in my thoughts again, I didn’t notice Rose walking beside me. She seemed relieved that I broke our awkward pause and was eager to talk to me again.
“Who?” She asked.
“The school administration, of course. They talk about ‘justice for everyone’. Meanwhile, she implied murdering is okay as long as you are rich and have outstanding grades. Murdering lesser people that is. You’d never be able to pay off the debt for killing a genius. Even if he would be the devil incarnate. How is this justice?” I ranted without thinking. Stupid me. I always forget that the cultivation world accepts ruthlessness.
“Now that you mentioned it, it seems quite unfair”, Rose took on a thinking face and wrinkled her brows, “but isn’t cultivation inherently unfair? With it having so many gatekeepers?”
“It is. But why bother masking it with a loaded concept as justice?” I responded.
She shrugged her shoulders: “Probably because they want to feel better about themselves. That would be my guess anyway.”
Before I could fall back into my thoughts, she changed the topic and suggested we should go for a bowl of noodles before classes start. I happily agreed. Can’t go wrong with noodles.
“By the way, do I earn one thousand merits if I kill you now?”
