Chapter 2: The Untouchable

The roasting room turned out to be a spacious room with a constant temperature of about thirty degrees. Heat came from the floor, lined with reddish tiles. In the middle of the hall ten cages hung on chains, each of which was a cube with an edge of about two meters. These were the cages into which the elder placed the disciples. The untouchable worker got a separate cage.

A few minutes later Elder Su Har appeared. He looked at the caged youngsters and shook his head sadly.

- Elder Su Har, take me away from here. - Po Lay demanded. As there were more intruders than cages, the smallest Elder wisely stuffed two of them into one cage. There were three of such pairs. And the young leader was one of the lucky ones.

- I can't. - Grudgingly admitted the Elder.

- Why not? My father paid you! - Po Lay snapped.

- You have messed with the Untouchable. - The elder clarified. - He is rumoured to be under the patronage of a group of High Elders. Even when a super genius stumbled upon an Untouchable that year, not even an Inner Sect Elder could do anything. And the genius had to serve his punishment.

Po Lay turned pale. Although his father was rich, it was hardly enough money to bribe an Inner Sect Elder.

- On the other hand, you're lucky it's the Untouchable. According to the unwritten rules, he gets punished along with you. Accordingly, the punishment is choosed in such a way that a normal person can withstand it. So, nothing terrible will happen to you during those five days. Moreover, the Untouchable is not vindictive, and there will be no more problems when it is over. Unless, of course, you go after him a second time.

- Who the hell is he, this Untouchable? - Po Lay squinted at a sprawled body in a separate cage.

- That's anyone's guess. - Elder Su shook his head. - He joined the sect about five years ago and he's been a handyman the whole time. All we know for sure is that he's a seizure and he's not right in the head. Well, also that anyone who messed with him was bound to get the punishment they deserved. The first punishment is rumoured to be generic and relatively symbolic. But whoever messes with him a second time will be punished according to all the rules, without any indulgence.

- It's said that he is either sick or cursed. - Another young man has raised his voice from his cage. - Some believe he is possessed, and during his fits the evil spirit tries to break free. But a silver chain holds it back.

- The chain? - Po Lay looked at the collar with the dangling chain with renewed interest.

- An artifact of medium rank. - Elder Su explained. - And the collar is a lower rank artifact. The mere fact that a worker has such things speaks of his unusual status. By the way, don't even think about stealing. Untouchable has no Qi, so the artifacts aren't his. And just for the record, when one student tried to steal and sell a chain, he got caught, had his hands chopped off and was kicked out of the sect.

The teenagers looked at each other. Hands chopped off and kicked out of the sect? Brutal.

- That's why they called him the Untouchable, because anyone who messed with him ended up badly. - The knowledgeable teenager spoke up again.

- Okay, I think you know who you're messing with. - Elder Su sighed. - Anyway, stay away from him in the future and all will be fine.

***

Untouchable regained consciousness about ten minutes after Elder Su left. After gently moving his body and finding out what hurts the most, he rose and looked around. His gaze swept tenaciously but indifferently around the hall, the cages, and the rest of his unfortunate companions frozen in them.

He finished his inventory of his surroundings, and rolled over and lay down, face up. The floor of the cages was made of frequent grating, so no matter how one sat or lay down, there was little that was comfortable. And the body was fast becoming stiff too. They were not eager to stand on their own two feet for five twenty-four hours either.

When they were sure that Untouchable had quieted down, disciples began to talk to each other quietly. A knowledgeable follower had already told his fellow disciples everything he knew about the Untouchable. For many of the disciples he was almost a legendary figure. Stories and tales about him abounded. Most boiled down to the fact that there was a very proud man with a father/grandpa/uncle behind him who did not give a damn about other people. But one day, out of misfortune, he met an Untouchable. This is when he found out that his father/grandpa/uncle was not all-powerful.

There was a separate cycle of legends of vigilantes who had stumbled upon the Untouchable two or three times. And one epic hero challenged the Untouchable to a fight as many as five times.

There have also been a number of stories of attempts to rob the Untouchable. They all ended tragically for the robbers, though the degree of punishment varied.

One brave man even made a bet that he would stay in the house of Untouchable for ten breaths. He only managed to last two.

There was also the legend of the novice swindler who tried to sell Untouchable some "top level tech". The latter honestly listened to all the misinformation, then opened the door to the house and generously offered to take whatever the seller had to his liking. In all these years the Untouchable had never been seen in contact with money.

There have been a number of amusing stories of travellers who have met the Untouchable in the most unexpected places. This specimen had no written itinerary at all, so he could pop out of the bushes at any place and at any time. I can't count the number of romantic stories ruined by the appearance of the "third".

On one occasion Untouchable even managed to wander into Inner Sect territory and puzzle the first disciples he met with the crooked question "where's the canteen?" After which he served several days in prison for trespassing on forbidden territory. All the while the elders searched for the hole in the defences through which he got in.

It was also rumoured that for a time he lived on a high cliff and asked all disciples who went there to throw him over the cliff. Very soon the cliff was renamed Untouchable Peak and no one visited it any more.

One disciple, coming out of the gate of his own courtyard, came face to face with the Untouchable. The poor man started stuttering.