Mingxuan shortly returned to the royal repository with the young eunuch.
'Even before my soul arrived, the body's owner buried himself in books, searching for a cure to our inability to cultivate,' Zhou Mingxuan thought.
Of course, to this day, no document has helped Mingxuan find a new path.
Despite its name suggesting it was a warehouse, the repository mostly contained shelves upon shelves of books unrelated to cultivation. In the Tianhong Realm, most supplies were used as quickly as they were acquired.
Dust particles flew through the air, glimmering as they hit the light that came in through the windows, and stacks of books could be found across the floor and shelves.
Zhou Mingxuan looked at the young eunuch beside him, "A pity no one visits. So many books wasted on dust."
The young eunuch nodded, gazing into the distance.
"So," Mingxuan ignored the young eunuch's silence, continuing, "what's your name? The Chief Eunuch ruled that I take care of you from now on. Introductions are in order."
"They call me Xiao An in the servant quarters…" the child said, his gaze still fixed ahead.
"Okay then, Xiao An. I haven't been to my quarters in quite a while, I mostly sleep here, so you'll be stuck here too." Mingxuan said, taking a seat at a long, wooden table stacked with piles of books.
Zhou Mingxuan lazily picked up a book, and opened it to a marked page.
Before Mingxuan could immerse himself in literature, Xiao An questioned, "Does sir have any incense sticks?"
Perking up a little, Mingxuan responded, "This IS the repository, you can go find them yourself."
"I-Isn't that embezzlement?"
"Don't worry, I'll protect you. Go." Mingxuan said, falling back to his book.
'Kid must be anxious, lighting incense for his ancestors as thanks?'
Zhou Mingxuan paused, and thought, 'Didn't the bloodline end with that little eunuch though? They probably don't want his incense…'
Xiao An muttered, "I should observe proper ritual," as he ran off to find the incense.
As he perused the book, absorbing its information the best he could, Mingxuan was quickly interrupted by a squeal.
'He must have tripped, really gotta clean up this repository,' Mingxuan thought, scanning the room.
Books cluttered about, some covered in layers of dust, others even molding. Shelves knocked over, ashes in some corners, spiders and cobwebs strewn about the room.
"If the empire took as much care of its information and knowledge as Earth did… I wonder how much better it would be?" Mingxuan thought aloud.
Ever since he came here, Mingxuan had struggled to align himself with the idea that power and cultivation trumps all other values. He heard tales of sects razing villages to the ground simply because they couldn't provide a good meal or bed. Or empires taxing their citizens to the brink of destruction, yet no one rebelling.
'At first I didn't care, studying the entirety of my life and not even getting the opportunity to practice dulled my ambitions a bit. But at heart, I still want to stop injustice.'
After all, it was for this reason that he pursued a career in law.
Suddenly, an earthy smell began to pervade the room.
"He really found some incense… the loyalty and devotion of this Xiao An is unquestionable. Though there are plenty of children similar," Zhou Mingxuan's thoughts escaped his lips.
Remembering that Xiao An was a child, Mingxuan quickly sat up. Thinking that a child shouldn't be left alone with fire, he strode toward the direction of the rising smoke.
"Tch, no wonder he tripped. He must be a truly devoted kid, finding incense and praying to his ancestors through all this mess."
As Mingxuan strode toward the incense smoke, he had to kick away boxes, crates, books, and other miscellaneous items. All while avoiding the spider webs that infested the area.
Zhou Mingxuan finally arrived, turning the corner he saw Xiao An bowing before a jar holding a singular stick of incense. Xiao An then lifted his head, and bowed again, and repeated this action once more.
Just as Xiao An completed the series of bows, marking his ancestral worship complete, the world in Mingxuan's eyes changed!
The previously dreary atmosphere of the repository had become incredibly clear, and a foreign feeling began to well up in his stomach.
'Wait, my dantian… energy?!' Zhou Mingxuan thought, before shouting.
"Qi?!"
The sudden shout brought Xiao An out of his stupor, and Xiao An fumbled with his clothes, "Sorry sir… I could only find one incense stick to give my thanks with!"
Mingxuan gripped his chest as a foreign force began to course through him, it felt warm, and empowering. Though miniscule, it was completely and totally different from his previous state of "normalcy."
For 18 years, Zhou Mingxuan had been regarded as a waste who couldn't cultivate. The obsessive book boy, and when he arrived here, his ambitions immediately faded away. After all, despite feeling the world's injustice… what could he change as a mere mortal?
Zhou Mingxuan's eyes glowed as he looked at the space around him, which was suddenly so full of life. He could see each and every bug, and Xiao An's previously miniscule presence became something catastrophic and intimidating.
It felt impossible for Zhou Mingxuan, whose body had never accommodated that mystical energy in this life nor the last.
Quickly, he questioned Xiao An, "Xiao An… who were you worshipping with that incense?"
Zhou Mingxuan already knew the answer, but felt that it was too good to be true.
"You, sir! You saved my life, and with my humble belongings… this is all I can offer!" Xiao An said with childlike innocence.
A thunderbolt went off in Mingxuan's brain, 'All this time, I've been unable to cultivate, to even sense qi… but just as Xiao An worshiped me, a tiny spark of qi appeared in my dantian…'
"Are you okay, sir?" Xiao An questioned, seemingly noticing the lack of reaction from Mingxuan.
The ambition that had previously fizzled out suddenly engulfed Zhou Mingxuan's heart, 'I can cultivate qi through the people's worship?!'