Tiny Parts of the Whole (II)
I stayed at the cliffside for a long while, trying to calm down.
Freakin' scary!
So, so scary!
Even Long Tao hasn't yet mastered it, and this dude did it in literally five minutes! How the hell does that make any sense? Oh God, why did I give it to him?! I opened up a can of worms that can't be closed anymore...
Haah.
Yet another sigh escapes me as I stand up. Look, I've gotten pretty good at it, you know? Pretending that everything is fine while I'm falling apart inside. So, I'll just do that. Compartmentalize the knowledge that a servant has mastered a mid-Sky Tier art in the span of five minutes.
Poof.
What mastery? What minutes?
On my way back I did chance upon him again, actually, but due to my amazing compartmentalization skills, he didn't realize anything was wrong. I think. I hope.
He merely bowed and went back to doing... something, while I rounded the corner and entered the house, where a guest was waiting for me: Elder Qin. There was a chess table already present, pieces aligned, and he seemed rather eager to play.
"Elder Lu,"
"Elder Qin," I nodded back at him. Ever since I went into the Antechamber, he'd grown... looser around me, you could say. Maybe something about that little adventure confirmed he at least had nothing to fear? Who knows... "Wait a moment. I'll make us some tea."
"Very well. Where is your disciple that usually makes it?"
"Ah, she broke through, so I gave her some stones to go down the mountain and buy us all a nice dinner for a treat."
"Oh? She broke through to the second stage? That's quite impressive!"
"... yeah, second stage," I stumbled and cringed a bit, though thankfully I was in the other room. "Quite impressive indeed."
"What about Xi Zhao?"
"I sent him down with her."
"The other kid? Long Tao, I think?"
"He's... around," I didn't really even know if he was around. Ever since he got that cloaking art, he'd become a bit of a... ghost. "You seem awfully interested in their happenings. Everything alright?"
"You've promised a victory, after all. I need to make sure."
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"Ah. Fair," I cursed inwardly as the water began to boil while I finely cut the tea leaves. "Any news about Xi Zhao's family?"
"Oh, yes. That is why I came today, mostly," he said. "There is something untoward happening in the Sunlight Town."
"Untoward? Untoward how?" I leaned back and glanced at him as he stroked his beard. Tsk, they sure loved doing it.
"I first sent a pair of servants from my peak," he said. "Just the first stage ilk, but with a lot of worldly experience. However, I hadn't gotten anything back from them in over four days. Considering I sent them down with the Spirit Horses, that journey should have taken two days, tops, and they had with them our Spirit Parchments. But they never sent anything back."
"Oh."
"I then sent one of my Inner Disciples to just observe and return immediately," the old man said as I poured in the boiling water into the two cups. "He'd gotten back just this morning, and, according to him, the entire town is shrouded in some kind of a miasma. He even felt threatened by it slightly, despite being at the peak of the Foundation Establishment."
"A miasma? What could that mean?" I asked worriedly. I knew it! As soon as Xi Zhao became a protagonist, I just knew things about him wouldn't be ordinary any longer.
"Ah, any number of things, really," he said. "It could be a natural Qi Storm, a demonic cultivator, or a phenomenon due to an artifact appearing there. Without examining it up close, we have no way of knowing."
"..." hm? No, no--I have a bad feeling about this!
"I was thinking," he played the first move as I set down the two cups. "You and your disciples could accompany me. It would be a good experience for them, and even you would get to broaden your horizons a bit."
I fell silent for a moment, stiffening; okay, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Honestly, I thought he'd tell me to go down there and figure it out myself. But if he's offering to come, I probably won't be in any danger.
But another worry cropped up--that this wasn't really about the town. After all, this had nothing to do with him; no, even less than nothing. He could have just tasked any other lesser Elder to go out (as they were still unaware of the trap by the Fire Sun Sect), and yet he chose to go down there himself... alongside me.
This was a trial, you could say--he was likely going to break my ears off talking about all the paths and where they lead, just in case we eventually have to bolt.
I felt my throat and heart squeeze a bit as he looked at me confusedly for a moment before cracking a smile.
"I understand that you haven't left the mountains since coming here and that you'd be scared, but don't worry--I won't let anything happen to your disciples, I promise."
"... no, no, I know," I said, swallowing back a knot and playing a move as well. "Thank you. Maybe I should let you win one, at last."
"Ho ho, I would bend you over my knee and give you a beating of a lifetime if you did," he said with a chuckle, playing a move as well as taking a sip of the tea.
I cracked a smile and shook my head silently, taking a sip as well. It was a bit sweeter than usual, as was the sudden silence that hung between the two of us.
I don't get it, and perhaps I never will—this kindness. Why me? Why my disciples? He had a whole mountain-load of his own, some that had been with him for decades, and friendships with other Elders dating possibly even centuries, so why was he so fixated on helping me out? Giving me a way out in case the entire house of cards starts to collapse?
The question went back all the way to the first time I met him, when I went to beg for some resources, and instead of being laughed at and kicked out... he gave them to me. Not even loaned, just gave. That was where it all started.
Perhaps, all this time, he was looking for someone, and he merely settled upon me after 'testing me'. Something tells me he isn't entirely unaware of his own potential, but as for why he would bind himself to this place and then slowly instill in me the idea of running away...
... hmm. Elder Qin, Elder Qin, there are secrets about you that even the system cannot discern, aren't there?
I gathered as much, in general--the system gave me a glimpse into who these people are factually, but humans could not be succinctly summed up in a few lines.
Alas, trying to understand is pointless; I've no doubt that he will tell me sooner or later, likely giving me another potential for a heart attack. As though I didn't have enough of those already...
Upon the World (I)
I was terrified in equal measures of being excited, to be honest.
Standing at the sect's arched and gated entrance, a distantly familiar memory and sensation crawled into my headspace, back when I was 22.
I'd just graduated not a month earlier with a bachelor's, and, as a reward, I decided to treat myself to my first cross-Atlantic trip: a full two weeks in Germany for Oktoberfest. The feeling of right now is awfully similar to the one I felt while standing in line to board the airplane.
It was about stepping out into the unknown; not only did I have no experience with the world past these mountains, but neither did Lu Qi. As far as both of us were concerned, the borders of the sect were the borders of the world.
I didn't let any of this show, however, as I had a whole assortment of kids and monsters by my side--there was nobody left behind, in fact.
Long Tao was there, yawning; Dai Xiu and Hua were excitedly chattering about something (well, she was...), Xi Zhao appeared anxious and restless, and Light... well, she was right by my side, eyeing me frequently.
The only thing--well, person--we were waiting for was Elder Qin, and he showed up just about ten minutes past dawn. He wasn't alone either, with two kids in tow--one was a young woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties. She was rather beautiful, I must admit, yet had an odd coldness to her that made the looking... prickly.
I expected something more from the Creator's Eyes, but she was actually rather ordinary. No special physique or bloodline or talent, and the only thing I could glean from the system's description of her was that the cause of her coldness was some form of trauma. What? I had no idea.
Besides her, there was the little boy, just about a year or two older than Light, it seemed. He was a bit... round, you could say, and was snacking away at some fried potatoes already.
Similarly, there wasn't anything particularly unique about him--ordinary as ordinary gets.
"You ready?" Before I could question why he brought them, Elder Qin asked, passed me, and left the sect.
... was I ready? Why ask if you're just gonna assume 'Yes'?
Nonetheless, I took my first step out into the world with the weight of the cosmos. Okay, I am being a bit melodramatic and facetious, but in my defense, I haven't really travelled anywhere in almost ten years. It was mostly just trips between the apartment and pharmacy and occasionally stopping by the bar near my apartment complex to wet my throat a bit.
The walls receded and the world unfolded--thick mountains still flanked slightly, and we were situated on top of a hillside with steepish falloff, green pines arising everywhere around us.
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I'd wondered what our mode of transportation would be (it wasn't going to be feet, I'd hoped), and as soon as I saw the horses, I flinched. Believe it or not, I actually did learn a bit of horseback riding back in college, but, well, it's been twenty years. And these weren't your everyday horses.
Their hair was white, while their manes were almost crimson-colored, their legs as thick as logs, while their tails seemed not made out of hair but rather ethereal strands of energy that pulsed infrequently like sine waves.
There were five of them, so the math didn't exactly add up, as there were nine of us.
"We'll ride in pairs," Elder Qin said as he quickly mounted one without an issue. "Well, you'll ride in pairs." he added with a faint grin as I silently grunted.
His two kids, Cao Qiu and Hou He, were one pair; Light and I were another pair; Dai Xiu and Hua were the third, and Long Tao and Xi Zhao were the last. Long Tao seemed rather mad at the distribution, especially as he mounted the horse only for Xi Zhao to snuggle tightly against him and wrap his arms around the former's waist equally tightly. He'd never ridden before, and it seemed he was even a bit scared, so the old monster seemed to let it go... for now.
Poor Xi Zhao.
I walked up to mine and swallowed.
The beast seemed rather... calm, quietly grazing, its eyes almost beady and as red as its mane. I first hoisted up Light, feeling the faint ache and pressure in my lower back (and realizing how much better it felt than it used to, sadly...), before heaving up myself.
The horse was quite tall, at least half the height extra of the ones I rode back at college, but despite there being no saddles to, you know, cushion things, it was actually quite comfortable.
Hell, it was far more comfortable than any chair or bench I'd sat on in this world, so, comparatively, it was like a five-star hotel.
"We'll ride down south for about three hours," Elder Qin called out. "There's a village there where the Spirit Horses can take a break and we can have lunch. Don't stray or fall behind. Giddy-up!"
Off we went.
Within the first few gallops, the girl that was behind me wormed her way to the front and sat in front of me, seeming entirely unbothered as the wind whipped her hair back in my face.
All the while, I realized there were no reins to hold onto, so I had to grab the first thing I could--which was the mane. I almost had a heart-stopper there, but it didn't seem that the beast minded, and a quick glance around told me everyone else was doing it, too.
As the anxiety and fear of it all began to seep out, I could finally... see. The world unfolded like a carpet, curtains slowly being pulled up off the stage that was the creation--and it was breathtaking.
The valley opened up to a vast plain with a brilliant, wide river cutting through, curving in and out, its banks steep and tall.
The sun had just risen beyond the distant horizon, its shape hazy and blurry, warm colors washing across the green fields. It was... beautiful. The time itself seemed to slow down as I took it all in--the swaying branches of the lush trees, the blades of grass rising knee-high flanking the main, winding road, the mountains on the side slowly peeling back and revealing more and more of the vast landscape beyond it...
There were other times in my life when I only felt pure awe at the beauty of something that left me speechless. However, not once had I felt so at a loss for words as I did today. It was one of those moments in my life I hated the fact I had about as much talent with the brush and canvas as Lu Qi had with cultivating.
I know it sounds silly and stupid and like something the pretentious me from high school or college would have said, but I swear... it was as though nature spoke to me, telling me all would be okay.
"There are places more beautiful than this." Light's voice jostled me out of my trance; glancing down, I saw that she was part pouting and part... sad.
"Maybe you can show them to me one day, eh?"
"Hm," she nodded, her lips almost curling up into a smile. "One day."
Upon the World (II)
Even after riding for almost an hour, there were barely any changes.
I hadn't grown uncomfortable--honestly, I'll have to see about getting one of these guys for myself because sitting on them felt like sitting on a cushioned sofa compared to the seats of this world--and the world hadn't changed at all, as we were yet to actually leave the main valley surrounding the sect.
Here and there, small compounds could be seen, and I quickly learned these were the extensions of the sect--some were in charge of processing toxic things, which was why they were doing it here, beyond the sect's walls; some, yet, were stationed here to vet the visitors and deal with the minor, inconsequential things that the sect seniors shouldn't be bothered with, and some were made for the sole purpose of creating missions for the low-level disciples.
Unsurprisingly, there was nobody who tried to intercept us or follow us like they did with Long Tao--even if they couldn't recognize me or anyone else, it was unlikely that there was a cultivator within the entire region that couldn't recognize Elder Qin.
Thus, we galloped freely, unbothered by the world.
As romantic as that sounds, it actually got kinda... boring. I mean, yeah, it's beautiful, and it's nice, and it's colorful, but you know what else it is?
Constant. Unchanging. Repetitive.
Within two hours, there was practically nothing new to see that I hadn't seen within the five minutes of leaving the sect. I mean, I knew that the distances were sort of mind-bending, but after two hours on horseback (and it's not like these horses are slow, mind you; I'd honestly estimate that we travelled at like 30 miles an hour, at least) we'd just barely left the outskirts of the sect.
The valley pulled back, and after a small dip, we emerged onto a long, long, long flat that stretched out in all directions. Far eastward, I could see the forest arise beyond the banks of the river, but westward was just... a blur. I mean, I knew what resided at the far end of them--the Desolate Cliffs where Long Tao went—but as for seeing them from here? Yeah. Turns out, this planet is round, too.
At some point, Light... dozed off. And I was marginally envious of her pressing her head into my abdomen, not a care in the world.
Luckily, the village we were supposed to take a break at came into view soon enough. It wasn't a particularly large one; perhaps twenty or so houses stretched on both ends of the river with a bridge connecting them. It was one of the river's narrowest points in miles, just about twenty feet or so between two ends, so it made sense to make it here.
It seems they were expecting us, as there was an entire welcoming committee hanging on the edges as we strutted inside.
As Elder Qin accepted the greetings and we dismounted, a bunch of young men led the horses away while we followed the stream toward one of the... better assembled buildings of the lot.
Most were actually made out of the combination of mud and wood, with straw, grass, and thatch used for the rooftops. I'd made considerations of doing the same when I first began thinking about the housing arrangements on the mountain but chose against it since the technology for something more complex existed.
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It seems, however, technology existing and being widely spread were two different things entirely.
We were settled inside a spacious hall, a dozen or so prayer mats surrounding a rectangular table full of drinks and fruits, with a roasted pig as the centerpiece.
I salivated with expectations, but the scent was... well, minimal. And looking at the color as well as the lack of anything sparkling, I weathered those expectations as quickly as they came up.
"If you are in need of anything more, please do not hesitate to call for us, Great Senior," the elderly man who seemed to be the village's Chief said to Elder Qin just before he left.
"Alright everyone, dig in. We'll only stay here for thirty minutes."
Not one to stand still when offered, I started scooping up every different meal I could see, tasting them all one by one.
They were... fine. Perhaps slightly worse than the meals the sect's restaurant made.
Haah.
My quest for spices continues. I'd asked Long Tao whether he found some while journeying outside, to which he responded by reinstating he'd abandoned everything to come back and warn me. So, I pulled back.
Speaking of Long Tao, he surprisingly did share everything he found in Elder Zhang's vault. However, we haven't yet fully categorized it all--there was a lot of crap there, honestly. Just the stones alone made up a mountain, with over 30,000 mid-grade Stones. My tiny little spatial satchel was nowhere near enough to store all the crap, so we had to rope Light in and bribe her with a few items to let us store the rest in her spatial ring, which, luckily, was just big enough for everything.
I was once again a wealthy man, though for how long... eh. Maybe a few months. Dai Xiu, with each new breakthrough, demanded twice as many stones as the stage before, and Long Tao was inhaling the stones like oxygen. And since everyone on the mountain was using Spirit Stone Augmentation, they were able to process Qi from the stones far more quickly, which meant that they were using up the stones just as fast.
It was all just a big math problem that I didn't even want to try and solve, because if I did, I felt my heart would bleed far too much.
"Since we have kids with us, we'll have to take more frequent breaks," Elder Qin said. "Which means we'll arrive in about three days, give or take a few hours." Right, I was aware of that. I just wasn't aware of that. God, how cars and planes and trains made things convenient...
"Master, doesn't our Sect have those powerful airships?" the little Hou He asked with innocent curiosity, and I wanted to high-five the kid immediately.
Right! The airship! Chockful of arrays and formations, a huge Spirit Stone pit that can take hundreds of people thousands of miles in minutes! Or something like that, at least.
"We do, actually," Elder Qin replied with a smile. "Blade Resonance, we call it."
"Why didn't we use it?"
"Because just to power it up, it costs 100,000 mid-grade Stones. Were you going to supply us with them, Hou'er?"
"Uh..." the young boy's cheeks flushed as he buried himself back into food while the rest of us had a chuckle.
"What grade is the airship, Master?" Cao Qiu asked as a follow-up, more so out of curiosity. Damn, these kids were actually reading my mind and asking all the questions I wanted to ask but felt stifled due to my supposed 'seniority'."
"Ho ho, curious, aren't you? It's actually a low-Sky ancient artifact!" His words seemed to shock some, incite curiosity in others, and leave a blank full of nothing in one--me. I was somewhat familiar with the grades of the martial arts, so hearing 'low-Sky' didn't sound so extreme to me, but maybe it was different for artifacts?
"Really?!"
"Hm. It's one of our sect's three True Treasures. The Spirit Sword, the Blade Resonance, and the last one that only the Sect Master himself knows about. My Master, a long time ago, once let it slip by accident that it was probably a Dao Seed!"
"Whoa!"
"A Dao Seed?! Isn't that amazing?"
... right. What the hell is a Dao Seed?
It has to be something good because even Long Tao and Hua had sudden shifts in expression, though they went in slightly different directions.
Long Tao looked genuinely shocked and surprised for a moment, as it was well beyond his expectations... yet quietly understanding.
Hua's expression, on the other hand, lasted barely a flash; the only reason I even noticed it is because I was paying close attention to these two to gauge how important these things were beyond the scope of this corner of the world.
It was one of... anger.
Pure, raw, unbridled... rage.
Upon the World (III)
We left the village half an hour after we arrived on the dot. It seemed that Elder Qin was rather punctual, though it could have been a few minutes later or before as far as I would know since I was too preoccupied trying to figure out why Hua was angry about some Dao Seed.
Well, it was a fool's errand, really; it's not like I could ask him, and just making random guesses... well, that'd get me less than nowhere.
So, I focused back on the reality--which was us crossing the bridge and continuing to ride by the riverside south to slightly southeast.
The journey was, as you can imagine, rather uneventful altogether: ride for a few hours, take a break, ride for a few more, take a break...
Kids would occasionally ask Elder Qin some questions, and he'd patiently answer them all, and I would lean in to quietly listen. I'd learned a few bits: these plains didn't actually have a name, and everyone just called them 'Sun Plains'.
I'd also learn there are a lot of strange naming conventions--for instance, the river that we were following wasn't even Sunlight River. Not even close, in fact--it was a Spirit Sword River, named after the sect since its source is somewhere in the sect's mountains.
Our destination? The town called 'Sunlight Town'? Built on the banks of the Sunlight River? Nowhere close to that. It was built on the banks of the Spirit Sword River.
However, it seemed that, over the years, two different names emerged for the river, and the outside world just started calling it 'Sunlight River', while calling the original Sunlight River by a slightly more complex name: Sunlight Source River. Which also wasn't correct.
... why?
Couldn't tell you even if I tried. No matter how much I tried to think of a reason, nothing rational came. It was all just far too confusing and convoluted, but then again, most things about this world were.
Thus we rode the banks of the Sunlight River, which was actually the Spirit Sword River, toward the Sunlight Town that was built on the banks of the latter but still called by the conventions of the former.
Yaay for local customs!
We made frequent yet perfectly arranged breaks at night, always happening to stumble upon a village that welcomed us. Beds were arranged for us, as were two meals, and off we would go at dawn.
As such, three-ish days passed relatively quickly, and we were making a wide bend and moving further downward against the somewhat hilly terrain.
The grass grew slightly thicker and taller, though flowerbeds were rarer and trees were practically unicorns. No, seriously, I haven't seen a single freakin' tree in over a day!
Why anyone would make a town or a village nowhere near a forest is beyond me... though, it was entirely possible there were forests or trees there when they first made it, and they just did what people do best: overconsume.
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Alas, I'm not here to judge (too much)--I'm here for that vast, but safe, world experience.
We stopped as we came upon another set of rolling hills that faintly sheared around the slight dip where the town was located. Elder Qin fastened the horses to some strange, iron nails that he punted into the ground before he slowly led us forward to the edge, cloaked in the strands of Qi that seemed to hide us.
From the edge, we had the perfect view of the town--it was actually rather large, spanning about two whole miles just from side to side, not to mention that it ballooned out at the center around the river.
Unlike the villages, most buildings seemed constructed out of stone and wood, with quite a few high-rising pavilions jutting out between the slanted rooftops of the ordinary homes.
The central one, especially, was keen on drawing the eye to itself--tall, just shy of about sixty feet or so, terraced, with six different strata each jutting out less and less the higher it went up.
Oil lanterns hung at the edges of the eaves, loosely rocking back and forth in the wind.
Yet, despite the size, despite the seeming grandeur, it was... quiet. I couldn't see a single person coming in and out or even walking the streets. There was this strange haze that seemed to wash over the entire place, and even I, being the novice at Qi that I was, could spot that there was something... off about it over there.
I couldn't see what, but judging from the expressions of Elder Qin, Long Tao, and Hua... it wasn't anything good.
"Get back," Elder Qin signaled us all to retreat back behind the hill, and we did. "It's definitely demonic energy," he added, his brows knitting into a frown. "But... also not."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"Hmm. Demonic energy, on its own, is simply another kind of energy; think of it this way. From a center, a line extends backwards and forwards--if the Qi that we use is the one that moves forwards, then demonic energy is the Qi moving backwards. It is not inherently evil, but it does have an inherent ability to corrupt. It's far more unwieldy than regular Qi, and virtually any slip-up in terms of Dao Heart guarantees that the practitioner will succumb.
"That is why a lot of cultivators who practice demonic energy often go mad with bloodlust, but, in turn, those who manage to control it... become strong. Nonetheless, those are few and far between, and even they are not bereft of consequences. The reason why I say that the energy in the town is strange is that it's an odd mix of both. It would be like if you practiced Qi directly at the center of the line. Neither its forward nor backward interpretation. But its origin."
We stayed silent as Elder Qin seemed to gather his thoughts for a moment before continuing.
"Luckily, it's mostly diluted--heavily so," he said. "The strongest cultivator in town is merely at the early Revolving Core Realm. The issue isn't that, however."
"It's the ordinary citizens," I said.
"Yes," he nodded. "If we outright fight, a lot of innocent mortals will get caught in the crossfire. Not to mention that the town itself might be leveled."
"So," Long Tao suddenly sounded out; he hadn't spoken much, if at all, actually, since we departed, so everyone was a bit surprised when he so bravely spoke up. "We need someone to sneak in, figure out what's happening, and not get caught."
"Uh, no," Elder Qin shook his head. "I can just personally drag them all out within a few breaths."
"..." The atmosphere became awkward for a moment before I raised my voice.
"What if you... didn't?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"I mean, we're all here," I said. "Why not let the kids give it a shot? If anything happens, then you can do your thing. They've travelled all the way here--they may as well get some experience."
"Hoh?" Elder Qin arched his brows for a moment, a strange glint of light flashing in his eyes. "Interesting. Very well. But I propose this: you will draw up the plan, Elder Lu. Of course, it won't involve either Light or Hua'er, but everyone else will have to play a small role, including you. I will handle everyone above the mid-Foundation Establishment, so you are free to simply take into account the rest of them."
... why do I sense a bet coming?
"If you manage to pull it off, yes, I will owe you a favor." Wait... what? "One thing, no matter what it is--if you ask me, I will do it. But if you lose, you and I will jointly be Masters of all your disciples. What say you? Are you willing?"
... wow. This guy really wants my disciples.
But I also want his favor.
"I'm willing."
The Eternal Veil (I)
Sneaking into the enemy territory, unveiling deep, dark secrets and points of failure, encountering a smokin' hot femme fatale to--khm, okay, my fantasies got away from me there for a sec, but it really did feel a bit like a spy thriller.
Except, you know, it wasn't espionage, it wasn't thrilling, and it definitely wouldn't be me sneaking in.
Elder Qin took the two kids and set up a temporary camp, leaving me with others... which wasn't emboldening. The issue was that he left behind his other disciple--she was 'technically' the only person besides me above the Qi Condensation Realm, but I wouldn't trust her with fighting the strongest person, not when there was perfectly fine Long Tao just standing there, looking bored.
Drafting up a 'plan' wasn't an issue--there'd be no plan. Send in Long Tao to figure out everything, and then just pretend to come up with a clever solution because Elder Qin was decidedly not aware of just how creepily strong my disciples are.
But I can't do that with the young woman here, as that'd expose... well, everything.
So, I had to be 'clever'.
"Cao Qiu," I said after a brief deliberation. "Would you mind telling me your strengths and weaknesses?" I couldn't exactly 'plot a clever ploy' without knowing things. I mean, I knew them because of Creator's Eyes and all, but I had to first hear them from her.
"I'm most confident in my speed," she replied. "I have reached Intermediate Mastery of the Sword-Blitz. I'm fairly confident that even someone in the late stages of the Foundation Establishment won't be able to catch me immediately."
Right, just as her system window said, and the sun around which the entire 'plan' orbited.
"The goal is to get inside and figure out what's happening; I'm fairly certain that whatever we're seeing right now is either a projection or an illusion," I continued. "So it is entirely possible that the rooftops are lined with the eyes that would spot us immediately if we tried to just sneak in. We need a distraction."
"A distraction?"
"Hm," I nodded. "You'll take Xi Zhao with you and go to the town's entrance using the main road. Loudly proclaim that you're the Sect's Disciple and that you're here to investigate a disciple's murder."
"... who was murdered?!" she growled angrily.
"Uh, no, no one, as far as we know; the point is to draw their attention to you as much as possible. Demand that if the mayor doesn't come out to meet you, you'll crush the town's entryway. However, no matter what you do, do not step foot into the town itself. If someone comes out to meet you, try and stall as much as possible, and throw out as many accusations as you can think of."
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"Even if they're not true?" she frowned.
"Especially those. Say that you've also heard the rumor they're trafficking some forbidden material or engaging in practicing demonic arts. Anything to steer attention to yourself. In the meantime, my other two disciples will round the town toward the side facing the mountains and hopefully find a way in without being spotted." Of course, it would only be Long Tao going in, while Dai Xiu would be the 'watcher'. And Hua? He's, technically, a servant. He's staying with me to serve.
"If they don't cooperate?"
"Raise hell," I said. "Unleash sword attacks, demolish the buildings at the border, anything. However, if somebody strong shows up, get out. Immediately."
"Wouldn't it be better if I went alone, then?" She stealthily glanced at Xi Zhao with a flashing sense of scorn and disdain. Haah, come on, just endure, just endure...
"Don't worry about him," I said vaguely, smiling. "Just take care of yourself."
"Oh. Fine."
"Xi Zhao," just before the two departed, I called out to him and tossed him a satchel filled with 2,000 mid-grade Spirit Stones. He caught it and even stumbled momentarily, having not expected it. "Don't be cheap. Use them all if necessary."
"... I won't disappoint you, Master." He nodded and left under the young woman's curious eyes that darted between him and the satchel.
As they left, I turned to the others but still had to be excessively vague--there's a good chance that old thing is listening in, and I couldn't divulge anything directly.
"Long Tao, take Dai Xiu with you, but be careful--one of you should stay on the outside to be a watcher while the other goes in. Once in, stick to the shadows, suppress your breath, and just observe. Anything out of the ordinary? Note it. Whoever goes in shouldn't stay too long, however; if you hear the sounds of battles coming from out of town, turn around and leave."
"Yes, Master!"
"... yes, Master." Dai Xiu nodded excitedly; this was her first time on a 'mission,' and she seemed particularly... zealous about it. I felt kinda bad that she'd be stuck just watching a whole heap of nothing, but it was safer that way.
"Once we have the full picture of what's happening inside, we'll formulate the course of action!" Spoken like a true general! I think...
Honestly, this probably wasn't the best plan I could come up with--no, it was nowhere near the best plan. Even within the confines of needing to be vague and assign seemingly the most important mission to the supposedly strongest person, it was still probably... not that good. Why?
Because the only reason it might work is due to Long Tao's cloaking art. That's it.
I don't know whether the entire town was under a formation or if there were more checks we couldn't see, or anything, really. Every other part of the 'plan' was superfluous--others may as well have just stayed here with me and drank some tea while Long Tao went in to check things out.
But there still might be some merit to it all--maybe without even waiting for Long Tao to get in, whatever is happening in town gets revealed due to those two rushing toward the main road.
Alas, I know I will have to get better. Rather, there is a way for me to get better at this immediately--creating a custom art. I have spare points, that's for sure, and if I was given a day or two to allow my monstrous kids over here to learn the art, I could probably come up with a dozen different plans.
Hell, just creating a relatively simple art like allowing someone to see through walls or maybe see through illusions would have let us just see what's happening in town.
Or creating an art specialized in digging long tunnels that'd let us walk into town, just slightly below it.
Ideas were many, but so were restrictions.
If it wasn't so last-minute, I may even be able to explain it, or if we'd categorized everything Long Tao hauled from Elder Zhang and found something there... if 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry infiltration... or something like that.
The Eternal Veil (II)
It was familiar, the scent.
Hua could have recognized it from anywhere, yet he had to remain still and calm, ignorant of the reality of what was happening within that town.
He wanted to stop Lu Qi from sending the Young Lady in, but didn't interfere, as he realized she wouldn't be going in--that old kid, the creep, would be the one to infiltrate while she'd stay outside.
And yet, even with knowing that, he felt compelled to rush over and make sure of it. Young Lady had already almost died because of that scent, because of that temptation; if she was drawn back in again... there may be nothing anyone could do to save her.
He didn't think that they'd come out from beyond the mountains, not this soon, anyway. However, if they were now emboldened enough to break the Oath that stood strong for almost 10,000 years...
His muscles subconsciously tensed as he stared at the hazy 'miasma,' as they called it. It was no wonder that nobody here recognized it. Even Elder Qin, though 'powerful' he was for this part of the world, was still just a figurative embryo in the path of immortality. Only those who've touched upon the Dao Laws would be able to recognize the clusters of Gray Matter, a horrifying byproduct of a Soul Furnace.
All hells lead back to that damned evil...
If he could go back in time to change one thing, it would be to never join the Guard, to never learn what he learned, and to never have to live with the knowledge that he cannot do anything about.
But it was his Oath, now. Even if he'd... changed it from the original purpose.
He glanced sideways at the frowning middle-aged man.
There were countless things that did not add up with the man who went by the name of Lu Qi. Hua had known he was special the day he managed to drag Dai Xiu and him out of the Soul Furnace. Naturally, they didn't stay there willingly--that was what the Furnace did; it shaved away at the willingness and the mastery of one's will until there was nothing left.
However, unlike practically everyone else who'd ever stepped foot into that rot, Elder Lu didn't seem... beholden to its laws. And yet, there was nothing that Zhuang Hua could discern about the man that would lend a credible answer as to 'Why?'.
He wasn't even ordinary but rather worse than that.
His reputation was absolutely putrid.
He was by far the sect's weakest Elder and likely its least educated one, too.
And yet, time and again now, he was shocked by the strange man, shocked into a muted silence that was on occasion even real.
Providing Dai Xiu with the perfectly tailored cultivation method that even the Veil didn't have?
Rearing a disciple like Long Tao that terrified Hua in ways that even his Masters never did?
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And even producing the Heart-Stitching Art. No, perhaps the last one was the most heaven-defying. It allowed him to do something nothing else in the world could--dispel the Mortal Binds, if ever for a moment.
Despite all that, despite all threads somehow weaving the tale that Elder Lu did know something about the Seed... Hua confirmed on the journey over that the man was wholly ignorant. He wasn't a spy or an ancient monster biding his time; he was just... a rather ordinary cultivator who somehow had means of creating or procuring extraordinary things.
And now, they were here... at the cradle of a sin most have forgotten.
He knew that they wouldn't have been able to remain in the lull of comfort for long; they must have realized where he'd gone by now, and the word had to have spread of what was at the Spirit Sword Sect.
All he could hope for was that the strange man standing next to him could somehow procure yet another miracle.
**
Xi Zhao walked somewhat impatiently just a step or two behind the woman he'd seen before--he'd witness her lose a duel about ten months ago to a girl nearly half her age. It was... brutal, to say the least, but as the young girl in question was the most talented Core Disciple, nobody thought it particularly strange.
However, Xi Zhao sympathized with the one in front of him--shame, guilt, embarrassment... those same things had eaten away at him like worms until he met his Master.
"When we get there, don't say anything," she warned rather stoically. "If I give you a signal, just run."
"Yes, Senior Sister."
He wasn't scared--far from it. He was just... worried. Worried that something had happened to his family.
They finally came upon the entrance to the town--even from this angle, the streets appeared empty, with a strange haze surrounding the entire thing. The gates were actually left askew, as though inviting, but there were no guards positioned anywhere as there used to be.
Cao Qiu paused, a faint gust of wind billowing back her hair and robes. Xi Zhao felt a small churn of Qi just before her voice broke out like thunder.
"CITIZENS OF THE SUNLIGHT TOWN, MY NAME IS CAO QIU OF THE SPIRIT SWORD SECT!" Xi Zhao flinched at the sheer volume, glancing at her in awe. "I WAS SENT HERE TO INVESTIGATE THE DISAPPEARANCE OF A DISCIPLE WHO WAS LAST SEEN ENTERING THE TOWN. I DEMAND THAT THE MAYOR MEET ME OUTSIDE RIGHT THIS INSTANCE AND OFFER AN EXPLANATION. IF NOT, I WILL BE FORCED TO RESORT TO VIOLENCE!"
Wow.
Xi Zhao was quite impressed--bombastic, resolute, and confident.
Her voice echoed vastly and loudly, but even after almost thirty seconds, there was no response. Just as he saw her fingers flinch and reach for the sword tied to her waist, footsteps echoed and the gates creaked, opening further. Betwixt them emerged a figure, short and stout, dressed in lavish, emerald robes.
The man had a round face and a long, curling mustache, and he seemed starkly out of breath as he stepped into the view.
"... are you the town's mayor?"
"Y-yes, yes, Venerated Cultivator! My name is Mu Ling, and I am the Mayor of the Sunlight Town!"
"What took you so long?"
"A-ah, apologies, Venerated One! I had been at the hall when we heard your divine voice; I rushed immediately, but, alas, I am but a mere mortal!"
"Where is everyone?" she queried, keeping her fingers curled around the sword's handle, ready to draw it at any moment.
"What do you mean, Venerated One?"
"I mean exactly that. Where is everyone from the town? Why are your streets empty?"
"Uhm, I'm... I'm not quite sure I understand. Everyone is... here? The streets are not empty. Please, come in! I have already tasked someone with arranging a welcoming feast! I can assure you that any disappearance of a Spirit Sword Sect disciple will be taken as seriously as anything else by yours truly. You have the entire manpower of our small little town at your disposal."
Cao Qiu paused, and even Xi Zhao frowned, eyeing the stout man carefully. The cadence of the voice, the words, the way he spoke... it seemed rather familiar.
"It seems that you take me for a fool," the woman said. "Very well. Perhaps after I've demolished a part of your homestead, you'll give me the courtesy of truth!"
"Ah, Venerable One, please have mercy!" The man knelt to the ground rapidly, crying out. "I speak with utmost sincerity, from the bottom of my heart! I truly do not know anything about a disciple disappearing! I would not dare lie to the venerable one!"
Xi Zhao's frown deepened further. He watched Cao Qiu's fingers slightly relax and loosen the grip on the handle. It was then that his mind recognized the voice, and before he could voice out a warning, he reached for the sword and drew it out in a beautiful streak of colors.
The Eternal Veil (III)
Cao Qiu flinched when she noticed the descending array of swordlight that suddenly appeared in front of her. The kneeling man was no longer in front of the gates but rather just in front of her.
Before she could even try and flee or defend herself, the descending swordlight was shattered as a phantom-like figure shuttered just past her, a scent of sandalwood briefly entering her nostrils.
In the next moment, she saw the stout man lose his balance and stumble sideways as a flash of the blade cut through the side. An arm flew off, blood spraying out alongside a cry of pain.
The stout man tried to retreat, but the phantom-like figure rushed further out and swiped the sword yet again, cleaving at the man's knees and leaving him completely immobile.
The boy she thought a burden knelt next to the whimpering mass of bleeding flesh and yanked him by the hair, pulling him over the dirt and toward her.
"Senior Sister," he called out, startling her awake. "I know who this is."
"He isn't the mayor?"
"No," he shook his head. "He's my family's butler--I recognized him by his voice. However, nothing else matches him; the butler wasn't a martial artist, and he was an elderly, tall, and thin man."
"Then who is he?" She frowned and crouched, yet, just then, a strange thing transpired--the man who had just been whimpering, crying, and begging for mercy suddenly broke out into strange, cackling laughter. "Who are you?!" She drew her sword and pressed it against the man's throat.
"He he he, it seems we've drawn over a big fish," the body began to... molt. She winced and pulled back as the motes of steam began to flow out of the fading flesh. Within a few moments, there were only the robes... and nothing else.
Her breathing quickened, her eyes veered up toward the town, now full of terror.
"We need to let the Master know of this immediately!" The boy's voice pulled her as the two spun around and left, garbed in horror.
**
Long Tao casually walked through the parting illusion; it was a surprisingly high-quality array, the kind that eclipsed even the Spirit Sword Sect. For him, of course, it was nothing, but for this corner of the world it may as well have been an ancient treasure.
The world took a swift turn as he stepped through the membrane, though only in one department--the streets weren't empty.
He stepped out between a set of buildings and toward the main street that cut through the entire town. Both sides of the road were lined with people, sprawled lifelessly, though most were not actually dead. He wasn't surprised--this was what all Soul Furnaces were like.
Extracting the purest essence of one's being takes a while, and, most importantly, the people cannot be aware of it. Otherwise, the essence becomes corrupted and useless.
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As soon as he saw the Gray Matter, he figured that somebody had the ever-so-brilliant idea of concocting a Soul Furnace. Except... it was incomplete.
Ordinarily, at the heart of every Soul Furnace was a Dao Seed--specifically, a Soul Dao Seed. This here was merely an approximation; or, rather, the furnace was made in an attempt to create a Soul Dao Seed. It was impossible, of course--the quality of the souls here was nowhere near enough, but if whoever was behind this did manage to purify the entire town, they would have made some headway.
"Dao Seed, Dao Seed..." he mumbled to himself, a glint in his eyes uncertain.
It couldn't be just a coincidence that the rumored third treasure of the Spirit Sword Sect was a Dao Seed while somebody was trying to make one right at their doorstep.
"Ah!" The fog lifted as the face of the girl waiting for him just past the veil came bursting into his mind.
Her physique--he was unable to fully discern it, though it did always feel somewhat familiar. It had to be one form or another of Vast-Dantian. There were eighteen, as far as he could remember, but only six of them could be hosts for the Soul Dao Seed.
He ignored the sprawled figures on the ground and headed toward where he felt all soul energy was being converged to--the central pavilion.
It was all conjecture, ultimately, and he still didn't really have the full picture of it. And though he was 'told' to merely look on the outskirts, the temptation was too large.
A minute or so later, he stepped past the alarming number of trigger-based arrays meant for intruders. The pavilion itself seemed shorn of light, wholly cloaked in darkness. There was nobody on either of the first two floors, just strewn furniture that hadn't been dusted in a while.
The third and fourth floors had bubbling cauldrons coated in strange, runic arrays that predated even his era. Most knowledge of the Dao Seeds, especially on making them, was ancient history when he was a young boy, let alone now.
The fifth floor had several dozen or so cloaked figures currently facing out the window and to the outside, likely examining the uproar that kid was causing.
And the sixth floor... the sixth floor was rather small, just a single room with a prayer mat, a cloaked and masked figure atop of it, and a levitating orb at the very center of the room. There were strands of greenish energy rolling toward it, almost like a tear in the void drew matter toward itself.
Long Tao paused and examined the figure--it was a woman, he realized, and based on her bone age, she was at least... 4,000 years old. Which meant that this was likely one of her Soul or Body Avatars. He whipped out a mask from the satchel as well and put it on, cloaking every bit of trace of his cultivation before coming into view.
The woman's eyes opened quickly, and she seemed keen on making a move for a moment before stopping, realizing Long Tao was simply standing there.
"... what should I call you, Venerable One?" Her voice was a strange choir of amalgamated sounds and pitches, as though it was originating from another reality altogether.
"That is a rather unstable embryo," Long Tao said, his eyes fixated on an orb. "Your tether... is dying."
"A discernible eye," the woman chuckled. "Is that kid out there your doing?"
"What is an old ghost like you doing tangled up with a heap of mortals and weak children?" Throughout his lengthy life, Long Tao met countless people that danced the fine line of unflinching evil--but the worst lot were always the ones who used and abused those far weaker than them who couldn't put up a struggle.
"The cogs of the world always move, Venerable One; to keep up with times, we must adjust. Your kid has escaped."
"... it is time that you left this place," Long Tao said.
"And if I don't?"
"I suppose being as ancient as you are, you can afford to lose an Avatar or two."
"... he he, very well," the woman cackled strangely after staying silent for a moment. She reached into her robes and took out a small parchment, tossing it at Long Tao.
It became a blazing projectile that would have cut even Elder Qin's head, yet Long Tao caught it rather effortlessly--not because he was stronger, but because it was tossed using an old technique that had long since gone extinct in the world.
"You call me an old ghost, yet only those who I would consider Ancient Emperors know of that art. We shall respect your request," she added as her body began to fade. "You may use my remaining children as whetstones for yours. Should you ever find yourself in need of assistance or a friend... come find us beyond the old Guard Fort."
"Find you? Who exactly are you?"
"We are the Eternal Veil," she said. "The original owners of the Seed that your Sect so callously thieved. Be warned--what was once ours will be once more... no matter what."
The Eternal Veil (IV)
As soon as I noticed Xi Zhao and the young woman running away, I realized that something was wrong--and thus the worries began.
I'm like that on occasion, you know? Not generally anxiety-prone, but there were occasional bouts in my life when I'd get inside my head just a twinge too deep and find the rowing storm inside I had no business facing.
This time... well, it wasn't that bad. Them running meant that there was something quite off with the town, but I wasn't truly worried about anyone--in part because Long Tao and Hua were here, but mostly because I had no doubt in my mind that Elder Qin was monitoring everything silently and would have interfered if he saw something too off.
Hua, too, would never allow any harm to come to Dai Xiu, and now that he could unleash part of his strength (whatever that entailed), he'd be the first to rush to the town and decimate it if need be.
So, I wasn't so much worried for their safety as I was for the outcome of this fabricated little mission.
It was about five or so minutes later that the two appeared in front of me, both short of breath. Xi Zhao had a rather panicked and worried expression in his eyes, while Cao Qiu was... well, there was pure, raw shock, but it didn't seem to be aimed at the town or whatever happened to them, but rather at the boy next to her.
"Master!" Xi Zhao quickly greeted.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"No, no," he said. "We are both fine."
"Tell me what happened."
And so he did--he told me about the strange man coming out, inviting them in, Xi Zhao recognizing his voice, him attacking the two of them, and then freakin' molting like a freakin' snake. Yeah, no wonder they bolted--I'd have bolted too if some strange dude started laughing as he molted.
Jesus.
Before I could even offer a word of comfort, I spotted two silhouettes emerge from the tall grass--Long Tao and Dai Xiu were back, too, as though the two groups had coordinated it beforehand.
He didn't seem surprised to see the other two, glanced momentarily toward Elder Qin, and then spoke toward me.
"We're back, Master."
"You're both safe, that's good," I said. "Did you manage to see anything?"
"It was strange," he said. "The streets were full of people, but they all seemed half-comatose. Some were dead, some were on the cusp."
"Any sign of what caused it?"
"I sensed some strange energy moving toward the big, central pavilion," he said. "Whatever it is, it's located in there."
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"Oh."
"I think we should be fine just going through the front doors."
"... what?" It wasn't me who suddenly asked the question but rather Cao Qiu. "Are you insane?!"
"Hm? What's wrong with you?" Long Tao glanced at her, frowning slightly.
"Either you're insane or lying about ever having gone in! Whatever is going on inside the town is far beyond our abilities, and you want us to just walk in?! That's it! Master, I beseech you to take over the mission!" She suddenly hurried over to Elder Qin and bent down on one knee. I watched the expressions of my dear disciples change--and even Light, the disinterested and ordinarily apathetic expression flickering for a moment with... holy crap, that was murderous intent.
"Qiu'er?"
"I believe that Elder Lu is unfit to lead us into battle and that his disciples are too inexperienced to fight what resides within the town."
It was dead silent, and even I found it a bit awkward on her behalf. I wasn't really mad; rather, I even felt for the girl. I could already pick up a thing or two of what happened--Xi Zhao saved her life, seemed entirely unafraid, and managed to keep up with her as they raced over here despite being a full major realm weaker than her, and then Long Tao strolls in claiming that whatever resided in the town was so pathetically weak that a bunch of Qi Condensation Realm kids could just storm through the front doors.
Whether it was the fear, whether it was the bellyache of jealousy, or whether it was both or none or a hundred different things, people sought comfort in the time of confusion. For her, that comfort was Elder Qin.
Alas... well, she screwed up.
Of the many things that the Spirit Sword Sect was lax on, there were a few that were intolerable--no disciple was allowed to openly clash with an Elder. None. Not even the Core Disciples.
That was the reason why, despite his rancid reputation, Lu Qi never truly suffered in the sect. The position was like an immortal armor that only other Elders were allowed to touch, but as he avoided them all like a plague, it never manifested.
And yet, there she was, a rather ordinary disciple by all accounts, calling me, an Elder, out. I didn't particularly fault her, but Elder Qin... hoh, boy.
Yes, my disciples were pissed off--hell, even Long Tao seemed strangely peeved, not to mention Dai Xiu, who legitimately looked like she wrote the young woman's name in a kill list or something--but Elder Qin was more than just... angry. While he did skirt the line of 'Just' rather well, I figured by now that it was just human nature.
No one trait of a person could be summed up in just one word--people's behaviors were never that simple, after all. Just because someone was considered 'Just' didn't mean they were mechanical in their approach to choices and decisions. They were... people. They understood nuance, context, and the heart of humanity.
However, 'Just' was still deeply engraved in Elder Qin's bones, and as someone keenly aware and respectful of the Sect's rules, I think she would have been in less trouble if she just said, 'I don't want to go in; I'm scared'.
"Cao Qiu," she realized it then, I noted, her body flinching at the coarse voice bereft of affection. "You dare insinuate, in front of me, that a recognized Elder of our Sect is inept? You, a mere disciple, dare boldly proclaim that an Elder is unsuited for anything?" Elder Qin's voice wasn't... angry, per se.
But it was terrifying.
It was sort of like it was with my dad back when I was young--that man had never raised his voice. If you just listened for that specific cadence, you'd think he never got angry. But... he did get angry. Like, angry. He never screamed or shouted, but whenever his voice would turn a certain way, whenever he'd start squeezing syllables between his teeth... I knew it was time to run to mom and hide.
"You have a choice now," he added. "Either destroy your dantian on the spot and leave my sight this instant, or march into that town by yourself and either come out victorious or die in there with honor."
"M-Master--"
"You are no disciple of mine. Never call me your 'Master' again, you misguided child," wow. Okay. I did think he'd punish her but this is far too much. "I--"
"Elder Qin," I interjected, drawing attention to myself.
"What is it, Elder Lu?"
"She made a mistake."
"And I'm punishing her."
"She made a mistake toward me."
"And I am her Master."
"You just said that you weren't."
"..." Look, I can't do much to change how things operate in this world. I really can't. But I know that Elder Qin respects me, for whatever reason. And I'll be damned if I'll stand by and watch as he sends a young woman to her death just because she questioned my competence out of fear.
The Eternal Veil (V)
Elder Qin's gaze shifted as he moved from the young woman toward me. Gone was the chilliness and distance, replaced with... curiosity.
My words remained hanging for a long while as he seemed to deliberate on what to do, while Cao Qiu remained entirely unmoving, as though frozen in time. Others looked at me oddly, too, as though I'd come out and said something so otherworldly it left them befuddled. Well, if my interceding on her behalf left them befuddled, I wonder what my proposed 'punishment' would entail?
"... very well," he said. "You can punish her." Phew, glad he agreed. And from the sounds of it, there were no insane conditions like 'but only if you make her your disciple!'. Hah, can you imagine? Okay, gotta move quickly before the old man actually considers it...
"Thank you, Elder Qin." As my words faded, I saw Cao Qiu turn, still on her knee, and face me. Well, "face me" would be a metaphor of sorts--her head was glued downward, hair falling over and blocking her expression. "My punishment is simple: you will have to stand with me and watch as my disciples resolve what you deemed undoable. It will become your shame and dishonor, and something you will have to live with for the rest of your life."
"..."
Yeah, it looks like my stern words didn't really fool anyone, not even Light.
Everyone looked at me oddly yet again, as I was basically not even punishing her. It was like saying, 'Hey, why don't you take a seat, relax, and wait for it all to blow over?'.
Whatever.
Not like I was really going to punish her. She's not a kid like the others, sure, but she was a kid to me. And, besides, I'm sure that near every Disciple in the sect said something just as bad, if not worse, about Lu Qi in private. While the rule is 'don't say it out loud, you nimrod', it holds little weight to me.
I want to earn a new reputation--and killing a kid because she thought I was stupid? Yeah. That's not the new reputation I want.
"Okay, you three. Long Tao, you'll lead," I said. "Go out and have fun. If anything happens, Elder Qin will save you."
"..."
Wow. The silence really can be like a thousand arms tickling at the back of your throat.
"... yes, Master," Long Tao shrugged. Dai Xiu's eyes still burned with anger as she couldn't peel them away from Cao Qiu, while Xi Zhao simply nodded, seeming hurried.
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The three left, heading for the main road, while Cao Qiu stood up and walked over toward me, stopping by my side. She still hung her head low, fingers digging into the palms of her hands, her body faintly shaking.
Perhaps it was humiliating in a way I couldn't really compute--being punished by someone other than her own Master, especially someone like me. Maybe she would have preferred going in there and dying due to some sense of honor that I just didn't understand. Regardless, she'll have plenty of times for heroic suicides later. She can skip a night.
"... why did you intercede on my behalf?" Surprisingly, she broke the silence and asked me. Her tone still lacked the tenth of respect she held toward Elder Qin, and she seemed to realize it quickly, adding right after: "I mean, I have done an injustice toward you, Elder Lu. It was only right that I be punished."
"You are being punished."
"Is it pity?"
"... does it matter?"
"Of course it matters."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want your pity. I don't want anyone's pity." Okay, well, this clearly wasn't just about me but about all the other demons she carried.
"It's not pity."
"Then what is it?"
"... you were honest," I said, seemingly startling her as she finally looked up and faced me. "I mean, it was honesty that hurt, but honesty nonetheless. And you were scared."
"I... I wasn't--"
"--Long Tao is an idiot for not being scared," I added with a chuckle. "Being afraid of the unknown... it's part of who we are, no matter how strong or weak. And you were supposed to entrust your life to me--somebody who you only ever heard the worst things about--when there was somebody else right here with us who could stop the sky from falling."
"..."
"Elder Qin is... just," I said. "And just to a fault. Me? I'm not. I don't care that you insulted me, or that you insinuated I'm incompetent, or that my disciples are insane. Frankly, all those things are kind of true. No," I added quickly. "They were true. But... I want to change. And I want to do it by my own hands, not relying on Elder Qin to mete out 'justice' when the kids badmouth me. Heavens know I deserved most of it." I turned to the side and faced her, smiling as gently as I could. "Your life, your struggle to swim against the currents of the world... they are vastly more important than my honor. I'd rather Elder Qin beat me black and blue than stand idly by and watch a life, a completely innocent life, be discarded because of something so... inconsequential."
The tip of her nose twitched as her eyes grew watery; before any tears could stream out, however, she rapidly looked away and fell silent. As I knew the old man was listening to us, too, I tossed in a few 'nuggets' for him.
Yeah, I can't change the sect, let alone the world, and it's unlikely that I can change the old man's ways, either. These were their customs, their laws, and their beliefs; it'd be like a tourist coming into a foreign country trying to change it from the ground up.
But just because something was a custom didn't mean I had to subscribe to it with the zealotry of the others. I'd carve out my own little compass and enforce it the best I can. My disciples would never be swords or blunt tools; if I surrender that much of myself to the system, all in a desperate attempt to 'farm' them for points...
I'll have to change many things about myself; I know that much. At some point, I'll probably have to kill, and I'll probably have to turn a blind eye to the things and many, many other changes that I can't even fathom just yet. But for now... I can endure.
"... that's stupid." she mumbled under her jaw.
"Pfft, ha ha ha," it was kind of funny, honestly. Here I was, building a pedestal atop which I placed the worth of her life, and there she was, summing it up to it being 'stupid'. "Hm, I guess it kind of is stupid. Well, one thing we can both agree on is that there's unlikely to be a soul out there who ever called me smart. So, it's par for the course, is it not?" She squeezed out a smile as well as I turned forward to face the town. "The show's about to start. Let's watch and have some fun, eh?"