System Break

There were two drips. One in my arm and another in my spinal cord. One of them was fed with a cocktail of drugs which put me under. I wasn't sure if it was pain killers or I was just pain dead, but I couldn't feel a thing. They probably could've kept me conscious through the whole procedure.

I don't know what other people experience, but in the past, I just went black and felt like I came to a minute later. But this time, this time I had some freaky dreams.

I saw an old Chinese man and he was sitting on a cloud big enough to pass for a bean bag. 

"Hey," I said.

He had a long thin pipe in one hand which lay across his lap. He looked up and peered at me. The cloud turned and he began to fly away.

"Rude bastard," I said. It was my dream, so I decided to fly and follow him. I fell at first until I yelled, "It's my dream I'll fucking fly if I want to." And then the dream bent to my will.

The old man flew down towards the ground and into a beautiful valley. There was a sedate river winding its way through the valley and it was surrounded by beautiful green grass.

He stopped by the river and hopped onto a large boulder then he lit his pipe and began to smoke.

I flew down in front of him. "What are you doing?"

He peered at me and took another puff. "What are you doing?" He spoke slowly and with a hint of sarcasm.

"Whatever the fuck I want. Now answer my damn question."

Another puff and he took his sweet time. "I am sensing the flow and waiting."

I looked at the river. "Me too." It didn't seem all that hard. "Why are you here?"

"Why are you here?" he asked, and his copycat questions were beginning to piss me off. But that was probably his aim.

"It's my dream, that's why I'm here."

"Is it?"

He had me; how could I prove it was my fucking dream. "Wait, I can fly. I could only do that if it was my dream."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, you're the most annoying bastard in my dreams ever. And I can tell you that's an achievement."

He took another puff of his pipe. "Your subconscious isn't agile enough to dream up someone like me."

I had him. "But I just did."

"Did you?"

"If you wanted to fight why didn't you say so?" This guy was so annoying his goal must have been to fight me.

He sighed and it sounded like he was disappointed. "Arrogance and quick to anger. You are so young Benzhi. Is this the first time we met?"

I so wanted to smash his face in until I realised, he was asking idiotic questions just to rile me up - so I breathed and calmed myself. "Yes, I'm sure I'd remember your ugly mug anywhere."

"I was your student once. Or were you mine? I forget."

"Who the fuck are you."

"Lao Tzu," he said.

"Doesn't ring a bell," I replied.

"Why would it? If it's the first time we met."

I shrugged and sat on the boulder next to his. I may as well pass the time away while they operated on me by enjoying the nice valley and talking to the crazy old man who loved to irritate me.

He puffed. "If I train you when you're young and you trained me when I'm young which came first?"

"Is that a riddle? Are you bored? Just enjoy the river."

He chuckled. "Ah that is the patient man I remember."

"What are you smoking? Weed?" I asked and he handed me the pipe.

I took a toke. "Holy shit, it is weed. Where did you get it?"

"You recognize it but don't know it's a plant that grows?"

"Of course, I know it's a plant," I scoffed.

"Then why ask?"

I sighed. "I don't think we're in the same book, let alone on the same page."

He chuckled. "You are adept at riddles at a young age master."

"That wasn't a riddle, just saying." I handed his pipe back.

"What time of your life is it?" he asked.

I thought for a moment before answering. "I can't walk, and I just found out I probably can't use my arms. I play a game for a living. The game is nice, I quite enjoy it."

"Ah," he said. "Life is a game. I remember this lesson."

"Pretty much," I said. 

"What will you do in this game?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I pretty much go with the flow," I replied.

He chuckled. "You live the Dao from a young age. You're a natural and I hard to shed years of ignorant thoughts. I am envious."

"Don't be. It kind of sucks being a quadriplegic, I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

His pipe blew a ring into the air. "They are just words. I am happy for you master."

I peered at him. "I'm not your master. Look at you, you're like a hundred years old."

He smiled. "Really? Thank you. But I think you're here for a reason. Accidents are the Dao's way of doing the best things."

"I'm here because of the drugs they pumped into me while they're operating on me."

The old man chuckled. "Is that a side effect of these drugs?"

I pursed my lips. "Hallucinations, vivid dreams, could be."

"If it's an accident we're here together, then I cannot force an outcome." The old man handed me the pipe.

"Where is here?"

"It's a qi world. One you made a long time ago."

I dropped the pipe and it floated away down the river.

"Oh dear, another accident."

"This is a qi world?"

The old man chuckled. "That's what you call them."

I nodded. "I didn't invent the term."

"No? hmm."

I checked my UI and stats. Nothing. There was no system here. "Do you live here?"

He shook his head. "No, I came when I saw you."

"This is some trippy shit. I didn't create this place and I haven't met you before."

The old man chuckled. "That's the paradox. Not yet you haven't. I'm not sure if you're the chicken or the egg."

"I don't want to be either."

He laughed. "Of course you don't. Maybe we're both at the same time. Like a cycle."

"You're starting to talk in riddles again. Just enjoy the river and I'm sorry about your pipe."

"Don't be," he said and took a puff.

I laughed. "Sneaky bastard how did you do that."

"I've been studying the qi arts for a thousand years. I can summon a simple pipe and some herbs."

"Really? Show me something cool."

He raised an eyebrow, I opened my sight and waited expectantly. "Benzhi you show me something first. Something you're working on."

I looked down at my ripped leathers. There were holes from ferals and yetis just to name a couple. I pushed my qi and began to stitch one of the holes. The leather slowly grew like it was fungus and the hole slowly closed.

"Tsk," he said. "You are young. Do not force, let it flow."

"If I don't push it how can I get it to move."

"You ask it, encourage it, tease it like it's a kitten and you have a ball of yarn. Never force it."

I nodded. "I will try."

Then I disappeared.

He chuckled. "And there was the reason for the accident. Oh, master it was such a joy to meet the young you."