The Urban Dao Child

Yang Dao was taken to a coral building the people called the parliament. The building was made of red coral. It was very fascinating to see how they made use of this thing. The whole coral was hollowed out and then used as buildings by the undines.

The boy could not help but as how did they do it. The answer made him speechless. The undine elder displayed how they used pressurized water to hollow it out. Well, he thought, and found this method to be in line with the nature of the spirits.

Elemental spirits were creatures who lived in harmony with nature. They only used what they needed and not a single shred more and they still tried to be in line with nature, not damaging it too much. Corals were said to be so delicate that they can break on the softest touch, but the scene in front of his eyes was completely different.

Ryu Jinshi smiled and resolved this confusion of the boy, “Master, these structures are close to Corals found back in the mortal realm but are completely different.. Do you know how soil rich in different metals and minerals has a different color? These coral-like mountains are the same. The color is because of the different densities of minerals and metals.”

Yang Dao felt a new world open to him at the moment. This sort of thing was too unexpected, but he was eager to learn more about such things in the world. Under the leadership of two undines, the group stepped inside the Coral building. Ryu Jinshi swept his gaze around once and nodded. he was a heavenly spirit incarnate. His innate memory had deep imprints in his mind, so he was not very captivated by such sights.

Sushi, on the other hand, was looking all around the place with awe in her eyes. Yang Dao was also looking around, but he was thinking about some other things. His brain was not usual. He was taking down architectural notes. As for his plans about it, only he was aware.

The inside of the coral was empty except for some weight-bearing pillars. The pillars all had exquisite patterns carved all over them. It was as if the patterns were telling a story. Sushi said, “This is the legend of Poseidon?”

The two undines were surprised and then, with a smile, the lady among them said, “Yes, little Sylph, have you heard of Lord Poseidon’s legend?”

Sushi nodded with some pride in her eyes. She said, “After the last emissary of heavens visited our world, he found that the Undines had no system and were spread around, so he selected the wisest Undine and asked him to make the race unite. This wise person was Lord Poseidon. He accepted the task and with his intellect and chivalry, brought the race together. Thus Undines became united.”

The two elders nodded with reverence in their eyes. The woman said, “Not only the unification but Lord Poseidon also designed the governance system. He found that the undines were too impulsive sometimes, so he made some rules to make sure that the race does not do anything harmful to itself or the other people.

He believed that the water element that resided inside us was so strong that its flow can wash away the world. The people would need some regulations to control this flow within them. Only when the flow is stable, will they be able to strive forward.”

Yang Dao asked, “What to do when the flow encounters blockade?”

The undine said, “Endure and accumulate and then the pressure of the flow will overcome the blockade.”

Yang Dao nodded. The brief discussion told him that this Lord Poseidon was very wise and good. That said, the ground floor was filled with just pillars depicting the legend of Poseidon. On the side of the entrance was a staircase leading the people to the first floor. The two elders led them upstairs.

The staircase was long and circled the whole Coral. The ground floor also had most of its area left as it was naturally. The pillars were made in the memory of Lord Poseidon. Yang Dao liked the thoughtfulness of this construct. The parliament was made on the top of the coral. They had the top hollowed out for this purpose.

They had windows on the side of the staircase. The stairs were made for the foreign race elders who might visit the place. Undines would provide them with pearls similar to the one Ryu Jinshi gave Yang Dao and Sushi earlier. The top floor was similarly minimalistic. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

The two elders led the three people to sit down on the couch placed inside the chamber. The chamber was as big as a few hundred meters square. It was filled with some stools made of stone. The two undines placed their fists over their hearts and said, “Lord, the elders of the two factions will be coming over in a few moments. Would you like to eat something?”

The keyword here was ‘eat’. When has Yang Dao not welcomed food? He nodded with a calm face, but Ryu Jinshi could sense the anticipation in his eyes. The Azure dragon smiled, and he snorted in his mind. The voice was directly transferred to the minds of the elders of both factions.

“How dare you, people delay meeting with my Master? Shall I clip your scales?” his words were a direct naked threat.

The elders were not too far. The reason they were delayed was the entanglement with the duties they had. Although the Sylphs had delivered the word, they did not expect Yang Dao to arrive so quickly. They were just in the middle of preparation when they sensed the movement inside the forbidden area.

Thankfully, they had two elders posted to attend the emissary at any given time. They all rushed over, almost in sync with Ryu’s snort. A total of eight people stood in front of Yang Dao and all performed the honorary salute with their fists. One person swam forward and said, “Lord, my name is Marinus. The leader of the Life Faction.”

Another man swam forward from another side. He said, “Lord, I am Oshorus. The leader of the Death faction.”

Yang Dao nodded and said, “You all are my elders. Please take a seat before we all talk.” his status as the heavenly emissary did not allow him to get up and talk but his manners and habits aided him well.

The elders had heard from the spirit king that the Emissary was polite and dignified, and it all turned out to be true now. Yang Dao waited for them to be seated before he asked, “What is the reason that you still have so high patrol and troops?”

He wanted to know all this, because if it was just like how the two elders earlier explained to him. Then, over time, society should have already adjusted to this restrained mindset.

Marinus said, “Lord, I would like to talk freely.” and he paused. Yang Dao nodded, and the former continued speaking. “A few decades ago we tried to abolish the forces. However, the people who learned to be restrained from the fear of being punished resurfaced. Thus, we had to reinstate the forces.”

Oshorus said, “Lord, the forces are like a dam that restrains the flow of water. Once the gates are open, the flow will flood the society. We did not want our people to be washed out and thus the implementations. If possible, we seek your guidance to correct this flaw.”

Yang Dao gazed at the people and asked, “I would first like to hear the opinion of all the elders.” his words made them surprised, but still, after constant observation, the people did have some ideas and they all put them forward.

One of the opinions was that the self-control standard of the people must be tempered. Yang Dao took a note of it and when the elders were done he said, “As one of you just said, pardon me as I do not know your name, madam. The self refrain is needed. However, if you take out the dam, then the sudden flow of intensity will not be calm at all.

I suggest that you all try to come together and discuss the truth of life and death with the people. These two things have been described separately, but after the clarification, I gave the spirit kings that day. You all may be aware that the combination of the two is what makes your life stable. That stability is what we are all looking for here, right?”

The elders thought about it a bit and then nodded. They were going to move in the direction of unification of the two factions, but on their own, it would have been slow. Since Yang Dao pointed the way, they will move forward with trust in their hearts. Ryu Jinshi, on the side, also nodded in satisfaction. Only when you look at things together, will you know that life and death are related.

Yang Dao may not have told them all this directly, but if the spirits cannot take the direct hint, then they shall not be spirits.