Chapter 46: Entanglement
Anastasia and Leona waited to get an answer.
Vivienne didn’t speak.
She slid her finger on the table. Wisp of black smoke followed and was replaced by an old and worn out book.
Vivienne nudged it towards the two.
Anastasia and Leona looked down.
[Yin Yang Dao Sutra]
Anastasia blinked.
Leona blinked.
Anastasia: "..."
Leona: "..."
Anastasia: "..."
Leona: "..."
Leona looked up at Vivienne.
The lady was staring in her direction with a slight smile.
Leona turned to Anastasia.
The blonde maid’s eyes were wide and her hands trembled.
She reached for the book.
Missed.
She reached again and touched it carefully, almost too carefully as if afraid it might disintegrate at the slightest nudge.
"This..."
Anastasia looked up at Vivienne.
She felt a lump in her throat as she tried to speak.
She gulped.
"...this exists?"
For her, it was as if her eyes were seeing things.
Over the course of four lifetimes, what had Anastasia not seen?
To her, a regressor, very few things could incite such a strong reaction.
Despite the martial arts present before her, she could not process it as real.
Her heart hoped it was real. But logic and rationale screamed of it being an illusion.
Leona could not understand why Anastasia was in such disbelief.
She flipped the first page open.
There was an ink painting of a blooming lotus.
[Celestial Yin Pavilion]
Anastasia fidgeted in her place.
With her trembling hands, she covered her mouth and glanced at Vivienne, as if she had met with the greatest horror of her life.
"Madam..." Anastasia said in a somewhat hoarse voice. "...if this exists... who else knows?"
Imagining the chaos this martial art would bring made her head ache.
The timeline had already altered so much that she was losing her knowledge of the future.
If this art fell into the wrong hands, one wouldn’t have to wait too long for the apocalypse.
"You worry too much."
Vivienne ran her finger along the book and it disappeared into a wisp of black smoke.
"Despite the strength, the limitation of this art is severe."
She snapped her fingers and the darkness around them disappeared.
The sky outside was starting to get bright.
"It isn’t officially stated anywhere, but one cannot just start cultivating with a random person with the same path. A deep emotional connection is needed."
"The experts of the past called it..."
Vivienne leaned back on her chair.
"Entanglement."
"Only after a certain level of emotional connection, and on the same path, along with a strong Yang nature can one actually practice this art."
The tea before Leona was still warm.
She picked the cup and had a sip, letting every information settle in.
Anastasia’s mind still hadn’t gotten out of the shock and she was quiet.
Clink.
"M’lady, if emotional connection was needed, then how did the treasure of that sect practice the art with so many?"
The veil of darkness was gone so Leona chose her words carefully to speak.
"As I said, it is not an official rule or condition to practice the art. But, that treasure could only benefit a select few with whom it shared the deepest bond. That’s why even at their peak, that sect only had a handful who were truly at the summit of cultivation."
"And they were ladies, yes?"
"Yes."
Leona raised her eyebrows and took a sip of tea again.
She glanced at the side.
Anastasia was taking deep breaths.
Anastasia picked up her teacup. Her hands had stopped trembling.
She had a sip.
Clink.
She glanced at Vivienne.
"Madam... by telling us all of this..."
Vivienne slowly crossed her legs.
"Yes. I am giving you an option. You can accept or decline and walk away, I won’t hold it against you."
Leona sipped tea and watched.
"Why us? No, why me of all people? I am just a maid."
"Are you?"
A small smile surfaced on Vivienne’s face.
Anastasia went silent.
’...does she... does she know?’
A cold sweat trickled down her back.
Vivienne lightly tapped on the table and continued.
"Vincent has begun cultivating. His veins are only partially opened and his foundation is quite weak."
She suddenly changed the topic and got to the crux of the matter.
"As a mother, I am concerned for his state. I want him to have a solid foundation before he proceeds to the next realm, and for that, I need you two."
"But as you know, to achieve the perfect union, both parties have to be willing."
Vivienne stopped speaking and picked her teacup.
Anastasia and Leona understood that this one choice would bring a massive change to their future.
They had to tread carefully.
"I am willing, M’lady." Leona answered almost immediately.
Clink.
"Are you sure?" Vivienne asked. "I could promote your house to a Baron and even provide enough resources to turn it into a Viscount even if you walked away today. You don’t need to shackle yourself to Vincent."
Leona shook her head. "I am not shackling myself and it’s not about resources. Except for my parents, he’s the only other person I trust. I feel comfortable around him and I do wish to get married."
There was no threat Leona’s interests faced.
She could continue blacksmithing while dual cultivating and she would only grow stronger.
Being married to a Countess’s son was already a great fortune, and she might not get another such heaven-sent chance in life.
In addition, she didn’t hate Vincent or found him unattractive.
He had come a long way after leaving alcohol, and they were quite compatible too.
"Very well." Vivienne said and turned to Anastasia.
"What about you?"
Anastasia took a deep breath.
She was a regressor. She had to move around a lot and getting tied down to one place would hinder her progress.
But...
This was the Yin Yang Sutra.
The greatest secret of the cultivation world.
The greatest martial art of the strongest ancient sect.
If rumors were true, she just had to practice the martial arts and she would keep growing. No treasures or support were necessary.
The only problem was, tying herself down to the young master forever.
Did she want that?
The young master’s past was not good.
But the last few days...
That man did not sleep. Did not eat. Did not move from his table.
He kept working, analyzing, issuing orders, and trying everything he could to save his house from collapsing.
None but Anastasia knew how much danger the D’Arc House was in.
He was starting to become reliable and worthy of admiration.
But who is to say this would continue?
What if he changed?
What if he refused to dual cultivate?
This was a risk that had to be taken into consideration.
Anastasia took a deep breath.
She looked at the Countess.
"I’ve considered it."